So, before I watch tonight's episode I wanted to put my thoughts out on the first episode. Firstly, yes I was able to get the subscription for Dropout and I'm already so fucking excited and happy.
Anyway, I'm already loving Neverafter! The horrific and morbid start has me hooked. I can't wait to see how this story unfolds. So far Ally's character is my favorite. The concept of this gay dude being haunted by a giant demonic goose is such an interesting take on Mother Goose.
Brennan's storytelling skills have already captivated me and this season is no different. His narration is so enveloping and the details he brings forward really help build the world surrounding these new lands. I can't wait to see how the intrepid heroes do.
PSA since it seems like a lot of people don't know this: Zac Oyama is a DM! He has a podcast! They've done 11 story arcs so far!
The Rotating Heroes Podcast is so good, you guys. Most of your Dropout faves have been on it, and the world Zac's created is fascinating. Jasper William Cartwright has also DMed at least one arc.
Just a note, because a lot of people seem surprised by him briefly taking Brennan's seat lol
This was such a fun season! I really love Aabria's style of dming. Brennan's dming always has me hanging off of every word in the way of stunning me like I can't look away or react without missing something. While Aabria's has me reacting and even pausing to have my own little moments. It's so different and I hope to see more of her in future seasons.
I liked that this was through a different system of ttrpg. I've only seen one other game system before so it was nice to see even more. Plus it was fun that they had those advisory tokens. It was a nice touch.
I grew up watching Harry Potter and so this was a fun way of poking fun at the absurdity of that entire world. The touch of the wands! I thought that was so cool and another great way of immersive storytelling/playing.
I really loved the characters and just how they wanted to prove that they could be just as good and even better because they were mixing modern/common sense with magic. It was again poking fun at what was already put into place.
I thought the players were having so much fun. Between kicking some ass at magic and learning all of their specific forms of magic. Which I think was a really nice touch, it brought those characters more to life.
Overall. I thought it was so nice and even thought it was a short campaign it was definitely one of the most fun. I hope to find more of these shorter campaigns just as fun.
My new single-player TTRPG, No-Tell Motel, is now available! Come on over and grab a PDF, or throw in $5 more to pre-order your physical copy.
In No-Tell Motel, you play the overnight clerk at a sleazy motel. One of your guests murders another one, and no one much seems to care who did it or why. No one but you, that is.
Playing the game only requires a standard deck of playing cards and a six-sided die. You use the face cards to identify your motel's regular guests (yes, the book comes ready with 16), and the numbers cards to randomly generate things that happen between them.
And unlike most build-as-you-go mystery games, you can make your best guess and still get it very, very wrong.
The nightly spread of the game looks a bit like a hand of Solitaire, and that's on purpose. I wanted playing the game to feel a little bit like something you'd do to pass the time in the small hours of the morning.
Here's how it works.
The rules generate different murder victims and methods, a highly randomized yet still coherent matrix of guest gossip, actions and conflict, and most importantly: a way to find out if your accusation was correct, and what the consequences are for pointing the finger.
If you like pulp crime, The Conversation, or Errol Morris's Tabloid, you should check out No-Tell Motel.
"No Pride for some of us without liberation for all of us." -Marsha P. Johnson
stupid leftists and their belief in *checks notes* the intrinsic value of human life
Moodboard
it's funny how Adaine might have been the perfect Bad Kid for Porter to corrupt yet he didn't even know her name. She was the younger unfavorite daughter in her family, prone to panic attacks and lashing out. She wanted to punch people in the face the first day of school, she's the first one of the Bad Kids who killed a person instead of a monster and she did it with a melee weapon.
Even after she is in a healthier environment she is actually more vicious than fearful like she was in freshman year. She lashes out against authority figures and injustice, she is proud of killing her father by punching off his head. everytime someone wrongs her she response twice as hard in a fury that even the rest of the party doesn't match.
And to make things worse, the Wizard teacher is a condescending bitch who talks down to her students. It would have been so easy for him to take Adaine under his wing. She's literally everything he pretended Fig was and now she's turning her anger on him. The guy is not only a bad teacher, an all around dick, but he's also as bad at proselytizing as Kristen is.
Frankly all of the bad kids were kind of perfect for him and his plans, if a bit too headstrong and willful, but he was never clever enough as he thinks. That's why he's being mocked by a bunch of teenagers when he tries to get them to debate him/ engage with his philosophy
*Edit*
I actually liked this idea so much I started an au if you're interested
Part 1 Part 2
Before tomorrow's episode so I wanted to write down my thoughts for this episode really quick.
Wow, this episode hit the ground running in such a way that makes it feel like even though the characters still don't fully know or are only just beginning to understand their world, they feel so much more sure-footed in the next/new leg of their journey.
I like that we are seeing physically how the Neverafter is affecting our heroes. It makes this feel so much more immersive than it already is. Really bringing in these subtle horrors of living in times of chaos and misery that we get to visually see.
I really like seeing our heroes adapting in such a quick manner cause they have to or it could mean far worse outcomes. Plus most of them have the benefit of knowing both lives they have lived and can use that to their advantage which we have already watched them do. Though I wonder how things for Pinnochio will turn out since he doesn't have those memories but have the crow who is most likely a watch out for the Stepmother, that's my theory.
I can't wait for tomorrow's episode and this fight that is set up. I really hope that they get some better rolls this time around but I also feel like they are at a better advantage overall between being more experience than before and having the stealth that they got set up. I am so excited and wish that I could just binge it all at once but I'm also glad that I get to watch this as it is coming out.
As a side note. I'm almost done with The Unsleeping City: Chapter 2. I only have like one more episode and get out my little post about it tomorrow. I'm not sure what I'll watch next after though I think I'm leaning toward the other Aabria DMed campaign that I am forgetting the name of right now.
academy
adventurer's guild
alchemist
apiary
apothecary
aquarium
armory
art gallery
bakery
bank
barber
barracks
bathhouse
blacksmith
boathouse
book store
bookbinder
botanical garden
brothel
butcher
carpenter
cartographer
casino
castle
cobbler
coffee shop
council chamber
court house
crypt for the noble family
dentist
distillery
docks
dovecot
dyer
embassy
farmer's market
fighting pit
fishmonger
fortune teller
gallows
gatehouse
general store
graveyard
greenhouses
guard post
guildhall
gymnasium
haberdashery
haunted house
hedge maze
herbalist
hospice
hospital
house for sale
inn
jail
jeweller
kindergarten
leatherworker
library
locksmith
mail courier
manor house
market
mayor's house
monastery
morgue
museum
music shop
observatory
orchard
orphanage
outhouse
paper maker
pawnshop
pet shop
potion shop
potter
printmaker
quest board
residence
restricted zone
sawmill
school
scribe
sewer entrance
sheriff's office
shrine
silversmith
spa
speakeasy
spice merchant
sports stadium
stables
street market
tailor
tannery
tavern
tax collector
tea house
temple
textile shop
theatre
thieves guild
thrift store
tinker's workshop
town crier post
town square
townhall
toy store
trinket shop
warehouse
watchtower
water mill
weaver
well
windmill
wishing well
wizard tower