Brian Flaherty

Looking for a gift for a tabletop gamer?

Never Fear!

The Many Sided Media Gift Guide is here!

Check out some great game recommendations from around the Many Sided Network

manysidednewsletter.substack.com/p/the-2025-m...

We're announcing our next season of My First Dungeon in FIVE DAYS!

And it's going to be our biggest season yet!

Any guesses on which game we'll be playing?

I make a killer millionaire shortbread (basically just a homemade twix bar)

This feels like a ploy to get a bunch of people to bake you shortbread...

...and I'm falling for it.

Last year I played The Wildsea and wanted my character to sing sea shanties—excuse me, TREE shanties.

Then @strautmaskreplica.bsky.social blew me away with a demo of an original shanty and we ended up writing a whole album of songs for this wild world.

I'm incredibly proud of what we made :)

Hellwhalers | Season Talkback Podcast Episode · My First Dungeon · 12/04/2025 · 45m

Ahoy cursed sailors! Today marks the end of our season of Hellwhalers!

Join us as the cast discusses the story we told, our thoughts on the system, and how much we want to play more Sik Bo.

Special thanks to our sponsor @plusoneexp.bsky.social

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/m...

Whispers for the Wildsea, by j. 7 track album

Our album of Wildsea Tree Shanties by @strautmaskreplica.bsky.social and @brianflaherty.bsky.social drops on Bandcamp and streaming services THIS FRIDAY!!

(This Friday is also BandCamp Friday which means 100% of sales go directly to the artists)

jstrautman.bandcamp.com/album/whispe...

Same here :)

Can I sing?

Kind of!

Can I co-write a KILLER tree shanty?

You bet your ass I can!

Pre-save our album of re-mastered tree shanties from our season of The Wildsea and add a bit of new music to the Verdant Expanse 🍃

High praise from the designer of Hellwhalers!

Listen to our full actual play of Hellwhalers on My First Dungeon

100%. It’s definitely not the right decision for every game and I think most games will still benefit from a “traditional” book format. But I do love having more introductory options that get new folks playing games like BitD or Triangle Agency even quicker

This episode is SPOT ON!

Box games and smaller TTRPGs that are incredibly easy to start playing are one of the few ways into this hobby that isn't "let's start with D&D and then maybe play another game in 2-3 years"

Since it started, @startplaying.bsky.social has made over $50,000,000 for the pro GMs that run games on the platform.

THAT'S NUTS!

Lots of specific data in the interview about player habits and what is the best way to get new players to try games other than D&D

Come say hi to @moreblueberries.bsky.social and @brianflaherty.bsky.social at booth 3850!

Join our pin quest to earn a free MZM pin and see us at a number of cool panels and shows throughout the weekend!

Communities, Criticism: a Conversation with Quinns | Dr. Em Friedman Get more from Dr. Em Friedman on Patreon

When we walked in, having managed to have no preparatory conversation in two days, I said “do you trust me?”

So here’s @itsquinns.bsky.social in a trust fall, recorded (with thanks to @brianflaherty.bsky.social for some quick cleanup on this audio)

DIE is one of my all time favorite comics and I was OVER THE MOON when I heard there was a sequel series!

Come to booth 3850 to join MZM’S PIN QUEST!!

Visit all 6 participating publishers to earn a free MZM pin

@rowanrookanddecard.bsky.social
@mythworks.bsky.social
@soulmuppet.co.uk
@plusoneexp.bsky.social
@possumcreekgames.com
@hauntedtable.bsky.social

Come find us at PAXU!

@moreblueberries.bsky.social & @brianflaherty.bsky.social will be selling games and hanging out all weekend.

Come say hi, buy a game, and join our Pin Quest to earn a free MZM pin!

I wish I'd played this game from Day 1. It sounds like a truly WILD experience

I swore I’d never be the guy at the comic store who buys multiple copies of the same issue to collect the variant covers…

But for Issue 1 of Die: Loaded I simply had to make an exception 😎

An all-time favorite from @kierongillen.bsky.social and @stephaniehans.bsky.social

From @imagecomics.com

Slugblaster | Behind the Screen | Many Sided Media Get more from Many Sided Media on Patreon

Need just a little more Slugblaster??

@moreblueberries.bsky.social and @brianflaherty.bsky.social break down our season of Slugblaster and share our favorite moments, what was prepped and what was improvised, and what we'll be bringing from Slugblaster into our next game.

[Patreon Exclusive]

Brian and Elliot are going to be at PAXU next week!

Let us know if you wanna meet up, talk business, hang out, or say hi!

Hellwhalers | Session 1 - The Stygian Sea Podcast Episode · My First Dungeon · 11/13/2025 · 1h 12m

Hellwhalers | Ep. 1 - The Stygian Sea

Three damned sailors set off on a terrible quest in search of salvation...

Ft. @shenuque.bsky.social @bobigail.bsky.social @brianflaherty.bsky.social @vidityavoleti.bsky.social

Sponsored by @plusoneexp.bsky.social

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/m...

I started reading comics because of DIE.

When I did I swore I’d never be a “collect all the variant covers guy” but today is a special occasion :)

Tune in tomorrow for Part 1 of our Hellwhalers actual play!

Featuring
@shenuque.bsky.social
@vidityavoleti.bsky.social
@bobigail.bsky.social
@brianflaherty.bsky.social

Sound Design by
@strautmaskreplica.bsky.social

Sponsored by
@plusoneexp.bsky.social

One of the things I was most delighted by in this conversation was the way @byconniechang.bsky.social and @seaplaysrpg.bsky.social speak about AP in terms of other art forms: dancing, singing, weaving

"we are choreographing, not scripting" is a framing that will particularly stick with me

It's great. Highly recommend going in totally blind. You'll know pretty quick if the series is something you'd enjoy.

Have you watched Sugar? Didn’t know anything about it going in (which is a GREAT way to watch it) and it became one of my favorite shows of the year.

Colin Farrell as an LA noir detective. So good.

This is one of the best conversations for actual play performers and producers that we've had on Talk of the Table in a while.

@byconniechang.bsky.social & @seaplaysrpg.bsky.social think DEEPLY about AP and there is a lot to learn from the way they produce @transplanarrpg.bsky.social

Promo image for Talk of the Table - Episode 54 w/ Connie Chang & Sea Thomas. "Dramaturgy in Actual Play". Yellow background with a red die with a mouth on the left and a blue die on the right with an ear.

Tune in tomorrow for an EXCELLENT discussion with @byconniechang.bsky.social and @seaplaysrpg.bsky.social from @transplanarrpg.bsky.social about how they approach dramaturgy in actual play and how it influences their storytelling.

TONS of great practical takeaways for AP performers and producers.