Darker Days Podcast # 16 - The Changeling Show...is up!

[oberon000]

SWEET!
I'll listen to the cast as soon as my shift ends. (Oh how I love to run a hotel is a snowstorm. Reminds me of a certain novel and movie... can't recall if it had a happy ending).

Nah, you're confused....I'm sure it was a Simpsons episode

[Raven]

Thanks for reminding me. If things get bad, I'll just hug a TV.

[mbuffington414]

I would like to re-emphasize that I understand that Changeling is a huge topic, and I would never expect you to cover everything related to it in one segment. My writing was not meant to be disrespectful, but I feel that specific core topics could have been discussed first in order for the game to be more open and understood by potential players who may want to play one day. This is only my opinion, but if you are going to discuss a topic of a particular game like Promethean, Vampire, Werewolf, Mage, etc, you have to give an introduction to the core concept of the game and speak on it as if your audience is hearing it for the first time. I don't want to beat a dead horse, but the focus on OWOD must be discussed as a supplemental aid instead of the basis of the discussion. Books that have came out over a decade ago will always hold a special place in our hearts, but the modern realm of WOD reflects the past while building on with new themes for the books. The discussion focuses way too much on topics that are completely foreign to most gamers because most of these books haven't been in print for 5-6 years. There was even a discussion of a card game that isn't even in circulation, this potential time that could be spent informing the gamer and expanding with ideas for a campaign. I will end on this, when we watch a movie trailer in the theaters, the trailer isn't 30 minutes long, it is short focused and hits key notes: who is the protagonist, the antagonist, whats at stake, etc. It gets you excited to want to see the movie. I feel that this show is an excellent motivator to expand role players horizons so that they don't only play Vampire, or only Mage, for example. Lets get players excited, and interested to want to learn more. Let's not scare off new player with discussion that focuses on concepts that can't be understood without first hand knowledge and leave them feeling that the game is unapproachable without tremendous work. I know my opinion isn't popular, but criticism is how we hear new ideas and I am fairly certain you don't want to be surrounded by only "yes men".
Thank you for all your work on the show,

Matt

[DarkerDays_Mark]

No offence taken here, Matt . Your comments don't come across as disrespectful at all. You've podcasting experience yourself, so you know the score, and we really appreciate the fact that you're being candid and offering constructive criticism. So no worries there. I agree that some more time could be spent on explaining Changeling for those unfamiliar with it - we spent a bit of time on this, but you can always spend more. Of course, some games don't need this (we've never sat down and explicitly described what Mage or Vampire are, for example) but maybe Changeling is a game that does need a bit more outlining. We'll keep this in mind. I guess the only thing I disagree with is that focus on the OWoD needs to be supplemental rather than the basis of the discussion. Part of our "mission statement" is that we give coverage to the OWoD as a "living" system - we've had enough feedback to convince us that it's still being played and enjoyed by an appreciable proportion of our listeners. I do accept, though, that more attention could have been given to C:tL, and that's something that we'll be addressing in a future show. So thanks again for taking the time to share your thoughts and for your feedback - far from being disrespectful, it's actually extremely useful and very welcome.

[Lost_Heretic]

Oh man, Dark Ages: Fae. I saw that book in a shop once... I should have bought it then.

The prices on ebay are killing me.

[Raven]

I never so much as picked up Changeling: The Dreaming. You guys certainly piqued my interest in it. I'll pick up a PDF and mine it for ideas if I come up on the dry side with my C:tL game.

Not to badger, but I tend to agree with most of Mr. Buffington's points.
I'm certainly looking forward to a future show with a feature on C:tL.

Oh, and the Secret Frequency for episode 16 absolutely rocks.

[Boggan_Knight]

I would like to re-emphasize that I understand that Changeling is a huge topic, and I would never expect you to cover everything related to it in one segment. My writing was not meant to be disrespectful, but I feel that specific core topics could have been discussed first in order for the game to be more open and understood by potential players who may want to play one day.

Matt,
I'm very sorry if I gave the impression that I thoguht this - I certainly didn't find your post disrespectful at all, but rather quite constructive. It's caused me to reconsider how I'll be approaching reviews on my own podcast, and the analogy you make with the movie trailer has made me reevaluate my approach.
So, in all, thanks for the post, because it has given me pause for thought and some serious points to consider for improvement. This is why I prefer to have people who challenge me rather than just agreeing with me - it's all quality improvement.

Pax
Adrian

[Law]

I never so much as picked up Changeling: The Dreaming. You guys certainly piqued my interest in it.

I agree. I didn't know much about the "Dreaming" setting. From what I heard, I certainly like it more than the setting of "The Lost" (which I do like). I am working on a "Dreaming-like" game already. Not sure what system I'll use, but I'm pretty sure it won't be old WoD.

Thanks for the show!

[GM Vince]

I never so much as picked up Changeling: The Dreaming. You guys certainly piqued my interest in it.

I agree. I didn't know much about the "Dreaming" setting. From what I heard, I certainly like it more than the setting of "The Lost" (which I do like). I am working on a "Dreaming-like" game already. Not sure what system I'll use, but I'm pretty sure it won't be old WoD.

Thanks for the show!

Cool, I am glad people liked what was presented. *LOCKED*