I have a project in the works that would be for an actual play podcast on my feed.

First, the logistical details.

We’d play/record monthly or biweekly, Mondays from 8-11 pm EST.  We’d probably play using Skype as the voice/video client, and Roll20 as a virtual table client if the game needs it, but Theatre of the Mind would be optimal.

If possible, I’d also like to live stream this game on twitch.  That said, I’d like if as many people as possible could use a webcam so that we could place the cam feeds into the stream.

Everyone needs to have decent audio quality.  Some background noise is okay, but a crackly Mic would be problematic.  Everyone should also use push to talk to minimize the presence of unwanted coughs, nearby people talking, etc.

Now for the other details.

I would like all players to keep in mind that these games are meant to entertain an audience.  As such, when playing, try to make decisions that would present a better story for someone watching or listening, instead of what might lead to the quickest, most uneventful resolution.  Be willing to let bad stuff happen, and be willing to make less than optimal characters who are actually bad at some things (depending on the game/story goal in question), so that there are challenges to overcome.  And since we are trying to entertain, that leads to the next point

I’d like to keep these games in character as much as possible.  I don’t really to shove the rules entirely into the background, but I want to keep the game from getting bogged down in rules and metagame discussions.  If something comes up where rules are unfamiliar, let the GM make a call to keep the game flowing, and we can stop and look stuff up after the game.

Right now, I’m envisioning playing a game system for a few sessions, then switching too another game.  When we switch game systems, we might switch GMs as well, so that everyone has a chance to play.  A few sessions might be 3, 4, or a few more.  I’m picturing each game lasting long enough to conclude a story arc of some sort.   If that is a multi-adventure module, or a series of jobs that all have an overarching link, that’s great.  Some games might be harder to craft a linkng story to, but as long as we try to keep it from just being a series of unrelated events, the details can be decided later.  We want PCs and NPCs that the audience will hopefully get attached to.  Asked maybe when we switch games, we can have audience vote on, or suggest the next game we switch to.S

Some of the games I am interested in running/playing are

1. Deadlands classic
2. Savage Worlds (sunbathing, maybe savage rifts)
3. Blades in the Dark
4. Bubblegum Crisis
5. Mekton (either a space opera game or mecha anime style)
6. Darksun (2nd ed AD&D)
7. Planescape (also 2nd ed)
8. D&D (some of the 5th edition adventures perhaps)
9. World of Darkness (owod, vampire or werewolf, maybe hunter)
10. Star Wars (west end, d20, or ffg)
11. Shadowrun

And others.  And if anyone else has games they’d like to add to this list, they can be listed as well.

I have some people already on the roster, but I need a couple more.  I’d like at least one woman to fill these remaining two spots, to help make the players/voices more separate and identifiable, but it’s not mandatory.

If you are interested, please email me a short mp3 recording (30-60 seconds, so I can get an idea of audio quality) expressing your interest in joining an AP with this format of game style to podcast@relativedimension.com and I will go through them as soon as I can, and discuss with the other players involved to determine who we’ll invite.

Implementation:

Due to the nature of this project, It won’t start up immediately.  I currently cannot stream cleanly or reliably with my computer.   I am saving up to replace it with something that should be able to handle a clean, good quality stream, but it is at least a month or so in the future (unless the Patreon sees better traffic, and I can replace the system sooner).  However, we can start with a game and record and release the audio-only, without streaming it since I can record audio just fine at the moment.  And, the time leading up to the start date can be used to discuss which game we might kick off with, and other logistical issues that may come up.

That’s it for now.  I’ll edit this as I have more details.