How do you put more character in your #ttrpg character? You don't have to go full method actor, here are some simple and actionable ideas to get you started. If you dig actual plays played with vim and vigour, check out the new ⁠Unconventional GMs YouTube channel⁠.

Episode 186 – What Games Workshop Can Teach Us There's a lot of crossover between geeky hobbies, and with the lads both working for the big Games Workshop back in the day, what can skirmish games teach us about RPGs? If you dig actual plays played with vim and vigour, check out the new ⁠Unconventional GMs YouTube channel⁠.

Episode 185 – Cities (aka Fantasy Tripadvisor) After wandering the wilderness and diving down dungeons, plucky adventurers wish to go to an enthralling city. Maybe your entire campaign is based around one location. The lads explore various cities from ttrgps and the merits and flaws thereof! If you dig actual plays played with vim and vigour, check out the new Unconventional GMs YouTube channel.

Episode 184 – Hot War, Cold City (with Jon Hodgson and Malcolm Craig) Joining the ‘cast this time, Jon Hodgson of Handiwork Games and RPG author and academic Malcolm Craig. The Cold War period and monster hunting in Berlin come to the fore as the lads dive into Hot War and Cold City among other great games from the Handiwork studio! You can find out more about Malcolm Craig here. And here are some links for Handiwork Games: Hot War & Cold City FiveEvil Maskwitches Beowulf If you dig actual plays played with vim and vigour, check out the new Unconventional GMs YouTube channel.

Episode 183 – Unacceptable! (a.k.a. It’s Not You It’s Us) There are a plethora of gaming events to go to these days and you meet all kinds of people and playstyles. Often this is a cause for celebration, a way to pick up new ideas and techniques. Sometimes though, it’s suboptimal. There are still some people who haven’t got the memo about gaming with others, and this time the lads aim to set things straight.

Episode 182 – How To GM with Justin Alexander The lads are delighted to have returning Good Friend of the Show, RPG producer and designer at Atlas Games, Justin Alexander. He’s got a new book coming out, available in all good purveyors of such things, So You Want To Be A Game Master. Join for great insights, some not seen or heard before on the Alexandrian (or maybe anywhere!) and to get a unique precis of what is in this fine work. Visit Justin’s excellent RPG resource The Alexandrian, as check out what’s hot at Atlas Games. If you dig actual plays played with vim and vigour, check out the new Unconventional GMs YouTube channel.

Episode 181 – Gaming in Ukraine with Tasha from idearoll Fresh from The Kraken gaming retreat, the lads have met old friends and made new ones. Chief among those is Tasha from the idearoll youtube channel, who joins them this week to talk about gaming events, the scene in Ukraine and challenges of the current environment. A great episode full of enthusiasm and community spirit! You can find the idearoll channel below (in Ukrainian), which also has several other links for supporting the team’s efforts. idearoll on YouTube. Get yourself a copy of the Vaesen Spirits and Monsters of Mythic Ukraine on Drivethru here. Charitable links: Defence And Demining Medical Aid Rebuild Ukraine Come Back Alive Hospitallers If you dig actual plays, check out the new Unconventional GMs YouTube channel. Lots of great games played with vim and vigour in two hours or less.

Episode 180 – Shadow of the Weird Wizard with Rob Schwalb Returning special guest Rob Schwalb, creator of Shadow of the Demonlord, Punk Apocalyptica, D&D designer and more, returns to the show to tell us all about his design process and work on his new Kickstarter, Shadow of the Weird Wizard. The Kickstarter project page is here: Shadow of the Weird Wizard. If you dig actual plays, check out the new Unconventional GMs YouTube channel. Lots of great games played with vim and vigour in two hours or less.

Episode 179 – Pendragon 6e with David Larkins Returning special guest David Larkins, Line Editor for the King Arthur Pendragon RPG joins the lads to talk about the new edition, it’s starter set and get back to basics on what Pendragon is all about for new players and old hands alike! If you dig actual plays then check out the new ⁠Unconventional GMs⁠ for games played in about two hours!

Episode 178 – Starforged With Shawn Tomkin Returning special guest Shawn Tomkin, designer of Ironsworn and of particular interest this time, Starforged. It’s an excellent Sci Fi RPG and well worth digging into, which is exactly what the lads do this time! If you dig actual plays then check out the new ⁠Unconventional GMs⁠ for games played in about two hours!

Episode 177 – Wilderness Travel Fancy a trip to the Isle of Dread!? This episode the lads take a look at traveling in the wilderness, how to make it interesting and what tips and trips can improve the journey. If you dig actual plays then check out the new ⁠Unconventional GMs⁠ for games played in about two hours!

Episode 176 – Dungeons Not Dragons Whether you’re from the old school days of white-lined maps on blue backgrounds, or newly arrived at the idea of maps, scouring the internet for your Roll20 backgrounds, dungeons have a long and storied history in RPGs. Join the lads as they look back over the years at dungeons, what makes them good and how they can be used better. If you dig actual plays then check out the new ⁠Unconventional GMs⁠ for games played in about two hours

If you’re a fan of the show, you’ll know we love AGON, powered by the Paragon system. This time the lads are delighted to be joined by Sean Nittner, the co-author and independent game designer Tim Denee, who’s done some great stuff with the game. Come on in for a deep dive on the game design process, what makes these sets of games great and how to squeeze more gaming juice from your sessions! Evil Hat have a ton of great games you can peruse for your delectation on their website. You can see more of Tim’s great work on his website, Old Dog Games If you’re in the US, or plan on travelling there for a convention, find out about Big Bad Con here. If you dig actual plays then check out the new Unconventional GMs for games played in about two hours!

Episode 174 – Beyond Dread Portals (a.k.a. Climinal) This time the boys are joined by Good Friend of the Show and returning guest Dr Mitch and Newt from D101 Games to talk about their new project Beyond Dread Portals. A game for those wanting to move slightly away from what D&D has to offer, but with some familiarity so the leap of faith isn’t too scary!

Episode 173 - Third Floor Wars (a.k.a. Third Party Podcaster) A third podcaster, Craig Shipman from Third Floor Wars joins the lads this time to talk about some of our collective GM experiences at running three different games. From Blades in the Dark to Savage Worlds by way of Call of Cthulhu, this mighty triumvirate of gaming tells you what's hot and what's not, with tips, tricks and experiences of running these popular RPGs. To listen to John Harper's series on running Blades and more, head on over to his Youtube channel. The the glorious media empire of Third Floor Wars and more of Craig's great content visit the website here. If you dig actual plays and reviews of played modules, check out the new YouTube channel. Get in touch, the lads love to hear from you!Twitters: twitter.com/the_smart_partyEmail: thesmartparty@hotmail.comKo-Fi: ko-fi.com/thesmartpartyPatreons: patreon.com/thesmartparty We always welcome lovely reviews on iTunes or elsewhere too. If you're less keen, give us a shout, we'd are open to development opportunities! :)

Episode 172 - OGL OMG (a.k.a. Version Wars) There has been no end of social media frenzy about Hasbro / Wizards of the Coast and their attempt to introduce a new Open Gaming Licence. What is? Why are they doing? What's everyone upset about? Does it impact your game at the kitchen table? Find out, all this and more, with special guest Mat from Steamforged Games. If you are interested in the legal aspects of all this check out Legal Eagle. The latest on the open D&D playtest and OGL 1.2 is on the WotC website. For Games Workshop reminiscing, Baz talked about Goonhammer. If you dig actual plays and reviews of played modules, check out the new YouTube channel. Get in touch, the lads love to hear from you!Twitters: twitter.com/the_smart_partyEmail: thesmartparty@hotmail.comKo-Fi: ko-fi.com/thesmartpartyPatreons: patreon.com/thesmartparty We always welcome lovely reviews on iTunes or elsewhere too. If you're less keen, give us a shout, we'd are open to development opportunities! :)

Episode 171 - 2022 Retrospective (a.k.a. A Polite Golf Clap) A look back on the past year, what's been good for gaming, what can we look forward to and more. A genial fireside chat with your amiable hosts. If you are interested in solo play for Ironsworn as mentioned check out this channel. If you dig actual plays and reviews of played modules, check out the new YouTube channel. Get in touch, the lads love to hear from you!Twitters: twitter.com/the_smart_partyEmail: thesmartparty@hotmail.comKo-Fi: ko-fi.com/thesmartpartyPatreons: patreon.com/thesmartparty We always welcome lovely reviews on iTunes or elsewhere too. If you're less keen, give us a shout, we'd are open to development opportunities! :)

Episode 170 - Star Wars (a.k.a. Live Long And Prosper) A chance to reminisce among other things, the lads chatter about bringing Star Wars into your gaming life and what's good about that. If you dig actual plays and reviews of played modules, check out the new YouTube channel. Get in touch, the lads love to hear from you!Twitters: twitter.com/the_smart_partyEmail: thesmartparty@hotmail.comKo-Fi: ko-fi.com/thesmartpartyPatreons: patreon.com/thesmartparty We always welcome lovely reviews on iTunes or elsewhere too. If you're less keen, give us a shout, we'd are open to development opportunities! :)

Episode 169 - Mechanics Drive Play (a.k.a. Long Chambery Things) Following on from emergent play in the last episode, the lads go through a cornucopia of games and systems to talk about mechanics which drive different styles of play. If you dig actual plays and reviews of played modules, check out the new YouTube channel. Get in touch, the lads love to hear from you!Twitters: twitter.com/the_smart_partyEmail: thesmartparty@hotmail.comKo-Fi: ko-fi.com/thesmartpartyPatreons: patreon.com/thesmartparty We always welcome lovely reviews on iTunes or elsewhere too. If you're less keen, give us a shout, we'd are open to development opportunities! :)

Episode 168 - Emergent Play (a.k.a. Play To Find Out) From thick books of lore to many-paged character backgrounds, how do you get cool stuff to the table? Do you even bother with all that and play to find out instead? The lads chat about how to get more juiciness from your gaming sessions. If you dig actual plays and reviews of played modules, check out the new YouTube channel. Get in touch, the lads love to hear from you!Twitters: twitter.com/the_smart_partyEmail: thesmartparty@hotmail.comKo-Fi: ko-fi.com/thesmartpartyPatreons: patreon.com/thesmartparty We always welcome lovely reviews on iTunes or elsewhere too. If you're less keen, give us a shout, we'd are open to development opportunities! :)