Welcome to What is Roleplay: a podcast from Beyond Cataclysm exploring the very basics of Roleplay, Role Play Games, and what it means to be part of this awesome hobby.
We will be exploring the nuts and bolts of how to play role play, with each episode themed on a particular concept or idea. Even if you know literally nothing about role play games currently, this podcast is at a level that assumes no prior knowledge.
We will have interviews with leading designers from the indie scene, and take a look into games you may have heard of, and others you haven’t heard of, but should.
Each episode ends with some short live-play examples too, to put flesh on the bones we’ve laid out earlier on.
Mar 24, 2022 • 44:51
Welcome to the very first episode of our semi-regular Beyond Cataclysm podcast – ‘What is Roleplay?’ This episode we are joined by author CM Lowry to discuss: A very loose definition of ‘role play’ and how we’ve all done it in real life Some basic terms you’ll need to know…
Jun 1, 2022 • 50:59
This episode we are joined by CJ Eggett to discuss DEATH!!! How the threat of death or overcoming death is the driving force in most roleplay games. How loss, madness and other missing pieces are analogues for death
Sep 15, 2022 • 35:36
A special episode of ‘What is Roleplay?! In this episode CM Lowry wanders around the UK Games Expo to pick up tips on how to enjoy RPG at (and generally survive) these massive games conventions. We chat to lots of awesome people about games, roleplay and the weird world of…
Sep 16, 2022 • 38:40
The second half of our ‘What is Roleplay?” special episode… In the concluding part, CM Lowry loses his voice, but talks to many interesting designers at the UK Games Expo to teach you how to enjoy RPG at games conventions. The hodge-podge of cool people we chatted to includes… Ben…
Jan 25, 2023 • 1:08:38
Welcome to Episode 5 of ‘What Is Roleplay?! This episode we are joined by James D’Amato to discuss One Shots & Campaigns We discuss RPG One Shots and Campaigns and how the contrast as well as compliment each other. We talk about the difficulties of scheduling campaign play sessions and…
Mar 5, 2023 • 52:26
Welcome to Episode 6 of ‘What Is Roleplay?! This episode we are joined by Chris Bissette to discuss Character Creation What actually is Character Creation? Deciding who you are going to be in a game, right? How traditional RPGs such as Dungeons & Dragons handle character creation. Randomly generating versus…
Apr 3, 2023 • 52:32
Welcome to Episode 7 of ‘What Is Roleplay?! This episode we are joined by Marx Shepherd to discuss Life Paths So, this episode was released a bit out of order… it’s not episode 3, but actually 7! It’s also worth noting that Marx no longer runs the Yes Indie’d Podcast!…
Apr 5, 2023 • 54:50
Welcome to Episode 8 of ‘What Is Roleplay?! This episode we are joined by James D’Amato to discuss Personal Play An important, yet often undiscussed, topic – personal play encompasses anything in game play that you do on your own – things like world building, rolling dice to create a…
Apr 25, 2023 • 52:08
Welcome to Episode 9 of ‘What Is Roleplay?! This episode we are joined by Cezar Capacle to discuss Chance & Probability Be amazed by Cezar’s amazing productivity levels – 20+ games in three years! What on earth are “Conflict Resolution Mechanics”? We explore mechanics within various games systems that make…
Jul 4, 2023 • 1:02:41
Welcome to Episode 10 of ‘What Is Roleplay?! This episode we are joined by Spencer Campbell to discuss Stats Laying out some of the basic types of stats that are used in roleplaying games The concept of Min/Max The good, the bad and the ugly of Stats Focusing on skills…
Welcome to Episode 25 of ‘What Is Roleplay?’ This episode CM Lowry is joined by Steph Windross to discuss Crits To start the conversation CM Lowry asks Steph to define what the meaning of a Crit in roleplay games Crit is short for Critical Roll, either a Critical Success or a Critical Failure. In short …
Welcome to Episode 25 of ‘What Is Roleplay?’ This episode we are joined by artist and tabletop roleplay game designer David Blandy to discuss No Prep Play Chris asks David what No Prep Play is Simply put it is playing without preparation – creating an adventure on the fly as you’re playing. Instead of having …
Welcome to Episode 24 of ‘What Is Roleplay?’ This episode we are joined by Games Designer and Spicy Tuna RPG head honcho Marco Serrano to discuss Space After a brief opening chat Chris asks Marco ‘Why is Space brilliant’? To which Marco answers that it creates a realm of endless possibilities within the game. Sci-fi …
Welcome to Episode 23 of ‘What Is Roleplay?’ This episode we are joined by Author and Game Designer Paul Baldowski to discuss Monsters! Chris asks Paul why Monsters are so important in roleplaying games? Paul states that they are far more than just a character to slam down – they add a level of challenge …
Welcome to Episode 22 of ‘What Is Roleplay?! This episode we are joined by RPG designer and author Dan Sumption to discuss Rules Light Roleplaying Games Rules light Roleplaying Games (RPGS) are games that have a very simple rules framework so that the learning curve is nice and easy and the players are more free …
Welcome to Episode 20 of ‘What Is Roleplay?! This episode we are joined by fantasy map maker Jog Brogzin to discuss Maps What is a fantasy map maker? Someone who makes fantasy maps. Unlike a regular cartographer they’re not looking to create maps that will safely guide you to your destination – they’re not looking to …
Welcome to Episode 20 of ‘What Is Roleplay?! This episode we are joined by Luke Stratton aka Limithron to discuss Pirates! Luke answers the question ‘What is a Pirate’ Dictionary definition – someone who steals things at sea Pirate is a word that has been appropriated for all types of theft Pirate has another layer of …
Welcome to Episode 19 of ‘What Is Roleplay?! This episode we are joined by Dave Semark and Matthew Tyler-Jones to discuss Social Conflict Dave & Matthew tell us about how the embarked on their journey into podcasting, inspired by the Free League game Coriolis and how that lead to them building a relationship with Free League …
Welcome to Episode 18.5 of ‘What Is Roleplay?! This episode we are joined by Samuel Poots for a special Narrative Worldbuilding Actual Play This is a follow up to Episode 18, where Samuel unpacked the idea of Narrative Worldbuilding. Stream here Worldbuilding is an important cornerstone of all writing and especially important when writing roleplay …
Welcome to Episode 18 of ‘What Is Roleplay?! This episode we are joined by Samuel Poots to discuss Narrative Worldbuilding Worldbuilding is an important cornerstone of all writing and especially important when writing roleplay games – the process of designing an environment for the story or the game you are creating. Samuel Answers the Question …
