Why We Roll

Learn about the new quarterly magazine of TTRPG studies and culture, Playtest Material, with lead editor Laurie O'Connel (Full Send, Children of Black Silt, Death Game, Hieronymus) and your hosts, Wythe Marschall (Stillfleet, PICARO!) and Christopher Pickett (Danse Macabre). We talk about what a literary journal/magazine is, curating and then editing articles, working to organize a variety of authors and subjects, helping writers find and amplify novel arguments, the future of Playtest Material (Land? Objects?), and the horror of writing author bios. Playtest Material is an important project for the indie TTRPG world, and hope you check it...

Wythe Marschall (Stillfleet, PICARO!) and Christopher Pickett (Danse Macabre: Medieval Horror Roleplaying) catch up, discuss the state of the show, and plan for a big fourth season of the tabletop roleplaying game design podcast, Why We Roll. We talk about genres we're exploring in games and IRL (cyberpunk/techno-dystopia, farther-future/hopeful sci-fi), guests we're excited to chat with (booked and yet-to-book), and some guest series we're programming. Thanks so much to everyone in the chat who's supported us through 100+ episodes and shared your insights! We do it for y'all, and we're not slowing down in Season 4. ☉ Follow our new ga...

Wythe Marschall (Stillfleet, PICARO!) and Dale Houston (Duck and Crow Press) talk about adventure design, solo games, printing pamphlets and zines, amazing game conventions, the OSR, cavepersons, probably cats, and no doubt much more! Hear Dale expound upon how to write adventures and short game modules in general. We talk about Dale's latest solo game—The Last Shoppe—as well as the infamous Bloodbath Dungeons. ☉ Check out Duck and Crow: https://www.duckandcrow.com/ ☉ Follow The Last Shoppe: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/... ☉ Head to ArcaneCon: https://tabletop.events/conventions/a... ☉ Give to charity and buy Dick Wizards! https://www...

Join Wythe Marschall (Stillfleet, PICARO!) for a chat with James A. Pozenel Jr. of Horse Shark Games about the amazing new cyberpunk TTRPG, Netcrawl! We chat about Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC), high-lethality games, luck mechanics, and genres of literature in RPGs before digging into the creation and future of Netcrawl. ☉ Check out James's games: https://horsesharkgames.com ☉ Get Netcrawl: https://horsesharkgames.com/netcrawl-... ☉ Support Netcrawl's development:   / lectrotext   ☉ Follow James on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/lectrotext.b...

☉ Join the conversation: https://discord.stillfleet.com ☉ Support the show on Patreon:   / stillfleet  

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

Wythe Marschall (Stillfleet, PICARO!) and Christopher Pickett (Danse Macabre: Medieval Horror Roleplaying) chat with Zachary Cox AKA the JellyMuppet of SoulMuppet Publishing about Atrapos: A Roleplaying Game of Odyssey: a doomed mythic fantasy roleplaying game of defying fate in an epic world of Gods and heroes. Get your swords and sandals, folks—we're going going, back back to the Bronze Age Mediterranean. ☉ GO BACK IT: Atrapos https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/... ☉ The sister game is cowboys × Arthuriana: Inevitable https://usa.soulmuppet-store.co.uk/pr... ☉ All of SoulMuppet's games are great https://usa.soulmuppet-store.co.uk/ ☉ Also, we talked about this guy: J...

Join us for a very special Episode 100 of the roleplaying game podcast Why We Roll! Wythe Marschall (Stillfleet, PICARO!) chats about the future of indie RPGs with judges from the Grit System Game Jam: Daniel Kwan, Arthur Wells, Sam Sorensen, and Lauren Bilanko. (Dear Rollers, don't worry: we'll host a whole separate retrospective with cohost Christopher Pickett of Danse Macabre!)

Thanks to everyone who's joined us and shared their wisdom and creativity on 100 numbered and a dozen-odd bonus episodes. Real talk—YOU are Why We Roll!

☉ Sam Sorensen's blog is full of that...

On this episode, we talk with game designer Diogo Nogueira (Old Skull Publishing) about the Old School Renaissance (or is the Old School Revival?), science fantasy, and just making cool shit.

☉ Check out Diogo's work and blog: https://oldskull-publishing.com/

☉ Pick up Just Make Shit on Diogo's Itch: https://diogo-old-skull.itch.io/just-make-shit

☉ Like the show? Support Stillfleet Studio & WWR on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/stillfleet

☉ Join the conversation on the Stillfleet Discord: https://discord.stillfleet.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adcho

Wythe Marschall (Stillfleet, PICARO!) and Christopher Pickett (Danse Macabre) invite David Piccolomini and Miel Markus of Don't Go Broke Games back on Why We Roll to talk more about stand-up comedy, Forged in the Dark design, and the upcoming launch of their new comedy TTRPG, Road Warriors, as part of Gamefound's RPG Party 2026!

☉ FOLLOW THE CAMPAIGN: https://gamefound.com/en/projects/dgb-games/road-warriors

☉ Watch the official Why We Roll × Road Warriors actual play: https://www.youtube.com/live/H8o3Ik25I3A?si=fhtNsFVVHEoqlqo-

☉ Pick up the Road Warriors quick s...

On this episode of WWR, Benjamin L. Eastman (A Lease on Art, All Year I Dream About Gaming Conventions) joins Christopher Pickett (Danse Macabre) and Wythe Marschall (Stillfleet, PICARO!) to chat about Ben's (and Quarex's!) podcast All Year I Dream About Gaming Conventions (AYIDAGC), steps towards getting freelance writing work in TTRPGs, adventure writing for cons and beyond, and more!

☉ Connect with All Year I Dream About Gaming Conventions: https://linktr.ee/dreamaboutgamingconventions ☉ Find AYIDAGC events: https://linktr.ee/rageevents

Ben Eastman's TTRPG adventure writing and game design: ☉"Flickering Hope in Fusang" for Ap...

On this episode of Why We Roll, Wythe and Chris sit down with Zac Bir, creator of the minimalist TTRPG Journeyman! We chat the history of the games we love, adapting fiction into TTRPG settings, and rule-light, trust-heavy design for maximum story telling.

☉ Late pledges are still open for Journeyman: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zacbir/journeyman

☉ Check out Zac's other work on Itch: https://zacbir.itch.io/

☉ Join the conversation on the Stillfleet Discord: https://discord.stillfleet.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaph...

Justin Sirois of Severed Books joins Wythe Marschall (Stillfleet, PICARO!) and Christopher Pickett (Danse Macabre) to talk about the multiple ENnie Award-nominee OSR fantasy horror TTRPG, Sickest Witch, as well as graphic design, running a truly indie publishing studio, Analog Union (of which we're both members), product design, and more.

☉ For all things Severed Books: https://severedbooks.com/

☉ Check out Sickest Witch: https://sickestwitch.com/

☉ The Grit System Game Jam is running until Aug 30th: https://stillfleet.com/gamejam2026

☉ Join the discussion on the Stillfleet Studio discord: https://discord.stillfleet.com/

<...

Heads up! This episode was recorded in September of 2025, so if you hear some out-dated references... just blame Chris for editing this one late! On this episode, Wythe Marschall and Christopher Pickett talk to infamous mystery artist and proud Midwesterner HODAG RPG! We talk about art, the OSR, the Midwest, the new game PICARO! by Wythe and HODAG, the history of RPGs, the work of illustrating games, and much more. Fun fact: one time, HODAG released 52 games in one year!

☉ HODAG's blog: https://nofoesnotraps.wordpress.com/home/

☉ Find HODAG on Itch: https://hodagrpg.itch.io/

On this episode of Why We Roll: The Indie TTRPG Game Design Podcast of the Stillfleet Studio, Wythe Marschall (PICARO!, Stillfleet) and Christopher Pickett (Danse Macabre: Medieval Horror Roleplaying, Thrall) chat with narrative designer Konstantine Paradias, a video game writer and the author of the upcoming Stillfleet Studio modern sci-fi/alien dungeoncrawler TTRPG, ULTRADELVE. Also joining us is ULTRADELVE artist and graphic designer Anthony Grasso (Blister Critters, AMMU), who shares a ton of gorgeous, Euro-comic-inspired art from the book. We talk about Konstantine's work across video games (including Raft and many others), the pleasures of dumpster exploration, our mutual...

Wythe Marschall and Christopher Pickett play the new comedy TTRPG Road Warriors with creators David Piccolomini, Miel Markus, Daniel Metz of Don't Go Broke Games. Listen to us play not-quite-pro comedians on their first road tour together! Road Warriors is a super fun and easy-to-learn TTRPG using a modified Forged in the Dark System. Grab some friends and roll up your stand-up characters!

☉ Make sure to follow Road Warriors as it goes live on Gamefound, fall of '26; https://gamefound.com/en/projects/dgb-games/road-warriors?ref=explore

☉ Check out DGB Games' itch for...

Christopher Pickett (Danse Macabre: Medieval Horror Roleplaying) and Wythe Marschall (Stillfleet, PICARO!) talk to Jon Boyle and Bri de Danann of Bright Bard Games about Axolotl With a Gun 2e, L.G.B.T. (Longsword, Glock, Bat, Taser the game), whimsy in games, expanding/updating existing games, crowdfunds, dice pools, action movies, neotenic animals, and much more! 

We learn facts about axolotls, briefly touch on food games (I Crave the Loop), dive into video-game elements in TTRPGs (coin-operated participation), talk convention sales, and get into direct action and games as political education. Bri and Jon are great, s...

Wythe Marschall (Stillfleet, PICARO!) and Christopher Pickett (Danse Macabre) chat with artist Ethan Gouldini (who illustrated the Stillfleet Core Rulebook and Qadida!) about The Sometimes Kingdom RPG—the climate-tastic, high-fantasy, arch-magical portal fantasy/alter-earth TTRPG using the Grit System, now available in print! ☉Pick up the game in print: https://stillfleet.com/products/the-s... ☉Download the PDF from Itch: https://stillfleet.itch.io/sometimes-... Are you a game designer? ☉The Grit System Game Jam is running all summer ☞ https://stillfleet.com/gamejam2026

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wythe Marschall (Stillfleet, PICARO!) and Christopher Pickett (Danse Macabre: Medieval Horror Roleplaying) chat with Laurence Phillips from Hardy Roach Games on Why We Roll, the indie tabletop roleplaying game design podcast of the Stillfleet Studio. We talk about Laurence's new cinema-inspired game, Il Fantasma del Giallo: The Phantom of the Yellow, which is going live on Kickstarter, summer 2026. In Il Fantasma, players are "disgraced actors trapped in a sequence of brutal Neo-Noir murder-mysteries." Laurence is the writer, artist, and layout artist!

☉ Back Il Fantasma del Giallo on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hardyroachgames/il-fantasma-del-giallo-an-rpg-of-violence-and-identity ☉ Read more abou...

Christopher Pickett (Danse Macabre) and Wythe Marschall (Stillfleet, PICARO!) chat with TTRPG designer Melanie C. Green of Meldar16 about their indie tabletop roleplaying games! We talk about writing for Shadowdark, her upcoming project Knights in White Satin, her system DIE Versus DIE, her book I Got a Knife, playtesting, murder mysteries, the joys of small cons, printing everything (everything) at home, d20-everything, 3D-printed maces, slasher movies… It’s a wide-ranging and inspiring conversation. Go Birds. ☉Pick up some games on Meldar16's site: https://meldar16.com/ ☉Follow Meldar16 on Itch: https://meldar16.itch.io/

☉The Grit System Gam...

Join Wythe and Chris as they sit down for a lovely chat with Hem Brewster, of Blighthouse Studio fame! On this episode, Hem shares some hilarious stories and in-depth, practical advice when it comes to running, producing, and acting in long-running actual plays such as Blighthouse's The Lucky Die, on-air for ten years! Tune in for talks about bleed-in and -out, creating dynamic homebrew settings, and more!

For more from Blighthouse Studio: https://blighthouse.studio/

And more from Stillfleet Studio: https://stillfleet.com/

Learn more about your ad...

On this episode of Why We Roll, Christopher Pickett (Danse Macabre: Medieval Horror Roleplaying) and Wythe Marschall (Stillfleet, PICARO!) chew the proverbial fat with writer, comedian, comic book expert, and general nerd-boss Eric Alexander Grundhauser. Eric is the author of the official Spider-Man for Dummies as well as the writer, producer, and editor behind the extremely cool, weird new fiction podcast, Pressing the Flesh. We talk with Eric about creativity, business, mythology, Spider-People, weird fiction, playing flawed characters, goofing, outlining, making fun of ICE, and of course indie tabletop games! Pick up Spider-Man for Dummies, the definitive fan guide...

Wythe and Chris are joined by the inimitable Munkao to discuss his latest TTRPG / setting / art practice: Kala Mandala. Tune in for a fun, insightful conversation around political learning through games, re-centering traditional fantasy within a SE Asian framework, games as art practice, and more!

For more from Munkao, visit Centaur Games: https://heycentaur.com/

And for more from Stillfleet Studio: https://stillfleet.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wythe and Chris chat with J. Yamil Camacho, co-creator (alongside Ahmed Suffety) of Tales from the Tape Deck, the mix-tape TTRPG. Tune to hear all about music, innovative game design, and some absolutely solid advice from Yamil!

Check out Tales from the Tape Deck: https://suffety.com/pages/tales-from-the-tape-deck

For more from Yamil: https://www.joseyamil.com/

For more from Stillfleet: https://stillfleet.com/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wythe and Chris talk music, gaming, and Gauchos of the Gunless variety with designer and maestro, Will Savino! Tune in to hear all about Will's musical endeavors as Music d20 and his new game, Gunless Gauchos—published by Stillfleet Studio!

Check out Gunless Gauchos: https://stillfleet.com/products/gunless-gauchos

For more from Will: https://wsavino.com/

And for more from Stillfleet: https://stillfleet.com/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wythe and Chris talk conspiracy, corporate horror, and super-powered day jobs with Sean Ireland, game designer and co-creator of Triangle Agency (alongside Caleb Zane Huett) from Haunted Table Games.

For more on Haunted Table Games: https://shop.hauntedtable.games/

For more of Sean's work: https://www.seanire.land/

For more from Stillfleet Studio: https://www.stillfleet.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wythe and Chris chat movies, music, revolutionary ideas with Rhodrick Magsino of Alewood Games, creator of the Mothership modules/hacks ARKYVR and OMENDROME, as well as much more!

Check out more of Rhodrick's work: https://www.rhomagsino.com/

For more from Alewood Games: https://www.alewoodgames.com/

For more from Stillfleet Studio: https://www.stillfleet.com/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wythe and Chris talk game design, revolutionary politics, eco-punk futures, and more with Laurie Blake, creator of the GM-less narrative TTRPG Why We Fight (alongside Rhi Saunders and Rob Ingle as Stop, Drop, and Roll!).

From Stop Drop and Roll:

Why We Fight is a solo+ narrative TTRPG where you play a crew
of eco-punks fighting fascism to build a brighter, greener future.

Your Crew will journey through the remains of a post-civil war country to save lives, reclaim nature, create a community of compassion, and beat back the oppres...

Join us as we become the first and the last! The honored and the scorned! The harlot and the holy one! That's right, we're delving into the esoteric contradictions with Tanya Floaker, creator The Thunder Perfect Mind: Occult Action Thriller (not the Nag Hammadi Library one). We get into exploring anarchism and the death cult that is late stage capitalism, the mystical dialectics of Gnostic thought, and how to bring it all into a thrilling, emotional TTRPG! So tune in, drop out of your garment of flesh, and enjoy.

Check out ALL of Tanya's...

This is a shorter, bonus episode! Join Wythe as he chats with our pal Ben Eastman of the All Year I Dream About Gaming Conventions Podcast. Tune in for a great discussion about the awesome work AYIDAGC is doing, cons and events, and more!

For everything AYIDAGC: https://linktr.ee/dreamaboutgamingconventions

And for everything Stillfleet Studio: https://www.stillfleet.com/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pull them belts tight one more time as we dive into our last foray into Orbital Blues Month. On this episode, Wythe chats with Wes Franks (of Carrion Comfort fame) about F-Infiniti, the stand-alone racing supplement for Orbital Blues! We also get updates about Wes' (very excellent) project, Come On In (see WWR episode 59, if you missed it!), talk about how community can help mitigate burn out, and what's coming around the bend next for Wes.

Check out Wes' work: https://www.carrion-comfort.com/

Make sure to check out Orbital Blues Month...

All aboard! We're back for more Orbital Blues Month, this time with Adam Station from STATIONS, creators of An Infinity of Ships, 100 Strangers, I Don't Belong Here, and more. We chat with Adam about their collaboration with Soul Muppet (as well as Kayla Dice, Lone Archivist, and Rob Turpin!) for Orbital Blues Month — Fistful of Stars: Adventures on the Greenlight Express. Tune in to hear about system-agnostic and -specific writing, therapeutic horror, the joy of collaboration, and SPACE TRAINS.

Howdy, space cowboy! Welcome back to Why We Roll, where we're continuing our Orbital Blues Month series with module designer, adventure writer, and the brains behind Vaulted Pyramid, Josh Domanski. We cover Josh's impressive catalog of zines for Mothership, Liminal Horror, and now for Orbital Blues from Soul Muppet Publishing with the upcoming zine, PARAMOUR. Tune in as we chat about writing agnostically, adventure as allegory, and... the Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffery?

Make sure to follow Orbital Blues Month on Backerkit!

https://www.backerkit.com/c/collections/orbital-blues-month

...

Welcome back to Why We Roll, where even space cowgirls get the blues. Join us as we chat with Zach "Jelly Muppet" Cox (they/them) of SoulMuppet Publishing, one of three co-creators of the rules-lite space western RPG, Orbital Blues. We talk genre, the indelible connection between cowboys and sadness, the power of collaboration, and Orbital Blues Month—happening for all of April on Backerkit!

From SoulMuppet, via Backerkit: "[Orbital Blues Month is a...] group-collab project hosted by SoulMuppet Publishing featuring a brand-new host of content from some of the most wanted Outlaws in th...

On this episode we sit down with Arakauna Media's Federico Sohns to talk about their games Nibiru and Zephyr. Make sure to tune in as we discuss Nibiru's exploration of the bicameral mind through integrated mechanics, imagining economies beyond debt and stateless societies in Zephyr, Fede's inspiration and research, and much more!

• Araukana Media Website:https://www.araukana.com/https://www.araukana.com/

• Araukana Media IG: @araukana_media

• Araukana Media Blueksy: @araukana.bsky.social

For more about Stillfleet Studio, visit www.stillfleet.com

L...

We're back for more Why We Roll in 2026! After a short break, we kick off our third season of Why We Roll talking about upcoming guests and episodes, ideas we're excited about in the world of TTRPGs, and even a sneak peak at both of our new projects for the new year. Thanks for tuning in, and here's to season 3!

To learn more about Stillfleet Studio and all of our genre-bending games, check out www.stillfleet.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a bonus episode to keep your ears occupied while Wythe and I take a much needed winter break! This episode of Thunderquack's Perfect Ten is from October 7th, 2025—right at the beginning of our Danse Macabre KS campaign! Tune in as I (Chris) chat with our buddy and collaborator, Michael Cohen about one of my favorite video games: Fromsoftware's 2022 ARPG... ELDEN RING (and how it relates to TTRPGs, of course).

From Perfect Ten: "On this episode we're joined by Christopher Pickett, cohost of Why We Roll and creator of Danse Macabre: Medieval Ho...

Ahoy and welcome aboard the good ship Why We Roll! This week, we talk with Moss Powers from Brewist Tabletop Games about their nautical- / Christian-horror TTRPG, HELLWHALERS. Tune in as we chat about pushing token economies, creating expansions, WHALES, and the eternal question – can you actually win a TTRPG?

Checkout Brewist here: https://brewisttabletop.games/

Buy HELLWHALERS from Plus One EXP: https://plusoneexp.com/products/hellwhalers-by-moss-powers

Check out Book of Leviathan on Plus One EXP: https://plusoneexp.com/products/book-of-the-leviathan

For Stillfleet Studio games and mor...

On this episode of WWR, we chat with higher ed specialist and designer of the S.A.N. (Simple and Narrative) game engine, Anthony Kurza. Join us as we discuss using TTRPGs to foster leadership and identity development, creating systems and adventures for students, teaching TTRPG design, and more!

Make sure to check out Anthony's work:

Website: kurzplaysgames.itch.io

LinkedIn: Anthony Kurza

To learn more about Stillfleet Studio and all of our games, head over to www.stillfleet.com

Learn mo...

On this very special episode of WWR, we hit the floor of the Philadelphia Convention Center for PAX Unplugged 2025! While at the con, we had the pleasure of chatting with five of our favorite designers and AP performers, which we've stitched together into one episode for your listening convenience.

Get your shopping lists written and your sh*t guns loaded, kids—we're taking a trip to the mall. On this episode of WWR, we're chatting about HYPERMALL: UNLIMITED VIOLENCE with creator and author, JD Clément! We get into late stage capitalism, visceral body horror in games, and tips for learning (and forgetting) graphic design on the fly. Finally, we answer the all-important question: just who is the mysterious Dr. Acula, and what does he want?!

Hammer City Games (publisher): https://www.hammercitygames.com/

Get HYPERMALL: UNLIMITED VIOLENCE: https://www.kickstarter.com...

Explore the worlds of weird little guys with us as we chat with game designer Will Jobst of Good Luck Press, creator of Torq, This Discord has Ghosts in It (with Adam Vass), Black Mass, and—recently—Plasmodics! We talk about designing mutant freaks in the weird future, 'demaking' vintage TTRPGs, imagining a better future through gaming, and more!

Good Luck Press: https://goodluckpress.co/

Will's Itch.io: https://willjobst.itch.io/

Listen to Will and Adam Vass on The Brain Trust: https://linktr.ee/thebraintrust

Plasmodics Kickstarter (late...