Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

83 - Call of Cthulhu's Garden (Hem and The Sprouting)

Hem tells us about their actual play campaign, The Sprouting. Within the world of The Sprouting, Earth's history diverged during the 1800s when an eldritch horror was summoned into our reality. The horror lay in wait for centuries, building up a secret army of plant monsters. In 2020, the plant monsters struck, ruining infrastructure and attacking population centers across the world. One hundred years have passed and our heroes learn that the next stage of the plant apocalypse has begun... We also discussed some of the difficulties and pleasures of actual play podcasts and how the RPG community varies internationally (Hem is in Iceland). If you want to try listening to The Sprouting its available on all major podcast platforms. You can learn more on The Sprouting's website [https://the-sprouting.com/]. For other shows produced by Hem check out Blighthouse Studio's website [https://blighthouse.studio/]. Hem mentioned The Lucky Die actual play show [https://www.theluckydie.com/] of theirs several times which used D&D 5e. And the broader network of Fable and Folly [https://www.fableandfolly.com/] has their website too. Check out the Setting the Stage website [https://gocorral.com/sts]! Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey [https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA]. Join our Discord [https://discord.gg/p97dfEauFj]! Support Setting the Stageon Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/SettingtheStage]! ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

82 - Tarot Ghosts (George and Fears & Fortunes)

George tells us about his D&D actual play called Fears and Fortunes. The campaign follows the adventures of Sly, granddaughter of the Seer of Bearuport. Sly accidentally releases a bunch of ghosts from her late grandmother's tarot deck. She and her band of companions must find the fourteen ghosts that escaped and imprison them within the deck once more. The campaign is sponsored by Forgotten Adventures, the battle map company. The show has an amazingly high production value with great maps, character art, music, and effects. Cool stuff to watch! And all the visual tools used in the show are available to you from Forgotten Adventures. You can watch the actual play yourself on the Fears & Fortunes YouTube channel [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwn7mmLiTHjYKrVH5-VU5flNw5KpSGQlq]. All the cool maps and assets of Fears and Fortunes are available on the Forgotten Adventures website [ https://www.forgotten-adventures.net/]. Or on the Forgotten Adventures Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/forgottenadventures]. If you're interested in more of George's projects you can find them by Googling his screen name, GloriousGe0rge. That's with a zero in Ge0rge. Check out the Setting the Stage website [https://gocorral.com/sts]! Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey [https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA]. Join our Discord [https://discord.gg/p97dfEauFj]! Support Setting the Stage on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/SettingtheStage]! ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

81 - Biopunk 2287 RPG (Seiya and Synesthesia Synthetica)

Seiya tells us about his TTRPG system and setting, Synesthesia Synthetica (SNS). SNS is a biopunk game adjacent to the cyberpunk and steampunk genres. After an asteroid induced climate disaster, Earth has rebuilt itself using bio-technology instead of the metal based tech that surrounds us in the real world. Genetically modified humans have split into distinct species and mutant horrors prowl the wastes outside civilization. The rich rule from their space stations up above but resistance is growing in the streets below. During the episode we discussed a piece of art that Seiya had made for the game. A picture of that bio-tank [https://gocorral.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/bio-tank.png] is available for you to look at. At the moment, Synesthesia Synthetica is available for free as an early access game on itch.io [https://kubota-productions.itch.io/sns] and DriveThruRPG [https://legacy.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/29316/Kubota-Productions]. If you want to learn more or find a group to play with, you can do that on the Synesthesia Synthetica Discord [https://discord.com/invite/4Mmxzm8sGX]. Remember to nominate your favorite TTRPG shows/creators/things for the 2026 CRIT Awards [https://www.critawards.org/]! Check out the Setting the Stage website [https://gocorral.com/sts]! Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey [https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA]. Join our Discord [https://discord.gg/p97dfEauFj]! Support Setting the Stageon Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/SettingtheStage]! ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

80 - Dynamic RPG Countries (Travis and Tetara)

Travis tells us about his world of Tetara. Travis runs Tetara as a paid game on StartPlaying. Each group's campaign runs in a different region of Tetara. As the campaign progresses that group gets to shape their region through their actions. After a region has been molded through play, Travis tends to run a second campaign in that region to explore the consequences of the first campaign. Here's a map of Tetara [https://gocorral.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/tetara_world.jpg]. If Tetara sounds interesting to you, Travis runs Tetara campaigns on StartPlaying [https://startplaying.games/gm/travisthegingergm]. If you want to check out Travis's book series, Sanctum of Aevum [https://www.amazon.com/stores/T.C.-Bieda/author/B07ZWX4MC5], its available on Amazon. Check out the Setting the Stage website [https://gocorral.com/sts]! Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey [https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA]. Join our Discord [https://discord.gg/p97dfEauFj]! Support Setting the Stageon Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/SettingtheStage]! ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

79 - Dragon Age Degenerates (Zoe from Degenerates with Dice)

Zoe tells us about her campaign in the world of Thedas from the Dragon Age video games. The campaign is an actual play on the Degenerates with Dice YouTube channel. Zoe uses the Dragon Age TTRPG published by Green Ronin. In the campaign, a pair of noble twins are cut out of their family's inheritance. They must go on adventure to make things right and earn their birthright. Lots of fun and definitely more of a beer and pretzels vibe to the table. You can watch the show live every Monday night on Degenerates with Dice's YouTube channel [https://www.youtube.com/@degenerateswithdice]. Or on Degenerates with Dice's Twitch [https://www.twitch.tv/degenerateswithdice]. The first episode of Dragon Age: Resurrection [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJCn4g0oafM]. Take a look at Green Ronin's Dragon Age TTRPG [https://greenroninstore.com/collections/dragon-age-rpg]. Check out the Setting the Stage website [https://gocorral.com/sts]! Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey [https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVA]. Join our Discord [https://discord.gg/p97dfEauFj]! Support Setting the Stageon Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/SettingtheStage]! ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.