Ego Check With The Id Dm

Dr. Ryan Kelly joins me this week to talk about his work on how to be use geek passions to grow. He is a psychologist and speaks about his work with a variety of clients including those that use videogames in problematic ways. We discuss the potential benefits and consequences of gaming and other hobbies, and offer suggestions for how to find a healthy balance.

Greg Leatherman, founder of VRECast, joins me to talk about his life as a gay man and what it's been like for him playing tabletop RPGs since the 1980s. He details the origins of the Very Random Encounters podcast, which randomizes as much as possible for character creation and storylines. He explains the concept of safe spaces and how his life as a gay man forces him to consider changing his behavior to blend in and decrease the chance of violence. We talk about the lack of male affection in popular media, and he offers a suggestion to listeners to begin to change this culture. Many thanks to Greg for being willing to share his experience and life with us. 

Adam Johns and Adam Davis from Game to Grow join the pod to talk about their years of experience running games for children on the autism spectrum and how their experience was funneled into the Critical Core tabletop roleplaying game. Critical Core is designed to teach children on the autism spectrum confidence and social skills, and it is now live on Kickstarter. Their Kickstarter runs for two more weeks and is knocking off Stretch Goals; the game is for any parent or educator that would like to use a RPG to teach skills to children. And stay tuned until the end of the episode for a bonus song by Dr. Ryan Kelly --- trust me!

Enrique "NewbieDM" Bertran joins Ego Check once again to talk about his new Patreon campaign. I wanted to talk with Enrique to discuss the success of Critical Role and how other intellectual properties might capitalize on that formula. We ponder how Star Wars and Fantasy Flight Games could produce a stellar stream of actual play to highlight their product. I prod Enrique to detail how he would run such a campaign, and his ideas are wonderful; I hope he lets me join as a player.

François Alliot, designer of the Reigns series of games, discusses his Tinder-inspired approach to probabilistic narrative game design. He talks about his quest to find a great "flow" for his games and how he wants to surprise players. We delve into the design of Reigns and ponder how adaptive game design might develop in the future. François shares his influences regarding the focus on emerging narrative games, and he also provides some news about what he is working on next - including a tabletop version of Reigns!

I'm joined by Jana Flesher, a professional nurse midwife who also happens to be both a player and DM in various RPG campaigns I've been involved with over the past three years. She talks about her 10+ years of experience running various RPG systems including Dungeons & Dragons and Dungeon World, and specifically offers tips for running tag-along NPCs and engaging the motivations of player characters. She explains why it's the "GM's job to remind players of their character's backstory" and examines why perceived invulnerability can negatively affect a campaign. She details her professional role as a midwife and speaks to how gaming has increased her ability to cope with any situation her professional work can deal to her. Throughout the episode, we both provide examples of games we share from both ends of the screen, which leads to some great conversation about principles of tabletop role-playing games. Enjoy!

James Haeck, Lead Writer for D&D Beyond and Coauthor of Waterdeep: Dragon Heist and Critical Role's Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting joins the pod to educate me about how Critical Role overlaps with elements of the RPG and D&D landscape - and how it also has carved its own niche. He discussed the evolution of Critical Role and how it only recently became an independent entity outside of Geek & Sundry and Legendary Digital Networks while also clarifying my prior misconceptions about Critical Role being "under" Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro. James and I ponder what Critical Role's success may mean for tabletop RPGs and empathize with individuals that may question the money that is being raised. I disclose my initial interest and envy from the success, and we both discuss the perils of focusing on the successes and failures of others while trying to create content. I thank James for delving into these questions, and we both acknowledge our lack of adequate solutions for these dilemmas. I shift gears with

Marc Allie joins me to talk about his history of "being geeky when geeky wasn't cool." He talks about his early memories of playing Dungeons & Dragons and how he jumped into the online community with his blog, The Learning DM, during the 4th Edition era. We spend some time remembering fondly elements of 4e D&D and talk about the transition to 5th Edition. Marc and I spend a good portion of the show talking about our shared enjoyment of Transformers, which hit us both in our formative year in the mid-80s. We talk about why Transformers persists while other franchises from that era have fallen in terms of greater public consciousness. He details his efforts to write a haiku for each episode of the original animated series, and we discuss our enjoyment (or lack thereof) of the Transformer films in recent years. We both agree that Bumblebee is wonderful, and hope the future is bright for additional films that will come from Bumblebee's creative team. Enjoy our stroll down the space bridge memory lane! 

Ed Grabianowski (aka, "The Grabster") joins me on the show to talk about his career as a freelance writer for outlets over the years including io9 and How Stuff Works. He speaks to his start as a writer for a local newspaper in Buffalo and how that led to other writing opportunities as he continues to work on a novel. He discusses the pressures involved in producing content for an online audience that is bombarded with an endless stream of content. Ed also talks about his musical project, Spacelord. Ed performs vocals for the band, and he details their journey in the independent rock scene. While Ed provides details about Spacelord's influences, a few samples of their music are including to give listeners a taste of their sound. The band is GOOD, and you should give them a listen! Ed shares a hilarious story about the cover art for the latest Spacelord album, and we close the show by rehashing our efforts in 2016 to narrow down to the best 12 songs from the Use Your Illusion albums by Guns N' Roses. If you ha

I'm joined this week by Jase Nolan, also known as CinderAscendant on Twitter and Twitch. Jase talks about his style of preparing and running Dungeons & Dragons sessions. He shares how he got started casting Hearthstone matches, and how the skills learned in "Talkstone" help him narrate elements of a D&D session. He speaks to sources of potential burnout as a DM and highlights the need for DMs to know the adventure and setting they are running. He offers some of his tips and tricks for running effective sessions, and then we conclude the talk by discussing the Hearthstone community including how Jase has felt welcome as an openly queer individual.

Kevin Hovdestad joins the pod to educate me about his years of work in the realm of Esports. He talks about his years of experience as a freelance journalist writing about Esports and how that led to career opportunities as a Director of Market for Catalyst Esports Solutions and most recently an Associate Editor with Blizzard Entertainment. He discusses the rise of Esports in recent years, and the potential bubble in the industry. He offers solutions for some of what ails Esports such as the need for a "Netflix for Esports" and finding ways for more people to easily consume and pay for Esports content. We discuss how games are now designed to be an ongoing service rather than a stable experience in addition to the ever-shifting landscape of Esports, and how the relationships between developers, players, sponsors and promoters is complex. 

I'm joined this week by Kyle Newman, one of the authors of Dungeons & Dragons Art & Arcana: A Visual History. You may also know Kyle as the Director of Fanboys (2009) and Barely Lethal (2015). Kyle talked with me about the genesis of Art & Arcana and how the four authors came together on the project. He discusses how the book was originally organized and plotted out by the creative team, and how they navigated the balance between dissecting and celebrating the nostalgia of Dungeons & Dragons. I asked Kyle how mining nostalgia has been different in the Star Wars and D&D fandoms over the years. We focus on the segment of D&D history that covered 3.5, 4th and 5th Editions, and emphasis that we both enjoyed what 4th Edition had to offer. He clarified that he wrote most of the chapter on 4th Edition, and we discuss the community's relationship with that era of D&D and how it led to the current 5th Edition. I asked him about the past two years of his archaeological delve into D&D's h

I am joined this week by Elizabeth Roithmayr-Clemens, the New Jersey Area Director for American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). She shares her experience organizing community activities and advocating for greater suicide awareness and education. She speaks about losing a family member to suicide when she was 14 years-old and losing a friend to suicide more recently in 2013. Elizabeth describes her work for AFSP, and highlights how donations to the non-profit organization are used to educate the public, advocate for better policy, support survivors, and fund additional research on suicide. We discuss our ideas for reducing the stigma about mental health services, and increasing the likelihood that people will be willing to talk openly about mental health symptoms. 

I'm joined this week by Steve Lubitz, host of the Off Curve podcast, a show about Hearthstone that Steve records while driving home from his job. He talked about the creation of Off Curve and how he has been a fan of Blizzard games since the original Diablo. He shares his thoughts on the differences between Hearthstone and other card games such as Magic: The Gathering.  We talk about the shifting Hearthstone meta, and how resources like Vicious Syndicate and Hearthstone Replay have changed the game for both the players and developers. Steve highlights some of the current challenges in Hearthstone including the lack of tournament mode and engaging end-game content for veteran players. We explore some ideas for how to keep the meta fresh, and answer a listener question about the possible mechanics that could be added to improve the game.

I'm joined by Danny Rupp, co-founder of Critical Hits. I'm joined this week by Danny Rupp, co-founder of Critical Hits and a very active participant on social media discussing Dungeons & Dragons and other roleplaying games. Danny talks about the origin of Critical Hits and how it gained increased prominence in the early days of 4th Edition. We spend a good deal of time on his approach to worldbuilding and how his background in architecture helps him design dungeon and story elements for his gaming sessions. We discuss player management at the table, such as how to ensure that efforts spent by the DM to create an interesting world and plot connect with the motivations of the players and their characters in the game. We answer a listener question about worldbuilding and offer strategies to help DMs efficiently build his or her world while pulling the players into the setting.  Since we recorded on World Mental Health Day, Danny and I also talk about mental health issues and how they might affect gameplay

This week I'm joined by Aaron Retka, Managing Editor for Geeks Who Drink. For the uninitiated, Geeks Who Drink is "a homegrown Pub Trivia Quiz modeled after those in Ireland and the UK" that covers "everything from celebrities in trouble to wordplay to bad television." The quizzes are held in bars and breweries across the country, and Aaron spoke with me about how much effort goes into crafting each and every question. Aaron speaks about how he got started with Geeks Who Drink in 2006 as a freelancer, and how that evolved into his current role as Managing Editor. He discussed the elements that make a pub quiz good and relayed that the primary purpose of the quiz is to keep people entertained, "We want people to get the question right." He shares some tales about his years of being a Quizmaster, including some stories about dealing with unruly patrons and dressing up as Dolores Umbridge for a Harry Potter Theme Quiz.  I inquired about the growing popularity of pub quizzes, and how it might intersect with the

I'm joined by Eric Roth, a veteran of tabletop games such as Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering. Eric talks about growing up with a physical disablity that limits his mobility and kept him from traditional activitives such as sports growing up. Eric talks about being introduced to tabletop games approximately 18 years ago, and how those games have improved his social skills and given him confidence. He talks about the close relationship with his father and how the gaming community has welcomed him and provided "a healthy escape" for him over the years. He provides suggestions for other players when interacting with an individual with disabilities at a table - such as providing additional space and being welcoming and patient with those players. Eric closes the episode by talking about the upcoming Ravnica setting for D&D, and his eagerness to combine Magic: The Gathering with Dungeons & Dragons.

I was fortunate to moderate a panel with licensed mental health providers about the World Health Organization's (WHO) decision to classify Gaming Disorder as a mental health diagnosis. I'm joined by Adam Johns, LMFT, Megan Connell, PsyD, Ryan Kelly, PhD, and Anthony Bean, PhD. We start the conversation by discussing possible benefits of the WHO's decision to list Gaming Disorder as a diagnosis. The panel shifts to talking about elements of videogames that could be problematic or foster addictive behaviors, and then discusses the various functions that videogames serve including entertainment, stress relief, and social connection. The conversation concludes with an exploration of how we should all monitor and manage our time with videogames including possible warning signs that too much time and energy is being devoted to videogames. 

A special episode this week as I welcome Andy Hand from Limitless Adventures, which offers quality gaming products for 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons. Andy talks about the history of Limitless Adventures, and we discuss how we collaborated to create a new book, No Assembly Required. The book is available for purchase now, and the full cost of $5 will go directly to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. We discuss the motivations for donating the sales of the book to charity, and I share my story about my brother's suicide last year. We explore the challenges of converting 4th Edition monsters to 5th Edition and highlight some of our favorite monsters from No Assembly Required including the Dragonborn Pirate, Sliver, a multi-stage Construct, Wobet, and a legendary Ghost Dragon with multiple tricks to unleash on an adventuring party. Andy ends the show by talking about the final days of Limitless Adventures' latest Kickstarter campaign, which is titled 5th Evolution and features content to support

Mike Shea joins the show once again to talk about the changing dynamics of tabletop roleplaying games. He explores how technology like streaming has advanced the hobby and spread its growth. We discuss the possible differences between what makes an excellent game to watch through streaming, and what makes an excellent game to play in with friends. He details his reasoning for launching his latest Kickstarter for Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master, and explains the purpose of its content. He emphasizes the importance of game masters focusing on the player characters in the game, and how that is now his first step during preparation for any gaming session. He offers advice for how to maintain a consistent, weekly gaming session while managing a rotating cast of players at the table.