39 - Jeph and Big Campaign

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

#Lifestyle #Games and Gambling #Hobbies #Audio Drama #Isaac Shaker #DD #RPG #Campaign #Fantasy #Roleplaying #Games #Sets #Authors #DnD #Dungeons and Dragons

34:07

In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Jay Crone, Managing Director and Venture Capitalist at Deloitte Ventures, to explore the firm’s strategic approach to corporate venture capital. Jay shares Deloitte Ventures’ investment thesis, focusing on supporting innovative Canadian startups at Series A and B stages across key sectors like cybersecurity, climate tech, fintech, future of work, health tech, and AI. Listeners will gain an inside look at how Deloitte leverages its vast network of 1,500 partners and 15,000 employees to source deals and add value beyond capital by helping startups navigate Deloitte’s complex ecosystem and access enterprise clients. Jay also discusses his diverse career journey—from government and investment banking to entrepreneurship and corporate VC—and how those experiences shape his investment philosophy. The episode delves into Deloitte’s due diligence process, the importance of founder relationships, and the firm’s strategic role as a co-investor. Jay highlights emerging trends, particularly the promise of vertical AI tailored to industry-specific needs, and shares his bullish outlook on fintech innovations like stablecoins and cross-border payments. He offers candid advice for entrepreneurs on risk-taking and aligning business vision with funding goals. This episode is a must-listen for founders, investors, and anyone interested in the evolving landscape of corporate venture capital and innovation in Canada. Learn more about Jay's work at https://www.deloitte.com/ca/en/services/program/ventures.html Connect with Jay on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaycrone/ Think you'd be a great guest on the show? Apply at https://finstratmgmt.com/innovators-investors-podcast/ Want to learn more about Kristian Marquez's work? Check out his website at https://finstratmgmt.com…

about a year ago 1:40:16

MP3•Episode home

The current challenge for Big Campaign is that the Elemental Planes of Fire and Earth are locked away from the rest of the world. Fire and earth magic no longer work and water and air have become too powerful. The world is out of balance and someone must restore it before the world's oceans consume the land. Meanwhile modern corporations, militarized borders, and religious fanatics stand in the way of progress.

You can learn more and listen to Big Campaign at https://www.bigcampaign.com/ or you can join Big Campaign's Discord server at https://discord.gg/kn8XbxqQ4n

During the episode I mentioned a nature "documentary" on dragons. It's titled The Last Dragon or Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real and you can check it out on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYY5ksNCjCY

Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts

Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA

Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

61 episodes

39 - Jeph and Big Campaign

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

published about a year ago

MP3•Episode home

You can learn more and listen to Big Campaign at https://www.bigcampaign.com/ or you can join Big Campaign's Discord server at https://discord.gg/kn8XbxqQ4n

Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts

Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA

Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

61 episodes

#Lifestyle #Games and Gambling #Hobbies #Audio Drama #Isaac Shaker #DD #RPG #Campaign #Fantasy #Roleplaying #Games #Sets #Authors #DnD #Dungeons and Dragons

All episodes

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
60 - Todd and Skjaald Sagas 2:33:43

9 days ago2:33:43

2:33:43

Todd tells us about his world, Skjaald, and his fantasy TTRPG system he's designing for it called Skjaald Sagas . The main continent for Skjaald is Driktsuung, a place with varied biomes similar to North America. The people of Driktsuung are divided into the Six Realms with different governmental structures for each Realm. All the typical fantasy races are present with a few twists. Magic is deeply connected to the soul in Skjaald, causing changes in the nature of all magical creatures. Dragons are the most affected as they are beings of almost pure magic. Magic also acts as a form of radiation that slowly turns spellcasters into draconic beings. The Skjaald Sagas system grew out of D&D with d20 resolution and class-like choices based off different personality types called archetypes. Examples include Fighter, Protector, Cleric, Thinker, Coward, and Leader. You roll using your attributes which are also increased through usage. Thus if you want to be a better melee attacker, you either have to attack during combat or state that my character is practicing during downtime. Higher attributes that are associated with a certain archetype allow you to increase the stage of the archetype and unlock new abilities. The point based system allows for easy movement between the different archetypes as your character grows through play. Skjaald Sagas Links: World Anvil: https://www.worldanvil.com/w/skjaald-todd-cain Playtest Materials Google Doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Z8BvQk-F7BI6xQtWu7ZwMEMk91bbDujHtZ85kYQ4gwo/edit?usp=sharing I mentioned Elfquest while talking with Todd about the elves in Skjaald. If you'd like to try Elfquest most of the comics are available through a reader on the creators' website: https://elfquest.com/reading-room/ Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
59 - Ryan and Ethereal 1:52:37

23 days ago1:52:37

1:52:37

Ryan is designing a TTRPG system and setting called Ethereal . In the setting all cryptids like Sasquatch, the Loch Ness Monster, and Mothman are real. An international government organization known as the Beacon exists to control these cryptids and keep them away from humanity. The players act as agents of the Beacon, solving different cryptid crises in an X-Files or Men in Black fashion. The stories take place during the 1910's, but with slightly more advanced technology available for Beacon members. The Ethereal system is a hybrid of d20 and detective games like Gumshoe or Brindlewood Bay. Everything has a set DC of 11 or 22 to make things simple and players have a resource called Momentum for investigations. Each player character is a picks a Division (class) and Specialty (subclass) as part of their training and expertise within the Beacon. If you'd like to follow along with Ethereal's design and release process you can stay up to date with these links: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FineGroundCryptids Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/finegroundcryptids Discord for playtest files and community: https://discord.com/invite/JhWh8ewSW6 Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
58 - Luca and Codex Inversus 1:12:37

5 weeks ago1:12:37

1:12:37

Luca presents his world, dubbed Codex Inversus. Luca is from Italy and has used Italian Renaissance art as the inspiration for his campaign setting. Whenever he writes a new piece of lore its accompanied by a photoshopped piece of Renaissance style art. To see all the amazing art you can check out Luca's links below. Codex Inversus is a world that its creator god abandoned. With the creator gone, all the lesser divinities, devils, angels, and elementals began fighting. This conflict resulted in The Collapse which fused the planes of existence into the mortal world. Parts of of those planes are still scattered across the world. Forced to live in the same territory, the wars for extinction have ended between outsiders. Devils now coexist with angels, their respective progeny, and many humans, elves, dwarves, halflings, orcs, and beast people alike. Some still wait for the return of the creator, but others work to build a new world in the creator's absence. Check out these links to follow the content that Luca is making for Codex Inversus. He shares the same stuff to all three places, but more of the fan content is present on Reddit. Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/codexinversus/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/codex_inversus/ Medium: https://lucavanzella.medium.com/ If you'd like to vote in the CRIT Awards you can check out the different nominees on their website: https://www.critawards.org/ Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
57 - Daniel and Mists of Eldoria 1:04:57

7 weeks ago1:04:57

1:04:57

Daniel tells us about his community published campaign, Mists of Eldoria! Mists of Eldoria is available for anyone to download and run for themselves via Daniel's Patreon page. Of the nine parts of the campaign four are finished so far. You can follow along with the adventure as Daniel and his own group explore Eldoria and get closer to defeating the ancient evil at the heart of the continent. Eldoria is a magical continent hidden in the mists of Toril, the world that Faerun is on. It was cut off from Faerun until recently a ship captain found a way to navigate the mists and arrive at the hidden continent. One thousand years ago Eldoria was cut off from the world by the immortal wizard, Taldor Vex. He has secretly ruled Eldoria since by wearing various disguises through the ages. Players must discover who this man is, why he cut the continent off from the outside world, and his motivations for doing so. Do they want to undo his actions or allow the status quo to continue? If you'd like to check out Mists of Eldoria for yourself here are some links: Daniel's YouTube page with some info on Eldoria and lots of his prop making stuff: https://www.youtube.com/@MasterfulDungeons Daniel's Patreon where you can subscribe for free to get updates on all his latest content: https://www.patreon.com/masterful_dungeons The Mists of Eldoria Dropbox where all the campaign content is stored for you to access: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/aiothd8em7zxo963zp974/h?rlkey=n77zrbqeqd86ugi04ur5zpnlp&dl=0 If you'd like to vote in the CRIT Awards you can check out the different nominees on their website: https://www.critawards.org/ Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
56 - Austin and Beam Saber 2:06:35

9 weeks ago2:06:35

2:06:35

Austin is here to talk about her Forged in the Dark game, Beam Saber, and one of the setting's she's released for it, Rush Wars. Beam Saber is designed for mech battles but with the numerous supplements it can be adapted for any sort of vehicle conception. Gundams, planes, robot dinosaurs, fast cars, or even the vertical maneuvering equipment in Attack on Titan are all possibilities within Beam Saber. After a mission PCs rest and relax to remove stress and repair their gear just as in the Blades in the Dark game. Rush Wars is a supplement for Beam Saber that focuses on cars as the vehicle of choice. Intended to evoke the feeling, but the aesthetic of the Fast and the Furious franchise, the cars in Rush Wars have large impact on the narrative of stories told with the system. Stories focus on living on the edge of legality along with fast car races, chases, and other high speed action for physical conflict. The setting we discuss is based on Detroit where the mega-corp, Interax, has just set up an electric car factory. We also discussed many aspects of game development and business within the TTRPG space. Dig through these links for more about Beam Saber and the rest of Austin's stuff. Austin's shop with all the Beam Saber and Rush Wars stuff: https://austin-ramsay.itch.io/ Austin's old podcast called You Don't Meet In An Inn, that explored different TTRPGs: https://youdontmeetinaninn.libsyn.com/ The CalazCon Actual Play that Austin mentioned is available on any podcast app or here: https://beamsaber.libsyn.com/ Everything else Austin is up to: https://linktr.ee/austinramsay Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
55 - Ben and Midgard 2:18:55

11 weeks ago2:18:55

2:18:55

Ben tells us about Kobold Press's fantasy setting, Midgard. Midgard started off as an open design campaign setting in which the main author, Wolfgang Baur, allowed fans to vote on options for what would be included. That project expanded into the Kobold Press company which now has their own TTRPG, Tales of the Valiant. Ben is a contributing author to many different RPG publications, including but not limited to Kobold Press. Ben's work for Kobold Press has earned him two ENnie awards, a silver for Southlands and a gold for Streets of Zobeck . Midgard was originally inspired by Eastern European myths and folklore but has expanded to be "Europe with the fantasy filter on." Zobeck, the city that Ben collaborated to write about, is the cosmopolitan center of the action, similar to Faerun's Waterdeep or New York City in the USA. Ben's work on the southern African-like continent is detailed in the supplement, Southlands . Midgard offers many different regions for players to explore and have fun in. And its now paired with Kobold Press's new game system, Tales of the Valiant . To try out the Midgard setting go to Kobold Press's website and take a look. There's some free resources to get you started: https://koboldpress.com/midgard/ If you want to check out Ben's Kobold Press contributions specifically use this link: https://koboldpress.com/kpstore/page/1/?s=ben+mcfarland&post_type=product For everything that Ben has ever touched go here: https://rpggeek.com/rpgdesigner/25753/ben-mcfarland Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
54 - Dylan and the Faerun Crystal War 1:35:53

13 weeks ago1:35:53

1:35:53

Dylan tells us about his campaign, set in the official Forgotten Realms setting! At long last Setting the Stage is covering the big D&D setting. Set sometime in the future of Faerun, Dylan's campaign focuses on a sentient and malevolent crystal that wants to mind control everyone in the world. This crystal is a representation of the forces of Lawful Evil within D&D's alignment spectrum along with eight other crystals for the other alignments. A war broke out between the crystals for control of Faerun. Dylan ran multiple campaigns that spanned the time before, during, and after the Crystal War and visited many of the famous locations within Faerun along the way. If you're a fan of the Drizzt books like Dylan and myself then you'll recognize many of the locations. Dylan also talked through the initial concept stages he has for an RPG system of his own design. The system would focus on non-violent conflict resolution with character experience gained through using skills rather than overcoming challenges. Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
53 - Maia and Pinehurst Academy 1:15:29

15 weeks ago1:15:29

1:15:29

Maia is our guest today presenting her actual play campaign, Pinehurst Academy. Maia used the City of Mist system for her game. From the City of Mist website, "In City of Mist you play ordinary individuals with powers that emanate from myths and legends investigating supernatural crimes and mysteries in a noir City where the truth is always hidden behind the pervasive Mist." Maia has used a fairly straight interpretation of that setup with a twist, her story takes place in a suburban high school just outside of the City. The PCs are a bunch of first year students at the exclusive private school, Pinehurst Academy. The school has a yearly scavenger hunt competition for freshman to find a set of ten artifacts. There are only one of each artifact, so the scavenger hunt teams must also steal the artifacts Maia made an enormous amount of material for the campaign along with many custom rules for managing the more detailed parts of school life. If you're planning on running a similar campaign you should get in touch with Maia and ask for some advice. The Pinehurst Academy playlist on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7m14mvokus1i6gbfAGSKc7oOheJfGQtz Maia's TTRPG links: https://beacons.ai/maiasgameroom Maia's Electric State narrative play podcast: https://beacons.ai/electricstatepod City of Mist website: https://cityofmist.co/ Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
52 - Arin & Caleb and Black Flare 1:22:32

17 weeks ago1:22:32

1:22:32

This week's stars are Arin and Caleb from the Black Flare podcast. Arin is the GM for the podcast using the Delta Green rules system and Caleb is the podcast's producer and editor. They work together to create a phenomenal, slow-building horror story. Delta Green is an RPG for telling Cthulian Lovecraft stories in a more modern setting typically in the late 1990's or early 2000's. The PCs all have a connection to a secret government organization named Delta Green that deals with paranormal events. In the Black Flare podcast, the PCs investigate a mysterious disease that is occurring in one of Alaska's national parks. The Black Flare podcast is a great horror story with the feel of the X-Files show if it was an audio drama. Check it out on the Black Flare Podcast website or by searching Black Flare on your podcast app. https://www.blackflarepod.com/ If you're interested in the Delta Green system you can check out the rules on the website. There's a set of start rules and an adventure you can try for free to see if you like the system! https://www.delta-green.com/ Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
51 - Amanda and The Delicious Homebrew 2:00:00

19 weeks ago2:00:00

2:00:00

This week's guest is Amanda, another member of the Quelmar organization. Quelmar was featured previously in episode 32 with James, the original creator of Quelmar. Amanda is a Quelmar DM and is currently DMing a Quelmarized version of Hitpoint Press's Heckna!. Her interview focused on her homebrew campaign without a "proper" name dubbed the Delicious Homebrew. The Delicious Homebrew focuses on a world that has lost connection to its magic. One hundred years ago a powerful magician felt that magic was a net negative for the world. It was too dangerous and unpredictable. This magician sealed magic away and then hid the seal itself as well on a lost continent known as the Emerald Wilds. The players journey starts with a king giving them a quest to find a magical crown. The PCs found the crown, but rather than return it to the king they broke it, unleashing a hostile angel. After rallying an entire city to defeat the angel, the PCs interrogated it as it died. The angel revealed the name and identity of the magician who sealed away the world's magic, setting the PCs off on their true quest. During the interview we mentioned the Heckna! campaign by Hitpoint Press. You can check that out at this link: https://hitpointpress.com/products/heckna-box-set I also brought up the Bag Wars Saga from Knights of the Dinner Table which you can check out here: https://kenzerco.com/product/knights-of-the-dinner-table-the-bag-wars-saga/ And if you'd like to learn more about Quelmar and the other cool stuff Amanda and the Quelmar members are up to Quelmar has a few of its own web links you should check out The Quelmar Wiki: https://quelmarwiki.com/wiki/Quelmar_Wikia The Quelmar Organization's official webpage: https://quelmar.com/Home.html And Quelmar's Discord server: https://discord.gg/9FZ4EJj Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
50 - Emma & Maia and Yeld 2:23:34

21 weeks ago2:23:34

2:23:34

Somewhere there is a door. Today's guests are Emma and Maia, the creators of the Yeldplay actual play podcast which was nominated for a 2024 CRIT award. Yeldplay is the official podcast of the Yeld RPG to showcase the system's unique mechanics and style of play. The Yeld RPG lets your roleplay as children that find a door to the Magical Land of Yeld. The children can explore Yeld and return home, but eventually the door locks behind them on one of their journeys. Now they are trapped and must find seven keys to unlock the door. If they don't escape before they turn thirteen they will turn into one of the monsters of Yeld and be forever trapped. Yeld is a heavily structured RPG with seven boss dungeons (plus a bonus final dungeon) that already exist within the rule book. But don't worry, there's plenty of space to make up adventures of your own outside of the boss dungeons. Combat takes place on an 8x8 grid like a chessboard. Combat actions are fairly simple, stack as many dice on an action as possible, roll all the dice and add them up. The GM does the same thing for the enemies and whoever has the highest total succeeds. The game discourages killing enemies though as their ghosts will haunt you in the next adventure you and your friends embark on. Yeld has a rotating GM structure. Everybody that is playing has a PC and each adventure is designed by one of the players for all the PCs to go through. At the end of that adventure a new player is encouraged to come forward to GM the next adventure. The whole experience can be as collaborative or as singular as desired by a group. You could potentially have a single GM without a PC if you wanted. Or you could have everyone working together on all the adventures if that was a process you enjoyed. The important thing is that Yeld works with collaboration or with individual creation of adventures, but in the assumed design there is a rotation of responsibility. If you'd like to give Yeld a try you can check it out on their website. The 1st edition of the game is free! https://yeldstuff.com/ The Yeldplay podcast can be found on your favorite podcast app, but if you prefer a weblink you can click this one: https://shows.acast.com/yeldplay The Modest Medusa webcomic that has developed alongside Yeld and Yeld's art is available here: https://modestmedusa.com/ Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
49 - Josh and Last Fleet 1:25:46

23 weeks ago1:25:46

1:25:46

This episode features one of the other CRIT award nominees from 2024, Josh, who tells us about his game Last Fleet . Josh and his partner, Becky, are the main drivers at Black Armada Games which makes TTRPGs (among other games). Last Fleet is a Powered by the Apocalypse game that simulates a situation similar to that of the Battlestar Galactica show. In the far future humanity is on the run in the titular Last Fleet. Human planets have been taken over by the Corax, a fungal species that is able to infiltrate Earthling society through perfect mimics of humans. Now humanity is in a desperate bid to escape from the Corax, but the fleet is low on fuel and Corax infiltrators could already be aboard sabotaging the ships that protect the last of the human species. Josh presents his games through actual plays on the podcast, Black Armada Tales. There's a bunch of games that have been featured, but here is a link to the first episode of the Last Fleet arc: https://open.spotify.com/episode/37f5ee6Z05iebdPUNh3dGS You can check out Last Fleet on the Black Armada website here: https://blackarmada.com/product/last-fleet/ Or you can check out the general Black Armada website for their other games. That includes the latest Lovecraftesque release and a playtest for a soon-to-be-released, grimdark, scifi game called Ex Tenebris: https://blackarmada.com/ Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
48 - Udy and Pendragon 2:27:32

25 weeks ago2:27:32

2:27:32

Udy tells us about his experiences with the Seventh Sea TTRPG system, the Scion system, and the focus for this episode, Pendragon! Pendragon is a generational RPG where you play a small noble house in England during the time of Arthurian legends. You play a knight or lady that is the head of your household with responsibilities to your subjects, your lord, and the king. As play proceeds, your character finds friends, makes enemies, gets married, has children, goes on quests, fights wars, and all that other good stuff from Medieval history and myth. Eventually your character dies and you transition to playing the heir you'd raised as the campaign proceeds. There are many campaigns you can play, but the main focus is on the Great Pendragon Campaign that details the events from the ~480 to ~570. This covers the rule of King Uther, King Arthur's rise to prominence as the boy who pulled the sword from the stone, Arthur's rule, his decline and death, and a small wrapup afterwards. The PCs can be directly involved in these events or on the fringes depending on a group's preference. Historical sources indicate that there was a King Arthur who ruled over parts of Britain in the 500's. Little is known about this real person. King Arthur became a legendary figure due to French moral fables written about the Knights of the Round Table in the 1100's. At that time Christian Europe was losing lots of wars to Muslims. Many Christian nobles were spending more time fighting amongst themselves instead of looking outward to what the Catholic Church considered a greater enemy. To prevent this infighting, many priests and educated men wrote stories with the intention of improving the moral character of European nobility. These stories used the Knights of the Round Table as a common setting. The hope was that if European nobles read these stories they would become moral people, stop fighting each other, and join the Crusades against the Muslims. Udy and I talked about a few different sources for the story of King Arthur. While there are hundreds of books to read on Arthur, both ancient and modern, the best English sources are probably Le Morte d'Arthur written by Thomas Malory in 1485 at the end of the Middle Ages or The Once and Future King written by T.H. White in 1958. If you're in the mood for something lighter and more subversive, Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is a lot of fun. There are many examples in film as well with my personal favorite being the 1998 Merlin TV miniseries. During the interview we briefly discussed a piece of art that one of Udy's players drew. You can check that art out here: https://gocorral.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/giant.webp If you're interested in Pendragon the game is available on Chaosium's website: https://www.chaosium.com/pendragon-rpg/ Udy also recommended the Pendragon Discord server for all those cool modifications people have made to the system over the years: https://discord.com/invite/CfvJzeX Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
47 - Malcolm and Our Town 1:54:08

27 weeks ago1:54:08

1:54:08

Malcolm, a member of the Advanced Age Roleplaying Gamers (AARPG) podcast, joins us to talk about one of his campaigns named Our Town. The concept for Our Town came about accidentally where rather than going on an adventure, the players all stayed in town and wanted to kick out any outsiders that wanted to change their little village. A rival baron to their lord schemes to take over their town and the players formed a neighborhood watch of sorts to punish anyone who threatens their culture. The game was played using the Generic Universal Roleplaying System (GURPS), a great system for simple humans trying to live simple lives. The AARPG podcast that Malcolm is a part of is a group of friends that's been playing RPGs together since the 80's. They met in community college and have been gaming off and on ever since. The podcast is led by Matt and Nathan of the group. It's a variety podcast with mostly short campaigns from different games and the occasional interview segment mixed in. AARPG podcast link: https://www.theaarpgs.com/ AARPG YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@theaarpgs Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
46 - Ben and Cybertopia 1:26:37

29 weeks ago1:26:37

1:26:37

Ben tells us about his setting and independently designed TTRPG system, Cybertopia. Cybertopia is a fiction first system set in the near future. Amazing Corp saved the world from climate and energy catastrophes with a magical clean energy machine. As the world moves into a post-scarcity economy, Amazing Corp has risen in power and influence beyond most governments. The players are small pieces in this machine, trying to take care of any problems that get in Amazing Corp's way. And maybe they discover something sinister that shakes their confidence in Amazing Corp? Who knows? That's up to the GM. Cybertopia as a system is a d20 system. Characters pick a Core which is like a class, but is really just a guide to what your character is good at without the rigid framework of D&D applied to it. The Core provides a +3 to rolls. Characters also have skills, items, and situational things that provide +1 or +2. All these modifiers stack together just like other d20 systems. Experience points are gained by rolling a natural 20. Three experience points can be exchanged for a skill improvement. This episode was recorded in September where the temperatures were 95°F in California (me) while being rainy and 57°F in Scotland where Ben is located. Ben's itch.io shop where you can check out Cybertopia: https://bennewbon.itch.io/ Ben has a actual play podcast to demonstrate Cybertopia. The second season is starting its release now. You can listen to that here or in any of your favorite podcast apps: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/cybertopiaap The Cybertopia podcast is also available on YouTube but still audio only: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIOIGenECSSR95XTfwjbq-l9g8urlYBDE Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
45 - Roger and Industrial Strength Heroism 1:14:13

31 weeks ago1:14:13

1:14:13

Roger tells us about his world Savinaru. It was created by elementals, primal forces of creation. Ever since Savinaru has been plagued by demons, primal forces of destruction . Savinaru is in the midst of its Industrial Revolution via magic. Magically powered public transportation networks are being built and weaponry has advanced to muskets and cannons. Roger wrote Savinaru to have many subversions of the usual fantasy tropes. For example, dwarves and orcs are the same race, but dwarves split off due to going underground. Roger has also been working on his own TTRPG system that he has dubbed Industrial Strength Heroism . It's a heroic fantasy system with a d12 roll-under mechanic. Character stats vary from 2 to 8. Rolls are decided by d12 roll with bonuses or penalties. To succeed you must roll less than the relevant stat. Roger has a World Anvil on Savinaru that he's recently started as of this episode's release: https://www.worldanvil.com/w/savinaru-rogerpellicano Roger has been working on a video game called Nymar Arisen. It's a base-building survival game similar to Minecraft, but your character commands a whole tribe of ant people to fight back against demon invasions. The game is still in its early stages, but a playable demo has been released on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1682470/Nymar_Arisen/ Roger is just starting his social media presence as well to get Industrial Strength Heroism going. If you'd like to be the first to know about it you can follow him on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/rogerpellicano.bsky.social Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
44 - Derry and Golarion 2:08:54

33 weeks ago2:08:54

2:08:54

Our guest for this episode is Derry, DM of the Dice Will Roll podcast and winner of a 2024 CRIT award! Woo! Derry talks with us about his journey with RPGs, actual play podcasting, and Pathfinder's official setting of Golarion. Derry started doing actual play podcasting because many of the more popular TTRPG podcasts featured a mostly white suburban dad stereotype and there were not many queer TTRPG podcasters. Seeing a need, Derry stepped in and started the Dice Will Roll podcast which features campaigns from Pathfinder's official adventure paths. So far they've conquered Kingmaker, Extinction Curse, Fists of the Ruby Phoenix, and are making their way through Abomination Vaults. While the later part of this episode focuses on Abomination Vaults we discuss many of the other adventure paths. SPOILER WARNING in particular for the Abomination Vaults, Agents of Edgewatch, and Reign of Winter adventure paths. As for Abomination Vaults, the PCs are members of the small lumber town of Otari, close to the mega-city of Absalom. A mysterious lighthouse close to town comes to life drawing the attention of the locals. Exploring the lighthouse reveals a massive dungeon underneath. Enough adventure for levels 1-10, all in the same place as the PCs go deeper and deeper into the Abomination Vaults. You can learn more about Dice Will Roll at their website: https://www.dicewillroll.com/ If you're interested in the Abomination Vaults adventure path you can check it out here: https://paizo.com/store/pathfinder/adventures/adventurePath/abominationvaults Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
43 - Dain and No Quest for the Wicked 1:56:14

35 weeks ago1:56:14

1:56:14

I talked with Dain about his 2024 CRIT award nominated, actual play campaign, No Quest for the Wicked . Dain's campaign uses the Starfinder rules and is loosely based off the Starfinder setting by using the same set of basic aliens for racial options. Each of the different races experienced some sort of disaster on their homeworld. Before extinction they were saved by the Val'ai, an advanced alien species. The Val'ai uplifted these different races with magic and technology, setting them all on a path towards the Casa-Mal system. Casa-Mal has six terrestrial planets and many other planetoids/asteroids that orbit the sun. Humans have mainly settled on a self-sufficient modular space station known as the Cube. The Cube is constructed of thousands of modular Aeris spaceships that humans used to escape Earth's solar system. Small settlements spread out through the rest of Casa-Mal receive assistance from traveling TVRN (Tavern) Aeris ships. Taverns trade goods and provide aid however they can with specialized services in a similar manner to adventuring parties in D&D. The PCs are crew members of a Tavern when they discover a mysterious silver liquid in space. They bring some of the liquid back to the Cube for investigation, but are attacked by the Cube's administration soon afterward. The PCs are forced to leave their captain behind as they flee the Cube in their Tavern. They must repair their damaged spaceship, figure out what's going on with the silver liquid, clear their names at the Cube, and rescue their captain in a complex conspiracy that goes deeper than they could've ever foreseen. Dain and I also discussed what its like running podcasts, upcoming work for the No Quest crew, and the importance/responsibility of diversity in media representation. If you want to learn more about No Quest for the Wicked you can check them out on your podcast app or on their website: https://www.noquestcast.com/ No Quest also has an active Discord if you'd like to talk to Dain, the cast, or other fans of the show: https://discord.gg/Zbn3BVEvGB Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
42 - Bob and Aelriss 1:46:21

37 weeks ago1:46:21

1:46:21

Bob tells us about his various experiences with D&D and writing. Bob is the writer of the Jubal County Saga, a series of books about Howard Marsh, a meth addicted magician living in the American South. Bob has also designed and published a few dozen single page RPGs and a few longer ones. All of this in a joking collaboration with three partners who are definitely not octopi in trench coats. Bob's campaign world of Aelriss is much like Earth only during the Medieval Age a Cthulhuian horror emerged along with monsters known as the Fathomless. These monsters transformed Aelriss into a waterworld with only a few islands where civilization has survived. After the initial catastrophe, an equilibrium was established. Ships could still travel and trade between islands, but only up to a certain size. Too big and the creatures of the deep would notice and swallow such a vessel. The disaster also birthed a new set of gods while the old faiths of Aelriss merged into a single religion of the old ways. And we also got into a discussion about horror films and their connection to different cultural themes in American society. Bob's website: https://talesbybob.com/ Bob's publishing front: https://beardedbardinkworks.com/ Bob's itch.io shop for all of his RPG games: https://beardedbardinkworks.itch.io/ Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
41 - Peter and Tales from Elsewhere (Clockworld) 1:54:53

39 weeks ago1:54:53

1:54:53

Peter tells us about Tales of Elsewhere, his own RPG system that he's using for his campaign. Characters are made with a Culture (where they're from), a Profession, and an Inciting Incident that sets them on their adventuring path. These different traits combine to decide your character's skills which are the only character number relevant to action resolution. In Tales from Elsewhere skills decide how many dice you roll for a challenge. The difficulty of the challenge decides the size of the dice you roll. Low rolls are better, so after a roll you look for the lowest die and that is your result. There are different levels of success all the way down to a critical success on a one. Peter's first setting for Tales from Elsewhere is Clockworld, a mashup of Wild Wild West and a Lovecraftian apocalypse . With guns and Cthulhuian monsters the setting has a dangerous feel to it where combats quickly accelerate to a lethal end. Steampunk androids known as Clocks also make an appearance. Clocks are the same as you or me in their mental and moral capacity, just put together with metal instead of flesh. The world is threatened by monsters and demons on all sides as well as four vicious entities known as Wolves in Sheep's Clothing, creatures from outside reality that have taken on human form. Tales from Elsewhere is available on Peter's website at https://www.talesfromelsewhere.com/ and to learn more about the game you can check out Peter's YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@TalesFromElsewhereGames Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
40 - Kevin and Wing Women 1:31:10

41 weeks ago1:31:10

1:31:10

This marks the first of a couple episodes where I got the chance to interview different people/groups nominated for one of the 2024 CRIT Awards . Kevin tells us about his campaign and actual play podcast, Wing Women . The campaign uses the Powered by the Apocalypse Night Witches rules system developed by Jason Morningstar of Bully Pulpit Games. Night Witches is inspired by the WW2 Russian 588th Night Bomber Regiment, a group of bomber pilots made up entirely of women. The bombers earned the nickname, Night Witches, due to the sweeping sound of their planes as they dropped bombs on the Germans at night. Kevin's game follows a fictionalized version of the Night Witches, starting with a crew just out of training and following their exploits at camp and in the sky. The game explores many themes of oppression, sexuality, and gender expression in the totalitarian and hierarchical structure of the wartime Soviet Union. The Wing Women podcast is available on all major podcast apps. You can learn more about the Wing Women at all their links here (especially the Instagram page!): https://linktr.ee/wingwomenpod The Night Witches game is available from Bully Pulpit Games. The print versions are out of stock at the moment, but the digital version is always in stock: https://bullypulpitgames.com/products/night-witches Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
39 - Jeph and Big Campaign 1:40:16

43 weeks ago1:40:16

1:40:16

Jeph started playing D&D in school with a group of friends as most typically do. They played a couple different small campaigns, swapping between different DMs. One constant in their group was "Big Campaign," the world that Jeph ran that everyone always came back. Jeph has run Big Campaign for at least seven major campaigns and now hosts a podcast that covers the continuing adventures within the world. Heroes have defeated liches, dragons, robots, and worse as the campaign's lore continues to increase. Each campaign is separated in time from the others allowing large technological leaps to happen between campaigns. PCs started off with swords and shields but now have access to cybernetics, guns, and a plane of information that stands in for the Internet. The current challenge for Big Campaign is that the Elemental Planes of Fire and Earth are locked away from the rest of the world. Fire and earth magic no longer work and water and air have become too powerful. The world is out of balance and someone must restore it before the world's oceans consume the land. Meanwhile modern corporations, militarized borders, and religious fanatics stand in the way of progress. You can learn more and listen to Big Campaign at https://www.bigcampaign.com/ or you can join Big Campaign's Discord server at https://discord.gg/kn8XbxqQ4n During the episode I mentioned a nature "documentary" on dragons. It's titled The Last Dragon or Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real and you can check it out on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYY5ksNCjCY Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
38 - Gallo and Rob Boss 1:08:41

45 weeks ago1:08:41

1:08:41

Gallo tells us about his D&D campaign that was designed for a girlfriend's teenage daughter. Her one request, "I want Bob Ross to be in it." Gallo ran with the idea and created a world where Bob Ross's evil alter ego, Rob Boss, is the villain. He used his paint brush to create a painted forest full of painted monsters. The physics and tone of the world are heavily inspired by Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and Cool World . The monsters are two-dimensional cartoons making battle positioning key to their defeat. Eventually the PCs succeeded and broke the paint brush of Rob Boss, freeing the world from his evil spell. Also a prescient commentary on DnD Beyond Licensing in the later half of the episode. We were discussing the OGL debacle, but Wizards of the Coast recently went for round 2. Today's thumbnail was made by JP Ahonen for his comic, Belzebubs. Check it out at his website: https://jpahonen.com/belzebubs Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
37 - Adam and Halfway to Heroes 1:30:58

47 weeks ago1:30:58

1:30:58

Adam is the main DM for the Majestic Goose Network, a collection of actual play podcasts that grew out of Adam's home games with his family. The network started with One Shot Onslaught, a series of one shot D&D adventures from DM's Guild. It grew from there to around a dozen shows on various TTRPG topics. This episode focuses on Adam's homebrew campaign dubbed Halfway to Heroes. The campaign was conceived of as a subversion of the typical "kids in school" story for young adults by instead focusing on the characters' lives after school. Halfway to Heroes takes place in Modras, a world that previously saw many attacks by mindflayers. The PCs start off taking their final practical exam for graduating as the last class from Scrimore Academy, a school dedicated to training mindflayer hunters. The school is closing down as the threat of mindflayer invasion has passed. After the exam the PCs are tasked with recovering four weather controlling orbs that have gone missing from Scrimore's magical item vault. The adventures feature lots of puzzles and comedy banter alongside old-fashioned D&D combat. You can check out all the Majestic Goose podcasts on their website: https://www.majesticgoose.com/ And you can talk to Adam and the rest of the cast on the Majestic Goose Discord server: https://discord.com/invite/BQyEbaS Adam talked about a world creating game he'd used for his second Halfway to Heroes campaign called The Quiet Year. You can check it out here: https://buriedwithoutceremony.com/the-quiet-year I mentioned a similar game called Dawn of Worlds. You can check out the PDF for that game for free from the creator's website here: http://www.clanwebsite.org/games/rpg/Dawn_of_Worlds_game_1_0Final.pdf And of course a link to Nathan's Kickstarter for The Amethyst Dragon's Hoard of Everything - a 5e Supplement: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/theamethystdragon/the-amethyst-dragons-hoard-of-everything-a-5e-supplement Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
36 - Edric and The Revolutionary War 2:03:11

49 weeks ago2:03:11

2:03:11

Edric tells us about his campaign that takes place during the American Revolutionary War where all myths and folktales are real. Magic exists but spellcasters must keep their powers a secret or be burned as a witch. Eldritch horrors and evil spirits threaten North America while historical events proceed along a parallel path to our own reality. Edric modeled the campaign events around the PCs' backstories and goals. They chose to be people of the frontier and American natives, initially fighting for independence from the British and the Colonists. As play proceeded the players caused the Great New Orleans Fire by unleashing the Raven trickster demon, stole treasure from Spanish galleons, and started a slave revolt. Along the way the PCs interact with numerous historical figures including Joseph Brant, Cornplanter, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Handsome Lake, John Sullivan, John Brown, and Bernardo de Gálvez. Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
35 - Josh and the Collide 1:24:24

51 weeks ago1:24:24

1:24:24

Josh tells us about his world, The Collide. Josh is a new DM and player, providing a unique perspective on what D&D is like from that fresh point of view. The Collide is a combination of two worlds that smashed together in a cataclysmic event several hundred years ago. Collide is single continent split in half by a large mountain range. The western half is the original half with green plants. The original eastern half was replaced during the collision event with land from a world with red plants. The western half has been ruled by an immortal king since the cataclysm. The eastern half has a null-magic desert in the south inspired by the Bang! card game. Guns are used as magical weapon replacements and cowboys roam. Outside of the Collide's reality, gods are at war to control the surface of Collide. This conflict is bubbling up into a threat to redo the apocalypse. Alongside the initial phases of this disaster a series of time travelers are wrecking havoc and the PCs of Josh's campaign have to stop it. Josh has also been cataloging his experiences as a newbie DM on his own podcast called Crash Course DM: https://www.anythingyoucando.co/crash-course-dm During the interview we also discussed a couple games that you might be interested in. Bang! - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bang!_(card_game) Cash And Guns - https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/155362/ca-dollar-h-n-guns-second-edition TimeWatch - https://pelgranepress.com/product-category/gumshoe/timewatch/ Honor of the Samurai - https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/607/honor-of-the-samurai Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
34 - Maura and Spire 1:46:42

1 year ago1:46:42

1:46:42

Maura tells us about her campaign, Her Dark Ministrations , which uses the Spire rules and setting made by Rowan, Rook and Decard. Maura's campaign and version of Spire follow the base setting pretty closely. From the game's website, "Spire is a roleplaying game about desperate revolutionary dark elves caught up in a secret war against the high elves, or aelfir, who rule the towering city of Spire. The world of Spire is a brutal one, and players can expect to see their characters suffer at the hands of their oppressors, or their rivals; bodily harm, psychological scarring and reprisals against their allies are commonplace. But for those willing to do what it takes, Spire is on the brink of full-scale rebellion, and you are poised to push it over the edge." Maura provides some important twists to this though. Her campaign has been running much longer than most other campaigns, already being double the length of the expected 12 session maximum. Additionally, Maura has a fascinating conception of the deities and their motivations and interactions with the Spire world and the Spire city itself where the campaign's action takes place. If you'd like to listen to Maura's play campaign you can check out Her Dark Ministrations at https://www.herdarkministrations.com/ If you'd like to learn more about Spire and maybe play it for yourself you can check it out here: https://rowanrookanddecard.com/spire-rpg/ There's some quick start rules you can get started with and if you like it, buy the whole book for lots more! https://rowanrookanddecard.com/product/spire-quickstart/ Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
33 - Corey and Equalia 1:12:13

1 year ago1:12:13

1:12:13

Corey tells us about his campaign called Tales of the Undead which takes place in the island country of Equalia. This episode starts off with a reference to a video about Equalia that Corey uploaded to YouTube. For the full experience you can watch that video at this link: https://youtu.be/qFsqInICbAo?si=Vm9B5UVVjoJJm3ga Equalia was once ruled by an oppressive human regime. In the last few years a civil war placed the benevolent King Sekai on the throne. She has worked tirelessly to mend the discontent brought by the former regime. Sadly the elves of Equalia left during the years of tyranny long ago. It is rare to see one in the country nowadays. Currently King Sekai is contending with bearfolk viking raids into her land. In the Tales of the Undead campaign the PCs wake up dead. They have been brought back to life not by an evil necromancer but rather a kind-hearted one. The dark elf Lord Zeken gives the party the news they died and have been brought back for one year of life. If they work for him for one year, he will restore the rest of their lifespan. Those who take his deal join the Volition of Vivification guild to go on errands for Zeken and his patron, King Sekai. If Corey's world and/or DM style intrigued you, he is a full-time professional DM. You can check out his campaigns at https://startplaying.games/gm/dungeonhusband Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
32 - James and Quelmar 2:21:00

1 year ago2:21:00

2:21:00

James tells us about Quelmar which is not just a campaign world but also a charity organization! Quelmar was created by James for his D&D games in college. Many more players joined the campaign swelling it in size and complexity as more and more PC backstories populated the lore of the world. James took the idea and ran with it, expanding Quelmar into a West-Marches style game with multiple DMs and campaigns happening simultaneously across the world. Quelmar currently has fourteen active campaigns playing. The in-world history of Quelmar is described with broad strokes from creation, into the high fantasy era, beyond into modern and cyberpunk eras, and even further into the apocalypse and the end of the world. The Quelmar charity organization has conventions every year, lends out books and gaming materials, and hosts outreach events to bring RPGs and a sense of community to various places where Quelmar members are based. James has taken a backseat for the Quelmar organization at this point. He still occasionally DMs within the world. James's current campaign is dubbed "Just the Q of Us" which is an anthology campaign. Each session focuses on two different PCs from different Quelmar campaigns. James reads through past campaigns and identifies two characters that might've crossed paths at one point and then designs a one-shot adventure for those two PCs. The sessions are broadcast on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/thequelmarrealm and the archives are available on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmeY9m-DhVYx7dXDtsCQBKpladhB8hADa Quelmar has a few of its own web links you should check out The Quelmar Wiki: https://quelmarwiki.com/wiki/Quelmar_Wikia The Quelmar Organization's official webpage: https://quelmar.com/Home.html And Quelmar's Discord server: https://discord.gg/9FZ4EJj Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
31 - Darin and Aellorah Again 1:59:11

1 year ago1:59:11

1:59:11

Darin is back from Episode 11 to tell us more about Aellorah! Since we last spoke Darin has worked more on Aellorah's magic system called the Flow. There's plenty of new metals and special materials to make equipment out of. New classes and subraces abound. The governments of Aellorah are more detailed and fleshed out than before. Darin has created a lot more for his world and is own his way to having a campaign sourcebook draft! Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
30 - Bryon and Vaesen 1:26:00

1 year ago1:26:00

1:26:00

Bryon tells us about his Vaesen game set in the Pacific Northwest during the Industrial Revolution. Vaesen is a Swedish RPG where the PCs possess the Second Sight and are able to see all the monsters and faeries of folklore and myth. The societal changes of the Industrial Revolution have upset the hidden creatures of the world. As humanity has expanded encounters between these creatures and humans have become more and more common. Vaesen was originally written for a Scandinavian setting but Bryon has repurposed the game for North American folk tales. He's set his game in Seattle, Washington where the players are agents of the mysterious Library investigating monstrous appearances in the Pacific Northwest. Bryon's Vaesen campaign is captured on his podcast, Spirits and Monsters of Old Seattle. You can check it out on your favorite podcast app or by clicking here: https://www.spiritsandmonsters.com/ Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
29 - Jack and Televyse 1:52:28

1 year ago1:52:28

1:52:28

Jack presents his arcanepunk world of Televyse. Televyse is a metropolis city on a plane made up of large hexagons of territory. Every month the hexagons rotate, destroying all life and structures on the previous hexagons and replacing them with something new. The hexagon Televyse is located on is the only one immune to the hexagon shift. The city center is the Dome where corporations host reality TV show replicas of adventurers going through dungeons for audience entertainment. During the interview we discussed the punk genre and the themes of dystopia and utopia that are central to Jack's work. Jack has compiled a thorough and well-organized campaign setting book on Televyse that he's made available on Google Drive at this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rhBbYtJrV7O23y9Y75aZzwV27urBFH2GJs4hhJ7eyxU/ Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
28 - Orkish Rising Recap 2:37:49

1 year ago2:37:49

2:37:49

A special episode! A look at my own campaign with my players after the fact. This is a post session recording with my players and me after the conclusion of our D&D 4e campaign Orkish Rising. The campaign focused on the orc chief, Gregor, and his rise to power within the Orclands. He had to fight and unite tribes to oppose the evil necromancer tribes trying to take over the Orclands. At the end he stood as King of All Orcs. Our post session conversation covered a range of topics. What's it like to run a campaign where a single PC is the focus? What were some of the missed plot threads of the campaign that weren't explored? Was Gregor a fascist or a typical monarch for his time? How did the NPCs make their decisions? Hopefully the breakdown is a unique experience and a useful tool for your own campaigns and how you design and execute the adventures for your players. Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C This episode also features a song from the 1977 Rankin/Bass animated Hobbit movie. The song is "The Road Goes Ever On" written by JRR Tolkien and performed by Glenn Yarbough. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
27 - Tim and Alanui 1:16:06

2 years ago1:16:06

1:16:06

Tim's fantasy world of Alanui is recovering from an apocalypse that nearly wiped out all life. A small habitable region remains, surrounded by the Wall Wood which expands against the irradiated Wastes. The apocalypse was multifaceted, but strangely parts of it were erased from history and memory of all but a few by the Director, the leader of the peacekeeping force of Guardians. This erasure was actually carried out by the Director to cover up his own involvement in the apocalypse. Alanui is dominated by two nations, The Steadings and The Tribes. The Steadings is in the throes of an Industrial Revolution while The Tribes are a nomadic desert culture. Sorry for the delay on getting this episode out! I had some shakeups in my professional life and my wife had some problems as well that I was supporting her with. I didn't have as much energy to devote to the podcast as I would've liked. I have also run out of people on my survey backlog to interview! I'll need to see what I can do to get more people interested in the show. For now, you can consider this the final episode of "season 1" if you'd like. I have another special episode in the works that I'll work on and release when I've got time. Thank you all for listening and I hope you enjoy! Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
26 - Matt and the Pokemon Osee Region 2:54:45

2 years ago2:54:45

2:54:45

Matt tells us about his campaign set in the Pokemon world. Pokemon is split into different regions based off of real world areas. Matt's game is set in his own original region named Osee. based on Orange County in Southern California. Matt originally recorded his sessions to go back and listen to himself or with his group, but he reworked them into a podcast that you can listen to from this link: https://oseepkmnpod.buzzsprout.com/ The game is played using D&D 5e rules which obviously require a lot of homebrew to create a Pokemon style game. We dive deep into the rules that Matt created along with how he crafted the setting and the campaign events as well. Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
25 - Tommy and Oryn 1:30:02

2 years ago1:30:02

1:30:02

Tommy talks about his world of Oryn. The world was created with a lot of input from his players. This includes asking a question of the players at the start of each session to further develop the world and the PCs position within it. The PCs are exploring the world and have discovered the ruins of an ancient mind flayer empire. Tommy throws in lots of prophecies along with the players participating with tarot readings to keep him on his toes as he has to make the predictions come true. Of course we learn about the best cheeses that are available in the lands of Oryn and folk lore heroes inspired by Marvel superheroes. Here is a map of Oryn . Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
24 - Kernel and The Final Lands 55:16

2 years ago55:16

55:16

Kernel walks us through the Final Lands. All the races of the world have huddled together on an island the size of Ireland. At the center of the Final Lands is a crystal tower called the Soul Forge. The tower is surrounded by a formidable wasteland that magically drains the life of travelers. Additionally, dragons live around the Soul Forge. Every two years a comet passes over head signaling the beginning of a contest. The first to reach the Soul Forge is granted a wish, but there's a hidden catch... Kernel also runs an active guild for the upcoming Ashes of Creation MMORPG. They are creating little bits of story that align with the lore of Ashes of Creation so that when the game releases they can jump right into a roleplaying server with all their relationships and history preestablished and ready to go. If you'd like to learn more about Ashes of creation you can check it out here: https://ashesofcreation.com/ Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
23 - Rob and Garou 1:29:20

2 years ago1:29:20

1:29:20

Rob tells us about his world, Garou. We get a unique perspective for our podcast as Rob's campaign in Garou recently concluded. Garou is a single continent world where the landmass is shaped like an apple. The world is a dumping ground for the rest of the universe resulting in an odd mishmash of races and factions that do not fit the typical mold of fantasy worlds, resulting in them being dumped from more traditional worlds into Garou. The judges of what don't belong are the gods, thus the only god of Garou is Wee Jas. She came to Garou to collect the world's magic in the form of orbs. These orbs are similar to mythals, imposing laws or empowering magic in a small area around them. Rob is also the cohost of the Storyteller Conclave podcast with Sara who featured on Episode 13 of Setting the Stage ! If you'd like to check them out you can find more at https://storytellerconclave.mixlr.com/ or on the same platform/app you're using to access this podcast. Here is a map of Garou . Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
22 - Natowa and Akrimyos 1:30:41

2 years ago1:30:41

1:30:41

Natowa/Michael tells us about his campaign world, Akrimyos. The magic of Akrimyos is a strange and mysterious thing with many different ways of accessing the flux, raw magic that exists throughout Akrimyos. Natowa uses the same names as many of the gods from the Forgotten Realms but with very different domains and personalities to make them his own. Akrimyos also includes a few science fiction elements within the world's lore with aliens, a living planet, and an inhabited moon. Natowa's campaign events have focused on the Kingdom of Calham on Ardentia. Calham is kept safe from the giants in the north by the Giants' Wall mountain range and the dragons that stand guard. An intricate political landscape exists within Calham and the kingdom is on the verge of civil war. Natowa has a lot of the material on his campaign available at World Anvil in French. It's an easy Google Translate away from being readable in any language. That's how I read it! Check it out: https://www.worldanvil.com/w/akrimyos-natowa You can a look at the map of Akrimyos here Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
21 - OnlsaughtSix and Aerda 1:50:36

2 years ago1:50:36

1:50:36

OnslaughtSix tells us about his DMing style, his gaming products and his world, Aerda. Onslaught uses almost exclusively modules for DMing, but not in the traditional way. Instead of running a module or adventure path from start to finish, he takes bits and pieces from different modules to form a complete adventure of his own. We talked about his use of Curse of Strahd in this episode and there are some minor spoilers. Onslaught is a game designer with a few different projects under his belt at his own company, Tidal Wave Games. The biggest one is See You Space Cowboy (CUSC), a rules light way to play out scenarios similar to the Cowboy Bebop anime. The first module for CUSC, Ceres: The Planet That Never Sleeps, is coming out soon. Onslaught also gave us a small preview of a new game he's working on called Crawl, which is focused on the quintensencial dungeon crawl that we all know and love. You can learn more at https://tidalwavegames.com/ And of course there's also the world of Aerda. Long ago the dwarves came to the surface and met the elves. Upset that the elves were not god dwelling on the surface as they suspected, the generation animosity between the two races began. Dwarves build more dwarves from rocks and earth. Elves reproduce by a simple kiss that makes the recipient woman pregnant. Aerda is defined by cycles of gods leaving and returning to the world. Onslaught has had all of his adventures in Aerda take place over a two month period with different campaigns in different regions of the world. He suspects that an apocalypse is brewing for the world, but who knows for sure? Onslaught uses a hex map for Aerda. A small portion of it can be seen here . Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
20 - Kima and C-City 1:31:11

2 years ago1:31:11

1:31:11

Kima tells us about his cyberpunk world. In the future after a nuclear apocalypse the survivors huddle together in separate cities with a nuclear wasteland in between. Kima focuses in on C-City which is ruled by the Datafield corporation. The datafield is a powerful WiFi-like network that surrounds the city. This allows for instantaneous transfer of information for those who are connected as well as the performance of amazing, almost magical feats when characters tap into the network for power. The heroes must negotiate a urban landscape controlled by corporations, the uber-wealthy, and undercity gangs. Horrific monsters are made in experiments, both cybernetic and bio-genetic. Kima runs his world using the Soulbound system. Character rules emphasize a character's growth alongside an increasing power of the character's weapons and items. Soulbound also uses a setting similar to the cyberpunk world that Kima designed, making it an easy transition for the flavor of the rules he used. PCs increase in power by getting new cybernetics, gadgets, bio-augments, or greater control over the datafield. The rules for Soulbound and the creator's other games are available here: https://www.andimakes.games/ Kima also mentioned a Spotify playlist he uses which can be found here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4k8soP6q5NLOFf0oLUzzQs?si=4994e4698f6b44a0 Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
19 - SPECIAL! John and Onlap 1:14:14

2 years ago1:14:14

1:14:14

A special episode with the DM that taught me to play, John! When I was nine he ran us through a campaign he'd designed previously called Olnap. The name for Olnap is derived from the real-world map of OL ympic NA tional P ark that John used to design the campaign. In the campaign my friends and I rampaged across Olnap defeating monsters and solving problems that had come up due to the physical breaking of the peninsula's luck into pieces. Of course we succeeded in the end. John is also the father of Will, the cohost of our first episode, Tolkien, WW1, and Shelob's Farts. John is in the process of designing and playtesting his own rule set for roleplaying games. The system is called Epic Power . It's similar to GURPS with a realistic bell curve for action resolution. Additionally, players have a resource called Epic Power which they can use to influence die rolls or perform amazing feats. If you want to learn more about the system or possibly use it yourself you can download it from https://johnlamping.itch.io/epic-power or email John at epicpower@johnlamping.com Olnap's campaign map is superimposed over a map of the Olympic National Park. Google Maps is just as good as any other image. Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
18 - Alec and the Noman Empires 1:53:06

2 years ago1:53:06

1:53:06

Alec walks us through the different Noman Empires in his world. Noss Farii is an imperial empire dominated by a restrictive theocracy. Hyrend is an atheist society where anything goes when it comes to magic, even necromancy. Brevtensa is a plutocratic wild west society where money is king and a plethora of different faiths thrive alongside each other. Outside of the three empires are the States of Cambella composed of numerous smaller nations that are trying to compete against the larger countries. The Noman Empires have beholders, demon lords, ancient vampires, and solidified magic. Come for the Zer'Sun! Stay for the Drothal! Here is a map of the Noman Empires . Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
17 - Garrett and Pyrim 46:03

2 years ago46:03

46:03

Garrett talked with me about his setting, Pyrim. Instead of being a whole world, Pyrim is a single city built on top of a dwarven mining town. A civil war was stopped in the town by four brave heroes, but it cost one of the heroes her life. To consecrate her resting place the remaining three heroes placed three blessings on Pyrim. Water always flows, crops always flourish, and no one can die in combat within the city walls. This garden of Eden has attracted people from across the region to settle in Pyrim and take advantage of its gifts. Recently the town was taken over by a cult that broke the blessing of combat and now control the water supply. With an iron grip on water the rest of the town is enslaved by the threat of dying of thirst. Garrett also does an excellent job of weaving in conspiracies that involve PC relatives and friends. Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
16 - Thesi and Saared 52:18

2 years ago52:18

52:18

Thesi tells us about his world of Saared, an archipelago surrounded by an impenetrable wall of water shooting up into the sky. Saared is ruled by the Terrace, a floating city that monopolizes all magic within the islands. The people of Saared have lost a strong connection to the gods, so they must rely on themselves to defeat the Terrace. A rebel organization known as Cloudfall opposes the Terrace from a moving fortress ship, the Hoard. The PCs in Thesi's world are close to defeating the Terrace which also open up the water walls around the archipelago. Soon Saared will be joining a wider world and involving themselves in an even greater conflict with the void tears that afflict the rest of the realm. Here is a map of Saared Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
15 - Hayden & Carson and Egress 1:54:29

2 years ago1:54:29

1:54:29

Hayden and Carson joined me for a dual interview on their world called Egress. Egress is the name of the world and the god of the world. The world has a single continent that slopes downward from the sea towards a funnel in the middle. All creatures feel the Longing which pulls them into the funnel when they get to past their prime. The Longing is a defense mechanism against Chaos demons from outside of Egress that wish to destroy the last bastion of creation in the multiverse. The demons upset the balance between the good and evil sides of Egress, reintroducing malice and cruelty to the good side. The races of Egress have very well thought out positions within the world with flavor that is similar to standard fantasy tropes but creative and independent at the same time. On Egress all power comes from gold which is essentially solid magic. Large piles of gold spawn a powerful dragon which can offer protection, power, and magic items to those who bring it more gold. It's through this process that the characters of Egress level up, but only gold can be used this way, not other treasure. Hayden and Carson DM the world together with a rough split of the DMing responsibilities between each other. They use a few different DMing tools to help out. During the call we talked about a creator who has been very helpful, Giffyglyph, whose material can be found here: https://www.giffyglyph.com/ Here is a map of Egress Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
14 - Nathan and Aenea 1:24:19

2 years ago1:24:19

1:24:19

Nathan introduces us to his world of Aenea, a world with a deep pool of lore thanks to Nathan's hard work on making a full world mod of Aenea for the Neverwinter Nights MMO game. Nathan first created Aenea while playing with his siblings. It grew into a enormous world on Neverwinter Nights. After the server crashed, Nathan revived the world to play D&D once more. Aenea itself has a set of two moons, a silver one and a green one. Twenty gods rule over the people of Aenea. Each race has a multitude of subraces to choose from. Nathan's created an immense amount of homebrew material to support his world. Access to all that homebrew info and plenty more is available at https://www.amethyst-dragon.com/Aenea/info.htm Here is a map of Aenea Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
13 - Sara and the Elder Scrolls 1:18:21

2 years ago1:18:21

1:18:21

This week's guest is Sara. She's running her campaign using Savage Worlds in the world of Tamriel of the famous Elder Scrolls games. Sara's game is set between the events of Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall and Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind. The game takes place in Western Cyrodil near the heart of the Empire. A bandit king in the hills has found the Poppy Crown, an artifact of Sheogorath that has driven him mad with megalomania in exchange for the ability to control people's minds. Unfortunately, long-term exposure to the crown has some side-effects. Featured in this episode is everyone's favorite vampire of Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, Janus Hassildor the Count of Skingrad. Additionally, Sara and I discussed setting selection and how to choose what's best for the story you and your players want to tell. Sara has her own podcast as well on the many elements that are important to storytelling. Check out the Storyteller Conclave at this link: https://storyteller-conclave.blubrry.net/ Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
12 - Kris and Veris 2:03:46

2 years ago2:03:46

2:03:46

This week I interviewed Kris about his campaign world, Veris. The world is ruled by a powerful king who made a deal with Lolth. A mythal was installed in the world that hid Veris from the gods' sight and prevented anyone from advancing in power beyond level 5. All except for the powerful king who claims control over the mighty Consequencers. However, the mythal that binds people to low levels is now becoming undone at the same time that the colonization of Interminus, a suspiciously USA-like continent, is taking place. Kris is also putting together a campaign setting book for his world that should be releasing soon! Here is a map of Veris Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
11 - Darin and Aellorah 1:24:54

2 years ago1:24:54

1:24:54

This week I interviewed Darin about his campaign world of Aellorah. Aellorah's cosmology has only seven celestial bodies and no stars besides the central sun. Four planets orbit the sun and two moons orbit the main planet of Aellorah. There are seven goddesses for each of the celestial bodies and each of the planets has seven races on them for each of the goddesses. Aellorah, the main planet, has races based off of mammals like the typical D&D world. As there are seven goddesses the number seven is an important concept throughout Aellorah with seven parts to each day, seven days per week, seven weeks per month, and seven months per year. There is also an outside force that seeks to destroy the harmony of Aellorah, the evil god of the Void. This demonic entity sends goblins and orcs to destroy the peaceful life of Aellorah, using the evil races as vessels for its infernal power. Here is a map of Aellorah . Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
10 - Bob and the World Below Azbymn 1:06:19

2 years ago1:06:19

1:06:19

I talked with Bob about his campaign, the World below Azbymn. Azbymn is the realm of the gods and the sun god, Menora, is currently on her death bed. As Menora slips deeper into her sickness, the world is likewise affected by an illness that brings insanity and death. To stop it, the PCs must find a weapon capable of killing their own patron deity to free the world from her curse. Bob uses the Faerun map for his campaign, but with his own names, locations of interest, and countries superimposed on it. Bob has also dabbled in paid DMing which comes with experience in a lot of 5th edition's most popular modules as well as the Guilds of Ravnica setting. During our talks we touched on a lot of different topics, with a quick sprint through how to approach racism in your game. Map of Faerun Bob used Faerun's map for coastlines, rivers, mountains, forests, etc. The city locations, points of interest, and names have all been changed to match his concept of the World below Azbymn instead of the Forgotten Realms. Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
9 - Scraw and Gnomestones 1:11:02

2 years ago1:11:02

1:11:02

I talked with Scraw about DMing and his campaign, Gnomestones. Scraw runs a 1st edition D&D game with only a few modifications (as everyone does). We chatted about system choice and how it affects your game. We talked about online resources that DMs can use to enhance their game or provide inspiration. We referenced a few websites during the episode. You can check them out here: The Thieves Guild Fantasy Name Generators DNDSpeak Scryfall Random Cards Scraw also has a few of his D&D sessions up on YouTube if you'd like to get a deeper look: https://www.youtube.com/@gnomestones Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
8 - Atti and Blades in the Dark 1:13:12

3 years ago1:13:12

1:13:12

I talked with Atti about the Blades in the Dark system and setting produced by Evil Hat Productions. Blades is set in a gothic, steampunk ci ty centuries after an apocalypse closes the gates to the afterlife. Without a way to their eternal rest, ghosts wander a world where the sun and stars are gone from the sky. Blades has simple, narrative-focused mechanics for resolving action. The system is similar to Powered by the Apocalypse games, but with a new name, Forged in the Dark. It's spawned many offshoots that tweak the rules to fit a number of different settings and play ideas from westerns to teenage school dramas. If you're interested in Blades in the Dark, the basic rules are available for free at this link: https://bladesinthedark.com/downloads# Also the system has excellent integration into Roll20 and is easy to pick up and play online. Here is a map of Blades in the Dark's established setting world, the Shattered Isles . Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
7 - Unaz and Zierna 1:08:47

3 years ago1:08:47

1:08:47

Unaz tells us about his campaign world Zierna, a traditional continent based fantasy world. In recent history Zierna was attacked by elemental archons which conquered vast swaths of territory. Thousands of humanoid refugees have taken shelter from the fire archon in the dwarven realms where they are safe. Unaz has a detailed campaign world with much of its recent history created in his past campaigns. He also keeps all of his notes using pen and paper the old-fashioned way! Here is a map of Zierna Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
6 - Lloyd and Kalgrad 1:24:43

3 years ago1:24:43

1:24:43

Lloyd tells us about his ten player campaign in Kalgrad. The PCs started off by taking on Lord Farquad after encountering Shrek. The campaign stakes ballooned into the the PCs vying to protect the fate of magic itself. Lloyd also talked with me about how to steal the good parts of 4E and Pathfinder to use in 5th edition and how to improve martial classes. Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
5 - Darrell and Jungle Jingle 1:40:36

3 years ago1:40:36

1:40:36

Darrell tells us about his campaign the Jungle Jingle! Darrell's campaign is a more open "bottom-up" world where the adventures and surrounds are built as the players explore. The players are journeying through a jungle towards a distant objective, but the campaign is really more about the journey than the destination. Darrell has homebrewed a few rules to improve the survivalist feel for the players as they make their way through the jungle with limited resources and few safe places to rest. Darrell also is a player in a D&D play podcast called "Gold and Glory." He plays a robot named Theo. The podcast is available on your podcast app or at the following link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1160705/9939456-s3-e1-homeward-bound-part-a Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
4 - Rikh and Skyf 1:15:47

3 years ago1:15:47

1:15:47

Rikh talks about his campaign world of Skyf. Skyf is a megastructure called an Alderson disk built around a star. On the top side dwell thousands of races rescued from planets across the galaxy. The bottom side is inhabited by dragons, drawn to Skyf's magical energy. The Majisters oversee the world giving divine gifts to the pure while the impure develop sorcerous powers. You can read more about Skyf here: https://rikhhart.com/skyf Skyf is too large to have a functional map of the whole space. Instead, here is a map of the region where one of Rikh's campaigns takes place: Map of Kuchoma Taka Region Rikh is also a DM on the Dungeons and Dragons Podcast UK which you can check out here: https://thedungeonsanddragonspodcastteamuk.wordpress.com/listen-now/ His campaign should be starting soon after this episode is released, so stay tuned! Our website: https://gocorral.com/sts Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
3 - Edwin and Marwoleth 1:28:58

3 years ago1:28:58

1:28:58

Edwin's campaign world is called Xetros and the main continent where all the action takes place is called Marwoleth. Marwoleth was devastated by an apocalypse a long time ago. Now the people of the continent have a deep distrust of dragons and dragonborn. The dragonborn live in fear while other nefarious threats seek to undo creation. Here is a Map of Marwoleth Our website is: https://gocorral.com/sts If you're interested in being a guest on the show, the first step is filling out the Google Form at this link: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA If you'd like to join the Discord server for Setting the Stage, you can do that with this link: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
2 - Carina and Ciokotai 52:28

3 years ago52:28

52:28

Carina's campaign world is called Terra, but the country her players have their adventures in is called Ciokotai. It's a land the gods have abandoned due to a past cataclysm. The people of Ciokotai have a close connection to the beasts of the land, but without their gods the country is slowly losing it's cultural identity. A group of dragons arrived to save the land and preserve the people. After a betrayal from within the draconic order the only hope for Ciokotai is the return of the gods. Here is a Map of Ciokotai . Our website is: https://gocorral.com/sts If you're interested in being a guest on the show, the first step is filling out the Google Form at this link: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA If you'd like to join the Discord server for Setting the Stage, you can do that with this link: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
1 - Tolkien, WW1, and Shelob's Farts 52:30

3 years ago52:30

52:30

I talk with my friend Will about JRR Tolkien's Middle-Earth and how it can be used as a campaign setting for D&D. Our website is: https://gocorral.com/sts If you're interested in being a guest on the show, the first step is filling out the Google Form at this link: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA If you'd like to join the Discord server for Setting the Stage, you can do that with this link: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6C Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

1
0 - Introduction 2:16

3 years ago2:16