Ba-by Manticore doo doo doo doo doot

After thinking it over a bunch, I have decided to try my hand at podcasting.  And this is going to be a blog about making the podcast.

I've had this idea rolling around in my head for a kind of experimental storytelling.  The idea is to combine the richness and depth of traditional narration with the unpredictability of an RPG - specifically OSR D&D (Moldvay).

Let's face it, when we read fiction, or watch a movie, there's almost no question about whether or not the heroes will survive; we know they will.  Even George RR Martin seems unable to kill off a character in a permanent way. So fiction is all about the HOW a character will prevail and not IF.  RPGs are definitely in the IF category, but they have shortcomings of their own.  RPGs are more spontaneous and unpredictable, yes, but there's not much 'quality control' in them.  It's rare that you get a bunch of players who are all of one mind as to what they want out of a game.  And let's be honest: some people just stink at role playing - or worse - ruin the atmosphere by introducing 'zany' comedy into the serious world you are trying to inhabit.  That's the rub for me - I can't be imagining an excursion into a cursed temple populated with evil spirits only to have Barry the gnome barbarian ask me if I wouldn't mind holding his pet lobster Maurice so he can finally use his halberd. Don't get me wrong - I like comedy - I'd just rather my RPG game was more LOTR and less Holy Grail.

There aren't many podcasts out there that can really suspend the old disbelief - though to be sure, there are some. But to my knowledge, none of them really combine RPG and fiction in the way I've been thinking about...

I think it's worth a go.