Gaming Podcasts

I play RPGs twice a week but it's never enough, and so to help me through the rest of the week I've started to listen to various podcasts.  These range from 'roundtable discussions' on roleplaying and related subjects, to actual play recordings for various RPGs.  Here's my current play list:

1. Chronicles: Pathfinder Podcast
If you play Pathfinder you really need to check this one out. It's long (some episodes are 6 hours+) but full of goodness, with interviews, rules clarifications, extensive 'spoilerific' reviews and more.

2. Gamerstable
A round table discussion podcast on a variety of roleplaying and gaming related subjects.  Usually entertaining and fun to listen to.

3. Idle Red Hands
Similar in style to Gamerstable, Idle Red Hands usually serves an interesting discussion on the latest games as well as playing them.

4. The Unspeakable Oath
If you enjoy Call of Cthulhu, and especially Delta Green, then this is the podcast for you! Interviews with Dennis Detwiller, and Adam Scott Glancy, as well as the latest developments with Delta Green should be all the reason you need to check this one out.

5. YSDC: For Lovecraft & Cthulhu
Made up of two different shows; News from Pnakotus and The Silver Lodge, the Yog-Sothoth podcasts are great resources and entertainment for CoC fans.

6. HP Literary Podcast
Now ended - but all the shows are available for listen to.  If you enjoy reading HPL you probably know about this show already, and if you don't, where have you been, The Great Library??

7. Haste - The Official Obsidian Portal Podcast
Not only is Obsidian a great tool for gamesmasters, they also do a podcast, and it's well worth listening to; focusing on gaming news in the most part.

All the podcasts can be freely subscribed to via iTunes if you use that (which I do), just do a search in the store.

I'm sure there are other amazing podcasts out there, but these are the ones I take time to listen to at the moment.  If you have any others you would recommend, please let me know!

Horror on the Orient Express - Kickstarter!

Pretty much every man and his dog familiar is using Kickstarter these days to crowd source the funding for, well, everything!  I tend to avoid them like the plague because 1. I know I would spend a stupid amount of money in pledges on 'cool stuff I don't really need' and 2. I don't have a lot of spare money. 

Still, when I heard about that Chaosium had a Kickstarter to re-publish the old 'Horror on the Orient Express' campaign I pretty much slammed by pledge down and said "where do I sign!"  HotOE is one of those classic campaigns that I never got a chance to pick up and play when it was released originally. and I can't wait to play it. I've seen PDFs of course, but I really (REALLY!) want the boxed edition that the company is planning - with as much addition 'stuff' as I can get my mitts on! 

It will come as no surprise to know that Chaosium made their $20,000 goal and went onto over $100,000.  If you're interested (and well you should be!) check out the Kickstarter.

Cthulhu Rises

I'm a Lovecraft fan. Have been for decades. I've run Call of Cthulhu rpg for 20 years and love it.

Currently though my focus is Pathfinder RPG and it's interesting just how clear Jacobs and co are on assuring that the Mythos is alive and well in their 'universe' (which they have confirmed in the Secrets of Pathfinder Adventures session at PaizoCon 2011 as actually our universe - in that you could space travel from Golarion to Earth). BTW if you've not listened to it check out the D20 Radio Pathfinder Chronicles. You want the Seminar Special part 2 - you can download it directly or get it via iTunes.

Cthulhu does get everywhere doesn't he?  Sanity defying when you consider he's supposed to be stuck in R'lyeh!

There's a part of me that says 'cool' and a somewhat smaller part that goes 'hmmmm ok...' about the integration.  I think for it to work the GM and players need to accept it and understand why it works (same universe), otherwise it just comes across as cheesy (like finding Elminster wandering around your Shadowrun campaign just because the GM is a Realms fan!).  There needs to be appropriate context for me, there's no point just have Mythos monsters just because they are 'cool'; for a world to work it needs to go beyond that for me.

I've not run Part 4 of Carrion Crown yet (heck, I'm still on part 6 of Council fo Thieves and have Kingmaker to go through first!), so I will see how it lands with my players.

I like it HPL in Pathfinder in principle, but I'm cautious...