Around the Hearth – Details, episodes & analysis

A collection of favorite tabletop rpgs of 2024 from our community members. It’s split into three sections, with host picks in-between. 

To learn more about Open Hearth Gaming Community, check out openhearthgaming.com.

Podcast feed: https://aroundthehearth.openhearthgaming.com/

AP Podcast: https://playingatthehearth.openhearthgaming.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@OpenHearthGaming

Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/open-hearth-rpg

Bluesky: @openhearthrpg.bsky.social

Mastodon: https://dice.camp/@openhearthrpg

You can join us on Discord: https://discord.gg/kpfcuCFzzM

A Complicated Profession

Against Time and Death

Alien Dark

Band of Blades

The Between

Blades in the Dark

Cairn 2E

Deathmatch Island

DIE

Fearful Symmetries

Fellowship 2nd edition

Girl by Moonlight

Godbound

Godkiller

Good Society

Hearts of Wulin

The Hunted

Inevitable

Lady Blackbird

Last Fleet

Mecha Hack

Monster of the Week

Mountainhome

Mythic Bastionland

Numberless Secrets

Our Traveling Home

Pasión de Las Pasiones

Saltfish & Almanacs

The Slow Knife

Slugblaster

Sunken Hearts (aka Hearts of Yokai)

Swoop Gangs

Tomb Raider

Wanderhome

Wildsea

Wise Women

Yazeba's Bed & Breakfast

Your Abuser is Dead

Rich Rogers (Hit the Streets, +1 Forward Podcast) and Lowell Francis (Hearts of Wulin, the Gauntlet Podcast) talk NPCs: creating, presenting & working with them. We discuss these ideas with a small GM group-- getting their ideas and suggestions.

Links mentioned in episode:
Behind the Names 
Markov Name Generator
Speech Patterns for NPCs 

Open Hearth Gaming's recorded gaming sessions are now available in an audio-only podcast format. For more information, check out Playing at the Hearth at https://playingatthehearth.openhearthgaming.com/.

For more information about Open Hearth Gaming, including how to sign up for games, please visit https://openhearthgaming.com/.

Thanks, everyone, and happy gaming!

This is a talk by Lowell Francis about Legacy: Life Among the Ruins, a PbtA game of post-apocalyptic families and factions. Lowell (@edige23 on most social media) walks through the facets of the game giving advice and insight, with feedback and questions from the seminar participants.

Talk Outline
Example Character Keeper
Sample Map
Legacy: System Guide for New Players
World Building: Collaborative Maps

You can check us out on Patreon, YouTube, or our website. 

A community event talking about GMing and playing hard moves, managing costs, and balancing consequences for PbtA, Forged in the Dark, and other storygames.

A community event talking about the basics of FitD, challenges for play, best practices, interesting mechanics, and new games. Begins with a 30 minute overview, followed by a longer group discussion of folks' experience with and advice for playing Forged in the Dark Games. This is the actual, unedited audio from the discussion.

You can see an event outline here

For a great look at FitD games, check out the +1 Forward podcast summer series on several of these games. 

Members of the Open Hearth Gaming Community submit their favorite games and gaming experiences of 2023 in our year-end special episode.

Website: https://openhearthgaming.com/

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/openhearthgaming

Mastodon: https://dice.camp/@openhearthrpg

Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/open-hearth-rpg/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@OpenHearthGaming

Time Codes

• (00:00) - Opening
• (01:29) - Rob Abrazado
• (02:15) - Ian Mitchell
• (05:35) - José
• (07:50) - Matt
• (11:14) - Donogh
• (13:08) - Ethan Harvey
• (14:39) - Anya
• (17:20) - Horst
• (19:45) - Mike M
• (22:55) - Chaotic
• (23:30) - machinic
• (24:55) - Rich Rogers
• (28:16) - Tyler Lominack
• (29:25) - WillH
• (32:53) - Mark W
• (33:45) - Anders
• (34:50) - Alun
• (37:45) - Kpop&RPGs
• (40:16) - Shane
• (43:28) - Harper
• (45:40) - Lowell and Sherri
• (59:55) - Casey T
• (01:01:48) - Stevie P
• (01:03:24) - David MK
• (01:04:52) - Gerrit
• (01:06:46) - Mike Ferdinando
• (01:10:45) - David S
• (01:13:42) - Sabine
• (01:16:18) - Dan Brown
• (01:18:40) - Mads
• (01:21:58) - Thomas
• (01:24:06) - Closing

Games Mentioned (a partial list)

Arcane Crimes Division
Back Again from the Broken Land
Be Seeing You
Bluebeard's Bride
Bump in the Dark
Court of Blades
Cthulhu Dark
CY_BORG
Demigods
Demon Hunters
Don't Kill a Bird with a Baseball
Eating Oranges Under the Shower
Fall of Magic
Fathom
Fearful Symmetries
Forbidden Lands
Free from the Shadows
Galaxies in Peril
Girl by Moonlight
Good Society
Hearts of Camelot
Hearts of Wulin
Hearts of Yokai
Hit the Streets: Defend the Block
Infinite Galaxies
Long Time Listener, Last Time Caller
Lord Why Have You Forsaken Me
Masks: A New Generation
Mobile Frame Zero: Firebrands
Monster of Week
Monsterhearts
Mothership
Mountain Home
Mutants in the Night
Mythic Bastionland
Nahual
Numberless Secrets: Hearts of Wulin
Old-School Essentials
Pasión de las Pasiones
Public Access
Solar Blades and Cosmic Spells
Speed Rune
Star Trek Adventures
The Between
The Policy of Truth
Thursday
Trail of Cthulhu
Trollbabe
Trophy Dark
Trophy Gold
Wickedness
Yazeba's Bed & Breakfast

Note: affiliate links to DriveThruRPG Releases

Hey! We made it to Episode 2! In this podcast community members join us to talk about their recent gaming and discuss one in depth that they really enjoyed. Host Lowell Francis (edige23) is joined today by Horst and Will H.

Horst's Mythic Bastionland Links:
https://newschoolrevolution.com/how-i-do-play-by-post/

https://weirdwonder.bearblog.dev/mythic-bastionland/#fn-1
Pbp transcript https://blackcitygauntlet.blogspot.com/search/label/pbp

Red Markets 2e Beta: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/509226/red-markets-2nd-edition-beta-playtest

Lowell Francis: https://age-of-ravens-games.itch.io/

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
Mastadon: @openhearthrpg@dice.camp 

Chapters
00:00 Introduction
00:55 Horst & Mythic Bastionland
18:08 Will H & Red Markets 2e
32:43 Lowell & Kingdom 2e
45:28 Giving Me Life

Hey! It's the first episode of our long-promised podcast. In this podcast community members join us to talk about their recent gaming and discuss one in depth that they really enjoyed. Host Lowell Francis (edige23) is joined today by Marc Majcher and Jim Crocker.

Marc Majcher: https://majcher.itch.io/
Jim Crocker: https://jimlikesgames.itch.io/
(you can also find Jim at StartPlaying)
Lowell Francis: https://age-of-ravens-games.itch.io/

Community Radio: https://thoughtcrimegames.itch.io/community-radio
UVG: https://wizardthieffighter.itch.io/ultraviolet-grasslands-and-the-black-city-uvg

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 
Mastadon: @openhearthrpg@dice.camp

00:00 Intro 
01:40 Marc Majcher 
15:17 Jim Crocker 
31:47 Lowell 
44:49 Giving Me Life

Host Lowell Francis (edige23) is joined this episode by community members Jex Thomas and Mike Minutillo to talk about their recent gaming experiences and in-depth discussions about a game they each enjoy.

Jex's Links:
Bump in the Dark
The Last Caravan
Urban Shadows 2E
The Haunting of Cliff Cove
The Girls of Genziana Hotel
Last Pine Press on Itch: https://jexjthomas.itch.io/
Last Pine Press on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/lastpinepress.com

Mike's Links:
A Warning to the Curious

SUPER BANDIT

CryptidTV

Pasión de las Pasiones
Lovecraftesque 2E

Lowell Francis: https://age-of-ravens-games.itch.io/

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
Mastadon: @openhearthrpg@dice.camp

Chapters

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (01:10) - Jex & The Girls of the Genziana Hotel
• (13:18) - Mike & Lovecraftesque
• (30:28) - Lowell & Sword Opera
• (43:44) - Giving Me Life