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The Smiling Fox is an unofficial Mythic Bastionland podcast.
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- Sep 28, 20261h 38m
Ep 11 - Road to Bastion
Mythic Bastionland was created by Chris McDowall https://bastionlandpress.com/products/mythic-bastionland-hardback-book-plus-pdfOur intro music is "Medieval" by Ptibec https://openverse.org/audio/1f62fd74-2742-45de-b6eb-79f9dbbddb3a and is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.Our outro music is "The New Age" by Jesse.Mixed by Jesse from https://beardmancerbungalow.blot.im/.Timings:00:00 Intro01:03 Teaching / games crossover02:34 Getting to the good stuff05:12 The bone magnet saga06:46 Leveling up08:52 Early game designs10:58 🎲 A Wanderer's Romance13:50 Wanderer's code, knight's oath14:46 100 Burdens16:55 Playtesting18:25 Breaking the oath21:30 Extending the oath22:10 🎲 Into the Odd (and Google+)25:59 Imagined versions of games27:57 Hacks of Into the Odd and Mythic33:10 Writing myths36:26 Random or selected myths37:39 Adding to the stew40:55 🎲 Electric Bastionland43:50 Classes in Mythic Bastionland45:30 Spark tables46:34 The hex crawl50:55 Why twelve?52:27 🎲 Ask the stars53:46 The first attempt at Intergalactic54:42 The living stars57:46 What is a Bastionland game?01:00:04 FKR01:01:52 🎲 Blighters01:03:56 Lonely space to the big ship01:07:12 🎲 The Doomed and MAC Attack01:11:43 Evolution of Gambits01:17:58 Bonus dice01:20:35 Future expansions?01:21:48 Mythic blog posts01:24:44 (Unanswered) FAQ01:27:41 No Romans, no roads01:30:47 🎲 Intergalactic Bastionland01:37:45 OutroDiscussed on the show:Into the Odd, Electric Bastionland, Mythic Bastionland: https://www.bastionland.com/gg no re playing Deep Carbon Observatory (and killing the Giant): https://fountain.fm/episode/9y9VZark2TsSVUVrEy2VPowergame by Mikko Kauppinen: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Eqrkqgulee5ntjwRcNnFByH3qu74uJ7A/viewA Wanderer’s Romance: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/92757/a-wanderer-s-romanceEco Mofos: https://davidblandy.itch.io/eco-mofosMaze Rats: https://questingbeast.itch.io/maze-ratsCairn: https://cairnrpg.com/Tunnel Goons: https://tunnelgoons.com/The apple sniffing horse: https://bsky.app/profile/bastionland.bsky.social/post/3mcyzqa4kqs26Ask the Stars: https://www.bastionland.com/2020/12/ask-stars-minimal-solo-rpg.html2400: https://jasontocci.itch.io/2400Arkbound / Xenofringe: https://www.bastionland.com/2012/07/Die Bonehead Die https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ffZhkW9kWlOhaDQsbjCfrg-4_or3xALR9FYEXJ4VF3I/Cornetto Trilogy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Flavours_CornettoBlighters https://bit.ly/blightersrpgThe Doomed https://www.ospreypublishing.com/uk/doomed-9781472854254/MAC Attack https://chrismcdee.itch.io/mac-attackImpairing Impairing https://www.bastionland.com/2025/07/impairing-impairing.htmlBetween the Ages https://www.bastionland.com/2025/05/between-ages.htmlBetween Seasons https://www.bastionland.com/2025/05/between-seasons.htmlMythic Rivers ttps://www.bastionland.com/2025/08/mythic-rivers.htmlA Mythic Calendar https://www.bastionland.com/2024/10/a-mythic-calendar.htmlFind the hosts at:William https://halfawormandabittenapple.blogspot.com/Horst <a href="https://b
- Aug 10, 20261h 33m
Ep 10 - On Refereeing
Mythic Bastionland was created by Chris McDowall https://bastionlandpress.com/products/mythic-bastionland-hardback-book-plus-pdfOur intro music is "Medieval" by Ptibec https://openverse.org/audio/1f62fd74-2742-45de-b6eb-79f9dbbddb3a and is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.Our outro music is "Harbinger" by Jesse.Mixed by Jesse from https://beardmancerbungalow.blot.im/.Timings:00:00 Intro00:49 Refereeing experience15:38 Primacy of Action22:33 Action Procedure55:56 Generalizable GMing Advice1:06:39 You be the Judge1:30:17 The Tree Root Hunger1:32:06 OutroDiscussed on the show:Crossing the Line: https://mightyatom.blogspot.com/2010/10/apocalypse-world-crossing-line.htmlLandmark information: https://diyanddragons.blogspot.com/2019/10/landmark-hidden-secret.htmlReputation table: https://lukegearing.blot.im/reputation-tablesPondering Failure: https://beardmancerbungalow.blot.im/to-hit-or-no-to-hit-a-pleaICI Doctrine: https://www.bastionland.com/2018/09/the-ici-doctrine-information-choice.htmlDifficulty in Bastionland: https://www.bastionland.com/2020/03/difficulty-in-bastionland.htmlFind the hosts at:William https://halfawormandabittenapple.blogspot.com/Horst https://blackcitygauntlet.blogspot.com/Jesse https://beardmancerbungalow.blot.im/
- Jul 6, 20261h 31m
Ep 9 - Anatomy of a Myth
Show notes:Mythic Bastionland was created by Chris McDowall https://bastionlandpress.com/products/mythic-bastionland-hardback-book-plus-pdfOur intro music is "Medieval" by Ptibec https://openverse.org/audio/1f62fd74-2742-45de-b6eb-79f9dbbddb3a and is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.Our outro music is "The New Age" by Jesse.Mixed by Jesse from https://beardmancerbungalow.blot.im/.Timings:00:00 The Intro00:49 The Name01:35 The Poem03:21 The Illustration06:54 The Table11:10 The Cast22:37 The Ruin24:11 The Object31:18 The Omens42:34 The Checklist59:22 The Resolution1:06:32 The Failure1:09:40 The Creation1:14:44 The Holdings1:22:00 The Judge1:31:03 The OutroDiscussed on the show:Sticky Goblins https://falsemachine.blogspot.com/2021/02/sticky-goblins.htmlHolding Threads https://www.bastionland.com/2025/09/holding-threads.html?m=1Encounter Checklist https://www.prismaticwasteland.com/blog/encounter-checklistThe Game of Three Truths in the campaign https://blackcitygauntlet.blogspot.com/2026/06/the-thrice-ninth-kingdom-xii.htmlWilliam's explanation on his mechanism for A Game of Three Truths https://halfawormandabittenapple.blogspot.com/2026/07/a-game-of-three-truths.htmlFind the hosts at:Brian https://luckroll.blogspot.com/William https://halfawormandabittenapple.blogspot.com/Horst https://blackcitygauntlet.blogspot.com/Jesse https://beardmancerbungalow.blot.im/
- May 4, 20261h 8m
Ep 8 - Bonfires from Sparks
Show notes:Mythic Bastionland was created by Chris McDowall https://bastionlandpress.com/products/mythic-bastionland-hardback-book-plus-pdfMusic: I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire (Benjamin, Durham, Marcus, Seiler: 1938)Our intro music is "Medieval" by Ptibec https://openverse.org/audio/1f62fd74-2742-45de-b6eb-79f9dbbddb3a and is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.Our outro music is "Medieval Victory Epic (Version 1)" by makesound https://openverse.org/audio/794859e7-c63c-466e-9f76-631e1e01e098 and is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0.Mixed by Jesse from https://beardmancerbungalow.blot.im/.Timings:00:00 Intro00:55 Example Spark Table results03:47 Sparks for special contexts04:52 Mixing and matching06:49 The squire wager07:40 Changing the purpose08:12 Under time pressure13:31 Rerolling15:59 Elaborating later17:39 Myth-like results20:24 Chains of associations22:06 Themes for interpretation23:58 Woland - a collaborative mythic realm34:16 Lasting effects36:38 40+ sessions37:25 Threads that aren't myths44:12 Adding extra omens45:10 More example Sparks48:24 You be the Judge!55:24 Q+A Branching omens58:40 Q+A Environmental challenges1:02:47 Q+A Non-interactive omens1:07:17 OutroDiscussed on the show:Blorb principles https://idiomdrottning.org/blorb-principlesOddpocrypha on Landmarks (Mythic Bastionland page 199)Tale of the Manticore - season 3 using delayed interpretation of Mythic Game Master Emulator spark table results https://www.spreaker.com/episode/episode-1-s3e01--62324279Woland project - launch and collection of all articles https://halfawormandabittenapple.blogspot.com/2026/01/woland-collaborative-mythic-realm.htmlBeardmancer’s method for blending sparks for prep https://beardmancerbungalow.blot.im/one-method-to-prep-for-improvisationd4 Caltrops’s d100 – Absent Adventurer: Where Have You Been? https://blog.d4caltrops.com/2026/01/d100-absent-adventurer-where-have-you.htmlBastionland Discord - source of questions for the Q+A section https://discord.com/invite/Y6sGBraFind the hosts at:Brian https://luckroll.blogspot.com/William https://halfawormandabittenapple.blogspot.com/Horst https://blackcitygauntlet.blogspot.com/
- Feb 21, 20261h 20m
Ep 7 - The Mythical and the Mundane
Show notes:We're joined by Kieron Gillen from https://oldmenrunningtheworld.com/ and designer of DIE: The Roleplaying Game https://rowanrookanddecard.itch.io/die-rpgThis episode also features a previously-recorded segment from our episode 3 guest, Jesse from https://beardmancerbungalow.blot.im/.Mythic Bastionland was created by Chris McDowall https://bastionlandpress.com/products/mythic-bastionland-hardback-book-plus-pdfOur intro music is "Medieval" by Ptibec https://openverse.org/audio/1f62fd74-2742-45de-b6eb-79f9dbbddb3a and is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.Our outro music is "Medieval Victory Epic (Version 1)" by makesound https://openverse.org/audio/794859e7-c63c-466e-9f76-631e1e01e098 and is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0.Timings:00:00 Intro03:21 Setting up the realm06:10 Sparks when needed09:31 Blorbiness and characters14:17 Ageing and legacy15:29 Narrative and story18:00 Protecting the reality21:09 Seers22:15 A generational saga27:48 Unresolved situations32:23 Prepping myths and sites35:57 Succession37:26 Turning the wheels38:58 Pursuits41:27 Planning time jumps43:59 The knights' reputations44:54 Batman creating supervillains47:30 Myths as problems48:41 Domain-level play50:58 Questing knights52:47 Skipping travel54:29 Feasts and Seers57:21 Talking to stones58:41 Sparks and improv1:00:55 Ending the campaign1:04:25 Jesse: Story Game / OSR1:06:29 Kieron: Story Game / OSR1:11:07 The Oath as GM principles1:13:00 You be the Judge!1:19:16 OutroDiscussed on the show:Kieron's comics https://bindings.app/shelf/1FLv6kLbKieron's games https://kierongillen.itch.io/Amiga Power https://archive.org/details/amiga-powerSpeedball 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyX4BPU-BaoBlorb principles https://idiomdrottning.org/blorb-principlesStephen R Donaldson: Mordant's Need https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mordant%27s_NeedThe Skim: Mythic Bastionland https://oldmenrunningtheworld.com/the-skim-mythic-bastionland/Pendragon https://www.chaosium.com/pendragon/Find the hosts at:Brian https://luckroll.blogspot.com/William https://halfawormandabittenapple.blogspot.com/Horst https://blackcitygauntlet.blogspot.com/
- Jan 28, 20261h 1m
Ep 6 - To Stick the Landing
Show notes:We're joined by Amanda P. from https://weirdwonder.bearblog.dev/ and https://weirdwonder.itch.io/Mythic Bastionland was created by Chris McDowall https://bastionlandpress.com/products/mythic-bastionland-hardback-book-plus-pdfOur intro music is "Medieval" by Ptibec https://openverse.org/audio/1f62fd74-2742-45de-b6eb-79f9dbbddb3a and is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.Our outro music is "Medieval Victory Epic (Version 1)" by makesound https://openverse.org/audio/794859e7-c63c-466e-9f76-631e1e01e098 and is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0.Timings:00:00 Intro01:00 Amanda's writing03:51 Horror06:19 Pilgrimage of the Sun Guard13:50 Capsule games15:54 Mythical and Mundane16:47 Preparing the realm24:16 Campaign one-sheet26:25 Player buy-in28:03 Using OSR supplements31:55 Two realms, many seasons37:16 The next campaign?42:46 The epilogue45:14 The City Quest50:58 You be the Judge!57:45 Player theories59:58 OutroDiscussed on the show:Amanda P's blogpost Arthurian Mysticism and Violence: a Mythic Bastionland Analysis: https://weirdwonder.bearblog.dev/mythic-bastionland/Pilgrimage of the Sun Guard: https://weirdwonder.itch.io/sunguardChris Bissette's game jam https://itch.io/jam/wretched-jamd4 Caltrops blog https://blog.d4caltrops.com/Armanda Haller https://armandah.itch.io/Mythic GM Emulator https://www.wordmillgames.com/page/mythic-gme.htmlA procedure for playing group modules as solo adventures https://symbolic.city/misc/mastermind-soloJohn Harper: Lady Blackbird https://ladyblackbird.org/Michael E. Shea: The Lazy GM's Resource Document https://slyflourish.com/lazy_gm_resource_document.htmlCapsule games https://riseupcomus.blogspot.com/2024/01/capsule-games-part-i-what-are-capsule.htmlBooks mentioned:Louisa May Alcott: Little Women https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/37106Sir James Knowles: The Legends of King Arthur and His Knights https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12753Sir Thomas Malory: Le Morte d'Arthur https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1251Chrétien de Troyes: Perceval, the Story of the Grail https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perceval%2C_the_Story_of_the_GrailFind the hosts at:Brian https://luckroll.blogspot.com/William https://halfawormandabittenapple.blogspot.com/Horst https://blackcitygauntlet.blogspot.com/
- Dec 7, 202555 min
Ep 5 - The Art of War
Show notes:Mythic Bastionland was created by Chris McDowall https://bastionlandpress.com/products/mythic-bastionland-hardback-book-plus-pdfOur intro music is "Medieval" by Ptibec https://openverse.org/audio/1f62fd74-2742-45de-b6eb-79f9dbbddb3a and is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.Our outro music is "Medieval Victory Epic (Version 1)" by makesound https://openverse.org/audio/794859e7-c63c-466e-9f76-631e1e01e098 and is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0.The music "(Bossa Nova Loop) Thank You for Shopping!" by plasterbrain https://freesound.org/people/plasterbrain/sounds/464924/ is licensed under Creative Commons 0.Timings:00:00 Intro01:00 Decisive combat02:54 Combat rules and characters04:33 Narrating combat06:00 Bad rolls08:28 Combat environments11:15 Mortal wounds and scars17:06 Leaving characters exposed18:48 Impairing weapons24:16 Creative gambits27:30 Focus29:24 Warband combat32:36 Bonus attack dice38:45 Memorable fights46:14 You be the Judge!54:44 OutroDiscussed on the show:Decisive combat https://www.bastionland.com/2017/05/decisive-combat.htmlHeld Kinetic Energy in Old School Combat Arenas https://falsemachine.blogspot.com/2017/07/held-kinetic-energy-in-old-school.htmlImpairing Impairing https://www.bastionland.com/2025/07/impairing-impairing.htmlHouse rule idea: Giant creatures as Warbands (u/Jack_Shandy) https://www.reddit.com/r/MythicBastionland/comments/1oycio1/house_rule_idea_giant_creatures_as_warbands/Find the hosts at:Brian https://luckroll.blogspot.com/William https://halfawormandabittenapple.blogspot.com/Horst https://blackcitygauntlet.blogspot.com/
- Nov 3, 20251h 3m
Ep 4 - Storytelling
Show notes:We're joined by Thomas Manuel to discuss his recent actual play. You can find Thomas at:Yes Indie'd Podcast https://open.spotify.com/show/1B1W6XzutFweJPW88L3PxkIndie RPG Newsletter https://ttrpg.in/Rascal https://www.rascal.news/His Mythic Bastionland games:First story arc: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNuXiEYyM4itTXztUsIXmD6JG4w_FGWXcSecond story arc: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNuXiEYyM4isMPsTSspN-mdScWt2E9l2THis referee, Judd Karlman https://githyankidiaspora.com/mythic-bastionland/His liege, MadJay https://playfearless.substack.com/Mythic Bastionland was created by Chris McDowall https://bastionlandpress.com/products/mythic-bastionland-hardback-book-plus-pdfOur intro music is "Medieval" by Ptibec https://openverse.org/audio/1f62fd74-2742-45de-b6eb-79f9dbbddb3a and is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.Our outro music is "Medieval Victory Epic (Version 1)" by makesound https://openverse.org/audio/794859e7-c63c-466e-9f76-631e1e01e098 and is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0.Timings:00:00 Intro01:52 Thomas' campaign06:19 Connections and relationships10:15 Rolling a knight12:23 Being a good player15:50 The Smiling Fox play by post17:51 Play style19:57 Improv23:57 Myths for challenge and flavour31:59 Combat!37:19 Fostering player creativity41:23 Sharing the map44:09 Collaborative descriptions47:21 First time GMs51:36 Duelling as a highlight52:30 Preferred number of players54:41 You be the Judge!1:02:58 OutroDiscussed on the show:Interview with Prismatic Wasteland https://open.spotify.com/episode/6hsUWciOWZ7MKivI0KWRsmSticky encounters https://www.prismaticwasteland.com/blog/encounter-checklistFind the hosts at:Brian https://luckroll.blogspot.com/William https://halfawormandabittenapple.blogspot.com/Horst https://blackcitygauntlet.blogspot.com/
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