Railroads and Sandboxes: Shaping Player Destiny

In this episode I share some tips on how to run roleplaying sessions. You already heard some of my tips for running mysteries, for deciding between a railroad and a sandbox style game or for designing time limited games. This time we take a look at the whole picture, and how you can prepare for your game from week to week (or game to game if your games are not every week). We touch on topics like note taking, improvization and post-session activities for making sense of the session we just ran and how to prepare for the next one. Episode notesShy Flourish websiteRoleplayingtips website

This year has been probably the start for the AI PC: all manufacturers are now touting their PC has AI features. Qualcomm joined the PC processor suppliers, becoming the third along Intel and AMD. And so we also have ThinkPads each with the three different processors and all sharing the Copilot+ branding. In this episode I talk with Benjamin Herzig from Notebookcheck and we discuss how all this AI PC thing affects ThinkPads. Along the way we also talk about the haptic trackpad that has made an active appearance in this year's top of the line ThinkPad models. note: I apologize for my audio quality, I had some minor issues this time around.

What makes a tabletop RPG truly come alive: a tightly woven plot that pulls players down a thrilling path, or an open world where their every choice shapes the unfolding story? In this episode, we dive deep into the age-old debate between railroad and sandbox adventures, exploring the benefits and challenges of each style. We’ll discuss how player interaction and choices, GM improvisation, and emergent storytelling create unforgettable gaming experiences, and share tips for balancing structure with freedom. Whether you're a game master or a player, join us as we unravel the secrets to crafting dynamic RPG narratives that resonate long after the dice stop rolling.

Constructing and running role playing game sessions which involve mysteries and investigation can be a challenge sometimes. How to make sure the players find all the clues? What if they miss something? How to adapt your gaming style not to run into bottlenecks and dead ends in this style of adventure.These are the questions we seek an answer to in today's episode.

Astraterra is a Finnish roleplaying game from author Miska Fredman. Astraterra is a steam fantasy role-playing game for all ages and it mixes elements from fantasy, steampunk, and science-fiction genres. In this episode I talk with Miska about how the game was born and about RPG authoring. We also go through various elements of the game itself. Miska is a game designer and cartographer. His hobby of playing D&D has turned into his work, running an RPG publishing company and publishing maps for RPGs. In 2016 he has received the Golden Dragon award at Ropecon (largest role-playing event in the Nordic countries) for his prominent and significant work as a role-playing game designer and publisher. Show linksMiska's Mapshttps://www.patreon.com/miskasmapshttps://www.patreon.com/cyberpunkmapsIronSpine PressAstraterra

Time constraints can often challenge the flow of your adventure, whether it’s a one-shot for friends, a session at the local gaming store, or a game for beginners at a roleplaying convention. With players who may be strangers, unpredictability looms large. Will they get stuck? Will you run out of time? How can you manage the story, encounters, and ensure timely completion while keeping the fun intact?In this episode, I delve into the countdown conundrum: mastering the art of running a time-constrained game. Discover practical tips and strategies to keep your adventure on track and your players engaged, no matter the time limit. Links from the show:Android dice app: RPG simple diceiOS dice app: Tabletop RPG diceDisclaimer: I am not affiliated with either of these apps. They are free apps I found by trying them out and I deemed them good enough.

This is part 2 of my talk with Petri Leinonen. Part 1 was published as episode 5.I talk with Petri about various aspects of RPG publishing. This episode concentrates on the technical aspects and on AI image generation and its role in publishing today. Petri Leinonen is an independent RPG creator and publisher from Finland who has been for the past couple of years been heavily involved in the effort to bring Legendoja & lohikäärmeitä, a Finnish adaptation of the world’s most popular role-playing game to life and is the first 3rd party publisher for L&L with his 2022 release Hirviökirja, a monster compendium for L&L.You can find Petri's work at the following placesGogam’s homepage: http://gogam.eu Petri’s itch page: https://strangeworlder.itch.io/ YouTube channel for English actual plays: https://www.youtube.com/@gogameu

In this episode I talk with Petri Leinonen, indie RPG publisher, about various aspects of RPG publishing. Petri has been actively participating in creating the layout for the Finnish roleplaying game Legendoja ja Lohikäärmeitä (Legends and Dragons). Does language actually matter for RPGs? How is it working with gaming licenses (such as OGL, the open gaming license). Listen and find out!Petri Leinonen is an independent RPG creator and publisher from Finland who has been for the past couple of years been heavily involved in the effort to bring Legendoja & lohikäärmeitä, a Finnish adaptation of the world’s most popular role-playing game to life and is the first 3rd party publisher for L&L with his 2022 release Hirviökirja, a monster compendium for L&L.The talk will be published in two parts, this is part 1.You can find Petri's work at the following placesGogam’s homepage: http://gogam.eu Petri’s itch page: https://strangeworlder.itch.io/ YouTube channel for English actual plays: https://www.youtube.com/@gogameu

Lenovo usually announces new ThinkPads at the CES conference in Las Vegas, at the beginning of the year. This year was no different, with many new features and some controversial changes - for ThinkPad fans at least - announced. My guest today is Benjamin Herzig, whom shares his thoughts about this year ThinkPad features. Benjamin has been a ThinkPad user since 2010. Originally he was not a fan of the design, but his first ThinkPad R60 quickly made him fall in love with the quality of the ThinkPads in every aspect, especially the keyboards and the TrackPoint. Since 2016, he has been working for Notebookcheck, mostly reporting on business laptops.

Music is an essential part of the movie, computer game and even role playing game experience. We use music to enhance our stories. But how is music made today? I talk with indie music composer and producer Matti Paalanen about what it takes to make orchestral music. We talk about how he makes music and how he got started. We also touch on vocals and vocal generation, actual music generation by AI among others topics.Matti Paalanen is an indie producer from Finland who has focused on the digital music business and its possibilities in the past years. He runs Ouranio Recordings label and at least tries his best to stay up to date regarding music technology and the possibilites that the evey changing digital realm has to offer when it comes to music production and marketing.You can listen to Matti's music on Spotify.Matti mentioned Cubase as his DAW of choice. Matti also mentioned Synthesizer V that he used for vocal generations.