cm lowry – Page 2 – Beyond Cataclysm

What is Roleplay #21: Maps with Jog Brogzin

Updated on 20 February 2025

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 complete with GPS or Ordinance Survey. Instead they are looking to tell a story through the map. Jog creates maps for conventions such as Dragonmeet and Warpcon, making sure they have the flavour of the particular convention. Jog first got into maps by going hiking and taking a map and a compass to be able to know exactly where they were at all times. In RPG maps are an important part of the lore - here is the world, what do you want to do with it? CM Lowry asks Jog to share some roleplaying games that feature maps and have sparked joy. The Royal Cartographer - A Solo Journaling Map Making RPG by Albi Colostle - A beautifully illustrated Solo World-building RPG by Nich We Sail Beyond - A map making game for group play By Matt Sanders Jog shares some tips for making your own maps Don't be to hard on yourself - have fun with it Remember the purpose is for story telling more than navigation Manage your expectations on how much people will interact with your map Share your skills with others if you can Hex Maps are discussed: …

Extremophile with James Flanagan

Updated on 19 December 2024

This month CM Lowry is talking to author James Flanagan about Extremophile by Ian Green in ‘This Book I Read...’

Topics covered include:

Extremophile is a bio-punk speculative sci-fi story written by Scottish author Ian Green, who also wrote The Gauntlet fantasy series. Extremophile is billed as a breakneck biohacking thriller set in climate-collapse London. James's discusses his love, and also hatred, of Extremophile! Extremophile is, at times, hard sci-fi as it deep dives into genetics and epi-genetics and is written by a genetic scientist. That said it is balanced by lots of action and even an energetic punk gig in the middle of the book. James shares his favourite thing about Extremophile The characters - they leap of the page really well - and the way that the complexity of their lives weave together the main story. SPOILER ALERT - James shares some specifics from the book for a couple of minutes that you might want to skip if you're planning to read the book James also shares some things about the book that he doesn't like The idea of writing without quotation marks for dialogue - in Cormac McCarthy style. This made it incredibly difficult for James to understand whether he was reading narrative or dialogue and who was saying what. There are lots of different characters, with their specific points of view, and switching between those different perspectives across the course of the book can be quite difficult and also slow down the …

The Razor’s Edge with Beatriz Seelaender

Posted on 19 November 2024

This month CM Lowry is talking to author Beatriz Seelaender about The Razor's Edge by W.S. Maugham in ‘This Book I Read...’

Topics covered include:

Beatriz shares the reasons why she loves this book: It's very humorous It follows the story of a group of people over the years surrounding Maugham as the central character. The meta-fictional paradox - Maugham discloses that this isn't really a novel as it's based on real people he knows and true stories he has experienced. Beatriz shares a quote with us from Maugham's introduction in which he explains the peculiar methodology he employed in writing this novel. Beatriz then shares with us some of the things about this book that really grabbed her: The meta-fictional aspect of the writing - He isn't just an observer but actively involved in the dialogue The humour - Maugham writes about the characters appealing to fictional people created by themselves or says things like 'she look at them all is if they were characters in a novel'. Maugham's writing is very fanciful. It lives on the Razor's edge between fiction and autobiography which is fascinating and begs the question 'what are the properties of fictionality' CM Lowry asks the question 'how we do know this is a novel and not a biography' and they discuss the fact that Maugham's life was very public and there has never been any real evidence that the people these characters are based on every really existed. Therefore it's most likely …

The Dark is Rising with Sara Norja

Updated on 25 October 2024

This month CM Lowry is talking to author Sara Norja about The Dark is Rising book sequence by Susan Cooper in ‘This Book I Read...’

Topics covered include:

The premise of The Dark is Rising, which is book two of The Dark is Rising Sequence, is that Will turns 11 and discovers he is an Old One. It's based on English folklore, centred in Buckinghamshire and set around Christmas time Sara reads a quote for us and highlights the beautiful poetic prose that Susan Cooper uses throughout her work. CM asks Sara what her favourite aspects of The Dark is Rising are Sara details the fact that it manages to capture the essence of Christmas alongside being a bit creepy at times Coopers use of British folklore and mythology such as the inclusion of the Wild Hunt, and some Welsh folklore in book five. Sarah & CM discuss the five book arc of The Dark is Rising Sequence and how the characters are introduced and their storylines intertwine through the series. Sarah discusses some of the problems she has with The Dark is Rising such as the use of the memory wipe trope and the overtly White Anglo-Saxon 1970's Buckinghamshire setting. It's perhaps to British-centric. CM asks whether the dissonance between the Christian celebration of Christmas and the folklore and mythology is acknowledged and commented on within the book. Sara shares some recommendations of other books to read if you enjoy The Dark is Rising Robert McFarlane's …

What is Roleplay #20: Pirates! with Luke Stratton aka Limithron

Updated on 15 January 2025

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 connotation - The word Pirate, somewhat like the word Knight, there is an aspect of this rogue being a sort of hero' Chris asks 'why are pirates good for roleplay games' Pirates are a really accessible character to play for first time roleplayers. They may not know what a Tiefling Bard is, or how to play one. Everyone knows how to talk like a Pirate and chase the usual tropes of treasure, love and rum! Chris asks Luke if there are any challenges that people face in playing a Pirate There is a line to walk - real Pirates were murders, racists, rapists & criminals. So there is a line between reality and the fantasy version of Pirates you need to be careful with and discuss with your players before starting a roleplay sessions. Luke answers the question 'What other games do Pirates well' Luke doesn't feel that there are many, if any, roleplay games that do Pirates that way he'd like them to be, hence why he created Pirate Borg. There are some great video games that do Pirates justice, such as Assassin's Creed Black Flag and Sid Meyers Pirates! One RPG that …

What is Roleplay #19: Social Conflict with Dave Semark and Matthew Tyler-Jones

Updated on 19 February 2025

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 and becoming freelance designers, not only working with Free League but also with Modiphius, Monolith, Firelock and other games publishers. CM Lowry asks the question: What is Social Conflict? Matthew makes the point that most systems don't have rules for social conflict. Dice are used for pretty much everything else, but social conflict is dealt via conversations between the players and GM. Matthew states that social conflict is at the very heart of all roleplay aspects of gaming, the parts where you are playing your characters as opposed to rolling dice. CM Lowry makes the point that having the ability to win or lose at conversation can be quite daunting for players, especially those who find it hard to express themselves, debate or converse at length Friendships were made and lost around the table, because players took it personally when their character lost an argument. Dave makes the point that the player / player character dynamic is a strange thing and it's important to be able to, as a person, disconnect ourselves from our characters so that we don't get to hot under the collar. CM Lowry and Dave discuss the different approaches to …

Blue Moon Rising with Stephen Hart

Posted on 13 August 2024

This month CM Lowry is talking to author Stephen Hart, about Blue Moon Rising by Simon R Green in ‘This Book I Read...’

Topics covered include:

Stephen points out that Simon R Green is somewhat unknown, dispite being a New York Times Bestseller, and is most widely known for writing the novelised version of the classic Kevin Costner film 'Robin Hood: Price of Thieves'. The royalties from this enabled Green to clear his mortgage and so he is now able to live off the income from his creative endeavours Blue Moon Rising was Green's first Bestselling novel and is part of a wider series of fantasy novels set in The Forest Kingdom. Stephen loves this book due to the characters - they are very real, and the heroes are brave and winsome, even in the face of insurmountable odds and opposition from friends and family. Prince Rupert in particular is intriguing as he knows the quest he's being sent on is a death sentence and yet he does it for the good of the Kingdom. Another reason that Stephen loves this book is that it is a serious book that has a lot of humour in it. It's not a comedy, but there is an amazing sense of humour written into it. The interactions between characters are so true to life and that makes for some very fun reading. Green does really well at creating characters that the reader will have empathy for. Even his monsters …

The Hands of the Emperor with Judith Mortimore

Updated on 15 July 2024

This month CM Lowry is talking to author Judith Mortimore, about The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard in ‘This Book I Read...’

Topics covered include:

Judith reads veraciously and found that The Hands of the Emperor stood out so profoundly that she went off and read everything else by Victoria Goddard The Hands of the Emperor is about a bromance, a plutonic relationship between two male characters, The Emperor and His Secretary. It's a cosy, joyful and lyrical story about loneliness, friendship and a meeting of cultures. Goddard's writing style makes for ease of reading, Judith had just completed a re-read that only took her 14hrs to cover all 700 odd pages! The beauty, tension and deeply involved relationship between The Emperor & The Secretary Judith's favourite think about The Hands of the Emperor is how different it is - I doesn't conform to any of the writing structures that are enforced upon authors. She also enjoys how delightful the characters are - they are utterly real and relatable. The Hands of the Emperor takes place in a world that has experienced some sort of cataclysmic event, known as The Fall, but that is not a somewhat idyllic place where there is a lot of kindness. This places the book within the Cosy Sci-fi sub-genre of science fiction writing. Judith highlights a couple of small issues with the book, some her own and some brough up by others. Some people feel it is a …

What is Roleplay #17: Teaching Games with Aviv Or & Eran Aviram

Posted on 24 June 2024

Welcome to Episode 17 of ‘What Is Roleplay?!
This episode we are joined by Aviv Or and Eran Aviram to discuss teaching games

Aviv & Eran's work 'The Crystal Heart' and how it uniquely teaches readers to roleplay, specifically to play the Savage Worlds RPG Their use of narrative to explain how to play, based on the assumption that the reader has no prior knowledge The time and effort they have put in to developing the ability to teach games through the graphic medium, such as the use of humour, and colour (to indicate who's turn it is) The importance of aesthetics and atmosphere when teaching someone a game - open the rulebook on a fun page with graphics, use colour dice, create a comfortable environment. Know your audience - what will this person enjoy, what will draw them into the game? Pick the right game - something that is colourful and well set out will help you learn the game and teach it to others Set up a specific scenario for your new players, so they have a basic understanding & something to work with: 'Let's play a fantasy adventure where we will be rescuing a princess from a fearsome dragon'. Then as you explain the rules they will be able to refer back to the scenario Being a good player means taking part in the shared social contract - agreeing as a group what your desired outcome is and then not doing things that negatively impact on that …

What is Roleplay #15: Diceless Roleplay Games with Côme Martin

Updated on 21 May 2024

Welcome to Episode 15 of ‘What Is Roleplay?!
This episode we are joined by Côme Martin to discuss diceless rpg

Chris & Côme discuss many different Roleplaying Games that don't use dice & explore the spectrum of games from completely controlled by fate, to the other end of the spectrum where the only narrative input in the game is the things your saying to one another around the table. The mechanics of dice use and how they can be replaced with other items such as a pack of cards The ways that a deck of cards can be broken into different groupings for use in roleplay. Côme prefers cards to dice as it gives you a wider range of options The option that cards give you for editing - you can change the deck by writing on the cards as you go through them so that they next time you use that card it has a different effect. Using pick up sticks, Jenga, runestones, Tarot cards or tokens as help prompts as part of roleplay instead of dice. Diceless roleplay gives the players and the Games Master (GM) a little more power over outcomes, rather than being ruled by chance. Games play without any prompts & GM-less play - the joys of improvisation. Worldbuilding and lore writing - how diceless play can make for really interesting world building experiences Actual Play: Christof & Martin star in a spring time coming of age adventure set in the Viking era. Magic …