Sword of Symphonies

That’s right, our friends at Evil Hat are going to be publishing Rangers of a Broken World, and you can get in on the open playtest by going to Evil Hat's Website

The next project from Cosmos Cameo Studios is live on Kickstarter! We're playing Animon Story, a Pokemon and Digimon inspired game by Zak Barouh.   Join Misha, Syd, and Alexis as they go through the mirror to the mysterious City Spectacular, meet their reflections, and help avert a disaster coming for both worlds!   Support the Kickstarter at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/peachgar...

DId you know that if you squint, I Came Here to Win can be used to play a Halloween party that goes horribly wrong? Original music by Kathleen~! You can find the Heroic Discord here !

In an enormous nest lined with soft tawny feathers, the Prince of This Island sits, knees drawn close to their chest, watching the sea. They close their glassy black eyes and begin to hum, rocking side to side as the sounds of the waves beat a backing track against This Island’s stony beach. It brings back a pleasant memory. “You will come to understand” the Prince repeats out loud. They can’t hel...

“I understand this must be confusing,” says the soft little human in the robe, and the Ambassador in Pearl hates that thought. “It is not.” She moves her head, and she can feel the movement ripple down the cloak of javelins covering her back. Any one of them would end this uncomfortable encounter. “Ah. My apologies for assuming. But, it’s about time you and I discussed the terms of your agreement...

The Emerald Duchess approaches the city of Stageport, surrounded by a flurry of daemons. She takes the first step from the soft grass of the Veldt onto the fabricated stone roads of this gray world. A cloud of poison whirls around her, and her very breath is plague. The sky above her is darkened, and amid the thump of massive wingbeats, the Clocktower Baroness herself descends from the sky to land...

The Ambassador in Pearl stops in her tracks, and her hounds circle in close to her as everything in the clearing becomes still. "There you are. Do you have a moment?” She turns to see a human, one of the ones in the robes that comes to talk to her sometimes. He is small and slow and soft and round at the edges. This one is unarmed, but they aren’t always. Someone else’s daemon follows at his heels...

Does Cat really deserve to rule as Host King? Let’s play the new game Descent in Silver and Glass to find out! Check out Solo But Not Alone here! Journey SRD and Beneath the Wishing Tree here! Mastering by Kathleen - thanks a ton!

I have no idea what happens in this one. I’ve been working hard on stuff for our new network, and so I left them to their own devices and this is what they sent me. Join our Discord! Music by Kathleen!

She is hungry. She is always hungry. Surrounded by a chill mist and the infinite darkness of the southern ocean, she waits, hungry, for her next prey to approach. A ship drifts past her, and faintly, she can hear singing from the deck. For a second, she is no longer hungry, but curious about the sound, compelled to learn more. The Princess of the Southern Isles shakes her head to clear it, ignores...

The ironclad Invincible drifts up Amylte’s coast, casually knocking aside the ice floes that decorate the surface of the ocean this far northeast. The Admiral of the Glacier Legion stands on the deck, looking out over the shoreline, a hot drink in his hands. He can see a glint from the coast. The tundra surrounding a small ancient shrine is no longer bare – now, it is covered in steel grass and fl...

In an abandoned hall half-buried in the Veldt, the emerald Duchess opens her eerie green eyes to the sight of light filtering in through the one window that remains. This is her place, and until now that has always been enough for her. But, this morning, she emerges from the hall and stares out over the world of green that surrounds her, moved by a longing she doesn’t understand. Or rather, by a l...

The Radiant Prince hops off his altar, in the darkness of the shrine called Escape Route of the South Wind, content to be the only light in the stone ruins. His odd little courtiers watch him as they go about their business sweeping up the shrine for him, and all is right with his world. He runs a hand along the carved surface of the shrine’s walls, and a memory startles him, as if waking him from...

This week on Cat’s Cradle, hop in the car with us! We’re joined by Bappy from The Eternity Archives ! We’re going on a roadtrip, and it’s time to answer the eternal gamer question: What should we play? Join our Discord! Music by Kathleen!

The sky over the eastern desert is enormous. Standing on the sacred plateau where the remains of the deilith Benevolent Zhuge are collected, one can see from horizon to horizon, an endless world under an endless sky. The torches that adorn the plateau flicker. Moved by the sight, and terrified by the thought of being moved by the sight, the Chosen Emperor places his face in his hands and begins to...

The moon is full over the Silver River, and for the first time in ages, as the tide recedes, the sound of a flute echoes over the area. One by one, they emerge from the cave, dressed in layers of seawater-soaked silks embroidered with gold. One in violet, one in blue. In teal and green and yellow and orange. Six beauties wade through the ocean to approach the Silver River and the city of Celres, m...

What is the purpose of power? There are countless answers, of course, from countless people, ranging from obvious to esoteric, from benevolent to craven. But for many people, power is its own reason, and they don’t stop to consider why. In Amylte, there are Noble Demons, and there are Horrors, and there is a wild world hostile to humanity. In the face of this, many want power to help others, to pr...

For better or for worse, chaos reigns in Amylte. The gods are asleep, the kings dethroned, the land unruled except by its own nightmares. For better or worse, the age of order in Amylte is over. Nations and institutions melted with the mountains, sunk into the Veldt with the rest of the ruins. People are left deciding on their own how to take care of each other, how to live their lives, and how to...

This week Kathleen did the intro, as is tradition! So, enjoy! Original music by Kathleen~! You can find the Heroic Discord here !

This week on Cat’s Cradle, Cat has finally done their best to write a Golden Sky Stories! It’s called Dragons of Amylte, and it’s a sweet little family-friendly game about being baby shapeshifters and learning new ways to interact with the world. So, Nick and Kathleen agreed to playtest! Join Newt and Rhododendron as they use their very best manners when meeting a new friend. Join our Discord! Mus...

Listener, about two weeks ago I knocked a bowl off my kitchen counter onto the floor, where it shattered. I swore a little, and then set about sweeping up the pieces and safely disposing of them to prevent future injuries. About a week ago, I saw something in the bedroom, stark white against the rug. It was a piece of porcelain, a jagged little blade about the size of a fingernail. I have no idea...

This week on Cat’s Cradle, we talk about levels, gear, abilities, mechanics, and other ways that characters change in a long-term roleplaying game! What does it mean to level up? When should abilities be given, and what kinds of abilities should be gated behind levels? What different ways to players have to expand their play options as a game goes on? How many M&Ms can Nick eat? Join our Disco...

(Content warning: Trauma, trauma responses, claustrophobia) One hundred million years ago, there was a river. Most people can’t conceive of one million, let alone one hundred of them, but it’s true. Back when the mountains of the Coral Coast were proud, jagged peaks and the Cloudcombs weren’t even born yet, there was a river. It wound out of the proud mountains down over the lush plains to the sea...

The thing about organic life is that, while it can be broken, wounded and damaged, it cannot be repaired. We are not bridges, or knives, or clocks. We are not doors or garments or wheels. We can’t be mended, we can only heal, and even then, we hold on to scar tissue both literal and metaphorical as a record of that healing. Like a tree growing over and around a deep gash in its body, we hold on to...

In our chaotic world, everything is changing. Things change in dramatic, explosive, powerful ways. They change in subtle, invisible ways. Every action changes the world, and the world in turn changes us, and makes us look at the world with new eyes and see it changed again. Moment to moment, the world is being reborn. In light of that, what is the purpose of looking back? Welcome to Sword of Symph...