Todd tells us about his world, Skjaald, and his fantasy TTRPG system he’s designing for it called Skjaald Sagas. The main continent for Skjaald is Driktsuung, a place with varied biomes similar to North America. The people of Driktsuung are divided into the Six Realms with different governmental structures for each Realm. All the typical fantasy races are present with a few twists. Magic is deeply connected to the soul in Skjaald, causing changes in the nature of all magical creatures. Dragons are the most affected as they are beings of almost pure magic. Magic also acts as a form of radiation that slowly turns spellcasters into draconic beings.

The Skjaald Sagas system grew out of D&D with d20 resolution and class-like choices based off different personality types called archetypes. Examples include Fighter, Protector, Cleric, Thinker, Coward, and Leader. You roll using your attributes which are also increased through usage. Thus if you want to be a better melee attacker, you either have to attack during combat or state that my character is practicing during downtime. Higher attributes that are associated with a certain archetype allow you to increase the stage of the archetype and unlock new abilities. The point based system allows for easy movement between the different archetypes as your character grows through play.

Skjaald Sagas Links:
Skjaald Sagas World Anvil
Skjaald Sagas Playtest Materials Google Doc

I mentioned Elfquest while talking with Todd about the elves in Skjaald. If you’d like to try Elfquest most of the comics are available through a reader on the creators’ website.

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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

81 – Biopunk 2287 RPG (Seiya and Synesthesia Synthetica) Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

Seiya tells us about his TTRPG system and setting, Synesthesia Synthetica (SNS). SNS is a biopunk game adjacent to the cyberpunk and steampunk genres. After an asteroid induced climate disaster, Earth has rebuilt itself using bio-technology instead of the metal based tech that surrounds us in the real world. Genetically modified humans have split into distinct species and mutant horrors prowl the wastes outside civilization. The rich rule from their space stations up above but resistance is growing in the streets below.During the episode we discussed a piece of art that Seiya had made for the game. A picture of that bio-tank is available for you to look at.At the moment, Synesthesia Synthetica is available for free as an early access game on itch.io and DriveThruRPG.If you want to learn more or find a group to play with, you can do that on the Synesthesia Synthetica Discord.Remember to nominate your favorite TTRPG shows/creators/things for the 2026 CRIT Awards!Check out the Setting the Stage website!Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey.Join our Discord!Support Setting the Stageon Patreon! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
  1. 81 – Biopunk 2287 RPG (Seiya and Synesthesia Synthetica)
  2. 80 – Dynamic RPG Countries (Travis and Tetara)
  3. 79 – Dragon Age Degenerates (Zoe from Degenerates with Dice)
  4. 78 – D&D in Suburbia (Ryan and Serenity Springs)
  5. 77 – KPop DnD Hunters (Dan and Idols of the Neon Dark)