Team-Up Moves

Mastodon: @teamupmoves@dice.camp

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

Marvelous (AP 2/2) w/ Emily Buza and Jay Edidin

Fiona Hopkins and Stephanie Burt — Tue, 18 Jul 2023 05:00:00 -0400

It’s time for the 2nd half of our actual play of S. Donnelly and Hannah Rogers’ Marvelous!

This is a Belonging Outside Belonging game of teen heroes, villains, and mundane friends.

We’re fortunate to be joined by two powerhouses of comic podcasting: Emily Buza, who you know from Whelmed: The Young Justice Files, and Jay Edidin, who you know from Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men.

Find out more and get the game: https://sdonnelly.itch.io/marvelous

The Cast

Emily Buza (she/her, @emilyofarden) — Beatrice “Trixie” O’Neill

Jay Edidin (he/him, @NotLasers) — Alex North

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly/@accommodatingly@zirk.us) — Thalia Mews (“Amphitrite”)

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim/@fionawhim@dice.camp) — Brethyn Beachum

Show Info

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Mastodon: @teamupmoves@dice.camp

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

Marvelous (AP 1/2) w/ Emily Buza and Jay Edidin

Fiona Hopkins and Stephanie Burt — Tue, 11 Jul 2023 05:00:00 -0400

We are kicking off our second year with a phenomenal run, playing S. Donnelly and Hannah Rogers’ Marvelous, a Masks-inspired Belonging Outside Belonging game. This is a game about super teens, but not necessarily a super team. Our characters are two heroes finding their powers and their voice, a villain struggling to come into his own, and Brethyn.

Find out more and get the game: https://sdonnelly.itch.io/marvelous

Also! We’re an Official Selection at Minnesota WebFest 2023!

The Cast

Emily Buza (she/her, @emilyofarden) — Beatrice “Trixie” O’Neill

Jay Edidin (he/him, @NotLasers) — Alex North

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly/@accommodatingly@zirk.us) — Thalia Mews (“Amphitrite”)

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim/@fionawhim@dice.camp) — Brethyn Beachum

Show Info

Mastodon: @teamupmoves@dice.camp

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

Annual 2023

Fiona Hopkins and Stephanie Burt — Tue, 27 Jun 2023 05:00:00 -0400

We’re celebrating a year of podcasting with an annual episode (never not using comic book metaphors)! Hosts Fiona and Stephanie answer some listener questions, talk about what we’ve learned in a year of superhero RPGs, and talk about a few things we’re excited about for the next year.

Will we find the best superhero business RPG? Will Fiona be able to play as Squirrel Girl? Which of Stephanie’s characters does she most resemble? All these and more.

Mentioned Links:

Lowell Francis’s History of Superhero RPGs on his Age of Ravens blog
Stan Lee on who would win in a fight

Show Info

Mastodon: @teamupmoves@dice.camp

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

Cypher/Claim the Sky (Back Matter) w/ Armaan Babu and Ian Gregory

Fiona Hopkins and Stephanie Burt — Tue, 23 May 2023 05:00:00 -0400

Cyphers! Pools! Adjectives, nouns, and verb phrases! Armaan and Ian are with us to dig into Cypher and discuss how it handles superheroic characters and stories.

Cypher System is a setting-agnostic RPG from Monte Cook Games. We’re using their Claim the Sky add-on book to inform how to adapt it to superheroic characters and settings.

Find out more about Cypher System and Claim the Sky at https://www.montecookgames.com/

Want to hear us discuss something during our Annual Episode, coming in June? E-mail show@teamupmoves.com!

Back Issues

UNCANNY X-MEN 122-25 (1979), by Chris Claremont, John Byrne, and others
DREADSTAR (1982-1992), by Jim Starlin and others
MACHINE MAN 1-4 (1984), by Tom DeFalco, Herb Trimpe and others
MURDERWORLD (2022-23), by Jim Zub, Ray Fawkes, and others
X-FORCE (2020-2023), by Benjamin Percy, Joshua Cassara and others
X-TERMINATORS (2022-2023), by Leah Williams, Carlos Gomez and others
SINS OF SINISTER (2023), by Kieron Gillen, Lucas Werneck, Paco Medina and others

Also Mentioned

Old Gus’ Cypher System Reference Document: https://callmepartario.github.io/og-csrd/

The Cast

Armaan Babu (he/him, @ArmaanBabu) — Karma Jain (“The Games Master”)

(You can hire Armaan to be your actual game master at https://startplaying.games/gm/pathwaysyetunexplored!)

Ian Gregory (they/them, @fissionmale) — Exo-Unit Layer Ipsilon Seven

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly/@accommodatingly@zirk.us) — Sheila Remy (“Songwolf”)

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim/@fionawhim@dice.camp) — Game Master

Show Info

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Mastodon: @teamupmoves@dice.camp

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

Cypher/Claim the Sky (AP 2/2) w/ Armaan Babu and Ian Gregory

Fiona Hopkins and Stephanie Burt — Tue, 16 May 2023 05:00:00 -0400

It’s the 2nd half of our Cypher System / Claim the Sky AP. We’re re-joined by Armaan Babu and Ian Gregory as three heroes unlock the secrets of The Zephyr’s underground puzzle dungeon in order to save their friend.

Cypher System is a setting-agnostic RPG from Monte Cook Games. We’re using their Claim the Sky add-on book to inform how to adapt it to superheroic characters and settings.

Find out more about Cypher System and Claim the Sky at https://www.montecookgames.com/

Want to hear us discuss something during our Annual Episode, coming in June? E-mail show@teamupmoves.com!

The Cast

Armaan Babu (he/him, @ArmaanBabu) — Karma Jain (“The Games Master”)

(You can hire Armaan to be your actual game master at https://startplaying.games/gm/pathwaysyetunexplored!)

Ian Gregory (they/them, @fissionmale) — Exo-Unit Layer Ipsilon Seven

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly/@accommodatingly@zirk.us) — Sheila Remy (“Songwolf”)

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim/@fionawhim@dice.camp) — Game Master

Show Info

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Mastodon: @teamupmoves@dice.camp

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

Cypher/Claim the Sky (AP 1/2) w/ Armaan Babu and Ian Gregory

Fiona Hopkins and Stephanie Burt — Tue, 09 May 2023 05:00:00 -0400

Two of our Team-Up Moves All Stars are back to play Cypher System and the Claim the Sky setting book!

Our heroes are delving into a supervillain’s death trap in search of a lost friend. What dangers await them there? What amazing technology will they find? And who else might be doing their own scavenging?

Cypher System is a setting-agnostic RPG from Monte Cook Games. We’re using their Claim the Sky add-on book to inform how to adapt it to superheroic characters and settings.

Find out more about Cypher System and Claim the Sky at https://www.montecookgames.com/

Want to hear us discuss something during our Annual Episode, coming in June? E-mail show@teamupmoves.com!

The Cast

Armaan Babu (he/him, @ArmaanBabu) — Karma Jain (“The Games Master”)

(You can hire Armaan to be your actual game master at https://startplaying.games/gm/pathwaysyetunexplored!)

Ian Gregory (they/them, @fissionmale) — Exo-Unit Layer Ipsilon Seven

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly/@accommodatingly@zirk.us) — Sheila Remy (“Songwolf”)

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim/@fionawhim@dice.camp) — Game Master

Show Info

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Mastodon: @teamupmoves@dice.camp

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

Masks: A New Generation (Back Matter) w/ James Malloy and Indi Tan

Fiona Hopkins and Stephanie Burt — Tue, 18 Apr 2023 05:00:00 -0400

It’s time to talk about Masks: A New Generation with two of our favorite Masks GMs: James Malloy of Protean City Comics and Indi Tan of Dice Comics are with us to share their perspectives on this game, what makes it tick, and what parts they actually… kind of ignore.

Listen as we talk about character creation, the labels mechanism, and share some of our favorite stories in the back issues.

Find out more about Masks: A New Generation at https://magpiegames.com/

Back Issues

Teen Titans (2003), written by Geoff Johns, art by Mike McKone, Tony Daniel and others
Scrubs (TV; 2001), created by Bill Lawrence
Champions (2016), written by Mark Waid, art by Humberto Ramos and others
New Mutants (2019), written by Jonathan Hickman, Ed Brisson, Vita Ayala and Charlie Jane Anders, art by Rod Reis, Alberto Albuquerque and others, especially the Vita Ayala issues, #14–24.
Marvel's Midnight Suns (video game, 2022), developed by Firaxis Games
Marvel Pride (2022), “Permanent Sleepover,” written by Charlie Jane Anders, art by Ro Stein and others
Young Avengers (2005) written by Allan Heimberg, art by Jim Cheung and others
Young Avengers (2013), written by Kieron Gilen, art by Jamie McKelvie and others
New Teen Titans (1980), written by Marv Wolfman, art by George Pérez and others; esp. “The Judas Contract” (New Teen Titans 42–44 and Teen Titans Annual 3)
New Mutants (1984), nos. 13–73, written by Chris Claremont and Louise Simonson, art by Bill Sienkiecwicz, Bret Blevins, Mary Wilshire and others
Legion of Super-Heroes (1973), nos. 289–294 (1982), “The Great Darkness Saga,” written by Paul Levitz, drawn by Keith Giffen and others
Legion of Super-Heroes (2004), written by Mark Waid, drawn by Barry Kitson and others

The Cast

James Malloy (he/him, @AndTheMeltdowns) — Artie Book (“The Page Knight”)

Indi Tan (they/any, @itsmrmask) — Eka Lanyon (“Gekko”)

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly/@accommodatingly@zirk.us) — Cara Rathers (“Braid”)

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim/@fionawhim@dice.camp) — Gamemaster

Show Info

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Mastodon: @teamupmoves@dice.camp

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

Masks: A New Generation (AP 2/2) w/ James Malloy and Indi Tan

Fiona Hopkins and Stephanie Burt — Tue, 11 Apr 2023 05:00:00 -0400

We’ve got the second half of our Masks: A New Generation AP! James Malloy of Protean City Comics and Indi Tan of Dice Comics are back to finish out this delightful story.

Things heat up as Artie tracks down the mysterious figure in the library and discovers she is his missing princess pal, Ness, but she’s not happy to see him. Meanwhile, Gekko unwisely ventures back into the Warehouse District.

Find out more about Masks: A New Generation at https://magpiegames.com/

The Cast

James Malloy (he/him, @AndTheMeltdowns) — Artie Book (“The Page Knight”)

Indi Tan (they/any, @itsmrmask) — Eka Lanyon (“Gekko”)

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly/@accommodatingly@zirk.us) — Cara Rathers (“Braid”)

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim/@fionawhim@dice.camp) — Gamemaster

Show Info

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Mastodon: @teamupmoves@dice.camp

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

Masks: A New Generation (AP 1/2) w/ James Malloy and Indi Tan

Fiona Hopkins and Stephanie Burt — Tue, 04 Apr 2023 05:00:00 -0400

It is time for the modern classic, the best superhero TTRPG there is, darling of the podcast scene, Masks: A New Generation by Brendan Conway and published by Magpie Games.

We have been saving this game for some very special guests and we found them. James Malloy of Protean City and Indi Tan of Dice Comics came through for a phenomenal AP and insightful discussion.

Join a Janus, a Transformed, and an Outsider as the city championship for girls’ varsity basketball (our own New Arcadia North High School Iron Maidens vs. the Bishop Academy Sirens) is interrupted by adorable, violent creatures from the Outsider’s storybook home. What strange magic has brought them into this world, and why?

Find out more about Masks: A New Generation at https://magpiegames.com/

The Cast

James Malloy (he/him, @AndTheMeltdowns) — Artie Book (“The Pageknight”)

Indi Tan (they/any, @itsmrmask) — Eka Lanyon (“Gekko”)

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly/@accommodatingly@zirk.us) — Cara Rathers (“Braid”)

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim/@fionawhim@dice.camp) — Gamemaster

Show Info

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Mastodon: @teamupmoves@dice.camp

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

See Issue X (Back Matter) w/ Connor Goldsmith

Fiona Hopkins and Stephanie Burt — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 05:00:00 -0400

We played See Issue X and now it’s time to talk about it! We’re joined by our special guest, Connor Goldsmith of the Cerebro podcast, to learn about his history with comics and TTRPGs, and then dig in to what makes See Issue X tick and what it says about superhero stories.

Find out more about See Issue X, by Chris Longhurst, at https://potatocubed.itch.io/see-issue-x

Back Issues

Uncanny X-Men 129-137 (1979-80), The Dark Phoenix Saga, by Chris Claremont and John Byrne
Uncanny X-Men 168-176 (1983-84), collected as “From the Ashes,” by Chris Claremont, Paul Smith, and John Romita, Jr.
Inferno (1988-89), the mammoth crossover event involving New Mutants, X-Factor, Uncanny X-Men and the X-Terminators miniseries, plus other titles, written by Louise Simonson and Chris Claremont and drawn by many hands, including Bret Blevins, John Bogdanove, Marc Silvestri, and Walt Simonson. (Just look up “Inferno reading order” and follow directions. For example, https://www.comicbookherald.com/the-complete-marvel-reading-order-guide/x-men-inferno-reading-order/. It’s a lot but it’s worth it. —S)
Dr. Fate: Countdown to Mystery (2007-2008), written by Steve Gerber and others, art by Justiniano and others.
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (2015–2019) #47–50, written by Ryan North, art by Derek Charm.

The Cast

Connor Goldsmith (he/him, @dreamoforgonon) — Charlotte Bishop (“The Sibyl”)

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly/@accommodatingly@zirk.us) — Maggie Cone (“Chimera”)

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim/@fionawhim@dice.camp) — Facilitator

Show Info

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Mastodon: @teamupmoves@dice.camp

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

See Issue X (AP 2/2) w/ Connor Goldsmith

Fiona Hopkins and Stephanie Burt — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 05:00:00 -0400

We’re back to play See Issue X with our special guest, Connor Goldsmith of the Cerebro podcast. Join us for one more arc as The Sibyl and Chimera deal with an old enemy who hits very close to home.

Find out more about See Issue X at https://potatocubed.itch.io/see-issue-x

The Cast

Connor Goldsmith (he/him, @dreamoforgonon) — Charlotte Bishop (“The Sibyl”)

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly/@accommodatingly@zirk.us) — Maggie Cone (“Chimera”)

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim/@fionawhim@dice.camp) — Facilitator

Show Info

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Mastodon: @teamupmoves@dice.camp

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

See Issue X (AP 1/2) w/ Connor Goldsmith

Fiona Hopkins and Stephanie Burt — Tue, 07 Mar 2023 05:00:00 -0400

We’ve got our decks of cards and we’re ready to deal with the hash demands of superhero continuity of See Issue X with our special guest, Connor Goldsmith of the Cerebro podcast.

Find out more about See Issue X at https://potatocubed.itch.io/see-issue-x

The Cast

Connor Goldsmith (he/him, @dreamoforgonon) — Charlotte Bishop (“The Sibyl”)

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly/@accommodatingly@zirk.us) — Maggie Cone (“Chimera”)

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim/@fionawhim@dice.camp) — Facilitator

Show Info

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Mastodon: @teamupmoves@dice.camp

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

Spectaculars (Back Matter) w/ Seanan McGuire and Shana Hausman

Fiona Hopkins and Stephanie Burt — Tue, 21 Feb 2023 05:00:00 -0400

We are closing out our run of Spectaculars from Rodney Thompson and Scratchpad Publishing with our back matter, when we talk about the game mechansims, how they fit in with super hero fiction, and give you some stellar comic book and novel recommendations.

We also spend some time talking with Seanan McGuire about her history with RPGs and some of her most memorable dice rolls, which will soon become some of your most memorable dice rolls.

Back Issues

X-Men: Spotlight on Starjammers (1990), by Terry Kavanagh and Dave Cockrum.
The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
Victories Greater than Death by Charlie Jane Anders
Cyclops (2014-15), by Greg Rucka and Russell Dauterman
Justice League International (1987-89) by Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis
Wanderers (1988-89) by Doug Moench and Dave Hoover
Howard the Duck (2015) by Chip Zdarsky and Joe Quinones
Captain Marvel (2014) 7-8 by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Marcio Takara (in which Carol's space cat turns out to be a flerkin, and Rocket Raccoon puts in an appearance)

The Cast

Shana Hausman (they/them, @shanajeanh) — Emmett Low

Seanan McGuire (she/her, @seananmcguire/@seananmcguire@wandering.shop) — Aelili (“Lily”)

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly/@accommodatingly@zirk.us) — Across Gliding

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim/@fionawhim@dice.camp) — Narrator

Show Info

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Mastodon: @teamupmoves@dice.camp

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

Spectaculars (AP 2/2) w/ Seanan McGuire and Shana Hausman

Fiona Hopkins and Stephanie Burt — Tue, 14 Feb 2023 05:00:00 -0400

We are back to play Spectaculars with Seanan McGuire, one of our favorite author, known for Middlegame, the Wayward Children and October Daye series of novels, and many others.

Across Gliding, Emmett Low, and Lily have boarded the ragged-looking Facilitator spaceship (with cyborg-cat-person-from-the-future L reluctantly in tow) to find who triggered the distress call and do what they can to keep this infested vessel from colliding with Earth.

Find out more about Spectaculars at https://scratchpadpublishing.com/spectaculars

Check out Thomas Manuel’s Indie RPG Newsletter at https://ttrpg.substack.com/

Small content note: lotsa swearing in this one.

The Cast

Shana Hausman (they/them, @shanajeanh) — Emmett Low

Seanan McGuire (she/her, @seananmcguire/@seananmcguire@wandering.shop) — Aelili (“Lily”)

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly/@accommodatingly@zirk.us) — Across Gliding

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim/@fionawhim@dice.camp) — Narrator

Show Info

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Mastodon: @teamupmoves@dice.camp

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

Spectaculars (AP 1/2) w/ Seanan McGuire and Shana Hausman

Fiona Hopkins and Stephanie Burt — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 05:00:00 -0400

It’s one of our favorite writers! Playing an RPG with us! This run is Spectaculars by Rodney Thompson, and we’re joined by none other than Seanan McGuire, author of Middlegame, the Wayward Children and October Daye series of novels, and many others.

Our characters, crew of a space ship they accidentally stole, were about to leave Earth when said ship was in turn nearly stolen from them. Confronting the cybernetic cat thief, they find out about a distress call from the Facilitators — an intergalactic organization of knights errant — warning of an infested ship on a collision course with Earth.

Find out more about Spectaculars at https://scratchpadpublishing.com/spectaculars

Small content note: lotsa swearing in this one.

The Cast

Shana Hausman (they/them, @shanajeanh) — Emmett Low

Seanan McGuire (she/her, @seananmcguire/@seananmcguire@wandering.shop) — Aelili (“Lily”)

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly/@accommodatingly@zirk.us) — Across Gliding

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim/@fionawhim@dice.camp) — Narrator

Show Info

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Mastodon: @teamupmoves@dice.camp

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

A City of Shining Stars (Back Matter) w/ Jeff Stormer

Fiona Hopkins and Stephanie Burt — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 05:00:00 -0400

It’s time to dissect A City of Shining Stars by Aaron Lim, with our guest from this run, Jeff Stormer. For our Origin Story segment, we took the opportunity to interview Jeff about how he prepped for this game with a lifetime of watching, reading, and studying superhero stories.

Back Issues

Marvels by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross (1994). The influential, and optimistic, mini-series follows a non-powered photographer through his career in Silver Age Marvel New York, looking at super-people as they emerge and alter the city's history. (Not to be confused with The Marvels, a more recent comic about superheroes at war.)
Astro City by Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson: a creator-owned, unified, multi-generational superhero story, as much about the city as about the heroes, and especially: “That Was Then” (2022), Family Album trade paperback (1997), Through Open Doors trade paperback (2014); stories about Jack-in-the-Box, a friendly neighborhood superhero with real-life family problems, or the Silver Agent, an era-spanning, time-traveling, tragic do-gooder (some of these stories collected in Shining Stars, 2014); the individual older stories and issues “Ellie’s Friends,” “What I Did on My Vacation,” and “The Sky’s the Limit.”
Welcome to Tranquility (2007) by Gail Simone and Neil Googe. Action, detection and history in a retirement community for superheroes, with plenty of throwbacks and flashbacks to the eras when these superheroes were in their primes.
History of the Marvel Universe (2020) by Mark Waid and Javier Rodriguez. It is what it says on the tin. And it’s good.
The Other History of the DC Universe (2021) by John Ridley and Giuseppe Camuncoli. In-universe DC history over the decades, through the eyes of characters of color, interwoven with real-life US events.
The DC Book of Pride (forthcoming in 2023) by Jadzia Axelrod. A reference work of LGBTQ+ characters from DC past and present.

The Cast

Jeff Stormer (he/him, @PartyOfOnePod)

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly/@accommodatingly@zirk.us)

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim/@fionawhim@dice.camp)

Show Info

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Mastodon: @teamupmoves@dice.camp

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

A City of Shining Stars (AP 2/2) w/ Jeff Stormer

Fiona Hopkins and Stephanie Burt — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 05:00:00 -0400

We’re back with Jeff Stormer of Party of One and All My Fantasy Children — not to mention Anyone Can Wear the Mask — to play Aaron Lim’s A City of Shining Stars.

We’re using this superhero city-building game to develop the history of New Olympia, a parallel-universe version of New Arcadia.

Find all of Aaron Lim’s games here: https://ehronlime.itch.io/

And, hear Jeff play another baseball-themed superhero, Slugger King, in the Protean City Comics Pride Annual #1: The Hometown Hero of Hillside Park.

The Cast

Jeff Stormer (he/him, @PartyOfOnePod)

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly/@accommodatingly@zirk.us)

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim/@fionawhim@dice.camp)

Show Info

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Mastodon: @teamupmoves@dice.camp

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

A City of Shining Stars (AP 1/2) w/ Jeff Stormer

Fiona Hopkins and Stephanie Burt — Tue, 10 Jan 2023 05:00:00 -0400

This run we’re joined by Jeff Stormer of Party of One and All My Fantasy Children — not to mention Anyone Can Wear the Mask — to play Aaron Lim’s A City of Shining Stars.

We’re using this superhero city-building game to develop the history of New Olympia, a parallel-universe version of New Arcadia.

Find all of Aaron Lim’s games here: https://ehronlime.itch.io/

And, read Steph’s New Yorker article about multiverses in superhero media.

The Cast

Jeff Stormer (he/him, @PartyOfOnePod)

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly/@accommodatingly@zirk.us)

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim/@fionawhim@dice.camp)

Show Info

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Mastodon: @teamupmoves@dice.camp

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

Sentinel Comics (Back Matter) w/ Ian Gregory and Ceci Mancuso

Fiona Hopkins and Stephanie Burt — Tue, 20 Dec 2022 05:00:00 -0400

Time to talk about Sentinel Comics: The Roleplaying Game! In this back matter episode we go over the remarkable guided character creation mechanism, the balance between narrative and simulationist play, and Fiona breaks out a spreadsheet to report on probabilities.

Sentinel Comics: The Roleplaying Game was co-developed with Critical Hits Studios and is published by Greater Than Games.

Back Issues

Inferno (1988) by Louise Simonson, with art by Walter Simonson, Bret Blevins, Terry Shoemaker and others: this is a multi-title crossover event involving X-Factor, New Mutants and other Marvel mutant comics, best read through the trade paperback Inferno or, if you're ambitious, using a reading order like this one from Comic Book Herald.
Secret Wars (2015) by Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic, and Secret Wars/Battleworld tie-in mini-series, such as: Runaways by Nate Stevenson and Sanford Green, A-Force by Marguerite Bennett, Willow Wilson and Jorge Molina and X-Men ’92 by Chris Sims and Scott Koblish.
Defenders (1971) nos. 20-41 by Steve Gerber, Sal Buscema, Klaus Janson and others
Defenders (1971) nos. 92-100 by J. M. De Matteis, Don Perlin and others
City of Heroes MMORPG from Cryptic Studios and published by NCSOFT.

Also Mentioned…

Making Squirrel Girl in Sentinel Comics from Fiona’s website
Matt Coville’s Action Oriented Monsters
System Mastery #194 — Sentinel Comics

The Cast

Ian Gregory (they/them, @fissionmale/@iangregory@mastodon.lol) — Ursula, the Weird Sister

Ceci Mancuso (they/them, @mancusoscifi@dice.camp) — Horatio “Time Keeper” Holm

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly/@accommodatingly@zirk.us) — Mona “Monomer” Maxwell-Damon

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim/@fionawhim@dice.camp) — Game Moderator

Show Info

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Mastodon: @teamupmoves@dice.camp

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

Sentinel Comics (AP 3/3) w/ Ian Gregory and Ceci Mancuso

Fiona Hopkins and Stephanie Burt — Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:00:00 -0400

The conclusion to our actual play of Sentinel Comics: the Roleplaying Game from Greater Than Games. Our heroes have a note from Time Keeper’s future self telling them to go to Monomer’s company office at midnight in a few days. How will they prepare? What will happen when the clock strikes 12:00?

The Cast

Ian Gregory (they/them, @fissionmale) — Ursula, the Weird Sister

Ceci Mancuso (they/them, @mancusoscifi@dice.camp) — Horatio “Time Keeper” Holm

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly/@accommodatingly@zirk.us) — Mona “Monomer” Maxwell-Damon

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim/@fionawhim@dice.camp) — Game Moderator

Show Info

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Mastodon: @teamupmoves@dice.camp

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

Sentinel Comics (AP 2/3) w/ Ian Gregory and Ceci Mancuso

Fiona Hopkins and Stephanie Burt — Tue, 06 Dec 2022 05:00:00 -0400

Part two of our actual play of Sentinel Comics: the Roleplaying Game from Greater Than Games. There’s a volcano in the middle of the Grandsmeddow that is being brought forward in time by a strange device. Our heroes need to contend with an angry fire-wielding supervillain, Flame Jane, and quite a few lava wurms as they work to get to the device and stop it from causing more destruction in New Arcadia.

The Cast

Ian Gregory (they/them, @fissionmale) — Ursula, the Weird Sister

Ceci Mancuso (they/them, @mancusoscifi@dice.camp) — Horatio “Time Keeper” Holm

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly/@accommodatingly@zirk.us) — Mona “Monomer” Maxwell-Damon

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim/@fionawhim@dice.camp) — Game Moderator

Show Info

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Mastodon: @teamupmoves@dice.camp

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

Sentinel Comics (AP 1/3) w/ Ian Gregory and Ceci Mancuso

Fiona Hopkins and Stephanie Burt — Tue, 29 Nov 2022 05:00:00 -0400

We’ve got Ian and Ceci back to play Sentinel Comics: the Roleplaying Game from Greater Than Games. It’s time for some good ol’ superheroing as a volcano erupts in the middle of New Arcadia.

Can our heroes—a scientist/entrepreneur with a powered suit of her own making, a college dropout who stole the wrong magical artifact from the mob, and Ursula, an actual witch from Macbeth—rescue civilians, fight off villains, and put a stop to the lava before it consumes the entire Grandsmeddow?

The Cast

Ian Gregory (they/them, @fissionmale) — Ursula, the Weird Sister

Ceci Mancuso (they/them, @mancusoscifi@dice.camp) — Horatio “Time Keeper” Holm

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly/@accommodatingly@zirk.us) — Mona “Monomer” Maxwell-Damon

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim/@fionawhim@dice.camp) — Game Moderator

Show Info

Mastodon: @teamupmoves@dice.camp

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

Our Mundane Supernatural Life (Back Matter)

Fiona Hopkins and Stephanie Burt — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 05:00:00 -0400

Time to talk about Mutant City Blues! In this back matter episode we discuss our feelings about creating characters using the Quade Diagram, the challenges of GMing a mystery, and the uncomfortable relationships between superheroes and cops.

Our Mundane Supernatural Life is written by Vee Hendro and Hayley Gordon, and published by Storybrewers.

Back Issues

Superman: Secret Identity (2004) (trade paperback collecting the run), written by Kurt Busiek, art by Stuart Immonen
Astonishing X-Men (2004-2013), nos. 48-51 (2013), written by Marjorie Liu and pencilled Mike Perkins, and Astonishing X-Men Annual no. 1 (2013), written by Christos Gage and penciled by David Baldéon
X-Factor (2020) by Leah Williams, inks by David Baldeon, colors by Israel Silva
Trial of Magneto (2021) by Leah Williams, art by Lucas Werneck, colors by Edgar Delgado
Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #31 by Ryan North, art by Erica Henderson, colors by Rico Renzi
Still Very Much Into Swords by Fiona “SamanthaVimes” Hopkins
The Value of G and Let’s Go Shopping by Stephanie “NotQuiteHydePark” Burt

Also Mentioned…

Piers Plowman by William Langland
Improv for Gamers 2nd Edition by Karen Twelves, published by Evil Hat
Short Street to Kicklebury by notbecauseofvictories (genderbent Sam Vimes / Sybil Ramkin Discworld fic)

The Cast

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly)

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim/@fionawhim@dice.camp)

Show Info

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Mastodon: @teamupmoves@dice.camp

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

Our Mundane Supernatural Life (AP)

Fiona Hopkins and Stephanie Burt — Tue, 08 Nov 2022 05:00:00 -0400

Fiona and Stephanie are sitting down together for the cozy and delightful Our Mundane Supernatural Life by Vee Hendro and Hayley Gordon, published by Storybrewers.

Stephanie plays the sentient robot G.I.M.A., who was built by New Arcadia to help with municipal infrastructure maintenance but developed a mind of her own. Fiona is her roommate Emily, the owner of the small boutique yarn and fabric shop Puns and Needles.

Listen to three days in their life as G.I.M.A. deals with being possessed by the villainous Grid Ghost and Emily prepares for a visit from a knitting VIP.

The Cast

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly) — G.I.M.A.

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim/@fionawhim@dice.camp) — Emily Ostby

Also Mentioned

Bye Bye Kitty Cat by The Mice

Show Info

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Mastodon: @teamupmoves@dice.camp

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

Mutant City Blues (Back Matter) w/ Rachel Gold and Shana Hausman

Fiona Hopkins and Stephanie Burt — Tue, 25 Oct 2022 05:00:00 -0400

Mutant City Blues is written by Robin D. Laws and Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan, and published by Pelgrane Press.

Back Issues

Powers by Brian Michael Bendis, illustrated by Michael Avon Oeming
Top 10 by Alan Moore, illustrated by Gene Ha and Zander Cannon
District X #1–6 by David Hine, illustrated by David Yardin
X-Factor (1986) #71–90 by Peter David, illustrated by Larry Stroman
X-Factor (2020) by Leah Williams, inks by David Baldeon, colors by Israel Silva
Rosemary and Rue and other October Daye novels by Seanan McGuire
Doctor Strange and the Sorcerers Supreme (2016) by Robbie Thompson, illustrated by Javier Rodriguez
The Reckoners (but actually read Mistborn) by Brandon Sanderson

Also Mentioned…

Strong Female Protagonist by Brennan Lee Mulligan and Molly Knox Ostertag
Nightwing (2021) by Tom Taylor, art by Bruno Redondo
Superman, Son of Kal-El by Tom Taylor, art by John Timms
The Discord of Gods (A Chorus of Dragons series) by Jenn Lyons

The Cast

Rachel Gold (she/they, @RachelGold) — Look for Being Emily and Synclair wherever books are sold!

Shana Hausman (they/them, @shanajeanh) — Find them on TikTok as @shanajeanh!

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly)

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim)

Show Info

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

Mutant City Blues (AP 2/2) w/ Rachel Gold and Shana Hausman

Fiona Hopkins and Stephanie Burt — Tue, 18 Oct 2022 05:00:00 -0400

It’s the second half of our actual play of Mutant City Blues by Robin D. Laws (@RobinDLaws) and Gareth Hanrahan (@mytholder), published by Pelgrane Press. Our three investigators from LICK, Inc. have headed to Leos, a café in VR Heights, to track down Kerrigan Park. They found suspicious payments to Ms. Park’s B*Spoke shop on a thumb drive owned by the late Carson Davis.

Content Warning: Swearing. PC uses emotion control powers on NPCs. Descriptions of an entitled, possessive dude taking the end of a relationship badly.

Find out more about the game: https://pelgranepress.com/product/mutant-city-blues-2nd-edition/

This month we’re also including selections from We Are Mermaids, Stephanie’s new book of poetry, published by Graywolf Press! Listen at the end of the show for a reading.

The Cast

Rachel Gold (she/they, @RachelGold) — Micah Nichols

Shana Hausman (they/them, @shanajeanh) — Aubergine

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly) — Clarissa Marlowe

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim) — Game Moderator

Show Info

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

Mutant City Blues (AP 1/2) w/ Rachel Gold and Shana Hausman

Fiona Hopkins and Stephanie Burt — Tue, 11 Oct 2022 05:00:00 -0400

We’re starting our actual play of Mutant City Blues by Robin D. Laws (@RobinDLaws) and Gareth Hanrahan (@mytholder), published by Pelgrane Press. Hear our three super-powered private investigators, who have been hired by the local transit engineers’ union to investigate a suspicious fire on a subway car.

Find out more about the game: https://pelgranepress.com/product/mutant-city-blues-2nd-edition/

There are a lot of visual references in this episode, so we made a Twitter thread covering them all: https://twitter.com/teamupmoves/status/1574929575720939520

This month we’re also including selections from We Are Mermaids, Stephanie’s new book of poetry, published by Graywolf Press! Listen at the end of the show for a reading.

The Cast

Rachel Gold (she/they, @RachelGold) — Micah Nichols

Shana Hausman (they/them, @shanajeanh) — Aubergine

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly) — Clarissa Marlowe

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim) — Game Moderator

Show Info

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

Exceptionals (Back Matter) w/ Armaan Babu and Becca Petunia

Fiona Hopkins and Stephanie Burt — Tue, 20 Sep 2022 05:00:00 -0400

Come for the uncharacteristically sloppy opening, keep listening for a great discussion about Exceptionals by Gar Atkins, and stay to the end for a li’l song.

In this back matter episode, we dig into character creation, game mechanisms, and the comics we think go with this game.

More Info: https://bramblewolfgames.itch.io/exceptionals

Back Issues

New Mutants Vol. 4 (2020) #14–present by written by Vita Ayala and art by Rod Reis
New Mutants Vol. 3 (2009) #33 written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
New Mutants Vol. 1 (1983) #21, “Slumber Party” (and Steph’s article about why it’s the best) and many others by Chris Claremont and Louise Simonson
X-Men Evolution s2e1 “Growing Pains”
Any story with the Morlocks
New X-Men Vol. 1 #135–138, “Riot at Xavier’s” written by Grant Morrison
Comic by Raphael Salimena (@linhadotrem): https://imgur.com/gallery/zu4DGps (translated)
New Mutants Vol. 2 (2003) written by Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir
Astro City by Kurt Busiek
Domino Annual (2018) by Gail Simone
X-Men Unlimited #22, “Cat and Mouse” by Brian K. Vaughan

Also Mentioned…

@DanTalksGames thread about crits in Pathfinder 2e

The Cast

Armaan Babu (he/him, @ArmaanBabu) — Find his work at ComicsXF and on Twitter.

Becca Petunia (she/her, @UnclePetunio) — Look for Hubba-Wha?! on Tough Pigs’ podcast feed and hear her on the first two seasons of Roll Out!

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly)

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim)

Show Info

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

Exceptionals (AP 2/2) w/ Armaan Babu and Becca Petunia

Fiona Hopkins and Stephanie Burt — Tue, 13 Sep 2022 05:00:00 -0400

We’re back with the second half of our AP of Exceptionals by Gar Atkins (@Sahoni_Stuff). We left off just as Manticore was writing her lesson plans. Find out how she rolled, and then what happens when the crew paddles over to the Traipse River power plant to give it what for.

Find out more about the game: https://bramblewolfgames.itch.io/exceptionals

The Cast

Armaan Babu (he/him, @ArmaanBabu) — Eddie Varma

Becca Petunia (she/her, @UnclePetunio) — Mandy “Manticore” Corr

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly) — Penny “Faraday” Madrid

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim) — The Editor

Show Info

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

Exceptionals (AP 1/2) w/ Armaan Babu and Becca Petunia

Fiona Hopkins and Stephanie Burt — Tue, 06 Sep 2022 04:00:00 -0400

It’s the first half of our actual play of Exceptionals by Gar Atkins (@Sahoni_Stuff)! Our three ~~mutants~~ genos just want to hang out in nature, help children, and make video games, but the area’s indifference to a coal-burning power plant spurs them to action.

Find out more about the game: https://bramblewolfgames.itch.io/exceptionals

The Cast

Armaan Babu (he/him, @ArmaanBabu) — Eddie Varma

Becca Petunia (she/her, @UnclePetunio) — Mandy “Manticore” Corr

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly) — Penny “Faraday” Madrid

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim) — The Editor

Show Info

Mastodon: @teamupmoves@dice.camp

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

Champions (Back Matter) w/ Ian Gregory

Fiona Hopkins and Stephanie Burt — Tue, 23 Aug 2022 05:00:00 -0400

Our AP is over, so now it’s time to talk about Champions 6th Edition from Hero Games.

In this back matter episode, we dig into character creation, game mechanisms, and the comics we think go with this game.

More Info: https://www.herogames.com/

Back Issues

Freedom Force — Irrational Games
Justice Society
Avengers — Anything with art by George Pérez

The Cast

Ian Gregory (they/them, @fissionmale) — See their work on ComicsXF!

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly)

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim)

Show Info

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

Champions (AP 2/2) w/ Ian Gregory

Fiona Hopkins and Stephanie Burt — Tue, 16 Aug 2022 04:00:00 -0400

We’re back playing Champions, 6th Edition from Hero Games. How will The Human Slingshot and Anemone deal with Johnny Three-Guns, Liar, and Larry the Hench? What evil schemes are afoot elsewhere while they’re tossing guns around and mildly bruising each other?

Champions, 6th Edition is the 2009 version of the long-running Champions RPG. It’s a general superhero team RPG best known for its flexible character creation.

Find out more: https://www.herogames.com/

The Cast

Ian Gregory (he/him, @fissionmale) — The Human Slingshot

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly) — Anemone

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim) — GM

Show Info

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

Champions (AP 1/2) w/ Ian Gregory

Fiona Hopkins and Stephanie Burt — Tue, 09 Aug 2022 07:00:00 -0400

New run! New game! This time we’re playing Champions, 6th Edition from Hero Games. The Human Slingshot and Anemone are dispatched to the surprisingly posh New Arcadia Aquarium to stop Johnny Three-Guns and his hench from robbing a gala full of socialites.

Champions, 6th Edition is the 2009 version of the long-running Champions RPG. It’s a general superhero team RPG best known for its flexible character creation.

Find out more: https://www.herogames.com/

The Cast

Ian Gregory (he/him, @fissionmale) — The Human Slingshot

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly) — Anemone

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim) — GM

Show Info

Mastodon: @teamupmoves@dice.camp

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

Anyone Can Wear the Mask (Back Matter) w/ Ceci Mancuso

Fiona Hopkins and Stephanie Burt — Tue, 26 Jul 2022 00:15:00 -0400

Our AP is over, so now it’s time to talk about Anyone Can Wear the Mask by Jeff Stormer.

In this back matter episode, we dig into character creation, game mechanisms, and the comics we think go with this game.

More Info: https://jeffstormer.itch.io/mask

Back Issues

Daredevil — Frank Miller and Ann Nocenti runs
Luke Cage — Comics and TV show
Ms. Marvel (2014) — “Last Days of Ms. Marvel” #16–19 by G. Willow Wilson
Silver Surfer — gotta be some out there
Astro City — Jack in the Box story by Kurt Busiek. And just any others. Y’all these are so good.
Skyward — by Joe Henderson

The Cast

Ceci Mancuso (they/them, @mancusoscifi)

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly)

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim)

Show Info

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

Anyone Can Wear the Mask (AP 2/2) w/ Ceci Mancuso

Fiona Hopkins and Stephanie Burt — Tue, 19 Jul 2022 00:15:00 -0400

It’s our conclusion to our actual play of Anyone Can Wear the Mask by Jeff Stormer! Find out what villain comes out of the shadows to cause Tune’s Downfall, and how she comes back to overcome in her Uprising.

Also! Tude’s deep-fried snacks revealed.

Anyone Can Wear the Mask is a 3-player RPG about a hero, a villain, and the city that they share. It tells stories about the relationship between a superhero and the place that they protect, and the people who live there.

Find out more: https://jeffstormer.itch.io/mask

The Cast

Ceci Mancuso (they/them, @mancusoscifi) — The City of New Arcadia

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly) — Petunia “Tune” Petalowski

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim) — The Conductor

Show Info

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead.

Anyone Can Wear the Mask (AP 1/2) w/ Ceci Mancuso

Fiona Hopkins and Stephanie Burt — Tue, 12 Jul 2022 00:15:00 -0400

Welcome to the first episode of the first run of the show! We’re playing Anyone Can Wear the Mask by Jeff Stormer.

Find out more: https://jeffstormer.itch.io/mask

In this episode we start our actual play of ACWtM with Stephanie playing Petunia “Tune” Petalowski, an indie rock fixture in the city of New Arcadia who never made it big as a musician and never made it big as a superhero, but she looks after the scene with her music and her heroics. Ceci is playing the city of New Arcadia and its neighborhoods of Kayfabe, VR Heights, NOSAD, and Millenium Square, along with the NPCs who live there. Fiona is the villain… we don’t know anything about them yet.

The Cast

Ceci Mancuso (they/them, @mancusoscifi) — The City of New Arcadia

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly) — Petunia “Tune” Petalowski

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim) — The Mysterious Villain

Show Info

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead.

Team-Up Moves!

Fiona Hopkins and Stephanie Burt — Sat, 09 Jul 2022 07:00:00 -0400

Hey it’s an audio file to make sure our feed is working correctly!

Come back on Tuesday, 12 July 2022 for our first episode.

Show Info