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um excuse me
Jan 1, 2016

by Fluffdaddy
It comes across as a very niche market who game who don't know poo poo about computers. But maybe I'm just too old.

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docbeard
Jul 19, 2011

I'm at the tail end of a relisten to Campaign 1, and the day I was able to switch fully back to the ad-free Patreon feed was a very good day.

Beef Jerky Robot
Sep 20, 2009

"And the DICK?"

docbeard posted:

I'm at the tail end of a relisten to Campaign 1, and the day I was able to switch fully back to the ad-free Patreon feed was a very good day.

I’m 23 eps into a relisten and I’m dying to get to the Patreon feed

Pennsylvanian
May 23, 2010

Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky Independent Presidential Regiment
Western Liberal Democracy or Death!

thecluckmeme posted:

Emily will 100% pull from the deck if it comes up again. I think they simulated pulling from it during the Greed layer of hell post-episode and it was something like a whole extra gained level and some other crazy benefit, she pulled twice.

My money is on Fia drawing the one that traps you in a stone thats teleported to another plane

I can't talk about the Deck without thinking about Dungeons and Daddies. If you're not worried about spoilers, in that cast: There's a recent episode where the DM pulls a crazy, but still not cheap trick on the players by having an NPC fool them into pulling between them like a dozen cards from the deck of many things. One of the players who pulled something like five cards instantly got a level boost, followed by a card that would give him another level-up after his next battle (so he immediately picked a fight with a nearby squirrel), followed by being gifted a mechanical crab tank, followed by the card that forces you into a duel with the Grim Reaper, followed by a card that locked him into a pod and shot him to a random spot in the world with said Grim Reaper chasing him across the landscape. It was the rowdiest podcast episode I've ever listened to, and it puts a lot of those "lol we're so chaotic" Actual Plays to shame.

Crazyeyes
Nov 5, 2009

If I were human, I believe my response would be: 'go to hell'.

Pennsylvanian posted:

I can't talk about the Deck without thinking about Dungeons and Daddies. If you're not worried about spoilers, in that cast: There's a recent episode where the DM pulls a crazy, but still not cheap trick on the players by having an NPC fool them into pulling between them like a dozen cards from the deck of many things. One of the players who pulled something like five cards instantly got a level boost, followed by a card that would give him another level-up after his next battle (so he immediately picked a fight with a nearby squirrel), followed by being gifted a mechanical crab tank, followed by the card that forces you into a duel with the Grim Reaper, followed by a card that locked him into a pod and shot him to a random spot in the world with said Grim Reaper chasing him across the landscape. It was the rowdiest podcast episode I've ever listened to, and it puts a lot of those "lol we're so chaotic" Actual Plays to shame.

Dungeons and Daddies is extremely good and absolutely insane.

eke out
Feb 24, 2013



Pennsylvanian posted:

I can't talk about the Deck without thinking about Dungeons and Daddies. If you're not worried about spoilers, in that cast: There's a recent episode where the DM pulls a crazy, but still not cheap trick on the players by having an NPC fool them into pulling between them like a dozen cards from the deck of many things. One of the players who pulled something like five cards instantly got a level boost, followed by a card that would give him another level-up after his next battle (so he immediately picked a fight with a nearby squirrel), followed by being gifted a mechanical crab tank, followed by the card that forces you into a duel with the Grim Reaper, followed by a card that locked him into a pod and shot him to a random spot in the world with said Grim Reaper chasing him across the landscape. It was the rowdiest podcast episode I've ever listened to, and it puts a lot of those "lol we're so chaotic" Actual Plays to shame.

the part where they're very seriously pleading with ron's sentient moustache to do the right thing for like, ten minutes, which he thoughtfully acknowledges then immediately betrays them, followed by scam likely having his alignment reversed, is one of the most incredible rollercoaster rides

Pennsylvanian
May 23, 2010

Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky Independent Presidential Regiment
Western Liberal Democracy or Death!

eke out posted:

the part where they're very seriously pleading with ron's sentient moustache to do the right thing for like, ten minutes, which he thoughtfully acknowledges then immediately betrays them, followed by scam likely having his alignment reversed, is one of the most incredible rollercoaster rides

I flicked on a random episode while I was doing the dishes last night, and ended up on the one where they escape the BBEG and end up at a "level one-rear end" D&D Tavern.

Bip Roberts
Mar 29, 2005
Jabari is a great character, just an absolute powerhouse of amorality to force the the plot wildly forward.

tsob
Sep 26, 2006

Chalalala~
I've been dithering on making an effort post the last two weeks or so about my feelings on "Pirates of Leviathan", "Escape from the Bloodkeep" and now "A Crown of Candy" having gotten several episodes in to it, along with the new mini-campaign in NaDDPod proper but there's so much I want to say and I'm too lazy to type it up most of the time. However, having just gotten to the start of episode 8 of "A Crown of Candy" I just want to say: "Holy poo poo Ally!". They had a loving round! Like, I don't know how much exposure [spoiler for episode 8 of "A Crown of Candy";including major character status spoilers]Ally has had to DnD before this but I don't imagine they had played much because they mostly bumbled along pulling their weight but without adding anything major to any encounter and seeming to need a little prompting from Murph and Emily about their go each round. Then this episode they changed their sub-class after the death of their familiar last episode and they busted out a loving round; an exact plan with intimate knowledge of the sub-class that did major damage and took out one of the bigger enemies immediately before doing some cool non-combat stuff to boot, and you could see even Brennan was just sitting there thinking "where the gently caress did this come from?".

tsob fucked around with this message at 04:01 on Jan 19, 2021

eke out
Feb 24, 2013



Bip Roberts posted:

Jabari is a great character, just an absolute powerhouse of amorality to force the the plot wildly forward.

lou really is playing him perfectly, i have nothing but respect for jabari's cheerful amoral bloodlust

theCalamity
Oct 23, 2010

Cry Havoc and let slip the Hogs of War
I am delighted every time I hear Lou say "Jabari and his friends"

eke out
Feb 24, 2013



Corbeau: "We gotta go back to the old ways. The Hexblood ways. We gotta---"
Jabari: "YAAAAAAAAH!!!! YES CORBEAU, YES!"

tsob
Sep 26, 2006

Chalalala~

eke out posted:

lou really is playing him perfectly, i have nothing but respect for jabari's cheerful amoral bloodlust

The best part of an already very good episode was realizing during the info dump at the end that there was no way in hell that they were going to be able to wrap up all the threads Murph was setting up in one or two episodes. Which Murph himself all but confirmed during the episode, by having his character tell the players "if you go after the boss, you're hosed so you need to go through the lieutenants first and build up to the boss/Mom. Then actually confirmed during the Short Rest. I imagine they're setting up a long term thing so Caldwell can take a break every now and then as and when he needs, but either way, I'm down for more of this because I love the HexBuds. That said, hearing all the characters build up this elaborate scene of how they'd killed the Mad Mage before with really cinematic details before bitching about how it meant nothing, and then grumbling like teeens about having to kill their mom again was amazing.

One thing I'm kind of hoping for is Lou playing Jabari as a guest during the main quest, which, regardless of when this takes place (I think it's set a few decades before the main quest) this latest episode gives the set up for, because Jabari can just chill in a glade for a few decades, working out like crazy or something. I did find it interesting Murph laid out that resurrection isn't a thing in Eldermourne too. Necromancy is, but not actual resurrection. I think the characters the cast have set up are probably going to be complete enough it shouldn't be a huge issue for them once they get decently powerful but it does add that extra spice to know resurrection is off the table even at the point that spell would normally be available.

Also, somewhat related, anyone with an active Dropout subscription should check out this week's episode of Game Changer. It continues the now seasonal game between Brennan Lee Mulligan, Josh Ruben and Zac Oyama where they get a weird audio cue ("A jellyfish has The Talk with his son", "A cat spitting up the Anti-Christ" etc) and have to play it out on the spot, and really plays to the show's strengths given it's all done by a bunch of improvisational comedians. The show picks up where the last left off, including the scores, only Zac isn't available, so they got in a special guest: Michael Winslow; he of Police Academy fame, the guy who can imitate basically any sound. Which, when Sam mentioned that they were getting in a guest that was famous for noises was my first thought, but still not who I was actually expecting them to have. The same way the cast lost their poo poo when Sam brought Giancarlo Esposito on as a control, they lose their poo poo when they realize who they have to compete with. You can see the rest of the cast just sitting there in awe at some of the sounds he makes too.

tsob fucked around with this message at 21:36 on Jan 23, 2021

Instant Jellyfish
Jul 3, 2007

Actually not a fish.



Lou can stay on NADDPOD as long as he wants imo, he meshes so well with the cast and his character is fantastic.

Ainsley McTree
Feb 19, 2004


Hopefully they can get Ally on soon and the Dimension 20 circle can be complete

eke out
Feb 24, 2013



Instant Jellyfish posted:

Lou can stay on NADDPOD as long as he wants imo, he meshes so well with the cast and his character is fantastic.

It really is crazy how well both the launch of season 2 and then the rapid pivot to a second set of characters has gone for this show. Not everyone can recreate the magic of their initial popular campaign and so far there's no sign at all of a sophomore slump.

King Crab
Nov 12, 2005

lets pretend i didnt say that and lets als0 pretend it isnt inevitable
Pretty sure the side campaign is running parallel with the main one as the ashes they use in the blood ritual are of Zerk's mentor.

eke out
Feb 24, 2013



King Crab posted:

Pretty sure the side campaign is running parallel with the main one as the ashes they use in the blood ritual are of Zerk's mentor.

yeah definitely this

it is a bit of a shame we don't get Zerk having to face the ghosthead evil version of his mentor, but there's plenty of room for the blade witch to become a big antagonist

Ainsley McTree
Feb 19, 2004


I'm behind on the podcast again, but I listened to the most recent d&d court and i dunno if it's zoom (or discord or whatever they're using) glitching or what but it absolutely sounded like murph said "dragging you to the sex room" instead of "next room"

i'm so glad lou called that out because if he hadn't i would have thought murph accidentally outed himself as a pervert or something, it would be extremely out of character

Bip Roberts
Mar 29, 2005
It was 100% sex room.

Hraathgar
Jan 21, 2016
All rooms are sex rooms, if you are not a coward.

Farg
Nov 19, 2013
#sexroom #strongcaldwell

Pennsylvanian
May 23, 2010

Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky Independent Presidential Regiment
Western Liberal Democracy or Death!
I really like this side-cast they're doing. It's becoming rare that popular Actual Plays let their characters throw themselves into this much danger just for the sake of goofs.

Crazyeyes posted:

Dungeons and Daddies is extremely good and absolutely insane.

Instead of constantly de-railing other threads, I finally made one for the DADDPOD: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3957299

Sankara
Jul 18, 2008


eke out posted:

It really is crazy how well both the launch of season 2 and then the rapid pivot to a second set of characters has gone for this show. Not everyone can recreate the magic of their initial popular campaign and so far there's no sign at all of a sophomore slump.

I still like season 1 a lot more, but obviously there isn't nearly the same amount of build-up so that's unfair. I am quite enjoying it so far, though!

sexpig by night
Sep 8, 2011

by Azathoth
yea if I for some insane reason had to pick one I think season 1 is still my favorite, but that's an unfair comparison right now, and season 2 (and the intermission stuff) has been excellent too so really it's just the difference between an A and an A+.

Gaius Marius
Oct 9, 2012

I'm loving lou, but them having to take off so many episodes for the holidays and for caldwell's son's birth has kinda killed a bit of the momentum for me. Hopefully once we get to the second arc it'll be a bit more smooth sailing.

Ainsley McTree
Feb 19, 2004


I'm glad Caldwell's back but I also miss Lou. Bring him back as a permanent member please, and also Zac. I know that's too many people for a smooth D&D podcast but do it anyway

tsob
Sep 26, 2006

Chalalala~
Is it? 5 people seems to be about average for group size in D'n'D liveplay things from my experience.

Ainsley McTree
Feb 19, 2004


tsob posted:

Is it? 5 people seems to be about average for group size in D'n'D liveplay things from my experience.

Now that you mention it, dimension 20 has six so I guess it's not too many. I am kind of enjoying how combat zips along with a small party though.

sexpig by night
Sep 8, 2011

by Azathoth
yea there's pros and cons. As a GM myself I'd consider 5 to be my soft limit, maybe 6 in a more roleplay focused game (notice how a lot of times on D20 they have a format of 'roleplay episode, encounter begins, see you next week, entire next episode is combat'. They do it well, but that's a pretty good gauge how long a D&D style combat can take with six players going hog wild on a threat big enough to challenge six players). It'd be a very different game with more people permanently, not a worse game or better one inherently, but a different one.

Beef Jerky Robot
Sep 20, 2009

"And the DICK?"

I didn’t notice the SA reference in ep 53 the first listen through

Gaius Marius
Oct 9, 2012

I really hope Murphs got something up his sleeve as a twist, as cool as Elderborne seems I'm not wiled about it having another theocrat as the big bad.

Lou's absolutely killing it though, dudes rocketed straight to number two guest right below Mavris. Motherfucker took his dude and rolled with it straight to greatness

Quote
Feb 2, 2005

Gaius Marius posted:

I really hope Murphs got something up his sleeve as a twist, as cool as Elderborne seems I'm not wiled about it having another theocrat as the big bad.

Lou's absolutely killing it though, dudes rocketed straight to number two guest right below Mavris. Motherfucker took his dude and rolled with it straight to greatness

Lou rules and I hope Jabari survives to meet with the normal Eldermourne cast. What a treasure. I feel Jabari in my bones. Fully realized out of the gate.

Gaius Marius
Oct 9, 2012

I'm kind of scared for the other two though, it would be weird for Emily and Jake to be playing two people, so I'm worried they're gonna bite it and Jabari's gonna be a guest with the main crew. Although that'd be dope as hell.

Pennsylvanian
May 23, 2010

Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky Independent Presidential Regiment
Western Liberal Democracy or Death!

Gaius Marius posted:

I really hope Murphs got something up his sleeve as a twist, as cool as Elderborne seems I'm not wiled about it having another theocrat as the big bad.

Lou's absolutely killing it though, dudes rocketed straight to number two guest right below Mavris. Motherfucker took his dude and rolled with it straight to greatness

Yugo is still my favorite guest.

seaborgium
Aug 1, 2002

"Nothing a shitload of bleach won't fix"




Gaius Marius posted:

I'm kind of scared for the other two though, it would be weird for Emily and Jake to be playing two people, so I'm worried they're gonna bite it and Jabari's gonna be a guest with the main crew. Although that'd be dope as hell.

I think it's set up far enough away, and they're all old Hexbloods that by the time the main crew got to them they could just die of old age. Or have some other mission to run off on, or they're guest stars on the show they do at that crazy bar out in Virginia or wherever. I'm sure they have it planned out enough in advance.

Ainsley McTree
Feb 19, 2004


Quote posted:

Lou rules and I hope Jabari survives to meet with the normal Eldermourne cast. What a treasure. I feel Jabari in my bones. Fully realized out of the gate.

I'm still a few eps behind but super agreed, Jabari is a series of Strong Choices that were made early and committed to, he's great.

I think murph said in either one of the short rests or maybe in the post-game chatter of one of the mainstream episodes, that he's absolutely planning to bring these characters back into the main campaign at some point, so I'm looking forward to see how that goes. Although yeah, it'd be a logistical puzzle to figure out what to do with Emily and Jake's characters, I guess they could just talk to themselves? Or maybe Fia and Henry will just take a conveniently-timed long rest

tsob
Sep 26, 2006

Chalalala~

Gaius Marius posted:

I really hope Murphs got something up his sleeve as a twist, as cool as Elderborne seems I'm not wiled about it having another theocrat as the big bad.

I doubt the big bad of the main campaign is going to be a theocrat, just because the established theocracy being the way the setting works seems pretty cut and dry, and it doesn't seem like just raising your level high enough will make you equivalent to the big G Gods of Eldermourne. Bahumia had a much more classical D'n'D setting where gods rose and fell, where various gods were outright killed and their power taken by mortals to become gods themselves and so on, but Eldermourne is just the conflict between 3 Gods with a much tighter focus, and whose struggle is played out by mortals rather than mortals rising up at any point to become part of it. The Gods in Eldermourne don't even generally want or care about obeisance, and it's mortals are just pawns to them; even powerful ones.

Gaius Marius posted:

I'm kind of scared for the other two though, it would be weird for Emily and Jake to be playing two people, so I'm worried they're gonna bite it and Jabari's gonna be a guest with the main crew. Although that'd be dope as hell.

Maybe there's something I'm missing here, but during the Kickstartr campaign for Critical Role there was a good bit of discussion about how difficult it'd be for the cast of that show to organize the reward of a one off meeting of the heroes from both campaigns they did (Vox Machina & the Mighty Nein) and I don't really get why. Isn't that basically what DMs like Murph/Matt do all the time? Switching between established characters, having conversations with themselves and keeping the various personalities/stats straight while doing so? The characters a DM inhabits aren't as strong or established in general, but even in campaign one, Balnor was really fleshed out after a while, and Murph was constantly switching between Balnor and a major supporting character for the arc, or villain for instance. How is it something so expected and mundane for a DM, but everyone always acts like it's implausible to expect it out of players?

seaborgium
Aug 1, 2002

"Nothing a shitload of bleach won't fix"




tsob posted:


Maybe there's something I'm missing here, but during the Kickstartr campaign for Critical Role there was a good bit of discussion about how difficult it'd be for the cast of that show to organize the reward of a one off meeting of the heroes from both campaigns they did (Vox Machina & the Mighty Nein) and I don't really get why. Isn't that basically what DMs like Murph/Matt do all the time? Switching between established characters, having conversations with themselves and keeping the various personalities/stats straight while doing so? The characters a DM inhabits aren't as strong or established in general, but even in campaign one, Balnor was really fleshed out after a while, and Murph was constantly switching between Balnor and a major supporting character for the arc, or villain for instance. How is it something so expected and mundane for a DM, but everyone always acts like it's implausible to expect it out of players?

A one-off is one thing, you can just refresh yourself on your old character and keep going. You're not dealing with two separate and possibly conflicting sets of character goals. If it's a long term thing, though, it's like playing chess with yourself. It's hard to keep strategies or characters separate. Even the best players would start to blend the two a little, and it might be hard to keep their goals separate from each other.

I don't think it's going to happen though, they'll find some reason to move them off to the rear end end of nowhere or something, so they can meet but won't be working together.

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tsob
Sep 26, 2006

Chalalala~
I'm still not really seeing the difference between Murph handling Balnor along with pretty much everyone else, including one or two fairly well defined villains or supporting characters pretty much every arc, and a player having it to do it with two characters for maybe a handful of episodes at most. It's also not like they would have to refresh themselves on the characters in this case, since both characters are going to be relatively fresh unless Murph waits a year or two to have them meet and there are no Hexbud episodes in the meantime.

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