Note: we had some audio issues with this recording (apologies)! In our third episode of Roll for Mutation, a look at the history of Post-Apocalyptic TTRPGs, we bow in abject obeisance Friend Computer and the incomparably perfect TTRPG Paranoia from West End Games and then Mongoose. We consider the different editions and how we live in a phenomenal time which sometimes necessitates updating. But of course it never actually changed, since the Computer tells us that it has always been that way. Hosts Lowell Francis and Marc Majcher cover the extended history of the game and how it desperately raced to keep itself contemporary. We talk about what Paranoia is, where it fits in gaming history, our split experience playing it, and our general thoughts about the game.
References
Paranoia on Wikipedia
Paranoia on RPG Geek
RPGNet Interview with James Wallis, Grant Howitt & Paul Dean
The Toothpaste Disaster
Designers & Dragons Volume 2 The 1980s
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
00:00 Introduction: Paranoia
00:45 What is it?
09:28 Gaming History
21:10 The Media Context
28:47 Our Thoughts
Content Advisory: character death, ritual sacrifice
Ian & José are joined by Wyllora to explore what it means to fail in an RPG, and why we might want to do it on purpose. How do we define "success" in games, and what are the ways we can step outside that limit with agency?
Wyllora’s Work:
Art - https://www.artstation.com/wyllora
Game Design - https://wyllora.itch.io/
Triangle Agency Holiday-themed Game Jam! - https://itch.io/jam/time-and-a-half
Find out more about the Open Hearth Gaming Community
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Our actual play podcast can be found here
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Mastodon: @openhearthrpg@dice.camp
Our info:
email: adifferenthex@gmail.com
music: https://lloydeaves.bandcamp.com/album/a-different-kind-of-hex
Lets talk widescreen, big idea sci-fi. Games of space fleets, interstellar empires, sometimes aliens-- big ideas and lasers. Games like Star Trek Adventures, Traveller, Fading Suns, Space Wyrm vs Moonicorn, Dune, Coriolis, Scum & Villainy, Ashen Stars, Star Wars, Last Fleet, and the like. Talking Space Opera is another in our series of community discussions. It looks at sci-fi gaming and this tent-pole sub-genre. Our discussion ranges widely but includes: What is Space Opera, Space Combat, Aliens, Space Travel, Making Characters Not Feel Small in a Big Universe, Collaborative Building, and more.
Selected Games Mentioned
Once More into the Void
Cluster
Rust Hulks
Fellowship
Starscape
Storm Furies
Rebel Few
Tachyon Squadron
Superbandit
Stars Without Number
Golgotha
Through the Void
Uncharted Worlds
Recommended Reading: Colonialism and the Emergence of Science Fiction
Find out more about the Open Hearth Gaming Community
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Our actual play podcast can be found here
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Roll for Origin: Supers TTRPG History jumps forward significantly in time to just after the d20 boom/bust cycle. Today's focus is Ross Payton's independently produced and Kickstarted Base Raiders. They go over what the game is, its place in the history of gaming, and what was going on in comics media at the time. They then move to general discussion, including what what's weird and what they dug. We talk a little about how you might adapt this elsewhere and its place in the history of Fate.
If you dig this series, please rate, review, and subscribe.
Jay's the author of By Aecer’s Light, The Clockwinders for Fate, Cortex Prime's Supers, and a contributing author on Pathfinder’s Mwangi Expanse, Trophy Gold, Hit the Streets: Defend the Block, and the upcoming Lifted: Indomitable RPG, a supers game about everyday folks with extraordinary powers in a tech-aggressive world.
Check out Mad Jay's work at Play.Fearless and at the Diceology Podcast.
Lowell 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
00:00 Intro
00:58 The Pitch
05:11 Gaming History
08:12 Comics & Media History
12:09 Thoughts
In our second episode of Roll for Mutation, a look at the history of Post-Apocalyptic TTRPGs, we tackle Twilight 2000 from GDW, focusing on those original editions but with some discussion of Twilight 2013 and Twilight 2K. Hosts Lowell Francis and Marc Majcher cover the extended history of the game and how it desperately raced to keep itself contemporary. We talk about what Twilight 2000 is, where it fits in gaming history, why there used to be a "Men's Adventure" section in bookstores, and our general thoughts about the game.
References
Twilight 2000 on Wikipedia
Twilight 2000 on RPG Geek
Grognardia on Twilight 2000, Merc 2000
RPGNet Review of Twilight 2013
Designers & Dragons Volume 1 The 1970s
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 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
00:00 Introduction: Twilight 2000
01:43 What is it?
08:34 Gaming History
16:46 The Media Context
21:44 Our Thoughts
What's the game you've wanted to get to the table but haven't been able to? What's the campaign premise you've considered but don't know how to make it work? What's the rpg that just couldn't actually function if you tried to run it online? What's the wild concept that you know would crash-out but it amuses you just the same?
In this group chat for our Shared Hearth Open Gaming Con, community members talk about the ones that got away and the ones they're fearful of pursuing. We talk about a ton of different games including: Mage, Hearts of Wulin, Slugblaster, Good Society, Legacy: Life Among the Ruins, Scarred Lands, Mountain Home, and many more. A great discussion thread on our Discord inspired this conversation.
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
This week we present a bonus episode for both Roll for Origin & Roll for Mutation. Lowell chats with Pedro Barrenechea, lead designer for Rotted Capes 2nd Edition, a post-apocalyptic game of superheroes. They chat early game experiences, how the first edition came about, revising the rules, and more.
Rotted Capes 2e Backerkit Sign Up
Rotted Capes 1e on DTRPG
Pedro aka StatMonkey on Bluesky
Find out more about the Open Hearth Gaming Community
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Our actual play podcast can be found here
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Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/openhearthrpg
Mastodon: @openhearthrpg@dice.camp
For this episode we've cleaned up the audio from an older community seminar on running one-shots. Like several of our other "Talking" episodes, this has Lowell Francis giving a talk, mixed in with questions from the chat and a Q&A at the end. We cover pacing, set up, safety, problem players, structure, and more.
You can check out the outline for the talk here.
Other Resources:
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
In this episode Host Lowell Francis talks with Becky Annison and Josh Fox of Black Armada games about what they've been playing, herbal witches, the final frontier, their Kickstarter for Ex Tenebris, and much more.
Black Armada Games
Black Armada on itch
Josh Bluesky: @armadajosh.bsky.social
Becky Bluesky: @beckyannison.bsky.social
Wise Women
Rapscallion
Star Trek Adventures 2e
Secrets of the Silent Witch
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
01:45 Josh & Ex Tenebris
16:25 Becky & Wise Women
25:02 Lowell & Star Trek Adventures 2e
36:26 Giving Me Life
Content Advisory: colonialism & imperialism; sexual violence in a horror/vampire context; death of loved ones, including miscarriage; excessive immersion; grief & bleakness.
Mads joins Ian & José to talk about the relationship between player & character, the Magic Circle that divides them, and how experience can Bleed through from one to the other. Along the way we discuss some of the pitfalls of immersive gameplay, how to dial up or down that immersion, ways to stem the Bleed once it’s already started - and, of course, vampires!
Mads’ Work!!
Youtube
Itch
Sprigs & Kindling Vol. 2
Find out more about the Open Hearth Gaming Community
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Our actual play podcast can be found here
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Mastodon: @openhearthrpg@dice.camp
Our info:
email: adifferenthex@gmail.com
music: https://lloydeaves.bandcamp.com/album/a-different-kind-of-hex
Roll for Origin: Supers TTRPG History returns to one of the earliest and most important superhero ttrpgs: Champions. Hosts Jay Brown and Lowell Francis talk about a game which is near and dear to their hearts-- both having played these editions extensively. They go over what the game is, its place in the history of gaming, and what was going on in comics media at the time. They then move to general discussion, including what what's weird and what they dug. This episode focuses just on the earliest editions-- prior to the release of the Champions 4th Edition, the "Big Blue Book."
If you dig this series, please rate, review, and subscribe.
Jay's the author of By Aecer’s Light, The Clockwinders for Fate, Cortex Prime's Supers, and a contributing author on Pathfinder’s Mwangi Expanse, Trophy Gold, Hit the Streets: Defend the Block, and the upcoming Lifted: Indomitable RPG, a supers game about everyday folks with extraordinary powers in a tech-aggressive world.
Check out Mad Jay's work at Play.Fearless and at the Diceology Podcast.
Lowell 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
00:00 Intro
00:58 The Pitch
07:00 Gaming History
17:46 Comics & Media History
20:00 Thoughts
In this episode Host Rae Nedjadi (Apocalypse Keys, Once More into the Void) talks with Sebastian Yūe and Matthew Arcilla about games, superheroes, villainy, gender, and much more. They look at Evil Hat's forthcoming ttrpg, a classic from White Wolf, and a more modern take on heroism (which is apparently getting a second edition). Content warning for second segment: mention of sexual assault in a short story.
Rangers of a Broken World (aka Heroic Chord)
Aberrant
Masks: A New Generation
Never Whistle at Night
Burn It Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood
Rules, retcons, and rightsholders: The tough road for superhero RPGs
Sebastian can be found at: sebastianyue.ca, sebastianyue @itch and bsky.social
Sign up for SHIFT here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shiftrpg/shift-rpg
Hit Point Press: https://hitpointpress.com/
Matthew can be found here: experimentego.bsky.social
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
02:55 Rangers of a Broken World
14:58 Aberrant
26:35 Masks: A New Generation
46:50 Giving Me Life
In this "bonusode*" for Roll for Mutation: Post-Apocalyptic TTRPG History, we talk with Wil Hutton aka Rivetgeek, lead developer for Tribes in the Dark. TitD reworks and re-imagines Tribe 8, Dream Pod 9's fantastical post-apocalyptic rpg from the late 1990s. This new version adapts the Forged in the Dark mechanics to this game of tribes, outcasts, and prophecy.
Tribes in the Dark is Kickstarting through September 14 2025.
Tribe 8 on Wikipedia
Tribe 8 on DTRPG
Tribe 8 on RPGGeek
Wil on Bluesky @rivetgeek.aggregatecognizance.com
*term borrowed from the Ranged Touch podcast...
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
First episode of Roll for Mutation, a new series looking at the history of Post-Apocalyptic TTRPGs. In this one hosts Lowell Francis and Marc Majcher cover the extended history of Gamma World, with a focus on the first two editions (of many). We talk about what Gamma World is, where it fits in gaming history, what the media context is like, and our general thoughts about the game. Roll for Mutation won't be covering things chronologically, but we do hope to hit the "tentpole" games in the genre early.
References
Gamma World on Wikipedia
Gamma World on RPG Geek
Grognardia on Gamma World
Grognardia on Gamma World 2e
Designers & Dragons Volume 1 The 1970s
Game Wizards
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 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
00:00 Introduction: Gamma World
02:05 What is it?
10:10 Gaming History
19:12 The Media Context
25:30 Our Thoughts
Lowell Francis provides a short introduction to the Open Hearth Gaming Community: what we are, what we do, how you can join, and how you can support what we do.
Contact Us: openhearthgamingcommunity@gmail.com
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
00:52 What is Open Hearth
04:07 Joining Us
07:36 Signing Up For Games
14:20 What Happens When You Sign Up
17:03 What to Expect from Play
19:38 Getting Into Sessions
21:37 Running Games
23:25 Play Issues
26:53 Open Hearth Projects and Events
34:06 How to Support Us
This is the edited version of an older seminar by Lowell Francis talking about planning and running TTRPG mysteries. It's about 50 minutes of talk followed by a Q&A. Lowell talks about his approach and best practices for running mysteries in rpgs. Topics include:
...and more.
See here for an outline of the talk
Lowell 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
This time Roll for Origin: Supers TTRPG History jumps forward in time to the mid-1990s. Hosts Jay Brown and Lowell Francis look at Underground (1993), Mayfair's attempt to build on the DC Heroes system with a dystopian, cyberpunk supers setting. Content warning: cannibalism, PTSD, transphobia, regressive treatment of disabilities and mental illness. 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 rate, review, and subscribe.
Jay's the author of By Aecer’s Light, The Clockwinders for Fate, Cortex Prime's Supers, and a contributing author on Pathfinder’s Mwangi Expanse, Trophy Gold, Hit the Streets: Defend the Block, and the upcoming Lifted: Indomitable RPG, a supers game about everyday folks with extraordinary powers in a tech-aggressive world.
Check out Mad Jay's work at Play.Fearless and at the Diceology Podcast.
Lowell 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
00:00 Intro
00:25 The Pitch
03:35 Gaming History
11:40 Comics & Media History
15:42 Thoughts
In the inaugural episode of Fireside Chat with Agatha, Agatha is joined by Lowell Francis, Community Manager for the Open Hearth and designer of Hearts of Wulin, to talk game design. Listen as Agatha pushes Lowell for more stuff for HoW and beyond!
Agatha Cheng is the Co-Creator and Co-Host of the Asians Represent! and The Game Design Game Show podcasts
She works as a Cultural Consultant for content on Chinese history and mythology + the Chinese diaspora and Taiwan
She is the designer of Deadly Society
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 check out all of Lowell's actual plays on YouTube. You can find Hearts of Wulin and more 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
In this episode we cover a wide range of games old and new. Host Lowell Francis is joined by Rich Rogers (+1 Forward, Hit the Streets) and Jay Brown (Diceology, Life: Indomitable).
Smallville
Flying Circus
Blackout
Mythomorphosis
Spooky Asian Club
Just King Things
Find Rich Rogers' Hit the Streets here
+1 Forward Podcast Archives
Jay's the author of By Aecer’s Light, The Clockwinders for Fate, Cortex Prime's Supers, and a contributing author on Pathfinder’s Mwangi Expanse, Trophy Gold, Hit the Streets: Defend the Block, and the upcoming Lifted: Indomitable RPG, a supers game about everyday folks with extraordinary powers in a tech-aggressive world.
Check out Mad Jay's work at Play.Fearless and at the Diceology Podcast.
Lowell 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 check out all of Lowell's actual plays on YouTube. You can find Hearts of Wulin and more 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
00:00 Introduction
01:15 Rich and Smallville
16:14 Jay and Flying Circus
32:45 Lowell and Mythomorphosis
44:45 Giving Me Life
Be sure to check out the Hearts of Wulin Bundle of Holding running through Wednesday July 23rd, 2025.
This is an edited and cleaned up version of a talk Lowell Francis, designer and co-writer on Hearts of Wulin, gave talking about moves, NPCs, set ups, and other topics in this game of wuxia melodrama. It is split between presentation and audience Q&A. This is part of the Open Hearth series of seminars, discussions, and workshops.
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