Episode 0: Step Into the World of Heroics and Hijinks

Come for the Greek mythology nerds! Stay for the rules breakdown!

This is an overview episode for the new actual play podcast Half Blood Heroics & Hijinks. Join podcast host and player Echo Linn and Rexy the Demigod Wrangler as they attempt to lay out the basic rules for City of Mist. They will also be dishing (nerding) out about Greek mythology and of course Percy Jackson.

Content Warning: Some language

Hosted and Co-produced by Echo Linn
Also Co-Produced by Leigh Buchholz
Cover Art is by S. Linn
Intro Music is Summer Whistle by Top-Flow-Production
Outro Music is Summer Trip with a Guitar by sweet_kr

You can find us on Instagram: @heroicsnhijinks

Transcript

[Intro music - Sunshine Whistle]

Echo

The quest is on! Or at least it soon will be. Welcome to Half Blood Heroics & Hijinks: A Percy Jackson TTRPG Podcast - the Introductory episode!

Our story will be following an original trio of demigods, two Greek and one Roman, as they handle their very own prophecy and the challenges of growing up in a world of warring gods, terrifying monsters, and inconvenient quests.

I'm Echo Linn and I will be one of the players for this campaign. Today I'm being joined by our very own Bard, the Demigod Wrangler themself, Rexy.

I've pulled Rex aside to record this separate from our actual Episode 1. That way we can just jump right into things with the others, and we don’t have to bore you with pesky rules. But if you are the type that likes learning new RPG rule sets or are interested in learning more about the system we will be running. 

Listen on!

A little background on us, this group has been playing Dungeons & Dragons together for the last several years. (Interpret that as pre-pandemic.) There is a bit of an age gap in the group, but most days we hardly notice it. Most of us have a love for theater, and three of us have been Game Masters. This leads to some very interesting problem solving or some accidental story hijacking.

Over the years, we've talked about sharing our chaotic energy with everyone else. We have laughed so hard that we’ve cried and also just plain cried. If Demi were here, she would tell you that she’s seen me cry more times in DnD than out, which is probably an accurate statement. 

All that aside, I listen to a few too many actual play D&D podcasts and well, I got this idea into my head. 

Since we’re starting a new campaign after finally completing one, I figured why not now. So here we are. 

Won’t you step into the world of Heroics & Hijinks with me?

[Applause] Rexy, welcome! Thanks for joining me today.

Rexy

Hello.

Echo

All right! So I thought we’d start with getting to know you. So I have a few questions.

Rexy

Alright.

Echo

Alright. Please tell our listeners your history with tabletop role playing games.

Rexy

Well, I believe I first was introduced to D & D through Critical Role actually. Just randomly stumbling upon them. Uh, made me want to play, uh, and got a little bit of exposure with 3.5. Uh. It was really, only a one-shot though. And then started running a game in 5e. And not long after that I decided to get this group together, and then been playing ever since. 

Echo

Alright, so how long have you GM'd?

Rexy

I believe my first GM’ing game was in 2017.

Echo

So a while.

Rexy

A while. Either 2017 or ‘18.

Echo

We’ve had some kinks to work out, but I think we’ve gotten there. Um, would you say you are an improv GM, a fully planned out GM, or somewhere inbetween and if so how much in either direction?

Rexy

I definitely plan out long term and have a grand overarching idea. But I don’t do a lot of planning for individual scenes or even sessions and rely on a lot of improv for that, which can get me in trouble.

Echo

I would agree with that, yes. [chuckles] Um, now this one is more for our listeners, as I think I know the answer. Uh, what types of characters are you drawn to creating a story for?

Rexy

I would say really any time my player’s give me a hook I try my best to use it. But in general I am more focused on weirdos, outcasts. That kind of thing.

Echo

The type of characters I’m drawn to that leaves our dear Alex going “Why? Just why?”

Rexy

Yeah, there’s a reason you’ve become a main character in multiple of my campaigns.

Echo

[Talking through giggling] I’m trying to not do it so often. I swear! Um. Okay, so let’s pivot to what the people really want to hear us talk about - Percy Jackson! 

[Giggling] I believe you and Alex were the target, target demographic when the OG series came out. So when did you first experience PJ and Rick Riordan?

Rexy

Actually hadn’t read them until just recently in I believe it was ‘21, maybe even ‘22 when I finally actually read the first Percy Jackson book. And blazed through all of Percy Jackson, all of Heroes of Olympus, Kane Chronicles, and Magnus Chase. Very quickly. 

Echo

[Giggles] Which I do hear is pretty common for quite a few. 

So personally, I’ve always been a huge fan of Greek Mythology and have been pretty much down for any representation of it in the media. Uh, I was that kid that managed to read both The Odyssey & The Iliad before high school. Uh, and so I think I also read the myth about the Aetolian Bear, Boar in this book my mom had. And I was so confused because the gods’ names were so different from everything I had read up to that point. And then it finally clicked that it was just the Roman names. 

I found the PJO series pretty late in high school. Uh, a friend’s kid was reading the latest release, which I want to say was The Battle of the Labyrinth. And we were discussing it and well he got me intrigued. And then I blazed through it just about like you had. But for me that was…uh I think all the way up to House of Hades and then I kind of fell off of them for a little bit. And I forgot about those two books and then jumped to Trials of Apollo like it so often does for a lot of people because they just forgot they didn’t read the end part of Heroes of Olympus. But I - we eventually got there. It’s fine.

Um. Okay. So moving on, are you Camp Jupiter or Camp Half Blood?

Rexy

Absolutely Camp Half Blood. I love Camp Jupiter and I love the Roman Empire. But Camp Half Blood probably just because we got introduced to it first. But it will always stay number one.

Echo

The real question, Rex, is how often do you think about the Roman Empire?

Rexy

Like three or four times a week.

Echo

[Giggling]

Rexy

It is true. I don’t know why we all think of it, but it is true.

Echo

Ah, it’s an inevitable question when stepping in the world of Greek and Roman mythology. For me, it’s definitely Camp Half Blood as well. Greek all the way here. 

So which cabin would you be a part of?

Rexy

I think I’d have to say Athena. I am very much a curious person. I love learning. Goddess of wisdom, I don’t think can be beat.

Echo

Fair enough, fair enough. So my answer has only recently shifted. I’ve always put myself in Athena, but I’m 110% a water sign. My biological mother’s name had the water character in it. My middle name means waterfall. I basically taught myself to swim and have always have loved the water. And recently had a school of like 15 fish following me around in the Gulf of Mexico for like a solid hour. 

Rexy

Nice.

Echo

And my anger type is ice. 

But I am also the biggest nerd in our group. Dear listeners, don’t tell Demi. But I’m admitting it. I’m the biggest nerd. I’m so nerdy that it’s rather amazing I wasn’t bullied in high school. Plus I’ve kind of been obsessed with wisdom since I was 7. Um. Also I really enjoy a good strategy board game. So I’m either a very intellectual Poseidon kid or a water loving Athena kid.

Rexy

I still say you’re just the, uh, child of Percy and Annabeth.

Echo

Or that. I think it will be fun to put the other two into their respective cabins. Now the two of us have privately discussed this, but let’s state it here and we can time capsule it to ask the other two later. 

Rexy

Absolutely!

Echo

Okay. Let’s start with Demi. I think Hera. Sh-, I know canonically she doesn’t have any demikids, but Demi is our protective mama bear. She’s that moral compass - the nurturing one. Very much about family and children, which was all very Hera’s domain.

Rexy

I absolutely agree with that.

Echo

Yeah, um, and then I just recently came across this idea and if we decide to expand it to include all of the minor deities then I’m gonna go with Psyche the goddess of compassion. 

Rexy

Unquestionable, goddess of compassion. That is Demi’s number one trait.

Echo

Right? And she’s very much into mental health, uh, for both herself and her friends.

Rexy

Absolutely.

Echo

Now for Alex, this one was a little trickier for me. But also once I went through the whole list, it’s pretty much just major gods that came to mind. And I want to say Hermes or Ares. And as much as I know he wants me or rather me to say Roman side of things, I’m staying with Greek because those are the two that fit my narrative and, um, perspective of him.

Rexy

Definitely think those are the two I would narrow it down to. Personally, I think I would lean towards Hermes for him though. He is at the core more of a comedian.

Echo

I can see that. I can see that. Okay, so let’s lock it in. Finally answers: Psyche for Demi and Hermes for Alex.

Rexy

Absolutely.

Echo

Okay, alright. We’ll check in with the others at some point during the podcast and see how closely they agree with us.

So our next question, when PJ has his first taste of ambrosia, I believe he says it tastes of chocolate chip cookies. So what do you think your ambrosia would taste like?

Rexy

Well, after discovering the sweet and tangy barbeque Doritos, I have always called them ambrosia. And there’s a decent chance it’s that.Those things are delicious. However, knowing how it’s also a very sentimental thing, probably my grandfather’s recipe for peanut butter fudge.

Echo

Hm, hard to beat a good peanut butter fudge recipe.

Rexy

Absolutely.

Echo

Okay, so my nostalgia flavors are pretty much all Christmas related. So probably something along that vein of thinking. Specifically I’m thinking snickerdoodles, or eggnog with that freshly ground nutmeg, or my mom’s peanut butter blossoms.

Rexy

Hm, good choices.

Echo

Yeah. So what’s your favorite ship? You can either be ca-, choose canon or just a fan favorite wild guess. The people have championed.

Rexy

I have to say Percabeth. It’s basic, but they’re just so good together. I mean the end of The Last Olympian.

Echo

Hmm.

Rexy

You can’t beat “the world was falling apart and all that mattered was she was still alive.”

Echo

Yeah.

Rexy

How can you beat that?

Echo

It is pretty romantic.

Okay, it is pretty easy to go with Percabeth. It was a very long game going there. But I honestly was rooting more for Percy & Rachel. 

Rexy

I was almost. I absolutely adored them together in every scene. And every time I just felt like “Wish I could ship you, but he needs to end with Annabeth.”

Echo

Fair enough. Um, but I do also have to give a shoutout to Leo and Calypso. Because that whole time on Ogygia was just ugh so cute.

Rexy

Big fan of CaLeo. Although my second ship is probably SolAngelo.

Echo

Which we’ve only really got to see recently, which from everything I’ve seen is very very cute.

Rexy

I just love my Emo and his Sunshine.

Echo

They are very, very cute. Uh, opposites do in fact attract.

Um, okay, favorite Greek Myth?

Rexy

Definitely a hard question, so many good ones. I think I would probably have to say… I know if it technically falls under the category of myth, but the Penelopiad with Penelope keeping the suitors busy while Odysseus made his way back. Also basically anything with Odysseus in it. Got to love him.

Echo

Gotta stan our queen, Penelope, for standing by her man despite the fact it took what? Twenty years for him to get back? Not counting the time of the war itself.

Rexy

And it should have taken like…two years at most.

Echo

And yet part of her somehow still just believed that he was out there and he would make his way back.

Rexy

A very good love story at the end. Even though Odysseus multiple times made us question this.

Echo

Oh, oh boy. He made so many mistakes but… You know what… That’s what makes heroes very endearing when they show those human sides of themselves of - like - I, they become relatable in that. They’re not so unattainable, like I could never be like that.

Rexy

True. True.

Echo
For me? It’s Orpheus and Eurydice. Remember how I said earlier that we have some theater geeks, ah,  in the group. Ah. So yeah - Hadestown. Love it so so much. And when…I actually listened to it back at the concept album stage then the New York Workshop level. And that was, it was the workshop album that actually really made me really truly fall in love with it. And there’s so-  just something so poignant about the opening and closer to that particular musical that made me really fall in love with this. I had already loved this particular myth beforehand. But it’s the…how it comes full circle in the story of “I’m going to tell you a tragedy.” At the very beginning, you’re told that. And then at the end of this musical it’s the “we choose to retell the story” even though we know it’s going to end in tragedy. We keep hoping that it would end “all’s right in the world” but the real lesson is - Yes, we have hardships and heartaches in life but that doesn’t mean we should stop loving. 

And then my other reason for loving that particular story kind of goes into my next question here. So I will expound on that later when we get back. 

Favorite Greek or Roman god?

Rexy

Uh, if we’re sticking with actual mythology, it has to be Hades. Because every other god or goddess makes me want to strangle them…regularly. 

Echo

[Short laugh]

Rexy

But Hades is actually a pretty standup guy. The only time when he’s the antagonist is when he’s trying to enforce law - basically. He’s just doing his job. It just sucks that his job keeps people dead.

Echo

True. Um, and outside of myth?

Rexy

Uh. In the PJO universe, absolutely Apollo, even before Trials of Apollo. He just has that annoying kid brother energy that always suckers me in. 

Echo

Fair enough, fair enough. So I think we’ve established that I’m a basic bitch. So I’d have to say Athena or Hades. Um, Athena because like I said I’ve been with wisdom and being wise and all that, and thinking through things logically when - anytime I’m making any major decision. Much to my fiance’s frustration with me. [Laughing] Ah, I made that poor man wait so long, ‘cause I had to think through my entire feelings, had to analyze them. Did I create a spreadsheet for it? No, surprisingly. 

Rexy

Honestly, I’m impressed with your restraint for that.

Echo

Yeah!

Rexy

Which you know…

Echo

I-

Rexy

Is telling a lot about you.

Echo

[Said through silent laughter] There’s that Athena kid showing for you. 

Oh, spreadsheet galore. 

[Breathes] Um, now Hades is a fave because we just stan a respectful guy. And for all of the shit he catches, he’s never cheated on Persephone. Ever. Like she canonically in one version actually cheated on him. But he’s never cheated on her. And like according to the stories there have been references of other women but they all predate his story with Persephone. And you know, he just - he’s a just king. So coming back to that Orpheus and Euryd- Eurydice moment of letting her go. He was caught in this “a rock and a hard place” here with what to do with Orpheus. 

Rexy

Hm-mmm.

Echo

And instead he just gave Orpheus a choice. And so ultimately, Hades could win in almost any other way. Yes, he let a soul escape but at least people wouldn’t try to then usurp him or whatever ‘cause oh our favorite boy didn’t get what he wanted. But, but you know, but when Eurydice - when Orpheus failed to get Eurydice it then - all the blame landed all on Orpheus. And, Orpheus comes back in a major way, ‘cause he was chosen to be one of the Argonauts. And so you know, that’s - it still kind of worked out for him. Like, yeah. The fact that he was still able to work his tragedy is kind of admirable in a way.

Back to Hades it…I’ve been really enjoying all of these interpretations we’ve been getting of him lately. Like where, it’s either that we’re seeing currently between Lore Olympus or the PJO series where we’re just seeing him of, he’s just bogged down with bureaucratic red tape and quite frankly he’s over it.

Rexy

Definitely a good thing to move him away from the antagonist, when he’s the one god who shouldn’t be an antagonist. Everyone else has plenty of stories where they deserve to be the enemy. 

Echo

Aw, he’s basically the lawyer of Olympus. Anyways. So where are we in the PJO timeline?

Rexy

So we’ve set this two years after the end of Heroes of Olympus. However Trials of Apollo is completely non-canon, mostly because one of our players hasn’t read them yet.

Echo

I may have forgotten this fact and accidentally spoiled something for Demi. [Laughs] Oops. 

Rexy

There are things from it that I will probably end up taking, but there are also things from fanfiction…

Echo

Hmm…

Rexy

And my own thought of what would happened. 

Echo

Hmm-mmm

Rexy

Uh, that I will be taking. So, Trials of Apollo is still influencing me. ‘Cause some of the things that happened there, I really liked.

Echo

Yeah, okay.

Rexy

But we’re starting it where it’s completely non-canon.

Echo

Okay, fair enough. 

I’m sure some of our listeners are gonna be wondering where the status of certain characters are so what can you tell us?

Rexy

Without giving spoilers for Trials of Apollo… they’re all alive.

Echo

Okay, okay.

Rexy

And I have yet to decide…what exactly I’m gonna do with Leo.

Echo

That is the trickiest one.

Rexy

But I think he will be somewhere at least.

Echo

Okay, okay. So a chance we may meet him.

Rexy

Definitely.

Echo

It just may be later rather than sooner.

Rexy

Yes.

Echo

Okay. 

What are your plans about our characters meeting the original gang? Now I know that kind of worked in Percabeth into my particular little backstory. And I do owe Percy an Iris Message, but based on what I think I came up with that. But yeah…

Rexy

Uh, yeah, I do definitely plan on there will be an appearance from all of the Seven, except for maybe Leo. But I think…he will probably appear as well. And several other fan favorites will also make a brief appearance.

Echo

Okay, yeah. Um, easier to stick with a more original plot. Since the world is so big, it’s very easy to just create your own people of that world.

Rexy

Yeah, and like I don’t want to take away from you guys, as the stars of the story. And if Percy is in a story, he’s the star of the story. 

Echo

Fair enough.

Rexy

So he can be a side character, seen a couple of times, but he can’t really be involved in the quest. 

Echo

Well, we did establish that we are setting this during the time that Percy and Annabeth are back in New Rome for college. So…

Rexy

So he is staying away from all godly endeavors

Echo

As much as he possibly can.

Rexy

Well, you know, I’m sure the gods have their opinions on that. He seems to be their favorite.

Echo

Oh to be the gods’ favorite.

Rexy

Never a good position.

Echo

Never. 

Um, okay, what’s your biggest challenge in planning this campaign?

Rexy

I’d have to say probably figuring out what monsters and people to have.

Echo

Hmm.

Rexy

‘Cause I want to have a lot of new encounters.

Echo

Hmm-mmm

Rexy

But also after you know, ten books and that’s not counting the side stories

Echo

Hmm-mmm

Rexy

They’ve encountered most of the big names.

Echo

True. True, true, true.

Rexy

So trying to dig into the little less well-known and figuring out how to make them work.

Echo

Hmm.

Rexy

‘Cause I could just introduce you to all these characters that we already know, and you will be fighting some that Percy and his friends have already fought. 

Echo

Mm-hm.

Rexy

Trying to keep things new and fresh.

Echo

I can see that. I can see that. In an ideal, how long do you want this to go?

Rexy

I am planning about five books. I imagine each book will take around a year.

Echo

Okay, yeah.

Rexy

So in an ideal setting, the next five years…

Echo

[Giggles]

Rexy

Will be Half Blood Heroics & Hijinks. We’ll see if that ends up being the case. We have a tendency to be bad about finishing campaigns before starting a new one.

Echo

I’m just saying we did really really well for these last two and half years.

Rexy

Even when I wanted to start a new one, I managed to push through and go with the story we already had.

Echo

But how much of that was you couldn’t break Demi’s heart again and have to deal with three years of hearing “Hey, when are we going back to that world again?”

Rexy

I mean that might have been more than 50% of the reason.

Echo

[Laughing]

Rexy

But hey, at least I did it.

Echo

You did.

Rexy

And hopefully with this being a, uh, Percy Jackson setting it will encourage all of us to want to stay in it.

Echo

Yes. I- I can, I, that is also my hope and where I can also see our head spaces are.

We mentioned two years after Heroes of Olympus ending, but I think we left out where..the fact we’re starting at, about the beginning of the school year?

Rexy

Yes, it is late January for Episode 1.

Echo

Okay, so yeah, and that way we’ve missed a lot of the craziness of the summer.

Rexy

Yeah, much easier to introduce a winter camp, where there aren’t even half as many campers.

Echo

Fair enough. And man, a whole year for a whole book. So unheard of in the PJO series, where I shortest one was over five days? They’re often about a week, I feel like. Except for Sea of Monsters, which I think went a little over a week.

Rexy

Oh, I was saying that a year in real time.

Echo

Oh, that makes WAY more sense. 

Rexy

No, yeah. Each book will vary, but in universe the books will be a week-ish.

Echo

Okay

Rexy

Maybe a little bit more depending. Then I will be jumping so that overall the story will be - will take about 5 years in universe over all.

Echo

Hm. Okay.

Rexy

But each book in universe will not be a full year.

Echo

That does make a lot more sense

Rexy

But for us, it will be.

Echo

Ooo, weather permitting and other schedules.

Rexy

That’s the plan.

Echo

Okay. So why or how did you come to decide on City of Mist?

Rexy

Well, knowing that I wanted to do a Percy Jackson campaign, D & D is not the best for adapting something like that.

Echo

Or really anything set in the modern era.

Rexy

So I went out and just kind of  shopped around for different RPGs. I did end up googling to see if anyone else had found one that really worked and someone on Reddit had suggested City of Mist. I looked through it and especially due to how the Mist works in the City of Mist. It basically works exactly the same as it does in Percy Jackson.

Echo

How convenient!

Rexy

And so that really drew me in of “okay this will be good” and it is a very different kind of RPG. And I think on paper, it sounds really interesting. So it being so perfect for the Mist and being story characters in the modern world is the premise of the game. You know a few tweaks around it to be demigods in the modern world was not that hard.

Echo

Makes sense. Dear listeners, as a reminder that we came from a D & D background just, so it’s a bit of an adjustment.

Rexy

Definitely, I’m sure all of us will be a little slow to get into the groove of how this system works

Echo

It’s gonna be the narratively driving all of our actions that I think is the, will be the most difficult part. Just because with D & D, you’re like “oh let me look at my paper” and “oh” I just automatically know I roll for this or that.

Rexy

Yeah/

Echo

And then with City of Mist being so open world with your ability of actions, it takes a little more thinking on your feet in that regard.

Rexy

It definitely is much more of a cinematic game, which is great for a podcast. But it’s not what we’re used to.

Echo

So please bear with us. But I truly believe in our ability to get there.

Rexy

I think so. I think it will be a few sessions before we really start hitting our stride.

Echo

Yeah. Okay, with that, let’s get started with the rules.

[Transition music Titanium - AlisiaBeats]

Rexy

For those of you that aren't familiar with this system, we're going to attempt to give a very basic overview. If you are familiar with Power by the Apocalypse, City of Mist is more similar to that than Dungeons & Dragons. Mostly in the fact that all rolls are 2d6.

Echo

Poor Alex.

Rexy

You…I don’t think he…Well, he did have a lot of power for it. His rolls weren’t that great. They weren’t terrible at least. 

Uh, and after, your…rolls are split into failure, mixed success, and full success. Mixed success, you manage to do what you wanted but not fully or you gonna have to sacrifice something for it. 

Echo

Hmm.

Rexy

Where it differs is the fact that there aren’t any actual stats, which I find really interesting in this. Instead of stats we have theme cards which kind of take the place of Power by the Apocalypse playbooks. Uh, each theme comes with what the game calls “Tags.” And you invoke the tags to get a bonus to your rolls. The problem is you have to convince the GM that that tag would apply to that roll. So specific enough to know what that tag means but broad enough that it’s not just a one time use. 

Echo

Hmm.

Rexy

Uh, in the system there are two types of themes - Logos and Mythos. Now City of Mist characters are typically avatars of legendary, mythological, or fictional beings, such as Snow Queen, Jack the Ripper, or even a god. The Logos themes primarily deal with your characters’ life before your calling or awakening. 

And Mythos themes fill the spot of the new abilities/powers your character gains from this new awakening.

According to the rules, the mix of 4 themes is dependent on how close you are to the supernatural - lightly touched to full deep dive. 

Echo

So seeing how we're playing demigods rather than awakened beings, I am going to tell you, dear listener, that we are choosing to disregard some of the mechanics of the th- themebooks - such as Identity which is tied to Logos, and Mystery, which is tied to Mythos. If you’re curious, Identities and Mysteries are useful tools for the GM or Master of Ceremonies (the chosen title in City of Mist) to narratively weave into the story how they would like to use these characters.

So back to those themebooks. My character, Lyra, has a mix of 3 Logos and 1 - wait, no 3 Mythos and 1 Logos. Connor has the reverse -  3 Logos and 1 Mythos. And then Arella has an even mix, being 2 and 2. Each of these theme books have 3 Power Tags and 1 Weakness Tag. Power Tags will give you a bump to your dice roll and Weakness Tags will lower them.

So let’s look at Lyra for an example. I am using the Adaption themebook, which I’ve named - “Hide in the Light.” My Power Tags are “Shine Bright” which is influencing the brightness of a light source, “Refracting & Reflecting,” which is bending light in such a way to make myself or others invisible, and “Laser Precision,” which is kind of my one major damage ability that I kind of think of when I created this particular character. And then the Weakness Tag I came up with is “Light Source Not Included.” So if I wanted, wanted to use it without a flashlight or a weak light source, I’m not going to get the kind of results that I would like. 

Uh, once a player has created their 4 themebooks, they can add 1 additional Power Tag to any one themebook at the cost of adding a second weakness to that same theme.

So now that we’ve talked a little bit about Tags, how do we use them? 

Rexy

Well there are 8 Moves that a player can take during gameplay. These Core Moves are Change the Game, Convince, Face Danger, Go Toe-to-Toe, Hit with All You Got, Investigate, Sneak Around, and Take the Risk. Now some of these sound very similar to another move. So let’s breakdown each of these. 

Change the Game - You invoke this to give yourself or a crewmate an advantage in the current scenario. It’s a very broad thing. You kind of get used to what it really means throughout play.

Echo

Hmm.

Rexy

Convince is pretty straightforward. You try to convince someone, whether it’s through…normal diplomacy, threatening them, or bribing them.

Uh, Face Danger is when you’re trying to dodge or to resist something that is going to hurt you.

Go Toe to Toe is overcoming another to gain control - could be physical, mental, or sway over other people

Hit with All You Got is an attack attack to inflict a status on a person, but it can backfire on you.

Investigate is simply gather information

Sneak Around is any kind of stealth, which does in fact include lying.

Echo

Hm, okay, okay.

Rexy

That’s the one diplomatic kind of thing that’s not under Convince.

Echo

Okay. That makes sense.

Rexy

And Take the Risk is performing a feat of daring so the…the player book describes it as doing something risky, foolish, or outright stupid.

Echo

Which we may or may not see in Chapter 1.

Rexy

Like all TTRPG’s the MC will set up a scenario and the players will tell them how they would like to interact in the scene. The player may invoke a Move or the MC will call for a specific Move. The players then will look at their themes and count off as many applicable tags to the check. They will roll 2d6 then add and/or subtract the number of tags. On a 6 or less, they “miss” and are unable to do what they wanted. And the MC gets to make what’s called a hard move, which makes things a lot worse for the players. On a 7 - 9, they get it but there are some consequences. On a 10+, they fully succeed. And on a 12+, the move is considered “dynamite,” however you can only do this after you have a…moment of evolution, which is what they’re calling it. Which is basically leveling up, but they happen very rarely in this game. But they make you succeed and get an extra benefit.

An optional thing a person can do is to Burn a Tag. If you Burn a Tag, mark that you burned it on your sheet. And instead of rolling, you treat the dice as a result of 7. And you have a Power of 3. (Power is what you add to the roll.) Your end “roll” is always 10. If you choose to Burn a Tag, no other tags can be invoked. But applicable statuses do apply. Burned Tags can be recovered during the Upkeep Phase or a Montage (downtime) cinematic move. For my D & D people, the latter is basically a long rest.

Now narratively, Burning a Tag means using that ability to its max efficiency or power.

Echo

There are 2 other important things that affect rolls that have been mentioned but not yet explained.

The first are Story Tags. These are things useful to the story but may not be included in a themebook such as equipment (i.e. a sword or medicine). Um, Story Tags can be categorized into 3 types: Temporary, Ongoing, and Permanent.

• A Temporary Story Tags cannot be burned and will have a single time use. 
• Ongoing Story Tags can be burned and last as long as the narrative calls for it or it has been burnt. Permanent Story Tags can be burned and recovered like Power and Weakness Tags.

The second thing that affects power results is Statuses. Statuses are conditions that have been placed on a character, such as “tired,” “crowd favorite,” “under a spell,” or “cover.” Statuses come with a tag and a tier level. The tier levels affect the Power of a relevant action. Read tier 1 as mild, 2 as minor, 3 as major, and 4 as dramatic. 

And then…so let’s break that down a little further. So 1 and 4, or 1 through 4 tiers will always be either temporary or ongoing. But once things get elevated, the status can reach the number 5 and things start to become dire. Five is ongoing and if the injury is physical - think incapacitation. Your character is considered “OUT” ‘til the status can be lowered or removed. And finally there’s tier 6 which is either lethal or a permanent transformation for your character. 

The MC has the final say on what that looks like. Statuses can be lowered using the Change the Game feature or the Montage (downtime) cinematic move.

So how is a Status tier determined?

Rexy

Well a status is initially gained, a tier appropriate to the situation is applied. A player may choose to take the Face Danger move to either lower the tier or avoid it completely. The MC can of course overrule the player’s request to Face Danger. Once a Status is in place, tier levels change through a number of ways. Some Statuses are on the same spectrum, such as physical injuries (bruise -1, internal damage - 2, broken rib - 3). These would all stack. The first method of consolidating occurs when a higher status supersedes the existing one. So let’s take our above example, say the internal damage comes after receiving the open cut. We can upgrade the Internal Damage Status to Hemorrhaging. Then upgrade the tier to the higher one, In this case - 3.

A second stacking method is when a character has 2 equal status. Player’s guide uses shamed - 2 and shamed - 2 from two different incidents within a short time frame. The two would be, would be consolidated into humiliated and then you take the next highest tier. So again 3.

The last method is when a lower Status gets added to an existing higher Status. Say you have Shocked - 4. Looking at the Tracking Card, There are 3 thin lines to the right of the space with the number 4. Each of these blanks lines are called a pip. Our sample character has received some lightning/electric damage that is an ongoing effect. They accidentally get a low shock from a live wire and get hit with another Status of zapped - 1. The player would then check off the first pip on their Shocked Status. Now should the player receive 3 more levels of zapped, the player would check the next 2 spaces and then the 3rd would flow over to the first pip of Tier 5. Now that we’ve reached tier 5, the Status would also get a new name - Electrocuted to show the direness of the character, of the character’s physical condition.

Echo

Now that we’ve discussed Tags and Statuses, what is the difference between a Tag and a Status?

A Tag describes a person, object, and/or the essential qualities and nature of said person or object.

A Status describes the condition of a person or object.

So a Tag could be “limber,” “stubborn as a mule,” or “hardy.”

Versus a Status would be “tired,” “sprained,” or “hidden.”

Now, the last major rules things we need to talk about is Juice. Juice is how a character can truly activate all of those Power Tags. They can stand for an advantage in battle, a healing touch, psychological stability, or even general preparedness. They can also reflect Mythical resources like a cloud of elemental power, 

the power to conjure beings and items, or spells you dig up in your grimoire. In game terms, Juice points allow you to create and remove story tags, give and remove statuses, and burn other players' tags.

So how does one gain Juice? The most common method is using the Change the Game move.

Other moves or actions may give you Juice, but which, whichever way it is the rules have defined how much Juice is given.

Rexy

When Juice is gained, there is also a method attached to it. Such as “distributing a cache of weapons” or “magical healing.”

As for spending Juice, it can occur at any point of the game. But if you choose to use it to influence another player’s move, it must be used before that player makes their roll. In other words, you can’t say you wish to assist after hearing your crew member roll a 5. Now to determine whether you can use the Juice is dependent on the method in which you received it. “Magical healing” Juice won’t aid you in a mental power war or conjure a useful non-medical tool.

The rules say the ways in which Juice points are spent are:

• Create a Story Tag: The tag will temporary
• Burn a Tag: One of your ongoing or temporary tags, one temporary tag of another player, or a crispy tag
• Give a Status: Give a target a Status 
  • You cannot increase an existing Status but you can give a Status on the same spectrum. 
  • You could target multiple people, where their combined Status tiers equal the number of points spent.
• Reduce or Remove a Status: Affect a Status by the number of Juice points used
  • Can be used on one person or multiple
  • Reduce mesmerized - 2 to dazed - 1 or spend 2 points to eliminate the Status
  • Or say an ally is about to be hit with shrapnel - 4, you could spend Juice points and narratively tackle them out of the way or erect a shield to either block all or most of the damage

Echo

Another thing that you can do with Juice is Bank it. Normally, Juice expires shortly after being generated

But depending on the method used to generate it, it may be bankable. The MC should let the player know if it is bankable and for how long. Once Juice has been banked, no more Juice can be, may be generated using that same or a similar method.

We’ve talked about Player Themebooks, but there is one other very important Theme - The Crew Theme.

Like you do with a Character Theme, you give the Crew Theme a name, usually it’s the team name.

Thanks to Alex the players decided to name themselves Kronos Kids. That is with a “K” so we do have alliteration there. Our Crew theme Mystery is the Prophecy that they will be receiving and handling through Book 1 and potentially beyond so.

Back to Crew Themes: like Character Themes, Crew Themes have Power Tags and a Weakness Tag.

What sets this apart from a Character Tag is that these Tags are

1 - Shared by the group

2 - Are considered “crispy”

Shared by the group means that any one player can invoke a Crew Tag. Crispy means they are used up at the moment of use, similar to temporary tags. This also means it cannot be burned for a hit. Crew Tags are recovered during the Geeking Out During Credits, which the game is basically, the debrief at the end of a session, or through the Montage (downtime) cinematic action.

The Crew Tags the players decided to take are “Camp Half Blood or Jupiter” which is the group/organization that will be giving and lending them aid. “Prophetic Dreams” which is how they get “useful” information. [Mumbles something] “Nectar & Ambrosia” which is a useful shared resource. And “Lack of Cohesion” is the weakness, since their characters have known each other for less than a week.

Rexy

Since we’re on the topic of the Crew, there is also a mechanic called Crew Relations. City of Mist operates under the assumption that the Crew is well-established. Our characters are meeting for the first time pretty recently, so we chose to skip that part of creation. But will still be using the Help or Hurt portion of Crew Relations. Based off of things your character does and how a Crew member perceives it. You will add points to either Help or Hurt under the relevant Crew member. These points are tracked separately and they are used like Juice in order to affect another Crew member.

There are some other topics that we’ve skipped here as we were aiming for a very high level of explanation. These include improvements (the way characters’ level up), 

Gaining attention (how a player can potentially permanently overcome a weakness),

Echo

Hi, Echo, here. Since we recorded, I’ve reread the rules and have a better understanding of Gaining Attention than I did at the time of writing our script. So, that means a correction: Gaining Attention will mark “Attention” on your Theme card. A full Attention track will allow a player to take an Improvement on the relevant Theme card. Sorry about that. And now back to Rexy.

Rexy

Crew improvements which is similar to character improvements,

Montage which is in between plot moments used to recover or gain other benefits,

Voiceover Montage which is a fun built-in recap method),

Flashback which is once/session to make a retroactive move, gain 1 clue, or generate Juice,

Geek Out during the Credits which is the post-session debriefs

We’ll probably include quite a bit of this in the podcast, but aren’t as needed for a quick start.

And that’s where we are going to end the episode.

Congratulations if you made it this far!

Truly thank you for listening.

Echo

Some quick housekeeping. With some of us having day jobs and other busy schedules, we will be releasing on a semi-monthly basis. We'd, or I'd love to do this every other week. If we can get enough episodes built in, we might be able to achieve that. But for the foreseeable future, episodes will air twice a month. I’m aiming for the 2nd and 4th Thursdays.

So, Rexy, before we leave, any teasers for the season ahead?

Rexy

I’ll go ahead and give you one line of the grand prophecy.

[Record scratch]

Echo

Oh.

Rexy

Berkley, Long Island, Brooklyn, and Boston.

Echo

Okay, right. I know nothing. This is great. Confusion. That’s it. That’s all I have on my face.

[Outro - Summer trip with a guitar]

Rexy

Some of our listeners may understand what I’m saying. I’m glad that you don’t though.

Echo

Oh, it’ll probably hit me later.

Alright, our first episode will be debuting in 2 weeks. I hope you can tell just how excited we are 

about this story we will be unfolding.

Please help us grow a listener base by sharing with your friends, roommates, family members, 

or just random strangers. I know this gets said a lot on podcasts, but word of mouth really does go a long way.

For now, you can follow us on Instagram @heroicsnhijinks. I’ll be posting there from time to time.

There will be behind the scenes shots, release updates, and who knows, maybe the occasional teaser.

And once we have an expanded listener base, I would like to eventually have a Discord for us too.

This has been Echo Linn.

Rexy

And Rexy.

Echo

Our intro music is Summer Whistle by Top-Flow-Production

Our outro music is Summer Trip with a Guitar by sweet_kr

The cover art is by S. Linn

Heroics & Hijikinks is co-produced by me and Leigh Buchholz

And so, for now, we part ways!