Speculate!

In Speculate 2.0’s thirteenth actual play episode, Greg DMs as we rejoin the party of Pikebreaker (played by Mike), Machupa (Maurice Broaddus), Grim (Lauren Roy), and Clak (Marie Bilodeau) as we return to Eberron and the City of Towers–where the group is trying to clear their name of a murder by finding the actual killer. […]

In this episode, we conclude our playthrough of Scum and Villainy with Speculate 2.0’s twelfth actual play episode. GM Mike and players Greg, SFF authors Alex Acks and SL Huang, and agent DongWon Song discuss their experience of Scum and Villainy, and how each of them had a blast by working together without feeling like […]

In this episode, we continue our playthrough of Scum and Villainy with Speculate 2.0’s eleventh actual play episode. GM Mike and players Greg, SFF authors Alex Acks and SL Huang, and agent DongWon Song find themselves in a bit of trouble–and are trying not to get into even more of it as they move from […]

In this episode, we open up with a new crew and a new system, as we enter the world of Scum and Villainy with Speculate 2.0’s tenth actual play episode. GM Mike and players Greg, SFF authors Alex Acks and SL Huang, and agent DongWon Song chat about the kind of crew they want to […]

In this episode, we continue our return to D&D, Eberron, and the City of Towers, as Speculate 2.0 rolls on with our ninth actual play episode. DM Greg and players Mike, Maurice Broaddus, Lauren Roy, and Marie Bilodeau chat about how the session went, the specific qualities of D&D in terms of combat, social interaction, […]

In this episode, we continue our return to D&D, Eberron, and the City of Towers, as Speculate 2.0 rolls on with our eighth actual play episode. Greg DMs the opening episode of a one shot adventure continuing the story of Pikebreaker, Machupa, Grim, and Clak, played by Mike, Maurice Broaddus, Lauren Roy, and Marie Bilodeau […]

In this episode, we return to D&D, Eberron, and the City of Towers, as we continue Speculate 2.0 with our seventh actual play episode. Greg DMs the opening episode of a one shot adventure continuing the story of Pikebreaker, Machupa, Grim, and Clak, played by Mike, Maurice Broaddus, Lauren Roy, and Marie Bilodeau respectively, who […]

In this episode, we move to a new game system, and a new city, as we continue Speculate 2.0 with our sixth actual play episode, the final part of a one shot Blades in the Dark adventure set in the mysterious city of Duskwall. In this episode, Mike as GM and Greg, Brandon O’Brien, Jaym […]

In this episode, we move to a new game system, and a new city, as we continue Speculate 2.0 with our fifth actual play episode, the second part of a one shot Blades in the Dark adventure set in the mysterious city of Duskwall. Mike takes over as GM for Greg, Brandon O’Brien, Jaym Gates, […]

In this episode, we move to a new game system, and a new city, as we continue Speculate 2.0 with our fourth actual play episode, the first part of a one shot Blades in the Dark adventure set in the mysterious city of Duskwall. Mike takes over as GM for Greg, Brandon O’Brien, Jaym Gates, […]

In this episode, we continue our launch of Speculate 2.0 with our third actual play episode, the final part of a one shot D&D 5E adventure set in Eberron. Greg DMs an intrepid group of adventurers with Mike, Marie Bilodeau, Maurice Broaddus, and Lauren Roy, who must deal with a mysterious death, political intrigue, and […]

In this episode, we continue our launch of Speculate 2.0 with our second actual play episode, part two of a one shot D&D 5E adventure set in Eberron. Greg DMs an intrepid group of adventurers with Mike, Marie Bilodeau, Maurice Broaddus, and Lauren Roy, who must deal with a mysterious death, political intrigue, and some […]

In this episode, we launch Speculate 2.0 with our first actual play episode, a one shot D&D 5E adventure set in Eberron. Greg DMs an intrepid group of adventurers with Mike, Marie Bilodeau, Maurice Broaddus, and Lauren Roy, who must deal with a mysterious death, political intrigue, and some close shaves in the City of […]

This announcement concerns a new direction for Speculate–one we’re very excited about, but one which moves the show in a different direction. We appreciate all the support from our listeners over eight years of this show’s existence and look forward to hearing from so many more of you in the days, weeks, and months to […]

In this episode, we look at the difficult task of keeping one’s personal and work life in balance, especially as writers who are often working other jobs to make ends meet. We talk about community, escapism, and many other methods of preserving one’s sanity in difficult times…and keeping productive even when the world around seems […]

In this episode, we look at what we’ve been reading (and playing) over the summer, with brief comments about Sarah Kuhn’s Heroine Worship, the Superman Rebirth hardcover edition, Vivian Jackson’s Wanted and Wired, L.E. Modesitt’s Imager, Herge’s Tintin series, and Will Cuppy’s How To Attract the Wombat, plus discussion of Harebrained Schemes’ Battletech. We had […]

In this episode, we combine writing and gaming as we conduct part two of a joint session of Speculate and Greg’s Twitch show Masters of the Dungeon, talking with veteran game masters Askren and Dave (the Digital DM) about story and narrative in tabletop games. We discuss high-level campaigns, the way different systems contribute to […]

In this episode, we combine writing and gaming as we conduct a joint session of Speculate and Greg’s Twitch show Masters of the Dungeon, talking with veteran game masters Askren and Dave (the Digital DM) about story and narrative in tabletop games. We discuss high-level campaigns, the way different systems contribute to different kinds of […]

In this episode, we talk about the State of the Field with author, editor, and project manager Jaym Gates, looking in particular at tie-in fiction, game writing, and working in shared worlds. This was an interesting conversation, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did. If you like what you hear, please […]

In this episode, we continue our triptych of shows on the work of Andrej Sapkowski with a roundtable discussion of his book The Last Wish, as we’re joined by author, editor, and project manager Jaym Gates. We chat about the book’s translation, the commercial vs. literary quality of the work, the creation of a character […]