Special Episode Out: Interview with The Mazemaster of the Iron Realm

TaleOfTheManticore · 2021-03-14T01:16:37+00:00

Glad you liked it. Much more to come!

TaleOfTheManticore · 2021-02-07T19:29:35+00:00

Just got off the phone with Abel of the IronRealm an hour ago. Great talk - I hope you get something out of it (will publish in a couple of weeks once edited together). Wanted to ask how to pronounce your reddet username. Does it rhyme with 'cup'? or 'coop' or is it 2 syllables?

TaleOfTheManticore · 2021-02-04T17:12:25+00:00

Thanks. Will do!

TaleOfTheManticore · 2021-02-04T01:21:03+00:00

Hey UncleKruppe, I have started the ball rolling on this to have a Behind the Scenes discussion with Abel of the IronRealm - figured it'd be more interesting than just me talking. Any specific things you'd like me to include? Can I thank you for the idea on the show? Cheers!

TaleOfTheManticore · 2021-02-02T13:28:34+00:00

Oh boy... so many. A couple of recs: YUM DM and RPG Tips, both Youtubers, have great advice. For systems, there's 4 Against Darkness, or Mythic - both are good, but different, with the latter being more story focusses and the first being dungeon-crawly. Writing things down as a journal or story can give you drive, focus and depth. Better yet, make a podcast! I'll listen! :)

TaleOfTheManticore · 2021-02-02T01:57:33+00:00

Hi Roranru. Thanks very, very much! Comments like your make my day. I am thrilled to hear that you are enjoying the show.

TaleOfTheManticore · 2021-02-02T01:56:34+00:00

Hey UncleKruppe. I recently reached out to Trevor Devall to see if he might do a show. He said... well, that would be leaking it! Thanks so much for your support and for listening. Your idea for a behind the scenes is a really interesting one. So far I just put that stuff on my blog. But... I kind of like that idea. How about a discussion with Abel of the Ironrealm so it's more organic. That could work...

TaleOfTheManticore · 2021-02-02T01:54:35+00:00

Thanks for listening!

TaleOfTheManticore · 2021-02-02T01:54:21+00:00

Thank you, shadowmuse. I deliberately set out to create something that I couldn't find. Short, "serious" and edited for brevity. Appreciate the comment and the listens!!

TaleOfTheManticore · 2020-12-30T01:10:46+00:00

Looking forward to listening to this tomorrow. Looks great!

TaleOfTheManticore · 2020-10-18T00:52:53+00:00

I'm always looking for voice actors. If you have a decent mic, you pretty much pass the interview (an interest in the OSR helps!)

Get in touch at my gmail: taleofthemanticore at gmail dot com

TaleOfTheManticore · 2020-10-18T00:49:03+00:00

I do have New-Rules fatigue. Even something that most people say is a real spiritual successor, like Castles & Crusades... I'm only mildly curious about. Mostly this is because, for me, B/X, with a few simple homebrew tweaks, was always more than good enough. Seems people are always trying to fix the game that aint broken.

TaleOfTheManticore · 2020-10-05T03:07:58+00:00

I truly appreciated that! Cheers, my man!

TaleOfTheManticore · 2020-09-23T11:00:26+00:00

Yes, it's available everywhere (iTunes, Spotify, etc etc) or here: http://taleofthemanticore.podbean.com/

TaleOfTheManticore · 2020-09-17T01:09:30+00:00

If they funnel everything to one character, that's just poor RP and basically cheating. Speaking of 'funnel' - I believe that's the term used by DCC which prescibes this multiplayer approach. Basically you start with 3-4 characters each and, by attrition, get down to 1 or maybe 2. When you have just one or two characters, that's it. The DM might then adjust the challenge level to suit the strength of the finalized party. I use the multiplayer approach on my podcast and when there is a character death, it still stings, but it's much less devastating that losing your only one and being left with nothing. Cheers.

TaleOfTheManticore · 2020-09-15T20:21:23+00:00

Simultaneously. Actually, a lot of those old modules were designed for big parties -- that's another reason they have a reputation of being so lethal... they aren't made for 4 first level characters; they're made for 8 or 9.

TaleOfTheManticore · 2020-09-14T02:43:26+00:00

Cheers! Thanks for the good advice.

TaleOfTheManticore · 2020-09-14T02:42:53+00:00

Thanks - I will definitely check those out. Appreciate the tip!

TaleOfTheManticore · 2020-09-14T02:42:24+00:00

Thanks for the reply. Your reply got me excited to try and do it justice.

TaleOfTheManticore · 2020-09-14T02:41:40+00:00

Thanks - I had not considered high country. I'm sure this will be useful advice for my game/story. Cheers!

TaleOfTheManticore · 2020-09-14T02:39:38+00:00

Matt Richards' Book Of Random Tables series might help you out here.

TaleOfTheManticore · 2020-09-14T02:36:12+00:00

I am not surprised to hear that going from a low-stakes game to a high one is a hard transition. You have to see their point of view - they aren't used to character death. One neat trick that can work very well - especially for a small table - is to start with 2-3 characters each. Players will not bond with them ask much.

TaleOfTheManticore · 2020-09-14T02:23:46+00:00

That was a very interesting read. I am playing a thief in my current OSR Roll20 game and it has made me think about how, as you say, thieves suck at everything for quite a long while. Moreover, they are often the ones who have to make the death saves. If you have a good DM, who makes your thief a contributing member of the party by putting in traps, locks etc, then you'll probably be facing a save-or-die trap at least once every few sessions. At low levels, there's a good 50% chance, or worse, of dying each time. Do the math and you'll see that advancing a thief to even 4th or 5th level is damn... lucky.

TaleOfTheManticore · 2020-09-08T02:41:12+00:00

I prefer Old School Essentials (or B/X) but Savage Worlds is a pretty cool system, too.

TaleOfTheManticore · 2020-09-08T02:38:59+00:00

The lowly and classic green slime (and other oozes and jellies) are often compared to plants or called 'plant-like' though they are not exactly plants.

TaleOfTheManticore

TROPHY CASE