Roman relaxation and roleplaying

Hi folks,

We hope you have all had a wonderful week. Here in the UK, we’ve been enjoying the lovely late-summer warm weather and sunshine.

Firstly, a huge thank you to those who have supported Monte Cook’s BackerKit campaign to fund The Magnus Archives Roleplaying Game. We are so pleased to see so many people as excited about it as we are. The support Monte Cook has received so far has allowed them to unlock some really exciting stretch goals, including art plates for the deluxe edition of the book, and branded file folders. Monte Cook have also been able to create some really cool add-ons and rewards, including Leitner bookplates, a campaign journal and an actual, physical copy of A Guest for Mr. Spider, an infamous cursed book from season 3 of The Magnus Archives. There’s still plenty of time to donate to the campaign; if you’re interested, head over to The Magnus Archive Roleplaying Game BackerKit page.

Next up, today we’re delighted to welcome Planet Arcana, a tightly edited, tarot-flavoured, retrofuturistic D&D podcast, to the RQ Network. The show features two DMs and some good friends who work their way through a seedy world of Androids and Humans. We spoke to the team behind the show, to find out a bit more about the players and the show itself.

Tell us who you are and a bit about Planet Arcana?

Planet Arcana is a science fantasy audio fiction, built through a D&D 5e framework. Our story begins when an influencer, a drug dealer, and a cowboy walk into a casino, then into a vast mystery of science, magic, and Tarot-inspired gods.

Our cast are all Canada-based, and include two cooperative game runners and three players.

On the game runners’ side:

J (they/them) is a tabletop game designer, a lover of supernatural horror, and 97% sure they saw a UFO one time.

B’s (she/her) background includes: antique rug sales, casino dealing, cryptid hunting, and illustration (3 truths and 1 lie).

On the player’s side:

Crater Wane, a contraband distributing barbarian played by Shaun (he/him). Shaun is a hockey lover & cat-dad, who has a sub-1000 rating on LiChess.

Celestine Wanderoff, a stargazing cowboy druid. Celestine is played by Peter (he/him), who enjoys make-believe with friends, cyberpunk and horror-themed card games, and generally enjoys all things nerdy.

Finally, we have Rriot, an influencer rogue. Rriot is played by Skye (they/she), who loves wild mushrooms, curling, and forests, and is an amateur nacho reviewer (favourite nachos currently: Sneaky Dee’s Death From Above 1979 nachos - 20/20)

Trans and female-led, Planet Arcana is for anyone who likes a healthy blend of humour and drama, rich worldbuilding, great player chemistry, and a gorgeous soundtrack that feels like its own character.

What got you into podcasting?

We started out as five friends who played D&D and music together.

B, Peter and Shaun played together for years before the birth of Planet Arcana, with J acting as DM of their homebrewed campaign. Meanwhile, J is also a touring musician and has played with Skye Wallace for years. Skye themselves joined the regular D&D group about a year before the podcast became a reality, and so the stage was set.

As childhood friends going back decades, J and B worked on a number of creative projects together. They were searching for their next idea when, in the winter of 2020, B tried her hand at GMing for the first time– a short horror campaign.

Only hours before we played, a spur-of-the-moment decision to record our first session was made. For posterity, for our own enjoyment. But when J tried their hand at editing and scoring that recording and we listened to the results… The idea for a podcast became clear.

The horror campaign was paused, and J and B began work on a new campaign. One they’d both GM, collaboratively. As for the cast, the best choices were clear. It had to be Skye, Shaun and Peter. And so, the players began to develop character concepts, while J and B began to develop the world and the campaign’s inciting incident: a heist at Riskotheque Casino.

Four months later, Planet Arcana was born!

What are you most proud of about Planet Arcana?

We’re especially proud of a few things about Planet Arcana.

First, our original music and creative post-production are a huge part of Planet Arcana’s identity. Our score is created in-house, and we apply music both diegetically and non-diegetically to enrich the storytelling and listening experience.

Second, our immersive and creative roleplay. Our players and game runners know each other well, and the only thing we love more than making each other laugh, is making each other cry.

Third, we’re proud of our homebrewed retrofuturistic setting of Androids, Humans, and pantheon of Tarot-inspired gods. Our world solicits much theorizing from perceptive listeners, while remaining digestible to more casual listeners. Planet Arcana’s lore has evolved collaboratively through play, and with two concurrent game runners, we’re able to populate our world with a diverse array of characters!

Finally– and most importantly– we enjoy creating this story together immensely. We hope you enjoy it, too!

You can listen to Planet Arcana wherever you find podcasts or on the Rusty Quill website. If you enjoy the show, please consider leaving a rating or a review, as this is the best way to support any show.

Finally, this week on Cry Havoc, Gaius goes to an orgy and nobody is happy about it. Cleopatra and Charmian are determined to get useful intel from the… relaxed Romans and Mark is busy schmoozing. Fittingly, this week our Backstage episode looks into Sex and Orgies in Roman times. Joining host Lowri this week is creator David K Barnes and director Armani Zardoe.

Here is our full schedule for this week:

Tuesday 12th September

ROME 15 – Let Slip (Patreon) (4pm BST)

Thursday 14th September

ROME 15 – Let Slip (Public) (4pm BST)

Friday 15th September

KNIGHTS+ bonus – Backstage: Sex and Orgies (Patreon) (4pm BST)

Have a good week all!

The Rusty Quill team