StoriesRPG - An Actual Play Podcast
by GamerMomLuna
For the last few months, I've had the extreme privilege of working on an actual play podcast called StoriesRPG, where we've been playing through a story called Transdimensional High - a high school for kids who... aren't exactly humans.
StoriesRPG is described by creator Michael Low as "an AP series designed for all-ages - and by that, we actually mean ALL AGES! We create story arcs in a variety of genres using the Stories RPG system, which focuses on what makes a story engaging, not 'winning,' and model for our listeners how easy and joyous collaborative story-telling can be. We also have play-at-home games in the various worlds of the show, from the fantasy world of Starsworn to superheroics in Gigacity Guardians to mischievous goblins hiding out in the modern world in Partnerz in Grime."
In this particular story arc, the events are based around three students, Grady, played by me, Drixx, a half merfolk, half human played by Glaiza, and Gekkota, a rather large lizard-like gargoyle with cargo shorts that carry all kinds of useful things, played by Dan, along with all of the students they meet at Transdimensional High. The GM is Michael, creator of the system. He plays pretty much everyone else: the other students, the teachers, the parents, and anyone else who happens to come along.
These students are regular high school teens, who also happen to be non-human. They deal with the regular stress (first day of school - YIKES!) and joys (going to a concert or a party with your friends!) but some of their challenges might be unique to the monster worlds they live in.
I was asked recently why I got into doing kid-friendly/all ages content, and I will say, I kind of fell into this one, as I was invited to join in for this story line. However, my background is in social work, and I also have worked in public schools, and (as my username may imply) I am a mom! But this also was just a really refreshing type of content to make! It's not always easy to not swear when I mess something up, but knowing that this podcast is something that kids who are into TTRPGs can listen to and enjoy with their parents is really awesome! There are a lot of kids out there who love TTRPGs, but not a lot of kid friendly actual play content. I've listened to a lot of APs in the car with my kiddo who probably was a little young for some of the content in those podcasts. If I'd had something like this to listen to when she was around 10 or 11, I'd have been thrilled as a parent, and she probably would have enjoyed it a lot more!
We've gotten some amazing reviews! If you ever wondered if your favorite podcasts ever look at your reviews, I can tell you for sure that we at Stories RPG love knowing what people are thinking about our podcast - and it's even better when we get fan art from our listeners (especially the kids who enjoy the show)!
Want to listen to the show? It's all-ages friendly, and episodes are short! Listen here on Spotify, find it wherever you get your podcasts, or visit storiesrpg.com!
