Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Episode 155: I Remember

Hello and welcome back! We've got another fun episode for you this week- we talk about characters where their class takes a backseat (as well as reskinning classes to fit the character's background), and races with particularly long or short lifespans like Elves or Dwarves. (Come to think of it, we focused more on races with longer lifespans... I can't think of many with explicitly shorter lifespans, so that wasn't really on the front of our minds.) I think we came up with some great ideas in this one, so I hope you enjoy listening to it!

This week's winner of our Unearthed Tips & Tricks drawing is Colin W! Congratulations, Colin! You should get your copy within the next few days. Whenever you have a chance to read it over, be sure to leave Crit Academy a review! They're a great group and would love to use your feedback to improve their products.

Would you like to enter the drawing? It's easy- just e-mail us at InterPartyConflict@gmail.com with "Unearthed Tips & Tricks" in the subject line! It's that easy! And remember- this is a new product, so if you won one of our earlier drawings, you can enter again!

And remember, Crit Academy is just one of the great podcasts in the Critnation Fellowship! For more podcasts, visit our friends at Brute Force and Ignorance, and the (unfortunately ended) D&D Character Lab! And for books, adventures, and videos, check out Goblin Stone, Loresmyth, Aurican's Lair, Jeff Stevens, and The Kind GM!

See you next week, if our arthritis and aching backs doesn't keep us away!

Episode 155: Remember When

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Question(s) answered this episode:

1. Have you ever made a character off a background and than used the class as just a mechanic?

2. How do you think is best to portray races in table top games that either have significantly longer or shorter lifespans than our own as humans?

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Noteworthy Links:

Rube Goldberg Machine

Mass Effect

Stephen King's It

Austin Powers

Passing Laughs, a new podcast from my friends Haley and Brandon

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Here's episode 154 (coming from a very cold house)

Hello, everyone! I've edited and uploaded this week's episode in a house with no heat because I had to replace my furnace and it's still not done being installed. So I hope you appreciate this episode extra this week!

In this episode, we talk about bringing backup characters to a game (either in case your current character dies, or maybe in case your current character just doesn't fit the group) and also Invisibility in Dungeons & Dragons- specifically, what it does and doesn't do. (It probably isn't as powerful as you think it is!) Both of these are topics that came up in an Actual Play game that we streamed with Crit Academy a few days ago (link below) so it felt like a good fit!

This week's winner of our Unearthed Tips & Tricks drawing is Billy B! Congratulations, Billy B! You should get your copy within the next few days. Whenever you have a chance to read it over, be sure to leave Crit Academy a review! They're a great group and would love to use your feedback to improve their products.

Would you like to enter the drawing? It's easy- just e-mail us at InterPartyConflict@gmail.com with "Unearthed Tips & Tricks" in the subject line! It's that easy! And remember- this is a new product, so if you won one of our earlier drawings, you can enter again!

And remember, Crit Academy is just one of the great podcasts in the Critnation Fellowship! For more podcasts, visit our friends at Brute Force and Ignorance, and the (unfortunately ended) D&D Character Lab! And for books, adventures, and videos, check out Goblin Stone, Loresmyth, Aurican's Lair, Jeff Stevens, and The Kind GM!

Have a great week, and see you next time (if you aren't invisible)!

Episode 154: Another One Bites the Dust

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Question(s) answered this episode:

1. Do you like to prepare a back up character for a campaign?

2. My group is having a difficult time adjudicating how invisibility works. It is only a 2nd level spell but is mostly treated like god-mode and effectively makes the invisible character untargetable. Any thoughts on how to clear this up?

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Noteworthy Links:

The Good Place, an hilarious sitcom that YOU SHOULD GO WATCH RIGHT NOW, seriously it's on Netflix and each season is only like 6 hours total and it is SO GOOD

Morse Code

Protean Charm, the spell Hermione uses in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix to communicate nonverbally via coins

Tomb of Horrors, an (in my opinion) overrated classic D&D adventure

Crit Academy's Twitch Channel - Jeff and I participated in an Actual Play session on their stream a few days ago! Here's Part 1 and Part 2 (since the stream cut out about 30 minutes in).

Wyrmwood Dice

Anduril/Narsil, a sword from some old series of books

Monday, January 27, 2020

Episode 153, with guests!

This week we're joined by DMs of Vancouver! Jessy and Sean are two great guys who have a podcast with a mission statement very similar to our own- to help everyone out there have the best game possible. With them on our show, we discuss enemy attacks & aggro in combat, as well as the 5th Edition weapon list (and what it may or may not be missing). This was a fun episode to record, and when you're done listening to it, go check out DMs of Vancouver- in a few weeks, you can expect to hear Jeff and myself on there too!

This week's winner of our Unearthed Tips & Tricks drawing is Karl L! Congratulations, Karl! You should get your copy within the next few days. Whenever you have a chance to read it over, be sure to leave Crit Academy a review! They're a great group and would love to use your feedback to improve their products.

Would you like to enter the drawing? It's easy- just e-mail us at InterPartyConflict@gmail.com with "Unearthed Tips & Tricks" in the subject line! It's that easy! And remember- this is a new product, so if you won one of our earlier drawings, you can enter again!

And remember, Crit Academy is just one of the great podcasts in the Critnation Fellowship! For more podcasts, visit our friends at Brute Force and Ignorance, and the (unfortunately ended) D&D Character Lab! And for books, adventures, and videos, check out Goblin Stone, Loresmyth, Aurican's Lair, Jeff Stevens, and The Kind GM!

Thanks for listening, and catch you next time!

Episode 153: Enemies & Weapons

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Question(s) answered this episode:

1. How do you handle enemy aggro/choosing targets in combat? I don't like the idea of rolling or choosing randomly, but what about assigning values based on actions in combat?

2. How do you feel about the weapon list in 5th Edition D&D? Do you think the weapons should be more distinct, or that there should be more of them?

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Noteworthy Links:

Bloodborne's Threaded Cane, one of many transforming "trick weapons" in that game

The adorable tortoise someone submitted a picture of

Cave Goblin Network, the podcast network hosting our guests this week

Mixer.com/CaveGoblins

Wolverine's claws

The Mayan weapon referenced in this episode (I think)

Sword-chucks, a running gag from the webcomic 9-Bit Theater

Magus, an antagonist and optional player character from the SNES RPG Chrono Trigger

Order of the Bow Initiate, a Prestige Class from 3rd Edition D&D

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Episode 152: New Year Edition

This week, we talk about a couple different issues- first we discuss pre-written modules (particularly when the players level up within one), and then we talk about what to do when the DM describes a scene and then the room goes silent. Haven't we all been in that situation before?

Since we just started it (we recorded this episode before the last one went out) we don't yet have a winner for our Unearthed Tips & Tricks drawing- but we will next week!

Would you like to enter the drawing? It's easy- just e-mail us at InterPartyConflict@gmail.com with "Unearthed Tips & Tricks" in the subject line! It's that easy! And remember- this is a new product, so if you won one of our earlier drawings, you can enter again!

And remember, Crit Academy is just one of the great podcasts in the Critnation Fellowship! For more podcasts, visit our friends at Brute Force and Ignorance, and the (unfortunately ended) D&D Character Lab! And for books, adventures, and videos, check out Goblin Stone, Loresmyth, Aurican's Lair, Jeff Stevens, and The Kind GM!

See you next week, with some special guests!

Episode 152: Your New Year

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Question(s) answered this episode:

1. How would you recommend leveling within a prewritten module?

2. What do you do after the DM provides the scenario and environmental description and then there is an extended silence?

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Noteworthy Links:

Jumanji

Rollover Minutes, a remnant of a bygone era

Fantasy Grounds, a virtual tabletop for an assortment of RPGs

God of War, an amazing game that you should play

Final Fantasy VII Remake, the first chapter of a remake of an award-winning game from the late 90s

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

Welcome new listeners! Here's episode 151!

Hello everyone! Welcome to Inter-Party Conflict, a tabletop gaming advice podcast. This show is here to create discussion for everyone who plays tabletop roleplaying games, so that all of us can have the best time possible. If this is your first time here, you're at a great starting point! On this episode, we talk about how to get into Dungeons & Dragons- as well as just tabletop gaming in general. So give it a listen, and if you know anyone else who is interested in playing D&D and who hasn't listened to the show before, send them here!

Episode 151: Everyone Should Start Here

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Also, an announcement: Starting this week we're going to be running a weekly drawing for Crit Academy's Unearthed Tips & Tricks: Volume I! If you want to enter, all you need to do is send us an e-mail with "Tips & Tricks" in the subject line. (And I helped write it, so I can guarantee that it's good!)

For more podcasts, visit our friends at Crit Academy, Brute Force and Ignorance, and the (unfortunately ended) D&D Character Lab! For more books and adventures, check out Goblin Stone, Loresmyth, Aurican's Lair, Jeff Stevens, and The Kind GM.

Thanks for listening, and see you next week!

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Question(s) answered this episode:

1. I'm thinking of getting into D&D 5th Edition. What do I need to know?

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Noteworthy Links:

5e Basic Rules - All you need to start playing 5th Edition D&D

Mew is under the truck

Dragon's Lair, an arcade game animated by Don Bluth and using Laserdisc technology

David & Goliath

Don't Call Me Chicken

Labyrinth

Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Episode 150 - End of Year Three!

Hello everyone! The past year has just flown by- it feels like it's been no time at all but here we are at the end of our third year of podcasting. We're closing out the year by doing what we did last year- grabbing a bunch of questions we've been holding onto for the right episode (in some cases, for a long time) but it doesn't look like that episode is coming. But don't worry- I think it's made for a fun episode, and a great way to ring in the new year!

As last time, we don't have any winners for our Chapel on the Cliffs drawing this week. (We may be changing up our giveaway soon; stay tuned.) If you want to enter, it's easy- just e-mail us at InterPartyConflict@gmail.com with "Chapel on the Cliffs" in the subject line! It's that easy! If you enter now, I guarantee you'll win very soon!

And remember, Goblin Stone is just one of the great content creators in the Critnation Fellowship! For more books and adventures, check out Loresmyth, Aurican's Lair, Jeff Stevens, and The Kind GM- and for more podcasts, visit our friends at Crit Academy, Brute Force and Ignorance, and the (unfortunately ended) D&D Character Lab!

One last thing- be sure to get yourself a copy of Crit Academy's Unearthed Tips & Tricks book! It's a great product, and I helped write it!

So stay safe, keep on gaming, and have a Happy New Year!

Episode 150: End of Year Three

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Question(s) answered this episode:

1. Have you ever played a campaign that incorporated a "Metaverse?" (For example, the characters are in the Forgotten Realms, but Forgotten Realms are themselves part of a comic book, which has its own story and characters etc.)

2. Would you play any of the character options from the Ravnica book in any other published DnD setting; and if so, which setting would be best suited for Ravnica-themed characters?

3. How common is it for a DM to reduce time doing other hobbies, not because they are preparing for a session, but because they fear the opportunity cost of not devoting that time to prepare for a session?

4. What do you guys do to inspire yourselves to make a campaigns story interesting and fun?

5. Do you have any special routines that you do to "warm up" before a session, such as playing a short board game with the group or listening to music in the car to get into character?

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Noteworthy Links:

Skyrim VR

Neverwinter Nights

The Infinity Gauntlet

Dragon Balls, the titular macguffin in the Dragon Ball series

Chaos Emeralds, the set of macguffins in the Sonic the Hedgehog series

9th Wonders!, a comic book within the TV show Heroes that parallelled the characters in the show

Alan Wake, a horror video game about a mystery writer

Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica

Superhot, a puzzle-esque first-person shooter I recently wasted a couple hours playing

Bloodborne: The Card Game

We Didn't Playtest This, a card game favored by Jeff and Skylar

Three Dragon Ante, a card game produced by Wizards of the Coast that existed in-universe as well

Neverwhere, a TV miniseries/novel by Neil Gaiman about a man who gets caught up in a secret world beneath London

His Dark Materials, a book series by Philip Pullman that recently got an HBO miniseries (which I really hope is good!)

Saturday, December 28, 2019

Episode 149, with a Guest!

Hello, everyone! We hope you're all having a wonderful holiday. This week we're joined by a good friend of ours- my friend David Johnstone, who you might have heard on our Birthday Party Conflict episode! He's here to talk with us about creating new RPGs, building terrain out of Lego, and one topic we're all passionate about- 4th Edition D&D! So come along and hear what he has to say.

If you'd like to check out the Facebook group that David helps run, you can find it here:

Dads with Daughters: We are All on a Journey of Discovery
Dads with Daughters: Gamer subgroup
Dads with Daughters: Roleplaying Gamers subgroup
Game Finder Discord for the RPG subgroup

We don't have any winners for our Chapel on the Cliffs drawing this week. :-( If you want to enter, it's easy- just e-mail us at InterPartyConflict@gmail.com with "Chapel on the Cliffs" in the subject line! It's that easy! If you enter now, I guarantee you'll win very soon!

And remember, Goblin Stone is just one of the great content creators in the Critnation Fellowship! For more books and adventures, check out Loresmyth, Aurican's Lair, Jeff Stevens, and The Kind GM- and for more podcasts, visit our friends at Crit Academy, Brute Force and Ignorance, and the (unfortunately ended) D&D Character Lab!

One last thing- be sure to get yourself a copy of Crit Academy's Unearthed Tips & Tricks book! It's a great product, and I helped write it!

Thanks to our wonderful guest, and we'll see you all next week as we wrap up the year!

Episode 149: Reliving the Fantasy

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Question(s) answered this episode:

1. What books/supplements should I buy if I want to get into 4e? Also, what are the strengths and weakness of 4e compared to other games or editions?

2. Have you ever used Lego for D&D? And what are you thoughts on it?

3. What mechanics would you want in a new RPG?

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Noteworthy Links:

Joe Rogan, a famous podcaster

Anatomy of a Podcast, our live episode we did

Call Me Al

Rat King, a villain from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

The Lost Room

Fastball Special

Wombo's Guide to Combos, a sourcebook created by the great minds behind D&D Character Lab

Matt Colville talks about 4e

Lord of the Rings Lego

3D Printed House

Limit Breaks