Tales From The Hydian Way

We started to talk about playing different species for your games and how to make it matter for your players. From how NPCs interact to how to set expectations at the table Things talked about in this episode: Dice for Brains Galaxy Guide 9 – Fragments from the Rim McKays Chattanooga Defel Pao Drabata Peekpa … Continue reading "The Thisspiasian Tale"

Episode 200, you’d think we’d talk about something profound. We talk about one of the most profound things you can actually do for your campaign. How to end it. Three hosts talk about the different kinds of endings we’ve seen and give some advice for GMs on how to make it satisfying. Things discussed in … Continue reading "The Closing Tale"

The topic of difficult players came up in discussion in the Tales twitter DMs. This brought up the different sorts of ways players and GMs can not see eye to eye on ideas and drew us to this episode topic. Things talked about in this episode: Zuckuss Dice for Brains Rebels Jodo Kast You can … Continue reading "The Challenging Player Tale"

We were asked about a particular build for a character, it raised a bit of a flag for us and all hosts decided we should talk about specializations that require a bit more work by those around the table. Things talked about in this episode: Domino Deadpool 2 Minority Report You can find us on … Continue reading "The Gambler Tale"

We have  a huge group to talk about Solo: A Star Wars Story and share our perspectives. To a person we liked the movie, but we also are the sort who can look at it and see what could be done better. Things talked about in this episode: Solo: A Star Wars Story Hail Ceaser! … Continue reading "The Han Tale"

Communicating difficulty in an encounter is trickier than just giving out a number of dice. The players need to know before hand how to set their expectations. We discuss how and a few things that would normally be missed. Things talked about in this episode: Toph Galaxy Quest Crushers You can find us on Twitter … Continue reading "The Difficulty Tale"

We talk about how to inhabit a character and create a perspective to separate two characters in a scene. We also touch on ways of acting to make a character unique in your play group as a player Things talked about in this episode: Zork Gru Heroes Dice for Brains Accents A Manual For Actors … Continue reading "Into The Character Tale"

Ben and Rissa discuss running a module and some of the pitfalls that can emerge from trying to follow too close to the text as written. Things talked about in this episode: Beyond the Rim Friends like These Nam Beroya Reom Jewel of Yavin You can find us on Twitter Show updates are @TheHydianWay Ben … Continue reading "The Module Tale"

We created a steampunk setting in Genesys and look to different ideas that could come from the location we’ve created in Firemouth Outpost. Things talked about in this episode: Heroes of the Hydian Way – Genesys Warhammer 40K Cypress Hills Massacre East India Trading Company Hudsons Bay Company South Sea Trading Company – Extra History … Continue reading "The Steam Setting Tale"

Ben Rissa and David talk about vehicles in Genesys and how they’re different from Star Wars while trying to remember all the rules for both systems. Things talked about in this episode: Sea of Thieves Battlefront II Hunt for Red October Crimson Skies US Navy Recon Blimps Goblin Shane Edge of the Empire rules clarification … Continue reading "The Genesys Vehicle Tale"

No, we haven’t gone full Star Trek. We’re bringing on a new host and we’re interviewing her in this episode to give our listeners an idea of her style and some of the things she’s bringing to the table Things discussed in this episode: Agatha Christie Pathfinder Lost Girl Surviving Mars Alien Star Trek First … Continue reading "The Rissa Tale"

Ben and Marcus talk about some of the mechanics involved with starting characters and why somethings are more important than others at low XP amounts. Things talked about in this episode: Old Man Logan Logan Dark Tower Blue Max Elom Elomin Wookiepedia Assassins Creed Solid Snake Gossam Neimoidian Nute Gunray Dice for Brains Ross Rockafelow … Continue reading "The Starting Player Tale"

Ben has Marcus on to talk about his Force and Destiny podcast he creates with his kids and the lessons that can be learned from there. So much of the advice can be well used for bringing in any new player. Things talked about in this episode: Marcus Hirschfield Force Vs Darkside Dan Shessel Dice … Continue reading "The Tale Vs Darkside"

Ben and David talk about preparation tools for GMs and players as well as communication and character creation. Things talked about in this episode: Adversary Cards OneNote Obsidian Portal Band Gamers Plane World Anvil DropBox Oggdude Roll20 Fantasy Grounds Hangouts Skype Zoom Evernote Sando Aqua Monster Colo Claw Fish Drop Bear Bear Sloth Arboreal Octopus … Continue reading "The Tools Tale"

Ben has guest Leslie on to talk about ways to use maps and things to consider when using maps in person and online for your players. Things talked about in this episode: Leslie Heroes Obsidian Portal Maps Easel Pads – grid Command and Colours Mansions of Madness 2nd Ed Betrayal at House on the Hill … Continue reading "Map Tales"

Kristine and Ben talk about what they do when the players surprise them and leave them wondering what to do next. Things we talked about on the show: Weik Deadspace Stay on Target Mouseguard Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Mass Effect 2 You can find us on Twitter Show updates are @TheHydianWay Ben is @DeuteriumIce … Continue reading "The Surprised GM Tale"

We talk about some of the ideas and issues of starting a player character and how much background is too much, as well as how much is not near enough. Things talked about in this episode: Angel – Xmen Black Lightning Christian Kane Eliot Spencer Fate Leverage RPG The 5 Man Band Firefly Star Trek … Continue reading "The Backgrounder Tale"

Ben and David talk about villains and how to present them to your players as fallible beings who can be defeated. Things talked about in this episode Horus Heresy Bruce Banner The Joker Injustice Dred Vs Batman Judge Dredd – Stalone Judge Dredd – Urban Star Trek Space Seed The Wrath of Khan Sybok Xanatos … Continue reading "The Villainous Tale"

We’ve all had players missing a game or having to leave the game, Kristine and Ben talk about how to make the blow softer and strategies to make it more fun for you and your group. Things talked about in this episode: Launchpad McQuack Eldritch Horror Mansions of Madness Fiasco Dusk City Outlaws Pathfinder Lords … Continue reading "The Absent Player Tale"

Ben and Kristine discuss with David what we’ve taken away from the Genesys core book and some of the interesting tidbits we are looking forward to for the system. Things talked about in this episode Genesys Magic – 217 Decent Legacy of Dragonholt Battlelore Realms of Terrinoth Android Twilight Imperium Deadlands Savage Rifts Savage World … Continue reading "The Genesys Tale"