In this installment of the Friendly Conversations about RPGs series, I am joined by Erik Schmidt of the Setting First YouTube Channel, Blog, and Discord (Links Below). Our topic for this discussion is the interplay of setting, character, and player perspective to help foster characters which feel believable and lead players toward play that feels natural and grounded in that setting. If you enjoy where this conversation goes and how it gets there, I encourage you to take a look at Erik’s channel and follow the link to the Setting First Discord (if Discord survives its own shenanigans).
As usual with this series, it also has a YouTube video version which is annotated extensively to share further detail, explanation, subtext, and context.
Recorded on January 28, 2026, this is a 1:1 conversation with Scott Welker, long-time gamer and successful game designer, and most importantly for this video: 30 years of experience in the Navy working his way up to the top of the Enlisted ranks. With titles based in Savage Worlds, D20, Year Zero, and soon a system of his own making. Scott is one half of @ThievesGuildGamingOfficial. Our conversation is an examination of concerns with representing rank and social differences in RPGs, things to consider when making them a part of play, perspectives to view rank from, and some suggestions for making it seem real enough to satisfy the needs of your group. Scott has written a game for Savage Worlds called Task Force Raven which puts the players in the roles of Tier 1 Operators and that plays its own role in our discussion. We do not discuss his Year Zero cyberpunk release, Neon Blood, but it too has fertile ground for including this sort of play. Neon Blood can be found here in an OSR version, and here for its YZE version.
NOTE: This episode has two appendices dryly sharing the details, key points, and observations which my videos put onscreen. If you prefer to get these in their original context and for a shorter run-time, you can watch the full conversation, with its load of onscreen annotations, notes, and links on YouTube:
Thieves Guild Games on DTRPG, has a public beta of their new OPENSIX system and are looking for feedback. As a system, it is directly relevant to this discussion. The game is currently PWYW and can be found here:
Casting Shadows Podcast 