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Down in a Heap
Rob c
314 episodes
9 hours ago
A big pot of old school RPG stew. Cover art photo provided by Mathew Schwartz on Unsplash: https://unsplash.com/@cadop
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All content for Down in a Heap is the property of Rob c and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
A big pot of old school RPG stew. Cover art photo provided by Mathew Schwartz on Unsplash: https://unsplash.com/@cadop
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Games
Leisure
Episodes (20/314)
Down in a Heap
OSR October #12 Thursday Thaumaturgy

The Thaumaturgical subject today involves a method for creating minor magic items and scrolls in your OSR game through the spell, Embed.

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1 week ago
11 minutes 9 seconds

Down in a Heap
OSR October #11: Milieu Mea Culpa

Listening back to my last Monday Milieu, I realized I had completely forgotten one of my favorite settings, and maybe the best one created in the OSR era - the Midderlands by Glynn Seal of Monkeyblood Design. I also do a thumbnail on his adventure, Chewer of Fingers. Sounds pretty creepy for Halloween! 🎃

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1 week ago
19 minutes 43 seconds

Down in a Heap
OSR October #10: Monday Milieu

A ramble about published campaign settings, both in the “official “ TSR era, plus the independent and OSR sphere. I talk about what I look for (and dislike) in a setting, and why I usually decide to make up my own.

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1 week ago
23 minutes 23 seconds

Down in a Heap
OSR October #9: Sunday Sacrilege

What do you think about the whole prime requisite idea in old versions of D&D? Isn’t having a high score in an attribute already its own reward?

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1 week ago
11 minutes 40 seconds

Down in a Heap
OSR October #8 Does Size Matter?

What happens when you’re playing games designed for 6-8 PCs and you only have 3-4 players?

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3 weeks ago
10 minutes 45 seconds

Down in a Heap
OSR October #7 Yet More Sunday Sacrilege

I talk about another aspect of classic D&D that I don’t like and don’t use in my games: energy level drain.

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3 weeks ago
9 minutes 11 seconds

Down in a Heap
OSR October #6 Thursday Thaumaturgy

In Thursday Thaumaturgy is describe a potential new spell for your OSR game. Today is Spirit Track.

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3 weeks ago
7 minutes 13 seconds

Down in a Heap
OSR October #5, Secrets of The Towers

In today’s Wednesday Wandering I take a look at a little adventure from an old Dungeon magazine that’s had an outsized influence on my adventure and campaign creations: The Secrets of The Towers by Larry Church.

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4 weeks ago
13 minutes 44 seconds

Down in a Heap
OSR October #4: A Quick & Dirty Alchemist

In today’s Tuesday Tinkering, I share a blog post from Rich Forest (one of the creators of A Visitor’s Guide to the Rainy City) where he provides guidelines for a “quick and dirty “ alchemist class. This is especially useful in a world where the gods don’t answer the prayers of priests with divine magic (like the Rainy City). Check out the complete post at superheronecromancer.blogspot.com.

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1 month ago
9 minutes 50 seconds

Down in a Heap
OSR October: A Visitor’s Guide to the Rainy City

It’s Monday Milieu and today I review the setting, A Visitor’s Guide to the Rainy City by Superhero Necromancer Press. You can get a pdf at Drivethru RPG, or print and pdf from Indie Press Revolution.

Check out the author’s blog at superheronecromancer.blogspot.com.

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1 month ago
26 minutes 45 seconds

Down in a Heap
OSR October #2, Sunday Sacrilege

3d6 Down the line is not for me.

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1 month ago
16 minutes 33 seconds

Down in a Heap
OSR October #1, 2025

A brief look at what fantasy books, movies and art developed my tastes in fantasy gaming. These are possibly what keep me focused on what you might call OSR gaming. My (abbreviated) Appendix N?

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1 month ago
10 minutes 22 seconds

Down in a Heap
Crowd Funding Projects: currently active and late ones

I go through some current crowd funding campaigns: Castle Zagyg (Troll Lords), Ryecroft (Monkeyblood Design), Shadowdark Western Reaches (Arcane Library), Castles & Crusades Reforged. And I also run through the naughty list; projects I backed that are late: Mythic Bastionland, Scientific Barbarian, The Many Crypts of Lady Ingrade, and Harrowed Ground.

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7 months ago
37 minutes

Down in a Heap
Ambition & Avarice 1e Deep Dive 1

The first in a deep dive series looking at the OSR game, Ambition & Avarice 1e by Greg Christopher of Chubby Funster Games published in 2012. I’m delving into what’s different about this compared to a more traditional TSR era game like Moldvay Cook/Marsh B/X (or Old School Essentials if you prefer). There are substantial differences, yet this is still very compatible with your old school adventures and supplements. In this episode, I focus on base task resolutions, and player characters. Both Ambition & Avarice 1e and 2e are available in print and pdf via DrivethruRPG. I’m confident you can all find them easily :).

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1 year ago
46 minutes 52 seconds

Down in a Heap
Campaign Diary 1: The Forsaken North

When I recorded this, there wasn’t a real object, but after listening back, this is the start of a series I’ll keep doing as a sort of campaign diary. This will entail both the planning for The Forsaken North, and discussions about the new (for me) system I’ll be using: Ambition & Avarice 1e by Greg Christopher of Chubby Funster Games. Later entries might include session recaps or updates that develop out of our game sessions. Enjoy!

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1 year ago
18 minutes 43 seconds

Down in a Heap
OSR October: Ambition & Avarice 1e

A tentative return to podcasting for OSR October, 2024. This is a rough one as I try to navigate the new recording approach without the benefit of my familiar Anchor app. A thumbnail look at the new system I’m going to try out: Ambition & Avarice by Greg Christopher.

You can get a copy at DrivethruRPG: Chubby Funster Games.

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1 year ago
7 minutes 45 seconds

Down in a Heap
Knave 2e Review: the Final Episode?
An armchair QB review of Knave 2e by Ben Milton of Questing Beast. It’s “ a flexible, classless rule set for players who scheme, strategize, and seek adventure.” It’s also closely compatible with most adventures and supplements of your favorite old school fantasy RPG. I go over the good, bad, and uncertain aspects I see (keeping in mind I haven’t played it) in this last ride of Down in a Heap. Thanks for all the fun over the years! Stay in touch: bigbalboni “at” gmail.com.
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1 year ago
1 hour 15 minutes 7 seconds

Down in a Heap
Halberds & Henchmen: a Retrospective
I look back at my Frankenstein’s Monster of a hack from 2017, Halberds & Henchmen. What circumstances led to it, what the design goal was, what’s good, bad, and ugly about it? Also how I squandered the opportunity for it and what its future might be. Email me at bigbalboni “at” gmail to get any updates and/or PDFs of my work after the podcast.
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1 year ago
1 hour 6 minutes 59 seconds

Down in a Heap
Calamities!
Add depth and uncertainty to your game setting by throwing in an occasional calamity that changes the landscape (political or actual). Inspired by the Advanced Civilization board game. Also calls from Jason & Spencer. Check out current Kickstarters for Castles & Crusades “Reforged” by Troll Lord Games (ends 7/9/24) and Gary’s Appendix Issue 6 by Jeffrey Jones of RPG Ramblings (ends 7/10/24).
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1 year ago
33 minutes 42 seconds

Down in a Heap
I’m Not Dead …I’m getting better :)
Spotify extended the mobile app life until July 9th, so Down in a Heap lives on for another month. Calls from Jason and Riley provide discussion on attribute gains & losses, training, what’s going to happen after the podcast, and just why the heck is wearing helmets and armor not cool, and when, how, and why did this trend emerge? Send messages to bigbalboni “at” gmail. Thanks!
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1 year ago
43 minutes 55 seconds

Down in a Heap
A big pot of old school RPG stew. Cover art photo provided by Mathew Schwartz on Unsplash: https://unsplash.com/@cadop