DiceCast™ is a podcast about roleplaying games (RPGs) and related hobbies produced by Polymancer Studios, Inc.. Episodes of DiceCast are always about topics that are of interest to gamers of all kinds (and for RPGs, this means both players and gamemasters) as well as special topics for freelance writers and artists. Other news about Polymancer® Studios, such as new opportunities for freelance writers and artists as well as new product announcements, are included in the cast.
From our Staff and their families, we wish you all the very best of this holiday season; regardless of your faith or religious background. It is a time of well wishing and friendship and may you benefit from all of these. May peace and safety envelop you and yours.
To all be well, may health be yours, may happiness be a part of your life for 2012, and may good fortune shine upon all of you in the New Year.
Cheers,
From the staff of Polymancer Studios and the guys at Polymancer Game and Hobby.
We return with an honest-to-goodness episode about a game topic! As much as we love interviewing interesting people who are connected to popular culture, it feels good to be back to the game table for an episode. In this one, we talk about miniatures; not miniatures wargaming, but the use of miniatures in roleplaying games (RPGs).
It seems almost odd that we have to introduce miniatures to roleplayers, because RPGs evolved from miniatures wargaming. Indeed, the first RPGs were miniatures wargames optimized to playing a single character, rather than an entire army; a character who went on to evolve from scenario to scenario; scenarios which were more than just a battle. It was when the emphasis switched to interaction and plots and away from combat that roleplaying games evolved into something in which miniatures were optional. This has been great for the maturation of the hobby, but maybe roleplayers are missing out on something.
To that end, we introduce miniatures to roleplayers in this episode, with a few tips on how to get started using them. THere is nothing in here about painting or customizing miniatures or producing scenery. Those are topics for future episodes. Rather, we talk about the general concerns that come with using miniatures at the roleplaying table. We also give the quick and dirty rules to PUMMEL!® (Pick-Up, Multigenre Miniatures, Easy to Learn), a miniatures wargame that can be adapted to any RPG for mass combats; and we offer the quickstart rules for free download.
We also have an interview with Sherwin Tjia, author of the Choose Your Own Adventure-style adventure book You Are A Cat (published on Conundrum Press). Mr. Tija discusses his love of cats, of adventure books, and why he made You Are A Cat. We mention the Cat RPG by John Wick.
Nancy Kilpatrick is an author of horror fiction. Many of her 18 novels, over 200 short stories, and anthologies have been about vampires. Her breadth and depth of knowledge of the entire vampire sub-genre of horror is staggering, being able to speak about it with eloquence and good humor, without at all belittling the subject or its fans.
We met up with Nancy Kilpatrick at Con*Cept 2011, a science fiction and fantasy convention held in Montreal, every autumn; this year, she was the guest of honor. She gave a great, lively interview that we are proud to share with you in this episode.
This special episode of DiceCast is in Spanish. Este episodio especial de DiceCast está en español.
Te nemos el plaser de intrevistar a uno de los mejores caricaturista el Sr. Sergio Aragones que fue entrivistado en la sede Montreal Comiccon. Este episodio es espesial para todas las personas que an leida la revista Mad, Groo y Sergio Aragones Funnies. Tambien tenemos una intrevista espesial con un personaje que es reconocido en la lucha libre El Hijo del Santo.
Sergio Aragones habla sobre su vida y sus prollectos realizados y por realizar.El sellor Aragones se ha destaca por la calidad de sus dibujos en las revista Mad y por sus habilidades caricaturistica en el comic Groo y la nueva comic Sergio Aragones Funnies.
El Hijo del Santo es reconocido en la lucha libre, y otras de sus cualidades es haber realisado librros comicos y caricaturas , el hijo del Santo se encuentra partisipando como bocero representando ala fundasion Will Cost que se dedica ala, preservasion, protecsion y cuidado delas espesies marinas en peligro de extision. Esta intrevista fue realisada en FanExpo en Toronto Canada.
We had the pleasure of interviewing the great cartoonist and comic artist Sergio Aragonés at Montreal Comiccon this month. This episode is a special treat for fans of Mad magazine, Groo, and funny cartoons and comics.
Sergio Aragonés discussed his life as a cartoonist with us, as well as his work. Mr. Aragonés is famous for his "Drawn Out Dramas" and "Marginals" from Mad magazine and for his epic comic series about the terminally stupid, buffoonish barbarian Groo The Wanderer. He has recently began a new series called Sergio Aragonés Funnies, a semi-autobiographical collection of cartoons, puzzles, and other vignettes in his distinct style.
Otakuthon is Montreal's convention for fans of all things related to anime, manga, and similar fun stuff. It is held every August and they recently completed their 6th annual convention, with as many as 10,000 people attending.Otakuthon features a huge exhibitor's hall, panel discussions, games, music, a dance, a masquerade, and of course, screenings.
We went to Otakuthon and we interviewed participants, exhibitors, and organizers.
Interviewed in this episode
One of many participants who offers free hugs to fellow Otakuthon attendees; just one of the many things that make the experience unique and friendly.
Eric Allard, creator of the Herobot webcomic, which has recently had its first chapter published in print. A more extensive interview with Allard is available in our French podcast, Royale With Cheese.
Dawn, a representative of Costumecon 32, to be held in Toronto in late April or early May of 2014 (the official date is TBA). This is an annual convention that moves from city to city, similar to Worldcon, and which is all about costuming.
The Gaming Genius Awards: A new awards recognizing excellence in game design, game publishing, game creation, and game enjoyment and covering all aspects of the hobby games industry. The Gaming Genius Awards is an effort of the Gamer's Guild, under sponsorship of Polymancer Studios, Inc..
RPGPodcasts.com: Where you can find many other great game podcasts like this one.
All Games Considered: A great podcast about tabletop roleplaying games and similar hobbies.
Las nominaciones están abiertas para los premios de juegos genio (www.thegoldepawns.org), que reconoce la excelencia en el diseño de juegos, juegos publicados, la creación de juegos inspirado, y todo lo relativo a los juegos. Editores, diseñadores, otros profesionales creativos y fanáticos de los juegos están invitados a contactarnos.
Nominations are open for the Gaming Genius Awards (www.thegoldepawns.org), recognizing excellence in game design, game publishing, game creation, and everything game-related. Publishers, designers, other creative professionals, and fans of the hobby game industry are invited to contact us.
This special audio segment is about freelance writing for the Polymancer family of publications; including but not limited to: Polygraff™; Polymancer magazine; Paladin; Bayonets, Spears & Blasters; as well as full-length novels; and non-fiction books about topics relating to the gaming hobby and non-gaming topics as well.
Please note that Polymancer Studios's submission guidelines are subject to change. Detailed, updated information may be obtained by writing to writer@polymancerstudios.com.
DO NOT SEND UNSOLICITED MANUSCRIPTS! This means that if you have a written work (whether or not it is complete) that you wish to submit for consideration for publication, do not e-mail it to us without sending us an e-mail in which you first ask if we are interested in reviewing it for consideration of publication.
All writers whose works are published by Polymancer Studios, Inc. are paid. Please note that no publication occurs unless and until a written contract is signed between the writer and the publisher.
Further information can be obtained at the following links:
All publications named in this segment and on the web sites linked to here are trademarks of Polymancer Studios, Inc.; the word "Polymancer" is a registered trademark of Polymancer Studios, Inc..
This audio file is copyright 2011 Polymancer Studios, Inc., released under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivative Works license, the full text of which can be obtained from creativecommons.org; this episode may be freely copied and redistributed as long as it is done in its original form, free of charge, and due credit is given to the copyright holders. The music for this segment was obtained from iStock Audio and is used with permission.
In this episode, we discuss running one-shot convention adventures. How do you fit a complete, satisfying adventure into a 4-hour time slot, and finish it? We discuss some of the dos and don'ts. Even if you never run one-shot adventures at cons or in stores, these are tips that can make anyone be a better GM, by helping accomplish more in a limited amount of time.
We also have a short interview with a member of the 501st Legion, Quebec.
This official trailer was produced by Polymancer Studios as part of our sponsorship of the Montreal Gamers Guild.
Conjurations is Montreal's game conventions: RPG, miniatures, wargames, board games, LARPs, and more. May 14 to May 15, 2011 at the Church of St. John the Evangelist ("Red Roof Church"), 137 President Kennedy, near the Place des Arts Metro station.
In this episode, we interview Patrick Acton of the Matchstick Marvels Museum in Iowa (matchstickmarvels.com). Patrick makes amazing models of buildings and vehicles out of matchsticks and glue; including detailed scale models of the city of Minas Tirith from Lord Of The Rings and the Hogwarts Academy from the Harry Potter novels. Patrick discusses how he creates his models, some of the models that he has made, and about the museum that he operates in which they are on display.
We also include a promotional bumper for the Conjurations game convention in Montreal (May 14-15, www.ggconventions.com for more information).
>Conjurations is a game convention for fans of roleplaying games (RPGs), miniatures wargames, collectible card games, non-collectible card games, board games, live action roleplaying games (LARPs), and similar hobbies. Running over the course of two days (the weekend of May 14-15 2011), its goal is to put as much fun and as much variety as possible for enthusiasts of the hobby under one roof. It is held in the reception room of The Church of St. John The Evangelist ("The Red Roof Church"), at 137 President Kennedy, conveniently located in downtown Montreal at the corner of President Kennedy and Kimberley (which is between St-Urbain and Jeanne Mance). For more information: www.ggconventions.com
You are encouraged to place this into your podcast as often as you like up to and including the date of the convention. Just download the MP3 file.
In this episode, we interview Andrew and JD from Boolean Union about their recent animated film adaptation of the infamous Jack Chick tract "Dark Dungeons." Their work is a serious adaptation of a work that is inherently funny. It is produced to a very high level of quality. We found Andrew and JD to be as animated as their movie, articulate, and perceptive in our interview. And for the record, they are not in the least bit "anti-game."
In brief, "Dark Dungeons" is a short comic book (called a "tract") about a teenaged girl who gets swept away into the occult from playing a fictitious RPG called "Dark Dungeons" (which, as described, is D&D in all but name). The comic contains a number of amusing misconceptions about RPGs, including the notion that players can start to believe that they really are their characters or that the goal of RPGs is to make people learn how to cast "real spells." It has gained a cult following among roleplayers for its humor value.
Links
The Dark Dungeons Movie. The producers encourage everyone to link to it and share it with their friends.
DiceCast™ is a podcast about roleplaying games (RPGs), miniatures wargames, sophisticated board games, and related hobbies produced by Polymancer® Studios, Inc., publishers of Polymancer magazine, Polyglot™, and other periodicals. Episodes of DiceCast are about topics that are of interest to gamers of all kinds (and for RPGs, this means both players and gamemasters) as well as special topics for freelance writers and artists.
Contact us at dicecast@polymancerstudios.com or by Skype at "Polymancer." Polymancer Studios’s web site is at www.polymancer.com.
Episodes of DiceCast are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial No Derivative 3.0 License (available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).
We are also on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/Polymancer), MySpace (myspace.com/polymancer) and LiveJournal (polymancerstdio).
