So after a prolonged hiatus I’ve decided to end Carpe GM. This is not a bad thing at all. I started the podcast earlier this year because I wasn’t gaming very much and wanted to do something to keep gaming foremost in my mind. There were a lot of great podcasts out there already dealing with gaming and I thought I’d try my hand at it. It was a fun experience and I’m glad I did it but boy is it a lot of work! I have a new level of respect for those producing content so regularly. I took the break because I was burnt out after only the better part of a year producing a thirty-minute show every two weeks; imagine what some of the “big boys� go through! I also am at the point that I didn’t want to be a “one-man band� anymore and did not want to make the financial and logistical outlays to take on co-hosts.

I’m pleased with what I produced and definitely have learned a lot from producing my own show (even if it was just with a karaoke microphone and a free copy of Audacity). I don’t want to offer up the cop-out of saying that I don’t have the time to produce Carpe GM, because I do. I’d just rather spend it playing games than talking about games and now circumstances are such that I can.

I don’t plan to disappear from the podcast scene entirely, either. I’m just not going to produce my own show.

For everyone who gave feedback and gave me encouragement I thank you sincerely. Some of you are now friends and will continue to be for a long time, I hope. Keep in touch, keep on gaming, and keep supporting gaming podcasts!

(On an administrative note, I’ll keep the libsyn page up for a while and move the shows to something like archive.org for posterity.)

I'm a big fan of Alter Ego Software's Metacreator software. It's hands-down the best piece of software for creating and printing characters in a wide variety of systems. I'm personally excited that they're considering developing templates for the Deadlands Reloaded and Rippers settings for Savage Worlds but they'll only make them if they get fifty pre-orders for each by 1-Oct-2007. I've recorded this announcement in the hope of reaching as many people as possible to help the goal be reached. If you have a podcast, I'd humbly request that you play this announcement before 1-Oct-2007, and anyone reading this should check out Metacreator!

I got a little busy this week so this episode is a little bit on the short side. I discuss some feedback that I received in response to last week's episode about the announcement of Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition. I'll produce another full-length show in two weeks!

Links:

• D&D Insider - Wizards' preview of D&D 4th Edition
• Chaosium - Publishers of the Call of Cthulhu RPG
• Deadlands
• Privateer Press - Creators of the Iron Kingdoms setting and associated games.

Promos:

• Goblin Broadcast Network
• Geeklabel Radio

 

Unless you've been living under a rock you have to have heard the biggest gaming news item of the year to come out of Gencon: D&D 4th Edition will be at your friendly local game store in May of 2008. Some of the folks at Wizards of the Coast gave a 20-minute presentation teasing some of what we can expect to see in the next edition of the "grand-daddy of them all" so it's only appropriate for this show to engage in wild speculation and unsubstantiated opinion. It's what the Webernet is all about, after all!

Links:

• Teaser video
• Wizards of the Coast Gencon presentation, Part 1
• Wizards of the Coast Gencon presentation, Part 2
• Wizards of the Coast Gencon presentation, Part 3
• Wizards of the Coast Gencon presentation, Part 4

Promos:

• Goblin Broadcast Network
• Geeklabel Radio

No, I didn't report for gender re-assignment. That's Veronica Blessing from The Game's The Thing doing the intro and outro! After some banter about my recent trip to San Jose, California, I give some of my views on alignments in RPGs and suggest some ways to integrate them into your game even if alignments aren't your thing. For the record, I did cave in and buy that copy of Witch Hunter.

Links:

• The Game's The Thing
• Endgame (Oakland, CA)
• Game Kastle (San Jose, CA)
• Weapons of the Gods
• Witch Hunter

Promos:

• Goblin Broadcast Network
• Pulp Gamer
• Geeklabel Radio

 

I finally have a promo! If you have a podcast of your own and play promos for other podcasts please feel free to download this 90-second promo and insert it into your show as you feel appropriate. Many big thanks to the respective crews at Geeklabel (The Vicar, Kingfish, and Billy Flynn) and The Game’s The Thing (Ron & Veronica Blessing) for their recordings that made this promo possible. Finally… something to do with Carpe GM without my voice in it!

ARG! Sometimes Audacity drives me nuts. This week I talk to Paul Stevenson of Battlegrounds, a great new game store in my town. Paul speaks very frankly and openly about his store, why he opened it, and his experiences in over 25 years in gaming.

Links:

• AT-43
• Battlefield Evolution
• Battlegrounds - The best game store in Milton!
• Dungeons & Dragons
• Fantasy Flight Games
• HeroClix

Promos:

• Geeklabel Radio

Just a boring-looking blog entry for this episode. This week I go through my first batch of listener feedback and talk about having PCs as siblings in your sessions. Additionally, I touch on ways to incorporate elements of discrimination in your game and how you can use it to good effect to mess with your PCs. This is all discussed within the context of the Iron Kingdoms D&D 3.5 campaign I'm currently running.

Links:

• Iron Kingdoms (official site)

Promos:

• Goblin Broadcast Network
• The Tome Show

This week it's part two of my interview with Podthrall Jim from the Fell Calls podcast about roleplaying in the Iron Kingdoms setting. We go into detail about systems and campaigns in the IK setting.

Links:

• Iron Kingdoms (official site)
• Fell Calls (Iron Kingdoms Podcast)
• Mutants & Masterminds

Promos:

• Goblin Broadcast Network
• Geeklabel Radio
• The Tome Show by Jeff Greiner

As mentioned in the latest episode, thanks to dann-o on the Fear The Boot forums I have a snappy new logo for Carpe GM. Sam Chupp maintains an area of Second Life dedicated to gaming podcasts and here's a screen grab of our little spot on the wall:

I had the privilege of speaking with Podthrall Jim from the Fell Calls podcast about roleplaying in the Iron Kingdoms setting. Jim is a veteran GM and has run several campaigns in the Iron Kingdoms. As I recently started running a campaign in the IK (and will be covering it in future episodes) I thought it would be beneficial to talk to Jim who is a walking encyclopedia of the IK! We talked for a long time so I'll be posting the first half of the interview this week and the second half in two weeks time. Enjoy and, if you haven't already, check out the Fell Calls podcast!

Links:

• Iron Kingdoms (official site)
• Fell Calls (Iron Kingdoms Podcast)

Promos:

• Goblin Broadcast Network
• Geeklabel Radio
• Pulp Gamer

This week I was planning on interviewing Pod Thrall Jim and talking about campaigns in the Iron Kingdoms but I goofed and had a schedule conflict. I talk a little more about my upcoming Serenity campaign and present a case in favour of playing canon characters in RPGs.

Links:

• Carpe GM's MySpace page
• Carpe GM Facebook Group
• ICv2 Article: WizKids Sues Wizards
• Star Wars PocketModel TCG
• Transformers 3D Battle-Card Game

I take a look at the Serenity RPG in this episode. I'm planning on running a summer campaign using this book which has a great system and captures the feel of the Firefly & Serenity really well. Holy smacks did this show take forever for me to edit for some reason!

Links:

• Settlers of Catan
• Betrayal at House on the Hill
• Pirates of the Spanish Main RPG
• Serenity RPG
• Margaret Weis Productions

I've been sucked into to the Hordes miniatures game by Privateer Press. Although I've only played one actual game of Hordes that didn't keep me from shooting my mouth off about it in addition to making fun of some fat people in Raleigh, NC. But seriously, folks... this should be a decent primer in Hordes if you know a little bit less about it than I do (which basically means you know nothing). Enjoy!

Links:

• The official Hordes homepage
• Privateer Press' main page
• Fell Calls - The best podcast devoted to the Iron Kingdoms

The ever-changing nature of podcasting continues unabated! Due to the fact that one of my players is taking the GM reins in a non-Low Life capacity I've had to retool this podcast. Listen in on the changes in store and how YOU could win a million dollars just by listening to this podcast. OK, no million dollars but still... listen up!

Links:

• Ziggurat Con
• Paizo Publishing
• Pirates of the Spanish Main RPG Preview PDF
• Two-Headed Dragon
• Hairy Tarantula

 

This week, the heap went to visit a tattoo artist, had to solve a totally wack puzzle, and beat up a bunch of boduls that were harassing some nerds. Yeah! One of my players has the GM bug and will be running a D&D campaign which may mean that I don't have enough material for another Low Life podcast in two weeks but I promise there will be something, even if it's just me singing. OK, I promise that there will be something and it won't be me singing.

Links:

• Fear The Boot
• Geeklabel
• Dragon's Landing
• Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Toronto
• Highmoon Media Productions
• Swords Edge Publishing
• Great Canadian Baycon
• Savaged Heroes

A regular episode? The heck you say! We're finally back with a regular episode... sorta. Our campaign stalled a bit due to more real life so we recap the big combat at the end of Pastor of Puppets and I talk about the Kobolds Ate My Baby and Serenity RPG sessions I ran at Gryphcon in Guelph this past weekend. Woot!

Links:

• Savage Worlds Adventure Deck - I goofed! The Adventure Deck is a $9.95 PDF available from Pinnacle's online store.
• Smith & Robards - Pinnacle's online store's main page.
• Gryphcon - A gaming convention in Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
• Kobolds Ate My Baby
• Serenity RPG
• The Great Canadian Baycon - A gaming convention in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
• Savage Worlds Explorers Society

 

This episode was a lot of fun to record. I had the opportunity and privilege to interview Andy Hopp, the creator of the Low Life RPG. Andy was great to speak with and he talked about Low Life (past, present & future), his current projects, and shared some of his opinions on matters relating to the gaming industry in general. You owe it to yourself to listen to this one; it's a keeper! And, because I really like the picture, here's the Cremefillian Jeezle Freak that Andy drew that he mentioned in the interview:

Uncto the Thrust, Cremefillian Holy Roller

Andy Hopp's Sites:
• AndyHopp.com
• Low Life
• The Wanderer's Guild
• Mutha Oith Creations
• Con on the Cob

Links Mentioned In Interview:
• Larry Elmore
• Margaret Weis
• Sovereign Stone RPG:
• Goodman Games
• 3AM Games
• Project H
• Worm Quartet

Thanks to Sam Chupp for bringing Carpe GM to the Second Life universe. Sam Created the RPG Podcasters Forum on Second Life and posted our logo on the wall. Click here to check out the interior of the RPG Podcasters Place at Podcast Island.

So Valentine's Day temporarily postponed our next campaign session so, in the interest of maintaining the release schedule I set for myself, I recorded this bonus episode about gaming conventions in Toronto. I go off on a bit of rant on a few occasions but, in all honesty, I think that the con scene in Toronto should be way bigger and better than it is and I offer up some of my pointed opinions. Just remember that these are my opinions and that my memory isn't perfect. If I'm factually in error about anything I've said please correct me.

As it's currently 11:30 PM on Thursday evening I'm going to upload the show without theme music and bumpers just so that I can get some sleep and not be a zombie at work tomorrow. Enjoy!

Links:

Dark Age Games

Firestorm Ink

Gryphcon

Hobbystar

Hordes

My Life With Master

Pandemonium

 

 

I don't know why, but something about seeing this show appear in the iTunes music store makes me feel like it's a bonafide podcast now. So although you don't need an iPod to listen, find us on iTunes; just search for "Carpe GM" and the show will dance in pretty colours before your very eyes. OK, not really... but it will show up.

We finally get down to playing our first session. Listen in on the heap's first forray into the campaign at a puppet show gone wrong.

Links:

Engler.ca forums

Nintendo Wii

This post is solely for claiming my podcast feed on Odeo and Podcast Alley. Move along... nothing to see here. ;)

My Odeo Channel (odeo/65101fbadba0734f)

My Podcast Alley feed! {pca-a4a48d143e1a022232e249a4e8f71227}

The first real episode! Before I start describing the actual campaign sessions I thought it would make sense to talk about the Low Life setting for those that aren't familiar to it and to introduce the characters we're playing.

Links:

Low Life Yahoo Group

We're live! This quick intro is an introduction to the Carpe GM podcast and more-or-less my tutorial for getting this podcast online. Hopefully, it sparks your interest enough to subscribe!

Links:

Pinnacle Entertainment (Savage Worlds)

Low Life

Andy Hopp