About Me

My name is Isaac Shaker. I graduated from UC Davis in 2013 with a Bachelor’s in Molecular Biology. I married my high school sweetheart soon afterward. I live with her, our kids, and our pets in our home in Davis, CA.

After my Bachelor’s I got a Master’s in the same field from Sacramento State in 2017. I studied the effects of introns on gene expression in C. elegans. There’s a wikipedia article about intron mediated enhancement of gene expression and I’ve written some blog posts about it as well. After getting my MS I worked as a lab manager at UC Davis. The lab examined the interactions between the immune system and tuberculosis. Later on I moved into the private sector as a lab manager and scientist for TurtleTree in Woodland, CA. TurtleTree is developing cultivated milk, a type of milk that will be grown in a lab without the need for all the extra resources that support cows. I’ve since left the field of lab management and am now a project manager for the data division of California’s Department of Health Care Services.

My wife is a fifth grade school teacher at an elementary school in Davis. We have two daughters, a six year old and a four year old.

I like playing video games. I also enjoy reading Roman and Greek classics, learning new things, and playing Dungeons and Dragons. At the moment I’m enjoying learning all I can about Chinese history and culture.

My current recreational project is writing information about my ongoing D&D campaign set in the magical land of Cimmeria. I am edging closer to making it into something that is publishable.

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

86 – Wuxia Adventures in RPGS (Daniel and Metanoia/Ithasen) Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

I interviewed Daniel, my cohost of the Tabletop Community Spotlight! Daniel created his own setting called Ithasen with an in-progress wuxia TTRPG system called Metanoia to go along with it. Ithasen has a spiritual force known as Ren that pervades the world. Ren is a magical manifestation of the user's, or Rennim's, will upon the universe. Rennim that cultivate their will grow stronger and capable of more amazing feats as the concentrate their power and force of personality.Within Ithasen there are seven lineages of people that decide what type of Ren they can use. Anamor use conversion Ren. Elkyr use flux Ren. Janim use elasticity Ren. Nyl use influence Ren. Okoi use recurrence Ren. Haqol use harmony Ren. Finally, Daruner use use coalescent ren. The two races lineages that drive unique politics in Ithasen are the Daruner and the Haqol.Daruner children absorb the Ren talents of both their parents, becoming a perfect blend of Daruner and another lineage parent. Through this mixing, a Daruner family could potentially include all other lineages within itself. This power has placed Daruner as the nobility of Ithasen.Haqol's power of harmony allows them to amplify the Ren powers of others. This puts Haqol in a vulnerable position as unscrupulous people will do anything to incorporate Haqol lineage into their bloodline. Haqol have experienced something akin to a genocide as their lineage has been consistently absorbed by other lineages and diluted over the centuries.There's a whole lot more than that so strap in!Daniel has a fully setup GitHub Wiki for information on Metanoia and Ithasen that you can explore.There's a Metanoid Discord server you can join to discuss the rules and setting with other fans.The occasional musing on TTRPGs can be found on Daniel's blog, Tabletop Discourse.GoCorral YouTube Channel for watching the Tabletop Community Spotlight.Vote in the CRIT Awards! Voting is open until August 23rd.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. 86 – Wuxia Adventures in RPGS (Daniel and Metanoia/Ithasen)
  2. 85 – Medical Doctor D&D (Justin and Oops! All Healers!)
  3. 84 – Horseback Riding D&D Camp (Michael and SaddleSnaps)
  4. 83 – Call of Cthulhu's Garden (Hem and The Sprouting)
  5. 82 – Tarot Ghosts (George and Fears & Fortunes)