Show Notes
The RPGBOT crew closes out Season 5 the only way they know how: with heartfelt gratitude, passionate rants, accidental comedy, and at least one derailment into pop culture discourse.
In this end-of-year recap, Randall, Tyler, and Ash look back on a year of certified bangers, a few corporate-mandated stinkers, and the surprising joy of discovering that people are, in fact, listening. A lot of people. Like… three-quarters of a million downloads a lot.
Along the way, the hosts reflect on:
- Why giving feedback is harder than it sounds (and why Josh should maybe just be hired already).
- How unionization, passion, and not hating your job might magically lead to better RPG books.
- The growth of RPGBOT from “30 listeners we personally harassed” to a thriving, weirdly wholesome community.
- The success of Quick Start / How to Play episodes for systems that are not D&D (and the relief that people actually want those).
- The birth and future of Other Worlds, where the same characters keep falling through genre portals like some kind of dice-based Sliders reboot.
- Big plans for 2026, including Numenera, Pulp Cthulhu, Cyberpunk, Blades in the Dark, Dragonbane, Starfinder, and the eternal quest to finally do Star Wars without the universe collapsing.
- Charity streams, especially the Old Gods of Appalachia fundraiser for MD Anderson, and why that one hit especially close to home.
- A completely unnecessary but spirited debate about Stranger Things, narrative stakes, and which beloved characters absolutely should have died (allegedly).
The episode ends exactly as you’d expect: Tyler’s brain breaks when the outro script is violated, identities are swapped, BlueSky handles are mangled, someone accidentally says “sub-sex” instead of “success,” and the podcast briefly achieves true chaos before stumbling lovingly into 2026.
If you like tabletop RPGs when they’re fun—and you like listening to three people who clearly enjoy making them fun—this episode is a warm, messy thank-you note to everyone who made 2025 possible.
Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you.
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How to Find Us:
In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net
Tyler Kamstra
Ash Ely
- Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games
- Join Ash’s West Marches-style PF2 Game
- Bluesky: GravenAshes
- YouTube: @ashravenmedia
Randall James
- AmateurJack.com
- Bluesky: @JackAmateur
- Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale
