Jim Ryan's Blog

Sara and I talk about the value of taking Session Zero (a meeting that a tabletop gaming group holds prior to starting a new campaign) and splitting it into two separate sessions. There are a number of benefits to it! Especially for folks who record actual plays.

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(I’m sorry to say Sara passed away in July of last year. I held onto this recording for quite a while before I felt ready to edit and release it, which was a process that I needed to take my time with. She was a wonderful person, and very passionate about tabletop games, and I was very glad to have her thoughts on this topic.)

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A little while ago I got a hankering to record some discussions of geek and gaming-related things, and my friend Sara agreed to come along for the ride.

In this episode we talk about puzzles, riddles and mazes in tabletop RPGs and how a GM might approach them in a way that’s fun for everyone.

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[image error]In today’s podcast I talk about my recent leap into the media phenomenon that is Twitch streaming. I discuss some of the things I find interesting about the platform and how it’s affected my gaming habits.

Here, have some links:

My Twitch Channel

Monte Cook Games’ Channel

Off the Table

The Greyhawk Channel

Life on Marr’d Session 1 (run by Grant Ellis)

The CypherCast – Episode 18 (with Darcy Ross)

The raw, unedited video of this episode’s live recording!

[image error]Believe it or not, I’m finally wrapping up my series on canon!

In this last entry, I talk about my favorite author, Douglas Adams and discuss the continuity between various versions of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I also discuss the Dirk Gently series, the computer games Adams worked on and his nonfiction work. I ramble a bit about the work others have done to adapt or continue Adams’ stories as well. And I wrap things up by trying to directly address the question I’ve been asking for a ridiculously long time, now: Does Canon Matter?

This was a good topic to end on, because I could have gone on forever, and there’s plenty I didn’t get to (for example, I ended up not saying anything about the Hitchhiker’s comic book adaptation or the Last Chance to See TV series Stephen Fry worked on). There’s an ocean of material out there if you go looking for it, so I encourage folks to check it all out.

[image error]We’ve made it to Discworld! In this episode, I talk about the canon of Terry Pratchett’s fantasy-comedy series. I also wander off into another rant about the use and meaning of the word “multiverse.” This series has a huge number of books in it – they’re all in continuity with each other, and yet you can pick up virtually any one of them to start with and not be too terribly confused by it. How does Pratchett do it?! I’m still figuring that out.

[image error]I have returned to continue rambling about canon! In this episode I talk about the Cthulhu Mythos and stumle over several nigh-unpronounceable names for entities whose merest concepts could drive an ordinary human mad. I also discuss how the nature of the Mythos makes it extremely difficult – perhaps even impossible – to nail down exactly what counts and what doesn’t.

NOTE: As it turns out, the publishing company Arkham House might not be quite as dead as I may have made it sound in this episode. The Wikipedia article on them seems to indicate they’ve had recent financial trouble, but have been working to combat that. Nevertheless, as far as I can tell it appears as though folks are currently able to publish Mythos-related materials right and left without necessarily being challenged. I would still advise authors to research the status of anything they plan to make use of as best they can before they do so.

Here are a couple of links with further writings about the confusion surrounding the copyright situation:

The H.P. Lovecraft Wiki

Chris J. Karr

[image error]James D’Amato, creator of the One Shot group of tabletop gaming podcasts, stopped by to talk about his newest project, Dungeon Dome! Dungeon Dome will be presented to audiences as a series of matches between larger-than-life characters played out on the tabletop. It’s a delicious mashup of D&D and professional wrestling.

If you haven’t heard any of James’ podcasts, they are outrageously entertaining! I strongly suggest giving them a listen:

http://oneshotpodcast.com/

The Kickstarter for the first season of Dungeon Dome is live and will be running through August 10th, 2017.

Go and check it out! http://kck.st/2ueX6hM

[image error]I ramble for way longer than I’d planned about the various versions of White Wolf‘s World of Darkness tabletop RPG titles. For the last quarter of a century, four (soon to be five) editions of WoD games have been released, along with two editions of games set in the alternate reality of the Chronicles of Darkness. With a history like that, the games’ continuity has grown ponderous indeed. But how do you even approach the idea of canon when every story is told by an unreliable narrator? I talk about that and many other things – and I’ve been playing since the `90’s, so it turns out I have plenty to talk about.

Come see me at ConCarolinas! http://www.concarolinas.org/

As I mention near the beginning of the show, Fabled Environments is partnering with Yellow Piece Games on a new Savage Worlds setting called Buccaneer: Through Hell & High Water. Their kickstarter for the game runs through June 20th, 2017. Check it out! http://kck.st/2rlOfG3

I misguidedly attempted to wrap up my canon series only to realize I had much more to say than I’d initially reckoned.

Ahaha.

So, here’s the next part, wherein I tackle two franchises: Star Trek and DC. I also tangent for a bit at the beginning into the recent Darkwing Duck controversy. I also make a terrible pun about an obscure DC character I happen to like, bring up my distaste for there being so much segmented metal in science fiction nowadays and get a tad defensive about the fact that I don’t hate all of the movies I’m supposed to hate.

The delightful writer and podcaster KT Bryski and I chatted about her recent release, Six Stories, Told at Night. The audio drama folds traditional French-Canadian folktales into a series of stories about the relationship between two young friends. Those stories are in turn folded into a third overall narrative. It’s excellent stuff and you can hear it FOR FREE! I highly recommend it.

We were attacked a few times by the Skype Demons during the interview and while I’ve done my best to edit around them, there are a couple of points where our voices may warp a bit, so I apologize if the audio quality gets a bit wonky at times.

Six Stories, Told at Night is written, directed and produced by KT Bryski, and performed by Blythe Haynes, who works with KT at Black Creek Pioneer Village. The song “Lovely, Dark and Deep” (which you can also hear some of at the beginning and end of this episode) was composed by Alex White, and the vocals were performed by Ellen McAteer. The cover art for the podcast (pictured in this blog post) was designed by the inimitable Starla Huchton (whom I once interviewed for this very podcast!). Six Stories, Told at Night is funded by the Ontario Arts Council.