Top 3 RPG Mechanics

We’re back and we’re strapping some of our favourite RPGs to the dissection table and cutting deep into them to understand why they appeal so much. You always hurt the ones you love. And who knew that a gamebook could scream like that? Matt may be cruel to his dice sometimes but not even he goes this far.

Main Topic: Top 3 RPG Mechanics

It has been far too long since we last did a Top 3 episode. They were a mainstay of the podcast in our early days but the format slipped quietly out of use. It felt like time to dig it out of storage and check that it still fits.

We each choose three of our favourite individual game mechanics from some very different RPGs, explaining how they work and why they appeal to us so. There is a fair bit of variety, taking in games published between the early ’80s and the present day. Some may give you ideas for things you can borrow for your own games. RPG designers are always feeding on what has gone before like a pack of dice-wielding ghouls.

Our Choices

Look away now if you don’t want to know our choices before listening to the episode.

Paul

Death saving throws from D&D 5th edition
Darkest Self from Monsterhearts
Fallout from Dogs in the Vineyard

Scott

The conflict resolution mechanic from Archipelago III
Trust from The Mountain Witch
Variable Power Pools from the Champions III supplement for Champions

Matt

The Huckster from Deadlands
Destiny Cards from Heaven & Earth and the random Mak Attax Special Order effects from the Break Today supplement for Unknown Armies
The roll-and-keep system from Seventh Sea

News

The Blasphemous Tome 4 1/2

Issue 4 1/2 of The Blasphemous Tome is so close that we can taste it. Either that or the charnel booty we had for lunch is repeating. Once we get the final approval from our good friends at Chaosium, PDF copies will be winging their way across the electronic ghoul winds to all our backers.

In case you’ve missed our earlier announcements, The Blasphemous Tome is the fanzine we produce for our wonderful Patreon backers. Issue 4 1/2 is an experiment in producing an interim electronic issue between our normal print releases. It contains brand new gaming material for Call of Cthulhu, including a scenario from Paul, and a range of weird fiction, artwork and odd little articles to tickle your synapses. To ensure you receive your copy, simply back us by the end of July.

Other Stuff

Reviews

We share a lovely new review from Martin Gode on Apple Podcasts. If this awakens a desire to write a review of your own, we heartily encourage you to embrace this. Said review does not have to be on Apple Podcasts — in fact, we would love to see more reviews elsewhere. As long as your podcast source is accessible to human technology, it’s all good. And even then, we could do with some more mi-go listeners.