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 Games
Black Armada on itch

Josh Bluesky: @armadajosh.bsky.social
Becky Bluesky: @beckyannison.bsky.social

Wise Women
Rapscallion
Star Trek Adventures 2e
Secrets of the Silent Witch

Find out more about the Open Hearth Gaming Community
Support us on Patreon!
Our actual play podcast can be found here
Follow us on Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/open-hearth-rpg
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/openhearthrpg
Mastodon: @openhearthrpg@dice.camp

00:00 Introduction​
01:45 Josh & Ex Tenebris
16:25 Becky & Wise Women
25:02 Lowell & Star Trek Adventures 2e
36:26 Giving Me Life

Content Advisory: colonialism & imperialism; sexual violence in a horror/vampire context; death of loved ones, including miscarriage; excessive immersion; grief & bleakness.

Mads joins Ian & José to talk about the relationship between player & character, the Magic Circle that divides them, and how experience can Bleed through from one to the other. Along the way we discuss some of the pitfalls of immersive gameplay, how to dial up or down that immersion, ways to stem the Bleed once it’s already started - and, of course, vampires!

Mads’ Work!!
Youtube
Itch
Sprigs & Kindling Vol. 2

Find out more about the Open Hearth Gaming Community
Support us on Patreon!
Our actual play podcast can be found here
Follow us on Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/open-hearth-rpg
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/openhearthrpg
Mastodon: @openhearthrpg@dice.camp

Our info:
email: adifferenthex@gmail.com
music: https://lloydeaves.bandcamp.com/album/a-different-kind-of-hex

Roll for Origin: Supers TTRPG History returns to one of the earliest and most important superhero ttrpgs: Champions. Hosts Jay Brown and Lowell Francis talk about a game which is near and dear to their hearts-- both having played these editions extensively. 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. This episode focuses just on the earliest editions-- prior to the release of the Champions 4th Edition, the "Big Blue Book."

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 Community
Support us on Patreon!
Our actual play podcast can be found here
Follow us on Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/open-hearth-rpg
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/openhearthrpg
Mastodon: @openhearthrpg@dice.camp

00:00 Intro
00:58 The Pitch
07:00 Gaming History
17:46 Comics & Media History
20:00 Thoughts

In this episode Host Rae Nedjadi (Apocalypse Keys, Once More into the Void) talks with Sebastian Yūe and Matthew Arcilla about games, superheroes, villainy, gender, and much more. They look at Evil Hat's forthcoming ttrpg, a classic from White Wolf, and a more modern take on heroism (which is apparently getting a second edition). Content warning for second segment: mention of sexual assault in a short story.

Rangers of a Broken World (aka Heroic Chord)
Aberrant
Masks: A New Generation
Never Whistle at Night
Burn It Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood
Rules, retcons, and rightsholders: The tough road for superhero RPGs

Sebastian can be found at: sebastianyue.ca, sebastianyue @itch and bsky.social
Sign up for SHIFT here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shiftrpg/shift-rpg
Hit Point Press: https://hitpointpress.com/

Matthew can be found here: experimentego.bsky.social

Find out more about the Open Hearth Gaming Community
Support us on Patreon!
Our actual play podcast can be found here
Follow us on Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/open-hearth-rpg
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/openhearthrpg
Mastodon: @openhearthrpg@dice.camp

00:00 Introduction
02:55 Rangers of a Broken World
14:58 Aberrant
26:35 Masks: A New Generation
46:50 Giving Me Life

In this "bonusode*" for Roll for Mutation: Post-Apocalyptic TTRPG History, we talk with Wil Hutton aka Rivetgeek, lead developer for Tribes in the Dark. TitD reworks and re-imagines Tribe 8, Dream Pod 9's fantastical post-apocalyptic rpg from the late 1990s. This new version adapts the Forged in the Dark mechanics to this game of tribes, outcasts, and prophecy.

Tribes in the Dark is Kickstarting through September 14 2025.
Tribe 8 on Wikipedia
Tribe 8 on DTRPG
Tribe 8 on RPGGeek
Wil on Bluesky @rivetgeek.aggregatecognizance.com‬

*term borrowed from the Ranged Touch podcast...

Find out more about the Open Hearth Gaming Community
Support us on Patreon!
Our actual play podcast can be found here
Follow us on Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/open-hearth-rpg
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/openhearthrpg
Mastodon: @openhearthrpg@dice.camp

Music: Here Comes the Night Karl Casey @White Bat Audio

First episode of Roll for Mutation, a new series looking at the history of Post-Apocalyptic TTRPGs. In this one hosts Lowell Francis and Marc Majcher cover the extended history of Gamma World, with a focus on the first two editions (of many). We talk about what Gamma World is, where it fits in gaming history, what the media context is like, and our general thoughts about the game. Roll for Mutation won't be covering things chronologically, but we do hope to hit the "tentpole" games in the genre early.

References
Gamma World on Wikipedia
Gamma World on RPG Geek
Grognardia on Gamma World
Grognardia on Gamma World 2e
Designers & Dragons Volume 1 The 1970s
Game Wizards

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 Community
Support us on Patreon!
Our actual play podcast can be found here
Follow us on Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/open-hearth-rpg
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/openhearthrpg
Mastodon: @openhearthrpg@dice.camp

Music: Here Comes the Night Karl Casey @White Bat Audio

00:00 Introduction: Gamma World
02:05 What is it?
10:10 Gaming History
19:12 The Media Context
25:30 Our Thoughts

Lowell Francis provides a short introduction to the Open Hearth Gaming Community: what we are, what we do, how you can join, and how you can support what we do.

Website

Discord Invite

Patreon

Playabl

Shared Hearth

Community Code of Conduct

Online Play Resources

Around the Hearth

Playing at the Hearth

YouTube

Play Issues

Gameway

Contact Us: openhearthgamingcommunity@gmail.com
Follow us on Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/open-hearth-rpg
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/openhearthrpg
Mastodon: @openhearthrpg@dice.camp

00:00 Introduction
00:52 What is Open Hearth
04:07 Joining Us
07:36 Signing Up For Games
14:20 What Happens When You Sign Up
17:03 What to Expect from Play
19:38 Getting Into Sessions
21:37 Running Games
23:25 Play Issues
26:53 Open Hearth Projects and Events
34:06 How to Support Us

This is the edited version of an older seminar by Lowell Francis talking about planning and running TTRPG mysteries. It's about 50 minutes of talk followed by a Q&A. Lowell talks about his approach and best practices for running mysteries in rpgs. Topics include:

• Kinds of mysteries (set, set variable, improv)
• Plotting mysteries
• The power of the timeline
• Information handling
• Keeping player involvement
• Table management

...and more.

See here for an outline of the talk

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 Community
Support us on Patreon!
Our actual play podcast can be found here
Follow us on Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/open-hearth-rpg
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/openhearthrpg
Mastodon: @openhearthrpg@dice.camp