Most games give a decent amount of attention in the rules to planning combat encounters - but what about those where you, the GM, intend for there to be no fighting at all? How do you decide to insert these into your adventures and how do you plan and run them at the table? We tackle some of the essentials in this episode.

We continue with James’ Traveller campaign and share some different perspectives on he we each ran the same adventure, and how you can launch your own Traveller Spinward Marches campaign.

Art and TTRPGs have a long, cooperative history, with DnD’s art being something of the flagship and standard for what gaming art can be, can look like, and the role it plays in your game. Herein we discuss this and some of the topics with which it overlaps.

For the ‘classic’ DnD art mentioned in the episode…

Watch the documentary, Eye of the Beholder: The Art of Dungeons & Dragons, on Amazon: https://a.co/d/2KPLgJO

Check out Art & Arcana: A Visual History: https://a.co/d/1iyToaL

Where do you start when planning a conflict (combat?) encounter? It’s not with CR, or mechanical balance, or XP values…it’s deeper and more interesting, in fact. We discuss some of the most fundamental questions you should ask and issues you should consider when planning where and when to add a fight to your tabletop RPG sessions.Join our friendly Discord: https://discord.gg/5AtydRUDjX Subscribe on to our podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fluffncrunchSubscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@fluffncrunchpod

After our episodes about James running High & Dry, I thought it’d be useful to give some advice to the new or would-be Traveller GM or player. There are a lot of Drinaxout there for the game - where should you get started? I help.

Our Discord: https://discord.gg/ydwwPHNuG9

The core book: https://tinyurl.com/tpjf358z

Third Imperium: https://tinyurl.com/4yf6pbe8

Traveller Companion: https://tinyurl.com/mzbjhz97

High Guard: https://tinyurl.com/64p2k8rx

Central Supply Catalog: https://tinyurl.com/yw5p5j46

The Marches Adventures: https://tinyurl.com/2suszadh

The Fifth Frontier War: https://tinyurl.com/3a5a48vj

The Pirates of Drinax: https://tinyurl.com/4awcxamd

Herein we discuss session 2, and the completion of, the great introductory adventure for Traveller, “High & Dry.”

Check out our discussion of the first part of the adventure: https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/suIB5wTulWb

Read about the adventure on Mongoose’s site: https://www.mongoosepublishing.com/products/marches-adventure-1-high-and-dry

Find it on DriveThru: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/174177/marches-adventure-1-high-and-dry?affiliate_id=40097

Where do you start when planning an encounter, or scene, for a TTRPG adventure? How do you think about the location and how to convey its details to your players? We discuss in today’s episode.

You’re a GM interested in starting a new campaign…what are the first steps you should take? What are the initial ideas and issues you need to nail down before sinking in all that world and adventure building work?

We tackle these issues in this part 1 of a multi-episode arc.

Traveller’s a great game set in a massive universe - but where should you start? High and Dry is an excellent introduction for players and GMs new to Traveller, and in this episode we discuss James’ first session of the adventure with his group - all of them new to Traveller.

Session prep can be tough - and prep for a game that neither you nor your players have played before is tougher. Herein we discuss James' upcoming first session of Traveller, using it as a vehicle to talk about some foundational session prep practices any GM can use.

Herein we talk about the reboot, and then get down to the important business of discussing some pithy, useful GM tips.

It might sound absurd, but if you want your best TTRPG session, you need to know the rules. Herein I provide some real-world-tested techniques for learning and remembering the rules to your games and your characters.#ttrpg #closereading Join our friendly Discord: https://discord.gg/5AtydRUDjX Subscribe on to our podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fluffncrunchSubscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@fluffncrunchpod

Engagement, by GM and players, is essential if you want a fun, interesting, and memorable TTRPG session...but how do you achieve it? What does it look like? Here are some specific techniques - for players and GMs - to help you get and stay engaged with the game, story, and each other.Join our friendly Discord: https://discord.gg/5AtydRUDjX Subscribe on to our podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fluffncrunchSubscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@fluffncrunchpod

Why is it that everything is so politicized these days? Is it possible to play a game without the inclusion of your political positions while at the table, or as a purity test for players? Listen and find out the lab-tested truth of the matter.

Get caught up with the first episode in this series here: https://youtu.be/10o8pt2qEY0

Join our friendly Discord: https://discord.gg/5AtydRUDjX

Subscribe on to our podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fluffncrunch

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@fluffncrunchpod

Nobody plans to have a mediocre game session - but how do you get great, or at least pretty good, one? What can you plan in advance to increase the likelihood of a good session? What can you do during the session to make the best it can be?This is the first in a multi-episode series featuring advice on how to have great sessions, and specific ideas about how to make it happen.Join our friendly Discord: https://discord.gg/5AtydRUDjX Subscribe on to our podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fluffncrunchSubscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@fluffncrunchpod

Have you read the rules for it? Have you tried it? Dune's five types of conflict utilize the same mechanics, relying on abstract "Assets" and the various things you can do with them to enable one set of rules for widely varying scales of conflict. Dueling, a central story elements from the books and movies, is one of those five and, by far, the most complicated of them. Herein I discuss the system with Steve Zaccardi, freelance writer for the Dune RPG. He was kind enough to create a detailed, helpful PDF that explains the system, too. The link to that is below, along with another to a sketch of the card-based system he's working on now. Dueling Helper PDF: https://tinyurl.com/4ut55jru Card-Based Idea: https://tinyurl.com/ym9beduj Join our friendly Discord: https://discord.gg/5AtydRUDjX Subscribe on to our podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fluffncrunch Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@fluffncrunchpod Subscribe to our email list: https://forms.gle/VaFtxXjkzRSqwFi39

I recently sat down with Al Spader, creator and lead writer for the Sentience 2d20 RPG, now on Kickstarter. We talk about the game, the original world in which it's set, and plans for the game's future.

Find the Kickstarter here: http://kck.st/4aAKmEn Join our friendly Discord: https://discord.gg/5AtydRUDjX Subscribe on to our podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fluffncrunch Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@fluffncrunchpod Subscribe to our email list: https://forms.gle/VaFtxXjkzRSqwFi39

We've run this show since the summer of 2021, and each January we've released an episode in which we map out our hopes, dreams, and plans for gaming for the coming year. Granted, we're late this time, but here it is - plus a change to the show format that we've decided on in response to the demands of real life. Join our friendly Discord: https://discord.gg/5AtydRUDjX Subscribe on to our podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fluffncrunch Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@fluffncrunchpod Subscribe to our email list: https://forms.gle/VaFtxXjkzRSqwFi39

The Forever GM often hits a wall and forcibly ends a campaign that's turned into an energy-draining grind, or tries to soldier on. The truly epic, years-long campaign is a rarity, more often the result of natural, largely uncontrollable factors than deliberate design. When, however, can a GM intentionally shelve a campaign that's going well? That's what I'm about to do, and this is how I'm going to do it... Join our friendly Discord: https://discord.gg/5AtydRUDjX Subscribe on to our podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fluffncrunch Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@fluffncrunchpod Subscribe to our email list: https://forms.gle/VaFtxXjkzRSqwFi39

Traveller - the original, classic, and still going strong scifi RPG - is worth your time. You should give it a try, and now that Mongoose Publishing has offered a free starter version, you have no valid excuse. In this short, episode, I present and discuss three groovy things about Traveller that make it worth a look - sure, there are more than three things that make it groovy, but I have chosen these for you today. #travellerrpg  @MongoosePublishingLtd  Get that FREE starter pack: https://www.mongoosepublishing.com/products/starterpack Join our friendly Discord: https://discord.gg/5AtydRUDjX Subscribe on to our podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fluffncrunch Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@fluffncrunchpod Subscribe to our email list: https://forms.gle/VaFtxXjkzRSqwFi39