Protean City Comics SHR Network

I love listening to podcasts. I love actual play stuff. I love, love, love masks. But I’m really picky. When my sister recommended Protean City to me, I was skeptical; I’d tried other things before, and it just didn’t click. Maybe it was too long. Maybe the players weren’t dynamic enough. Maybe I got bored, or didn’t feel anything at all. It didn’t matter why, though, the problem was that before PCC, I’d only ever been able to really get into one actual play podcast. Enter, Protean City Comics.

I listened to the first few episodes, the world building, the character clips, in my family kitchen on the fourth of July as I made cherry pie from scratch. As I listened to the creation of Falcon’s acronym, I pitted cherries. As I fell in love with Alina, and Sage, and Puck, I rolled out the crust. The pie went into the oven, and I fell in love with Protean City and her heroes.

Less than twenty days later, I’d gone through ten volumes. By twenty days, I’d go through thirteen. I was devouring the podcast, binging it like I never had before with anything. I wanted to know it all. I wanted to feel it all. I wanted to hear every single moment and I wanted it immediately. It was a hunger; it was a need.

I’ve never wanted to create for a podcast before. With Protean City, I find myself doodling characters, dreaming stories, thinking of little everyday things. I pester friends into listening; I needle my sister to listen faster so I can talk to her about it all. I’ve smiled, I’ve laughed, I’ve loved, and I’ve cried for PCC. I feel for it.

I can’t recommend PCC enough. It means the world to me. And, if you’ve made it this far into the review, I have no doubt that it’ll mean the world to you.

I swore up and down that I wouldn’t like Actual Plays for far too long. But I was definitely wrong and this is the podcast that kicked it all off for me. Brandon, James, and the crew created such spectacular and fully fleshed characters (favorite PCs include John/Puck and Alina/Arcana and favorite NPCs include (all of them) Fracture and Dewey) and embody brilliant and hysterical and heartbreaking stories and I’m just so happy to engage with their world.

This actual play is so charming. The MC’s, the cast, and the comic book homages are all perfect for the genre. So well thought out and executed. I have 0 complaints about this very quality show. Anyone even vaguely interested should give it a listen.