Trials & Trebuchets Luke Darling

Casual fun

If you're looking for a fun casual D&D podcast then I can highly recommend Trials & Trebuchets. It's very funny, very exciting and has moments that make me tear up just thinking about them.

Trials & Trebuchets cannot be summarized in a single word, but if I was forced to I would use the word 'fun'. I don't have much to compare it to, as this is the first D&D podcast I follow, and I only watched a bit of Critical Role. I found the latter to be quite intmidating. The episodes are very long, meaning it's hard to keep up, and the players and DM are all professionals. And I'm sure it's a great story with wonderful characters and amazing voice acting, and I can definitely understand its popularity, but if you prefer something more casual like me than Trials & Trebuchets is there for you to fill that role. In the end D&D is about a bunch of friends coming together to build a story and to have fun, and this podcast encapsulates that really well.

The campaign is set on a magic school. If you think this is some Harry Potter roleplay then stop right there, because "magic school" is as far as that comparison goes. What's great about this setting is that instead of an epic quest where they move from town to town they are on campus most of the time. This allows for many great things, like NPCs that return regularly who we get to know really well. There are many things about the school itself that the players get to discover like secret rooms, and most importantly the main plot itself. Don't worry if you think that'll get boring. The characters also go on long excursions and visit friends, so they won't be at school all the time.

It definitely takes some episodes for the podcast to get good, but once they arrive in the Plane of Isathil it really starts to take shape, From there on my favorite episodes are all over the place. In other words: The show was good early on and is still very good.

Being an audio podcast they can do a lot of editing to improve the show without it being obvious that it was edited. I'm sure there are many long pauses and technical difficulties that are edited out, but considering that possibility to edit, it's surprising what they sometimes leave in. The DM taking their time to check their notes, a player misunderstanding the current situation or forgetting how a spell works. Keeping those moments in adds to the casual vibe of the show.

The show consists of four characters diverse characters, each having their own strengths.

Winsler, played by Ben, is a mischievous gnome wizard who comes up with the silliest plans to achieve his goals by using his spells in unexpected ways. When Winsler says "I have a plan" you know the next 5 minutes are going to be hilarious, regardless of him succeeding or not. Still, there is some innocence to the character, as he is just a poor boy coming from a farm, who still has lots to learn about the world. He is curious, and if not protected by his friends (or when they fail trying) he might make some bad decisions, but you can't really blame him for it.

Integrity, played by Kharla, is a chaotic thiefling rogue who is unpredictable and doesn't understand social cues. She's not very smart, will say whatever comes to her mind, and does things like walking on her hands occasionally. This makes her a joyful character with very funny dialogues. Especially at the start of the show it's often hard to say if Integrity's silly actions are thought out by Kharla, or if Kharla herself is being silly, which is funny to think about.

Mira, played by Sarah, is a sweet and dorky half-elf bard with lots of energy in her that often spurts out during funny awkward dialogue. She's a nice and curious girl, and even though she doesn't get the best grades she comes up with brilliant ideas that would never have thought off (thought to be honest that's probably more Sarah than Mira). She talks a lot, and uses that effectivly to reach her goals.

Serinepth, played by Sam, is a calm and kind human sorcerer. When she was introduced (some episodes after the start of the show) I wasn't fond of her. You've got these three fun characters and then there's Serinepth who's more serious, and I wasn't sure if she would fit in the group. I was wrong. What Serinepth brings to the show is a more serious tone, allowing for very beautiful and genuine moments. Not to say that the other characters don't have those moments, and Serinepth can also be funny, but these are their strengths. I am confident that I would not like this show as much as I do now if Serinepth wasn't there.

And then there is the DM, named Luke, who is amazing at what he does. Now again, I don't have much to compare this show to, so I might be saying things that every DM does, but what I really like about Luke is how he describes things in a very detailed manner. If there is some magic smoke, Luke won't simply state that there is magic smoke. He will describe the shape of the smoke, what it feels like when they touch it and perhaps the smell. Details that might never be brought up again and don't influence the story at all, but that add to the world building and makes it easier to immerse yourself in that place. Don't expect amazing voice acting, but be prepared to laugh when he voices some crazy characters. He prepares everything really well, and if his players manage to surprise him he is able to recover from that very quickly. He is not afraid to let the players do whatever they want, but he won't go easy on them if they make dumb decisions (most of the time). Their characters will pay the price. In the end Luke has only one goal and that is to make the show fun. If things tend to go different from what he intended, but it would make the show more enjoyable, he will embrace that path.

So, would I recommend this show? Absolutely.