Episode 24: Learn to Play Tabletop Role Playing Games

Episode 24: Learn to Play Tabletop Role Playing Games

July 8, 2026 · 59 min

About this episode

Eric Hendricks hosts a live introduction to tabletop role playing games at SouthEast Linux Fest, featuring audience participation and improvisation.

At SouthEast Linux Fest, I did something I've never attempted before: a live, hands-on intro to tabletop role playing games for a packed room of Linux nerds. No idea how many people were showing up. No idea how many had ever touched a d6. Somewhere between 10 and 100, they said. Cool. Cool cool cool. We covered the basics of TTRPGs, walked through systems like D&D, Savage Worlds, and Dungeon World, and then built a one-shot together live with the audience. The room gave me a 97 year old Elf Wizard named Ethan on a desperate mission to save his favorite tiki bar from burning down. The villain was named Bob. He stole all the turtles. The tacos were at stake. It went exactly as chaotic as you'd expect. This is the full recording including the slide deck, the worldbuilding exercise, and the one-shot itself. If you've ever been curious about TTRPGs but didn't know where to start, this is the episode for you. What we cover: What a TTRPG actually is and why it's worth your time D&D, Savage Worlds, and Powered by the Apocalypse compared Why I used Dungeon World for a room of total beginners How the 2d6 mechanic works and why it generates better stories than a pass/fail system…

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