Maitreyi Plays Games - Podcast & Audio format
Maitreyi is an Indian woman in Canada learning to be a better TTRPG GM, a better player and a better person. This is the audio format of videos posted on Youtube and written content on the website. Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZLqQY4lxDmZhKHYhKGdHWg Website:https://www.maitreyiplaysgames.com/
Episodes
Wednesday Nov 09, 2022
Wednesday Nov 09, 2022
Safety tools aren’t about making your game unrecognizable or about censoring/restricting stories but rather make people better about exploring dark, violent, or themes. People seem to think its 'ohwhat do i have to cut?' when really its 'how hard can i go?' A lot of folks WANT to explore heavy or intimate themes in games and stories - they just don't know how to broach that sensitively. That's where this comes in.
Tuesday Nov 08, 2022
GM Tips: 5 tips to run better horror games
Tuesday Nov 08, 2022
Tuesday Nov 08, 2022
I want to be the best horror GM in the world! What do you mean that's ridiculous? Here's some stuff I've learned, from talking to both GMs and players, to help me get there. What do you do to spook your players?
Tuesday Nov 08, 2022
A TTRPG Renaissance
Tuesday Nov 08, 2022
Tuesday Nov 08, 2022
I feel like I’ve entered this hobby at such a great time. It feels like there is this renaissance happening with tabletops - just so much activity. And the time is now to make sure we can platform voices that need to be heard so if you haven't already, come check it out!
Tuesday Nov 08, 2022
GM Tips: 3 ways to run D&D’s Radiant Citadel
Tuesday Nov 08, 2022
Tuesday Nov 08, 2022
Journeys through the Radiant Citadel is an anthology of one-shots for D&D 5e (lvl 1-14) in fantasy locales inspired by real world cultures and mythologies that are NOT traditional western fantasy. This is the first time Wizards of the Coast has platformed creators of colour in such a meaningful way. Trying to be thoughtful, I think a lot of white D&D players may not know how to approach this: I want to let you know how to do that, and hopefully get you excited to run it!
Monday Nov 07, 2022
Monday Nov 07, 2022
Have you heard of popcorn initiative? I've been playing it for a couple of years now, in various systems - in 13th Age, in D&D, in Fate, in Cypher. in PBTA - and i LOVE IT. It's a variant combat initiative method that allows for dramatic, dynamic combat but at its core is incredibly strategic and tactical. It REALLY shores up what is often the weakest part of many systems, and keeps players engaged even when it isn't their turn!
Monday Nov 07, 2022
Monday Nov 07, 2022
Journeys through the Radiant Citadel felt constructive, like WOTC was evolving beyond D&D's messy history. A few months later, the highly anticipated Spelljammer re-release included a racist playable races (the Hadozee), specifically insensitive to Black folk. This is particularly frustrating be we've SEEN WOTC do better (Radiant Citadel), this is the nth time this is happening, and this was wholly avoidable if WOTC had structured their project delivery and team to include diverse voices.
Monday Nov 07, 2022
Monday Nov 07, 2022
If you haven't yet played in a funnel, you gotta. The DCC funnel especially is a weird mix of chaos and tactics that I haven't come across anywhere else.
Sunday Nov 06, 2022
Sunday Nov 06, 2022
Encumbrance can be 'just another thing', and really ought to be ignored most times. But if you are playing games where scarcity is a theme, resource management can be a cool mechanic to drive home the point!
Maitreyi Plays Games
Maitreyi is an Indian woman in Canada, learning to be a better TTRPG GM, a better player, and a better person!
Hello there! I started getting into tabletops in 2019 and have been doing some kind of content creation as a creative outlet for a little while. My blogging days started with a Xanga.. before LiveJournal…
I love writing but I never know what to write about. Enter tabletops. There is so much to learn and so much to engage with! It’s social, but there is a big element of individual engagement if you want! It’s the perfect hobby for me!
The learning-based format of my content was inspired by my desire to ask a billion questions to anyone and everyone who was willing to answer them, and knowing that I am far, far from an expert. I am very intentionally putting myself in positions of learning and am getting a LOT out of it! I find this approach also lets me feel like I’m pulling a bit of life into rules on a page and dice rolls - and what is this glorious pasttime if not driven by life!
An I’m-still-learning-format is fairly unusual for the tabletop content creation space, but I hope it makes the whole thing feel more approachable and accessible.