Mining Media | The Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee

Welcome to another Mining Media where we turn your binging into better TTRPG experiences. In this episode we're talking about Fonda Lee's incredible gangster fantasy trilogy The Green Bone Saga. This series is one of *very* few (maybe the only?) that I've rated 5 stars down the line. It has enough magic and urban fantasy to feel wondrous, incredibly emotional character development, intense martial arts action scenes, harsh betrayals, drugs, sex, crime, corruption, generational trauma and expectations... I could go on and on forever - please read it and talk to me about it!

 

Anyway, the take home points for how to make your TTRPG sessions better with The Green Bone Saga include:

• Hack your favorite system to use the Jade Disciplines as Stats (along with others for non-Green PCs)
• Consider using a relationship map/web to constantly keep pressure on your PCs from their connections, making every move dangerous in a faction-based turf war
• If your setting has magic, include a culture or people who are immune or resistant to that magic - how are they viewed in society? How do they overcome this?
• When making factions always have allied, antagonistic, and neutral parties to the party's goals. The Penitents & religious folk of these books are very cool, silent monks who are the ears of the gods - give them emotional, cultural depth

 

In the end, I think this episode was less "here's what to use in your game," and more "PLEASE READ THESE AND LET'S PLAY AN RPG CAMPAIGN IN THIS WORLD TOGETHER." If you're interested, please let me know. And Fonda Lee, if you ever see this and want someone to make your world an RPG, I'll help!

 

Download Rene's One-Page RPG One Last Quest and bring back your favorite characters for one more mission as elderly versions of themselves!

 

Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:

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email: RenePlaysGamesPod@gmail.com

 

Music in the Episode:

Midnight Room by | e s c p | https://www.escp.space
https://escp-music.bandcamp.com