Ballad Hunters - Clyde's Waters

Please note: this recording had some Technical Difficulties. We did our best to edit around and through as much of them as we could. Our apologies.

Tristan Zimmerman returns to run us through his latest game, Ballad Hunters! Amateur folklorists are in the employ of the British crown in early 1800s. Folk ballads have magical power. Using what they know, the folklorists scour the countryside for new songs, either learning of their power, or seeking to prevent dangers or heartache that they foretell from happening.

In the far Northwest, near the Scottish Border, our folklorists use their "compasses" to seek the next ballad coming to life. In the thick autumnal fog, the come across someone waiting for another, and strangeness starts to present itself...

Ballad Hunters, published by Pelgrane Press, should be coming to Kickstarter the week of posting! If you like what you hear, please consider backing the game to help it come to life. If you want an early taste, you can try the early access edition, available on DriveThruRPG. Also available there is Shanty Hunters, available in print and PDF. Tristan was last heard here leading us through a game of Shanty Hunters. Tristan can be found at his blog, Molten Sulfur.

Tristan - GM

Ben - Tom Harris, Retired, Maimed Sailor

Ethan - Jean Ingram, Class Traitor

Sean - Frederick Hobbes, Haunted Veteran

Black Company Playtest Phase 1 - The Summer of Riots Part 2

The mercenaries of First Platoon of The Black Company are once again fighting for their lives as riots have broken out in the City of Beryl. Will they, their charge, and their fellow soldiers, be able to stay safe?

The Black Company is a deadly, suspenseful RPG from Shane Ivey and Dennis Detwiller of Arc Dream Publishing, based on Glen Cook’s legendary dark fantasy series. The game is currently in playtest: rules are not final, and may change before publication. This playtest was run during Playtest Phase 1. As of posting, the game is in Playtest Phase 2. Between posting and March 31st, 2026, you can download the Phase 2 playtest materials and try it for yourself, from The Black Company RPG website.

Ethan – GM

Ben – Jumpy

Dan – Big Dog

Laura – Red Eye

Sean – Pops

Cthulhu Confidential - A Cable's Length From Shore - Part 2

Phyllis continues to be hounded with trouble surrounding the scroll. It will take all her skills and cunning to make it out of this strange situation in one piece...

Cthulhu Confidential by Robin Laws, Chris Spivey, and Ruth Tillman is Pelgrane Press' One to One Cthulhu RPG, using Gumshoe and borrowing from Trail of Cthulhu, to allow for one player and one GM role playing. This scenario is part of Pelgrane's 2018 Free RPG Day release, written by Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan. Both are available at Pelgrane's website, with Cthulhu Confidential available in print and PDF, and the scenario in PDF.

Ben - GM

Ethan - Phyllis Oakley

Black Company Playtest Phase 1 - The Summer of Riots Part 1

Soldiers of the legendary mercenary company The Black Company, from the city of Beryl, languish in the heat of summer. Four soldiers of First Platoon are called in on special orders. As they go into the town, they hear rumors of lighting striking a tomb on a hill, and there are rumors of spirits that would do great harm to Beryl…

The Black Company is a deadly, suspenseful RPG from Shane Ivey and Dennis Detwiller of Arc Dream Publishing, based on Glen Cook’s legendary dark fantasy series. The game is currently in playtest: rules are not final, and may change before publication. This playtest was run during Playtest Phase 1. As of posting, the game is in Playtest Phase 2. Between posting and March 31st, 2026, you can download the Phase 2 playtest materials and try it for yourself, from The Black Company RPG website.

Ethan – GM

Ben – Jumpy

Dan – Big Dog

Laura – Red Eye

Sean – Pops

Fae's Anatomy - The Case of Anna Schwartz

Another day, another duo of doctors scrub into the hallowed halls of Hippocrates General. Can this pair work together and find what ails their patient, or will they be stumped by this mysterious disease?

Fae's Anatomy, A Melodramatic Medical Mystery game, is an RPG of magical and mundane medical mayhem by Caleb Stokes. You can find the it at the website for the game, which includes the web app to play online, as well as links to buy the book, in pdf and print at DriveThruRPG, and in pdf at itch.io.

Ben - Anna Schwartz, patient, an elderly hag daycare worker.

Dan - Dr. Attit Glanced, a cool and calculating Necro Psychiatrist, interested in Head Nurse Dorothy Gale (yes, that one).

Greg - Dr. Innocent IV, a hot and holy Blessed Internist gargoyle romancing Nelson Waahg, an orc lab tech