TTRPG Podcasts Connect Me to My Queer Communities

TTRPG Podcasts Connect Me to My Queer Communities

Years ago, when I was still newer to Chicago and working out a place for myself—friends who felt right, places where I actually wanted to socialize and be—I started listening to a little podcast you’ve probably never heard of, called My Favorite Murder. My Favorite Murder is a “true crime comedy podcast” that kicked off in 2016, hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark, writers and comedians who bonded over analyzing the details of gruesome killings. (more…)

In Defense of Complex Mechanics in TTRPGs

In Defense of Complex Mechanics in TTRPGs

Narrative-driven tabletop RPGs are awesome. Being able to tell a story with your friends is one of the best things that has come out of human civilization, full stop. Of late, there has been a trend among narrative-focused game groups to look for systems that cater specifically to narrative games. Thus, more and more systems are looking to streamline gameplay by removing mechanics to increase time spent weaving narrative. This has gone from a good idea to make gameplay more fluid to a potentially stifling aversion to number or dice-based mechanics in general. (more…)