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PODCAST

Dice Exploder

A show about tabletop RPG design. Each episode we bring you a single mechanic and break it down as deep as we possibly can. Co-hosted by Sam Dunnewold and a rotating roster of designers. Part of the Many Sided Network. diceexploder.com

arts design

All Episodes

00:34:29

Stress (Brinkwood) with Tan Shao Han

Dice Exploder ·

2023/09/07

Transcript This week, Sam talks with Tan Shao Han about stress from Brinkwood by Erik Bernhardt, a character resource originally from Blades in the Dark by John Harper. This is one of those episodes where to talk about the mechanic in question, we kind of have to talk about the whole-ass game around it because so much of Brinkwood is tied up in stress. And in this case, we really had to talk about two whole-ass games, because so much of what makes Brinkwood stress interesting is how a few small

en-US

01:05:00

[redacted word] (We Are But Worms: A One Word RPG)...

Dice Exploder ·

2023/08/31

Transcript This week, Sam talks with his middle school buddy David Block about We Are But Worms: A One Word RPG, other lyric games, and experimental art at large. Some topics discussed include: * Art * Games * Poetry * Lists The best place to find David is on the Dice Exploder Discord. But No More: A One Letter Supplement for We Are But Worms: A One Word RPG You can find Sam on Bluesky, Twitter, dice.camp, and itch @sdunnewold. Our logo was designed by sporgory, and our theme song is Sunset Bridge

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00:47:38

Fate Points and Aspects (Fate) with wendi yu

Dice Exploder ·

2023/08/24

Transcript This week, Sam talks with wendi yu about the Fate Point economy, a meta currency system from Fate by Fred Hicks and Rob Donoghue and published by Evil Hat. Some topics discussed include: * Getting into storygames * “Generic” RPGs * When crunch kills the vibe * The Hero’s Journey * The (lack of) difference between rules and flavor * Writing good aspects: it’s hard! * wendi’s game here, there, be monsters! You can find wendi on Twitter @wen_di_yu, and you can buy here, there, be monsters

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00:27:38

Cramped Quarters (Uncharted Worlds) with Morgan Nuncio

Dice Exploder ·

2023/08/18

Transcript This week, Sam talks with Morgan Nuncio about cramped quarters, a move from Uncharted Worlds. Some topics discussed include: * Travel in story games * Making this move at the beginning, middle, or end of a scene * Moves as training wheels * Stonetop’s “keep company” * Wanderhome * For the Queen You can find Mo on Twitter @SirenaBesos. You can find Sam on Bluesky, Twitter, dice.camp, and itch @sdunnewold. Our logo was designed by sporgory, and our theme song is Sunset Bridge by Purely

en-US

00:48:50

The Hex with Clayton Notestine

Dice Exploder ·

2023/08/17

Transcript This week, Sam talks with Clayton Notestine about hexagons and hex maps. Some topics discussed include: * The birth of RPGs out of wargaming * Avalon Hill’s hex map * The vibes of different numbers * Why hexes and not squares? * The hex’s modularity * How RPGs create stories in the fiction and at the table * Leaving hexes empty * Travel in RPGs * Hex flowers Clayton can be found @ClayNotestine on Twitter, @ExplorersDesign on Bluesky and dice.camp, at explorers.itch.io, and of course at

en-US

00:02:46

Dice Exploder: Season 2 Trailer

Dice Exploder ·

2023/08/10

Coming August 17th, 2023: DICE EXPLODER SEASON 2.(Here’s a transcript of this trailer.)That’s right, we are back next week with an all new season. It's 12 new episodes, 13 new co-hosts diving face first with me into the world of tabletop RPG design one mechanic at a time.This is gonna be a season that's a lot about flavor and vibes and how those things themselves are fundamentally mechanics in these games. We've also got a trio of episodes about different ways to depict travel, and of course a few

en-US

00:30:45

Pick Lists with Ash Kreider

Dice Exploder ·

2023/07/13

Transcript This week, Sam talks with Ash Kreider about character creation picklists, a common feature of most (all?) PBTA games, as well as many others. Some topics discussed include: * Character creation speed runs * Gender lists * Are pick lists mechanics? * How Wanderhome doubles the length of its pick lists with This One Cool Trick * Are pick lists poetry? Games mentioned * Apocalypse World * The Watch * Blades in the Dark * Dream Askew // Dream Apart * Maid RPG * Wanderhome * Space Train Space

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00:32:38

Whispers (The Wildsea) with Ryan Khan

Dice Exploder ·

2023/07/06

Transcript This week, Sam talks with Ryan Khan about Whispers, a player resource from The Wildsea by Felix Isaacs, but really about a whole bunch of mechanics from The Wildsea. Some topics discussed include: * Setting as game design, and open ended lore * Open ended prompts * Twists vs Devil’s Bargains * Player agency * Long skill lists: pros and cons Games mentioned: * The Wildsea * Apocalypse World * Blades in the Dark * Heart: The City Beneath * Spire You can find Ryan Khan on Twitter

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00:38:02

Divine Favor (Agon 2e) with Greg Soper

Dice Exploder ·

2023/06/29

Transcript This week, Sam talks with Greg Soper AKA sporgory about Divine Favor, one part of the dice pool mechanic from Agon second edition by Sean Nittner and John Harper. Some topics discussed include: - Having a family drama stapled to your character sheet - Greek Gods: bad parents - What makes hacking Divine Favor hard - Endeavor - Odyssey Aquatica - All Quiet No Peace - Starbones - The setting elements mechanic from Dream Askew // Dream Apart - ~HACKING LIVE ON AIR!!!~ You can find Greg on

en-US

00:45:38

Change The World (The Watch) with Ema Acosta

Dice Exploder ·

2023/06/22

Transcript This week on the Dice Exploder podcast, Sam talks with Ema Acosta about Change The World, a move from The Watch by Ash Kreider. Some topics discussed include: * The Watch: it’s depressing! * The Watch and its gender dynamics * A lot of people will never see this bit of design and that’s okay * Balancing misery with hope and beauty * “Just tell the players to do the thing” * Inducing emotions from technical language * “Rail shooter RPGs” * Crying Games mentioned: * The Watch * Night

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00:50:03

Theorize (Brindlewood Bay via Oli Jeffrey) with...

Dice Exploder ·

2023/06/15

Transcript This week, Sam talks with Victor Lane about the Theorize move, originally from an idea by Oli Jeffrey and popularized in Brindlewood Bay by Jason Cordova. Some topics discussed include: * The history of solving mysteries in RPGs * The Three Clue Rule * Jason Cordova’s blogpost discussing Oli Jeffrey’s original Theorize move * Writing mystery stories VS reading or watching mystery stories VS playing a mystery RPG * Bullshit * Quantum villains * Victor’s advice on running Brindlewood Bay

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00:36:49

Devil's Bargains (Blades in the Dark) with Pam Punzalan

Dice Exploder ·

2023/06/08

Transcript This week, Sam talks with Pam Punzalan about Devil’s Bargains, one part of the dice pool mechanic from John Harper's game Blades in the Dark. Some topics discussed include: * Rulebooks as guidelines and play philosophy more than proper rules * DBs as a safety tool * Generic DBs * Do DBs slow down the game? Is that good or bad? * Retconning in RPGs (it's good) * Putting DBs into any old game * Our favorite DBs Games mentioned: * Blades in the Dark * Navathem's End * The

en-US

00:34:34

Composure (Antiquarian Adventures) with Michael Elliott

Dice Exploder ·

2023/06/01

Transcript This week, Sam talks with Michael Elliott about Composure, a player resource mechanic from Ash McAllen’s game Antiquarian Adventures. Michael is currently Kickstarting his game Nasty Brutish and Long, a simple RPG about lives complicated by revolution. Some topics discussed today: * Failure and conflict, why they're great, and mechanics that encourage players to embrace them * Genre and mechanics that support it * Simplifying mechanics when hacking, with Blades in the Dark as an

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00:39:24

Rolling The Dice (Lasers & Feelings) with Ray Chou

Dice Exploder ·

2023/05/25

Transcript This week’s cohost is Ray Chou, who brings Rolling The Dice from John Harper’s iconic one page RPG Lasers & Feelings. Topics discussed include: * Minimalism * Underlining genre through mechanics * Episodic vs serialized stories * When you should roll dice * Randomness and fate in real life * Beer & pretzels gaming Games mentioned: * Lasers and Feelings * Cows and Boys * Honey Heist * 316 Carnage Amongst the Stars * Heart: The City Beneath * Couriers Sam’s designer commentary on

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00:01:09

Dice Exploder: Season 1 Trailer

Dice Exploder ·

2023/04/27

Coming June 2023: DICE EXPLODER, a new podcast where each week we break down a tabletop RPG mechanic as deep as we possibly can, with Sam Dunnewold and a rotating co-host.Produced by the Fiction First Network. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit diceexploder.substack.com

en-US

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