What Is Roleplay‪?‬ Beyond Cataclysm

Welcome to Episode 15 of ‘What Is Roleplay?! 
This episode we are joined by Côme Martin to discuss diceless rpg

Chris & Côme discuss many different Roleplaying Games that don’t use dice & explore the spectrum of games from completely controlled by fate, to the other end of the spectrum where the only narrative input in the game is the things your saying to one another around the table.
The mechanics of dice use and how they can be replaced with other items such as a pack of cards
The ways that a deck of cards can be broken into different groupings for use in roleplay. Côme prefers cards to dice as it gives you a wider range of options
The option that cards give you for editing – you can change the deck by writing on the cards as you go through them so that they next time you use that card it has a different effect.
Using pick up sticks, Jenga, runestones, Tarot cards or tokens as help prompts as part of roleplay instead of dice.
Diceless roleplay gives the players and the Games Master (GM) a little more power over outcomes, rather than being ruled by chance.
Games play without any prompts & GM-less play – the joys of improvisation.
Worldbuilding and lore writing – how diceless play can make for really interesting world building experiences
Actual Play: Christof & Martin star in a spring time coming of age adventure set in the Viking era. Magic spells and finger bones abound!

Links to things we discussed:
Games:

Meanwhile on the Subway
Two Summers
Lucky for None
Unbound
Feathered Adventures
3 Games about Life
Dread
Star Crossed
Fate of the Norns
Not The End 
Millennial Apartment Hunters
Dixit
Mysterium
Fiasco
Microscope
A Set of Scrubs
ISBN Coffee
Belonging Outside Belonging [System]
Free Kriegsspiel Roleplaying (FKR) [System]
Lost & Found [System]

Books, Authors & Publishers:

Wanderhome by Jay Dragon
Possum Creek Games
Bully Pulpit Games

More about Côme

Twitter – @comemartin_
Itch – comemartin.itch.io
Instagram – instagram.com/comemartin_/
Website – Ludosphere

More about Us

CM Lowry on Twitter – @cmlowryauthor
CM Lowry’s website – All About Chris
Website – beyondcataclysm.co.uk
Patreon – Patreon.com/beyondcataclysm

With music generously provided by:
Powerplant & Imploders.The post What is Roleplay #15: Diceless Roleplay Games with Côme Martin first appeared on Beyond Cataclysm.

Welcome to Episode 14 of ‘What Is Roleplay?! 
This episode we are joined by Johan Nohr to discuss design

Everyone can draw – as adults we stop being creative because we fool ourselves into thinking that we cannot do it.
How the independent games scene allows people to explore new ways of designing and laying out games that go against the safe mainstream game publishing norms
How good graphic design helps to communicate the feel of the game and draws the player in
The beauty of getting something hand drawn or hand made in the era of digital design
Over the top art-punk designs that skew all design norms vs minimalism and the use of white space
How tactility helps improve the player’s experience of role playing games – use of techniques such as foiling, embossing, gloss vs matt papers and printing on the book ribbons.
The differences between screen readers & printed books. The problem with PDFs being set up as if they were books when they could be better designed for onscreen use. The plus’ of digital versions when it comes to accessibility.
Listen as Chris & Johan do an actual play where they design a ridiculously meta game entitled ‘GamePOD’, intended to be published on an editable 8-track tape
An encouragement to experiment with and enjoy roleplay and roleplaying games.

Links to things we discussed:
Games:

MÖRK BORG
Delve
Umbra
Mausritter
Old School Essentials
CY BORG
Gozr
Medieval Margin-agerie
MORK ORG
ISBN Coffee

Books, Authors & Publishers:

Stockholm Kartell
SquareHex Publishers
All Rolled Up Press

More about Johan

Twitter – @artbynohr
Itch – jnohr.itch.io
Website – Stockholm Kartell

More about Us

CM Lowry on Twitter – @cmlowryauthor
CM Lowry’s website – All About Chris
Website – beyondcataclysm.co.uk
Patreon – Patreon.com/beyondcataclysm

With music generously provided by:
Powerplant & Imploders.The post What is Roleplay #14 – Design with Johan Nohr first appeared on Beyond Cataclysm.

Welcome to Episode 13 of ‘What Is Roleplay?! 
This episode we are joined by Rugose Kohn to discuss Melee Combat

Trigger warning for violence and body horror!
Melee combat is usually gritty and visceral hand to hand combat as opposed to more removed and antiseptic approach such as aerial bombardment.
How early roleplaying games have sort of set the standard of combat as just charging in headlong and hoping for the best where as more modern systems make that approach obsolete and involve more subtilties.
Experimentation as an exciting approach to roleplaying.
How gravitating towards combat can squash creativity, whilst finding other ways to deal with the encounter can open up really interesting outcomes.
Systems that use interesting mechanics to deal with managing conflict such as Powered by The Apocalypse, Lichoma & Fiasco, which emphasise story telling rather than melee combat.
Rugose shares a fun experience of melee combat in a game of MÖRK BORG at GenCon 2022.
Chris & Rugose get into some actual play featuring a hardware store in Colorado, billy clubs, concealed hammers and a dishevelled criminal known only as Dobie. Broken arms and lost eyeballs ensue…

Links to things we discussed:
Games:

MÖRK BORG
Red Box DnD
Twilight 2000
Into The Odd
Warhammer Fantasy RPG
5e DnD
Powered By The Apocalypse
Lichoma
Lancer
Fiasco
Four Borg

Books, Authors & Publishers etc:

Stockholm Kartell
Bogfolk Co-op
Gen Con

Film

Monty Pythons ‘Holy Grail’
Conan The Barbarian
Rambo
Dumb & Dumber

More about Rugose

Twitter – @RugoseKohn
Itch – rugose-kohn.itch.io
Website – rugosekohn.com

More about Us

CM Lowry on Twitter – @cmlowryauthor
CM Lowry’s website – All About Chris
Website – beyondcataclysm.co.uk
Patreon – Patreon.com/beyondcataclysm

With music generously provided by:
Powerplant & Imploders.The post What Is Roleplay? #13 – Melee Combat with Rugose Kohn first appeared on Beyond Cataclysm.

Welcome to Episode 12 of ‘What Is Roleplay?! 
Join Chris & Dave as they get very silly in an All Outta Bubblegum actual play special!

A brief explanation of the rules of All Outta Bubblegum
A safety talk
Counting for fun
Setting the scene
Pizza delivery mishaps and corner shop catastrophes
More counting
Listen as the game unravels as we run out of bubblegum
Conclude with us that you don’t always have to spend hours prepping before a fun rpg session – you can take inspiration from things around you and have a great laugh in the process

Links to things we discussed:
Games:

All Outta Bubblegum

FREE PDF Download



Movies:

They Live!

 
More about Us:

CM Lowry on Twitter – @cmlowryauthor
CM Lowry’s website – All About Chris
Website – beyondcataclysm.co.uk
Patreon – Patreon.com/beyondcataclysm

With music generously provided by:
Powerplant & Imploders.The post What is Roleplay #12 – All Outta Bubblegum actual play first appeared on Beyond Cataclysm.

Welcome to Episode 11 of ‘What Is Roleplay?! 
This episode we are joined by Guilherme Gontijo to discuss Design

How design is very similar across the board, and how the differences often just come down to execution?
Why does design matter?

It is more than just style or a taste aesthetic
Design is more about translating ideas on the abstract plane into visuals
Good design helps roleplay games (RPG) creators to communicate the ideas, mood and feel of a game visually
You can fit a whole lot of fun into a small amount of space with good design


The DIY ethos and how the punk spirit has influenced the Indie RPG scene
Funding the beauty in both minimalist as well as heavily illustrated RPGs such as MÖRK BORG
The major importance of remaining faithful to ideas – starting at the essence of the idea and allowing it to inform the design. Making an alliance with the idea and not allowing outside influences to change it & allowing open ended questions to remain.
Italian ‘Giallo‘ horror movies and their influence on Gontijo’s game Blurred Lines
Listen as CM Lowry & Gontijo live design a new game where monks fall into temptation to one of the seven deadly sins and end up in a sepia hell where everyone is in perpetual motion. The working title? ‘No Rest for the Wicked!’

Links to things we discussed:
Games:

Vaults of Vaarn
Honey Heist
Lasers & Feelings
MÖRK BORG
Blurred Lines

Books, Authors & Publishers:

Grant Howitt
Johan Nohr
DriveThruRPG.com
itch.io

More about Guilherme

Twitter – @gontijolab
Itch – gontijo.itch.io
Website – gontijolab.com

More about Us

CM Lowry on Twitter – @cmlowryauthor
CM Lowry’s website – All About Chris
Website – beyondcataclysm.co.uk
Patreon – Patreon.com/beyondcataclysm

With music generously provided by:
Powerplant & Imploders.The post What is Roleplay #11 – Design with Guilherme Gontijo first appeared on Beyond Cataclysm.

Welcome to Episode 10 of ‘What Is Roleplay?! 
This episode we are joined by Spencer Campbell to discuss Stats

Laying out some of the basic types of stats that are used in roleplaying games
The concept of Min/Max
The good, the bad and the ugly of Stats
Focusing on skills and approaches rather than just a list of stats
Exploding dice!
How stats enable us to connect with our character and the world of the game

Links to things we discussed:
Games:

Rune
The Lumen System
The Lasers & Feelings System
End of the World
Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition
Nova
Savage Worlds
Spire
REAP

Books, Authors & Publishers:

Fantasy Flight Games
Wizards of the Coast

More about Spencer

Twitter – @GilaRPGs
Spencer on itch –  gilarpg.itch.io
Gila RPG website – Gila RPGs

More about Us

CM Lowry on Twitter – @cmlowryauthor
CM Lowry’s website – All About Chris
Website – beyondcataclysm.co.uk
Patreon – Patreon.com/beyondcataclysm

With music generously provided by:
Powerplant & Imploders.The post What is Roleplay #10 – Stats with Spencer Campbell first appeared on Beyond Cataclysm.