Hello, and welcome to Snyder's return a tabletop role playing podcast. My guest today has witnessed the dark fabric of feet be brought together and held by the smallest of threads has become part of those who challenge others were polyhedrons sin the bare bones and the composite pieces but understands the sum of their parts and has helped a small reptilian workforce maintain its dominance as a publishing giant. We're not part of the family. My guess of vibrant red hair is making big moves on Twitch is a pleasure to welcome little red dot. Doc. Thank you for joining me.
Little Red Dot:Thank you so much for having me. And what an incredible introduction. I may just steal that from you. Oh, you already use in other places. You heard it here. I got permission. Definitely. Thank you so so much for having me. It's It's It's pretty exciting. I'm excited to chat a little bit and talk about well, I don't know, I guess you have the questions. I'll talk about whatever you ask, I promise
Snyders Return:you have the answers. So before we get into everything you're doing now and all the great work you do. I'd like to go back and find out how you got into tabletop role playing games.
Little Red Dot:Okay, well, I've been playing tabletop for about 12 or 13 years. And I started back when I was in college X amount of years ago, y'all do the math. But I was playing actually hero clicks was my first like introduction to to tabletop, which is funny because some people consider here and click a little bit more board game. And then some people will say it actually leans towards tabletop RPGs. It's kind of a beautiful mix of both. But that's where I got into minis, right. And then I went off to school and I was going to be an actor, as all, you know, bright eyed children want to be and I got really into classical drama and classical theatre. And any actor knows that when you do classical theatre, you have to have weapons training, because there's a lot of sword fighting and things like that. And so I got really deep into weapons training. And my fight instructor one day came to me after class and he's like, hey, some students and I are gonna meet in the park on Sunday. And instead of playing with real weapons, we're gonna roll some dice and tell stories in this like fantasy world. And my nerd little heart kind of stopped and was like, Are you asking me, small town Georgia girl to play Dungeons and Dragons with you? And I had this kind of moment where I was like, Oh, my God, I found my people. And so I did. I showed up and we I started playing my very first d&d game with a group of college kids in the park in Savannah, Georgia. So that is kind of where it started. And I played for many, many years, but I didn't really get started online until a little later and I actually started in podcasting. My twitch channel was originally a cosplay channel. So there's a little weird tidbit of information for you that started out as a cosplayer and I still cosplay on the occasion. And it serves me really well right now in what I do. But I don't do as much cosplayed building anymore. But that's kind of where it started. And I worked with a group of friends here out of Atlanta to start a podcast called North by Northwest that I still work with in North by Northwest has been going for a while now. We closed out like a five volume d&d game that was like our first thing together, and that's where I got started. And then I realised after I started this cosplay channel that people play d&d. They were playing d&d online, like on Twitch and it was kind of thing and so I found a community that had a community game day. That's literally how I got started, I signed up just like everybody else. And I showed up a few times and got really into it. And then I asked him, I was like, Can I can I GM? Something like, Can I dm a campaign and it's kind of been a snowball effect. From there. I've expanded I've played you know, I play hundreds of hours of tabletop every year I rep a tabletop companies now and I wrote so many dice and as what most people would consider a failed actor, let's be real. I I never had my big time on the stage or my big time on the screen. But there's a part of me that actually doesn't miss it. And I was really not being fulfilled. Like I had an A a TV agent. I was I was trying to put commercials and movies and all of these things. And I was really, really what's the word? Yeah, unfulfilled, I think is the right way to put it. I couldn't figure out why. And then, when I started finding this way online, to tell collaborative stories with other people using games, it all kind of fit this this perfect little plug in my life. And it's really fulfilled me and driven me to continue to be a storyteller, which I would say five or six years ago was kind of a winner. Pulling fire from you one that I thought was going to have to go to the wayside.
Snyders Return:And you've from North by Northwest, which I have listened to in the past and highly recommend. You've expanded not only into other d&d games, you've expanded across multiple systems and sort of bring those to life with everything you're involved with. What? So people can find you the here and now. Well, first of all, where can I find you? And what shows you in focus?
Little Red Dot:Yeah, goodness, my shows are always revolving. But there are a few places that I frequent, like there are the corners of the twitch universe that you can always find me. And that's, of course, my own twitch channel where I self produce on the occasion. Usually, indie games are really bizarre games that I, I find people aren't going to be touching like, this fall, I'm going to be working with actually a graphic, or a graphic novel called rickety stitch, their graphic novel company and I have loved their graphic novels forever. And I bumped into them. Gen Con, of course, two years ago, now. And they're putting out a T, they're putting out an ttrpg. Like, set in the world of these these comics that I love, that are so wonderful. It's about this skeletal bargaining rickety stitch in his best friend is a gelatinous cube, and they go on these adventures. And it's, it's kind of whimsical, but also dark around the edges. And it just really speaks to me. And so I like to I on my own personal channel, like to find really indie RPGs, I do a lot of play testing there, I'll be bringing some things I can't quite talk about to the channel in the false everybody keep your ears to the ground. But you can always find me, of course on my channel. And now I'm even doing some weird video game things, and voiceover work over on the channel, which is kind of fun. And I run a couple community game days throughout the year. So if you wouldn't game with me or game with some of my friends, I try to run charity streams throughout the year that you can sign up to play. So that's like most direct access to kind of finding me but then I'm producing a lot for other people because I love storytelling, and I love building spaces and platforms where people can tell stories together. So producing has been, like I said, really fulfilling for me. So I'm, of course the twitch producer for cobalt press. So if you love cobalt presses work, I'm over there, herding cats, and getting all of these Twitch streamers together to play to play some cobalt product, which is really, really cool. I've been reading through the mid guard World Book. So like I said, For all you fans out there, I'm catching up to you. I'm coming into the world of Midgard. And then my other kind of home away from homes are the role for network where I played a BTM campaign very regularly. And and then the unmade gaming network where I play a lot of freely product actually, I've been running an extended campaign, a Coriolis over there. So you're going to end up with four seasons of that before it's four seasons, I guess, to make a massive campaign of that. And I'm going to be running some of the alien RPG on that channel as well. And I've got some other plans coming down the pipeline for some free league stuff there. So that's kind of the many places you can find me and my newest project coming out of 2020 and into 2021 is a vampire podcast. Actually, for all of you podcast lovers out there. I have a vampire podcast that I'm doing with some friends that have been producing since October 2020 called stitch of fate, you can find us at pod by night. We're it's definitely a dark vampire show. But it's not your average ttrpg we cut out a lot of tabletop and we try to stay in character. So it's more like listening to an audio book by the time the roleplay is done with these incredible people Mark Mir, who of course, is the voice of Commander Shepard plays our nose for about two characters. So we've just got some really extraordinary talent at the table for that one. And so it really comes out just sounding somewhere between like a 1950s radio play and like an audio book. It's really wonderful. And it's kind of dark and mysterious, and they're trying to solve a murder in the city. So it's got this edge of like, police work and detective work and it's um, it's kind of my pride and joy right now. So definitely check that out, because that's where I'm putting a lot of my heart and soul.
Snyders Return:Yeah, it sounds amazing. And a common theme if you don't mind me observing is the dark and grim. Maybe not the grim, but sort of that that darker side of the role playing with alien you mentioned there which are fantastic game and even within CoreOS, but lesser, and I love the free league stuff, the mutants. What is it about that particular game style that draws you in?
Little Red Dot:So yeah, you know, I like most people started in d&d, and when you play with your friends and you're playing for the first time and sometimes even when you start jamming, there is like a lighter edge to the stories that you tell them we're really there to like, drink and eat popcorn, and, uh, you know, goof around the table and make ridiculous jokes and these kinds of things. But as I started to do this online, and this is a really interesting conversation, that had with quite a few people about the presentational nature of Twitch and how it does actually change the kind of roleplay that happens because it is more performative it is more front facing. And so at least for me it is I feel that way. And so I like to treat it like a performance, I want to give it my all I'm going to come to the table with everything. And so as that started to kind of take place, I thought, well, who says that every one of my games have to be comedic? What if I could tell these really interesting? I wouldn't even say dark, rich stories that have hard topics. And that doesn't just mean the isms, right? Usually a lot of people go to the isms in that regard. But I mean, stories about the passing of loved ones, or the sacrifices we make for things. And I think that was something that really drew me to it. And I had a friend say, Well, why don't you stop playing d&d for a second, go check out some other stuff. And what actually kicked me in that direction was evil hat at the time evil hat was playtesting. The fate of Cthulhu before they put it to Kickstarter, and this is actually the very first show that I produced on my own twitch channel ttrpg show that I produced on my own twitch channel was fate of kazoo. And it was still in play test mode. And they gave me permission to play tested live. And I did like a little mini sewed like a two parter with some people. And I was like, I want this to dive deep. Like I want this to be dark, because that's what it's about. It's basically the Terminator version of Cthulhu, you're going back in time to try to alter the series of events that make it happen. And I find that there is just such a rich story that can be found in these heavy moments if we allow them to exist. And with the help of things like safety tools, and lines and veils. Now more than ever, the tables can have the breadth to tell those kinds of stories. Because before we didn't have a vernacular, or a system or anything in place to help keep people safe in those moments of deep and intense storytelling. See on stage, when you're an actor, there's already a set agreement, right? We work that agreement up during rehearsals and weeks worth of spending time together. And we build that ttrpg is not always that way. Some of that builds over time. But when I cast people, some of them have never played together before. And so part of me finding joy and horror and these darker storylines and these darker tails is being able to feel comfortable at the table with the people that I do it with and having the tools I need to facilitate that. So that's been really, really important. But in the end, I think what really draws me to wanting to tell those stories is the way that it pushes people to kind of sit in a moment of realism, right? We always talk about living in the now. But there's something really impactful about sitting in a now moment for another character that's having to make a hard choice, right. For so long. I think that Theatre and Film have wanted a level of immersion. And what ttrpg does is it actually provides the immersion because somebody else is not reading a script to you. There is nothing that you're going to say that could be necessarily right or wrong, give or take, right? It's it's about a collaborative thing that is just not found in a lot of other forms of entertainment. not properly right, like you can go see improv still on stage, right you watch we perform, man between the twitch and the way that ttrpg is function, you have such an opportunity to do something that's just kind of not been done before. And I'm I'm finding a stride in it. And I find a real stride in both participating and like guiding tables as a GM in these kind of darker edge tails where I can put my players on an edge for just a second to take a breath. You know, I I ran an alien campaign. It was real short when like six episodes or six sessions together over on my gaming channel. And anytime I do a campaign with my players, I always write a GM note, like a write a note to my players. It's like, here's, here's how I'm coming into this is usually like literally typed out in a little word document for them. And I wrote them one about the alien game. And I told them I said one of the things I love about alien and the kind of world of alien is that it feels like it could be you. Like at any point like it feels like you could be in that movie. Right? And it always it's not boo scare horror. It's a different kind of psychological thriller that really, like pulls me in and draws me in and being able to recreate that at the table. And so I told him in my little letter, I was like, I look forward to the moment where you have to face that thing, right because the oh my gosh, I can get done an alien tangent but the joy of that is the irony in the whole thing. We created a AI that created a monster to destroy us. That is the cycle of alien spoiler alert for all of you that haven't seen all the movies. That's what happens like that's what we learned. We make ai ai wants to make what we make so they make the alien and the alien is actually Actually a weapon to destroy as a biological weapon destroy us. And the constant realisation that you are the creator of your own demise was what drove that whole campaign and having to face that moment. And so to wrap all that up and bring us kind of full circle, I think when we, I look at the darker horror campaigns, and what kind of brought me to them is wanting to tell richer, deeper and more impactful stories with people collaboratively at a table in a way that you just can't really see anywhere else. Right? It's a really impactful thing to watch a role player sit there and have to chew on a moment, are really one that they have built two seasons towards. That is something that we, we rarely get in TV, because it's scripted. It's It is such a unique and choice thing. And to have both an audience and a platform for it is a little bit of a blessing. Hmm,
Snyders Return:absolutely. And you've mentioned there, just sort of another layer to it with being sort of character driven, encapsulate some of the things you were saying. And with all these things you've mentioned and putting up putting players on the spot, but having them so immersed in that moment, through your playing up to now has there been a specific moment across any of the game systems you've you've run or been a part of as a player that that has really touched you in either a good way or a emotional way that you maybe hadn't anticipated? Even if you were there, just by proxy?
Little Red Dot:Oh my gosh, there's a lot. Um, I'm just going to tell you like go watch sounds of silence on roll for like our vampire game has some really intense moments because that vampire is about losing your humanity. It's about losing those things that make you human. And so there's a lot of stuff there. But there's one particular there's one particular game and I remember, I didn't I didn't cry. I didn't. But I remember being so impacted. It's funny, because I was jamming. But my players and their choices really impacted me and the story that I thought I had kind of laid out for them. So, uh, in 2020, I ran a campaign of overnight. For those of you that don't know what overnight is overnight is published by Renegade games was put out by Renegade. It's a beautiful fantasy RPG kind of set in his own world where you don't have dwarves or elves. It's kind of isolated. It's very much inspired by 70 psychedelic art, and everything is based on colour. So magic is called Chroma. And the world all these years ago for a series of law reasons we don't have to go into was shattered. And now it's a series of floating islands that stack on top of each other. And above us is the over light and the over, light shines down. And you play heroes that can channel that over light into, in lesser terms magic, right. It's a beautiful game, I love it. And the lore is extraordinary. So around this around this game, and they ended up on one of the shards, which is wealthy, kind of highfalutin, it's got some of the largest things but everybody on veil wears mask, your mask is the thing that defines you and you wear a mask basically your whole life you can but jewel your mass you can add to it and these things, you know, tell story. Well, upon their arrival, they witnessed a funeral on this world right on this on this, this shard. And the the the person that had passed was a young girl and it was she kind of held a position in society of being kind of a Madonna like figure. And so it was time for her max to pass to the next Madonna like figure that would be masked as a young girl. And she would grow up to that, right, this is part of all of their lore. But they run into the mother, who for the first time in like 30 years, gets to see the face of her own daughter, because she has to be de mast. And my players were just posted like walk past this whole, like funeral event, see it, you know, give it the respect that needed it and move on and they chose instead to stay and watch the whole ceremony. And the mother noted it because none of them were from Vail, therefore wearing no masks. And so she had this really interesting conversation with them about not only like de masking of her daughter, but life and death and the way that they view the soul passing and how her daughter lives on through this math, it's going to another girl and so I just remember them like moving me to the core with the roleplay that they brought to the table and the way that they as players created a space where I could play an NPC like that as well. You know, it's such an interesting way it was like a give and take they so I am Yeah, I would say that's probably one of those moments as a GM where I was like, wow, you know, I feel like I'm sharing a table not leading this table anymore like we are all equally sharing a piece of this pie we call the story, and you're driving my insight and my questions as much as I'm driving yours. And it was a really beautiful moment around a rather impactful piece of story.
Snyders Return:Absolutely, yeah, I can hear in hearing your voice that the, the emotion that the,
Little Red Dot:like recall was like, oh, hit me again in the chest as I was telling you.
Snyders Return:So thank you, Doctor sort of remembering that moment of vulnerability on to you in Russian but thank you,
Little Red Dot:we are totally it. You know, what a great question. Cuz, you know, sometimes as a GM, you don't always think about those things. And it is it's also a joy moment where I can kind of sit here and be proud of my players and be like, Oh, man, they got me to, you know, that's kind of beautiful and wonderful. So anyways, thank you for asking that question. So it's a good one,
Snyders Return:thank you if not rate rating them or anything but you you mentioned their story. And and, and using that as a springboard to step into you working with with COBOL press. And I'm now providing the opportunity for gems and DMS to play these stories and create those moments. What's it been like working?
Little Red Dot:Oh my gosh, I'm so I joke with people that come onto my first big girl producer shop. I remember when Amanda and Wolfgang called me up and asked me to take the job. I was like response was really I was a bit surprised and taken back. But it's been, it's been a, like I said a bit of a blessing in disguise, like, doing it on my own channel. And then doing it for friends and supporting their channels. And these kinds of things really gave me a set of tools. I didn't know how useful they were going to be. And I feel like a pretty lucky.to be able to work for a company like cobalt who has been in this business. I guess I'll be passed. By the time all of you listen to this in the future. But this upcoming weekend is our 15th anniversary. And kobold press has been doing this for 15 years. I mean, Wolfgang who founded it was had written for wizards way back when and basically started kobold Press off a tip like jar on live journal, okay? Also dating. So it's really it's really interesting to see a company grow like that. And to be so embedded. they've written for like seven different tabletops. Most people don't know that. Now, of course, they're producing mostly for 5g, but they've produced for Call of Cthulhu. They've done Pathfinder. And so this is a company who has been on the outskirts of some brother big names and Publishing's for the last 15 years. And coming into the company. It's been so daunting trying to sort through they're like, I don't want to call it a discography, but basically all of their tomes, yeah, all their tones of books and history of things. And so, at the same time, it's also given me a chance, like you said, to look at COBOL, who had little twitch presence, before I showed up, and go, how can we give a space to all of these amazing people, right? There are people out there who love our work, we've got an intense group and a really talented group of contributors and writers to kobold Press of you. And if you just look at the Kickstarter that just closed fall to magic, right? You've got like, Deborah m Wol next to Luke Gygax, okay. And these are people that are contributing to these these books that we're putting out and so, Cobalts kind of is using the twitch channel as a way to bring all of these incredible faces and pieces of talent and writers and editors, we've had some editors on all to, to have a place where they can all play together, where we can celebrate the world of mid guard and the vast amount of product and stories that COBOL press has written over 15 years. And so I would say I've been working for them now. Since like the in the end of October, beginning of November of 2020. So I've actually not been with them that long. Now, I've been using cobalt product a lot longer than that, but I've not properly been working for them. And this this 15th anniversary kind of extravaganza that we've got going on this week, it's gonna be a pretty big deal. It's kind of it's like lighting the torch, and we're doing it on on Twitch. So just think we started on live journal, we've come all the way to twitch with cobalt press. So it's been a it's been a really cool to sit down with some of the voices and the people there because they have just such a history in this industry in this business like like Wolfgang,
Snyders Return:and you've not only sat down and spoke with Wolfgang, as you said, but you've you've had the opportunity to interview so many, too. So what's that been like to engage with content creators on that level?
Little Red Dot:I'd say it has been humbling. You know, I'm an artist myself, I've always been an artist. I was going to be a visual artist. And I was like, No, I'm going to be an actor, right? So being a creative and being part of a creative process is something that is near and dear to my heart, and I love love love artists. And that's what I consider every one of these people I don't care what kind of art they make, whether it's writing or whether it's It's a you know, illustration, or their acting role playing capabilities. But I would say it has been really humbling, because each one of them has sat down and taught me a little something about the way that they create, and the processes in which they, they delve into writing or contributing, which shows a lot of passion, which again, is like, I feed on that I'm a little bit of a passion vampire. I would love to sit down and just watch people dump their passions. And so I joke that I love interviewing people, because I'm really good at sitting here and nodding, I'm actually doing the opposite of what I'm used to doing. I'm usually in your seat. You tricked me. You tricked me. But yeah, so it's been really cool. Like, when I sat down with Pat Rothfuss watching him talk about the process of like, writing, he joked that, you know, they were like, write us about 250 words for the item that you're gonna be putting in this book for kobold Press. And he was like, I came up like 5000 words later. And I was like, that is somebody that loves this, right? Nobody sits down accidentally, it's just like, Here's 5000 words. You know, like this. This is somebody who got so excited at the idea that they got to put a magical item in this shared tome, this this giant book that he wrote 5000 words. And this is a man who probably has to write all the time, and he didn't have to write 5000 words, he wanted to, you know, watching him talk about the process of running it by his kids are like using an item that has been used at his own d&d table. The item Luke Gygax put in there is also when I chatted with him, is also he rent from one of his children, like the idea of run through, run through his kids. And so that's also really interesting to to see this kind of lineage that happens in their creative process. I got to ask a lot of the designers about how they go about designing the things that they do, like, where do you start what inspires you, and everybody comes from a different place. So that's also really cool, right? Because I'm just hearing everybody's processes. And if the creative process really is process versus product, getting to sit in the middle and chat a little bit about that process of people putting things out and how they create and build for their tables. It's just, yeah, like I said, it's it's really humbling and inspiring, because I take a lot away from that, then I'm like, maybe I'll do this or moon do that now, you know,
Snyders Return:yeah, no, definitely. And as you say, you've sort of spoken to some, some incredible people and using as best we can, in this sort of environment, some of the things they've given and from your own experiences. Maybe someone is looking to step into the DMC or GMC or whichever the the system is, you've sat both sides and you've produced products based on other people's output. So you know, your advice is invaluable. You you've seen it from pretty much every side and every angle. So what would you say to someone in that interesting?
Little Red Dot:Yeah, that's really interesting. A lot of what I always tell first time Geums, right, like when I started dming, it wasn't because I wanted to, it's because I had to, because nobody, nobody else was there to play with me. And so I sat down and just did it. And I tell people all the time, there's not a right or wrong, I think now, because there's a lot more tabletop online, because we have incredible gyms like Matt Mercer, who are fantastic at what they do, and we all love them. But sometimes we hold ourselves a little bit to a standard that is in achievable, like, I'm not going to hold myself up to a matt Mercer standard, I've been told him a great GM. And that is enough for me, right? But I don't actually suggest that you try to compare yourself or try to recreate somebody's GM style, because you're going to inevitably find your own. And the best way to do that is to just kind of start, start at a table with people that you love, and you trust people that are if you if you have to look something up, or you might mess up a little bit aren't going to fault you for and so they're gonna be like, cool, I'm gonna refill my drink, you sort that out. And I'll be right back. Right. And so play with people that you love and trust that are going to hold you accountable, but also lift you up and celebrate your first opportunity at doing this. Because that's going to make all the difference in your confidence, as well as your comfortability and what you can bring to the table for everybody. And I say that because you don't have to have special voices. You don't need like 1000 costumes, because now the whole big thing is like how do I costume my character online. And trust me, I'm guilty of that. So I'm calling myself out y'all. I'm calling myself out. But those things are all extra right? At the core of what you need is just the story you want to tell friends that you want to play with and the dice to roll and the I would say that's true for literally any tabletop well, and then of course, you might want the rules that would be cool. But there are some games out there have like rules, or no rules at all. And there are tabletops out there that have no genomes. That's the other thing. Now we're getting into a place with GM lists games, which is really, really cool. So my first little piece of advice would be, be kind to yourself and recognise that we can't all be a matt Mercer because there's only one Matt Mercer. So stop telling yourself that. And instead, remind yourself that there is no right or wrong, there's the only the doing and so I encourage you to go out and do it, then the next thing I would suggest is to, because we can like when I started doing there was no set I could, there was nowhere on line for me to go watch somebody play a ttrpg. So I'm gonna I'm gonna give you one side of the spectrum, which is Be kind to yourself, right? You don't need expectations, and then go watch some late allow some other people to inspire you, as we've just been talking about. Don't watch it and thinking that I need to be like that person watch and be like, Oh, I really love the way Matt Mercer does x. In fact, one of the GM styles that I have adapted over the years is the what I call the camera view style, right where I talk about like, where the camp where the audience is seeing from a camera perspective, part of that is my film background. But part of that is also because I watched another GM do it with such success. One of my Geums does it with such success, and he's so great at it. And he does such beautiful descriptions that it inspired me to change a little bit and it has actually helped my jamming, I found something that I love from somebody else. So when you go out and watch other GM, don't do it, because you need to match them do it because you're looking to find inspiration in their things that they do. And then after that, number three is just have some fun, have a little bit of fun, tell a story. We all love stories. And we all love games, hopefully. So have fun, laugh a little bit joke a little bit, yell at that one if you need to, but have a little bit of fun.
Snyders Return:Absolutely. And then if you're not having fun, then maybe it's it's time just to step back a little bit and
Little Red Dot:you need some space. That's okay, everybody needs space some time. So you should be having fun. I tell everybody that, you know, in the end, if we're not having fun, then what are we actually doing here because like, if I didn't want to have fun, I just go back to working in the film industry. I just go stand on a set and have somebody tell me what to wear and tell me what to say. And I much prefer to sit down and kind of laugh and build it with other people and have a little bit of fun. I tell people all the time you go back and you just history nerds, if you go back into history, and you just look at history, there are two things that have been there since the dawn of time, which is stories and games. We've had all kinds of dice games and card games, we've had all kinds of different forms of storytelling from like, oral tradition to, you know, to written play when we start getting into you know, Greece, but at the core, like from the point of us sitting around fires, we have told stories, even if we had to paint them on a wall. And we have played games sticks and rocks, right dice cards, these things matter at the core of who we are as humans. Why? Because have fun doing them. We would not they would not have be that embedded in I genuinely believe they would not be that embedded in our human shared psyche. If they didn't actually mean something and bring some joy to our lives.
Snyders Return:Ups. Definitely. Absolutely. And you mentioned there the fun and and that community and that that all round consciousness and you have been giving back and contributing in various games you recently a time of recording to the fire fest and and how how is it being involved in that side of projects? And how was the first
Little Red Dot:phase this was great. They raised we raised a lot of money, just like most of the charities I do you know I love so by day when I'm not kobold pressing. So I tell people by night I twitched by day, I work in the arts industry. And so I work for a nonprofit organisation. I've always worked for nonprofit organisations and so I believe heavily in charities and finding a charity that you want to support. And so for us has been one of the many ways that like I have done that, over the year of I always have like an annual fund. Right? So this 2020 for me was the Atlanta solidarity Fund, which you can go look up if you want to know more about that fund. Sometimes I'll choose, you know, I'm a childhood cancer survivor. So I usually like to run a stream that raises funds for childhood cancer, which is kind of personal. But I think there's also you know, I think a lot of people think, and this is something that even I am learning that the only way to do charity work in this industry is to hold like a fundraising charity stream and yes, that is one there and you know, you've got extra life and a Jasper's game day and a lot of things that make it very easy for you to actually do that. But there are a lot of things that our community still desperately needs, like representation and platforms for voices and stories that don't often get told. And so for me a part of my charity work is awesome. making that happen. And so at the end of 2020, in the midst of all this crazy pandemic business, I applied for a large grant from the city of Atlanta, which I was awarded to run a series of games. And the overnight series was part of that. I also ran an indeed tabletop series with North by Northwest under that grant called the novella series. So they were all like little shorts, and we played indie games, like thirsty sword lesbians and the secret of cats. What else did we play? missing? What? Oh, we played nurnberger. Craig's new game, good, strong hands, beautiful dark fantasy game. So I kind of did that series. And then I wanted to have a moment where some stories were able to be told on my channel that aren't stories that I can tell. And so I reached out to swords fall, and we did a swords fall series and playtested, the first public viewing of what was at the summit of kings, which is the like a r&b and rap based game. And so Brito ran that game. And we had just an incredible group, I had some artists from Atlanta that joined each of the tables, for some people, like one of them was a filmmaker, he wasn't like a twitch streamer or a tabletop player. And so just lots of interesting kind of mixes. And I had a lot of, like I said, local talent. So for me, that's also a form of charity, and not the sense of like, you know, let me fill your cup, but more of like, I have an audience, I have a space, and I have the want to go out and raise all the money so that I could pay every person that we could have art made by, like, artists, and I could pay them what they are, you know, wanted and those kinds of things. And so creating spaces where these stories that don't often get told, because, well, we know all the many reasons that don't often get told, could just have a platform and a space, right? I always tell people, we say a lot. We want to do things to empower others, but I actually believe everybody already has their own power. Sometimes all they need is a place to let that go, or a safe place to allow that power to like, free itself. And so I don't like to empower people. I like to make power spaces, where power can grow and thrive and be the biggest best power it can be. Right? That's the GM me probably, but insert evil left here. But, but yeah, so So for me, charity comes in multiple origins. So I do a lot of Festival, which was fantastic. And also, you know, I pick a annual charity every year that my channel can support, you can donate to directly to me or to this. And then of course, you know, working every year to continue to create power spaces for our other RPGs that may not get the light, that they deserve all these stories that just may not be told in other places. You know, we can't make change until we change the kind of stories that are being told. And so for me, that was like a real driving power behind that. So I find a lot of love and passion. And lots of late nights of no sleep, but all for what I would consider extremely good causes. And in a way that is really personal to me, because it's about storytelling.
Snyders Return:Absolutely. And touching on something you sort of mentioned a couple of times there about opening up the spaces and things, looking at where we are with TT RPGs, regardless of the size of the brand, or the IP, where is it? You want to see that the hobby go next? I was going to ask them more specific question about us particular setting. But I think given your your passion, about what we've just spoken about there? Where do you want to see the hobby? And the community? More importantly, I would say than the hobby. Go? Go next.
Little Red Dot:Yeah. So this is a hard, right? Because my business degree is like, let me let me talk to you about the future of the business, the ttrpg, which is a different podcast for a different day. But I think when, for me, the change that I want to see is this idea that we can tell impactful stories safely, in a way where voices can be heard stories that can be heard. And we also do it with a level of humbleness. And I'm gonna say actually equality, because I struggle with the term like, you know, to be equitable is different than to be equal. And I think with the level of equalness that could precedent, other industries, right, other gaming industries, other entertainment industries. You know, I work in the theatre industry, I work for a comedy and improv house by day and called dad's garage if y'all are ever in Atlanta combined. That'll be fun. There's a little tidbit you might not know about dot though come by right now because we're in a pandemic, but when you when we open our doors at the end of the year, you can come and do that. But a Wednesday night now I got down a rabbit hole every Memorial segment was talking about community, right. equality. Duty correct. So So I work in theatre by day. And right now, there's a real struggle conversation happening in the theatre community about some of the many issues that we face in theatre from being an assessable to audiences in certain demographics. And in certain under the a certain poverty line of being, and I'm not talking just about theatre, like the arts in general are having the struggle, right. And we're having the struggle even before pandemic and with these are conversations that we are struggling with, we are struggling to actually find the representation we talk about to actually do these things. And so what I found, actually very exciting and about the TT RPG industry is that we're ahead of the game. We're ahead of the game in the conversations we're already having. And the way that we are trying to, to actually expand in the ways that we are looking at representation and the ways that we have podcasts that are, you know, all Asian based podcasts, right? Or these kinds of things. This is huge. But what it actually means is for the first time that tabletop is actually going to continue to expand. Because we are bringing in fresh voices, we are bringing in new stories, new perspectives, these things help us grow. Isolation is the death of just about anything creative. Right? What our industry needs is to continue to reach out right, I look at something like rural darkness Wraith, right? If your world darkness fan Wraith is one of the many ttrpg books that they put out years and years ago, and World of Darkness is doing a lot of like updating, and they're putting out all this V five stuff. But for Wraith, they chose not to go tabletop, they have put out a VR experience. Now, the VR experience is still got a lot of the mechanics of just like all other video games of the ttrpg and vice versa. But I think that's really neat. Here we are now expanding, reaching out partnering with other industries, changing the way in which we experience stories, and lore. And we're trying to do it. Because I'm a positive person, we are trying to do it in a more equal way, in a more representational way. And a place where 10 years ago, we might not have been able to have a game like thirsty sword list. Right? Let's be real, but now we can. And now not only can we have a game called thirsty sword, lesbians, we can have a game called thirsty sword lesbians that was funded by hundreds of 1000s of dollars on Kickstarter. Do you know that tells me that tells me that there is a large group of people out there that need to tell a story. Using this game, they have a story that wants to end needs to be told. And so I just find this really inspiring, and really exciting because it means that we could be doing something that a lot of other industries aren't I think the gaming industry and total if you want to include video games, but ttrpg specifically is to some really incredible things. Think about how many people watch Critical Role 20 years ago that would have been on heard of 10 years ago, it might have been unheard of parents sit down with their kids, and listen to ttrpg podcast, people make ttrpg podcast with their kids, right? That is so mind blowing To me it is it is such a community driven thing. And it's such a for me the reason why I continue to do it is because of the communal nature of it right? I live my life by the the 10 tenets of Burning Man, I literally have it on the wall behind me. I know y'all can't see it. But I have my favourite one right radical self expression, which should tell you exactly why I dress in like constantly on colours and have a lava lamp behind me. But like, I live by these tenants, and one of the tenants is community and our responsibility to our community. And I'm I can say I'm just like probably many people, I'm part of a lot of different communities. And I'm even part of a lot of different communities inside of just the ttrpg community. But my responsibility to all of you. And your responsibility, hopefully to me, is about continuing to create safe spaces, create power spaces, create a different space I call brave spaces, spaces where people can be brave, right, where we can push the bounds. And all of these things are part of that. And I really hope that while I continue to do this in 10 years time, we have me back on this podcast because it's super famous and everybody's listening to it. Right put out in the universe what you want. When everybody's listening to it, you can have you back on and we can jump back to this conversation and laugh. I hope to be able to say Hey, Doc was right. Look at what we've accomplished. We have exceeded expectation in the kinds of games that are published in the success of indie gamers and my people of minorities and their place in this world, or in this community, in the stories that are being told, and the stories that are being received, right how we receive those stories as well with with humbleness and grace. So I think there's a lot of a lot things there. But for me, in the future, what I really want to see is a continuation of all the amazing things we're already doing. Right. Let's just amp that up to 11. And to be a leader in what the other entertainment industries and gaming industries need.
Snyders Return:Yeah, definitely, I think this community could be that standard bearer. Yeah. And, but we can only it should be, it should be a charge to progress and a greater a greater than some of his past as wind right back to the, and pull it all together. And I hope, yeah, not just in 10 years when you're immensely successful, and I'm pleading with you by email to come back home. But in 12 months, we look back on this conversation and say, Doc was nodding, right? She has helped set that trend and push this room together.
Little Red Dot:Well, I can only hope I joke, you know, my moniker is dot and I call my twitch channel the dot lot. And when you're a part of the dot lat you are also a dot. Because I got I started calling myself dot little red.as, my artist handle after a a frivolous night in college, that's what I'll call it. We'll keep it family friendly, a frivolous night in college, and I'm sitting on my friend's couch in a state. And I'm looking at his wall. And he had one of those posters from science class of ones that are of the Milky Way galaxy. It's called like the hero. And it points to the little red darkness as you are here. And it was such a moment for me in recognising my place in this universe, and recognising not only how small I am, okay, which is its own. That was his own existential crisis. But the fact that I still had a place because I am still a.in, this massive universe. And so I've started using dot not only as my name, but as a way to bring in a community because we're all dots, right? The more dots the merrier, right? And so the dot lot is all about becoming a dot and the.is, about lifting each other up. It's about being it's about being a person in this crazy universe, and creating a space where we can all be better dots together.
Snyders Return:And each star is potentially in a constellation, which is the source of many stories. So we loop back around to the origins of storytelling. Exactly. And I'd love to go on to Coriolis, which is out in the far flung space.
Little Red Dot:Yes, that is a very personal game for me. Many levels, but I'll talk more I could talk CoreOS all day so you tell me what you want to know.
Snyders Return:And also potentially another nother podcast interview entirely.
Little Red Dot:It really is. It really is. That game is so beautiful. It is my favourite sci fi game that exists ttrpg game that exists to date
Snyders Return:on it pulls in that that other stories, it's self describes his Arabian Nights in space and to draw from such a rich heritage of storytelling. That's not Western based. It is a lie in it in its own right. And to be able to bring it to the table in such a fun and unique way I can I can understand your connection with it. I've only recently discovered it. And yeah,
Little Red Dot:oh, really? Yeah, there were there. I tell people there have only ever been to RPG books that when I saw them in person, I almost wept. Like I picked it up and was like I connected with this on a level I could not explain to you. And that is overnight and Coriolis. I read the first two pages of overnight and almost cried on the floor at Gen Con. She the the lady who handles marketing for them was so moved that I was so moved, she gave me the book. She let me leave with it because I was like, this is the most beautiful thing. But the same thing with Coriolis. I read the first few pages of lore and I was like where has this game been? My whole life Please marry me. Like I fell in love with Coriolis and, and the way that not only the game system itself, which is I am drawn to but I just think that the lore and the story that they've built and the world for you to play in is just like you said, so rich.
Snyders Return:Yeah. One one of the games that I've discovered i'd seem to be discovering a lot recently is is draws from so many Pantheon so many stories so many chances to to learn and expand beyond the sort of the Greco Roman mythologies and understand other cultures and and there may be some creative licence on some things to put it within a narrative based game but there is the foundation of actual law and folklore and things like that. And it's so mind blowing how, and it's horrible to many, but how close minded I find that I've been knowing that this is true. It's just beyond the next page.
Little Red Dot:Yeah, it's just on your Yeah, it's just on your peripheral most of the time and you just don't know like, you know, freely. It's got a new game out called vasin Basin, which is a Nordic horror game. And it's all about like, you know, Nordic lore, and it's setting this really kind of dark, grim world where it's a horror game, and it's wonderful. It's so beautiful. And yeah, I'm with you, I always seem to find things kind of just off on my peripheral. And I'm glad you're glad you're reaching for them. My band director, he could never say in high school, my band director could never say peripheral. He could only say he so we call it purple vision. So I appreciate that you're reaching for your purple vision and drawing some things in and finding new stuff. That's awesome.
Snyders Return:We'll find a purple haze together. It's been an eye, we could potentially talk for hours and hours now just you know, I we really generation and and amazing on so many levels. But closing this out. So we save things for another interview. If you really want me again. Yes, I see what you do. Would you could you please remind everybody where they can find you and everything you please,
Little Red Dot:totally, you can find me on pretty much your social media of choice as little underscore read underscore.if you are over on Facebook and Instagram, add an extra T on the end because I can't get somebody to give me that handle. There you go. But you can find me at a few places. Of course, my twitch channel is always there and available to you. You can also check me out on pod by night, which is a podcast called stitcher fate that I produce. You should definitely check that out and make sure that you tune in to anything that kobold Press does on Twitch because I'm there somewhere even if I'm not on screen, I'm definitely there. And the rest of the time my to home and my home away from homes are the roll for it network and unmade gaming where I play a lot of free leaks. So lots of different places you can check me out right now. And if the world ever gets back into a semblance of normality, and do you need some comedy in your life by day, I work for an improv company that's been in Atlanta for about 25 years called dad's garage. And we're out there, still trying to make people laugh, even in a pandemic
Snyders Return:links to all of that. More if I can stalk you well enough will be in the description below this podcast. So please click on those links support the charities as Doug has mentioned, and as for her absolutely died. It's been an absolute pleasure.
Little Red Dot:Thank you so much for having me on. I always enjoy sometimes it's nice to just talk about telling stories.
Snyders Return:And we will continue to do just that well into the future. Thank you very much. Thank you so much. Thanks for listening. If you'd like to learn more about the show, then go to WWW dot Snyder's return.squarespace.com. Alternatively, you can find us over on Twitter. At Return Snyder, you have a link tree link in the description of this episode. And if you want to support us, come and join us over on Patreon. And we also have a Discord server. Please leave us a review because we'd love to learn how to improve the channel and provide better content alpha for those who are listening until we until we speak again. Thank you