PODCAST

System Mastery

Jef Aldrich and Jon Taylor

Jef and Jon review old roleplaying games

leisure games

All Episodes

73:01

278 - The Skeletons

System Mastery ·

2024/05/29

Is it too late to call this a theme month? Because it turned out to be a theme month. Cool minimalist projects by designers we like. Weird! The Skeletons is a thoughtful game about playing as skeletons guarding a tomb, by Jason Morningstar.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

67:35

277 - For The Queen (feat. Alex Roberts)

System Mastery ·

2024/05/14

Who says we can't do cool modern design reviews? Or interview the cool working designers of today that make them? Whoever said that, lemme at 'em! Today we're discussing For The Queen, a game we both enjoy enough to also want get Alex Roberts (already our expert dog correspondent if you're in the Patreon) to join us to talk about her awesome game and the new edition of it that will be out the same day as this episode! (that's synergy)Learn more about your ad choices. Visit

75:54

276 - Muse

System Mastery ·

2024/05/01

Who would have thought this weird little collaborative storytelling shared narrative exercise game could be so divisive? We discuss Muse, a game that uses cards and tokens and lots of paper to help you and your group tell a story and definitely not make everyone hate each other, at all.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

73:38

275 - Aria: Canticle of the Monomyth (Part 2)

System Mastery ·

2024/04/17

Fine, we finished it. This was truly just an awful thing to keep reading through, I think it's been a while since we've both been this angry. Anyway, if you come support us on Patreon to hear the bonus content, we couldn't be assed to make Aria characters. They suck. So we made characters in the game LIFTS instead, which doesn't suck. This is your update on that topic.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

75:22

274 - Tower 22

System Mastery ·

2024/04/01

Yeah yeah, we hit pause on Aria, we just couldn't deal with that noise anymore. Instead, it's time to dive into the ever-generous well of dumb OGL titles, with this bizarre 2002 Fantasy Strike classic, in which the authors really really want you to know about beach lifeguards and how important and cool and... military they are.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

59:26

273 - Aria: Canticle of the Monomyth

System Mastery ·

2024/03/23

Show update first, everything's been a bit late because of travel and the deadly scary norovirus, which isn't pretty. Sorry about that. Show news on this episode? The sound a shudder that indicates a man has seen too much, written down, thank you.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

80:56

272 - City of Heroes Playtest

System Mastery ·

2024/03/07

Gather up, all you various tankers, scrapper, controllers, uhhh... that healer one... I'm just kidding I loved this game. It's City of Heroes, sort of! Insofar as it's a Unisystem take on the popular superhero MMO. Some of one. This is just an old playtest doc. We talk about why and what and all the rest today!Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

78:57

271 - Active Exploits

System Mastery ·

2024/02/22

This was a tough read. Active Exploits is more of a toolkit than a game, but despite basically having every possible tool any kit could ever have, especially for a diceless engine, we still just aren't seeing how the numbers line up. But hey, who knows, right?Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

76:07

270 - Marvel Super Heroes Adventure Game

System Mastery ·

2024/02/08

I think... I think this is all of them? If you count the review of the Multiverse pre-test (we've skimmed the final version, it's pretty close), then yeah, this is the last of the Marvel licensed RPGs we hadn't covered yet. Saga edition, with the card deck and one of the two diceless systems. Is it cool? Will it Marvel? Do we have to start tracking down DC games now? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

86:12

269 - Strike!

System Mastery ·

2024/01/25

This one is a little near and dear to us, we've used it to run Blimpleggers content in the past! Strike! is an RPG that sort of combines the very abstracted narrative structure of a FATE style game with the tactical grid combat of a 4e D&D style game, and for the most part, it works. Let's talk about how! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

63:02

268 - Crime Scene Police Investigation

System Mastery ·

2024/01/12

Starting the year off the right way, with a shovelware-style OGL game about playing as real cops. Real boring cops. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

68:54

267 - Mörk Borg

System Mastery ·

2023/12/13

Whoa, the art and layout in this thing is cool! What about the rest of it? Is it also cool? Can love bloom on the retroclone-style battlefield? Well, let's read it and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

59:39

266 - Cozy Town

System Mastery ·

2023/11/29

Welcome to a charming little community where the townsfolk are all made up and the real world doesn't matter. It's Cozy Town, a game that we figured could not have a better title to fit the Sweater Weather time here at the show. Make a whole adorable village, populate it and plan their year of events and charming happenings. It's cute, basically. Super cute. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

95:06

265 - Monster Care Squad

System Mastery ·

2023/11/15

Oh boy it's time for Sweater Weather! You know, our now two year running thing where we review specifically non or low-combat games, helping folks learn that there's more out there than the traditional "sword goes into orc" model (you'd be amazed at what people on the forefront are putting into orcs these days), and we're starting this year with Monster Care Squad, a neat game about rescuing wounded monsters in a world that's evolved past some of the worst instincts of humankind. Learn more about

77:02

264 - Monsterhearts

System Mastery ·

2023/10/31

Okay, I do have a few more books with Witch in the title, and yes the urge to do Strike Witches was fairly strong, but we've been wanting a good excuse to talk Monsterhearts for a while anyway and there's a witch skin in there so you know, you get what you get. It's the first edition of one of the biggest PBTA games, in which your high school gets all monster-fied and everyone's out to mess with everyone else! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

85:34

263 - Witch: Fated Souls

System Mastery ·

2023/10/18

It's witches aplenty this ween, and that means more than just crooked triangle hats, as we see here in a multicultural witch festival including witchy types from all over the world. The game is a little bit White Wolf and a little bit rock and roll, relatively recent, and we're covering the 1st edition (my understanding is that a second also exists). How powerful are these witches? Let's find out! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

71:09

262 - Witch Hunt

System Mastery ·

2023/10/05

What's that upon the roof I hear? Could it be the pitter-patter of seasonally appropriate witch feet 'pon my shingles? Why, 'tis! Blessed Ween to each and every! This year, it's Ween 3: Season of the Witch, and yes I know this isn't the third Ween, thank you very much. We're starting our witchy run of RPGs with Witch Hunt, a game about Salem in 1692, so you know it's gonna just be super tasteful, right? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

72:09

261 - octaNe

System Mastery ·

2023/09/19

Let's examine a post-apocalyptic game with a penchant for low-budget outre 90s cinema styles, and a fairly simple core mechanic to boot. It's octaNe, and it's pretty interesting, even if I personally never wanna read about Six String Samurai ever again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

76:44

260 - Star Wars Saga Edition

System Mastery ·

2023/09/08

And I said GO! If you're wondering if we liked this game, We liked this game, It's mostly fine, But it could use some work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

67:43

259 - Starfaring

System Mastery ·

2023/08/22

Sold to us as the first ever sci-fi RPG (a claim we have learned is dubious), Starfaring is basically Tunnels & Trolls, but with some Star Trek jokes and moving the racism largely from the spell titles to the art. It's still Ken St. Andre, it's still like maybe half a game, and it's still sort of important just because of the era (1977!) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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