Ask Dungeon Masters 7: Mike Pondsmith and Sean McCoy

[@QuestingBeast]

Get 10% off of Into the AM apparel: bit.ly/IntoTheAM10 R. Talsorian's Games: bit.ly/RTalsorianGames Sean's Mothership games: bit.ly/MothershipGames Join the Questing Knights on Patreon: bit.ly/QBPatreon

[@0ldSch00l13]

Pondsmith's voice is like butter. He could narrate the dictionary.

[@TankTaur]

For real. He should do audio books on the side!

[@709mash]

Right?! I love when he pops up on the radio in 2077.

[@jakedill1304]

I genuinely am on a pondsmith binge today.. and not only is even if he's saying the same thing over and over thoroughly fine.. but every time he says it there's a little bit of a different thing and different gleam and different insight and it's never said exactly the same way anyhow.. I genuinely have both had all of the information in the prior interviews both recapped, expanded upon.. and the new material introduced in every single one.. and it's been a good day LOL I feel like it's like a good song though, where you play it over and over again and then you kind of break it.. and so you got to like hold off for a little bit and then go right back in and just wear that record out.. honestly I wish there was more, but I feel I feel selfish and spoiled because there's so much.. and I love that this guy is just down to talk with everybody. Not going to lie though, if someone wants to put a supercut of him shutting people down like a boss during q&a sessions.. I might have to just have that on an endless loop LOL.. definitely up there with the guy who did the camera design for journey, at that GDC talk he gave in like 2015 or something.. just a little bit of dark Joy that just seeps through the soul whenever somebody on their fourth regurgitation of an opinion they heard gets shut down by somebody that they clearly didn't know who they were regurgitating to let's just say LOL...

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

That sound was my jaw hitting the floor. Legends.

[@FlashRave]

Prof, do a vid with Mike!

[@atomiknight]

Same!

[@lkmdude8094]

When this popped up in recommended I clicked as fast as I could. Mike pondsmith is an absolute legend.

[@0ldSch00l13]

One of our greatest Cyberpunk campaigns throughout the years came about when I was playing a side game of Call of Cthulhu and thought, "Hey, what if I set this game in Cyberpunk?" I used the CP rules because that's what my players knew. Thing is, I didn't tell my group I was doing it. I let them discover it in game. I've never had a player reaction come close to the one I got from our Netrunner when he stumbled across an Elder God in the deep recesses of the Net. It was almost 25 years ago and it still comes up in conversation.

[@aikighost]

That’s crazy, I had a similar thing turn up in my game where it turned out that about a year into the game the PCs discovered that their main patron was actually an escaped rogue AI, for a while they weren’t sure they were working for “the good guy” until they started to look deeper into the connections between the missions they had been doing and they realised half of the jobs they had done were against fronts for mythos cults :) Basically the AI was one if the few entities in the world clever enough to realise the mythos was real and that the stars were nearly right and that this was a bad thing for both humanity and itself.

[@thorinpeterson6282]

Listening to Sean and Mike talk really made my heart sing. You can tell that Sean is just as excited about everything Mike has to say as I am. What a treat this conversation was.

[@tlink98]

Glorious Timestamps: 0:00 - Introductions 3:11 - Sponsor: Into the AM 3:47 - "What are the biggest differences in designing a sci-fi/horror game compared to fantasy?" 8:18 - Discussion of managing a game's scope for GMs 17:52 - Discussing aesthetics as a tool to communicate genre 20:40 - "What prep do you do for your home game?" 27:40 - (From Sean to Mike) "Do you use index cards for module design?" 30:20 - Discussion on graphic design 35:37 - "How does the Rule of Cool integrate with science fiction?" 41:37 - Discussing Actual Play/Session Reports 44:18 - "What reading/viewing would you recommend for on-boarding onto science fiction/cyberpunk?" 1:01:00 - "Does Cyberpunk lack the -punk?" and putting the -punk into cyberpunk 1:14:05 - Origin of the "R. Talsorian" name

[@hippopilot6750]

Please pin this!

[@charlessmith5465]

Legendary. Thanks, Thomas!

[@hectorcornejo1468]

Imagine Pondsmith walking around and watching you running a game. I cant imagine trying to keep my game going lol.

[@seanedwards5495]

When your interview guests are so engaging and into the conversation that they put your YT video into extra special over time 🙌

[@Pneumanon]

Great conversation about the “punk” aspect of cyberpunk around the 1:00:00 mark. Sean’s take on the social/community aspect of lines up very closely with my take on cyberpunk. Problem with CP2020 and CPRed (which I love & have been playing on & off since the 90s) is that the response it encourages to most situations, and which Mike basically reiterated here, is combat. That doesn’t work. In a world where the corporations are comfortable with the use of force, violent attacks on the corporations only justify a stronger, more forceful reaction. You can’t outgun a corporation. There is basically no support within CPRed’s system for alternative forms of resistance. The ideas are there, and Mike obviously encourages players engaging in creative forms of resistance, but they’re not supported by the system. There’s no system that supports actually using a Media or Rockerboy to sway public opinion for example. There’s no system that supports organising communities. Etc etc. Meanwhile there’s chapter after chapter about combat & weapons. Regardless of the role you pick, everyone ends up being a combat character and every game ends up being about hired mercenaries because that’s what the system supports. CP 2077 and CP Edgerunners drive those tropes home even further. Anyway, fun game, but I wish the themes it raised were actually integrated into the system in a way that encouraged and supported more creative exploration of those themes.

[@alamos52]

Wow what a meeting of minds. Loved the "dirt" on how Mike runs, and loved Sean's fresh insights into Cyberpunk. Slam dunk, Ben.

[@mechaulfr9600]

Mike is the Gygax we deserved.

[@Metal_Horror]

What a great interview. It's cool to get into the mind of an OG designer, especially one who's still playing--you can tell he's passionate and it's hard to beat that level of experience. Entertaining dude too. Nullhack - such a dope name. I can't wait for that. Mothership, besides being a fantastic game, is hands down one of the best values in RPG's; not only is the book dirt cheap, but the modules are too. You have all these trifold or pamphlet style adventures for $1-$5, and a lot of them come with sweet add-on mechanics like hacking networks, bestiary supplements, space station design.. I have a *very* strong feeling Nullhack will follow suit in the value department and I'm stoked to hear about it (this is the first time hearing).

[@ThisPossumKnits]

These videos are such amazing resources! Mike Pondsmith feels like a combination of everything good from the 90s. Such a chill dude and he always makes me feel so nostalgic! Great to hear from Swan McCoy too! I'm interested in Mothership so it's great to hear from the source! :D

[@koticneutralftw7016]

Holy crap, I geeked out so hard when Mike started talking about the bronze age collapse.

[@PhilC_PhD]

I love how this kind of turned into Sean getting advice from Mike. I mean I understand, Mike is a legend so why not pick his brain. It was very fun to listen to Sean just continue to ask questions based off the initial question directly for Mike.

[@borgy1337]

Amazing. Thanks for getting one of the OGs on here! Love the exchange between Mike and the new up-and-comer -- makes a great dynamic especially when Sean starts asking Mike his own questions. Feels like Luke and Obiwan. :)

[@quantum_ogre]

Fantastic Episode. Mike is seriously just one of the coolest people out there in the TTRPG community, and I'm glad Sean is just as big a fan as I am. The fact he brought out the Night City Sourcebook to praise the layout was great- really feels like a lost gem.

[@BlackShardStudio]

Dude! Congrats on getting the legend Maximum Mike himself on your show.

[@jerod256]

Mike Pondsmith is such a lovely person. It was a pleasure to hear him converse with you guys!

[@Baulderstone1]

Cyberpunk 2103 was definitely a tough game to explain when it first came out. I'd already read Gibson, Sterling, Shirley and Williams when it came out, so I was thrilled when I saw the boxed set on the shelf of the store. However, when I got to my next game session to sell people on playing it, I was caught off guard on how baffled by it they were. It was the first time a game concept wasn't obvious to my players, and I found I had to actually pitch it. I won them over, and we had a good time, but it's hard to appreciate how obscure the genre was back then. I am really enjoying this interview format, Ben, and I hope you keep it up. It's inspiring see you and other designers talking about what you do. I really appreciated the tangent in this episode about GMs not getting beholden to online advice as well. For all the various dogmatic factions that exist, I've always found that its best to understand all the methods of GMing that are out there. What works best varies from game to game, group to group, and even session to session. Deciding on absolute rules for how to approach GMing is just limiting your flexibility.

[@PeterCorless]

Mike, love hearing your deep bass "FM DJ" voice after all these years. My best to you & yours.

[@dingdongdangah]

Love Mike and Sean bonding. Ben, you’re getting people together!

[@scottius238]

Absolutely love Mike & R Talsorian, and Mothership is great too! Great conversation today!

[@Minodrec]

WoW. I have so much respect for those 2 autors. And I didn't knew their face untill now. Edit : Wait wait... A mothership Boxed set ? Take my money !

[@trenchfoot243]

Mike is such a legend, what an honor to have him on the show

[@jasonnewell7036]

That last question raised a point I keep making to people, that we do currently live in a cyberpunk dystopia in a lot of ways. We just don't have wrist-mounted, cybernetic, monofilament blades. (Something that endlessly disappoints me.)

[@LoudApeNation]

Been playing D&D on and off since Red Box. Always loved cyberpunk. This was by far one of the the most informative and entertaining interviews. Brilliant! Thank you!

[@charles_pensamentocritico]

I love Castle Falkenstein! So surprised to see Mike Pondsmith here.

[@CrowePerch]

Loved the conversation about scope and Pondsmith's insights on framing. Big fan of both of these guys, glad to see them both on!

[@donnieg.6976]

Mothership is nothing short of stunning. From its layout to tables, it is a real gem in the indie scene.

[@felipeuseche332]

I've been a fan for years, but I keep stumbling with amazing stuff I haven't seen, like this chat between OG Mike and new star Sean. So cool. Great insights and different approaches to similar problems.

[@JarLoz]

Oh boy, the starpower in these Q&As just keeps getting better? Mike Pondsmith AND Sean McCoy? I discovered the Cyberpunk 2020 rulebook at a tender age of 9 or so, and I have to imagine reading and re-reading it affected me greatly, even if I never got around to playing the game back then. Mothership on the other hand is quickly becoming one of my favourite games of all time, and I'm anxiously waiting for the boxed set.

[@ianiles1722]

Mike changed my life. I got CP Red recently, maybe three or more decades after getting Cyberpunk 2013. Much love

[@spudsbuchlaw]

I only know CP 2020, how do 2013 and red compare?

[@JarLoz]

@@spudsbuchlaw 2013 is the original game, and 2020 could be easily seen as the upgraded and cleaned up version, but largely the same.

[@pixledriven]

I bounced off of index cards for years until I started using 4"x6", now I use them obsessively. If you've ever struggled adopting them, having that much extra space might be the answer for you too.

[@JonHook]

Such a great conversation. Mike Pondsmith is an absolute genius, and I would love to have a world-building conversation with Sean McCoy. Excellent episode!

[@thuumhammer682]

Great interview! Thanks for answering my question, now I've got a good list of things to check out. I'm particularly interested in "The Dust" from "A Collapse of Horses" that Sean brought up.

[@adammoffat6797]

Hearing 2 game design legends discuss how to write productively when juggling family life and kids getting into their notes gave me a warm fuzzy feeling

[@johnathanrhoades7751]

The beat thing is so so good!!! I don't know where I got the idea, but ending on a hook/cliffhanger etc. is so so good! I'm having a harder time working that with a prewritten adventure, but when I homebrew, I do that pretty obsessively.

[@toddzircher6168]

Woot! Index cards, the true power of GM organization/prep/spontaneity, I've used it for time travelling games and supers games to great success.

[@snifflindrake3283]

I was so anxious to watch this when it was announced a week or so ago. This was one of the best discussions! If you can get Mike back, you should see if you can get Seth back too. Seeing those two nerd out about CP and SciFi RPGs would be something.

[@aloneinthelabyrinth]

"What do you do for prep for your home games?" Mike Pondsmith: "I recently commission a 4 foot long model of a starship..."

[@himurogentoku7117]

The interview is super fun to watch. Thank you so much Ben for moderating this, and thank you so much Mike and Sean for the great insights. Best regards, guys.

[@euansmith3699]

Another great episode in this excellent series. It is so nice to listen people talking about things that make them enthusiastic.

[@pallenda]

The last bit so much yes! More examples and good guide on how to run games. What a great video!

[@neilskufis1494]

Thank you for answering my question! Amazing interview! Thank you all.

[@khpa3665]

Yes, new version of Listen Up! That was mind-blowing to me back in the day. I would love, love, love a new version! Thanks for a great interview with both of these guys and actually a really perfect combination. When Mike was talking about what a punk game meant, I immediately thought back to Mothership's Survive, Solve, Save principle and then Sean came in with the horror example. Kudos to Ben for getting these people together. Awesome vid.

[@malthegrindstedulrik8024]

One of the best ones yet! Love to hear from both of these great designers. Their different perspectives really complement each other.

[@suprunown]

I could listen to Mike Pondsmith read the phonebook and be enthralled...

[@geoffreynelson6413]

Late to the party, but this is fantastic.

[@michaelwallace6851]

I was hoping someone would have asked Mike about his involvement in the Buck Rogers XXVc game - a game that doesn't get much love.

[@blcolon]

Thanks for getting these guys together.

[@justicebrewing9449]

Castle falkenstein was the bomb :) thanks Mike!!

[@tsvallender]

Always look forward to these videos, some of the best quality TTRPG content on KZbin. Great work!

[@NoFunAllowed]

Two incredibly awesome guests covering amazing topics! Keep up the great work Questing Beast!

[@DiekuGames]

I've also been down the rabbit hole of the Sea People for a few months! It's fascinating stuff!

[@geoffdewitt6845]

Bronze Age Collapse is cool as shit, would love to see Mr. Pondsmith's reading list on that.

[@mathewfrance5165]

I literally JUST bought cyberpunk red's starter set. This episode couldn't have come out at a better time!

[@kellvalar8573]

Man, this had such great chemistry. These guys would have EASILY done another hour or more! Great episode.

[@masterofskillz14]

This vid is a seminar of amazing knowledge! Thanks for bringing it to us Ben :)

[@mistigri4261]

Please send pics of Mike Pondsmith's 4 feet long 28mm scale bounty-hunter ship... Pretty please. ^^

[@tsifj]

Great content, good information, nice chemistry!

[@GrakkRPG]

I'm very much not interested in sci-fi or cyberpunk style rpgs that said, this was a very interesting look at ttrpgs i really enjoyed this one. Mike is so insightful he makes me want to pull away from the traditional tropes of high fantasy and attack it a different way.

[@allones3078]

Cyberpunk as punk is not just style but a question of how money changes humanity.

[@Sockerludd]

Such a good episode love this so much!

[@DavidBollman]

Fantastic conversation!

[@borisdevilboon8064]

Any chance of getting Tim Kask on one of these? or maybe Jim Davis from Web DM?

[@icon_o_clast]

Loving these conversation videos.

[@EranAviram]

Dude, you consistently get the BEST people here!

[@LoveBombMedia]

Medium is the message.. . awesome.

[@fluidfox1436]

Great discussion!

[@chaosmeisters6781]

This was so epic. A new Screwheads would be awesome!

[@johnnygilbert8163]

I drove to New York in 200 miles! What miles are a distance! I know!

[@RLBndR]

"The Medium is the Message."

[@gengar1187]

Love you Ben, best channel of its kind on KZbin

[@BillWiltfong]

Wow, I want to be friends with Mike so bad.

[@rpgquestboard]

This was great! Also I had to pause and catch my breath from laughing after "Oh, you're from reddit aren't you". d.e.a.d.

[@ckvonpickles3751]

Thank You, Mike for two of my favorite games Dream Park, and Fuzion! and of course CP!

[@noshow]

LEGEND! What a great panel, but holy smokes, Mike Pondsmith is the man!

[@MykeDiemart]

Awesome. Pondsmith is one of the greats of our hobby.

[@FlashRave]

"I have a 4ft long, 28mm starship that the players play on" so uh.. are you streaming this game anywhere???🧟‍♀️🧟‍♀️🧟‍♀️

[@patrickbuckley7259]

This is actually a really useful video, I have been tinkering around with a Sci-Fi/Fantasy Space Opera setting, where I wanted to desighn the setting in such a way that I treated the Technology like more or less hard Sci-Fi Tech, rather than the lazy way a lot of Science Fantasy handwaves the science in the same stroke as it does all the magic. (Though I want the magic to be well thought out as well, just in a different way, where it still feels like magic)... Long story short, this is helpful because it has given me some perspective about how I have PC interact with Technology, and how they Interact with magic, now on what end do I ere when they interact with these that are a bit of both... (Like a Haunted Spaceship, or a Magic Staff with a Built in Plasma Gun. Magitech is mostly not a thing, as it's hard to produce the kind of persistence effect necessary for that kind of thing. Mostly because I want to avoid taking the lazy rout with either the Magic or the Science. Well I am going to be a bit lazy with the Biology, mainly because their are certain tropes I want to play into with the Alien races.)

[@339blaster]

i was going to listen to something else until i saw this, always love ask questing beast

[@justanotherdayinthelife9841]

I REEEAAALLY want a Runner class thats supports a style that is the iconic mega parkour "mirrors edge"-esque super mobile class. I also want Arco-Runners back, and I always think of the Mole Men in City of Lost Children and Dinero in Brazil and kinda wish that theyd reflect this as well. I also would love to see Multiclass style characters so I can get the Arco-Runner/Runner character, "you want hand delivered info? Maximum lockdown? Armed guards? No problem" lol.

[@ogreboy8843]

I think the difference between Cyberpunk and d20 fantasy is about the alienation and anonymity of modernity. Cyberpunk focuses on science, technology and money, none of which care who you are. Anyone can learn science. Anyone can pick up a gun. Anyone could be rich. Fantasy focusses on magic and monsters which are all about who and what you are. If you're not a wizard you can't cast spells. If you're not a dragon, you don't breathe fire. This difference is also built into the default settings. Cyberpunk is urban/global where you are faceless in the crowd, a meaningless lonely speck amongst billions. d20 Fantasy is rural/colloquial where you are the heroes whom the villagers venerate and word of your deeds spreads far and wide. What I want to know is how Sean is going to cross Cyberpunk with sci-fi horror ala Alien. I don't know how you keep the "cool" that is Cyberpunk's signature flavour in the face of horror. Vasquez in mirror shades?

[@Ike_of_pyke]

It's almost funny to hear Mike talk about not having an anime now

[@dez1449]

can we get some notes or adventure guide on "the Apartment?"

[@talon12020]

It's in the Cyberpunk RED Jumpstart kit world book. Also Seth Skorkowsky did a review of it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mGKxZYtugKqVqqM

[@snifflindrake3283]

I know I’ve seen Mike run The Apartment. I think on IGN?

[@talon12020]

@@snifflindrake3283 Indeed. Interestingly this may be the session he was referring to where they threw a block party to keep the corp thugs at bay. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qYPNYpSQr9yXgpI

[@geoffdewitt6845]

Sounds like the Leverage TV show from TNT would be a great source of Cyberpunk plots.

[@rjhisle1973]

Near the end of the video their was a discussion of the need for Cyberpunk to evolve, which i agree. After all the game is pushing into the 22nd century with CP 2077 so new trends and themes would develop. Who knows maybe the NUSA gets it's act together and all fifty one states become a unified country again. However, with that in mind, how about a look at Cyberpunk in space. In Cyberpunk 2013 and 2020 humans had colonized the solar system and even began interstellar travel. Could we see some more material looking at that direction?

[@EricVulgaris]

Sean's a genius

[@KyleMaxwell]

God, I just want a whole transcript of this, especially the section on putting the "punk" back in "cyberpunk".

[@paulvalentine4157]

continuously awesone content

[@Rodrigo_Vega]

What can I do to live up to these people. I'm wasting my time.

[@based9930]

So everybody is just going to pretend Cyberpunk 2077 never happened when talking to him?

[@maxzimusprime]

At 1:19:08, Mike Pondsmith talks about a company and I can't really catch the name. Does anyone know the company that he was referring to? Thanks

[@AndrewSFTSN]

Gamelyn I think

[@TheOGGMsAdventures]

Ohh man I missed Mike . I wonder if he remebers me.

[@rjhisle1973]

SF vs Fantasy RPGs. I've played both genre's and they both have their pros and cons, but now a days I see myself leaning towards SF more. SF offers more possibilities because the things we talk about as SF today can be reality tomorrow, as we have seen so often in our own lives. Also, in fantasy I guess I'm tired of seeing the troupe where nothing changes. In most game worlds or just most fantasy settings in general, a thousand years can go by and nothing changes technologically. That has gotten old. Even in fantasy societies and technology would change over time and most game worlds don't explain how/why nothing has really changed much even after a millenia ot two taken place in the game world.

[@ajooser]

I went to Icon once as a kid- couldn't find the rpgs :)

[@moochydacat]

Spoilers: the sea peoples were phoenicians! :D

[@mistigri4261]

No mention as reference material of Peter Hyams' 1981 OUTLAND starring Sean Connery, a must see in the "Industrial SciFi" genre... smh.