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

72 - Calico and Psychomortis (Part 1)

CalicoVisions tells us about his game system and setting Psychomortis. The game is constructed to challenge players and characters to look inside themselves to find what's really important to them. In the far future the Earth has suffered from the arrival of the Iris which caused vast changes across the world. PCs are trapped beneath the Earth in a vast maze known as Pandora's Labyrinth. They seek an exit and/or spiritual absolution as they survive and explore in the dark depths. The experience is simultaneous a dungeon crawl and philosophical exercise.This is the first of two episodes about Psychomortis. Calico contacted me about how the game and setting had evolved since our first recording. This is the first recording which has the original version of Calico's world and game. The second one is more refined and filled in which you can see in part 2!Psychomortis is still in the early stages of development, but its playable! If you're interested in the game you can learn more on the Psychomortis Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/JkhpUTYMTCYou can also follow Calico on BlogSpot: https://calicovisions369.blogspot.com/And on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/calicovisions.bsky.socialOur website: https://gocorral.com/stsWant to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVAJoin our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6CSupport the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SettingtheStage Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

71 - Aaron Ryan and Dissonance/The End

I talked with Aaron Ryan about two of his book series, Dissonance and The End.Dissonance is a near future world where aliens have attacked, killing most humans and animals on Earth and driving humans into hiding underground. Humans finally develop technology to fight back and the war enters a new stage while the characters also struggle to determine the motivation for the alien invasion and nefarious actions of the government.The End is a Christian End Time series based loosely on the events described in Revelations. A man calling himself Nero has risen to rule over the world and he has outlawed Christianity. Robots called Guardians hunt Christians throughout the world, murdering them on the spot if they don't recant their faith. A resistance movement works in the shadows against Nero, but things aren't looking good for them.We talked about the basics of those settings along with how they could be adapted for RPG campaign settings. My main recommendations were Ashes Without Number, Spire, and Blades in the Dark.If you're interested in reading Aaron's books you can find them at most any bookstore or library. Both of the series are also being adapted into movies, but aren't publicly available yet. Aaron's website is https://authoraaronryan.com/ for the latest updates on his work. Next up for Aaron is the Talisman series that covers events within the "Aaronverse" in the decades between Dissonance and The End.Our website: https://gocorral.com/stsWant to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVAJoin our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6CSupport the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SettingtheStage Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

70 - Sensei Suplex and Project Aurora

Sensei Suplex joins us to talk about his campaign, Project Aurora. Suplex started Project Aurora in college with some friends. They agreed to have a few different campaigns done by different DMs to all exist within the same shared world. Suplex transitioned to paid DMing and the world expanded beyond that into a huge RPG experience with dozens of DMs and thousands of people playing, all in a shared universe.With such a large pool of players and DMs there's a decent effort to match groups in style, tone, and schedule so that everyone is happy with what they're doing. There are full campaigns and pickup West Marches style adventures as well. Sensei Suplex believes in matching what players want with his DMing style. Thus the world/universe for Project Aurora is varied with different cultures, technology levels, and themes for whatever a particular group is interested in playing.Sensei Suplex also has a YouTube channel with some great videos on how to be a better DM. The most popular of those videos being one on how to create something the TTRPG equivalent to the Nemesis System from the Lord of the Rings: Shadow of War video game. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aSJ145y2hASensei Suplex also recommended a Ginny Di video on paid DMing that you can talk a look at here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_M0M-j1ruZQIf you'd like to learn more about Sensei Suplex, his YouTube videos, or Project Aurora, it's all available from this link: https://beacons.ai/senseisuplexOur website: https://gocorral.com/stsWant to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVAJoin our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6CSupport the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SettingtheStage Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

69 - Siix and Godstorm

There were some audio issues in this episode that we did our best to correct. Hopefully you can understand everything or close to everything! If you can't, you can always drop into the Discord to ask additional questions.The story of Godstorm starts 70 years ago when a fisher from the city of Gulia went deep into the ocean. He came back many days later covered in various marks. The marks gave him magical blinking powers. The king of Gulia unjustly executed the fisher to remove a threat. The burning fisher's marks then spread throughout the populace, making it so now about 20% of Gulia's citizens bear the marks and their power. At the same time electric eels were being developed as an energy source. The eels are taunted to put their shocks into batteries which power a bunch of technology throughout the city.The design goals for the system of Godstorm focused on every PC being able to blink in short teleportation jumps. There are a bunch of different classes that give little bonuses along with selected feats to the blinks. You could leave a hazard behind you, create a protective ward where you blink to, or heal everyone along the path of your blink.You can try the Godstorm system out for yourself by following this link: https://siixu.itch.io/godstormAnd you can be involved in the playtesting of Godstorm by joining the Discord: https://discord.gg/dqq2tBywBbOur website: https://gocorral.com/stsWant to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVAJoin our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6CSupport the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SettingtheStage Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

68 - John and Tahlvaen

John tells us about his campaign setting, Tahlvaen. The world was something he dreamt up in childhood that he's now turning into a campaign setting for D&D. Tahlvaen is threatened by eldritch entities known as the Outer Five. These nasty beings were cast out beyond the Veil that separates them from the Tahlvaen. The eight Veilborn gods protect the world from the Outer Five, but all planar travel is cut off as a consequence. New magic classes exist in Tahlvaen to reflect this, focusing on music, resonance, and psionics as sources of power.John has been writing a full set of books for publication on Tahlvaen. He plans to launch a Kickstarter in April 2026 to bring the book to life. The book is named the Veilborn Universe Campaign Setting: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/veilborn/the-veilborn-universe-campaign-settingAnd you can find all of John's socials here: https://linktr.ee/tahlvaenOur website: https://gocorral.com/stsWant to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVAJoin our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6CSupport the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SettingtheStage Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.