The Isle of the Broken Key sits in the northern Whisk Sea, shrouded in mist and mystery both. Tonight, one of its oldest structures, a stately seaside fortress, plays home to a revolutionary masquerade party. Its hosts, informed by both RSVPs and the glass-etched predictions of a broken oracle engine, anticipated many visitors, including some from beyond Palisade itself. But there is, nevertheless, an unannounced visitor tonight. And it has an invitation of its own.

This week on PALISADE: The Canvas of Dreams Pt. 2

Regardless, my pictures / well they don’t line your mirror

Regardless, you know that / I'll still wait for your call

Dossier

Organizations

Violet Cove: The Dim Liturgy claim to have seen the Divine Devotion's arrival coming in their sacred text: A battered and corrupted backup of Crystal Palace's final predictions for the future. Now the two cults work together to oust the Bilats... and perhaps to do more intriguing things, as well.

People

“Gem” (she/her): Codename given to the target of Operation Midnight Lapidary. Reported to be a major dealer in precious metals and stones from Stel Orion, here to attend the coronation of the returned Duchess Constantina Malady.

Griesel Sunset (he/him): Coriolos' father, a zealous Devotee. Currently lives on the Isle of the Broken Key.

Saint Decario Dicario (he/him): Devoted Devotee warmonger and one-time lover of the Twilight Mirage rockstar Teleos Triton Tanager. 

General Tomorrow Mourning (she/her): Leader of the Qui'Err Coalition's forces en route to the Twilight Mirage.

Marlon Styx a.k.a. “Em” (he/him): Undercover BIS agent assigned to infiltrate Violet Cove. Has become enamored with the Dim Liturgy’s holy text.

Places

Bontive Valley: Blessed by the departed divine Bounty, the Valley provides the Bilats with fruit that never rots and hyper-nutritional grain.

Isle of the Broken Key: Home of the Dim Liturgy since its obscure creation thousands of years ago. Now serves as base for the entire Violet Cove unit of the Cause, including the Devotees and (most recently) additional support teams from the Twilight Mirage.

Mysteries

Refrain a.k.a. Yesterday’s Reprise  a.k.a. The Ghastly Chorus:  An abandoned theater attended to by a spectral audience, which appears as if from nowhere, appended to the edge of a community. Upon the stage, a flickering projection of a person no one knows. Today, that person is the traveler named Lattice (they/them).

Things

EF Vambrace: Created by House Evenfall Altarworks, the Vambrace is the unlikely workhorse of the Kesh Altar fleet. With four arms worth of melee weapons and a mounted missile launcher, the Vambrace is able to reach the enemy under self-provided cover fire, defend themselves in melee until an opportunity presents itself, and then deliver the final blow.

AdArm Bouquet: Designed by Stel Orion’s Adamant Arms and Artifice as an Altar-era update to the classic Troop design. It’s still boxy (if a little trimmer) and it retains it’s wide, rectangular “eye” on its head. Gone are the heavy grip claws, replaced with traditional, five-fingered hands, allowing it more complex manipulations, including the operations of its distinctive Roundless Rifle, which seems convert raw Perennial Wave into ammunition. Additionally, the shoulder mount has ditched the heavy cannon in exchange for a close range, pneumatic lance that can devastate even the strongest armor. Roundless rifle looks like an H&K G11, and fires condensed Perennial Wave gathered from the atmosphere itself.

AdArm Motion Engine: Core to all of Adamant Arms and Artifice’s new designs, the Motion Engine was derived from salvaged parts of the lost Divine of the same name, offering a reliable, long lasting, and flexible source of power.

Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker)

Featuring Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart) Sylvi Bullet (@sylvibullet), Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Art Martinez-Tebbel (@atebbel), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), Keith J Carberry (@keithjcarberry) and Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000)

Produced by Ali Acampora 

Music by Jack de Quidt (available on bandcamp)

Text by Austin Walker

Cover Art by by aurahack (aurahack.jp)

With thanks to Arthur B., Chocoube, DB, deepFlaw, Edwin Adelsberger, Emrys, Greg Cobb, Huw, Ian O'Dea, Ian Urbina, Irina A., Jack Shirai, Jake Strang, K. Morris, Katie Diekhaus, Konisforce, Kristina Harris Esq, L Tantivy, Lawson Coleman, Mike & Ruby, Nich Maragos, Olive Perry, Patrick Murray, Quinn Pollock, Robert Lasica, Shawn Drape, Shawn Hall, TeganEden, Thomas Whitney, viviridian, Voi

We are playing Armour Astir: Advent with additional playbooks from Strangers in the Night and 106th Astir Squadron. If you enjoy the show, consider supporting the TTRPG. 

This episode was made with support from listeners like you! To support us, you can go to friendsatthetable.cash.

This episode carries content warnings for the discussion of civilian deaths and the discussion of kidnapping.

In typical fashion, the mission has a name as ostentatious as its object is mundane. “Operation Midnight Lapidary” is meant to be, in its most bloodless version, a sort of intimidating hit-and-run—though out-and-out wetwork would also be acceptable. The target, rumored to be a dealer in diamonds, rubies, and other precious gems, is en route to the Duchess’ coronation, and must be stopped. Why? To what end? These are the sorts of questions left for those in leadership. For the members of the Blue Channel, there’s only the mission. 

Well, the mission, and an invitation to an important meet-and-greet.

This week on PALISADE: The Canvas of Dreams Pt. 1

Lights off / Nightlights

Dossier

Organizations

Bilateral Intercession: One of two factions vying for leadership of the Principality, comprised by Stels Kesh and Nideo, and lead by the so-called Peaceful Princept, Cynosure Whitestar-Kesh (he/him), who took control of the faction from the Curtain, a secretive intelligence organization with roots in Kesh’s ancient spy operations. The “Bilats” are a conservative and reactionary force, aiming to return the Principality to its roots both literally and figuratively. After a long campaign against the Pact of Free States, they managed to take control of Palisade. 

Violet Cove: The Dim Liturgy claim to have seen the Divine Devotion's arrival coming in their sacred text: A battered and corrupted backup of Crystal Palace's final predictions for the future. Now the two cults work together to oust the Bilats... and perhaps to do more intriguing things, as well.

The Branched: A post-human society of beings who have transformed their bodies into forms terrifying and spectacular and free—only to have the threat of war force them to rebuild themselves as soldiers first and foremost. After centuries of fighting a purely defensive war, the Branched have now begun to strike into the Principality’s territory. 

People

“Gem” (she/her): Codename given to the target of Operation Midnight Lapidary. Reported to be a major dealer in precious metals and stones from Stel Orion, here to attend the coronation of the returned Duchess Constantina Malady.

The Witch in Glass a.k.a. Clementine Kesh (she/her): A former scion of Kesh who, after knitting a bond with the adversary Perennial, came into control of the broken body of the Divine Past, which she has renamed the Reflecting Pool. Rules over the Crown of Glass, a city-state on the southeastern reaches of Palisade. A shaky ally of Millennium Break. Haunted by an old foe.

Griesel Sunset (he/him): Coriolos' father, a zealous Devotee. Currently lives on the Isle of the Broken Key.

General Tomorrow Mourning (she/her): Leader of the Qui'Err Coalition's forces en route to the Twilight Mirage.

Marlon Styx (he/him): Undercover BIS agent assigned to infiltrate Violet Cove. Has become enamored with the Dim Liturgy’s holy text.

The Lost Duchess, Constantina Malady (she/her): Just as it is said, she arrived on a black horse with white fetlocks.

Places

Bontive Valley: Blessed by the departed divine Bounty, the Valley provides the Bilats with fruit that never rots and hyper-nutritional grain.

Carhaix: The northernmost city in the Bontive Valley, Carhaix is one of the first major settlements founded by the nascent Divine Principality 5,000 years ago. It was created on the site of a battlefield where they obliterated the straggling remnants of the Advent Group, an organization that had invaded and pillaged the Twilight Mirage. After the Principality left Palisade behind, it became one of the Fabreal Duchy’s many centers of power in the northwestern continent. Currently, it is controlled by Stel Nideo and the Divine Crusade.

Carleon-Upon-Wisk: The capital of the Fabreal Duchy, situated on a peninsula on the Wisk Sea. Though it served as a major city before the Divine Principality left Palisade behind, it rose in stature when early barons of the Duchy “discovered” how to create delegates from chained Divines in the city’s fell laboratories.

Isle of the Broken Key: Home of the Dim Liturgy since its obscure creation thousands of years ago. Now serves as base for the entire Violet Cove unit of the Cause, including the Devotees and (most recently) additional support teams from the Twilight Mirage.

Additional Notes

Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker)

Featuring Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart) Sylvi Bullet (@sylvibullet), Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Art Martinez-Tebbel (@atebbel), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), Keith J Carberry (@keithjcarberry) and Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000)

Produced by Ali Acampora 

Music by Jack de Quidt (available on bandcamp)

Text by Austin Walker

Cover Art by by aurahack (aurahack.jp)

With thanks to Arthur B., chocoube, DB, deepFlaw, Edwin Adelsberger, Emrys, Greg Cobb, huw, Ian O'Dea, Ian Urbina, Irina A., Jack Shirai, Jake Strang, K. Morris, Katie Diekhaus, Konisforce, Kristina Harris Esq, L Tantivy, Lawson Coleman, Mike & Ruby, Nich Maragos, Olive Perry, Patrick Murray, Quinn Pollock, Robert Lasica, Shawn Drape, Shawn Hall, TeganEden, Thomas Whitney, viviridian, Voi,

We are playing Armour Astir: Advent with additional playbooks from Strangers in the Night and 106th Astir Squadron. If you enjoy the show, consider supporting the TTRPG. 

This episode was made with support from listeners like you! To support us, you can go to friendsatthetable.cash.

This episode carries content warnings for coercion, mind reading, discussion of blood, and uncanny bodily manipulation.

With one mission behind them and a new one approaching quickly, the crew of the Blue Channel finds time to relax in the most unlikely of places. But, as the colorful clouds gathering above remind us, no clear day lasts forever.

This week on PALISADE: I Would Like To Help You Pt. 2

...by this river...

Dossier

Organizations

The Twill: Though many groups have lived on the world of Palisade over the years, the Twill can trace their time on the world back the furthest. Though a first glance appraisal might make one think that their defining trait is the moss that covers much of their bodies and allows them to live on sunlight and water alone, in fact their most unshakable cultural trait is a practice of collaboration, aid, and acceptance. When groups like Advent, Kesh, the New Earth Hegemony, and the Divine Principality left Palisade behind, they often left behind the disaffected or unwanted. It was often, if not always, the Twill who helped these people find sustainable lives on the world, either by blending with the group over generations or through open exchange of goods and information.

The Devotees: A church from the Twilight Mirage that is committed to the worship of the divine Devotion, which they sometimes refer to as Fervor. Common practices include the regular checking of one’s pulse and multi-day group picnic outings.

Qui'Err Coalition: The govening body of the Twilight Mirage, comprised by affiliated communes, townships, and other groups across the system's eight worlds. 

New Earth Hegemony: Once, the NEH was massive, galactic-scale power that threatened conquest of The Twilight Mirage. It was reduced to a single fleet—now lost—which provided its inhabitants endless, digital life. 

People

The Witch in Glass a.k.a. Clementine Kesh (she/her): A former scion of Kesh who, after knitting a bond with the adversary Perennial, came into control of the broken body of the Divine Past, which she has renamed the Reflecting Pool. Rules over the Crown of Glass, a city-state on the southeastern reaches of Palisade. A shaky ally of Millennium Break. Haunted by an old foe.

Griesel Sunset (he/him): Coriolos' father, a zealous Devotee. Currently lives on the Isle of the Broken Key.

Kriminel Kollage (she/her): A young Twill tinkerer who tried to convince her community to help her ressurect the long dead divine, Palisade, and went through with it when they denied tos upport her. 

General Tomorrow Mourning (she/her): Leader of the Qui'Err Coalition's forces en route to the Twilight Mirage.

Saffron Septet (she/her):  A doctor from the Twilight Mirage who lives as a digital consciousness, spread across a number of bodily forms including a heavy Torch Unit, a small motorcycle, and a unique and specially-crafted surgeon body. 

Partial Palisade (he/him): A man who was once a Divine, now living in the shell of a being quite unlike what he once was. 

The Lost Duchess, Constantina Malady (she/her): Just as it is said, she arrived on a black horse with white fetlocks.

Places

The Twilight Mirage: Created over 5000 years ago by what was then the Divine Empyrean in an effort to protect the Divine Fleet, of which they were a member. The Mirage is a false nebula that obscures the position of its inhabitants both visually and by distorting time and space. Inside, there is now a vibrant and peaceful culture that spans eight planets, orbiting a dark and living Divine sun. 

Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker)

Featuring Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart) Sylvi Bullet (@sylvibullet), Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Art Martinez-Tebbel (@atebbel), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), Keith J Carberry (@keithjcarberry) and Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000)

Produced by Ali Acampora 

Music by Jack de Quidt (available on bandcamp)

Text by Austin Walker

Cover Art by by aurahack (aurahack.jp)

With thanks to Arthur B., chocoube, DB, deepFlaw, Edwin Adelsberger, Emrys, Greg Cobb, huw, Ian O'Dea, Ian Urbina, Irina A., Jack Shirai, Jake Strang, K. Morris, Katie Diekhaus, Konisforce, Kristina Harris Esq, L Tantivy, Lawson Coleman, Mike & Ruby, Nich Maragos, Olive Perry, Patrick Murray, Quinn Pollock, Robert Lasica, Shawn Drape, Shawn Hall, TeganEden, Thomas Whitney, viviridian, Voi,

We are playing Armour Astir: Advent with additional playbooks from Strangers in the Night and 106th Astir Squadron. If you enjoy the show, consider supporting the TTRPG. 

This episode was made with support from listeners like you! To support us, you can go to friendsatthetable.cash.

This episode carries content warnings for the discussion of blood and uncanny bodily manipulation.

Having placed the confusion of the Fundament Node behind them, the crew of the Blue Channel begin a slow tour across the few friendly ports in Palisade, refueling, resupplying, and escorting the displaced Twill into new, albeit temporary homes. All the while, there is an open breath, and an opportunity to converse, collaborate, and connect. It is downtime on Palisade.

This week on PALISADE: I Would Like To Help You Pt. 1

Show me the tree / and I’ll shoot down the figs.

This episode carries content warnings for death.

The sun rises on Palisade and the work week begins. Delegates move quick and quiet through the back halls of Kesh palaces while their lords plot and scheme. Nidean settlers pray to their Divines and then take up their shovels to do the work of civil expansion. The most determined Frontier Syndicate technologists woke up hours ago, beating the sun’s rise just like Exenceaster March says to do in his popular entrepreneurial handbook. And in a castle on the southern continent, the occupation’s leader thumbs the trigger of her horrible device, as if the sun itself could see the gesture and would leash itself appropriately.

This week on PALISADE: Today Is a Monday

Dossier

Organizations

Bilateral Intercession: One of two factions vying for leadership of the Principality, comprised by Stels Kesh and Nideo, and lead by the so-called Peaceful Princept, Cynosure Whitestar-Kesh (he/him), who took control of the faction from the Curtain, a secretive intelligence organization with roots in Kesh’s ancient spy operations. The “Bilats” are a conservative and reactionary force, aiming to return the Principality to its roots both literally and figuratively. After a long campaign against the Pact of Free States, they managed to take control of Palisade. 

Stel Kesh: The oldest established power in the galaxy, built around a stuffy (and secretive) aristocracy. They are tied to the Past. History, knowledge, stubbornness.

Stel Nideo: Created the largest faith in the empire, and used that influence to shape (and surveil) mass culture. They are tied to the Present. Faith, coercion, stability.

The Bilateral Intelligence Service: Formerly called the Curtain, the BIS is a Kesh-operated organization which specializes in espionage, subterfuge, and surveillance. Though it is as secretive as ever, it is no longer the true source of power in Kesh territory. Instead, Cynosure Whitestar-Kesh has modernized its structure and operation, and has ensured that it remains well integrated into the Bilateral Intercession’s greater workings—as to better keep one eye on them.

The Frontier Syndicate: A powerful conglomerate with a broad purview, including technology, heavy industry, entertainment, telecommunications, and transportation. Led by Exenceaster March (he/him), the Syndicate betrayed the Pact of Free States and joined the Bilats in order to be part of their colonization efforts on Palisade.

Fabreal Duchy: When the Divine Principality left Palisade nearly 5,000 years ago, they left behind a Duke and his barons as caretakers. In the generations that followed, they ruled as petty tyrants, creating Delegates as their slaves, remaking their bodies into glass and oil, and extending their reach across Palisade’s continents.

The New Asterism: What was once a schism between Received and Progressive Asterism has now been healed by the false prophet Gur Sevraq (he/they), or at least someone in his name and face. The New Asterism claims that to be a citizen of the Principality is to have an obligation to "better the world," in the sense that one invests in property or in the way that a settler “rehabilitates” or “improves” the places they claim by violence. 

The Lone Marble Group: Built around a single artifact recovered from an Advent facility, this Frontier Syndicate subsidiary develops the future of Bilat war machinery.

The Advent Group: A group of colonial entrepreneurs, invaders, and professional exploiters. Eradicated 5000 years ago, during an attempt to occupy the Twilight Mirage.

Blue Channel: Both the name of Kalvin Brnine’s corvette-class carrier and the Cause-aligned faction made up by its crew. Upgraded with Kalmeria-era technology to enhance its basic functionality, along with other quality-of-life features. 

Jade Kill: Based in Joyous Guard, this military arm of the Cause is operated by the Delegate liberation faction known as Reunion and supported by Kalar Anakalar's Giantkiller unit and a wing of Swordbreakers. Led by August Righteousness (he/him).

Violet Cove: The Dim Liturgy claim to have seen the Divine Devotion's arrival coming in their sacred text: A battered and corrupted backup of Crystal Palace's final predictions for the future. Now the two cults work together to oust the Bilats... and perhaps to do more intriguing things, as well.

Grey Pond: With members of the Oxblood Clan, the Company of the Spade, and the Shale Belt's Concrete Front, these blue collar revolutionaries are experts at getting the Cause the equipment it needs (and maintaining what it has when that's the only available option).

Carmine Bight: From ramshackle additions to the rocky shores of Rifle Island, Captain Skelton Knaggs (he/him) and his fearsome flotilla launch rusted pirate vessels beneath the waves, guided by a coalition of Hyphan navigators.

Rose River: Though they are undoubtedly committed to the Cause, this unique research unit (combining Veronique (she/her), her Divine Fealty (any pronouns), and their followers with an out-of-time NEH Sleep Detachment squad) hope for a day when they can be something other than soldiers.

Lock and Cross Security Services: The largest mercenary unit on Palisade, invited to the world by Exenceaster March. Operated by Maidstone Cross (she/her) and Margate Lock (she/her), a pair of divorcees too committed to their work together to fully separate

People

Stargrave Elcessor (she/her): Leader of the Bilateral Interecession’s occupation of Palisade, assigned personally by Cynosure Whitestar-Kesh. As a Stargrave, she has been granted the means and “right” to detonate the star at the center of Palisade’s star system if she determines that those here are an existential threat to the Principality.

Connadine (he/him): Commander of the BIS on Palisade. An expert in psychological operations and folklore. A conductor warming his orchestra.

Fool Factotum (she/her): Dedicated member of the BIS, assigned to Connadine’s new executive unit. Difficult to guess her age.

Marlon Styx (he/him): Undercover BIS agent assigned to infiltrate Violet Cove. Has become enamored with the Dim Liturgy’s holy text.

Aram Nideo (he/him): Often called the “The Father of Asterism,” Aram Nideo penned the “Many Stars Argument,” which became the backbone not only for the Divine Principality’s faith but also its governmental structure. Posthumously awarded Divine status. Was part of the nascent Divine Principality’s occupation on the world.

Grand Magnificent (he/him): A complex in the history of the Twilight Mirage. Member of the Notion, Excerpt of the Divine Arbit, and (above all else) an artist.

Exenchester March (he/him): Founder of the Frontier Syndicate and the March Institute, former chair of the Zenith Fund. Betrayed the Pact and Stel Columnar, defecting to the Bilateral Intercession in exchange for territory on Palisade and the freedom to use it as he wishes.

The Witch in Glass (she/her): A former scion of Kesh who, after knitting a bond with the adversary Perennial, came into control of the broken body of the Divine Past, which she has renamed the Reflecting Pool. Rules over the Crown of Glass, a city-state on the southeastern reaches of Palisade. A shaky ally of Millennium Break. Haunted by an old foe.

Gentian (she/her): Elect of the Divine Crusade. Impossibly old, yet a source of power and vibrance. Attended to by her two sword bearers (Ramondre (she/her) and Ignadiah (he/him), Knight of Books (Clawed (he/him)), and Knight of Cups (Perevel (they/them)). 

Kenneth Marian Colver (he/him): Former member of the Curtain, now Kesh’s Viceroy on the world. Reports up to the Stargrave. Has bread concerns.

The Lost Duchess, Constantina Malady (she/her): Just as it is said, she arrived on a black horse with white fetlocks.

Gucci Garantine (she/her): A defector from Stel Kesh, who used the remaining wealth and power of House Brightline to help found Millennium Break. Currently a key member of the resistance efforts on Palisade, and the commander of Millennium Break forces there. Codename Watershed.

Candles Penumbra (she/her): Member of Rose River. Reading in a library in the Diadem when she receives a call from Gucci Garantine.

Places

The Diadem: A wide and deep scar dug into Palisade’s equator by the early Divine Principality. It promised to be a vast arcology that people could live and work in. Instead, it simply ruined the world. 

Diadem Gravtrain: While the vast trench-city on Palisade's equator lays abandoned, Kesh has reactivated its railway via an operations center in Carmathen.

Tintagel: A city and fortress that marked the Fabreal Duchy’s farthest reach on Palisade’s southern continent. Stargrave Elcessor uses its palace as her operations center and home when she is on planet.

Brecheliant Forest: A vast, mysterious forest on Palisade’s southern continent said to confuse even the most experience of travelers.

The Paint Shop: Sitting atop the central peak of Steeple Catterick, most people assume the Paint Shop to be no more than an artist commune where visiting artists collaborate on eccentric and avant-garde work. In truth, it is both a manufactory and front for the Bilateral Intelligence Service.

Bontive Valley: Blessed by the departed divine Bounty, the Valley provides the Bilats with fruit that never rots and hyper-nutritional grain.

Temple of the Treshold: Built at the center of a massive bridge that crosses the Diadem, this serves as the home of New Asterism and its false prophet, Gur Sevraq (he/they).

The Shale Belt: A low, resource-filled mountain range in the north-central of Palisade. Home to the Concretists and their revolutionary Concrete Front, a secular and technologically-minded group with roots in the Twilight Mirage. They take their names from favorite artistic works and have blended their bodies with a special concrete (and some respiratory cybernetics) that aids in their breathing.

Greenfield: A central territory on Palisade taken over by the Frontier Syndicate. Previously, the fields and streams of this area were home to the Twill. 

Composure’s Coliseum: Operated by a revivified Divine who instrumentalizes the data of both the death-sport combatants and bloodthirsty fans.

Divines

The Divine Crusade (they/them): Leads Stel Nideo’s occupation on Palisade along with their Elect, Gentian. Crusade is an enormous, bipedal machine covered (or perhaps made with) beautiful stained glass.

The Divine Resonance (it/its): The watchful guardian, doting caregiver, and ardent supporter of Nideo's colonial efforts on Palisade.

The Divine, Arbitrage (it/its): The amoral machine turned de facto treasurer keeps the Frontier Syndicate a step ahead in all matters of commerce. Sole minter of “glint,” a newly popular currency on Palisade.

Mysteries

The Fundament: In the depths of the world, further on even than the Diadem… there is the Fundament.

The Five Afflictions: A group of “monstrous” beings that haunt the dark corners of Palisade. They have been named as follows:

Dust a.k.a Pride’s Mirror a.k.a. The Looking Glass

Refrain a.k.a. Yesterday’s Reprise  a.k.a. The Ghastly Chorus

Ravel a.k.a. Labyrinth’s Thread a.k.a. The Hedge Maze 

Cleave a.k.a. Whetstone’s Opposite a.k.a. The Sanguine Hatchet 

Oversight a.k.a. Hell’s Facade a.k.a. The Empty Garden 

Things

BAC Plough: Forged by the Blessed Armory of the Divine Consecration, the humanoid Plough has a statuesque build that it uses to wield heavy weapons, like a bulldozer-sized claw-scoop or a Heavy Arbalest designed to launch roped harpoons. The Plough’s primary purpose is to be Nideo’s frontline unit, but it is as valuable after a fight as it is in one. It is used in the destruction and replacement of “old” or “neglected” locations with new Nideo bases and settlements, and as such serves a propagandistic function by demonstrating that “soldier” and “settler” are two sides of the same coin.

Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker)

Featuring Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart) Sylvi Bullet (@sylvibullet), Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Art Martinez-Tebbel (@atebbel), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), Keith J Carberry (@keithjcarberry) and Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000)

Produced by Ali Acampora 

Music by Jack de Quidt (available on bandcamp)

Text by Austin Walker

Cover Art by by aurahack (aurahack.jp)

With thanks to Arthur B., chocoube, DB, deepFlaw, Edwin Adelsberger, Emrys, Greg Cobb, huw, Ian O'Dea, Ian Urbina, Irina A., Jack Shirai, K. Morris, Katie Diekhaus, Konisforce, Kristina Harris Esq, L Tantivy, Lawson Coleman, Mike & Ruby, Nich Maragos Olive Perry, Patrick Murray, Robert Lasica, Shawn Hall, TeganEden, Thomas Whitney, viviridian, and Voi for their support

We are playing Armour Astir: Advent with additional playbooks from Strangers in the Night and 106th Astir Squadron. If you enjoy the show, consider supporting the TTRPG. 

This episode was made with support from listeners like you! To support us, you can go to friendsatthetable.cash.

This episode carries content warnings for body horror, descriptions of violence and injury, gun violence, death, and blood.

It is said that in the lowest depths of Diadem, deep below the surface of Palisade itself,  there exists a network so ancient and so important that the people who named it were right to call it the Fundament. Most who know its name believe that it controls the Diadem itself, and could be key to bringing the long dead city back online. Others suspect that it connects to the train and power lines that run across the planet’s continents. And the most superstitious—those who know the Afflictions by name (and claim to know the proper prayers to say to keep them at bay)—believe the Fundament’s power goes beyond even that: to the seas, to the skies, to weather, and life itself.

It is at the door to this mythical place that the crew of the Blue Channel find themselves now, entwined in battle with Bilateral interlopers and desperate to finish the job they were sent to do.

This week on PALISADE: Into the World Pt. 2

And I feel so dangerous when you say I'm doin' fine now

Dossier

Organizations

The Divine Principality: The largest empire in the Milky Way Galaxy, spanning multiple arms and billions of stars. Comprised of five somewhat-autonomous sub-states, the Stels. Currently, the Principality is engaged in wars both external and internal, the prior with their neighbors, the Branched, and the latter a civil war between the competing factions and pretenders to the Princept’s throne.

The Branched: A post-human society of beings who have transformed their bodies into forms terrifying and spectacular and free—only to have the threat of war force them to rebuild themselves as soldiers first and foremost. After centuries of fighting a purely defensive war, the Branched have now begun to strike into the Principality’s territory. 

Bilateral Intercession: One of two factions vying for leadership of the Principality, comprised by Stels Kesh and Nideo, and lead by the so-called Peaceful Princept, Cynosure Whitestar-Kesh (he/him), who took control of the faction from the Curtain, a secretive intelligence organization with roots in Kesh’s ancient spy operations. The “Bilats” are a conservative and reactionary force, aiming to return the Principality to its roots both literally and figuratively. After a long campaign against the Pact of Free States, they managed to take control of Palisade. 

Stel Kesh: The oldest established power in the galaxy, built around a stuffy (and secretive) aristocracy. They are tied to the Past. History, knowledge, stubbornness.

Stel Nideo: Created the largest faith in the empire, and used that influence to shape (and surveil) mass culture. They are tied to the Present. Faith, coercion, stability.

The Pact of Free States: One of the two factions vying for leadership of the Principality, a joint operation by Stels Columnar and Apostolos. Led in name by the Glorious Princept, Dahlia (they/them), but operated in day-to-day matters by members of the original Pact of Necessary Venture, including Rye (he/him) and Gallica (she/her). Though they are reformist in some ways, their primary goal is greater autonomy for each Stel, freedom from the legal restraints, taxes, and oversights demanded by the Principality, with additional deregulation to follow downstream.

Stel Columnar: A reformist democracy, made up largely of synthetics on the cutting edge of technology, art, politics, and war. They are tied to the Future. Innovation, style, cowardice.

Stel Apostolos: A dynamic and diverse military powerhouse, whose dedication to self-expression is eclipsed only by their dedication to violence. They are tied to Motion. Speed, change, violence.

The Frontier Syndicate: A powerful conglomerate with a broad purview, including technology, heavy industry, entertainment, telecommunications, and transportation. Led by Exenceaster March (he/him), the Syndicate betrayed the Pact of Free States and joined the Bilats in order to be part of their colonization efforts on Palisade.

Stel Orion: An industrial giant that controls more literal space than any other Stel, yet is also the most fragmented, now facing regular internal strife between various corporate powers. Orion is currently the only Stel not involved directly in the galactic civil war, and thus free to operate across every star system. They are tied to Space. Wealth, labor, expansion.

Millennium Break: Dissidents, idealogues, rebels, and mercenaries who launched a revolution from Partizan, moon of Girandole. Today, they agree on much, and most of all, this: It is time for a new Millennium.

The New Asterism: What was once a schism between Received and Progressive Asterism has now been healed by the false prophet Gur Sevraq (he/they), or at least someone in his name and face. The New Asterism claims that to be a citizen of the Principality is to have an obligation to "better the world," in the sense that one invests in property or in the way that a settler “rehabilitates” or “improves” the places they claim by violence. 

The Twill: Though many groups have lived on the world of Palisade over the years, the Twill can trace their time on the world back the furthest. Though a first glance appraisal might make one think that their defining trait is the moss that covers much of their bodies and allows them to live on sunlight and water alone, in fact their most unshakable cultural trait is a practice of collaboration, aid, and acceptance. When groups like Advent, Kesh, the New Earth Hegemony, and the Divine Principality left Palisade behind, they often left behind the disaffected or unwanted. It was often, if not always, the Twill who helped these people find sustainable lives on the world, either by blending with the group over generations or through open exchange of goods and information.

The Devotees: A church from the Twilight Mirage that is committed to the worship of the divine Devotion, which they sometimes refer to as Fervor. Common practices include the regular checking of one’s pulse and multi-day group picnic outings.

People

Kalvin Brnine (they/them): Captain of the Blue Channel, former weapons technician and de facto leader of the Society of Banners and Bright Returns. Apostolosian born, Orion trained, committed to Millennium Break.

Thisbe (she/her): A large, humanoid labor robot whose design is based on the ancient Hypha people. Unearthed by farmers and traded between mercenary units, she eventually wound up working for the Society of Banners and Bright Returns and moved on to work with Millennium Break. 

The Figure in Bismuth (he/they): Once, the Figure was an ordinary, conservative history teacher who was fatally wounded in a conflict on Partizan. After being resurrected by the Witch in Glass, they have become a supernaturally gifted ace pilot. On loan to Millennium Break.

Phrygian (they/them): A Branched researcher who arrived on Partizan to investigate something called the True Divine. After being captured by the Pact, they were eventually freed by Millennium Break, which they joined up with. 

Coriolis Sunset (she/her): Devotee of Devotion and native of the Twilight Mirage, Cori seeks to defend the weak and spread the word of her blessed Divine.

Gucci Garantine (she/her): A defector from Stel Kesh, who used the remaining wealth and power of House Brightline to help found Millennium Break. Currently a key member of the resistance efforts on Palisade, and the commander of Millennium Break forces there.

Kriminel Kollage (she/her): A young Twill tinkerer, working on a project that few believed would ever work.

Places

The Diadem: A wide and deep scar dug into Palisade’s equator by the early Divine Principality. It promised to be a vast arcology that people could live and work in. Instead, it simply ruined the world.

The Shale Belt: A low, resource-filled mountain range in the north-central of Palisade. Home to the Concretists and their revolutionary Concrete Front, a secular and technologically-minded group with roots in the Twilight Mirage. They take their names from favorite artistic works and have blended their bodies with a special concrete (and some respiratory cybernetics) that aids in their breathing.

Greenfield: A central territory on Palisade taken over by the Frontier Syndicate. Previously, the fields and streams of this area were home to the Twill. 

Divines

Asepsis (it/its): The final living remnants of a Divine who pursues its particular vision of purity at the cost of everything else. Kept, studied, and utilized by Captain Kalvin Brnine.

Mysteries

The Fundament: In the depths of the world, further on even than the Diadem… there is the Fundament.

The Afflictions: A group of “monstrous” beings that haunt the dark corners of Palisade. 

The Divine Fleet: A precursor civilization to what would (in part) grow to become the Divine Principality. For thirty thousand years, it strived towards Utopian ideals and perhaps, for some time, even achieved them.

Things

BAC Plough: Forged by the Blessed Armory of the Divine Consecration, the humanoid Plough has a statuesque build that it uses to wield heavy weapons, like a bulldozer-sized claw-scoop or a Heavy Arbalest designed to launch roped harpoons. The Plough’s primary purpose is to be Nideo’s frontline unit, but it is as valuable after a fight as it is in one. It is used in the destruction and replacement of “old” or “neglected” locations with new Nideo bases and settlements, and as such serves a propagandistic function by demonstrating that “soldier” and “settler” are two sides of the same coin.

EF Hauberk: Created by House Evenfall Altarworks, the Haubark is capable of deadly, unpredictable, and striking acts of violence. It is beyond “lanky,” with upper and torso extended, with extra joints and top-flight tensors for added flexibility. Its lower half, though, is an extremely thick tire, allowing it for rapid ingress and egress. It is both covered in and wields restraining chains infused with the nullifying magic used by Kesh, and is able to pin its foes down before finishing them off. Tier III. Approach: Mundane.

LMG Gueridon: Designed by the Lone Marble Group for use by Exanceaster March’s personal security operations, the Gueridon is a modern siege tower. It walks on four, elegant table-like legs, is protected by an Arcane energy dome above, and is operated from within a vast, circular a carriage compartment, with enchanted portholes that enhance the hand-held weapons of anyone firing from inside out. Also carries an infantry deployment pod. Tier II. Approach: Arcane

Chariot Mk. 2: Coriolis' Altar, commonly used among the Devotees. A humanoid mech with an angular frame, pointed shoulders and three rotating halos. The head is covered in eyes, and its body has purple lights running along it in the shape of a circulatory system. A cape hangs over the right arm of the mech and can be cast off when it begins combat. Approach: Divine

The Devil's Two Front Teeth: The Figure in Bismuth's Altar. A tall, angular machine whose posture is hunched down as if it is always ready to pounce. It was originally built without heatsinnks or vents, so the first time the Figure piloted this mech heat and energy exploded out of the frame and left the frame covered in pockmarks and jagged cavities. The most noticeable of these is a chunk missing from its "chin", giving it the appearance of a humanoid body missing its lower jaw with only two long, crooked teeth left in its mouth. As it flashes in and out of the battlefield, the heat and energy that escapes through these gashes sounds like a wailing wind. Tier III. Approach: Profane

Mow (he/him): A recovered Zenith-A Project Eudaimonia prototype model, further upgraded with Altar-class technology. The build of a gorilla, quadrupedal & topheavy, a saddle horn-like addition on the back, battered but lovingly maintained. Newly painted. Tier III. Approach: Mundane

The Blue Channel:The Blue Channel: Kalvin Brnine's corvette-class carrier. Upgraded with Kalmeria-era technology to enhance its basic functionality, along with other quality-of-life features. Tier V. Approach: Mundane.

Additional Notes

Delegates: In plain terms, Delegates are synthetic individuals created through a process of forcible extraction from a living Divine. Originated by the Fabreal Duchy, who were left behind to "attend to" Palisade by the Divine Principality around 5000 years ago, these Delgates were designed and used as slaves. Currently, a Delegate resistance group called Reunion operates out of the fortress Joyous Guard in the Caldera Stretch.

Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker)

Featuring Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart) Sylvi Bullet (@sylvibullet), Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Art Martinez-Tebbel (@atebbel), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), Keith J Carberry (@keithjcarberry) and Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000)

Produced by Ali Acampora 

Music by Jack de Quidt (available on bandcamp)

Text by Austin Walker

Cover Art by by aurahack (aurahack.jp)

We are playing Armour Astir: Advent with additional playbooks from Strangers in the Night and 106th Astir Squadron. If you enjoy the show, consider supporting the TTRPG. 

This episode was made with support from listeners like you! To support us, you can go to friendsatthetable.cash.

This episode carries content warnings for ecological disaster, bodily transformation, and death.

5,000 years ago, the Divine Principality sprouted, and immediately began to grow in size and power. Founded on the world of Palisade, at the edge of the Twilight Mirage, the Principality spread across the stars and leaving its roots behind and forgetting their “homeworld” as it was lapped by the colorful clouds of the false nebula. New Divines were born. Old Divines were resurrected. Rivals were conquered or courted. Soon, the only enemy remaining were the Branched, a post-human society from the Golden Branch, whose influence and control spread to the oldest homes of some Principality states.

Ten years ago, Dahlia, the Glorious Princept (born to Kesh, then kidnapped by Nideo, then rescued and raised into adulthood by Apostolos), declared themself leader of both Stel Kesh and Apostolos alongside a stunning revelation of the Principality’s crimes against Apostolos. Kesh called these claims an Apostolosian ploy for power, and elected a minor noble, Cynosure Whitstar-Kesh as their champion, the Peaceful Princept. 

Five years ago, on the world of Partizan, open skirmishing between Apostolos and Kesh developed into a galaxy-wide civil war. On one side, the Curtain of Divinity, an ancient intelligence organization aligned with Stels Kesh and Nideo. On the other, Stels Columnar and Apostolos were put under the control of the Pact of Necessary Venture. Stel Orion itself fell into countless smaller internally and internecine conflicts. And between them all, Millennium Break formed—one hope for real change and resistance.

Three years ago, outgunned and outclassed by their rivals, the Curtain rebranded as the Bilateral Intercession and began to search for a way to turn the tide in their war. At just the right time, they found it: Palisade. Their ancient staging ground, and perhaps, a way back into the Twilight Mirage, a system that moves out of time, and which holds power beyond compare…

Now, the Bilats have taken Palisade and have begun searching for their way to exploit both the planet and its proximity to the Mirage. But resistance groups across Palisade have been joined by Millennium Break and others committed to stopping the Principality in all its forms. And they begin to act today, 

This week on PALISADE: Into the World Pt. 1

Pick a point on the globe, yes, the picture's the same

Dossier

Organizations

The Divine Principality: The largest empire in the Milky Way Galaxy, spanning multiple arms and billions of stars. Comprised of five somewhat-autonomous sub-states, the Stels. Currently, the Principality is engaged in wars both external and internal, the prior with their neighbors, the Branched, and the latter a civil war between the competing factions and pretenders to the Princept’s throne.

The Branched: A post-human society of beings who have transformed their bodies into forms terrifying and spectacular and free—only to have the threat of war force them to rebuild themselves as soldiers first and foremost. After centuries of fighting a purely defensive war, the Branched have now begun to strike into the Principality’s territory. 

Bilateral Intercession: One of two factions vying for leadership of the Principality, comprised by Stels Kesh and Nideo, and lead by the so-called Peaceful Princept, Cynosure Whitestar-Kesh (he/him), who took control of the faction from the Curtain, a secretive intelligence organization with roots in Kesh’s ancient spy operations. The “Bilats” are a conservative and reactionary force, aiming to return the Principality to its roots both literally and figuratively. After a long campaign against the Pact of Free States, they managed to take control of Palisade. 

Stel Kesh: The oldest established power in the galaxy, built around a stuffy (and secretive) aristocracy. They are tied to the Past. History, knowledge, stubbornness.

Stel Nideo: Created the largest faith in the empire, and used that influence to shape (and surveil) mass culture. They are tied to the Present. Faith, coercion, stability.

The Pact of Free States: One of the two factions vying for leadership of the Principality, a joint operation by Stels Columnar and Apostolos. Led in name by the Glorious Princept, Dahlia (they/them), but operated in day-to-day matters by members of the original Pact of Necessary Venture, including Rye (he/him) and Gallica (she/her). Though they are reformist in some ways, their primary goal is greater autonomy for each Stel, freedom from the legal restraints, taxes, and oversights demanded by the Principality, with additional deregulation to follow downstream.

Stel Columnar: A reformist democracy, made up largely of synthetics on the cutting edge of technology, art, politics, and war. They are tied to the Future. Innovation, style, cowardice.

Stel Apostolos: A dynamic and diverse military powerhouse, whose dedication to self-expression is eclipsed only by their dedication to violence. They are tied to Motion. Speed, change, violence.

The Frontier Syndicate: A powerful conglomerate with a broad purview, including technology, heavy industry, entertainment, telecommunications, and transportation. Led by Exenceaster March (he/him), the Syndicate betrayed the Pact of Free States and joined the Bilats in order to be part of their colonization efforts on Palisade.

Stel Orion: An industrial giant that controls more literal space than any other Stel, yet is also the most fragmented, now facing regular internal strife between various corporate powers. Orion is currently the only Stel not involved directly in the galactic civil war, and thus free to operate across every star system. They are tied to Space. Wealth, labor, expansion.

Millennium Break: Dissidents, idealogues, rebels, and mercenaries who launched a revolution from Partizan, moon of Girandole. Today, they agree on much, and most of all, this: It is time for a new Millennium.

The New Asterism: What was once a schism between Received and Progressive Asterism has now been healed by the false prophet Gur Sevraq (he/they), or at least someone in his name and face. The New Asterism claims that to be a citizen of the Principality is to have an obligation to "better the world," in the sense that one invests in property or in the way that a settler “rehabilitates” or “improves” the places they claim by violence. 

The Twill: Though many groups have lived on the world of Palisade over the years, the Twill can trace their time on the world back the furthest. Though a first glance appraisal might make one think that their defining trait is the moss that covers much of their bodies and allows them to live on sunlight and water alone, in fact their most unshakable cultural trait is a practice of collaboration, aid, and acceptance. When groups like Advent, Kesh, the New Earth Hegemony, and the Divine Principality left Palisade behind, they often left behind the disaffected or unwanted. It was often, if not always, the Twill who helped these people find sustainable lives on the world, either by blending with the group over generations or through open exchange of goods and information.

The Devotees: A church from the Twilight Mirage that is committed to the worship of the divine Devotion, which they sometimes refer to as Fervor. Common practices include the regular checking of one’s pulse and multi-day group picnic outings.

People

Kalvin Brnine (they/them): Captain of the Blue Channel, former weapons technician and de facto leader of the Society of Banners and Bright Returns. Apostolosian born, Orion trained, committed to Millennium Break.

Thisbe (she/her): A large, humanoid labor robot whose design is based on the ancient Hypha people. Unearthed by farmers and traded between mercenary units, she eventually wound up working for the Society of Banners and Bright Returns and moved on to work with Millennium Break. 

The Figure in Bismuth (he/they): Once, the Figure was an ordinary, conservative history teacher who was fatally wounded in a conflict on Partizan. After being resurrected by the Witch in Glass, they have become a supernaturally gifted ace pilot. On loan to Millennium Break.

Phrygian (they/them): A Branched researcher who arrived on Partizan to investigate something called the True Divine. After being captured by the Pact, they were eventually freed by Millennium Break, which they joined up with. 

Coriolis Sunset (she/her): Devotee of Devotion and native of the Twilight Mirage, Cori seeks to defend the weak and spread the word of her blessed Divine.

Gucci Garantine (she/her): A defector from Stel Kesh, who used the remaining wealth and power of House Brightline to help found Millennium Break. Currently a key member of the resistance efforts on Palisade, and the commander of Millennium Break forces there.

Baldwin Home a.k.a Black Screen (he/him): A member of the Shale Belt's anti-Principality revolutionary group, the Concrete Front, which operates from the caves of Sinder Karst. Baldwin operates a pirate broadcast station under the psuedonym "BlackScreen," fitting since when his broadcasts take over an affected device, they not only blank out the screen, but render it impossibly black...  (No direct mention. Intro Narrator)

Places

The Diadem: A wide and deep scar dug into Palisade’s equator by the early Divine Principality. It promised to be a vast arcology that people could live and work in. Instead, it simply ruined the world.

The Shale Belt: A low, resource-filled mountain range in the north-central of Palisade. Home to the Concretists and their revolutionary Concrete Front, a secular and technologically-minded group with roots in the Twilight Mirage. They take their names from favorite artistic works and have blended their bodies with a special concrete (and some respiratory cybernetics) that aids in their breathing.

Greenfield: A central territory on Palisade taken over by the Frontier Syndicate. Previously, the fields and streams of this area were home to the Twill. 

Mysteries

The Fundament: In the depths of the world, further on even than the Diadem… there is the Fundament.

The Afflictions: A group of “monstrous” beings that haunt the dark corners of Palisade. 

Things

BAC Plough: Forged by the Blessed Armory of the Divine Consecration, the humanoid Plough has a statuesque build that it uses to wield heavy weapons, like a bulldozer-sized claw-scoop or a Heavy Arbalest designed to launch roped harpoons. The Plough’s primary purpose is to be Nideo’s frontline unit, but it is as valuable after a fight as it is in one. It is used in the destruction and replacement of “old” or “neglected” locations with new Nideo bases and settlements, and as such serves a propagandistic function by demonstrating that “soldier” and “settler” are two sides of the same coin.

EF Hauberk: Created by House Evenfall Altarworks, the Haubark is capable of deadly, unpredictable, and striking acts of violence. It is beyond “lanky,” with upper and torso extended, with extra joints and top-flight tensors for added flexibility. Its lower half, though, is an extremely thick tire, allowing it for rapid ingress and egress. It is both covered in and wields restraining chains infused with the nullifying magic used by Kesh, and is able to pin its foes down before finishing them off. Tier III. Approach: Mundane.

LMG Gueridon: Designed by the Lone Marble Group for use by Exanceaster March’s personal security operations, the Gueridon is a modern siege tower. It walks on four, elegant table-like legs, is protected by an Arcane energy dome above, and is operated from within a vast, circular a carriage compartment, with enchanted portholes that enhance the hand-held weapons of anyone firing from inside out. Also carries an infantry deployment pod. Tier II. Approach: Arcane

Chariot Mk. 2: Coriolis' Altar, commonly used among the Devotees. A humanoid mech with an angular frame, pointed shoulders and three rotating halos. The head is covered in eyes, and its body has purple lights running along it in the shape of a circulatory system. A cape hangs over the right arm of the mech and can be cast off when it begins combat. Approach: Divine

The Devil's Two Front Teeth: The Figure in Bismuth's Altar. A tall, angular machine whose posture is hunched down as if it is always ready to pounce. It was originally built without heatsinnks or vents, so the first time the Figure piloted this mech heat and energy exploded out of the frame and left the frame covered in pockmarks and jagged cavities. The most noticeable of these is a chunk missing from its "chin", giving it the appearance of a humanoid body missing its lower jaw with only two long, crooked teeth left in its mouth. As it flashes in and out of the battlefield, the heat and energy that escapes through these gashes sounds like a wailing wind. Tier III. Approach: Profane

Mow (he/him): A recovered Zenith-A Project Eudaimonia prototype model, further upgraded with Altar-class technology. The build of a gorilla, quadrupedal & topheavy, a saddle horn-like addition on the back, battered but lovingly maintained. Newly painted. Tier III. Approach: Mundane

The Blue Channel:The Blue Channel: Kalvin Brnine's corvette-class carrier. Upgraded with Kalmeria-era technology to enhance its basic functionality, along with other quality-of-life features. Tier V. Approach: Mundane.

Additional Notes

Notes on The Five Approaches by Eiden Teak

Okay, so more or less, it breaks down like this: There are five “approaches” to how Kalmeria is used. What’s Kalmeria? Well, the Kalmeria Revolution kind of bumped up everyone's power level and brought us back to the things were (supposedly) back in the Miraculous Millennium, before the Perennial Wave. “Hey, that’s not an answer to what Kalmeria is,” you might say? And to that, I say, shut up, no one really knows how it works. But here’s how people make it work (all approach names and sketches tentative):

The Null Approach, also called the Mundane Approach uses Kalmeria and the Perennial Wave’s natural technological negation attributes to basically nullify and reduce magical effects. Kesh is really keen on this, and so are a lot of us in Millennium Break. A lot of our blue collar folks, especially, like in the Oxblood Clan and Company of the Spade. Kesh weapons and Altars enhanced by the Mundane Approach seem to dampen the sound and light around them, swallowing the impact of incoming blows. 

The Arcane Approach blends Kalmeria with some of the older sources of power we’ve had for a while like our Chorus Bond, a Twilight Mirage resource called “Q-Glass,” Hyphan strati tech, or the Memoria which Columnar stole from us. In brief, it's very "device" oriented: For us, that means lots of staves, orbs, cybertomes, alchemical potions—classic conduits of power, yeah? For Columnar and the Frontier Syndicate, they often use independently moving, choreographed lots of bits, funnels, and drones—all of which produce with strange visual phenomena, like eye floaters and optical auras.

The Divine Approach uses Kalmeria as a medium for calling on the power of a Divine directly and immediately. Whether that’s from Nideo and the other Stels or from the Divines of the Mirage, it seems very paternalistic, but that’s just my view. It really just escalates the familiar way Divines blessed Hallows, extending it to their pilots. You know: Glowing skin; fiery auras. Living wings.  Both on the pilot & the mech. Nideo stuff looks statuesque and angelic. Mirage Divines are less humanoid by default, and seem to be more insectoid than normal. You can tell the difference between Nideo Divine magic and the Mirage’s use because the former always smells—units report a near endless list odors associated with Nidean Altars, including ash, incense, sugar, mint, sulfur.

The Profane Approach uses Kalmeria in a way similar to Motion did—which frankly, I don’t love— to even more easily create things out of the raw Perennial Wave: Gaseous particles cohering and then solidifying into forms. Damaged armor bursts into liquid, then gets reformed on the simple frame. Melee weapons change shape and dimension as needed. Ranged weapons need no ammo, as it’s generated by the Demiurge Engine. Used by lead companies of Stel Orion, who were allowed to salvage parts of Motion from the salvage field above Partizan since they weren't directly involved in our fight there. But also used by the Crown of Glass, whose witch has a direct relationship with Perennial. When Orion Altars are on the field, you might find yourself tasting blood or berries or something even stranger.

Finally, the Elemental Approach brings together Kalmeria and the capabilities of the Branched to blend the outside world with the inside person. For the Branched themselves, this has brought them in closer conscious/experiential contact with both nature and society—those that choose to tap into Kalmeria find that they literally feel the world more. The Apostolosians, meanwhile, have performed some truly dark research on the Branched, and have used the results to reshape themselves and their war machines directly—in some way, becoming more like their hated enemies the Branched, though they haven’t seemed to notice. The result is that they adopt parts of the environment as expressions of themselves in both their altars and their bodies: Summoning shields of ice, firing lightning or fire from their limbs, turning their flesh to stone, even calling storms into clear days—and when they do, nearby people ungrounded physical sensations: a finger down their back, an itch they cannot scratch, or something stuck in their eye.

Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker)

Featuring Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart) Sylvi Bullet (@sylvibullet), Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Art Martinez-Tebbel (@atebbel), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), Keith J Carberry (@keithjcarberry) and Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000)

Produced by Ali Acampora 

Music by Jack de Quidt (available on bandcamp)

Text by Austin Walker

Cover Art by by aurahack (aurahack.jp)

We are playing Armour Astir: Advent with additional playbooks from Strangers in the Night. If you enjoy the show, consider supporting the TTRPG. 

This episode was made with support from listeners like you! To support us, you can go to friendsatthetable.cash.

Hey everyone! Welcome to a uhmmm A BEEFY MP3!!! As a reward for our marathon live stream for the National Network of Abortion Funds, we said we'd record a podcast about William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (1996) and BOY DID WE! Enjoy approximately three hours and fourty five minutes of Austin, Ali, Art, Jack and Sylvi chatting about Forbidden Love! Kisses! Fashion! Pools!!! 

BUT BEFORE THAT, we have some announcements to make about our show and our patreon. 

FIRST AND FOREMOST, PALISADE IS STARTING ON MARCH 9TH!!!!!

WE ARE GOING TO BE DOING A DEBUT STREAM AT TWITCH.TV/FRIENDSATTHETABLE AT 8 PM ET!!!! COME HANG OUT AND BE EXCITED WITH US!!!! (The episode, of course, will also be in the feed at 8 PM!!)

Second, IF YOU'RE READING THIS (THANKS) ON MARCH 4TH OR 5TH, go check out twitch.tv/rollplusbond, support Trans Lifeline and hang out while they stream some great tabletop games!!!   

Third, we're finally making some adjustments to our patreon! We talk about it (AT LENGTH) in this episode, but here's all the changes laid out: 

$1 - Clapcast. The Clapcast remains unchanged and will continue to be a monthly 20 to 30 minute collection of outtakes and interstitials from various cast recordings. Banter! Jokes! Laughs!

$5 - Bluff City or equivalent produced and soundtracked actual play episode once a month. Rather than using this tier to promise more content than we can create, we're using it to focus on the best thing we make: Bluff City or a similar mini-campaign.   You might be thinking "But I love Bluff City! What other thing are they going to put here...??" Well, after Bluff City season 2 we're planning on doing a short campaign of Realis, a tabletop system designed by Jack de Quidt and Austin Walker. We will DEFINITELY be returning for a third season of Bluff City, but we're giving this tier a little wiggle room so if we hit any road bumps with creating Bluff City, the feed will still remain consistent month to month with a bonus episode of something very cool and polished.

$15 - Live at the Table sponsor + Developers ""Blog"". Instead of being apart of the $5 tier, Live at the Table is becoming a free semi-monthly Twitch stream and it is the patrons at this tier that make it possible. We’ll show our appreciation by putting their names on a crawl for our Live at the Table streams and for our Twitch episode rebroadcasts (Bluff City Season 01, rebroadcasting on our twitch SOON!) 

This tier will also give you access to a new (currently unnamed) podcast, a monthly developers blog/behind the scenes conversation with a few cast members about whatever we've been working on! The show will be a combination of the best of our Pusher content, the vibe of the Drawing Map streams, and our deeper Tips at the Table conversations. Rather than lock these sorts of conversations at the $50 tier OR try to share behind the scenes content across a bunch of different types of rewards, we'll have one episode a month that is more focused, more constinent, and more relevant to our current output.

$25 - Physical Rewards! Postcards! This is staying the same, our postcard catchup is happening this month and then full steam ahead on some great stuff already in production. Amazing artists, in-universe short fiction, these are amazing artifacts from our cool show.

Postcard fulfillments are continuing monthly and will remain monthly!! If you join on this tier in March, you will receive the first Palisade card in April! You will receive an email about fulfillment in the third week of April!! 

If you were supported this tier in Feburary and were charged on March 1st, you WILL get an email in the third week of March about fulfillment for your card (a very cool 6x4 version of our Palisade cover!)

If you've been supporting this tier in the past 18 months and have been like uhhhhh, what's going on,,, you should have received an email update about this last week! If you did not, PLEASE email friendsatthetable@gmail.com and we'll get it sorted!!

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Hey eveyrone!

This is not PALISADE 01, as I'm sure folks are hoping it will be. But the feed's been dry for a few weeks so I wanted to quickly hop on and say hello and give everybody an update.

See you in PALISADE!

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Secret Samol 2023

AMCA Plays Going Rogue with Jess Levine

This episode carries content warnings for distorted and layered vocals (00:30 - 01:10), discussion of workplace injuries, discussion of medical debt, and discussion of slavery and indentured servitude.

For three years, the Bilateral Intercession has held Palisade under blockade. The Pact of Free States holds just beyond Nideo space, waiting in the dark for an opportunity to strike. The Qui'Err Coalition's fleet hovers at the edge of the Mirage, a flock around the Brink. Millennium Break's strike force hides in the shadow of Palisade's moon, Travertine. 

Something must give. Someone must move. 

And that is when Perennial whispers into an ear she’s taken as her own, giving the Witch in Glass a new task and reminding her of an old law: Everything that has happened before will happen again. 

And so she moves. The Witch in Glass is fearless, and after all, she has two Divines on her side. The revivified corpse of Past and, of course, the Adversary herself. So she leads the Reflecting Pool (and its many attack wings) crashing through the blockade and driving Crystal Palace once more into the ground--albeit in a much more controlled way this time.

It is only hours days after making landfall that the Witch departs the city, joined by Emmeline, her attache, but leaving behind her most loyal supporters. She leaves behind two orders: First, that they must turn their wider landing zone into a city worthy of her rule before she returns. Second, that the city must carry the name which came to her as she browsed Past’s ruined archives one night, taken from a kingdom that once ruled vast expanses of the Quire desert: the Crown of Glass.

And with no further words, she wanders out into the wilderness–everything that has happened before will happen again–leaving behind only a group of the ship's de facto leaders to see to the new city's repairs and re-establishment.

This week on the Road to PALISADE: City Planning Department

Records Recovered from the Divine, Arbitrage

Factions

The Bilateral Intercession: This faction, made up primarily from Stel Nideo and Kesh assets, was formerly known as the Curtain. The rebranding comes as part of a “civil coup” performed by Cynosure Whitestar-Kesh. In a move that surprised no group more than the Curtain themselves, Cynosure spent years growing in confidence and power, until that intelligence organization could be once again reduced to a tool. Still defined by their traditionalism, they wield their control on culture, religion, and history as a weapon—and the extensive spy network for which they are named when those come up short.

The Pact of Free States: While the Bilateral Intercession’s name change reflects a shift in leadership and posture for the Curtain, the shift from “The Pact of Necessary Venture” to “The Pact of Free States” is simply the public acceptance of what was already widely understood to be true. Led in name by Dahlia, the Glorious Princept, and in day-to-day operation by senior members of Stels Apostolos and Columnar, the Pact paint themselves as liberal reformists whose aim is to increase the degree of autonomy in each of the Stels, such that they become in reality five separate nations.

Hypha & Ashen: The former were a culture of galactic nomads, guided by a paranatural force called the Strand which they could commune with using technological devices built into their antlers. The latter are their descendants, their routes broken by the Principality’s expansions and occupations, their culture ripped from them. 

The Branched: A post-human culture from the Golden Branch star sector who have transformed their bodies into spectacular forms, but who are now weighed down by an endless war with the Principality.

Persons

Apparatus Aperitif (they/them), Shunley Pernard (they/them), Antonina Juris (she/her), Plum Tort (he/him), and Kojack Variety (he/him): The leading council members of the Crown in Glass, the city built from the fallen ship the Reflecting Pool.

The Witch in Glass (she/her): A former scion of Kesh who, after knitting a bond with the adversary Perennial, came into control of the body of the Divine Past. Now scours the galaxy for the lost, injured, and unsure, recruiting them into her growing city-state. A shaky ally of Millennium Break. “Haunted” by an old foe.

Exanceaster March (he/him): Head of the vast Columnar multi-system conglomerate called the Frontier Syndicate, which is older than the Stel itself. While the Syndicate has its hands in many enterprises, the heart of it all is corralling and instrumentalizing data. One such effort, Exanceaster’s pet project the March Anecdatist Foundation, set its sights on Palisade as a testing ground.

Locations

The Bontive Valley: When the fledgling Divine Principality left Palisade—for reasons unknown by most—those few who refused to leave (unwilling to see themselves become part of a new empire) remained in quiet isolation, blessed by the gifts of the Divine Bounty. Where that Divine is now remains a mystery.

Miscellany

The Perennial Wave: Perennial is something like a god, or at least I think she imagines she is. Her wave is her arrogant whim, made manifest. Functionally infinite nano-particles, spread throughout the galaxy, hampering all technology except (curiously) Divines. 

Kalmeria Particle: A so-called miracle of modern science, providing those that master it power akin to what was wielded before the Perennial Wave. Like most miracles, there is an explanation, but most people have neither the knowledge of nor interest in what it really is or where it came from. Some know that it is named for the rogue engineer Kal’Mera Broun, but few know that it is the result not only of their research into the divine Asepsis, but also the particular consequences of Millennium Break’s battle with Motion and her siphoning of so-called “Autonomy Itself.” 

Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) 

Featuring Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart), Keith J Carberry (@keithjcarberry), and Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000)

Produced by Ali Acampora and Austin Walker

Music by Jack de Quidt (available on bandcamp)

Text by Austin Walker

Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot)

You can buy City Planning Department right here: https://kaelandm.itch.io/city-plannin...