Writer, musician, and game designer James Curcio joins us for a warm, wide-ranging chat on magic, myth, and RPGs. From Dungeons & Dragons to Mage: The Ascension and Modern Mythology, we talk play, storytelling, and the mystery of it all. Oh, yeah, and we also shoot the breeze about goblins, game systems, and why magic might just be another name for imagination.

Show Notes

• Generation Hex - Editor Jason Louv brings together a batch of wild and thoughtful voices from the edge of things—a generation of young folks dreaming up bold new paths for spirit, soul, and what it means to grow as human beings—including an essay by James Curcio.
• Blades in the Dark - A tabletop role-playing game about a scrappy crew of daring scoundrels chasing fortune and stirring up trouble on ghost-filled streets.
• Fate Accelerated - Folks just call it FAE—is a slimmed-down, easy-to-learn version of Fate Core that still packs all the punch and flexibility of the full game. It’s quick as a whip to pick up, and before you know it, you and your pals can be off adventuring in the world of your favorite book, movie, or show—or cookin’ up a brand-new world of your own. Best part? Setup’s a breeze. You can go from idea to dice-rollin’ in just a few minutes.
• Alan Moore and his latest book, The Great When, a spellbinding new series full of murder, magic, and mayhem—set between two Londons: one picking up the pieces after World War II, and the other a hidden world brimming with mystery and wonder.
• Grant Morrison and his comic book series, The Invisibles, a scrappy little cell of The Invisible College—a secret bunch fighting the good fight against all kinds of oppression, using time travel, magic, meditation, and (when needed) a good ol’ fashioned scuffle.
• The Expanse - a role-playing game brings the big, bold world of James S.A. Corey’s hit sci-fi books right to your tabletop. Built on Green Ronin’s trusty Adventure Game Engine—the same one that powers Fantasy AGE, Blue Rose, and Modern AGE—this game drops you into a future where Earth folks, Martians, and Belters are all jockeying for power and resources out in the stars. But something old and alien is waking up, and the story of humanity’s future is fixing to take a wild new turn.
• Modern Mythologies, a podcast exploring mythmaking and mechanics in RPGs.
• You can find James’ work at:
  • jamescurcio.com
  • fallencycle.com
  • modernmythology.net
• Operation Watchtower - a podcast rooter in Kult: Divinity Lost, set in the wake of 9/11 and launches September 11, 2025.