System Mastery

https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/System-Mastery-138-Systems-Failure.mp3 We’re back from our very needed rest and relaxation, and working harder than ever to fill your ears with reviews of roleplaying games.  This time we’re talking the Y2K bug RPG Systems Failure, a Palladium Game with some fun twists!

https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2018/12/System-Mastery-137-Kult.mp3 We’ve seen a lot of requests for this game, and now we understand why.  Come along, won’t you, on the game preachers in the 80s wished actually existed so they had something to condemn beyond nerds doing math about elves.

https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2018/12/system-mastery-137-the-world-of-species.mp3 The World of Species!  Finally an RPG with a glossy photo of a young Alfred Molina in it!  This Masterbook licensed setting is rife with information about the sex-sci-fi thriller that appears to have all been pulled from the trailer.

https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2018/11/system-mastery-135-age-of-ruin.mp3 1990 seems to be a downer year for RPGs as far as we can tell, but just you wait, someone’s gonna pop in any second and say that’s the year the greatest game of all time came out.  Anyhow, Age of Ruin is one of those “You either live long enough to die a dumbshit or die a grimfuck early” type post-apoc slogs.  With “art.”

https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2018/11/system-mastery-134-renegade-legion-legionnaire.mp3 It’s Romans. In. Spaaaaaaace on today’s episode of System Mastery.  Thrill at the game designed to be compatible with a bunch of other games!  Marvel at page after page of legion construction flowchart!  If you’re a fan of the game, ready your emails about the stuff we forgot to mention (hint, Edge)!

https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2018/10/system-mastery-133-nightbane.mp3 OLD WEEN to you all!  We’re covering the very weird Palladium title Nightbane this ween’s eve, so ready yourself for one piece of beautiful Brom art and 200 pages of … well, sloppy editing and fun ideas, basically.

https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2018/10/system-mastery-132-beyond-the-supernatural.mp3 It’s Ween again, my friends!  Joyous Ween to you all!  But sadly this year White Ween was simply out of the question.  So we searched far and wide for a suitable replacement, and settled on a company that we already had two horror books from!  Surprising indeed!  Come along with us, won’t you, on a tour of the Palladium take on Call of Cthulhu sort of, packed with bizarre, ineffectual character classes and z-grade psychic powers.  It’s Old Ween on System Mastery!

https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2018/09/system-mastery-131-with-great-power.mp3 Join us and our new friends the Bay City Informanauts on a tour through With Great Power, a game of superheroic discussions, mostly.

https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2018/09/system-mastery-130-marauder-21071.mp3 A game that dares to ask the question “What if Bubblegum Crisis?”  Seriously, that’s the question.  The answer, surprisingly, is “No one gets the mech suits, everyone is a dirty cop shooting at a dirty punk, and the smug must flow.”

https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2018/08/system-mastery-129-tekumel-empire-of-the-petal-throne.mp3 We felt a little dirty doing a “new” book last episode, so here’s our course correction.  The 1975 version of Tekumel: Empire of the Petal Throne, with all acute accents left pointedly missing from all accompanying text because I am lazy (plus come on in the book you can literally tell he was adding them by hand).  This is a weird old game about aliens and humans all sort of doing an ancient South America thing.  It’s neat and ancient and fun to talk about, which is probably why the episode is so dang long.

https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2018/08/system-mastery-128-shadowrun-5e-live.mp3 We went to GenCon and we made this show and now we hope you enjoy this show we made at GenCon.  Next time we talk about Shadowrun we’ll try to find something older.  Special guest Gannon Reedy of NeoScum is here to talk Shadowrun and what his group does with it.  Find NeoScum on the One Shot Podcast network!

https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/system-mastery-127-justifiers.mp3 Have you ever wanted to explore space but it’s just ever so slightly too difficult for you?  Exactly the range of too difficult where it’d suddenly be possible if you were like one-third albatross?  Well, have we ever got the hot 80s sci-fi game for you!

https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/system-mastery-126-deadearth.mp3 Often considered in the top ten worst RPGs ever made, there’s a lot of weird choices in here.  A lot of bad, weird choices.  Thrill at the majesty of a D1000 table with maybe 500 ideas on it with us as we tackle the grim dystopia of deadEarth.

https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/system-mastery-125-dd-4th-edition.mp3 It’s high time that someone on the internet had an opinion about this edition of this game, and you know what, it might as well be us.  Please enjoy this review of the famous 4th edition of Dungeons and Dragons.  The game that killed imagination.  Oh and happy 125 episodes of the show!

https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2018/06/who-buys-this-cheap-shit-1-the-travails-of-simple-men.mp3 Ugh we ate Oreos so nasty that we had to tell someone about it, and guess what, you’re someone.  Enjoy.

https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2018/06/system-mastery-124-albedo-platinum-catalyst1.mp3 Behold a galaxy of unchecked exploration and progress, as made by very fussy little animals that don’t like to be touched.  It’s sort of like if the Wind in the Willows was about space, and also Mr. Toad wasn’t there because he was too excitable.  Also, Jef’s back!

https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2018/06/system-mastery-123-mekton-zeta1.mp3 Longtime friend of the show and fan-favorite guest Claire comes by to discuss Mekton Zeta with Jon, who knows nothing whatsoever about your precious animes.  This episode sadly concludes Jef’s paternity leave, so we’re afraid he’ll be back next time.

https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/system-mastery-122-7thirteen.mp3 It’s another week of special guests with friend of the show, Quinn, stopping by to help discuss this inscrutable book with an unhealthy obsession with the numbers 7 and 13. There are 12 hours of existence and factions fight for control and your characters will definitely somehow interact with this setting, probably.

https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/system-mastery-121-dragon-lines.mp3 While Jef is too occupied with baby to do the time consuming prep on the show, we are kicking off the first of our guest appearance series. Joining me to talk about fantasy China is Josette from the Swallows of the South podcast.

https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/system-mastery-120-book-of-erotic-fantasy.mp3 It’s the Supplement Spectacular again!  Or, it was going to be before a child was born into this world who ate all of Jef’s time.  Luckily (for you, not for him), he got most of the way through The Book of Erotic Fantasy, one of those things that seem like the sad logical outgrowth of the OGL being mined just a little too heavily. Get awesome critical pride t-shirts right here.