Modern Mythology | Story & Setting in RPGs and beyond

Have you had a character die mid-session? How did it feel, and had the table talked it through first? We all run games with violence of some kind, juggling different systems and different layers of mortality — and a lot of players read a death as an ending, an inconvenience, or a real emotional blow when a favorite character meets their end. This game, like many others, shows it doesn't have to be.

In Episode 27 of Modern Mythology, Sean runs Turn of Fortune's Wheel — the official introductory Planescape adventure (spoilers ahead!) — for Scott and James.
Planescape is a setting where belief shapes reality and the dead are part of the cosmology, and Turn of Fortune's Wheel wastes no time putting that on the table. We rolled up three characters and played through an engaging, genuinely lethal scenario to put death in gaming under the lens.
After the session we get into how to handle a character's death at the table in a way that protects player agency and opens up better stories.
Content note: this episode discusses character death and in-game mortality throughout.
Topics discussed:
00:00:37 Consent Check-in
00:01:45 Characters
00:07:40 Trope: You Wake Up in a Strange Place
00:18:30 Exit the Room
00:24:00 Doctor & Patient
00:48:10 On the Precipice
00:52:25 The First Death
01:05:30 Jamie's 2nd Character
01:30:20 “Maurice, No!"
01:31:45 Wrap Up & Death as a Narrative and Game Device
For more on the discussion of System and Style check out our written articles and Scott’s additional thoughts on specific systems on our YouTube channel.
ModernMythology.net

What alignment are you, and what does that mean? Does it drive your behavior? Does your character’s alignment drive theirs? We look at one of D&D’s most durable sacred cows: alignment as personality test, moral framework, table tool, campaign problem, and cosmology. Somehow, we try not to come to blows.
We want to hear how alignment plays into your games.
00:00:22 What Alignment Are You?
00:07:45 Origins
00:20:40 Descriptive or Prescriptive
00:25:00 Character Dynamics
00:31:25 Ubiquitous Evil Campaign
00:43:00 In Other Games
00:52:20 Relativistic View
01:14:00 As Cosmology
01:35:50 Recap
01:50:15 Practical Approach
For more on the discussion of System and Style check out our written articles and Scott’s additional thoughts on specific systems on our YouTube channel.
ModernMythology.net

In Episode 25 of Modern Mythology, we take on the Cypher System, a well-known universal tabletop RPG system with a strong reputation for flexible, narrative-driven play. Because Cypher isn’t tied to a single core setting, it gives us a good way to look at how a system’s mechanics shape story across genre—and in this case, through a fantasy lens.
We’re joined by SJ McKeen—author, fellow pro GM, professional voice actor, and streamer—who brings both GMing experience and firsthand familiarity with Cypher to the discussion. Together, we look at what the system does well, how it supports narrative play, and what it offers groups who want a framework that can adapt to different kinds of stories rather than one fixed world.
As usual with most of our actual-play episodes, we wrap up with a discussion of what the session surfaced for us about system, story, and play more broadly.
Topics discussed:
00:00:35 Introducing the Cypher System
00:01:20 Special Guest SJ
00:03:35 Broad strokes of setting?
00:06:35 Meet our characters
00:11:20 Monster Hunting
00:12:40 Mountainside Temple
00:44:00 The Gateway
00:53:00 Miasmic Hallway
01:05:45 The Prison
01:10:45 The Inner Sanctum
01:27:30 Charge!
01:54:00 LTB!
01:58:45 Denouncement
02:02:00 Break it down
02:04:10 Combat Downward Spiral
02:12:00 Madness in RPGs
02:21:40 Arcs and XP
02:33:00 Learning Curves
02:37:20 Read Character
02:41:20 Functional Character Sheets
02:48:00 What's SJ Up To?
For more on the discussion of System and Style check out our written articles and Scott’s additional thoughts on specific systems on our YouTube channel.
ModernMythology.net

In Episode 24 of Modern Mythology, we dig into one of the biggest questions in tabletop RPG design: how setting and system actually interact at the table. This is a dense, nearly two-hour conversation about the ways mechanics shape player behavior, how they steer attention toward certain kinds of choices, and how that pressure can either reinforce the fiction or get in its way.
As always, we don't come away with a final conclusion so much as many opened avenues of discussion. We spend a lot of time teasing apart what happens when a game’s rules and its setting are working together, and what happens when they might be at cross-purposes. When does system push play forward? When does it create friction? When does a setting give players a strong sense of what matters, when do constraints help and when does they start to constrain the very story the table is trying to discover? How important is a fantasy map?
Along the way, we look at the interplay of structure and fiction from several angles, asking how games teach people to play through their mechanics, and how different approaches can produce very different narrative results even when the premise looks similar on paper.
One quick correction: during the episode, we say “rules agnostic” a few times when what we actually mean is “setting agnostic.” Apologies for any confusion there.
Topics discussed:
00:00:20 Framing the Conversation
BTRC
Phoenix Command
00:16:00 Simulationism
00:25:30 Setting Agnostic Systems
Daggerheart
00:53:40 Death in system and setting (more on this in an upcoming episode)
00:58:25 System Informs Setting
01:11:40 Ideas about Setting informing System
For more on the discussion of System and Style check out our written articles and Scott’s additional thoughts on specific systems on our YouTube channel.
ModernMythology.net

Burning Wheel has stayed Scott’s favorite RPG for a reason, and this two-hour episode digs into the specifics. We look at how the game’s tools reinforce each other at the table: lifepath character creation, goal-driven play, organic advancement, and combat with real risk. In combination, those systems tend to produce strong characterization and narrative momentum without forcing outcomes.
Burning Wheel is an fantasy RPG designed by Luke Crane that pretty consistently shows up in many of the top lists of Indie RPG’s. It uses a d6 dice-pool engine and centers play on character beliefs and consequential choices. The current core book, Burning Wheel Gold Revised, is presented by the publisher as the definitive revised edition.
Even in this short session, the interplay of these mechanics creates standout moments—scenes shaped by player intent, and tension that comes from pressure rather than pre-scripted plot. If you’re interested in how system and story lock together in practice, this episode works as a clear case study. Hope you enjoy as much as we did.
Topics discussed:
00:00:30 Introduce Characters
00:16:45 Scene One - The Arrival
00:28:10 Scene Two - The Prodigal Child Returns
00:37:00 Scene Three - The Race to the Throne
00:48:25 Scene Four - Slip Away
00:56:00 Scene Five - Involving the Etharch
01:05:00 Scene Six - The Receiving Room
01:08:50 Scene Seven - Sibling Reunion
01:23:00 Scene Eight- Gathering Storm
01:37:00 Scene Nine - Now We Hunt Orc
01:59:30 Debrief - Song of Unraveling
For more on the discussion of System and Style check out our written articles and Scott’s additional thoughts on specific systems on our YouTube channel.
ModernMythology.net