Tips at the Table was a Patreon-exclusive Friends at the Table series in which members of the cast would gather for a question & answer session, mainly focused on advice for listeners running games of their own. Tips episodes were recorded as livestreams and released as audio podcasts afterward. The series was mostly discontinued in favor of expanded Drawing Maps recordings; with the March 2023 Patreon rework, elements of the series were used in Gathering Information. Past episodes remain available to Friend-tier+ patrons.
Episodes[edit | edit source]
| # | Title | Stream Date | Release Date | Length | Cast Members | Topics |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Let's Not Name Names | Jul 7, 2017 | Jul 15, 2017 | 2h 5m | Austin, Janine, Art | Questions about improving our RP, our goals for the future, our favorite RPG characters that haven't been on Friends at the Table, and more |
| 02 | Jennifer and Todd | Aug 15, 2017 | Aug 29, 2017 | 2h 21m | Austin, Ali, Keith, Dre | Deep dive into technical aspects of podcast making from 1:45 on |
| 03 | Production Chat | Sep 22, 2017 | Sep 29, 2017 | 1h 42m | Austin, Jack, Ali | Details on making the show and their work flows |
| 04 | Austin Walker GM Bingo | Oct 10, 2017 | Oct 15, 2017 | 1h 51m | Austin, Sylvi, Dre, Janine | Questions about notes, repeat character traits, monsters, and everything in between |
| 05 | All About Fronts!, Or: A Preview for Drawing Maps | Nov 12, 2017 | Nov 14, 2017 | 1h 59m | Ali, Art, Austin, Jack | The cast talks through how Fronts work in Dungeon World and builds one |
| 06 | Players Only, Baby!! | Dec 19, 2017 | Dec 22, 2017 | 1h 44m | Ali, Janine, Dre, Keith | All the tips your GM doesn't want to know about, buster!!!! 😎😎😎 Get the skinny on uh, y'know, following the rules............ or when to break them! 😉😉😉 Finding a group to play with online! What to do with your dang ol hands while you're playing games for too long!!!!!!!
Autumn & Winter in Hieron spoilers from around 1:13 to 1:16 |
| 07 | Blades and Villainy | Jan 27, 2018 | Jan 31, 2018 | 2h 32m | Austin, Ali, Art, Jack, Janine | Questions about Blades in the Dark with a mix of players who are familiar with the system and who are just now playing it for the first time, being kind to yourself and balancing comedy and seriousness at the table |
| 08 | Hookah Immersion | Feb 18, 2018 | Mar 1, 2018 | 1h 57m | Ali, Austin, Dre, Keith | Dealing with difficult group dynamics, staying interested in playing the same character over a long period of time, learning how to "let go" as a GM |
| 09 | Flawless Combination of Words | Mar 8, 2018 | Mar 16, 2018 | 1h 17m | Austin, Janine, Jack, Art | Comics, music, comedy, Dragon Age |
| 10 | Let Me Answer This Question Not As A Joke | Apr 15, 2018 | Apr 24, 2018 | 1h 38m | Art, Austin, Jack, Keith | Questions about experimenting with new systems, trying out new characters, and capital R Romance |
| 11 | Weekend Edition | May 26, 2018 | May 29, 2018 | 1h 17m | Ali, Sylvi, Janine, Jack | Fashion, romance, and anxiety!
Discussion of a preceding Twilight Mirage arc (episodes 47, 49, 51, 53) |
| 12 | Like Diners for Frogs | Jun 27, 2018 | Jun 30, 2018 | 1h 8m | Ali, Austin, Dre, Janine | Questions about encouraging new players, balancing super powerful abilities, the appeal of certain RPG books, and... sleepy mice? |
| 13 | Spoiler Alert | Jul 12, 2018 | Jul 23, 2018 | 1h 25m | Austin, Sylvi, Art, Ali | Questions about dark secrets, sadness, endings, tragedy, and... oh no, this is a theme, isn't it??? |
| 14 | August 2018 | Aug 27, 2018 | Sep 2, 2018 | 1h 16m | Austin, Dre, Jack, Keith | Questions about ending campaigns, building new worlds, and playing the bad guy |
| 15 | Cheating is Fine | Nov 23, 2018 | Nov 28, 2018 | 54m | Keith, Ali, Sylvi, Dre | Listen while we talk about cheating, being evil and making bad decisions! #relatablecontent |
| 16 | Hackers Welcome! | Nov 30, 2018 | Dec 5, 2018 | 1h 35m | Art, Austin, Jack, Janine | Questions about spotlight stealers, solo games, problematic genres, and more |
| 17 | Kylo Ren Logged In | Dec 7, 2018 | Dec 18, 2018 | 1h 32m | Austin, Ali, Keith, Art | Questions about giving feedback, faking things you don't know and what to do when you DO know (but you think you're talking too much) |
| 18 | The Thing with The Thing with The Guy | Dec 9, 2018 | Dec 19, 2018 | 1h 44m | Austin, Ali, Janine, Dre | Questions about names, horror and rude jerks |
| 19 | Queen Anne's Get Away Boots | Jan 27, 2019 | Feb 2, 2019 | 1h 28m | Austin, Janine, Keith, Dre | Questions about getting into your character, cameras, notes and scene stakes! |
| 20 | You'd Hate My Bard | Feb 18, 2019 | Mar 2, 2019 | 1h 26m | Art, Jack, Austin | Questions about leveling up in story-focused games, running games with too many players, major musical influences, and more |
| 21 | Pet Goku | Mar 17, 2019 | Mar 24, 2019 | 1h 55m | Ali, Sylvi, Austin, Dre | Discussion of media inspirations, adaptations, and aspirations. Plus: conversation on pacing a game, diceless RPGs, and, of course, magical animals |
| 22 | Improving Darth Icky | Apr 13, 2019 | Apr 26, 2019 | 1h 53m | Austin, Janine, Keith | Starting a game, building a world, figuring out aesthetic and tone, taking your first step as collaborative storytellers, and, of course, names |
| 23 | Who Knows Sephiroth? | Jun 2, 2019 | Jun 15, 2019 | 1h 36m | Ali, Keith, Art, Austin | Questions about getting players invested in your game, broadening the palette of games your crew plays, and the idea of "canon" at the table |
| 24 | No One at the Table | Jun 17, 2019 | Jun 23, 2019 | 1h 26m | Dre, Keith, Jack, Austin | Questions about finding good games to play, having conflicts that go beyond combat, retiring characters, and the music that Jack has composed for the show |
| 25 | High School Canon Name Generator | Jul 28, 2019 | Aug 16, 2019 | 2h 11m | Ali, Austin, Dre, Jack | Questions and answers about text-based roleplay, pitching your table on a weird campaign idea, using multiple parties, wrapping up games, and, uh, Riverdale |
| 26 | Left Instead of Right | Aug 5, 2019 | Oct 11, 2019 | 1h 52m | Jack, Keith, Janine, Austin | Questions about how to deal with a player leaving a game, the music that has inspired them, how to decompress at the end of a heavy session, and more |
| 27 | Sandwiches at the Table | Oct 12, 2019 | Oct 18, 2019 | 1h 25m | Ali, Sylvi, Austin, Dre | Questions about exploring identity in play, doing the 'right' amount of prep, decision paralysis, sandwiches, and more! We also talk about sandwiches for AWHILE and if you don't want to hear sandwich talk, skip the rest of the episode!!!! |
| 28 | Prewritten Conquests | Oct 29, 2019 | Nov 3, 2019 | 1h 43m | Art, Jack, Janine, Austin | Questions on what goes into a interesting character class, how to plan out detective stories, what sort of motivation to give NPCs, and dealing with anxiety at the table! |
| 29 | How Old is Too Old | Nov 5, 2019 | Nov 12, 2019 | 1h 23m | Ali, Keith, Sylvi, Austin | Questions on tabletop RPG impostor syndrome, campaigns that lose their momentum, making a pre-written campaign your own, and, of course, mecha anime. |
| 30 | Double Ayyyou! | Dec 3, 2019 | Jan 7, 2020 | 1h 11m | Ali, Austin, Janine | Questions about using games for worldbuilding, convincing your friends to play story games, emotional bleed as a roleplayer, and more |
| 31 | Meat Grinder Thing | Jan 7, 2020 | Jan 27, 2020 | 1h 40m | Sylvi, Keith, Austin | Questions about how to help a quiet player out of their shell, establishing horror as a tone at the table, what to do when the rules seem exploitable, and more |
| 32 | The Point of Saw | Feb 19, 2020 | Feb 29, 2020 | 1h 14m | Sylvi, Janine, Art, Austin | Questions about how to run flavorful downtime episodes, NPCs related to player characters, favorite game mechanics and more! |
| 33 | 5% of 50 Different Topics | Mar 19, 2020 | Apr 7, 2020 | 1h 34m | Janine, Dre, Jack, Austin | Questions about framing interesting fight scenes, dealing with dramatic irony, setting up Roll20, and more! |
| 34 | A Different Anxiety | Apr 25, 2020 | May 4, 2020 | 1h 33m | Ali, Keith, Austin | Questions about mid-campaign lulls, overcoming choice paralysis while creating characters, 1-on-1 RP, and uh.. air screamers?? |
| 35 | May 2020 | Jul 6, 2020 | Aug 16, 2020 | 1h 41m | Jack, Sylvi, Art, Austin | Questions about crunchiness in games, changing systems mid-campaign, saying farewell to characters, and more |
| 36 | June 2020 | Sep 6, 2020 | Nov 20, 2020 | 1h 17m | Keith, Art, Austin | Questions about getting into character, ambiguity in skills, giving your players homework, and more |
| 37 | Thinking About Planets & Eating a Donut | Nov 15, 2020 | Nov 30, 2020 | 1h 34m | Ali, Dre, Jack, Austin | Questions about introducing new characters to a campaign, playing "evil," pacing at the table, and more |
| 38 | Babysitting Old Ideas | Dec 1, 2020 | Dec 7, 2020 | 44m | Ali, Sylvi, Art, Austin | Questions about introducing creating momentum during new campaigns, naming characters, and game design |
| 39 | Hobby Burnout | Dec 14, 2020 | Dec 18, 2020 | 1h 5m | Ali, Janine, Art, Austin | Questions about convincing your friends to play games you're interested in, roleplaying as more assertive characters, and everyone's favorite pre-game snacks!
CW for a discussion of suicide as a game mechanic |
| 40 | Fruit vs Be | Dec 22, 2020 | Dec 28, 2020 | 1h 1m | Sylvi, Keith, Dre, Austin | Questions about improving your roleplaying skills, keeping focus at the table, making character playlists, and more |
| 41 | Stuck on Slugs | Dec 28, 2020 | Jan 4, 2021 | 1h 11m | Ali, Keith, Austin | Questions about mixed successes, playing with your in-laws, radically non-human PCs, and more! |
| 42 | Your First Dream | Jan 3, 2021 | Jan 11, 2021 | 1h 36m | Keith, Jack, Austin | Questions about post-session feedback, wrapping a campaign after a break, balancing your world building, and more! MORE, AS IN, THERE'S a tangent at the end about dreams and cups and stuff? |
| 43 | Nightor and the Curtains | Jan 18, 2021 | Jan 29, 2021 | 1h 28m | Ali, Sylvi, Janine, Keith | Questions about finishing projects, speaking up at the table, retconning and more! |
| 44 | #SylviSurprise | Feb 25, 2021 | Mar 1, 2021 | 1h 15m | Sylvi, Jack, Austin | Questions about escalation, voicing NPCs, worldbuilding, and more! |
| 45 | Most Real Answer | Mar 19, 2021 | Mar 29, 2021 | 1h 20m | Ali, Art, Austin | Questions about character personalities, big groups at the table, and... Netrunner? |
| 46 | A Basket of Balls | Apr 17, 2021 | Apr 24, 2021 | 1h 15m | Janine, Art, Austin | Questions about encouraging other players, being clear about your intentions at the table, and more! |
| 47 | Juggle With You | May 8, 2021 | May 17, 2021 | 1h 13m | Ali, Dre, Austin | Questions about game pacing, manifesting character beliefs, and drawing on inspirations! |
| 48 | November 2021 | May 8, 2022 | Oct 9, 2022 | 1h 36m | Ali, Jack, Janine, Austin | Questions about playing games in established settings, getting stuck in a rut with a type of PC, the state of indie RPGs, and more |