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Slowly adding players to the spooky month episodes, this time I'm joined by returning guest (and wife, I guess that's important) Lynn for a game of Ghost + Human by friend of the pod Dan Bronson-Lowe a.k.a. Almost Bedtime Theater.  This is a wonderful little hack of Badger + Coyote by Pandion Games that sees a human and a ghost working together to solve mysteries. It has asymmetric mechanics for each role and lots of fun tables to roll on to generate a fun spooky (or silly, or both) session for two players and no GM. My favorite kind of game!   Check out more of Dan's games on his itch linked above, listen to his all ages friendly podcast also called Almost Bedtime Theater or hear him on other friend of the pod Michael Low's Stories RPG!   ----more---- Join the DMs After Dark Discord channel! and Get Wicked Good Adventures!   I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)   Where to Follow Rene Plays Games: LinkTree |  BlueSky | Threads | Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark Rene's Games: MECH | MECH Cities 2 | One Last Quest | I Know I Know You, But I Don't Know How... email: [email protected]   Music in the Episode (in order of appearance): Cinematic Atmos 1 Hour Mix by Monument Studios Rene Plays Games Theme written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands

Welcome to another episode of Perspective Checks where I sit down with friends and folks from the TTRPG world and discuss what they love about this wonderful hobby!   This month's episode is one that took months of scheduling (it is the BBEG of TTRPGs after all) to make happen, but I am so happy to share my conversation with Mistress Winter, the GM of the incredible Monsterhearts 2 actual play All Our Faults from the Tabletop Talespinners Network! You may remember me gushing about All Our Faults in my interview about community with Kat the Dungeon Mom, and now we're talking with Winter about the show's inspiring exploration of depth, trauma, and walking right up to those lines & veils and content warnings without fear to feel something at the table. Could be a very fitting topic for lots of topics that happen in spooky month games!   Mistress Winter's GM style is very intense throughout All Our Faults, but a major factor of what we discuss in this episode is the importance of pre-campaign discussions about expectations, in-session check-ins with moments that confront the agreed upon traumatic topics, and after-session chats and check-ins to make sure everyone's happy moving forward.   Beyond that, we discuss a lot of other media and how it has shaped Winter's style. I hope you enjoy!   ----more----   Join the DMs After Dark Discord channel!   I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)   Where to Follow Rene Plays Games: LinkTree |  BlueSky | Threads | Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark Rene's Games: MECH | MECH Cities 2 | One Last Quest | I Know I Know You, But I Don't Know How... email: [email protected]   Music in the Episode (in order of appearance): Rene Plays Games Theme written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands

Spooky month is upon us, and thus we play horror!   It begins alone, and, in this game, it ends alone. Blood in the Margins by Chris Bissette is another of his incredible Wretched & Alone games about a student who, along with some accomplices, killed another student at their prestigious academy recently, but has to make it through the final year of their academic career without unraveling from the guilt or being caught by the authorities.   It's a terrible premise, truly awful, and there are too many current parallels for crimes and horrible things happening in the world of higher education right now that I almost didn't put this episode out, but stay until the end of the episode if you want my feelings on that.   As a game, this journaling game had my chest tight the entire time I was playing it and it does a fantastic job of making you feel like the noose is tightening around you with every flipped card. Give it a shot if you feel like giving yourself stress for a while!   Oh and f**k Cornell.   ----more---- Join the DMs After Dark Discord channel!   and Get in on playing some Wicked Good Adventures!   I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)   Where to Follow Rene Plays Games: LinkTree |  BlueSky | Threads | Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark Rene's Games: MECH | MECH Cities 2 | One Last Quest | I Know I Know You, But I Don't Know How... email: [email protected]   Music in the Episode (in order of appearance): Cinematic Atmos 1 Hour Mix by Monument Studios Town Bell by Monument Studios Dark 1 Hour Mix by Monument Studios

I'm squeezing in one more episode for Solo September and it's one of the games I've wanted to play (and solo!) the longest - Primal Quest by Diogo Nogueira!   There are also a bunch of supplements for Primal Quest, including the solo supplement Primal Quest: Feral from Exalted Funeral, which has lots of great oracles and tools for you to play your Weird Stone & Sorcery game!   This game rules. Stone Age old school vibes but with cool dice pool tag mechanics, an amazing setting called Thaia, which you can read more about on Diogo's blog, and I played one short little starter event and it's made me want to play more of this sooo bad... Hope you enjoy!   Should I? Still not sure what I'm going to do through the end of the year or next year, so if you're reading the podcast descriptions, definitely join the DMs Discord or reach out to me to let me know what you think I should play next!   ----more---- Join the DMs After Dark Discord channel!   I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)   Where to Follow Rene Plays Games: LinkTree |  BlueSky | Threads | Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark Rene's Games: MECH | MECH Cities 2 | One Last Quest | I Know I Know You, But I Don't Know How... email: [email protected]   Music in the Episode (in order of appearance): Lost Continent by Monument Studios Shuttle Crash by Tabletop Audio Dinotopia by Tabletop Audio Skull Island by Tabletop Audio Fire Dance by Tabletop Audio Rene Plays Games Theme written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands

Solo September rolls on and this week's one-player one-shot is the Exploration & Ecology RPG Mappa Mundi by Three Sails Studio!   This game was thrown at me A LOT during its crowdfunding, and I totally get why. The pitch is a game about exploration and observation of wildlife and rediscovering a world after a mysterious event fractured different cultures and places for a century or more. Now, the Mappa Mundi Institute sends out Chroniclers to journey through the world, find wildlife, locate legendary creatures, and return with information about their habits, behaviors, and ecological niches.    It was pitched in another interview as "What if Pokemon but no battling?" Just the Pokedex quest, and ... yea sign me up.   The solo supplement is a little crunchier than my usual preference, but I think that there's a lot of cool stuff in this game that probably translates to group play very well. It's incredibly collaborative, narrative, and the skill tree progression looks pretty cool! Check it out, and I hope you enjoy my little trek to find the ornery Vodyanyk!   ----more---- Join the DMs After Dark Discord channel!   I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)   Where to Follow Rene Plays Games: LinkTree |  BlueSky | Threads | Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark Rene's Games: MECH | MECH Cities 2 | One Last Quest | I Know I Know You, But I Don't Know How... email: [email protected]   Music in the Episode (in order of appearance): Distant, Part Two by Vindsvept Windswept Realms Vol. II by Vindsvept Rene Plays Games Theme written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands

Solo September is fully in swing! Time for another one-player one-shot and this time it's one of the solo games I've had in my collection and on my list for the longest: Princess With a Cursed Sword by Anna Anthropy!   In this solo journaling game, you play a - you guessed it! - princess given a cursed sword and tasked with finding where it belongs to get rid of it. I had a great time making Princess Camille and delving into the dark tombs of the past to see an ancient deal finished. I hope you enjoy, and DEFINITELY think you should try this one.   ----more---- Join the DMs After Dark Discord channel!   I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)   Where to Follow Rene Plays Games: LinkTree |  BlueSky | Threads | Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark Rene's Games: MECH | MECH Cities 2 | One Last Quest | I Know I Know You, But I Don't Know How... email: [email protected]   Music in the Episode (in order of appearance): Village Festival by Tabletop Audio Paragon Dark Dulcimers by Monument Studios Through Time (Bonus Track) by Vindsvept Dungeon C by Monument Studios The Mad Harvester by Vindsvept Puzzle Dungeon by Tabletop Audio Conflict Braam Loop by Monument Studios The Undercroft by Tabletop Audio A World Divide by Vindsvept A World Unbound by Vindsvept

Welcome to another episode of Perspective Checks where I sit down with friends and folks from the TTRPG world and discuss what they love about this wonderful hobby!   This month's episode is with the incomparable SuperDillin, host of One Shot Podcast as well as one half of Dorkspawn, the video game book club podcast! Oh and he also recently cowrote the newest addition of the Ultimate Roleplaying Series - The Ultimate RPG Villain Backstory Guide with James D'Amato. Besides being just very cool, Dillin plays a lot of games over on One Shot and appearing elsewhere as an AP icon, and we talk about games as a hobby, a community, and a preferred vehicle for exploring all things about the human experiences.   This chat is honestly mostly just me gushing over all the cool things Dillin is involved with, but we do talk about some really interesting things in the world of tabletop games from the intentionality and creativity of indie games, the "everyone's hot and nobody's horny" problem that drives Dillin to encourage sexuality and romance heavily in his games, and more.    Here's a list of some (hopefully most) of the things we talked about in this episode: Rom Com Drama Bomb by More Blueberries (Elliot Davis) Be/Hold - TTRPG Music Voices in the Wood by Tales Yet Told DIE RPG by Kieron Gillon/Rowan, Rook, & Decard RPG Major Podcast Perils & Princesses by Outrider Creative Force of Extinction by 12 Sided Studios Hinterlight by Tyler Lamb Stewpot by Takuma Okada The Last Smile in Sunder City by Luke Arnold A Land Once Magic by Viditya Voleti Campanions by Spilled Coffee Creatives   ----more----   Join the DMs After Dark Discord channel!   I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)   Where to Follow Rene Plays Games: LinkTree |  BlueSky | Threads | Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark Rene's Games: MECH | MECH Cities 2 | One Last Quest | I Know I Know You, But I Don't Know How... email: [email protected]   Music in the Episode (in order of appearance): Rene Plays Games Theme written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands

Beneath the Tree of Woe, the wicked towering tree at the heart of the forest of Eryn Vorn, Iorlas wields his ancestral blade, Nimloth's Tear, against the Flame in the Dark, an ancient nameless thing of evil.    With a sword named for a white tree, a memory of light, Iorlas goes into battle against a shadow that has accumulated the dark shadows of hate for Ages.   Learn more about The One Ring 2e by Free League Publishing.   ----more---- Join the DMs After Dark Discord channel!   I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)   Where to Follow Rene Plays Games: LinkTree |  BlueSky | Threads | Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark Rene's Games: MECH | MECH Cities 2 | One Last Quest | I Know I Know You, But I Don't Know How... email: [email protected]   Music in the Episode (in order of appearance): Fallen by Vindsvept The Gaping Maw by Tabletop Audio Terror in the Woods by Tabletop Audio Troll Grotto by Tabletop Audio Action 1 Hour Mix by Monument Studios Dream of Paradise feat Celestial93 by Vindsvept Passion by Monument Studios Rene Plays Games Theme written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands

Quick pivot to play a recommended one-player one-shot of Tiago Junges' Ronin, recommended by this month's Perspective Checks guest Cezar Capacle!   Ronin is a solo TTRPG that was the mechanical and framework precursor to the excellent NOTORIOUS & OUTSIDERS which I played on this podcast. You play the part of a Ronin, a masterless samurai of Sengoku period Japan on a journey to achieve your goal.   I condensed what could have been a whole series into one hour, but I highly recommend you play this game and let me know how your story goes! I want to play more of it now, and I already have the successor to Benjiro, Little Bear Ronin to do it with :)   Get Ronin (for FREE) here! and now I want to check out Shinobi - an expansion for Ronin!   ----more---- Join the DMs After Dark Discord channel!   and Get in on playing some Wicked Good Adventures!   I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)   Where to Follow Rene Plays Games: LinkTree |  BlueSky | Threads | Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark Rene's Games: MECH | MECH Cities 2 | One Last Quest | I Know I Know You, But I Don't Know How... email: [email protected]   Music in the Episode (in order of appearance): Distilled: Tranquility by Tabletop Audio Rene Plays Games Theme written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands

Sure, we've had one one-shot, but what about second one-shots?   Okay, the joke doesn't land, but you get it! I ran some of the DMs through a one-shot of The One Ring 2e! Amber, Chris, Jess, and Kent play as members of a new fellowship in the time between the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings far away from anywhere you may be familiar with in Middle Earth! West of the Shire, west of the Blue Mountains lies the lands of Lindon, where the elves set sail from the Grey Havens to the Undying Lands, but north of those elven lands lies Forlindon, a northern territory of elves long banished or self-exiled from the rest of their eternal kindred.   The Lady of Forlindon has called for aid from beyond to solve a problem in an abandoned dwarven mine in the Blue Mountains, and our heroes take up the call! What ancient horrors lurk in the dark caves of dwarves? Listen and find out!   ----more---- Join the DMs After Dark Discord channel!   and Get in on playing some Wicked Good Adventures!   I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)   Where to Follow Rene Plays Games: LinkTree |  BlueSky | Threads | Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark Rene's Games: MECH | MECH Cities 2 | One Last Quest | I Know I Know You, But I Don't Know How... email: [email protected]   Music in the Episode: DMs After Dark Theme by Dan Pomfret (@danfrombothbands)

Iorlas encounters a population of Ents long separated from their kin in Fangorn Forest out on the cape of Eryn Vorn. It takes some time, but he convinces them to bring him to the heart of the forest where the corruption is most foul... but their interactions are not unnoticed.   Learn more about The One Ring 2e by Free League Publishing.   ----more---- Join the DMs After Dark Discord channel!   and Get in on playing some Wicked Good Adventures!   I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)   Where to Follow Rene Plays Games: LinkTree |  BlueSky | Threads | Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark Rene's Games: MECH | MECH Cities 2 | One Last Quest | I Know I Know You, But I Don't Know How... email: [email protected]   Music in the Episode (in order of appearance): Mother of Deceit by Monument Studios Netherlight by Monument Studios Haven by Tabletop Audio The Beginning by Monument Studios Privy Council by Tabletop Audio Crystalline by Vindsvept As We March by Vindsvept Through the Woods by Tabletop Audio Elven Corruption by Monument Studios Rene Plays Games Theme written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands

Welcome to another episode of Perspective Checks where I sit down with friends and folks from the TTRPG world and discuss what they love about this wonderful hobby!   This month I'm honored to have sat down and talked with one of my absolute favorite game designers Cezar Capacle! You've heard me play multiple of his games on this feed such as Wraithound and Midnight Melodies, and believe me I will play more of them!   Cezar is a Brazilian game designer now living on the island of Madeira and not only does he put out a lot of games, all of which are incredibly quality, his breadth of genres and mechanics and concepts is truly a marvel to behold. We talk about his philosophy of letting all of your ideas bounce around in your head like a game design hadron collider to his work ethic of diligent vs. inspired creativity which helps him capitalize on those a-ha moments. Honestly, if you take nothing else from this episode, this was an amazing tip to just show up and do the work so you find your groove, hone your craft, and then the rest will come easily when the muse comes to bless you with great game ideas.   But most importantly, we talk about his upcoming game Mausworn: Brave Tails on Perilous Trails, a Mausritter-meets-Ironsworn game of mice adventurers on epic quests. This game feels like it was made FOR ME, and you can be I'm going to play it on this podcast when I can! Instead of just taking bits and mashing up the two systems, Cezar has carefully crafted OSR sensibilities and Ironsworn's narrative generation into a whole new thing and it. sounds. amazing.   Cezar's YouTube channel has multiple videos on his process with Mausworn I highly recommend!   I hope you enjoy this chat, I would love to bother and chat with Cezar every day about games if I could. Go get his games and tell me (and him!) how excellent your experience was, you won't be sorry.   ----more----   Join the DMs After Dark Discord channel!   I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)   Where to Follow Rene Plays Games: LinkTree |  BlueSky | Threads | Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark Rene's Games: MECH | MECH Cities 2 | One Last Quest | I Know I Know You, But I Don't Know How... email: [email protected]   Music in the Episode (in order of appearance): Rene Plays Games Theme written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands

After the ambush in the barn, Iorlas rides southeast toward the dark forested cape of Eryn Vorn. Long have the steads and rolling hills of Minhiriath laid unpopulated after the Great Plague, and the massive pine forest on the high cliffs of Eryn Vorn looms over the sea like a shadow...   En route, Iorlas encounters dangers and grim sightings that may be the reason none enter these lands...   Learn more about The One Ring 2e by Free League Publishing.   ----more---- Join the DMs After Dark Discord channel!   and Get in on playing some Wicked Good Adventures!   I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)   Where to Follow Rene Plays Games: LinkTree |  BlueSky | Threads | Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark Rene's Games: MECH | MECH Cities 2 | One Last Quest | I Know I Know You, But I Don't Know How... email: [email protected]   Music in the Episode (in order of appearance): Hollow by Vindsvept Life Below by Vindsvept Elven Procession by Tabletop Audio The Gaping Maw by Tabletop Audio Wolf Howl by Monument Studios Forgotten Forest by Tabletop Audio Rene Plays Games Theme written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands

I've decided to continue my playtesting of the (few years out) upcoming Ironsworn: Legacies!   Five months after releasing the enormous elder shadow wolf god from the glacier, Tessa and Farina - along with some new friends - continue to track the beast.   They find themselves in the coastal village of Fisher's Grove, but their pursuit of Inkanis, the Wolf God is halted by raiders holding the small village hostage. Tessa makes things worse.   If you want to, please head over to the Ironsworn Discord channel which you can find a link to on the Ironsworn website to get in on the playtesting!   ----more---- Join the DMs After Dark Discord channel!   I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)   Where to Follow Rene Plays Games: LinkTree |  BlueSky | Threads | Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark Rene's Games: MECH | MECH Cities 2 | One Last Quest | I Know I Know You, But I Don't Know How... email: [email protected]   Music in the Episode (in order of appearance): Windswept Realms Vol. II by Vindsvept Rene Plays Games Theme written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands

Iorlas departs Bree and heads south along the Greenway between the Barrow Downs and South Downs, a perilous place to travel... Not long after he sets out does he realize his progress is now being observed and his journeys are unlikely to go smoothly as he heads to investigate the cape of Eryn Vorn for Cirdan the Shipwright...   Learn more about The One Ring 2e by Free League Publishing.   ----more---- Join the DMs After Dark Discord channel!   and Get in on playing some Wicked Good Adventures!   I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)   Where to Follow Rene Plays Games: LinkTree |  BlueSky | Threads | Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark Rene's Games: MECH | MECH Cities 2 | One Last Quest | I Know I Know You, But I Don't Know How... email: [email protected]   Music in the Episode (in order of appearance): Deep Sleep of the Elven King by Vindsvept Wizards Tower by Tabletop Audio Western Watchtower by Tabletop Audio Dark and Stormy by Tabletop Audio Lightning B by Monument Studios Dungeon Collapse by Tabletop Audio Dark by Vindsvept Rene Plays Games Theme written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands