A Giant Fire Breathing Robot Approaches!

Don't you dare close your eyes! The Giant Fire Breathing Robots are invading!!  If you're not familiar with them, Giant Fire Breathing Robot is both a web site and a podcast which covers all manner of nerdy, cool stuff.  You can find their podcast on iTunes or off of their website.  I have been a pretty big fan of the podcast for a long time, at least the last 9 months or so I'd say (I think I started listening when they were still in their 20's or so).

The show, which is put out twice a week, covers topics including anime, RPG's, comics, and board games.  They are the self-proclaimed "Talk Radio for Generation Nerd".  All of the folks on the show have a really fun, geeky banter, and they seem to actually like each other, which is a real plus when you're listening to someone talk for an hour on end.  They also like to use adult language, which is really great, because honestly, I like knowing that I am not the only person who  curses like a sailor.

GFB Robot is not just a podcast; they have an awesome website which covers all kinds of geek related stuff.  They have quite a bit of RPG related, and board game related content, which makes this site highly relevant to the interests of the collective RPG blogosphere. I'm

But, one of the other awesome things about GFB Robot, is I will now be writing for them! I have been in talks with their Editor in Chief Andrew, the host of the podcast, about writing for them and helping them fill a spot in their anime department.  It should probably come as no surprise to you that I'm a big anime lover.  I had an anime blog at one point, which never really went too far (it actually died when I decided to focus on The Dump Stat).  Living in Japan, I get to catch a lot of stuff on TV before folks in the states get to see it, and, I also live really close to some of the biggest anime centers in the world, namely Akihabara, but also the biggest manga and anime conventions such as the bi-annual Comic Market (Comiket).  So, you'll be able to hear my thoughts on anime once a week over on their site.  You can check out my author feed in order to see all of my  articles, the first of which, a short newsy bit about Durarara!! coming to Adult Swim very soon, is up now. I highly encourage you to explore the site and check out what they have to offer.

Warhammer 40,000 Retrospective - 40K Radio Review

I've been very much a fan of the Warhammer 40,000 Universe since I was in Middle School.  My experience with miniatures gaming predates my RPG experience by several years, but I haven't played much since High School.  However, recently, I've been listening to the 40K Radio Podcast and my 40 K memories have come flooding back yet again.

40K Radio is a pretty good podcast in my podcast listening opinion.  I listen to a lot of podcasts (I'm going to start doing some podcast reviews pretty soon) and this is the first 40 K related podcast that I've listened to.  The guys that do the podcast are entertaining and they get into the gritty strategic details of the game in most of their shows.  They also bring in some great interviews with folks like Dan Abnett and Graham McNiell, some of the biggest names that come out of the Black Library.

The show can run really, really long sometimes, but honestly, I don't find that to be a bad thing.  Some folks dislike longer podcasts, but I love them.  As long as what's going on in the podcast is not BS random off topic nonsense, than I'm a very happy puppy.  Some of the 40K Radio Podcasts can be almost 3 hours long, but they don't stray off topic very much - instead they provide very in depth analysis of the 40K Game and Hobby and also manage to talk about the 40K RPG's once in a while (One of their recent podcasts features one of the 40K RPG Producers from Fantasy Flight Games).

If you're not really into 40K then you obviously won't find much in this podcast for you.  The show is fairly specific to the 40K game, especially the miniatures version, so if that isn't really your thing, you might not find much there for you.  However, if you are a current player, or even a former player looking to get back into the hobby and are looking for some news and discussion of the current edition of the game, you can be pretty sure to find a good start with 40K Radio.

Listening to them talk about 40K and some of the new armies that are coming out has gotten me into a very "Warhammer" type of mood, so I thought I'd take some time this week to talk about how I got started in miniatures gaming and how that entrance eventually led me to 40K and now into the 40K Universe RPG's.  I hope you enjoy it.

    

OO! I'm on a Podcast !! - Gamer Traveler Podcast

A while back, Daniel Perez ( @Highmoon ), got in touch with me on Twitter.  He's a friend of a friend of mine from Stargazer's World and let me know that his significant other was doing her best at learning Japanese and he was interested in getting some tips from someone living in Japan and who had already studied the language (though I am pretty much the last person who should be giving lessons).  After that initial discussion, we talked pretty frequently over twitter and recently, he was nice enough to ask me to come onto his podcast, the Gamer Traveler, to talk to me about being a Gamer in Japan.

The discussion about making the podcast appearance happened a few weeks before the quake hit, but it wasn't until a week or so ago, that we were able to make the podcast happen.  Now, the much anticipated podcast is available for your listening pleasure.  You can hear me talk a bit (actually a lot) about the Japan quake, my experience growing up in a Japanese Museum (one of the reasons why I came to study, work, and make a family here), and my experience so far as a Gamer living in Japan.  Daniel's an awesome guy and he has a great podcast so I hope you all enjoy it.  Please listen to World Gamers: Greg Schuster in Japan!

Wizards Podcast June 26th 2009 Tales from Customer Service

I went into this podcast disappointed that they would waste a week that could be used to talk about development and current products in order to spend it talking about customer service rules questions... but it turned out to be ok considering the depth they went into talking about the Monk near the end. They announced that the theme of the PHB3 would be character options which i think is pretty cool; it harkens to the earlier PHB2 back in 3.5 and maybe even to some Unearthed Arcana like stuff. I'll be waiting to see that book come out next year.


I would love to get a hold of Santa from Customer Service. Who wouldn't want to just make him a regular villain in their games? I know i would.

D&D Podcasts: Eberron

This week, the folks over at WotC took a look into Eberron during their podcast. I'm not sure that i would call it one of their better one's to be honest. It seemed like a lot was said about very little. I know that the podcasts have to have some advertisement in them, but things like maps and adventures, while nice, aren't really what you buy the book for, so when time is spent talking about them, i feel like i'm listening to a commercial. This being said. The Emerald Claw = Nazis. Great stuff.

During the discussion about DM styles, specifically the comparison of Greyhawk and Eberron style of DMing, i've come to realize the reason for being so drawn into this setting. I like DMing Movies. For me, i've always wanted to write professioniall, screen plays, books and such, and so I believe i was naturally drawn into this style of game in a setting where it is encouraged. I almost always use scene based styles of play in my games, whether the campaign is set in Eberron or not.

What style do you play in and Why? Homework for the week. There will be a quiz next period.

D&D Podcasts and MM2

I am a long time listener of the D&D podcasts. I really enjoy listening to them while i do character sketches, taking notes on good ideas that i hear. I didn't start listening to them until about a month ago, but i quickly cleared through the entire archive and now wait impatiently for each new one to come around. If you haven't listened to one of the podcasts yet, i strongly encourage it; they are filled with great insights and all kinds of interesting stories. I'm a huge fan of both PvP and Penny Arcade so when the guys that produce these webcomics teamed up for not 1, but 2 different adventures which were recorded for the Podcast, i was all ears.

Well, this week, they reviewed MM2 and the creature decisions they made about the book. I'm not sure how i like the concept of Metalic Dragons now willing to rumble with the Players as easily as Chromatics, but i'll let it slide, mostly because i love the other monsters that they let into the book. I've always been a fan of the underdog creatures. The Bullywug is one of my favorites as are Myconids and Kenku. I can't wait to get these guys into my games, especially now that i've heard so much more about them from the designers.

The one thing that i loved in this podcast was the discussion about the reworking of solo creatures to turn them into more of a challenge. The way they are retooling them has a very MMO esq feel to these fights, something that i think could be done very well in the proper hands of a skilled DM. The Beholder is an awesome creature and i would love to see more solos like this which really challenge the characters regardless of party composition or tactics.

I'm in the midst of building my 2 Elite Creatures for the XDMC #10 over at the Wizards forums. I wanted to put in a solo element and now that i have more of the designers thoughts, i think i can make it work. I'll post a link to my entry when i get it in.