Send us a text Welcome back to the table, and Happy Turkey Day! 🦃✨ This week, Tori returns with Arcadia and Malcolm to break down all things Thurs-Con — our beloved, chaotic, sugar-fueled, dice-rolling micro-convention that has officially wrapped its second glorious year. We take a joyful detour into gummy-bear discourse (as one does), then recap the full Thurs-Con experience: more people, more games, more merch, and way more gaming all weekend long. Watching the “baby gamers” discover ...

Send us a text Session Zero, Character Creation, and Beyond Welcome back to the table! This week, Arcadia, Malcolm, and Jess talk about Star Wars! The crew tried the Star Wars TTRPG on for size, and there’s just something about that galaxy far, far away that calls to all of us. Jess’s nickname even makes an appearance… Threepio! As usual, our folks dove right in — and of course, homebrew showed up almost immediately. Character creation was a little tricky, but with any new system, there are ...

Send us a text XP Is XP: The Many Faces of Role-Playing Arcadia, Malcolm, and Jess are in the studio this week while Tori is off gaming at her other table—because let’s be honest, every table needs their rogue. This episode dives into a conversation that’s close to many gamers’ hearts: video games versus tabletop RPGs. The crew explores what makes each experience unique, starting with one of the biggest differences—the human element. Around a physical table, you can see your frie...

Send us a text How Local Game Shops Became the Heart of Our Hobby This week, Malcolm, Arcadia, and Jess dive into a topic close to every gamer’s heart — local game shops! These hometown heroes are the backbone of every local gaming scene. Back in the day, hobby shops weren’t solely focused on gaming. Model kits and crafting supplies dominated the shelves, while games were often tucked into a small corner with maybe one lonely bookshelf of rulebooks. Jess’s introduction to local game sto...

Send us a text Welcome back to the table! Malcolm sits down with Rachel Vosgrove and Wesley Magee-Saxton, the founders of Forge Ahead: A Party to Access, to discuss their mission to make gaming more inclusive and accessible for people with disabilities. Rachel and Wesley share how their organization works to remove barriers—both physical and social—that can make it difficult for people with disabilities to fully participate in tabletop gaming. From ensuring that gaming spaces, tables, and too...

Send us a text Supporting Veterans, One Game at a Time Welcome back to the table! Malcolm and Tori sit down with Jason Cottom, founder of Dungeons & Dogtags, to talk about the power of tabletop role-playing games to bring people together and support those who’ve served. Jason shares the inspiration behind his organization and how it creates safe, welcoming spaces for veterans and active-duty personnel to connect, heal, and grow through storytelling and community. Their conversation explor...

Send us a text Radiance and Random Inspiration: Building Atoria With Oddfish Games Welcome back to the table! In this episode, the FA gang dives into Oddfish Games’ Adventure Engine to help flesh out a mysterious corner of Atoria. This was our first time using the system, and honestly? We had a blast. We put the Radiance deck through its paces to give some backstory to a blank spot on our homebrew map—and ended up with way more ideas than we expected. These cards are an awesome way to s...

Send us a text Another Epic Interview With OddFish Games This week, we had the pleasure of interviewing Christina Stiso, one of the hosts of The Epic Adventure Podcast! Christina is a game designer, GM, gamer, PhD student, and Creative Designer at Oddfish Games. She’s also a passionate advocate for inclusivity in gaming and serves as the Outreach Director for Tabletop Gaymers — the folks who hand out those iconic ribbons at conventions, helping create safe and welcoming spaces for everyone in...

Send us a text Are You Ready for an Epic Interview? After months of emails and coordination, we’re thrilled to feature our very first interview: Steve Kellams, host of The Epic Adventure Podcast. Together, we dive into our shared passions for TTRPGs and the power of podcasting as a medium. Steve shares how his background in law enforcement and early strategy war games led him to the table. Combining a love of games and storytelling, he has been informing and entertaining listeners alongside M...

Send us a text The 8 Types of TTRPG Players (And Their Strengths and Pitfalls) Welcome back to the table—this week, the whole party’s here! Tori took us down a delightful rabbit hole into the world of player archetypes that pop up at so many TTRPG tables. Which one sounds like you (or your friends)? StorytellersExplorersTacticiansActorsSlayersJokersGuardiansCollectorsMost players lean into one archetype but dip into others over the course of a campaign. Each type comes with its own strengths ...

Send us a text Community News, London Pub Scenes, and Player Archetypes Unpacked Welcome back to the table! Malcolm kicks things off with some stories circulating in the TTRPG community. Tori, Jess, and Arcadia dive into topics making the news, including recent moves from Paizo and Glass Cannon Unplugged. The group also takes a closer look at London’s TTRPG pub scene—how it fills a niche for both gamers and pub owners alike. After the break, Tori digs into different playstyles at the table. ...

Send us a text Exploring Love, Fandom, and TTRPGs Welcome back to the table! Finding Atoria Studios is packed today for a lively discussion on the rise of Romantasy TTRPGs and their growing presence in the gaming market. Have these elements always been hidden in the gems of our roleplaying games—or is there something different about the current moment? We dive into the stats and mechanics that help romance flourish in games and settings, while also exploring the origins of this wave of RPG-cu...

Send us a text From Ribbet Tongues to Druid Shrooms With Malcolm out this week, Tori and Arcadia dive into a lively discussion about Ancestries in TTRPGs. The rise of the narrative-focused game Daggerheart has sparked big conversations in the community about what makes it stand out for both players and GMs. In Daggerheart, ancestries aren’t just cosmetic—they’re baked directly into a character’s features and feats, carefully balanced through stress costs and resource management. The ancestry ...

Send us a text A New Chapter for World of Darkness Welcome back to the table! Tori takes the moderator seat as Arcadia and Malcolm dive into the topic of White Wolf’s re-emergence. While fans of World of Darkness may have been anticipating the brand’s return, the resurrection isn’t quite the same as the White Wolf we remember from its heyday. Originally swallowed by Paradox Interactive, White Wolf’s future seemed uncertain after some promised video game projects fell through. However, with th...

Send us a text Alignments: Flexible, Not Flawed Malcolm moderates this episode as the crew dives into the topic of alignment—the classic D&D concept that has shaped characters and campaigns for decades. Alignment may or may not be a big deal at your table, but it’s been a highly rigid rule in older editions of D&D. In some editions, certain races or species were automatically assigned an alignment, limiting player freedom and creativity. The gaming world has gradually moved away...

Send us a text Last Episode About Gen Con, We Promise! Welcome back to the table! We have a skeleton crew in the studio for our final words on Gen Con 2025 and a massive round of shout-outs. Arcadia and Malcolm hold down the board this week as they focus on some of the names and businesses we interacted with in the Exhibit Hall, highlighting community members whose work and personalities left a lasting impression. We also take a few minutes to recount the people and passions that made our tim...

Send us a text GenCon Recap: New Games, New Friends, and Chaos at the Table Welcome back to the table! Jess and Tori are both on the mic this episode, and Malcolm and Arcadia share a wrap-up of GenCon 2025, where they represented our crew. From discovering new games to meeting new friends, this year’s convention brought some fresh experiences. Jess kicks things off with a lesson in orderly queuing, proving that some skills from overseas don’t always translate to the States. Last year’s ...

Send us a text Trade Days, Tabletop Fun, and Community Connections Welcome back to the table! This week, we’re recording outside the studio and missed our Tori, who’s off on amazing adventures! Jess joins Arcadia and Malcolm for a lively discussion leading up to Gen Con 2025. We hop back in the time machine to revisit our Con experiences in 2024, shining a light on the beauty of Trade Day. All three of us agree that Gen Con is truly a well-attended event, and we even pay homage to friends’ mo...

Send us a text Frogs, Fun, and First-Time GM Chaos Welcome back to the table! In this episode, Malcolm, Tori, and Arcadia finally play-tested Daggerheart and share their impressions and takeaways. Some serious GMing skills were on display, Arcadia got pulled into roleplaying moments, and Tori reminded us all to be a little wary of frogs. While everyone had a blast exploring a new system, there’s a recognition that Daggerheart might not be for everyone—though many players will love it at...

Send us a text The Forever DM and the Rules Guy Welcome back to the table! In this episode, we dive into two of the biggest names in the TTRPG world: Jeremy Crawford and Chris Perkins. Crawford, the rules guru, and Perkins, the forever DM, have been cornerstones of Dungeons & Dragons for decades. Both spent at least 18 years at Wizards of the Coast, shaping the game we all love and earning legendary status among players. Their expertise, influence, and sheer experience mean they’ve ...