Tycho's Tales
Tycho's Tales is an informal discussion podcast about tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs) like Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder. Episodes are released every Tuesday at 5 pm GMT (or, for the Kiwis, every Wednesday at 6 am NZST). Find out more about us at https://tychostales.com/about. If you enjoy the pod, please rate or review us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Episodes
59 episodes
The Hangover: Part 2
In which Stringybutt Lotsalegs has her special day.Music by Robert Mullis, Olivia Moore and Tabletop Audio.
The Hangover: Part 1
The gang goes to Fellbarrow...Music by Olivia Moore, Calum Robertson, and Aim to Head.
The Hangover preview
We talk about our upcoming actual-play homebrew one-shot, The Hangover.
Dungeon design
We talk about dungeons. (No dragons though.) And puzzles.
LLMs in tabletop RPGs
We talk about LLMs in tabletop RPGs, Wild Shapes, the danger of jumping to conclusions, and NPC personalities. The 'jumping to conclusions' chapter contains some minor spoilers for the Storm Lord's Wrath module.
GM support group 4
We're back with a GM support group, where we talk about directing player characters, low-prep campaigns, and preparing NPCs before environments.
The state of the tabletop
This week we talk about the state of the tabletop RPG scene, including recent WoTC drama, and competition among different systems.
Fantasy book club: Riftwar Saga
This episode contains minor spoilers for the Riftwar Saga book series by Raymond E. Feist. Welcome to our inaugural fantasy book club episode! Besides talking about a few fantasy books, we talk about an alternative mana system for manag...
Gritty realism for data analysts
We wonder whether a gritty-realism campaign would actually be fun, and talk about AD&D's resurrection mechanic, the rarity of magic, righteous and wrong character decisions, wish fulfilment and roleplaying the apocalypse. Refer...
Cartels of evil Druid masterminds
In this episode, we talk about currency and the economy in TTRPGs, why you should consider playing a Druid if you're planning on becoming an evil mastermind, and living with the consequences of your actions.
The Golden Gnome
We talk about our magical evening at The Golden Gnome, Little Beer Quarter's fantasy alter-ego.
Sorcerer changes in D&D's 2024 rules update
We're reviewing all of the changes to classes in D&D's 2024 rules update; this time, the Sorcerer! We cover changes to the spellcasting rules and existing features Font of Magic, Metamagic and Sorcerous Restoration; as well as new features ...
Fighter changes in D&D's 2024 rules update
We're reviewing all of the changes to classes in D&D's 2024 rules update; this time, the Fighter! We cover changes to Fighting Styles, Second Wind and Indomitable; as well as new features Weapon Mastery, Tactical Mind, Tactical Shift, T...
Wizard changes in D&D's 2024 rules update
We're reviewing all of the changes to classes in D&D's 2024 rules update; this time, the Wizard! We cover changes to cantrips, the number of prepared spells, spellcasting foci and Spell Mastery; as well as new features Scholar and Memorize ...
Barbarian changes in D&D's 2024 rules update
We're reviewing all of the changes to classes in D&D's 2024 rules update, starting with the Barbarian! We cover changes to Rage, Danger Sense and Relentless Rage, as well as a bunch of new features including Weapon Mastery, Primal Knowledge...
GM support group 3
This episode contains minor spoilers for Exandria Unlimited: Calamity and the Mistborn series. In this GM support group episode, we talk about making three-dimensional antagonists; gods and religion; improvisational and empathetic ...
The Feywild
We talk about the implications for multiclassing of One D&D's standardisation of subclasses at level three, and our experiences GMing and playing in campaigns in the Feywild. Referenced in this episode:
Back to school
What's the difference between LARPing and cosplay? Is a PhD in philosophy worth it? We've also brought back our much-lauded Spell of the Week segment courtesy of Walt just wanting to play a barbarian, and Lars takes us back to school.
GM support group 2
In this GM support group episode, we talk about what makes a good one-shot for audiences vs home games; Brennan Lee Mulligan; and reasonable people in unreasonable worlds.
What your GM wants you to do
In this episode, we talk about the most important thing that players can bring to the table; what we found surprising in our campaigns; unintended consequences of d100s; accidentally learning about ourselves through our characters; and ou...
Multi-phase combat encounters
In this episode, we talk in depth about multi-phase combat encounters, how we think about lore and worldbuilding, and why you shouldn't get too attached to things.
Red Dragon's Tale
This episode contains a bunch of spoilers for the D&D and Lego collaboration adventure, Red Dragon's Tale. We talk about our experiences building the set, and playing and GMing the adventure, including what we thought about the...
GM support group 1
Welcome to the inaugural GM support group! These episodes have a slightly different format to our usual ones; we just sit around and yarn about what's recently been top of mind in our campaigns. We talk about what it's like when players...
Low-level combat - Part 2
In part two of our discussion on how to make low-level combat more interesting, we talk about alternative ways to wrap up combat that don't involve the enemy NPCs being killed (such as fleeing or surrendering, or potentially ending combat narra...
Low-level combat - Part 1
Low-level combat is often mechanically simple, and this can lead to potentially boring encounters, particularly if players are used to the range of abilities available with higher-level characters. In this two-part series, we discuss why low-le...