Old Gods of Appalachia

I'm still working through season 2, so no spoilers. Please.

Today, I picked up copy of the roleplaying game based on the podcast, Old Gods of Appalachia. This a horror podcast written by Cam Collins and Steve Shell that debuted on October 31, 2019. The show is produced by DeepNerd Media and is distributed by Rusty Quill. If you care about that kind of stuff, I'm not sure I do. Anyway, the podcast was adapted into a role-playing game by Monte Cook Games. I really like the podcast, the ideas behind the stories, and Monte Cook Games tend to make pretty good stuff, so I have high hopes. I've been looking at this particular copy of the game for several months. Today, it decided to come home with me.

Each episode of the podcast uses a combination of narration and audio drama to tell historical fiction stories based on Appalachian folklore. The stories are original fiction that draws on a mix of history and folk tales for inspiration and address strange things from witchcraft to the paranormal. The cast for the show either currently live or grew up in Appalachia.

The roleplaying game inspired by those podcasts is a complete standalone Cypher System RPG. I've heard good thing about the Cypher System, but have not experienced it myself. I am quite hopeful that I will like it and this will not be a $70 piece of shelf art. All the media associated with the game says it includes complete rules; character creation; extensive lore of Alternate Appalachia in the 1920s and 1930s (plus guidance on playing in other time periods); a bestiary of creatures and entities from the Green, the Dark, and elsewhere; magic; equipment; adventures; and more. That seems like enough stuff to get me going. Not sure who I'll find to play it, but that's a bit off int he distance right now, probably, I should learn the rules before I worry about who'll be playing.

The art is nice. Hell, the whole book is nice. Very well done. It's an Appalachian take on cosmic horror that feels very grounded in places I've been. I've driven through these places. I've visited West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and I connect with all this in ways I don't with the Cthulhu mythos. Still, that stuff is great, but this is a little different. I like it all. Here's the promotional blurb.

In the mountains of Central Appalachia, blood runs as deep as these hollers and just as dark. Since before our kind wandered into these hills, hearts of unknowable hunger and madness have slumbered beneath them.

These are the oldest mountains in the world. How dare we think we can break the skin of a god and dig out its heart without also calling blood and darkness?

Long before anything human roamed the Earth, the Appalachian Mountains towered tall and menacing. Their might was made a prison and tomb for beings of immeasurable malice and incomprehensible madness. But time shows no mercy, not even to mountains, and now they lay bare and worn like an old man’s spine. The walls of the prison grow thin, and those that have slumbered soundlessly for millennia begin to stir.

And call to those who would hear them.

Venture into the dark, eerie past of an alternate Appalachia and enjoy a fluid, story-based roleplaying experience with an intuitive, concept-driven character generation system that gives you limitless options. With loads of lore, dozens of creatures and NPCs, and two complete adventures to launch your campaign, the Old Gods of Appalachia Roleplaying Game has everything you need to experience your own stories of horror, hardship, and heart in this immersive, narrative, and deeply chilling setting.

Ravenous creatures of the Inner Dark, sinister plots of the Hollow Men, unearthed beasts that have long dreamt in the dark, and angry forces of the Green. Strive to protect what matters, from these terrors and more, while you seek to know the unknowable and spin a collective tale of hardship, horror, hope, and heart, where every choice requires a sacrifice and your word is (or should be) your bond.

The Old Gods of Appalachia Roleplaying Game includes:

• Complete rules for a fluid, story-based tabletop roleplaying experience in the eerie world of the hit Old Gods of Appalachia horror podcast.
• An intuitive, concept-driven character generation system that gives you limitless options.
• A detailed dive into an alternate Appalachia of the 1920s and ’30s, rich with atmosphere and lore.
• Dozens of dark, dangerous, and powerful creatures and characters to encounter and interact with.
• Two complete adventures to launch your campaign.

That's a whole lotta stuff that did not flow from my quill, but I think you get the idea. Check out the podcast while I read up on the rules. Then we can get together and tell some creepy tales about old mines, supernatural hillbillys, and ancient cosmic beings. Let's get our game on.