Around the Hearth

In this first episode of Roll for Origin: Supers TTRPG History , hosts Jay Brown and Lowell Francis look at Superhero 2044 , arguably the first supers role-playing game. We go over what the game is, its place in the history of gaming, and what was going on in comics media at the time. We then move to general discussion, including what we found weird and what we dug. If you dig this series, please...

Ian & José are joined by Marc Majcher to discuss how we develop & pursue both in- and out-of-character aspirations. What makes a goal, and how can having one drive play? Along the way we talk about how closely we identify with our PC’s, and peer briefly into using techniques from improv theatre to improve our gaming. Timecodes: 0:01:30 Pick Your Poison 0:09:55 Setting character goals 0:18:...

In this episode we talk recent gaming and look at two really interesting projects.  Host Lowell Francis (edige23) is joined community members Amanda Mullins ( iamatrex ) and Chrys Sellers ( Hectic Electron ). We talk Sprigs and Kindling , Defy the Gods , and a hack of Microscope for a Star Wars writers' room. LINKS Sprigs and Kindling Amanda's website The Between: Unsinkable  on the Critshow's you...

Part of the Open Hearth series of seminars, discussions, and workshops. Rich Rogers ( Hit the Streets, +1 Forward ) and Lowell Francis ( Hearts of Wulin, Gauntlet Podcast, Open Hearth Podcas t) talk all things superhero rpgs: challenges, combat, world-building, villainy, solo gaming, and beyond. We’re joined by a group of community members for this discussion/round-table (Jim C, Anders, Rod Santos...

In this podcast, community members join us to talk about their recent gaming and discuss one in depth that they really enjoyed. Host Andrea Rick ( https://plotbunnygames.itch.io/ ) is joined today by Agatha ( https://mightyyshrimp.itch.io/ ) and Wyllora ( https://wyllora.itch.io/ ). Games Discussed Take the Universe Triangle Agency Apocalypse Keys Andrea Rick https://plotbunnygames.com/ https://pl...

Ian and José chat with Agatha Cheng about how we develop narrative arcs for our PCs and the art of calling scenes to illustrate those arcs.  Along the way, we indulge in bad boy tropes and the joys of PC/PC fandom. Agatha’s Work: Game Design + Consultancy: https://agathacheng.carrd.co/ Asians Represent ! Find out more about the Open Hearth Gaming Community Support us on Patreon! Our actual play po...

In this podcast community members join us to talk about their recent gaming and discuss one in depth that they really enjoyed. Host Rae Nedjadi ( https://temporalhiccup.itch.io/ ) is joined today by Mint ( https://mint-rabbit.itch.io/ ) and Casey. Games Discussed Protect the Child Yazeba’s Bed & Breakfast Blades '68 (in Playtest) Also Mentioned There's a RPG for that! The Righteous Gemstones S...

Another in our series of Open Hearth Community talks, this time discussing hacking Powered by the Apocalypse and Forged in the Dark : approaches, challenges, best practices. Host Lowell Francis is joined by Anders, Puckett, Bryan L, Brushman, Amaze, Ethan, Dom, and Cinna . Selected Games Mentioned Adventures on Dungeon Planet Ars Magica   Blades in the Dark   Girl by Moonlight  Good Society  Heart...

In this podcast community members join us to talk about their recent gaming and discuss one in depth that they really enjoyed. Host Fumi is joined today by Jesse (jesseabe) and Mads (madelancholy, https://www.youtube.com/@Madelancholy). Games Discussed Urban Shadows Second Edition The David Web Wanderhome Some Other Games Mentioned Teeth Apocalypse World 2e   Inevitable Books Mentioned Astral Week...

Ian and José welcome their first guest, Gwen Marshall, to talk about how players navigate the character creation process. We discuss our personal approaches to the process, reveal our recurring character “types”, and wonder how characters continue to evolve after Session Zero. Link to Gwen’s work: https://drgwenmarshall.carrd.co/ Contact Ian & José at:
 adifferenthex@gmail.com Open Hearth Gami...

Welcome to our fifth episode! In this podcast community members join us to talk about their recent gaming and discuss one in depth that they really enjoyed. Host Lowell Francis (edige23) is joined today by Sherri and Anders. Final Girl Thousand Year Old Vampire DIE Anders Gabrielsson https://undeshga.itch.io/ Lowell Francis https://youtube.com/@lowellfrancis?si=p_rpzF2RWnNz3WEi https://age-of-rave...

In this inaugural episode, hosts Ian and José introduce the new podcast’s focus on the player perspective in TTRPGs: As players, how do we optimize our own fun, as well as that of our peers? How do we learn to recognize, appreciate, and develop our own individual play styles? How do we embrace our own agency within games and deploy it to support the greater community of players? Contact Ian and Jo...

Welcome to our fourth episode! In this podcast community members join us to talk about their recent gaming and discuss one in depth that they really enjoyed. Host Lowell Francis (edige23) is joined today by Dom and Donogh. Wilderfeast Bump in the Dark Sunken Hearts AP Playlist Rain World Free from the Shadow Character Keeper Free from the Shadow  Play Materials Donogh Mastodon - https://dice.camp/...

Host Lowell Francis (edige23) is joined this episode by community members Jex Thomas and Mike Minutillo to talk about their recent gaming experiences and in-depth discussions about a game they each enjoy. Jex's Links: Bump in the Dark The Last Caravan Urban Shadows 2E The Haunting of Cliff Cove The Girls of Genziana Hotel Last Pine Press on Itch: https://jexjthomas.itch.io/ Last Pine Press on Blue...

Hey! We made it to Episode 2! In this podcast community members join us to talk about their recent gaming and discuss one in depth that they really enjoyed. Host Lowell Francis (edige23) is joined today by Horst and Will H. Horst's Mythic Bastionland Links: https://newschoolrevolution.com/how-i-do-play-by-post/ https://weirdwonder.bearblog.dev/mythic-bastionland/#fn-1 Pbp transcript https://blackc...

Hey! It's the first episode of our long-promised podcast. In this podcast community members join us to talk about their recent gaming and discuss one in depth that they really enjoyed. Host Lowell Francis (edige23) is joined today by Marc Majcher and Jim Crocker. Marc Majcher: https://majcher.itch.io/ Jim Crocker: https://jimlikesgames.itch.io/ (you can also find Jim at StartPlaying ) Lowell Franc...

A collection of favorite tabletop rpgs of 2024 from our community members. It’s split into three sections, with host picks in-between.  To learn more about Open Hearth Gaming Community, check out openhearthgaming.com . Podcast feed: https://aroundthehearth.openhearthgaming.com/ AP Podcast: https://playingatthehearth.openhearthgaming.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@OpenHearthGaming Tumblr: h...

(00:00) - Introduction (07:05) - Using our Playabl Calendar App (19:30) - After Posting Your Session (35:05) - Running Session Zero/One (58:14) - General Topics Talk Outline: https://bit.ly/3UDCye3 This is a talk/seminar about game facilitation, particularly in our Open Hearth Gaming Community. In this single session, I will be walking through the material I usually cover in session one of our Gam...

Rich Rogers ( Hit the Streets, +1 Forward Podcast ) and Lowell Francis ( Hearts of Wulin, the Gauntlet Podcast ) talk NPCs: creating, presenting & working with them. We discuss these ideas with a small GM group-- getting their ideas and suggestions. Links mentioned in episode: Behind the Names   Markov Name Generator Speech Patterns for NPCs  

Open Hearth Gaming's recorded gaming sessions are now available in an audio-only podcast format. For more information, check out Playing at the Hearth at https://playingatthehearth.openhearthgaming.com/ . For more information about Open Hearth Gaming, including how to sign up for games, please visit https://openhearthgaming.com/ . Thanks, everyone, and happy gaming!

This is a talk by Lowell Francis about Legacy: Life Among the Ruins, a PbtA game of post-apocalyptic families and factions. Lowell (@edige23 on most social media) walks through the facets of the game giving advice and insight, with feedback and questions from the seminar participants. Talk Outline Example Character Keeper Sample Map Legacy: System Guide for New Players World Building: Collaborativ...

A community event talking about GMing and playing hard moves, managing costs, and balancing consequences for PbtA, Forged in the Dark , and other storygames.

This is a talk Anders did for the Open Hearth gaming community. It contains a brief overview of the history of the Cortex system, an introduction to the mechanics, a look at example characters from some different Cortex Plus games, a look at the different traits available in Cortex Prime, and some discussion on things to think about when making a Cortex Prime game. The Open Hearth: https://openhea...

A community event talking about the basics of FitD, challenges for play, best practices, interesting mechanics, and new games. Begins with a 30 minute overview, followed by a longer group discussion of folks' experience with and advice for playing Forged in the Dark Games. This is the actual, unedited audio from the discussion. You can see an event outline here For a great look at FitD games, chec...

Members of the Open Hearth Gaming Community submit their favorite games and gaming experiences of 2023 in our year-end special episode. Website: https://openhearthgaming.com/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/openhearthgaming Mastodon: https://dice.camp/@openhearthrpg Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/open-hearth-rpg/ YouTube: https://youtube.com/@OpenHearthGaming Time Codes (00:00) - Opening (01:29)...