Speculate!

In this episode, we conclude our playthrough of Scum and Villainy with Speculate 2.0’s twelfth actual play episode. GM Mike and players Greg, SFF authors Alex Acks and SL Huang, and agent DongWon Song discuss their experience of Scum and Villainy, and how each of them had a blast by working together without feeling like they had been forced into doing so. If you like what you hear, please tune in next week as we return to the world of Eberron, and please spread the word about the show…and support our Patreon to get even more content (including special episodes, access to behind the scenes videos, and more!). This episode was edited by the amazing Rudy Basso–find him at https://twitter.com/RudyBasso , and thanks as always for listening!

In this episode, we continue our playthrough of Scum and Villainy with Speculate 2.0’s eleventh actual play episode. GM Mike and players Greg, SFF authors Alex Acks and SL Huang, and agent DongWon Song find themselves in a bit of trouble–and are trying not to get into even more of it as they move from bar to street to spaceport. If you like what you hear, please tune in next week for our discussion of these game sessions, and please spread the word about the show…and support our Patreon to get even more content (including special episodes, access to behind the scenes videos, and more!). This episode was edited by the amazing Rudy Basso–find him at https://twitter.com/RudyBasso for all your podcast needs, and thanks as always for listening!

In this episode, we open up with a new crew and a new system, as we enter the world of Scum and Villainy with Speculate 2.0’s tenth actual play episode. GM Mike and players Greg, SFF authors Alex Acks and SL Huang, and agent DongWon Song chat about the kind of crew they want to be and the world they wish to inhabit before creating their characters and getting ready for the main adventure. If you like what you hear, please tune in next week for the episode where things really get rolling, and please spread the word about the show…and support our Patreon to get even more content (including a special episode about game systems we like, a new special episode with GM tips coming soon, access to behind the scenes videos, and more!). And thanks as always for listening!

In this bonus episode for Patreon supporters, we talk about some TTRPGs we loved from 2018, looking at the Mexican urban fantasy TTRPG Nahual, the hugely successful TTRPG Emberwind from Nomnivore Games (full disclosure: Greg does some writing for Emberwind), the space opera TTRPG Esper Genesis (again full disclosure: Greg runs a sponsored campaign of this on his channel), and the D&D 5E campaign Yearning to Breathe Free (one more time full disclosure: Mike is friends with one of the contributors). It’s an amazing landscape for TTRPGs right now, and we’re excited to be able to bring you more games from that landscape as the show rolls on! If you like what you hear, please tune in for our next special episode, and please spread the word about the show…and thanks again for supporting our Patreon, allowing you to hear this bonus content. And thanks as always for listening!

In this episode, we continue our return to D&D, Eberron, and the City of Towers, as Speculate 2.0 rolls on with our ninth actual play episode. DM Greg and players Mike, Maurice Broaddus, Lauren Roy, and Marie Bilodeau chat about how the session went, the specific qualities of D&D in terms of combat, social interaction, and other skills, and how other systems might handle the kind of story this adventure covered. If you like what you hear, please tune in for our next episode, and please spread the word about the show…and support our Patreon to get even more content (including a special episode about game systems we like, coming soon!). And thanks as always for listening!

In this episode, we continue our return to D&D, Eberron, and the City of Towers, as Speculate 2.0 rolls on with our eighth actual play episode. Greg DMs the opening episode of a one shot adventure continuing the story of Pikebreaker, Machupa, Grim, and Clak, played by Mike, Maurice Broaddus, Lauren Roy, and Marie Bilodeau respectively, who must discover the truth behind a murder if they are to clear their names and keep their freedom. If you like what you hear, please tune in next week for the final episode of this session, and please spread the word about the show…and support our Patreon to get even more content. And thanks as always for listening!

In this episode, we return to D&D, Eberron, and the City of Towers, as we continue Speculate 2.0 with our seventh actual play episode. Greg DMs the opening episode of a one shot adventure continuing the story of Pikebreaker, Machupa, Grim, and Clak, played by Mike, Maurice Broaddus, Lauren Roy, and Marie Bilodeau respectively, who must discover the truth behind a murder if they are to clear their names and keep their freedom. The response to the first go-round with this crew was strongly positive, so we thought we would bring them back before the end of the year, and we hope you enjoy listening to this as much as we did playing it. If you like what you hear, please tune in next week for the second episode of this session, and please spread the word about the show…and support our Patreon to get even more content. And thanks as always for listening!

In this episode, we move to a new game system, and a new city, as we continue Speculate 2.0 with our sixth actual play episode, the final part of a one shot Blades in the Dark adventure set in the mysterious city of Duskwall. In this episode, Mike as GM and Greg, Brandon O’Brien, Jaym Gates, and Valerie Valdes as players chat about their experience in the session, and what Blades has to show us as authors, readers, and players about constructing narrative in a very different form. We’re very pleased with how this came out, and we hope you are too–if you like what you hear, please tune in during the next two weeks for a second set of sessions of D&D and Eberron, and please spread the word about the show…and support our Patreon to get even more content. And thanks as always for listening!

In this episode, we move to a new game system, and a new city, as we continue Speculate 2.0 with our fifth actual play episode, the second part of a one shot Blades in the Dark adventure set in the mysterious city of Duskwall. Mike takes over as GM for Greg, Brandon O’Brien, Jaym Gates, and Valerie Valdes, who have a ball to disrupt and a noble family to mislead–if they can get out alive after doing so. We’re very pleased with how this came out, and we hope you are too–if you like what you hear, please tune in next week for the third and final Blades in the Dark episode, and please spread the word about the show…and support our Patreon to get even more content. And thanks as always for listening!

In this episode, we move to a new game system, and a new city, as we continue Speculate 2.0 with our fourth actual play episode, the first part of a one shot Blades in the Dark adventure set in the mysterious city of Duskwall. Mike takes over as GM for Greg, Brandon O’Brien, Jaym Gates, and Valerie Valdes, who have a ball to disrupt and a noble family to mislead–if they can get out alive after doing so. We’re very pleased with how this came out, and we hope you are too–if you like what you hear, please tune in next week for the second Blades in the Dark episode, and please spread the word about the show…and support our Patreon to get even more content. And thanks as always for listening!

In this episode, we continue our launch of Speculate 2.0 with our third actual play episode, the final part of a one shot D&D 5E adventure set in Eberron. Greg DMs an intrepid group of adventurers with Mike, Marie Bilodeau, Maurice Broaddus, and Lauren Roy, who must deal with a mysterious death, political intrigue, and some close shaves in the City of Towers; at the end of this explosive (ahem) episode, we also chat a bit about the experience from a narrative-creation point of view. We’re very excited about how this came out, and we hope you did too–if so, and if you like what you hear, please tune in soon for a new set of actual play episodes (these based on the Blades in the Dark game system), and please spread the word about the show…and support our Patreon to get even more content. And thanks as always for listening!

In this episode, we continue our launch of Speculate 2.0 with our second actual play episode, part two of a one shot D&D 5E adventure set in Eberron. Greg DMs an intrepid group of adventurers with Mike, Marie Bilodeau, Maurice Broaddus, and Lauren Roy, who must deal with a mysterious death, political intrigue, and some close shaves in the City of Towers. We’re very excited about how this came out, and we hope you did too–if so, and if you like what you hear, please tune in next week for the conclusion of the adventure, and please spread the word about the show. And thanks as always for listening!

In this episode, we launch Speculate 2.0 with our first actual play episode, a one shot D&D 5E adventure set in Eberron. Greg DMs an intrepid group of adventurers with Mike, Marie Bilodeau, Maurice Broaddus, and Lauren Roy, who must deal with a mysterious death, political intrigue, and some close shaves in the City of Towers. We’re very excited about how this came out, and we hope you did too–if so, and if you like what you hear, please tune in next week for Part Two of the adventure and please spread the word about the show. And thanks as always for listening!

This announcement concerns a new direction for Speculate–one we’re very excited about, but one which moves the show in a different direction. We appreciate all the support from our listeners over eight years of this show’s existence and look forward to hearing from so many more of you in the days, weeks, and months to come. As always, thanks for listening!

In this episode, we look at the difficult task of keeping one’s personal and work life in balance, especially as writers who are often working other jobs to make ends meet. We talk about community, escapism, and many other methods of preserving one’s sanity in difficult times…and keeping productive even when the world around seems far too intrusive. This was an enjoyable episode to record, and we hope you enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed taping it. If you like what you hear, please tune in next week for a special announcement about the future of Speculate, and please spread the word about the show. And thanks as always for listening!