Full Disclosure:
I am friends with 3 of the people involved with this podcast.
Facts:
- I don’t particularly like mystery, suspense, or horror.
- The thought of listening to someone else doing roll playing sounds only slightly more exciting than watching golf… and only a a bit more fun than going to the dentist… To me, roll playing has always been a participatory activity, not something watched from the sidelines.
- I didn’t want to disappoint my friends by listening to their podcast and either telling them I didn’t like it, or trying hard to come up with ways to avoid talking with them about it.
- I have a huge list of things I need to listen to already, so adding another to that list seemed pointless.
This is why it took me about 2 years to finally break down and listen to my first episode of this podcast. Even so, I probably wouldn’t have been willing to waste my time on something so unappealing. However, so many of my friends had been super enthusiastic about this podcast and I had heard enough from them to find out that the campaign wasn’t really a horror theme, nor was it the type of suspense I don’t like, nor was it one of the types of mystery that I don’t care for. In addition, because my husband has been listening for over a year, sometimes I would end up overhearing short bits of the show. Finally I had heard enough to entice me into giving this podcast a try.
My first impression was that the acting and the storytelling was catchy and well presented. I know that the 3 friends who are involved in this podcast are all actors, but this is a very different style than I have seen/heard them do before. (I just finished the 3rd season and, every time I stop to think about it I still find myself super impressed by the acting talent all 3 display here.) Each season the acting (for all of the players) gets much better as the players grow to understand their characters more and more.
My next impression was that I was the editing is extremely well done. Most of the random gaming chatter was removed so the listener can really enjoy the storyline without being distracted by the gaming mechanics or the irrelevant interactions between players. At the same time, just enough of the gaming mechanics is left in that the listener is often caught on the edge of their seat in anticipation of the next dice roll, and how that roll will affect both the characters and the story line. (I honestly didn’t believe it was possible to take an RPG campaign and make it into a show that wasn’t irritating. I truly never expected it to be possible to turn one into a show that could hold my attention enough that I find myself looking for excuses to find time to listen to it, more-or-less be so well done that I can hardly force myself to pause the show, ever!)
Finally, I have to say that I’m extremely impressed by the GMs. Both are excellent storytellers, excellent actors, and have done a great job putting together the different storylines. I’m truly in awe over your skills and talent.
So far I’ve only had 2 complaints…
The first complaint has already been dealt with. That was the problems with the sound quality, from the first season, caused by the sounds that each of the brands of microphones that each of the players were using. (Note that most of the early seasons were played through Skype or Zoom or equivalent, with each player recording their own parts which were later reassembled and edited into the polished podcast made available to the public.) By the third season the team had gained enough donations, from enthusiast listeners, to be able to replace the problematic microphones. This meant that listeners were no longer distracted from the storyline by the sound of the different microphones.
My second complaint is something I will have to live with. Rowen, I NEED your dice rolling carma!!! (Not that I’m willing to trade it for my parking carma, but Dang Girl!
Overall I would like to say, thank you, to everyone who has worked to put this excellent podcast together and shared it with the world. You are producing a show that rivals the best entertainment available. Thank you!
