The CDAPS: LOT 16, Episode 1

Greetings, Citizens.

We've promised. We've delayed. We've promised some more. We've insinuated its imminent arrival. We've delayed more. But the time has finally come. The Coalition Deadboys Podcast is proud to present the inaugural episode of of the Coalition Deadboys Actual Play Series.



To start the festivities off on the right foot, we're pleased to bring you the first episode of LOT 16; some of you may recall this as the game Matt was running when we first began this podcast. Come enjoy the madness his games include, and the story that sweeps you away.

As mentioned, this will be the first in a series of Actual Play podcasts. Right now, the plan is to release them on weeks we don't have a regular regular episode scheduled. Also, you'll notice that there isn't much "table chatter" compared to what you experience in real life. There's a good reason for that. The amazing guys over at the Mad Adventurers' Society--more specifically, the guys at Potelbat provide what they call "the good bits version" of their tabletop adventures on Potelbat YALP (Yet Another Live Play). If you enjoy the kind of discussions we have on our show, you should absolutely go check out Potelbat. I've been listening to them for quite a while, and they hit many interesting topics.

Anyway, there you have it! The very first installment in what will (hopefully) become a long-running tradition in the Coalition States Propaganda Department of Public Information.

Carry on, Citizens!

Episode 25 - Like an Over-Saturated Super-Sponge

Greetings, Citizens.

Has it been two weeks already? The time really goes by quickly here in the Deadboys Studios.

Anyway, in discussing what to talk about this week, we came up with an interesting topic: what is it with all the superhero stuff? There are good points on both sides of the argument about whether we've got too much or not enough. But for the sake of argument, let's take a deeper look at it.



It's interesting to look at how the culture has come to dominate the media in the last ten or so years, but we should also be asking ourselves whether we're setting ourselves up to just get burned out. Being careful about re-running the same campaign is a given, but sometimes campaigns (especially in a game with a long-standing group) need some spice to them. Take a listen for what we have to say about this, and some good storytelling ideas, as well. As always, this is an interesting topic.

Carry on, Citizens.

Episode 24: Where is Everybody?

Sorry for the late posting, everybody.

This week's episode is quite short, as Matt is away on a family vacation, and I'm sure you don't want me to just ramble on about gaming for an hour. That'd get boring really quick. Plus, I'm personally not in a good position to record a full episode right now. It's unfortunate, but it's true.



Also, an update on the Kickstarter we promoted last time: unfortunately, Metahumans Rising did not reach its goal, but I'm hoping that its creator will tweak things and try again soon, as it looked and sounded like great fun with a lot of great roleplaying potential.

Anyway, there's not much here. Next time, we'll try to have a GenCon Redux and a 25th Episode Extravaganza!! Don't miss it!

Carry on.

Episode 23 - Metahumans Rising and Other Strangeness

Greetings, subjects!

And yes, you read that right. The Coalition has reorganized slightly, and you've all lost your citizenship. the best way to get it back is to back the Metahumans Rising Kickstarter, as it's the fastest and lets the CS know your information. Or we could get it the old-fashioned way. But that involves a lot more bullets, so it's better for all of us if you go look at the Kickstarter.

But today, you're in for a treat. We have with us the creator of said project, and he answers questions and gives insight into what makes Metahumans Rising such a great and unique game. (Spoilers: the mechanics are different than most games out there!) There are a lot of reasons to be interested in this game, and we were pleased to have him on the show.



After letting Dave get back to his normal life, the three of us (again, you read that right. Jeff and Matt are joined today by Matt's player, Lee) discuss different systems that we'd be interested in playing, the various reasons we'd like to play them, etc. In all, I think this is our best episode yet, and I hope you enjoy it!

Also, by way of housekeeping, we're planning on using this episode as this week's release, and resuming two weeks from Friday. That means you can look for a new episode on or very close to July 31.

Carry on, Subjects!

Short Hiatus and a Kickstarter Project

Hello, everybody.

Well, since today is Saturday, you probably guessed that something's a little off this week. Without getting too bogged down in specifics, let me just say that we weren't able to record an episode for you this week. :( However, we're planning on being back next week, and we're in the process of putting together an interview with the creator of Metahumans Rising, a project that's been on Kickstarter now for a couple weeks.

That's the other thing I wanted to mention in this week's blog--Metahumans Rising can provide players with a lot of similar experiences as Heroes Unlimited and its expansions, but it uses a different system. It focuses on the Bronze Age of comic books, and encourages players to experiment and flesh out their character's backstory with a mechanic called Willpower. This allows characters to do things they couldn't normally do, much like Force/Destiny Points do in FFG's Star Wars game. Another thing that Metahumans Rising offers is what the creator calls a "complete incomplete setting." The world is complete in that it has places and features like North America, full cities, corporations and organizations, but the world is also incomplete because it needs players and characters to function. At the GM's discretion, organizations, people, corporations and anything else can be changed or overlooked to serve the story, and therefore the world can be as broad or as focused as you and your group would like.

Personally, one of the things I look forward to seeing the most out of this game is the character creation aspect. I do like the fact that in Heroes Unlimited there's no beefcake guy out there with a big S on his chest that swoops in all the time. Fortunately, Metahumans Rising looks like it vies for a more balanced approach between external and internal conflict--something the very best comics are able to master beautifully.

If I haven't linked to it enough already, you can go to https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/housedok/metahumans-rising to pledge support for this project. It's going to be great.

Anyway, that's really all there is this week. As far as Kevin's weekly update, I'm going to assume he was on a caffeine high when he wrote it, since he says he was up until 3:00 A.M. finishing work on Robotech: Expeditionary Forces. That's work ethic right there. However, he also wanted to spread the word about the deadline extension for Christmas in July Grab Bags, now running through Monday. I personally haven't gotten one of these (funding issues), but have been assured that they are AMAZING to get. Therefore, I would encourage each and every one of you that has the chance to take a long, hard look into picking one (or two) of these up.

That's about all I have to say. Carry on, citizens.

Episode 22 - The Players of Atrophy

Greetings!

Today, we're back to our standard--just Jeff and Matt on this one, but we actually did a good job of it!



There were a lot of S.D.C. items this week, but the weekly update came out after we recorded, so we weren't able to analyze that. We also address listener mail before launching into the topic of conversation for the week.

The topic this week is simple, but it's one that not a lot of GMs want to discuss: players who aren't causing enough disruption to get themselves kicked out of the game, but enough of a ruckus to slow and stop the game in progress. Matt cites three specific archetypes he's seen, and we discuss the pros and cons of having each kind of player in your game, as well as some actual-play stories we remember from back in the day.

Anyway, that's it for this week. I hope the delay of a couple hours wasn't too onerous for you, fair listener.

Carry on, citizens.

Episode 21 - In Which We All Meet at Space-Arby's

Greetings, Citizens!

And is this the normal font? It looks weird this time around for some reason...



Anyway, we have a very special treat for you today, and not just for the simple fact that the episode is about half the length of a normal one. This week, we have two, count 'em, two guests to discuss the creation process of a RPG. If you've never really considered what goes into a system or setting, this will be a big eye-opener.

Carry on, Citizens!