Sword of Symphonies
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Creator: Peach Garden Games
Full cast Fantasy Longform Audio RPG
Synopsis:
Cozy roleplaying in a haunted post-apocalypse.
Join Cobb, Tissa, and Penelope as they travel the pastoral continent of Amylte and try to help the world heal from the mistakes of its war-torn past.
Sword of Symphonies is the award-winning Actual Playtest of Heroic Chord, led by designer Cat McDonald and played by their excellent friends.
Format: Audio RPG
RPG system: Heroic Chord
Continuity: Longform
Voices: Cast
Genres: Fantasy
Not tagged: [Maturity] [Creator demographics] [Character demographics] [Country of origin] [Transcript] [Completion status] [Content warnings]
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Episodes:
Heroic Chord Publishing Announcement!
Thu, 22 Aug 2024 12:14:52 +0000
That’s right, our friends at Evil Hat are going to be publishing Rangers of a Broken World, and you can get in on the open playtest by going to Evil Hat's Website
Feed Drop - Afterschool Wonderland.
Sun, 21 Apr 2024 16:12:00 +0000
The next project from Cosmos Cameo Studios is live on Kickstarter! We're playing Animon Story, a Pokemon and Digimon inspired game by Zak Barouh.
Join Misha, Syd, and Alexis as they go through the mirror to the mysterious City Spectacular, meet their reflections, and help avert a disaster coming for both worlds!
Support the Kickstarter at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/peachgardengames/afterschool-wonderland
Check out Animon Story at
https://www.animonstory.com/
Sat, 04 Nov 2023 21:53:50 +0000
DId you know that if you squint, I Came Here to Win can be used to play a Halloween party that goes horribly wrong?
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
They Were Once (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 56)
Sat, 15 Apr 2023 15:58:00 +0000
In an enormous nest lined with soft tawny feathers, the Prince of This Island sits, knees drawn close to their chest, watching the sea. They close their glassy black eyes and begin to hum, rocking side to side as the sounds of the waves beat a backing track against This Island’s stony beach. It brings back a pleasant memory.
“You will come to understand” the Prince repeats out loud. They can’t help but wonder if this prophecy has come true for their visitor.
A storm is brewing in the distance. The Prince cannot hear its voice, but they know it has a powerful will and a mind of its own.
The Eagle comes home to his roost, and the Prince moves aside to make room for his huge, warm body.
At the end, all we have is one another.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
They Were Once (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 55)
Sat, 08 Apr 2023 22:53:16 +0000
“I understand this must be confusing,” says the soft little human in the robe, and the Ambassador in Pearl hates that thought.
“It is not.” She moves her head, and she can feel the movement ripple down the cloak of javelins covering her back. Any one of them would end this uncomfortable encounter.
“Ah. My apologies for assuming. But, it’s about time you and I discussed the terms of your agreement with us, right?”
“Is it?” She has no sense of time. Some of the humans in the robes seem to know this, and some do not.
“Let’s. May I start by asking what it is you want?”
She casts her gaze back at the Mountain, where her kin writhe and slither over a world too crowded for them.
“To be left alone.”
She looks back at the human, whose expression has changed. From what, and into what, she couldn’t say. Whatever this little creature is feeling, she thinks, it had better include fear.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Mausoleum of Mischief (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 54)
Sun, 02 Apr 2023 00:20:16 +0000
The Emerald Duchess approaches the city of Stageport, surrounded by a flurry of daemons. She takes the first step from the soft grass of the Veldt onto the fabricated stone roads of this gray world. A cloud of poison whirls around her, and her very breath is plague.
The sky above her is darkened, and amid the thump of massive wingbeats, the Clocktower Baroness herself descends from the sky to land on the road, face proud and tail lashing. Any humans nearby flee to their homes.
The Baroness will protect this city.
Not out of obligation, or necessity, or obsession.
Out of love.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Mausoleum of Mischief (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 53)
Sun, 26 Mar 2023 22:42:25 +0000
The Ambassador in Pearl stops in her tracks, and her hounds circle in close to her as everything in the clearing becomes still.
"There you are. Do you have a moment?”
She turns to see a human, one of the ones in the robes that comes to talk to her sometimes. He is small and slow and soft and round at the edges. This one is unarmed, but they aren’t always. Someone else’s daemon follows at his heels. The sight is disgusting, but somehow she swallows her irritation.
“What do you want?”
“The same as always. Just to talk. Are you all right?”
The Ambassador looks at the Mountain. From here, she can hear the cries of her despised kin.
But something is missing in her heart. She can feel it. The primal hatred that has always driven her is waning like a silver moon.
And this little human, this tiny creature, knows it.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Descent in Silver and Glass (Cat Solo)
Sat, 21 Jan 2023 03:49:56 +0000
Does Cat really deserve to rule as Host King? Let’s play the new game Descent in Silver and Glass to find out!
Check out Solo But Not Alone here!
Journey SRD and Beneath the Wishing Tree here!
Mastering by Kathleen - thanks a ton!
I Left Them Unattended (Cat's Cradle 29)
Sat, 15 Oct 2022 17:22:35 +0000
I have no idea what happens in this one. I’ve been working hard on stuff for our new network, and so I left them to their own devices and this is what they sent me.
Music by Kathleen!
Mausoleum of Mischief (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 52)
Sat, 27 Aug 2022 13:27:00 +0000
She is hungry. She is always hungry.
Surrounded by a chill mist and the infinite darkness of the southern ocean, she waits, hungry, for her next prey to approach.
A ship drifts past her, and faintly, she can hear singing from the deck. For a second, she is no longer hungry, but curious about the sound, compelled to learn more.
The Princess of the Southern Isles shakes her head to clear it, ignores the music, and drifts through the mist toward her next meal.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Mausoleum of Mischief (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 51)
Sat, 20 Aug 2022 11:54:00 +0000
The ironclad Invincible drifts up Amylte’s coast, casually knocking aside the ice floes that decorate the surface of the ocean this far northeast.
The Admiral of the Glacier Legion stands on the deck, looking out over the shoreline, a hot drink in his hands. He can see a glint from the coast.
The tundra surrounding a small ancient shrine is no longer bare – now, it is covered in steel grass and flowers sprouted by the Princess Of The Shrine of Blades. Just like the scouts reported, she has left her shrine and taken up arms against the Swarm for the first time.
He does not know what to do with the idea that the Princess will no longer permit herself to be predicted.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Mausoleum of Mischief (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 50)
Sat, 13 Aug 2022 23:53:35 +0000
In an abandoned hall half-buried in the Veldt, the emerald Duchess opens her eerie green eyes to the sight of light filtering in through the one window that remains.
This is her place, and until now that has always been enough for her.
But, this morning, she emerges from the hall and stares out over the world of green that surrounds her, moved by a longing she doesn’t understand. Or rather, by a longing she used to understand but had forgotten.
Her venomous daemons swirl around her on the air, in the shapes of birds and beetles and any number of shining green creatures. Idly, she thinks what a long time it has been since she has been in the city.
So she begins to walk.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Mausoleum of Mischief (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 49)
Sat, 30 Jul 2022 23:34:55 +0000
The Radiant Prince hops off his altar, in the darkness of the shrine called Escape Route of the South Wind, content to be the only light in the stone ruins. His odd little courtiers watch him as they go about their business sweeping up the shrine for him, and all is right with his world.
He runs a hand along the carved surface of the shrine’s walls, and a memory startles him, as if waking him from a deep sleep. Visions of the past, of the people who carved these walls, of the offerings once laid upon the altar where he sits, a magic spell meant to convey to him the value of the place and its memories.
When the spell was cast, he hadn’t really understood the idea that history was a treasure, and somehow today he does.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Roadtrip Problems (Cat's Cradle 28)
Sat, 16 Jul 2022 06:33:00 +0000
This week on Cat’s Cradle, hop in the car with us! We’re joined by Bappy from The Eternity Archives! We’re going on a roadtrip, and it’s time to answer the eternal gamer question:
What should we play?
Music by Kathleen!
Veldt Stories (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 48)
Sat, 09 Jul 2022 17:18:18 +0000
The sky over the eastern desert is enormous. Standing on the sacred plateau where the remains of the deilith Benevolent Zhuge are collected, one can see from horizon to horizon, an endless world under an endless sky.
The torches that adorn the plateau flicker.
Moved by the sight, and terrified by the thought of being moved by the sight, the Chosen Emperor places his face in his hands and begins to weep.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Chains of Obsession (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 47)
Sat, 02 Jul 2022 06:06:00 +0000
The moon is full over the Silver River, and for the first time in ages, as the tide recedes, the sound of a flute echoes over the area.
One by one, they emerge from the cave, dressed in layers of seawater-soaked silks embroidered with gold. One in violet, one in blue. In teal and green and yellow and orange. Six beauties wade through the ocean to approach the Silver River and the city of Celres, moving as one being and staring around at the world again.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Thanks for joining us, Dillon!
Chains of Obsession (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 46)
Sat, 25 Jun 2022 05:52:00 +0000
What is the purpose of power?
There are countless answers, of course, from countless people, ranging from obvious to esoteric, from benevolent to craven. But for many people, power is its own reason, and they don’t stop to consider why.
In Amylte, there are Noble Demons, and there are Horrors, and there is a wild world hostile to humanity. In the face of this, many want power to help others, to protect the things they see as worth protecting.
But in the face of the Noble Demons, the Horrors, and the mistakes of the past, it can be hard to imagine power as a good thing.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Thanks for joining us, Dillon!
In Pieces (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 45)
Sat, 18 Jun 2022 05:46:00 +0000
For better or for worse, chaos reigns in Amylte. The gods are asleep, the kings dethroned, the land unruled except by its own nightmares.
For better or worse, the age of order in Amylte is over. Nations and institutions melted with the mountains, sunk into the Veldt with the rest of the ruins. People are left deciding on their own how to take care of each other, how to live their lives, and how to rebuild.
And whether this is for better or worse is now for them to decide.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
In Pieces (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 44)
Sat, 11 Jun 2022 15:37:04 +0000
This week Kathleen did the intro, as is tradition! So, enjoy!
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Dragons of Amylte (Cat's Cradle 27)
Sat, 28 May 2022 15:56:14 +0000
This week on Cat’s Cradle, Cat has finally done their best to write a Golden Sky Stories!
It’s called Dragons of Amylte, and it’s a sweet little family-friendly game about being baby shapeshifters and learning new ways to interact with the world.
So, Nick and Kathleen agreed to playtest! Join Newt and Rhododendron as they use their very best manners when meeting a new friend.
Music by Kathleen!
In Pieces (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 43)
Sat, 21 May 2022 06:12:00 +0000
Listener, about two weeks ago I knocked a bowl off my kitchen counter onto the floor, where it shattered. I swore a little, and then set about sweeping up the pieces and safely disposing of them to prevent future injuries.
About a week ago, I saw something in the bedroom, stark white against the rug. It was a piece of porcelain, a jagged little blade about the size of a fingernail. I have no idea how it got there.
When things break, there is no telling where the pieces will end up.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Personal Growth (Cat's Cradle 26)
Sat, 07 May 2022 06:40:00 +0000
This week on Cat’s Cradle, we talk about levels, gear, abilities, mechanics, and other ways that characters change in a long-term roleplaying game!
What does it mean to level up? When should abilities be given, and what kinds of abilities should be gated behind levels? What different ways to players have to expand their play options as a game goes on?
How many M&Ms can Nick eat?
Music by Kathleen!
In Pieces (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 42)
Sat, 30 Apr 2022 06:50:00 +0000
(Content warning: Trauma, trauma responses, claustrophobia)
One hundred million years ago, there was a river. Most people can’t conceive of one million, let alone one hundred of them, but it’s true. Back when the mountains of the Coral Coast were proud, jagged peaks and the Cloudcombs weren’t even born yet, there was a river. It wound out of the proud mountains down over the lush plains to the sea, as many rivers seem to like to do. Over the course of its lifetime it flooded and ebbed and changed course countless times, until it settled into the shape of a broad, placid river with a wide flood plain, the kind humans would love if they existed yet.
And on this flood plain there dwelled a god. Not a Deilith – not yet – but a living and moving deity. A god who laughed and danced and played the first music the river had ever seen.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
In Pieces (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 41)
Sat, 16 Apr 2022 06:32:00 +0000
The thing about organic life is that, while it can be broken, wounded and damaged, it cannot be repaired. We are not bridges, or knives, or clocks. We are not doors or garments or wheels.
We can’t be mended, we can only heal, and even then, we hold on to scar tissue both literal and metaphorical as a record of that healing. Like a tree growing over and around a deep gash in its body, we hold on to our wounds. Our bones remember every break.
We are books, carrying our own history.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
In Pieces (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 40)
Sat, 09 Apr 2022 08:00:00 +0000
In our chaotic world, everything is changing.
Things change in dramatic, explosive, powerful ways. They change in subtle, invisible ways. Every action changes the world, and the world in turn changes us, and makes us look at the world with new eyes and see it changed again.
Moment to moment, the world is being reborn.
In light of that, what is the purpose of looking back?
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Dice Scream Sunday (Cat's Cradle 25)
Sat, 02 Apr 2022 06:08:00 +0000
Yes, this episode goes live on Saturday. Humor me.
What are your favorite dice? What are your favorite ways to use them? How can you use random outcome mechanics deliberately and mindfully?
Music by Kathleen!
In Pieces (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 39)
Sat, 26 Mar 2022 16:37:07 +0000
Listener, let’s start at the end this time.
When the action is done with, and the story is told, and what sense can be made of things has been, what remains is memories. Memories are the final product of our mind’s alchemical process, the gold we make of leaden everyday events.
Memories aren’t the end. They remain with us, guideposts to our mind and our identity, and so many beginnings are formed by following them. We build new memories among them, again and again, as time filters through our minds.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
The One About Crunch (Cat's Cradle 24)
Sat, 19 Mar 2022 14:46:48 +0000
This week, Cat, Nick, and Kathleen talk about crunch, fashion in game design, and reasons you might want to make a very crunchy game!
Music by Kathleen!
Noble Goals (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 38)
Sat, 12 Mar 2022 07:49:00 +0000
It can be comforting to think that everything has an assigned place in the world, and that, like a well-ordered kitchen, things will make sense when everything is in its proper place. It can sometimes feel like we are a dish left on the counter, waiting to be put in our assigned space so that the world will make sense.
Of course, the cold fact of the matter is that there is no such order in the world, and, luckily for us, we can choose where we belong.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Noble Goals (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 37)
Sat, 05 Mar 2022 07:07:00 +0000
Everything is tied together. Amylte is chained to its past, and its future will be chained to its present, by the horrors. The Noble Demons are chained to their obsessions, imprisoned by desires they barely comprehend, and the Lesser Daemons are chained to their bound masters.
Rangers are tied to their gods, and to the people of the world they are trying to protect. And those people are tied to each other, through bonds of love and hate and envy and fear and desire and every other ribbon in the skein of human emotion.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Noble Goals (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 36)
Sat, 26 Feb 2022 07:15:00 +0000
The first disappearance was a matter of money. A competitor who needed to disappear at the right time in order to clear the way for new growth. It was also an experiment, a test to see if stories passed down from one head of the household to the next were true.
The second disappearance was a matter of fear. A way of sweeping away the tracks.
The third disappearance was another matter of money.
The fourth disappearance was a matter of envy.
The fifth would have been a matter of honor.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
The Rainbow Roll Festival (Cat's Cradle 23)
Sat, 12 Feb 2022 17:59:43 +0000
This week, special guest Ziva of The Eternity Archives joins us to discuss the upcoming Rainbow Roll Fest, a podcast festival we’re planning to showcase queer Actual Play content!
Find Ziva and her gorgeous castmates here!
Find the Rainbow Roll Fest Here!
Music by Kathleen!
Noble Goals (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 35)
Sat, 05 Feb 2022 06:04:00 +0000
We’ve talked a little about the concept of value. I think now you understand why. You see, as human beings, value is something we can pick up and shape with our own hands, define and redefine as we like. It may be the redefining that is the most beautiful part – the ability to look at something’s value to us and decide for ourselves that it needs to change.
We are not Noble Demons. We are not shackled to value.
That is, unless we decide to be. Then, the only difference between us and the demons is the devastating power.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Noble Goals (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 34)
Sat, 29 Jan 2022 06:55:00 +0000
You may remember the Countess of the Silver River, whose love of dominion made it possible for Tissa to convince her to cease her campaign of terror. Of course you know the Ambassador in Pearl, who fought more or less alongside mortals in the hunt for a common foe. Some of you may even know the Baron of the Gallery, whose collection of unique objects recently had a new sword added to it by some canny adventurers.
They are powerful. They are practically gods. But if one knows the right thing to offer, it’s not impossible to make a deal with a Noble Demon.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Noble Goals (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 33)
Sat, 22 Jan 2022 06:58:00 +0000
Value is a funny concept. Somehow human beings turned something abstract into something concrete – what was once just the notion that something meant something to someone became a measure of worth in real, absolute terms. How much does it mean to them? Not everything can be measured in numbers, but we hold the ruler up to more and more objects, events, circumstances, and concepts anyway.
In that regard, we might be the irrational ones.
I doubt a demon ever cared how much something cost.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Feed Drop - Roar to Heaven Session 0
Sun, 05 Dec 2021 21:48:20 +0000
We interrupt this Sword of Symphonies feed to bring you a special previous of Cat’s next big project, Roar to Heaven!
If you’d like to hear the rest of this podcast, then please follow our campaign on Kickstarter!
Making an Actual Play Podcast Is a Good Idea (Cat's Cradle 22)
Sat, 27 Nov 2021 07:13:00 +0000
This week, on Cat’s Cradle! If you’ve ever idly wondered about what it would be like to make an AP podcast, let us tell you some of the ways it might be different from what you were expecting!
Roar to Heaven Kickstarter is here!
You can find more about Roar to Heaven on our website!
Music by Kathleen!
Noble Goals (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 32)
Sat, 20 Nov 2021 10:07:21 +0000
People are full of stories. When you get right down to it, we live and breathe them. So it stands to reason that any place that is full of people is doubly full of stories. Some of them are anecdotes, some of them are tales, and some of them are even legends. The more people there are in any given place, the deeper and more beautiful the library of that place, which just might be its greatest treasure.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Noble Goals (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 31)
Sat, 13 Nov 2021 15:16:43 +0000
We’ve spoken before about the Noble Demons and their obsession, the single beacon of light that illuminates everything they think and do. The Radiant Prince exists to acquire, with no thought at all for what he acquires, from whom, or why. Whether or not he is even capable of questioning his urge to hoard, he doesn’t. The Lady of the River’s Origin, though she claims to hate uncleanliness, builds her entire life around corruption, around seeking it out and destroying it, and without it she would have nothing.
Did you know? Humans can be the same way.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Noble Goals (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 30)
Sat, 06 Nov 2021 06:37:00 +0000
Once upon a time, there was a Duke in Stageport. It’s true. Once upon a time, so long ago that the city as it stood was wrapped in a wall of stone to defend it from neighboring city-states, there was a Duke in Stageport.
In fact, there was an army in Stageport. Not like the Crusaders, mind you, nothing like that. An army hired and paid for by this Duke, retained in order to preserve the city as it was, unless there was an opportunity for it to grow. Then this army would become an invading force, taking whatever the city wanted by force. At spearpoint, the city grew and grew, swallowing several smaller communities around it.
This was how things went in the old world. Always forward, never back.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
A Question of Character (Cat's Cradle 21)
Sat, 23 Oct 2021 06:48:00 +0000
This week on Cat’s Cradle, how do you come up with a character?
Worse, how does Bill do it?
Music by Kathleen!
Like White Stars (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 29)
Sat, 16 Oct 2021 20:15:22 +0000
Listener, have you ever felt yourself melt out into the world around you? Felt your body relax as your mind takes its leave for a moment?
In Amylte, the world responds to this feeling. When a person takes leave of themself, the world answers that courage with power. To some, it has become second nature to melt into Amylte, so much so that they have forgotten what it means. That their own heart is what pushes the world. Their own heart stays out there, working for them.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Like White Stars (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 28)
Sat, 09 Oct 2021 06:13:00 +0000
Sometimes when you see yourself slipping away, you see another self. But then you begin to understand that this self is also your self, and it is all selves.
Lines of distinction begin to blur, and you realize that you are not you, and I am not me, but we are everything and we are infinite.
All joys, fears, hopes, and dreams are experienced as one, all understanding is as one.
And all listeners are now joining Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Like White Stars (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 27)
Sat, 02 Oct 2021 21:22:46 +0000
A couple days ago, the Chosen Emperor conjured a stately pleasure barge from thin air. It was crewed by eager daemons and fueled by supreme egotistical force.
Spikes of coral and poison and love drove the barge away, back up the coast, away from the Coral Spirit’s precious home.
The Chosen Emperor turned around in defeat but not in surrender. The spirit knew the scent of a demon, yes, but what of an insignificant emissary?
Neither the Emperor or Coral Spirit seemed even to care about those.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Like White Stars (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 26)
Sat, 11 Sep 2021 06:51:00 +0000
On a high plateau decorating the sacred Origin Island, where, centuries ago, a great temple one stood, there is now a ruined garden.
You may remember the Conqueror’s Coin, the gold-colored flower that stirred the heart of the Conqueror, according to legends. The flower that now grows on the same Conqueror’s grave, in the ruins of his hometown, which was a humble fishing village back when he was a humble fisherman.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Like White Stars (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 25)
Sat, 04 Sep 2021 08:13:00 +0000
Do you remember the Conqueror, listener? The Coral Coast remembers him, even if its people have forgotten. He once collected a rich garden of different peoples and traditions under his banner through force of arms and valiant, warlike courage.
The history books also give him credit for the infrastructure that made widespread trade and study possible in the region.
It was in service of war. They have forgotten that, too.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Like White Stars (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 24)
Sat, 21 Aug 2021 06:20:00 +0000
Far to the south of Amylte, there is a chain of islands surrounded by mist and jagged stones like the teeth of a monster. Here, the Princess of the Southern Islands lies in wait for passing ships to deliver her favorite delicacy – raw human flesh, which she devours without hesitation or mercy.
In a particular castle, half-sunken beneath the Veldt, overgrown by ancient orange trees, there is a grand hall adorned in rose gold. Here, the Emerald Duchess sits, admiring her riches and pacing around a domain that is entirely hers, where none can interfere with her.
In a small shrine just north of Hushwave City, called Escape Route of the South Wind, the Radiant Prince sits impudently on an ancient altar to await tribute from passers-by. Like the tales of so many of his kind, his is a story bound to a place, tied inextricably to a particular piece of the world.
So many of his kind, but not all.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Westbreaker (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 23)
Sat, 14 Aug 2021 14:07:06 +0000
The gods of Amylte sleep in their treacherous homes. Augustine rests at the center of a huge whirlpool, Hector dreams from the back of the King of the Desert.
These are the gods of Amylte, and have been for as long as the people of Amylte can remember.But have they always been?
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Uphill All The Way (Cat's Cradle 20)
Sat, 14 Aug 2021 14:06:33 +0000
This week on Cat’s Cradle, a bonus episode where the team builds an encounter all together!
Music by Kathleen!
Baby's Building Blocks (Cat's Cradle 19)
Sat, 31 Jul 2021 22:00:59 +0000
This week, on Cat’s Cradle! Harmony Drive is live now, so it’s time to talk about SRDs, or System Resource Documents, the moddable hackable huggable lovable TTRPG systems we love!
SRDs Mentioned in this Episode:
Carta SRD by Peach Garden Games
Harmony Drive SRD by Peach Garden Games
五德 - The Five Powers by WuDeRPG
Games Mentioned in this Episode:
Sacred Forge by Peach Garden Games
Blazing Hymn by Peach Garden Games
Heroic Chord by Peach Garden Games
COURAGE by Catscratcher Studio
The Land and The People by Bryon Casebolt
(Also Remember the Land by Ivan Coluchi. I did get them slightly confused but they’re both beautiful.)
Theme Park After Dark by Ziva MacPherson
Running With a Mouthful of Toast by Corvyn Appleby
80’ – the Eightieth Minute by Avri
Check out the Carta Jam for even more wonderful solo games!
Music by Kathleen!
Winds of Time (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 22)
Sat, 24 Jul 2021 18:13:00 +0000
A couple days ago, there was a girl, and it was time for her to become an adult, though she didn’t know it at the time. She ventured into the forest on no particular errand, with no particular goal but an afternoon’s diversion.
She stumbled upon a vision of herself, a selfish, lonely, hostile child. As her senses gave way to fantasy and the world tingled around her, she fought. She fought to stay conscious, but more than that, she fought to remain herself. She fought to keep that feral little girl in her heart, to make it through the ordeal unchanged.
When her failure was complete, she was grateful for it.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Special thanks to Bill from online!
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Winds of Time (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 21)
Sat, 17 Jul 2021 06:50:00 +0000
There is something to be said for adversaries. Big or small, external or internal, adversaries help us find direction, help us channel our power, help us learn who we are and what we are capable of.
Amylte is, right now, a more peaceful place that it ever has been. But somewhere along the line, while people were forced to stop fighting wars against one another, they forgot how to fight themselves.
In the process, they turned their back on their most dangerous adversary.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Welcome to special guest Bill From Online!
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Winds of Time (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 20)
Sat, 10 Jul 2021 09:47:13 +0000
Anyway, the life cycle of a relationship, if you squint, follows the same trajectory as the life cycle of any living being. The humiliating, invincible youth is a time spent building, growing, learning, with little thought given to the accrual of debt to be paid later in that life cycle.
Relationships, just like living bodies, reach a precipice of adulthood, where their internal systems are no longer as resilient, self-nourishing. That invincibility is traded for wisdom, maturity, higher reasoning, but also the ever-present terror that the best days might have already passed.
- An excerpt from the journal of Isabel Fontaine
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Welcome to special guest Bill From Online!
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Still Wanna Fight About It (Cat's Cradle 18)
Sat, 03 Jul 2021 06:13:00 +0000
This week, we don’t have a Kathleen, but we do have a lot to say about designing encounters!
Join Cat, Nick, Kathleen, and guest Bill as we talk combat!
Music by Kathleen!
Winds of Time (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 19)
Sat, 26 Jun 2021 06:22:00 +0000
Hundreds of years ago, there was a girl, and it was time for her to become an adult. Like countless youths before her, she ducked her head into the ritual space her family had built her. A cup of tea steamed in front of her, and as she drank she felt her body warmed and fortified. With a leaf fan, an elder blew a pinch of golden pollen at her, and as she breathed it in she began to feel her world slip away.
Before she could declare herself a woman, she had to face the ancient adversary and return. But her family was with her, her community was around her, and she would not fail.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Welcome to special guest Bill From Online!
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Winds of Time (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 18)
Sat, 19 Jun 2021 18:35:55 +0000
There is this wonderful myth some people tell, the story of Progress. The mythical idea that everyone is moving forward, that we as a society know things now that we did not know in the past. Even in Amylte people look at the war and turmoil of the ages before the Cataclysm and tell themselves they are wiser than their forebears.
But there has always been knowledge and there has always been wisdom. Just because we are now and they are then does not mean our forebears were any more foolish than we are.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Welcome to special guest Bill From Online!
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Winds of Time (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 17)
Sat, 12 Jun 2021 06:43:00 +0000
Nestled between the lava flats and a mountain they call Orchid Sister, there is a village called Pavillion. A traditional stilt-home village with a small reputation for traditional arts, built around an ancient stone amphitheater. Pavillion boasts the finest acoustic engineers on the continent, and productions that date back to before the Cataclysm.
The people of Pavillion raise crops on the dark volcanic soil, tend livestock, and gather regularly to celebrate the unique magic of theater and music , as they have for longer than even they know.
Like all villages in Amylte, they are not untouched by danger and tragedy.
But will they be touched tonight?
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Welcome to special guest Bill From Online!
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Winds of Time (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 16)
Wed, 09 Jun 2021 00:43:26 +0000
History is a game of telephone, twisting with each telling, twisting and warping until it’s another story. The only way to know it, truly, is to have been there. Even that’s sometimes up for debate.
Like any other story, history is powerful and beautiful and important. Like any other story, it is completely ephemeral. When next you tell the story, it will change again.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Welcome to special guest Bill From Online!
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Winds of Time (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 15)
Sat, 29 May 2021 06:01:00 +0000
Whenever we learn something about the world, we leave marks on it, little handprints as a record of our clumsy exploration. We discover things as if we were the ones to bring them into being, lovingly name them, and leave our impressions as fact for the next person to follow our path.
The history of the world changes every time we discover it, as we change to meet it.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Welcome to special guest Bill From Online!
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Winds of Time (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 14)
Sat, 15 May 2021 06:14:00 +0000
The world is always moving. Everything changes, whether those changes be cataclysmic or invisible. Every day we open our eyes to see a world that has never existed before, and before we know it, it has vanished into another new world. In the Coral Coast, one can watch the world change before their very eyes, and everyone living there knows that the present and the future are malleable.
Even the past, when we ourselves change, becomes uncertain.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Wanna Fight About It (Cat's Cradle 17)
Sat, 08 May 2021 06:35:00 +0000
This week, Kersten has been taken to an intergalactic prison located somewhere in the moons of Jupiter!
Join Cat, Nick, Kathleen, and guest Bill as we talk combat!
Music by Kathleen!
Winds of Time (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 13)
Sat, 24 Apr 2021 06:41:00 +0000
The enormous Westbreaker drifts over placid seas, eastward to warmer weather, as countless ships have over the course of Amylte’s history. A ship built for shattering the ice of the north is hardly at home in the tropics, but the seabirds rally around it and the sun warms its decks, as if to welcome it to the ever-changing beauty of the Coral Coast.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Westbreaker (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 12)
Sat, 17 Apr 2021 06:47:00 +0000
Amylte is a resting place. the gods here sleep, powerful in repose but stationary. Most of the continent is the gravesite of the old world, the burial mount of old ideas and structures.
The continent itself seems to be at rest, recovering from its ordeal and waiting for the day it will awaken. What it will look like in that future has yet to be decided.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Purity in Pearl (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 11)
Sat, 10 Apr 2021 06:14:00 +0000
Every place has its own normal. Everyone has their own normal, a normal that belongs only to them. While the citizens of Stageport would be aghast at living under the wing of the Ambassador in Pearl, the citizens of Dunbarrow can rest easy, knowing that their home is returning to their special normal. While the scholars of Hushwave University would tremble under her gaze, the scholars in the monastery can finally breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that their terrible patron has returned to her own terrifying, predictable, normal.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
Special thanks to Dillon, of Tales from the Tabletop, for guesting in this arc!
You can find the Heroic Discord here!
Purity in Pearl (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 10)
Sat, 03 Apr 2021 04:51:26 +0000
The world is full of things. Curious things, unexpected things, unimportant things. We're all free to decide which things matter, when presented with the chaos of every day. In the end, that's the difference between us and the Noble Demons. It might be our greatest strength, too.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
Special thanks to Dillon, of Tales from the Tabletop, for guesting in this arc!
Purity in Pearl (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 9)
Sat, 20 Mar 2021 06:14:00 +0000
A long time ago there was a girl. She was strong and brave and she learned to hunt and survive the wilderness of the Rhime.
A long time ago there was a boy. He was quiet and keen and loved to read books, especially stories about demons.
Each day the boy would walk from town to the girl’s cabin to read her stories.
She loved his stories. Her favorite was “Ira the white haired girl” a story about a girl with hair white as moonlight, who danced with spirits, and who loved a boy named Theodore, a boy cursed by a demon to become a raven.
She loved that story, and she loved him. She would one day make the boy promise to name their children after Ira and Theodore.
Some many years later that boy would return as a man to that cabin, after a journey long and hard. a journey of knowledge and demons.
But when he returned he would find that the girl was already gone, and in her place there was a boy with hair black as raven feathers and eyes cold and spiteful.
Some many years more would pass and Theo would finally meet the daemon with whom he would form an unbreakable bond. With fur white as moonlight.
He would ask her, expecting no real answer, if he could call her Ira. He had always thought the name was far too pretty for him anyways.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
Special thanks to Dillon, of Tales from the Tabletop, for guesting in this arc!
Purity in Pearl (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 8)
Sat, 13 Mar 2021 08:40:00 +0000
This world is full of people. Stout people, narrow people, gentle people, coarse people. An entire kaleidoscope of feelings and thoughts and outlooks and lives that whirl together in a rainbow against one another. Every person is as different as a new day, and every day touches the lives of people like it never has before, and then vanishes.
Did you know? Demons are the same way.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
Special thanks to Dillon, of Tales from the Tabletop, for guesting in this arc!
Purity in Pearl (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 7)
Sat, 06 Mar 2021 08:25:00 +0000
Once upon a time, two powerful demons came to the same place, a place they thought Agrippina could not see them. Well, not once upon a time. Several times, upon a time. Repeatedly, upon a time. These creatures that had patiently, determinedly, relentlessly built up their power have never been able to resist using it against one another.
But once upon a time, two powerful demons came to the same place. They would have come to blows, too, and in the process doomed countless people, except that one person stood, with equal patience and determination, between them to mediate. This, according to the story, was the first Arcanist.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
Special thanks to Dillon, of Tales from the Tabletop, for guesting in this arc!
Test Kitchen (Cat's Cradle 16)
Sat, 27 Feb 2021 17:45:41 +0000
This week, Kersten's off on a wonderful adventure in a fantasy world! Until she can find her way home, Nick, Kathleen, Cat, and Dillon are going to finally talk about the whole concept of Sword of Symphonies - Playtesting.
Purity in Pearl (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 6)
Sat, 20 Feb 2021 21:06:10 +0000
They don't care about anything else. One concept is the light around which their solar system revolves, and everything else is swallowed in darkness. The Noble Demons do not hate humanity. Quite the opposite; they do not even notice our existence. As long as their own obsession keeps burning, what happens to us is immaterial, however tragic.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
Special thanks to Dillon, of Tales from the Tabletop, for guesting in this arc!
Purity in Pearl (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 5)
Sat, 13 Feb 2021 18:01:52 +0000
Once upon a time, so long ago that detail is lost and even sentiment gets a little blurry, there was a man. Probably a man like any other. Most likely flesh and blood. Driven by a powerful, seething ambition, he grew in power until he was prepared to challenge gods.
He was prepared to be struck down. In some stories, he was. But in this story, he gained the shackles of eternal obsession and slunk down from the then Holy Mountain in disgrace.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
Special thanks to Dillon, of Tales from the Tabletop, for guesting in this arc!
Purity in Pearl (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 4)
Mon, 08 Feb 2021 00:14:15 +0000
Nothing is simpler than things we expect to be complicated. Nothing is more complicated than things we expect to be simple.
The difference, of course, is understanding. There is no such thing as simplicity; understanding makes the simple complex. From there, it's a matter of expectations.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Original music by Kathleen~!
Special thanks to Dillon, of Tales from the Tabletop, for guesting in this arc!
To Explore Strange New Worlds (Cat's Cradle 15)
Sat, 23 Jan 2021 07:08:00 +0000
This week, since we have Dillon, let's talk about something Dillon is very good at!
That's right, it's Worldbuilding time! Yay!
Purity in Pearl (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 3)
Sat, 16 Jan 2021 13:05:00 +0000
There are some scholars in Amylte who are deeply preoccupied with the existence of Horrors. They are extremely difficult things to study, if indeed they are “things”, and of course once one has asked if something is a “thing”, then one has opened up an entire line of questioning – if not, then what is it? If so, then what kind of thing?
Some excellent papers have been written on the subject in recent years that posit the existence of Horrors to be a byproduct of humanity, a sort of emotional wastewater left behind in the environment. And if that is the case, another excellent paper suggests, then they can be considered a part of humanity.
For people living where Horrors prowl, the distinction is almost certainly less interesting.
For the people of Dunbarrow, the suggestion is dangerous. If she is inclined to read academic papers, the Pearl Ambassador might make the deadly step of agreeing with them.
Original music by Kathleen~!
Special thanks to Dillon, of Tales from the Tabletop, for guesting in this arc!
Purity in Pearl (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 2)
Sat, 09 Jan 2021 10:05:23 +0000
Some two hundred and twenty years ago, a farmer left her community to put down roots in the foothills. Today no one knows why, though she must have had her reasons. And two hundred twenty years ago, the foothills weren’t the place they are today, so it made sense to start a life there. It made enough sense that many other people did the same thing, and soon enough there was a village. And that is how Dunbarrow came to be. It’s not an exceptional story – many small farming communities probably tell nearly identical stories. But, the measure of a community isn’t found in how it was established – it’s about who came after.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Special thanks to Dillon, of Tales from the Tabletop, for guesting in this arc!
Purity in Pearl (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 1)
Sun, 03 Jan 2021 17:28:09 +0000
What is trust, exactly? it is a sort of foreknowledge, a sense of destiny, the ability to predict and rely on a certain outcome. We trust that one day will follow another, that our favorite podcast comes out Saturday morning, that the seasons follow the same beautiful parade route they always have. It's not about affection, not necessarily. It's about reliability.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Special thanks to Dillon, of Tales from the Tabletop, for guesting in this arc!
Session Zero (Sword of Symphonies, Season 2 Episode 0)
Sat, 26 Dec 2020 14:38:00 +0000
Cat and the gang get ready for season two! Thrill as the characters are re-introduced! Chill as season one is recapped!
And in the end, we find ourselves at the Last Tooth.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
The Search for Queen Bancotha - Symbiosis
Sat, 19 Dec 2020 13:22:00 +0000
The conclusion of our mini-series. They have the Lady’s Axe, they have the Frosted Lapis, and they have the Minewhelk Shells. Now they just need to bring it all together.
Queen Bancotha’s on the rampage, though, and our heroes are about to find out medicine isn’t an easy job.
You can find us at PeachGardenGames.com and you can find more about Monster Care Squad on their Twitter
The Search for Queen Bancotha - Synthesis
Sat, 12 Dec 2020 12:29:00 +0000
Now that they know more about what’s bothering Queen Bancotha, it’s time to put together a shopping list. Where do you go for Mine Whelk Shells, Lady’s Axe, and Frosted Lapis?
And how on earth do you give this medicine to an enormous maritime monster on the rampage?
You can find us at PeachGardenGames.com and you can find more about Monster Care Squad on their Twitter
The Search for Queen Bancotha - Diagnosis
Sun, 06 Dec 2020 17:00:00 +0000
Welcome to our first episode of Monster Care Squad! This week, it's time to party as the crew of the Grey Monarch come to the island of Forsmoria. The ocean here is choked with an overgrowth of seaweed because Queen Bancotha is not herself.
And today it's their job to find out why.
You can find us at PeachGardenGames.com and you can find more about Monster Care Squad on their Twitter
The Search for Queen Bancotha - Session 0
Sat, 05 Dec 2020 16:39:25 +0000
Welcome to The Search for Queen Bancotha, our project for the Ald-Amura Historical Society!
This week, the crew showcases Monster Care Squad as they build the veterinarians who will be pursuing the ailing Queen Bancotha. It's time to meet Benorthan, Betelle, and Bazu before they begin their journey aboard the Grey Monarch.
Sound design by our Kathleen!
You can find more from us at Peach Garden Games.
You can learn more about Monster Care Squad from Sandy Pug Games
Breaking 'plates (Cat's Cradle 14)
Sat, 28 Nov 2020 08:35:00 +0000
Welcome to another Cat's Cradle!
This week, we talk about a kind of nebulous concept - templating game rules. Whoa!
The Best Laid Plans (Cat's Cradle 13)
Sat, 21 Nov 2020 08:49:00 +0000
Our players won’t do what we want! We’re mad about it! We have guests who are also mad about it!
You can find Bryan at The Room Where It Happened
You can find Dillon on Twitter or at Tales from the Tabletop
Sat, 14 Nov 2020 14:20:47 +0000
History is a tale told backwards. To learn history, then, is to know the end ahead of time. It's reading the last page of a book first, finding the problem from the solution, asking the question from the answer. It is knowing that whatever happens during the story cannot change the outcome. But it can change the reader, and how we change from what we learn is perhaps the most important part of the story.
Welcome everybody, to Tales form the Veldt.
Music by Kathleen!
Visit us online at http://www.swordofsymphonies.com!
Sat, 07 Nov 2020 07:45:00 +0000
Knowing one's history is the right of all peoples. Many have had their history stolen or obfuscated from them, others have lost it. But for those who have found, uncovered, or reclaimed it, what then should they do with it? Is theirs a history worth respecting, living up to, and bringing with them into the future?
...or is it something to work past? Lessons to the future to prevent mistakes of the past.
Welcome everybody, to Tales from the Veldt.
Music by Kathleen!
Visit us online at http://www.swordofsymphonies.com!
Sat, 31 Oct 2020 17:01:59 +0000
They say that when we are tired, ideas long thought conquered resurface in our minds. Doubts from long ago, memories we wish discarded, fears from trials past. What, then, resurfaces when the land itself grows tired? When the earth moves and shudders what long conquered things do we uncover in our collective past?
Welcome everybody, to Tales from the Veldt.
Music by Kathleen!
Visit us online at http://www.swordofsymphonies.com!
Sat, 24 Oct 2020 07:15:06 +0000
We are remembered most, not by great deeds or marvelous works, but by that which we teach our children. Would that we could teach only our hopes, dreams, and exuberance... but despite our best effort our faults and mistakes are also passed down. Sometimes it is our greed that prevents a toy from being shared, our pride that sees another insulted, our stubbornness that cannot handle failure. So then in some part it is our responsibility when conflict arises, our lessons that are put on trial, and if things get dire enough - our problems now to solve.
Welcome everybody, to Tales from the Veldt.
Music by Kathleen!
Visit us online at http://www.swordofsymphonies.com!
The Magic Sword (Cat's Cradle 12)
Sat, 17 Oct 2020 17:52:34 +0000
This week, Kersten's vanished under the couch so it's just Cat, Nick, and Kathleen, talking about The Magic Sword, and other pieces of otherworldy equipment!
Sat, 10 Oct 2020 15:53:59 +0000
We follow the footsteps of our kin from the moment we take our first steps. We emerge glistening and wriggling and new with the path already laid before us. We know this. But what's to be gained from studying this history, if it will bear us forward regardless?
What do we seek to prise from the past? Do we imagine ourselves heirs due some forgotten treasure? Do we wish to humble ourselves: fill ourselves with our powerlessness as we are swept along the wave of history? Are we cartographers?
It's pretentious to claim that we could write the future as easily as the present. And so I struggle, my friends to synthesize what next step to take. What are we hoping to find out there on the Veldt?
Music by Kathleen!
Visit us online at http://www.swordofsymphonies.com!
Sat, 03 Oct 2020 16:52:06 +0000
Of course, being below nature's concern is not to say that we don't shape the world around us.
While Amylte will never deign to acknowledge us, the land and life upon it certainly do. We see our past and our present written in rivers of scattered stones and lavender sprinkled throughout the sea of grasses.
We are, even often rightly, self-concerned creatures. Small as we are, mighty as we are, we have no choice but to concern ourselves with our actions, and with our kin, as a stormy day leads into a cold, drizzling night on the Veldt.
Music by Kathleen!
Visit us online at http://www.swordofsymphonies.com!
Sat, 26 Sep 2020 06:14:00 +0000
It is said that the Cataclysm was humanity's punishment. We had forgotten our place, they say, and the Cloudcombs' last act was to even the score. A new balance, they might continue, has been found.
It can be comforting to think we've been cleansed by the flood, that Amylte itself acts as our conscience. Nature, though, is not so small as to concern itself with such things. It is beautiful, absolutely. But the most sublime beauty to be found in nature is its perfect callousness. A fact that Ozzie, Rick and Wren might not be so appreciative of right now, as the rain falls and thunder booms across the Veldt
Music by Kathleen!
Visit us online at http://www.swordofsymphonies.com!
Sat, 19 Sep 2020 06:43:00 +0000
As you know well by now, a hundred years ago the Cloudcomb mountains melted, flooding the interior of the continent with mud, clay and stone, nearly wiping out humanity.
Life, though, is ever-resilient. The vast interior of Amylte teems with life, but humanity's sins have not remained buried. The Goathome Veldt seethes with remnants of the Last War.
Though it bears our footprints, the fields beyond the Boundary Garden no longer belong to humanity.
And yet, today, like many days, three more of us seek to retrace some much more recent steps - just a handful of many such on the Veldt.
Music by Kathleen!
Visit us online at http://www.swordofsymphonies.com!
Swords of the Wastes (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Fifty-one)
Sat, 12 Sep 2020 06:41:00 +0000
Amylte is not a world where the past sleeps soundly, never to wake again. An industrial accident in Stageport can carry its smoke and terror a century into the future. A carefully plotted ambush meant to end the career of a Conqueror can play out again and again in the southeast islands. A ship's mighty cannons can roar through history long after the ship itself is driftwood.
But take heart - no comrade is ever left abandoned in Amylte either.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Swords of the Wastes (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Fifty)
Sat, 05 Sep 2020 15:24:11 +0000
The horror lets out a roar of challenge, stepping forward with such force and fury that it splinters the surface of the sea ice beneath it.
Behind it, the Swarm presses forward, roused by the spin of live breath on the air. They begin to test the yawning gap in the ice as they approach the waiting Westbreaker.
Frantically, the hands aboard reload the guns and drive rivets into the damaged boiler.
The sun still glows on the horizon. Night has only just begun.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Swords of the Wastes (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Forty-Nine)
Sat, 29 Aug 2020 06:04:00 +0000
Last night, under the aegis of the Temple of Gaius Gray, the crew of the Westbreaker joined the remnants of the Glacier Legion, shared a meal and an uneasy rest.
Outside the sacred labyrinth, night fell over the Westbreaker. Cannon fire split the air as a shapeless swarm of shadows spilled out onto the pristine ice. Shining spears of light assembled and fell into the wicked congregation, but the battle was never meant to be won.
The damaged Westbreaker limped away from shore, saving its cannonfire and magic for the horrors daring enough to take to the air, and its damaged boilers for the return of its Captain.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Swords of the Wastes (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Forty-Eight)
Sat, 22 Aug 2020 06:19:41 +0000
Miracles come in all shapes and sizes. From the tiny crusader able to single-handedly protect a handful of comrades from death in the Swarm for five years, to yesterday, when the ironclad hull of the Westbreaker smashed the winter silence of Naca for the first time in ages.
Sometimes miracles come all at once, and other times they need to be built, from the ground up, no matter how much valuable hope it costs.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Swords of the Wastes (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Forty-Seven)
Sat, 15 Aug 2020 08:59:00 +0000
In Old Rhimehopld he was called Good Father Gaius, the noble marble pillar sleeping in the labyrinth. They built their own maze-temples in their own cities so they could pray to a god who had always tried ontheir behalf.
They are, like all labyrinths, sacred places - sacred to the memory of their beloved dying deity.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Swords of the Wastes (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Forty-Six)
Sat, 08 Aug 2020 06:39:00 +0000
A thousand years ago there was a terrible war in Rhimehold, which was then called something quite different. And there was one nine hundred and fifty years ago, and another eight hundred ninety years ago. Rhimehold pledged itself to the flames of war, and centuries later, while thye rest of Amylte has begun to rebuild, that debt is still being paid.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Swords of the Wastes (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Forty-Five)
Sat, 01 Aug 2020 07:40:00 +0000
Five years ago, the immovable Glacier Legion was shattered at the port of Naca. Some of the survivors fled down the coast.
Some, but not all.
Some were stranded among the horrors of the Wastes, alone in an unforgiving, haunted North.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Sat, 25 Jul 2020 11:48:00 +0000
Cat's here to take the prize.
Kathleen's here to show off.
Kersten's here to be on TV.
Nick's here to wreck up the place.
Landon's here to bring the drama.
We came here to win. Join us for this new game playtest as we play a season of We Are the Champions, a show that is "like Big Brother but the house is full of weird sports athletes".
Check out I Came Here to Win on our website, and check out Landon on the Shadows of Saint Fleur podcast!
Swords of the Wastes (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Forty-Four)
Sat, 18 Jul 2020 06:31:00 +0000
Five years ago, the immovable Glacier Legion was shattered at the ancient port of Naca. The Swarm burst through the stone gates despite the devotion and effort of the Glacier engineer corps and tore through the line of defenders. Naca had been held by humankind since before the Cataclysm, since old Rhinehold, and now the gallant Archknight Gaius Lucian lay in pieces on the red snow alongside so many of his fellow Crusaders. The survivors swallowed their pride and took to the sea in retreat down the coast. Later, their last ranking officer, a Commander, tried to return to Naca in search of other survivors. Finding nothing but ice, he was forced to turn back rather than risk adding the ship and its crew to the dead.
Today, he has returned, though he no longer holds out hope for survivors.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Swords of the Wastes (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Forty-Three)
Sat, 11 Jul 2020 06:00:00 +0000
For a hundred years in Amylte there have been horrors. Now that Amylte's history sleeps under the mud, the horrors may just be people's best way of learning about their past. A horror's presence says clearly – blood was shed here. There have been deaths here. Somewhere in time there was suffering, right here.
The people of Amylte can never forget the wrongs of the past. At least, not without Rangers.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Game Mastery (Cat's Cradle 11)
Sat, 04 Jul 2020 20:26:09 +0000
Let's talk about session prep, GM notes, and other advice for running TTRPGs in general, and Heroic Chord in particular!
Swords of the Wastes (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Forty-Two)
Sat, 27 Jun 2020 21:52:08 +0000
One hundred years ago, Amylte was changed forever in the Cataclysm. The melting mountains swallowed the Interior and turned the highlands of Rhimehold into tundra.
Off the coast of Rhimehold, the sediment did what sediment does and conjured a labyrinth of ship-destroying shoals - the very shoals the Westbreaker must now navigate.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Swords of the Wastes (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Forty-One)
Sat, 20 Jun 2020 07:00:00 +0000
Last night, a lone soldier sat in dim golden lamplight, in the center of a spreading chaos of papers and tools, slowly and gently brushing caked-on earth from the surface of an ancient weapon, clearing the soil of the Veldt from its engraved surface., its seams, and its plated hide. A tuft of dead grass fell to the floor, and a panel was freed.
As soon as it was freed, it began to move.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Swords of the Wastes (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Forty)
Sat, 20 Jun 2020 06:39:00 +0000
One hundred five years ago, a battle raged in the shadow of the Cloudcomb Mountains. People, normal people more or less like us, killed one another, as many others as they could find. To accelerate the deed, they built arms and armor far beyond anything still found in Amylte.
Today, the crew of the Westbreaker is learning exactly what those arms can do.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Swords of the Wastes (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Thirty-nine)
Sat, 06 Jun 2020 07:48:00 +0000
We normally talk about history in the past tense, but where does that leave Hrangad? There isn't much of a past tense to explore in a town that still smells of sawdust and pine resin. The arrival of the Westbreaker made history in the infant town; it was in fact the first ship to make port in what would one day be the base of the Aurora Legion First Fleet. Cobb, Tissa, and Penelope are its first visitors, too. What else about their visit will make history?
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Sword of Symphonies Anniversary Special Part Two!
Sat, 30 May 2020 21:33:18 +0000
The party continues! Vi keeps it together, Miller discovers his true calling, and May swoops in.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Sword of Symphonies Anniversary Special!
Sat, 23 May 2020 14:06:00 +0000
Thanks for a wonderful year! To celebrate, the dirtbags are going to a ritzy party. Miller reads the fine print, Vi makes an impression, and Mei knows somebody, sib.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Swords of the Wastes (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Thirty-eight)
Sat, 16 May 2020 10:43:00 +0000
Once upon a time, there was war. People destroyed one another en masse, once upon a time. Sometimes they did it for reasons that seem like they make sense, like survival or revenge. Other times, they did it for reasons that probably made no sense even to people at the time, much less to a modern listener. Amylte is lucky enough to be able to refer to the Age of War as a past era, a relic, a chapter of history texts and little else.
This is because Amylte has other things to worry about.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
The Albatross Legion (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Thirty-seven)
Sat, 09 May 2020 15:00:00 +0000
A couple of days ago, the Westbreaker pulled into Stageport, and now it is time to pull away again. Such is the way of things. It's time to bid farewell to friends new and old, and take to the sea once more. Farewell, Stageport!
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies!
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
The Albatross Legion (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Thirty-six)
Sat, 02 May 2020 18:12:00 +0000
Five years ago, two men came to a small, secluded spot in an abandoned part of Stageport. One, a stranger, had only the clothes on his back. The other, a local, only the urn he rested in. The two were not alone, however; a young woman who had taken it upon herself to protect this part of the town stumbled upon them and watched as the man in the urn was returned to the house he lived in so very long ago.
To this day, the woman still doesn't know why, but she struck up a conversation with the stranger, and the two have been fast friends ever since.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies!
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
The Albatross Legion (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Thirty-five)
Sat, 02 May 2020 14:41:00 +0000
The defeat of the Glacier Legion was absolute and devastating, but we’re not here to talk about that right now. A year after the defeat, two men met in an art gallery, one trying to avoid talking to an old subordinate, and one hoping to find someone to talk to about the beauty in the world. And they did talk. They talked all day. When they parted, they arranged to meet again.
And no matter how far apart they found themselves over the following years, they talked. They sent letters, they sent messages. Letters about art, about beauty, about travel. Letters about – and they both found this very funny – meeting new friends.
Most importantly, they argued over when they would find themselves parted for the last time.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies!
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
The Albatross Legion (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Thirty-four)
Sat, 18 Apr 2020 13:00:00 +0000
History is soft. It doesn't take much to leave a deep mark; sometimes these marks come about my sheer chance.
One hundred twelve years ago, a predator walked the streets of Stageport. A human predator: the worst kind. Their mark was left, not by their own deeds, thoughts, or feelings, but by the scars they left on others. Those scars, given time, took form.
Now, they seek to inflict similar scars on history, and will leave a deeper mark unless brought to an end.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies!
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
The Albatross Legion (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Thirty-three)
Sun, 12 Apr 2020 00:59:44 +0000
Five years ago, the Glacier Legion was shattered. The survivors, left directionless in the wastes, were faced with a sort of terrifying freedom; the burden of choosing for themselves what comes next.
Their god said little to help.
Some joined other legions, choosing to continue the fight for the North. At least one gave up, and went in search of a new front line to preserve.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies!
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Sat, 04 Apr 2020 16:47:46 +0000
Ready for Heroic Chord’s next edition? The zine is live at Peach Garden Games, so check it out!
The Albatross Legion (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Thirty-two)
Sat, 28 Mar 2020 10:35:00 +0000
Five years ago, the Glacier Legion was defeated, its remnants scattered, and found new lives for themselves. Eight years ago, the merchantman Red Lotus put in at Stageport, and left a few crew members lighter. Two years ago, there was a fateful meeting at an art gallery, not far from the docks.
Now, because of all of this, Stageport has the Albatross Legion. Their wingspan isn't very broad, and they're not really even much of a legion, but they're the Albatross Legion, nonetheless. Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies!
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
The Albatross Legion (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Thirty-One)
Sun, 22 Mar 2020 14:39:11 +0000
One hundred years ago, the Cloudcomb Mountains crumbled to mud, flooding the interior of Amylte with earth, and burying most signs of human occupation under the Goathome Veldt. They buried the battlefields of the Last War, yes, and the Old Capital too, but also countless farming villages, small towns, and homesteads.The flood stopped short of a ring of cliffs they call Miracle Bluffs today, held back from swallowing the seaside trading city of Stageport.
Now, with the Old Capital dead and buried, Stageport is Amylte's greatest city, depending of course on how one measures greatness.Today, the crew of the Westbreaker puts ashore in this ancient city to see its greatness, or, what passes for greatness, for themselves.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies!
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Kathleen's Cradle (Cat's Cradle 9)
Sat, 14 Mar 2020 15:04:35 +0000
How do you make a podcast? What is a bus? How does Kathleen get the seagull noises into the podcast?
Listen up, listeners, and find out!
Next week, it’s back to the story, but for now, learn about the process of turning jerks playing a game into a stirring audio drama!
Sat, 07 Mar 2020 21:01:48 +0000
This week, it's patch notes! It's a playtest, after all; Cat's still working on the game behind the scenes. What changes are coming to Sword of Symphonies next season?
Westbreaker (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Thirty)
Sat, 29 Feb 2020 12:30:00 +0000
Last summer, a pair of engineers under an unfamiliar Commander made the journey south from the frigid Aurora Fortress to begin work on the prototype that would become the Aurora Legion First Fleet. The prototype passed into new hands as a schematic from the Age of War rose from the seabed. In a sleepy seaside village, it saw a side character become a hero and an orphan become a pirate. From a bay near the forest, it saw a reckless fool…well, it didn’t see her learn much. In the wild seas off the southwest coast, it saw its owner become its Captain. Now, the Westbreaker, under repairs in the great city of Stageport, is preparing to meet its own destiny in the ice floes of the West, under the hands that have become its crew.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Such Silence (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Twenty-nine
Sat, 22 Feb 2020 22:24:42 +0000
Water, be it freshwater or salt, shapes everything it comes into contact with. Over ages, it shapes a species into a fierce maritime predator. Over centuries, it shapes a stony island into a lush beach. Over decades, it shapes a man into a sailor, and a sailor into a Captain.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Such Silence (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Twenty-eight)
Sat, 15 Feb 2020 23:25:05 +0000
Sixty-five years ago, a young man from a place beyond the oceans landed on Amylte. Fifty years ago, his son sailed back across the ocean to discover more about his family. Twenty years ago, that son, now a Captain, picked up a crewman in a quiet town north of Stageport. Over the next fifteen years that crewman learned a great many things from the Captain, from the practical applications of swordsmanship and seamanship, to the esoteric, ideology and philosophy. But perhaps the most important lesson eluded him: why?
Welcome, everybody, to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Such Silence (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Twenty-seven)
Sat, 08 Feb 2020 14:14:09 +0000
Some days, we hold our legends before us like a lantern, trusting them to illuminate everything uncertain on the road ahead.
Some things are not in the stories.
We'll discover those things, illuminated or not, when we come across them.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Such Silence (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Twenty-six)
Sun, 02 Feb 2020 02:55:19 +0000
As people sail around the world, they pick up tales like their ships pick up barnacles. When they come out of danger, they bear scars and stories in equal measure, as do their decks. And the heroes of these stories make it around the world – tales of Rum Runner Ramsay, or Captain Redcloak, or Lady Arrowhead make it to every port in Amylte – and even some much further away.
But – and please do remember this part, because we’ve discussed it before, you and I – none of these legends were always legends. Lady Arrowhead grew up among the flowers of the Coral Coast, an awkward little child with quiet eyes, and Redcloak himself was once one of Stageport’s many orphans. Every legend you have ever heard of was once something smaller, and humbler, before the stories attached themselves to their hull.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Such Silence (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Twenty-five)
Sat, 25 Jan 2020 13:49:00 +0000
Some ten years ago, the crew of the Carnal Sin, fleeing pursuit for a crime they definitely did commit, put ashore in a sandy chain of misty islands where an intemperate wind lashed the trees and brilliant flowers garlanded the woods. Some say, and it is hard to tell how trustworthy they are, that Captain Ramsay, unwilling to give up her spoils in the event of her capture, buried the loot somewhere in that ghostly archipelago, somewhere the sound of the waves couldn’t reach. Of course these same people, regardless of how trustworthy one finds them, say that it still waits there – the Last Haul of the Carnal Sin, which departed the island without so much as naming it.
Now, stumbling in the footsteps of the Carnal Sin, the Westbreaker, injured and limping from a sudden storm, has found itself in a sandy chain of misty islands, lashed by an intemperate wind and, in more ways than one, rudderless.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Such Silence (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Twenty-four)
Sat, 18 Jan 2020 07:53:00 +0000
My friends both my friends, do not fight both my friends. Two voices, three voices, my voices all, and between them such silence? Between them such silence, a fool is my friend, and between my friends is silence, but do not fight both my friends. Voices of friends like seafoam, voices of friends like driftwood, voices of friends like mud tracked over a clean floor, around and around I can hear where they go, they can hear where they’ve been, voices of my many friends, but between them silence. A friend of mine is a friend of mine and many are my friends and yet between them, silence. I love my friends, they are fools.
Welcome, my friends, to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Sat, 11 Jan 2020 07:46:00 +0000
Kersten's not here so Cat's Gonna Stats!
That's right, this week on Cat's Cradle we talk stats, accessibility, representation, and iconoclasm.
Check out our website at PeachGardenGames.com, and download the current manual here.
Original music by Kathleen.
Hunter, Farmgirl, Dragon, Queen (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Twenty-three)
Sat, 04 Jan 2020 16:54:07 +0000
Over one hundreds ago, generations ago, a small village paid tribute to a powerful neighbor with a ceremony whose origins have been mostly lost to time and short, feeble human memory.
Some years ago, a young farmgirl followed the voice of Windswept Tomyris, and several weeks ago, was reminded of her home.
A few days ago, the remnants of the annual festival were resurrected in the small village and, following a brave ranger, the village was reminded of its neighbor.
And yesterday, a disorganized and scattered person put these thoughts to a coffee-stained piece of paper.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Hunter, Farmgirl, Dragon, Queen (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Twenty-two)
Sat, 21 Dec 2019 14:53:54 +0000
Two hundred and twenty-four years ago, the Sage King of Forlatean began construction on a magnificent palace, one planned to rival even the great Golden Rose Pavilion. Before it could be completed, the Sage King fell ill and, surrounded by bad advice and greed, passed into death and obscurity, and the unfinished palace fell to two monarchs, three despots, and finally, the wilderness.
Sixty-two years ago, it gained a new tenant, like so many of the old world’s abandoned places. A divine creature that could trace their roots back, in part, to that same Golden Rose Pavilion, this new tenant now, today, is watching as three heroes, a farmgirl queen, and her knight approach the ruins the Sage King labored over.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Hunter, Farmgirl, Dragon, Queen (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Twenty-one)
Sat, 14 Dec 2019 15:50:51 +0000
One hundred and fifty years ago, much of the world was destroyed. One hundred and seventy-five years ago, some of the world was destroyed.
There is, at all times, something that is threatening to destroy everything. There is at all times a buried history, an endless series of cataclysms.
And there is at all times something waiting. Something that has survived. Something that peers forward through history unblinking to watch what cataclysm swoops down on the present.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Hunter, Farmgirl, Dragon, Queen (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Twenty)
Sat, 07 Dec 2019 10:28:52 +0000
Nobody remembers the name of the Old Capital now. It had a government, and it fought in the Last War, but the rest is lost. The people of the Interior clutch their memories tight, treasure their old borders even after losing them to Veldt. Rhimehold is fallen, and its corpse long buried.
But the Old Capital was once a trading post. The barons and dukes of the Interior were once just individuals, the King of Rhimehold once a common warlord. And a teenage farmgirl has become the Queen of Acorn.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Hunter, Farmgirl, Dragon, Queen (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Nineteen)
Sat, 30 Nov 2019 07:29:28 +0000
When people depend on nature for their living, they learn its rhythms and its pace. They listen as the world breathes in, and they feel it as the world breathes out, keeping time with their dance partner. Every day is a step, a beat, a change, and as nature leads the dance into winter, people add their own turns and flourishes. It's time for the festival!
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Hunter, Farmgirl, Dragon, Queen (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Eighteen)
Sat, 23 Nov 2019 09:00:00 +0000
Hundreds of years ago, people lived together. Apart, yes, apart enough to fight their wars, but together, sheltering in their nations and cities. They flew standards and pressed coins and gave what they could to communities they called States, Republics, Kingdoms, and the like.
After the Last War, it crumbled to dust. But dust, given time, can become fertile soil, and something new can grow.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Meet the Dirtbags (Kersten's Training Wheels, Episode Four)
Sun, 17 Nov 2019 03:17:51 +0000
The Dirtbags have found the papers, but they're not out of trouble yet!
I mean, they might be. It can be hard to tell with this crew.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Smell You Later, Penelope! (Cat's Cradle 6)
Sat, 09 Nov 2019 16:24:20 +0000
Here to help Penelope learn that it’s sometimes good to plan ahead, meet Raede, a real jerk. Just a real piece of work. A magical asshole.
Check out our website at PeachGardenGames.com, and download the current manual here.
Original music by Kathleen.
Meet the Dirtbags (Kersten's Training Wheels, Episode Three)
Fri, 01 Nov 2019 06:01:00 +0000
Vi, Mae, and Miller explore a college campus and make some new friends. Somehow.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Halloween Spooktacular (Cat's Cradle 5)
Sat, 26 Oct 2019 06:00:00 +0000
OooOOoooOoOo! It's time for a very spooky Cat's Cradle! Spooky and haunted. Wanna talk monsters, philosophy, who the real monster is, and early takeaways from Kersten's Training wheels? Hop on board!
Suggested Listening: Episode 10 of Behold Her for more in-depth discussion on decolonizing the TTRPG space.
Check out our website at PeachGardenGames.com, and download the current manual here.
Original music by Kathleen.
Meet the Dirtbags (Kersten's Training Wheels, Episode Two)
Sat, 19 Oct 2019 06:01:00 +0000
The Dirtbags do their investigation.
Just kidding, they have a slumber party.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Meet the Dirtbags (Kersten's Training Wheels, Episode One)
Sat, 12 Oct 2019 06:00:00 +0000
Are you an inexperienced GM? Maybe a little intimidated by the whole process? Worried you can't match the beautiful storylines and breathtaking scenes of your favorite GMs?
Look, it's not as hard as you're making it out to be. Join Kersten as she discovers first-hand that even when your players are jerks, the game's designer is right there judging you, and everyone makes fun of your NPC names, being a GM is all about having fun.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Countess Countless (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Seventeen)
Sat, 05 Oct 2019 06:01:00 +0000
Last night, two wanderers in an echoing cavern made quiet conversation in a blur of cloth and promises.
Last night, an artist and a soldier had a long conversation.
Last night, for eight little ones, the world changed forever.
And now it's time to wake up.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Countess Countless (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Sixteen)
Sat, 28 Sep 2019 21:32:30 +0000
Hundreds and hundreds of years ago, a wanderer came to the mouth of the Silver River. It was an empty, peaceful place then, full of the echoing cries of seabirds and the soft waves of a river that glittered, radiant in the sunlight, full of leaping fish. And in that peace and emptiness, the wanderer, completely alone and peerless, declared herself Countess.
Today, a wanderer came to the mouth of the Silver River. It is a cheerful place now, full of the shouts of people and the creaking of boats that wait, their sails bright in midday, in a harbor full of people and goods from all over the continent. She came in just one of many boats, just one of many travelers from just one of many places.
Right now, the two are about to meet.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Countess Countless (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Fifteen)
Fri, 20 Sep 2019 15:00:00 +0000
Longer ago than it feels sometimes, a wanderer set off to find the voice in her head. A decade ago, a lost traveller was returned to her family. A year ago, a village survived a drought thanks to an underground spring located by a stranger. A month ago, a Commander of the Aurora Legion was told a trio of adventurers had found his home's salvation. Weeks ago, a Tidal Navigator found a new crew.
And a few minutes ago, twelve people found each other, as far from home as they had ever been, and prepared to confront a power that could destroy them with a thought.
Tissa was certain that she merely rode history's arrow. What she didn't understand was that she, even in her own small way, was steering it.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Catless Cradle (Cat's Cradle 4)
Sat, 14 Sep 2019 06:00:00 +0000
This week, Kersten’s computer is an idiot, Cat’s immune system is a failure, and Nick and Kathleen take the helm! Let’s talk about behind-the-scenes stuff!
Check out our website at PeachGardenGames.com, and download the current manual here.
Check out Ghost Echo here if you’re in the mood for a small but very deep game.
Original music by Kathleen.
Countess Countless (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Fourteen)
Sat, 07 Sep 2019 06:00:00 +0000
Four hundred years ago, in a fishing village just out of reach of the jungle, a creature came in a woman's guise, to demand tribute with sweet words in a resonant voice. The villagers, unable to keep up with her demands, presented her with a jeweled knife.
Even when the knife had been buried in her chest, its gold surface veiled by shredded silk, it shone in the moonlight.
The villagers thought this was the end.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Countess Countless (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Thirteen)
Sat, 31 Aug 2019 16:31:36 +0000
Every now and again, when the tide is low and the moon gives her permission, a low whistle like a mournful flute echoes over the mouth of the Silver River. When it does, citizens shut their doors, lock their windows, and keep a close eye on their little ones.
But for generations, someone has always slipped through their cautious fetters, and vanished into the great gray rock sitting in the bay. For generations, Celres has paid a grim tax on these certain, beautiful, peaceful nights.
Tonight is one of them. Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Countess Countless (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Twelve)
Sat, 24 Aug 2019 06:06:00 +0000
It has been said for generations that the town of Celres holds a secret. Generations ago, when a Noble demon was driven from the city, a great treasure was left behind. It awaits, they say, anyone with courage enough to seek it, in a secret cavern glittering with long-abandoned jewels, flooded with the echoes of a capricious sea. Today, seeking provisions rather than riches, the crew of the Westbreaker has put ashore in Celres.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Westbreaker (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Eleven)
Sat, 24 Aug 2019 02:58:29 +0000
One week ago, the ironclad Westbreaker set out on her voyage away from the dazzling tropics of Hushwave City for harsher climes northwest. Her inventor began work on deciphering her prize, the ancient book, in the heat, noise, and chaos of her engine room. Her Commander has attempted to fit in among the crew and, by and large, has failed so far. Penelope Hunter, eager as always for a new experience, redoubled her efforts to learn about the floating fortress. Jonathan Cobbler, always willing to work, found himself pulled between teaching and sailing. Tissa did what she does best in an unfamiliar place – found herself a spot to sit and listen. Listen to the crew, listen to the waves, and listen to the whispering voice of Destiny calling from over her shoulder.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Would You Rather? (Cat's Cradle 3)
Sat, 10 Aug 2019 06:00:00 +0000
This week, it’s a Cat’s Cradle! This week, we talk about Edge Successes, why they are the way they are, and why we love coming between a rock and a hard place.
Check out our website at PeachGardenGames.com, and download the current manual here.
Check out Ghost Echo here if you’re in the mood for a small but very deep game.
Original music by Kathleen.
A Nerd and her Honor (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Ten)
Sat, 03 Aug 2019 06:00:00 +0000
Countless years ago, lifetimes ago, lives ago, eras ago; a screaming, a question, a countless years' silence, a question unanswered, an asker unheard. All water, all salt, all moving roaring surge - spinning whirlpool, dancing feelings, restless voice.
Fewer years ago, fewer than forever, some lifetimes yes but not yet countless, a visitor, a rescuer, a deaf blind fool. A deaf blind fool and a fool all water all moving. An asker, unheard.
Welcome, my friends, all my friends, to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
A Nerd and her Honor (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Nine)
Sat, 27 Jul 2019 06:00:00 +0000
Two years ago, the remnants of the shattered Glacier legion, now absorbed into another, began work on their most ambitious mission - to reclaim the shores of the Wastes. To do this, they commissioned an Aurora legion engineer, and work began on a ship capable of leading the charge: The Westbreaker.Two days ago, a former privateer, himself a man of considerable skill, dismissed the iron-clad Westbreaker, and in doing so, offended the honor of its creator. Today, storm clouds are brewing.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
(Sorry about Cat’s slight tinniness over the next two episodes - she ended up away from her usual equipment. It’s not permanent.)
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
A Nerd and her Honor (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Eight)
Sat, 20 Jul 2019 15:37:18 +0000
On a high plateau decorating the sacred Origin Island, where, centuries ago, a great temple once stood, there is now a ruined garden. Here, ans here alone, grows the flower that, it is said, stirred the heart of a famous conqueror and inspired them to lay down their sword. It is said that the sword remains, buried under a carpet of gold.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
A Nerd and her Honor (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Seven)
Sat, 13 Jul 2019 06:00:00 +0000
About twenty years ago, a little girl wandered into the Veldt to see the ruins. When a gallant Infiltrator came to her rescue, her heart was ensnared, not by her daring hero, but by the artificial soldier they battled. It had been made by human hands, she thought, and she looked down at her own tiny fingers. Yesterday, in her quest to learn the effects of extreme heat on stone structures, she became the latest addition to the vault of the demon known as the Radiant Prince, and her rescuers forgot all about her.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
Sat, 06 Jul 2019 06:32:47 +0000
It's time for another Cat's Cradle! In this episode, Cat answers some questions about the magic in Heroic Chord, how it works, how it used to work, and why it is the way it is.
Check out our website at PeachGardenGames.com, and download the current manual here.
Original music by Kathleen.
A Nerd and her Honor (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Six)
Sat, 29 Jun 2019 06:00:00 +0000
About twenty years ago, a little girl wandered into the Veldt to see the ruins. When a gallant Infiltrator came to her rescue, her heart was ensnared, not by her daring hero, but by the artificial soldier they battled. It had been made by human hands, she thought, and she looked down at her own tiny fingers. Yesterday, in her quest to learn the effects of extreme heat on stone structures, she became the latest addition to the vault of the demon known as the Radiant Prince, and her rescuers forgot all about her.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Play along with us! Download the manual for free here and let us know what you think on our website!
Original music by Kathleen~!
A Nerd and her Honor (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Five)
Sat, 22 Jun 2019 06:01:00 +0000
Over one hundred years ago, a lone exile toiled in a dark
basement, over reams of paper and models of various sizes and levels of
intricacy, trying to see which parts would move, and which would anchor, and
which would animate, and trying to contribute to a whole which may just have
been the salvation of everything she had worked for before leaving forever.
Now, her work is in the hands of Cobb, Tissa, and Penelope, who are unsure what
to do with it aside from calling the cops.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Download the manual for free here. We'd love for you to play along with us!
Original music and sound design by Kathleen
Rise of the Beryl Green (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Four)
Sat, 15 Jun 2019 06:13:00 +0000
Over one hundred years ago, as a warm tropical rain lashed at the beaches of Hushwave City, a ship pulled away from the docks on the beginning of its doomed journey. An exile watched from the shore, her hood tossed by winds and her hands clasped in front of her as raindrops ran down her face, and she stood there watching until the Beryl Green disappeared around the cape. She could never return home, but she could send her efforts, and her prayers, with that doomed merchant vessel. Today, Cobb, Tissa, and Penelope, treasure in hand, have emerged from the place where those prayers died.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Come play along with us! Check out the manual for free here and tell us about your own memories.
Original music and sound design by Kathleen.
Rise of the Beryl Green (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Three)
Sat, 08 Jun 2019 06:01:00 +0000
Over one hundred years ago, the Deilith Volcanic Sceafing bade its ally the coral spirit to swallow of the proud merchant ship Beryl Green and all its cargo, and cast them to the bottom of the sea. Beryl Green slept there under a blanket of kelp, along with all its trasures save the one treasure it had lost - the sound of music from within, and the deep feelings of affection that accompanied it.
Now, the coral spirit has seen fit to bring it back up. Sceafing never changes its mind, but the coral does, however inscrutable its reasons. Today, still half-drunk from the party where they met, Cobb is looking for treasure, Tissa is looking for destiny, and Penelope is looking for a way out of the darkness. Penelope is about to get her wish.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Check out our website at PeachGardenGames.com, and download the current manual here.
Original music by Kathleen.
Rise of the Beryl Green (Sword of Symphonies, Episode Two)
Sat, 01 Jun 2019 03:16:59 +0000
One hundred years ago, the proud ship Beryl Green sailed out of Hushwave city on its way north, to Rhimehold. It was near the coast, perhaps nearer to the coast than it should have been, when it was overtaken by the coral and sank to the bottom of the sea along with its cargo. It contained parts, weapons, materials, and most importantly, schematics. Today, Tissa, Cobb, and Penelope, having just met at a party, (and still a bit buzzed) are exploring the resurrected wreck of the Beryl Green.
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies.
Check out our website at PeachGardenGames.com, and download the current manual here.
Original music by Kathleen.
Fri, 31 May 2019 03:16:30 +0000
This is Cat’s Cradle, a side-show that, at least this once, contains 0 Legend of Dragoon jokes!
Kersten and Kathleen, guided by our usually-friendly game designer, design an NPC for Nick to deal with. Learn about the classes in Heroic Chord and follow the character creation process step-by-step, with explorations of terms and mechanics as they come up.
Meet Marcus, our Real Dad, a man Cobb is gonna love.
Check out our website at PeachGardenGames.com, and download the current manual here.
Original music by Kathleen.
Rise of the Beryl Green (Sword of Symphonies, Episode One)
Fri, 31 May 2019 03:06:34 +0000
Welcome to Sword of Symphonies, an Actual Playtest podcast brought to you by Cat and her dear friends, none of whom she yells at over the course of the episode.
It’s time to learn the basics of Heroic Chord, and to meet Cobb, Tissa, and Pollyanna. Or was it Penelope? Kersten didn’t make that one easy on us. How do these three drunkards prepare for their adventure, and what awaits them in the mysterious Coral Coast?
Note: Cat sounds a little distant in this first episode due to equipment issues that only show up here. Fear not!
Check out our website at PeachGardenGames.com, and download the current manual here.
Original music by Kathleen.