Microphone by Mick 0 at Flicker
Hobbies are driven by enthusiasm and the the two podcasts I want to talk about today are perfect examples of good recruiting podcasts. Neither is aimed a new players and they both very different shows but both shows are filled with enthusiasm and it is hard for me to listen to either and not get excited about the hobby. This energy can easily hook someone into a hobby if there is even peripheral interest, this is a core principle for hobby companies, but for miniatures and role playing games this often comes from other hobbyists.
The first podcast is The Meeples and Miniatures show and it is about miniatures gaming. It is a UK show and it is based soundly in English gaming culture, which isn’t the same as the US miniatures culture but at its core it is about the love of toy soldier gaming and that comes across very well in the podcast. The host is Neil Shuck and he has also launched a video podcast called Incoming which gives you a look at new models coming out in a nice top ten format. If you enjoy looking at nice models the Incoming show is fantastic.
The second show is one of my favorite roleplaying shows, Radio Free Hommlet. The whole Hommlet crew is refreshingly enthusiastic and makes every show fresh and enjoyable. So many podcasts strive for cool that they drain the life from the show, the hosts of Radio Free Hommlet think the game is cool, so they don’t have to pose. The effect is refreshing, normally each show features a character class they are reviewing and each of the hosts discusses what they like in the class. They make mistakes, they correct each other on the show and they have fun, it is hard not to get caught up in the energy.
Both shows work because they let the energy that drives the hobby for them show through and that can be hard for some people to do. I know when I lose my inhibitions and put that enjoyment into my hobby it really ups the fun, but as an adult it can be hard to do, we are trained to keep it cool, that is one reason playing games with kids is so much fun. Kids don’t care if you are cool or not, they just want to have fun and their energy can bring you right along, both these podcasts do the same thing.
So my group has just finished the first section of Paizo’s Legacy of Fire story path, The Howl of the Carrion King. It went well, with the players clearing the gnolls out of the town of Kelmarane after a bunch of tough fights with characters reaching level 4 by the end. Good fun, but it wasn’t perfect on my side of the DM screen so as I start planning the next campaign I thought it would be good to go over what I thought went well and what didn’t. This isn’t about the module, I will post about that later, this about how I like games to go and how it actually went.