He wrote the book on how to run better games with less prep. Then he wrote a better book. And now Mike Shea of Sly Flourish is sitting down with us at Tabletop Journeys and this conversation does NOT disappoint.
If you're a Game Master who has ever stared at a blank page two hours before session, built an entire world your players will never see, or wondered why skill challenges always feel a little off at the table, you aren't alone. MIke is here to help!
We talk through the origin story of the legendary Eight Steps, break down the difference between clocks and skill challenges (and why one of them is actually better for improv GMs), take a peek inside the new book *Rise of the Lazy Game Master*.
Timestamps:
00:00:47 Introduction
00:03:06 Mike's bio/background
00:06:15 Origin of the Eight Steps
00:16:47 Is overpreparing actually "prep" or is it something else?
00:30:37 Do you ever feel like you're repeating yourself?
00:36:05 The tech/tools. Generators, artisanal database, GitHub
00:40:36 Clocks vs. Skill Challenges
00:48:51 Favorite style/genre to run vs. play
00:52:47 Closing question
00:58:00 Rise of the Lazy Gamemaster
Whether you're running your first campaign or your fiftieth, this one has something for you. Share it with your DM, your whole party, your entire Discord server. Let's get this conversation going in the comments. 💬⬇️
And remember:
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🔗 Links & Resources mentioned in the episode:
- 🎲 **Rise of the Lazy Game Master on Kickstarter:** https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/slyflourish/rise-of-the-lazy-game-master
- 🌐 **Sly Flourish:** https://slyflourish.com
- 🧰 **Sly Flourish Tools & Generators (GitHub):** https://github.com/SlyFlourish
Also discussed:
- 🎮 **Blades in the Dark** (clocks mechanic) — Evil Hat Productions
- 🚀 **Nimble RPG** — Evan Diaz
- 🖖 **Star Trek Adventures** — Modiphius Entertainment
- 📚 *The Expanse* RPG & novels (James S.A. Corey / Traveller roots)
🗺️ Tabletop Journeys links:
Patreon: [patreon.com/ttjourneys](http://patreon.com/ttjourneys)
Bluesky: @ttjourneys.bsky.social
Facebook: [www.facebook.com/ttjourneys](https://www.facebook.com/ttjourneys)
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ttjourneys
Website: https://ttjourneys.com/
Email: podcast@ttjourneys.com
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