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We continue our fantasy series with James taking the DM’s chair. This time, we look at one approach to homebrewing: preserving the conventions that give a setting its identity while modifying systems to lean further into them. Our actual play takes place in the Nameless Lands, a new Domain of Dread pulled from a world not altogether unlike our own. The Mists blur its borders, time has become meaningless, and names and histories are slowly wearing away. Two cursed wanderers are on their way back to the walled town of Karsova with a severed head in their saddlebag as proof that they completed their job. At the center of the Nameless Lands is Agrammon, the Undying One, a nascent Darklord. Orphaned by raiders, he survived through the criminal underworld and eventually grew wealthy through debts and imperial administration. His obsession with finding immortality through genuine magic led him to other worlds, and the rites that transformed him. The setting draws loosely on Ottoman administrative history, Silk Road funerary traditions, Scythian burial practices, and Balkan revenant folklore. James developed it as a possible campaign framework for roughly levels 6–12, along with custom characters and character classes for the session. As usual with our actual plays, we follow the session with a discussion of what happened at the table. Topics Discussed 00:00:33 — What have we been playing lately? Witchlight, Van Richten’s, Tasha’s, and getting D&D books from libraries instead of buying them. 00:06:57 — Ravenloft roots and the “evil character”: Older Ravenloft design assumptions, the Satanic Panic, and what happened when a character turned evil. 00:11:38 — Why GMs cause problems for PCs: Why cursed items, complications, and resistance can make better stories than straightforward rewards. 00:15:52 — Homebrew, balance, and encounter math: How custom items and spells interact with 5e’s balance assumptions and the difference between mechanical imbalance and spotlight problems. 00:21:41 — The homebrew pregens: Drahamir the werebear druid, Ruhan the dhampir stalker, and the costs built into their abilities. 00:32:33 — Rite of the Undying: The Nameless Lands: Introducing the Domain of Dread, Karsova, Voivode Radovan, and the cult of the Undying One. 00:41:30 — Gnoll ambush on the caravan road: The first fight puts the custom characters and homebrew mechanics into action. 01:20:17 — The blight at Sudavac: A spreading sickness turns the innkeeper’s son undead. 01:25:13 — Safia’s offer for the head: A mysterious old woman offers to trade for the cult leader’s severed head. 01:43:32 — Karsova, Radovan, and the head that won’t burn: The pair completes their mission, only to discover that the severed head refuses to burn. 01:47:26 — The GM pulls back the curtain: James explains the obsidian spear, the undead-raising head, and a Domain of Dread still in the process of forming. 01:55:17 — One-shots still need a want: Why pregenerated characters need motivations, and how games can give amnesiac characters drives through play. 02:00:21 — Codified magic stops being mysterious: How explicit spell mechanics can strip away mystery, and how DCC and Shadowdark approach magic differently. 02:05:32 — Mystery for the GM and emergent play: How much of a game world should remain unknown even to the person running it? 02:19:38 — Starting at level six and tiers of play: How starting above low level changes character play and what levels actually represent. 02:26:13 — Comparing three approaches to D&D: Lessons from running a published module, the 2024 rules, and full homebrew, plus ways to abstract secondary combats. For more on the discussion of System and Style check out our written articles and Scott’s additional thoughts on specific systems on our YouTube channel. ModernMythology.net

We continue our fantasy series with D&D. How could we not? Sean takes the DM's chair first. We play through the beginning of Shadow of the Dragon Queen, the 5e Dragonlance campaign: the road to Vogler, a memorial, and a party still finding its footing. Spoiler warning if you're planning to play it. This is the first of three episodes where each of us takes a turn running D&D,, looking at how we each run the same game differently. Afterward we get into D&D 2024, the ways we've each hacked the game over the years, and the tradeoffs of running a pre-written module. As usual for our actual-plays, the system discussion follows the session rather than interrupting play with meta-commentary. Hope you enjoy. Topics discussed: 00:00:30 On the Road to Vogler 00:07:40 The Characters 00:19:30 Danger Ahead 01:17:00 "I'm going take a little walk" 01:28:55 Arrive at Town 01:36:00 Kender Squire 01:43:40 The Solamnic Knight 01:50:20 The Memorial 02:04:00 Reflection and Wrap-Up 02:19:00 "Hermetic Rules" 02:33:45 Narrative Structure For more on the discussion of System and Style check out our written articles and Scott’s additional thoughts on specific systems on our YouTube channel. ModernMythology.net

Have you had a character die mid-session? How did it feel, and had the table talked it through first? We all run games with violence of some kind, juggling different systems and different layers of mortality — and a lot of players read a death as an ending, an inconvenience, or a real emotional blow when a favorite character meets their end. This game, like many others, shows it doesn't have to be. In Episode 27 of Modern Mythology, Sean runs Turn of Fortune's Wheel — the official introductory Planescape adventure (spoilers ahead!) — for Scott and James. Planescape is a setting where belief shapes reality and the dead are part of the cosmology, and Turn of Fortune's Wheel wastes no time putting that on the table. We rolled up three characters and played through an engaging, genuinely lethal scenario to put death in gaming under the lens. After the session we get into how to handle a character's death at the table in a way that protects player agency and opens up better stories. Content note: this episode discusses character death and in-game mortality throughout. Topics discussed: 00:00:37 Consent Check-in 00:01:45 Characters 00:07:40 Trope: You Wake Up in a Strange Place 00:18:30 Exit the Room 00:24:00 Doctor & Patient 00:48:10 On the Precipice 00:52:25 The First Death 01:05:30 Jamie's 2nd Character 01:30:20 “Maurice, No!" 01:31:45 Wrap Up & Death as a Narrative and Game Device For more on the discussion of System and Style check out our written articles and Scott’s additional thoughts on specific systems on our YouTube channel. ModernMythology.net

What alignment are you, and what does that mean? Does it drive your behavior? Does your character’s alignment drive theirs? We look at one of D&D’s most durable sacred cows: alignment as personality test, moral framework, table tool, campaign problem, and cosmology. Somehow, we try not to come to blows. We want to hear how alignment plays into your games. 00:00:22 What Alignment Are You? 00:07:45 Origins 00:20:40 Descriptive or Prescriptive 00:25:00 Character Dynamics 00:31:25 Ubiquitous Evil Campaign 00:43:00 In Other Games 00:52:20 Relativistic View 01:14:00 As Cosmology 01:35:50 Recap 01:50:15 Practical Approach For more on the discussion of System and Style check out our written articles and Scott’s additional thoughts on specific systems on our YouTube channel. ModernMythology.net

In Episode 25 of Modern Mythology, we take on the Cypher System, a well-known universal tabletop RPG system with a strong reputation for flexible, narrative-driven play. Because Cypher isn’t tied to a single core setting, it gives us a good way to look at how a system’s mechanics shape story across genre—and in this case, through a fantasy lens. We’re joined by SJ McKeen—author, fellow pro GM, professional voice actor, and streamer—who brings both GMing experience and firsthand familiarity with Cypher to the discussion. Together, we look at what the system does well, how it supports narrative play, and what it offers groups who want a framework that can adapt to different kinds of stories rather than one fixed world. As usual with most of our actual-play episodes, we wrap up with a discussion of what the session surfaced for us about system, story, and play more broadly. Topics discussed: 00:00:35 Introducing the Cypher System 00:01:20 Special Guest SJ 00:03:35 Broad strokes of setting? 00:06:35 Meet our characters 00:11:20 Monster Hunting 00:12:40 Mountainside Temple 00:44:00 The Gateway 00:53:00 Miasmic Hallway 01:05:45 The Prison 01:10:45 The Inner Sanctum 01:27:30 Charge! 01:54:00 LTB! 01:58:45 Denouncement 02:02:00 Break it down 02:04:10 Combat Downward Spiral 02:12:00 Madness in RPGs 02:21:40 Arcs and XP 02:33:00 Learning Curves 02:37:20 Read Character 02:41:20 Functional Character Sheets 02:48:00 What's SJ Up To? For more on the discussion of System and Style check out our written articles and Scott’s additional thoughts on specific systems on our YouTube channel. ModernMythology.net

In Episode 24 of Modern Mythology, we dig into one of the biggest questions in tabletop RPG design: how setting and system actually interact at the table. This is a dense, nearly two-hour conversation about the ways mechanics shape player behavior, how they steer attention toward certain kinds of choices, and how that pressure can either reinforce the fiction or get in its way. As always, we don't come away with a final conclusion so much as many opened avenues of discussion. We spend a lot of time teasing apart what happens when a game’s rules and its setting are working together, and what happens when they might be at cross-purposes. When does system push play forward? When does it create friction? When does a setting give players a strong sense of what matters, when do constraints help and when does they start to constrain the very story the table is trying to discover? How important is a fantasy map? Along the way, we look at the interplay of structure and fiction from several angles, asking how games teach people to play through their mechanics, and how different approaches can produce very different narrative results even when the premise looks similar on paper. One quick correction: during the episode, we say “rules agnostic” a few times when what we actually mean is “setting agnostic.” Apologies for any confusion there. Topics discussed: 00:00:20 Framing the Conversation BTRC Phoenix Command 00:16:00 Simulationism 00:25:30 Setting Agnostic Systems Daggerheart 00:53:40 Death in system and setting (more on this in an upcoming episode) 00:58:25 System Informs Setting 01:11:40 Ideas about Setting informing System For more on the discussion of System and Style check out our written articles and Scott’s additional thoughts on specific systems on our YouTube channel. ModernMythology.net

Burning Wheel has stayed Scott’s favorite RPG for a reason, and this two-hour episode digs into the specifics. We look at how the game’s tools reinforce each other at the table: lifepath character creation, goal-driven play, organic advancement, and combat with real risk. In combination, those systems tend to produce strong characterization and narrative momentum without forcing outcomes. Burning Wheel is an fantasy RPG designed by Luke Crane that pretty consistently shows up in many of the top lists of Indie RPG’s. It uses a d6 dice-pool engine and centers play on character beliefs and consequential choices. The current core book, Burning Wheel Gold Revised, is presented by the publisher as the definitive revised edition. Even in this short session, the interplay of these mechanics creates standout moments—scenes shaped by player intent, and tension that comes from pressure rather than pre-scripted plot. If you’re interested in how system and story lock together in practice, this episode works as a clear case study. Hope you enjoy as much as we did. Topics discussed: 00:00:30 Introduce Characters 00:16:45 Scene One - The Arrival 00:28:10 Scene Two - The Prodigal Child Returns 00:37:00 Scene Three - The Race to the Throne 00:48:25 Scene Four - Slip Away 00:56:00 Scene Five - Involving the Etharch 01:05:00 Scene Six - The Receiving Room 01:08:50 Scene Seven - Sibling Reunion 01:23:00 Scene Eight- Gathering Storm 01:37:00 Scene Nine - Now We Hunt Orc 01:59:30 Debrief - Song of Unraveling For more on the discussion of System and Style check out our written articles and Scott’s additional thoughts on specific systems on our YouTube channel. ModernMythology.net

Modern Mythology Ep. 22 — Technology takes a reflective look at how changing technologies have shaped tabletop role-playing games over time. From physical tools at the table to digital spaces that bring groups together across distance, we talk about what stuck, what faded, and why. Along the way, we explore how randomness, connectivity, and new creative tools altered player expectations and game culture. The discussion moves through technology adoption, miniatures, bringing technology to the table, and the question of what the “big jump” was. We also talk about RNG, online gaming, getting the party together, virtual tabletops (VTTs), streaming, and artificial intelligence and LLMs—then close by considering where technology helps the most, and where it’s best to step back. Throughout we ponder the pros and cons and implicit tradeoffs that always arise in the course of adopting technology into our lives. Topics: 00:00:00 A Looming Threat 00:02:00 Jump right in 00:08:30 Technology adoption 00:13:45 Miniatures 00:19:15 Bringing technology to the table 00:25:15 What was the big technological jump? 00:36:40 RNG 00:40:44 Online gaming 00:55:20 Getting the party together 01:05:00 Virtual Tabletop (VTT) 01:13:45 Streaming 01:17:35 Artificial Intelligence and LLMs 01:31:30 Technological Sweet Spot For more on the discussion of System and Style check out our written articles and Scott’s additional thoughts on specific systems on our YouTube channel. ModernMythology.net

Episode 21 closes our sci-fi season with a debrief: what we learned when theory met the table. We revisit the systems we ran—Coriolis, Freemarket, CBR+PNK, Mothership, Twilight Imperium among others—and pull out the through-lines that surfaced across very different design priorities, moving between genre, system, and setting. Across the season, certain levers kept showing up, including Dark Points and panic clocks. Downtime becomes a design layer, not just a breather. Tech and transportation aren’t just stylistic; they’re constraints you can plan around, exploit, or get trapped inside. Memory and transhumanism come into focus too: what happens to stakes when identity is modular. One question kept circling throughout the season: what makes something science fiction at the table? Vibes matter, but so do the costs the rules make visible—risk, logistics, scarcity, and human limits. The boundary gets tested against fantasy: when is “sci-fi vs. fantasy” a productive restriction, and when is it an empty category you paint over with aesthetic? No single answer lands, but a few useful ways to frame the problem emerge. If you’ve been with us all season, this is the after-action report. If you’re new, it’s a fast way to see how we read mechanics as part of story structure. Topics Discussed: 00:00:45 Talk of Genre 00:29:00 What we played 00:45:00 Heroes and the Everyman 00:01:00 Media Touchpoints 01:05:00 Downtime and Resource Management 01:19:15 Games we didn't play 01:52:30 Season Favorites For more on the discussion of System and Style check out our written articles and Scott’s additional thoughts on specific systems on our YouTube channel. ModernMythology.net

This week is an interesting collision between board games and tabletop RPGs as we jump into Twilight Imperium: Ashes of Power, the Free RPG Day adventure built for the Genesys roleplaying system. Designed as an easy on-ramp, Ashes of Power comes with simplified Genesys rules and pre-made characters—so you can go from “what is Genesys?” to “roll initiative” fast. In play, we focus on what makes Genesys narrative dice work: a roll doesn’t just hinge on success or failure. It also includes story-driving fallout like Advantage vs. Threat, plus swingy moments of Triumph and Despair that change the scene in surprising ways. If you’re curious how a “board-game readable” resolution engine can still generate rich improvisation, this episode is a great sampler of Genesys in motion. This is also our final sci-fi themed system for the time being in our actual play series. Next episode, we’ll look back on the sci-fi games we’ve played and what we learned along the way. Topics Discussed: 00:00:30 Boardgame to RPG 00:03:40 Free RPG Day https://www.edge-studio.net/shares/twilight-imperium/ 00:11:35 Setting Info dump 00:17:45 Scene 1: Ashes of Power 00:22:15 Scene 2 00:41:40 Scene 3 00:48:40 Scene 4 01:05:25 Scene 5 01:11:25 Scene 6 01:18:30 Scene 7 01:40:30 Scene 8 01:44:10 Scene 9 01:48:00 Debrief 01:55:40 Let’s Roll Some Dice... For more on the discussion of System and Style check out our written articles and Scott’s additional thoughts on specific systems on our YouTube channel. ModernMythology.net

In this episode, Jamie and Scott dig into troupe-style play—campaigns where each player might run multiple characters over time instead of a single, fixed PC. We talk about what changes when you treat the cast as an ensemble instead of a party, and how that shift can affect spotlight, continuity, and the kinds of stories your table can tell. Using games like Ars Magica, Pendragon, Blades in the Dark, Street Fighter, and Call of Cthulhu as examples—plus related play styles like West Marches, (featured in the newest Critical Role campaign), we trace how different designs handle rotating characters, support casts, and backup sheets. Some lean into covenants, households, or crews as the “real” protagonist; others quietly assume you’ll have replacement investigators or alternates waiting in the wings. We also get practical. Why would you run a campaign in troupe mode? How do you build emotional investment when players are juggling multiple sheets? What are the pros and cons—the real pitfalls like prep overhead, continuity snarls, uneven buy-in—and what tools actually help you avoid them? Topics discussed: 00:00:45 What is Troupe Style play 00:07:15 Why? Philip José Farmer's The Dungeon Series 00:16:50 Pros and Cons 00:30:00 The Funnel/Attrition Elder Goblin Games 00:39:00 Generational Play 00:42:00 Exploring the setting 00:49:40 The Hex Crawl Legendary Kalmatta #61 OSE West Marches Hexcrawl Actual Play 00:57:00 Implementation Ars Magica For more on the discussion of System and Style check out our written articles and Scott’s additional thoughts on specific systems on our YouTube channel. ModernMythology.net

Next in our first line-up of sci fi RPGs, we get to play a really exciting game in our catalogue – Freemarket by Luke Crane and Jared Sorenson. This is a system-forward, reputation-driven game that’s brilliant and notoriously opaque, at least at the outset. FreeMarket runs like an open-world sandbox. Your choices broadcast to the network; the network pushes back. Stakes aren’t hit points but status, access, and who will work with you tomorrow. The game excels in long-form play, but this session spotlights the core loop: scenes framed by goals, conflicts resolved without binary pass/fail, and consequences that reshape what you can credibly do next. We run a short actual play to show that loop in action while Scott lays the groundwork so you can see how it operates. We close with tools you can lift for any RPG: treat social capital as a resource, let player-defined objectives pull content, and use mechanics that reward collaboration while still pricing trade-offs. If the setting or rules feel unintuitive, this episode makes them legible—and immediately useful at your table. Topics discussed: 00:00 Character Creation 16:25 Scene Development 24:00 Initial discussion about “The Brand” 42:30 “The Hand That Feeds You” 70:20 “Party With Dodger” 85:25 “Desperate Search for Attention” 98:50 “Right Place, Right Falafel” 110:55 Endgame 121:00 Reflecting on Freemarket For more on the discussion of System and Style check out our written articles and Scott’s additional thoughts on specific systems on our YouTube channel. For podcasts, articles and more, visit ModernMythology.net

All four hosts join the table as Scott storyguides Trinity Continuum: Æon by Onyx Path, marking the first full-group session in our sci-fi series. We put the Storypath system through its paces, showing how Attributes + Skills shape scene pacing and spotlight moments, while smart resource management heightens tension and demands sharper decision-making. It’s a clear demonstration of our story-meets-mechanics approach—and a preview of the tone and tempo you’ll see in our live-streamed sci-fi campaign launching October 2025. Canon note: for the online campaign, the mission-briefing org is The Directive, not “Aegis,” to align with Trinity canon. For more on the discussion of System and Style check out James' article series, Rules in Practice and Scott’s additional thoughts on specific systems on our YouTube channel. Topics discussed: 00:02:40 A piece of history 00:15:20 Actual Play - What are we doing here? 00:18:15 The crew of the Keres 00:23:20 Karu V 00:27:55 The Away Team 00:56:00 Planetfall 01:21:16 Day 2 - Second Wave 01:42:24 Recap of StoryPath System For podcasts, articles and more, visit ModernMythology.net

Recorded just before Episode 13 (Echoes of the Veil), this session has Scott running Mind the Gap—Emanoel Melo’s compact introduction to CBR+PNK—for James and Sean. The pamphlet delivers a self-contained cyberpunk heist in the Forged-in-the-Dark lineage, offering both a crash course in the system’s flow and a taste of its sharp, high-pressure style. We used it as a baseline for comparison with Raffi’s expanded version in Episode 13, highlighting what the core rules do well, where questions remain, and how the system might evolve when stretched into longer form play. Topics discussed: 00:01:15 Getting started with Characters 00:17:30 Getting started with Play 00:20:35 Car 18 00:21:38 Determine the package 00:23:32 The first thing that happens... 01:08:10 Entering Car 19 01:16:00 The lights turn red 01:19:00 Change direction! 01:23:00 Car 17 01:28:00 Car 16 -- turned around? 01:34:04 The Simulacrum 01:35:14 The bunny is a virus 01:47:46 Deliver to car 12 01:49:52 Denouement -- Crispr doesn't actually have a family, Diz has terminal cancer 01:55:08 Discussion on CBR+PNK and some comparisons with BitD For podcasts, articles and more, visit ModernMythology.net

Jamie and Scott dig into how we’re all wired to find creativity in different ways. This is a critical part of the process. Not only are we talking about how structure drives us all differently but communicating those expectations at the table. We circle back to some ideas we referenced early on and begin our exploration of OSR ideas and GNS. For more on the discussion of System and Style check out James' article series, Rules in Practice and Scott’s additional thoughts on specific systems on our YouTube channel. Topics discussed: 00:00 - Intro 03:54 - Structure vs tyranny of the blank page 05:55 - Fiction First 07:15 - the Social Contract. Matt Colville, Language Not Rules 11:15 - Game Design with Luke Crane & Thor Olavsrud 12:00 - GNS 13:45 - Save the Cat 14:40 - Structure generating creativity vs. restricting creativity 16:40 - Investment in story vs characters 17:35 - Kishōtenketsu 20:25 - Player agendas 21:20 - Verisimilitude in RPGs 25:35 - the fruitful void 25:25 - GM responsibility to contextualize 27:00 - Torchbearer 30:15 - Consequences to feed narrative 31:50 - Play by vibe 34:14 - Relationship of character to story 36:50 - What players bring to the table 42:45 - Not everybody is a creative writer 46:00 - Real life experience + playing well in a rpg 51:45 - LitRPG