Changes & The End of the Shenanicast

I'm really good at updating this thing, aren't I?

I know it's been a bit since I last updated the blog. Mostly it's that I keep forgetting to. Anyways, if you didn't hear the announcement in the most recent Shenanicast then you may not yet know that the Shenanicast itself is now over.

24 Episodes is not the longest running podcast ever, but it taught us a lot in the making and going forward we're taking those lessons to heart, as we do with all of our projects. 2016 is going to be the year of improvements for us here at Final Show Films, and that means changes to our normal schedule.

For starters, the Shenanicast is being replaced with a Tabletop discussion show - One in which we play tabletop games prior to recording, and critique the game during the recording. There are other shows that talk about tabletop games and perhaps review them while playing, but we're hoping that our in depth analysis and critique of systems will be a fresh perspective and something worth listening to.

In addition to that, Two Guys One Camera is going from twice a week to once a week. Quite frankly, we were burning ourselves out time-wise trying to shoot two episodes a week. It's not that we couldn't come up with the ideas, just that with our currently busy schedules it was difficult finding the time to film both. Cutting one of the Two Guys One Cameras out will actually give us more time to work on different content.

Included in all of this is a change to our Patreon page as well - We're going to be cutting the fat, removing unnecessary milestone goals and updating it as we change the content we provide. So, stay tuned, and I'll try to remember to update this blog more often.

"Senstaku"

#justGMthings

As I sit here, Miracle of Sound playing in the background, and prepping to work on some GM stuff for the Space Cowboys campaign, I suddenly realize I haven't updated the blog yet today - and that needs to be rectified.

But what to talk about? Well, what I'm about to do I guess.

So last year I began work on a Mass Effect conversion module for the Dragon AGE system, this was before the Fantasy AGE system came out so I was working strictly with the original material. The idea was to take the easy to learn and play AGE system and add a slight bit of complexity, but mostly just reskin it to the Mass Effect universe since there has yet to be an official Mass Effect RPG system made yet. 

It's still not done.

Turns out making a system is harder than it sounds, even if it's just a conversion module - I shudder to think what making a brand new system requires. Then again, it might be easier since you're no longer working with the restriction of the system that came before it. I digress. What I have left to do is finish out my Specializations, modifications to the classes that player characters gain at level 6 to make them better at specific things and give them unique abilities, and flesh out more of the enemies and vehicles of the system.

It's been an interesting project, and the playtest / actual play of Space Cowboys has given me lots of new ideas. It also has showed me just how complex a creative playground the original AGE system is. It's a lot deeper than it looks on the surface, that's for sure.

I'm also tempted to update it with the Fantasy AGE system, which would fix some of the issues I have with the conversion as it stands - but that's something I'll do after I've finished Space Cowboys, not in the middle of the campaign. If you all are interested in learning more about the conversion, lending a hand with some of the creative work, or using it for your own play groups please give me a shout at finalshowfilms@gmail.com - Other than that, feel free to listen to it as we upload it at senstaku.podbean.com.

Now I have to go plan some nefarious things for my unwitting players this Saturday. If you're reading this, well, I look forward to hearing your reactions come Saturday.

"Senstaku"