Roleplay Rescue

In the spirit of turning up, this one's a bit more ad hoc and GM Journal in style, but it's relevant and heartfelt.I talk about getting back to Ariadne's Thread (powered by Cypher) and report on the Monster Hunters (powered by GURPS). The over-arching theme is the power of choosing to turn up to play. Improvisation around the tools and notes you've got can help you overcome the fear and play.Thanks to everyone for your ongoing support.Game on!Roleplay Rescue Details:Voice Message:speakpipe.com/roleplayrescuePatreon:patreon.com/rpgrescue Email:roleplayrescue@pm.meBlogroleplayrescue.com Bluesky Social:https://bsky.app/profile/ubiquitousrat.bsky.socialRoleplay Rescue Theme by Jon Cohen from Tale of the Manticore:https://taleofthemanticore.podbean.com/Logo and artwork by MJ Hiblen:https://www.patreon.com/MJHiblenART/

How do you overcome the sense of inertia where you don't want to play or prep anything?After weeks of holiday disruption, how do you get yourself moving as a GM and rediscover some enjoyment.Thanks to Frank T and Pat M for the call-ins.Game on!Roleplay Rescue Details:Voice Message:speakpipe.com/roleplayrescuePatreon:patreon.com/rpgrescue Email:roleplayrescue@pm.meBlogroleplayrescue.com Bluesky Social:https://bsky.app/profile/ubiquitousrat.bsky.socialRoleplay Rescue Theme by Jon Cohen from Tale of the Manticore:https://taleofthemanticore.podbean.com/Logo and artwork by MJ Hiblen:https://www.patreon.com/MJHiblenART/

What is it about slipping fully into a character and exploring a living, open‑ended world that makes us feel so drawn into the fantasy and have fun? What part of our human make-up is refreshed and excited by these imaginary adventures we experience during roleplay? Is there a way to understand this specific preference for slipping into a imaginary persona and exploring a living, open-ended world?This one’s sharing a more experimental theory that’s emerged in my mind over recent days. It’s rooted back in my first conversations with friends of the show Daniel Jones from Primaeval Fantasy, Runeslinger Anthony from Casting Shadows, and my co-host Patrick Mullen from GURPStalk. It’s also rooted in the psychology and philosophy of Dr Iain McGilchrist and several other authors that I’ve read or heard over recent years.Game on!Roleplay Rescue Details:Voice Message:speakpipe.com/roleplayrescuePatreon:patreon.com/rpgrescue Email:roleplayrescue@pm.meBlogroleplayrescue.com Bluesky Social:https://bsky.app/profile/ubiquitousrat.bsky.socialRoleplay Rescue Theme by Jon Cohen from Tale of the Manticore:https://taleofthemanticore.podbean.com/Logo and artwork by MJ Hiblen:https://www.patreon.com/MJHiblenART/

After a break of nearly 11 weeks between August and the tail end of October 2025, Roleplay Rescue was reborn with an experimental mindset and a specific pact to record one short episode per week for 10 weeks, focusing solely on actions and experiences as a GM.This is the tenth episode of that pact. How have things worked out and what has been learned?And what about the other pacts I made for my hobby?This is an opportunity to reflect and, hopefully, through that reflection to discern the next steps on the journey as we enter 2026...Game on!Roleplay Rescue Details:Voice Message:speakpipe.com/roleplayrescuePatreon:patreon.com/rpgrescue Email:roleplayrescue@pm.meBlogroleplayrescue.com Bluesky Social:https://bsky.app/profile/ubiquitousrat.bsky.socialLogo and artwork by MJ Hiblen:https://www.patreon.com/MJHiblenART/

I've been shifting my focus towards preparing a new school-based game designed to engage the students in roleplay but also to be light, fun, and open to newbies as much as possible. For me, the trick is to get started: my confidence in the game, in my ability to deliver the game and run it, and in engaging the students begins with the first steps. This time, I’m taking a modified approach and running an experiment in providing a mission-based game in a grounded Otherworld with the potential to offer the players a sandbox to explore and mysteries to uncover. This episodes introduces my first steps towards a Monster Hunters game.Game on!Roleplay Rescue Details:Voice Message:speakpipe.com/roleplayrescuePatreon:patreon.com/rpgrescue Email:roleplayrescue@pm.meBlogroleplayrescue.com Bluesky Social:https://bsky.app/profile/ubiquitousrat.bsky.socialLogo and artwork by MJ Hiblen:https://www.patreon.com/MJHiblenART/Additional music thanks to Tabletop Audio:Tabletop Audio - Ambiences and Music for Tabletop Role Playing Games

What’s the point of solo roleplaying games? Why do it? And, frankly, how do you keep the game moving?If you’ve ever tried to play a role‑playing game solo, you know the feeling: the excitement of stepping into a new world, followed by the nagging question, ‘How do I keep the game moving when there’s no one else at the table?’This past week, I built a tiny experiment to solve that tension and today I’m sharing it with you.Game on!Roleplay Rescue Details:Voice Message:speakpipe.com/roleplayrescuePatreon:patreon.com/rpgrescue Email:roleplayrescue@pm.meBlogroleplayrescue.com Bluesky Social:https://bsky.app/profile/ubiquitousrat.bsky.socialLogo and artwork by MJ Hiblen:https://www.patreon.com/MJHiblenART/Additional ambient sound thanks to Tabletop Audio:Tabletop Audio - Ambiences and Music for Tabletop Role Playing Games

This one's a reflection on the mental health side of my journey wherein I talk about the reflection that hitting 7 years of the show coincides with 5 years of healing since the mental health breakdown that I experienced in 2020.Here at the tail end of 2025, I’ve been reminded of the "Scanner" concept – because I had forgotten about it in all the hustle of the past couple of years – and it’s refreshed my sense of acceptance for the way my mind functions. That led me into thinking about some of the things that I do (or am returning to doing) that lean into the realities of being designed to move from interest to interest, soaking up everything I can. This is a breathless, wild-minded blast of ideas. Take it for what it is: the way my mind works.Thanks to Carl D, Wiebe, and Evil Jeff for the call-ins!Game on!Roleplay Rescue Details:Voice Message:speakpipe.com/roleplayrescuePatreon:patreon.com/rpgrescue Email:roleplayrescue@pm.meBlogroleplayrescue.com Bluesky Social:https://bsky.app/profile/ubiquitousrat.bsky.socialLogo and artwork by MJ Hiblen:https://www.patreon.com/MJHiblenART/

On the 28th of November 2018, the 8 minute and 14 second Episode Zero of Roleplay Rescue was aired. Seven years of striving, failing, starting over, and asking: How can I run a game that is creatively engaging for my friends and myself, while managing the crippling anxiety and self-doubt that plagued my identity as the "world's flakiest GM"?This episode we dive into the manifesto that emerged from that struggle. Thanks to Anthony and Thorsten for the call-ins!Music by Jon from Tale of the Manticore.Game on!Roleplay Rescue Details:Voice Message:speakpipe.com/roleplayrescuePatreon:patreon.com/rpgrescue Email:roleplayrescue@pm.meBlogroleplayrescue.com Bluesky Social:https://bsky.app/profile/ubiquitousrat.bsky.socialLogo and artwork by MJ Hiblen:https://www.patreon.com/MJHiblenART/

This week patron and regular listener, Alex from the UK, called in with a question about my approach of what he calls, "Player-Directed Goal-Driven Play". His specific issue is around whether this approach can work with shorter periods of play that are designed to be time-bound to fewer sessions than my own aspiration for 1-year plus long-form play. This episode is my answer to the question.Thanks Alex for the call-in question!Hope this is useful to others too.Game on!Roleplay Rescue Details:Voice Message:speakpipe.com/roleplayrescuePatreon:patreon.com/rpgrescue Email:roleplayrescue@pm.meBlogroleplayrescue.com Bluesky Social:https://bsky.app/profile/ubiquitousrat.bsky.socialLogo and artwork by MJ Hiblen:https://www.patreon.com/MJHiblenART/