So here’s the situation: My last bout of COVID caused significant damage to my vocal chords, which has forced me to make the hard decision to retire my solo Actual-Play podcast, “The Worst Actual-Play Podcast Ever!”. I have it completed through the end of 2024, but had planned to do one more season in 2025. Unfortunately, my voice just can’t take the punishment that doing a solo actual-play puts upon it, what with my other podcasting project (“Loot Mechanics”), as well as my normal day job also causing stress to them.
But, I still want to enjoy tabletop roleplaying, and record those sessions for an actual-play podcast. I just don’t want to be the only voice filling the void therein, and so, I need a group. Yes, I know we tried that once before, and it failed in rather spectacular fashion, but I think I can make something of this fashion work this time.
First of all, that was our first attempt to create an actual-play podcast for everyone involved, and we had some members who weren’t really dedicated to the success of the show. That caused friction, and led to the inevitable downfall of the podcast. I feel that can be solved now, since I come to the table with years under my belt creating actual-play podcasts, and decades of podcasting experience in general.
So, here’s the deal: I’m looking for cast members. The game will be run over our Discord server, and I will take care of recording and editing the sessions into episodes. If you are interested in taking part, I will expect you to come to the table with proper podcasting equipment (experience using Discord, a good microphone, headphones, and a solid internet connection)
As for the cast, I am looking for experienced tabletop roleplayers. Our preferred cast members will have experience in a variety of different TTRPGs, not just “Dungeons & Dragons”, and will be willing to play a variety of different games. You need not know the games we play by heart, let alone own a copy yourselves, but if you do, that’s a bonus. I’m also not looking for people who are amazing voice actors, but I would like people to at least try to roleplay, as this will be an audio podcast. This is also not a paid gig, these things do not make money, we’re just doing this for fun.
If you would like to throw your name in the hat, or at least discuss the project further, please join our Discord server (link in the main menu), and post there. You can also leave a comment on this article, at the bottom of the page.
The games themselves will be conducted in a modified “Westmarches” style, so each session will be distinct from the last, and the one to follow. The group will always start from a set point, depending upon the game we are playing, and when the session ends all characters will return to that starting base, even if the adventure itself wasn’t fully completed. For example, if we run out of time in a session but the dungeon wasn’t fully explored, then maybe the group next time can rush out there to finish it next session, or take another path, but the last group cannot continue on in the next session from where they left off.
The cast can change over time, with people missing sessions as they need to, and others can join in, when they are available. This is why I’m planning to go with a “Westmarches” style of play, to make things easier for all involved, and cause the least disruption possible to our recording schedule. That means it is a “No Pressure” podcast. If you can’t make it one week, fine, no problem. Someone else can step in and play, or we run an adventure with less people involved.
No. Big. Deal.
As with the old “Knights of the Tabletop” podcast we started out with, my plan is to run sessions that last several hours, broken up into segments to allow for breaks. These will last roughly 45 minutes each, because they can be edited down to 30 minute shows fairly easily. So if we’re playing a session that will cover a month with five episodes, there will be five segments in that session, and the session will last roughly five hours (five segments with four breaks in-between). For months that only have four episodes, the sessions would last roughly four hours (four segments with three breaks).
Basically, your average 4-5 hour gaming sessions, just with better professionalism and more pee/voice breaks (especially for the GameMaster, yours truly).
Now then, I know I have suggested this previously, and have received back zero submissions. No one seemed interested in being a part of this project, and I’ll be honest, that’s a bit disheartening. While the idea may seem a bit rigid in the structure of the podcast, it really isn’t. I know I heard complaints from members of KOTT that the breaks every 45 minutes interrupted the adventure too much, and I see where they are coming from. That’s why this time around, unless one of us really needs a break, I will minimize the interruptions as much as I can, where I can. I plan for introductions for the cast to be in the Intro of each session, so we can just play, maximizing our fun.
That all said, if we don’t get any people interested in joining this project, that’s fine. I will see about other projects I can start which might fill that Roleplaying itch…
