Theater of the Mindset

Haunted Holyoke is an actual play storytelling podcast created by teens from across Western Massachusetts through Valley Playwright Mentoring, an after-school program based at Holyoke Media. Each season follows a group of young people playing Kids on Bikes, a tabletop roleplaying game about ordinary kids confronting the strange, the supernatural, and the unseen forces shaping their town. Together, they build a shared story set in Holyoke, Massachusetts, where forgotten places hold memories, the past doesn’t stay buried, and every mystery comes with a cost. This project is part of Valley Playwright Mentoring, a program of Piti Theatre Company, and is made possible with support from MassHumanities, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, The Community Foundation of Western Mass, The Scarlet Socks Foundation, and other public and private funders. Blending improvisation, character-driven storytelling, and collaborative worldbuilding, Haunted Holyoke explores themes of memory, belonging, and what it means to face the unknown together. Links spotify.com - Spotify feed podcasts.apple.com - Apple Podcasts Feed

Foundry VTT is a self-hosted, modern virtual tabletop application that revolutionized the digital RPG space upon its release in 2020. Developed by Andrew Clayton, it recently celebrated its five-year anniversary with the launch of Version 13. Unlike its subscription-based competitors, Foundry provides a powerful, high-performance environment that runs in a web browser while giving the Game Master total control over their data and hosting. It is widely considered the "Gold Standard" for power users and tactical GMs. Description Foundry VTT is built on modern web technologies (Node.js and WebGL), allowing for hardware-accelerated visuals that outclass almost any other browser-based platform. It is a "buy-once, own-forever" product where the GM hosts the server locally or via a cloud service, and players connect for free through their browser. Its true strength lies in its modularity; with thousands of community-made modules, a GM can transform the software from a simple dice roller into a fully automated, cinematic video-game-like experience. System Overview & Key Features One-Time Purchase Model There are no monthly fees or feature gating. Once you buy a license, you own the software and all future core updates. You can host an unlimited number of players, and they never have to pay a cent to join your games. Dynamic Lighting and Vision Foundry's lighting engine is best-in-class. It supports per-token vision, "fog of war" that persists between sessions, and complex light sources (like flickering torches or pulsing magical orbs) that interact realistically with walls and doors in real-time. Extensive Module Library The community has created over 2,000 free modules that add everything from "3D Dice" and "Animated Weather" to "Automated Combat" that handles math, resistance, and condition tracking automatically when a player rolls an attack. V13 "ApplicationV2" UI The 2025/2026 updates introduced a reimagined user interface. It is faster, more accessible, and allows for much better window management, reducing the "screen clutter" that previously plagued the software during complex sessions. Self-Hosting and Data Privacy Because you host the server, your maps, character sheets, and campaign notes are stored on your own hardware (or your chosen cloud provider). You aren't reliant on a third-party company's servers staying online to access your game. Massive System Support While it is famous for its "premium" level support for Pathfinder 2e and D&D 5e, Foundry supports over 200 different RPG systems, many of which feature official, high-quality modules from publishers like Free League and Paizo. Additional links foundryvtt.com - Official Foundry VTT website and Knowledge Base forge-vtt.com - The Forge (The most popular specialized hosting service for Foundry) r/FoundryVTT : Active community for support and module discovery

Delta Green is a standalone tabletop roleplaying game of modern conspiracy and cosmic horror. Originally a supplement for Call of Cthulhu, the current standalone edition was published by Arc Dream Publishing in 2016. Players take on the roles of federal agents or contractors working for a secret, illegal organization dedicated to containing supernatural threats and covering up the existence of the Cthulhu Mythos to protect the United States. The system it directly evolved from is Call of Cthulhu Description In Delta Green, the horror is not just about monsters; it is about the toll that a life of secrecy and violence takes on the human soul. Agents juggle their high stakes investigations with their crumbling personal lives. They must navigate a world of bureaucratic red tape, government conspiracies, and sanity shattering entities while ensuring that no one, not even their own families, ever finds out the truth. The game is famous for its bleak tone and focus on the cost of the "Great Work." System Overview & Key Features d100 Percentile System The game uses a familiar percentile dice engine. Skills are rated from 01 to 99. To succeed, you must roll equal to or under your skill rating. If the tens and ones digits match (a double) and the roll is a success, it is a critical success; if it is a failure, it is a critical failure. Bonds and Domestic Ruin Agents have Bonds representing their relationships with loved ones or colleagues. When an agent suffers Sanity loss, they can choose to project that trauma onto a Bond to reduce the loss. This mechanically represents the agent coming home and taking their trauma out on their family, slowly destroying their personal life to stay functional in the field. Sanity and Adaptation The game tracks three types of Sanity loss: Violence, Helplessness, and the Unnatural. If an agent experiences enough Violence or Helplessness without breaking, they can become "adapted," making them more resilient to those triggers but less capable of maintaining human empathy and Bonds. Lethality Rating Instead of rolling many dice for heavy weapons like assault rifles or explosives, Delta Green uses a Lethality percentage. If the player rolls under this rating, the target is instantly killed. If they roll over it, the weapon deals a fixed, significant amount of damage instead. The Home Phase Between missions (Operas), players play through a "Home" scene. They must choose how to spend their limited time: fulfilling responsibilities to maintain Bonds, seeking therapy to recover Sanity, or practicing skills. Choosing one often means neglecting the others, leading to a downward spiral of isolation. Special Training and Agencies Character creation is deeply rooted in real world professions. Whether you are a CIA Case Officer, an FBI Special Agent, or a CDC Epidemiologist, your profession dictates your starting skills and the federal resources you can leverage during an investigation. Additional links deltagreen.com - Official Delta Green website arcdream.com - Official Arc Dream Publishing website