The Splatbook

Splatbook! The Musical

That's all folks! It is time for me to wrap this up. Thanks to a ll the listeners, emailers, Splatphoners, guests, friends of the show, and co hosts. Love you!

In which John, Ben, and Jess discuss John’s game at RFT Con, where he ran a Trophy Dark horror game set during Balin’s doomed expedition to Moria. With flickering tea lights, creeping darkness, and a well-timed Balrog jump scare, John crafted an immersive experience that reminded him why he loves running games. Together they reflect on unique game experiences, the joy of RFTCON,  and the magic of setting the stage then letting go of the outcome.

Check out John's new podcast: Zombie Strains

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The Splat...

This is a long time coming... Please excuse us while we get caught up on our mail

Check out John's new podcast: Zombie Strains

Contact Us!

splatbookpod@gmail.com

The Splatphone!

Roll For Topic

In which John and Jess discuss the excitement of starting new games. Jess has closed out an epic-level campaign and is kicking off both Daggerheart and Wild Beyond the Witchlight (as a player!). They dive into Daggerheart’s Hope and Fear dice system, the book’s gorgeous design, and how it packs everything you need into a single tome. John shares his plans for a “Drums in the deep” Moria-inspired horror game at RfT Con. They discuss horror theme-supportive mechanics and together they revel in the thrill of fresh adventures and future games to come.

Dagger Heart

Dre...

In which John, Jess, Ben, and their guest, James Pozenel, hack into Netcrawl, a cyberdungeon crawl in the style of Dungeon Crawl Classics. Here the whole party enters the digital fray, not just the netrunner or cybermancer. Using a flexible skill system that gives every character a chance to make an impact, our intrepid hosts dive into a server to encounter techno-spiders and the Core Queen dragon. Along the way they discuss the differences between Netcrawl and Dungeon Crawl Classics, and celebrate how Netcrawl re-imagines cyberspace as a shared, perilous frontier.

Horseshark Games

Order Netcrawl...

In this special episode John is joined by Amber, Hailee, and Matt from the RPG collective, Cloud Curio. We discuss their new project, Book of Wyrms as well as growing up in RPGs, and learning how to get support as a GM when designing new adventures
 

Book of Wyrms on Kickstarter

Check out John's new podcast: Zombie Strains

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splatbookpod@gmail.com

The Splatphone!

Roll For Topic

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.

Dungeon Crawl Classics

Dolmenwood

ShadowDark

Check out John's new podcast: Zombie Strains

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splatbookpod@gmail.com

The Splatphone!

Roll For Topic

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.

Check out John's new podcast: Zombie Strains

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splatbookpod@gmail.com

The Splatphone!<...

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.

Check out John's new podcast: Zombie Strains

Contact Us!

splatbookpod@gmail.com

The Splatphone!

Roll For Topic

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.

Check out John's new podcast: Zombie Strains

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splatbookpod@gmail.com

The Splatphone!

Roll For Topic

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.

Check out John's new podcast: Zombie Strains

Contact Us!

splatbookpod@gmail.com

The Splatphone!

Roll For...

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.

Moria...

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.

Dieku Games

Bug Buster Pre-launch

Garry's Podcast/YouTube

Check out John's ne...

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

Fukuzatsu

Plus One Exp

Development Hell!

Midnight Marathon

JP Coovert

Tourist Hole

Silver Age Quickstart

https://zombiestrainspodcast.com/

Contact Us!

splatbookpod@gmail.com

The Splatphone!

Roll For Topic

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.

https://zombiestrainspodcast.com/

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The Splatphone!

Roll Fo...

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.

 

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The Splatphone!

Roll For Topic

https://zombiestrainspodcast.com/

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 tr...

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. 

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splatbookpod@gmail.com

The Splatphone!

Roll For Topic

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

To Server Her Wintry Hunger

Stephen Dewey Patreon

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splatbookpod@gmail.com

The Splatphone!

Roll For Topic

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

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splatbookpod@gmail.com

The Splatphone!

Roll For Topic

Claire Donaldson Art

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

Contact Us!

splatbookpod@gmail.com

The Splatphone!

Roll For Topic

Claire Donaldson Art

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

Contact Us!

splatbookpod@gmail.com

The Splatphone!

Roll For Topic

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.

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splatbookpod@gmail.com

The Splatphone!

Roll For Topic

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!!!

Doctor Magnet Hands

Sexy Battle Wizards

Sad Vampire Boy Friend

Advance Skeleton Siege

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The Splatphone!

Roll For Topic

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

Back the new edition here!!!

Strange Harvest (Movie)

Dream Eater

Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff

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The Splatphone!

Roll For Topic

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. 

Cloud Curio

Dragonology

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The Splatphone!

Roll For Topic

John and Ben are joined by Tim Saucer to talk about running your own games at conventions. We also talk about creating emotional experiences in RPGs, and our RFTCON experience in general.

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splatbookpod@gmail.com

The Splatphone!

Roll For Topic

John is joined by his two new co-hosts, Ben Donaldson and Jess Rhiannon, to talk about the new Players Handbook 2024. Who will play it? Are we converting our campaigns to the new edition? Ooooo the mysteries contained herein!  

NOTES:

2024 Player's Handbook

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The Splatphone!

Roll For Topic

Tony Vasinda (aka Plus One Tony) joins John to talk about their GenCon experience, how to iterate your game's design, and why zines are the best! And we sneak in some rumblings about the OSR, of course. BECAUSE THAT IS ALL ANYONE TALKS ABOUT
 

Notes:
RPG Zine Club

OSR Rules Families

Posters, Posers and POSR(s)

Butter Princess

Contact Us!

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The Splatphone!

In honor of the release of Alien: Romulus, Andy Rau from Roll for Topic joins John for a discussion of the Alien franchise. What makes a great Alien movie? And does Alien:Romulus hit the mark? Plus an update on the Alien RPG from Free League

Alien: Romulus Trailer

Alien RPG

Alien RPG 2n Edition

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The Splatphone!

Just chillin'

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The Splatphone!

Roll For Topic

Are you tired of all the RPG podcasts publishing their "GenCon Reflections" episodes? Well tooooo baaaad. Here is ours. We have an interview with Amber Seger, and a special guest appearance from Kyle's mom. Plus, Kyle shares some huge life changing news. 

Contact Us!

splatbookpod@gmail.com

The Splatphone!

Map Crow YouTube

Map Crow Patreon

The Cloud Curio

Roll For Topic

John and Kyle discuss modern magical settings, and John's plan to put his poor gaming group through an OSR Dolmenwood campaign. Tuns out Kyle has been playing a long game that has all lead up to this point. 

Dolmenwood

Dolmenwood Soundtrack

Star Borg! 

Contact Us!

splatbookpod@gmail.com

The Splatphone!

Map Crow YouTube

Map Crow Patreon

The Cloud Curio

Roll For Topic

Due to unrelenting popular demand John, Andy, and new guest Joel Boonstra tackle the first volume of Robert A Caro's pentalogy of the "Times of Lyndon Johnson". Mission Accomplished, so quit sending me harassing email, jeez.

The Path to Power

99% Invisible: The Power Broker

Contact Us!

splatbookpod@gmail.com

The Splatphone!

Map Crow YouTube

Map Crow Patreon

The Cloud Curio

Roll For Topic

We are so tired y'all. So thank you for sending us some juicy questions to answer.

Sincerely Departed

Game Wizards

The Elusive Shift

Ben Robbins Website - Lame Mage

Firebrands Games

Yazeba's Bed & Breakfast

Jubensha

Contact Us!

splatbookpod@gmail.com

The Splatphone!

Map Crow YouTube

Map Crow Patreon

The Cloud Curio

Roll For Topic

Somewhere... in space...this could all be happening RIGHT NOW! Star Borg: Episode 2 - The Hypercore of Madness

John and Kyle are joined by Andy Rau and Ben Donaldson for an epic actual play of Star Borg! The new TTRPG collaboration between Kyle and JP Coovert.

Star Borg

Contact Us!

splatbookpod@gmail.com

The Splatphone!

Map Crow YouTube

Map Crow Patreon

The Cloud Curio

Roll For Topic

Somewhere... in space...this could all be happening RIGHT NOW! Star Borg: Episode 1 - The Ship of Doom

John and Kyle are joined by Andy Rau and Ben Donaldson for an epic actual play of Star Borg! The new TTRPG collaboration between Kyle and JP Coovert.

Star Borg

Contact Us!

splatbookpod@gmail.com

The Splatphone!

Map Crow YouTube

Map Crow Patreon

The Cloud Curio

Roll For Topic

Kyle is joined by his "favorite person in the whole wide world (!?)", Evan Torner. Which is fine. John is not the least bit jealous. He is just over here working his fingers to the bone editing this podcast. Toiling away on the show notes mines. It’s fine. Everything is fine. But then at the end Kyle says he is sad John was not here, so John just does not know how to feel. They talk about D&D combat or something. Oh, and Matt is here. 

JK! Evan is awesome, and this is a really insightful epi...

YouTuber JP Coovert join John and Kyle to talk about a new Mork Borg hack he and Kyle are working on, making a living creatively, comic books, and making art as process.

JP on YouTube!

Star Borg announcement

Contact Us!

splatbookpod@gmail.com

The Splatphone!

Map Crow YouTube

Map Crow Patreon

The Cloud Curio

Roll For Topic