Panda's Talking Games

Show us how you use a GMPC! GMPCs get a bad wrap a lot, and for good reason. Phil and Senda talk when they’re actually pretty great and helpful, and the circumstances you might want MORE

Show us how you playtest! Phil and Senda talk playtesting (a discussion topic we received from multiple requests). We approach it based on an idealized version of how we’ve playtested games, but also in consideration MORE

It’s time…for a chit chat! If this is your first time listening, this is not our standard format. In a chit chat, we talk about things that are giving us life in gaming, and things MORE

Show us how you…answer multiple questions! Phil and Senda talk connecting published adventures to each other or to your homebrew, and clues in mysteries without railroading (and why mysteries can feel railroad-y). Bamboo Lounge for MORE

Show us how you handle non-physical damage! Phil and Senda talk emotional conditions from Masks specifically and non-physical damage, how to use it in games that already have it and how to implement it in MORE

Show us how you deal with the death of a character in game — emotionally and logically! Senda and Phil talk fall out from various types of character death and how it comes about. Bamboo MORE

Show us how you manage safety breaks in your game. Phil and Senda talk about how to deal with safety breaks even when everyone at the table is acting in good faith and things still MORE

Show us how you manage the emotional fall out of dropped games — especially when they stack up! Phil and Senda talk ideas for dealing with the mechanical why of games being dropped and thoughts MORE

Show us how you use camera shots in your game — and when you show your players things from a camera angle their characters can’t see! Senda and Phil talk camera angles, descriptions, teasers, and MORE

Show us how you take inspiration from actual plays — without getting disappointed or let down but real table play! Phil and Senda talk about how to take inspiration from actual play and why it MORE

Today is a grab bag! We answer two quick questions: How to purge your physical TTRPG book collection and our current thoughts on conventions. Bamboo Lounge for Patreon backers today! Find these and more at http://patreon.com/mmp. MORE

Show us how you know if your game mechanics are a good fit — or how you make a graceful change if they’re not! Senda and Phil talk about how to tell if your game MORE

Show us how you hit those beginnings hard and knock out those endings! Senda and Phil talk intros and outs, suggestions for how to make them impactful, and some tips on what to avoid. Bamboo MORE

Show us how you keep skill challenges interesting! Senda and Phil talk skill challenge challenges (see what I did there?), suggestions for when and how to use them, and some tips on what to avoid. MORE

Due to some *life stuff,* we had to record a quick chit chat! If you are listening for the first time, this is not our standard format, but it is the format that we use MORE

Show us how you maximize your prep to game play time! Phil and Senda talk prep, prepping the most important stuff, and pacing the game to fill the time you want it to. Book resources MORE

Show us how you de-role after you play! Phil and Send chat about de-roling for sessions and campaigns, with things you may wish to consider and tips on potential ways to de-role. Bamboo Lounge for MORE

It’s episode 300, and we’re talking about epilogues! Show us how and when you use an epilogue! Senda and Phil talk the when, who, and how of epilogues, and a little bit about being 300 MORE

Show us how you manage sharing playing NPCs at your table! Phil and Senda talk about how to draw boundaries when there’s spillage between NPCs you want/don’t mind sharing with your player and NPCs you MORE

We’re back from holiday hiatus! Phil and Senda attempt to remember how to do that thing we do weekly, and then take a deep dive on request into a conversation about house rules — the MORE