Gaming on the Frontier

Episode 14: Magic and Psionics

Do you want magic and psionics in your SF game?  How does it work from universe to universe?  What happens when you bring Stormbringer to a non-magic world?  All this and more on the only Interdimensional exploration game:  Fringeworthy. 01:56 – Consequences of adding magic. 03:00 – Is magic appropriate for your game? 03:50 – What does the Fringeworthy Bible say about magic? 06:00 – The first question is… “Do you want magic in your Sci-fi game?” 06:40 – Psionics are part of the cannon. 08:00 – Magic changes from world to world. 11:00 – Sources of magic power. 19:25 – Worlds where magic creatures can’t live. What happens to a super natural creature on a world where magic doesn’t work. 26:20 – Cross dimensional nodes and node clusters. 30:00 – Magic items. 37:50 – How powerful do you allow your players to be? Also, wrangling in overpowered characters. 49:15 – Playing superheroes. We are looking to do another Q&A show soon so please send us your questions.

Episode 13: Less Than Lethal

Less than Lethal. This week we discuss less than lethal deterrants and attack methods.

Some good basic less than lethal links (LTL): USAF Summary, BZ Gas, Cs Gas, Tear Gas, Pepper Spray, Pole Capture, Electric Fence, Sound Deterrent, Net Gun, Bola, Concussion Grenade, Sticky Foam, Dart Gun, Flash Bang, Sting Ball, Water Cannon, Vortex Gun, LRAD, Smoke Grenade, Stink Bombs, Pepper Ammo, Taser Rounds, EMP Grenades

 

00:01:30 – The purpose for using LTL.

00:02:20 – What kinds of things might cause an unattended conflict?

00:04:40 – Is it legal to carry a weapon in the USA?

00:05:50 – What do you think the ramifications of killing someone are vs. using LTL?

00:07:40 – Characters who are opposed to killing.

00:08:40 – Fictional gas LTL weapons.

00:09:20 – Real world LTL gas weapons.

00:09:50 – LTL weapons to capture animals.

00:10:10 – Ability to take out guards/family to infiltrate without killing.

00:11:00 – LTL on an unsuspecting mellor.

00:14:17 – The effectiveness of LTL in D20.

00:16:10 – Using LTL devices on animals.

00:32:40 – Using LTL devices on big animals.

00:34:10 – Fringe pirates who use LTL weapons.

00:36:15 – LTL for stampede control.

00:41:50 – LTL vs. Humans.

00:47:15 – SciFi Riot Foam.

00:48:40 – Esper/Psionic LTL weapons.

00:49:30 – Weapons from Mystery Men.

00:50:50 – Thermal Guns.

00:52:15 – The “Brown Note” device.

00:52:50 – Magical LTL weapons.

00:54:00 – Stink Bombs, odor deterrent.

00:57:20 – Visual deterrent, plague disguise.

00:59:17 – Using a paintball gun with different ammo as a deterrent.

01:02:15 – Taser rounds for firearms.

01:02:45 – Using the old standard rock salt.

01:03:10 – LTL for supernatural creatures

01:03:40 – Specialty bacterial weapons.

01:06:00 – Nano LTL weapons.

01:06:30 – EMP rounds.

01:09:10 – Lightning Gun.

01:13:00 – Information bomb vs. robots.

Episode 12: Adventuring in the Far Past

We visit the far past this week to the earliest days of man. “Me Ug. This friend Gug”. Right up to Ancient Rome and the dawn of civilization. We get a little technical but we throw in a lot of great adventure ideas along the way.

00:02:22 – The technical Fringe aspects of the time period, cause it’s not time travel.

00:03:40 – The Stone Age, old and new.

Paleolithic Age, Neolithic Age

00:09:27 – Adventures in the stone age.

Harry Turtledove, Between the Rivers

00:23:20 – Early civilizations, the Bronze Age, and the first cities.

Bronze Age Earliest Cities, Monoculture, Guns, Germs, and Steel

00:30:00 – The Iron Age.

Iron Age, Coal

00:36:20 – The first renaissance, cool ancient world tech, and the Library of Alexandria.

Antikythera Mechanism, The Rise and Fall of Alexandria,

00:43:50 – Fringeworthy adventure ideas.

00:46:20 – Mesoamerica: Aztecs, Olmecs, and Mayans.

Mayan Cities, Olmec Cities, Olmec Civilization, Aztec

00:49:30 – The land of Atlantis.

00:52:00 – Other Fringeworthy adventure ideas. Cool ideas of things to do in the past.

Coral Castle

00:58:40 – Ancient medical practices.

01:01:00 – Show wrap up.

Episode 11: Dinosaurs

RRRAAAAWWWWW!!!!!! This week your intrepid hosts sink their teeth into adding dinosaurs to your favorite interdimensional exploration game. We talk about how to run a dinosaur infested world, and more importantly, how to survive in one. 

For all you need to know about dinosaurs Wikipedia - Dinos, Wikipedia - Megafauna DinoBase, Natural History Museum and Dino Art.

 

02:00 – The time shifted angle. What would be the attitude that dinosaurs would most likely take towards travelers.

11:25 – Capturing samples from past to study in the future.

12:20 – Hi-tech in the dino world.

15:00 – Intelligent dinosaurs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWqs9s0jpZ0

18:43 – Fringe dinos. Dinosaurs that have traveled the fringepath or were put there by the tehrmelern

19:45 – Tzel, dino race?

20:00 – Other planets like Venus & Mars having dinos.

Skypeople

22:45 – Hollow earth type world.

24:30 – How to kill a T-Rex.

26:20 – Megafauna. A little closer to our timeline but just as fun, cool, and nasty as dinos.

28:45 – Dinosaur environments.

30:00 – Dino-Plants! Feel free to make up stuff that didn’t actually exist.

31:00 – Alternate ecological. A modern world with evolved dinosaurs.

32:00 – Adventure ideas and wrap up.

 A short one this time but quite interesting, enjoy.

Episode 10: Inside the Mellor

This episode…. Mellors! We talk about the dreaded mushy monsters of the Fringepaths. You’ll find out why they are so nasty and how to use them most effectively. This is a great episode for player and game masters alike.

00:01:32 - Why mellors are so scary.

00:02:45 - How you should play a mellor.

00:05:35 - The mellor’s goals.

00:06:47 - How mellors can get onto the fringepath.

00:07:25 - Can an old mellor travel on the fringepaths in his natural form and why can’t mellor travel on the paths?

00:09:55 - Psionics vs. mellors.

00:11:25 - The purposes/jobs of the old mellors and how they were able to accomplish them.

00:15:25 - What mellors are like when they turn.

00:19:15 - Why are their different types of mellors?

00:23:00 - Mellor hierarchy.

00:25:45 - What happens when a party makes “contact” with mellors.

00:29:18 - How each type of mellor operate.

00:38:28 - All about the mellor’s shape change ability.

00:44:50 - How experienced a party should be before they run into mellors.

00:48:10 - Info for the game master on how to use the mellor.

00:50:45 - Mellor as other “monsters” like zombies, vampires, and demons.

00:53:10 - Mellors as conquers.

00:54:48 - Variant mellors. Mellors that are affected by the creatures they try to imitate (mental illness, were-mellors, etc.)

00:59:10 - Mellors aren’t the toughest things you can run into.

01:02:50 - Mellor’s natural enemies.

01:05:17 - Final thoughts on using mellors.

We’d like to invite you to please join the community. Ask questions and make comments! We love to hear from you and when we do, everyone benefits. We really like doing listener question shows so please ask away.

Also, please help support Fringeworthy by spreading the word. Post on your favorite gaming community web site or mailing list about this podcast. Thanks!

Episode 9 Pirates

Episode 9: Pirates

Arrr, we be talking ‘bout pirates on this episode. That’s right maties, pirates. We be explorin’ the different types of pirates, how they be operatin’, and how to be integratin’ them into a Fringeworthy campaign. Get your tankard of rum and sharpen ye blade; we be settin’ sail for episode 9 laddie.

Ye be findin’ a treasure trove of information ‘bout pirates here and here.

 

01:20 – What be pirates?

02:32 – If’n we run into pirates, what should we be expectin’?

04:20 – What type of boats do pirates be usin’, and how many in ye crew?

05:00 – What type of base be these pirates havin’?

06:00 – What booty do pirates be takin’?

08:35 – What be privateers?

09:40 – Why gold & silver? Need ye ask!?

11:00 – How would a Fringeworthy team be getting’ around in a pirate world?

13:35 – How do ye get on pirate crew, laddie?

18:45 – What be a Fringeworthy team’s reaction when we be putin’ the other crew to the sword?

21:20 – Do pirate crew be makin’ fer good mercenaries? Arrr!

21:40 – What do you pay a drunken sailor?

24:40 – What does a Fringeworthy team be getting’ out of going into the pirate world?

26:50 – We be talkin’ about running into that scallywag Captain Nemo and dealing with submarines.

34:10 – What about female pirates? Ah, the fair lass of the sea.

36:50 – We be discussin’ the life of a pirate?

37:30 – The role of alcohol vs. water during these times. Arrrr, pass the rum laddie.

40:30 – The awesome parts of being a pirate.

Year End Episode 2009

Happy New Year fringers! This is another special edition of Fringeworthy the PodCast. We decided to wrap up the year with an episode dedicated to your hosts. We thought you might like to know a little about us and our experiences with Fringeworthy. No real show notes this time around, it’s just us talking freeform. If you’d like to hear our personal thoughts and experiences about Fringeworthy then you are in for a treat. If not, see ya’ next week with a brand new episode in our classic format.

 

…Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind….

 

Happy New Year everyone, thanks for listening!

Episode 8.5 Mail: Team Roles

Episode 8.5 Listener Mail:  Team Roles What kind of characters should be in a team?  What skills are essential?  We define the expected roles for basic Fringeworthy explorers and liken them to a popular television show. This was the last question of our question and answer session but it took so much to answer it, we thought it deserved its own podcast release.

Christmas Special: Richard Tucholka Interview

Christmas Special: Richard Tucholka Interview

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays Fringeworthy fans! As our gift to you we present a very special edition of the Fringeworthy PodCast. This episode is an hour long interview with the creator of Fringeworthy; the one and only Richard Tucholka. Best wishes to you and yours. Enjoy!

01:42      When was Fringeworthy first published and what type of product launch did you do?

02:23      Where did the original idea for Fringeworthy come from?

04:00      Where did you get the idea for portals, pathways, and platforms?

06:46      Why were the portals placed where they were?

08:20      Who were the original playtesters and who was the original Ed Powers?

09:05      What was the make up of the original team?

10:05      What was the reason for wiping out electricity, magnetism, and nuclear material?

11:20      What happens if I go through the portal with a magnetic bottle full of anti-mater?

12:00      How is the platform powered? An insight into some fringe physics.

13:00      When you first designed Fringeworthy did you believe that the future will be as ideallic as it is in that edition?

13:50      Do you feel the new version is grittier and more reflective of the modern condition?

14:50      The original Fringeworthy seems kind of pulpish; what is the genre you are going for today?

17:15      Do you feel as though the Fringeworthy concept is more assessable now due to some of the modern media?

20:40      Why wasn’t Fringeworthy the primary choice as opposed to your other games in the early days?

22:35      Rich discusses his “three versions”.

22:05      How far has Fringeworthy changed from the original concept?

23:25      What effect do you see the new races having on the setting? *Secret Revealed*

24:45      Do the “Old Men” walk everywhere or do they know some secrets to get around easier?

26:05      How many countries is Fringeworthy played in?

27:20      Would you do translated versions of Fringeworthy?

29:10      What are your thoughts on bootlegged (torrented) editions?

33:57      What are your thoughts on doing a POD edition?

35:47      How does your fiancé Melody fit into the TriTac dynasty?

37:15      Melody joins the PodCast as part of the chat.

39:00      Wedding talk with Melody.

40:28      What is your local group like and is there a “type” for Fringeworthy players?

41:30      Does the Order of Leibowitz still exist?

42:30      Talk about the “Bureau 13 is Live” LARP book.

42:45      How did Fringeworthy drop off the map and what is being done now to spark it back to life?

46:35      Where is Fringeworthy going from here on out?

49:35      Final thoughts by Rich.

A special thanks to Richard for taking the time to join us.

Episode 8: Packing For Success: Data Gathering

Episode 8: Packing for Success – Data Gathering

In this episode we talk about the equipment needed for a successful data collection. We cover everything from the very first survey, to the first person transit, to long term data gathering. We go over a bunch of equipment you’re going to want to bring and we discuss some of the techniques you’ll most likely use.

01:40     Remote Sensing Devices

Remote Control Planes, Recon Balloons / Zeppelins, Weather Balloons.

04:40     Optics and Sensors

IR Sensors on cameras, Night Scope

07:20     Recording Equipment

Erdine Computer (IDET-LT-2013 Rugged Laptop)

 

 

DVD Burning Video recorders

09:30     Audio Data

Parabolic Microphone, Laser Bounce Microphones

11:10     Other Recorders

Radiation, Microwaves, Biological, Air Samples

15:10     The Role of Team 1 - Initial Data Gathering

Length of Stay, Initial Data Gathering, Path Breakers

21:15     Special Equipment for the First Portal Transit

Solar powered robot, wheel camera, Self Developing Film, Radiation Badges, Biological Dection

24:20     Locating Entry Point

Astronomical packages, figuring out time of day, Portable Satellite Rocket System

30:00     Infiltration

History Books, Newspapers, Library, Trash (Garbology)

33:10     Stuff people Forget About

Pencil & Paper, Shortwave Radio, Charcoal & Paper for Rubbings, Linesmen Climbing Gear, Dragging Harness, Stainless Steel Vacuum Bottles, Gyroscopic Shaver, Ziploc Sandwich Baggies, Titanium Scoop & Bottles, Mason Jars