Characters Without Stories
Characters Without Stories is a tabletop role playing game podcast about the roads not yet traveled.
Every episode I bring in a friend to tell me about their unplayed character and their approach to creating characters. I cover all kinds of RPGs - from indies to D&D.
I've had some fascinating conversations about how our characters intersect with and reveal our identities and how play is a gateway to understanding ourselves. I hope you'll give it a listen.
Thank you and may all your characters find their stories.
Episodes
55 episodes
Mogmoden, Sheltered Academic - Being Curious with Rene Legault (Fabula Ultima)
Rene Legault brings Mogmoden to the table. Mog is a teenage academic in the pursuit of practical knowledge and answers to intellectual mysteries in his first time venturing out into the world.Rene and I discuss creating characters who ar...
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Season 4
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Episode 4
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52:00
Petty Dreadful, a Survivor - Breaking the Game with Rowan Zeoli (Deathmatch Island)
Rowan Zeoli brings Petty Dreadful to the table. Petty is a rage-fueled, attention-seeking drag queen Playing to Win.Rowan and I discuss gender performance, radical imagination, and the parallels between reality television and actual play...
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Season 4
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Episode 3
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1:02:28
Sarge, Norma, and Harmony - Troupe Style Play with Andrew Beauman (Out of Orbit)
Andrew Beauman brings Sarge and Norma to the table, and we create Harmony together. Sarge, Norma, and Harmony are survivors of a spaceship crash hoping to make it back out of orbit.Andrew and I discuss troupe-style mechanics and playing ...
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Season 4
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Episode 2
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1:18:27
Aria Godey, Pirate Captain - Embodying Your Character with SpunkyTaylor (Thirsty Sword Lesbians)
Taylor brings Captain Aria Godey to the table. Captain Aria is a pirate who touched a gold piece that is slowly consuming her and turning her into gold.Taylor and I discuss belonging as a Black creator in the TTRPG space, learning to acc...
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Season 4
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Episode 1
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59:09
Chase Cameron, aka Showtime - Alternate Futures with Will Malkus (Masks: a New Generation)
WIll Malkus brings Chase Cameron, aka Showtime, to the table. Chase is a teenager who recently became a superhero when he found a watch that can stop time.Will and I nerd out on comics, deconstruct the women in refrigerators trope, and d...
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Season 3
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Episode 18
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1:04:14
Jessica Jeroux, Drow Archeologist - Transition and Leveling Up with Justin Gagliani (D&D 5e)
Justin Gagliani brings Jessica Jeroux to the table. Jessica is a drow trans woman pursuing knowledge of lost civilizations.Justin and I discuss what it means to be a trans woman in gender-segregated drow society, learning to explore and ...
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Season 3
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Episode 17
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1:18:14
Chris Strausman, Socially Isolated Streamer - Growing Up and Showing Up with Blerdy Disposition (Call of Cthulhu)
Blerdy Disposition brings Chris Strausman to the table. Chris is a Twitch streamer with a lot of growing up to do, searching Reddit and relying on his followers to find his missing sister.Blerdy and I compare Lovecraftian horrors to YouT...
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Season 3
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Episode 16
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1:00:21
Everett Nichols, a Protector Who Defends What Matters - Healing from the Past with DJ BeeZee (Old Gods of Appalachia)
Content Warning this episode for brief mentions of forced sterilization (49:03-49:53) and death of a child (57:40-57:48).DJ BeeZee brings Everett Nichols to the table. Everett is a union man, through and through, who defends thos...
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Season 3
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Episode 15
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1:18:47
Don Rigals, Communist Clark Kent - Representation and Speaking Out with AC Lawrence (Call of Cthulhu)
Adrian Lawrence brings Don Rigals to the table. Don is a fur-obsessed secret communist delving into New York's underground to find his brother.Adrian and I discuss being outspoken about your political values, the power of representation,...
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Season 3
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Episode 14
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52:10
Looking Back on Two Years - Diversity Report and Giveaway Announcement
I've been bringing characters without stories and the creators who made them to the table for TWO YEARS! It felt like a good time to get reflective and talk about something I've been working on - diversifying my guests and the games we talk abo...
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Season 3
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11:31
Reyna the Lion - Being a Woman Online with Alejandra Wilhelm (D&D5e)
Content warning this episode for discussions of sexual assault and sexual harassment. We don’t go into any detail, but if this topic is a trigger for you, I recommend you skip it.Alejandra Wilhelm brings Reyna to the table. Reyna...
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Season 3
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Episode 13
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1:00:47
Grammarye Praise-God Winthrop, Teenage Witch - Acting Out with Juicy Garland (Monsterhearts 2e)
Juicy Garland brings Grammarye Praise-God Winthrop to the table. Grammarye is a teenage witch and the black sheep of a family with a 400 year vendetta against the Salem Witch Trial judges who killed their ancestor.Juicy and I share our l...
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Season 3
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Episode 12
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1:01:15
Kit, the Sea Witch - Friendship is Magic with Savannah Rayne (D&D5e)
Savannah Rayne brings Kit to the table. Kit is a con woman on the run in disguise as a man, who finds family and the confidence to harness her innate magic on a pirate ship. Savannah and I discuss roleplaying away from a table in p...
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Season 3
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Episode 11
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45:12
Oba Manu, Family Guy - Parent Tropes and Pastoral Hopes with Navaar Seik-Jackson (Pathfinder 2e)
Navaar Seik-Jackson brings Oba Manu to the table. Oba is a dad who wants nothing more than to live the simple life, but is pulled back into adventuring for "one last job." Navaar and I discuss having a family both at and away from ...
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Season 3
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Episode 10
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48:22
Lancelot, Blind Fighter - Testing Your Limits with Stephan Kelly (Coven and Crucible)
Stephan Kelly brings Lancelot to the table. Lance is a blind martial artist in a coven of witches, doing his best to leave the world a little bit better than when he found it.Stephan and I discuss building a character while you're buildi...
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Season 3
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Episode 9
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56:48
Orco the Magnificent, Sh*tty Wizard - Religious Rebellion with Grant Nordine (D&D5e)
Grant brings Orco the Magnificent to the table. Orco is not a very good wizard, but he gives it his best shot.Grant and I discuss religious trauma, high school theater, and the opposite of min-maxing.This character is built for D&...
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Season 3
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Episode 8
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1:01:02
Tendertwig, Sweet Summer Child - Childlike Wonder with Tori Fica (Pathfinder 2e)
Tori Fica brings Tendertwig to the table. Tendertwig is a Leshy Oracle who moves through life with the confidence of a child - because they are actually only 1 year old.Tori and I discuss the freedom of playing a character utterly devoi...
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Season 3
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Episode 7
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41:34
Rhan Halvard, Paladin of Fate - Death and Destiny with Chriss Knight (D&D 5e)
Chriss brings Rhan Halvard to the table. Rhan was a wizard who became a revenant in the service of Istus when her attempt to change her fate had unexpectedly dire results.Chriss and I discuss death, grief, and catharsis, the role of fate...
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Season 3
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Episode 6
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47:18
Exit, the Outsider - Character Building is Worldbuilding with Sam Dunnewold (Apocalypse World)
Sam Dunnewold brings Exit to the table. Exit is a scavenger living on the edges of a dangerous psychic mist and a society that demands they conform.Sam and I discuss building a character within the context of a post apocalyptic world, be...
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Season 3
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Episode 5
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1:00:24
Riley and Jean-Pierre, a Masked Vampire - Code-Switching and Authenticity with Aetherius Bordeaux (Vampire the Masquerade 5e)
Aetherius brings Riley Howard/Jean Pierre Baptiste to the table. Riley is a Ministry kindred masquerading as Jean-Pierre, a Toreador in the Camarilla.Aetherius and I discuss being your authentic self, being the only Black player at the t...
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Season 3
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Episode 4
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1:36:41
Otto Von Kurtzel, Mecha Grandpa - Family Ties with Joseph Byler (D&D5e)
Joseph brings Otto Von Kurtzel to the table. Otto is a family man who built a mech suit to help him live with a degenerative disease.Joseph and I discuss punching dragons, having people worth fighting for, and tinkering for good.T...
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Season 3
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Episode 3
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38:41
Nix, a Children's Party Magician - Quirks and Quests with Alex (Quest)
Alex brings Nix to the table. Alex is a traveling magician who cheerfully becomes a hero.Alex and I discuss mad libs character creation, the nature of magic, and being inspired by a hat.This character is built for Quest.Ale...
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Season 3
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Episode 2
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44:09
Alehat, a Sly Slide - Playing Dangerous Games with Rook (Blades in the Dark)
Rook brings Dale Dorries, AKA Alehat to the table. Alehat is a greedy, rotten scoundrel feeding his retirement fund with ill-gotten gains.Rook and I discuss filling a role in a party, using characters to try out game mechanics, and being...
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Season 3
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Episode 1
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38:48
An Unnamed Soldier – Coping with Fictional Trauma in Character and Out with Jeffrey Baker (D&D5e)
Jeffrey Baker brings an unnamed soldier to the table. The unnamed soldier is a grizzled drill sergeant who motivates his party through tough love and (bardic) inspirational speeches.Jeffrey and I discuss playing older characters with lif...
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Season 2
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Episode 16
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45:55
Tryp, a Newborn Hive Mind - Containing Multitudes with Wes Ascolese (The Wildsea)
Wes Ascolese brings Trypoxylus "Tryp" to the table. Tryp is a newborn hive mind formed from a group of Japanese stag beetles looking to learn about the world they are seeing with new eyes.Wes and I discuss how bugs think, trying to buil...
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Season 2
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Episode 15
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58:20