The Eldritch Lorecast

The Eldritch Lorecast is back in 2022 and we're looking forward to a bright future in the TTRPG space. James discusses the release of his Fables baby, Shawn exhibits signs of Dragon Rage, Dael aims for some achievable goals including "2 small tricks", and Ben reminds himself to get back in touch with D&D as a hobby. Topics: 00:00 - Intro 00:39 - Reflecting on 2021 03:59 - Release of Fables: Citadel of the Unseen Sun 09:57 - Exploring the Monster Grimoire 17:51 - Dungeons of Drakkenheim 22:13 - Fables 2 rumors 27:49 - Project "Dragon Rage" 31:14 - Sunken Isles 31:55 - Fight the Blight announcement 35:10 - Setting your hobby goals for 2022

The crew continue our Christmas themed adventure, playing FATE: Accelerated by Evil Hat Productions. Gripped by terror one year more, is the entirety of Landhaus who have all locked their doors... which is likely wise with Kallos, Brillo and Eleanor running amok! The Tale Continued: 00:00 - Intro 01:32 - When we last left our heroes... 06:15 - Eleanor making enemies 21:19 - Confronting The Giver 38:35 - Combat commences (sort of) 43:31 - Eleanor making friends 55:22 - The FATE of Mr. Muscle Good Sir

On this very special episode of The Eldritch Lorecast, we're taking some time off from game design to play FATE: Accelerated, from Evil Hat Productions. 'Tis all winter solstice and silent in the city of Landhaus... until our heroes incite a riot and start breaking into homes in search of a mysterious gift giving monster! The Tale: 00:00 - Intro 01:57 - FATE: Accelerated rules 04:05 - Our story begins... 06:20 - Character introductions 12:49 - The angry villagers 33:03 - Following a lead 50:12 - Breaking and entering 58:37 - Finally inside the house

This week's Lorecast asks the big questions about whether you NEED to expand your TTRPG repertoire or 5th Edition D&D can cover every genre? James gets excited about Fables: Citadel of the Unseen Sun and Dael introduces us to The Gentleman. Download the first chapter of Fables FREE: https://ghostfiregaming.com/fables/  Topics: 00:00 - Intro 00:12 - Favorite Christmas gifts 07:00 - Fables Chapter 1 08:19 - Designing traps that engage players 16:31 - James' final words on Fables 18:56 - D&D 5e and genres of Fantasy 38:56 - How would you hack 5e to fit another genre? 49:44 - Christmas live-play teaser

This episode is all about the arcane, eldritch, and magical as we anticipate the release of Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos. Dael makes controversial claims about Counterspell, Ben is mad at Suggestion, Shawn warns against the dangers of not cleaning up after a ritual, and James enjoys the mutual destruction of fireball. An email sparks a debate about whether bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage is magical if caused by a spell. Topics:  00:00 - Intro 06:13 - Strixhaven Release! 15:18 - The Cat saga 15:36 - Monsters in Strixhaven 18:02 - Rating spells for WotC's survey 30:59 - Magic & Spellcasting 46:17 - Describing spells & magic 54:01 - Is piercing damage from a spell magical damage?

The Dungeon Dude's drop by to take us on a tour of their dark fantasy adventure module, the Dungeons of Drakkenheim! Monty contaminates the world of Drakkenheim with new spells and magic items, Kelly has regrets about the monsters he's created, Ben mutates into Colbert momentarily, and Dael wants us to follow the rabbit of happiness! Topics: 00:00 - Intro 01:17 - What fictitious world would you escape into? 04:47 - Dungeons of Drakkenheim 13:53 - Contamination and Mutation mechanics 26:14 - Factions of Drakkenheim 37:29 - How to start World Building

Ben and Dael get recklessly empathetic for their new D&D characters while Shawn onboards new players by limiting their options. James get critical about the result of rolling a natural 20... or a natural 1. Topics: 00:00 - Intro 02:31 - Character creation 23:38 - Using pre-generated characters 29:24 - Onboarding new players & Session 0's 37:00 - Having 'Reckless Empathy' for your character 40:59 - Scoring a Natural 20 and a Natural 1 46:40 - Designing rules for rolling criticals

Shawn and James break down their approaches to designing monsters for 5th Edition D&D, Dael explains building in a "Death Star Exhaust Port" to her monsters, and Ben is surprised by how virtuous everyone's player-characters are. We delve into the merits of running "An Evil Campaign" *cue lightning* and how each of us would approach such a dastardly game. Ask us a question for the latest episode: podcast@ghostfiregaming.com Topics: 00:00 - Intro 02:50 - 5e Monster Design 18:10 - Monster's with "Death Star Exhaust Ports" 25:48 - Monsters Inspired by real world critters 29:43 - Monster Hunts and Investigations 37:19 - Running an Evil Campaign 53:30 - D&D Inspiration from Video Games

James reveals all about Fables: Citadel of the Unseen Sun! This first ever Grim Hollow adventure module releases in instalments, starting in January 2022. The crew also discuss how digital tools such as Pathfinder Nexus and D&D Beyond have evolved alongside TTRPGs, and where they might be going. What is the scent of delusion? Are hit points meat? Topics: 00:00 - Intro 02:48 - Fables - What? When? How? 16:52 - Fables - Character Levels 25:28 - Citadel of the Unseen Sun - Adventure design 31:56 - Digital tools used in TTRPGs 50:16 - Games Workshop scented candles 55:14 - Conceptualizing hit points and damage Fables: Citadel of the Unseen Sun  https://ghostfiregaming.com/fables/  Sign up now to get each instalment at $9.99 as they release.

In Episode #05 we take a break from the news cycle to ask each other what we love most about playing tabletop roleplaying games like D&D 5e? How do you get started if you've never played before? Do complex game mechanics tell a better story than simple ones? Ben has strong feelings about whether you should turn your passion for TTRPGs into your job while Dael sees into the future and talks briefly about candy. Topics: 02:37 - Why Play TTRPGs? 23:24 - Evolution of D&D through the Editions 36:35 - Crunchy game mechanics vs simple mechanics? 40:43 - Is 5th Edition the ultimate malleable RPG? 45:49 - How to get started playing TTRPGs?