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Reaperbryan

Reaperbryan has been gaming since 1984, and has been Dungeonmastering since 1987. He has worked for both gaming retailers and manufacturers, and is currently employed by Reaper Miniatures. He plays in A D&D 4e game currently, is DMing a Pathfinder (D&D 3.7?) and is anxiously awaiting the startup of a AD&D 2e Ravenloft game!

Reaperbryan has, against all odds, a wife of 13 years and 3 children, all of whom play D&D. He lists his alignment as “Lawful Customer Service” and prays each night to Erathis for a +5 Inbox of “intelligent questions”.

Q: How did you bring the City of Doors podcast into being?

A: After guesting on Radio Free Hommlet, and working with GM’s Chris and Dave on D20 radio’s contest, I really grew to like not just the shows, but the people. I really wanted to be a part of the network, and was initially just going to author segments that I would submit to one of those shows, but after working on a few short segments, I realized I really had a lot more that I wanted to do. One evening, I was talking about the issue with TheHawv and Darryl, and we realized there was no reason we couldn’t do our own show. So I bought some really crappy mics and we recorded a few segments. Then I bought some better mics and we recorded a few more – and boom! City of Doors opened for travelers.

Q: And what experience in the gaming hobby do you bring to the show?

A: I’ve been playing D&D and various RPGs since 1984, and DMing since 1987. I’ve done AD&D, 3e, 4e, Champions, Alternity, Marvel Supers (I got a Yellow, does that hit?) Chasoium’s Cthulhu, WEG Star Wars, Pinnacle’s Deadlands, White Wolf’s World of Darkness (Old and new), and a few others. I also work for Reaper miniatures, have been on the development team of a few of their products, and been a play-tester for a few RPG materials. Plus, I own my own dice – some people don’t.

Q: And of those games you mentioned, which are your favorites?

A: Fantasy role-playing, like D&D is my favorite. I refuse to choose a side in the version wars, and prefer to play them all at different times, recognizing the strengths and weaknesses, and the unique flavor each one brings to the party.

Q: You mentioned your dice collection, when a die rolls poorly for you several rolls in a row, do you switch out the die, or do you stick with it, believing that statistically it has to start rolling high soon?

A: I use 4 distinctly colored sets when I play (Blue, Purple, Red, and Black) and will swap out if I need to, but I like to roll all my d6’s and d8’s at the same time for damage, rather than rolling one die over and over. I do stick with the same 4 sets week to week, figuring law of averages will win out and I’ll only roll 1-9 45% of the time.

Q: The Hawv calls you “The Riggs to his Murtaugh”… Do you have any idea what that means, because frankly we’re not sure?

A: I’m pretty sure it’s a Lethal Weapon reference, but I’m not really sure exactly what it means. Frankly, I’m not really sure what he means by most of what he says, I just say “Absolutely!” and move on!

Q: Which City of Doors segment is your favorite?

A: I think the Troupe Creation from Episode one laid the foundation for a lot of our core philosophy – as did the “making failure interesting” segments from 2 & 3. Those fundamentals of running an interesting game, and helping a group cooperatively share a good experience are the easiest and most fun.

Q: What other shows on the D20 Radio Network do you listen to?

A: Radio Free Hommlet I catch all of, I catch some Order 66, and I liked Department 7 before they broke up. I keep meaning to catch Game On and Meanwhile…, but now I’m learning that making your own show is a lot more work than I thought it was, and I have a lot less time to listen.

Q: Where do you see yourself and City of Doors in one year? How about in five?

A: I always hated when interviewers asked this question. If I could predict the future, I wouldn’t be sitting here, I’d be sitting on an island in the Caymans sucking down mai tais. Still, In a year, I hope to be in the top 5 of listenership for the network – I really feel like our show is multi-genre, so it has a potential for audience members that don’t *do* “fantasy” or “sci-fi”. I’d like to get our technical issues nailed down and be considered for the Ennies, based on content. In five years, I hope to still be pumping out episodes, but I hope that by then we’ve become good enough at it that it doesn’t take us 6 hours to make a 1 hour show….

The Hawv

Who is The Hawv? By the sum of his parts, he is just a man, but it is his actions that make him amazing. He may not fit society’s definition of a perfect co-host, but ReaperBryan is stuck with him; and the City of Doors is better off for it. Let’s get to know man they call “The Hawv”:

Q: How did you get involved in the City of Doors?

A: I’ve known ReaperBryan for a long time, ever since we was just regular Bryan. When I saw him walk into that game store, face dirty, shirt untucked, hair unkempt, I said to myself ‘Hawv, you have to take this lump of clay and mold it into something amazing.’ I’ve been ReaperBryan’s metaphorical co-pilot, best friend, and spiritual advisor ever since. So, naturally, when he first decided he wanted to do a podcast, Killer B came and begged me to be his co-host. I hate to see a grown man cry, so I agreed. The rest is history.”

Q: And how long have you been involved in the gaming hobby?

A:”I started gaming in High School. I started out with the D6 Star Wars system, and Star Wars still holds a special place in my gaming heart. After our GM dropped out of our group to become a hobo (true story), I took up the screen. I’ve been running and or playing ever since.”

Q: Besides Star Wars, what other systems are amongst your favorites?

A: “Deadlands has always been a favorite of mine. Who doesn’t love the combination of Cowboys and Zombies. I’ve reciently discovered that I have developed a good deal of affection for D&D 4th edition (it took playing in a 3.5 game to make me realize this, BTW). I am extremely psyched for the 4th Edition re-launch of Darksun (though I would have preferred Hollow-world). Also, I love super-hero games, and have played and run a variety of systems in that genre.”

Q: Who’s your favorite super-hero?

A: “Aquaman. . . Wanna make something of it?”

Q: What are your favorite segments on the City of Doors?

A: “I love the Scenic View, those segments are a lot of fun to record. Also, I love the ads. Crazy Larry is audio gold, and Sleeg of the Hinterlands is great too.

Q: What are your favorite shows on the D20 Radio Network?

A: “Other then the City of Doors, obviously? I love the Ennie Award winning Order 66, I’m a huge fan of Game On, and Meanwhile is consistently great. But really, all the shows are wonderful.”

Q: Even Radio Free Homlet?

A: “Who?”

Q: What advice can you offer to your numerous admirers who want to reach their highest potential and achieve the status you have of being “Half-man, Half-amazing”?

A: “Find what you do best, and do your best at it. For me, what I do best is being The Hawv, 24/7 365. . . 366 in leap years. For you, it might be something else. . . Macramé, Chinese Checkers, Thumb Wrestling. . . It could be anything. But always remember, the question to everyone’s answer, is usually asked from with in.”

Q: That’s from a song.

A: “No, I just made that up.”

Q: No you didn’t. That’s from Jungle Love by the Steve Miller Band.

A: “That’s it! Interview over!”

The Hawv resides in Denton Texas. He is employed in the specialty pharmaceutical industry, a mind numbingly dull job. He is a committed and loving husband and father. He’s actually a big softy and the bravado of his on air persona is a desperate and unconvincing attempt to cover up for it. He cried at the end of Muppets take Manhattan, but don’t tell him I told you that.