Explore every episode of the podcast The Smiling Fox

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	Title	Pub. Date	Duration
	Ep 11 - Road to Bastion	28 sept. 2026	01:38:38
Mythic Bastionland was created by Chris McDowall https://bastionlandpress.com/products/mythic-bastionland-hardback-book-plus-pdf Our intro music is "Medieval" by Ptibec https://openverse.org/audio/1f62fd74-2742-45de-b6eb-79f9dbbddb3a and is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. Our outro music is "The New Age" by Jesse. Mixed by Jesse from https://beardmancerbungalow.blot.im/. Timings: 00:00 Intro 01:03 Teaching / games crossover 02:34 Getting to the good stuff 05:12 The bone magnet saga 06:46 Leveling up 08:52 Early game designs 10:58 🎲 A Wanderer's Romance 13:50 Wanderer's code, knight's oath 14:46 100 Burdens 16:55 Playtesting 18:25 Breaking the oath 21:30 Extending the oath 22:10 🎲 Into the Odd (and Google+) 25:59 Imagined versions of games 27:57 Hacks of Into the Odd and Mythic 33:10 Writing myths 36:26 Random or selected myths 37:39 Adding to the stew 40:55 🎲 Electric Bastionland 43:50 Classes in Mythic Bastionland 45:30 Spark tables 46:34 The hex crawl 50:55 Why twelve? 52:27 🎲 Ask the stars 53:46 The first attempt at Intergalactic 54:42 The living stars 57:46 What is a Bastionland game? 01:00:04 FKR 01:01:52 🎲 Blighters 01:03:56 Lonely space to the big ship 01:07:12 🎲 The Doomed and MAC Attack 01:11:43 Evolution of Gambits 01:17:58 Bonus dice 01:20:35 Future expansions? 01:21:48 Mythic blog posts 01:24:44 (Unanswered) FAQ 01:27:41 No Romans, no roads 01:30:47 🎲 Intergalactic Bastionland 01:37:45 Outro Discussed on the show: Into the Odd, Electric Bastionland, Mythic Bastionland: https://www.bastionland.com/ gg no re playing Deep Carbon Observatory (and killing the Giant): https://fountain.fm/episode/9y9VZark2TsSVUVrEy2V Powergame by Mikko Kauppinen: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Eqrkqgulee5ntjwRcNnFByH3qu74uJ7A/view A Wanderer’s Romance: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/92757/a-wanderer-s-romance Eco Mofos: https://davidblandy.itch.io/eco-mofos Maze Rats: https://questingbeast.itch.io/maze-rats Cairn: https://cairnrpg.com/ Tunnel Goons: https://tunnelgoons.com/ The apple sniffing horse: https://bsky.app/profile/bastionland.bsky.social/post/3mcyzqa4kqs26 Ask the Stars: https://www.bastionland.com/2020/12/ask-stars-minimal-solo-rpg.html 2400: https://jasontocci.itch.io/2400 Arkbound / Xenofringe: https://www.bastionland.com/2012/07/ Die Bonehead Die https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ffZhkW9kWlOhaDQsbjCfrg-4_or3xALR9FYEXJ4VF3I/ Cornetto Trilogy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Flavours_Cornetto Blighters https://bit.ly/blightersrpg The Doomed https://www.ospreypublishing.com/uk/doomed-9781472854254/ MAC Attack https://chrismcdee.itch.io/mac-attack Impairing Impairing https://www.bastionland.com/2025/07/impairing-impairing.html Between the Ages https://www.bastionland.com/2025/05/between-ages.html Between Seasons https://www.bastionland.com/2025/05/between-seasons.html Mythic Rivers ttps://www.bastionland.com/2025/08/mythic-rivers.html A Mythic Calendar https://www.bastionland.com/2024/10/a-mythic-calendar.html Find the hosts at: William https://halfawormandabittenapple.blogspot.com/ Horst https://blackcitygauntlet.blogspot.com/ Brian https://luckroll.blogspot.com/
	Ep 10 - On Refereeing	10 août 2026	01:33:00
Mythic Bastionland was created by Chris McDowall https://bastionlandpress.com/products/mythic-bastionland-hardback-book-plus-pdf Our intro music is "Medieval" by Ptibec https://openverse.org/audio/1f62fd74-2742-45de-b6eb-79f9dbbddb3a and is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. Our outro music is "Harbinger" by Jesse. Mixed by Jesse from https://beardmancerbungalow.blot.im/. Timings: 00:00 Intro 00:49 Refereeing experience 15:38 Primacy of Action 22:33 Action Procedure 55:56 Generalizable GMing Advice 1:06:39 You be the Judge 1:30:17 The Tree Root Hunger 1:32:06 Outro Discussed on the show: Crossing the Line: https://mightyatom.blogspot.com/2010/10/apocalypse-world-crossing-line.html Landmark information: https://diyanddragons.blogspot.com/2019/10/landmark-hidden-secret.html Reputation table: https://lukegearing.blot.im/reputation-tables Pondering Failure: https://beardmancerbungalow.blot.im/to-hit-or-no-to-hit-a-plea ICI Doctrine: https://www.bastionland.com/2018/09/the-ici-doctrine-information-choice.html Difficulty in Bastionland: https://www.bastionland.com/2020/03/difficulty-in-bastionland.html Find the hosts at: William https://halfawormandabittenapple.blogspot.com/ Horst https://blackcitygauntlet.blogspot.com/ Jesse https://beardmancerbungalow.blot.im/
	Ep 9 - Anatomy of a Myth	06 juil. 2026	01:31:54
Show notes: Mythic Bastionland was created by Chris McDowall https://bastionlandpress.com/products/mythic-bastionland-hardback-book-plus-pdf Our intro music is "Medieval" by Ptibec https://openverse.org/audio/1f62fd74-2742-45de-b6eb-79f9dbbddb3a and is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. Our outro music is "The New Age" by Jesse. Mixed by Jesse from https://beardmancerbungalow.blot.im/. Timings: 00:00 The Intro 00:49 The Name 01:35 The Poem 03:21 The Illustration 06:54 The Table 11:10 The Cast 22:37 The Ruin 24:11 The Object 31:18 The Omens 42:34 The Checklist 59:22 The Resolution 1:06:32 The Failure 1:09:40 The Creation 1:14:44 The Holdings 1:22:00 The Judge 1:31:03 The Outro Discussed on the show: Sticky Goblins https://falsemachine.blogspot.com/2021/02/sticky-goblins.html Holding Threads https://www.bastionland.com/2025/09/holding-threads.html?m=1 Encounter Checklist https://www.prismaticwasteland.com/blog/encounter-checklist The Game of Three Truths in the campaign https://blackcitygauntlet.blogspot.com/2026/06/the-thrice-ninth-kingdom-xii.html William's explanation on his mechanism for A Game of Three Truths https://halfawormandabittenapple.blogspot.com/2026/07/a-game-of-three-truths.html Find the hosts at: Brian https://luckroll.blogspot.com/ William https://halfawormandabittenapple.blogspot.com/ Horst https://blackcitygauntlet.blogspot.com/ Jesse https://beardmancerbungalow.blot.im/
	Ep 8 - Bonfires from Sparks	04 mai 2026	01:08:13
Show notes: Mythic Bastionland was created by Chris McDowall https://bastionlandpress.com/products/mythic-bastionland-hardback-book-plus-pdf Music: I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire (Benjamin, Durham, Marcus, Seiler: 1938) Our intro music is "Medieval" by Ptibec https://openverse.org/audio/1f62fd74-2742-45de-b6eb-79f9dbbddb3a and is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. Our outro music is "Medieval Victory Epic (Version 1)" by makesound https://openverse.org/audio/794859e7-c63c-466e-9f76-631e1e01e098 and is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. Mixed by Jesse from https://beardmancerbungalow.blot.im/. Timings: 00:00 Intro 00:55 Example Spark Table results 03:47 Sparks for special contexts 04:52 Mixing and matching 06:49 The squire wager 07:40 Changing the purpose 08:12 Under time pressure 13:31 Rerolling 15:59 Elaborating later 17:39 Myth-like results 20:24 Chains of associations 22:06 Themes for interpretation 23:58 Woland - a collaborative mythic realm 34:16 Lasting effects 36:38 40+ sessions 37:25 Threads that aren't myths 44:12 Adding extra omens 45:10 More example Sparks 48:24 You be the Judge! 55:24 Q+A Branching omens 58:40 Q+A Environmental challenges 1:02:47 Q+A Non-interactive omens 1:07:17 Outro Discussed on the show: Blorb principles https://idiomdrottning.org/blorb-principles Oddpocrypha on Landmarks (Mythic Bastionland page 199) Tale of the Manticore - season 3 using delayed interpretation of Mythic Game Master Emulator spark table results https://www.spreaker.com/episode/episode-1-s3e01--62324279 Woland project - launch and collection of all articles https://halfawormandabittenapple.blogspot.com/2026/01/woland-collaborative-mythic-realm.html Beardmancer’s method for blending sparks for prep https://beardmancerbungalow.blot.im/one-method-to-prep-for-improvisation d4 Caltrops’s d100 – Absent Adventurer: Where Have You Been? https://blog.d4caltrops.com/2026/01/d100-absent-adventurer-where-have-you.html Bastionland Discord - source of questions for the Q+A section https://discord.com/invite/Y6sGBra Find the hosts at: Brian https://luckroll.blogspot.com/ William https://halfawormandabittenapple.blogspot.com/ Horst https://blackcitygauntlet.blogspot.com/
	Ep 7 - The Mythical and the Mundane	21 févr. 2026	01:20:03
Show notes: We're joined by Kieron Gillen from https://oldmenrunningtheworld.com/ and designer of DIE: The Roleplaying Game https://rowanrookanddecard.itch.io/die-rpg This episode also features a previously-recorded segment from our episode 3 guest, Jesse from https://beardmancerbungalow.blot.im/. Mythic Bastionland was created by Chris McDowall https://bastionlandpress.com/products/mythic-bastionland-hardback-book-plus-pdf Our intro music is "Medieval" by Ptibec https://openverse.org/audio/1f62fd74-2742-45de-b6eb-79f9dbbddb3a and is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. Our outro music is "Medieval Victory Epic (Version 1)" by makesound https://openverse.org/audio/794859e7-c63c-466e-9f76-631e1e01e098 and is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. Timings: 00:00 Intro 03:21 Setting up the realm 06:10 Sparks when needed 09:31 Blorbiness and characters 14:17 Ageing and legacy 15:29 Narrative and story 18:00 Protecting the reality 21:09 Seers 22:15 A generational saga 27:48 Unresolved situations 32:23 Prepping myths and sites 35:57 Succession 37:26 Turning the wheels 38:58 Pursuits 41:27 Planning time jumps 43:59 The knights' reputations 44:54 Batman creating supervillains 47:30 Myths as problems 48:41 Domain-level play 50:58 Questing knights 52:47 Skipping travel 54:29 Feasts and Seers 57:21 Talking to stones 58:41 Sparks and improv 1:00:55 Ending the campaign 1:04:25 Jesse: Story Game / OSR 1:06:29 Kieron: Story Game / OSR 1:11:07 The Oath as GM principles 1:13:00 You be the Judge! 1:19:16 Outro Discussed on the show: Kieron's comics https://bindings.app/shelf/1FLv6kLb Kieron's games https://kierongillen.itch.io/ Amiga Power https://archive.org/details/amiga-power Speedball 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyX4BPU-Bao Blorb principles https://idiomdrottning.org/blorb-principles Stephen R Donaldson: Mordant's Need https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mordant%27s_Need The Skim: Mythic Bastionland https://oldmenrunningtheworld.com/the-skim-mythic-bastionland/ Pendragon https://www.chaosium.com/pendragon/ Find the hosts at: Brian https://luckroll.blogspot.com/ William https://halfawormandabittenapple.blogspot.com/ Horst https://blackcitygauntlet.blogspot.com/
	Ep 6 - To Stick the Landing	28 janv. 2026	01:01:01
Show notes: We're joined by Amanda P. from https://weirdwonder.bearblog.dev/ and https://weirdwonder.itch.io/ Mythic Bastionland was created by Chris McDowall https://bastionlandpress.com/products/mythic-bastionland-hardback-book-plus-pdf Our intro music is "Medieval" by Ptibec https://openverse.org/audio/1f62fd74-2742-45de-b6eb-79f9dbbddb3a and is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. Our outro music is "Medieval Victory Epic (Version 1)" by makesound https://openverse.org/audio/794859e7-c63c-466e-9f76-631e1e01e098 and is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. Timings: 00:00 Intro 01:00 Amanda's writing 03:51 Horror 06:19 Pilgrimage of the Sun Guard 13:50 Capsule games 15:54 Mythical and Mundane 16:47 Preparing the realm 24:16 Campaign one-sheet 26:25 Player buy-in 28:03 Using OSR supplements 31:55 Two realms, many seasons 37:16 The next campaign? 42:46 The epilogue 45:14 The City Quest 50:58 You be the Judge! 57:45 Player theories 59:58 Outro Discussed on the show: Amanda P's blogpost Arthurian Mysticism and Violence: a Mythic Bastionland Analysis: https://weirdwonder.bearblog.dev/mythic-bastionland/ Pilgrimage of the Sun Guard: https://weirdwonder.itch.io/sunguard Chris Bissette's game jam https://itch.io/jam/wretched-jam d4 Caltrops blog https://blog.d4caltrops.com/ Armanda Haller https://armandah.itch.io/ Mythic GM Emulator https://www.wordmillgames.com/page/mythic-gme.html A procedure for playing group modules as solo adventures https://symbolic.city/misc/mastermind-solo John Harper: Lady Blackbird https://ladyblackbird.org/ Michael E. Shea: The Lazy GM's Resource Document https://slyflourish.com/lazy_gm_resource_document.html Capsule games https://riseupcomus.blogspot.com/2024/01/capsule-games-part-i-what-are-capsule.html Books mentioned: Louisa May Alcott: Little Women https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/37106 Sir James Knowles: The Legends of King Arthur and His Knights https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12753 Sir Thomas Malory: Le Morte d'Arthur https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1251 Chrétien de Troyes: Perceval, the Story of the Grail https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perceval%2C_the_Story_of_the_Grail Find the hosts at: Brian https://luckroll.blogspot.com/ William https://halfawormandabittenapple.blogspot.com/ Horst https://blackcitygauntlet.blogspot.com/
	Ep 5 - The Art of War	07 déc. 2025	00:55:26
Show notes: Mythic Bastionland was created by Chris McDowall https://bastionlandpress.com/products/mythic-bastionland-hardback-book-plus-pdf Our intro music is "Medieval" by Ptibec https://openverse.org/audio/1f62fd74-2742-45de-b6eb-79f9dbbddb3a and is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. Our outro music is "Medieval Victory Epic (Version 1)" by makesound https://openverse.org/audio/794859e7-c63c-466e-9f76-631e1e01e098 and is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. The music "(Bossa Nova Loop) Thank You for Shopping!" by plasterbrain https://freesound.org/people/plasterbrain/sounds/464924/ is licensed under Creative Commons 0. Timings: 00:00 Intro 01:00 Decisive combat 02:54 Combat rules and characters 04:33 Narrating combat 06:00 Bad rolls 08:28 Combat environments 11:15 Mortal wounds and scars 17:06 Leaving characters exposed 18:48 Impairing weapons 24:16 Creative gambits 27:30 Focus 29:24 Warband combat 32:36 Bonus attack dice 38:45 Memorable fights 46:14 You be the Judge! 54:44 Outro Discussed on the show: Decisive combat https://www.bastionland.com/2017/05/decisive-combat.html Held Kinetic Energy in Old School Combat Arenas https://falsemachine.blogspot.com/2017/07/held-kinetic-energy-in-old-school.html Impairing Impairing https://www.bastionland.com/2025/07/impairing-impairing.html House rule idea: Giant creatures as Warbands (u/Jack_Shandy) https://www.reddit.com/r/MythicBastionland/comments/1oycio1/house_rule_idea_giant_creatures_as_warbands/ Find the hosts at: Brian https://luckroll.blogspot.com/ William https://halfawormandabittenapple.blogspot.com/ Horst https://blackcitygauntlet.blogspot.com/
	Ep 4 - Storytelling	03 nov. 2025	01:03:42
Show notes: We're joined by Thomas Manuel to discuss his recent actual play. You can find Thomas at: Yes Indie'd Podcast https://open.spotify.com/show/1B1W6XzutFweJPW88L3Pxk Indie RPG Newsletter https://ttrpg.in/ Rascal https://www.rascal.news/ His Mythic Bastionland games: First story arc: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNuXiEYyM4itTXztUsIXmD6JG4w_FGWXc Second story arc: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNuXiEYyM4isMPsTSspN-mdScWt2E9l2T His referee, Judd Karlman https://githyankidiaspora.com/mythic-bastionland/ His liege, MadJay https://playfearless.substack.com/ Mythic Bastionland was created by Chris McDowall https://bastionlandpress.com/products/mythic-bastionland-hardback-book-plus-pdf Our intro music is "Medieval" by Ptibec https://openverse.org/audio/1f62fd74-2742-45de-b6eb-79f9dbbddb3a and is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. Our outro music is "Medieval Victory Epic (Version 1)" by makesound https://openverse.org/audio/794859e7-c63c-466e-9f76-631e1e01e098 and is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. Timings: 00:00 Intro 01:52 Thomas' campaign 06:19 Connections and relationships 10:15 Rolling a knight 12:23 Being a good player 15:50 The Smiling Fox play by post 17:51 Play style 19:57 Improv 23:57 Myths for challenge and flavour 31:59 Combat! 37:19 Fostering player creativity 41:23 Sharing the map 44:09 Collaborative descriptions 47:21 First time GMs 51:36 Duelling as a highlight 52:30 Preferred number of players 54:41 You be the Judge! 1:02:58 Outro Discussed on the show: Interview with Prismatic Wasteland https://open.spotify.com/episode/6hsUWciOWZ7MKivI0KWRsm Sticky encounters https://www.prismaticwasteland.com/blog/encounter-checklist Find the hosts at: Brian https://luckroll.blogspot.com/ William https://halfawormandabittenapple.blogspot.com/ Horst https://blackcitygauntlet.blogspot.com/
	Ep 3 - Once Upon a Time	05 oct. 2025	01:34:50
Show notes: We're joined by Jesse from https://beardmancerbungalow.blot.im/. See the links below for his tools and magic system for Mythic Bastionland. Mythic Bastionland was created by Chris McDowall https://bastionlandpress.com/products/mythic-bastionland-hardback-book-plus-pdf Our intro music is "Medieval" by Ptibec https://openverse.org/audio/1f62fd74-2742-45de-b6eb-79f9dbbddb3a and is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. Our outro music is "Medieval Victory Epic (Version 1)" by makesound https://openverse.org/audio/794859e7-c63c-466e-9f76-631e1e01e098 and is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. Timings: 00:00 Intro 00:49 Seasonal events 13:20 Fruitful mistakes 16:42 The feel of the seasons 18:53 Hesitation for advancing time 27:18 Winter 36:02 Pursuits between seasons 43:26 Advancing to the next age 51:20 Running an open table 55:10 Summoning the seers 59:40 Runic Bastionquest 1:12:18 You be the Judge! 1:24:38 Changing the realm over time 1:33:53 Outro Discussed on the show: Jesse's Visual Calendar https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1i28AJO0uOawgDqserlWLfq-MTLdncXzMfvyEHdt1Ghs/edit?usp=sharing Mythic Calendar https://www.bastionland.com/2024/10/a-mythic-calendar.html Mythic Magic System https://beardmancerbungalow.blot.im/runic-bastionquest Speedrune https://erinking.itch.io/speedrune Pendragon https://www.chaosium.com/pendragon-rpg/ The Winter Phase https://philgamer.wordpress.com/2024/06/20/lets-study-pendragon-6e-core-rulebook-part-7-the-winter-phase/ Find the hosts at: Brian https://luckroll.blogspot.com/ William https://halfawormandabittenapple.blogspot.com/ Horst https://blackcitygauntlet.blogspot.com/
	Ep 2 - The Unscripted Realm	08 sept. 2025	01:13:08
Show notes: Mythic Bastionland was created by Chris McDowall https://bastionlandpress.com/products/mythic-bastionland-hardback-book-plus-pdf Our intro music is "Medieval" by Ptibec https://openverse.org/audio/1f62fd74-2742-45de-b6eb-79f9dbbddb3a and is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. Our outro music is "Medieval Victory Epic (Version 1)" by makesound https://openverse.org/audio/794859e7-c63c-466e-9f76-631e1e01e098 and is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. Timings: 00:00 Intro 00:47 Mapping the realm 16:43 Populating the realm 24:23 Prepping for one shots and campaigns 30:04 Seek the Myths 40:40 Honour the Seers 46:06 Extra prep 1:02:24 You be the Judge! 1:12:14 Outro Discussed on the show: Elmcat: Running Mythic Bastionland https://elmc.at/running-mythic-bastionland/ Courtney Campbell: Quantum Ogre https://hackslashmaster.blogspot.com/2011/09/on-how-illusion-can-rob-your-game-of.html A Knight discovers the “Wild Dome” (pbp) https://blackcitygauntlet.blogspot.com/2024/12/the-tournament-second-interlude.html Find the hosts at: Brian https://luckroll.blogspot.com/ William https://halfawormandabittenapple.blogspot.com/ Horst https://blackcitygauntlet.blogspot.com/
	Ep 1 - Trust the System	16 août 2025	00:45:51
Show notes: Mythic Bastionland was created by Chris McDowall https://bastionlandpress.com/products/mythic-bastionland-hardback-book-plus-pdf Our intro music is "Medieval" by Ptibec https://openverse.org/audio/1f62fd74-2742-45de-b6eb-79f9dbbddb3a and is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. Our outro music is "Medieval Victory Epic (Version 1)" by makesound https://openverse.org/audio/794859e7-c63c-466e-9f76-631e1e01e098 and is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. Timings: 00:00 Intro 01:05 Why the name? 02:15 Topic: Trust the system 11:50 Finding treasure and monsters 19:35 Combat 23:40 The mythic and the mundane 26:20 Running omens and myths 38:40 You be the Judge! 45:06 Outro Discussed on the show: Just Use Bears: https://talesofthegrotesqueanddungeonesque.blogspot.com/2016/08/just-use-bears.html Relationship between Holdings: Sparking Conflict https://www.bastionland.com/2023/11/sparking-conflict.html Threatening a mercenary (pbp scene) https://blackcitygauntlet.blogspot.com/2025/03/the-eye-ii.html Find the hosts at: Brian https://luckroll.blogspot.com/ William https://halfawormandabittenapple.blogspot.com/ Horst https://blackcitygauntlet.blogspot.com/

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