Around the Hearth

Open Hearth Gaming Community
  • 5.0 (3)
  • GAMES

Around the Hearth features discussion on a wide range of topics relevant to tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs) featuring members of the Open Hearth Gaming Community. We talk games, gameplay, design, and the games being played at the Open Hearth Gaming Calendar. Our online games are free and open to all! If you'd like to join the fun, visit openhearthgaming.com for more information.

  1. A Different Kind of Hex Ep. 5 - Playing to Fail

    2D AGO

    A Different Kind of Hex Ep. 5 - Playing to Fail

    Content Advisory: character death, ritual sacrifice Ian & José are joined by Wyllora to explore what it means to fail in an RPG, and why we might want to do it on purpose. How do we define "success" in games, and what are the ways we can step outside that limit with agency? Wyllora’s Work: Art - https://www.artstation.com/wylloraGame Design - https://wyllora.itch.io/Triangle Agency Holiday-themed Game Jam! - https://itch.io/jam/time-and-a-half Find out more about the Open Hearth Gaming CommunitySupport us on Patreon!Our actual play podcast can be found here Follow us on Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/open-hearth-rpgBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/openhearthrpgMastodon: @openhearthrpg@dice.camp Our info:email: adifferenthex@gmail.commusic: https://lloydeaves.bandcamp.com/album/a-different-kind-of-hex

    1h 13m

  2. NOV 4

    Talking Space Opera

    Lets talk widescreen, big idea sci-fi. Games of space fleets, interstellar empires, sometimes aliens-- big ideas and lasers. Games like Star Trek Adventures, Traveller, Fading Suns, Space Wyrm vs Moonicorn, Dune, Coriolis, Scum & Villainy, Ashen Stars, Star Wars, Last Fleet, and the like. Talking Space Opera is another in our series of community discussions. It looks at sci-fi gaming and this tent-pole sub-genre. Our discussion ranges widely but includes: What is Space Opera, Space Combat, Aliens, Space Travel, Making Characters Not Feel Small in a Big Universe, Collaborative Building, and more. Selected Games MentionedOnce More into the Void Cluster Rust Hulks Fellowship Starscape Storm Furies Rebel Few Tachyon Squadron Superbandit Stars Without Number Golgotha Through the Void Uncharted Worlds Recommended Reading: Colonialism and the Emergence of Science Fiction Find out more about the Open Hearth Gaming CommunitySupport us on Patreon!Our actual play podcast can be found hereFollow us on Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/open-hearth-rpgBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/openhearthrpgMastodon: @openhearthrpg@dice.camp

    1h 18m
  3. Roll for Origin: Supers TTRPG History: Ep. 5 Base Raiders

    OCT 28

    Roll for Origin: Supers TTRPG History: Ep. 5 Base Raiders

    Roll for Origin: Supers TTRPG History jumps forward significantly in time to just after the d20 boom/bust cycle. Today's focus is Ross Payton's independently produced and Kickstarted Base Raiders. They go over what the game is, its place in the history of gaming, and what was going on in comics media at the time. They then move to general discussion, including what what's weird and what they dug. We talk a little about how you might adapt this elsewhere and its place in the history of Fate. If you dig this series, please rate, review, and subscribe. Jay's the author of By Aecer’s Light, The Clockwinders for Fate, Cortex Prime's Supers, and a contributing author on Pathfinder’s Mwangi Expanse, Trophy Gold, Hit the Streets: Defend the Block, and the upcoming Lifted: Indomitable RPG, a supers game about everyday folks with extraordinary powers in a tech-aggressive world. Check out Mad Jay's work at Play.Fearless and at the Diceology Podcast. Lowell is the designer and co-author of Hearts of Wulin. He's the ENnie-winning creator of the Age of Ravens blog and community manager for the Open Hearth Gaming Community. You can find Lowell's work on YouTube, on Itch.io, and on DriveThruRPG. Find out more about the Open Hearth Gaming CommunitySupport us on Patreon!Our actual play podcast can be found here Follow us on Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/open-hearth-rpgBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/openhearthrpgMastodon: @openhearthrpg@dice.camp  00:00 Intro00:58 The Pitch05:11 Gaming History08:12 Comics & Media History12:09 Thoughts

    44 min
  4. Roll for Mutation: Post-Apocalyptic TTRPG History: Ep. 2 Twilight 2000

    OCT 21

    Roll for Mutation: Post-Apocalyptic TTRPG History: Ep. 2 Twilight 2000

    In our second episode of Roll for Mutation, a look at the history of Post-Apocalyptic TTRPGs, we tackle Twilight 2000 from GDW, focusing on those original editions but with some discussion of Twilight 2013 and Twilight 2K. Hosts Lowell Francis and Marc Majcher cover the extended history of the game and how it desperately raced to keep itself contemporary. We talk about what Twilight 2000 is, where it fits in gaming history, why there used to be a "Men's Adventure" section in bookstores, and our general thoughts about the game. ReferencesTwilight 2000 on WikipediaTwilight 2000 on RPG Geek Grognardia on Twilight 2000, Merc 2000 RPGNet Review of Twilight 2013 Designers & Dragons Volume 1 The 1970s For other shows like this, check out Roll for Origin: Supers TTRPG History. Marc Majcher is an award-winning game designer, performer, educator, director, woodworker, writer, and all-around goblin-man recently relocated from Austin, Texas to East Lansing, Michigan. You can find their RPGs and larps inspired by the works of Philip K Dick, a bird apocalypse, eldritch startup cults, viral videos, and much, much more at https://majcher.itch.io/ and everything else at https://majcher.com/. Lowell is the designer and co-author of Hearts of Wulin. He's the ENnie-winning creator of the Age of Ravens blog and community manager for the Open Hearth Gaming Community. You can find Lowell's work on YouTube, on Itch.io, and on DriveThruRPG. Find out more about the Open Hearth Gaming CommunitySupport us on Patreon!Our actual play podcast can be found here Follow us on Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/open-hearth-rpgBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/openhearthrpgMastodon: @openhearthrpg@dice.camp  Music: Here Comes the Night Karl Casey @White Bat Audio 00:00 Introduction: Twilight 200001:43 What is it?08:34 Gaming History16:46 The Media Context21:44 Our Thoughts

    52 min

  5. OCT 14

    Talking White Whales and Inadvisable Ideas

    What's the game you've wanted to get to the table but haven't been able to? What's the campaign premise you've considered but don't know how to make it work? What's the rpg that just couldn't actually function if you tried to run it online? What's the wild concept that you know would crash-out but it amuses you just the same? In this group chat for our Shared Hearth Open Gaming Con, community members talk about the ones that got away and the ones they're fearful of pursuing. We talk about a ton of different games including: Mage, Hearts of Wulin, Slugblaster, Good Society, Legacy: Life Among the Ruins, Scarred Lands, Mountain Home, and many more. A great discussion thread on our Discord inspired this conversation. Find out more about the Open Hearth Gaming CommunitySupport us on Patreon!Our actual play podcast can be found hereFollow us on Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/open-hearth-rpgBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/openhearthrpgMastodon: @openhearthrpg@dice.camp

    1h 8m

  6. OCT 7

    Design Chat: Pedro Barrenechea & Rotted Capes 2e

    This week we present a bonus episode for both Roll for Origin & Roll for Mutation. Lowell chats with Pedro Barrenechea, lead designer for Rotted Capes 2nd Edition, a post-apocalyptic game of superheroes. They chat early game experiences, how the first edition came about, revising the rules, and more. Rotted Capes 2e Backerkit Sign Up Rotted Capes 1e on DTRPGPedro aka StatMonkey on Bluesky Find out more about the Open Hearth Gaming CommunitySupport us on Patreon!Our actual play podcast can be found here Follow us on Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/open-hearth-rpgBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/openhearthrpgMastodon: @openhearthrpg@dice.camp

    56 min

  7. SEP 30

    Talking One-Shots

    For this episode we've cleaned up the audio from an older community seminar on running one-shots. Like several of our other "Talking" episodes, this has Lowell Francis giving a talk, mixed in with questions from the chat and a Q&A at the end. We cover pacing, set up, safety, problem players, structure, and more. You can check out the outline for the talk here. Other Resources: Burn After Running: RPG One-Shots (probably the best resource for this out there)Running One Shots from Age of Ravens One Shot Podcast Network Keith Stetson on Running Itras By as a one-shotFind out more about the Open Hearth Gaming CommunitySupport us on Patreon!Our actual play podcast can be found here Follow us on Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/open-hearth-rpgBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/openhearthrpgMastodon: @openhearthrpg@dice.camp

    1h 4m
  8. Open Hearth Podcast Ep 13: Ex Tenebris, Wise Women, Star Trek Adventures

    SEP 23

    Open Hearth Podcast Ep 13: Ex Tenebris, Wise Women, Star Trek Adventures

    In this episode Host Lowell Francis talks with Becky Annison and Josh Fox of Black Armada games about what they've been playing, herbal witches, the final frontier, their Kickstarter for Ex Tenebris, and much more. The Ex Tenebris Kickstarter Black Armada GamesBlack Armada on itch Josh Bluesky: @armadajosh.bsky.socialBecky Bluesky: @beckyannison.bsky.social Wise WomenRapscallionStar Trek Adventures 2eSecrets of the Silent Witch Find out more about the Open Hearth Gaming CommunitySupport us on Patreon!Our actual play podcast can be found here Follow us on Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/open-hearth-rpgBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/openhearthrpgMastodon: @openhearthrpg@dice.camp   00:00 Introduction​01:45 Josh & Ex Tenebris16:25 Becky & Wise Women25:02 Lowell & Star Trek Adventures 2e36:26 Giving Me Life

    44 min
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out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Around the Hearth features discussion on a wide range of topics relevant to tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs) featuring members of the Open Hearth Gaming Community. We talk games, gameplay, design, and the games being played at the Open Hearth Gaming Calendar. Our online games are free and open to all! If you'd like to join the fun, visit openhearthgaming.com for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    Open Hearth Gaming Community
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2025
  • Episodes
    48
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Open Hearth Gaming Community
  • Show Website
    Around the Hearth

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