Around the Hearth

Roll for Origin: Supers TTRPG History returns to one of the earliest and most important superhero ttrpgs: Champions. Hosts Jay Brown and Lowell Francis talk about a game which is near and dear to their hearts-- both having played these editions extensively. They go over what the game is, its place in the history of gaming, and what was going on in comics media at the time. They then move to general discussion, including what what's weird and what they dug. This episode focuses just on the earliest editions-- prior to the release of the Champions 4th Edition, the "Big Blue Book."

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Jay's the author of By Aecer’s Light, The Clockwinders for Fate, Cortex Prime's Supers, and a contributing author on Pathfinder’s Mwangi Expanse, Trophy Gold, Hit the Streets: Defend the Block, and the upcoming Lifted: Indomitable RPG, a supers game about everyday folks with extraordinary powers in a tech-aggressive world.

Check out Mad Jay's work at Play.Fearless and at the Diceology Podcast.

Lowell is the designer and co-author of Hearts of Wulin. He's the ENnie-winning creator of the Age of Ravens blog and community manager for the Open Hearth Gaming Community.

You can find Lowell's work on YouTube, on Itch.io, and on DriveThruRPG.

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00:00 Intro
00:58 The Pitch
07:00 Gaming History
17:46 Comics & Media History
20:00 Thoughts 

What is Around the Hearth?

Around the Hearth features discussion on a wide range of topics relevant to tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs) featuring members of the Open Hearth Gaming Community. We talk games, gameplay, design, and the games being played at the Open Hearth Gaming Calendar. Our online games are free and open to all! If you'd like to join the fun, visit openhearthgaming.com for more information.