The Lost Bay Podcast

Today, I'm taking you to Paris, France, to chat with Côme Martin, a prolific and uber-creative French designer. Côme's best-known titles include the iconic Meanwhile in the Subway, Broken Cities, Feathered Adventures, and many more.

In this episode, we discuss Côme's journey as a designer, from the first one-pagers to his most innovative games, how the Norwegian indie scene influenced his work, and the differences between the US and French-speaking indie scenes.

Côme Martin collection

https://www.thelostbaystudio.com/collections/come-martin

Côme Martin on itch

https://comemartin.itch.io/

Store

https://www.thelostbaystudio.com/

Newsletter

https://thelostbaystudio.substack.com/subscribe?

Follow the The Lost Bay Podcast

https://twitter.com/thelostbay

https://bsky.app/profile/thelostbaystudio.com

https://www.instagram.com/thelostbaystudio/

Produced by Iko

Editing Laura Elle

Music Avery Isles

David Blandy is the designer of the post apocalyptic weird hope game Eco MOFOS!!

The game is powered by the Into the odd/Cairn engine. Fast rules and character creation. Fantastic art by Daniel Locke. In this episode we talk about David's journey as a creator, and how his work as an artist informs game design. We also discuss Weirdhope, a unique genre of his own creation that teaches us that we can find joy and meaning, even in a strange and at times harsh world.

ECO MOFOS!! collection

https://www.thelostbaystudio.com/collections/eco-mofos

David Blandy on itch

https://davidblandy.itch.io/

Store

https://www.thelostbaystudio.com/

Newsletter

https://thelostbaystudio.substack.com/subscribe?

Follow the The Lost Bay Podcast

https://twitter.com/thelostbay

https://bsky.app/profile/thelostbaystudio.com

https://www.instagram.com/thelostbaystudio/

Produced by Iko

Editing Laura Elle

Music Avery Isles

The Parthenogenis of Hungry Hollow is an adventure module and campaing setting for the Mmodern horror tabletop RPG Liminal Horror. In this espisode with returning guest designer Goblin Archives we talk about bees, flesh, a weird baby shower, and an American Pacific Nothwest town being corrupted by an owerwhelmind deity and cult.

The Parthenogenis of Hungry Hollow on Backerkit

https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/space-penguin-ink/the-parthenogenesis-of-hungry-hollow-for-liminal-horror

Get Liminal Horror

https://goblinarchives.itch.io/

More Liminal Horror modules

https://liminalhorrorlibrary.com/

First Goblin Archives interview on The Lost Bay podcast

https://podcasts.apple.com/fr/podcast/goblin-archives-liminal-horror/id1560319393?i=1000579058647

Follow the The Lost Bay Podcast

https://twitter.com/thelostbay

https://bsky.app/profile/thelostbaystudio.com

https://www.instagram.com/thelostbaystudio/

https://www.thelostbaystudio.com/

Produced by Iko

Editing Laura Elle

Music Avery Isles

Yochai Gal is the designer of the forest fantasy RPG Cairn. Right now, Cairn second edition boxed set is live on Kickstarter. In this episode we talk about how Yochai grew the first edition of Cairn into this new expanded RPG marvel.

Cairn Kickstarter

⁠https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1557907976/cairn-2e-boxed-set

Yochai's first two appearances on The Lost Bay Podcast

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/yochai-gal-cairn/id1560319393?i=1000514489599

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ttrpg-irl-community-copies-with-sean-patrick-cain/id1560319393?i=1000547197262

The Lost Bay - suburban gothic RPG preorder page

https://www.thelostbaystudio.com/pages/the-lost-bay-preorders

Follow the The Lost Bay Podcast

⁠⁠https://twitter.com/thelostbay⁠⁠

⁠⁠https://bsky.app/profile/thelostbaystudio.com⁠⁠

⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/thelostbaystudio/⁠⁠

⁠⁠https://www.thelostbaystudio.com/⁠⁠

Produced by Iko

Editing Laura Elle

Music Avery Isles

Intro ad music David Blandy

Chris Mc Dowall is the designer of the rules light flavor heavy trifecta of games Into the Odd, Electric Bastionland and Mythic Bastionland. In this episode we talk about Chris' latest game Mythic Bastionland, its sources of inspiration, design process, and the spirit behind its ruleset.

Bastionland blog & Patreon

https://www.bastionland.com/

https://www.patreon.com/bastionland

Mythic Bastionland preorders

https://mythicbastionland.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders

The Lost Bay - suburban gothic RPG on Kickstarter

⁠https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thelostbay/the-lost-bay-suburban-dark-fantasy-rpg⁠

Follow the The Lost Bay Podcast

⁠https://twitter.com/thelostbay⁠

⁠https://bsky.app/profile/thelostbaystudio.com⁠

⁠https://www.instagram.com/thelostbaystudio/⁠

⁠https://www.thelostbaystudio.com/⁠

Produced by Iko

Editing Laura Elle

Music Avery Isles

Intro ad music David Blandy

Samantha Leigh is a multi-faceted tabletop RPG creator and has released some of the coolest solo games of the indie scene. She’s been recently kickstarting Outliers, an award-winning game inspired by her own experience as a lab researcher. In this episode we’ll talk about her sources of inspiration, editing secrets, and future projects.

Outliers

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/marx-of-high-water/far-horizons-coop-presents-outliers

Samantha Leigh

https://twitter.com/GoblinMixtape

https://samleigh.carrd.co/

https://www.tiktok.com/@goblinmixtape

The Lost Bay - suburban gothic RPG on Kickstarter

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thelostbay/the-lost-bay-suburban-dark-fantasy-rpg

Follow the The Lost Bay Podcast

https://twitter.com/thelostbay

https://bsky.app/profile/thelostbaystudio.com

https://www.instagram.com/thelostbaystudio/

https://www.thelostbaystudio.com/

Produced by Iko

Editing Laura Elle

Music Avery Isles

Intro ad music David Blandy

Watt is the designer behind the Nausicaa inspired ecological space fantasy game Cloud Empress. After a successful launch in 2023 Cloud Empress returns to Kickstarter in 2024 with two new books/settings.

In this episode we talk everything shop, from writing and layout strategies to game mechanics and their impact on the players and the gaming experience.

Back Cloud Empress, Life and Death

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/watt/cloud-empress-life-and-death

https://cloudempress.com/about/

The Lost Bay - suburban gothic RPG on Kickstarter

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thelostbay/the-lost-bay-suburban-dark-fantasy-rpg

Follow the The Lost Bay Podcast

https://twitter.com/thelostbay

https://bsky.app/profile/thelostbaystudio.com

https://www.instagram.com/thelostbaystudio/

https://www.thelostbaystudio.com/

Produced by Iko

Editing Laura Elle

Music Avery Isles

Intro ad music David Blandy

Evangeline Gallagher is an illustrator with a taste for dark fantasy and horror. Their art is inspired by 80s and 90s media. Evangeline is one of the most productive and striking artists of the TTRPG scene and beyond. In this episode, we talk about their sources of inspiration, their practice, a mental directory of faces, and why red is their favorite color.

Follow Evangeline Gallagher

https://www.instagram.com/evangelinegallagher/

https://twitter.com/egallagher_art

https://bsky.app/profile/egallagher.bsky.social

Evangeline's store

https://www.evangelinegallagher.com/

The Lost Bay - suburban gothic RPG on Kickstarter

http://thelostbayrpg.com/

Follow the The Lost Bay Podcast

https://twitter.com/thelostbay

https://bsky.app/profile/thelostbaystudio.com

https://www.instagram.com/thelostbaystudio/

https://www.thelostbaystudio.com/

Produced by Iko

Editing Laura Elle

Music Avery Isles

watt is the designer of Cloud Empress, an ecological science fantasy tabletop RPG inspired by works like Nausicaa in the Valley of the Wind, Dune, Full Metal Alchemist. Cloud Empress is both a hack and a campaign setting for the Sci-Fi horror TTRPG Mothership. The game has a striking universe both harsh and tender. In this episode we talk about the genesis and the design choices behind a game that is expected to be one of the most notable releases of 2023.

Cloud Empress Kickstarter https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hotstuffonshoreleave/cloud-empress-ecological-science-fantasy-roleplaying

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The FEAR BUNDLE https://www.thelostbaystudio.com/products/fear-bundle

The Lost Bay Studio publishes tabletop role-playing zines, sparks community initiatives, and hosts your favorite TTRPG podcast. Don’t miss a thing: subscribe to our newsletter https://thelostbaystudio.substack.com/p/the-dispatch

Home of The Lost Bay https://thelostbaystudio.com/

Get in touch with me, Iko, on https://twitter.com/thelostbay

Episode produced and edited by Iko

Additional editing by J. Stautman

Music Avery Isles

https://www.patreon.com/thelostbay

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Mörk Borg is a Swedish tabletop role-playing game by Pelle Nilsson & Johan Nohr with a strong pitch-black apocalyptic fantasy vibe. The fantasy setting features a dying world, where all is dark and gloomy, even the characters you play. The book itself has a unique visual style, wild and colorful reminiscent of the 80s Punk-Rock zine scene and of Doom Metal music.

In this interview we talk about the creative strategies of the two designers, the Swedish alternative to Dungeons and Dragons, Nostradamus Prophecies, historical vampires, an incredible set of Character Generators, font sourcing and how to succeed at creating a masterful visual style.

Want to play Mörk Borg and don’t know where to start? We’ve put together the  Wicked Wanderers Winter Bundle for you, all you need to play Mörk Borg for months https://www.thelostbaystudio.com/products/wicked-wanderers-winter-bundle

Dive into the Mörk Borg universe here https://morkborg.com/

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The FEAR BUNDLE https://www.thelostbaystudio.com/products/fear-bundle

The Lost Bay Studio publishes tabletop role-playing zines, sparks community initiatives, and hosts your favorite TTRPG podcast. Don’t miss a thing: subscribe to our newsletter https://thelostbaystudio.substack.com/p/the-dispatch

Home of The Lost Bay https://thelostbaystudio.com/

Get in touch with me, Iko, on https://twitter.com/thelostbay

Episode produced by Iko

Editing Supervisor Laura Elle

Music Avery Isles

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Coming up in the next episodes:

ARC - Momatoes

Emiel Boven is the writer, illustrator and designer of the games DURF and The Electrum Archive. Emiel has stumbled across the tabletop indie scene only a couple of years ago, and since then he's been extremely productive: He wrote several adventures and modules, two games and contributed to build an international community of creators. He’s one of the designers you definitely want to keep two eyes on.

In this episode we’ll talk about biking, becoming a full time RPG designer, the power of game testing and a mysterious ancient alien civilization.

Get the Emiel Boven Bundle https://www.thelostbaystudio.com/products/emiel-boven-bundle

Emiel Games on Itch https://emielboven.itch.io/

Cult of the Lizard King https://www.cultofthelizardking.com/

Episode produced by Iko

Editing Supervisor Laura Elle

Music Avery Isles

Additional Music

It's OK by The Mail https://soundcloud.com/ireadthenewstodayohboy/albums

Biking sounds by klankbeeld, Adam Wayne Gistarb, CUDenverSound released under CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

https://freesound.org/people/klankbeeld/sounds/249737/

https://freesound.org/people/deleted_user_4401185/sounds/243739/

https://freesound.org/people/CUDenverSound/sounds/487035/

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Home of The Lost Bay https://thelostbaystudio.com/

Get in touch with me, Iko, on https://twitter.com/thelostbay

Watch the podcast episodes with EN SUBS https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBcjgiUURodfLWy-cDqpK2Q

Become a monthly supporter https://patreon.com/thelostbay

Subscribe to the dispatch https://thelostbaystudio.substack.com/p/the-dispatch

-- -- -- --

Coming up in the next episodes:

ARC - Momatoes

Mörk Borg - Pelle Nilsson and Johan Nohr

Liminal Horror is a modern horror tabletop RPG. It started a year and a half ago as a hack of the game Cairn, and since then its ecosystem has significantly grown. It has been published in print, counts two official modules, and is supported by a vibrant community.

In this episode we'll talk about Goblin Archives' journey as a game designer, how to write horror, crowdfunding using itch.io, growing supported by the community and giving back to it, and the two first official modules for the game: The Mall inspired by John Carpenter's 1982 movie The Thing, and The Bureau an adventure of corporate horror.

Find the zines in print at Exalted Funeral:

Liminal Horror https://www.exaltedfuneral.com/products/liminal-horror-pdf

The Mall https://www.exaltedfuneral.com/products/the-mall

The Bureau https://www.exaltedfuneral.com/products/the-bureau

Get in touch with Goblin Archives

Twitter https://twitter.com/goblin_archives

Itch.io https://goblinarchives.itch.io/

The Annotated Archive of Game Design Resources https://goblinarchives.github.io/LiminalHorror/Annotated%20Archives/

Ad music is Lights Off by Done with fish - released under CC-BY-4

The FEAR BUNDLE https://www.thelostbaystudio.com/products/fear-bundle

Find The Lost Bay Studio store at thelostbaystudio.com

Episode produced by Iko

Editing Supervisor Laura Elle

Music Avery Isles

Additional Music

Nitral Music Audiolab https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG00NRG_GQNNcG0ukqRfBJQ

Mr Thenoronha https://freesound.org/people/Mrthenoronha/

Sergei Chermisinov https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Sergey_Cheremisinov/MRKE/Sergey_Cheremisinov_-_MRKE_-_05_Lucerna_1566/

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Get in touch with me, Iko, on https://twitter.com/thelostbay

Watch the podcast episodes with EN SUBS https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBcjgiUURodfLWy-cDqpK2Q

Become a monthly supporter https://patreon.com/thelostbay

Subscribe to the dispatch https://thelostbaystudio.substack.com/p/the-dispatch

-- -- -- -- 

Coming up in the next episodes:

DURF, The Electrum Archive - Emiel Boven

ARC - Momatoes

Today I have a very special episode for you, where for once I get to be interviewed. I’ve been a guest on the Weekly Scroll. It’s a super cool stream part of the Adventure Archive where Hunter and Ryan interview TTRPG designers, do reviews of indie games or unboxing of TTRPG Kickstarters.

In this episode we'll be talking about SKYREALMS, a system neutral fantasy sourcebook and coloring book, illustrated by Evlyn Moreau and with a super cool roster of international contributors. As I release this episode Skyrealms just entered its last funding week on Kickstarter.

Be sure to check SKYREALMS on Kickstarter

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thelostbay/skyrealms

https://anchor.fm/weekly-scroll

https://linktr.ee/theadventurearchive

Ad music is Lights Off by Done with fish - released under CC-BY-4

Find The Lost Bay Studio store at thelostbaystudio.com

Alfred Valley is the writer, designer and publisher of several TTRPGS characterized by unique setting and mechanics. In particular he wrote Lay on hands, a solo RPG in which you play as a healer in a post apocalyptic RPG, and Thousand Empty Light, a solo adventure for the Sci-Fi Horror RPG Mothership. In this episode we talk about the coziness of darkness, the art of haggling, cryptography and cassette tapes. 

Episode produced by Iko

Editing supervision by Laura Elle

Music by Avery Isles

Full credits, info and transcript here

http://www.thelostbaystudio.com/podcast/alfred_valley_thousand_empty_light

The show exists thanks to the support of its patrons, you can become a patron too, just head to www.patreon.com/thelostbay

Subscribe to the dispatch newsletter here https://thelostbaystudio.substack.com/p/the-dispatch

Get Thousand Empty Lights here https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/alfredvalley/thousand-empty-light

Reach out to Alfred on Twitter https://twitter.com/ValleyOfAlfred

Ad music is Lights Off by Done with fish - released under CC-BY-4

Find The Lost Bay Studio store at thelostbaystudio.com

-- More Mothership Episodes

Interview with Ian Yusem on Editing and Publishing Hull Breach an big beautiful anthology book https://open.spotify.com/episode/0uDDFLNjCPaYXmCeU8LP1i?si=Z9omkqqKTI23LguyQK8qNA

An interview with Sean McCoy the designer of Mothership himself https://open.spotify.com/episode/6KNPxofMBASan8dv27acwu?si=QSeZ4To5ROC6kvRkHbHDTw

And another interview with Ian, more focussed on community and labour themes https://open.spotify.com/episode/5YMAcJNadjDtVXgv9EneE3?si=0g1p6i5XQyWHktOE9WI8sA

Ian Yusem is publisher editor and writer of Hull Breach, an anthology book, collection of adventures and articles for the Sci-Fi horror RPG Mothership. In this episode we talk about Ian's experience both as an author and as the editor/publisher of Hull Breach, the importance of layout, playtesting techniques, and how to write horror RPGs.

Get Hull Breach here https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yusem/hull-breach-vol-1

Episode produced by Iko

Editing supervision by Laura Elle

Music by Avery Isles

Full credits, info and transcript here

http://thelostbaystudio.com/podcast/ian_yusem_hull_breach

The show exists thanks to the support of its patrons, you can become a patron too, just head to www.patreon.com/thelostbay

Subscribe to the dispatch newsletter here https://thelostbaystudio.substack.com/p/the-dispatch

Ad music is Lights Off by Done with fish - released under CC-BY-4

Find The Lost Bay Studio store at thelostbaystudio.com

This is the second episode of a three part mini series on TTRPG zines, the physical objects, we love, make, read and use to play role playing games. The first one is and interview with Leo from L.F. OSR, maker and publisher of limited editions of bespoke RPG zines. 

If you play RPGs you're probably familiar with the concept. Community copies are free copies of RPG games or adventures, people can download from the internet. It's a way for designers and publishers to support members of the community who can't afford for whatever reason to buy a game. 

In this episode, we are going to take a closer look at what some people in the community start to call IRL community copies. As in, in real life, community copies. These are physical copies of zines distributed for free in various places, mainly in Little Free Libraries. You know, these boxes one can find sometimes by the side of the road where people drop books and even other supplies. We will accompany three indie game designers, Sean Patrick Cain, Yochai Gal, and Caverns of Heresy, while they print, prepare, and distribute some in real life community copies.

Episode produced by Iko

Development and editing supervision by Laura Elle

Sounds recorded by
Sean Patrick Cain linktr.ee/seanpatrickcain
Yochai Gal newschoolrevolution.com
Caverns of Heresy cavernsofheresy.com

Music Done with Fish by Light off

Full credits, info and transcript here http://thelostbaystudio.com/podcast/rpg_irl_community_copies_sean_patrick_cain_yochai_gal_caverns_of_heresy

The show exists thanks to the support of its patron, you can become a patron too, just head to www.patreon.com/thelostbay

Subscribe to the dispatch newsletter here https://thelostbaystudio.substack.com/p/the-dispatch

Ad music is Lights Off by Done with fish - released under CC-BY-4

Find The Lost Bay Studio store at thelostbaystudio.com

Leo is very active in the RPG scene, particularly on the OSR side of it. He writes, makes art, he even just has released a dungeon synth album called Lost Fellow. But Leo also makes zines, like in crafting and publishing them, with his printing shop/publishing house called L.F. OSR. Their publications are quite unique in the scene, one hundred percent handmade, bespoke and special editions of indie zines.

In this episode we talk about hacking printers, hand stamping zines, bone folders, being a nerdy craftsman, and the future of the indie RPG zines in these uncertain times of paper shortage and supply chain disruption.

L.F. OSR shop and newsletter are here http://www.lfosr.com/

If you want to stay in touch and get info about The Lost Bay Studio activities head to http://thelostbaystudio.com/

If you want to support The Lost Bay Podcast, and help it grow and give voice to talented indie RPG creators you can head to patreon.com/thelostbay

Today what I have for you is a very short episode, I’m working on several episodes of a mini-series that require intense editing. This is why I don’t have the usual interview to offer this week.

But I didn’t want to let you with no content at all, so I’m going to give you a short tour of what is going to come in the next three episodes. We'll be talking about zines, as objects, as paper objects.

And if you stick around until the end of this bonus episode, you'll hear some of the sounds I'm editing for the series.

Paolo Greco is the writer and designer behind the RPG press Lost Pages. They have recently successfully finished the Kickstarter campaign for The Book of Gaub, a game neutral spell book, and anthology of horror micro fictions. In this episode we talk about magic, real magic, studying it, understanding it, and how it can help writing better RPG magic, a kid fascinated by the occult, and a lost and beautiful font.

You can buy The Book of Gaub here https://shop.lostpages.co.uk/

Subscribe to Lost Pages newsletter here https://dream.lostpages.co.uk/

And get in touch with Paolo here https://twitter.com/lostpaolo

The FEAR BUNDLE https://www.thelostbaystudio.com/products/fear-bundle

If you want to support The Lost Bay Podcast, and help it grow and give voice to talented indie RPG creators you can head to patreon.com/thelostbay

Ad music is Lights Off by Done with fish - released under CC-BY-4

Find The Lost Bay Studio store at thelostbaystudio.com

Zedeck Siew is the writer an co-author of the zine series A thousand thousand islands. These TTRPG fantasy game neutral zines are inspired by South Asia. 

In these episode we talk about being nerds, South Est Asia, writing as a craft, running a Kickstarter, cockroaches and The reach of the roach god, the first A thousand thousand islands campaign book.

The book is being kickstartered until the end of November 2021, several stretch goals have already been hit, be sure to check it here https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/centaurgames/reach-of-the-roach-god-part-of-a-thousand-thousand-islands

If you want to support The Lost Bay Podcast, and help it grow and give voice to talented indie RPG creators you can head to patreon.com/thelostbay

The Lost Bay Podcast is also available on Youtube with English subtitles https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBcjgiUURodfLWy-cDqpK2Q

Ad music is Lights Off by Done with fish - released under CC-BY-4

Find The Lost Bay Studio store at thelostbaystudio.com