How do stories and systems intersect and influence each other? This push and pull offers us a chance to deepen our understanding and appreciation of how writing and role-playing games connect and co-evolve. Through conversations and one shot Actual-play episodes, we explore how the tools we use shape the stories we tell, whether those tools are implicit or explicit. Whether you’re a veteran or new to the scene, we invite you to join us.
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How do stories and systems intersect and influence each other? This push and pull offers us a chance to deepen our understanding and appreciation of how writing and role-playing games connect and co-evolve. Through conversations and one shot Actual-play episodes, we explore how the tools we use shape the stories we tell, whether those tools are implicit or explicit. Whether you’re a veteran or new to the scene, we invite you to join us.
Episode 12 welcomes clinical-tech nerd—and lifelong D&D DM—Sean, deepening the Modern Mythology bench to four hosts. (Sean, James, and Scott are on-mic this time).
A quick opening discussion uncovers Sean’s gaming roots and, in the process, reveals some of how each host hacks rules at the table, a topic we will surely return to. Scott—who has logged hundreds of systems—champions underrated mechanics and explains why he drifts from Dungeons & Dragons even as the podcast keeps circling back; Sean defends single-system mastery; James moderates the middle ground.
With philosophies compared, the crew jumps to the Third Horizon for Free League’s Middle-Eastern space opera Coriolis for a short actual play. Two linked scenes showcase the streamlined dice-pool engine and its signature tension lever—Darkness Points, a GM resource that turns player pushes into creeping cosmic peril—setting the stage for the show’s new, sci-fi-focused chapter.
Check out our YouTube channel for a development discussion about Coriolis.
(Trigger warning: suicide)
Topics Discussed:
00:00 Meeting Sean
00:05:03 Characters on the fly
00:06:20 Resource management
00:09:50 System experience
00:23:05 Minis & the Grid
00:26:10 Coriolis AP
00:38:16 Character discussions
00:46:55 Scene one - Pinned down
01:02:25 Scene Two - Divide and conquer
01:20:49 Scene Three - The getaway
01:23:15 Scene Four - The sacrifice
02:02:40 Debrief
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Modern Mythology
How do stories and systems intersect and influence each other? This push and pull offers us a chance to deepen our understanding and appreciation of how writing and role-playing games connect and co-evolve. Through conversations and one shot Actual-play episodes, we explore how the tools we use shape the stories we tell, whether those tools are implicit or explicit. Whether you’re a veteran or new to the scene, we invite you to join us.
