Tales from the Shelf is two gamers, one American who started with D&D, and an English person...who did not.
We take on the campaigns we run, the systems we use, the things we learn.
With deep dives in on specific books, gaming advice and RPG history.
Book 2, Episode 2 - Vampire the Masquerade, 5th edition: Part 1: the introductory section.
We start with the book and its cover, in all its bisexual lighting, move on through the scrapbook introduction and laying out of the basics.
And we ask - is this a book of its time, compared to the goth-punk of the 90s? How does it lay out its stall? And who really did the Twin Towers bombing in 2011?
If you want to contact us, you can contact us:
talesshelfpod@gmail.com
and
talesshelfpod.bsky.social
See everyone in a fortnight.
14 Sept 2026
Vampire the Masquerade, V5. Episode 1; Prelude.
EDIT: Original upload had a weird issue where the intro/outro was audible, despite being clear in editing. This should now be fixed.
All right, Book 2, episode 1 - Vampire the Masquerade, 5th edition.
The game that outsold DnD, had its own Aaron Spelling TV show and sold us Beckett action figures, not to mention giving us a cult classic of videogame history. (As is tradition, now it's been mentioned everyone who owns the game is now reinstalling it..again.)
In VtM tradition we're starting with a prelude; how we got to this point. A broad overview of White Wolf's sprawling history.
If you want to contact us, you can contact us:
talesshelfpod@gmail.com
and
talesshelfpod.bsky.social
See everyone in a fortnight.
31 Aug 2026
Interstitial Part 3
Sorry all, real life problems means no real episode this fortnight.
I know it isn't fun, I hate it when it isn't regular, but better now than in the middle of a deep dive. And this is an extension of the hobby for us; we don't ask for money, we've been regular from the start...sometimes life gets in the way.
Please bear with us.
Next episode will be the start of our deep dive into V5, and hopefully shortly after (part of what this is about) we'll have a small Actual Play to actually demonstrate the game.
If you want to contact us, you can contact us:
talesshelfpod@gmail.com
and
talesshelfpod.bsky.social
See everyone in a fortnight.
17 Aug 2026
Intermission #2 - Uplifting your group
We're taking a break between books to throw out some more general advice and tell stories.
After we've gotten a group together, the next step is improving them.
Apologies for the audio, which cut out on some of our most useful and insightful comments (because of course it did). Unfortunately we only realised how bad it was after recording and have stitched it together as best we can.
@ us on Bluesky; talesshelfpod.bsky.social
This is an podcast by adults, for adults; profanity is going to happen.
Made by incredibly nerdy humans - no AI involved.
3 Aug 2026
Intermission #1 - Getting a *good* group together
We're taking a break between books to throw out some more general advice and tell stories.
This part is about our experiences in getting people together. Next ep will cover levelling up your group.
At this point in time, V6 has been revealed and the playtest packet is out. It doesn't seem good, but we're still deciding whether to do an emergency pod on the new stuff, or wait and fold it into the 'what we wanted from a new edition/update' part of the series.
@ us on Bluesky; talesshelfpod.bsky.social
This is an podcast by adults, for adults; profanity is going to happen.
Made by incredibly nerdy humans - no AI involved.
20 Jul 2026
Book 1, The Witcher RPG, Part 11, Conclusions. 'This child has problems'
Episode 011: Our conclusions.
This is the final episode for this book - a shorter one as we reach our conclusions and rate the Witcher RPG core book out of /6.
Spoilers - it ain't great.
@ us on Bluesky; talesshelfpod.bsky.social
Music by ebunny, find them on Pixabay.
This is an podcast by adults, for adults; some profanity is going to happen.
Made by incredibly nerdy humans - no AI involved.
6 Jul 2026
Book 1, The Witcher RPG, Part 10, The Adventure - The Troll Is S*** At His Job
Episode 010: Witcher Deep Dive Pt10. Part 2 of the adventure "And to all a Good Night".
We're continuing our deep dive on the Witcher RPG by R Talsorian games. The Witcher RPG came out in 2018 and since then R Tal. has promised a cleanup of the core book.
With that in mind, we take on the book in detail - with a mind to looking at its strengths, weaknesses and what we'd change.
In Part 10 of our Witcher RPG deep dive, we finish the adventure, explain its many failures and try to compensate by reworking it into a salvageable idea.
@ us on Bluesky; talesshelfpod.bsky.social
Music by ebunny, find them on Pixabay.
This is an podcast by adults, for adults; some profanity is going to happen.
Made by incredibly nerdy humans - no AI involved.
22 Jun 2026
Episode 009: Witcher Deep Dive: Maybe Lord Nowak's a Biter?
Episode 009: Witcher Deep Dive Pt9. The adventure "And to all a Good Night".
We're continuing our deep dive on the Witcher RPG by R Talsorian games. The Witcher RPG came out in 2018 and since then R Tal. has promised a cleanup of the core book.
With that in mind, we take on the book in detail - with a mind to looking at its strengths, weaknesses and what we'd change.
In Part 8 of our Witcher RPG deep dive we finally break. We kept it professional up until now, but this...this is straight-up terrible. So let's dissect this madlib of an adventure.
@ us on Bluesky; talesshelfpod.bsky.social
Music by ebunny, find them on Pixabay.
This is an podcast by adults, for adults; some profanity is going to happen.
Made by incredibly nerdy humans - no AI involved.
8 Jun 2026
Episode 008: Witcher Deep Dive, The GM Section
Episode 008: Witcher Deep Dive Pt8. The GM Section
We're continuing our deep dive on the Witcher RPG by R Talsorian games. The Witcher RPG came out in 2018 and since then R Tal. has promised a cleanup of the core book.
With that in mind, we take on the book in detail - with a mind to looking at its strengths, weaknesses and what we'd change.
In Part 8 of our Witcher RPG deep dive we head past the worldbuilding and dig into the GM advice.
@ us on Bluesky; talesshelfpod.bsky.social
Music by ebunny, find them on Pixabay.
This is an podcast by adults, for adults; some profanity is going to happen.
Made by incredibly nerdy humans - no AI involved.
25 May 2026
Episode 007: Witcher Deep Dive, The World
Episode 007: Witcher Deep Dive Pt7. The World
We're continuing our deep dive on the Witcher RPG by R Talsorian games. The Witcher RPG came out in 2018 and since then R Tal. has promised a cleanup of the core book.
With that in mind, we take on the book in detail - with a mind to looking at its strengths, weaknesses and what we'd change.
In Part 7 of our Witcher RPG deep dive we get past rules and head into its worldbuilding.
@ us on Bluesky; talesshelfpod.bsky.social
Music by ebunny, find them on Pixabay.
This is an podcast by adults, for adults; some profanity is going to happen.
Made by incredibly nerdy humans - no AI involved.
11 May 2026
Episode 006: Witcher Deep Dive, Combat (2/2)
Episode 006: Witcher Deep Dive Pt6, Combat Pt. 2 of 2
We're continuing our deep dive on the Witcher RPG by R Talsorian games. The Witcher RPG came out in 2018 and since then R Tal. has promised a cleanup of the core book.
With that in mind, we take on the book in detail - with a mind to looking at its strengths, weaknesses and what we'd change.
In Part 6 of our Witcher RPG deep dive we continue with combat, continuing with the special rules.
@ us on Bluesky; talesshelfpod.bsky.social
Music by ebunny, find them on Pixabay.
This is an podcast by adults, for adults; profanity is going to happen.
Made by incredibly nerdy humans - no AI involved.
28 Apr 2026
Ep 005 - Tales From the Shelf Witcher Deep Dive, Pt 5. Combat (1/2)
Episode 005: Witcher Deep Dive Pt5, Combat Pt. 1 of 2
We're continuing our deep dive on the Witcher RPG by R Talsorian games. The Witcher RPG came out in 2018 and since then R Tal. has promised a cleanup of the core book.
With that in mind, we take on the book in detail - with a mind to looking at its strengths, weaknesses and what we'd change.
In Part 5 of our Witcher RPG deep dive we start at P148 - Combat! (This is going to be long...)
@ us on Bluesky; talesshelfpod.bsky.social
Music by ebunny, find them on Pixabay.
This is an podcast by adults, for adults; profanity is going to happen.
Made by incredibly nerdy humans - no AI involved.
13 Apr 2026
Ep 004 - Tales From the Shelf Witcher Deep Dive, Pt 4. Magic and Crafting
Episode 004: Witcher Deep Dive Pt4, Magic and Crafting.
We're starting with a deep dive on the Witcher RPG by R Talsorian games. The Witcher RPG came out in 2018 and since then R Tal. has promised a cleanup of the core book.
With that in mind, we take on the book in detail - with a mind to looking at its strengths, weaknesses and what we'd change.
In Part 4 of our Witcher RPG deep dive we start at P98 - Magic, the moving on to Crafting (gear and alchemy).
@ us on Bluesky; talesshelfpod.bsky.social
Music by ebunny, find them on Pixabay.
This is an podcast by adults, for adults; profanity is going to happen.
Made by incredibly nerdy humans - no AI involved.
30 Mar 2026
Ep 003 - Tales From the Shelf Witcher Deep Dive, Pt 3. Gear.
Episode 003: Witcher Deep Dive - Gear
We're starting with a deep dive on the Witcher RPG by R Talsorian games. The Witcher RPG came out in 2018 and since then R Tal. has promised a cleanup of the core book.
With that in mind, we take on the book in detail - with a mind to looking at its strengths, weaknesses and what we'd change.
In Part 3 of our deep dive we delve into the gear section - coins, economy, gear, how equipment and weapons work, crafting gear, making potions and so on, starting with a quick explainer for skill trees.
Find us on Bluesky; @talesshelfpod.bsky.social
Music by ebunny, find them on Pixabay.
This is an podcast by adults, for adults; profanity is going to happen.
Made by incredibly nerdy humans - no AI involved.
16 Mar 2026
Ep 002 - Tales From the Shelf Witcher Deep Dive, Pt 2. Skills!
Episode 002: Witcher Deep Dive Pt4, - skills and core mechanics.
We're starting with a deep dive on the Witcher RPG by R Talsorian games. The Witcher RPG came out in 2018 and since then R Tal. has promised a cleanup of the core book.
With that in mind, we take on the book in detail - with a mind to looking at its strengths, weaknesses and what we'd change.
In Part 2 of our deep dive we cover skills, the core mechanics and the rest of that chapter.
@ us on Bluesky; talesshelfpod.bsky.social, Music by ebunny, find them on Pixabay.
This is an podcast by adults, for adults; profanity is going to happen.
Made by incredibly nerdy humans - no AI involved.
2 Mar 2026
Ep 001 - Tales From the Shelf Witcher Deep Dive Part 1
Episode 001: Witcher Deep Dive - character generation
We're starting with a deep dive on the Witcher RPG by R Talsorian games. The Witcher RPG came out in 2018 and since then R Tal. has promised a cleanup of the core book.
With that in mind, we take on the book in detail - with a mind to looking at its strengths, weaknesses and what we'd change.
Part 1 of the deep dive covers character generation - race, careers, stats.
@ us on Bluesky; talesshelfpod.bsky.social, Music by ebunny.
This is an podcast by adults, for adults; profanity is going to happen.
Made by incredibly nerdy humans - no AI involved.
Contact Tales From the Shelf
Guest appearances
Does not typically book guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Host of Tales From the Shelf?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
