Lodestar

We are an Actual Play podcast using Fantasy Flight Games’ Star Wars: Force and Destiny.  We currently running two campaigns, switching between the stories at the end of each chapter. The Coldfire Chronicles is run by Adam and tells tale of a group of escaped prisoners on the run from a member of the Inquisitorius and searching for the Jedi Knight Daveron Coldfire, and the Shadows of the Jedi run by Ed Fortune which tells the story of a group of unlikely friends and their adventures on a forgotten planet on the edge of Wild Space. Links forcemajeurepod.com - Official website youtube.com - "Shadows of the Jedi" Youtube playlist youtube.com - "Coldfire Chronicles" Youtube playlist spotify.com - Spotify feed podcasts.apple.com - Apple Podcasts feed discord.gg - Discord server patreon.com - Patreon page ko-fi.com - Ko-Fi page

Dragonbane is a classic fantasy tabletop roleplaying game published by Free League Publishing in 2023. It is a modern English translation and reimagining of Drakar och Demoner, Scandinavia's first and longest-running TTRPG, originally released in 1982. The game carries over four decades of Swedish gaming heritage into a sleek, accessible package designed around the philosophy of "mirth and mayhem": fast-paced adventures with minimal prep, where danger is real, luck matters, and even a humble merchant can become a legend. Unlike many modern fantasy RPGs, Dragonbane deliberately avoids the power-escalation treadmill of level-based systems. Characters are capable but mortal from session one, and the game works equally well for a single one-shot evening or a sprawling long-term campaign. It was a strong contender for TTRPG of the year on release, praised widely as one of the most accessible entry points into tabletop fantasy roleplaying. Description In Dragonbane, players take on the role of adventurers in the Misty Vale, a hidden mountain valley, ancient and full of ruins from fallen kingdoms, only recently cleared of orc and goblin occupation. The world is shaped by the eternal cosmic struggle between two great powers: the Dragons and the Demons, rival godlike forces whose conflict bleeds into mortal life. Players choose from six playable Kins: Humans, Dwarves, Elves, Halflings, the duck-like Mallards, and the feral Wolfkin and one of ten Professions (Fighter, Mage, Hunter, Thief, Artisan, Merchant, Mariner, Scholar, and others), each providing a distinct set of skills and heroic abilities. One player takes the role of the Game Master (GM), who builds the world, voices NPCs, and runs the dangers the adventurers face. The tone balances genuine peril and dark fantasy with moments of levity and absurdity. System Overview & Key Features Roll-Under D20 Skill System Dragonbane uses a clean roll-under mechanic. Every skill has a rating from 1 to 18, and to succeed, the player must roll equal to or below that number on a D20. There is no adding up bonuses or consulting modifiers, a skill of 14 means you need a 14 or lower. This keeps the math fast and intuitive while still creating meaningful differences between a trained and an untrained character. Rolling a Dragon & Rolling a Demon Natural 1s and 20s are not just successes and failures, they're narrative events. Rolling a 1 is "Rolling a Dragon": a critical success that triggers powerful, flavourful special effects. Rolling a 20 is "Rolling a Demon": a critical failure with immediate consequences. This naming convention ties the dice directly into the world's mythology and gives every roll dramatic weight. Push Your Luck If a skill roll fails, the player can choose to Push it, picking up the dice and rolling again. But every die that fails a second time inflicts a Condition. Characters can become Exhausted, Sickly, Dazed, Angry, Scared, or Disheartened, each imposing a specific mechanical penalty. Pushing is rarely free, and the decision of whether to push adds meaningful tension to every uncertain roll.. Willpower Points & Heroic Abilities Each character has a pool of Willpower Points (WP), a resource spent to activate their Profession's Heroic Abilities. A Fighter might spend WP to make a devastating counterattack; a Mage burns it to cast spells. Willpower represents the spark of exceptionalism that separates adventurers from ordinary folk, and managing it carefully is central to play. Card-Based Initiative Combat initiative is determined by drawing from a shuffled deck of initiative tokens. One per character and one per monster group. This creates a genuinely unpredictable turn order every round, keeping both players and GM on their toes and preventing the predictability of fixed initiative lists. Kin & Profession, Not Class & Level Character creation is fast: pick a Kin, pick a Profession, assign starting skills. After play begins, advancement is open: characters grow by spending experience on skills of their choice, unconstrained by class restrictions. This avoids the feeling of "wrong builds" and keeps development tied to what the characters actually do in play. Links freeleaguepublishing.com - Official website freeleaguepublishing.com - Free character sheets and campaign materials forum.frialigan.se - Free League forum

Fearless Few Gaming is a cinematic tabletop RPG channel built for a new generation of players, those who want to experience games before they ever sit down at the table. Founded by filmmaker and video production professional Will Ezell, the channel blends high end visual storytelling with practical, no nonsense breakdowns of tabletop RPG starter sets, boxed experiences, and complete entry points into the hobby. Every video is designed with a simple goal: remove the friction between curiosity and play. At its core, Fearless Few Gaming answers a question most channels overlook: “If I buy this box...what is it actually like?” A Channel Built Like a Production, Not a Review /images/general-media/1774041361_6040Hs97.png Fearless Few Gaming doesn’t operate like a traditional review channel. It operates like a production studio. Each episode is structured with intentional pacing, visual storytelling, and layered editing designed to mirror the experience of opening, learning, and playing a game in real time. From cinematic box reveals to dice shots and fully themed environments, every visual element reinforces immersion, not just information. This is not just coverage. It’s translation, taking complex systems, dense rulebooks, and intimidating boxes, and turning them into something watchable, and exciting so that you can decide for yourself. The Starter Set Society /images/general-media/1774041350_XQs9giAp.png The flagship series, The Starter Set Society, is the backbone of the channel and its defining identity. Each episode explores a curated starter set or boxed RPG experience and breaks it down through three lenses: - What’s actually inside the box - How the system plays at the table - Whether it delivers a compelling first session The format prioritizes clarity and momentum. Mechanics are explained lightly and cleanly then the focus shifts to experience. How it feels to play, how quickly players engage, and what kind of stories emerge. Episodes are structured to guide viewers from curiosity to confidence in around ten minutes. Designed for Discovery Fearless Few Gaming is built with discoverability in mind, both for viewers and for the games themselves. Each video is optimized to serve as an entry point into the hobby, using clear framing, accessible language, and tightly structured pacing that respects the viewer’s time while delivering real value. The channel actively targets new and returning players searching for the best way to start tabletop RPGs, positioning itself as a trusted first stop in that journey. It doesn’t just serve existing fans, it helps create new ones to keep the hobby thriving. Tone, Style, and Identity The voice of Fearless Few Gaming is confident, cinematic, and grounded. It avoids over explaining, avoids gatekeeping, and avoids the academic tone that often dominates the hobby. Instead, it delivers insight through perspective: what works, what stands out, and what actually matters when the game hits the table. Visually, the channel leans into bold, high contrast presentation with thematic lighting, stylized environments, and deliberate framing choices that elevate tabletop content into something closer to film. The Mission Fearless Few Gaming exists to make tabletop RPGs easier to start, more exciting to explore, and impossible to ignore. By combining professional level production with a deep understanding of what new players actually need, the channel lowers the barrier to entry for one of the most creative hobbies in the world. It doesn’t just review games. It builds the moment where someone decides to play their first one. Links Youtube channel