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PODCAST

RTFM

Maxwell Lander is an educator and photographer in eastern Canada. Aaron King is an editor and collage artist in the Midwestern US. They"re both game designers, and together, they read RPG books, find the good bits, and discuss them critically. Welcome to RTFM.

leisure games

All Episodes

00:44:43

RTFM: Let These Mermaids Touch Your Dick Maybe

RTFM ·

2024/05/28

This episode is brought to you by No-Tell Motel from Bannerless Games, a solo murder mystery game. It rules!Our sex game trend continues with Let These Mermaids Touch Your Dick Maybe from Riverhouse Games. Want to slap a dildo with a sticky hand? Is it a lyric game? Has anyone played it? ⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to. If

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01:02:06

RTFM: Monsterhearts 2

RTFM ·

2024/05/14

This episode is brought to you by VOID 1680 AM by Bannerless Games. It's a solo, playlist-building RPG, and it rules.We're talking Monsterhearts 2 by Avery Alder, and we're joined by Jay Dragon of Possum Creek Games. Jay claims to know the deep dark truth of Monsterhearts, so who were we to disagree? Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you

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01:16:59

RTFM: Vice & Violence

RTFM ·

2024/04/16

This episode is brought to you by ⁠Cloud Empress: Life & Death by watt⁠. Back it on Kickstarter now!The sex continues with Vice & Violence by Rapscallion, an explicitly horny and lewd RPG. The art is great, but is it a good game? (Yes, it's a very good game.) About the show: ⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to. If

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00:56:30

RTFM: Anal Wizards

RTFM ·

2024/04/02

This episode is brought to you by Cloud Empress: Life & Death by watt. Back it on Kickstarter now!Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to. Today, we cover ANAL WIZARDS by the Genchi Brothers. It's a comic book, but it's a game. We talk about transgressive art and sex sex sex. If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join

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00:50:20

RTFM Brain Power Corollary (Tunnel Goons)

RTFM ·

2024/03/19

We're currently on hiatus, so here's a Patreon episode that ended up being a sort of prequel to our "Brain Power One" episode. It's about Tunnel Goons by Nate Treme at Highland Paranormal Society.Thank you to our patrons for making this episode possible! We'll be back in a couple weeks with more content here and in the Patreon. Also, Thomas Manuel invited us onto the Yes Indie'd podcast! We talked about criticism and reading in the RPG field. Go check it out!

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01:23:04

RTFM Season 4 Finale & Ranking of the Games

RTFM ·

2024/03/06

⁠⁠⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.A freewheeling discussion of the themes and lessons of the season: ownership, games criticism, social versus mechanical rules. We discuss what's next for the podcast and, as always, we rank the games. If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us

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01:24:43

RTFM: Errant

RTFM ·

2024/02/20

This episode is sponsored by ⁠The Lost Bay RPG, on Kickstarter now⁠.⁠⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to. We're joined by Sam Dunnewold of Dice Exploder to cover Errant by Ava Islam, an OSR game that is "rules light, procedure heavy." If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us

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00:50:17

RTFM: Vermis

RTFM ·

2024/02/07

This episode is sponsored by The Lost Bay RPG, on Kickstarter now. ⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to. Today, we're talking about Vermis, which isn't an RPG. Or is it? We discuss channeling inspirations, prose quality, and why you should read things that are like other things. If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our

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01:06:27

RTFM: Firebrands

RTFM ·

2024/01/23

⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to. It's Mobile Frame Zero: Firebrands by Meguey Baker & D. Vincent Baker. Returning guest Essay joins us to discuss a game that has been pitched to Max as exactly what he wants. But is it?! If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra

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01:13:18

RTFM: Dream Askew/Dream Apart

RTFM ·

2024/01/16

⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to. We continue on our journey to cure our brains of D&D. This time, our delicious medicine is Dream Askew/Dream Apart by Avery Alder and Benjamin Rosenbaum. We recorded it a while back, so I don't remember what else we talked about. If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠. And

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01:06:58

RTFM Brain Power One (PbtA)

RTFM ·

2023/12/27

Hey, it's the darkest time of the year, and the light of knowledge refuses to shine on our cursed podcast. Thus, instead of reading, we think. In darkness. About what it means to (not) roll those bones. This one focuses on game design theory, disclaiming dice rolls, and getting out of your comfort zone. There's an episode 0 of this series over on our Patreon. If you want to do the homework, join us on Discord.

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00:56:25

RTFM: D&D 4E

RTFM ·

2023/12/12

⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to. Look, it's Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition! The last good D&D. We talk digital tools, layout, and doing one thing well. If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

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01:18:12

RTFM: Keep on the Borderlands

RTFM ·

2023/11/28

⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to. ⁠Dia Lacina is back to talk about more adventure modules. This time, it's that classic Gygax, Keep on the Borderlands. Is it good? Is it horny? Is it colonial? And what's with all these totally normal men? If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠ for extra

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01:07:37

RTFM: Troika!

RTFM ·

2023/10/24

This episode is brought to you by ⁠The Lost Bay's Outer Rim Uprising⁠. Follow the Kickstarter for this cool set of Mothership scenarios and resources! ⁠Max Lander⁠ and ⁠Aaron King⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to. Aaron Lim is here to chat about Troika! by Daniel Sell and the Melsonian Arts Council, where game mechanics are lore and inspirations are a compost heap from which

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01:22:37

RTFM: Principia Apocrypha

RTFM ·

2023/10/10

This episode is brought to you by The Lost Bay's Outer Rim Uprising. Follow the Kickstarter for this cool set of Mothership scenarios and resources! Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to. Game designer Chris Bissette joins us to talk about Principia Apocrypha, one of the cornerstone documents of the Old School Revival (OSR) movement. What is the OSR? What use

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01:04:12

RTFM: RuneQuest

RTFM ·

2023/09/26

This episode is brought to you by The Lost Bay's Outer Rim Uprising. Follow the Kickstarter for this cool set of Mothership scenarios and resources! Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to. This one starts as an episode about RuneQuest, but it quickly becomes about citation, ownership, and stewardship in the RPG industry. Like, almost solely about

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01:33:35

RTFM: Blades in the Dark

RTFM ·

2023/09/12

This episode is brought to you by The Lost Bay's Outer Rim Uprising. Follow the Kickstarter for this cool set of Mothership scenarios and resources! Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to. By popular demand, we're talking Blades in the Dark with returning guest Essay from the Three of Hearts podcast. Topics include built-in settings, position and effect,

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01:26:20

RTFM: Pasión de las Pasiones

RTFM ·

2023/08/29

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to. Quinns from Shut Up & Sit Down joins us to talk about Brandon Leon-Gambetta's Pasión de las Pasiones, the telenovela RPG. We cover adding drama to your game, the player-to-GM pipeline, and kissing in dungeons. If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord. And check us out on Patreon for extra

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01:39:10

RTFM: Dungeons & Dragons Third Edition

RTFM ·

2023/08/15

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to. Another trip to the dungeons with dragons. This time, it's the first outing from Wizards of the Coast. We're talking unified mechanics, feat trees, and Max's secret origin. Also, we conclude this season and rank the games. Note: we recommend some movies/shows that are maybe stricken materials under the current

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01:09:18

RTFM: Slugblaster

RTFM ·

2023/08/01

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to. We're talking Slugblaster by Mikey Hamm, and we're joined by Sean Harkin. We cover metacurrencies, skateboarding histories, and who's the chillest of them all. If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord. And check us out on Patreon for extra episodes!

en

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