Consider yerselves deputised…

Greeting Smart Posse! We’ve been perhaps a little remiss at keeping things going here for the text-o-philes among you. So here’s a new missive for you to chew over. More to come!

Gaz and I are super proud of the Casts we’ve been pinging out for years now, and they are only possible thanks to the generosity of the Smart Posse, whether that be through Patreon, or KoFi or even something as simple as a Like, a review or a share. Cheers!

We have loads of ideas and projects lined up for the future. But before we pull the trigger on any of those, what would you like the Smart Party to do?

Things we have on our virtual flip chart include….

• Scenario actual play, with post-game analysis and tips for improving the adventure for when you have a go.
• Random tables, Smart style. You pick the title, we give you Dx options.
• Smart Chat. Join us online for a chin wag. Casual catch ups on whatever comes to mind.
• More system deep dives. We tackle the chunky book chapter by chapter for you.
• Quick dips. One and done games with the systems you want to know more about.

….and so much more.

Pipe up with your recommendations please folks!

Thanks as always,

B & G

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Urban Armies

Episode 23 – Urban Fantasy & Unknown Armies
(a.k.a. Urban Armies)

Urban fantasy seems like a big old piece of the genre, so we dig around in it a bit before taking an in depth look at our favourite example; Unknown Armies. With a 3rd edition on its way, we can look back fondly on the days before ubiquitous WiFi and iPhones, when the occult underground was a dangerous yet alluring playground for RPGers. There may be six ways to avoid a fight, but zero ways to avoid your enjoyment of this cast from your genial hosts, Baz and Gaz.

If you like what you hear and want to boss us about, why not become a Patreon and send us more topics you want us to explore?

Patreon and the Smart Party

We are 12 podcasts in now, and we are not letting up. We believe our podcasts are good quality conversation, with insights and humour aplenty. If you think we are on to something then please do head over to our brand new Patreon account and give us the cash based encouragement we desire. For less than the price of a coffee you’ll get to be one of the good guys. Yeah, we can talk about rewards and all that shizzle, but really you should be clicking through with your wallet in hand because that’s what the smart party would do, right?

http://www.patreon.com/thesmartparty

[Friday Map] Regional Map of Lake Velth

[Friday Map] Regional Map of Lake Velth.

Love this blog. You’ll see hints of this sort of thing in my Knee Deep book.

One shot play: Kingsburg

Attended LemurCon last weekend and had a great time playing all kinds of one shots. there’s plenty of blog fodder in the weekend, but I wanted to start with something a little unusual for round these parts; a board game.

Smart Party Founder Member Simon has been getting his board gaming groove on for quite a while now. He has a weekly club night dedicated to the things, and a healthy collection to call on. Between him and Smart Party Quartermaster G2 I doubt there’s many games they don’t have. We’ve traditionally used board games as fillers between RPG sessions, or for when the party isn’t at full muster. This time round I got to sit in on a game I’d never encountered before, Kingsburg.

Playtesy review: 3:16 Carnage Amongst the Stars

I’ve been peripherally aware of this game for a little while now but had never had the chance to play. When I saw it on the list at this years Furnace I grabbed the chance to give it a go. My preconceptions were that the game was indie, it’s focus is on fighting as a space marine against a horde of aliens, that success is measured in kills, and that’s about it. Turns out I was right.

Furnace Findings

This year I attended my first Furnace, a smallish con held in Sheffield, now in it’s 4th year. The Smart Party were four strong for this outing, and between us we had 8 games to run that covered the gamut of gaming.

The location was really cool, a converted gaolhouse including the original cells to play in. There was a cosy bar that served excellent food. I’d have liked it to stay open a little later but they had beer in vending machines for the desperate, so not so bad after all. The rooms were ‘motel’ like, which means they were fine for getting your head down, but not for much else.  That’s all I need from a Con though, and at £25 a night I can’t complain. Breakfast was perfunctory, but appreciated after a long night of game talk.

Fast Furious Furnace Flyers

I’m set to run two games at this year’s Furnace. Here’s what the frothing horde will see at the sign up scrum…

The Fey Team

The Night Riders

Custom Con Characters

I’ve been working up a set of characters for Furnace. This is (one of) what I’ve got so far.

Ispowon Booklet

It’s a Word Doc designed to be printed 2 pages to a sheet making it an A5 booklet. You’ll see it as pages 2,3,4,1.

I’m going for ease of use at the table mostly. There’s still some tinkering to do, but overall I’m fairly happy. My IT skills are pretty basic, and I’m sure it could be a lot more colourful and professional. Still, first effort and all that.

EDIT: My USB flash drive containing this and many, many more Mb of gaming goodness has just died. All data lost. At least I still have this sheet.

Furnace games sent in

Furnace is my big Convention this year and I’ve just sent in my two games for inclusion. I’m going with two games of D&D 4e, both set at 5th level and the stories play off of each other (slightly). I’m going with my ‘Feywild and Shadowfell at war’ theme. The first game is ‘The Fey Team’ and is an assassination mission behind enemy ley lines. The second is ‘Night Rider’ and tells a similar tale from the Shadow perspective, except with sabotage in mind. Hope I get some players!