#literalcatpod

[literalcatpod]

71 – Making a Scrappy Alley Cat/Hard-Boiled Detective in Eureka! Feat. Anim-TTRPGs

The Agency of Narrative Intrigue and Mysteries – also known as @anim-ttrpgs – is the creator of Eureka! Investigative Urban Fantasy, a mundane-yet-supernatural Detective RPG. We were joined this episode by Addison and Ash, who helped us make our Cat as By-The-Book as is possible in the game’s rules!

Support A.N.I.M: https://www.patreon.com/TheAgencyofNarrativeIntrigueandMysteryPatreon or https://ko-fi.com/animttrpgs

Join the A.N.I.M RPG Book Club: https://discord.gg/ztnxPVSqCz

Check them out on Itch.io: https://anim-ttrpg.itch.io/

And follow them online: https://www.tumblr.com/anim-ttrpgs

Follow the show online: https://badgertrove.com/literalcatpod/

Follow Joel Holland: https://bsky.app/profile/omamervt.bsky.social

Follow Avalon: https://bsky.app/profile/avalonalchemist.bsky.social

We’ve got a Patreon now! https://www.patreon.com/BadgerTrove

Download the character sheets: https://bit.ly/literalcatpod

Join our Discord! https://badgertrove.com/discord/

Cover art, midroll theme, and Intro/Outro music made by Joel Holland

Thanks for listening! We’ll Cat-ch you later!

[omamervt]

PSA for @literalcatpod

[anim-ttrpgs]

Making a Literal Cat in Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy

Some time in March, two members of the A.N.I.M. Team were guests on @literalcatpod, the episode released in April, and due to being really busy I’m just only making a post about it now.

We had a great time working together with the hosts to make the cat investigator Pam Hammer (yes that’s her name), a stray alley cat who runs her own private detective office out of a cardboard box on the sidewalk.

Come listen to it on any one of these various links to be amazed at such questions as:

How threatening is an angry alley cat in human standards?

How does the Seduce skill apply to and for cats?

Can cats learn martial arts?

Can they smoke?

Can they wear hats?

Who in their right mind would hire a cat to be a private detective?

And a some lot more!

This really was a blast, way more fun than we even thought it would be!

[theresattrpgforthat]

Currently listening to @literalcatpod and I have to say the intro music has me dancing every single time.

[theresattrpgforthat]

@literalcatpod you should make her in a ttrpg of some kind.

[literalcatpod]

This Month on the Literal Cat Podcast: (04/25)

Good morning, RPG and Cat fans (you know which one you are!) What a week, am I right? What do you mean it's only Tuesday?

Ok, anyway, it's also the start of April so that means it's time to tell you all about the month's offerings! We've got a lot this time!

First and foremost, if you missed the announcement last night (technically early this morning), the 2025 Seasonal Theme is Action Fiction Autumn! Get ready for games that focus on pushing heavy ACTION! Martial arts! Thrills! From September to November this year!

First episode of the month comes tomorrow, actually! That's right, on April 2, we bring you the much-requested GI Joe cat! ok specifically one dedicated listener keeps asking but still! (GI Joe RPG by Renegade Game Studios)

On April 16, two members of the Agency for Narrative Intrigue and Mystery, @anim-ttrpgs, joined us to talk about Eureka! Investigative Urban Fantasy! End result? Cats CAN be investigators! If you're okay with not quite following the rules.

And then finally, on the literal last day of the month, we'll bring you a cat from the Imperium as we look at the Dune RPG by Modiphius!

[literalcatpod]

This Month on the Literal Cat Podcast: (05/2025)

Happy May 1st, everyone! New month, new Episode Announcement Post!

I am genuinely excited for you all to hear these, at least one of them is gonna be... something. ok they both are!

On May 14, we bring you the crossover fanfic RPG, Interstitial, with the game's creator, @revryebread assisting us! And roasting Snowbell from Stuart Little. But mostly assisting us! Actually... I'm not sure which happened more.

Then, on the 28th, we take a look at the OTHER PbTA Urban Fantasy RPG, Urban Shadows by Magpie Games! Hope you like hunting Wizards in flannel!

This may also be a good time to mention that we're currently looking for guests for our upcoming Fall event, Action Fiction Autumn! If your favorite RPG is one like Feng Shui, Spirit of 77, Macho Women With Guns, or Panic at the Dojo, email us at Literalcatpod@gmail.com today!!!

[literalcatpod]

57. Making an Anime Cat Who Rescues Kittens in Break!!

@break-rpg is a new fantasy RPG inspired by anime and manga from Grey Wizard! They also were kind enough to make a cat creation guide for us, so you can follow along at home with your own cat!

Follow the show online: https://badgertrove.com/literalcatpod/

Follow Joel Holland: https://jholland.start.page/

Follow Avalon: https://twitter.com/AvalonAlchemist

We’ve got a Patreon now! https://www.patreon.com/BadgerTrove

Download the character sheets: https://bit.ly/literalcatpod

Join our Discord! https://badgertrove.com/discord/

Cover art, midroll theme, and Intro/Outro music made by Joel Holland

Thanks for listening! We’ll Cat-ch you later!

[sabrinahawthorne]

@literalcatpod And Joel Happyhill is developing DAWN, which you should also check out if you haven't. It's really a great time for anime ttrpgs.

CLASH! Crowdfunding is Live!

It's finally here - the campaign has launched, and there's some stuff I didn't tell you about! There are eight versions of the top tier pledge, Otaku - one for each Fighter playbook. When you pledge at one of those tiers, you pay for a special mini-manga featuring a little story, starring the Fighter you picked.

The campaign runs from now until the end of June, so there's plenty of time to check it out and pledge.

If you're looking to support me but want something sooner than the launch of the game, I'm also running a sale on every game in my library! Any individual title is 30% off, and you can get a bundle of every one of my games for 50% off the total price. This sale also runs until the end of June.

In the spirit of the occasion, I've also set up my ko-fi! If you like, you can toss me a tip or become a monthly member. I'm not selling anything there - this is just for anyone who wants to buy me a coffee.

[literalcatpod]

63. Making a Lone Wanderer Who’s Never Wandered Far in Cowboy World

Meowdy, Partner! Welcome to Wild West Winter! We’re doing cowboy-themed RPGs from December to February, starting with Cowboy World by Street Rat Games! Meet an elderly cat who sees themself as a lone wanderer, the new sheriff in town, perhaps. In reality the town sheriff takes care of them and they’ve never gone outside the town they were born in.

Follow the show online: https://badgertrove.com/literalcatpod/

Follow Joel Holland: https://bsky.app/profile/omamervt.bsky.social

Follow Avalon: https://bsky.app/profile/avalonalchemist.bsky.social

We’ve got a Patreon now! https://www.patreon.com/BadgerTrove

Download the character sheets: https://bit.ly/literalcatpod

Join our Discord! https://badgertrove.com/discord/

Cover art, midroll theme, and Intro/Outro music made by Joel Holland

Thanks for listening! We’ll Cat-ch you later!

[literalcatpod]

54. Making a Human Resources Officer in External Containment Bureau Feat. Mint Rabbit

Pam Shrewt is the office cat of your nightmares, working as the mayor of a small Alaskan town by day, and a member of Human Resources in an anomaly investigation squad by night. People who know our inspirations, Shrewt is how you spell it, right? I don’t feel like looking it up. Anyway, thank you to Mint Rabbit, the face behind the popular Tumblr blog @theresattrpgforthat, for bringing External Containment Bureau by Mythic Gazetteer onto our show!

There’s A TTRPG For That: https://www.tumblr.com/theresattrpgforthat

Follow the show online: https://badgertrove.com/literalcatpod/

Follow Joel Holland: https://jholland.start.page/

Follow Avalon: https://twitter.com/AvalonAlchemist

We’ve got a Patreon now! https://www.patreon.com/BadgerTrove

Download the character sheets: https://bit.ly/literalcatpod

We’re on Bluesky now! https://bsky.app/profile/literalcatpod.bsky.social

Cover art, midroll theme, and Intro/Outro music made by Joel Holland

Thanks for listening! We’ll Cat-ch you later!

[literalcatpod]

69 (nice) – Making a Bodega Cat With a Colorful Social Life in Flabbergasted!

After all this time, we’ve finally made it to every podcast’s most important milestone – the 69th episode! Anyway, have you heard of Flabbergasted? It’s an RPG from The Wanderer’s Tome meant to replicate the comedic storytelling style of a Jeeves and Wooster story! Also, one of the game’s playtesters, who goes by Sean, joined us to help us make a cat in it!

At our guest's request, please follow @theresattrpgforthat!

Follow the show online: https://badgertrove.com/literalcatpod/

Follow Joel Holland: https://bsky.app/profile/omamervt.bsky.social

Follow Avalon: https://bsky.app/profile/avalonalchemist.bsky.social

We’ve got a Patreon now! https://www.patreon.com/BadgerTrove

Download the character sheets: https://bit.ly/literalcatpod

Join our Discord! https://badgertrove.com/discord/

Cover art, midroll theme, and Intro/Outro music made by Joel Holland

Thanks for listening! We’ll Cat-ch you later!

[omamervt]

Mask's specific way of doing things was the exact point of reference I needed to make a specific fantasy RPG concept of mine work. Stats in flux to represent a change in personal identity, the countdowns, the importance of bonds with other characters, it ended up being exactly what I needed to make player characters whose source of power is slowly turning them into monsters. I had been sitting on this idea since 2017, testing it in so many different systems as I discovered them, but nothing felt right until I looked at Masks last year. And that just fit.

Everyone should play Masks at least once, if only so you can tell me how @literalcatpod's Prometheum pregen works!

What's Masks?

love languages don't exist but if they did this exact question would be mine

Masks is a rules lite ttrpg that recreates the "Teenage superhero" genre, stuff like Teen Titans and... uh. Spiderverse? I'm gonna level it's not my favorite genre, which says a lot about how good the game is that I still adore it more than anything else.

It's easily, easily my favorite ttrpg of all time, and it's extremely obvious how much it has influenced the way I approach ttrpgs and the way I write my own games. Every part of the core systems is so fucking smart. The way your stats are in flux as your identity shifts and you grow as a character, the way that the Moment of Truth system literally lets you hijack control of the narrative away from the GM, the way that every character has a natural timer until they have to become an adult and leave the narrative - it genuinely just Works. I adore this game with all my heart.

[literalcatpod]

Meowdy, Partner! Hope Y'all are as excited for Wild West Winter as we are! We're recording the first episode in the series tomorrow night!

[literalcatpod]

67 – Making a Magical Gambler in Deadlands

Ladies, Gentlemen, and Nonbinaries, we present to you, the game that won Wild West Winter the last seasonal theme poll, Deadlands by Pinnacle Entertainment Group! We’ve resisted our urge to make a gambling cat long enough, so now, we have one who gambles with magical forces! Also he’s named Tintin because they can’t come for us for doing that anymore!

Follow the show online: https://badgertrove.com/literalcatpod/

Follow Joel Holland: https://bsky.app/profile/omamervt.bsky.social

Follow Avalon: https://bsky.app/profile/avalonalchemist.bsky.social

We’ve got a Patreon now! https://www.patreon.com/BadgerTrove

Download the character sheets: https://bit.ly/literalcatpod

Join our Discord! https://badgertrove.com/discord/

Cover art, midroll theme, and Intro/Outro music made by Joel Holland

Thanks for listening! We’ll Cat-ch you later!

[literalcatpod]

66. Making a – Wait, Is That a Real Zorro Movie? In Zorro

Happy new year, everyone! On this episode of Wild West Winter, we take a look at a somewhat simpler RPG than we’d normally go for, the Zorro RPG by Gallant Knight Games. We uh… We also spent a larger amount of time focusing on a fake movie trailer than we did the cat for this week. Sorry, it’s not normally like this, if you’re new here.

Follow the show online: https://badgertrove.com/literalcatpod/

Follow Joel Holland: https://bsky.app/profile/omamervt.bsky.social

Follow Avalon: https://bsky.app/profile/avalonalchemist.bsky.social

We’ve got a Patreon now! https://www.patreon.com/BadgerTrove

Download the character sheets: https://bit.ly/literalcatpod

Join our Discord! https://badgertrove.com/discord/

Cover art, midroll theme, and Intro/Outro music made by Joel Holland

Thanks for listening! We’ll Cat-ch you later!