Tag Archives: ttrpg

Digital Gaming : What we’ve learned



To celebrate our 100th episode, Sara & Rob take a retrospective look at the last year of COVID lockdown, and what it has taught us about gaming in the digital age using online tools. Gaming online has been around for a while via services like Roll20, but with quarantine forcing everyone to exercise those options, it has certainly placed it more into the spotlight. We discuss what we’ve learned, what the pros and cons are, what our major take-aways are, and how it might affect our in-person gaming in the future!

Listen to us live, every Wednesday night at 7pm EST, at http://www.mixlr.com/storyteller-conclave.

Find us on Twitter (@st_conclave) – Instagram (st_conclave)

Support the show by joining our Patreon : https://www.patreon.com/StorytellerConclave

Please join us on Discord, to submit questions for the show, chat with Rob, Sara, and other Storytellers, and read over the detailed show-notes for more information and links to stuff we may not have been able to detail during the show! Discord : https://t.co/7H8p1lGYqG

Or find our older episodes at Https://Storytellerconclave.com


Narrative flow



As storytellers we are presented with the task of designing a story that others will be helping write, where randomness and fate will come into play and alter the flow. The question is, how do you carve it up into sessions and episodes that your players can enjoy, and what do you put into each session to make it feel like a story? This week Sara and Rob will examine what it takes to make your game feel like each session fits a greater narrative flow.

Listen to us live, every Wednesday night at 7pm EST, at http://www.mixlr.com/storyteller-conclave.

Find us on Twitter (@st_conclave) – Instagram (st_conclave)

Support the show by joining our Patreon : https://www.patreon.com/StorytellerConclave

Please join us on Discord, to submit questions for the show, chat with Rob, Sara, and other Storytellers, and read over the detailed show-notes for more information and links to stuff we may not have been able to detail during the show! Discord : https://t.co/7H8p1lGYqG

Or find our older episodes at Https://Storytellerconclave.com


Hunted by the Plot



Typically, the Player Characters drive the plots of our Tabletop RPGs forward. And they should! The story is ABOUT them and their adventures, after all! The world should react to them and their choices accordingly. However, this isn’t always the case… Sometimes, the “hunters” become the “hunted,” and – for better or worse – the characters are put in a position to react to the plot happening TO them rather than BECAUSE OF them. Perhaps they’ve angered a powerful foe who now hunts them? Perhaps they’ve recovered a powerful item that the villain seeks to keep it from them? Or, perhaps even, our Player Characters are NOT the “good guys” in the story, and are sought by the law for their crimes! This week, Sara and Rob discuss how to handle a Reactive style of storytelling, and how it differs in narrative flow from the typical Proactive style of play.

Listen to us live, every Wednesday night at 7pm EST, at http://www.mixlr.com/storyteller-conclave.

Find us on Twitter (@st_conclave) – Instagram (st_conclave)

Support the show by joining our Patreon : https://www.patreon.com/StorytellerConclave

Please join us on Discord, to submit questions for the show, chat with Rob, Sara, and other Storytellers, and read over the detailed show-notes for more information and links to stuff we may not have been able to detail during the show! Discord : https://t.co/7H8p1lGYqG

Or find our older episodes at Https://Storytellerconclave.com


System Spotlight: Legend of the 5 Rings



Legend of the 5 Rings by @FFGames has a long and storied past in the #TTRPG world. Starting in 1995 with both RPG and card game, it brings us to the world of Rokugan, a fantasy analogue to feudal Japan. Join Rob & Sara as we explore this complex game in another System Spotlight.

Listen to us live, every Wednesday night at 7pm EST, at http://www.mixlr.com/storyteller-conclave.

Find us on Twitter (@st_conclave) – Instagram (st_conclave)

Support the show by joining our Patreon : https://www.patreon.com/StorytellerConclave

Please join us on Discord, to submit questions for the show, chat with Rob, Sara, and other Storytellers, and read over the detailed show-notes for more information and links to stuff we may not have been able to detail during the show! Discord : https://t.co/7H8p1lGYqG

Or find our older episodes at Https://Storytellerconclave.com

Episode Eulogy music:
Long Road Ahead by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/3996-long-road-ahead
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license


Dark Fantasy



Storytelling is a tool as old as society itself, and has been used to convey all fashions of emotions, ideas, and lessons. For as long as we have been using stories to uplift, though, we have also told darker tales – of caution, of horror, and of triumph over primeval darkness. What is it that draws us to stories of Dark Fantasy? Do we see validation of our darker aspects in the stories? Do we crave a deeper malevolence to triumph over to make that victory more meaningful? Is it just plain fun to tell spoopy stories? This week, Sara & Rob delve into the genre of Dark Fantasy, to see what makes it tick, and to explore the options we have available to us in the TTRPG world!

Listen to us live, every Wednesday night at 7pm EST, at http://www.mixlr.com/storyteller-conclave.

Find us on Twitter (@st_conclave) – Instagram (st_conclave)

Support the show by joining our Patreon : https://www.patreon.com/StorytellerConclave

Please join us on Discord, to submit questions for the show, chat with Rob, Sara, and other Storytellers, and read over the detailed show-notes for more information and links to stuff we may not have been able to detail during the show! Discord : https://t.co/7H8p1lGYqG

Or find our older episodes at Https://Storytellerconclave.com


Micromanagement of Resources



Fantasy stories often ignore the small details. Does the archer run out of arrows? Does the fighter have to repair his armor after the 30th fight? And how big is the bag of ammo the twin submachine gun toting Troll is carrying? But the drama can come when the small things matter. Perhaps having one more arrow, or a few less holes, or being forced to use those guns as blunt objects of destruction. Micromanagement has its rewards and drawbacks. This week Sara and Rob discuss the finer details of managing the little things.

Listen to us live, every Wednesday night at 7pm EST, at http://www.mixlr.com/storyteller-conclave.

Find us on Twitter (@st_conclave) – Instagram (st_conclave)

Support the show by joining our Patreon : https://www.patreon.com/StorytellerConclave

Please join us on Discord, to submit questions for the show, chat with Rob, Sara, and other Storytellers, and read over the detailed show-notes for more information and links to stuff we may not have been able to detail during the show! Discord : https://t.co/7H8p1lGYqG

Or find our older episodes at Https://Storytellerconclave.com


“Give them a Nuke,” a Discussion on Power and Consequences



A shiny red button of ultimate destruction seems like a terrible idea, but is it? In this episode of StC, Sara and Rob explore what it means to give your players a single use item, something ultimately powerful but only once, and what it can mean for your story.

Listen to us live, every Wednesday night at 7pm EST, at http://www.mixlr.com/storyteller-conclave.

Find us on Twitter (@st_conclave) – Instagram (st_conclave)

Support the show by joining our Patreon : https://www.patreon.com/StorytellerConclave

Please join us on Discord, to submit questions for the show, chat with Rob, Sara, and other Storytellers, and read over the detailed show-notes for more information and links to stuff we may not have been able to detail during the show! Discord : https://t.co/7H8p1lGYqG

Or find our older episodes at Https://Storytellerconclave.com


System Spotlight : Robotech



Giant Robots, a cloned alien race, ancient powerful masters of the universe, and a young pop star? Yes, all of this is part of a fantastic world of Robotech. This week Rob and Sara will be dusting off the epic space opera that is Robotech and discussing Palladium’s take, as well as where it has moved on to.

Listen to us live, every Wednesday night at 7pm EST, at http://www.mixlr.com/storyteller-conclave.

Find us on Twitter (@st_conclave) – Instagram (st_conclave)

Support the show by joining our Patreon : https://www.patreon.com/StorytellerConclave

Please join us on Discord, to submit questions for the show, chat with Rob, Sara, and other Storytellers, and read over the detailed show-notes for more information and links to stuff we may not have been able to detail during the show! Discord : https://t.co/7H8p1lGYqG

Or find our older episodes at Https://Storytellerconclave.com


What We Can Learn from Video Games



Many video games share the title of RPG with their tabletop / pen & paper counterparts. However, video games and TTRPGs differ in significant ways. What can we learn from our digital cousins, though? This week, Sara & Rob discuss the various lessons we can learn from video game RPGs to enrich our TTRPG experiences!

Listen to us live, every Wednesday night at 7pm EST, at http://www.mixlr.com/storyteller-conclave.

Find us on Twitter (@st_conclave) – Instagram (st_conclave)

Support the show by joining our Patreon : https://www.patreon.com/StorytellerConclave

Please join us on Discord, to submit questions for the show, chat with Rob, Sara, and other Storytellers, and read over the detailed show-notes for more information and links to stuff we may not have been able to detail during the show! Discord : https://t.co/7H8p1lGYqG

Or find our older episodes at Https://Storytellerconclave.com


Episodic Storytelling



Creating a new story can be daunting, but even more so when you add in all the things you “think” you need. A deep rich world, a cast of NPCs, and a deep meaningful plot that connects with each player on every adventure. But the truth is most of that is just flavor. Episodic storytelling gives you the ease of moving into an adventure with a fresh step each time without mucking in the deeper plots that novels and movies seem to make standard. This episode, Sara and Rob explore the joy, art, and challenges in creating episodic adventures.

Listen to us live, every Wednesday night at 7pm EST, at http://www.mixlr.com/storyteller-conclave.

Find us on Twitter (@st_conclave) – Instagram (st_conclave)

Support the show by joining our Patreon : https://www.patreon.com/StorytellerConclave

Please join us on Discord, to submit questions for the show, chat with Rob, Sara, and other Storytellers, and read over the detailed show-notes for more information and links to stuff we may not have been able to detail during the show! Discord : https://t.co/7H8p1lGYqG

Or find our older episodes at Https://Storytellerconclave.com