Ludonarrative Dissidents

Overview

"Ludonarrative dissonance" is a term from game-design commentary, describing a moment when the game mechanics pull in one direction but the game story pulls in another, creating dissonance. The ‘Ludonarrative Dissidents’ are three game designers, reviewers and commentators, veterans in the field of ludic narrative, who have come together to discuss the art, science and craft of RPG design by vivisecting game systems and seeing what makes them run.  Your hosts are Ross Payton, Greg Stolze and James Wallis.

Ethos

Every episode of Ludonarrative Dissidents is built around four pillars: What does this game do? How does it do that? How do people play it? Why do they play it that way? (and how well does it succeed?) We examine games from all angles: mechanical, ludic, narrativist, historical, cultural, structural, whether or not it’s fun, and Greg complains about its use of the future-conditional tense. We look at its influences and pedigree, its narrative engine, its world-building, its book-design, and James reveals that he dated the designer’s sister, or something like that. In season 2 we have added episodes that look at specific aspects of RPGs, such as initiative systems, metacurrencies and diceless games.

Origins

The idea behind Ludonarrative Dissidents came from a Twitter discussion in early 2021. Someone was looking for RPG designers to work on a project, someone else suggested Greg and James, and after the two of them politely declined, a third person opined that a podcast with the two talking about games and game design would be quite a thing. Greg and James exchanged a virtual glance across the Atlantic, Greg mentioned the idea to Ross, the three of them filled a Google document with ideas, and the project was born.

Links

ludonarrativedissidents.com https://www.ludonarrativedissidents.com/ - Official website spotify.com https://open.spotify.com/show/1fUlFMSXItwN0luUuoPj5V - Spotify feed podcast.apple.com https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ludonarrative-dissidents/id1631574681 - Apple Podcasts feed discord.gg https://discord.gg/8duhtFUFEV - Discord server ko-fi.com https://ko-fi.com/s/d4522f9f4f - Ko-Fi page

Other entries

Fantasy Name Generators
Tools & Platforms

Fantasy Name Generators

English
Generators
Free
Fantasy Name Generators is the world’s largest collection of random name generators, famously created and maintained by a single developer known as Emily. Launched in 2012, the site has grown into a massive cultural pillar for tabletop gaming, featuring over 1,400 different generators ranging from traditional high fantasy races to real world historical names, pop culture references, and even abstract concepts like "evil sword names" or "inn signs." In 2025 and 2026, the site has remained the industry's "gold standard" specifically because it avoids AI generation in favor of hand-coded linguistic patterns and custom syllables. Description Fantasy Name Generators is the ultimate "anti-writer's block" tool. It is a lightweight, browser-based repository that generates 10 names at a time with a single click. What sets Emily’s site apart is its sheer granular depth; you aren't just looking for "Elf names," you are looking for Night Elf, Blood Elf, Tolkien Elf, or Pop Culture Elf names. It is highly valued for its speed and its "clean" nature—there are no accounts to create and no complex settings to tweak. Furthermore, the site is famous for its environmental focus, using its ad revenue to fund massive tree-planting initiatives. System Overview & Key Features Hand-Crafted Linguistic Patterns Unlike modern AI generators that "predict" text, Emily's tools use specific phonetic rules for each category. For example, the Dwarf generator is hard-coded to favor gravelly, consonant-heavy sounds, while the Elven generators prioritize melodic, vowel-rich patterns. This ensures that names feel like they belong to a coherent culture rather than being random gibberish. Extreme Categorization The site is divided into massive sub-sections: Fantasy, Real World, Pop Culture, Place Names, and Other. You can find names for anything from a "Post-Apocalyptic City" to a "Legendary Weapon" or even specific names for "Demon Souls" and "Lovecraftian Horrors." Real-World Cultural Accuracy The site features one of the most extensive collections of real-world names on the internet, covering hundreds of ethnic and historical groups. GMs often use these to give different regions of their world a distinct, authentic "flavor" (e.g., using Icelandic names for a northern kingdom and Swahili names for a southern trade port). Description and Prompt Generators Beyond just names, the site includes "Description Generators" for NPCs, landscapes, and even "Backstory Generators." While simple, these provide a "Mad Libs" style framework that can jumpstart a GM's creativity when they need to describe a room or a character's personality on the fly. Environmental Philanthropy A unique "meta-feature" of the site is its partnership with wildlife and forest conservation. By simply using the site, users contribute to the planting of millions of trees. As of 2026, Emily has expanded these efforts to include specific ocean cleanup and rewilding projects, making it a "feel-good" tool for the community. The "Roll For Fantasy" Sister Site Emily also maintains a companion site called Roll For Fantasy, which offers free browser-based tools for map making, dungeon building, and character sheet management, all using the same user-friendly, non-subscription philosophy. Additional links fantasynamegenerators.com - Official website rollforfantasy.com - Companion site for TTRPG building tools tree-nation.com/profile/fantasy-name-generators - Tracking the site's tree-planting progress

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The Gap Between us
Actual Play & Podcasts

The Gap Between us

English
Actual Play
Starfinder
Join our eclectic crew as they try to navigate the harrowing Post-Gap universe of a brand-new original Starfinder 2e adventure campaign: “The Gap Between Us”. A space station full of strangers and lost memories; where even the most familiar settings seem out of place. We drop full Actual Play episodes every Thursday, so grab a seat at the table and follow the journey week by week. Whether you’re a Starfinder veteran or just love a good sci-fi story, you’ll find thrilling adventures, memorable characters, and original TTRPG storytelling right here. The Story Four years post gap, Absalom Station is failing. After The Awakening, societal upheaval began to fracture the station, culminating with the shattering of the Eye. Now three years later, resources are becoming scarce and those who remain are starting to get desperate. Not only have gangs been growing rapidly, but strange creatures and monsters have begun appearing all over the station. Residents form small communities to try to weather the increasingly post-apocalyptic landscape they find themselves in. In an abandoned neighborhood in the Arms, a small community of survivors huddle awake in a commandeered community center in the dead of the night. Tipped off that a local gang’s arrival is imminent, the center’s newest (level 0) members are tasked to defend their new home. Our crew of survivors must level-up and find a way to survive and thrive in their new post gap reality. Links youtube.com - Youtube playlist rss.com - Podcast feed spotify.com - Spotify feed podcasts.apple.com - Apple Podcasts feed standardactionsnetwork.com - Standard Actions Network website

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Theater of the Mindset
Actual Play & Podcasts

Theater of the Mindset

English
Daggerheart
Actual Play
Take your seats, bring the house lights down, and please don’t silence your phones, you’ll need it for Theater of the Mindset! TotM is a Daggerheart actual play podcast combining collaborative, character driven storytelling in a modern high fantasy setting with audio drama production quality. A mixed table of mild mannered TTRPG players and unmanageable improvisers bring balanced humor seasoned with imbalanced results. The mindset is brought to you by your kind and generous GM, Justin Gerardot and sound designer and composer, Nick Traeger. Links theaterofthemindset.transistor.fm - Official website youtube.com - Youtube channel spotify.com - Spotify feed podcasts.apple.com - Apple Podcasts feed patreon.com - Patreon page

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