146 episodes
Dungeons + Drama Nerds Dungeons + Drama Nerds
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- Leisure
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5.0 • 15 Ratings
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Dungeons + Drama Nerds is a podcast produced by Todd Brian Backus, Percy Hornak, and Nicholas Orvis, three dramaturgs interested in the intersection of theatre and tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGS). Episodes release weekly alternating between Actual Play and Commentary episodes investigating a certain TTRPG system. Season 2 will feature: Blades in the Dark, Bluebeard’s Bride, Kids on Bikes, Oh Dang! Bigfoot Stole My Car With My Best Friend’s Birthday Present Inside!, and Lancer. Season 1 featured: Dungeons & Dragons (Eps 1-13), Apocalypse World (Eps 14-33), and Paranoia (Eps 34-46).
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Dark Time: Collaborative Worldbuilding in Theatre and TTRPGs
In the first episode of our new Dark Time series between actual-play campaigns, Nick, Percy, and ensemble member Leo Mock talk collaborative worldbuilding in TTRPGs and devising, focusing on a definition of worldbuilding as the tangible ways we shape the spaces in which we’re making theatre or playing games together. They discuss what works about effective systems of collaborative worldbuilding, what actually makes them collaborative, and how power can inhere in collaborative processes in a way that undermines their original intentions.
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Dark Time: Everyone in Barovia is Usually Sad, or, Location-Based Horror
Our Dark Time series continues with this conversation between Percy and ensemble member C ”Meaks” Meaker about the role of location in horror storytelling. They look at two plays and two TTRPG games/settings to examine the importance of specificity about location in how we make art in the horror genre, with a focus on the way anxiety, metaphor, and history are concretized in a story’s setting.
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Powered By Lesbians
Todd, Nick, and Percy are joined by Ben Ferber to talk through the rules of Thirsty Sword Lesbians by April Kit Walsh, published by Evil Hat Productions and Gay Spaceship Games, and chat about what they’re most excited about in our upcoming game!
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The F-Boy Island of Actual Play Podcasting
Join our crew of Thirsty Sword Lesbians as they create characters and do some shared worldbuilding, and learn more about Gay Master Tess Huth’s mission to create the F-Boy Island of actual-play podcasts!
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Very Fraught and Very Steamy: Queerness in Theater and Games
Todd, Nick, and Percy are joined by Romana Isabella to look at queer theater in relation to queer games and how ”queer” can manifest differently in each medium. Topics include queer historiography, Oscar Wilde, Charles Ludlam, Ms. Blakk for President, and how much Willy Loman sucks.
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Thank You, Fellow Law Abiding Citizen
We join our crew of thirsty sword lesbians at a funeral in the Untamed, where they celebrate with dancing, dueling, and, uh ... megafauna?
Customer Reviews
For anyone who loves collaborative storytelling
A full-hearted, immensely thoughtful, and incredibly entertaining look at all the opportunities, pitfalls and ideas put on the table by both role-playing games and theatre. The creators talk shop about both fields throughout, but never in a way that’s prohibitive for folks who don’t know, and they pull together casts and storytellers that bring out the best of the various game systems they try. As a theatre maker and a gamer, I’ve found this a really invaluable way to dip a toe into all sorts of techniques and systems I haven’t gotten the chance to try, and the intentionality with which the show approaches everything they do is really refreshing in a landscape where too many actual-play shows tend to coast off their charm and scrappiness. Well worth a look from anybody who wants to learn and play more within both theatre and gaming spaces, and see the ways they can draw on one another.
“Put ghosts in your stories, coward!”
These nerds put on some good games. Their expertise of theatre, and how to play together while weaving interesting (and fun!) stories shines through each episode. If you’re looking for a good campaign that engages you while not being dire, definitely try D
My best friend did science on me…
And told me to listen to this podcast, and wow am I glad I did! Todd, Percy, and Nick give such excellent thought nuggets for any theatre maker/ttrpg gamer to consider and bring to their respective spaces. I thoroughly enjoy the format of actual play and commentary. It allows the listener to contextualize the game play and want more as the stories develop. Still in the early episodes, but I am loving it!