Podcast
Fear the Boot
Hosted by Dan · EN
Fear the Boot is an irreverent, round table discussion of tabletop role playing games. In this weekly show we debate game-related issues, offer advice for improving your game, and poke fun at the hobby. Our cast changes a little from show to show, but we always assemble a group of dynamic individuals with divergent views, guaranteeing you will hear several perspectives on everything we discuss.
11episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Bonus Episode 104 - WPC 1: random traits
Dec 19, 202400:33:09Tap to summarize* (0:24) A joke to an AI becomes a show topic. * (2:48) Characters born in a cursed forest, without sunlight. * (7:48) Characters who compulsively collect…feathers…? * (13:18) Characters who accidentally caused a rebellion. * (19:29) Characters with an unusual knowledge of fungi. * (25:03) Characters who cannot stand the sight of open water. Hosts: Dan, Julia, Mary, Wayne
Transcribe →Episode 628 - player bucket list
Nov 30, 202400:38:28Tap to summarize* (0:29) Switching to a bucket list of what we want to play. * (1:30) Wayne wants to play Dresden Files. * (4:13) Dan still wants to play an Injustice game. * (6:11) Mary wants to play a necromancer. * (9:05) Doug wants to play Stargate (or something like it). * (10:18) Wayne wants a settlement building game. Rebuild 3 demands FTB-9000 compliance! * (14:38) Dan wants to play ourselves. The End of the World. * (18:08) Mary wants to play multiple characters. * (22:25) Doug wants to play Greek mythology. * (26:00) Wayne wants to play a Sliders game with plenty of alternate history. * (28:50) Dan wants to play Battletech (plus Mechwarrior). * (30:17) Mary wants to play a group of paladins (with strong nods to David Eddings' The Elenium). * (35:37) Doug wants to play assistants to Cold War spies. Hosts: Dan, Doug, Mary, Wayne
Transcribe →Episode 627 – GM bucket list
Sep 4, 202400:37:37Tap to summarize* (0:29) The bucket list of games we want to run. * (1:31) Doug's long-term campaign. * (3:10) Wayne's Fallout: St. Louis game. * (7:03) Dan's Battletech: Silver Scorpions game. A Fabian war. * (9:37) Mary's Castle Ravenloft / Curse of Strahd game. * (12:41) Doug's western game. * (14:58) Wayne's campaign based on The Quiet Year. Decuma and Home. * (18:57) Dan's Hunter game. Dayshift, watchable on Netflix. Judgment: Apocalypse Survival Simulation. * (22:39) Mary's Mummy game. Spirit of the Century. * (25:40) Doug's Midgard campaign. * (26:51) Whatever Wayne backed last on Kickstarter. Right now, that's Planet of the Apes. * (29:47) Dan's Battletech: Solaris VII game. * (33:36) Mary's Oregon Trail (with dragons). Hosts: Dan, Doug, Mary, Wayne
Transcribe →Episode 626 - video games to tabletop
Aug 20, 202400:40:07Tap to summarize* (0:30) An old Apple //c computer and early computer RPGs. * (4:16) Transitioning from video games into tabletop RPGs. * (9:44) The expectations players bring from a video game to pen-and-paper games. * (12:41) The tyranny of choice brought on by a lack of a character-driven path. * (18:05) A lack of clear and connected outcomes. * (19:50) Mixing new and veteran players. * (26:13) Expanding intra-party roleplaying. * (28:39) Asking why someone wanted to make the jump. * (35:06) Trying to translate one medium into another. Hosts: Caleb, Dan, Doug, Mary
Transcribe →Episode 625 - profiting from session one
Jul 21, 202400:43:18Tap to summarize* (0:29) What is your goal for the first session of a game? * (2:10) Who are these characters really? * (6:08) When who you wanted to be isn't who you became. * (11:34) A buffet of NPCs. * (16:14) Keeping the first session low pressure and shorter length. * (20:33) The social leader of the group. * (25:30) The flexibility in session one. Using the first game as a test of session zero. * (33:43) Testing the waters as the Game Master. * (37:09) Using rules and rolls a bit more than you otherwise would. Hosts: Dan, Doug, Mary, Wayne
Transcribe →Bonus Episode 103 – WGM 3: clockwork crystals
Jul 12, 202400:35:03Tap to summarize* (0:23) Prompts and prepositions. The clockwork circus is coming to town! * (1:40) Wayne's circus in space. * (4:13) Mary's circus on the frontier. * (7:53) Doug's carnival of nightmares. * (8:41) Dan's carnival of hope. * (13:10) Celestial crystals that grant power. * (14:05) Mary's crystal preppers. * (16:08) Dan's crystal entanglement. * (19:45) Wayne's crystal invasion. * (24:57) Doug's crystal gift. * (27:05) A whole lot of tests, quandaries, and Faustian deals. Hosts: Dan, Doug, Mary, Wayne
Transcribe →Episode 624 - back to what you enjoy
May 26, 202400:31:51Tap to summarize* (0:29) Fear the Con has funded and the sign-up site is live! We hope to see you Thursday, June 20th to Saturday, June 22nd. * (1:58) Getting back to what you love, inspired by Ray Bradbury's Zen in the Art of Writing. * (5:16) The tyranny of compromise. * (9:54) Wanting the GM to build the world instead of "yes-and" player input. * (15:43) Why Wayne discarded some ideas he was excited about. * (19:06) The passion for sharing stories. * (22:06) Watching players engage with obstacles and NPCs. * (26:06) Hopeful or despondent? Hosts: Dan, Doug, Mary, Wayne
Transcribe →Episode 623 - too big to fail
May 13, 202400:33:43Tap to summarize* (0:29) Wayne has a problem: the Wardens from Dresden Files. Coming up with too many excuses for why powerful organizations don't care about the characters' problems. * (7:14) Session Zero can help…or maybe not. * (10:29) There's always someone bigger, and maybe your allies lack what you need. * (14:42) What if the characters are the backup? Or maybe they're starting to get a reputation. * (17:41) Not letting it become a chip on the GM's shoulder. Players that hamstring themselves. * (23:45) The assistance not being what the players expected. * (27:54) Falling back to the mature answer. Hosts: Dan, Doug, Mary, Wayne
Transcribe →Episode 622 – bringing your PC to life
Apr 17, 202400:36:57Tap to summarize* (0:30) What steps do we take to bring a character to life? * (1:49) Ask what's important. * (6:53) Seeing the good and bad in a single trait. * (8:06) Doug's personality triangle model. * (10:54) Demonstrating character quirks. * (16:34) Making characters that both have and express personal growth. * (18:57) Taking a hobby, off-topic skill, or development path. Keeping your character in continuity. * (23:11) Practicing a character. * (29:43) Developing your idea in other creative media, but consider leaving a gap before the game begins. * (35:35) The last few days of the Fear the Con 2024 Kickstarter! Hosts: Dan, Doug, Mary, Wayne
Transcribe →Bonus Episode 102 – WGM 2: dead consuming the living
Apr 9, 202400:26:52Tap to summarizeToday's ingredient: The dead are consuming the living. Why and how? Let's find out! Fear the Con 2024's Kickstarter can be found here. Hosts: Dan, Doug, Mary, Wayne
Transcribe →