Main Topic: Alien

Since its release in 1979, Alien has become a fan favourite, spawning any number of spin-offs across every medium. But what is the secret of its enduring appeal? How well does it stand up after almost five decades of imitators and pastiches? And what can we take from its strange DNA for our own games?

Our Guest Host

We are delighted to welcome Holly back to the Good Friends! Holly co-hosts RPG Reanimators, a podcast focusing on providing resources for GMs and players of horror RPGs. She’s also a regular on Into the Darkness, an actual play YouTube channel. In addition to RPGs, she’s an avid board gamer, space nerd, and all-around trivia enthusiast. You can find Holly over on the RPG Reanimators Discord.

Holly has previously joined us to discuss:

• Horror in Space
• Analogue Horror

Links

Things we mention in this episode include:

• Spaceballs (1987)
• Ridley Scott
• Sigourney Weaver
• John Hurt
• Ian Holm
• Yaphet Kotto
• Tom Skerritt
• Veronica Cartwright
• The Birds (1963)
• Harry Dean Stanton
• Paris, Texas (1984)
• Repo Man (1984)
• Dan O’Bannon
• Dark Star (1974)

• HR Giger
• Return of the Living Dead (1985)
• The Resurrected (1991)
• The Case of Charles Dexter Ward by HP Lovecraft
• Cassette futurism
• Weyland-Yutani
• Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division
• Long-term nuclear waste warning messages
• Ridley Scott’s hands inside the alien egg
• Dario Argento’s hands in murder scenes
• Dan O’Bannon and Crohn’s disease
• Alien RPG
• Ambush predators
• Horseshoe crabs

• Alien director’s cut
• Tarantula hawk wasp
• “The Things” by Peter Watts
• The Thing (1982)
• Aliens (1986)
• Sigourney Weaver’s pubic hair in Alien — possible urban myth
• Original ending for Alien
• The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
• “The Derelict” from Petersen’s Abominations
• Body horror
• Isolation (2005)
• Harbinger Down (2015)
• The Thing (2011)
• “Chariot of the Gods” on RPG Reanimators

News

Patreon Changes

Patreon has announced that they are discontinuing the option for creators to charge per creation (per episode, in our case). This is the model we have always used, as it was the only option available when we started. Instead, we now have switch to a monthly subscription.

We are also taking this opportunity to change from US dollars to British Pounds, as, again, this wasn’t an option when we started.

From September 2026, our three basic tiers will be £3, £6 and £10 per month, replacing the old $1, $3 and $5 per-episode tiers. Higher tiers will simply be double the current cost, but in Pounds. This works out as roughly the same cost. The rewards for each tier will also stay the same.

This change additionally allows us to enable annual subscriptions, although we are still looking into these. If this sounds like something you would be interested in, please let us know.

Thank You to ENnie Voters

While we didn’t end up winning an ENnie award this year, we would still like to thank everyone who voted for us. Just being nominated was amazing, and we were moved by all the support from listeners. It’s all been rather wonderful.

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Main Topic: Why You Shouldn’t Learn to Roleplay From Actual Plays

Actual play podcasts and streams have grown in popularity massively over the past 20 years, redefining and dominating the hobby. They play a huge role in bringing people into roleplaying games, and possibly an even larger one in teaching new players how they work. But is this always a good thing? What are the advantages and possible pitfalls of learning from APs? And what other approaches might we recommend?

This episode was recorded live at A Weekend With Good Friends 2026. While it mostly follows the usual format, we do spend a bit of time towards the end answering questions from people who were watching live. You can see the video for this and all the other seminars on the AWWGF YouTube Channel.

Our Guest Host

We are delighted to welcome Zach Reeves back to The Good Friends of Jackson Elias! Zach is the game master, producer, and editor of Pretending to be People, a horror/comedy actual play podcast. Zach enjoys karaoke with his wife, dancing with friends, and creating elaborate scavenger hunts. He is afraid of losing his mind and Styrofoam.

Pretending to be People will be appearing live at Gen Con 2026, at 4 PM on Friday the 31st. Tickets are still available. There will also be meetups throughout the con, so keep an eye out for those.

Zach has previously joined us to discuss:

• Connecting Scenarios in Call of Cthulhu
• Religious Horror

Links

Things we mention in this episode include:

• Harmontown
• Nerd Poker
• The Adventure Zone
• The Glass Cannon Network
• Delta Green
• Call of Cthulhu subreddit
• Delta Green subreddit
• D&D subreddit
• RPG subreddit
• How We Roll
• Into the Darkness
• Vampire: the Masquerade
• RPG.net
• The Forge
• Carmen Sandiego’s click-and-point adventure

• D&D
• Traveller
• Writing a Novel by John Braine
• “Politics and the English Language” by George Orwell
• The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien
• Matt Mercer Effect
• Critical Role
• “Side Effects May Include” on Push the Roll With Ross Bryant
• The Two-Headed Serpent on How We Roll
• The Two-Headed Serpent
• Dungeons and Daddies
• “The Burning Stars” on Into the Darkness
• “The Burning Stars” from Terrors From Beyond
• “Amidst the Ancient Trees” on How We Roll

• Dimension 20
• “PX Poker Night”
• “Hell is Other People” from KULT: Screams and Whispers
• The Good Friends of Jackson Elias Discord server
• The Magic School Bus
• Fantastic Voyage (1966)
• Pretending to be People Discord server
• Blade Runner on Ain’t Slayed Nobody
• Blade Runner RPG
• Audacity
• Reaper
• “Operation STOP REPO” shotgun scenario
• “Operation STOP REPO” with Jared Logan on Pretending to be People
• Vaesen – Nordic Horror Roleplaying
• Miskatonic University Podcast
• Seth Skorkowsky

News

2HS on HWR

After 9 1/2 years, How We Roll have recorded the final episodes of The Two-Headed Serpent. This has been an epic journey, and Scott would like to thank everyone who took part, specifically Joe, Dave, Kuran, Camille, Liisa, Aron, Eoghan, and Mav. Oh, and Greg, of course.

These last episodes will come out over the course of the next few months. Expect death, destruction, and sheer bloody chaos.

Now for a short rest before the inevitable sequel.

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Main Topic: Reactive GMing

No game ever goes to plan. Whether you have prepared for every eventuality or are running off the cuff, players will always do the unexpected. Improvisation is a key skill for GMs, from spinning narrative on the fly to incorporating whatever chaos the players come up with.

But what are some of the key techniques in making this work? How do you learn to let go as a GM? And are there ever times when you might want to keep a grip on the reins?

We have discussed similar topics in earlier episodes on player-led games and improvisation.

This episode was recorded live at A Weekend With Good Friends 2026. While it mostly follows the usual format, we do spend a bit of time towards the end answering questions from people who were watching live. You can see the video for this and all the other seminars on the AWWGF YouTube Channel.

Our Guest Host

We are delighted to welcome Ross Bryant back as our guest host for this episode. You may know Ross from The Improvised Shakespeare Company, Dropout TV, The Glass Cannon Network, or the many Call of Cthulhu games he and Scott have played together on Ain’t Slayed Nobody.

Most recently, Ross has launched his own podcast, called Push the Roll With Ross Bryant, where he runs fully improvised games of Call of Cthulhu, based on listener suggestions, for various friends from the worlds of comedy, improv, and tabletop gaming. You can find it wherever you get your podcasts.

Ross is currently in residence with The Improvised Shakespeare Company at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts until the 27th of July.

Ross has previously joined us to discuss:

• Bringing Historical Games to Life
• Carnival of Souls
• Narration in Call of Cthulhu
• The Birds

Links

Things we mention in this episode include:

• D&D
• Traveller
• The Dungeon Masters (2010)
• Active listening
• Heaven & Earth
• “The Meat Trade” on Into the Darkness
• “The Meat Trade” on Ain’t Slayed Nobody
• “The Burning Stars” from Terrors From Beyond
• “Crimson Letters” from the Call of Cthulhu Keeper Rulebook
• Romeo and Juliet
• The Long Good Friday (1980)
• Michael Clayton (2007)
• Shadows of Yog-Sothoth
• Shadows of Yog-Sothoth on Grizzly Peaks Radio

• Runequest
• Edge of Midnight
• Masks of Nyarlathotep
• Peru chapter of Masks of Nyarlathotep on How We Roll
• Upright Citizens Brigade
• The Forge
• GNS Theory
• Blades in the Dark
• Play Unsafe
• Katamari Damacy
• Dramatic irony
• Spirit of the Century
• “I Heard the Secret Loudly” — film noir scenario on Push the Roll
• Second City

News

ENnie Nomination

We were delighted to hear that The Good Friends of Jackson Elias has been nominated for an ENnie Award in the Best Streaming Content category. This is exciting and entirely unexpected. The Good Friends has been running for over 13 years now and we’re just happy that people are still listening!

The awards themselves are decided through a public vote. If you are a fan of the podcast and you’d like to vote for us (and earn our undying gratitude), you can find the form here. Voting runs between the 10th and 19th of July 2026.

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