-- Description -- Does your campaign look like a Frazetta painting? Why not?! Make bikinis armor again: an exposé on the cultural reasoning behind playing a character who doesn't wear armor, but does like to get stuck in! Like what you're hearing? Visit the blog: ⁠https://clericswearringmail.blogspot.com/⁠ Want to get in on the conversation, yourself? Send in a voicemail on SpeakPipe: ⁠https://www.speakpipe.com/WhisperingGMPodcast⁠ ...or join the conversation on Spotify for Podcasters: ⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-whispering-gm/message⁠ ...or come hang out with all of us on Discord: ⁠https://discord.gg/kQnrK4YCCn Thumbnail generated on https://www.craiyon.com -- Show Notes -- 00:00 - Intro 00:40 - Theme 01:00 - Historical Loincloth Barbarians 06:42 - The Bikini Armor Esthetic 08:26 - The Item Dependence Problem 11:01 - An Evolving Appendix N 18:51 - Whispers Concludes 20:29 - Call In: Bos - On Scaling 24:51 - Call In: Jason - GM Screens 26:21 - Call In: "Highway Star" M. W. Lewis - Kitchen Sink of Topics 37:35 - Outro -- Links -- MagicMan Meme - https://x.com/ejemek3/status/1818690382344962537 Down in a Heap - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/down-in-a-heap/id1446315881 Greek Marine Panoply Study - https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/soldiers-put-an-ancient-greek-suit-of-armor-to-the-test-and-it-passed-180984411/ Bos at Border Baronies - https://borderbaronies.bearblog.dev/ Nerd's Variety Podcast - https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jason376 Worlds of M. W. Lewis - https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mwlewis

-- Description -- The Dungeon Master Screen: do you use one? I do - but some other folks don't: why would they eschew this time-tested tool and why I think DM screens are great. Like what you're hearing? Visit the blog: ⁠https://clericswearringmail.blogspot.com/⁠ Want to get in on the conversation, yourself? Send in a voicemail on SpeakPipe: ⁠https://www.speakpipe.com/WhisperingGMPodcast⁠ ...or join the conversation on Spotify for Podcasters: ⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-whispering-gm/message⁠ ...or come hang out with all of us on Discord: ⁠https://discord.gg/kQnrK4YCCn -- Show Notes -- 00:00 - Intro 00:08 - Theme 00:28 - The Dungeon Master Screen 01:19 - A Case Against: Transparency in Dice Rolls 02:18 - Some Rolls Should Be Secret 06:06 - What about the RAW? 08:19 - Rolling in the Open: A Guard against Fudge 09:18 - The ACTUAL Point of the DM Screen 13:04 - The Best of Both Worlds 13:40 - Some Secrecy is Good for the Players 15:07 - But What about Low Prep / No Prep? 17:25 - Call in: Red Dice Diaries John - Scheming Players & Fudging Dice 19:54 - Call In: Diagetic Advancement Riley - Active Defense 23:24 - ...A Final Word on Ghouls 24:08 - ...LBB-ified Thief vs Greyhawk Thief 25:32 - Ghouls! What constitutes a Touch? 26:43 - Why Specify a Wand of Paralysis? 29:20 - Where did Con-Based Resurrection Survival Come From? 30:52 - What actually IS Ghoul paralysis? 32:15 - Thank You, Callers, Listeners, and Other Interacters 32:45 - Outro -- Links -- Aug's Entirely Too Long Custom Screen: https://clericswearringmail.blogspot.com/2024/01/0e-reference-sheets.html Confessions of a High Prep GM: - Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-whispering-gm/episodes/Confessions-of-a-High-Prep-GM-e2dr5lp - YouTube: https://youtu.be/3omIW4201EQ Red Dice Diaries: https://reddicediaries.bearblog.dev/ Diagetic Advancement: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/diegeticadvancement Wight Box: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/473031/wight-box-original-medieval-fantasy-adventure-campaigns

-- Description -- Listeners call in to talk about time - some podcast friends call in and talk about timekeeping in their games as well as timekeeping in their lives: figuring out when to fit in the hobby and figuring out how to make the most of it while we're there; most in response to 1:1 Turn Tracking. Like what you're hearing? Visit the blog: ⁠https://clericswearringmail.blogspot.com/⁠ Want to get in on the conversation, yourself? Send in a voicemail on SpeakPipe: ⁠https://www.speakpipe.com/WhisperingGMPodcast⁠ ...or join the conversation on Spotify for Podcasters: ⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-whispering-gm/message⁠ ...or come hang out with all of us on Discord: ⁠https://discord.gg/kQnrK4YCCn -- Show Notes -- 00:00 - Theme 00:30 - Daniel Norton, Bandit's Keep: Solo Gaming 01:17 - Encouragement from Whispers for Busy Gamers 05:35 - Daniel: Traps Attacking 06:48 - ...Magical Traps 08:30 - ...Mundane Traps 10:10 - ...Ability Scores and Traps 12:23 - Audio Quality Note 12:44 - Riley: On Timing Combat Rounds 13:58 - ...On Players Feeling Targeted 16:30 - ...But Isn't Turn Timing Adversarial Refereeing? 21:23 - Evil Jeff: What Kind of Game do you Want to Run? 27:12 - John Large: Time Tracking and Shadowdark 29:28 - ...On Life Getting in the Way: West Marches and Solo Games 30:43 - ...On Keeping Up with Podcasting 32:02 - Signing Off and Audio Retro 32:37 - Outro -- Links -- 1:1 Turn Tracking - Original Episode: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-whispering-gm/episodes/11-Turn-Tracking-e2k7r2k Bandit's Keep: - Podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/daniel-norton - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BanditsKeep - YouTube Actual Play: https://www.youtube.com/@BanditsKeepActualPlay Diagetic Advancement: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/diegeticadvancement Evil Jeff: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/eviljeff Red Dice Diaries: https://reddicediaries.bearblog.dev/ Spike Pit: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/spikepit

-- Description -- Follow up episode - additional insights and answers, as pertaining to Ghouls and Ghoul Paralysis: less dangerous (or more?) than you think. Like what you're hearing? Visit the blog: ⁠https://clericswearringmail.blogspot.com/⁠ Want to get in on the conversation, yourself? Send in a voicemail on SpeakPipe: ⁠https://www.speakpipe.com/WhisperingGMPodcast⁠ ...or join the conversation on Spotify for Podcasters: ⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-whispering-gm/message⁠ ...or come hang out with all of us on Discord: ⁠https://discord.gg/kQnrK4YCCn Show thumbnail was generated using Craiyon.com (http://craiyon.com/) -- Show Notes -- 00:00 - Intro 00:52 - Theme? 01:22 - Call In: D.A. Riley 06:12 - Call In: Pink Phantom 27:29 - ODD74 Perspective 30:59 - Call In: Daniel Norton 36:45 - But What Did Wight Box Say? 39:09 - Outro -- Links -- Wight Box: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/473031/wight-box-original-medieval-fantasy-adventure-campaigns Diagetic Advancement: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/diegeticadvancement Pink Phantom: - Podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/phantomthoughts - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThePinkPhantom Mr Wargaming AD&D Mass Combat: https://youtu.be/9OD484CsTBI ODD74 Thread: https://odd74.proboards.com/thread/462/ghoul-paralysis?page=2 Bandit's Keep: - Podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/daniel-norton - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BanditsKeep - YouTube Actual Play: https://www.youtube.com/@BanditsKeepActualPlay

-- Description -- I had the distinct privilege over Father's Day weekend to meet up with Lungfungus - author of Actual Dungeon Mastering and the Melancholies & Mirth blog - to have a beer and chat about gaming until my wife dragged me home. Wash of topics - keep delving! Like what you're hearing? Visit the blog: ⁠https://clericswearringmail.blogspot.com/⁠ Want to get in on the conversation, yourself? Send in a voicemail on SpeakPipe: ⁠https://www.speakpipe.com/WhisperingGMPodcast⁠ ...or join the conversation on Spotify for Podcasters: ⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-whispering-gm/message⁠ ...or come hang out with all of us on Discord: ⁠https://discord.gg/kQnrK4YCCn -- Show Notes -- 00:00 - Intro 01:02 - Theme 01:22 - Lunch with Lungfungus 01:40 - The Implications of Presenting a Map in VTT 05:06 - Tabletop Simulator for Chainmail 07:08 - Purple Prose in Text Game Prep 07:22 - Text vs Voice Experience with VTTs 09:43 - How's Been Gamin? (Wild West OD&D) 13:00 - The Wild West, Hex Crawling, and Challenging the Mapper 17:17 - On Being Lost and the Horizon 18:52 - Touch Grass; DM Better! 20:00 - Sight Lines 22:52 - Briefly Bloviating about Beer 23:31 - Flat Earth Elves 25:37 - Lost as Impeded rather than Lost as Lost 29:47 - Hex Maps as Mazes 34:11 - Influencing the Amount of Communication 36:21 - Granularity of Weather: Engaging with the Material Reality 38:30 - Where are the Hinges? 42:33 - Player Skill and Asking Questions: Diverse Application of Common Articles 44:26 - Reputation: How Fast does News Travel? 45:57 - Great Lakes Scale 46:38 - Random Castles, Random Lairs, & PVP Chainmail 48:00 - Incorporating Hex Characteristics as Resources to Manage 50:29 - Thank You, Lungfungus! 51:43 - Outro -- Links -- Melancholies and Mirth - https://melancholiesandmirth.blogspot.com/ OSR Simulacrum - https://osrsimulacrum.blogspot.com/ Gucci Fuligan Cloak - https://guccifuligincloak.blogspot.com/ - https://www.youtube.com/@gfcsdnd205 Luke Gearing - https://lukegearing.blot.im/

-- Description -- Do you time your players' actions in combat? You should! And here are three reasons why - from my table to yours, direct through the earbuds. Like what you're hearing? Visit the blog: ⁠https://clericswearringmail.blogspot.com/⁠ Want to get in on the conversation, yourself? Send in a voicemail on SpeakPipe: ⁠https://www.speakpipe.com/WhisperingGMPodcast⁠ ...or join the conversation on Spotify for Podcasters: ⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-whispering-gm/message⁠ ...or come hang out with all of us on Discord: ⁠https://discord.gg/kQnrK4YCCn -- Show Notes -- 00:00 - 1:1 Turn Tracking 00:22 - Intro 00:45 - How long is a turn? 02:01 - Basic Method: Counting Seconds 05:32 - Eliminates Hesitation: Keeps Things Moving 09:38 - Helps Participation: Keeps Players Paying Attention 13:49 - Helps Immersion: Feels Chaotic 17:10 - Conclusion and Call-Out 20:26 - Outro -- Links -- Immersion: Spotify - https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/clerics-wear-ringmail/episodes/Immersion-e1jqhfr YouTube - https://youtu.be/L8ajqIMJPbA

-- Description -- Ghouls - the iconic paralyzers and low-level party enders: capable of wrecking shop even on a mid level party! Or... are they? I revisit the rules as worded and cross reference them to concepts in Chainmail, revealing that in 0e, at least - Ghouls might not have been as powerful as they would, in later editions, become. Then, some call-ins regarding adversarial play (among which is a great example of adversarial play from Daniel over at Bandit's Keep) and a concept (new, to me) of treating traps like monsters - at least where THAC0 is concerned. Like what you're hearing? Visit the blog: ⁠https://clericswearringmail.blogspot.com/⁠ Want to get in on the conversation, yourself? Send in a voicemail on SpeakPipe: ⁠https://www.speakpipe.com/WhisperingGMPodcast⁠ ...or join the conversation on Spotify for Podcasters: ⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-whispering-gm/message⁠ ...or come hang out with all of us on Discord: ⁠https://discord.gg/kQnrK4YCCn -- Show Notes -- 00:00 - Ghouls: Not as Scary as you Think 00:18 - Theme 00:39 - Ghouls in the Little Brown Books 02:09 - "Normal" Figures 03:46 - Wights in Chainmail 06:18 - An Introduction to Moldvayan Revisionism 07:51 - Save vs Paralysis in the Text 09:13 - What About Withstand Adversity? 14:22 - Call In: Nerd's Variety Jason - Reliability 17:28 - Call In: Nerd's Variety Jason - Traps as Monsters 19:19 - Traps as Monsters of HD Equal to Dungeon Level 21:08 - Call In: DA Riley - Episodes, Life, and Listening 23:34 - Call In: Bandit's Keep Daniel - A Tale of Adversarial Play 30:23 - Call In: Bob - Enjoying the Surprise of a Plotting Player 33:08 - Outro -- Links -- The Basic Expert: https://www.youtube.com/@TheBasicExpert Wight Box: https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/473031/WightBox-Original-Medieval-Fantasy-Adventure-Campaigns Nerd's Variety Podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jason376 Nerd's Variety Blog: https://nerdsrpgvarietycast.com/ Diegetic Advancement: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/diegeticadvancement/ Bandit's Keep: - https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/daniel-norton - https://www.youtube.com/@BanditsKeep - https://www.youtube.com/@BanditsKeepActualPlay Bos' Bear Blog: https://borderbaronies.bearblog.dev/

-- Description -- Call in show - listeners debate the fine points of adversarial play, as well as toss in some tokens for how prep influences their games - or vice versa: how their games have influenced their prep. Then - at the end - a quick promised health and sanity update from me for folks who were listening and concerned as of last time around. Like what you're hearing? Visit the blog: ⁠https://clericswearringmail.blogspot.com/⁠ Want to get in on the conversation, yourself? Send in a voicemail on SpeakPipe: ⁠https://www.speakpipe.com/WhisperingGMPodcast⁠ ...or join the conversation on Spotify for Podcasters: ⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-whispering-gm/message⁠ ...or come hang out with all of us on Discord: ⁠https://discord.gg/kQnrK4YCCn -- Show Notes -- 00:00 - Theme 00:21 - Jason: Feedback on Classic Adventure Gaming 04:38 - Jason: On Adversarial Gaming 11:32 - Riley: Conspiratorial Players 18:14 - Mirke the Meek: Adversarial Play and Representing the Table 24:22 - Karl: Evolution of Your Campaign 28:22 - Riley: Regarding Prep and Story Games 31:36 - Mirke: Experiences with Prep 36:46 - Personal and Health Update 48:56 - Outro -- Links -- Nerd's Variety Jason - https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jason376 Evil Jeff - https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/eviljeff Jason Hobbs - https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jason-hobbs Riley - https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/diegeticadvancement Mirke - https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mirke-the-meek Karl - https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/karl-rodriguez

-- Description -- Talking about prepping for your game. How much is too much? How much is too little? And how much can you learn from the mistakes of someone who has gone entirely off the deep end before? Like what you're hearing? Visit the blog: ⁠https://clericswearringmail.blogspot.com/⁠ Want to get in on the conversation, yourself? Send in a voicemail on SpeakPipe: ⁠https://www.speakpipe.com/WhisperingGMPodcast⁠ ...or join the conversation on Spotify for Podcasters: ⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-whispering-gm/message⁠ ...or come hang out with all of us on Discord: ⁠https://discord.gg/kQnrK4YCCn -- Show Notes -- 00:00 - Prepper's Anonymous 00:09 - Theme 00:39 - On Campaign Prep 02:51 - Advocating for Zero Prep 05:15 - Why Then do I Prep? 12:18 - The Dangers of Too Much Prep 16:40 - Prep According to your Play 17:35 - Side Note on the Joy of Prep 21:58 - At the End of the Day... 22:24 - Outro & Theme -- Links -- Just Three Hexes: https://chgowiz-games.blogspot.com/2017/11/just-three-hexes-campaign-starters.html

-- Description -- Having spent some time figuring out adversarial referees - what would then make a player an adversarial player? Exploring some experiences, ideas, and behaviors that may - or may not - make a player into an enemy instead of an ally. Like what you're hearing? Visit the blog: ⁠https://clericswearringmail.blogspot.com/⁠ Want to get in on the conversation, yourself? Send in a voicemail on SpeakPipe: ⁠https://www.speakpipe.com/WhisperingGMPodcast⁠ ...or join the conversation on Spotify for Podcasters: ⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-whispering-gm/message⁠ ...or come hang out with all of us on Discord: ⁠https://discord.gg/kQnrK4YCCn -- Show Notes -- 00:00 - Adversarial... Play 00:43 - Theme 01:13 - Player vs. Referee 01:40 - Rules Lawyering? 04:25 - Munchkining (Rules Abuse)? 08:08 - Derailing? 14:53 - Player vs Other Players 15:05 - PvP? 20:30 - Filibuster your Friends? 26:36 - In Conclusion 29:12 - For Next Time 30:16 - Outro & Theme -- Links -- * Kalmata: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCJihWQoKqzZdxeL1LHkr-YJ_hewIFOyx * Karl of the GMologist Presents: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/karl-rodriguez * Secrets of Brovenloft: https://youtu.be/A5QdvJDLUvM?si=b45eAgZ-hPZ_zm-o