Secret Saves and Spoiled Stories
What should happen when a character dies? Jon and Bill debate dice versus DM authority, secret saves, fudged rolls, and whether drama should ever outrank the rules.
A Tabletop RPG Podcast
SAVE VS PODCAST
Welcome to Save Vs Podcast! We're old. Genuinely old, but with the recent resurgent interest in antiques and 'granny-core' we've finally found our stride. We discuss old-school gaming, the systems and our experiences that shape the way we like to tell stories.
Also, on occasion, we might complain about how accurately our joints can predict the weather. Recorded live from a torchlit dungeon.
The Grimoire
Latest Episode
Every quest is recorded, indexed, and sealed in the archive. New entries appear here first.
36:25
Craft
How to Run Horror in ANY RPG: Fear, Simple Rules & The Ledger
Does horror need its own rules? Fear mechanics, vulnerability and atmosphere, plus a preview of The Ledger.
17:05
Craft
How to Run a Horror Campaign Without a New System
You don't need a new sanity track to run horror. One fear line, four trials before the map, and a single clock.
42:11
Craft
How to Build a D&D Monster from One Word
One word in, one monster out. How to turn a single prompt into a creature a table can actually fight.
45:11
Table Talk
The Forgotten Lessons of Dungeon Crawling
What classic crawl procedure still does that a lot of modern session prep skips.
55:11
System
Paranoia RPG Explained
Clones, treason, and the Computer. How Paranoia plays once the briefing is over.
1:12:22
System
Ep. 5 · Sep 16, 2026
Exploit or Clever Play? Which Powers and Abilities Actually Break RPGs
What makes an overpowered ability or rules mechanic a sign of designer failure — or just clever problem-solving?
1:12:22
1:00:08
Campaign Ideas
Ep. 4 · Sep 9, 2026
Turn Real History Into D&D Campaigns
The Dancing Plague of 1518 as a grounded fantasy mystery, and the Albigensian Crusade transformed into sci-fi worldbuilding.
1:00:08
49:10
Table Talk
Ep. 3 · Sep 2, 2026
Non-Fantasy TTRPG Genres
What happens when you drag your group into sci-fi, horror, western, or superhero territory? The hardest non-fantasy genres to actually run.
49:10
Ep. 02
Beyond the Tavern: Campaign Hooks That Actually Work
Five creative ways to bring a party together without the tavern — execution carts, festival encounters, faction urban adventures, and psionic prison escapes.
Aug 26, 2026 · 58:43
Ep. 01
How to Run a Successful D&D First Session
Four game masters with 30+ years of experience break down the dos and don’ts — session zero, hooks, pacing, and what kills a game before it starts.
Aug 19, 2026 · 1:16:01
Quick Encounters — Shorts
All shorts on YouTube
Party encounters a beholder — a dark-fantasy horror beat from the table.
Watch the short
Paranoia actual play: Equipment Officer Gurt B Frobe files the requisition.
Watch the short
A Wish goes horribly wrong. How would you rule it?
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“I remember the last time I played in Greywand’s Campaign…” — campaign hooks without the tavern, plus the legendary Shawshank bit.
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“That word… I don’t think it means what you think it means.” — Hercules vs. Ultron gets VERY Greek about it.
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The Quest
The Hollow is a pulp-horror tabletop roleplaying game about Cells of specialist operatives investigating supernatural entities known as the Hollow. Every Cell includes a Witness, the one operative capable of deliberate deep contact with the unknown. The more the Cell learns, the more the Hollow can learn about them.
The Party
Meet the Adventurers
Two lifelong GMs behind the screen, plus a rotating table of guests and fellow dungeon masters.
Bill
Father of four, husband of one. Writer of stuff, doer of things.
Alignment: Chaotic good enough
Jon
One half of Save Vs Podcast and a GM with old-school RPG roots. Host, producer, and the voice asking whether that ability combo was really allowed.
- Discord @HumanBullet7823
Alignment: Old School
The Guest Table
Episodes regularly pull up another chair for fellow GMs
- Have a seat — find the show on YouTube
Alignment: Roll for It
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Join the Party
Follow Save Vs Podcast on YouTube — new quests land in your feed the moment the dice settle.
Find Bill on YouTube, Instagram, and Instagram @tbgstrikeforge as @thatbillguy1971 / @thatbillguy — and Jon on Discord at @HumanBullet7823.