We’re back and we’re heading off to Potters Lake in search of the secrets of creation. We hear good things about the apples there too. This is our look at the weird, evocative and highly overlooked RPG, Heaven & Earth.
Main Topic: Heaven & Earth
Heaven & Earth is a strange game, inspired by Twin Peaks, Christian theology, and, we assume, ridiculous quantities of hallucinogens. It is filled with weird Americana, eccentric characters and rich lore. While print editions are hard to obtain, you can pick up the PDFs of the core book and Paradise Lost supplement on DriveThruRPG. As we mention in the episode, there are also some free downloads available from the Abstract Nova website.
Matt is our subject matter expert on Heaven & Earth (as well as more infernal regions) so we get him to do most of the talking. In a stroke of divine retribution, however, he was struggling with a chest infection at the time of recording. If Matt’s voice sounds like it is rumbling up from the depths of the abyss, this is why. There is no other possible reason. Nope. None at all.
News
We have now entered the last week in which you can secure your copy of The Blasphemous Tome issue 4. Just in case you haven’t heard the good word, The Blasphemous Tome is the print-only fanzine we produce to thank our Patreon backers. This issue features a cover by Evan Dorkin, a new Call of Cthulhu scenario by Matt Sanderson and many other goodies. Please see our recent post for more details.
If you’re in the UK and fancy playing with Matt, he shall be attending Contingency next month. This is a residential convention, newly relocated to Hunstanton in Norfolk, running between the 23rd and 27th of January. Wear something warm.
Other Stuff
As the angels sing praises to the almighty, so do we sing praises to our Patreon backers. The angels have better voices, however, and their lips are less stained with blasphemies. There are two of our paeans in this episode, so be prepared. Not even divine intervention could make us sing in tune.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Stitcher | TuneIn | Deezer | RSS | More
Heh, I tuned in since Matt and I are the only 2 people who ever run this. 3rd Ed’s occupations came from our playtesting in a London pub basement- originally it’d had a complicated system which we all struggled with and you had to spend points on lots of skills, but we wrote the basic system of Rookie/Professional/Veteran plus Occupation on the back of a character sheet and suggested it to the writer/developer. Mostly I’m (easily) amused when people play Veteran Veternarians or Rookie OAP’s.
Hehe, now I’ve got to put a “Rookie OAP” in my next one-shot 😉
Heaven and Earth sounds like a great game! At first this sounded like it lacked sufficient crunch for me. “Diceless” etc. always sounds like “creative,” with “creative” meaning too much opportunity for player silliness and game breaking. However, this sounds like it works well.
The setting sounds fantastic. The winks and nods to “Needful Things,” “Twin Peaks,” “The X-Files,” etc. is very exciting.
I’m a huge map person, and you mentioned the unsatisfactory lack of a map. However, given the nature of the town, it seems this may work fine.
Which edition do you suggest?
Hello there! I’d definitely recommend 3rd Edition over the others. While there’s some nice card-based effects with 2nd Edition, having to look stuff up and then remember suit modifiers, etc. just slows things down a little too much. Plus, the artwork is much better in 3rd Ed (nearly every NPC has a portrait which is helpful). I keep meaning to try and plot out the town given the references to where things are in relation to other landmarks… One day!
Thanks for this detailed review of the system. I found your podcast while searching for information online on this RPG. I tuned in while trying to decide between 2nd and 3rd edition and I think 3rd edition will suit me for ease of use and character detail. The extra details on your favorite locales and NPCs was helpful too. Thanks for taking the time to post this and it’s a great sign (if not an omen?) that your other favorite RPGs are Kult and CoC! 😉