Around the Hearth

Love, lust, friendship, strong attachment-- the emotional beats which support drama and play. In this community talk, we consider romance in TTRPGs: running it, playing it, planning it. Drawing on experiences we explore break ups, cool mechanics, the line between system and play, objects of affection, good romance GM moves, and more. This is part of our Open Hearth series of community RPG talks. S...

Ian, José, and special guest Elle discuss the inner worlds of our characters and of ourselves! How do we as players express interiority and why would we want to, anyways. Along the way, there are guilty confessions, moments of uncertainty, and unexpected plot twists. Elle’s work: https://bloodygorgeous.carrd.co/ Find out more about the Open Hearth Gaming Community Our website Support us on Patreon...

In this episode of the Open Hearth Podcast, host Tea talks with a couple of community members about their gaming. This time Amanda ( Sprigs and Kindling ) and Cale discuss things they recently played, cover three RPGs in more depth ( Planet Raygun, Embers of the Void, and A Land Once Magic ), and then the group finishes up with some things they've been digging recently. Links: Amanda Cale:  https:...

In our seventh episode of Roll for Mutation , we look at a game series originally from a Spanish publisher, translated and released in English by Fantasy Flight. We talk about mechanics, how each book is structured, and the presentation of "mid-" and "post-" apocalypse. We then talk about cross-company publication history and Fantasy Flight's swingy history with TTRPGs. Lastly we talk about some m...

In this episode of the Open Hearth Podcast, Lowell (edige23) talks with a pair of community members about their gaming. This time Chrys Sellers ( Defy the Gods ) and Jolene discuss things they recently played, cover three RPGs in more depth ( Raccoon Sky Pirates, the Masks hack Capers, Star Wars Citizen for Mongoose Traveller 2e ), Lowell worries about complexity, and then the group finishes up wi...

Powered by the Apocalypse games still remain a strong force in the indie TTRPG space and heavily represented here on the Open Hearth. For this talk we're going to consider where PbtA has been, where it is now, and where it could go. We'll talk broadly about PbtA as a system and specifically about folks' experience with different PbtA iterations. Lowell has ideas, and he'll be leading this discussi...

In this episode of the Open Hearth Podcast, Lowell (edige23) talks with a couple of community members about their gaming. This time Dominik and Donogh discuss things they recently played, cover three RPGs in more depth ( Paint the Town Red, The Last Caravan, & Midnight of the Century ), Lowell waxes rhapsodic about a recent TPK, and then the group finishes up with some things they've been digg...

Roll for Origin: Supers TTRPG History looks at Aberrant, part of a trilogy of games which defined a major pivot point in the history of White Wolf Publishing. We talk about the game's pitch, how it's predecessor Trinity "isn't" a supers game, and the general system mechanics for Aberrant . We then cover the publication history of the line-- a brief heyday followed by a rapid burnout-- followed by...

In our sixth episode of Roll for Mutation , we talk about one of the greatest modern post-apocalyptic games: Mutant: Year Zero (and the rest of the Mutant line). We talk about mechanics, important since this engine ends up powered a ton of Free League games in various versions. We talk about the publication history, drawing heavily on Magnus Seter's masterful book Outside the Box , and the media s...

In this episode of the Open Hearth Podcast, host Tea talks with a couple of community members about their gaming. This time maiya and Sina discuss things they recently played, cover three RPGs in more depth ( Under Hollow Hills, Raccoon Sky Pirates , and CAIN ), and then the group finishes up with some things they've been digging recently. Links: maiya on the OH Discord Sina is Beatingaroundtheboo...

Ian, José, and special correspondent Danny put the knowledge we've gained from past episodes into practice. We talk about figuring out what you actually like in a game and advocating for it, playing to lift our fellow players, and Danny's 4-step method for iterative improvement through play. Find out more about the Open Hearth Gaming Community Our website - May the 4th is coming soon! Support us o...

Roll for Origin: Supers TTRPG History looks at two closely linked licensed supers games: Smallville and Marvel Heroic . To dig into this pair, Lowell and Jay bring on Rich Rogers ( Hit the Streets: Defend the Block; +1 Forward ) to give his perspectives as a GM and player. We talk about the system mechanics of the two games, including the big differences, the publication history of MWP, the media...

In this episode of the Open Hearth Podcast, host Lowell Francis (edige23) once again talks with a couple of community members about their recent gaming. This time we have veteran community couple Tyler and Patrick. We talk preparations for an upcoming Ars Magica campaign and how it fits with past campaigns, the challenges and joys of long-running story campaigns, and the intersection of current ev...

This episode presents a community talk from back in 2022. It features Rae Nedjadi, David MK, and myself talking about managing and working with playtests. It seemed like a useful thing to get back into the feed, so I've cleaned up the audio for posting. We talk about planning playtests, setting expectations, dealing with feedback, and filtering input. Rae Nedjadi on itch.io Rae Nedjadi on Patreon...

In our fifth episode of Roll for Mutation , we look at two different licensed post-apocalyptic TTRPGs from the 1990s. First, World of Tank Girl , part of West End Games Masterbook series which apparently launched even before the film it was based on hit the theaters. Then we cover Ralph Bakshi's Wizards , based on the eponymous wild animated movie from the 1970s. We talk about what both games do,...

While the Open Hearth Community has often focused on one-shots, two-shots, and monthly short campaigns, there's always the siren call of running a longer series: a quarterly or beyond. In this community talk we're going to talk about "long" campaign best practices, planning, dealing with burnout, and more. Lowell has ideas and he'll be leading this discussion group– relying mostly on the participa...

Ian, José, and special guest Shane explore the space between direct exposition and embodied demonstration during play. How are these two approaches different? What are their best use cases? And how can they, when used well, support each other, the player, and the entire table? Jason Morningstar's great essay, "How to End" - https://www.patreon.com/posts/how-to-end-116645883 Find out more about the...

Roll for Origin: Supers TTRPG History looks all four editions of one of the most important modern supers TTRPGs, Mutants & Masterminds . Jay and Lowell talk about the core elements of the game-- what has remained the same and how the powers system has shifted over time. They then cover the publication history of the game and how each edition rolled out, followed by talk about how M&M has d...

Since almost the beginning, game publishers have supplemented games with pre-generated dungeons, scenarios, and campaigns. Some of these have becomes touchstones among players: Isle of Dread , The Enemy Within, Masks of Nyarlathotep , and beyond. But sometimes you don't want to run that system; would like to swap the scenario over to another genre or setting, or don't want to commit to a two-year...

In our fourth episode of Roll for Mutation , we look at one of the most important post-apocalyptic games, Apocalypse World. We consider both the impact of PbtA and the depiction of "the Apocalypse" in AW-- and how it differs from other contemporary games. Hosts Lowell Francis and Marc Majcher cover the short but rich history of AW and its long tail. We talk about what Apocalypse World is, where it...

What makes a good city in a role-playing game? People, places, factions, rumors? We're going to be talking about that and bringing together your insights. This community discussion ranges widely but includes: tools for building cities, techniques for making cities feel alive, mapping, citybook resources, and more. While we don't follow my outline, you can see my planning doc here .  Find out more...

As the first installment in a series of episodes on improv tools at the gaming table, Ian & José are joined by Karen Twelves, the author of Improv for Gamers , to discuss how players can make and receive meaningful offers in TTRPGs. Timecodes 0:04:37 Pick your Poison 0:24:25 What's an Offer? 0:31:17 Creating Offers and Listening for Them 0:36:53 Formal and Informal Ways to Offer 0:46:30 Offers...

Roll for Origin: Supers TTRPG History looks at two related RPG systems. First Godlike , the World War II supers game that leans into realism and consistency. Second Wild Talents , the evolution of the systems from Godlike which can follow that history or be recast into a generic supers RPG. The hosts look at what both games do, their place in the history of gaming, and the influence of related com...

In this episode host Lowell Francis is joined by Kieron Gillen and Cat Rambo to talk about recent games, plans for future games, current writing projects, and more. Kieron Gillen Newsletter: buttondown.email/KieronGillen/ Comics: bindings.app/shelf/1FLv6kLb Website: www.kierongillen.com @kierongillen.bsky.social on BlueSky Cat Rambo https://www.catrambo.com/ Wayward Wormhole Workshop @catrambo.bsk...

A collection of favorite tabletop RPGs of 2025 from our community members. It's split into three sections, with host picks in-between. 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...