RPG From Scratch

In this episode, we flesh out Radiance levels 7-10 giving them new spells and powerful abilities. We also nail down the racial abilities Savothians. …

In this episode, we flesh out Radiance levels 7-10 giving them new spells and powerful abilities. We also nail down the racial abilities Savothians. …

We explore the concept of hazardous items and how the Leyliners (and McGargle) would classify them. But that's not all - we also take a detour to …

The Hombres gather to discuss the recent news regarding Hasbro and their proposed changes to the Open Gaming License, the motivations behind it, and what kind of licensing structure we plan on using for our Artifacts …

The Hombres create another premade character to add to the canon. We also map out a baseline of what each step should get on steps 7 through 10, …

The Hombres tackle two more premade characters! We introduce the world to Cirril - the goth pirate, with a longing in his soul and a song in his …

Maxx debuts his first listener-submitted items. The Hombres reunite to tackle the big questions. What is life after death? Who lives here? How exactly does one Pounce?

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The Hombres get back in the lab to tackle Step 6 Radiance, really giving them glowy bois the blasting power they need to match their dazzling personalities. Also, we discuss the utility of premade characters for beta …

The Hombres get our artist, Jarrod Pope on to talk about character design from the perspective of a player, an artist, and a game designer.

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In this episode, the Hombres get back into Step Six with Champion, get a surprise visit from a being beyond understanding, and throw a few bones to the Marksman players out there!

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The gang gets further into the rules of death and dying. Radiance gets an upgrade in Step 3. Also, how do you deal with unfinished side quests as a …

The Hombres get elbow deep into the organizational structure of The Leyliners and the history of the Akaenoshian Empire.

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The Hombres get in your bags and sort 'em out. Think you're strong enough to bear the weight of this system? Think again. Better hire a Dillo to drag your piles of dyron and enchanted toilets. Only the strong get to …

Join the Hombres this week as we discuss the ever-compelling topic of economics! Also, we discuss the kinds of parties that GMs should be balancing …

What do you know? Are you willing to roll for it? Join the Hombres as they come up with guidelines for knowledge checks, light levels, and …

In this episode, the Hombres hammer out a better version of Initiative, talk more about Opposed Rolls, and NPCs with attitude.

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SURPRISE! Sneak Attack. We figure it out. Battle Readiness gets pulled apart and reassembled. Opposed rolls are thrown out, and Skill Checks are …

Liam sits this one out while Doug, Josh, and Maxx go to town on the Savothian racial abilities. With the changes to Professions and combat actions, …

An absolute banger. We fleshed out the religious foci of the Pharmacon Society, gave boosts to Command and Battle Order, and talked about alternate …

We've got a great episode on our hands today. We create a fraternal order of physicians. We fix Champion's Challege, create a mail system for our world and have AWESOME news about the Wiki!

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We're back, baby!

After braving the wilds of quarantine for over a year and a half, we have survived, gotten vaxx'd, and can now meet again in person, and we have SO much new to share with you.

- Upcoming free tabletop …

The gang gets a special surprise and has a few top-down discussions about the game. Are players leveling up to fast? How long should a typical …

Step 6 Citadel is in the bag! We also tackled another virtue in Zealotry to make sure that when it comes to combat, you're well armed.

Show Notes:

https://nerdyshow.com/2020/09/rpg-from-scratch-design-episode-48

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We do some doomsday worldbuilding and tackle Scoundrel Step 6!

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In this episode, the hombres get further into Step 6 with Fire and Zealotry again! We also take a look at the lost civilization of Mtsen and who they used to be and what is left of them in the region.

Show Notes:

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In our first completely remote episode, we listen to our Patrons' suggestions and just make some effin' monsters! We also spend some time chilling with our least-played path and find ourselves really warming up to it.

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Step 6 takes flight in Episode 44. We take a hard look at our first alternate step for Zealotry. Are wings broken in RPGs? We're about to find out. Citadel also gets its turn under the microscope, and we discover that …

The gang puts on their fancy new digs and their crummy old ones to ascend above the camp's formidable walls and deal with the team of skilled snipers …

In this episode, the mighty Doug joins Liam and Josh as we wade into Step 6, focusing on Death with a sprinkle of theology as we talk about the …

The prisoners are freed, and there are no guards in sight, but they're still trapped in the fort and surrounded by enemies. Still hunting for their lost divining utensil, the gang storms the Larsan armory, ready to give …

Liam and Josh dig into the value of names in Game Design. We also discuss problems caused by Cookie Cutter Builds in RPG systems and try to build our own optimized 2 and 3-man parties to see if we always come to the …

The gang seizes the moment and goes full Thin Lizzy on the Larsan fort and take advantage of the confusion. They decide that more prisoners should be …

Liam, Josh, and Maxx throw down on some of the most common GM'ing questions. How do you do loot? Skill checks? What about huge differences in power between player characters? Most importantly, how do you make a good …

The gang finally ventures outside the city proper and enmesh themselves in the vibrant and honest lives of the rural peoples of the land. Though they be strange of speech and impressively aromatic, they adapt quickly …

Liam and Josh review what benefits and limitations that going barehanded as a mage means in our system, as well as setting a roadmap for all of our Zealots in the future. We also end up creating a few items that will …

Flummoxed and frustrated by the consequences that starting a city-wide riot has caused, the gang goes on a search for Stitto and revisits their priorities now that their timeline has accelerated.

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Maxx, Liam, and Josh talk about where the Paths are headed now that we're at the halfway point of their development. Should they have followers? New …

Is a riot the perfect opportunity to investigate a murder? What about the disappearance of Gaylene? No time to dwell on it. Paz needs intel, and she needs it before the city tears itself apart. Join the gang as they …

Stealth. What is it? Where is it? Oh, you must have succeeded your check. Also, what kind of technology is normal for our world, and what does that …

Liam and Josh review the much-anticipated and hyped D&D 5E supplement "Strongholds & Followers" by Matthew Colville and MCDM Productions.

Show …

The gang bucks expectations and decides to get ahead of the upcoming discord by inciting the riot themselves! They get a full tour of the city with a …

Liam and Josh dig deep into intimidation, diplomacy and bluff to figure out exactly how all of you are going to swindle NPCs out of everything they own and love. We also throw some real world diseases into the mix with …

Our world gets a new team sport, and it's all the rage. Preceeding the big game, despite the city's typical brand of danger, it is overcome with love and good cheer for the away team. Excited to get to work, but more …

In this quick one, Liam and Josh add some exoticism to our world by naming regions and their respective languages. We also talk about the validity of Initiative and Battle Order and how they pertain to our game, and …

In this episode, the gang meets their handler and argues back and forth about which mission makes the most sense for them. Uncertain, they decide to hit the town to celebrate landing a 3-job deal before coming to a …

Our setting lacks obvious protagonists, so we create a few. Are you more at home in a continent-spanning adventurer's guild? How about an ancient …

The debut episode of our new Actual Play show, where a group of Anthropomorphic Scoundrels adventure and scheme in Earth's far-flung …

The gang wraps up Step 5 by polishing off Death, Command, Fire, and Champion! We also create a new undersea villain to plague all of your oceanic …

The story of Snarfs and Marshals goes out in a blaze of glory. Who brought the ships to the harbor? Where is the Sub-Governor? DOES Whitsnarf have a fire marshal? All is answered in the stunning conclusion of Gloomtown!

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Josh and Maxx talk about what can be done to help first-time GMs deal with planning combat encounters, generic enemies, and we round out the edges of Step 5 Zealotry, Ice, and Marksman!

Show Notes:

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The gang gets right up in the meat of the issue and all is revealed as every possible bit of excrement strikes the turbines. They deal with the supposed mutiny of their own fire Marshall and the very real mutiny of the …

In this episode, we refine what's at the core of Marksmam before diving DEEP into Step 5. We tackle Citdadel, Marksman, and then show our clear favoritism for Radiance and support classes in general.

Show Notes:

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The gang discovers a major conspiracy and gets frickin' ROWDY in the lakeborne town of Catchsnarf and try not to burn the whole place down in the …

Liam and Josh fix Professions in our Artifacts game and completely destroy Marksman, but worry not, adventurers. We can rebuild him. We can make him better. Stronger. Faster.

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Speaking with the Emperor's authority, the gang plows through every level of false bureaucrat determined to impede their progress towards the center of the sickness plaguing the Snarftowns, discovering innovations …

We discuss new ways to level up and introduce a host of new artifacts into the world of our game. Need a really bad flashlight? How about a fanny pack? We've got you covered!

Show notes:

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The Marshalls are dealt a devastating blow when Bentley receives troubling news from the capital. Their morale cannot be quenched, however, as they find plot seeds leading inexorably towards Fort Oderax.

Show Notes:

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Doug and Josh discuss campaign design differences between on-rails and sandbox campaigns as well as the finer points of designing effective NPCs, getting back to the plot, and the prevalence of magic in our game.

Show …

The Marshals split the party and begin their investigation into the amber-hued plague known as "gloomsmite" in earnest. They find that things are far …

We discuss the merits of Magic: The Gathering, how to keep your players from saying "okay, we do that," and how to describe things in a way that's better for your players. We also whip out the nerf bat and argue about …

We meet our new rag-tag group of Akaenoshian Marshalls who've been sold up the river to deal with a small town's Temperance movement and the multiple …

Thinking about making a GM PC? Think hard. We talk about our experiences and possible pitfalls regarding this controversial NPC type. Also, we make more monsters, artifacts, and rituals alongside a pair of wacky new …

We plan our THIRD CAMPAIGN - this time, with Maxx at the helm. Doug, Liam, Josh, and our great friend Ouzts set about the evergreen task of creating …

The gang shares their first GMing experiences, how nervous we were, and our biggest mistakes. We also dig into one of the biggest and oldest cultures …

Like a conscientious part-time lover, we wrap it up in this episode. The gang finishes with The Eighth Hand, discusses some new business ideas and finds out the dubious fate of Post, the out... post. Say thank you and …

We take our first foray into product reviews with one dedicated to helping you make better characters and share our thoughts on its usefulness both …

Should you always avoid splitting the party, or is that an eventuality that you've just gotta accept? On the world building front, we name the …

The Wing Mob mops up the mess they made of the monster and his minions, making a mad march out of the makeshift mortuary, meticulously mediating …

In this design episode, we get deep in the juice of downtime. How much should characters have? Do adventures move too quickly? Is tracking time …

The Wing Mob delves further into the underground structure, leaving safety and their consciences behind as their focus shifts to victory and profit at all costs. Grandon squares up as the true mastermind of the Pawa's …

We take another deep-dive into the structure of our world, solidifying the corners of our calendar and its relation to celestial events and mythos. …

The Wing Mob, both sound of body and full of belly, set off to confront the Flesh Shaper in his very own Labattoir and find that there is far more to …

The crew dishes out GMing advice on how to deal with problem players without ruining your game and how to manage complex combat encounters without losing your mind. We also delve deep into chance-to-hit as a concept and …

The Wing Mob are deep in the Pawa keep and trading blows with a houndmaster, his spiky juggernauts, and his chimeric canines. Soaked in blood and …

We introduce the concept of Heraldy and what it means for Citadel players wanting to be known throughout the world of Urd. Encumbrance is discussed, and Crafting gets refined for those of us who prefer to make our own …

In the third part of Angela's Ashes, The Wing Mob dives headlong into the woods with Champ the 'dillo in tow, searching for Ned and the reason for the militarization of the Pawa. What they find both amazes and disgusts …

We build a set of level 10 characters to see how much bookkeeping is involved with everything we have already made and run a mock boss battle to see …

Come one, come all! See The Wing Mob in action! Chookie shows off her cooking skills, Ned has a couple of surprises for us, we learn about the majestic wildlife of Urd, and our campaign leaps into an action-packed fray!

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Before wading chest-deep back into Step 4, we ruminate about what our new campaign says about our mechanics, and we introduce static attribute defenses. Join us as we tackle Citadel, Champion, Scoundrel, Zealotry, and …

Meet The Wing Mob, a small mercenary band on their way to deliver their boss' remains to her native sea. Passing through the Countryside of Galthreach, things are tense. There's a civil war on and the busiest merchant …

Riding the high of our upcoming Actual Play campaign, we talk about potential balance issues and settle on terminology for our Dice Tier system …

It's time for a new campaign and a new actual play podcast!

Liam takes the helm in GMing and Josh and Doug finally get the chance to play the game they've been building these last few months. Also joining the players as …

Following the Grand Finale of our first actual play campaign, we further mill around the subject of damage scaling and debate the rules and …

It is the END! The gang confronts Kalavon AND Forsha and reveal the true nature of this incomprehensible dungeon in a finale that will shake the foundations of Urd. As we say goodbye to the characters we know and love, …

We go over some mild party drama and talk about how to resolve it, but the real meat of this episode is where we dive off the cliff into the …

Which horrors are revealed and which are vanquished by the return of light to this pit of secrets? The gang discovers the source of the noise deep in …

We delve into our hopes and dreams when preparing to sit down with a new gaming group. Also, What is magic? Is it the power that underlies all reality, like The Force? Is it an alien essence being unknowingly mined by …

The mole is vanquished, and the gang has drawn the ire of a caretaker of this forsaken tomb. Dare you learn the secrets it keeps? Our heroes gain an …

We commit the ultimate party faux pas and delve deep into the cultural and political strife of our world, coming up with 3 distinct religions and …

The gang scrambles to face down the giant mole! Who sent it? Is it the creature that has terrorized Clan Nargabar and The Way Forward? Listen in as …

Want to go Core Radiance but feellt underwhelmed at unfairly targeted by Martyr? You're in luck! Along with rounding out some corners, we discuss some pie-in-the-sky Path ideas to see if anything from them is worth …

It turns out our party is by no means alone within the bowels of this alien ruin... and neither is whatever is chasing them! Listen in as we make a series of extremely questionable moral decisions while ignoring any and …

We come up with a new game name, patch up some small holes, do away with ammunition tracking, add a HoT spell, and dig deep into the meat of what …

Your favorite crew of miscreants begins their very first dungeon crawl: forsaking fresh air and sunlight for the horrifying secrets beneath the earth. Listen in as they brave the mysteries of the ancients and discover …

We ratchet up the difficulty by deciding what happens when characters fall to 0 HP (and fail to get a full night's rest). We also come up with an …

In Part 8 of our Actual Play campaign, the crew finds a glut of clues and tries to find a way to care for the four lost children, while engaging in …

We recently took Scratch Dice to AVL Scarefest in North Carolina and in this episode we recap our experience running our game for strangers and share …

In Part 7 of our Actual-Play campaign, Two new characters join our crew of misfit diggers, a Seagull Krex and a Betta Fish Savothian, and after some …

In this episode, we dig DEEP into Step 3 and give each Path a distinct utility ability for use both in and out of combat. We think you'll all really dig the direction we are taking Decay. Additionally, we create a set …

In this episode, we bid farewell to both Von Van DeVin and his player, Katie. In searching from missing children with Aster, they are beset upon by a tribe of savages unlike anything they have ever seen, except that …

We take a hard look at the Paths of Scoundrel and Command in this episode, redesigning their respective roles within the party. We also find an …

In this episode, we go full RP-crazy, delving deep into the overwhelming variety of current crises looming over our "heroes." After last episode, …

In this design episode, we two-step Path-by-Path and add Step 2. We're just GIVING abilities away. Look under your seat, listener! Is that a Daily? …

The adventurers have found themselves buried among the artifacts that they were looking for as war rages overhead between their employees and the barbaric clan Nargabar. They still have the injured Kydwe and ornery …

We get BACK into Worldbuilding in this one. After tying up some mechanical loose ends discovered in the playtests so far, the Homebrew Hombres get …

In the 3rd chapter of our actual play, Echoes of the Starcrypt, an ominous question lingers: Do they truly sit atop an ancient Guf ruin?

The crew meet …

We're breaking our world apart to reassemble it as we see fit - revealing a host of unexpected geographical prejudices. What creatures are our world's dragons or tarrasques? Are they moose? We also discuss the scaling …

Our ill-fated adventurers run afoul of a local tribe, revealing a world of ancient rivalries, political intrigue, and an ongoing crisis. Also, …

Join us for a massive exploration of what's come so far and where we're headed. We recap our thoughts on the playtest, make some changes to Path of Radiance, and give Path of Zealotry the unique touch it deserves. Also, …

In our very first playtest, we meet the four adventurers who are setting out on a peculiar archeological dig with dire portents. Meet their …

We discuss the currency system of our world. Is it based on credit? Bank notes? A natural resource?

What is our Moon situation? Do we still have one?

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In this episode, we meet the people who will be playing our first campaign and get to work on what kind of story we want to tell and what kind of characters will be working together to experience the mysterious world of …

In our first episode, the Homebrew Hombres introduce the D&D-style game that they're trying to build - as well as share their gripes about the previous systems they've played, and how theirs will be different while …

Ever wanted to create your own tabletop RPG? Imagine it: a gleaming, glorious system combining everything you love about gaming and dropping the crap you can’t stand. Join us on a D.I.Y. docu-quest for tabletop …