I was lucky to get chance to chat with Initiative Zero, a group of friends who've played together for over a decade in a variety of games. Here we get their take on our starter questions and get to learn a little more about the crew...
I0: We really decided to record our ttrpg so that other people could laugh along with us. With the OGL fiasco and the changes WotC has brought about to D&D, we’ve shifted more to showing people how to play games other than D&D. So many good games out there to showcase for ttrpg fans.
TP: What would you say is the best selling point of your Podcast and what has people coming back for more?
I0: We’ve recently brought in people from the wider ttrpg community to run side adventures in other games. Right now we have a Chronicles of Darkness game and a Rifts game posting regularly. We’re looking at teaming up with other ttrpg actual play shows in the future to really make our table open, as all ttrpg tables should be.
TP: Why the TTRPG space?
I0: Roleplaying games are the best and greatest games ever invented. We’d be playing regardless, and we wanted to share our enjoyment with anyone who wants to have a watch/listen. There are a lot of people who can’t find a group or can’t find the time to game. Hopefully we can relieve that to some small extent by letting them live vicariously through us.
TP: What is your favourite individual podcast that you've worked on and why?
I0: Well, we made a vid for New Game Master Month, and that was cool to have us talk about what we found interesting about our different GMing styles, but I don’t know if I really have a favourite. I’m happy that we’ve opened up and let the wider ttrpg community to our table.
TP: With some podcasts being a little behind the actual play of the game what can you tell us about what you're up to now?
I0: We’ve just finished the first story, Of Mice And Men, in our Chronicles of Darkness actual play chronicle, The Second City Chronicle. We’ll also be wrapping up our Rifts side adventure, Once Upon A Time In The New West, very soon.
I0: People who want to try games other than D&D. Who are willing to play games as they a written. Who are willing to bring a character handed to them by the Fates to life, rather than build an alter ego.
TP: Where do you see your TTRPG podcast taking you in 5 years?
I0: Hopefully we have enough of a following and enough hours viewed for YouTube to offset our costs. I hope too that we’ve made a lot of new connections in the ttrpg community that we’d be able to find a friend wherever we might go.
TP: If you were given the time and opportunity to develop something unique, what would it be and why?
I0: I’ve been working on a Carolingian campaign for some time now, and really haven’t quite found the system that would suit it best. Might have to make one of my own to capture the feel that I’m looking for.
TP: Who do you admire in the podcast community and why?
I0: Here’s my chance to give a shout out to Matt Yancik and his YouTube channel Manufactured Myth and Legerdemain. Matt is the Larry King of ttrpg and has interviewed some of the biggest names in modern ttrpgs. His actual plays are good fun to listen to as well.
TP: What got you into TTRPG in the first place?
I0: When I was 13 I was introduced to Palladium Books’ Heroes Unlimited on a rainy week at summer camp. I loved Choose Your Own Adventure books, and here was a game that took that to a whole other level. Once I got home I started looking for this game everywhere. By August of 1990 I stumbled upon a newly released game that had some of the same bionics artwork in it; Rifts. That was the first game I owned and ran, and soon Palladium Fantasy, Heroes Unlimited, TMNT, Robotech, and a slough of other Palladium games followed. Then I found Shadowrun, and Vampire: The Masquerade. I didn’t even play D&D until sometime in the mid 90s. I’ve played many a version of many a game in my near 4 decades of ttrpgs, and introduced a lot of people to them along the way.
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