Podcast
Keep off the Borderlands
Hosted by "It's about RPGs and stuff" ~ Free Thrall · EN
Welcome to Keep off the Borderlands.
Initially a podcast documenting my return to table top roleplay gaming following a thirty-year hiatus.
Currently searching for excuses for why I haven't GM'd yet.
You can leave me an audio message here or via Speakpipe at https://www.speakpipe.com/KeepOffTheBorderlands
Email me at spencer.freethrall@gmail.com
You can also follow me on Twitter https://twitter.com/FreeThrall and join the podcast Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/FreeThrall/
freethrall.substack.com
freethrall.substack.com
29episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Off-World Offcuts (Bonus Blade Runner Chat) (E323)
5d ago01:01:23Tap to summarizeThanks to some great feedback and some more of that awesome Barney Dicker chat to share, this episode is basically a second instalment of Movie Monday: Blade Runner. But before the Blade Runner chat, I respond to a message from M. W. Lewis of The Worlds of M. W. Lewis concerning April’s movie Michael Crichton’s Westworld. Then it’s onto some Blade Runner feedback from Jason Connerley of Nerd’s RPG Variety Cast, Joe Richter of Hindsightless, and Goblin’s Henchman, before rounding things off with more of my chat with Barney Dicker of Loco Ludus. Honourable mentions: 2001: A Space Odyssey dir. Stanley Kubrick, Dark Star dir. John Carpenter, Westworld (TV series), Masters of the Universe dir. Travis Knight, Legend dir. Ridley Scott, Edge of Tomorrow dir. Doug Liman, Minority Report dir. Steven Spielberg, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick, Alien dir. Ridley Scott, The Long Tomorrow by Dan O’Bannon and Moebius, The Incal by Alejandro Jodorowsky and Moebius, Blade Runner 2049 dir. Denis Villeneuve Read Barney’s “Stroboscopic Revelations in Blade Runner” here https://www.academia.edu/36398665/_Stroboscopic_Revelations_in_Blade_Runner_PhotoResearcher_No_29_2018_ Find the Movie Monday Letterboxd list here https://letterboxd.com/the39thman/list/movie-monday-1/ So, from the sublime to the ridiculous. The movie for June is 1987’s Masters of the Universe, directed by Gary Goddard and starring Dolph Lundgren. That episode will air on June 29th, so please send in your submissions by the 27th if you’d like to be included in the show. Send submissions to spencer.freethrall@gmail.com or look me up on Discord as FreeThrall Also, be sure not to miss my other movie podcast, With Wife and I. Isla and I take turns choosing movies to watch together, then share our thoughts with anyone who cares to listen. You can find it wherever you get your podcasts. “Warning” by Lieren of Updates From the Middle of Nowhere Leave me an audio message via https://www.speakpipe.com/KeepOffTheBorderlands You can find me in a bunch of other places here https://freethrall.carrd.co This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit freethrall.substack.com
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Movie Monday: Blade Runner (E322)
2w ago01:44:51Tap to summarizeMay’s Movie Monday, was specially requested by Goblin’s Henchman “This one goes out there for Geoff”. This month, we watched Ridley Scott’s dystopian neo-noir sci-fi Blade Runner from 1982. Starring Harrison Ford, Sean Young, Rutger Hauer, Daryl Hanna, Edward James Olmos, M Emmet Walsh, Brion James, Joanna Cassidy, Joe Turkle and William Sanderson. Adapted from Philip K Dick’s 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. This episode features contributions from: (in order of appearance) Barney Dicker of Loco Ludus (podcast) Joe Richter of Hindsightless (podcast) Goblin’s henchman (podcast, blog) and the UmberBulk of the Southwest Sofa Crew M. W. Lewis of The Worlds of MW Lewis (podcast) Jason Connerley of Nerd’s RPG Variety Cast (podcast) Read Barney’s “Stroboscopic Revelations in Blade Runner” here https://www.academia.edu/36398665/_Stroboscopic_Revelations_in_Blade_Runner_PhotoResearcher_No_29_2018_ Find the Movie Monday Letterboxd list here https://letterboxd.com/the39thman/list/movie-monday-1/ So, from the sublime to the ridiculous. The movie for June is 1987’s Masters of the Universe, directed by Gary Goddard and starring Dolph Lundgren. That episode will air on June 29th, so please send in your submissions by the 27th if you’d like to be included in the show. Send submissions to spencer.freethrall@gmail.com or look me up on Discord as FreeThrall Also, be sure not to miss my other movie podcast, With Wife and I. Isla and I take turns choosing movies to watch together, then share our thoughts with anyone who cares to listen. You can find it wherever you get your podcasts. “Warning” by Lieren of Updates From the Middle of Nowhere Leave me an audio message via https://www.speakpipe.com/KeepOffTheBorderlands You can find me in a bunch of other places here https://freethrall.carrd.co This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit freethrall.substack.com
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Retail Therapy (Grimscar, White Box, Vagabond, Call of Cthulhu) (E321)
3w ago01:01:24Tap to summarizeThis episode is an audio unboxing special. I open a bunch of parcels and describe the contents. Featuring: Gunner Almer’s Grimscar (solo) RPG https://crowheartroleplay.itch.io/grimscar-rpg-solo Charlie Ward’s we&we from EX FIRST GAMES https://ex1st.itch.io/we Man Alone’s Prima Materia https://dicenest.com/products/prima-materia-is-an-alchemical-oracle-for-solo-role-playing-worldbuilding-and-creative-inquiry Man Alone explains Prima Materia https://youtu.be/UXTwHg-HPwA?si=HTKR-x6SWTVA68mL Adam Hensley’s Monolith https://adamhensley.itch.io/monolith James M. Spahn’s White Box Dungeon Adventures from Barrel Rider Games https://www.lulu.com/shop/james-spahn/white-box-dungeon-adventures/paperback/product-57wrvy4.html?srsltid=AfmBOooPRv4dtyrYwPFipc55GwZ6Ezmikf_K1Lt4kHf7nXFIdMUpSStg&page=1&pageSize=4 Vagabond Pulp Fantasy Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook from Land of the Blind https://landoftheblind.myshopify.com/collections/vagabond-pulp-fantasy-rpg?srsltid=AfmBOoqAREu7j9Ii6dbfXCve0J5TZwKrXyaNrepT--gi_cuxCABzHWon Call of Cthulhu: 50th Anniversary Slipcase Set Honourable mentions: Andy Goodman (Grizzly Peaks Radio), Jen Fridy (HangnailJenny), Scott Dorward (The Good Friends of Jackson Elias), Mike Perceval-Maxwell (Mr Spike’s Bedtime Stories), Barney Dicker (Loco Ludus) At the special request of Goblin’s Henchman, the movie for May goes out to Geoff. It’s 1982’s classic neo-noir sci-fi Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott, based on Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. That episode will air on May 25th, so please send in your submissions by the 23rd if you’d like to be included in the show. Send submissions to spencer.freethrall@gmail.com or look me up on Discord as FreeThrall Also, be sure not to miss the new podcast I’m involved with, entitled With Wife and I. My wife, Isla, suggested we take turns choosing movies to watch together, then share our thoughts with anyone who cares to listen. In our latest episode, we pit Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein against Luc Besson’s Dracula. You can find it wherever you get your podcasts. “Warning” by Lieren of Updates From the Middle of Nowhere Leave me a 90-second audio message via https://www.speakpipe.com/KeepOffTheBorderlands You can find me in a bunch of other places here https://freethrall.carrd.co This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit freethrall.substack.com
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Between the Borderland: Beyond Westworld (E320)
4w ago00:21:27Tap to summarizeIn this episode, I respond to some Movie Monday: Westworld feedback from Goblin’s Henchman and Joe Richter of Hindsightless, and share my initial thoughts on the Westworld TV series from 2016. If you’d like to be a paranoid android, why not try The Gaslight Club by Stoo Goff https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/335302/the-gaslight-club Find the Movie Monday Letterboxd list here https://letterboxd.com/the39thman/list/movie-monday-1/ At the special request of Goblin’s Henchman, the movie for May goes out to Geoff. It’s 1982’s classic neo-noir sci-fi Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott, based on Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. That episode will air on May 25th, so please send in your submissions by the 23rd if you’d like to be included in the show. Also, be sure to check out With Wife and I. My wife, Isla, suggested we take turns choosing movies to watch together, then share our thoughts with anyone who cares to listen. Find it wherever you get your podcasts. Leave me an audio message via https://www.speakpipe.com/KeepOffTheBorderlands You can email me at spencer.freethrall@gmail.com or look me up on Discord as FreeThrall You can find me in a bunch of other places here https://freethrall.carrd.co This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit freethrall.substack.com
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Movie Monday: Westworld (E319)
Apr 2602:08:23Tap to summarizeFor April’s Movie Monday, we watched the 1973 sci-fi western Westworld, written & directed by Michael Crichton. This episode features contributions from: (in order of appearance) Jason Connerley of Nerd’s RPG Variety Cast (podcast) Goblin’s henchman (podcast, blog) and the UmberBulk of the Southwest Sofa Crew Joe Richter of Hindsightless (podcast) Lex Mandrake of Dank Dungeons (itch, YouTube) & Jorphdan of Jorphdan’s Jocular Junction (YouTube, jorphdan.com) M. W. Lewis of The Worlds of MW Lewis (podcast) Darkfluid of The Silver Key (podcast) & Q Joseph Gill of The Dekahedron RPG Podcast Find the Movie Monday Letterboxd list here https://letterboxd.com/the39thman/list/movie-monday-1/ At the special request of Goblin’s Henchman, the movie for May goes out to Geoff. It’s 1982’s classic neo-noir sci-fi Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott, based on Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. That episode will air on May 25th, so please send in your submissions by the 23rd if you’d like to be included in the show. Send submissions to spencer.freethrall@gmail.com or look me up on Discord as FreeThrall Also, be sure not to miss my other movie podcast, With Wife and I. Isla and I take turns choosing movies to watch together, then share our thoughts with anyone who cares to listen. In our latest episode, we pit Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein against Luc Besson’s Dracula. You can find it wherever you get your podcasts. “Warning” by Lieren of Updates From the Middle of Nowhere Leave me an audio message via https://www.speakpipe.com/KeepOffTheBorderlands You can find me in a bunch of other places here https://freethrall.carrd.co This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit freethrall.substack.com
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Buckaroo Bonus, Bargains, Backing, Books & a Box (Blade Runner: Replicant Rebellion) (E318)
Apr 2100:41:02Tap to summarizeStarting with some feedback for March’s Movie Monday, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, from Joe Richter of Hindsightless and Jason Connerley of Nerd’s RPG Variety Cast. Then some RPGs that have piqued my interest: Flail: an old-school fantasy brawler from Games Omnivorous https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/games-omnivorous/flail-an-old-school-fantasy-brawler FatherFog, a fairy-tale horror RPG from Tuesday Knight Games https://www.tuesdayknightgames.com/products/fatherfog0e?srsltid=AfmBOop6eoLBV6crKZMW1QtRaSxM8U_H07IpU-HT77wnUDolDvAMspXf Keeper’s Call by J. P. Coovert I also take a look at Vermis III: Old Curses & Buried Horrors by Plastiboo https://hollow-press.net/products/vermis-iii-old-curses-buried-horrors, Blade Runner RPG: Replicant Rebellion & Asset Pack from Free League Find the Movie Monday Letterboxd list here https://letterboxd.com/the39thman/list/movie-monday-1/ The movie for April is the 1973 sci-fi western Westworld, written and directed by Michael Crichton. That episode will air on April 27th, so please send in your submissions by the 25th if you’d like to be included in the show. Send to spencer.freethrall@gmail.com or look me up on Discord as FreeThrall. Also, be sure not to miss the new podcast I’m involved with, entitled With Wife and I. My wife, Isla, suggested we take turns choosing movies to watch together, then share our thoughts with anyone who cares to listen. In our latest episode, we pit Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein against Luc Besson’s Dracula. You can find it wherever you get your podcasts. “Warning” by Lieren of Updates From the Middle of Nowhere Leave me a 90-second audio message via https://www.speakpipe.com/KeepOffTheBorderlands You can find me in a bunch of other places here https://freethrall.carrd.co This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit freethrall.substack.com
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Movie Monday: The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (E317)
Mar 2901:56:26Tap to summarizeFor March’s Movie Monday, we watched gonzo sci-fi comedy The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension from 1984, directed by W. D. Richter and starring Peter Weller, Jeff Goldblum, John Lithgow, Ellen Barkin, and Christopher Lloyd. This episode features contributions from: (in order of appearance) Joe Richter of Hindsightless (podcast) Goblin’s henchman (podcast, blog) and the UmberBulk of the Southwest Sofa Crew Evil Jeff of Minions & Musings (podcast) with Minion Bravo Jason Connerley of Nerd’s RPG Variety Cast (podcast) M. W. Lewis of The Worlds of MW Lewis (podcast) Darkfluid of The Silver Key (podcast) & Q Find the Movie Monday Letterboxd list here https://letterboxd.com/the39thman/list/movie-monday-1/ The movie for April is sci-fi western Westworld form 1973, written and directed by Michael Crichton. That episode will air on April 27th, so please send in your submissions by the 25th if you’d like to be included in the show. Also, be sure not to miss the new podcast I’m involved with, entitled With Wife and I. My wife, Isla, suggested we take turns choosing movies to watch together, then share our thoughts with anyone who cares to listen. You can find it wherever you get your podcasts. “Warning” by Lieren of Updates From the Middle of Nowhere Leave me an audio message via https://www.speakpipe.com/KeepOffTheBorderlands You can email me at spencer.freethrall@gmail.com or look me up on Discord as FreeThrall. You can find me in a bunch of other places here https://freethrall.carrd.co This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit freethrall.substack.com
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All at Sea (Sinbad and Pirate Borg) (E316)
Mar 1901:21:57Tap to summarizeI begin this episode by sharing a couple of late submissions for last Movie Monday’s The Golden Voyage of Sinbad from M. W. Lewis of The Worlds of MW Lewis, and Darkfluid & Q. I also have some feedback from Joe Richter of Hindsightless. This is followed by an unboxing of Limithron’s Pirate Borg Starter Set: Trapped in the Tropics, and an unexpected tin of delicious Palestinian dates from Donatedirectly.com. Find the Movie Monday Letterboxd list here https://letterboxd.com/the39thman/list/movie-monday-1/ The movie for March is The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension from 1984, directed by W. D. Richter and starring Peter Weller. That episode will air on March 30th, so please send your submissions by the 28th if you’d like to be included in the show. Also, don’t miss the latest episode of With Wife and I. My wife, Isla, suggested we choose movies from our youth to see how well they hold up. You can find that wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoy actual plays, be sure to check out The Lucky Die and The Sprouting from Blighthouse Studio. “Warning” by Lieren of Updates From the Middle of Nowhere Leave me an audio message via https://www.speakpipe.com/KeepOffTheBorderlands You can email me at spencer.freethrall@gmail.com, follow me on BlueSky @freethrall.bsky.social, or look me up on Discord by searching for freethrall You can also hear me in actual plays on Grizzly Peaks Radio and find me in a bunch of other places here https://freethrall.carrd.co This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit freethrall.substack.com
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Movie Monday: The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973) (E315)
Feb 2301:09:55Tap to summarizeFor February’s Movie Monday, we watched The Golden Voyage of Sinbad from 1973, a fantasy adventure directed by Gordon Hessler and featuring stop-motion effects of Ray Harryhausen. This episode features contributions from: (in order of appearance) Jason Connerley of Nerd’s RPG Variety Cast (podcast) Goblin’s henchman (podcast, blog) and the UmberBulk of the Southwest Sofa Crew Joe Richter of Hindsighless (podcast) James Knight, Tyranner the Dwarf, and Ellen the Elf of the Southwest London Sofa Gang Find the Movie Monday Letterboxd list here https://letterboxd.com/the39thman/list/movie-monday-1/ The movie for March is The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension from 1984, directed by W. D. Richter and starring Peter Weller. That episode will air on March 30th, so please send in your submissions by the 28th if you’d like to be included in the show. Also, be sure not to miss the new podcast I’m involved with, entitled With Wife and I. My wife, Isla, suggested we take turns choosing movies to watch together, then share our thoughts with anyone who cares to listen. You can find it wherever you get your podcasts. “Warning” by Lieren of Updates From the Middle of Nowhere Leave me an audio message via https://www.speakpipe.com/KeepOffTheBorderlands You can email me at spencer.freethrall@gmail.com or look me up on Discord as FreeThrall. You can find me in a bunch of other places here https://freethrall.carrd.co This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit freethrall.substack.com
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Games, Books, Movies & Improv (Cloud Empress) (E314)
Feb 1500:33:17Tap to summarizeThis is an off-the-cuff episode, wherein I cover a variety of things. Free PDFs: Cairn: Barebones Edition by Yochai Gal https://yochaigal.itch.io/cairn-barebones-edition Intergalactic Bastionland: Beyond Into The Odd: Playtest by Chris McDowall https://open.substack.com/pub/bastionland/p/bastionland-goes-intergalactic?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web Books: Promethean Horrors: Classic Tales of Mad Science by Xavier Aldana Reyes for British Library Tales of the Weird The Uncanny by Sigmund Freud It Was All A Dream: An Anthology of Bad Horror Tropes Done Right by Brandon Applegate Films: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) dir. Rouben Mamoulian The Black Cat (1934) dir. Edgar G. Ulmer Black Pit of Dr. M (1959) dir. Fernando Mendez The Plague of the Zombies (1966) dir. John Gilling Theatre of Blood (1973) dir. Douglas Hickox Frightmare (1974) dir. Pete Walker Messiah of Evil (1974) dir. Willard Huych, Gloria Katz Phantasm (1979) dir. Don Coscarelli Weapons (2025) dir. Zach Cregger RPG Material: Cosmic Dark by Graham Walmsley The No-Prep Gamemaster: Train Your Brain to Run Tabletop Roleplayng Games Second Edition by Matt Davids https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/524180/the-no-prep-gamemaster-train-your-brain-to-run-tabletop-roleplaying-games Cloud Empress Core Boxed Set by Watts Honourable Mentions: Dave Aldridge of dPercantile (podcast) Weird Studies podcast Episode 86: On E.T.A. Hoffmann's “The Sandman” https://open.spotify.com/episode/5LwYzcmq29EJXXa9C5SSH4?si=vDE7gzUfQQay5i-gWK8uXQ&context=spotify%3Ashow%3A7MtLPVWIcFbl5XPsMiF9f8 Scott Doward of The Good Friends of Jackson Elias (podcast) Andy Goodman of Grizzly Peaks Radio (podcast) Jen Fridy at GrimHumor https://www.jenfridy.com/ Find the Movie Monday Letterboxd list here https://letterboxd.com/the39thman/list/movie-monday-1/ This month’s Movie Monday is The Golden Voyage of Sinbad from 1973. Directed by Gordon Hessler and featuring stop-motion effects of Ray Harryhausen. That episode will air on February 23rd, so please send in your submissions by the 21st if you’d like to be included in the show. Also, be sure not to miss the new podcast I’m involved with, entitled With Wife and I. My wife, Isla, suggested we take turns choosing movies to watch together, then share our thoughts with anyone who cares to listen. You can find it wherever you get your podcasts. “Warning” by Lieren of Updates From the Middle of Nowhere Leave me an audio message via https://www.speakpipe.com/KeepOffTheBorderlands You can email me at spencer.freethrall@gmail.com, follow me on BlueSky @freethrall.bsky.social, or look me up on Discord by searching for freethrall You can also hear me in actual plays on Grizzly Peaks Radio and find me in a bunch of other places here https://freethrall.carrd.co This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit freethrall.substack.com
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