Why We Roll

Wythe Marschall (Stillfleet, PICARO!) and Dale Houston (Duck and Crow Press) talk about adventure design, solo games, printing pamphlets and zines, amazing game conventions, the OSR, cavepersons, probably cats, and no doubt much more! Hear Dale expound upon how to write adventures and short game modules in general. We talk about Dale's latest solo game—The Last Shoppe—as well as the infamous Bloodbath Dungeons. ☉ Check out Duck and Crow: https://www.duckandcrow.com/ ☉ Follow The Last Shoppe: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/... ☉ Head to ArcaneCon: https://tabletop.events/conventions/a... ☉ Give to charity and buy Dick Wizards! https://www.duckandcrow.com/shop/dick...

☉ Shameless plug—follow ULTRADELVE: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/...

☉ Join the conversation: https://discord.stillfleet.com ☉ Support the show on Patreon: https://patreon.com/stillfleet/

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Join Wythe Marschall (Stillfleet, PICARO!) for a chat with James A. Pozenel Jr. of Horse Shark Games about the amazing new cyberpunk TTRPG, Netcrawl! We chat about Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC), high-lethality games, luck mechanics, and genres of literature in RPGs before digging into the creation and future of Netcrawl. ☉ Check out James's games: https://horsesharkgames.com ☉ Get Netcrawl: https://horsesharkgames.com/netcrawl-... ☉ Support Netcrawl's development: / lectrotext ☉ Follow James on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/lectrotext.b...

☉ Join the conversation: https://discord.stillfleet.com ☉ Support the show on Patreon: / stillfleet

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Wythe Marschall (Stillfleet, PICARO!) and Christopher Pickett (Danse Macabre: Medieval Horror Roleplaying) chat with Zachary Cox AKA the JellyMuppet of SoulMuppet Publishing about Atrapos: A Roleplaying Game of Odyssey: a doomed mythic fantasy roleplaying game of defying fate in an epic world of Gods and heroes. Get your swords and sandals, folks—we're going going, back back to the Bronze Age Mediterranean. ☉ GO BACK IT: Atrapos https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/... ☉ The sister game is cowboys × Arthuriana: Inevitable https://usa.soulmuppet-store.co.uk/pr... ☉ All of SoulMuppet's games are great https://usa.soulmuppet-store.co.uk/ ☉ Also, we talked about this guy: Jackson Crawford AKA Professor Cowboy Viking / @jacksoncrawford ☉ Hometown plug—follow ULTRADELVE: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/...

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Join us for a very special Episode 100 of the roleplaying game podcast Why We Roll! Wythe Marschall (Stillfleet, PICARO!) chats about the future of indie RPGs with judges from the Grit System Game Jam: Daniel Kwan, Arthur Wells, Sam Sorensen, and Lauren Bilanko. (Dear Rollers, don't worry: we'll host a whole separate retrospective with cohost Christopher Pickett of Danse Macabre!)

Thanks to everyone who's joined us and shared their wisdom and creativity on 100 numbered and a dozen-odd bonus episodes. Real talk—YOU are Why We Roll!

☉ Sam Sorensen's blog is full of that deep stuff https://samsorensen.blot.im/ ☉ Daniel Kwan has written a ton of game books https://danielhkwan.carrd.co/ ☉ Daniel's podcast, Asians Represent, is rad https://aznsrepresent.carrd.co/ ☉ Arthur Wells is an amazing AP performer and designs games https://wherewolf.itch.io/ ☉ Lauren Bilanko runs the belovèd Twenty Sided Store https://twentysidedstore.com/ ☉ Lauren is also working on a game, Mystic Aether https://bilanko.com/blogs/mystic-aeth...

Shouting out our friends at Plus One Exp, we at Stillfleet Studio have two relevant projects to plug: ☉ For Appndx N Jam, we made “The Weird of the Winter Worm” https://stillfleet.itch.io/the-weird-... ☉ With our greater Stillfleet and Danse Macabre community, we've developed a new game—ULTRADELVE https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/...

☉ Join the conversation: https://discord.stillfleet.com/

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On this episode, we talk with game designer Diogo Nogueira (Old Skull Publishing) about the Old School Renaissance (or is the Old School Revival?), science fantasy, and just making cool shit.

☉ Check out Diogo's work and blog: https://oldskull-publishing.com/

☉ Pick up Just Make Shit on Diogo's Itch: https://diogo-old-skull.itch.io/just-make-shit

☉ Like the show? Support Stillfleet Studio & WWR on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/stillfleet

☉ Join the conversation on the Stillfleet Discord: https://discord.stillfleet.com

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Wythe Marschall (Stillfleet, PICARO!) and Christopher Pickett (Danse Macabre) invite David Piccolomini and Miel Markus of Don't Go Broke Games back on Why We Roll to talk more about stand-up comedy, Forged in the Dark design, and the upcoming launch of their new comedy TTRPG, Road Warriors, as part of Gamefound's RPG Party 2026!

☉ FOLLOW THE CAMPAIGN: https://gamefound.com/en/projects/dgb-games/road-warriors

☉ Watch the official Why We Roll × Road Warriors actual play: https://www.youtube.com/live/H8o3Ik25I3A?si=fhtNsFVVHEoqlqo-

☉ Pick up the Road Warriors quick start, Beverage Goblin, and Hot Doctor Hospital from DGB: https://dgbgames.itch.io/

☉ Join the conversation on the Stillfleet Discord: https://discord.stillfleet.com

☉ Support WWR and Stillfleet Studio on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/stillfleet

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On this episode of WWR, Benjamin L. Eastman (A Lease on Art, All Year I Dream About Gaming Conventions) joins Christopher Pickett (Danse Macabre) and Wythe Marschall (Stillfleet, PICARO!) to chat about Ben's (and Quarex's!) podcast All Year I Dream About Gaming Conventions (AYIDAGC), steps towards getting freelance writing work in TTRPGs, adventure writing for cons and beyond, and more!

☉ Connect with All Year I Dream About Gaming Conventions: https://linktr.ee/dreamaboutgamingconventions ☉ Find AYIDAGC events: https://linktr.ee/rageevents

Ben Eastman's TTRPG adventure writing and game design: ☉"Flickering Hope in Fusang" for Appndx N Jam 2026: https://eastmabl.itch.io/flickering-h... — N.B., you can also get Wythe and Tony Grasso's Appndx N Jam entry: https://stillfleet.itch.io/the-weird-... ☉A Lease on Art (RPG Zine Club, Plus One Experience): https://plusoneexp.com/products/a-lea... ☉Defenestration of the Fell Queen on RPG Trader: https://rpg-trader.com/products/7520/... ☉Hastening Doom (Kobold Press): https://koboldpress.com/kpstore/produ... ☉Join the playtest for Risk & Roll at Gamehole Con: https://www.gameholecon.com/events/ev... ☉Stay tuned for Ben's adventure for Return to Dark Tower Fantasy Roleplaying (9th Level Games): https://9thlevel.com/products/return-...

☉Join the conversation on the Stillfleet Studio Discord: https://discord.stillfleet.com

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On this episode of Why We Roll, Wythe and Chris sit down with Zac Bir, creator of the minimalist TTRPG Journeyman! We chat the history of the games we love, adapting fiction into TTRPG settings, and rule-light, trust-heavy design for maximum story telling.

☉ Late pledges are still open for Journeyman: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zacbir/journeyman

☉ Check out Zac's other work on Itch: https://zacbir.itch.io/

☉ Join the conversation on the Stillfleet Discord: https://discord.stillfleet.com

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Justin Sirois of Severed Books joins Wythe Marschall (Stillfleet, PICARO!) and Christopher Pickett (Danse Macabre) to talk about the multiple ENnie Award-nominee OSR fantasy horror TTRPG, Sickest Witch, as well as graphic design, running a truly indie publishing studio, Analog Union (of which we're both members), product design, and more.

☉ For all things Severed Books: https://severedbooks.com

☉ Check out Sickest Witch: https://sickestwitch.com/

☉ The Grit System Game Jam is running until Aug 30th: https://stillfleet.com/gamejam2026

☉ Join the discussion on the Stillfleet Studio discord: https://discord.stillfleet.com/

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Heads up! This episode was recorded in September of 2025, so if you hear some out-dated references... just blame Chris for editing this one late! On this episode, Wythe Marschall and Christopher Pickett talk to infamous mystery artist and proud Midwesterner HODAG RPG! We talk about art, the OSR, the Midwest, the new game PICARO! by Wythe and HODAG, the history of RPGs, the work of illustrating games, and much more. Fun fact: one time, HODAG released 52 games in one year!

☉ HODAG's blog: https://nofoesnotraps.wordpress.com/home/

☉ Find HODAG on Itch: https://hodagrpg.itch.io/

☉ Play PICARO! w. words by Wythe and illustrations by HODAG, published by our good buddies at Plus One Exp: https://plusoneexp.com/products/picaro

☉ For more from Stillfleet: https://stillfleet.com/

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On this episode of Why We Roll: The Indie TTRPG Game Design Podcast of the Stillfleet Studio, Wythe Marschall (PICARO!, Stillfleet) and Christopher Pickett (Danse Macabre: Medieval Horror Roleplaying, Thrall) chat with narrative designer Konstantine Paradias, a video game writer and the author of the upcoming Stillfleet Studio modern sci-fi/alien dungeoncrawler TTRPG, ULTRADELVE. Also joining us is ULTRADELVE artist and graphic designer Anthony Grasso (Blister Critters, AMMU), who shares a ton of gorgeous, Euro-comic-inspired art from the book. We talk about Konstantine's work across video games (including Raft and many others), the pleasures of dumpster exploration, our mutual love for the Strugatsky Brothers' Roadside Picnic, how Kos and Tony worked together to develop a visual style for the game, and how the game plays.

☉ Learn all about Konstantine's work here:https://konstantinewrites.com/

☉ ULTRADELVE will be available here when it drops, along with most of Tony's (and all of our!) game work: https://stillfleet.com/

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Wythe Marschall and Christopher Pickett play the new comedy TTRPG Road Warriors with creators David Piccolomini, Miel Markus, Daniel Metz of Don't Go Broke Games. Listen to us play not-quite-pro comedians on their first road tour together! Road Warriors is a super fun and easy-to-learn TTRPG using a modified Forged in the Dark System. Grab some friends and roll up your stand-up characters!

☉ Make sure to follow Road Warriors as it goes live on Gamefound, fall of '26; https://gamefound.com/en/projects/dgb-games/road-warriors?ref=explore

☉ Check out DGB Games' itch for more funny: https://dgbgames.itch.io/

☉FFor more from Stillfleet Studio: https://stillfleet.com/

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Christopher Pickett (Danse Macabre: Medieval Horror Roleplaying) and Wythe Marschall (Stillfleet, PICARO!) talk to Jon Boyle and Bri de Danann of Bright Bard Games about Axolotl With a Gun 2e, L.G.B.T. (Longsword, Glock, Bat, Taser the game), whimsy in games, expanding/updating existing games, crowdfunds, dice pools, action movies, neotenic animals, and much more!

We learn facts about axolotls, briefly touch on food games (I Crave the Loop), dive into video-game elements in TTRPGs (coin-operated participation), talk convention sales, and get into direct action and games as political education. Bri and Jon are great, so if you don't know their work, give this episode a listen!

Key links:

☉Pick up games by Bright Bard:https://brightbardgames.com

☉ Go back L.G.B.T. – Longsword, Glock, Bat, Taser – on BackerKit:https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/...

☉ Order Axolotl with a Gun: An Arcade-Style Roleplaying Game 2e:https://axolotl-with-a-gun-2e.backerk...

Follow Bri and Jon everywhere:

☉https://linktr.ee/brightbard

☉https://brightbardgames.itch.io

☉https://bridanann.itch.io

☉https://www.bridedanann.com

☉The Grit System Game Jam is running all summer ☞https://stillfleet.com/gamejam2026

☉Join the conversation:https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbm9wMlUxaUxCT3lUcjVVd3Z3WS1tUmVFNFdTd3xBQ3Jtc0tsYjNLOWdobnpJOEgzVWtfcGotcG5RZHJuNldOZ1FrenNCdUJ2ZFNYenhqS3Fzb0tpU1JDUnVQN1diaV9mSzRFQ0FuSS04QnNSbzNuZFVVbkxWemQwOTNRQnFnV3pGTHhxMVNIbTdzdGZma1FfaHdRVQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscord.stillfleet.com%2F&v=AyGmyBf6xp0https://discord.stillfleet.com

☉Support the show on Patreon https://patreon.com/stillfleet

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Wythe Marschall (Stillfleet, PICARO!) and Christopher Pickett (Danse Macabre) chat with artist Ethan Gouldini (who illustrated the Stillfleet Core Rulebook and Qadida!) about The Sometimes Kingdom RPG—the climate-tastic, high-fantasy, arch-magical portal fantasy/alter-earth TTRPG using the Grit System, now available in print! ☉Pick up the game in print: https://stillfleet.com/products/the-s... ☉Download the PDF from Itch: https://stillfleet.itch.io/sometimes-... Are you a game designer? ☉The Grit System Game Jam is running all summer ☞ https://stillfleet.com/gamejam2026

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Wythe Marschall (Stillfleet, PICARO!) and Christopher Pickett (Danse Macabre: Medieval Horror Roleplaying) chat with Laurence Phillips from Hardy Roach Games on Why We Roll, the indie tabletop roleplaying game design podcast of the Stillfleet Studio. We talk about Laurence's new cinema-inspired game, Il Fantasma del Giallo: The Phantom of the Yellow, which is going live on Kickstarter, summer 2026. In Il Fantasma, players are "disgraced actors trapped in a sequence of brutal Neo-Noir murder-mysteries." Laurence is the writer, artist, and layout artist!

☉ Back Il Fantasma del Giallo on Kickstarter:https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hardyroachgames/il-fantasma-del-giallo-an-rpg-of-violence-and-identity ☉ Read more about the game: https://hardyroachgames.co.uk/il-fantasma-del-giallo/ ☉ Pick up Laurence's one-page games on Itch: https://hardyroachgames.itch.io

☉Join the conversation: https://discord.stillfleet.com ☉Support the show on Patreon: https://patreon.com/stillfleet

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Christopher Pickett (Danse Macabre) and Wythe Marschall (Stillfleet, PICARO!) chat with TTRPG designer Melanie C. Green of Meldar16 about their indie tabletop roleplaying games! We talk about writing for Shadowdark, her upcoming project Knights in White Satin, her system DIE Versus DIE, her book I Got a Knife, playtesting, murder mysteries, the joys of small cons, printing everything (everything) at home, d20-everything, 3D-printed maces, slasher movies… It’s a wide-ranging and inspiring conversation. Go Birds. ☉Pick up some games on Meldar16's site: https://meldar16.com/ ☉Follow Meldar16 on Itch: https://meldar16.itch.io/

☉The Grit System Game Jam? Running all summer! https://stillfleet.com/gamejam2026 Why We Roll, the indie tabletop roleplaying game design podcast of the Stillfleet Studio, needs your support! Please subscribe to this channel, like this video, and listen wherever you get your podcasts. Interested in chatting with us about your game? Comment here or contact us via the Stillfleet Studio Discord. Join the conversation: https://discord.stillfleet.com Support the show on Patreon ☉ https://patreon.com/stillfleet

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Join Wythe and Chris as they sit down for a lovely chat with Hem Brewster, of Blighthouse Studio fame! On this episode, Hem shares some hilarious stories and in-depth, practical advice when it comes to running, producing, and acting in long-running actual plays such as Blighthouse's The Lucky Die, on-air for ten years! Tune in for talks about bleed-in and -out, creating dynamic homebrew settings, and more!

For more from Blighthouse Studio: https://blighthouse.studio/

And more from Stillfleet Studio: https://stillfleet.com/

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On this episode of Why We Roll, Christopher Pickett (Danse Macabre: Medieval Horror Roleplaying) and Wythe Marschall (Stillfleet, PICARO!) chew the proverbial fat with writer, comedian, comic book expert, and general nerd-boss Eric Alexander Grundhauser. Eric is the author of the official Spider-Man for Dummies as well as the writer, producer, and editor behind the extremely cool, weird new fiction podcast, Pressing the Flesh. We talk with Eric about creativity, business, mythology, Spider-People, weird fiction, playing flawed characters, goofing, outlining, making fun of ICE, and of course indie tabletop games! Pick up Spider-Man for Dummies, the definitive fan guide to everyone's favorite flawed super-lad ☉ https://bookshop.org/p/books/spider-m... Listen to season 1 of the mind-melting short weird fiction podcast, Pressing the Flesh, and get ready for season 2! ☉ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

Why We Roll, the indie tabletop roleplaying game design podcast of the Stillfleet Studio, needs your support! Please subscribe to this channel, like this video, and listen wherever you get your podcasts. Interested in chatting with us about your game? Comment here or contact us via the Stillfleet Studio Discord. Join the conversation: https://discord.stillfleet.com

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Wythe and Chris are joined by the inimitable Munkao to discuss his latest TTRPG / setting / art practice: Kala Mandala. Tune in for a fun, insightful conversation around political learning through games, re-centering traditional fantasy within a SE Asian framework, games as art practice, and more!

For more from Munkao, visit Centaur Games: https://heycentaur.com/

And for more from Stillfleet Studio: https://stillfleet.com

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Wythe and Chris chat with J. Yamil Camacho, co-creator (alongside Ahmed Suffety) of Tales from the Tape Deck, the mix-tape TTRPG. Tune to hear all about music, innovative game design, and some absolutely solid advice from Yamil!

Check out Tales from the Tape Deck: https://suffety.com/pages/tales-from-the-tape-deck

For more from Yamil: https://www.joseyamil.com/

For more from Stillfleet: https://stillfleet.com/

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