1: Collaborative Storytelling with Dice

1: Collaborative Storytelling with Dice

Author: FOSS and Crafts July 16, 2020 Duration: 0:00

You've probably heard of "tabletop Role Playing Games" (or, tabletop RPGs) before, but what are they? In this episode, Chris and Morgan introduce a subset of RPGs called "Narrative RPGs" whose mechanics are focused primarily around storytelling (as opposed to tactical combat).2 Hear about how narrative RPGs can be used as "collaborative storytelling with dice", some of the narrative RPG systems that exist, as well as an in-depth look at one particular RPG system, Freeform Universal. Freeform Universal is so simple and easy to pick up that by the end of this episode, you should have enough information to use it for weaving stories with your friends!

Links:

Still reading this? Wow, okay, some bonus content...

We mentioned that Morgan did a class assignment for her intro-to-German class about needing to make a German fairytale... here's the assignment, as turned into the class: Hilda die Hexe (be nice enough to remember this is an intro-to-German class). Additionally, Chris simultaneously wrote a slightly-more-elaborated-upon version called The Witch and the Carriage. The process of playing the game and then writing up both of these took about an hour and a half so set your expectations accordingly.

Still want more? Okay, not claiming this is a "great" story, but here's a kind of fun writeup of a session called Santa's Little Uprising. (Not very serious, could use more polish.)

Maybe we'll take up our own advice and more seriously publish some of the stories we've constructed together sometime!


There's a quiet hum of activity in the spaces where code meets clay, where shared patterns build both software and sweaters. FOSS and Crafts lives in that overlap, exploring the tangible connections between free and open-source software and the hands-on world of making. Each episode is a conversation that wanders from the philosophy of shared source code to the practical joys of knitting, woodworking, electronics, or any craft fueled by community and open knowledge. You'll hear from people who see little distinction between contributing to a software project and preserving a traditional skill; both are acts of care passed along. This podcast digs into how these parallel cultures solve problems, welcome newcomers, and sustain themselves not through scarcity but through abundance. It’s for anyone who has ever felt the satisfaction of fixing something with a well-placed line of code or a perfectly sewn stitch, and who believes the best things are often made together. Tune in for thoughtful discussions that are less about tutorials and more about the underlying spirit of creation, all while keeping your hands busy.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 63

FOSS and Crafts
Podcast Episodes
11: An Ethics of Agency [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:00
Chris and Morgan discuss an ethical framework Chris has been workshopping for the last few years, "An Ethics of Agency", with the foundation of maximizing agency "for you, for me, for everyone" and minimizing subjection.…
10: [Theatre] The What Goblins Saga, Chapter 1: What Are Goblins? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:00
On this episode of FOSS and Crafts Theatre, we begin exploring "The What Goblins Saga". While the claim of "our goblins are different" is hardly new, these goblins seem to stand apart more than most... even their fellow…
9: What is Spritely? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:00
What is this Spritely project that's taken up most of Chris's time for the last several years? Something about advancing distributed/decentralized social networks, but what does that mean? Chris and Morgan talk about it…
8: Stefano Zacchiroli on preserving source code at Software Heritage [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:00
We are extremely excited to have on our first FOSS & Crafts guest: Stefano Zacchiroli! (Also known on some corners of the FOSS world as just "zack".) Stefano has a long history of FOSS advocacy, most famously for his rol…
7: [Theatre] What Escaped from the Demonic Z.O.O.O.O. (part 2) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:00
Leaving off from part 1, the office demons of Styx, Hexia, and Gummy Bear (or is it Gerumphy or perhaps Gzeumphi Behr?) track down and confront the mysterious lampmorel creature directly. What dangers await them? And jus…
6: [Theatre] What Escaped from the Demonic Z.O.O.O.O. (part 1) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:00
On the first ever episode of FOSS and Crafts Theatre (a new subshow of FOSS and Crafts), Chris and Morgan are joined by veteran role playing game players Nick and LP to bring everyone a story of three demonic employees o…
5: Milkytracker, chiptunes, and that intro music [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:00
Chris's journey of making the intro music is used as a backdrop to explore how to make music in Milkytracker, a FOSS program for making tracker music, as well as to explore a bit of sound theory, what chiptunes and track…
4: The Eight Kinds of Fun [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:00
Morgan and Chris look at the domains of FOSS and crafts from the lens of the Eight Kinds of Fun, traditionally used to analyze game design. What kinds of ways do different people enjoy participating in creative activitie…
3: Textile production and a nostalgic past [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:00
These days textile production is mostly automated aside from some niche markets and craft production. Craft production of textiles today taps into a vision of a nostalgic past, often evoking memories of a time the audien…