What I have learned from hearing eight years of Sweden rolls as a GM

I just caught up to date on Sweden rolls yesterday. For anyone unfamiliar, Sweden Rolls is an English-language actual play podcast focusing on Swedish RPGs with high production value and quallity storytelling. It has been quite a journey, with several campaigns and oneshots in many different systems. Prior to that, I had heard some actual plays in my native language and a few episodes of people discussing rules. Hence, I now try to recall what I have gained from it, besides many good stories. I will try to divide it into system considerations, gaming knowledge, and gaming style. 

System conciderations

System-wise, they have played mostly Swedish systems, some Powered by the Apocalypse, and a Baldur's Gate campaign in DnD rules. Prior to hearing this, I had mostly relied on the Powered by the Apocalypse and Wanton Action Roleplay games, but hearing about the different rule variations has also given me some insights into the differences between games that even use the same engine. 

The first campaigns and several oneshots all ran in different Year Zero Engine games: Forbidden Lands, Alien, Coriolis, Mutant: Year Zero, Tales from the Loop, and later also Vaesen. Being in love with Vaesen when I arrived at the podcast, it was rather interesting how the same mechanics could be used in so many ways, with minor variations. Hearing the same crew use the same general mechanic so differently was rather amusing. In general, I like the engine, and while I love my simple Vaesen rules, I also warm up to trying Forbidden Lands and maybe Coriolis. I have not seen enough Alien to run it, and I guess I am born a little too late to run the 80’s Tales from the Loop as well.

Furthermore, Dragonbane and Troubleshooters are also on my watchlist; I got Dragonbane a year back and am playing it now. I have acquired some of u/AndreasLundstromGM writings about the Windheim, and plan to run it this summer, and the general way to run the game is also good. I can highly recommend the small adventures on the side of the main campaign, especially if you play with children; they generally fit very well for a table of tweens. Troubleshooters might be next winter, it sounds really nice! 

I have to admit that I still don’t get the Dungeons and Dragons rules for podcasting; I have tried Critical Role before I found this, and also some in my native tongue; it just does not click. But everyone has their liking, I guess. 

Among the Powered By the Apocalypse games, the Kult Divinity Lost mystery of the Seven Sisters, as well as some historical gaming, was of high quality. I have tried the system, and it does not fare that well at my table, but it tells good stories. u/AndreasLundstromGM has published two systems as well, Yggdrasil Burns and My Father's Sword, and the latter has the same storytelling abilities; it fares well, and the cliches are rewarded. Hence, I plan to try it out with some younger family members this summer. 

Gaming knowledge

Gaming-wise, I guess the interviews with a lot of old-timers and discussions of the different engines have made it much easier for me to navigate what I like to play (and what I can, though this might not be a perfect overlap). The actors, except Mathias Redbo, participating in the show were all roleplaying beginners, and the explanations on why new players often struggle with talents while the actual rolling is easier were good. Some of these reflections are made in hindsight, and they transfer well to my tables. I also got ideas on how to get this going more among my rather young players. 

Gaming style

The gaming style is also rather nice; I still hope that someday Dominic Kelly will try to GM, as his way of telling the story is magnificent. I am very much aware that I cannot do that level, but nevertheless, it has still been quite inspirational. There were also some very nice couch conversations with the players (could hope for more), e.g., Anneli Heed shared some techniques for voice acting, which were also rather applicable.

I have been a patron of the show since I got a third in, but I am not affiliated with the show. I will, however, recommend that anyone listen to the show, both because the content is versatile and because it is of high quality.