Setting the Stage Episode 53 – Maia and Pinehurst Academy

Published by

Isaac

April 9, 2025

Maia is our guest today presenting her actual play campaign, Pinehurst Academy. Maia used the City of Mist system for her game. From the City of Mist website, “In City of Mist you play ordinary individuals with powers that emanate from myths and legends investigating supernatural crimes and mysteries in a noir City where the truth is always hidden behind the pervasive Mist.” Maia has used a fairly straight interpretation of that setup with a twist, her story takes place in a suburban high school just outside of the City. The PCs are a bunch of first year students at the exclusive private school, Pinehurst Academy. The school has a yearly scavenger hunt competition for freshman to find a set of ten artifacts. There are only one of each artifact, so the scavenger hunt teams must also steal the artifacts

Maia made an enormous amount of material for the campaign along with many custom rules for managing the more detailed parts of school life. If you’re planning on running a similar campaign you should get in touch with Maia and ask for some advice.

The Pinehurst Academy playlist on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7m14mvokus1i6gbfAGSKc7oOheJfGQtz
Maia’s TTRPG links: https://beacons.ai/maiasgameroom
Maia’s Electric State narrative play podcast: https://beacons.ai/electricstatepod
City of Mist website: https://cityofmist.co/

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One response to “Setting the Stage Episode 53 – Maia and Pinehurst Academy”

Applying TTRPG Customer Profiles to the Setting the Stage Podcast – GoCorral

February 20, 2026

[…] 40 – Kevin and Wing Women, 48 – Udy and Pendragon, 50 – Emma & Maia and Yeld, 53 – Maia and Pinehurst Academy, and 70 – Sensei Suplex and Project Aurora might be good fits. I could pull some nice clips […]

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I’m Isaac

Welcome to the GoCorral website! I’m Isaac Shaker and this is a place for me to write about D&D and occasionally other topics. I host a podcast called Setting the Stage that interviews different DMs about their campaigns. I’m currently focused on completing the Cimmeria campaign setting and turning it into a book.

Setting the Stage Podcast

77 – KPop DnD Hunters (Dan and Idols of the Neon Dark) – Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

Dan talked with me about his Kickstarter campaign, Idols of the Neon Dark. It's a D&D 5e supplement that tries to bring the fun and atmosphere of K-pop to Dungeons and Dragons. The media frenzy around KPop Demon Hunters inspired Dan to create a product based on the musical genre that his young daughters could enjoy with him.Idols of the Neon Dark contains an Idol character class to represent the teamwork and coordination of K-pop groups. Alongside the Idol class there's a setting called Lumenica City. The city is an undeground haven of neon lights, skyscrapers, and music. There's campaign for levels 1-6 and a bunch of side adventures as well to place within Lumenica City or your setting of choice.You can support Idols of the Neon Dark on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wrenegade-dan/k-pop-5e-hunters-shadows-of-the-neon-darkIdols of the Neon Dark Discord server: https://discord.com/invite/SREMffsEGWIdols of the Neon Dark Playtest Materials: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1CqyORb1gD6blKjSvRlPFzO-n9cj6QI68?usp=drive_linkPAX East Playtest Schedule. BOOK NOW! These are in March! https://www.projecthedron.com/events/697b8b2a040ec653b52091b6/sessions?search=name_li_Idols__nd__associatedEventId_eq_697b8b2a040ec653b52091b6&advSearch=true&page=1UKGE Playtest Schedule: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/ukge-idols-of-the-neon-dark-free-play-test-4817224Dan also runs a marketing business for Kickstarters that you should check out if you're thinking of launching your own crowdfunding campaign. Look at how well it worked for Idols of the Neon Dark! https://wrenegadecrowdfunding.com/Our website: https://gocorral.com/stsWant to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVAJoin our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6CSupport the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SettingtheStage Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.