System Shop cover art

System Shop

System Shop

By: Violet & Freya
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Summary

Welcome to System Shop, the podcast where we deep dive into RPG design, one subsystem at a time.


Join us as we explore the origins, empirical trends, and future design space of all aspects of tabletop game design. What’s the point of mechanising carrying capacity or NPC attitudes? Why distinguish between armour and evasion, or attributes and skills? Many stories may begin with “because D&D did it”, but that’s far from the end…


We dig deeper by asking: how do differences in design decisions make players act and feel, and is this wholly intended? What is gained or lost by being able to sum up a monster with a challenge rating? How can initiative checks be used to make combat feel chaotic, tactical, or somewhere in between?


Finally, we suggest our own ideas for future innovations. Can we introduce new technologies and props? Can we shed assumptions of the past? Or should we bring them to the fore and embrace them to the extreme? Restrictions breed creativity, and our best ideas are often our most ridiculous.


System Shop is independent and ad-free. New episodes release whenever we have the time and energy to research and record a new topic.


Violet (She/her) is a recovering academic and alleged game designer, with a particular interest in system design and ludology.


Freya (She/her) is a demographer turned data engineer by day. She moonlights as collaborator, sounding board, and bad idea generator to her beloved and prolific game designer fiancée.

...

Cover design by Fallible Things (fallible.net).


Font on-cover is Lineal by Frank Adebiaye, with the contribution of Anton Moglia, Ariel Martín Pérez. Distributed by velvetyne.fr.

All rights reserved. Art
Episodes
  • Bonus Episode: Violet's Conpulsion Con-trived Title

    Bonus Episode: Violet's Conpulsion Con-trived Title
    May 8 2026

    In this bonus episode, Violet discusses the games she ran and played at Con-Pulsion 2026…. Which she in-con-veniently forgets to name during the recording. Whoops!


    ***** Timestamps *****


    Panels & speakers - 02:55

    Unravel - 06:01

    Unravel… again! - 13:57

    Spoilers for the Unravel quickstart scenario - 15:39 to 16:53

    More mechanical discussion of Unravel - 17:39

    Freya’s extremely subjective opinions about Earthborne Rangers - 21:40

    The Thunder Perfect Mind - 25:08

    Dream Askew - 34:57

    Reflection & Wrapup - 43:13


    ***** Games discussed *****


    Unravel

    Liminal Horror

    Delta Green

    Lasers & Feelings

    CBR+PNK

    Earthborne Rangers

    The Thunder Perfect Mind[*1]

    Vampire: The Masquerade

    Daggerheart

    Dream Askew

    PbtA

    Wanderhome

    Mad Alien With A Box

    Gloomhaven


    ***** Other media discussed *****


    Black Wave, by Michelle Tea

    Cross stitch (like, the actual textiles hobby)

    Elder Scrolls 3 : Morrowind

    Arkham Horror (the card game)

    Arkham Horror (the board game)

    Elder Sign (the other Arkham Horror board game)

    Orphan Black

    Trios


    ***** Notes & Links *****


    Unravel quickstart: https://studio-mothmen.itch.io/unravel-the-work-is-in-good-hands

    Discord link: https://discord.gg/cMP257y8


    [*1] the game by Tanya Floaker, not the 2,000 year old poem


    Freya will be wandering the halls of UK Games Expo in May, wearing her white JourneyMon t-shirts as usual. (In related news - the digital edition of JourneyMon has now released to kickstarter backers! Exciting!).
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    49 mins
  • Episode 12: What is a Roleplaying Game?

    Episode 12: What is a Roleplaying Game?
    Apr 1 2026
    In this foolish episode, we…. Wait, what is it we do here again? I… I can’t remember… we’ve got a long road ahead of us if we’re going to make sense of all this.(Seriously. It turns out we can’t even begin to answer this question without talking about the nature of storytelling, improv, kayfabe, the role of GM, the purpose of rules, being instructed to *break* those rules, what it means to “play”, the promises made when a game describes itself… this was meant to be a silly joke episode, dangit!)Freya turns her lovers into fighters. Violet collates a collaborative coventure. Freya is drawn to a new role. Violet explores the past pre-tense. Freya breaks free of her bindings. Violet imagines a world without imagination.*** Timestamps ***What’s new - 02:56Mailbag - 11:07Intro to the topic - 18:30History - 25:12Taxonomicon - 40:16Actual start of the taxonomicon - 41:06Just kidding, it’s a discussion of the spectrum between ‘board game’ and ‘improv theatre’ - 41:07Could this be the taxo- oh, no, now we’re talking about the nature of rules - 46:32Listen, I think we’re just not going to have a normal taxonomicon in this one - ?:??:!?Wait! A list of games in quick succession! This must be it! - 53:20Discussion about Wanderhome and Kishotenketsu and game Promises and- are we sure we actually know what this podcast is about at all? - 01:05:36Who’s Game is it anyway? (Discussion on the nature of GMs) - 01:21:08The Counterexampliad, whatever that means - 01:27:25Exclusive unlocked patreon content preview [*1]: international paper size deep dive - 01:31:51 to 01:33:17Design Dreams - 01:56:58We made it! - 02:12:59*** Design Dreams ***Two Truths And A Lie-FallParasocial InvestigationsDiararchaeologyRedaction RPGPBTA Chaos DraftCo-Op Adventure QWOPRPG: Rebus-Picto-Glyphs*** Games discussed ***D&D 3.5eHeavy GearD&D 1ePathfinder 1eEat the ReichUnravelStories from the GraveWildseaEberronGoGo GolfKagematsuTriangle AgencyHyboreaCoventry [*2]Tunnels & TrollsPasión de las PasionesIn Nomine Satanis / Magna VeritasVampire: the MasqueradeApocalypse WorldDogs in the VineyardWorld Wide WrestlingMonsterheartsA Song Of Ice And Fire RPGGenesysFellowshipMasksDo: Fate of the Flying TempleAvatar LegendsYazeba’s Bed And BreakfastTroikaMausritterGolden Sky StoriesSavage WorldsWanderhomeJourneymonAlas for the Awful SeaTransitLancerChuubo’s Marvellous Wish-Granting EngineSlugblasterInterstitialPitcrawlerTriangle AgencyMothershipCypherRuneQuest IIMonster of the WeekBrindlewood BayScherzandoLost KingdomBelonging Outside BelongingColostleFor Small Creatures Such As WeWreck This DeckHot Damn Deadly Alien Overlord Au Pair [*3]TackleboxFor The QueenOur Queen CrumblesThe Tragedy of GJ237BParanoiaToonMicroscopeI’m Sorry Did You Say Street MagicActs Of Evil [*4]“Messed Up Little Guy” [*5]Goblin CountryDream AskewBand of BladesArs MagicaEveryone Is JohnStar Trek AdventuresThis Discord Has Ghosts In ItGobloniaEverything Is TablesYour Body A LandscapeSpireDe ProfundisApothecaria*** Other media discussed ***Mass EffectThe Twilight Zone (and its ilk)Majora’s MaskFinal Fantasy Tactics AdvanceThe Elusive ShiftKriegsspiel [6]The Lord of the RingsBattleshipMastermindKiki’s Delivery ServiceStar Wars: Empire At WarFTLNierFinal Fantasy XIVFighting FantasyGrapefruit (Yoko Ono)FoundationUnwritten Earths SymposiumOctober: Ten Days That Shook The WorldSpyfallPacific RimDicey DungeonsCity of the Six MoonsWildermythPenny Arcade*** Notes ***[*1] This is a joke, we don’t have a patreon and if we did we’d serve you something better than this gag, probably.[*2] As you’ll discover when listening, this and several other entries on this list are debatably proto-RPGs. I’m giving them the honour of not being relegated to the ‘other media’ zone…[*3] Once again - I’m sorry, world.[*4] The author’s name is Paul Czege.[*5] By Grant Howitt. This is a paraphrasing of the game’s name, but delightfully, you will find it if you google this.[*6] Unlike Coventry, this one definitely goes on the ‘other’ list. Because it definitely is a wargame. It’s in the name.*** Links ***The term “ashcan edition” derives from quick, low-quality mockups used in the comics industry to quickly establish trademarks, and not intended to be read: something you’d take one look at, then thrown in the (tr)ashcan. In publishing, the term has shifted to mean early promotional materials. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashcan_comic Ironically, if you haven’t seen this xkcd, we may have overestimated your familiarity. https://xkcd.com/2501/ “Fafhrd”, of “Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser”, probably isn’t pronounced the way Violet valiantly attempted. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fafhrd_and_the_Gray_Mouser Violet quotes from The Grasshopper: Games, Life, and Utopia, by ludologist Bernard Suits. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lusory_attitude Freya only references webcomics if they’re at least 17 years old. https://...
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    2 hrs and 16 mins
  • Bonus Episode: Freya's Contingency Con-Return

    Bonus Episode: Freya's Contingency Con-Return
    Mar 4 2026

    In this tradition-setting bonus episode, Freya debriefs about the mechanics and tabletop experiences of seven games she played, two she ran, and one she designed (!) at Contingency 2026, the UK’s premier seasonally skewed seaside TTRPG convention.


    As always, a massive thank you to all the GMs and players who make this con a highlight of my year ~


    Timestamps

    Immediate digression about competitive tabletop games - 0:07:04

    The Code of Steam and Steel - 0:13:35

    Tournament Arc - 0:22:42

    Guest appearance from my cat - 0:29:53

    Nibiru - 0:33:42

    Inhuman Game Jam - 0:38:51

    Phoenix: Dawn Command - 0:49:28

    Goblonia - 0:57:26

    Digression about games for actual toddlers - 1:05:20

    Demigods - 1:08:55

    Slugblaster* - 1:12:49

    Rivers of London - 1:14:42

    Break!! - 1:27:14

    Con Haul - 1:35:10

    Digression about settings where you’re just a lil guy - 1:38:32

    Wrap up & what we’d like to play again - 1:42:48


    Games discussed

    Wildsea

    Cosmere RPG

    Shadowdark

    Black Code

    Black Rune

    The Code of the Space Lanes (briefly)

    The Comics Code

    Belonging Outside Belonging

    JourneyMon

    Interstitial

    The We-ness

    Warhammer (briefly)

    Wanderhome

    Vampire: The Masquerade

    Spire

    The Sprawl

    The PBTA genre in genre-al

    Call of Cthulhu

    D&D

    Pathfinder

    Delta Green

    The One Ring

    Die

    Avatar Legends**

    Cypher System (2019 edition)

    Magnus Archives RPG (briefly)

    Genesys

    Mouse Guard

    Mausritter

    Mythic Bastionland


    Other media discussed

    Warhammer

    Magic: the Gathering

    Battletech

    (Is Tarot “media”? Hmm.)

    Megaman: Battle Network

    Yu-Gi-Oh

    Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged

    The works of Adrian Tchaikovsky

    The Mind

    The concept of the mechsploitation genre

    Leverage

    That children’s memory game where you flip and match pairs of cards

    Baby youtuber thumbnails

    Various other infant toys, sorry, we got stuck on A Thing

    Rivers of London (the novels themselves)

    Inscription

    Iron Lung (briefly)

    Waters of Leith***

    Battlecon: War of Indines

    Millennium Blades (briefly)

    Hollow Knight

    Roadside Picnic****

    STALKER


    Notes & Links

    * You may have noticed this section is short. There’s not much to say about Slugblaster! It’s good. More verbose and video-oriented reviewers have talked much about it already.


    ** Mild spoiler warning in the final few minutes for some of the season premises (and a canon ship, ha) of Legend of Korra.


    *** I have now *finished* listening to Waters of Leith. It’s a fun and competent production… but despite the GM’s stated intentions, it doesn’t really engage with the anticolonialist antagonist in an interesting or nuanced way. Which is not great, considering it’s set in (a version of) the real world and names real locations, peoples, and cultural artifacts.


    **** Spoiler warning for a seminal 1970s sci fi story.


    Wolfram Alpha reports that the probability of at least one 4 on 4d4 is a bit over 2/3rds. https://www.wolframalpha.com/input?i=probability+of+at+least+one+4+on+4d4


    “Nibiru” is an Akkadian term for “point of transition”. Nice. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nibiru_(Babylonian_astronomy)


    Games For Crabs is running July 18th - 19th, 2026, in Sheffield (UK). https://gamesforcrabs.co.uk/


    Toast Tea in Edinburgh is indeed a good café, and they are not - unfortunately - paying us.


    Violet will be at Conpulsion in April - https://conpulsion.org/

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    1 hr and 46 mins
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