DMs After Dark

Modified Rolls - Resolution Mechanics

Roll dice. Flip cards. Spend tokens. Pull the wooden block.
This episode of Modified Rolls breaks down the different types of resolution mechanics in roleplaying games and why they're important for providing a certain kind of experience.  From the mathematics of probability underlying the success/failure ratio of games to the tactile aspect of cards (just ask Amber & Christian how they feel about cards), different mechanics just feel different and might be more or less appropriate for the game you're trying to play.
 
Disclaimer: Rene & Christian argued a little but it was all in good spirit and constructive criticism, we're still nerdy buds who make and play games together.
 
Please rate us on your podcast app of choice and catch our live streams alternating Friday nights over on Twitch or catch up on our games over on our YouTube.
Like, follow, and subscribe to our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Feel free to email us with questions, comments, or just to tell us how awful our ideas are at DMsAfterDark@gmail.com
 
Music in the episode:
Energetic Upbeat by WinnieTheMoogFree download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6033-energetic-upbeatLicense (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-licenseArtist website: https://linktr.ee/taigasoundprod

Short Order Apocalypse Advanced One-Shot

Welcome to Hjem, we've got all things to make your house a Hjem... *sigh*...
 
In this one-shot between our Invisible Sun and upcoming Honor + Intrigue series, Sara runs us through Short Order Apocalypse Advanced by SaintBaileys on itch.io The game itself is available as Pay What You Want on Itch (https://saintbaileys.itch.io/), and is also featured in the Tiny Tome collection of short rules-light RPGs.
 
Christian, Jess, and Rene play as employees of a certain northern European based furniture store who have had enough of the retail grind and make a deal with a new employee, a one Lucy Fheir, to bring about the end of the world. The game is fast, funny, and super easy to jump right into.
 
If you enjoy our streams, podcasts, or just our general nerdiness, please consider giving us a rating on your podcast app of choice! Like, follow, and subscribe to our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram so you can comment & chat with us about all things RPGs.  
And, as always, come hang out and catch our live streams on our Twitch or catch up on our YouTube.
 
Music in the Episode:
Song: SFRNG, Madzi, Just Isac & Custody - No Way BackMusic provided by NoCopyrightSoundsFree Download/Stream: http://NCS.io/NoWayBack

Modified Rolls - Mining Media for Your RPGs

I don't know about all of you out there in RPG podcast-land, but I'm a pretty typical millennial, binging TV series on streaming platforms and dealing with piles of books to-be-read that somehow just keep growing despite my best efforts.  Well, what if I told you literally everything you ingest makes great building blocks for your RPGs?!  Your in luck, because all you gotta do is a little bit of work and all your favorite things you wanna talk to your friends about but they haven't seen or read is gold for your games!
 
Take Home Points: Re-skin & re-flavor - don't copy your favorite characters, locations, or villains without changing them to be appropriate for your game; practice capturing the feel of your favorite media with words, since you likely won't have visuals that portray that like on screen; imitate accents!
 
Please rate us on your podcast app of choice and catch our live streams alternating Friday nights over on Twitch or catch up on our games over on our YouTube.
Like, follow, and subscribe to our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Feel free to email us with questions, comments, or just to tell us how awful our ideas are at DMsAfterDark@gmail.com
 
Music in the episode:
Startup  by Alex-ProductionsLink: https://filmmusic.io/song/9439-startup- License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

[Bonus] Invisible Sun Review

Greetings one more (but maybe not the last) time from the Actuality.  Christian sits down with Rene and Sara to talk a little bit about his process prepping for and running Invisible Sun.  We talk about the game from a design perspective, Christian's thought process for the concept of the Hollow Men and Elpada, and rates the game.
 
We hope to do more of these in the future following our series of games, and are working on a rating system to let you know our thoughts on the games we pick and play moving forward!
 
If you enjoy our streams, podcasts, or just our general nerdiness, please consider giving us a rating on your podcast app of choice! Like, follow, and subscribe to our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram so you can comment & chat with us about all things RPGs.  
And, as always, come hang out and catch our live streams on our Twitch or catch up on our YouTube.
 
Music in the Episode:
Song: Lochlainn - The Garden [NCS Release]Music provided by NoCopyrightSoundsFree Download/Stream: http://NCS.io/TheGarden Watch: http://youtu.be/tZYlqiGgKQ4

Invisible Sun Finale - The Citadel of the Bornless One

It started with dreams.  Dreams of Shadow.  Dreams of each of our characters' goals and desires.  It, too, ends in dreams.  The Deeps of Sleep hold the headquarters of the Hollow Men and the Bornless One plots to erase the very concept the young girl Elpada represents.
 
Bridget shows her true self.  Darcian has a theory.  Henri guides the crew through strange new planes.  Istanbull guards his friends.  Frey has a score to settle.
 
If you enjoy our streams, podcasts, or just our general nerdiness, please consider giving us a rating on your podcast app of choice! Like, follow, and subscribe to our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram so you can comment & chat with us about all things RPGs.  
And, as always, come hang out and catch our live streams on our Twitch or catch up on our YouTube.
 
Music in the Episode:
Song: Lochlainn - The Garden [NCS Release]Music provided by NoCopyrightSoundsFree Download/Stream: http://NCS.io/TheGarden Watch: http://youtu.be/tZYlqiGgKQ4

Modified Rolls - Playing Evil Characters

So you wanna be the bad guy, huh?  Well, not THE bad guy, but A bad guy.  Maybe THE bad guy, I mean, who are we to tell you how your story's going to go?  Before you do that, though, champ, let's discuss a few things about playing evil PCs in a tabletop game.
In this episode, the DMs discuss how to get the most out of playing evil characters in games that are traditionally team-based and heroic.  There are plenty of great ways to play an evil character in an otherwise ensemble cast of good guys, but there are a lot of pitfalls when playing evil PCs that can rub your fellow players or adventuring party the wrong way and derail your story.
 
Have you ever played an evil character? How'd it go? Did they achieve their goals or self-sabotage in a blaze of unglory?
 
Take Home Points:  Work with your GM, whether you're the only evil PC or in a group of evil adventurers, all evil characters should have hidden plans which you can you coordinate with your GM to get more out of the game.  Don't be Stupid Evil - even if you're not the plotter, angry or self-destructive evil characters should still have a sense of self-preservation (until they achieve their goals, anyway).  And don't use "ItS wHaT mY cHaRaCtEr WoUlD dO!" as an excuse to be a jerk to your fellow players.
 
Please rate us on your podcast app of choice and catch our live streams alternating Friday nights over on Twitch or catch up on our games over on our YouTube.
Like, follow, and subscribe to our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Feel free to email us with questions, comments, or just to tell us how awful our ideas are at DMsAfterDark@gmail.com
 
Music in the episode:
Evil March by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3724-evil-marchLicense: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Song: High OctaneMusic by Bensound.com

Invisible Sun | Episode 3 - Fallen Angels & Fading Hairlines

Even upon waking from the Shadow and returning to the Actuality, there are dreams and there are nightmares...
 
The crew have strange dreams.  Fray brings the group to a dangerous location.  Henri almost makes a deal.  Bridget tests the limits of her circles.  Istanbull sees through and makes a wall.  Darcian shows they can hold their own.
 
If you enjoy our streams, podcasts, or just our general nerdiness, please consider giving us a rating on your podcast app of choice! Like, follow, and subscribe to our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram so you can comment & chat with us about all things RPGs.  
And, as always, come hang out and catch our live streams on our Twitch or catch up on our YouTube.
 
Music in the Episode:
Song: Lochlainn - The Garden [NCS Release]Music provided by NoCopyrightSoundsFree Download/Stream: http://NCS.io/TheGarden Watch: http://youtu.be/tZYlqiGgKQ4

1d6 | 1d4 - But What If We Ran Longer Games...

Hello and welcome to the 2nd episode of 1d6 | 1d4, Sara's "chaos baby" of a podcast where 1d6 of the DMs sit down and talk about a topic for 1d4 minutes at a time.
 
This week, Sara is joined by Christian and Rene to ask the question: "What if we ran games longer than 3-4 sessions?"
 
Find out what games we want to run long-term and let us know if you think we should explore that in the future!
 
If you enjoy our streams, podcasts, or just our general nerdiness, please consider giving us a rating on your podcast app of choice! Like, follow, and subscribe to our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram so you can comment & chat with us about all things RPGs.  
And, as always, come hang out and catch our live streams on our Twitch or catch up on our YouTube.
 
Music in the Episode:
Happy Happy Game Show by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3856-happy-happy-game-showLicense: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Invisible Sun | Episode 2 - The Girl in the Box

Welcome back to the Actuality, our fellow vislae.  So... that lecture didn't go as planned with the whole exploding snakes and dissolving vislae thing, but our PCs did manage to rescue the strange golden-eyed child Elpada from the strange terrorists.  Where will they go and what will they learn?
 
Bridget & Darcian summon for help. Henri bonds with Elpada.  Istanbull observes more than he lets on.  Fray sees old friends in the shadows.
 
If you enjoy our streams, podcasts, or just our general nerdiness, please consider giving us a rating on your podcast app of choice! Like, follow, and subscribe to our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram so you can comment & chat with us about all things RPGs.  
And, as always, come hang out and catch our live streams on our Twitch or catch up on our YouTube.
 
Music in the Episode:
Song: Lochlainn - The Garden [NCS Release]Music provided by NoCopyrightSoundsFree Download/Stream: http://NCS.io/TheGarden Watch: http://youtu.be/tZYlqiGgKQ4

Modified Rolls - Villains

Muahahaha! You've come this far only to fall into our evil villain monologue! Now you must listen to us as we explain all of the things that weren't communicated throughout the campaign so you understand what it is you're actually defeating!
 
... Or... maybe your DM gave this episode a listen and realized that they need to sprinkle in details throughout that make the PCs feel like they actually understand the villain, their motive, their means, their goals, flaws, and fears.  Maybe this villain is, in a way, relatable, or you can sympathize on a certain level, but can't condone their actions in their quest to accomplish their mission.
 
What's the best villain you've encountered in an RPG? What are some of your favorite villains in movies, books, shows, etc.?
 
Take-Home Points: Don't hide all the details behind the screen, give your villain time to interact with the PCs (preferably in places they can't openly be attacked) or indirectly through their minions.  Describe how their minions serve the big villain, are they terrified or fiercely loyal through admiration, those tell of two very different leaders! And, as always, make them mean something to your PCs directly.
 
Please rate us on your podcast app of choice and catch our live streams alternating Friday nights over on Twitch or catch up on our games over on our YouTube.
Like, follow, and subscribe to our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Feel free to email us with questions, comments, or just to tell us how awful our ideas are at DMsAfterDark@gmail.com
 
Music in the episode:
Villainous Treachery - Distressed by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4587-villainous-treachery---distressedLicense: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Song: Lochlainn - The Garden [NCS Release]Music provided by NoCopyrightSoundsFree Download/Stream: http://NCS.io/TheGardenWatch: http://youtu.be/tZYlqiGgKQ4