I talked with Aaron Ryan about two of his book series, Dissonance and The End.

Dissonance is a near future world where aliens have attacked, killing most humans and animals on Earth and driving humans into hiding underground. Humans finally develop technology to fight back and the war enters a new stage while the characters also struggle to determine the motivation for the alien invasion and nefarious actions of the government.

The End is a Christian End Time series based loosely on the events described in Revelations. A man calling himself Nero has risen to rule over the world and he has outlawed Christianity. Robots called Guardians hunt Christians throughout the world, murdering them on the spot if they don’t recant their faith. A resistance movement works in the shadows against Nero, but things aren’t looking good for them.

We talked about the basics of those settings along with how they could be adapted for RPG campaign settings. My main recommendations were Ashes Without Number, Spire, and Blades in the Dark.

If you’re interested in reading Aaron’s books you can find them at most any bookstore or library. Both of the series are also being adapted into movies, but aren’t publicly available yet. Look at Aaron Ryan’s website for the latest updates on his work. Next up for Aaron is the Talisman series that covers events within the “Aaronverse” in the decades between Dissonance and The End.

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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

90 – Zombies in Iceland (Hem and VARÚÐ! Dead Island) – Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

Hem returns! Our previous guest from Episode 83 back with another BRP horror game. This time about zombies taking over Iceland. Three brave family members receive a special package that might put an end to the Endtimes. They just have to get the package off the island and into the hands of some researchers. Hem plans on releasing a new episode every day through October as part of the spooky season.The title of the show is "VARÚÐ! Dead Ísland" with Varúð pronounced like Vahr-ooth. You can learn more on the VARÚÐ RPG website.This is Hem's first video show, so you can watch VARÚÐ! Dead Ísland on YouTube as well as listen to it on your podcast app.All other associated info is available on the VARÚÐ RPG Linktree.For other shows produced by Hem check out Blighthouse Studio's website.Check out the Setting the Stage website!Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey.Join our Discord!Support Setting the Stage on Patreon! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
  1. 90 – Zombies in Iceland (Hem and VARÚÐ! Dead Island)
  2. 89 – Bunnies vs. the Borg D&D (Avery and Traumwald)
  3. 88 – DM & Roleplaying Tips with Balance of Aksio (Jay + Sandra! and 3RPG)
  4. 87 – Adapted Azeroth D&D (Flare and Akridon)
  5. 86 – Wuxia Adventures in RPGS (Daniel and Metanoia/Ithasen)