What was it like when Taylor Swift met January? Are Apple and Zak Rose kissing? And will we ever see the Resplendent Emperor again? All those answers and more in the Afterparty!
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Cast & Crew
- Dungeon Master, Co-Producer: Eric Silver
- Co-Host (Milo Lane), Co-Producer, Editor, Sound Designer, Composer: Brandon Grugle
- Co-Host (Aggie O’Hare), Co-Producer: Amanda McLoughlin
- Co-Host (Val Vesuvio), Co-Producer, Editor: Julia Schifini
- Multitude: multitude.productions
About Us
Join the Party is a collaborative storytelling and roleplaying podcast, powered by the rules of Dungeons and Dragons. That means a group of friends create a story together, chapter by chapter, that takes us beyond the tabletop to parts unknown. In the first campaign, we explored fantasy adventure, intrigue, magic, and drama. In the newest story, we tackle science, superpowers, a better future, and the responsibility to help others.
Every month, we sit down for the Afterparty, where we break down our game and answer your questions about how to play D&D and other roleplaying games at home. We also have segments at the beginning of each campaign to teach people how to play the game themselves. It’s a party, and you’re invited! Find out more at jointhepartypod.com.
Transcript
Amanda: Hey, hi, hello, and welcome to – oh, what's that? The jingle bells? The holiday party After Party. Wooh!
[Everybody cheering]
Julia: Hey.
Brandon: Wooh! I'm dressed as a reindeer.
Amanda: Ooh.
Brandon: Did you notice?
Julia: No, but I did notice you're wearing a Spirits shirt and that made me very happy.
[Brandon laughs]
Brandon: It’s a good shirt.
Amanda: I made an eggnog so I noticed nothing anymore.
Julia: Hahaha.
[Brandon laughs]
Eric: Do you all want to come around and learn about the meaning of Hanukkah? Here we go.
[Amanda chuckles]
Amanda: Eric, it's weird that you just put on that Rugrats episode every year.
Eric: Listen, that's honestly a lot easier than having to explain it every single year. And that's the only Hanukkah media I need or Ross, the worst canonical person from Friends.
Brandon: Yes.
Julia: Mhmm.
Eric: I heard you, Brandon.
[Eric snickers]
Brandon: I know about the Maccabees from Ross.
Eric: Ugh!
Julia: But what if Apple just screamed the story of Hanukkah at us every year? Wouldn’t that be nice?
Brandon: I hope he does.
Amanda: That would be nice.
Eric: Here's why we, we eat oily foods. That's why. It's a holiday.
[Julia and Brandon chuckles]
Eric: I brought you jelly doughnuts. Eat it.
[Brandon laughs]
Julia: I will.
[Amanda chuckles]
Eric: Sure. Hey, 30 Under 30 Media Luminary, Amanda McLoughlin, can we --
Amanda: Oh, no.
Eric: Can you read our question?
Amanda: Yes. Yes. Well, thank you very much, Eric, for gathering these questions into fun named segments as your want.
Julia: Ooh.
Amanda: So, we're gonna start here with Let's Talk about the Holiday Party. That's the first – that's the first, like, overarching segment.
Eric: Do, do, do.
Amanda: And the first subsection --
Brandon: That was a segment break.
[Julia snickers]
Amanda: -- is Taylor Swift swift questions.
[Brandon laughs]
Julia: Great.
Eric: Yeah, I appreciate that everyone – although we had, like, a massive fight that was – had a lot of resonance towards the story and revealed small crumbs --
Amanda: Mhmm.
Eric: -- about the larger arc – no, we're just talking about the holiday part.
Julia: Yeah.
Amanda: Listen --
Brandon: You put Taylor Swift in your campaign, that's on you, dude.
[Julia chuckles]
Eric: That’s fair.
Amanda: The people know what they want to know. So --
Eric: I will – I want to tease them with Taylor Swift, but I do want to you three to tell the story much like the story of the Maccabees.
[Julia, Brandon, and Amanda laugh]
Eric: About how the holiday party came together and why we were doing this.
Amanda: Wait. Is Ross Jewish on Friends?
Eric: Yeah.
Brandon: Yeah.
Eric: Ross and Monica are both half Jewish.
Amanda: Fascinating. Didn't know that.
Eric: It’s its only redeeming quality.
[Julia and Brandon laugh]
Amanda: I don’t know if I could say that, but good.
[Brandon laughs]
Eric: No, I want – I would love to tell the story of why we did this, which I find very funny. And this is also, like, the relationship of a DM to players --
Amanda: Oh, yeah.
Eric: -- a while, like sessions ago. I think like in the middle of, of Join Me Outside as, like, things were ramping up. This was before the blizzard happened when I was starting to see those things. And you were kind of, like, doing your own things. I'm like, “Hey, all y'all do whatever you want to do. If there's something you want to do or you want to run down, just let me know so that I can put this in there before” – at the back of my head, I was like, “Before the arc really gets going.” And then the three of you talked and you were like, “We have a proposal for you.”
Amanda: Well, I kicked Eric out of the studio and then the three --
[Julia and Amanda chuckles]
Amanda: And then the three of us discussed among ourselves and I was like, “Guys, wouldn't it be funny if we made Eric play, like, 12 NPCs at the same event.
Julia: Mhmm.
Amanda: And, like, one of my siblings showed up and we just had, like, a fun romp of a holiday party.
Julia: Yes. And we loved it because then we get, like, NPC interaction that we don't normally see and stuff.
Amanda: Yeah.
Julia: And we’re all stoked about that.
Brandon: I just thought it'd be funny that Eric had to talk to himself for an hour. So --
[Brandon and Eric chuckles]
Amanda: Yeah. Yeah. It never feels like that in the moment, but then later I'm just like, “Oh, shit.”
Brandon: Yeah, I know.
Eric: There – I, I'm gonna put a pin in that because that actually is a, a thread that's happened throughout the party.
[Brandon laughs]
Eric: But the thing – I was asking you for things your characters wanted to do resonant to the story. So, I'm like, “Alright. Fine. They're gonna be able to – they're gonna drive the story forward. I finally get player interaction. Then we’d build out the world.”
[Amanda chuckles]
Eric: And the three of you were like, “We really want a holiday party.”
[Everybody laugh]
Julia: We did.
Amanda: Well, originally, it started for me as, “Oh, that'd be a fun way for more of my siblings to come out of the woodwork because having Quinn around has been super fun.”
Eric: Mhmm.
Amanda: So, I wanted to, like, bring forth another. But then, immediately, the NPC --
Julia: Menagerie.
Amanda: But then immediately --
Brandon: The menagerie.
Amanda: -- like, menagerie of NPCs --
Eric: [Inaudible 4:04].
Amanda: -- that we’re able to have was more important to me. That was fun for us. Was it fun for you?
[Amanda laughs]
Eric: It definitely was fun for me. I feel like that they were regular people. I feel like I understand the relationship with – between each other. And it also was, like, with intent. If I'm just making jokes, it's fine. I had Taylor Swift and X on the other side. And that was also a really fun thing to bounce off of.
Brandon: Hold on. Eric, you consider Taylor Swift and a talking rabbit as normal average people?
Eric: Well, not even – more like it was just funny in a joke. The other thing I'm remembering is, all the way back in the first campaign when we went to a topless for the first time and Johnny snuck into the meeting between Alonzo and the guy who was running it, who had – who sounded like Tommy Wiseau.
Brandon: Mhmm.
Eric: And that was really difficult because, also, I've been doing this a lot less time. But I was like, “Oh, I need to communicate some, like, secret stuff and, like, plot during it while, like, Johnny's just standing there invisible and not participating.
[Brandon and Eric laugh]
Eric: And he's going to be taking notes to use against me later as, as it's happening. So, I was thinking about that. And that was incredibly difficult. But this was a lot of fun.
Brandon: I think, yeah.
Eric: Because it was just, like, silly and fun. I'm trying to think of other times where I had to do extended periods of talking to myself.
Amanda: I think, in Bachelorette Party, the, the candidates talk to each other and the narration talks to the candidates pretty often.
Brandon: Mhmm.
Eric: Mhmm.
Amanda: Contestants. Whatever the pronoun is.
Brandon: And like – more like an average afternoon in the office, you know.
Amanda: Yeah.
[Brandon laughs]
Eric: Yeah. I think the other time that it was really difficult was right at the end --
Amanda: Oh, yeah.
Eric: -- when we were doing the – like, all of the speakers of the different city states had to say stuff. That was really difficult --
Brandon: Mhmm.
Eric: -- especially because I just introduced, like, two new ones.
Amanda: And, oh, like, a final battle where you played, like, five participants and the baddie.
Eric: Yes, though that was all pretty. That was all difficult. Oh, yeah. Where I was the – I was the antagonist and, like, six people in that room --
Julia: Yeah.
Brandon: Yeah. Mhmm.
Eric: -- plus you two. That was really – that was hard. But, no, this was super fun. I, I – at one point, I don't remember if it made it or not. I was like, “Is this what standup comedy is like?”
[Brandon and Julia laugh]
Brandon: I can't remember that made it in either.
Eric: Well, now, they know.
Brandon: Yeah.
Eric: Behind the screen.
Amanda: Well, let's get to fan favorite NPC, Taylor Swift.
[Brandon chuckles]
Amanda: We're gonna to start with a comment, more of a question, from Sister Pumpbells on Twitter. I had to physically pause the podcast when Taylor Swift entered the holiday party because I was laughing so hard. Well-timed execution, Eric. Bravo.
Julia: I also had to take a very long pause before I reacted to it.
Amanda: Yeah. Yeah.
Brandon: Same.
Julia: That reveal.
Brandon: I think I said, “What?” like 10 seconds after Eric said it.
[Amanda and Brandon laugh]
Brandon: And that was not, like, a joke or, or [Inaudible 6:49]. Like, I was very confused.
Amanda: And I try very hard to suppress my laughter because Eric and I are recording in the Multitude Studio together. So, if I laughed, it would show up on your mic track. And that's not always what we want in the Edit. So, just know that, on the inside, I was like my stomach was clenching because I was just like, “This is so funny. Oh, my god.”
[Julia and Brandon chuckles]
Eric: I really wanted to see it as someone, like, Quinn theoretically would have.
Amanda: Yeah.
Eric: And, like, Saoirse Ronan is probably doing something else. But, like, Taylor Swift is like, “Yeah, I need to have as many holiday parties as possible.”
Julia: That feels right.
Eric: I got these $1,000 reindeer – this $1,000 reindeer headband. I need to use it.
Brandon: Hit me.
Amanda: The Realist on Instagram, Eric, would like to know if you could please sing as Taylor Swift in a future episode.
Eric: Not in a future episode. But I could just like do it right now because Red is a really good album.
Amanda: Yeah. Yeah. Nice.
Eric: Because loving you is red, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah. Loving you is red. That’s [Inaudible 7:44].
Julia: You did also do that while we were driving in the car during the blizzard.
Brandon: I was gonna say I think you did do it.
Amanda: Yes.
Brandon: Yeah.
[Brandon and Eric laugh]
Eric: Red is a great album. It's – it’s actually a good album. I'm, like, not a Taylor Swift fan per se because it's, like, too much going on. But I listened to Red all the way through and I thought it was really sick during when – I was listening to it in college.
Julia: I'm a big fan of the newest album, The Folklore.
Amanda: Well, great segue, Julia, because Holly Jessica on Instagram wants to know, “Is the infamous Folklores track, The Lakes, actually based on Taylor's trip to Lake Town City?”
Julia: Haaa!
Brandon: Yes.
Julia: I hope so.
Amanda: I mean headcanon accepted. Sacha Desh on Instagram is saying that they are wheezing over the Entanglement episode. Give us Dr. Morrow and Taylor's interaction, please.
Eric: I don't think they would --
[Eric laughs]
Eric: I feel like, when you have two celebrities in a room, they don't necessarily want to acknowledge each other.
[Julia and Amanda laugh]
Eric: It's like I'm sitting on different parts of the restaurant.
[Brandon laughs]
Eric: So, I don't know if they ever would have acknowledged each other, but I definitely think Dr. Morrow would have been like, “Ah, I need to make those boots that make me six inches taller without anybody else noticing.”
[Brandon and Julia laugh]
Julia: The boot legs. But I'm --
Eric: Very good job, Julia.
[Brandon laughs]
Amanda: Abigail Speights and many other people asked, “How does Taylor feel about January?”
Eric: Oh, my god, so many people asked this. Taylor Swift is delighted by January, obviously, as everyone does. January was also doing Casey at the Bat a bunch, which was a joke that I love personally. That was very funny.
Brandon: Eric, I had to Google what Casey at the Bat was while I was editing.
[Eric laughs]
Eric: It's like – it's a poem about, like, Americana and baseball that, like, people recite. It's like one of those old, old timey – they’re, like, early 20th century recitation poems about, like, a baseball player who's, like, a mythical player who's washed up and, like, needs to have, like, his final at bat. But I just thought it was funny that this little bunny rabbit would recite it all the time and knew all the words, too.
Brandon: Oh, it's hilarious.
[Eric laughs]
Julia: It's – it’s very correct.
Amanda: It's January's version of me saying The Raven when drunk at parties.
Julia: Yeah.
Eric: Yeah.
Brandon: Yeah.
Eric: Yes, 100 percent.
Brandon: In my headcanon, January learned the Casey at Bat while he was still a non-sentient rabbit. He was just a regular rabbit.
Julia: Mhmm. Mhmm.
Amanda: I just really liked it. Yeah, it’s very rhythmic.
Brandon: It sprung forth with the sentience and spouting of the poem.
Julia: Incredible.
Eric: That sounds about right, for sure. But, yeah, January – I think Taylor Swift took a photo of January. It was adorable. Taylor Swift is now part of the squad, has a Taylor Swift flat card that a bunch of people asked me about. Yeah, January has that. January is like Karlie Kloss. And Cara Delevingne and January all get, like, brunch together now.
Brandon: I also had to ask Lauren about what that was, too.
[Everyone laugh]
Eric: [Inaudible 10:37] – and, Taylor Swift, I know it's not, like, a thing anymore because Taylor Swift, like, went underground and then emerged with Folklore. And --
Brandon: She died, Eric.
Eric: Oh, then she got resurrected by Bon Iver and made the Folklore.
Julia: Mhmm. Mhmm.
Eric: Yeah, for sure. Folklore is about her resurrection, actually.
Amanda: Her time in Christian heaven.
Eric: Yeah. And she was in Christian heaven and Bon Iver is like, “Excuse me. I need to go get her” and brought her back.
Julia: Come back.
[Brandon and Julia chuckles]
Eric: And then Taylor Swift came back and, now, she's a revenant.
[Brandon laughs]
Eric: For, for Emmys.
Julia: Mhmm.
Amanda: Mickey Bakker asked to, to close out --
Eric: Grammys. For Grammys.
[Brandon and Eric laugh]
Eric: Shit.
Amanda: To close out Taylor Swift swift questions, Mickey Bakker asks, “Who would impress Aggie if they suddenly appeared at her party?” I think it would be, like, the people from the America's Test Kitchen videos. The really – the really like battleship built lady with the – with the – with the blonde bob --
Eric: Yes. Yes. Yes.
Amanda: -- I feel like --
Eric: She’s the best.
Amanda: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Or the people from, like, PJ Harvey from the King Arthur Baking blog. She writes my favorite recipes and, therefore, also, Aggies. I think – or like the Land's End founders, the Carhartt founders. They should be like, “Wow.”
[Julia chuckles]
Brandon: Bridget and Julia, that's who they are.
Amanda: There you go. Well, the thing I was most excited about, in these episodes, is that we have kind of decided on the nomenclature of Entanglements for these kind of interstitial episodes between arcs. So, Eric, do you want to talk a little bit about why we're naming that differently and why this is not just the last episode of Join Me Outside?
Eric: Yeah, this was actually something that I've loved in the adventure zone for a long, long time. Something that is actually what brought Brandon and I together on the first day of our – of the job that Brandon I hate and don't talk about anymore. But, on the first day of that job, Brandon was putting up stuff in like the makeshift studio he was putting together. And he put up a bandana of the Adventure Zone. And I was like, “I just listened to all of their episodes.”
[Brandon chuckles]
Eric: And that's how we became friends. But something that I really like from Balance is that they have the lunar interludes, which they used to do because I think that people don't like listening to level up episodes. But I do like that this is like it's outside of the arc itself. In between arc 1 and arc 2 of this campaign, we had that a little bit where we fought MM. So, I wasn't thinking about it as critically. But, now, I'm like I want an Entanglement episode, which moves the season along. And I really feel like these are – they're different. Just important, but definitely outside of the arc structure that we have laid out for Join the Party. And this is something I wanted to execute on. So, now, there is Entanglement I, which is that last one where Ma – where they fought the Ma mech and then we did the first Entanglements. And, now, we're doing this again, which is the holiday party Entanglements and then speeding into spring.
Amanda: Jamie in Discord asks – I found a really great question about the function that this plays. So, Eric, in your brain space, do the event tables provide a way for the characters to impact the game or narrative but provide enough guide rails to keep the story moving along the path you've set out? And any thoughts on allowing the characters to use the plot points or complications device to bring more story options into the game? And, players, I think we can answer this, too.
Eric: Yeah, I want to throw this over to y'all because I came up with this fun thing just to give you, you all more stuff to do. So, I, I – how do you all feel, like, about the table? Because I think that, originally, in, in things that are made by Wizards of the Coast, it’s very, like, flat. And it’s like, “Oh, I don't know what to do. Here. Now, you're fighting 10 goblins.”
[Brandon laughs]
Eric: Because the table told me to. So, what do you think? And how are you responding to the table itself?
Julia: I personally really enjoy it because I like to see the supervillains that your brain comes up with.
Brandon: Yeah.
[Eric chuckle]
Julia: That's the biggest selling point for me. I also like the idea of facing challenges that aren't just, “Hey, beat this guy up,” you know.
Amanda: Yeah.
Eric: Mhmm.
Julia: Which is usually how Val solves problems --
[Brandon laughs]
Julia: -- but is trying to do new ways of solving issues.
Brandon: Yeah.
Eric: If Val – if Val does that, they'll get half a level of level up.
Julia: Yeah, I know --
Brandon: I like that.
Eric: [Inaudible 14:37].
Julia: Listen, I tried to do it with the most recent one with the guy at the coffee shop, but it just didn't work.
[Brandon and Eric chuckle]
Julia: I just rolled the bad.
Eric: That's true.
Brandon: That’s what I like most about it because, in the first one, I, I rolled poorly and then Julia rolled poorly. And, like, they don't have, like, major effects. Like, it's not like we're, like, you know, disowned by the superhero community. But it's really interesting to see those things come back in the actual, like, plot-driven episodes. I think that's really fun.
Amanda: Yeah, I enjoy that it, it lets me do my favorite part of combat, which is kind of fight strategy and figuring out --
Brandon: Mhmm.
Amanda: -- like, what of my repertoire and arsenal would be the best match for the situation and, you know, had the least, like, civilian impact without the – actually needing to, like, go through the rolls and the punching, like, taking a long time, which is also fun in a different way. But I, I like that kind of speed option. And, for me, it was really fun to world build in that way. Particularly, I think, our first time using the Entanglements table, it was really fun to just get a sense of, like, the other people and villains that are in Lake Town City and also different locations. Like, going to the light rail for the first time was really, really cool.
Eric: I really love the stuff that you all rolled in this one. This was very fun. And, like, your, your relationship with – with paid – with the bear – the cowboy and the bear --
Amanda: Yeah.
Eric: -- was my favorite.
Julia: Incredible The thing that I rolled on there was his – the conflict was MLM.
[Brandon, Julia, and Eric laugh]
Eric: So, this is – this is what – it was fake bills. And you're like, “Do you have a permit?” It was so funny.
[Amanda and Brandon laughs]
Amanda: Thank you. JCBOS on Instagram would like to know if there's an option for a recurring villain encounter. But what I'm really asking is will we ever see the grand return of the ever Resplendent Emperor.
[Brandon laughs]
Julia: Ooh.
Eric: Oh, yes. Oh, yes. So --
Brandon: God, I hope not.
Eric: This is – I'm sorry to say Brandon, but, yes, 100 percent. There are – I have put on the table chances to see these people again who have not been locked up. So, the Emperor is on the table. It just didn't happen.
Amanda: And, same but different, Michelle Spurgeon – I think we have to give Michelle a – like a question asker name because she really comes through with great questions. So, maybe like Michelle, the Spurgeon – the Spurgeon sturgeon. I don't know. I'm just thinking about this here.
[Brandon laughs]
Julia: Hmm.
Eric: Question, Question Surgeon Michelle Spurgeon.
Brandon: There we go.
Amanda: I like that.
Julia: Write that down.
Amanda: That’s so good. Anyway, Question Surgeon Michelle Spurgeon.
Eric: The, the doctor.
Amanda: The doctor says, “Will the upcountry keepers ever try to take on any of the villains we see in the Entanglements?”
Eric: Yes. So, this is another thing. The whole reason the Entanglements exist is because I want to flesh out the world when we're not doing the actual arc. So, there's stuff happening all over the place. And I think that, as we get into the arc that's coming up – also, get fucking – hold on to your pants guys for the next few episodes that are coming out. But --
[Eric laughs]
Julia: I’m just stressed out by the episodes that are coming out.
Amanda: Julia, just, like, sat back and put her hands behind her head. Like, “Oh, no.”
Julia: Oh.
Eric: But things happen when you're not interacting with it. So, 100 percent. They are fighting, like, the ambient crime as well.
[Brandon laughs]
Brandon: That's – that's why you're an Indie man.
[Julia chuckles]
Eric: Ambient crime. But, yeah, I will --
Julia: That’s my favorite genre of music. Yeah.
Brandon: Yeah.
Amanda: That’s what Spotify told me my top genre was for the year. Yeah.
Eric: Brandon, you saw them open for Vampire Weekend in the Knitting Factory, right?
Brandon: I did. Yeah. It was a terrible show.
Eric: Yeah, very good. Yeah, it was pretty bad.
Brandon: They stole my wallet.
Julia: Weird.
Eric: They said – they said it would start at 9:00, but it started at 12:12.
[Brandon laughs]
Eric: So, stuff is happening around which I think was something established. So, yeah, it's – that's on the table. I actually had – one of the things on the table is the running into the upcountry keepers while you're fighting something. It just didn't happen. So, all of these things are on the table. I, I refresh them in a way just to replace – sometimes, I replace big things when they're – I don't want you to fight this person anymore. Like, there was something – I've been watching all of Teen Titans lately. I ran through all of it, because I missed it so much, just over Thanksgiving. I loved it. There is an episode with the character Melvin, which is a Russi’s original to the Teen Titans TV show, who is, like, a six year old who has, like, a giant imaginary friend. And I wanted them as a villain that went in [Inaudible 18:45 - Krimpston] after our good friend, [Inaudible 18:46 – Rick McGario]. And I wanted you to deal with that, but, now, I feel like you're a little too over leveled for that. And that – now, [Inaudible 18:52Krimpston] is not going to be out there anymore.
Brandon: Hmm.
Eric: So, like, I just refresh it for the most fun things, especially now that you have relationships. We're gonna have Killer Jeff might – Painkiller Jeff might show up again and show what the professor. So, all of that is still on the table.
Brandon: Okay.
Eric: The, the Resplendent Emperor, I called him the professor because that's what he is. He had – he had --
[Eric laughs]
Julia: No, the professor is the man I beat up at the hockey stadium.
Eric: Oh, yeah. He was one with the tablet. That's right. No, he was a professor of Asian American – of Asian Studies --
Brandon: Yeah.
Julia: Yeah.
Eric: -- at CLTC. Right.
Amanda: Ah.
Julia: Mhmm.
Amanda: Ah, yeah. And, to close out our Entanglements corner, Bray asks, “Do you plan on completely switching out the charts between arcs or just kind of updating them to fill in numbers that were taken?
Eric: Yeah, I am filling it in just for – Bray, I just I looked at your question. No, that's what I was talking about. So, yes, I fill it in to make it as, as fun as possible. But I was like I'm totally fine if we don't do things. It's – you know, it's whatever happens and whatever you run into. Brandon, also, yours was really good. I really liked yours.
Brandon: The actuary?
Eric: Yeah, the one with the actuary.
Brandon: Mhmm.
Eric: Because the thing that I rolled was it was Dr. Morrow’s house, the actuary. And it's a prank. It wasn't happening. So --
Brandon: Yeah, I, I know I did not expect that in any way. Like, I did not expect it to be an actual prank. But I love that the solve was like, “It's fine.” Like, just ignore it.
Julia: I distract you.
Eric: I just – but, like, that was – I love the constellation of that. It was like you could talk about someone who knew about death.
Brandon: Mhmm.
Eric: And that's your specialty.
Brandon: Yeah.
Eric: So, I thought that that was really sweet, especially tying in to the whole thing with the locket and itself and Dr. Morrow feeling rather vulnerable. Then I was just like, “Oh, shit, this is perfect.” I have no idea what it is. This is truly a table. Like, I've written all of them, but they need to fit together. I love that moment for you.
Brandon: Yeah, it was great.
Amanda: I love the bear x MLM crossover.
[Brandon and Julia laugh]
Brandon: I always feel like I'm in The Incredibles when we do the Entanglements because, like, those --
Julia: Yeah.
Brandon: -- that feels like those kinds of supervillains, you know.
Julia: Yes.
Eric: Yes.
Amanda: So fun.
Eric: Yeah, definitely.
Amanda: I just – I love when our campaign feels like a comic book montage.
Eric: Hmm.
Amanda: It's just so fun.
Eric: Hmm.
Julia: It totally is.
Amanda: All right. Our, our new subcategory in our new corner is Milo and His Friends Corner.
[Julia chuckles]
Amanda: Brandon, just various sundry questions here, “Are Apple and Zak kissing?” for example. Tara Santoro wants to know.
[Brandon laughs]
Amanda: Anybody?
Julia: Yes. Yes.
Brandon: I think it’s alright.
Julia: 100 percent yes.
Eric: No, no, no.
Amanda: Milo, why would you --
[Brandon laughs]
Amanda: -- what – Milo is like, “Why would you say that?”
Eric: I, I – so, again, I'm going with the Scott Pilgrim approach on this for Milo, which I think that Brandon and I have established, which is that, in Scott Pilgrim, he has no idea that, like, one of his friends is gay the entire time. And I think that Milo just doesn't know when romantic things are happening around him.
Brandon: He's totally oblivious.
Eric: Totally oblivious. Yeah.
Brandon: Yeah.
Amanda: Yeah. So, Desmond asks if Lucas and Milo will be together next season. Milo's like, “Huh? What do you mean? Where'd you get all this?”
[Brandon laughs]
Eric: It's not even a question of --
Amanda: Is that right?
Eric: -- whether or not they have feelings for each other. It's I don't think Milo would even know if it was happening.
Brandon: Totally.
Julia: I really appreciate Milo representing useless lesbians who don't know when they're on dates.
[Everyone laugh]
Amanda: It's a real queer mood to, like, maybe potentially be able to date all your friends at the same time and never do. But, listen, I think it's important to us to, like, leave enough kind of room and foothold and ambiguity in our characters for people to identify. Like, if that's how you see yourself or see the characters, like, that is what headcanon is. That is what Fanon is. And, like, that is totally on you guys to, like, run with and play with. And, for us, I think playing out romance is not a priority in this campaign despite the fact that both, both Val and Aggie had, you know, vague romantic interests from pretty early on.
Julia: Mhmm.
Amanda: That's not, like, center stage in our narrative.
Brandon: Totally.
Amanda: So, you know, y'all have fun. We enjoy that you ship it. We enjoy that you have fun and see yourselves or your, your fellow friends. But, um, that's on you.
Eric: But, you know --
Brandon: The meme.
Eric: -- if all the – if all of the – if all of the players really want to have some, like, explicit sex scenes --
[Brandon laughs]
Eric: -- then we can all participate.
Julia: I’m good actually.
Amanda: I think that's not what we meant by the fuck cut and you know it.
[Brandon, Julia, and Eric laugh]
Brandon: Eric, I really want have an explicit sex scene. Sorry, you brought it up. Let's do it.
Eric: All right. Eric and Brandon explicit sex scene.
Amanda: Hang on. X card, Julia, what’s your say?
Julia: X Card. Red, red card.
[Brandon and Eric laugh]
Julia: I will say though I do think that, like, as a whole superhero genre relies heavily on, like, people's relationships outside of their powers, whether or not that is romantic or not is up to us to decide.
Eric: Mhmm.
Brandon: Right. Totally.
Julia: I will also say that, while I, as Julia, me and myself, totally ship Milo and Lucas, I understand the need in media to represent, like, healthy male relationships with good boundaries.
Brandon: Yeah.
Eric: Yes.
Amanda: Yeah.
Brandon: That’s one of my, like, stalwarts in life. Every time I see a shitty example out on TV, I'm just like, “Why can't they just be good? Why can’t they be good?”
Julia: Why can’t they be better?
Amanda: I say to Eric all the time men talking about their feelings --
Eric: Yeah.
Amanda: -- because it's so rare to see.
Eric: I – yeah. No, that's why I cared about that more. I think it was just funny. This Apple and Zak Rose’s “relationship” was a joke, where I was like, “Well, you made a bad perception check. So, like, they might be kissing next to the [Inaudible 24:08].”
[Brandon laughs]
Eric: But, yes. No, I care about that so much more. And I think that the relationship between Milo and Lucas now that's growing is much more important about, like, trust and telling each other things and, like, just between two male friends.
Brandon: Yeah.
Eric: I don't necessarily see them as dating. I don't think Lucas would even think that, that. I don't know. This is weird because I control the brain of the character. And I get that all the characters.
[Brandon laughs]
Eric: So, what I will say is I feel like this arc really – I agree with Julia 100 percent. This arc set up a lot of stakes of relationships that everybody has here that I might prod on and villains might prod on as they know that you have friends and family that you care about. And I think that's really important. But, yeah. No, I think that the story between Milo and Lucas that played out during the party, I think, is really important. And that's gonna be something that we're going to touch on a lot I'm sure.
Brandon: I think also, with Milo and his dad, too, like, I love that relationship --
Eric: Yeah.
Brandon: -- as well. Having a healthy, like, parental relationship and one that doesn't cross friendship boundaries in an inappropriate way, but, also, that’s, like, supportive and encouraging and emotionally available there is, is really important to have in media, too.
Julia: Hell yeah.
Amanda: Great question on this topic from Fennel Sauce on Twitter. Did Milo kind of low-key want Lucas to figure out his superhero identity? Was there a small part of him thinking, if he sees through this, it would maybe not be the worst thing ever?
Brandon: Sees through this. Very nice. Good job.
[Julia and Amanda laugh]
Brandon: Of course.
[Eric laughs]
Brandon: Like, Milo – if Milo didn't think it would get him killed and all his friends killed, he would tell everyone.
Julia: Yeah.
[Amanda laughs]
Brandon: He wants to be a famous superhero more than anything else, like, for sure.
Eric: The funny thing is that, Brandon, we talked about how the, like, Spider Man and Ned relationship from the newest Spider Man movies.
Brandon: Mhmm.
Eric: And that was what Fennel was referring to at the end of the tweet, too. He’s like, “Yeah, that's what – I feel like we're getting close to that. And I love that.”
Brandon: Yeah.
Amanda: Totally. Well, as all of us recover from thinking about the emotional availability of our childhoods, I’m gonna go into the kitchen and get more vegan eggnog. Be right back.
[Brandon and Brandon chuckles]
Julia: Eggnog.
Midroll Music
Eric: Hey, it's, Eric. Buying presents is one of my favorite things to do. And, even though it's not actually part of any sort of religious holiday, you know, put into my actual one, the way that Hanukkah kind of accepts that from Christmas is one of my favorite things to do. Finding something that is representative of what a person thinks they like but doesn't even know they like and one buy for themselves or wouldn't even know about it is a joy. It represents that you know them maybe a little bit better than they do or, at least, to some degree. And it's nice. Now, I know a lot of you out there might not like doing this because it's a lot of pressure. But I have faith in you. This is such a wonderful thing to do. And you can make someone feel so good. And I believe you. Welcome to the Midroll. I got you one of those silicone pebble ice things so that you can make more drinks. I know you'd like that. Hello to our new patrons; Bailey, Grant, Elise, Jeff, Jenny. Soshell, Heather, Laura, Teeva, JayPaul90, Flo, Feyo, Angie, Charlotte, and Simon. We'd like to thank every single one of our supporters on Patreon. You truly make it possible for this to be our jobs, especially in 2020, which is ending. And 2021 isn't going to be all that different all from that. So, we still need your support and thank you. We love talking to you every day on our Discord. We can get pics of dogs that are shaped like bagels and cat that are shaped like loaves on the daily. There's also bonus content from this campaign and Campaign I, including exclusives like the Join the Team miniseries, which is wrapping up very, very soon. If you want to hear me and three of our wonderful podcast friends play a game that I invented with Mischa Stanton about high school drama and football, you need this now. If you're able, join for as little as $5 a month at patreon.com/jointhepartypod. And, if you haven't checked your Patreon for a while, please do so. We made tiers, like, a while ago and a lot of you are still on the old ones. So, if you're still on the old ones, you're not getting those sweet, sweet rewards. Come on, patreon.com/jointhepartypod. I want to tell you about a wonderful thing that I wrote with our very own Julia Schifini in a special Join the Party-Spirits crossover event, The Cool Cryptid Compendium. This is a system agnostic manual with stats and descriptions of 20 different creatures from folklore from around the world. D&D is built around monster slaying, but, a lot of the time, you don't want to kill the monster. And what even makes a monster in the first place? Why should we build adventures around killing it for glory in gold? So, in the Cool Cryptid Compendium, these creatures are, like, strange and wondrous NPCs you can put in to dot your world. They have likes and dislikes, personalities and goals. They are complex and require more than hacking and slashing to interact with. No matter what gaming system you use, you'll get inspiration for these characters that are way more than just a big bad. This would be perfect to slot into a monster of the week campaign. Or you need a fun mythical NPC or villain for your mass campaign, it would work anywhere. It's also so beautiful with the illustration and design by the lovely, Zoe Polando Ryder. You got to check this out. It’s gonn be wonderful for you or all of your monster-loving friends that you would get them for their holiday fun. That is at, exclusively, jointhepartypod.com/merch. We are sponsored this week by BetterHelpw a secure online counseling service. Here's the thing. That bone witch, the one that rolls the bones with the bird bones and all that, she just doesn't understand what I'm talking about. I'm trying to talk about my lived experience. How some people don't – aren't validating and I really need that. And I'm just really in a tough spot right now. And she just keeps rolling the bones and say, “A blood moon is going to come.” And I need something else. That's why I'm turning to BetterHelp. They connect you with licensed counselors through the secure app, letting you message with your therapist, and schedule life phone or video sessions. You can also message your counselor in between sessions if you're worrying about something or if you think of a topic you want to cover in your next call. Instead of just like waiting for the middle of the night and lighting some candles and maybe the bone witch will show up. Who knows? BetterHelp wants – BetterHelp wants to help you find the best therapeutic match possible. It is easy and free to switch counselors if you need to. And BetterHelp is more affordable than traditional counseling and doesn't require you giving up your firstborn like it is to the bone witch. So, you can get financial aid if you need. You can get 10 percent off your first month of counseling by signing up at betterhelp.com/jointheparty. That's betterH-E-L-P.com/jointheparty for 10 percent off your first month. BetterH-E-L-P.com/jointheparty. We're also sponsored this week by our old friends at Twenty Sided Store. There is truly something for everyone a Twenty Sided Store, whether you're buying gifts for loved ones or something new for yourself and treating your dice addiction. Their website has a staff pick section. They can help you find new stuff too. Like, if there's a board game that, like, needs to be not too dark but not too hard and maybe it's, like, set in a forest, you might be able to find that there. I wonder if that exists. I'm actually not even sure. So, head to twentysided.com to check out all they have to offer. And, when you do, remember to use the code JOINTHEPARTY for 20 percent off your online order. And, finally, we are sponsored this week by HelloFresh. They help you save time and money by delivering easy-to-make recipes right to your door with stress free, no contact delivery. They also have a huge variety of options each week, which helps me break out of my cooking rut of the same two or three dinners. They also have kid friendly and vegetarian options if you need that. And, best of all, in my mind, it's flexible. So, if you need to add something extra, change dates, skip a week, it's super easy to do. We made pork chops the other day with little adorable tiny containers of jam to add to a pan sauce. HelloFresh loves a pan sauce and I love tiny jars. Go to hellofresh.com/jointheparty80, 8-0, and use code JOINTHEPARTY80, 8-0, to get $80 off, including free shipping. That's hellofresh.com/jointheparty80 and use code JOINTHEPARTY80 to get $80 off, including free shipping. And, now, back to the show.
Theme Music
Amanda: Alright, guys. Our cups are refilled. And I want to just give us a little aperitif question, which is not a question and a comment, from out of Cole Techs on Twitter. Listening to the Christmas party, if a superhero name for Quinn hasn't been decided, I'd like to throw Cohesion into the deliberation mix.
Eric: Ooh.
Julia: That is so much better than every sticky name we’ve come up with so far.
Amanda: Better than, than Lil Sticky?
[Eric laughs]
Julia: Or Stickoms.
[Brandon and Amanda laugh]
Eric: Sticky Hands.
[Amanda laughs]
Brandon: I'm sorry. But Quinn has decided that Sticky must be in the name. So, it's got to be Sticky Cohesion.
[Eric and Amanda laugh]
Amanda: I just thought that was great. Thank you.
Eric: Cohesion is a great name. I don't think Quinn is, has, is, has the ability to stay stuck on being a superhero for long enough to get a codename.
Julia: Fair.
Eric: So --
Julia: Fair and valid.
Eric: Yeah, but I love that. I think that's great.
Amanda: Well, here's just a grab bag of awesome random questions. Thank you, guys. You really came through in particular for this AP. And we love how many questions we're getting these days, particularly from Instagram. So, just a question I had in my notebook harkening back to Episode 17, Eric, can you tell us about the Gollum mechanics?
Eric: Oh, the Gollum box. Yeah, I wasn't exactly sure when I was going in there. I knew that it – whatever you wanted to do, you know, I have the mechanics of putting together. Like, if you want to make a figure or a conjuration, it was going to be, like, conjure elemental. But you wanted to do it in this different way. And then I just made the following – so, the mechanics of the museum falling down was that, if we got, like, hit the walls or hit, like, three or four or five times, then it – the whole thing would come down and y'all need to get out of there. So, the Gollum just negated one of those if it made strength rolls. And I'm just like, “DC15” bing, bang, boom. I thought that that was incredibly innovative. And that's why I gave you the, the level up which is, like, some, some inspiration. So, I thought that was really great. It was also something I've been thinking about since you first walked into Dr. Morrow’s office. Like, she had a tiny Gollum box --
Brandon: Mhmm.
Eric: -- on her – on her desk. And I was like, “Oh, this is a great item. I will – I need to use it.
[Brandon and Eric laughs]
Eric: I learned so much.
Brandon: I can't believe you wanted Milo to be unemployed. What the hell.
Eric: Listen, if a – if a Gigabear that hate – that hates the building wants to destroy it, then that's what happens.
Brandon: Do you remember the great gigabear incident in podcasting in 2016 where the gigabear just started all the podcasting for a bit?
Amanda: Ooh.
Eric: Oh, no, I don't.
Julia: Sounds nice.
Brandon: And we lost our jobs.
Eric: Oh, that's right.
Julia: Can I ask a question about the museum fight?
Eric: Sure.
Julia: Were there other mechanics – like, other items we could have used during the fight besides the Gollum box in the museum?
Eric: Oh, shit. Let me get my --
Julia: And besides the robot.
Brandon: Oh, yeah.
Eric: All right. I have pulled up my notes from this fight. I actually just wanted to let you, guys, kind of do whatever you wanted. I wanted to put the stuff in the lobby. So, there was the stuff in the lobby you can interact with. But, hey, I did not know that there was a robot in the museum --
Brandon: I know.
Eric: -- hanging out. But we have --
Brandon: Thank you for giving that to me.
Eric: Yeah. But Milo looked for it. It, theoretically, would be there. It, obviously, goes beep, boop because robots go beep, boop.
Amanda: I don’t think so.
Julia: Every single one.
Eric: Which was a – which was a gift for me. And I thought that that was just really smart. So, I wanted to give you things that were around there. I do have specific notes that are around – so, the walls had a 10 damage threshold with an HP of 25. Damage threshold means you have to go over 10 or it doesn't work. This usually happens for constructs. Four walls down means that the buildings started to collapse and you had one round to get out of there. I did have the model drones. The drones that were sent – were sent in. That was something that would happen about, like, a round two if Gutenberg thought that things were breaking bad, which it did because Julia was punching the shit out of that bear.
[Julia and Brandon laugh]
Eric: Here's something I wanted to talk about. I wrote down that Lucas is a commoner. He has plus one to intelligence and that's it. He has an HP of 10.
Julia: Geez.
Eric: In my head, I was like, “No, that's not fair. He, he's a little bit better. I'll give him HP of 11.”
[Brandon laughs]
Eric: And Milo rolled eight. And that – oh, you would have killed Lucas.
Julia: You would have killed your friend.
Brandon: Okay. Excuse me. I did not.
Julia: Not on purpose, but you would have.
Brandon: Hmm, I did not kill anyone. This was – you made this roll for Lucas on HP. And then you took Lucas – his HP away from him. It is all on you, sir.
[Eric laughs]
Eric: I own --
Brandon: [Inaudible 37:12] that. It was a roll on the – on the thing
Eric: But – you know, but you rolled max. You had to roll a D10 and you rolled a 10, which was a – you did the --
Brandon: Oh, yeah, right.
Eric: It was you. You suck. You gain HP from every person within, like, 20 feet of you as you pull energy from them. And that's why you got the HP bonus. And then you rolled.
[Amanda chuckles]
Eric: And then I told you to roll a D10 depending on what – how much you got from each person. And then you rolled a 10. And I'm like, “Oh,” and I wrote down and I'm like, in my head before, I was like Lucas has 11. And then when you did it, I'm like, “Huhhhh!”
Julia: Fucking gone.
[Eric laughs]
Brandon: This brings me to a question I want to ask you, Eric. When I was editing the, this episode, I wrote a note in my notes app that just has APQ's. It has one bullet point. In all caps, it says, “ERIC, ARE THERE ACTUALLY ANY GOOD OUTCOMES ON THIS SPIRIT SEARCH TABLE?”
[Amanda laughs]
Eric: There are good outcomes. You've gotten a few of them. Like, you won – there was one you got the big – the big fists you got.
Julia: That's true.
Brandon: Well, that’s true. That’s true.
Eric: That was one. You've definitely gotten some other ones. I will say that I changed them according to, like, how I think your relationship with the ghost is going.
Brandon: Mhmm.
Eric: So, like, sometimes you have better ones. Sometimes, you don't. Sometimes, it's – they are neutral. Most of them are neutral. But then you were put in a terrible situation --
Brandon: Yeah.
Eric: -- where it doesn't help. Like, they, theoretically, could have been really helpful. It just so happens that three of your friends were standing by.
[Brandon laughs]
Brandon: That's true. That's true. I guess that's true.
Eric: Yeah. So, that's just – that's just what happened – what happened there. But, yes, I promise there are good ones on there. I promise.
Brandon: I'll relate it back to Editing Brandon later then.
Eric: Well, let him know.
Julia: Cool. Cool. Cool.
Eric: For those of you asking, I used the gorilla scout stats. I have this, this big – this big thing that I always pull from, which is this wonderful NPC Compendium using classes and subclasses for players. So, I used Gorilla scout stats for Quinn as she was running around. Here's what happened. The big – the big shot that happened for Vulcani, Vulcani got thrown through a wall or thrown through a window.
Julia: [Inaudible 39:13].
Eric: And that was a reaction that the person who texted – who texted them would ask if they needed help.
Brandon: Hmm.
Eric: That's another thing.
Julia: Sweet.
Eric: And then I wrote down, specifically the stuff for the drones that they can do. Yeah. And the shot was, was actually the spell lightning bolt, which I – we’ve seen --
Brandon: Oh, cool.
Eric: -- coming out of a big energy cannon.
Julia: Nice.
Eric: And, also, yeah, who knows what would have happened if you clicked the key chain.
Brandon: Goddamnit, Eric.
[Brandon, Julia, and Amanda laugh]
Julia: We'll never know.
Amanda: Ah, it's very high stakes.
Julia: We would have gotten sushi.
Brandon: Wanted a good sushi. Yeah.
[Amanda laughs]
Eric: The guy with a delivery uniform would have given you sushi.
Amanda: Radiant heating was turned on under all Lake town City roads.
[Brandon laughs]
Julia: Hmm.
Brandon: I need you to confirm to me, Eric, that we did correctly get that. One of them does actually get sushi.
Eric: Here are the ones that you've pushed. Yellow is power. Blue, I've written – I've written down here. I can – if you want to confer, I'm trying to see if I can --
Amanda: I don't – I don't – I don’t believe you.
Eric: Blue, a lot of sushi is delivered to the office.
Brandon: Okay. Good.
[Julia laughs]
Amanda: Okay.
Eric: That's like – it’s like one of those Amazon buttons --
Brandon: Yeah.
Eric: -- where you get Tide pods. It's like that but for sushi.
Amanda: Oh, my goodness.
[Brandon and Eric laugh]
Julia: Incredible.
Eric: Yes, that is in my notes.
Amanda: Question, Julia, from Addo in Discord, as an NBA, it makes me so, so, so happy that nobody misgenders, Val. But I was wondering how everyone knows how to gender Vulcani properly.
Julia: I have a twofold answer to this. One is in canon and one is kind of, like, background mechanic stuff. The background mechanics answer is we don't want to represent misgendering in our podcast.
Amanda: Right.
Julia: Ad the in canon kind of joke answer is I imagine Vulcani just yells their pronouns whenever they arrive on the scene.
[Everyone laugh]
Julia: Either that or just, like, everyone in Lake Town City is very good about asking for personal pronouns before talking about people.
Amanda: Listen, if we are making a fantasy world --
Brandon: Exactly.
Amanda: I might as well be a fantasy world but no misgendering.
Julia: Yeah.
Brandon: Exactly. Yeah, this is a good – this is a good world, minus all the supervillains, you know.
Julia: Yeah, besides the supervillains.
Amanda: A very sweet question from Silca Russ via email, who is 10 years old, “Starting a D&D podcast, I'd love some advice to make it. I'm a first time DM. My friend is a first time player. Do you have any advice?”
Eric: First of all, you're – you're adorable. Thank you so much for listening to us.
[Brandon and Eric chuckles]
Eric: I think, at this point, if you're just – you're just doing it and you're 10 years old, like, just remember it's a game. Have fun. Like, may, may do interesting things that impress both the DM and your player. Like, do – and build a story. Like, do it – do it together. I think it's both the responsibility of the DM and the player to hold the responsibility of telling the story together. And that's really the core of what we're doing here.
Brandon: Yeah, maybe get a parent or older sibling to worry about the tech stuff so you can just focus on having fun --
Eric: Yeah.
Brandon: -- because that's the most important thing. It’s having fun.
Julia: Unless you're really good at tech stuff, I don't know.
Eric: Unless you're super genius. Are you a super genius? Are you, like, Tony Stark?
Amanda: Is this Dr. Mayor Morrow pass but in the future?
Julia: Haaa.
[Brandon laughs]
Amanda: Maybe.
Brandon: Pre-doctor.
Amanda: Maybe, you are, Silca. And then, at the end of the email, would Inara become friends with Aggie, Tracy with Milo, or Cole with Val? I think yes for Inara and Aggie. Totally.
Julia: Cole and Val, I could see. Yeah.
Brandon: I would love to see Cole and Val in a wrestling ring. Are you kidding me? Oh, my god.
Julia: It’d be so much fun.
[Amanda laughs]
Brandon: I don't know if Milo and Tracy would get along.
Amanda: No, Brandon, that's the wrong answer.
[Everyone laugh]
Amanda: I think Milo would find Tracy fascinating. I don't know if Tracy would want to hang out with, with Milo.
Brandon: I think they're too – like, they're – they have too similar mindsets, you know. Like, they're – it's like similar to repel kind of thing.
[Brandon laughs]
Amanda: Well, harkening back to Campaign I as well, Jenn in Discord ask the question that made both Eric and I go, “Oh, yeah, that's right,” which is, in Campaign I, what the hell was Oatcakes backstory? How did she get away from [Inaudible 43:07]? Why was she in Fidapolis, et cetera???
Eric: What?
Julia: We never did answer.
Amanda: No.
Eric: What I love about this was just you all were not interested in Gordon Lightfoot – Lighthammer.
[Brandon laughs]
Eric: Which I think is totally fine because he was a doofus so I could use my rally wrestler voice. But, yeah, I think that – I think that Oatcake was just his dog. And that Oatcake ran away at one point. I, I had a larger backstory written, but it never – it just never came out. So, I had this idea because of the boxing and it was like part of his shtick. And, like, Oatcake was like a show dog and all this stuff. So, it wasn't a great relationship that they had. It was a real Air Bud situation, but, instead of a, a clown, it was a wrestler.
Julia: Of course.
Amanda: Mhmm. Mhmm.
Eric: And, yeah, I just – you weren't really interested in it. So, it just never really came up.
Brandon: A real Air Bud situation is the title of my autobiography.
[Everyone laugh]
Amanda: I do like Air Bud rules as a – just like shorthand that people our age know.
Brandon: Yes.
Eric: Yeah, as long – if it's – if it’s not in the rulebook, then it's not a rule.
Brandon: Mhmm.
Amanda: Charlotte asked via email, “What got you into D&D? And were there any games that specifically started you up? I'm new to D&D, but realize, listening to your pod, that my friends and I have been playing kind of simplified DNA in the form of just, like, a storytelling game.
Eric: That's fun. Um, I think this is such a fun question about, like, they use games for storytelling reasons and just like thing – like, folk games, just to tell a story. I remember a while ago – I don't even remember how this started. I used to do a thing with my friends called Scenario or Scenario, but my friend, Hetty, calls it Scenario.
[Brandon laughs]
Eric: That’s, obviously, how you pronounce it. And it was just like someone would tell me, like, a genre or something that we wanted all of our friends to be involved in. And I would just tell that story. It wasn't really a game. They just told me to do it and then I did it, which I loved.
Brandon: Have you played the, the car ride game where you, like – you do – I forget if it's like a sentence or a paragraph, but then you just like round robin it and, like, build the story that way?
Eric: No.
Amanda: Oh, that’s fun.
Eric: That’s fun.
Brandon: Yeah, someone starts with a prompt and then you guys just go like, “This happened and then this thing happened.” Oh, it's cause and effect. So, you have to do a cause and then an effect and then a cause and then an effect and then a cause and effect.
Eric: Oh, I love that.
Amanda: Oh, that's really --
Julia: That is neat.
Amanda: That’s really cool.
Brandon: Yeah, it’s fun.
Amanda: I can see that happening in an Entanglement episode or something like that.
Eric: Yes. Oh, that does actually sound really nice. Yeah. No, I, I was thinking about folk games and storytelling like that.
Amanda: Yeah. And I, I think what's fun is saying, you know, “Oh, like, of all of our friend group, who would be what role in a heist?”
Eric: Yes.
Amanda: Like, that's kind of scenario. That's kind of what we're talking about. And I think that's great. Like, for me, the first time I, I role played in gaming really was playing Betrayal at House on the Hill with you, Eric.
Eric: Mhmm.
Amanda: And you guys were like, “Oh, yeah, we like to sort of, like, voice the characters, you know, and just, like, role play it a little bit.” And I was like, “Oh, that's right. You could just do that. Yeah.” And it was a really – not approachable necessarily, but, like, just a way that allowed my brain to get a little bit silly and be a little bit vulnerable and, like, play, you know, an eight-year-old, like, Boy Scout without feeling like, “Oh, my god, I am, you know, on mic playing a character because that's my introduction to D&D as a player.”
Eric: You really liked being Ox Bellows.
Amanda: I love Ox Bellows, man.
[Brandon chuckles]
Amanda: Ox Bellows for life
Julia: I'll also say, in terms of like collaborative storytelling, I was super into, like, forum-based role play. Like, text based. [Inaudible 46:30].
Eric: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Amanda: That’s why I said role playing games because both Julia and I, like, role played on Neopets and Gaia online in various places since I --
[Eric laughs]
Amanda: For me, I was, like, nine. I was too young.
Julia: Yeah, I was gonna say, like, 10 probably. Something like that.
Amanda: Yeah. Oh, yeah.
Brandon: I love that.
Amanda: Someone asked me yesterday how I learned to start a business and I was like, “I don't know. I sold, like, CSS skins for, for, for profiles on Neopets.
[Brandon laughs]
Julia: Yep.
Amanda: 20 year – like, 15 years ago.
Julia: Yes, you do.
Brandon: I started – I like – I think everyone kind of does this, right? Like, I think all kids do. So, when I was – if you have siblings, at least. Me and my siblings used to play like – just sort of, like, role playing games as, as kids. Like, I remember we used to play orphans as a game where we would pretend our parents had passed away.
Julia: Oh, cool.
[Eric laughs]
Brandon: We, we --
Amanda: Connor and I would actually play scientist where he was a scientist. And I was --
Brandon: Yeah.
Amanda: I don't know. Like, a – maybe just like a friend, but, like, it was really fun.
Brandon: Yeah.
[Eric laughs]
Eric: That was so fun.
Brandon: We just kind of do those things.
Eric: I like --
[Eric laughs]
Eric: I have two questions. One, Brandon, what did your parents think about that? Huh?
Brandon: They think it's funny.
[Everyone laughs]
Eric: Amanda, why were you just a friend to the scientist?
[Everybody laughs]
Amanda: I don’t know. I’m mixing things up. There was another one where I like to play a turtle where I just hid under the blanket.
[Eric laughs]
Amanda: So, I'll have to – I’ll have to ask Connor and get back to you.
Eric: Alright. Write down, “Why was I the friend of the scientist?”
Amanda: Yeah. Yeah.
Julia: Do you want to hear the sad only-child version of that? You just do it by yourself.
[Everyone laugh]
Eric: Oh, my god. I love that.
Brandon: I think, like role playing games in D&D, it’s just an excuse for adults to be able to do that again without, like, fear of judgment.
Amanda: Yeah.
Brandon: It's nice.
Julia: Yeah.
Eric: Yeah. Who would have thought the Dungeon and Dragons was supposed to be fun?
[Brandon laughs]
Brandon: Who would have thought?
Julia: Wild.
Amanda: Eric, you mean it's not about recreating World War II?
[Eric laughs]
Eric: Yeah, it’s about combat and fighting and murder.
[Brandon laughs]
Amanda: Rowan asks a random question during Episode 18. Is Milo afraid of the dark?
Brandon: I wonder where that came from. Um, I don't think so. Um, I honestly haven't thought about that much to be – to be honest because I don't think there's been a lot of, like, in-game experiences where Milo is, like, in the dark – like, pure dark.
Amanda: And then the second part of the question, conveniently, was what are the PCs and NPCs afraid of.
Brandon: Hmm.
Amanda: Not like existential fears but more kind of tangible or physical ones.
Brandon: Yeah.
Amanda: I mean Aggie is afraid of black eyes. You can't see it coming. You can't predict it.
Julia: Of course.
Amanda: Chaotic.
Julia: Such a --
Brandon: 100 percent.
Julia: Such a like – god, like, useful fear to have.
[Amanda and Julia laugh]
Eric: Dez does not like spiders. He thinks eight legs is too many legs.
Amanda: Fair.
Brandon: It is too many legs.
Eric: It’s too many legs.
Brandon: I mean this is a little bit existential, but I do think Milo’s scared of, like, like, failing but not in the existential sense. Just, like, he really doesn't like doing something wrong.
[Brandon laughs]
Brandon: Like, he’s scared of doing it wrong.
Eric: For someone who communes with death and named himself after space, I think – oh, yea, I think something very tangible makes a lot of sense.
[Brandon laughs]
Julia: I like genuinely can't think of a good fear for Val that is like a tangible thing that one could fear. I think, like, maybe heights. This is – and this comes from, like, my own personal fear. I'm not afraid of heights, but I'm afraid of, like, being at a height where there is no boundary between me and falling off of the thing that I'm at the height of. Like, airplanes rear.
Brandon: That’s a reasonable fear.
Julia: Yes, I understand.
[Amanda, Julia, and Brandon laugh]
Julia: But, like, I'm fine on airplanes. But, if I was, like, standing on the, like, edge of a cliff and looking down, that would scare the shit out of me.
Brandon: Yeah, I just think Milo is afraid of birds.
[Brandon laughs]
Julia: Okay.
Eric: Fair.
Julia: Maybe he shouldn't have, you know, recreated a bunch of turkeys’ carcasses then.
Eric: Yeah, he did that do himself. That sucks.
Brandon: Do you ever think that's – that’s why he became afraid of birds, Julia?
Julia: Maybe. It's a new fear.
Eric: He did it to himself. Oh, yeah. Dez also doesn't like clowns.
Amanda: Yeah.
Julia: That's valid.
Amanda: Completely true.
Eric: Yeah.
Amanda: Dez is correct.
Brandon: I was gonna – what if – what if, Eric?
Eric: Hmm.
Julia: What if?
Brandon: Unless --
Eric: What if?
Amanda: What if?
Eric: Marvel presents What If.
Julia: There it is.
[Amanda snickers]
Brandon: What if Dez is a birthday party clown sometimes on the off days?
[Brandon laughs]
Eric: No, because he hates it. Also, he's paid very well by Dr. Morrow.
[Eric laughs]
Amanda: Maybe he wants to – like an immersion therapy attempted and then were just like, “This is not worth it.”
[Brandon and Julia laughs]
Eric (as Dez): I fucking hate this. No.
[Brandon, Julia, and Amanda laughs]
Amanda: Maqualla asked on Instagram, “What's everyone's drunk habit?” And it's Aggie’s cleaning. I think Aggies is not cleaning. I think Aggie is, at the end of a party, just sit on the couch, listen to a record, or, like, you know, watch some public access television, and then go to bed.
[Brandon laughs]
Amanda: And leave the dishes for tomorrow.
[Brandon laughs]
Brandon: Wild.
Eric: That’s fair. Although, I do think you, you did clean during – during the holiday party.
Amanda: Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, Aggie – Aggie was sober. She was – had to, like, keep an eye on the whole interaction here.
Eric: Oh, right. Right. Right.
Julia: As we established from the party, Val likes to pick people up over their head.
[Amanda and Eric laughs]
Brandon: Yeah, I think Milo likes – just talks louder than he should, you know.
Eric: Yeah.
Amanda: Yep.
Eric: I think that we saw your two. Yeah, when Val pick people up and Milo tell secrets when he's drinking.
[Amanda laughs]
Julia: He’s a secret teller.
Brandon: Only to – only to Lucas.
Eric: We're in is – we're in your head. So, it's funny. But we already knew these things. So, he's like, “I think Quinn is pretty.” And we're like, “Yeah, we know, Milo.”
[Brandon and Eric laughs]
Julia: You made it real obvious, bro.
Amanda: Nippona Eqi Multiverse on Twitter asks, “If, now, that way of mercy has become an official subclass, if I've considered switching to the official version or from continuing to use way of tranquility, which is Aggie’s current subclass that was in UA, and then I kind of took like a homebrewed version that fixed a little bit of the healing mechanics from a person on Reddit. Yeah, I, I think that way of mercy is interesting. When I made the character, it wasn't official, of course. And it's more of like a plague doctor, which I'm not really interested in being.
Julia: Mhmm.
Amanda: So, I, I'm – I’m good with, with tranquility for now.
Eric: I think that you – that wave of tranquility has the thing – you haven't done it yet, but I think it’s the thing that defines Aggie in my head, which is the ability to get someone to stop being aggro --
Amanda: Yeah.
Eric: -- or stop being aggressive and stop fighting. And that's what I feel like is Aggie’s entire deal as a monk, while the plague doctor’s like, “I’ll heal you but also poison.”
[Brandon laughs]
Amanda: Yeah. Yeah.
Julia: No, tranquility and mercy seem very opposite in my mind.
Eric: Yeah. For all you nerds out there, I did a dig into it. Tranquillity was from the UA before Xanathar’s back in --
Julia: Mhmm.
Eric: -- like, 2016 - 2017. Like, the Way of the Kensei Monk, which is in Xanathar’s, which is giving a monk a weapon, was in that. While Way of – Way of Mercy was something that was introduced in UA in 2020 and then got published in Tasha’s. Yeah. I don't know. I just – I think that it's also something very endemic about what Wizard of the Coast thinks they should be in D&D. It’s like, “Oh, no one wants to be a not fighter. So, we're gonna give them a mask and give them poison damage.” And I'm like, “Some people want to do this, guys.”
Julia: Some people just don't want to fight and that's okay.
Amanda: Yeah.
Eric: You wouldn't know. They wouldn't – you wouldn't think, but that's true.
Amanda: I very much chose the subclass based on some of the higher level moves that Aggie will get. So, I'm excited to see you guys, like, see Aggie come into her own because I wanted to play a character who sort of kept her powers on the down low and didn't really engage with them a lot. But, for narrative reasons, that's not interesting. So, I feel like Aggie has been just kind of, you know, a support character in a lot of ways. But I think as her – you know, either she decides to use her powers more or has to use her powers more and as I mechanically level up and get better powers, that it'll be, hopefully, interesting to see.
Brandon: Also, don't wear a plague doctor mask, please. That's too spooky.
Amanda: No, no, no.
Julia: Too scary.
[Brandon laughs]
Eric: Do not – I do not like it.
Amanda: Sister Pampbells on Twitter asks, “My husband thought of a question for El Silvero.” Eric, here. So, Mister, Sister Pampbells asks, “Did you know from the beginning who the “villain” of the story would be or have our heroes choices, how superhero to be, not teaming up with Emily, et cetera, changed what you had in mind?
Eric: Oh, that's a good question. I always wanted Gutenberg to be lurking in the background. It’s something that I had in the back of my head. And, now, that I've, as you've heard, watched all of Teen Titans --
[Everybody laugh]
Eric: -- I really like his – you could have a parallel to Slade in the Teen Titans show. I think that him being in the back lurking, always being around. You don't really know what he's doing until something and then he pops up, which is something we learned until the bear – you thought it was a giant scary bear and then, “Oh, it's made out of pixels. Oh, shit. Oh, fuck.” And, like, we didn't know. We haven't talked about him in how long? So, I think that that's something I really liked about Gutenberg. But, to the second half, that means everything else can change. He is the only thing that I planned from the beginning. And then the way that it happened was the way that it happened. I was very clear from the beginning of this that, like, you could join Emily or not., You could be super heroic or knots. You can do this the way that you want because so much was up for grabs. Why I have this backbone. Like, I control the arc structure. Like, here's how long I think this is gonna take. Here's how long I think this is gonna take. Here is, like, this main backbone. But, like, everything else, all the meat, all the guts and the organs and the fun stuff, that's all the players.
[Brandon laughs]
Brandon: Eric Silver, all the guts and the organs and the fun stuff 2020.
Eric: My literal job is Billy's bones – like skeleton stuff. We're working on like a – on a podcaster kit for Multitude, which is gonna come out soon. And, like, I realized my entire job as the head of creative is just, like, pre-production when it’s just, like, structure your show. If you – it's – it's – the structure of a podcast is the bones. And, sometimes – and, most of the times, you don't want to see the bones. But, sometimes, you want to see the bone.
[Brandon laughs]
Eric: And, like, that's how I feel about all shows, but especially the DM’s relationship to the players in a D&D game.
Amanda: I’m going to close out before we, we hit Spoily Corner with a question from Megan Corner. Val, would you rather never eat pizza for the rest of your life or never be able to cuddle any dogs? I’m sorry to get so dark here.
Julia: Oh, oh, no. You know what? I think Val would go with the never eat pizza ever again because there's a million dishes in Italian cuisine that you can enjoy. But a dog, you, you had to cuddle the dogs.
Amanda: You could just unfold the Calzone, I suppose.
Julia: Yeah.
[Brandon chuckles]
Brandon: I've been watching a lot of animal shows on Disney Plus. And I've never wanted to cuddle an animal more than I want to cuddle bears. They're the fluffiest little friends ever.
Eric: Bears are the best. I know they're killing machines, but they're amazing and wonderful.
Brandon: Yes.
Amanda: Well, what a perfect transition to Spoily Corner, guys. Thank you so much. Laura on Instagram, “Is Eric in a dare to see how many bears he could feature in his D&D campaign?”
[Brandon laughs]
Eric: I fucking love bears. Get off my back. They're my favorite animal. They're fucking tight.
[Brandon laughs]
Julia: Okay.
Eric: Just fucking deal with it.
Amanda: Who can say?
Eric: And we – Upstate New York, what do you want?
[Brandon laughs]
Amanda: You're right. I shouldn't have put this in Spoily Corner.
[Eric laughs]
Amanda: Okay. So, let's – let's get into the true spoilies. Pearl Wisdom, “Dr. M has always seemed nefarious to me, but everyone seems to trust her blindly. Big reveal coming?”
Julia: Who can say?
Brandon: Who can say?
Eric: Who can say?
Amanda: Who can say?
Eric: Eyes Emoji.
[Brandon chuckles]
Amanda: Question Surgeon Michelle Spurgeon, “Did Dr. Mayor Morrow know that the Gigabear was another pixel threat like the bombs? Who can say?
Eric: Who can say?
Julia: Who can say?
Brandon: I want to know, too.
[Brandon laughs]
Amanda: Jayangs, “Is Val actually Valentine from Campaign I but in a trench coat?
Brandon: Hah!
Julia: No.
[Brandon and Eric laughs]
Amanda: No, but good question. Mel118, “When is the JTP album dropping? I'm loving these theme song or rewrites.” You can get the new theme song on our merch store.
Julia: Yeah.
Brandon: Please go buy.
Julia: I, I think they're referring to Eric's incredible Christmas songs.
Amanda: Ah.
[Amanda laughs]
Eric: Oh, I assumed it was about Brandon. That's why I put him there.
Amanda: That’s so funny.
Eric: Brandon, will you make another band camp for the stuff that you – that – for anything you've compiled? I know that you're writing less for Campaign 2, but is there anything else?
Brandon: Um, I know I can't resell it because just of legal reasons.
Eric: Ooh.
Brandon: But I could probably put it somewhere as like a package.
Eric: That’d be tight.
Brandon: But I will – one, I've had a fun time putting jingle bells --
[Amanda laughs]
Brandon: -- and tuning Eric’s singing on the podcast.
[Julia laughs]
Eric: Wow. Wow.
Amanda: Wow.
Julia: His auto tune? Oh, no.
Brandon: And I will cut that out and you can buy it for 40 cents on our merch store.
[Amanda laughs]
Julia: Incredible.
Amanda: Maqualla2001, “What is so important about the locket? Why is Mayor Morrow so sad when she can't find it?”
Julia: Who can say?
Amanda: Who can say?
[Brandon laughs]
Eric: Who can say?
Amanda: And multiple people, to close this out, “Is this all a simulation?”
Brandon: Better not be.
Julia: I really hope not at this point.
Amanda: I mean our campaign is in your imagination. So, in that sense, yes.
Brandon: That's true.
Julia: But they all think we're still stuck in the danger fun zone.
[Amanda laughs]
Amanda: Yeah, I know.
Eric: Yeah, because they saw a – because they saw Clippy/Steven. They think it’s all simulation.
Amanda: I sure should hope not because that means Clippy’s still around.
Julia: Huh!
Eric: Who can say? Who can really say, honestly?
[Brandon laughs]
Amanda: Well, everybody, thank you so much for bringing us such amazing questions, for engaging with our content, and for supporting us. And we have actually gotten at some of these spoilies in episodes that we have since played. And I can't wait for you to hear them. I know we say this all the time and it sucks to hear. But I'm sorry. Deal with it.
[Everyone laugh]
Amanda: Episodes coming up are the best ones ever. I am so excited and proud of all of you for the work that you've all put into the plot in these episodes and I just like, “Oh, my god, I can't. It’s so good.”
Julia: Oh, hell yeah, doc.
Brandon: Eric, you've been knocking your teammates out of the park.
Eric: [Inaudible 1:0012].
Brandon: There is – there is no park for Eric anymore. He's, he’s beyond the park.
Eric: Thank you.
Amanda: The sign says, “No DMing here.”
Eric: Yeah. Only Eric's. I am – I'm really – I really love a lot of the stuff that we've done in this campaign. But, like, these next episodes, I'm really stoked for all of you. Hey, remember when we built all those relationships that your characters have?
Amanda: Oh, no. Are you saying that having stakes in the world makes it easier and more risky to put those stakes on the line?
Eric: Who can say?
[Everybody laugh]
Amanda: Well, speaking of which, I feel like that was a mean thing to say. Can we – can we tease anything so that the people are not just like, “Arrrr, we have to wait.”
[Brandon laughs]
Eric: No, I think that – yeah, the relationships that people are going to do together are going to come together. A lot of stuff is gonna happen. I think that's really something to look forward to. It’s that, like, it's not just like, “Oh, new things.” It's like lots of – lots of stuff for all characters are going to happen. Also, um, hey, keep an eye on your, your feeds for something that might be an empty slot on that week around Christmas.
Brandon: Hmm.
Eric: Maybe December 22nd. Maybe there'll be something, something a little fantastical with a – with a fun special guest that's going to be in there.
Julia: Hmm.
Brandon: Who can say?
Amanda: Who can say?
Eric: Who can say? Well, that, that was such a nice new After Party. Hey, everyone should go buy the Cool Cryptid Compendium, which you can find --
Julia: Hell yeah.
Eric: -- at either the Join the Party or the Spirits merch stores. And we're gonna see you next week for a whole new episode. So, get out of here.
Julia: Wooh!
Amanda: Later.
Brandon: Bye, guys.
Amanda: May your rolls trend ever upward.
Eric: Pew, pew, pew. 30 Under 30 Media Luminary, Amanda McLoughlin. Pew, pew, pew.
[Amanda and Brandon laughs]
Amanda: These are really discordant emotions that we're going out.
[Eric laughs]
Amanda: Bye, guys.
Transcriptionist: Rachelle Rose Bacharo
Editor: Krizia Casil