Episodes

  • Lost Episode 17
    Sep 29 2021

    Yes, once again it is time for another of our world famous Lost Episodes.

    The problem is, there’s been a whole bunch of extenuating circumstances, which we try to explain somewhat unsuccessfully. But at least you get to hear some bits about swords, socks, and ninjas, along with a couple of people who really were in charge, like it or not. The whole episode just oozes with predicaments for you to try to sort through.

    We’re switching up our means of support. Now, if you’d like to help support the show and want less of a hassle than Patreon used to be, we can direct you straight to Buy Me A Coffee, instead. Check it out at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Fiddleback

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    27 mins
  • Giants
    Sep 15 2021
    How’s the weather up there? Well, if you were a giant, you would know. But since you aren’t, we’d better have a discussion about what makes giants giant. Should be easy, right? Because we all know what a giant is. But then again, do we? And what does it all have to do with basketball and the Air Force? Find out, inside. GM Word of the Week is brought to you buy our generous supporters. If you’d like to join them, here’s how: https://www.gmwordoftheweek.com/support
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    28 mins
  • Whip
    Sep 1 2021
    Everything is already in shape around here, so we’ll discard that pun immediately. But otherwise, we have an episode for you about whips and their varied uses. Except, obviously, we have to agree to some ground rules about our discussion before we start. They aren’t the most popular of Dungeons and Dragons weapons, but maybe there’s a reason for that. Let’s find out. And then! After the credits roll on GM Word of the Week, let’s take a listen to the new show, FolkLiar. What could that possibly be about?
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    33 mins
  • The Green Knight
    Aug 25 2021
    It’s in the theaters, but what’s it all about? We discuss the main players of the new film. But really mostly we discuss the characters of Gawain, whose name you are pronouncing wrong, and the reasons why that is, and the Green Knight and enigma or meaning that no one seems to agree on. So, it’s probably best we take a look at what might have inspired him. Oh, and we can’t help but feel as if we forgot something in this episode. Hmmm. You can help support the show by heading to our support page at https://www.gmwordoftheweek.com/support
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    26 mins
  • Xylothek
    Aug 11 2021
    We started with a question about types of books. But after answering it, there was a whole lot of episode left to go. Fortunately, we ran across a book that helped us talk about other books, in particular, the very interesting books in a xylothek. But first, as we always do, there was some explanation to be had about where they came from and why they existed in the first place. Along the way, we meet some important renaissance figures. You can get The Madman's Library: The Strangest Books, Manuscripts and Other Literary Curiosities from History by Edward Brooke-Hitching on Amazon. Your support is appreciated. See our support page to offer yours.
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    24 mins
  • Jousting
    Jul 28 2021
    We’ve all seen jousts in the movies and probably enjoyed them. Well, shame on you. That’s not what jousting is like at all, and it certainly wasn’t the only kind of jousting available at the tournaments of the Middle Ages. Of course, the real problem is that we don’t understand what we, or even they, meant when they said jousting and tournament. So maybe we can help straighten things out and increase your actual appreciation of all things jousting. Support GM Word of the Week on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GMWordoftheWeek
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    24 mins
  • Canon
    Jul 21 2021
    There’s a whole world of things in our adventuring worlds and it’s really very important to keep track of it all for consistencies sake. Which is why such things as canon exist. Not the shooty bang bang kind of canon, but rather the body of work which explains what is right and proper and what isn’t. And it really is vitally important, as we’ll demonstrate with two very solid examples. First, one of religious importance, and second, one about the Word of God. So, join us and listen to this episode of GM Word of the Week to find out what is and isn’t true. You can support GM Word of the Week at gmwordoftheweek.com/support.
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    23 mins
  • Supernatural
    Jul 14 2021
    Sometimes we give advice along with our helping of information and today we’re going to talk about how GMs can make best use of the supernatural. But first we have to understand what counts as supernatural in the typical fantasy world. You might be tempted to think that anything magical counts, but that’s not the case, as we will happily explain to you. In the real world, supernatural might mean magical, but not so in a world where actual magic actually exists. Let’s take a look at one particular supposed supernatural phenomena and see how understanding it in this world can make it useful in the game world. GM Word of the Week thrives on your support. Take a look at how you can help.
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    23 mins