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In That Order

In That Order

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LA-LI-LU-LE-LAND OF THE FREE: On this fourth of July, our hosts celebrate American independence by reflecting on the properties that really got them thinking about the American identity––specifically, the Metal Gear Solid series and Andor.

TOPICS:

(00:00) Intro – Happy 4th of July! Don’t use fireworks, please.
(03:30) Metal Gear Solid–the most patriotic video game?
(13:00) September 11 and the new model of American patriotism
(17:42) How the Metal Gear Solid games probed American values
(23:35) Andor and America
(27:25) How did Hideo Kojima tap into the American ethos?
(00:00) Outro – Final Fantasy and Magic: the Gathering
(00:00) Outtakes

RELEVANT LINKS:

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

  • “Metal Gear Solid Main Theme” by Harry Gregson-Williams (from the soundtrack to Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty)
Episodic Episodes

Episodic Episodes

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WEEK IN GEEK: This week, Andrew watches Poker Face on Peacock and finds a surprisingly compelling heir to Columbo, while D. Bethel dives back into the North Sea to find terrors unknown in the Siren’s Rest DLC for the game Still Wakes the Deep.

TOPICS:
(00:00) Intro – Kurtzman and Orci
(03:21) Andrew’s WiG: Poker Face
(13:52) D.’s WiG: Siren’s Rest DLC
(26:02) Outro – Star Trek Adventures RPG and Heroes Con
(31:34) Outtakes

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • “Arias In Embers” (21 June 2019): Where Andrew first plays Star Trek Adventures.
  • “States of Play” (30 August 2019): Where Andrew first discusses playing Oxygen Not Included.
  • “The Beef Sleeps” (13 December 2024): Where D. Bethel discusses Still Wakes the Deep.

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Ten-Dollar Friend

Ten-Dollar Friend

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DEFEATING THE WIZARDS: Nerd news broke this week when Critical Role announced that they made two new hires––Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford––both who happen to be veteran designers who recently left the Dungeons & Dragons franchise at Wizards of the Coast (WotC). Our hosts talk about that move and how it may (or may not) impact the TTRPG industry.

TOPICS:
(00:00) Intro – Critical Role’s New Hires
(13:19) RPGs changing with the times
(32:04) Multiplayer DnD
(41:06) Outro – Poo Poo Pictures
(44:56) Outtakes

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • “Open Awesome License” (13 January 2023): Where our hosts discuss WotC’s major revision to its Open Game License, to the dismay of many people (and companies).
  • “Do the Laugh” (27 January 2023): Where Andrew updates us on the aftermath of WotC’s OGL revision.
  • “Keyboard Blades” (6 June 2025): Where Andrew talks about the release of Critical Role’s original RPG, Daggerheart.

RELEVANT LINKS:

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FEATURED MUSIC:

The Lake Effect

The Lake Effect

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THE LAST CRUSADE: With the completion of Indiana Jones & The Great Circle now in his rearview, D. Bethel shares some final thoughts on what ended up being a surprisingly enjoyable and innovated game.

CHANGING THE GAME: Andrew dives deep into new TTRPG ventures with the extremely referential but fun Outgunned Adventure and finds a lot to like in Daggerheart, the new RPG system from Critical Role.

TOPICS:
(0:00:00) Intro – Final thoughts on Indiana Jones & The Great Circle
(0:09:36) Andrew plays Outgunned Adventure
(0:15:09) Andrew checks out Critical Role’s Daggerheart
(1:01:45) Outro – The intersection of Star Trek and Cheers
(1:04:00) Outtakes

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • “Open Awesome License” (13 January 2023): Where Andrew walks us through the Wizard of the Coast’s strange decision to change its approach to its Open Game License.
  • “Sausageria” (29 December 2023): Where D. Bethel names the most recent Indiana Jones movie, Indiana Jones & The Dial of Destiny, as his “Thing of the Year: 2023.”

RELEVANT LINKS:

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FEATURED MUSIC:

Andrew Day

Andrew Day

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HE’S THE ONE THAT SITS: Our hosts start with the sadness and address the recent passing of actor George Wendt, whose Cheers character, Norm Peterson, (along with his bar buddy, Cliff Claven, played by John Ratzenberger) really resonated with viewers as the quintessential everyman.

THE MAYONNAISE CAMPAIGN: Andrew wrapped up the Dungeons & Dragons campaign he had started earlier in the year and has some closing thoughts after spending some time with this new edition of the game.

THE WALKINGS DEAD: A kind of two-in-one, Andrew takes inspiration for his own short campaign of the tabletop RPG of The Walking Dead by starting to watch the first spinoff show, Fear the Walking Dead, due to its setting on the west coast of the United States.

THE LEGACY OF PIP & JANE BAKER: Our hosts wrap by discussing a short lived and *possibly* relevant character to the new season of Doctor Who, the malevolent Time Lady, The Rani.

TOPICS:
(00:00) Intro – RIP George Wendt
(08:17) Andrew finishes Dungeons & Dragons
(20:47) Andrew starts watching Fear the Walking Dead
(28:51) Andrew starts a campaign in The Walking Dead tabletop RPG
(31:06) D. Bethel finished Indiana Jones & The Great Circle
(34:24) Outro – Doctor Who & The Rani
(39:08) Outtakes

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • “Ear COVID” (16 February 2024): Where Andrew started the D&D campaign that he finishes in this week’s episode.
  • “The Rolling Dead” (11 April 2025): Where Andrew tires out the The Walking Dead ttrpg for the first time.

RELEVANT LINKS:

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

The Rolling Dead

The Rolling Dead

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THE LEGEND OF DICK BRIMES: After dusting off the microphones, our hosts return for Andrew to tell a wild tale he experienced running a game of Free League’s The Walking Dead tabletop RPG.

HE WAS YOUR HUCKLEBERRY: Our hosts round out the show to quickly discuss the death of the mercurial actor, Val Kilmer. D. Bethel drew a tribute not so much to Kilmer as much as a character Kilmer played that means so much to him––Willow‘s Madmartigan.

TOPICS:

(00:00) Intro – Why the show went dark for three weeks
(02:51) AMC Presents The Walking Dead – The RPG
(11:20) The Mechanics of The Walking Dead
(22:15) Story time
(26:50) It’s a good game––why is no one talking about it?
(39:35) Outro – RIP Val Kilmer
(44:31) Outtakes

RELEVANT LINKS:

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • “Do the Laugh” (27 January 2023): Where Andrew talks about watching the first season of The Walking Dead.
  • “Cowboy Energy” (25 October 2024): Where our hosts walk through one of the foundational texts of zombie fiction, George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead.
  • “The Sheng Long Distraction” (27 September 2024): Where Andrew buys a lot of The Walking Dead comics.
  • “My Nude Wall” (15 November 2024): Andrew gives an update on his watch-through of The Walking Dead.

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FEATURED MUSIC:

Awesome Barbecue. Awesome Pool.

Awesome Barbecue. Awesome Pool.

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LAST WEEK, PART 2: This week, our hosts return to what they rambled about last week. After watching the Netflix show, Heartstopper, Andrew checked out the original comics and was surprised at how closely the show sticks to them. D. Bethel checks out episodes 2 and 3 of Adult Swim’s Uzumaki and develops theories as to the significant shifts in animation quality throughout the episode. Then, Andrew returns to talk about something new: the Backerkit campaign for the classic tabletop RPG, Ars Magica, and how it’s promising to release this new edition in the Creative Commons.

THE TOUCH: D. Bethel also briefly discusses Transformers One, the newest fully animated Transformers movie since 1986’s The Transformers: The Movie.

TOPICS:

(00:00) Intro – Plans for Spookytober
(02:43) Andrew reads the Heartstopper comics
(12:08) D. Bethel watches episodes 2 & 3 of Uzumaki
(21:18) Andrew talks about the Ars Magica Backerkit campaign
(33:01) Outro – Transformers One is good!
(35:20) Outtakes

RELEVANT LINKS:

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • “Extra Obnoxious Protocol” (29 September 2023): Where our hosts discuss writer Bill Willingham’s decision to put his DC Comics-published creator-owned comic, Fables, into the public domain.
  • “Meander in Geek” (11 October 2024): Where our hosts first talked about Heartstoppers and Uzumaki.

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

The Colon Matters

The Colon Matters

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NEWS CRUISE: Our hosts recap a lot of the nerdy and geeky news of the last week or so, including Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, new Dungeons & Dragons, DLC crossovers, and a Doctor Who spinoff?!?

TOPICS:
(00:00) Intro – Both hosts are to blame
(02:22) Star Trek news
(08:50) Dungeons & Dragons news
(16:41) Crossover DLC announcements from Dave the Diver, Balatro, and Dead By Daylight
(26:38) Doctor Who spinoff mini-series, The War Between the Land and the Sea, starts production
(35:09) Outro – Andrew’s Gravity Falls update
(38:53) Outtakes

RELEVANT LINKS:

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • “Chasing Chickens” (17 July 2020): Where D. shares his adventures into Gravity Falls.
  • “Day of the Diver” (05 January 2024): Where our hosts have a conversation about Dave the Diver.
  • “The 2-Body Solution” (29 March 2024): Where D. Bethel obsesses over Balatro.
  • “Nerd Intervention” (28 June 2024): Where the hosts discuss the finale to the most recent season/series of Doctor Who.
  • “Blanketcast” (09 August 2024): Where Andrew begins his adventure into Gravity Falls.

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

General Skalsfass

General Skalsfass

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THE RULE OF RULES: Andrew shares his experience playing Fabula Ultima some more, and how it led to surprisingly divisive thoughts about how important––and, perhaps, necessary––the rules are of a tabletop RPG.

TOPICS:
(00:00) Intro – Andrew and his mouse problem
(03:43) Fabula Ultima and the importance of understanding (or misunderstanding?) TTRPG rules
(43:50) Outro – Andrew’s impending birthday
(47:19) Outtakes

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • “So Many Halves” (14 June 2024): Where Andrew gets excited to start playing Fabula Ultima.
  • “Active Talk Battle” (21 June 2024): Where remains excited after playing Fabula Ultima.

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

Active Talk Battle

Active Talk Battle

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NEWS DRIVE-BY: At the outset of the show, our hosts breeze by a bunch of headlines from the week: Marvel vs. Capcom Collection, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, Ace Attorney Investigations Collection, Adobe lawsuit, etc.

WEEK IN GEEK: After finally having a hands-on session, Andrew shares his thoughts on the ttjrpg, Fabula Ultima, while D. Bethel dives into the world of professional wrestling with The Iron Claw.

TOPICS:

(00:00) Intro – A quick look at some news
(02:44) WiG: Andrew – Fabula Ultima
(14:14) WiG: D. – The Iron Claw
(24:48) Outro – Doctor Who
(26:41) Outtakes

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • “Dating the Void” (23 April 2021): Where our hosts talk about some slight controversy with the release of a previous Ace Attorney collection, The Great Ace Attorney.
  • “So Many Halves” (14 June 2024): Where Andrew shares his excitement for Fabula Ultima.

RELEVANT LINKS:

INFO:

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