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

Isaac Shaker
  • 5.0 (4)
  • Fiction
  • Updated Biweekly

Welcome to Setting the Stage, a podcast where I, Isaac Shaker, talk with guests about different campaign settings for roleplaying games. We cover established settings, such as those made for D&D, like Faerun and Greyahwk. We also discuss settings that are adapted for RPGs, like Middle-Earth and Westeros. I interview members of the D&D community who have created their own campaign worlds. This is a chance for the guest to show off what they’ve made, explain challenges they’ve overcome, and discuss paths that didn’t work for them when creating their campaign setting. Our homebrew worlds often get no attention outside of our own play groups, so this is a way to present a DM’s hard work to a wider audience. This wouldn't be possible without the amazing D&D community and I'm looking forward to interviewing you! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. Aug 26

    88 - DM & Roleplaying Tips with Balance of Aksio (Jay + Sandra! and 3RPG)

    Our guests today are Jay and Sandra from the 3RPG podcast. Their podcast is a talk show, typically with three hosts. Unfortunately the third host Chris was unable to make it. Jay and Sandra are working on a RPG product dubbed The Balance of Aksio. It's a new narrative fantasy TTRPG system with point buy character creation. The world within Balance of Aksio grew out of games that Jay and Sandra have been playing together since high school. Lots of history from important characters over the in-game centuries they have been playing. Balance of Aksio comes with numerous storytelling aids to help with character decision making, generational play, and how to cover long gaps between adventures. Balance of Aksio also introduces a unique idea for running your NPCs. Rather than make all the decisions yourself, Jay and Sandra recommend outsourcing the NPC actions to people you know outside of the campaign. Give those people a profile of the NPC and the decision they are facing. Then let those people decide what the NPC would do without your own biases as a GM entering the equation. Quite a clever way to introduce new developments in your game that even you can't predict! There's a 3RPG Podcast website and the show itself is available on all major podcast platforms. I guested on the 3RPG podcast for episode 61. Check it out! Check out the Setting the Stage website! Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey. Join our Discord! Support Setting the Stage on Patreon! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    88 - DM & Roleplaying Tips with Balance of Aksio (Jay + Sandra! and 3RPG)

  2. Aug 12

    87 - Adapted Azeroth D&D (Flare and Akridon)

    Flare talks with us about his campaign world, Akridon. Three continents dominate the world, Tyros for humanoid races and Dusklands for bestial races. The third continent is known as the Scourge, having being destroyed in a cataclysmic war centuries ago. The world draws a lot of inspiration from the World of Warcraft setup with duality featuring in the continents, the racial appearance, and the gods of the world. And just like in WoW, the two sides often need to team up against larger threats that appear. Flare has a Google Doc with more information about Akridon if you're interested! Vote in the CRIT Awards! Voting is open until August 23rd. Check out the Setting the Stage website! Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey. Join our Discord! Support Setting the Stage on Patreon! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    87 - Adapted Azeroth D&D (Flare and Akridon)

  3. Jul 29

    86 - Wuxia Adventures in RPGS (Daniel and Metanoia/Ithasen)

    I interviewed Daniel, my cohost of the Tabletop Community Spotlight! Daniel created his own setting called Ithasen with an in-progress wuxia TTRPG system called Metanoia to go along with it. Ithasen has a spiritual force known as Ren that pervades the world. Ren is a magical manifestation of the user's, or Rennim's, will upon the universe. Rennim that cultivate their will grow stronger and capable of more amazing feats as the concentrate their power and force of personality. Within Ithasen there are seven lineages of people that decide what type of Ren they can use. Anamor use conversion Ren. Elkyr use flux Ren. Janim use elasticity Ren. Nyl use influence Ren. Okoi use recurrence Ren. Haqol use harmony Ren. Finally, Daruner use use coalescent ren. The two races lineages that drive unique politics in Ithasen are the Daruner and the Haqol. Daruner children absorb the Ren talents of both their parents, becoming a perfect blend of Daruner and another lineage parent. Through this mixing, a Daruner family could potentially include all other lineages within itself. This power has placed Daruner as the nobility of Ithasen. Haqol's power of harmony allows them to amplify the Ren powers of others. This puts Haqol in a vulnerable position as unscrupulous people will do anything to incorporate Haqol lineage into their bloodline. Haqol have experienced something akin to a genocide as their lineage has been consistently absorbed by other lineages and diluted over the centuries. There's a whole lot more than that so strap in! Daniel has a fully setup GitHub Wiki for information on Metanoia and Ithasen that you can explore. There's a Metanoid Discord server you can join to discuss the rules and setting with other fans. The occasional musing on TTRPGs can be found on Daniel's blog, Tabletop Discourse. GoCorral YouTube Channel for watching the Tabletop Community Spotlight. Vote in the CRIT Awards! Voting is open until August 23rd. Check out the Setting the Stage website! Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey. Join our Discord! Support Setting the Stage on Patreon! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    86 - Wuxia Adventures in RPGS (Daniel and Metanoia/Ithasen)

  4. Jul 15

    85 - Medical Doctor D&D (Justin and Oops! All Healers!)

    Justin tells us about their new actual play show, Oops! All Healers. Justin is the GM side of the two person YouTube channel, So You Wanna Be A DM? (SYWBADM), that they host with Taylor. SYWBADM is a variety channel about different parts of TTRPGs. The main segment of their channel is a weekly talking head discussion on some RPG related topic. There are occasional guests or single segments with just Justin. There's also actual plays! Justin favors short actual plays of about 5 sessions in length. The latest one is called Oops! All Healers, a medical procedural drama using D&D 5e as the system. Can D&D be adapted for that system and can the players handle the different cases that come their way? So You Wanna Be A DM? YouTube Channel So You Wanna Be A DM? LinkTree Check out the Setting the Stage website! Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey. Join our Discord! Support Setting the Stage on Patreon! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    85 - Medical Doctor D&D (Justin and Oops! All Healers!)

  5. Jul 1

    84 - Horseback Riding D&D Camp (Michael and SaddleSnaps)

    Michael tells us about a D&D horseback riding experience at SaddleSnaps! The Chicago-based stable hosted a weekend camping, horseback riding, and D&D event. About 50 players came from across the country for this new experience. During the event, the players were split up into three groups. Each of the groups engaged in the "Exploration" and "Social Interaction" pillars of RPGs as a LARP. They used horses to go out on rides around the area to find clues to a developing mystery. After returning to their base camp they'd set up around tables for the D&D "Combat" pillar. Michael was the main DM of the adventure along with lots of support DMs and NPC actors helping him out. SaddleSnaps is planning to do more rides like this in the future, both single day rides as well as full weekend campouts like this first one. There are evening rides every Thursday for the rest of July 2026 with more to come in future months. You can check out everything about SaddleSnaps on their website. Michael has his own website for his RPG resources called Paragon Provisions that you can check out as well. Michael also runs his own Discord server that you connect with him on if you'd like to keep up with all the cool D&D stuff he's doing. Check out the Setting the Stage website! Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey. Join our Discord! Support Setting the Stage on Patreon! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    84 - Horseback Riding D&D Camp (Michael and SaddleSnaps)

  6. Jun 17

    83 - Call of Cthulhu's Garden (Hem and The Sprouting)

    Hem tells us about their actual play campaign, The Sprouting. Within the world of The Sprouting, Earth's history diverged during the 1800s when an eldritch horror was summoned into our reality. The horror lay in wait for centuries, building up a secret army of plant monsters. In 2020, the plant monsters struck, ruining infrastructure and attacking population centers across the world. One hundred years have passed and our heroes learn that the next stage of the plant apocalypse has begun... We also discussed some of the difficulties and pleasures of actual play podcasts and how the RPG community varies internationally (Hem is in Iceland). If you want to try listening to The Sprouting its available on all major podcast platforms. You can learn more on The Sprouting's website. For other shows produced by Hem check out Blighthouse Studio's website. Hem mentioned The Lucky Die actual play show of theirs several times which used D&D 5e. And the broader network of Fable and Folly has their website too. Check out the Setting the Stage website! Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey. Join our Discord! Support Setting the Stage on Patreon! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    83 - Call of Cthulhu's Garden (Hem and The Sprouting)

  7. Jun 3

    82 - Tarot Ghosts (George and Fears & Fortunes)

    George tells us about his D&D actual play called Fears and Fortunes. The campaign follows the adventures of Sly, granddaughter of the Seer of Bearuport. Sly accidentally releases a bunch of ghosts from her late grandmother's tarot deck. She and her band of companions must find the fourteen ghosts that escaped and imprison them within the deck once more. The campaign is sponsored by Forgotten Adventures, the battle map company. The show has an amazingly high production value with great maps, character art, music, and effects. Cool stuff to watch! And all the visual tools used in the show are available to you from Forgotten Adventures. You can watch the actual play yourself on the Fears & Fortunes YouTube channel. All the cool maps and assets of Fears and Fortunes are available on the Forgotten Adventures website. Or on the Forgotten Adventures Patreon. If you're interested in more of George's projects you can find them by Googling his screen name, GloriousGe0rge. That's with a zero in Ge0rge. Check out the Setting the Stage website! Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey. Join our Discord! Support Setting the Stage on Patreon! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    82 - Tarot Ghosts (George and Fears & Fortunes)

  8. May 20

    81 - Biopunk 2287 RPG (Seiya and Synesthesia Synthetica)

    Seiya tells us about his TTRPG system and setting, Synesthesia Synthetica (SNS). SNS is a biopunk game adjacent to the cyberpunk and steampunk genres. After an asteroid induced climate disaster, Earth has rebuilt itself using bio-technology instead of the metal based tech that surrounds us in the real world. Genetically modified humans have split into distinct species and mutant horrors prowl the wastes outside civilization. The rich rule from their space stations up above but resistance is growing in the streets below. During the episode we discussed a piece of art that Seiya had made for the game. A picture of that bio-tank is available for you to look at. At the moment, Synesthesia Synthetica is available for free as an early access game on itch.io and DriveThruRPG. If you want to learn more or find a group to play with, you can do that on the Synesthesia Synthetica Discord. Remember to nominate your favorite TTRPG shows/creators/things for the 2026 CRIT Awards! Check out the Setting the Stage website! Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey. Join our Discord! Support Setting the Stage on Patreon! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    81 - Biopunk 2287 RPG (Seiya and Synesthesia Synthetica)
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About

Welcome to Setting the Stage, a podcast where I, Isaac Shaker, talk with guests about different campaign settings for roleplaying games. We cover established settings, such as those made for D&D, like Faerun and Greyahwk. We also discuss settings that are adapted for RPGs, like Middle-Earth and Westeros. I interview members of the D&D community who have created their own campaign worlds. This is a chance for the guest to show off what they’ve made, explain challenges they’ve overcome, and discuss paths that didn’t work for them when creating their campaign setting. Our homebrew worlds often get no attention outside of our own play groups, so this is a way to present a DM’s hard work to a wider audience. This wouldn't be possible without the amazing D&D community and I'm looking forward to interviewing you! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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