Worldbuild With Us

In this episode, we begin to build out patron James V.'s setting: a planet devastated by the shattered remnants of one of its elemental moons. What powers (and dangers) do these moon shards hold? And what lies within the moons themselves?   Do you have a worldbuilding prompt you want to send to us?  Send us your prompt! Come chat with us on our Discord server: https://discord.gg/SRFhWV3 Subscribe...

This week, a complex listener prompt has us tackling water-based teleportation, which leads to weaponized beverages and a surprising amount of undead and...other things. This could have been a happy episode. Plus: our new (but not really) segment called Help Boomer-Daniel Figure Out What Actor and/or Movie He's Talking About!   Do you have a worldbuilding prompt you want to send to us?  Send us yo...

Ten patron tenets. Two fast-paced worldbuilding sessions. Maximum mayhem. We wanted to do something a little different for our 200th episode, so we asked our patrons for input, and they responded with...chaos. With only one host aware of the contents of these patron-submitted tenets, we embark on randomized rapid-fire setting creation with interesting results. Thank you so much to all of our patro...

It's been quite a while since we've deconstructed and reimagined fantastical creatures in a Monster Mash, so this week we're back at it with guest host C.R. Rowenson! A suspiciously convenient die roll has us exploring one of Clark's picks: the chimera, the lion-goat-snake hybrid of Greek mythology—or in broader terms, a genetically-mixed organism. Tune in to hear how we handle two very different...

This week, another new listener has us venturing onto a post-post-apocalyptic planet that's become tidally locked, with only a narrow ring of habitable territory separating the sun-scorched side from the other half's frozen darkness. Listen in to sail the brackish sea, traverse the rust dunes, and hone your psychic efficiency...and to find out what fun new phobia Rob discovers! P.S. Anyone know ho...

In our first Rob-free regular episode(!), a new listener prompt introduces a world where people have perfect memory of everything they hear, and where those memories persist after death. Courtney and Daniel are joined by guest Jon Parsons to explore this land and its implications: how has this audio-centric species evolved over time? How can they share secrets, if at all? And what's up with those...

This week, we're taking a break from listener prompts to do some good old-fashioned worldbuilding jams. Random dice rolls bring us to lands of hidden identities and noir detectives, so tune in to find out where these settings end up!   Do you have a worldbuilding prompt you want to send to us?  Send us your prompt!   Email us your suggestions at:  WorldbuildWithUs@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter...

In this patron-exclusive Aphid Lounge, Daniel and Courtney are joined by their friend Jon Parsons to chat about how GMs and players can collaborate for better gaming experiences and stronger worldbuilding. We talk everything from session zeroes and social contracts to how GMs can include quiet players and how players can get away with being a crazed serial killer in a party of otherwise good chara...

Where there be dragons, there must be dragon cultists. We put our finishing touches on this now-magic-less post-apocalyptic world with monster petting zoos, beast masters, art rescuers, and the looming threat of fascism...And naturally, some refinements to our Matthew McConaughey/Christian Bale measurement systems (patent pending).   Do you have a worldbuilding prompt you want to send to us?  Send...

Patron Ian of the Undercommon Taste podcast prompts us to build a setting where magic—integral to civilization for hundreds of years—has suddenly disappeared. Tune in to find out how the world has changed in the two months since it lost its magic, where that magic went, how poorly Daniel would fare in a post-apocalypse, how many Christian Bales* can fit into a dragon's mouth, and so much more! *We...

The city is always waiting for you...Our BioShock-but-darker-oh-god-why setting under the sea concludes with deaths of despair and horrors beyond comprehension. And also Miami Vice. Don't mess with toxoplasmosis, kids.   Do you have a worldbuilding prompt you want to send to us?  Send us your prompt!   Email us your suggestions at:  WorldbuildWithUs@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter  @LetsWorldBui...

This week, we start fleshing out an underwater biopunk-decopunk setting courtesy of patron Kaiser, and matters quickly escalate into...well, flesh gardens, for one. Would you kindly listen in? (Note that spoilers for the first BioShock game run rampant!)   Do you have a worldbuilding prompt you want to send to us?  Send us your prompt!   Email us your suggestions at:  WorldbuildWithUs@gmail.com or...

In this episode, a listener's idea for transactional magic leads us into a realm of sacred geometry, singing spellcasters, limited literacy, and of course, a tribute to Oscar-winner Brendan Fraser, star of the 1999 classic The Mummy.   Do you have a worldbuilding prompt you want to send to us?  Send us your prompt!   Email us your suggestions at:  WorldbuildWithUs@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter...

Or, Implications: The Episode. Patron Gluax requested a no-holds-barred gross episode, and Rob, Courtney, and Clark are all too happy to deliver in this extra-long, extra-juicy patron-exclusive Aphid Lounge! We discuss grossness and horror of all varieties and why we're drawn to them, then partake in a deeply unpleasant placenta- and prion-riddled duo of worldbuilding jams, and even talk about per...

Join us as we finalize this horrible gnomish theme park-city, featuring everything from panopticons and princesses to harsh truths and hot dogs (oh no...). Plus: more behind-the-scenes Disney tales!   Do you have a worldbuilding prompt you want to send to us?  Send us your prompt!   Email us your suggestions at:  WorldbuildWithUs@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter  @LetsWorldBuild   Or come chat wi...

What could possibly go wrong in a place where nobody can die? We're answering just such a question courtesy of patron DiploRaptor in the first episode of this two-part series where Death has loosened its grip on a single city! Rob brings the fun, Courtney brings the horror, and a very sleep-deprived Daniel brings...the gnomes. And tales of Disney employment. And questionable financial advice relat...

A listener tasks us with building a post-human world where sentient animals have risen up to create something new...But how can entirely different types of creatures communicate, if at all? Tune in to find out, and hear the adventures of Marvin the Rat-Warrior and his friends as they seek out lost knowledge in a fantasy post-apocalypse!   Do you have a worldbuilding prompt you want to send to us? ...

This episode, we get to sit down with game designer, writer, teacher, and graphic designer Sam Sorensen! We chat about his projects like Seas of Sand and Time After Time, terrain as a source of fantastical adventures, the OSR and its zine scene, Kickstarter's negative impact on TTRPG creators, the ethics of piracy, and plenty more! Check out Sam on... Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeadOfTheGoat Dri...

A listener prompt brings us to a supercontinent of steampunk tech and extreme weather, and we proceed to smash our action figures together to create heaps of DINOs (Dragons in Name Only™) in this brutal yet jubilant world.   Do you have a worldbuilding prompt you want to send to us?  Send us your prompt!   Email us your suggestions at:  WorldbuildWithUs@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter  @LetsWorl...

It's judgment time. We conclude our communist space utopia with restorative justice, metaphorical monsters, the horrors of collectible toys, and facets of THE LAW.   Do you have a worldbuilding prompt you want to send to us?  Send us your prompt!   Email us your suggestions at:  WorldbuildWithUs@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter  @LetsWorldBuild   Or come chat with us  on our Discord server!   Or...

In the latest patron-exclusive Aphid Lounge episode, we expand on our recent longform setting courtesy of ideas from some of our patrons! We talk about how to use this bustling den of vice in other genres and worlds, go deeper into topics such as culture, ruins, and housing, and create new and uplifting landmarks like a tower of corpses and an ever-dying angel. Happy Valentine's Day! 💕 You can un...

Step aboard the public rail and hail our AI overlord! A prompt from patron Commissar Whiskers takes us to an egalitarian utopia—but is it really as good as it seems on the surface?...  (Spoilers: yes, yes it is.)   Do you have a worldbuilding prompt you want to send to us?  Send us your prompt!   Email us your suggestions at:  WorldbuildWithUs@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter  @LetsWorldBuild   O...

For our final episode of this series, we discuss apocalypse(s), demonic possession, and noir detective plotlines. Will you be the Mystery, the Investigator, or the...Other One?   Do you have a worldbuilding prompt you want to send to us?  Send us your prompt!   Email us your suggestions at:  WorldbuildWithUs@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter  @LetsWorldBuild   Or come chat with us  on our Discord...

This episode, we're taking a brief break from our longform series, and we're joined by C.R. Rowenson for a listener's alternate version of mythological Greece. Tune in for blood volcanoes, godly bodily fluids, imprisoned titans, and so much more! Check out Clark at https://crrowenson.com and on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@themagicengineer5314   Do you have a worldbuilding prompt you want t...

In week three of our four-part series, we're focusing on factions, which unsurprisingly lead to grand conspiracies of both earthly and cosmic varieties. Can you hear the stars calling from above?   Do you have a worldbuilding prompt you want to send to us?  Send us your prompt!   Email us your suggestions at:  WorldbuildWithUs@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter  @LetsWorldBuild   Or come chat with...