Talkin‘ Knock!

Garish Goblins and the Heroic Hercules

We talk without a guest this week about modifying monsters in your game to subvert expectations as well as using mythology and classics to inspire your games! Taking a look as per usual at Knock! Issue 1, we read the articles titled "My goblins are..." by Fiona Maeve Geist and "The Labors of Hercules as OSR obstacles" by Ben Milton. Remember to check below for any relevant links! There are no links to Geist's work as she seems to want to move beyond her blogs.

 

Next week we will be covering Sean McCoy's "What do the monsters want?",  Vagabundork's "Save vs actual death", and Emmy Allen's "RPGs as emotional gambling."

 

Contact us @ talkin.knock@gmail.com

Find us @ https://linktr.ee/talkinknock 

Art by L.F. OSR: https://lfosr.com/ 

 

Relevant Links:

Knock!: https://www.themerrymushmen.com/

Ben Milton: https://www.youtube.com/c/QuestingBeast/about

Gustav Dore: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustave_Dor%C3%A9

Michael Sheppard: https://www.instagram.com/mikeshepp10/

A Discussion of Rulings vs Rules (feat. Dave)

This week we are joined by our mysterious friend Dave to talk about the age-old rulings vs rules! We are looking through Knock! Issue 1 and, more specifically, its two articles titled "Some ways of killing D&D people" by Daniel Sell and "'Rulings not rules' is insufficient" by Arnold K. Art this week was by Christopher Johnson but, unfortunately, I was unable to find his website. Please contact us below if you know where I can find it!

 

Next week we will be covering Fiona Maeve Geists' "My goblins are..." and Ben Milton's "The Labors of Hercules as OSR obstacles."

 

Contact us @ talkin.knock@gmail.com

Find us @ https://linktr.ee/talkinknock 

Art by L.F. OSR: https://lfosr.com/ 

 

Relevant Links:

Knock!: https://www.themerrymushmen.com/

Daniel Sell: http://whatwouldconando.blogspot.com/

Arnold Kemp: http://goblinpunch.blogspot.com/

What High Stakes mean in RPGs

After taking a dive into how they prepare their games, Paden and Tristan get into a deep discussion about what lethality vs high stakes mean in an RPG context. This week's articles from Knock! Issue One are "Expose your prep" and "Encourage scheming", both by Chris McDowall, "Why setting high stakes matters" by Sean McCoy, and "What's the deal with Igor's hump" by Jack Shear.

 

Next week, a guest will be joining Paden and Tristan to talk about "Some ways of killing D&D people" by Daniel Sell and "'Rulings not rules' is insufficient" by Arnold K.

 

Contact us @ talkin.knock@gmail.com

Find us @ https://linktr.ee/talkinknock 

Art by L.F. OSR: https://lfosr.com/ 

 

Relvant links:

Knock!: https://www.themerrymushmen.com/

Chris McDowall: https://www.bastionland.com/

Into the Odd Remaster Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bastionland/into-the-odd-remastered

Sean McCoy: https://shop.tuesdayknightgames.com

Mothership Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gerdling/mothership-sci-fi-horror-rpg-1st-edition-boxed-set

Jack Shear: http://talesofthegrotesqueanddungeonesque.blogspot.com/

Hit Dice, Explosions, and the Nomenclature of RPGs

This week, we will be looking at a smattering of articles that are all over the place and end up really digging into how RPGs should be named. The articles from Knock! Issue One are "Hit dice are meant to be rolled" by Eric Nieudan, "20 Gunpowders" by Eric Nieudan et al., and "Naming my game" by Ben Milton. We are also back to having a listener question this week!

 

On Friday, we will be releasing a second episode covering "Expose your prep" by Chris McDowall, "Why setting high stakes matters" by Sean McCoy, and "What's the deal with Igor's hump" by Jack Shear.

 

Contact us @ talkin.knock@gmail.com

Find us @ https://linktr.ee/talkinknock 

Art by L.F. OSR: https://lfosr.com/ 

 

Relvant links:

Knock!: https://www.themerrymushmen.com/

Eric Nieudan: http://dragons.ie/blog

Macchiato Monsters: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/264169

Hans Holbein the Younger: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Holbein_the_Younger

Ben Milton: https://www.youtube.com/c/QuestingBeast/about

Different Approaches to RPGs (feat. Will Keller)

Today we are joined by Will Keller, a longtime runner of RPGs and a close friend of the pod, to discuss two articles from Knock! Issue 1 titled "What kids' RPGs are missing" by Ben Milton and "Wandering monsters should have a purpose in wandering around" by Bryce Lynch. Additionally, we take a look at War for Rayuba, an amazing collaborative game and story organized by Tom Parkinson-Morgan.

 

Next week we will be taking a look at "Hit dice are meant to be rolled" by Eric Nieudan, "20 Gunpowders" by Eric Nieudan et al., and "Naming my game" by Ben Milton.

 

Contact us @ talkin.knock@gmail.com

Find us @ https://linktr.ee/talkinknock 

Art by L.F. OSR: https://lfosr.com/ 

 

Relevant links:

DCC Demo Nights: https://goodman-games.com/events/month/2021-10/

Knock!: https://www.themerrymushmen.com/

Ben Milton: https://www.youtube.com/c/QuestingBeast/about

Luka Rejec (Website): https://www.lukarejec.com/

Luka Rejec (DriveThruRPG): https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?author=Luka%20Rejec

Bryce Lynch: https://tenfootpole.org/ironspike/?author=1

Michael Sheppard: https://www.instagram.com/mikeshepp10/

Hot Spring Island: https://shop.swordfishislands.com/the-dark-of-hot-springs-island/

People Make Games' Video on War for Rayuba: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Jm8URxXFF0

War for Rayuba Map: https://xrabohrok.github.io/WarMap/#/

The Creation of a Dungeon

We are back to take a look at three articles from Knock! Issue 1 including "Get your gear!" by Olivier Revenu, "The village's local retired adventurer..." by Daniel Sell, and, finally, "Dungeon Checklist" by Arnold Kemp. Join us as we take a look at the intricacies of dungeon design!

 

Apologies to Luka Rejec, I learned how to correctly pronounce your last name as I am posting this episode.

 

Next week we will have a guest appearance while we go through "What Kids' RPGs are Missing" by Ben Milton and "Wandering monsters should have a purpose in wandering around" by Bryce Lynch!

 

Contact us @ talkin.knock@gmail.com

Find us @ https://linktr.ee/talkinknock 

Art by L.F. OSR: https://lfosr.com/ 

 

Relevant Links:

Knock!: https://www.themerrymushmen.com/

Matt Houston: https://www.instagram.com/mg.houston/

Mothership: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gerdling/mothership-sci-fi-horror-rpg-1st-edition-boxed-set

Daniel Sell: http://whatwouldconando.blogspot.com/

Luka Rejec (Website): https://www.lukarejec.com/

Luka Rejec (DriveThruRPG): https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?author=Luka%20Rejec

Arnold Kemp: http://goblinpunch.blogspot.com/

Michael Sheppard: https://www.instagram.com/mikeshepp10/

Got 99 Problems but a Lich ain‘t One

Today we talk about drinking Liches, energy drain, and the madness of wizards! We read "Monster Design From Classics" by Chris McDowall, "Does Energy Drain Suck?" by Gabor Lux, and "Wizard Weaknesses" by Daniel Sell all from Knock! Issue One compiled by Olivier Revenu and Eric Nieudan. 

 

Next week we will be looking at "Get your gear!" by Olivier Revenu, "The village's local retired adventurer" by Daniel Sell, and "Dungeon Checklist" by Arnold Kemp.

 

Contact us @ talkin.knock@gmail.com

Find us @ https://linktr.ee/talkinknock 

Art by L.F. OSR: https://lfosr.com/ 

 

Relevant Links:

Knock!: https://www.themerrymushmen.com/

Chris McDowell: https://www.bastionland.com/

"Into the Odd" KS: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bastionland/into-the-odd-remastered

Tim Molloy: https://www.timmolloy.com

Gabor Lux: https://www.beyondfomalhaut.blogspot.com/

Daniel Sell: https://www.whatwouldconando.blogspot.com/

Li-An: https://www.li-an.fr

 

A Crash Course on OSR

Tristan and Paden get nitty gritty about what it means to be an OSR game and how they adapt the style to any games they run. The next topics we will be covering from Knock! Issue 1 are "Monster Design from Classics: The Lich" by Chris McDowall, "Does Energy Drain Suck" by Gabor Lux, and "Wizard Weaknesses" by Daniel Sell.

 

Contact us @ talkin.knock@gmail.com

Find us @ https://linktr.ee/talkinknock 

Art by L.F. OSR: https://lfosr.com/ 

 

Relevant Links:

Knock!: https://www.themerrymushmen.com/

Brooks Dailey: http://swordandscoundrel.blogspot.com/

Gavin Norman: https://necroticgnome.com/

Exalted Funeral: https://www.exaltedfuneral.com/

Michael Sheppard: https://www.instagram.com/mikeshepp10/

Matthew Houston: https://www.instagram.com/mg.houston/?utm_medium=copy_link

 

First Encounters of the Knock! Kind

Join Tristan and Paden as they talk through the dust jacket, cover, and Kickstarter post card for Issue one of Knock! The next articles we will be looking at are "What I Want in an OSR Game" by Brooks Dailey and "A Comparison of Old and New D&D" by Gavin Norman.

 

Relevant links:

Knock!: https://www.themerrymushmen.com/

Olivier Revenu's "Battles": https://www.battlesmagazine.com/eshop/index.php 

Eric Nieudan: http://dragons.ie/blog

Macchiato Monsters: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/264169

Tim Molloy: https://www.timmolloy.com/

Russ Nicholson: https://russnicholson.blogspot.com/

The Ground Itself: https://everestpipkin.itch.io/the-ground-itself 

 

About the Pod:

Find us more on Link Tree! https://linktr.ee/talkinknock 

 

Knocking at Your Door!

A small introduction by Tristan on what this podcast aims to be and what journey we will all be embarking on together. Tune in next week as we kick off the pod by looking at Knock Issue 1, first impressions.

 

Where can you find more like this?

Tristan's Blog: https://pebblepirateplays.blogspot.com/

Knock! Website: https://www.themerrymushmen.com/

 

Music: Signs to Nowhere by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com