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Casting Shadows Podcast

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Runeslinger’s podcast about the play of old, new, and future roleplaying games. Here we act, react, and interact intentionally with the very alchemy of play~

For more RPG investigations, visit the Casting Shadows blog

Watch Annotated Actual Plays, RPG discussions and debates, product overviews, and practical tips for playing and running RPGs on YouTube


Leave a voice message for the podcast via Speakpipe

Sample Episodes

Actual Play Alien RPG Alien RPG 1e Call of Cthulhu Campaign Play Campaign Recap Co-GM Corporia Cosmic Horror Delta Green gaming GM Advice GM Techniques Group Management Hollow Earth Expedition Horror Imagination in RPGs Immersion and Engagement Learning RPGs Memory New Players Player Techniques Playing NPCs Preparation for Implementation Preparation for Improvisation Pulp Action Roleplaying Games rpg RPGaDAY RPG Characters RPG Concepts RPG Conversation rpgs RPG Vocabulary Special Guest Story as By-product Story as Product Story Divide Sword and Planet System Matters Teaching RPGs This Podcast ttrpg Ubiquity Year Zero Engine

Recent Episodes

A friendly conversation about natural-feeling characters with SettingFirstRPG – Casting Shadows

In this installment of the Friendly Conversations about RPGs series, I am joined by Erik Schmidt of the Setting First YouTube Channel, Blog, and Discord (Links Below). Our topic for this discussion is the interplay of setting, character, and player perspective to help foster characters which feel believable and lead players toward play that feels natural and grounded in that setting. If you enjoy where this conversation goes and how it gets there, I encourage you to take a look at Erik's channel and follow the link to the Setting First Discord. Some Relevant Links from  @SettingFirstRPG  :Language!https://youtu.be/8xsdVDpDs-k?si=ECXBasr_2vHsQB4PBelieve!https://youtu.be/8xsdVDpDs-k?si=ECXBasr_2vHsQB4PTrust!https://www.settingfirst.com/gamemastering/players/2025/06/13/trust-in-post-apocalypse-campaigns.htmlTopical Links from our Discussion:"Immersion?"https://wp.me/pTI80-3kehttps://youtu.be/z1EgIITKUg4?si=qRD-soMbaY3Tv7gdhttps://youtu.be/LdqytLSQd9o?si=dr-ME-rKfi82XTUVhttps://youtu.be/5FYLrmQ7aMM?si=7FkjvMQ-f-v1tEsvPlaying "In-Character"https://wp.me/pTI80-3uNCONTACT ME:www.speakpipe.com/CastingShadowsPodcastLINKS:https://castingshadowsblog.comhttps://castingshadowspodcast.com
  1. A friendly conversation about natural-feeling characters with SettingFirstRPG
  2. A Friendly Conversation on Character Social Inequality in RPGs
  3. A Frightfully Cheerful Conversation on Horror and Comedy
  4. On the idea of a "Better Game"
  5. On what might be in a name, and Listener Calls

Who is
Runeslinger?

Anthony Boyd

Under the Internet handle, Runeslinger, Anthony has been sharing his ongoing explorations into RPGs online since launching the Casting Shadows YouTube channel in 2009 and the written blog in 2010. A roleplaying gamer since 1983, Anthony enjoys few things more than RPGs.

Described as being indistinguishable from Bacchus minus the wine, revelry, farming, and general licentiousness, Runeslinger is a known appreciator of Roleplaying Games, swords, unlovely music, things that go well with gravy, and efficient sources of caramel.

He lives quietly with his wife and a vast pack of once-discarded dogs, in South Korea, where the mountains hold moot.