Gang, I have to do a podcast for work. What it's about doesn't matter. The most material I have is from my Ars blog, so...I kind of need to do an Ars podcast. I've thought about it before, but now I really need to do it (because I need to start teaching classes about podcasting. I Librivox, but that's not what they mean, I presume.).
Suggestions for episodes very welcome.
The format's going to be single-voice shortform. I know people prefer dual voice longform, but there's no way to manage that logistically now. So, imagine something like Writer's Alamanac. Five minutes a week, each a single idea. Maybe some fake advertisiers, like A Prairie Home Companion.
Some of my blog posts have been kind of keyed to this recently...so that's why I've been doing a post a week recently. I know I'm going to strip it for scripts.
When I'm showing this to library customers there need to be a set of posts up, so, I'm going to make a heap at once (hence the five minute thing...also that works better with single voice).
Is the podcast meant for new Ars players, old or both? That will determine much of content. Maybe take a simple topic like: who was Bonisagus? The basic explanation is for new players, then add some twists and variations that you have used for old players to ponder. Some quick ideas of the top of my head:
How roleplaying in Ars Magica stories can directly effect the game system. For example the choices players make in Festival of the Damned directly effects whether or not they can fight against the final enemies in the adventure. Thus the game rules are not as dependable for players as they are in most game systems. Players need to rely more on the roleplaying of stories because the game mechanics can be very fluid. I find this pleasantly unique about Ars Magica.
Examples of how a storyguide uses demons, fairies, or angels in campaigns.
Explanations as to why/how the Medieval worldview effects the game. For example, why an invisible character still casts a shadow.
Solutions to various Ars Magica issues, such as pink dot and use of wards, and the pros and cons of each.
Recap on how Ars Magica physics differ from real-life physics (you know, how maggots are spontaneously generated, or gunpowder doesn't explode)
Medieval folk tales and/or legends that make good Ars Magica story seeds
Alternate library rules (I know you already have this one thought out)
Vis source ideas (like they did in Covenants)
Piracy in the Mediterranean
(Anything you had to leave out of any of the books you wrote)
Comparing mythologies (how greek, nordic, etc mythologies compare, with a mind on Ars Magica cosmology)
The fruitful manager (any advice on the management side of storyguiding, as opposed to the actual on-session act of, well, storyguiding)
The mystery of [insert Founder] (any musings you might have on the truth behind any of those Founders that just "vanished" or had other mysterious lifes)
MT-wonkery, eg "When Muto Looks Like Rego"
Sometimes, "Muto X" looks just like "Rego X" would -- controlled movement -- if only "X" could naturally move in that way. Sometimes, there is unclarity or confusion about when to use Mu vs Re, and vice versa...
It turns out my timeframe on this is shorter than I thought, so for Series 1 I'm just going to turn blog posts into scripts, because scripting turns out to be the time consuming bit.
I will keep these ideas for Series 2, though. Thanks gang.