Dead Letters

This podcast is about tabletop role-playing games around the world. In every episode, I interview RPG enthusiasts and professionals from a non-English speaking country about what games they play, what unique RPGs exist in their country, and how new people get into the hobby. Interviewees include regular gamers, club organizers, game shop owners, creators of actual play videos, RPG authors, and gaming studios.  While some places are known for their large role-playing scene and have a lot of local RPG systems, other regions of the world have smaller scenes and might not even have a single RPG in the local language. Every regular episode ends with a teaser for the next country – an excerpt from an actual play recording in that country’s language. The aim of this podcast is to broaden our horizon and find out about RPGs from all over the world. Enjoy! Links letscast.fm - Feed and show notes spotify.com - Spotify feed podcasts.apple.com - Apple Podcasts feed

Ishanekon: World Shapers is the (probably) biggest free Indie TTRPG with over 2,500 character options. It has been mainly developed by Jan Luyken, aka Blaze Reason, with the aim of creating a game that can compete (if not surpass) the current biggest games on the market while remaining affordable for anyone. With its easily adaptable rules and wide range of options, from beginner-friendly to highly complex, it is designed to satisfy the needs of almost any story and play style. Description From epic fantasy and sci-fi to mundane humans facing everything from common threats to cosmic horror, Ishanekons: World Shapers’ modular design lets you easily adjust the rules to help you experience your stories. This game is designed with the idea that you bring the flavor, and the mechanics help you bring it to life. The 10 Archetypes with over 200 Sub-Archetypes, 1000+ Abilities, 600+ Talents, 300+ items and upgrades, and more allow you to build anything from a simple cat to a city-destroying kaiju. Role and complexity filters let you find what you need quickly while helping you avoid those features that might be too overwhelming for your liking. System Overview & Key Features Combat d20, Skill d10 The core of combat is built around d20 attack and defense rolls with modifiers that try to beat the enemy's Evasion and DR Power, respectively. Skills, on the other hand, are rolled with d10s, creating somewhat of a dice-based separation between combat and non-combat. Cinematic Actions While IWS has a solid tactical core that will satisfy most war gamers, it also comes with so-called “Cinematic Actions”. These allow narrative-driven actions, independent of what the rules say your character can do, balancing the rule of cool so that role players have a rules-light way to interact with the action, bringing the best of both worlds. Flexible Character Customization This system allows you to mix and match all sorts of Archetypes, features, and Abilities. It encourages such behavior and does not introduce any blocks, such as stat requirements. All sorts of interesting mechanical and flavor combinations open up once you start experimenting. This is also true for items. An extensive upgrade and crafting system exists that can turn any old blade into whatever you want. Carefully Balanced The system's core math has been calculated to ensure that every character option is viable. Breaking the game is not trivial, and you will feel strong, no matter if you are a martial, caster, or something in between. Every weapon and armor type can be wielded to great effect, and each Stat has its uses. “Optimal play” should never get in the way of what fits your character narratively. Regular Patches As a digital product, IWS can be easily expanded. Monthly patches bring new content, buff weak options, and nerf broken combos to help this game evolve and become the best it can be. New digital tools are also added and expanded, such as online character sheets and an encounter calculator. Build Your Own Creatures The website comes with more than 100 creatures, each of which has Level 0 to 15 versions, but creature templates and an online creature builder help you as the GM to create whatever monstrosities you want to throw at your players. All those 2,500 options can also be used for whatever you cook up. Additional links world-shapers.com - Official website world-shapers./resources/adventures - Free adventures Super short rules - Get started with Ishanekon fast

Mutants & Masterminds is a superhero role-playing game written by Steve Kenson and published by Green Ronin Publishing. The current 3rd Edition, which also serves as the engine for the DC Adventures game, was released in 2010. It is highly flexible, point buy system that allows players to build any superpower they can come up with, from classic caped crusaders and vigilantes to cosmic entities and mystical sorcerers. The system it directly evolved from is d20 System (2000) Description Mutants & Masterminds' game mechanics use a highly modified version of the d20 System. All characters in this game, from heroes and villains to the average person on the street, are defined by eight abilities, basic traits each character has to a greater or lesser extent. Abilities tell you how strong, smart, and aware a character is, among other things. The abilities are: Strength, Stamina, Agility, Dexterity, Fighting, Intellect, Awareness, and Presence System Overview & Key Features The Single d20 Engine The system is a true d20 engine. The twenty-sided die will be the only one you will need for the rest of the game. Every roll happens with the d20 as the baseline and then various bonuses and modifiers are added or subtracted. Point Buy Character Creation There are no random rolls for character creation. Players are given a budget of Power Points based on the campaign's Power Level. Every ability, from super strength to immortality, has a specific cost per rank, enabling high amounts of character customization and forging your unique superhero (or -villain). Effects Based Power Design Instead of a list of hundreds of pre defined spells or powers, the game uses Effects. If you want a fire blast, a freezing ray, or a telekinetic shove, you simply buy the "Damage" effect and apply descriptors like "Fire" or "Cold". This allows for endless creativity in how powers are themed. The Toughness Save vs Hit Points The game completely eliminates Hit Points. When a character is hit, they must make a Toughness resistance check. Failing the check results in cumulative penalties. A minor failure causes a "Bruise" penalty to future saves, while a massive failure can result in being dazed, staggered, or instantly knocked unconscious. Power Level Caps To keep the game balanced, the Game Master sets a Power Level (PL) for the campaign. This acts as a ceiling that limits the maximum total of a character's attack bonus, damage, defenses, and skills. This prevents one player from being mathematically untouchable while others struggle to contribute. Victory Points and Heroics Players can earn Victory Points (formerly Hero Points) for roleplaying their character's complications, such as a secret identity or a specific weakness like kryptonite. These points can be spent to reroll dice, recover from injuries, or use "Power Extractions" to perform stunts they haven't officially bought yet. Additional links greenronin.com - Official Green Ronin Publishing website d20herosrd.com - Official Mutants and Masterminds System Reference Document