Sword of Symphonies

Five years ago, the immovable Glacier Legion was shattered at the ancient port of Naca. The Swarm burst through the stone gates despite the devotion and effort of the Glacier engineer corps and tore through the line of defenders. Naca had been held by humankind since before the Cataclysm, since old Rhinehold, and now the gallant Archknight Gaius Lucian lay in pieces on the red snow alongside so ma...

For a hundred years in Amylte there have been horrors. Now that Amylte's history sleeps under the mud, the horrors may just be people's best way of learning about their past. A horror's presence says clearly – blood was shed here. There have been deaths here. Somewhere in time there was suffering, right here. The people of Amylte can never forget the wrongs of the past. At least, not without Range...

Let's talk about session prep, GM notes, and other advice for running TTRPGs in general, and Heroic Chord in particular!

One hundred years ago, Amylte was changed forever in the Cataclysm. The melting mountains swallowed the Interior and turned the highlands of Rhimehold into tundra. Off the coast of Rhimehold, the sediment did what sediment does and conjured a labyrinth of ship-destroying shoals - the very shoals the Westbreaker must now navigate. Welcome to Sword of Symphonies. Play along with us! Download the man...

Last night, a lone soldier sat in dim golden lamplight, in the center of a spreading chaos of papers and tools, slowly and gently brushing caked-on earth from the surface of an ancient weapon, clearing the soil of the Veldt from its engraved surface., its seams, and its plated hide. A tuft of dead grass fell to the floor, and a panel was freed.  As soon as it was freed, it began to move. Welc...

One hundred five years ago, a battle raged in the shadow of the Cloudcomb Mountains. People, normal people more or less like us, killed one another, as many others as they could find. To accelerate the deed, they built arms and armor far beyond anything still found in Amylte.  Today, the crew of the Westbreaker is learning exactly what those arms can do. Welcome to Sword of Symphonies. Play a...

We normally talk about history in the past tense, but where does that leave Hrangad? There isn't much of a past tense to explore in a town that still smells of sawdust and pine resin. The arrival of the Westbreaker made history in the infant town; it was in fact the first ship to make port in what would one day be the base of the Aurora Legion First Fleet. Cobb, Tissa, and Penelope are its first v...

The party continues! Vi keeps it together, Miller discovers his true calling, and May swoops in. Welcome to Sword of Symphonies. Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website! Original music by Kathleen~!

Thanks for a wonderful year! To celebrate, the dirtbags are going to a ritzy party. Miller reads the fine print, Vi makes an impression, and Mei knows somebody, sib. Welcome to Sword of Symphonies. Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website! Original music by Kathleen~!

Once upon a time, there was war. People destroyed one another en masse, once upon a time. Sometimes they did it for reasons that seem like they make sense, like survival or revenge. Other times, they did it for reasons that probably made no sense even to people at the time, much less to a modern listener. Amylte is lucky enough to be able to refer to the Age of War as a past era, a relic, a chapte...

A couple of days ago, the Westbreaker pulled into Stageport, and now it is time to pull away again. Such is the way of things. It's time to bid farewell to friends new and old, and take to the sea once more. Farewell, Stageport! Welcome to Sword of Symphonies! Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website! Original music by Kathleen~!

Five years ago, two men came to a small, secluded spot in an abandoned part of Stageport. One, a stranger, had only the clothes on his back. The other, a local, only the urn he rested in. The two were not alone, however; a young woman who had taken it upon herself to protect this part of the town stumbled upon them and watched as the man in the urn was returned to the house he lived in so very lon...

The defeat of the Glacier Legion was absolute and devastating, but we’re not here to talk about that right now. A year after the defeat, two men met in an art gallery, one trying to avoid talking to an old subordinate, and one hoping to find someone to talk to about the beauty in the world. And they did talk. They talked all day. When they parted, they arranged to meet again. And no matter how far...

History is soft. It doesn't take much to leave a deep mark; sometimes these marks come about my sheer chance. One hundred twelve years ago, a predator walked the streets of Stageport. A human predator: the worst kind. Their mark was left, not by their own deeds, thoughts, or feelings, but by the scars they left on others. Those scars, given time, took form. Now, they seek to inflict similar scars...

Five years ago, the Glacier Legion was shattered. The survivors, left directionless in the wastes, were faced with a sort of terrifying freedom; the burden of choosing for themselves what comes next. Their god said little to help. Some joined other legions, choosing to continue the fight for the North. At least one gave up, and went in search of a new front line to preserve. Welcome to Sword of Sy...

Ready for Heroic Chord’s next edition? The zine is live at Peach Garden Games, so check it out!

Five years ago, the Glacier Legion was defeated, its remnants scattered, and found new lives for themselves. Eight years ago, the merchantman Red Lotus put in at Stageport, and left a few crew members lighter. Two years ago, there was a fateful meeting at an art gallery, not far from the docks. Now, because of all of this, Stageport has the Albatross Legion. Their wingspan isn't very broad, and th...

One hundred years ago, the Cloudcomb Mountains crumbled to mud, flooding the interior of Amylte with earth, and burying most signs of human occupation under the Goathome Veldt. They buried the battlefields of the Last War, yes, and the Old Capital too, but also countless farming villages, small towns, and homesteads. The flood stopped short of a ring of cliffs they call Miracle Bluffs today, held...

How do you make a podcast? What is a bus? How does Kathleen get the seagull noises into the podcast? Listen up, listeners, and find out! Next week, it’s back to the story, but for now, learn about the process of turning jerks playing a game into a stirring audio drama!

This week, it's patch notes! It's a playtest, after all; Cat's still working on the game behind the scenes. What changes are coming to Sword of Symphonies next season?

Last summer, a pair of engineers under an unfamiliar Commander made the journey south from the frigid Aurora Fortress to begin work on the prototype that would become the Aurora Legion First Fleet. The prototype passed into new hands as a schematic from the Age of War rose from the seabed. In a sleepy seaside village, it saw a side character become a hero and an orphan become a pirate. From a bay...

Water, be it freshwater or salt, shapes everything it comes into contact with. Over ages, it shapes a species into a fierce maritime predator. Over centuries, it shapes a stony island into a lush beach. Over decades, it shapes a man into a sailor, and a sailor into a Captain. Welcome to Sword of Symphonies. Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our...

Sixty-five years ago, a young man from a place beyond the oceans landed on Amylte. Fifty years ago, his son sailed back across the ocean to discover more about his family. Twenty years ago, that son, now a Captain, picked up a crewman in a quiet town north of Stageport. Over the next fifteen years that crewman learned a great many things from the Captain, from the practical applications of swordsm...

Some days, we hold our legends before us like a lantern, trusting them to illuminate everything uncertain on the road ahead. Some things are not in the stories. We'll discover those things, illuminated or not, when we come across them.  Welcome to Sword of Symphonies. Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website! Original music by Kathlee...

As people sail around the world, they pick up tales like their ships pick up barnacles. When they come out of danger, they bear scars and stories in equal measure, as do their decks. And the heroes of these stories make it around the world – tales of Rum Runner Ramsay, or Captain Redcloak, or Lady Arrowhead make it to every port in Amylte – and even some much further away. But – and please do reme...