Season 2 is upon us! Jesse attempts to talk Matty off the ledge as the boys discuss the relevance of genre in table top roleplaying games.

In this bonus episode of TJM: Forgotten Realms is actually cool, murdering goblins, stealing the idol, romancing a racist alien from another dimension , and using the Guidance cantrip constantly at the table. Also, Basic Gary.

In this bonus episode the boys discus “Murder Hobos” and if they are as prevalent as the community makes them out to be.

In this bonus episode of TJM we finally get to hear about this RIFTS thing Jesse has been bringing up.

In this bonus episode, the boys lightly banter about the differences between acceptable and unacceptable disruptive characters in RPGS.

In this bonus episode, the boys discuss the D&D movie…nearly 200 days after its initial release. Enjoy!

Season 1 concludes with a discussion about European/Western/Tolkien fantasy tropes and the reoccurring desire of TTRPG gamers to expand/diverge/stray away from them. The boys discus the dark weirdness of OSR, the fidelity of different fantasy settings, and conclude with some sources ideal for inspiring more “weirdness” in your own game.

What do you want out of magic in a roleplaying system. Magic is the mechanic that undoes the rules of the game and how the PCs traverse obstacles. The boys explore the relevance of magic in roleplaying games and different systems.

Caller, Mapper, Quartermaster, and Scribe are roles that originated in the early days of D&D groups but are they still relevant? Has gaming and modern players evolved past them or can we redefine them to serve the modern table experience? In this episode the boys recount a little bit of old gaming culture and some TTRPG tropes as they discuss Player Character Roles.

Being a Dungeon Master or Game Master is f***ing awesome and more people should give it a shot. Due to the perception of a “GM shortage” the boys make their case for the question, “why become a Game Master? They share how they started running games and dial in on best practices for starting out or leveling up your GM skills.

This episode is all about player character death in RPGs! The boys discuss the deaths of their characters over the years and debate whether or not character death in gaming is a good thing or a bad thing.

This episode is all about Baldur’s Gate 3! The boys discuss first impressions and how BG3’s gameplay experience has the potential to change Dungeons & Dragons (as well as TTRPGS in general).

When is it appropriate to ask your GM for help for a character concept that isn’t working? Conversely how should a GM ask for help from their players to get the game on track? In this Jaunty Mantis TTRPG Therapy Podcast, the boys do just that for each other.

Does alignment have any value in modern RPGS? In this episode Jesse and Matty question the point of player character alignment. They cover different alignment systems from different games and how alignment has changed in D&D over the years. The boys also discuss options for evolving alignment into a meaningful GM resource to help challenge the PCs.

What are the costs of playing a challenging character? In this episode the boys break down the benefits and drawbacks of exploring backstory, alignment, personality and real world societal norms when playing a fantasy make-believe game for fun.