Episode 10 - A Deadboys Christmas

Hello, everybody.

It's been quite a long time since we've been able to get anything out to you. Well, hopefully this episode is worth the wait. And naturally, since we're releasing this episode the day after Christmas, we thought it would be fitting to celebrate in the way only Deadboys celebrate: by talking about death.



Death takes many forms in a game, whether players assume it'll happen (as in Call of Cthulhu) or build themselves into a tank that's all but invincible. Regardless, if George R. R. Martin has taught us anything, it's that characters die. In this episode, you'll get our thoughts on the subject as it relates to role-playing games and other kinds of fiction. Please feel free to comment below, or send us an email at coalitiondeadboys@gmail.com. You can also tweet at us, find us on Facebook or on Google+. We're accessible through any of those outlets, so feel free to get in touch with us. Please feel free to start a comment thread below, as either Matt or I will answer it as soon as possible.

Thanks for your patience in this one. Sorry it took so long to come out.

Carry on, citizens!

Well, at Least We've Got Options.

So here's the deal.

Remember how the technology gods struck us down last time? Well, they're at it again. And this time, they're just being cruel.

The same thing happened with this recording as happened with the last one. Something went wrong in the interface between our audio input software and Audacity. This made it skip. I've gotten in contact with everyone I can to try solving this problem, but so far, I haven't found anything that will fix the problem once the recording is already saved. So while we do have a recording, we don't have a good recording. I tried patching it up, but spending an hour stitching up a single minute of the podcast isn't really a doable venture.

That being said, we have two options. I can either upload and publish the MP3 file as it is now (bad sound quality, no music, etc.) and you can hear our discussion about the Coalition States, their impact on North America and general philosophies and so on. On the other hand, if you're satisfied with just a rundown of what we talked about, I can write out a basic transcript of the episode for you to read. Either way is fine with me.

Leave your comments below, or you can send us an email at coalitiondeadboys@gmail.com, find us on Twitter at @CSDeadboys or on Facebook at facebook.com/CoalitionDeadboys. These are the four easiest ways to contact us, so please leave feedback so I know what you want me to do with Episode 9.

However, I have good news. The developer of our input software was kind enough to let me use a beta of the newest version of his product, and it lets us streamline the recording process significantly. And since it's all in a single program, it shouldn't have any interfacing issues. There's hope for the future!

Again, please leave comments and feedback so we can know what you'd like us to do.

Format and Schedule Moving Forward

Hello, Citizens!

Matt and I have discussed the issue, and our schedules haven't been all that kind to us this week. Therefore, we will not be recording this week (which has already passed anyway), or next week (November 28). Ideally, we'll be able to sit down and record again on December 5 and I'll be able to release the episode a week later so you can have more current news and analysis than you've been getting. I have to apologize for that. I was not getting you the episode quickly enough that we could give you the most up-to-date information Palladium had available. But I'm planning on changing that from now on.

In other news, I have a question. I know everyone who responded to the poll on Google+ thought a Google Hangout or some other sort of get together would be a good idea, so I thought I would ask another question. Do you like the update frequency as it stands, or would you like to see more (or less) content? We can write two or three quick updates each week, one each week including weeks we release an episode, or just on the weeks we don't release an episode. Or we can just keep the status quo. If you have a preference, please leave a comment below and let us know. Otherwise, I'm just going to do it whenever I want, and that might get a little annoying for people out there.

Again, leave a comment and let us know how we're doing, and let us know how often you'd like us to pop up in your RSS feeds.

Carry on, citizens.

The Wrath of the Technology Gods...Again

Hello, citizens.

Through events entirely outside my control (software/hardware failure), Episode 9 will probably not be coming out this week. I'm still holding onto hope I can figure out a solution that will fix everything, but it doesn't look promising. Essentially, I'd have to go through the file second-by-second, and fix it at an even smaller scale. When you're looking at an hour or so, we'd be waiting until next summer.

So, we're considering two options. I think we're going to maintain our normal recording schedule, but adjust the release back a week--so, we'd record this week and release next week. Or, we may decide to continue the previous schedule and just call this a one-week hiatus. Or you can just figure that the special episode is number 9. It's up to you, really.

Anyway, let's get a little listener/reader engagement! Look at the photo below, and build it into an adventure. It doesn't matter what game setting you use (or system, for that matter), just say what system and setting, and describe how this setting shows up. How do your players come into the setting? How is it important? Comment below or tweet at us.

Carry on, citizens.

Coalition Deadboys Special Episode! Book Review

Greetings, Citizens.

The Coalition Propoganda Department Coalition States Department of Awesomeness would like to remind you that the book, Chicks Dig Gaming has been out for a little less than a week. Since its release, it's hit Amazon's #1 spot for the Gender Studies genre, which is a great accomplishment. Not just for Mad Norwegian, but for the gaming community at large.



If you haven't already, check it out. Amazon has it at a discount, but as an author, I always recommend trying to buy directly from the publisher, if possible. But hey, that's my opinion.

I have to perform a mea culpa of sorts, though. I mentioned in the recording that I didn't think there were hard copies or that you could only get them through print-on-demand, I think I was wrong. It seems the Amazon Marketplace has paperback copies available, so you can probably also get those from the publisher.

Whether you look at my Amazon review or listen to this episode, just know that although I gave it four stars, it is a great book. Some people get it into their heads that only a five-star rating is satisfactory, or that they will only read books that get five stars. Don't be one of those people. Be one of the people that contribute to the discussion by actually reading the book and leaving a review of your own.

Anyway, that's the end of my rant.

Carry on, citizens.

Episode 8 - The Order of the Pants

Hello, citizens!

First of all, let me again apologize profusely for the delays in getting this episode to you. There was a little bit of trouble with a Xiticix hive near our location, but we've naturally got the situation well in hand.



Today's episode features a very special guest: Maddie, from Matt's current campaign. And man, can she kickbox!

We also delve into two different topics for this episode, although we got the normal order confused. First, we get to the Job Fair, where we discuss the Necromancer O.C.C. Apparently, they're not all evil...

And since we have someone of the female persuasion on the podcast, Matt and I were also naturally eager to learn a little more about how to best make gaming accessible to women--and more than that, how to make it enjoyable enough that they will want to continue doing it and make it less and less a "guy thing."

Until next time, keep your dice rolling.

Carry on, citizens.

Delays, Delays

Sorry about this, but life has been quite hectic. I'm hoping to have the newest episode posted sometime today, but don't hold me to it. Regardless, this episode is well worth the wait.

~Jeff