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Aim For The Head! (podcast)

Are you a fan of AMC’s The Walking Dead and all of its spinoff shows? Of course you are! Well, as it happens, Toxic Bag’s Steve has teamed up with our pal Dianna for the Aim for the Head podcast, a weekly in-depth analysis of Walking Dead shows.

Aim for the Head Podcast takes you deep into the storylines of AMC’s “The Walking Dead” and “Fear of the Walking Dead”. The show analyzes the characters like an intervention on Thanksgiving Day – taking a machete and chopping into the emotional motivation behind each personality and offering a few choice insights. If a zombie apocalypse is on your bucket list – you’ve found the perfect podcast. Sit back and let the infection take hold as you wake to a new reality.

Listen Here!

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Lys Galati of Sphinx Group – full interview now online

In November we interviewed Lys Galati of Sphinx Group for our podcast. She had some great information and insights about the gaming industry, the present and future of RPGs, the current state of crowdfunding and lots more. To keep the podcast’s runtime reasonable, we edited the conversation way down. Lots of folks wanted to hear the full interview, so we’ve posted it to the site. Click here to listen to the full interview!

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New sound: Beehive interior

Our new sound for January is a very specific sound for a very specific application – it’s the interior of a bees’ hive. We don’t know if your players are trapped inside a giant have surrounded by giant bees, or if they’ve been shrunk down and are wee enough to become trapped inside a regular bees’ hive, but the result is the same, isn’t it? Don’t get stung!

The giant insects hovered over me, staring right through me with their multi-faceted eyes, their wings a blur as they floated on the air. As they darted back and forth, the deadly points of their stingers glinted in the light of my torch. As I cautiously began to ease my way out of the hive, they gathered to attack!

Beehive Interior is a background sound of the inside of a massive beehive, with worker bees buzzing and crawling around. The effect is ten minutes long and loops seamlessly. It’s available from DrivethruRPG for $1.50.

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End of the year lists!

As 2014 draws to a close, you’re no doubt inundated with “Best of” and “Worst of” lists all over the place. Try as we might, we couldn’t resist the urge to try a couple of those ourselves to see what the fuss is about. So, we sat down with our good friends Eric Van Tassell and Ele Matelan (both of Specimen fame, among other things) to list our top genre movies and television shows of the year. We had a couple of great in-depth chats and the results are here in our two bonus year-end podcasts!

Best Genre TV shows of 2014 Podcast

Best Genre movies of 2014 Podcast

And of course, everyone’s got an opinion, so let us know yours! Send us a note at podcast@toxicbag.com or drop a note on our Facebook page!

podcast_square_EP212

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New Sounds: Demon Fire


Our new sounds for this month are tied in with a common horror trope: trapping the demon in a circle of enchanted flame. The binding ceremony usually involves drawing symbols on the floor in blood or salt, and setting the circle on fire once the demon steps inside.

Our Demon Fire soundpack comes in three varieties; the differentiating factor is the ignition source for the flame. ‘Cause, let’s face it – you don’t want your players asking, “hey, if we’re in a medieval setting, why am I using a Zippo to light this fire?” Or alternately, in a modern game, “where the heck did I get a torch?”

So, we’ve given you a torch, a match, and a lighter. Each ignition sound is followed by ten minutes of enchanted flame.

And in addition, each download comes with a ten-minute loop of magic flame with no ignition sound, so if you just want continuous fire, you can do that too at no extra charge!

Of course, these fire sounds don’t have to be used exclusively to depict demon traps. Really, you could use them for just about anything your players feel like setting on fire. And if your players are like ours, that’s a lot of things!

Torch (Fantasy/Medieval demon hunter)

The daemon has walked right into your carefully-laid trap; directly into the center of the circle of blood sigils on the stone floor. In the dim light of this dank dungeon, it was easy to conceal it with some hastily-arranged dirt and pieces of rat dung. You touch your torch to the edge of the circle, and the floor erupts in a magical flame.

Now, daemon, we will talk.

This effect is the sound of a torch igniting a magic flame that burns for ten minutes.

Match (Steampunk/Early 20th Century demon hunter)

You have the demon right where you want it. It’s just walked right into the center of the circle of blood sigils you painted on the floor. Before it knows what’s happening, you light a stick match and touch it to the blood. The circle erupts in a magical flame that spreads out to both sides and surrounds the demon in a second.

Shall we begin our conversation, hellspawn?

This effect is the sound of a wooden stick match igniting a magic flame that burns for ten minutes.

Lighter (Modern demon hunter)

You’ve got the demon right where you want him. The smug sonofabitch just walked right into the center of the circle of blood sigils you hid under the throw rug. You smile, just a little, and spark up the chrome lighter in your hand. You throw it to the floor, and the circle erupts in a magical flame. Now old blackeyes there is trapped until you say so.

Before I gank you, you’re gonna spill, buttwipe.

This effect is the sound of a modern lighter igniting a magic flame that burns for ten minutes.

Demon Flame Loop

Now that the demon is trapped within the blood circle, the flame will continue to burn and he won’t be able to leave. This ten-minute loop of magic demon fire will allow you to question him all you like.

Each of the Demon Flame soundpacks are available for $1.50 from DrivethruRPG.com.

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New Specimen standalone site

We’ve created a site specifically for our new board game, Specimen. There you’ll find articles about how to play the game; good strategies for playing the crew or the monster; videos about different strategy cards and the development of the game; and selected game images. There are also some downloads of living rules and (soon) other goodies, as well as an exploration of the world in which Specimen takes place.

Visit the site at https://specimengame.wordpress.com/

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SPECIMEN Update: New Game board design!

We’re getting closer and closer to having a finished Print and Play version of Specimen for you, and here’s the latest piece of the puzzle. This is the new layout for the game board, based on Steve’s original prototype and the ship design by John Eiberger.

Click the image to open it in its own page, then click again for a larger look:

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Podcast: Episode Four

Our latest podcast is up on our Vimeo channel. In episode four, Steve talks about our new Zombie City sounds, as well as news about Specimen and some hints about how to use sound effects in your RPG. Then, Steve and Joe discuss the upcoming films Man of Steel and World War Z.