In this unconventionally conventional episode, Violet talks about a recent event in Edinburgh.

Violet has to hand it to handouts. Freya learns about a Thing or two. Violet takes the wrong notes. Freya is unexpectedly out-gayed.

Thank you to everyone who emailed into our mailbag - If you too have a question, idea, or interesting game you’d like to share with us, email systemshoppodcast@gmail.com

Timestamps

Start of Con Discussion: 3:07

Liminal Horror: 9:27

Delta Green: 21:22

Kaleidoscope: 26:41

The Family: 34:41

Games discussed

Liminal Horror

Delta Green

Kaleidoscope

The Family

Black Hack (and OSR in general)

Monsterhearts

Microscope

Belonging Outside Belonging / Dream Askew / Dream Apart / No Dice No Masters

Wanderhome

Chuubo’s Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine

Mörk Borg

Avatar Legends

Masks

Games that aren't TTRPGs that we nonetheless discussed, sometimes at surprising length

Dead Rising

Battlestar Galactica (the board game)

Betrayal at the House on the Hill

Mario Party

Immortality (confirmed, this is on Netflix)

The Executive

Lost Odyssey

Notes & links

Itch page for the designer of the Family https://clevercrumbish.itch.io/

Weird Hope Engines: https://www.ntu.ac.uk/about-us/events/events/2025/3/weird-hope-engines

Video essay about Lost Odyssey - https://youtu.be/iqgSDClU4Qo?si=M1vnb3gixwhaz8zM

Additional Credits

Our intro music is

"Magic Escape Room" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this level-appropriate episode, we discuss encounter design through the lens of totally objective ratings of enemies’ power levels. Yes, we do mention Dragonball Z - but somehow entirely refrain from any “over 9000” jokes.

Violet shares tips on tipping points. Freya mopes about mopping up. Violet hates on Fate. Freya insists she liked D&D 4e all along.

Thank you to everyone who emailed into our mailbag - if you have any thoughts, comments, or questions please email us at: systemshoppodcast@gmail.com

Timestamps

Mailbag - 9:00

Intro to the topic - 11:18

Design questions - 19:40

History - 35:40

Taxonomicon - 47:45

Design dreams - 1:03:15

Games discussed

Star Trek Adventures

Last Days at Honkwarts*

The Great Dalmuti

Master and Apprentice*

Pathfinder

Fate

D&D

Dark Heresy

Capers

D&D 4E specifically

Vampire: the Masquerade

Lancer (like, a lot)

13th Age

Battletech (it’s back!)

Grimwild

Genesys

Time of Monsters

Vaesen

Mothership

*These are games designed by Violet herself. She apparently forgot to even mention the name of the second one :-P

Notes

It turns out that Freya’s graphics card has become eight years old since she last checked, so she’s definitely not going to play Monster Hunter Wilds, alas.

The nineteen-year-old Order of the Stick comic that Freya recalls with only moderate accuracy is https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0347.html

Additional credits

Our intro music is

"Magic Escape Room" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this first ever bonus episode, Freya reflects on the games she played at Contingency 2025 - a TTRPG convention on the wintry Norfolk coast. We discuss a pair of very yellow games, ruminate upon “A+B” dice mechanics, and analyse the comedy-to-therapy spectrum.

Timestamps

CBR+PNK - 2:02

Yellow King RPG (sort of) - 9:16

Confectioners vs Cromwell (using GM’s own system) - 16:56

Never Stop Exploding - 21:47

Troika! - 26:29

Star Trek Adventures (1E) - 30:40

JourneyMon - 39:21

Tool Team - 39:50

DIE - 41:57

One Ring (2E) - 1:02:29

Notes and links

The extremely long Lord of the Rings video Freya mentioned: https://youtu.be/poMnJKLGYo0?si=hQO5mbdDtRnAjKOu

The Meguey Baker article we discussed: https://lumpley.games/2021/12/30/ritual-in-game-design/