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Narrative Damage
An actual play TTRPG podcast where your favourite authors swap their pens for dice and gather together to tell tales.
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9. Gareth Hanrahan on how to make TTRPG writing connect with players
53:49||Ep. 9Watch as a full video interview on our YouTube channelGareth Ryder-Hanrahan is a writer and game designer. Originally qualified as a computer programmer, he took a three month break to see how “this writing thing” would go. More than fifteen years later, he’s still on that break. The writing thing seems to be going. Gareth has published more role-playing games and supplements than he can even recall, including the award-winning The Laundry RPG, The One Ring and The Dracula Dossier. He is currently working on (among other games) the DIE Metadungeon, tying into Kieron Gillen's DIE comic and RPG.We had great fun chatting with Gareth, hearing about how he first got into TTRPG writing, and learning how he goes about writing across such a huge range of games. We chat to him about the best ways to break in TTRPG writing, and what makes a good and bad scenario.If you want to hear Gareth talk about his novel writing, head over to Page One, where he spoke to us about that in Episode 263!Links:Visit Gareth's WebsiteFollow Gareth on InstagramBack the DIE Metadungeon now!Don't forget you can still win a Call of Cthulhu Starter Set! All you need to do all you need to do is subscribe on YouTube and leave a comment below one of our Loki's Gift videos! Once we hit 250 subs we will pick our winner! Plus - double your chances: Head over to our Instagram to enter there as well.Follow the madness on InstagramFollow on Bluesky
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8. Chaosium writer Kat Clay on how to make horror matter
01:00:30||Ep. 8Watch as a full video episode on our YouTube channelKat Clay is an ENNIE and ARPIA award-winning author of tabletop roleplaying games from Melbourne, Australia. Her Call of Cthulhu games, The Hammersmith Haunting, Resort, and The Well of All Fear, are bestsellers on DriveThruRPG. The Well of All Fear won the silver ENNIE in 2024 for Best Community Content, and was nominated for Best Adventure – Short Form. Resort, won Best Scenario at the 2025 Australian Roleplaying Industry Awards. She works as a freelance editor and graphic designer for game publisher, Chaosium.We had a great time chatting with Kat and hearing about how she got into writing for TTRPGs, including how she brings her fiction-writing skills to the scenarios, and why she doesn't think you need to over-playtest scenarios. Plus, she tells us about how to make the horror in your games really land with players.Links:Buy Kat's A Well of All Fear scenarioVisit Kat's websiteFollow Kat on InstagramDon't forget you can still win a Call of Cthulhu Starter Set! All you need to do all you need to do is subscribe on YouTube and leave a comment below one of our Loki's Gift videos! Once we hit 250 subs we will pick our winner! Plus - double your chances: Head over to our Instagram to enter there as well.Follow the madness on InstagramFollow on Bluesky7. Damage Assessment - A Breakdown of Loki's Gift
38:17||Ep. 7Welcome to Damage Assessment - our look back at our actual plays, where we breakdown the scenario, talk about what went well, what could've gone better, and what might help you run the same scenario at your table.Loki's Gift is a Call of Cthulhu scenario from Chaosium's Cults of Cthulhu book by Chris Lackey, Mike Mason and friends. Set in Late Victorian London in 1896, it focuses on the investigation into the death of Charles Gladstone, musician and son of Lord Richard Gladstone. Watch or listen to our playthrough now and then head back here to hear all about how our players went off track causing some panicked moments for our Keeper, and listen as we talk about what we might do differently if we were to run the scenario again.Don't forget you can still win a Call of Cthulhu Starter Set! All you need to do all you need to do is subscribe on YouTube and leave a comment below one of our Loki's Gift videos! Once we hit 250 subs we will pick our winner! Plus - double your chances: Head over to our Instagram to enter there as well.Follow the madness on InstagramFollow on Bluesky6. Call of Cthulhu: Loki's Gift - Part 3: The Finale
01:13:36||Season 1, Ep. 6Watch as a full video episode on YouTubeDescend into madness with us as our cast of three authors swap pens for dice in the final part of this Call of Cthulhu scenario.The curtain rises...After last week's traumatic ending, our investigators try to piece the final clues together - but can they find out the truth before it's too late? And will they finally see the play that everyone is talking about: Loki's Gift?Cast:- Tariq Ashkanani (author of The Midnight King) as Donovan Ramsbottom III- Nicholas Binge (author of Dissolution) as Rev. Tobias Ashford- David Goodman (author of A Reluctant Spy) as Lord Wilbur Linklater- Marco Rinaldi as your Keeper of Arcane LoreIf you enjoyed the descent into madness, please follow on your podcast app The final part drops next week!Follow the madness on InstagramFollow on BlueskySubscribe on YouTubeThis is a playthrough of Loki's Gift from the Cults of Cthulhu book from Chaosium. All illustrations are used with permission of Chaosium and can be found in their Cults of Cthulhu and Cthulhu by Gaslight books.Music from Monument StudiosSound FX from Syrinscape5. Call of Cthulhu: Loki's Gift - Part 2
01:44:48||Season 1, Ep. 5Watch as a full video episode on YouTubeDescend into madness with us as our cast of three authors swap pens for dice in the second part of this Call of Cthulhu scenario.What drove Charles Gladstone to his death?Our investigators continue their pursuit of the truth as they meet those who had contact with Charles Gladstone shortly before his death. What is the play Ernest Chillingworth asked Charles to work on? What does the actress Margaret Cornwall know? And can they track down Charles' fellow composer, Daniel Ridley? Plus, will Donovan's explorer skills finally come in useful?Cast:- Tariq Ashkanani (author of The Midnight King) as Donovan Ramsbottom III- Nicholas Binge (author of Dissolution) as Rev. Tobias Ashford- David Goodman (author of A Reluctant Spy) as Lord Wilbur Linklater- Marco Rinaldi as your Keeper of Arcane LoreIf you enjoyed the descent into madness, please follow on your podcast app The final part drops next week!Follow the madness on InstagramFollow on BlueskySubscribe on YouTubeThis is a playthrough of Loki's Gift from the Cults of Cthulhu book from Chaosium. All illustrations are used with permission of Chaosium and can be found in their Cults of Cthulhu and Cthulhu by Gaslight books.Music from Monument StudiosSound FX from Syrinscape4. Call of Cthulhu: Loki's Gift - Part 1
01:11:42||Season 1, Ep. 4Watch as a full video episode on YouTubeDescend into madness with us as our cast of three authors swap pens for dice in the first part of this Call of Cthulhu scenario."I must know why my son took his own life."When Lord Gladstone calls three hardy investigators to his London mansion on a cold rainy evening in October 1896, they awaken old scars - and create new ones. What was the music that Charles Gladstone was working on before his death, and why is it so unsettling?Cast:- Tariq Ashkanani (author of The Midnight King) as Donovan Ramsbottom III- Nicholas Binge (author of Dissolution) as Rev. Tobias Ashford- David Goodman (author of A Reluctant Spy) as Lord Wilbur Linklater- Marco Rinaldi as your Keeper of Arcane LoreIf you enjoyed the descent into madness, please subscribe and hit the bell icon! Part 2 drops next week!Follow the madness on InstagramFollow on BlueskyThis is a playthrough of Loki's Gift from the Cults of Cthulhu book from Chaosium. Music from Monument StudiosSound FX from Syrinscape3. Ep. 3 - Writing Mystery and Madness with Mike Mason of Chaosium
01:30:19||Season 1, Ep. 3Watch as a full video interview on our YouTube channelIn the final of our cross-over interview episodes with Page One, we chat with the brilliant Mike Mason!Mike Mason is an award-winning game designer and writer, and the creative director for the Call of Cthulhu tabletop roleplaying game. As well as being the commissioning editor and lead writer for the line, Mike also works closely with artists and cartographers to shape the look and art for Call of Cthulhu.It was great speaking with Mike and hearing how his love for storytelling and Call of Cthulhu led to him landing his dream job. He tells us about how he writes scenarios and campaign books, and how that differs (and doesn't differ) from writing other forms of fiction. Plus, we talk about writing effective horror, and discuss why mystery fiction of all kinds is so popular.Links:Follow Mike on InstagramVisit Chaosium's websiteWatch the trailer for our actual play of Loki's GiftFollow Narrative Damage on YouTube or its own podcast feed to get more interviews with TTRPG writers, creators and more, plus actual plays with some of your favourite authors: https://linktr.ee/narrativedamagerpgFollow us on InstagramFollow us on Bluesky