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

Isaac Shaker
  • 5.0 (3)
  • FICTION
  • UPDATED SEMIWEEKLY

Welcome to Setting the Stage, a podcast where I, Isaac Shaker, will talk about different campaign settings for roleplaying games. I'll talk about established settings, either those made for D&D, like Faerun and Greyahwk, or those that are adapted for it, like Middle-Earth, and Westeros. I'll also 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. 66 - KC and Liara

    5D AGO

    66 - KC and Liara

    KC Broadhead is a certified life coach who uses D&D and other TTRPGs as a motivational force for his clients, mostly young men and boys. He meets with each person weekly to check on their goals for self improvement. Based on their progress each client is rewarded some building points that can be spent on their character in their weekly session. People who work more consistently on their goals get greater rewards in the game, instilling a sense of competition in the other participants to do better on their own goals. It's a new and effective life coaching method that KC is operating under the name Knight's Castle Services. KC's world is named Liara. The world is used for all of his life coach sessions with each group adventuring at the same time but in different regions of the world. The history of Liara is consistently muddled, either due to magic or bad records. The gods of Liara are separated into nine different ranks called Rings. Creation gods at the top, followed by Elements, Time, Fate, Souls, Knowledge, War, Dreams, and Thought. The Creation gods made the universe while lower Rings sprang into existence as needed or when a particular mortal being became worshipped after their death. There's also a secret tenth pantheon... The people of Liara are threatened by a violent race of fairies called the Zephyrynn. The best defense is the Ka’vothan, a race of super strong oni-like people that are able to fight back against the fairies due to their superior strength. KC's D&D style life coaching is available on his website. Check it out if you're interested! https://www.knightscastle.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 Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SettingtheStage Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 54m
  2. 65 - Al and The Backrooms

    SEP 24

    65 - Al and The Backrooms

    Al from the Point of Insanity Game Studio and Podcast is here to talk about a couple of different things! We started off by discussing the Dark Sun campaign setting, which was a post-apocalyptic campaign setting released for D&D in 1991. Next was the changes in D&D over the editions/years. After that was Al's Point of Insanity Network podcast, a variety podcast about a number of different topics in the geek and horror space. Next we discussed one of Al's RPGs he's designed, Strange Things Afoot. Characters in Strange Things Afoot are high schoolers with their stats derived from their character's grades in school. They work to investigate horror stories based on belief. The monster from the horror story can manifest as a tulpa, powered by the belief that society has in that monster. The teenagers must discover the terrifying mysteries, defeat them, and survive to make it to gym class on time. The last thing we discussed, that was the main focus of the episode, is Al's RPG called Caught in the Backrooms. The Backrooms concept comes from video games where if you maneuver your character correctly you will clip into an area of the map intended just for developers to access during playtesting. But once you're in that zone there isn't a way out. You wander aimlessly through endless blank corridors with the occasional secret room. That's the Backrooms. Caught in the Backrooms provides rules for playing characters who have slipped into the Backrooms of reality and are unable to escape. PCs must struggle to find resources, fight against monsters, and maintain their sanity, all while looking for the exit, if there even is one. You can learn more about Al's podcast, Point of Insanity Game Studio, at his website or on your podcast app: http://www.poigamestudio.com/ Al's storefront on DriveThruRPG where you can find Strange Things Afoot and Caught in the Backrooms: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/publisher/2995/point-of-insanity-game-studio And Lulu if you prefer paper copies: https://www.lulu.com/search?contributor=Al+Seeger And one of our previous guests, Peter from Tales From Elsewhere, is crowdfunding his first TTRPG book, Clockworld. You can check the Kickstarter out at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/talesfromelsewhere/tales-from-elsewhere-clockworld 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 Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SettingtheStage Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 26m
  3. 64 - Kevin and Orbis

    SEP 10

    64 - Kevin and Orbis

    Kevin tells us about his setting and TTRPG, Orbis. It's a crunchy mech combat game! Central to Orbis is the Ion Tempest storm. It started long ago and afflicts the world with electrical storms, cold snaps, heat waves, and odd magnetic and gravitational fields. History of the world before the arrival of the Ion Tempest is lost. Some sort of apocalypse occurred to this science fiction civilization that destroyed everything and created the Ion Tempest. The storm also has sentient representations of it called Apostles. The chaotic wilderness is full of lucrative treasures from before the collapse of civilization. People known as ronin go out into the wilds with protective mechs known as armored gears to fight behemoth monsters, secure territory, and find loot. Some ronin are trained as voltweavers, able to use the energy of the Ion Tempest itself to perform magical feats. On the system side, Orbis seeks to unify mech games that focus on the mechs with ones that focus on the pilots. Both your mech and your pilot are relevant and advance as you play the game. As you might imagine for a mech game, customization is rampant with tons of options, gears, levers, and nozzles to fiddle with for how your pilot and mech are setup. For action resolution you compare the score of your most relevant attribute and skill to a difficulty number. You gain a modifier on a d100 roll equal to the difference between your numbers and the difficulty number. Your target is always 50 after that modification. Critical successes occur whenever you a double on the D100 (11, 22, 33, etc). Orbis is still early in development but there is enough material to start playing it if you're interested. Join the Discord for rule files and to connect with Kevin. Or follow Kevin's BlueSky account for the latest updates. Discord: https://discord.gg/7pvcGPHEvQ BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/orbisgame.bsky.social And one of our previous guests, Peter from Tales From Elsewhere, is crowdfunding his first TTRPG book, Clockworld. You can check the Kickstarter out at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/talesfromelsewhere/tales-from-elsewhere-clockworld 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 Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SettingtheStage Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 45m
  4. 63 - John and Dalteria

    AUG 27

    63 - John and Dalteria

    John tells us about his setting and TTRPG system he's developing, Dalteria. Dalteria the world was originally lifeless. Long ago on Earth, magic existed. When God flooded Earth, the wizards took all the magic with them. Noah built his ark while the wizards left Earth to settle and terraform Dalteria with their magic. Millenia later the people of Earth advanced enough to develop colonization starships. One of these colonies made it to Dalteria, but were not received peacefully. The resulting war eventually resolved and the current timeline is set 400 years afterwards. Regular animals and plants have largely died out and been replaced by magical or technological horrors. People cluster into cities that are protected by technology or magic to keep themselves safe from the monsters that cover the planet's surface. PCs take on the role adventurers going outside the safety of cities for various tasks. The system is still in the early stages of development. Players choose tech or magic for their power sets (or both, but they don't play well together). The main stats are Body, Mind, and Spirit. There are six kinds of magic for casting spells. Monsters somewhat match up to these stats with base monsters being modified by different types of magic or technology to make something more interesting and threatening. You can follow along at Dalteria's Discord server: https://discord.gg/WPcNGpDFxt 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 Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SettingtheStage Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 9m
  5. 62 - Deor and Black Noon

    AUG 13

    62 - Deor and Black Noon

    Deor tells us about his game system and setting, Black Noon. Interesting fact about Deor is that he has never GMed a game of his own. Black Noon should end up very player-facing in how its written and how it plays. The Black Noon system is a 2d6 system. Rolls are modified by adding more dice or with bigger modifiers. When adding more dice you always select the best two dice from the bunch (or worst two if you're receiving a penalty). The system is still in early development, but is shaping into being class-based. Black Noon's setting is a place for pirates and cowboys. A new continent has been discovered across the western ocean. Two major powers are at odds to control the new discovery. The first of these powers is an analogous combination of Britain, the United States, and Venice. A mercantile focused democratic nation. The second power is analogous to the Spanish Empire. A religious monarchy. The two powers must contend with a third rebellious element, pirate cowboys! The land and seas are threatened by pirate cowboys that ride on running and swimming capybara-like mounts. Nowhere on land is safe and ships that sail too close to the shore are at risk of being overwhelmed by pirate cowboys taking to the sea on their swimming mounts to raid and pillage. The players must decide whether to join or defend against the pirate cowboy menace. 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 Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SettingtheStage Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 4m
  6. 61 - Helix and RPG Major

    JUL 30

    61 - Helix and RPG Major

    Today's guest is Helix, the GM of the actual play podcast, RPG Major. RPG Major is a detective show in a fantasy version of modern Seattle. The show is half RPG/half musical improv, setting it apart from many other actual plays. The game is run using the Genesys system. Every few minutes a song drops in to cover the group's activities and emotions. The whole show is accompanied by live acoustic guitar music. There's a little chord the guitarist plays whenever the dice are rolled or a bad thing happens. Great, easy listening. The world is much like our own, but with more fantasy creatures right on the surface of the public eye. Creatures are everywhere if you know where to look, but most people simply don't look. History remains similar to our Earth, with no fantastical events or magic in the last few centuries. All the satyrs, dryads, fairies, and ogres have gone into hiding. And when a problem with the fantastical world emerges, who you gonna call? Not the Ghostbusters, but Thorn Investigations! The PCs play the members of the new detective agency, Thorn Investigations, which helps the people of Foxglove (fantasy Seattle) whenever a supernatural issue arises. RPG Major Links Website: https://www.rpgmajor.com/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5VJkfQ5Rm2KimYsCpOOUOs Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rpg-major/id1766663794 Discord: https://discord.gg/HXNRZqZxAE Helix and I also briefly discussed the Filipino monster, the Manananggal, and the Filipino actual play podcast, the Blades of Mayari. You can check them out using the hyperlinks to learn more. 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 Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SettingtheStage Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    3 hr
  7. 60 - Todd and Skjaald Sagas

    JUL 16

    60 - Todd and Skjaald Sagas

    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 Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SettingtheStage Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    2h 34m
  8. 59 - Ryan and Ethereal

    JUL 2

    59 - Ryan and Ethereal

    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 Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SettingtheStage Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 53m
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About

Welcome to Setting the Stage, a podcast where I, Isaac Shaker, will talk about different campaign settings for roleplaying games. I'll talk about established settings, either those made for D&D, like Faerun and Greyahwk, or those that are adapted for it, like Middle-Earth, and Westeros. I'll also 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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