Episode 40

full
Published on:

13th Mar 2023

Lonely TTRPG EP 40 - Void 1680 AM by Ken Lowery

VOID 1680 AM includes rules for single-session and ongoing play, instructions to have your show broadcast on the airwaves as an Affiliate, and even a way to add your voice to a library of Callers that other DJs can use in their own games.

Thoughts: This is a unique game that uses music and prompts to build a classic late night radio style feel.

You can find Void 1680 AM at https://bannerlessgames.itch.io/void-1680-am?ac=pEV55vHqdvG

Find our merch at https://my-store-d24802.creator-spring.com/

Find our games here at https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/20990/Black-Dragon-Dungeon-Company.php?affiliate_id=3362048

BDDC logo by https://www.instagram.com/craftyteapotfox/

You can find us on Twitter @bddc_pod or Tumblr @bddc-pod

You can support us on Patreon https://patreon.com/blackdragondungeoncompany for early releases and exclusive content.

Songs in the episode:

Frost in the Northern Winter - Music by <a

href="https://pixabay.com/users/elias_weber-6810638/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=music&amp;utm_content=127704">elias_weber</a>

from <a

href="https://pixabay.com/music//?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=music&amp;utm_content=127704">Pixabay</a>

Ambition by Dungeon Glitch at https://dungeonglitch.com/background-music/

Energetic Rock Trailer - Music by <a

href="https://pixabay.com/users/playsound-24686998/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=music&amp;utm_content=140906">Playsound</a>

from <a

href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=music&amp;utm_content=140906">Pixabay</a>

Hard Work Music by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/litesaturation-17654080/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=music&amp;utm_content=109942">LiteSaturation</a>

from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=music&amp;utm_content=109942">Pixabay</a>



This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy
Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy
Transcript
SteelStash:

Greetings, weary wanderer and welcome back to Lonely T T R P G,

SteelStash:

the Solo Actual Play and Review podcast.

SteelStash:

This week we are playing void 1680 am by Ken Lowry.

SteelStash:

Welcome to the exciting world of Radio.

SteelStash:

Let us be the first to say congratulations on your acquisition

SteelStash:

of an AM transmitter and mast Tower.

SteelStash:

With this simple but powerful technology, you can stake your

SteelStash:

claim on the dial and share a little bit of yourself with the whole.

SteelStash:

But why am radio in these modern times.

SteelStash:

It's true.

SteelStash:

FM has the son of your reputation.

SteelStash:

It's powerful.

SteelStash:

It's clear.

SteelStash:

It goes from miles and miles, but the FM band is narrow and highly competitive.

SteelStash:

And inevitably what airs on it is more commercial.

SteelStash:

There is no one author on the FM dial.

SteelStash:

Each playlist, each task segment is carefully focused to appeal to anyone

SteelStash:

who tunes in, not am on the AM band.

SteelStash:

You can find voices expressing what they must express at any cost, sharing what

SteelStash:

they love or dislike because that is the end point of their revelatory process.

SteelStash:

There are no committees on am there are only lone voices in the

SteelStash:

darkness saying what they cannot contain seeking connection with

SteelStash:

like minds, voices like yours.

SteelStash:

So void 1680 am is a single player tabletop role playing game.

SteelStash:

In it.

SteelStash:

You take on the persona of a radio broadcaster and use the tools of chance

SteelStash:

to build your playlist and sketch out the identities and concerns of the

SteelStash:

people who call in to talk to you.

SteelStash:

The game can be played in about two hours.

SteelStash:

We're gonna go a little bit shorter as we normally do.

SteelStash:

If you decide you want to continue and see how the stories of your callers

SteelStash:

evolve over time, there are rules provided to continue over multiple broadcasts.

SteelStash:

Unlike many RPGs Void 1680 am does not have levels, classes,

SteelStash:

powers, or even other players.

SteelStash:

This game is essentially an engine to build playlists that are equal parts

SteelStash:

familiar and surprising, and to help you construct the personalities, desires,

SteelStash:

and fears of the lonesome souls who call in to connect with you, put simply

SteelStash:

the rules of play, provide prompts upon which you build a playlist and connect

SteelStash:

with the extension of your own imagin.

SteelStash:

Now grab your records and some coffee.

SteelStash:

Tonight's gonna be a long one.

SteelStash:

You can just feel it.

SteelStash:

All right.

SteelStash:

So what you're gonna need to play is you're going to need a deck of cards.

SteelStash:

And with that deck of cards, you're gonna remove the jokers.

SteelStash:

You're gonna separate out the face cards and you are going to separate it by suit.

SteelStash:

You're also gonna need a voice recorder, cuz after all this is

SteelStash:

radio, you have to talk for radio.

SteelStash:

And in addition, you're going to need some type of playlist builder.

SteelStash:

Now if you want a more analog approach, you can pull out your cassettes, your

SteelStash:

CDs, if you're really old school.

SteelStash:

Otherwise, just go to your streaming service, pull up

SteelStash:

your library and use that.

SteelStash:

And finally, you will need a six-sided dice to help make up who is calling you.

SteelStash:

Now again, for us, we're not gonna be using a regular playlist

SteelStash:

builder cause I do release this.

SteelStash:

So I have to take into consideration things like licensing and the

SteelStash:

legalities of doing so.

SteelStash:

So I'm gonna be using stuff that I know is license and royalty free.

SteelStash:

and I will have links for all of the artists in the notes below.

SteelStash:

All right.

SteelStash:

When you're starting off, you need to consider two things.

SteelStash:

First of all, find your wavelength a.

SteelStash:

All right, and what that means is every radio show has some sort of theme.

SteelStash:

What is your theme gonna be?

SteelStash:

And then you want to consider your station.

SteelStash:

Where are you broadcasting from, or where are you claiming to broadcast from?

SteelStash:

Now, after you know your wavelength and your broadcast location,

SteelStash:

We move on to a typical night's programming.

SteelStash:

So a turn in this game is you're gonna draw three cards from the song block suit.

SteelStash:

You're gonna pick songs for each of those cards.

SteelStash:

Cue them up.

SteelStash:

In your player of choice, you are going to introduce the first

SteelStash:

song, stop your recorder, play the songs, listen through 'em.

SteelStash:

Consider any questions posed by the cards as you're listening.

SteelStash:

And while you're doing that, you're going to draw your caller card.

SteelStash:

So your suits are gonna be your playlist cards or your song cards.

SteelStash:

And your face cards are gonna be your caller cards.

SteelStash:

That's gonna let you know what type of person's calling.

SteelStash:

And after you draw your caller card, you are going to consult when a stranger calls

SteelStash:

to sketch out the identity of your caller.

SteelStash:

When the song's finished, you're gonna restart your recording back, sell as

SteelStash:

much or as little as you'd like, and then talk about your conversation with the

SteelStash:

caller as much or little as you like.

SteelStash:

Then you are going to.

SteelStash:

Select your next block of songs and repeat in a typical night's

SteelStash:

performance, you're gonna do this four times, so that will be 12 total songs.

SteelStash:

So your first block of songs is going to come from clubs, and these are going to.

SteelStash:

Typically high energy, typically catchy songs.

SteelStash:

Remember, this is how you were starting your show, so this is what you want to be.

SteelStash:

Your attention grabbing songs.

SteelStash:

Make sure you introduce your radio station before you announce your first song.

SteelStash:

After all, everybody needs to know who they are Listening to

SteelStash:

Diamonds will be your next.

SteelStash:

And this should be increasing in intensity.

SteelStash:

Building towards an emotional climax.

SteelStash:

It doesn't mean the songs need to be faster or louder, just think

SteelStash:

of it as emotional intensity.

SteelStash:

Spades will be third, and this is gonna be a bit of a come down.

SteelStash:

You gotta get that emotional break in there.

SteelStash:

And then finally, a hearts is your fourth song block.

SteelStash:

And these are the conclusion of your broadcast.

SteelStash:

You wanna make sure that you have a nice, good ending

SteelStash:

where if your club cards are your thesis statement, your heart cards

SteelStash:

are your conclusion and making good on the promise that you started at the.

SteelStash:

Now, as we said, during each song block, someone is going to call in to talk with

SteelStash:

you, or at the very least, talk at you.

SteelStash:

People who call into radio shows to talk are acting on a strong, simple

SteelStash:

need to be heard, no matter by who.

SteelStash:

In that way, you are very alike.

SteelStash:

To begin the sketch of your conversation with the caller, draw a face.

SteelStash:

The face card is going to indicate what type of caller they are.

SteelStash:

Next, you're gonna determine if they're calling because of one of the songs

SteelStash:

you were playing or for a request.

SteelStash:

if your caller card is the same suit as your current song block, they're

SteelStash:

calling about something you've played.

SteelStash:

Pick whatever one is numerically closer to the face.

SteelStash:

If their suit matches the next song block, they're calling to make a request.

SteelStash:

It is up to you if you honor that request.

SteelStash:

If you do roll a D six and select something based on the table,

SteelStash:

the song should be outside your comfort zone, but it can still

SteelStash:

be on theme for the night.

SteelStash:

If the caller suit does not match the current or next song block, then

SteelStash:

they have no attachment to the music.

SteelStash:

They just wanted to talk to somebody.

SteelStash:

In addition, there are some common caller questions that you can

SteelStash:

roll based on the caller's suit,

SteelStash:

and with that table, it's simply look at the suit from the caller card, roll your D

SteelStash:

six and choose the question that came up.

SteelStash:

And finally continuing your broadcast.

SteelStash:

Sometimes one broadcast is not enough.

SteelStash:

That's understandable.

SteelStash:

The bonds you form with callers fleeting, as they may be, can be

SteelStash:

surprisingly powerful despite, or perhaps because of their anonymity.

SteelStash:

To continue the stories of your callers over multiple broadcasts,

SteelStash:

you'll need to either mark the caller cards as you draw them, a sharpie

SteelStash:

works well, or log them in a journal.

SteelStash:

Play your broadcast as normal when you draw a given caller card.

SteelStash:

For the first time, write a word or phrase to summarize your color card on

SteelStash:

top of the card and discard as usual.

SteelStash:

On subsequent broadcast, use the full caller card deck including marked cards.

SteelStash:

Mark any first time callers as above on their second, third, or fourth calls.

SteelStash:

Use additional tables to generate follow ups.

SteelStash:

Syndicating your show void.

SteelStash:

1680 am is real.

SteelStash:

This is not a metaphor.

SteelStash:

The author of this game has an AM transmitter in their garage connected

SteelStash:

to a range extender on the roof, and they use it to broadcast music and

SteelStash:

radio plays to their neighborhood.

SteelStash:

Yes.

SteelStash:

At 1680.

SteelStash:

They also stream the broadcast on YouTube, but thanks to copyright, very

SteelStash:

few of those broadcasts stay on YouTube.

SteelStash:

They're always happy to broadcast affiliates.

SteelStash:

If you have a playlist and banter you'd like to broadcast on the Real

SteelStash:

Void, 1680, they want to hear from you.

SteelStash:

Email, banner list games gmail.com with the following, inform or with

SteelStash:

your information, and please put Void AM broadcast in the subject.

SteelStash:

Good night and good luck.

SteelStash:

With that, we're gonna go ahead and get into our game.

SteelStash:

A couple things up front.

SteelStash:

First of all, I'm gonna be drawing one card per suit again, because I

SteelStash:

don't want this to take a long time.

SteelStash:

Yes, we will be playing music.

SteelStash:

I will not be playing the full song though.

SteelStash:

We'll be playing snippets and I apologize if I sound rough or if any

SteelStash:

coughing gets into the broadcast.

SteelStash:

I am just getting over some type of sickness and.

SteelStash:

I am doing my best to mitigate that, but the show must go on

SteelStash:

and hopefully I got all of the sounds of that off of the airways.

SteelStash:

Well, hey, there are all you Displacer beasts and wyverns this is Steel Stash

SteelStash:

coming to you from deep within the dungeons of the Black Dragon itself, once

SteelStash:

again, bringing you the late night tunes for all your dungeon crawling needs.

SteelStash:

So let's go ahead and start this evening off.

SteelStash:

With our three clubs,

SteelStash:

an old favorite of mine just right for getting any type of dungeon started.

SteelStash:

So you sit back and relax and watch out for them traps.

SteelStash:

Now, that was Frost in the Northern Winter by Elias Weber, a real

SteelStash:

great one when you're just trudging along, trying to get that adventure.

SteelStash:

Now?

SteelStash:

Old Ace, what did you have to think about that song?

SteelStash:

Oh, I quite liked it reminded me of the time I was struggling

SteelStash:

through the mountains.

SteelStash:

Its real cold.

SteelStash:

Got the frostbite, almost lost three of my toes.

SteelStash:

The brightside was the gold we found at the top bought me six new toes.

SteelStash:

Yeah.

SteelStash:

Sometimes those hard routes have.

SteelStash:

mighty High Payday.

SteelStash:

But what do we see?

SteelStash:

Why don't we see what's next on the docket for tonight?

SteelStash:

And that's gonna be a Six Diamonds,

SteelStash:

a song to help you focus and tune in.

SteelStash:

if we had just started our journey, I think we've come

SteelStash:

to our first major obstacle.

SteelStash:

Let's see what type of song we can find to help you figure out how to solve that

SteelStash:

puzzle and get into that old dungeon.

SteelStash:

I hope that ambition by Dungeon Glitch helped fill y'all with the ambition

SteelStash:

needed to overcome that obstacle.

SteelStash:

But now let's go check the phones.

SteelStash:

And we got a,

SteelStash:

we got the King of clubs.

SteelStash:

Well, Mr.

SteelStash:

King, you're not calling about the music, so what's on your mind

SteelStash:

will, well, you see.

SteelStash:

I have this issue going on with with the family.

SteelStash:

There seems to be some type of Hulu going on within our ranks and.

SteelStash:

We're not quite sure how to handle it.

SteelStash:

It's, we've never been faced with something like this before.

SteelStash:

You know how it is, new elements brought in and, and the like.

SteelStash:

Ah, yes.

SteelStash:

I understand the issue there, Mr.

SteelStash:

King.

SteelStash:

You know, change can be tough, but that adventuring party.

SteelStash:

Y'all are continuing to grow and change on your own.

SteelStash:

And sometimes you forget that just because you're with each other doesn't

SteelStash:

mean that you guys are communicating with each other, and that existing

SteelStash:

in the same space is not the same as sharing your lives with each other.

SteelStash:

So maybe.

SteelStash:

The solution is for you guys to take a break from everything and just sit down

SteelStash:

together and talk and have a little bit of a activity, you know, overcome

SteelStash:

some mi, overcome some minor challenge under your own, whether that be a board

SteelStash:

game, whether that be a new puzzle or whether that be trying to find that.

SteelStash:

That lost dungeon, that old cousin Henry been going on about forever.

SteelStash:

You know, a little bit of a challenge and actually working together and

SteelStash:

communicating with each other might just be what you need to revitalize

SteelStash:

that party feeling within your family.

SteelStash:

Hmm.

SteelStash:

What an interesting interesting concept.

SteelStash:

Thank you.

SteelStash:

I shall take it under consider.

SteelStash:

You do that now, Mr.

SteelStash:

King.

SteelStash:

You do that.

SteelStash:

Now, moving on to our next song for the evening.

SteelStash:

We must be getting ready for our fight here.

SteelStash:

We've already entered our dungeon.

SteelStash:

We've overcome our first obstacle.

SteelStash:

What we fixing to do now?

SteelStash:

Oh, we fixing to do the nine.

SteelStash:

A song from when your parents were young, how did you discover it?

SteelStash:

Hmm.

SteelStash:

So it seems to be that we have some type.

SteelStash:

Classic situation on our hands here and now.

SteelStash:

Look, I know folks, you know, the definition of classic keeps

SteelStash:

getting changed every day.

SteelStash:

Like I remember when I, I remember when I first heard the music that I

SteelStash:

listened to growing up be the finest classic, took me as a bit of a shock,

SteelStash:

but then I stopped and thought about it.

SteelStash:

You know, why was I upset that they were calling my music Dad rock?

SteelStash:

I mean, I am a dad and it's the rock that I listen to.

SteelStash:

So I guess by definition that makes it dad rock.

SteelStash:

But all of that aside, let's stop and think about this for a second.

SteelStash:

It seems we have ourselves a bit of a classic monster situation at hand.

SteelStash:

We're not just looking for that old type of feel music.

SteelStash:

We're looking for that old type of feeling, boss.

SteelStash:

And what is.

SteelStash:

Who else can be the classic boss at the end of a dungeon, aside from a dragon?

SteelStash:

Now, don't worry, Mr.

SteelStash:

Black Dragon, it ain't gonna be you.

SteelStash:

I know better than the bite the hand that feeds me, especially when the hand

SteelStash:

that feeds me can swallow me hole in one.

SteelStash:

But how about we do one of those mean red dragons?

SteelStash:

Let's see if we got something suitable for fighting a red dragon.

SteelStash:

And sticking with that dad rock theme.

SteelStash:

I hope you guys like that energetic rock B by play sound, and I hope

SteelStash:

you guys were able to take care of that dragon that you found.

SteelStash:

I know Red Dragons can seem scary and.

SteelStash:

Tell the truth.

SteelStash:

They are big, tough, angry sons.

SteelStash:

Guns.

SteelStash:

They are.

SteelStash:

But little bit of perseverance and a little bit of wits about you.

SteelStash:

I'm sure you guys took that dragon on.

SteelStash:

No problem, no problem whatsoever.

SteelStash:

And let's see who our next caller is.

SteelStash:

In fact, it's gonna be our last caller for the evening before

SteelStash:

we go ahead and play us on out.

SteelStash:

And let's see who we got calling up now.

SteelStash:

Got ourselves the ace of spades.

SteelStash:

Colin about, Colin, about that fat music, huh?

SteelStash:

Well, there, ACE, what would you like to talk about?

SteelStash:

Oh, I remember when we felt our first dragon, it was, it was

SteelStash:

quite a harrowing adventure.

SteelStash:

We, we were so under prepared.

SteelStash:

It was a miracle that we even survived.

SteelStash:

But the team came together and we all had each other's backs

SteelStash:

and threw some crafty, crafty.

SteelStash:

Tactics, thankfully developed by by our fighter and some

SteelStash:

well-placed shots by the Ranger.

SteelStash:

I was able to use some of my casting ability to trap that

SteelStash:

thing down on the ground.

SteelStash:

and then a few well placed his from the monk and Bob both

SteelStash:

stunned it and stunned it.

SteelStash:

The fighter, he liked to call that the shock and awe, you know, the

SteelStash:

stunning strike followed by the reckless attack that sort of thing.

SteelStash:

He was very, he was very fond of that little trick of of his sleeve.

SteelStash:

It was, it was quite amusing, huh?

SteelStash:

To, to see.

SteelStash:

And oh, it's always a pleasure to watch work out.

SteelStash:

But again, you know, it was, it was a hair and horror, an

SteelStash:

incident and, you know, quite.

SteelStash:

Despite, despite all of that, still quite the meal cause we made it out.

SteelStash:

But I'm glad that we did and I'm glad that I trusted in my team

SteelStash:

that we were able to do that.

SteelStash:

Well, that does sound like quite the quite the predicament you guys were in, but

SteelStash:

luckily everything seemed to work out for.

SteelStash:

. Well, at least in the material sense, I hope that after that incident

SteelStash:

that you guys were able to go seek someone to talk it out with as well.

SteelStash:

Cuz remember, it's not always the physical dragons that you gotta worry about.

SteelStash:

It's those mental dragons as well, those dragons that hide deep in your

SteelStash:

mind, poisoning you with thoughts.

SteelStash:

Slack, I'm not worth it and I can't do it.

SteelStash:

All right.

SteelStash:

Those are the dragons that we're fighting every.

SteelStash:

and those are dragons just as scary as those big red ones

SteelStash:

living up in the mountain.

SteelStash:

And we shouldn't be ashamed about talking about our fights with

SteelStash:

them and none, none whatsoever.

SteelStash:

So I hope that after your, after your battle with the physical

SteelStash:

dragon, you guys were able to take care of your mental dragons.

SteelStash:

I've been Steel stash.

SteelStash:

This has been Dungeon Dive Radio on VO 1680 am and looking for

SteelStash:

our final song to sign out.

SteelStash:

Be the eight.

SteelStash:

We're gonna be signing out with something to make you feel invincible,

SteelStash:

rather apropo consider.

SteelStash:

After all, we just beat a dragon.

SteelStash:

So I hope y'all are feeling strong.

SteelStash:

I hope y'all are feeling an invincible and like this song title, like

SteelStash:

this song by light saturation.

SteelStash:

I hope y'all are willing to do that hard work.

SteelStash:

Goodnight all.

SteelStash:

All right, so that is Void 1680 FM by Ken Lowry.

SteelStash:

So this was a really interesting concept for a game.

SteelStash:

I really enjoyed it.

SteelStash:

Definitely up there with one of the definitely up there with one of the

SteelStash:

more interesting and novel approaches.

SteelStash:

The gameplay I do.

SteelStash:

I do like the basic design that you're building a playlist and you're building

SteelStash:

this this rapport with your collars.

SteelStash:

I think that this is a game that, you know, I think this is

SteelStash:

a game that will kind of shine the more you play it especially

SteelStash:

with the ability of having those.

SteelStash:

Collars call back multiple times.

SteelStash:

I think that the, I think that the collar deck might be a little bit small, but then

SteelStash:

again, we're talking about an AM station, so it's not, it's not like we're dealing

SteelStash:

with that huge of an audience as well.

SteelStash:

And for those of you youngins out there who might be like, well, this

SteelStash:

is totally unrealistic, who would call into a radio show or anything like that,

SteelStash:

you know, go ask your mom about Del.

SteelStash:

Just go do that.

SteelStash:

Go ask your mom about Delilah.

SteelStash:

I'm, I'm sure that, I'm sure that she has, she has stories listening

SteelStash:

to Delilah Late night radio.

SteelStash:

All right.

SteelStash:

We, but this is definitely, this is definitely one of those

SteelStash:

that captures that nostalgia, it captures that classic feel to it.

SteelStash:

Got an interesting, got an interesting feel.

SteelStash:

And I like it.

SteelStash:

I like it.

SteelStash:

And if nothing else, if nothing else, now you can be the DJ for your group

SteelStash:

during their dungeon crawl, as you now have a template for how that would work.

SteelStash:

But if you enjoyed this game and you want to find it for yourself,

SteelStash:

You can get it on Itch for $10 at banner list games.itch.io/void-sixteen 80

SteelStash:

dash am or check my links down below.

SteelStash:

And if you pick it up, make sure you tell 'em that steel stash sent ya.

SteelStash:

But that's been it for this week.

SteelStash:

You guys take care and remember I mustache all to stay Awesome.

Show artwork for Lonely TTRPG

About the Podcast

Lonely TTRPG
A Solo Play Podcast
Lonely TTRPG is a show where I play and review solo TTRPGs.

Every other week, we play another solo TTRPG from across the indie community.

So join us as we roll, draw, and journal our way through some fantastic games.

About your host

Profile picture for John Stum

John Stum

Black Dragon Dungeon Company is a TTRPG podcast. We do weekly actual play podcasts and bi-weekly discussion podcasts where we talk about certain things about the TTRPG world.

You can reach us at blackdragondungeoncompany@gmail.com or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/bddc_pod