In which John, Ben, and Jess roll up characters for three different OSR systems: Dungeon Crawl Classics, Dolmenwood, and Shadowdark, bringing Sindar, Hrannick, and Korv to life. As they fill the sheets out, they explore how every detail sparks anticipation for play, and how what’s left off of a character sheet can reveal clever, intentional design.

In which John, Jess, and their guest, Stephen Dewey, discuss the design his game To Serve Her Wintry Hunger. Together they dive into the magic of games built around evocative questions and emotional pacing. Stephen shares how he uses rules to do the heavy lifting and reinforce the emotional weight of the story. Along the way, they explore emotional cadence, the reliability of tightly written rules, and how mechanics can echo dread, wonder, and everything in between.

In which John, Jess, and Ben explore the many flavors of chaos a player can bring. We discuss the role of emotional intelligence at the table, the energizing and disrupting impact of unruly players, and how Chaos Goblins—love them or not—might actually be the secret teachers of the TTRPG world.

In which John and Ben discuss their preoccupation with physical RPG books. We end up all over the place; moving from consumerism, status seeking, and how our hobbies define us.

In which John, Jess, and Ben explore how games become vessels that hold our friendships, memories, and the people we've loved. We share the stories of how we met through games and the powerful farewell of a friend whose story ended both in-game and in life. We discuss how through games, we are not just individuals but part of a vast, interconnected web of relationships held by the stories we tell each other.

In which John and Jess talk with Gareth Hanrahan about the adventure and setting guide The One Ring – Moria: Through the Doors of Durin and Gar's return to forging adventures in the depths of Khazad-dûm. We explore corruption, dread, and shadow, contrasting them with elvish hope, and discuss the Balrog’s looming presence—diabolically lurking in the deeps and on the random encounter table. Along the way, we delve into Tolkien’s sparse yet evocative monster palette, the challenge of adding creatures to Middle-earth, and the breathtaking maps and art that bring this Moria adventure to life.

In which we play Fängelsehåla and chat with its designer, Garry, about his elegantly interconnected rules and old-school aesthetic. As Runnen, Kallax, and Klippan, we battle through a dungeon’s entrance, ride a bat, and uncover a secret tunnel. Along the way, we discuss the tactile joy of the Doom Stack, the balance between fairness and flexibility in game design, and what makes Fängelsehåla feel like the RPG you found at your granny’s house.

In which Tony Vasinda and JP Coovert join John for a quick chat about RPG Zine Month!

In which John, Ben, Jess, and Matt chase the true meaning of a White Whale campaign—is it the time itself or the change it brings? Inspired by a recent Roll for Topic episode, we ask whether long campaigns are a dream worth chasing or a relic of the past, and if one session can deliver catharsis, why play 50? Along the way, we explore shifting gaming priorities, honoring old gaming loves, and what truly makes a game fulfilling

In which John, Ben, and Jess play as goblins in Grant Howitt’s game Goblin Quest. They become an increasingly chaotic gaggle of goblins, swapping in a new goblin character each time their previous goblin dies. Together they trebuchet to the top of the Wizard’s Tower to become the Belle of the Ball and attempt to fulfill all their Goblinoid hopes and dreams, leaving only a few fallen goblins in their wake.

This is normally an off week for The Splatbook, so I thought i would share an new podcast project I have been working. Zombies Strains is an attempt to understand how zombie movies came to dominate the horror genre after the year 2000. How did it all start? What makes a good zombie movie? We answer attempt to answer all of these questions and more in... Zombie Strains It’s Andy’s turn to present his baseline zombie film. His choice, The Girl with All the Gifts (2017), is strikingly different than John’s. Fast zombies? Check. Fast transmission? Check. Hordes of children who turn into zombies at the scent of humans? That’s new! Andy and John discuss this thought-provoking movie as they take another step on their zombie journey.

With Jess on secret special assignment, Ben and John sit down to talk about how RPGs are evolving. Are board games getting closer to RPGs? Are RPG play styles segmenting the RPG community? Is that a new thing? In this far-ranging discussion, we cover all of these topics and more.

Please join the Splatbook Players as game master Jess runs the gang through a delightfully dark session of "To Serve Her Wintry Hunger", a story-telling RPG by Stephen Dewey

Please enjoy part 2 of an actual play of Ben's in development table-top RPG, Wick &Wander. Illustrations by Claire Donaldson

Please enjoy part 1 of an actual play of Ben's in development table-top RPG, Wick &Wander

Hey Splatheads! We were not able to produce a full episode this week, so we are just dropping in to say hello. We will be back in two weeks with a new actual play of Ben's game Wick and Wander

Happy Halloween! Please enjoy this spooooky actual play of our One Page RPG - Air Boo-N-Boo: Haunt the Rental. GMed by Christopher Salzman of the Roll for Topic podcast.

With the spooky season upon us, John, Jess, and Ben dive into the world of one-page RPG design. In this episode we make and RPG, and next episode we will play it. SpooOooookkyyy!!!

John and co-host Matt Wilson are honored to be joined by Kenneth Hite and Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan to talk about GUMSHOE games, Cthulhu movies, and of course ... Trail of Cthulhu 2nd Edition

Fantasy artist Hailee Smith joins the Splatbook crew. We discuss art as process, AI, and how much fun it was to design the new Splatbook logo.