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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

01:04:21

RTFM: Apocalypse Keys

RTFM ·

2023/07/18

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 Aaron Voigt to talk Apocalypse Keys, mechanized feelings, hungry worms, and hurting God with your sins. This episode is sponsored by ⁠Ratti Incantati, an excellent distributor of RPGs, zines, and literary ephemera⁠. If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord. And check us out on Patreon for

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01:11:29

RTFM: Thousand Year Old Vampire

RTFM ·

2023/06/20

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 Kait Tremblay to talk about Thousand Year Old Vampire, breaking rules, medium conventions, and "Lightning Crashes" by Live. Check out Kait's book, Collaborative Worldbuilding for Video Games! This episode is sponsored by ⁠Ratti Incantati, an excellent distributor of RPGs, zines, and literary

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01:10:10

RTFM: Bloodbeam Badlands

RTFM ·

2023/06/06

This episode is sponsored by Ratti Incantati, an excellent distributor of RPGs, zines, and literary ephemera. 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. Adam Vass of World Champ Game Co joins us to talk about Bloodbeam Badlands by Viditya Voleti. Including: what it actually takes to put out an RPG putting yourself into your games T. rex with a gun face Check

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01:25:21

RTFM: Mutants in the Now

RTFM ·

2023/05/23

This episode is sponsored by Ratti Incantati, an excellent distributor of RPGs, zines, and literary ephemera. 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. For Mutants in the Now by Julian Kay, we're joined by Aaron Fiskradatz and Pete (just Pete). These two educators talk to us about hidden curriculum, (dis)respecting churches, and game designer permissions

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01:10:19

RTFM Zine Club: Amanda Lee Franck

RTFM ·

2023/05/16

RTFM just learned about indie RPGs. Have you heard of this shit? They're so cool! RTFM's biweekly Zine Club will be hosted on Pateron, where hosts Max Lander and Aaron King each bring an RPG zine to discuss. Like show and tell but with swears. This episode is our little sampler for everyone, and it's all about Amanda Lee Franck's zines, focusing on Mouth Brood (a hex crawl mutant biome) and Vampire Cruise (a boat crawl monster vacation).

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01:04:53

RTFM: Monster of the Week

RTFM ·

2023/05/09

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. Sen Holiday joins us to discuss Monster of the Week. The game has a laser focus, but it's a popular D&D off-ramp. What's the deal with that? If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord.

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00:56:32

RTFM: Ghostbusters International

RTFM ·

2023/04/25

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. Ghostbusters International! It's Ghostbusters. We talk about caving to audience demands, sex comedies through the decades, and how bustin makes us feel. (Spoiler warning: it feels good.) If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord.

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01:12:18

RTFM: Monster Care Squad

RTFM ·

2023/04/11

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. Jonathan Levstein joins the conversation on Monster Care Squad from Sandy Pug Games. How many player choices are too many? How does layout affect the reading experience? What's the best monster, and why is it the one who wants people to live in it? If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord.

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01:44:09

RTFM: Bluebeard's Bride

RTFM ·

2023/03/28

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. Haunted house time! Natalie Zina Walschots joins us to talk about Bluebeard's Bride. What's the deal with men? Can you consent to a book? Can tone go too far? If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord.

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01:36:41

RTFM: Wet Grandpa

RTFM ·

2023/03/14

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets ofmechanics,lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual sothat you don't have to. As monster season continues, Dia Lacina joins us to talk about Wet Grandpa by Evey Lockhart. What's the best way to write an adventure? Do vibes rule everything? And why do we end up talking about '90s RPGs? If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord.

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01:27:48

RTFM: Blood Feud

RTFM ·

2023/02/28

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets ofmechanics,lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual sothat you don't have to. Dan Phipps of Gem Room Games is here to talk about Blood Feud from Blackfisk Publishing! It's the start of our new season. The theme is "monsters," and we talk about the biggest monster of all: toxic masculinity. If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord.

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00:56:23

RTFM Appendix Now: Kismet and The Invisibles

RTFM ·

2023/02/14

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets ofmechanics,lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual sothat you don't have to. This is the final mini-sode exploring the influences behind the games we're Kickstarting. First up is Kismet by Cezar Capacle, a deceptively simple game with revolutionary mechanics. Then we talk about The Invisibles, a comic by Grant Morrison and a whole host of artists. Discussion ranges from designer toolboxes to messy queer

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01:06:32

RTFM Appendix Now: Battle Royale & The Matrix

RTFM ·

2023/02/11

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets ofmechanics,lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual sothat you don't have to. With our Kickstarter running, we wanted to do a series of shorter episodes focusing on the various inspirations for our games. It's movie night! With Battle Royale and The Matrix. We talk about subtext, text, and supertext and just sort of compliment both movies. Check out our Kickstarter here. If you want to chat about the

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00:46:56

RTFM Appendix Now: Cybermetal 2012

RTFM ·

2023/02/03

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets ofmechanics,lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual sothat you don't have to. With our Kickstarter running, we wanted to do a series of shorter episodes focusing on the various inspirations for our games. First up is Cybermetal 2012 by Adam Vass. What has Max repeatedly saying "Fuck you, Adam" (respectfully)? How can a game be both inextricable from its mechanics but webbed to them? Why should we make weird

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00:44:54

RTFM: Ranking of the Games Season 2

RTFM ·

2023/01/31

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets ofmechanics,lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual sothat you don't have to. We look back at this season's games, rank them, and chat about our upcoming season three. Check out our Kickstarter here. If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord!

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01:08:36

RTFM: CyberGeneration

RTFM ·

2023/01/24

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets ofmechanics,lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual sothat you don't have to. We return to R. Talsorian Games and Mike Pondsmith in order to talk about CyberGeneration! We cover regretting and correcting their creative decisions, punk and optimism, and malls. Also, R. Talsorian keeps their out-of-print books available as print-on-demand, so you can get CyberGeneration and read along. Check out our

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01:21:09

RTFM: Advanced Dungeons & Dragons First Quest

RTFM ·

2023/01/10

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets ofmechanics,lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual sothat you don't have to. We continue our slow exploration of D&D editions with the First Quest box set for AD&D 2nd Edition. Is the box set the ultimate expression of the RPG? Do more RPGs need to hire child actors to pretend to play the game? If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord!

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01:38:57

RTFM: Patchwork World

RTFM ·

2022/12/27

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets ofmechanics,lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to. Our holiday extravaganza concludes as Max is joined by return guests KeganExe, Rae Nedjadi and new guest Josh Hittie to talk about Patchwork World. Is it the real D&D? What's up with all the whales and parents? If you want to support the hosts, check out the RTMF Ko-Fi store for limited-run zines and merch. If you want to chat

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00:55:42

RTFM: Himbos of Myth & Mettle

RTFM ·

2022/12/12

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets ofmechanics,lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to. Actually, that's a lie. Max isn't here this time, because we're talking about the game he wrote, Himbos of Myth & Mettle. Aaron is joined by previous guest Izzie Colpitts and himbos extraordinaire Adam Guzkowski and Ivory. We talk about light game structures, the meaning of camp, and hashtag fries. If you want to support the

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01:20:00

RTFM: Edge of the Empire

RTFM ·

2022/11/22

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets ofmechanics,lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual sothat you don't have to. Christian Sorrell of MeatCastle GameWare joins us for another Star Wars episode. This time, it's Edge of the Empire from Fantasy Flight Games. We talk about proprietary components, walls of text, and play experiences. If you want to support the hosts, check out the RTMF Ko-Fi store for limited-run zines and merch. If you want to

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