GamingPerspectives
Society & Culture
About
A husband and wife team discuss their life long love of hobby gaming from RPGs to Boardgames.
Episodes
- Episode 350: Actual Plays Detrimental to the TTRPG Hobby, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
Jolene was thinking about Actual Plays especially after we saw Laura and Travis from Critical Role at Galaxy Con in San Jose. This happened as she was on Reddit and came across a discussion about how actual plays like Critical Role and oth…
- Episode 349: GM Questions, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
Jolene was looking online at how GM's run games. She came across the topic of the GMs asking questions to their players. Jolene saw a lot of threads and forums discussing this topic. Jolene asked saw about this topic and they both had a le…
- Episode 348: Leroy Jenkins, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
Somehow Saul missed the 20th Anniversary of the Leroy Jenkins but it came up during the last gaming session both Saul and Jolene were playing in. So at one point there is a big battle at a beach where Jolene's character went charging into…
- Episode 347: AI in TTRPGs, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
Jolene was on Youtube watching various videos and came across Ginny D's video about using a service to write your character's background for a TTRPG. She wanted to contrast the difference between the work of people that charged a Low, Medi…
- Episode 346: What If the Next D&D Goes All Digital, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
Jolene and Saul were on Youtube and came across a video by Dungeon Craft and he was talking about the future of D&D. He predicted that when a 6th edition of D&D comes out in the next few years it would be "Digital Only", meaning there woul…
- Episode 345: The Fantasy Trip, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
Jolene and Saul recently played in a A Fantasy Trip: Melee RPG recently. Jolene was very interested in the game and wanted to know more about Melee. Saul explained that it was one of their friend's oldest favorite RPG. So Jolene took to th…
- Episode 344: Buy or Make Up Your Own Modules, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
Saul and Jolene were talking and Jolene asked Saul which did he prefer to do buy an adventure module or make up his own. That was a complicated answer that lead to a lengthy discussion. After that chat they decided it would make a good epi…
- Episode 343: Why Do GMs Run Games,
Why do GM's, Referees, Keepers, Loremasters of many other people that "run" RPG game do it? This was a question that Saul across online and since Saul GM's quite a bit he asked himself and other fellow GMs why they GM roleplaying games. As…
- Bonus Episode: Marigolds Dwarven Tale, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
A friend of Saul and Jolene ran two TTRPGs back to back on a Friday evening over Zoom using a lite ruleset called There and Back Again, and on Saturday morning The One Ring 2nd Edition RPG. The games did not use the same characters. On Fri…
- Episode 342: What Games Are People Running, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
Saul and Jolene were watching Youtube and came across Dungeon Craft whose host had gone to Gen Con in 2025. He was amazed at the size of the convention and the number of TTRPGs sessions that were available for convention attendees to play…
- Episode 341: New Year New RPGs, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
Saul and Jolene usually do a New Year episode where they pick the RPGs that they are most looking forward to or ones they find interesting. This episode is a top ten of upcoming TTRPGs that Saul thought were pretty interesting. Thank you a…
- Episode 340: Rules You Need to Know, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
This topic comes from a Reddit post which asked about what rules should a GM need to know when running a game. And which rules can they leave to look up later at the game table. Saul states that he really dislikes the opening of the rulebo…
- Episode 339: Brindlewood Bay as Closer Look, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
Saul and Jolene were invited to a weekend RPG event hosted by Bay, a very good friend of theirs. One game that both Saul and Jolene were eager to play was Brindlewood Bay. Saul was interested because of the way the “mystery” was “solved” a…
- Epiosde 338: Player Engagement, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
When you are playing in a RPG, whether it is online or an in person game, keeping the player engaged in the game can be at times hard. Saul and Jolene over the years have noticed that some people find it hard to pay attention to the game d…
- Episode 337: Adding a Player to an Existing Campaign, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
Reading Reddit posts Saul cam across a post about a problem that they had when they joined a new group with an on going campaign. The Poster was upset at a number of things that happened when he first started playing. They sought help with…
- Episode 336: Lethal or Deadly RPGs, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
Saul was reading "RPG Reddit" posts and came across a person who described themselves as a 5th edition D&D player. In this post they wanted to know about games that were more "lethal" than D&D. They mentioned that D&D was too easy to survi…
- Episode 335: The Three Pillars, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
In this Episode Saul was reading a blog where they discussed the Three Different Pillars of D&D. Saul went on to read other sources from other bloggers to Reddit posts about this idea of what makes a good D&D Game. Saul starting thinking a…
- Episode 334: TTRPGs Niche or Big Deal, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
Jolene was looking at TTRPG topics and came across a Reddit Post where a user was asking why people consider playing TTRPGs a "niche" hobby. The original poster was quite surprised that people thought that TTRPGs are not that popular. Ther…
- Episode 333: Troika the RPG, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
Saul and Jolene went to a game convention over Labor Day weekend. Their first game there was a RPG called Troika. Saul had seen this rpg mentioned quite a bit in various posts. From "Best Ever Indie Game", to "Most Underrated RPG" and many…
- Bonus Episode: Galaxycon and Pacificon, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
Saul and Jolene went to a couple conventions in late August and Early September. In late August they went to Galaxycon in San Jose. It takes place in downtown San Jose at the McEnery Center. It is the largest convention center in the South…
- Episode 332: Video To TTRPG Gamer, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
A listener, Phil, asked about how easy would it be for a video gamer to become a TTRPG gamer. At first glance it would be a no brainer that those that played video game on a conole or PC would move to playing TTRPGs. Saul and Jolene talked…
- Episode 331: PCs Running Away, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
Many times there seems a point in an RPG when the players should either not fight an encounter. Why do players not consider the tactic of running away. Saul and Jolene discussed this topic. Saul admitted that he ran a lot of D&D and Pathfi…
- Episode 330: Play Styles, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
Saul was reading and thinking about long campaigns and what it took to keep them going for extended period of time. Saul ran two D&D to Pathfinder Campaigns from 2001 to 2009. Then he started running campaigns for his 6 year old son and hi…
- Episode 329: Attacks Before Initiative, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
Jolene was reading about a GM who was running D&D 5th edition had players trying to do combat actions before the GM had called for Initiative. She asked Saul about this and asked if it happened in his D&D or any other RPGs he had GMed. Aft…
- Episode 328: Players Not Learning the Rules, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
Saul was looking at Reddit posts and came across a GM that was lamenting that his players had not learned their characters abilities after 10 sessions of D&D 5th edition. The GM didn't go into too much detail, for example age of players, e…
- Episode 327: Running Non-Violent RPGs, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
Jolene was looking at the different types of games she has played in. Though she likes tactical combat games. She loves Shadowrun 5th edition and D&D for example, she also likes mysteries, dramas, and crime solving. So she asked Saul about…
- Episode 326: Rotating GMs, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
Jolene was looking for some interesting topics to talk about and came across an article discussing Rotating GMs. She looked for more articles and there were quite a few articles and discussion on how to do this type of roleplaying. Jolene…
- Episode 325: Things GMs Say, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
Jolene was reading online and came across an article that talked about things that GMs say that players should pay attention to. She told Saul and this and Saul thought about some things he says that conveys more than intended. Sometimes t…
- Episode 324: GM Couldn't Kill PC, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
Jolene was looking online at RPG topics and came across a confession by a new GM. This novice GM was running their first campaign which they had been running with new players for nine months. There was a point in the game were a character…
- Episode 323: Stealing From RPGs, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
A question was asked about what are some things that you found in one RPG that as a GM would Steal to use in all other RPGs that you run. Saul and Jolene each thought abou the topic and they each found something that they really liked that…
- Episode 322: Feedback Post Session, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
A listener was thinking about some games he played with a particular GM, who took a few minutes after the game asking how the session went. So this listener asked what would be the best way or some hints as to asking for feedback right aft…
- Episode 321: Best Non D&D Campaigns, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
A listener asked what we thought were some good Non D&D published campaigns? Saul questioned what makes a good, quality and fun campaign. Saul's criteria was the same if it was you home campaign but in a published one it is essential that…
- Episode 320: Monster of the Week RPGs, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolen
A listener asked about a good RPG to run a Monster of the Week game. Saul came up what criteria would make a good Monster of the Week game. From ease of rules, types of character and other factors. Then Saul and Jolene talked about what ga…
- Episode 319: Getting Those Games to the Table, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
A listener asks about getting a RPG off the Shelf of Shame and on the the table to play. This is a problem that inflicts both RPG gamer and board gamer as both groups have this problem. Both have games that have not hit the game table and…
- Episode 318: Cozy RPGs, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
Saul was at Kubla Autumn a new game con taking place over Veteran's Day which is celebrated here in the U.S. on November 11th. Right when he got there he sat in a seminar the dealt with the future of boardgames. In that seminar they talked…
- Episode 317: When Players Do Weird Things, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
In the long time that Saul has been playing RPGs, there has been some instances where players did some weird things. At least unexpected things that he saw as both a GM and a Player. Saul remembers a couple instances where players acting s…
- Episode 316: Run Those IP RPGs, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
In this Episode Saul and Jolene discuss why some GMs do not like running Intellectual Property games. Those are games based on books, Tv shows, or movies. Whether its Conan, Star Wars, Star Trek of hundreds of other RPGs that are based on…
- Episode 315: Running on Short Notice and Time, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
Saul is slowly recovering from heart valve surgery but Jolene and Saul are back to recording episodes. This episode comes from a Reddit post about a GM that needs to run a game with no prep for 1st time players with only a 2 hour window. T…
- Episode 314: Starter Box Sets, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
*SPECIAL NOTE* Saul and Jolene would like apologize for the lack of epidodes for the past Month. This was due to Saul having to have heart valve replacement surgery. Saul is recovering and Jolene is taking care of him. Saul and Jolene woul…
- Episode 313: Feedback Questions, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
When you are creating an adventure or a complete RPG for public consumption one thing you really need as a creator is Feedback. From one shot adventures, longer adventures, campaigns you need feedback to hone your creation to make it as be…
- Episode 312: No Maps, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
Saul was reading a Reddit and came across a post asking if people used maps or visual aids in their roleplaying games. The poster also stated that they only used a while board and magnitized tokens in his sessions. The OP then asked if you…
- Episode 311: No To Hit Rolls, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
Saul read an article about a couple of RPGs that had elimnated the Iconic Mechanic of Rolling to Hit. Saul mentioned the idea to Jolene. Jolene had a lot of questions about the whole idea and how it would work. Jolene's questions were why,…
- Episode 310: Deities and Demigods in Your Games, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
Hey there Listeners, Happy New Year! Saul and Jolene were reminicing some of the more memorable times of their games. Jolene mentioned the times that they came across some very powerful creatures, Dragons were high on the list from game of…
- Episode 309: New RPGs for 2025, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
It is the New Year and as we look forward to 2025 EN Publishing asks what New RPGs we are looking forward to the New Year. Saul choose his top three and discusses some of the games that made the list. Saul noticed quite a few games are get…
- Episode 308: Reading the Rulebook, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
There was a post on Reddit about how RPGers read rulebooks for new RPGs before they ran a session. The answers at first were vey like minded. People stating that they read the rulebook completely. From reading it once to reading the rulebo…
- Episode 307: Playing Yourself, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
Saul was reading Reddit posts and came across a post about players playing themselves too much in RPGs. There was quite a bit of a discussion and most respondents said they didn't play themselves at all because they didn't want to play the…
- Episode 306: Lower Player Count RPGs, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
Jolene was looking online and found a person who was asking for help. They had never GMed a RPG and they only had two players. The person was asking if there were any games that were made for one GM and two players. Jolene asked Saul about…
- Episode 305: Changing the Adventure, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
A listener and friend asked Saul and Jolene about a question his daughter had asked him. The questions was, "Should a GM change a dungeon campaign after the players make characters that can see in the dark." The GM designed the dungeon wit…
- Episode 304: Making an RPG Based on a Computer Game, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
In this Episode Saul and Jolene talk about making a RPG from a computer game. This was from a question that Saul read online about a father that wanted to make a RPG for his kids that played Destiny 2. Saul thought he recognized the game a…
- Episode 303: Light RPGs, Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene
Saul was looking at Reddit and found a post about how the person didn't like playing "Lighter" RPGs because they were more work for him in roleplaying than a crunchier systems like Pathfinder . Others also agreed and added comments about w…