RPPR Episode 59: Bildungsroman

Zombies of the World is now available in print, PDF and Kindle format! My book, Road Trip, has been nominated for an Ennie! Synopsis: Bildungsroman is a fancy way of describing the ‘youth to adulthood’ genre – stories like “to Kill a Mockingbird” where the character grows from a child to become an adult or closer to an adult. Role playing games are often like these stories – characters grow from being relatively weak and naive to eventually becoming epic badasses of destiny. However, many game systems do not encourage character growth – advancement is slow, ponderous and mechanically difficult. Furthermore, most campaigns are relatively short – interrupted or abandoned for myriad reasons. If you want players to grow at a faster pace, what should you do? How is mechanical growth different from role playing growth? Tom and I discuss these issues and more. Plus, instead of a letter, Tom and I read an excerpt from the infamous rpg.net review of FATAL. It’s definitely NSFW. Shout outs * Attack the Gas Station 1 and 2: Hilariously insane Korean comedies. * The Eliminators: An action sci-fi movie with ninjas, mandroids, cavemen, robots and time travel. Follows the conventions of RPGs coincidentally enough. * Ugly Americans: an animated sitcom about monsters and normal people living together. * Killing Floor: Steampunk/circus summer event going on right now! Monkeys with chainsaws! * Steam Summer Sale: only a few days left! * The Man From Nowhere: Intense Korean action/thriller. Do not fuck with the pawnshop owner. Promo: Explodey File podcast.  Song: Growing up and Getting out by Adam Boucher.