Shows
No Plot, Only LoreThe CrossoverIn which we put characters from beloved children's stories into stories that uh... Aren't so child-friendly...2025-07-1137 min
No Plot, Only LoreThe Gritty Reboot pt 2Wherein we talk about gritty reboots more and better! 2025-07-0442 min
No Plot, Only LoreThe Gritty Reboot pt 1We talk about rebooting and adapting some of our favorite intellectual properties as gritty HBO series.2025-06-2034 min
No Plot, Only LoreThe Chosen OneJosh thinks Buffy is bad. This starts us down a rabbit hole about the Chosen One trope and how that applies to both media and RPGs.2025-06-1340 min
No Plot, Only LoreFolklore with X Dialed Up to 11We take some traditional folklore and randomize a descriptor to see what ideas we can come up with. Gross selkies, Baba Yaga but queer-coded, cutesy chupacabras and the like.2025-06-0632 min
No Plot, Only LoreThe End?Sometimes this shit gets away from us, man. I don't know what to tell you. We had an idea for what to talk about and then we barely talked about it for a half hour. 2025-05-3030 min
No Plot, Only LoreYour Premise Doesn't Matter - Here's ProofSometimes we spend a lot of energy trying to come up with a cool premise or the Big Idea for a new game. But stupid premises can be a lot of fun and have surprising depth to them, too. 2025-05-2332 min
No Plot, Only Lore1 Gorilla, 100 MenTW: SA, bestialityLook, this one got away from me for real. I'm an improviser - I'll yes-and anything. But this shit got real weird and stayed in that space for a while. This is the first time I've ever had to put a trigger warning on a podcast episode.2025-05-1628 min
No Plot, Only LoreRule of CoolWherein we discuss the Rule of Cool and its place in role-playing games.2025-05-0933 min
No Plot, Only LoreLoot FatigueTalking about the problem of catching too much loot, or too much of the same loot, or progressing too quickly in RPGs.2025-05-0236 min
No Plot, Only LoreLong or Short Fork When Dining on ElfEating monsters! How would you cook them? What would they taste like? Are they dangerous? Poisonous? Does a gorgon have metal blood? 2025-04-2537 min
No Plot, Only LoreWhen it All Goes WrongWhat do you do when the shit hits the fan and it all goes wrong? Let's talk about it! 2025-04-1134 min
No Plot, Only LoreGetting Player InvestmentWherein we talk about my family's strange reaction to gore and trauma, and then try to figure out how to get players invested in rpgs.2025-04-0429 min
No Plot, Only LoreToo Much Lore: Star WarsThis week we tackle the Star Wars expanded universe and just how much Lore is crammed into Tatooine for no good reason.2025-03-2832 min
No Plot, Only LoreToo Much Lore 1 - Coheed and CambriaWhat happens when you throw everything at the wall and everything sticks? When you have TOO MUCH lore, and it goes all over the place? Find out on this week's No Plot, Only Lore! 2025-03-2131 min
No Plot, Only LoreDragon Claus 4: Last Minute Christmas ShoppingIn which we discuss some of our history with tabletop games retail, and also what sorts of things you can buy for your favorite D&D nerd! 2024-12-131h 47
No Plot, Only LoreDragon Claus 3 - The Christmas DungeonDecorating your dungeon! Villains and henchmen and items galore! 2024-12-061h 11
No Plot, Only LoreDragon Claus 2: Christmas CharactersWe talk about some characters from Christmas and what you might steal for your D&D games. Want to play Santa? Or Frosty? Or... Jesus? Let's talk about it! 2024-11-2959 min
No Plot, Only LoreDragon Claus 1: Christmas Campaign HooksPart One in our four-part Christmas series! Josh and Kris talk about various ideas for getting your players into a Christmas themed one-shot or arc with a variety of Christmas hooks (though they tend to involve a concerning amount of child murder...) Chr2024-11-2256 min
No Plot, Only LoreNOPELOL is for the ChildrenDungeons & Dragons is a kid's game. So how the heck do you go about playing it with kids? 2024-11-1559 min
No Plot, Only LoreThe Fiddly Bits Part 2In which we come up with more cool ideas for ways to personalize and customize some of D&D's most iconic lore.2024-11-081h 03
No Plot, Only LoreThe Fiddly Bits Part 1Where we fiddle with levers and try to come up with some fun new ideas for classic D&D monsters, species, and items! 2024-11-0158 min
No Plot, Only LoreSteal Everything Episode 4: Board Game Mechanics RemixJosh and Kris rummage through their stacks of old board games to see what mechanics they can steal for RPGs. 2024-10-251h 08
No Plot, Only LoreSteal Everything Episode 3: $#!% HappensIn which we discuss the various things that can happen in your games, as thiefed from Georges Polti. 2024-10-181h 00
No Plot, Only LoreSteal Everything Episode 2: Character Dynamics from TelevisionWhere Josh and I talk about TV shows that have good ensemble casts and relationships that you can steal from them.2024-10-111h 06
No Plot, Only LoreSteal Everything: Episode 1 Video GamesPart one of our four-part series on things you should steal from other people who make good stuff. In this episode we go over cool setting ideas from popular video games (some of which we've even played!) 2024-10-041h 00
No Plot, Only LoreGames as a ServiceWe discuss one of my most embarrassing high school memories, a game we like to hear stories about more than play and... Oh, that thing Wizards of the Coast wanted to do with D&D Beyond not having 5th Edition Spells anymore as part of a strange subscription business model, I guess. 2024-09-2758 min
No Plot, Only LoreBuilding WorldsWe talk about humanoid raccoons and that time I gave my DM Joey a duotang full of backstory for a country that didn't exist for my character to be from.2024-09-2052 min
No Plot, Only LoreCreating CharacterJosh tries to make a dirt-simple character while Kris asks him ridiculous questions about his deep, detailed backstory. 2024-09-131h 20
No Plot, Only LoreBalancing Act | No Plot Only Lorewww.noplotonlylore.comThis week we talk about balance in tabletop role-playing games! 2024-09-061h 06
No Plot, Only LoreGamifying Everything | No Plot, Only LoreIn this episode, Josh and Kris tackle the benefits and drawbacks of game systems appearing in everything from childhood education to modern gambling. But like, in a fun way?2024-08-301h 03
No Plot, Only LoreGetting Controversial | No Plot, Only LoreDigging into a few saucy controversies in the TTRPG space with some hot takes on people doing stupid stuff! 2024-08-231h 05
No Plot, Only LoreHeroes and Cornplating | No Plot Only Lorewww.noplotonlylore.comhttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/no-plot-only-lore/id1717725243https://open.spotify.com/show/4aRL19z6CwVhoDaFWoRgqqThis week we talk about Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey and how it doesn't really apply to planning a role-playing game. And also hyper-critical analysis of media via plates of corn.2024-08-1657 min
No Plot, Only LoreGenre | No Plot Only Lorewww.noplotonlylore.comhttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/no-plot-only-lore/id1717725243https://open.spotify.com/show/4aRL19z6CwVhoDaFWoRgqqTalking about the nature of Genre and how we interact with genre tropes in our tabletop games! 2024-08-091h 00
No Plot, Only LoreD&D Five Point Five | No Plot Only Lorewww.noplotonlylore.comThere's a new D&D edition coming out this year. Sort of. We figured we should probably talk about that. 2024-08-021h 14
No Plot, Only LoreComplexity | No Plot Only Lore Episode 23www.noplotonlylore.comWe talk about that time a guy came into my game store to insult my mom, and also about the nature of complex systems in role-playing games! 2024-07-261h 00
No Plot, Only LoreVillains | No Plot Only Lore Episode 22Star Wars has some pretty good villains sometimes. Your roleplaying games can have some pretty good villains in them too! 2024-07-191h 20
No Plot, Only LoreNo Plot Only Lore 22: Theme, Tone, ContextKristoffer's failings as a parent are a jumping-off point for a discussion of themes, tone, and context in storytelling and role-playing games.2024-07-121h 14
No Plot, Only LoreNo Plot Only Lore 21: Adaptation IIIn this episode of No Plot, Only Lore, we dive deep into the rich and varied world of media homages to Dungeons & Dragons. Join us as we explore the fascinating intersections between D&D and popular culture, with a special focus on comic books, actual play media, and the unique trend of Reddit thread readings on TikTok.2024-07-051h 01
No Plot, Only LoreNo Plot Only Lore 20: Always AdaptingWe discuss adaptations of role-playing games.2024-06-2854 min
No Plot, Only LoreNo Plot Only Lore 19: Talk to MeSocial and non-combat encounters are great, but can be super awkward and weird to run. 2024-06-2152 min
No Plot, Only LoreNo Plot Only Lore 18: The HistoriesBringing historical elements into your games is sometimes fraught with peril, but the past contains all the the things that have ever happened, so it's a decent resource.2024-06-1454 min
No Plot, Only LoreNo Plot Only Lore 17: It's Me, Hi, I'm the Problem, It's MeJosh and Kristoffer discuss 'problem players' and how to deal with them.2024-06-071h 20
No Plot, Only LoreNo Plot Only Lore 16: Secret's in the SourceWe talk about sourcebooks a lot! 2024-05-3153 min
No Plot, Only LoreNo Plot Only Lore 15: Characters as Cool as YouWe talk about what makes a cool character with basically no notes.2024-05-241h 05
No Plot, Only LoreNo Plot Only Lore 15: My House, My RulesWherein we discuss the role of house rules at our tables and the difference between a house rule that enhances things and a house rule that sucks.2024-05-1754 min
No Plot, Only LoreNo Plot Only Lore 14: One-ShotWe talk about how to run a single-session game!2024-05-101h 06
No Plot, Only LoreNo Plot Only Lore 13: Tell Me About Warhammer 40kWe let Josh go off about Warhammer 40k. Lore is had. Mistakes were made.2024-05-031h 23
No Plot, Only LoreNo Plot Only Lore 12: The Magic of ItemsKris and Josh discuss all of the various ways to make your character's gear more memorable and interesting! 2024-04-261h 06
No Plot, Only LoreNo Plot Only Lore 11: You Were the Werewolf the Whole TimeA chat about open, honest communication at the table, session zero, and techniques for handling difficult topics.2024-04-191h 07
No Plot, Only LoreNo Plot Only Lore 10: Let's Talk About Settings, BabyGoing through a few of our favorite (and not-so-favorite) published D&D settings and the sorts of games we like to play in them. 2024-04-121h 18
No Plot, Only LoreNo Plot Only Lore 09: RPG Elements in Board GamesJosh gets to go off on one of his favorite topics as a fair trade for listening to Kris talk about theory for an hour. 2024-04-051h 08
No Plot, Only LoreNo Plot Only Lore 08: What the Fuck is Kris Always Talking About?Sometimes Kris comes across as a pretentious dickbag. That's because he's a pretentious dickbag. But he's also pretty well versed in rpg theory and critique, so let's talk about that. 2024-03-2952 min
No Plot, Only LoreNo Plot Only Lore 07: How the Hell do You Prepare for a D&D Session?Josh and Kris break down planning for a D&D session into small, manageable steps.2024-03-2257 min
No Plot, Only LoreNo Plot Only Lore 06: Your Combat Doesn't Have to be BoringIs your role-playing game combat boring? Let us help!2024-03-151h 05
No Plot, Only LoreNo Plot Only Lore 05: Tech Tools and the Rise of AIWherein we discuss the technological tools we use when playing role-playing games.2024-03-081h 16
No Plot, Only LoreNo Plot Only Lore 04: This Isn't D&D AnymoreKristoffer mostly tries to have a calm discussion about the evolution of role-playing games and art while Josh goes off on a guy for being wrong on the internet! 2024-03-011h 02
No Plot, Only LoreNo Plot Only Lore 03: Running Games Past JoshJosh plays a lot of D&D. He doesn't play a lot of other games. This is Kristoffer going through a list of weird games off the top of his head and seeing what Josh thinks of them.2024-02-231h 10
No Plot, Only LoreNo Plot Only Lore 02: Choo Choo RailroadingWhere Kristoffer and Josh talk about ONLY the subject they're supposed to discuss and don't go on any tangents or side-quests at all!**Spoiler Warning** We discuss Neal Stephenson's Seveneves in its entirety about halfway through this podcast. There's a spoiler warning there too. You probably don't want this book spoiled. Go buy it and read it and then come back and listen to us talk about games!2024-02-2359 min
No Plot, Only LoreNo Plot Only Lore 01: Big Fat FailureFailure is a natural part of life and gaming. Sometimes failures are catastrophic in nature! A couple of experienced DMs talk shop about failure, critical failure, consequences of poor decision making, and how system (including house rules and off-the-cuff table rulings) can impact how failure manifests in tabletop role-playing games. 2023-11-211h 37