Rene Plays Games

Welcome to another episode of Perspective Checks where I sit down with friends and folks from the TTRPG world and discuss what they love about this wonderful hobby!

 

This month I have the pleasure of talking with Brian Flaherty, AP performer, GM, sound designer, producer, game designer, and one of the founders of the Many Sided Media network with an insane lineup of TTRPG podcasts including:

My First Dungeon

Talk of the Table

Bitcherton

And many, many more of some absolute staples in my own podcast queue like Dice Exploder and Maia's Game Room.

 

Anyway, this is just to say Brian wears A TON of hats that make him and his crew so aspirational and inspirational. One of my favorite quotes of this interview is him describing the idea for this TTRPG podcast adventure to show people "the peak of an indie game through actual play," and to get people excited about the game so they can play anywhere on that mountain in terms of how much production or extras they want to add onto it, but the goal is to provide an immersive, enjoyable experience with a game that tells a story like no other can.

 

Brian's episode is full of so much wisdom not just about podcasting professionally, but also about supporting creators, artists, and all the people whose work goes into making the things we love and play to tell great stories. 

 

Please go check out everything Brian and his friends work on over at Many Sided Media and pay it back for him demanding that you leave me a rating (please do) by going and 5-star bombing all of their shows, too!

 

----more----

Join the DMs After Dark Discord channel!

 

I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)

 

Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:

LinkTree |  BlueSky | Threads | Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark

Rene's Games:

MECH | MECH Cities 2 | One Last Quest | I Know I Know You, But I Don't Know How...

email: [email protected]

 

Music in the Episode (in order of appearance):

Rene Plays Games Theme written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands

The adventure continues.

 

As Iorlas and Fitch Talltree, Forester of Archet hunt for the escaped servants of Saruman in the Chetwood, something from Fitch's past comes back to settle a different score. Iorlas is wounded.

 

Learn more about The One Ring 2e by Free League Publishing.

 

----more----

Join the DMs After Dark Discord channel!

 

I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)

 

Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:

LinkTree |  BlueSky | Threads | Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark

Rene's Games:

MECH | MECH Cities 2 | One Last Quest | I Know I Know You, But I Don't Know How...

email: [email protected]

 

Music in the Episode (in order of appearance):

Hollow by Vindsvept

Atmos Braam A (D) by Monument Studios

Forgotten Forest by Tabletop Audio

Blighted Forest by Tabletop Audio

Small Tree Fall by Monument Studios

Terror in the Woods by Tabletop Audio

Earthshatter by Monument Studios

Single Hit F by Monument Studios

Escape from the Shadow by Tabletop Audio

Their Roots Go Deep by Vindsvept

Rene Plays Games Theme written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands

Welcome back to the monthly design diaries series of 2026 where I am holding myself accountable toward putting out more games.

 

We're back to talk more Gardens of Rust, the post-catastrophe survival and community rebuilding game by myself and Christian from the DMs After Dark. 

 

This is the final episode of this series for Gardens of Rust and it goes over the Community Phase of the game; when the PCs return back to their small settlement of survivors in the Rust, play zooms out and the players make decisions from a community-wide perspective. Based on the Comm's stats, the players have a limited number of actions to handle issues facing the community, make progress on forward-looking projects, enjoy moments when they can be enjoyed, and more, which in turn inform the goals of the next PC-focused Player Phase.

 

Please email or join the DMs After Dark Discord server to tell me about the kind of character you'd make for a post-collapse game so we can make it together! I want to start playtesting this game more with new players, so maybe we can set something up on the Discord.

 

----more----

Join the DMs After Dark Discord!

 

I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)

 

Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:

LinkTree |  BlueSky | Threads | Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark

Rene's Games:

MECH | MECH Cities 2 | One Last Quest | I Know I Know You, But I Don't Know How...

email: [email protected]

 

Music in the Episode (in order of appearance):

Rene Plays Games Theme written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands

The adventure continues.

 

Iorlas takes Drustan the Mercenary to Bree to face justice, but underestimates the extent of his resources. When Iorlas beseeches the folk of Bree to help him search for the escaped man, he must convince them before it's too late. In the end, he moves on, refusing to let evil men spread.

 

Learn more about The One Ring 2e by Free League Publishing.

 

----more----

Join the DMs After Dark Discord channel!

 

I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)

 

Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:

LinkTree |  BlueSky | Threads | Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark

Rene's Games:

MECH | MECH Cities 2 | One Last Quest | I Know I Know You, But I Don't Know How...

email: [email protected]

 

Music in the Episode (in order of appearance):

Aldrassil by Monument Studios

Hybrid Ambience by Monument Studios

Viking Village by Tabletop Audio

Cutpurse Pursuit by Tabletop Audio

Privy Council by Tabletop Audio

Arrow Target Practice B by Monument Studios

Forgotten Forest by Tabletop Audio

Rene Plays Games Theme written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands

Bonjour! Salut! Ça va? Bienvenue a un autre Perspective Checks episode where I sit down with friends and folks from the TTRPG Community to talk about all the things we love about this wonderful hobby.

 

Today you're getting not one but TWO Renes! I'm joined by Rene-Pier (RP) from Fari RPGs, creator of so many incredible games that almost all have free SRDs so you can learn the rules and make your own games with them! We're finally linking up to talk about RP's amazing effort to consistently share all of his own knowledge and experience making indie TTRPGs with the community, as well as

 

Breathless: Frightmare Edition funding now on Kickstarter!

 

RP is a designer who actually walks the walk, and he's created an amazing community of people through his free releases of his games SRDs, running game jams, putting out Affinity Publisher tutorials to help new designers with layout, and more! It's no surprise that his Breathless system has been used to make over 300 games and his other games continue to inspire others.

 

Hope you enjoy this episode, I apologize for my French, and I want to hear from everyone what game they have waiting to be made so we can get to playing it!

 

----more----

Join the DMs After Dark Discord channel!

 

I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)

 

Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:

LinkTree |  BlueSky | Threads | Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark

Rene's Games:

MECH | MECH Cities 2 | One Last Quest | I Know I Know You, But I Don't Know How...

email: [email protected]

 

Music in the Episode (in order of appearance):

Rene Plays Games Theme written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands