Finding Atoria
Three friends, each with 30+ years playing and running TTRPGs sit down weekly to tell stories about the games, community and topics surrounding the Table Top Role Playing world.
Episodes
Every giant monster has to start somewhere. This week, Arcadia and Malcolm return to Leviathan Rising with one goal: create a brand-new kaiju that could be dropped into a game. What starts as a conversation about what makes a good giant monster quickly turns into questions about biology, motivation, environment, vulnerabilities, and just how much trouble one very large creature can cause. But creating a memorable ka...
Welcome Back to the Table! Let’s talk about sects, baby! In this episode, we begin our new Vampire: The Masquerade series exploring the major organizations that shape Kindred society with a beginner-friendly history of the Sabbat, the Sword of Caine. We trace the sect from the First Anarch Revolt and the Convention of Thorns through its development into a distinct Cainite society in modern nights. Along the wa...
Welcome Back to the Table! This week, Tori, Arcadia, and Malcolm dive into the phenomenon that is Dungeon Crawler Carl. From its explosive rise in popularity to its growing influence on today’s gaming community, we explore what makes this story resonate so damn well with people who love games, characters, chaos, and a good crawl through a very bad day.
We take a look at Dungeon Crawler Carl’s place in the...
Welcome back to the table! Tori hosts Malcolm and Arcadia at the table to talk about how crowdfunding has changed the world of indie TTRPGs. Platforms like Kickstarter and BackerKit have helped creators turn ideas into actual games, lowering some of the traditional barriers between a designer and the people who might want to play their work. But as crowdfunding has grown, so have the campaigns and the companies usin...
Welcome Back to the Table! Dr. Christina Stiso, creator of Leviathan Rising, joins Malcolm and Arcadia on Finding Atoria for a dive into a TTRPG where giant monsters are only the beginning of the problem. Christina shares the origins of the game, why players choose whether they succeed—and then discover what that success costs—how the Geiger Counter drives the table toward Crisis, and why understanding w...
Welcome Back to the Table! Well, it was bound to happen. Malcolm’s plan to record B Reel, Outtakes, Shenanigans & Bloopers and put the best of them together for an episode…has happened!! From behind our Patreon wall and deep in the dusty audio files that no one that would make the main feed…we proudly offer Arcadia, Tori, Malcolm and Jess in doing what they do when they aren’t doing&hel...
Welcome Back to the Table! Vampire: The Masquerade is having a moment, and this week we’re looking at two very different signs of where the game might be headed. Arcadia moderates while Tori and Malcolm join the discussion as we explore what happens when the World of Darkness crosses over into Dungeons & Dragons, then turn our attention to White Wolf’s Gen Con 2026 playtest and the early conversation...
Welcome Back to the Table! On this episode,What does it really mean to "find your table?" This week, Malcolm and Arcadia return from Gen Con 2026 with a fresh perspective on the world's largest tabletop gaming convention—and it has very little to do with dice, demo halls, or shopping bags. Instead, they reflect on a weekend spent discovering that the best experiences often happen away from the scheduled events...
Welcome Back to the Table! On this episode, Malcolm solo-dives into one of tabletop gaming's true hidden masterpieces by exploring the remarkable parallels between Pendragon and the Crusader Kings video game series. While they appear to belong to different genres, both games share a common design philosophy centered on dynasty, legacy, honor, and the passage of time rather than individual heroics. Malcolm examines h...
Welcome Back to the Table!! Not every Kindred fits neatly into one of the great clans. In the final installment of our Vampire: The Masquerade – A Beginner's Guide to Clans series, Malcolm and Arcadia explore two of the most misunderstood groups in the World of Darkness: Thin-Bloods and Caitiff. What does it mean to be clanless? How are Caitiff different from Thin-Bloods? Why do so many Kindred fear or reject ...
Welcome Back to the Table! In this episode, Malcolm, Tori, and Arcadia sit down to talk about our pre-debut sneak peek at Leviathan Rising, the brand-new TTRPG debuting at Gen Con 2026 from OddFish Games. We had the opportunity to play the game alongside our friend Chuck in a session run by its creator, Dr. Christina Stisso, and we couldn't wait to share our thoughts. We discuss what makes Leviathan Rising stand out...
Welcome Back to the Table! This week Arcadia and Malcolm sit down for some Convention talk. We share a discussion about Arcadia’s recent attendance at the ALA (American Library Association) Annual Conference & Exhibition in Chicago IL. Arcadia got a wonderful look into some of the people and initiatives that are leveraging TTRPG tools, strategy and access to bring value to libraries and their p...
Welcome Back to the Table! This week Jess joins Arcadia and Malcolm for a discussion about travel. The crew shares stories of how getting out and seeing the world can bring huge inspiration to the games at your table. Arcadia discusses the beauty and history of Bordeaux where on a recent trips she found inspiration in all places for her games. From the people to wine culture and the ancient architecture,...
Welcome Back to the Table! This week Tori leads Arcadia and Malcolm through a conversation on the emerging data and discussions on mental health applications for TTRPG’s. More research and study in using these games as vessels for skill building, alternative social redirection, therapeutic exploration is happening now than ever before and the FA team brings some of the stories and numbers that support ou...
Welcome Back to the Table! This week FA gets back into the conversation about how the TTRPG community and hobby space are being used by many, including adults to find, form and grow meaningful relationships. The unique setting, collaborative and repetitive interactions of playing at the table reveal strong, safe and lasting friendships for many gamers. The newest generation also finds the hobby a safe and pref...
18. Antici…pation at the Table! New TTRPG and Game Trends
Welcome Back to the Table! This week Tori, Malcolm and Arcadia gather to discuss what lies on the horizon in the TTRPG market as we prepare for a new GenCon season. Tori starts off with some of the bigger names in the industry making moves with game additions and releases. She lets us know who will be having big releases an...
Welcome Back to the Table! This week we dive back into the World of Darkness to offer a beginner’s guide to two more factions of VTM lore. First, Tori breaks down the Setite offshoot of The Ministry. A vampiric plague of sorts, spreading the corruption of sin throughout modern nights. With roots and relation to the followers of Set, this group of kindred sew malice and vice through the Anarch...
Welcome Back to the Table! This week Arcadia sits down with Tori and Malcolm for another look at a couple Atorian Legends. The tables turn a bit as Malcolm introduces us to his First Gen Hero of the Crossroads, Draville Goldblade. We learn some of the early experiences and game moments that brought the party’s Dipshit in a Can from the rough brothel bouncer life to the throne room. After the ...
Welcome Back to the Table! This week Malcolm gets the opportunity to interview his cohosts, Tori and Arcadia about their First Generation PC’s in Atoria. We peel back the curtain have a conversation about how two of the original Heroes of the Crossroads came to be, what shaped their roles and Atoria and what is left in the legacies fo these two Atorian Legends. Arcadia introduces us to Edrie Graf, ...
Welcome Back to the Table! Malcolm and Tori have broken into the studio for more unsupervised shenanigans. This week the two trade book reviews and get into very different Dungeons and Dragons source materials. Malcolm wins the roll off and defers to Tori, who is only too happy to discuss Xanathar’s Guide to Everything. A great resource book alive with subclasses, lore, character creation met...
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