Available at: http://masterplanpodcast.net/index.php?post_id=331955

Have Master, Will Plan #1 with Paul Tevis, part 1

• 0:34 This episode is the second part of a conversation between Ryan Macklin and Paul Tevis at the second Nerdly Beach Party. Pick up the first half over on Have Games, Will Travel.
• 1:19 If you like this show, check out RPGPodcasts.com.
• 1:28 Ryan and Paul talk about Project Cowbell, their attempt to recapture their convention gaming roots, and how that play style differs from what they've been doing recently.
• 8:10 - Sprigboarding off the idea of making clear what parts of a design are important, Paul and Ryan talk about how they address the issue of modular design in A Penny For My Thoughts.
• 17:08 - Finally coming around to the original premise for this episode, Paul and Ryan talk about how publication is not the end-point, what they mean by development, and their collaboration style.
• 29:31 - And that's it from the Nerdly Beach Party 2. A big thanks to Albert, Nancy, and Josh for organizing it!

Running time: 30:50 / File size: 21.2 MB

Jesse,

Lots come close, but we still hack them. Something that I mentioned to Paul a week ago was a design philosophy actually akin to our understanding of GURPS: it's a toolkit, and you aren't suppose to use every tool in it. In Cowbell right now, the idea is to make that explicit.

There are ways that, for my, I can Cowbell up FATE or PDQ. But there are elements that are lacking in how I fast-run, say, SOTC at conventions. There are tools I don't use, like Zones, partly because as they were presented they never really stuck hard in my mind. There are tools I bring into the game that it doesn't tell me to, like occasionally using "special" FATE points that do things normal ones don't. In a lot of ways, I'm looking at what tools we bring to convention games, how often we use those tools, and what framework works for those tools.

And Paul would tell you that, in many ways, Cowbell is a descendant of how he was influenced by Feng Shui.

- Ryan