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benriggs.bsky.social
Ben Riggs
@benriggs.bsky.social
680 followers 120 following 130 posts
Friend to mortal, beast, and undead alike, Ben Riggs is a writer, teacher, and podcaster. Author of Slaying the Dragon: A Secret History of Dungeons & Dragons and co-mastermind of the Plot Points podcast.
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benriggs.bsky.social
Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 10d
Let's talk about Uncle Gary: A conversation with Gygax's biographer, Michael Witwer.

youtu.be/--xDib5iDY4
Let’s talk about Uncle Gary: A conversation with Gygax’s biographer, Michael Witwer Ep. 72
YouTube video by Reading D&D Aloud
youtu.be
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benriggs.bsky.social
Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 17d
This week, brilliant Bastionland creator Chris McDowall & Comedy Central veteran Jeremy Bent talk improvisation & art on D&D Outloud!

youtu.be/pyxt_y9oV5I
The Ring Knight Honors the Weeping Seer-with Jeremy Bent & Chris McDowall Ep. 71
YouTube video by Reading D&D Aloud
youtu.be
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benriggs.bsky.social
Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 24d
I wish I got to talk to him about the Saga edition of Star Wars. He was also one of the guys working on Project Sigil for Wizards until it was essentially strangled in its cradle by the company earlier this year. Now please behold a brilliant designer and a real mensch, Andy Collins!
!
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benriggs.bsky.social
Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 24d
He’s a designer, a worldbuilder, and a relentless innovator in tabletop roleplaying games.

Joining us as well is Andy Collins, a multi-tour veteran of the Wizards of the Coast. Andy, along with Rob and Jim Wyatt, was co-creator of D&D 4th edition, but his design credits don’t stop there.
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benriggs.bsky.social
Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 24d
First up, we have Rob Heinsoo, one of the leading minds behind Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition. He’s also the co-creator of 13th Age, a system that blends narrative freedom with crunchy mechanics in amazing ways.
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benriggs.bsky.social
Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · 24d
Does 4E D&D have the best combat? The question leads us to a conversation with two of the game's three lead designers.

youtu.be/CZhJBoki3qk
"D&D is Not in the Innovation Biz" A Conversation with Two 4th Ed Designers- Ep 70
YouTube video by Reading D&D Aloud
youtu.be
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benriggs.bsky.social
Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · Sep 9
My podcast has evolved into a conversation between TTRPG luminaries, and it's awesome. But it needs a new name. Current possibilities:

Dungeons & Discussions

Tabletop Team-Up

The Riggscast/The Ben Riggs Show/Something else with my name in it.

OR:

Something else.

Thoughts?
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benriggs.bsky.social
Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · Sep 8
These two were on the team responsible for taking the words of the writers and the art of the artists and turning them into a physical book. What do they have to say about where Wizards was and where it’s going?
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benriggs.bsky.social
Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · Sep 8
Wanna know what the hell is going on at WotC? Let’s ask people who used to work there.

youtu.be/lRRBZi6VtVY
"All of the $ should be coming to Wizards-" an interview with the former WotC Book Team Ep. 69
YouTube video by Reading D&D Aloud
youtu.be
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benriggs.bsky.social
Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · Sep 4
Jesus Christ!

I have 71 pages written and revised on the development of D&D 3.0 that have never seen the light of day?

What the hell am I doing here?
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benriggs.bsky.social
Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · Jul 18
And don’t sleep on Steve Winter — a living D&D legend. From sneaking into TSR through a second-story window to shaping 2e, 3e, and beyond, Steve has been part of D&D’s DNA for decades.

Tune in. Nerd out. 🎲🔥
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benriggs.bsky.social
Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · Jul 18
He’s the mind behind Knave 2e and the force behind Questing Beast, your portal to the wild, weird wonders of old-school RPGs. If you like sharp rules, deadly dungeons, and freedom at the table, Ben’s your guy.
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benriggs.bsky.social
Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · Jul 18
This one’s a banger: D&D designer Steve Winter meets Ben Milton of Questing Beast! Ben Milton is a game designer, YouTube sage, and sorceror-king of the OSR!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRyV...
D&D Designer Meets the Questing Beast! Ep. 61
YouTube video by Reading D&D Aloud
www.youtube.com
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benriggs.bsky.social
Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · Jul 16
Let’s recognize that, and arrange the government around counties and not around states.

What that looks like though, I have no clue.

And of course I could be wrong about all this, but I hope I’m not, because every other version of the future I look at is worse than this one.
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benriggs.bsky.social
Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · Jul 16
I think the next constitution needs to keep money out of politics and probably have a looser federal union based on your county not your state, because the great divide in America today is rural-urban.
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benriggs.bsky.social
Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · Jul 16
Right now, I only have two thoughts about a new American constitution. (I’m just a teacher and a writer after all.)
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benriggs.bsky.social
Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · Jul 16
This is a road to authoritarianism, perhaps even a leftist one depending on 2028, and eventually civil violence.

Or we jump to the end of that road and make a new constitution.
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benriggs.bsky.social
Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · Jul 16
You may think the Supreme Court will stop her, but courts do not have a strong track record of curbing kings (or queens).
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benriggs.bsky.social
Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · Jul 16
This new presidency is much more like an elected king than a chief executive.

Now if you like Trump, you may love all this. But imagine these powers in the hands of President AOC. Imagine what she could do.
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benriggs.bsky.social
Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · Jul 16
Congress could impeach and remove the president, but the past half century has proven that to be a hollow threat.

If the president breaks the law, but does so in the course of doing their job as president, the Supreme Court has ruled they cannot be prosecuted for it.
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benriggs.bsky.social
Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · Jul 16
Look at the checks on the president.

Apparently, the president does not need to follow the instructions of Congress when it funds an agency the president doesn’t like, such as the Department of Education or USAID.
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benriggs.bsky.social
Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · Jul 16
The American Constitution died in the past six months, so we are going to need a new one.

You may say that’s an exaggeration. I would ask then that you look at our constitutional system of checks and balances, ‘cause right now the checks don’t balance.
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benriggs.bsky.social
Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · Jul 15
Hey, if you can get messages on here, I'd love to have you on my podcast. Email me at [email protected] if you're interested, and here's a sample episode:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRPJ...
Mike Mearls + Kelsey Dionne = An Hour of Happy Ep. 50
YouTube video by Reading D&D Aloud
www.youtube.com
benriggs.bsky.social
Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · Jul 1
and he followed D&D from Wisconsin to Renton, Washington where he continued to produce work for D&D through 5th edition.
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benriggs.bsky.social
Ben Riggs @benriggs.bsky.social · Jul 1
He was a vital voice on 2nd edition AD&D. He was one of the first people to work on 3rd edition D&D, even though that project then passed on to other hands,
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