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Around the Hearth

Open Hearth Gaming Community
Around the Hearth
Latest episode

73 episodes

  • Around the Hearth

    Open Hearth Podcast Ep 20: Planet Raygun, Embers of the Void, A Land Once Magic

    25/06/2026 | 33 mins.
    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://vengefulpickle.com/
    https://warboard.vengefulpickle.com/

    Games discussed: 
    Planet Raygun (in development)
    Embers Of the Void (in development)
    A Land Once Magic

    Games mentioned:
    Pirate Borg by Limithon
    MÖRK BORG 
    Starhold: a Space-Themed Survival Horror TTRPG 
    A Fool’s Errand by j strautman and b marsolier
    Trophy: Ruin
    Once More into the Void
    Band-Aids & Bullet Holes
    Thirsty Sword Lesbians
    The King is Dead
    Uneasy Lies the Head
    The Last Caravan
    The Emperor is Undead 
    Fomoria
    Fearful Symmetries
    Cairn
    Armor Astir Advent
    MF0: Firebrands 
    D&D
    The Between 
    Stonetop
    Quiet Year/The Deep Forest
    Exquisite Biome
    Microscope: Chronicle 
    Pull Over, I Need to Pee
    For the Queen
    Agon
    Blades in the Dark

    Help Rae Recover Links 
    Support or donate at https://patreon.com/swordqueengames or https://ko-fi.com/matthewarcilla
    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    

    00:00 Introduction
    06:27 Amanda & Planet Raygun (in development)
    12:29 Cale & Embers Of the Void (in development)
    18:43 Tea & A Land Once Magic
    26:31 Giving Me Life
  • Around the Hearth

    Roll for Mutation: Post-Apocalyptic TTRPG History: Ep. 7 The End of the World

    18/06/2026 | 48 mins.
    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 media touchstones, the five scenarios in each book, and our thoughts and impressions of this line-- including our favorite concepts.
    References
    Edge Entertainment
    Edge Studio (where the FF RPGs went)
    The End of the World: Alien Invasion
    The End of the World: Revolt of the Machines
    The End of the World: Wrath of the Gods
    The End of the World: Zombie Apocalypse
    Our Last Best Hope

    Help Rae Recover Links
    Support or donate at https://patreon.com/swordqueengames or https://ko-fi.com/matthewarcilla

    For other shows like this, check out Roll for Origin: Supers TTRPG History.
    Marc Majcher is an award-winning game designer, performer, educator, director, woodworker, writer, and all-around goblin-man recently relocated from Austin, Texas to East Lansing, Michigan. You can find their RPGs and LARPs inspired by the works of Philip K. Dick, a bird apocalypse, eldritch startup cults, viral videos, and much, much more at https://majcher.itch.io/ and everything else at https://majcher.com/.
    Lowell Francis is the designer and co-author of Hearts of Wulin. He's the ENnie-winning creator of the Age of Ravens blog and community manager for the Open Hearth Gaming Community.
    You can find Lowell's work on YouTube, on Itch.io, and on DriveThruRPG.
    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
    Music: Here Comes the Night Karl Casey @White Bat Audio
    Chapters
    00:00 Introduction
    01:09 Premise and Mechanics
    07:55 Publication History
    13:19 Media Sources
    17:20 Apocalyptic Scenarios
    24:19 Thoughts and Impressions
  • Around the Hearth

    Open Hearth Podcast Ep 19: Raccoon Sky Pirates, Capers, Traveller

    11/06/2026 | 45 mins.
    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 with some things they've been digging recently.
    Links:
    RSP Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hecticelectron/raccoon-sky-pirates-total-chaos-edition 
    Chrys Central: https://hecticelectron.com 
    Itch: https://hecticelectron.itch.io/ 
    Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hecticelectron.bsky.social 
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hecticelectron/ 
    Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hecticelectron 
    Stag Dance: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/708446/stag-dance-by-torrey-peters/
    Capers (Masks Hack): https://www.reddit.com/r/PBtA/comments/due766/masksvillainous_hack_capers_improved_pdf_files/?rdt=45538
    War Rocket Ajax: https://zencastr.com/War-Rocket-Ajax
    Star Wars Citizen (Traveller hack): https://www.reddit.com/r/traveller/comments/1ezh01l/beta_release_full_conversion_guide_for_star_wars/
    Help Rae Recover Links 
    Support or donate at https://patreon.com/swordqueengames or https://ko-fi.com/matthewarcilla
    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    

    00:00 Introduction
    01:50 Chrys & Raccoon Sky Pirates
    11:05 Jolene & Capers (Masks)
    24:52 Lowell & Star Wars Citizen (Traveller)
    36:30 Giving Me Life
  • Around the Hearth

    Talking PbtA

    04/06/2026 | 1h 12 mins.
    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 discussion group– relying mostly on the participation of folks who join us and desperately filling dead air in between points. This is part of our Open Hearth series of community RPG talks.
    Selected Links
    Ryne
    Stonetop
    Rapscallion
    Masks
    Urban Shadows
    Pasión de las Pasiones
    Vale of the Failed and the Fallen
    Escape from Dino Island
    Apocalypse World 3e
    Under Hollow Hills
    Armour Astir: Advent
    Hearts of Wulin
    The Cluster
    Help Rae Recover Links 
    Support or donate at https://patreon.com/swordqueengames or https://ko-fi.com/matthewarcilla

    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
  • Around the Hearth

    Open Hearth Podcast Ep 18: Paint the Town Red, The Last Caravan, & Midnight of the Century

    28/05/2026 | 46 mins.
    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 digging recently.
    Links:
    https://dice.camp/@donogh
    https://rpggeek.com/geeklist/370389/2026-rpgg-challenge-play-five-rpgs-you-have-never
    https://www.reddit.com/user/DonoghMC/comments/
    https://donogh.itch.io/ 

    Help Rae Recover Links 
    Support or donate at https://patreon.com/swordqueengames or https://ko-fi.com/matthewarcilla
    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    

    00:00 Introduction
    01:13 Dominik & Paint the Town Red
    12:29 Donogh & The Last Caravan
    26:02 Lowell & Midnight of the Century
    38:42 Giving Me Life
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About Around the Hearth
Around the Hearth features discussion on a wide range of topics relevant to tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs) featuring members of the Open Hearth Gaming Community. We talk games, gameplay, design, and the games being played at the Open Hearth Gaming Calendar. Our online games are free and open to all! If you'd like to join the fun, visit openhearthgaming.com for more information.
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