In which LJ and Ed continue The Ground Itself, entering a second era of industrial growth.
In the wake of tragedy, the City-State of the Thousand Blades turns to industry - alloys of fire join the traditional water-steel and water-iron as magnates and capital choke the many shining swords of its waterways. We behold its factories, drinking-houses and secret disputes. The blades of the delta are many, and for each of its knives, a god.
The Ground Itself is a one-session storytelling game for 2-5 players, played with accessible materials, by Everest Pipkin. Focusing on place - one specific place, chosen by the group - The Ground Itself unfolds over radically disparate time periods that may range from 4 days to 18,000 years. By casting wildly into time, it considers how places both change and remember themselves. Fundamentally, The Ground Itself is about the echoes and traces we leave for others after we are gone. You can purchase The Ground Itself on itch.io or DriveThruRPG.
The Rider-Waite-Smith deck (also known as the Rider-Waite or Waite-Smith tarot deck) is a popular tarot deck. It was published by The Rider Company in 1909, based on the instructions of academic and mystic A. E. Waite and illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith.
We're planning twice-monthly releases of this first series exploring the history and locale of the Thousand Blades before we take a break for our second series. If you have suggestions for systems you'd like to see us play in the future, please message us on our Twitter handle @LucidStrata while the blue bird's agonal death throes still resemble a functioning social media platform.
Cast:
Leverett Jaques (LJ), they/them. @low_cinnabar on Twitter.
Ed, he/him. Found wherever the selkie's preferred tailor lurks on the lakeside.
The theme music for this episode was "The Well-Spring of the Fates" and was written and recorded by Leverett Jaques.
Thank you to Lois Stone (@supitslois) for stepping in and producing, without whom these episodes might never have been screamed into the abyss.