Dice Exploder

Draw Maps, Leave Blanks (Dungeon World) with Tim Denee

Transcripts available at diceexploder.comIf the thesis of last week’s episode was “hey the fiction of your game matters a lot and can even have mechanical effects,” how do you know how deeply to define that fiction? Maybe no one in indie games has recently faced that question on quite the scale of Tim Denee with Blades ‘68, an expansion to Blades in the Dark. I wanted to have him on to talk about when you completely reinvent the setting, how do you think about what parts of the fiction are important and need to be kept vs what parts should evolve and change?And to do that, we picked an old mechanic from Dungeon World that cuts to the heart of it: draw maps, leave blanks. But how detailed of maps, and how big of blanks?Further ReadingBlades 68 on BackerkitBlades in the Dark by John HarperDungeon WorldTim’s maps of DoskvolSocialsTim on Bluesky and olddog.gamesSam on Bluesky and itchThe Dice Exploder blog is at diceexploder.comOur logo was designed by sporgory, our theme song is Sunset Bridge by Purely Grey, and our ad music is Lilypads by Travis Tessmer.Join the Dice Exploder Discord to talk about the show!CreditsOur logo was designed by sporgory, our ad music is Lilypads by Travis Tessmer, and our theme song is Sunset Bridge by Purely Grey.This episode was edited by Em Acosta.

Doskvol's Lightning Barriers (Blades in the Dark) with Nova

Transcripts available at diceexploder.comIn Blades in the Dark, you play as criminals in Doskvol a haunted city where the ghosts are such a problem that they built giant lightning barriers around the whole city to keep them out. That sentence alone already makes me want to get the game to the table, and we haven’t even gotten to the rules of Blades in the Dark yet.That’s the conversation I wanted to take a crack at today: rules are important, they can radically shape play, but the fiction a game brings is just as important. Doskvol’s lightning barriers mean you can’t just run away into the wilderness after you’ve committed some crimes, and that’s just as important for ratcheting up the tension and consequences of your campaign as the mechanic of devil’s bargains...Further ReadingBlades in the Dark by John HarperMythic Bastionland by Chris McDowallApocalypse World 3e/Burned Over by Meguey & Vincent BakerWanderhome by Jay DragonVincent Baker on How Apocalypse World Is Structured (like an onion)In Praise of Legwork by Sam Sorensen1d20 Diegetic Rules, 1d20 Hypo-Diegetic Rules by Sam SorensenThe Rule Book: The Building Blocks of Games by Jaakko Stenros and Markus MontolaSocialsNova on Bluesky. Nova’s blog, Playful Void.Sam on Bluesky and itch.The Dice Exploder blog is at diceexploder.comOur logo was designed by sporgory, our theme song is Sunset Bridge by Purely Grey, and our ad music is Lilypads by Travis Tessmer.Join the Dice Exploder Discord to talk about the show!CreditsOur logo was designed by sporgory, our ad music is Lilypads by Travis Tessmer, and our theme song is Sunset Bridge by Purely Grey.This episode was edited by Em Acosta.

Setting Elements (Dream Askew / Dream Apart) with Kodi Gonzaga

Transcripts available at diceexploder.comThere's many ways to decide who has authority over what in an RPG. Traditional games have a bunch of players with one PC each and a GM responsible for everything else, while Dreams Askew / Dream Apart by Avery Alder and Ben Rosenbaum takes a very different approach: divide that "everything else" up into flavorful pieces, like "gossip & reputation" and "the wild forest" and give everyone a piece. That choice has become one of the backbones of Belonging Outside Belonging games (hacks of Dream Askew / Dream Apart), and today I'm joined by my good friend Kodi Gonzaga, a designer making just such a game, to break down exactly how it works at the table.Kodi's game Extra Ordinary is on Kickstarter now. Check it out!Further ReadingDream Askew / Dream Apart by Avery Alder and Benjamin RosenbaumSocialsExtra Ordinary on Kickstarter!Kodi on Bluesky.Sam on Bluesky and itch.The Dice Exploder blog is at diceexploder.comJoin the Dice Exploder Discord to talk about the show!Dice Exploder on PatreonCreditsOur logo was designed by sporgory, our ad music is Lilypads by Travis Tessmer, and our theme song is Sunset Bridge by Purely Grey.This episode was edited by Em Acosta.

Afterimage: The Experimental Role-Playing Laboratory

Dice Exploder: Afterimage is alternative show format, a cross between play report and personal memoir.The Experimental Role-Playing Laboratory, or ERPL, was a thrice a year mini convention put on by students at my college back in the 00s and 10s and onward to this day. It's how I got into indie games. I still think about it, and the people I met there, to this day. They still mean something to me. What might I still mean to them?Written, edited, and performed by Sam DunnewoldTristan Zimmerman at the Molten Sulfur blogSteven’s newsletter and novels. Try Black Velvet to start.Transcript available at www.diceexploder.comMusic by Blue Dot Sessions: https://app.sessions.blue/My games: sdunnewold.itch.ioFollow me on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/diceexploder.com

2025 Year End Bonanza

Transcripts available at diceexploder.comIt's the Dice Exploder 2025 year end bonanza! This year I'm joined by Lin Codega and Diogo Nogueira to go over a whole bunch of game mechanics that we think represent where rpgs were at in 2025 and where they might be going in the future.Further ReadingMythic Bastionland by Chris McDowallPraise the Hawkmoth King by Sage the AnagogueI want to fight my friends in the back of a moving truck by Seraphina Garcia RamirezTraffic Lights Are Communication Tools by Meguey BakerDaggerheartDraw SteelThe One Ring starter setSam Sorensen’s overview of Over/Under and one of Lin’s pieces on the aftermathApocalypse World 3e Kickstarter (now finished)SocialsRascal.newsWeird Games and Weirder PeopleLin and Diogo on Bluesky.Sam on Bluesky and itch.The Dice Exploder blog is at diceexploder.comOur logo was designed by sporgory, our ad music is Lilypads by Travis Tessmer, and our theme song is Sunset Bridge by Purely Grey.Join the Dice Exploder Discord to talk about the show!Dice Exploder on Patreon