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Cast-offs, discardeds, discharges, and deserters.People Terra Cassavander believed the Jovian Lunar Commonwealth had done a disservice. Treating them like nothing more than more meat for the grinder. People the Commonwealth had abandoned. Some more literally than others. Cassavander had been the leader of the Commonwealth’s 5th Rifle Division before his desertion. The 5th were a decorated and accoladed unit, a feather in the Commonwealth’s cap, until he and a close group of confidantes had taken the bridge of the division’s flagship and burned hard for the asteroid fields. By the time every loyalist on-board had been dealt with, Jovian High Command had all but erased the 5th Rifles from the records. Every grand deed, every friend Terra had ever lost in pointless, fruitless conflict lost to history. To this day the unit has not been reformed, out of resentment for his disloyalty.Hadn’t stopped the steady stream of Jovian deserters who found their way into his employ. As far as he was concerned, anyone smart enough to escape the orbit of the Commonwealth before they ended up dead was good enough for his 5th Rifles.*In today’s episode, the crew of the Vehement have a meeting of the minds with a who’s who of the Territory’s best mercenary companies. As the situation becomes clearer, how much more risky will Torvald’s plan prove to be? We encounter old enemies, encounter old friends, and have possibly one of the greatest discussions of all time. This week on Play By Podcast: Territory Nouveau 23 : BattleplanPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@liamhiggins97), and Max Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@CodyOjea)

Recall Pumpkinfein had never wanted to waste away in a boardroom. As the fifth child in the line of succession however, little else was expected of him. By the circumstances of his birth, his role in his family’s tapestry was to be minimal. Even with those lowered expectations, Recall’s aspirations, his youthful ambition, pressed him into the service of the Rectified Solar Union’s military. Four years at the academy, and a generous donation from his family, put the young man on the fast track to commanding his own vessel in the RSU’s naval fleet.He kept up appearances with his family, a swelling of pride at his accomplishments seen through their eyes, through their notice. As the attacks on Mars began, he waited to be called on. To defend the Union in his family’s name. The call he received, he had not expected. From a von Furstenberg no less. The house his own had sworn to centuries ago. The fighting was turning Earthward, Jovian fleets would fill the sky soon enough. He was needed. This was his chance to make a mark on his family’s legacy. He simply needed to act according to plan, and history would see to the rest.*In today’s episode, with Otto’s coronation complete, the gang investigates the remnants of the old von Furstenberg manor, and the suspicious circumstance of Otto’s late father. If the Vehement crew are going to topple Torvald’s treachery, they’ll need some very solid evidence. Have a signing party, get a little loamy, and always remember to check your flight logs.This week on Play By Podcast: Territory Nouveau 22 : Pieces Fall TogetherPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@liamhiggins97), and Max Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@CodyOjea)

Prominence, it’s been quite a while.I was skeptical when Lord Torvald contacted us. Can you blame me? How often do you get a direct line from the head of a Gentry household instead of some MAB representative?But when your name came up -- when I saw the Vanguard Arm was onboard, the risk of taking a job from a...private contractor seemed trivial. Eyed the rest of the roster and it looks like a few more friendly faces will be joining us. Crew from the Vehement. Good, steady mercs they are. Soft hearts.Cassavander will be there too...can’t win ‘em all I guess.We’ve been moored to the von Furstenberg’s boot inhibitor for a few days now. Found it along the Martian slipspace lane, or I guess it found us, just where he said it would be. We’ll be waiting here to group with you and the others. In case you’re wondering, the retrorockets from the briefing are in our cargo bay on the Matador, so swing by after you boot in to pick them up.In the meantime, I just thought I’d say hello. And I’m looking forward to working with you again.Don’t try to outshine my kids too hard out there.-Hoyt Bancroft, of the Iron Bulls mercenary company. Private communication to the leader of the Vanguard Arm, Dearest Prominence.*In today’s episode, there’s a very big ‘to-do’ and Otto is in the spotlight! With the coronation of House von Furstenberg’s newest liege come further entanglements, and plots from both sides are beginning to brew. But who will come out ahead? We put our heads together, reconcile with our siblings, and get rowdy at a very fancy party.This week on Play By Podcast: Territory Nouveau 21 : The Coronation of Otto von FurstenbergPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@liamhiggins97), and Max Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@CodyOjea)

Torvald von Furstenberg had achieved the impossible. He had accomplished something no other member of the family would have ever entertained, let alone attempted.Torvald had managed, against all odds, to bring the black sheep of House von Furstenberg; rebellious, headstrong Otto, back into the fold.The von Furstenbergs had all but abandoned the boy out in the Territory. Otto had become anathema to them. To consider him was to acknowledge the blemishing disgrace on their House.But Torvald knew, if everything in his House- that’s what it was now with his brother gone, his House- if everything was to be in order, he needed Otto to come back in from the cold.And he had done it, but there was still so much more to arrange.*In today’s episode, we finally see how the other half live as we complete our journey to Earth. A welcome mat is extended and our crew plan to take full advantage of Gentry hospitality. But what does the new head of House von Furstenberg have in mind for Otto? We attend a one-trumpeter reception, meet the old family, and plot someone’s demise.This week on Play By Podcast: Territory Nouveau 20: The ProdigalPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@liamhiggins97), and Max Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@CodyOjea)

Six hundred and eighty. Six hundred and eighty years. That’s how long it would take you to get from Earth to Pluto in the 21st Century.In the 28th, moving at near-light speed with a nice boot drive, it wouldn’t even take two weeks. It’d be a fucking pleasure cruise. Smoothest tenday of your life, with the right crew.Of course that’s what it always comes down to, isn’t it? You can have the shiniest ship in the Territory; best in the RSU, Commonwealth, or the Freeholds, fresh off the shipyards. Without a good crew, a crew that works together, that gels, a crew who won’t be at eachothers throats at a pin drop, you might as well be shooting yourself out of a cannon. You might get farther, anyway.No, a good crew is worth its weight in unregistered anchor parts, and nobody but nobody gets anywhere without people behind you who you can count on, people who want what you want.And if you’ve got some passengers you don’t agree with, or some crewmates you rubbed the wrong way or who put you off, here’s some perspective that might change your tune.Just be glad it’s ten days, and not six hundred and eighty goddamn years.*In today’s episode, we get underway for our long journey to Earth. A ten-day trip with two armed killers aboard isn’t exactly anyone’s idea of a vacation, but how will the crew of the Vehement fare under this duress? We pull rank, make some upgrades, and dread what’s yet to come.This week on Play By Podcast: Territory Nouveau 19: Circumstances of DeparturePlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@liamhiggins97), and Max Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@CodyOjea)

Had they all feared for their lives when the rounds started flying? Of course, but freeholders would proudly tell you they are stronger than that.Freeholders don’t panic under fire. They find cover and assess. Freeholders are ready for anything, anytime. They think on their feet and they execute. When the gunfire started downtown, they’d known what to do almost on instinct. All of them had managed to live through at least one large-scale assault by now, for most that number was higher. This was just another day on Charon Beta for them. For the poor, bloodied bastards lying in the street in the aftermath, it had been a near death experience.It appeared to those on-scene that the gunfire simply...stopped. A robot appeared, followed by two strange characters, and the wounded were whisked away to a nearby triage. Crisis averted. Life continued for those still breathing. Luckily this time it appeared there would be no dead to be mourned.The reality of their situation is that freeholders have lived in a constant state of readiness for hundreds of years. But as ready as a life in the crosshairs of two galactic empires will make you, it never makes you any less terrified when the shooting starts.*In today’s episode, the Freelancers patch themselves up and prepare for a long journey, all under the watchful eyes of their captors. What awaits Otto back on Earth, and with two new, violent passengers will the crew of the Vehement make it that far? We replace what was lost, misremember a famous play, and put our loved ones in harm's way.This week on Play By Podcast: Territory Nouveau 18: Out in the ColdPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@liamhiggins97), and Max Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@CodyOjea)

They’d seen to her in one of the clinics near the shuttle hub, under a full complement of armed freeholders. Mended up her broken and bruised wrists in freshly printed casts. Taken her knives, for what good that would do them. But she had not allowed anyone to tamper with the TrackingSoft chip inserted at the base of her neck. The golden tether connecting her to her quarry, who she’d been keeping tabs on since their engagement. Casperov would be damned if she let that miserable scrapheap get away.The freeholders eventually let her rejoin her associate Houndstooth. A smile crept for the faintest moment across her face, seeing the bloody welt left by the impact of the bottle on Houndstooth’s forehead, but he was otherwise unharmed. Alistair had not seen her smile often, and she could read the confusion in his eyes like a pop-up book.After a few hours in a cold, windowless room shuffling legal papers and smooth talking Freehold authorities, they’d come away with their freedom, knowing the softer approach was no longer viable. They’d underestimated their opposition. The kid gloves needed to come off.The TrackingSoft had triangulated the bot’s position to a local dive on Beta, where it had stayed for the past few hours. She was sure the others were there with them, and if not it would still be a fine opportunity for a little revenge.*In today’s episode, the game is still afoot as the Freelancers keep up the cat and mouse act with an injured and abashed Houndstooth and Casperov. What lengths will the deadly duo go to in their hunt for Otto Von Furstenberg? Hunker down, mark all the exits, and answer your dang comlink!This week on Play By Podcast: Territory Nouveau 17: DisarmedPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@liamhiggins97), and Max Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@CodyOjea)

Suspicion, a cautious distrust. If anyone knows how to foster suspicion, it’s Alistair Hounsdstooth. In this business, cautious distrust is what gets you in the door. Their expectation for you to overperform, overdeliver. Everybody loves an underdog, so why not play a little below the table?The trick is to make whatever story you’re selling half believable, even if none of it’s true. Create the narrative. Create suspicion. Create an opening.It all went to plan, the Vehement. A little bloviating, a trumped up story oversold with sympathy. Just a couple of Queen MAB’s subjects looking for an edge, help from a kind soul. Sure he met us at the door with his sidearm on, but why let that stop a little polite conversation? Not like either of us didn’t come prepared for the occasional violent outburst.We’ve been sitting with the good captain for a day or so now. Trying to soften him up but he’s a stubborn one.We’ll settle in for a while now, but we will find what we came here for.*In today’s episode, hot damn we’re in a tight spot! Scarlett is under the gun after his accidental encounter with the dangerous duo of Houndstooth and Casperov. What are they looking for on Charon and what does it have to do with the crew of the Vehement? Take a nice shuttle ride, drown your sorrows in a river of ale, and maybe even get a little stabbed, this episode!This week on Play By Podcast: Territory Nouveau 16: Houndstooth and CasperovPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@liamhiggins97), and Max Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@CodyOjea)

The crew save for Chief O’Donnell and Doctor Peryton had offloaded from the Vehement for shore leave on the Freeholds. With Bete, Otto, and Scarlett gone as well, Ambrose was finally beginning to enjoy his time alone.He had just capped off a long 18-hour nap when the airlock comms buzzed his quarters.“Houndstooth and Casperov: Finders, Keepers” gold print emblazoned across a business card, vague enough to be enticing but direct enough to tell Ambrose the kind of thing these two were sniffing around the Vehement for.The hand holding the card belonged to a questionably fashionable man in a fur coat and stetson. Next to him a stern-faced woman with tattoos Ambrose couldn’t place stood arms crossed, staring directly into the camera. Almost past it, as if she was looking right at him.The ersatz cowboy cleared his throat and spun up a quick compliment before launching into his pitch: He and his associate were on Charon working a case. Freelance, big client. Armed and dangerous runaway on the loose, last known whereabouts pointed to the Freeholds. They just wanted to ask Ambrose a few questions. In person, they wouldn’t budge on that. Wouldn’t be proper detective work, Houndstooth said.Ambrose had dealt with all manner of skip tracers, bounty hunters, and private eye types before and yet there was something...off about these two. Eventually his curiosity got the better of him.*In today’s episode, the Freelancers return to the safe haven of the Charon Freeholds with rest and recovery on the agenda. Leaving the situation on the Jackknife to the authorities on Charon, the Freelancers return to the Vehement to find the crew away on leave. We set some rumors straight, check in with our friends, and try to say goodbye.This week on Play By Podcast: Territory Nouveau 15: Back to the VehementPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@liamhiggins97), and Max Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@CodyOjea)

The Jovian military wouldn’t make any moves without solid information to go on, of that Virgo was certain. They wouldn’t waste resources to recover an asset as vital to Aspirant Kennet’s grand design as Doctor Xade without proper intel. They needed something verifiable. Something concrete.He was certain he had gummed up the works considerably in this regard.Jewels Carcanet and his cabal of enforcers from Jovian Intelligence had come knocking not long after the doctor had left Mirandan atmo. They’d stormed the barracks in full assault gear to take him into custody. What little good their armor and weapons would have been against his teeth anyway, but Virgo Bombay went quietly. They held him for another day, spent it putting the boots to him. From there, as expected, Jewels handed him off to the Comandante and the interrogations began.What were you doing that day? Have you ever seen these three before? What about their uniforms? The suit left in the pump room? Did you assist these individuals? Some of your things appear to be missing? He had anticipated many of the Comandantes lines of inquiry, but there was one question that had thrown him off. One with a much more complicated answer than he could give.Lieutenant Bombay are you a patriot?*In today’s episode, it’s a long three days trip back to the Charon Freeholds after the death of Trilly and the rescue of Doctor Xade. Grief, rage, and the cramped confines of the Jackknife Soliloquy make a for a dangerous combination on this return trip. And what awaits them beyond the hyperlanes? We’ll shout it out, have regrets, and play a few hands of poker.This week on Play By Podcast: Territory Nouveau 14: Float AlongPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@liamhiggins97), and Max Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@CodyOjea)

Two years. Two years since Trilly had dared to set down on Miranda. When she was a little girl, running errands for the Vory on Titan, she’d heard the rumors about this place even then. She’d come up substantially in the trade since, but the rumors remained. If there was ever a place that gave Trilly the shivers, it was Miranda.And yet here she was.When one spoke of Miranda within the Commonwealth, it was with eyes that were fixed to the wall ahead, in words drawn out from the corner of one's mouth. Miranda was the devil that would steal your face if you so much as met eyes with it. The boogeyman of the Lunar colonies.And yet again, for a second goddamn time, here she was. Waiting for a pickup that might never come. Waiting to get pinched by a few trigger-happy Jovian doughboys in their shiny suits of 20-foot-tall armor.But she was here for a reason. A damn good one, she knew. Morgen had asked her to save Bete, and now Bete had returned the favor.Something cosmic in that, she thought.*In today’s episode, the Freelancers make their way out of the Mirandan base, but first Scarlett and Otto need to pay a visit to the lab of one Doctor Birch. Plus, a look at the war back home as the Jovian Lunar Commonwealth continues its campaign against the Rectified Solar Union. In this episode: stealthy slips, anthro-hybrids, and one hell of a getaway!This week on Play By Podcast: Territory Nouveau 13: In the ClearPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@liamhiggins97), and Max Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@CodyOjea)

From the moment he was brought back online aboard the C.C.V. Shining Sky Rigel had known something had gone wrong. The whole trip home he had worried that he was to blame. Now back on Miranda he was sure of it.Doctor Xade had been confined to their lab, patched into Rigel’s home network. He knew the toll that interfacing with him long-term would take on them, but Comandante Carcanet had assured Rigel that the Doctor needed more time to “acclimate” to interfacing.Rigel was fairly sure that was not necessary, but the Comandante had ordered it, so it must have been proper in some regard. At least there was no danger of being forcibly de-synched in the confines of the lab.Even before Xade had been jacked in, he could feel that they did not want to be there, but they assured him it was not his fault. This did not put him at ease.Where had it gone wrong? He and Doctor Xade had been operating at near-perfect synchronicity, not a single fluctuation or error. What could they have done differently? The Comandante had told him the operation was to be a test, judging his capabilities. Had he failed the test? Had the anchor that managed to deactivate him been a trick question of some kind? What would Comandante Carcanet think about this? What would the Aspirant-Rigel did not wish to continue this line of thinking. He disliked being anxious, and thinking about Chyron Kennet was the last thing he wanted to do right now.*In today’s episode, we continue our journey into the depths of the Jovian base in search of Bete’s creator, Doctor Morgen Xade. What new friends and foes will the Freelancers meet on their mission to save Xade from the Lunar Commonwealth? A rather fishy gentleman? A loyal AI? A work-a-day guardsman? And which is which? Listen to find out!This week on Play By Podcast: Territory Nouveau 12: Xade and RigelPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@liamhiggins97), and Max Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@CodyOjea)

Vettel had drawn sentry duty again. He always hated guard details. He would just end up standing there for four hours, boring himself half to death. At least the rotating patrols got to move around a little. Got to pilot an anchor, like he’d signed up to. Got to see the sights, if in fact there were any sights to see on this godforsaken rock.Miranda was always so damn bleak. Year round it was always the same grey flatland, the same blue-grey sky, surrounded by the same awful, choking fog. Even on the best of days you could hardly make out the hulking, behemoth form of the planet below on the horizon.Kowalski had also drawn the short straw, he noted as the other Jovian joined him at the forward post. He raised his free hand in greeting, relaxing his grip on the rifle slung over his shoulder. Kowalski adjusted his mask, stepping past the safety line that seperated the clean air of the base from the polluted atmosphere.“Best settle in, V,” he said, voice distorted through the facemask. “Looks like another day of fuck-all.” The footfalls of an approaching anchor thundered in the distance. Vettel didn’t have to look to know it was Jovian. He could tell by the sound of it now.Yep. Another day of nothing.*In today’s episode, we step through the fog and creep through the smog of the Mirandan surface and make our way to a place from Bete’s past: the heavily-guarded Jovian facility where they intend to find one Doctor Morgen Xade. We sneak through the front lines, have some trouble with the front door, and crawl our way to (relative) safety.This week on Play By Podcast: Territory Nouveau 11: Face AdversityPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@liamhiggins97), and Max Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@CodyOjea)

There was this saying in the old world, a long time ago: “the guilty always return to the scene of the crime” they said.For folks like me, who do the illegal well and do it often, we’ve taken this old adage and made our own use of it. In a backwards kind of way, anyway. In the circles of smugglers, runners, spys, and info brokers, the sentiment is a little different.The guilty should never return. Never hit the same spot, attack the same target, never be in the same place, never work with the same people. You cannot go home again. And if a job requires it. Find a different job. There’s plenty more dirt to get on your hands in the Territory.But here I am breaking the only rule in my profession. Back in the exact spot I pulled Bete from a couple years back. Knowing the kind of grudges the Kennet’s hold, statute of limitations is probably still up on that one. All it would take is one lucky Jovian patrol.Whatever happens to me on this run is my own fault. Just need to make sure if something does go sideways it doesn’t fall back on Bete and their friends.*In today’s episode, the Freelancers are headed back to Bete’s homeworld, the Jovian moon Miranda. But travel takes time, and too much time trapped in the cramped quarters of the Jackknife Soliloquy could be disastrous to our team. Will our heroes maintain composure or will their tempers flare? Expect a little rambling to pass the time, some much needed suit deodorizing, and an explosive setback all straight ahead.This week on Play By Podcast: Territory Nouveau 10: Welcome to MirandaPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@liamhiggins97), and Max Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@CodyOjea)

After the dust up with that ship of freelancers and that Gentryman from the Union, Commandant Carcanet was happy to turn his attention to more important matters. The expeditionaries from Charon would be returning soon, and the data they had transmitted ahead needed assessment.All the combat data from each anchor in the lance was in the process of being poured over by Jovian intelligence, but Carcanet had managed to save the very best for himself. The new anchor. The experimental one. He’d even studied Xade’s ridiculous notes so he could better understand the new telemetry from the strange devices they had used to perfect the new anchor’s systems.In motion the machine was pristine. Quick and graceful like some great, ancient predator. Truly something that would strike fear into the hearts of the enemies of House Kennet. Something about the way it moved even made him afraid.No, not afraid. Uneasy.He watched it dance through a hail of incoming fire from the Freeholders in some futile effort to halt its progress. Of course they were ineffectual.And then, a burst of concentrated fire from an autocannon! The offending anchor was...familiar. He’d seen it on that freelancer ship, he realized! A two-bit mercenary had single handedly bested the Commonwealth’s newest experiment.The oversights were obvious. Glaringly so. And upon their return, Commandant Carcanet knew exactly who was to blame. And who would take the punishment for their failures.*In today’s episode, in the aftermath of the Jovian attack, the Freelancers plot their next course of action. How will they prepare themselves for this leg of their increasingly perilous journey? We'll heal ourselves up, put our digital noses where they shouldn’t be, and chart a new, more covert course.This week on Play By Podcast: Territory Nouveau 09: Good FriendsPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@liamhiggins97), and Max Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@CodyOjea)

They left us here to die, way back when.The Solar Union. The moons that would become the Commonwealth.In the beginning they’d taken anyone, the destitute, the hungry, the desperate. Anyone willing to sign their life away, contract themselves to a life of servitude, and take a one-way flight to the edge of the Territory.A life of hard work for a percentage shaved off interest on their relocation fees. Remainder passed to the next generation. Company scrip for the company store. Things only got worse as time went on.Contracts meant our work continued apace until Pluto was no more. Mined and extracted of anything of use until all that remained was a field of debris, cold and dead and alone on the fringes of the Territory. A whole damn planet killed by the Gentry and their greed.We understood our part in it, too. Our labor had been the murder weapon. And while they skulked away with the pilfered remains, we mourned. Not only the scale of the loss we had helped inflict, but our own sorry situation as well. The Charon Freeholds and the thing that had once been Pluto were not unalike in the end. Alone, adrift, dying.But in that desperation, we found a drive. A spiteful resilience.We would be goddamned if we were going to die out here, the only memory of what had been done in the dark.*In today’s episode, the Vehement crew are spread thin and the Freeholds are under attack! Outnumbered and surrounded by Jovian forces, our Freelancers are forced to defend themselves, but what new danger lurks among the Jovian ranks? We’ll hijack some hardware, reveal a few unwelcome surprises, and suplex some mechs, all right here, right now.This week on Play By Podcast: Territory Nouveau 08: Freeholds Attack!Play By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@liamhiggins97), and Max Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@CodyOjea)

Linwood was getting on in years, surely. He had seen generations of folks come and go from the Freeholds in his time as a Dockmaster. Whether they came in from the Venusian plains, or the atolls of Ganymede, or were born and raised in the Freeholds, he never forgot a one of them.He took a certain pride in that. It gave him an impetus, a drive, a fierceness to protect the folks attached to those names.Young Ambrose had not been home to Charon in a long, long while. Linwood was beginning to think he had all but forgotten them. When he learned that Ambrose had returned, ship crowded with strangers, and invoked his name in the doing, a grin crossed Linwood Berrett’s face.He was going to learn a good few more names yet, he thought.*In today’s episode, with the Cydonian refugees finally delivered to the safe harbor of the Charon Freeholds, the crew of the Vehement enjoy some well-deserved downtime. What do the Freeholds have in store? Parrot infestations, otherworldly cocktails, and telltale cryo-tubes await within. This week on Play By Podcast: Territory Nouveau 07: Moments and MacawsPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@liamhiggins97), and Max Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@SixChordCircus)

Miranda, the fog-shrouded moon of Uranus, in the heart of the Jovian Lunar Commonwealth. A strange and enigmatic planetoid where, it is said, the machinations of the Commonwealth’s war machine are brought to life.Since the outset of the First Jovian War, it has been rumored and propagandized within the Rectified Solar Union that Miranda was home to the Jovian miltary’s intelligence and scientific initiatives. The stories of cloak-and-dagger operations and horrific experiments taking place on the the Mirandan surface prevailed well beyond the war, even among the Gentry. Regrettably, this has made the true intentions of the Commonwealth on Miranda almost as unknowable as the surface of the moon itself. Though House Kennet and their Gentry bannermen would have it no other way. *In today’s episode, the crew of the Vehement have jumped their way to one of the most clandestine outposts in the Jovian Lunar Commonwealth: the mysterious moon Miranda. Survival hangs in the balance as our Freelancers are surrounded by the Jovian military, but is there more than military might waiting on Miranda? We trade metaphors, swap harsh language, and make one last push for the Freeholds. This week on Play By Podcast: Territory Nouveau 06: Thorn in an Elephant's SidePlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@liamhiggins97), and Max Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@SixChordCircus)

Just outside of Jupiter’s gravitational pull, beyond the boundaries of Europa, Ganymede, Callista, and Io sits a massive ship graveyard. A vast field of decommissioned and destroyed debris placed there specifically as to not be an eyesore upon House Kennet’s glorious Commonwealth. The ships moored there passed on their names and salvagable parts to more worthy vessels long ago, and the graveyard is unknown to most folk in the Commonwealth, but some life does still lurk within the oft overlooked quadrant.Scoundrels, killers, and cutthroats of all stripes prowl the area, hiding among the skeletons of Jovian starships, masking their signatures to avoid detection, scrounging for overlooked salvage, or lying in wait to strike at unexpecting passers-by on the galactic slipstream. One such outfit, numbering seven strong ships and a detachment of fighter craft, are a scrappy crew of Jovian deserters turned pirates known to those of the Jovian moons as Vance’s Raiders. *In today’s episode we begin our trek across the Territory to the relative safety of the Charon Freeholds. The Vehement is stuffed to the gills with passengers and precious cargo, but will these temporary arrangements lead to lifting spirits or broken hearts? And what else is out there waiting for them? The forging of bonds new and old, an unscheduled stop in hyperspace, and some more crafty hacking await your ears. This week on Play By Podcast: Territory Nouveau 05: Cramped QuartersPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@liamhiggins97), and Max Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@SixChordCircus)

In the face of Cydonia’s looming destruction the old worries of Weldon Woldt seemed far away and altogether insignificant. Money, work, comfort, all that mattered now was that next, forward step. Never quite escaping the shadow of the Amano capital ship that loomed large overhead, never quite out of earshot of the thumping boom of artillery, or the mechanical whirring of distant anchors.He’d run, and run, and run until he’d entered the Halation square, the shelter a generous sprint across the concourse. The Security Forces had already mustered, gunmetal grey anchors shining, fresh off the assembly line. A pilot descending to meet him as he approached. Officer Piedmont Kels. “We were waiting for you, Overseer Woldt, already a few inside.” He’d barely managed a mumbled response before Kels had rushed him into the shelter proper and shown him to his console. Weldon watched, dumbstruck, as the reinforced metal doors closed, expecting to never open them again. The last he saw of the outside world was a city on fire, and the strong, confident smile of Piedmont Kels. *In today’s episode, the Freelancers move forward with their plan to evacuate Mars, and try to help where they can. With a ticking clock and a gang of ruthless mercenaries at their backs the pressure is on! We learn important lessons about close quarters living, do a little experimentation with some alien elements, and try to hold everything together when things look their most grim. This week on Play By Podcast: Territory Nouveau 04: What I Think is BestPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@liamhiggins97), and Max Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@SixChordCircus)

The bridge of the Vehement was preternaturally calm, given the circumstances. Ambrose Belgard, on the other hand, was not. He sat alone on the quiet, dark bridge, slumped in his chair staring out onto the bright red sphere of Mars below him. The mesas, the mountain faces, the green expanses of ocean. And the Amano capital ships hovering just in low orbit above it all, their dropships still descending. The other houses hadn’t mobilized their forces yet. That was worrisome. At this rate the Amanos would be ready for them when they did manage to muster a response. All across Mars the Amano fleets loomed in a way that made Ambrose’s stomach tie in knots. It reminded him of something he’d only read about, or heard stories third hand from dockworkers in the Freeholds. Allies taking up arms against allies. Mercenary contractors picking at the bones of the still bleeding. Betrayal from the highest laying the lowest even lower. It reminded him of the Kennet Rebellion. It reminded him of the First Jovian War. And his team were in the thick of it. *In today’s episode, something is up in the Cydonian sector as the Martian skies fill with the ships of House Amano. How will our freelancing heroes respond to this new looming threat? This week enemies become allies, we make some tense preparations, and try to negotiate a shaky truce with a haughty heir. How will it shake out? Find out here!This week on Play By Podcast: Territory Nouveau 03: Quite the Fortuitous MeetingPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@liamhiggins97), and Max Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@SixChordCircus)

“The Wingard’s Anchor assembly plant in the Cydonian sector went dark a few days ago. House Wingard is furious, obviously.Last transmission from security was a run-of-the-mill all hands call for the night shift.After that, nothing.No one in, no one out, not even the factory techs. Anything that gets close to the place in plain view either gets shot down or blown up by something on-site. Something that hits very, very hard.Most likely a number of Anchors rolled the factory overnight, though no demands have been made and no allegiances declared. We don’t know who’s sponsoring the other side but they paid for some premium muscle.Letter of the contract from Queen MAB says get planetside, assess the situation, and pacify the targets so the Gentry can get back to making their money. I’ll leave the definition of “pacify” to your discretion.That’ll be all, people.”-Ambrose Belgarde, Captain of the Vehement, Briefing Minutes Section C*In today’s episode, we get into our first session of actual play after a quick refresher on the system. Our luck is all over the place this week as a mission to a Martian gulch brings back old anxieties in Scarlett, Bete’s Anchor takes a beating, and Otto’s first engagement leaves him wondering if he’s really cut out for life among the freelancers. Will the team pull itself together or be blown apart? Find out this week!This week on Play By Podcast: Territory Nouveau 02: Human SquabblesPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@liamhiggins97), and Max Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@SixChordCircus)

“I was fifteen years old, the last time the Union tried to take back the Freeholds. A ‘fact of life’ my mother told me. Happens periodically. Been happening forever, shit. And we’ve pushed them back every time, them and Kennet’s damned Commonwealth. Every time, for centuries. Like clockwork.Let’s look at the state of things, folks. Our forebearers watched the Solar Union collapse. Saw it reborn as the ghoulish bastard-thing it is now. Saw the Jovian’s close ranks. And even apart, they still come after us. They go out of their way to cast hell on our lives. For a mining operation that dried up centuries ago. For sunk costs.It’s 279-goddamned-3. If they really wanted their colonies back they’d know by now it takes more than a measly little fleet of cruisers to break the Charon Freeholds. So what gives? There’s no profit in it for them, it doesn’t track.I see it three ways. One, the Gentry are a bigger bunch of incompentent pissants than even we thought. That’s rich. Two, they’ve got a real long con going and one day they’ll send a real armada while our pants are down around our ankles, which ain’t ever likely. Or three, they don’t really want the Charon Freeholds folding back to them.Those monied bastards still have their hands around our throats, they just want to keep reminding us that they could crush us if they wanted. Anytime.”* Linwood Berrett, Dockmaster of Charon Alpha, overheard in the Dockside Bar.*In today’s episode, we give a rundown of the familiar yet strange expanse known as the Territory: a hellish, hyper-capitalist vision of the Sol system. We talk about the setting’s powerful factions, our odd lot of characters, and the driving ideals behind both. Greedy Galactic Aristocrats? Giant mechs on Mars? A sentient crash test dummy? Still gay? But of course. All that and more to come in this season of Play By Podcast!This week on Play By Podcast: Territory Nouveau 01: The State of ThingsPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@liamhiggins97), and Max Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@SixChordCircus)

To think, no one had ever seen a blue sky before…In those days, the last days of what was the Interdependency, of what was Shard, we stood defiantly against our own end.Shoulder to shoulder, as ever in the Interdependency. Staring down the inevitable. Staring down the end. The Miasma. That once dormant sentient mist who had snuffed out all the life that came before us. Across Shard our communities, our friends, our families were safeguarded away, should we fail in this our last-ditch effort to secure all our futures.And in the First University we toiled and built and worked ourselves to the bone, unaware of just how close we skirted calamity with little more than hope and the leylines to guide us. This would be it. All or nothing, this would be it.We stared down our inevitable end, and it stared right back.And one of us was about to blink.***In today’s episode, we’ve reached the final chapter of the story of the Interdependency Shuffle. For better and for worse, whatever happens inside the strange otherworld of the Shuffle will change everything. This week we consider giving in to astonishment, strike a few deals, and close out our story.This week on Play By Podcast: The Interdependency Shuffle 26: The Last Days, The Blue SkyPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@liamhiggins97), and Max Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@SixChordCircus)

Imagine, if you will, a deck of playing cards.The top card of the deck, we will say, represents this tangible world of ours. The card immediately below that, I hypothesize, represents the intangible plane from where all eldritch ability is drawn.A plane of leyline energy. An astral plane. Something I call the Shuffle.My research at the First University has focused heavily on the Shuffle, on traversing the barrier weaved between the planes, interfacing with leyline energy, and drawing power from the Shuffle itself in a tangible, physical form. It is something that, in my small, controlled tests, anyone regardless of ability or training in magical arts has been capable of if they have the heart and willpower to do so. One only need maintain their composure, as the Shuffle has proven volatile in its reaction to the immaterial bounty of raw emotion.Not only does interacting with the Shuffle offer us the opportunity to physicalize the metaphysical, if I am correct then harnessing the Shuffle’s power could potentially provide thousands of Shardites with access to what was previously only possible through years of study or innate ability.We can bring magic to everyone.*Dissertation on the Shuffle, Scientific Applications of - Bell, Proper New - The First UniversityIn today’s episode, The Wanderers complete their trek to Boon with a trip to the First University, Shard’s oldest and most venerated learning institution. With the doomsday clock ticking down, what solutions will the greatest minds of the Interdependency bring to the table? This week we refuse to get hot for teacher, have a meeting of the minds, and maybe, just maybe find a way to fix all this, if you’re willing to risk it.This week on Play By Podcast: The Interdependency Shuffle 25: The First UniversityPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@liamhiggins97), and Max Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@SixChordCircus)

BY THE ORDER of General Aspect Abell,Acting Commander of the Armed Forces of Shard:All civilian, reserve, and active duty personnel currently residing within the Settlement of Lockstock are hereby instructed to evacuate the area within the next twenty-four hours. Following established emergency protocols, all available transports have been assigned to begin transfer of evacuees from Lockstock to the settlements of Boon, Summit, and Nomad’s Heights effective immediately.At this time, travel to the settlements of Oxbow, Glasstown, Sandbar, and Port o’ Plenty is deemed ill-advised. Those of you with family or other relatives residing in the settlements not on the evacuation route, please refrain from deviating from current standing evacuation orders.Those with family or other relatives in settlements along the route will be considered for appropriate relocation, though this serves as no guarantee for such placement.Please do not return to Lockstock until the all-clear is sounded and confirmed.Your safety is paramount to me. All of you.I am assured we will make it through what is to come.* An emergency bulletin, distributed to the people of Lockstock*In today’s episode, we make our not-so-triumphant return from the Miasma after a tense encounter with the Abdicated Throne. The Wanderers warn the people of Lockstock of the coming cataclysm and set their sights on the settlement of Boon for a solution. With only two weeks to save the world, they’re going to have to come up with something good. We get a little shaky, advance the clock, and do experimental science on some car parts.This week on Play By Podcast: The Interdependency Shuffle 24: All the Time We Can GetPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@liamhiggins97), and Max Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@SixChordCircus)

Seeing his sister again, here in this place, Orion was of two minds. He had been of two minds for some time now, but the feeling still left him uneasy.Everything came with a kind of duality: Panic and placid calm, fight and flight overlapping into inaction, familiarity and otherness. He stood tall before them in the clearing, his every emotion, his every action delayed or belaid by the will of another. His inner monologue now more than ever a dialogue.It was all his fault. What was going to happen to her. To her friends.But of course it was good that she was here. It meant she would survive what was coming. Wasn’t that something to celebrate? Of course it was.Both voices were his own. It seemed that he fought only himself. Had it been this way all this time?Had he warned Leela away from here of his own volition or had Lady Pluma allowed him to reach out? Did she need his sister as well?Did he want her to be a part of all of this? To become a subject of the Abdicated Throne? His own voice, whether his conscience or something else, answered:Better to accept the Gift than die a slow death from what was to come.*In today’s episode, the Wanderers stay skeptical as they explore the Keep of the Abdicated Throne, an eldritch location found deep in the Emerald Firth with ties to the Miasma, and to the mysterious Pluma. Who or what is she? What are her plans for DeGrasse? What does she know that our intrepid Wanderers don’t? We get cleaned up (again), start a ticking clock, and contemplate a change of careers.This week on Play By Podcast: The Interdependency Shuffle 23: What She WantsPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@liamhiggins97), and Max Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@SixChordCircus)

It had been awhile since she had entertained guests. She hoped she would still prove an adequate host. She could not afford to be inhospitable at a time like this.Not with so much on the line.She did not often ask her subjects to make their way to this place, to her home. Often simply entering the Miasma under her influence was enough. But that influence could only reach so far outside without straining her, and she needed to be at her full potential for her next guest.A very special boy, one of exceptional heart and mind and ambition. One who wanted to do good, as she had.One who could change everything, if he so chose.*In today’s episode, the Bazaar crew follow DeGrasse’s lead as they make their way into the Miasma-filled forest of the Emerald Firth. What will our Wanderers find trailing the siren call of the mysterious Pluma? We procure some potions, stitch ourselves up, and contemplate fratricide. It’s that kind of episode.This week on Play By Podcast: The Interdependency Shuffle 22: Undertake a Perilous JourneyPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@liamhiggins97), and Max Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@SixChordCircus)

General Aspect Abell stared out from the battlements atop the walls of Lockstock, peering down onto the clearing below.Their battlefield. The Front.800 feet of open ground that separated the folk-at-arms of Lockstock from the toxic boundary of the Miasma. Ground pocked with bloodstains, acid scars, and craters of cool molten metal. Ground the scouts had told them they were losing slowly but surely by the day.Aspect was exhausted. They were sure that all of them were. The uptick in Aberration incursions, the Miasma now on the move.It seemed again, they thought, like the end of days.Aspect, ever the leader, put up their brave and stoic front once more, and began heading down for morning chow. As their bootfalls echoed down the long stairway, they noticed another, distant noise carried in on a morning breeze.A sound approaching through the forest. A cacophony to beat the din of hell itself. A great and a terrible thundering, a howling and a crashing of fallen trees.And a heavy fall of wings.*In today’s episode, Sierra is back! She may not be at her best but an incoming Aberration attack means she won’t have a lot of time for R&R. And who’s that once-friendly face leading the Aberrations? We walk through a rain of fire, have a family reunion, and one of us becomes the Special Boy.This week on Play By Podcast: The Interdependency Shuffle 21: To the FrontPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@liamhiggins97), and Max Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@SixChordCircus)

Life in Lockstock was a bit harder than it had been in Port ‘o Plenty, sure. Her skills didn’t really suit the place. She was no fighter, no grand strategic mind.But to her credit Suri was getting used to it.Getting used to sleeping in the quieter alleys and keeping to herself in the daytime. Getting used to switching aliases with what acquaintances she had made. Getting used to hiding her face in public, keeping her head low, and avoiding eye contact in case someone might recognize her.Suri the Engineer from Port ‘o Plenty. Suri, the one who caused the Incident. Suri, the Jaxx whose picture made all the papers that week.The streets of Lockstock were by no measure the loft above Tor’s shop, and they were leaps and bounds away from her old lab, but it was the reality of things now, so like the people of Lockstock she soldiered on.She missed her old life. Her old friend. Though, all things considered, would Lyra miss her?Suri almost hoped she’d never have the chance to ask.*In today’s episode, while Sierra is on the mend in a Lockstock field hospital, DeGrasse and Lyra have to learn to get along without their surrogate road-mom. A chase in the nighttime streets of the settlement signals the return of a friendly face, though some are happier to see them than others. We take a stroll with one of the most powerful people in Shard, argue with medical professionals, and interrogate our besties.This week on Play By Podcast: The Interdependency Shuffle 20: One Night in LockstockPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@liamhiggins97), and Max Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@SixChordCircus)

They had been in worse situations, hadn’t they? After all the time Bazeen had known her, known any of them really, he wasn’t so sure.It doesn’t get much worse than this, he thought.They’d managed to skid out of plenty of scrapes before. Worse for wear? Sure, but never anything like this. Not even Glasstown was like this.He was there in the Bazaar, standing next to Coleraine of all people. They looked down on Sierra’s makeshift sickbed, close enough to watch over her, but too far away to do anything useful. There was little else to be done now.As his best friend wheezed and bled and fell unconscious once more before them, Bazeen realized he hadn’t left that spot since the Bazaar had started rolling toward Lockstock.In today’s episode, we take some time to unpack all the things that happened during our last episode. While the Bazaar crew rushes Sierra to Lockstock to find a medic, we check in and find out how are our favorite Wanderers are doing after the battle in the Emerald Firth. We take a perfectly good bird and give her anxiety, discuss the necessity of violence with a former farmboy, and make Leon cry. Sorry, Leon.This week on Play By Podcast: The Interdependency Shuffle 19: DecompressionPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@liamhiggins97), and Max Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@SixChordCircus)

A white flare. The signal was supposed to be a white flare. Streaking into the night sky over Lockstock while the soldiers below stood sentinel along the walls.That was when the Deviants among them would turn their coats. When the revolt would begin.But the signal never came. The sun sank and the soldiers of Lockstock, the Deviants among them, went about their tasks with only the faintest hint of a traitorous edge.In the night of pondering that followed, the morning of uncertainty, and the meeting in secret, it was determined that those assembled had been played for fools. Their fear, inexperience, and uncertainty bent and twisted for aims they now realized were the ideals of the truly deluded and the brazenly selfish.The revolution, it appeared, was over before it began.*In today’s episode, it’s an action-packed show as the battle against the Deviants begins! Who comes out on top? Who ends up six feet deep? Whose life is forever changed? Listen in for the answers to these questions, and more! We get called out, leave a bird hanging, and buffalo through.This week on Play By Podcast: The Interdependency Shuffle 18: We’ve Been in Worse Situations.Play By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@liamhiggins97), and Max Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@SixChordCircus)

As most things often do, Coleraine's arrangement with the Deviants had started as a simple one.They'd cornered him at a dive in Sandbar. A popular spot he'd heard that a particular Salamander Warf had passed through. He intended to have words with her, and instead, that night he found himself face to face with one Bumprhy Hogart.The former Privateer Captain and her posse of Deviants could have killed him right there. He was lucky, she had said, that his reputation as a Wanderer-killer had preceded him. If not for that their little gang would have torn him apart on sight without a second thought.But she had come to offer him something. An out. A quick and dirty agreement. A place among the ranks of those who hated him and those like him."It takes a Wanderer to hunt Wanderers, Mister McDougall," she told him, "and your abilities are second only to a few. You can keeping killing, but you'll do it on my order, when I say. Is that clear?"At the time it was clear as a crystal, but there were facets to this jewel he could never have foreseen.*In today’s episode, the Wanderers and the rest of their Bazaar crew are just about to complete their long journey to the fortress settlement of Lockstock! But what’s this? A checkpoint? Something definitely doesn’t seem right here. We’re reunited with some familiar enemies, puzzled by our new allies, and ready to throw down with some Deviants once and for all.This week on Play By Podcast: The Interdependency Shuffle 17: A Grand RestructuringPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@liamhiggins97), and Max Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@SixChordCircus)

DeGrasse. A week and a half has passed in your journey from Oxbow to Lockstock and a few more weeks are ahead of you still before you reach your destination. You have no idea what awaits you in that faraway town, or who might be moving against your party at this very moment.With plenty of time to move about the cabin of Bazeen’s Bazaar, or not, you’ve had a long while to mull things over in-between meal conversations, sleep, and road games with your new friends.Your mind wanders back to your old life, your old home. A strange place to you now in your new life, though it has changed it seems, almost as much as you have.Your homestead, now a haven for Miasma folk, a fledgling foothold for an entirely new species of being. How did you find yourself here, at only 17? Where did this all begin? Before the college. Before the almanac.It began, you recall, with a Mage, a Maze, and a Monster.*In today’s episode, we bring you the second and final entry in our exploration of the origins of our group of intrepid Wanderers with another dungeon-crawling one shot! Trapped in a strange and sinister maze beneath the earth, how will our three heroes band together and face the labyrinth’s ultimate challenge? You’ll have to tune in to find out. Payoffs and callbacks, accidentally obliterating your teammates, and a brush with death that will change everything you think you know about a certain Immolator, all straight ahead...and maybe to the left.This week on Play By Podcast: The Interdependency Shuffle 16: A Mage, a Maze, and a MonsterPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@liamhiggins97), and Max Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@SixChordCircus)

The Shard scientific community’s stance on the idea of a “King Aberration” is that such a thing does not exist, nor has it ever. Reports of such a creature are often rationalized as a mislabeling of a particularly large Knight by a young research assistant, or just as often laughed off completely and attributed to delirium.To the general population, the King Aberration is a legend. A modern myth. A bedtime story particularly cruel parents tell their children to keep them from sneaking out at night.It’ll get you, they say, It’s waiting out there.For Wanderers, the myth of the King Aberration is, though unfounded, a clear and present source of dread. It could come bounding over that far hill at any moment, it could be slumbering inside that long-abandoned library, or, as is the case with our heroines, it could be right in front of them, a beast of legend made flesh and stone and smoldering acid. A wink of red light closing the distance. It’ll get them, alright.It’s waited long enough.*In today’s episode, we continue our look back at the early days of our Wandering trio, and finish the tale of the meeting of Lyra Greyfeather and Sierra Scorchskin. While exploring the Cairn the dynamic duo has managed to stir up some trouble, and unearthed one of the Interdependency’s most terrifying urban legends: the King Aberration. We dodge energy beams, execute a dynamic entry, and finally pay off all that rock throwing.This week on Play By Podcast: The Interdependency Shuffle 15: The Cairn and the King Pt. 2Play By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@liamhiggins97), and Laura Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@SixChordCircus)

Lyra,Bazeen’s Bazaar pulls away from the Tillfield Homestead. As it makes its way through Oxbow proper and starts out onto the open road, you settle in for what will surely be a weeks long journey to Lockstock. You have no idea what awaits you in that faraway town, or who might be moving against your party at this very moment. In the meantime, there is downtime.Some of your companions you look forward to spending time with. Others, you’d rather avoid. For now, you go to your quarters. There, you find a small book of as-yet-unreadable poetry, collected some time ago.Your eyes wander from the pages, out the window to the Grasslands beyond the boundary of the Miasma. The same Grasslands where once you met a very peculiar Salamander.*In today’s episode, as the Wanderers move toward Lockstock and prepare to face their toughest challenge yet, we look back and take stock of a time before. How did Lyra and Sierra meet? Is throwing rocks really a viable solution to trap-finding? What does a thousand bad rolls sound like in audio format? We run a dungeon-crawling one shot to find answers.This week on Play By Podcast: The Interdependency Shuffle 14: The Cairn and the KingPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@KeepCalmKlingon), and Laura Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@SixChordCircus)

The old farmstead, now overtaken by the fog of the Miasma, had been abandoned by its previous owner years ago by the look of it. Empty barns, a derelict farmhouse, crops limp and dying in fields overgrown with wildflowers, the rotted wood along the perimeter fence. Whatever caretakers this place had seen were long gone, and the gate of that self same fence had been left open.To him, this seemed quite the portent.His companions felt much the same, and so the whole lot of them set down in that farmhouse. After a few nights spent roaming the property he had the thought that maybe, just maybe, they should stay here instead of roaming, instead of heading further into the Miasma, instead of following that voice like all the others who’d roamed with him before they...changed.He could still hear that voice. The one who had brought them into the Miasma. He was almost positive that they all could. He could not risk bringing them closer to her. He knew what that would do to them all, slowly but surely, as it had the others.For now everyone was fed, rested, and happy. And that was enough.*In today’s episode Degrasse returns to his old homestead with the rest of the Wanderers in tow for one last hurrah. The implications of what he finds there will stretch far beyond even the boundaries of Shard, and bring the Wanderers closer to something big. We check out some good bad dogs, charming mutants, and learn the extent of squatters rights.This week on Play By Podcast: The Interdependency Shuffle 13: A Nice Enough SunsetPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@KeepCalmKlingon), and Laura Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@SixChordCircus)

The Interdependency as it is now owes everything to Oxbow, the breadbasket of Shard. Oxbow was, along with Boon and Summit, one of the original three settlements, and farmers flocked from all around to stake their claim on the vast tracts of arable land surrounding the small township.In the days of the fledgling Interdependency, it fell to the farmers of Oxbow to produce all the fruits, vegetables, grains, and meats that would sustain the whole of Shard. Many flourished in this challenge, but none so much as the families of Sod, Manore, and Tillfield.As the land began to die, choked by the poison Miasma, the yield of Oxbow began to diminish. Disease whipped through the town in a seemingly unending blight. The survivors clung to what little hope they had and they made do.In spite of these hardships; the disease, the downturn, the strife, to this day, from Nomad’s Heights to Port ‘o Plenty, there is always food from Oxbow.*In today’s episode, a stop off in Oxbow digs up a past of painful memories and deep-seated blood feuds. It’s the Harvest Festival, and hometown boy DeGrasse wishes he were anywhere else. We dance with a paterfamilias, meet a rat named Bocephus, and eat entirely too much oatmeal.This week on Play By Podcast: The Interdependency Shuffle 12: An Especially Hard DayPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@KeepCalmKlingon), and Laura Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)

The skirmish that came to be known in the following days as the Battle of Port ‘o Plenty, while thought of as an outlier in the everyday experience of life in Shard, did leave a particular mark on the Interdependency’s populace. Something sparked by a repeating of apocalyptic events, seemingly with the same lack of reasoning as the first cataclysm.Though the cause of the disturbance, one errant Jaxx engineer, was eventually discovered, a thought unconsidered for the past 120 years was brought back to the forefront of everyone’s minds:The Miasma could begin its encroachment again at any time, anywhere. The apocalypse could indeed start again, and this time it would come for all of them.All who heard the stories of the battle found themselves victim to this pervasive intrusive thought. This one strong, shared emotion. From the Sea of Sandedge to the Singestone Peaks, a fear began to spread.An almost familiar kind of panic unique to those within the Interdependency. The jarring sense that something in your periphery was suddenly right in front of you.Beyond the boundaries of the Miasma, something fed off of this shared fear, and grew more powerful for it.*In today’s episode, the Wanderers try to turn the tide of battle in the accidental surprise attack on Port ‘o Plenty. Standing in their way? One extremely large Rook. Will Sierra keep her promise to Europa? Will Lyra’s wits and weapons be enough to get her through this? Will Debussy’s “Clair de Lune” signal a horrible fate for DeGrasse? These questions and more, this episode.This week on Play By Podcast: The Interdependency Shuffle 11: The Battle of Port ‘o Plenty Pt. 2Play By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@KeepCalmKlingon), and Laura Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@SixChordCircus)

Suri had spent the hours since her failed test run with Lyra and her new friends feverishly reassessing her original calculations, crunching new numbers, and reconfiguring her runes. Something DeGrasse had said, as simple as it had seemed at the time, had really stuck with her.“Send me to Oxbow.” he’d said, but that would be impossible. Undoable. Unthinkable with the technology in its current state, she thought.Unless.Originally she had split the leyline energy between two points. An easy enough conclusion: Start at one point, end at the other. But this, this was a completely different, even more exciting prospect. If she hyper-focused it all through one rune. Coded the right coordinates. Maybe.Her teleporter would work this time. She knew it would. If she ever hoped to make her mark on Shard it had to work.She’d stake her reputation on it, if she had a reputation.Her retrofitted machine whirred to life, drawing in arcane energies from the great leylines themselves like water from a rushing river, bending the very fabric of reality to her whim. Approximately, at least.At least Tor wouldn’t be able to shout at her if this went poorly.In today’s episode, the Miasma comes to Shard in a very big way as the Wanderers work through a falling out within the trio. This week we’ve got portal mishaps, the last remnants of Big Boy Season, and regret as Michael realizes the scale of what he’s done. He’s very sorry, Laura.*This week on Play By Podcast: The Interdependency Shuffle 10: The Battle of Port ‘o Plenty Pt. 1Play By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@KeepCalmKlingon), and Laura Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@SixChordCircus)

The Orion Greyfeather of before, he was certainly dead now. Yet what remained was inexplicably still him, that old self in a new shell. The Highwing. The son of merchants. The coward.It was all still him, mostly.He had managed to reach out, managed to warn Leela without drawing too much attention, but now he felt that he had only complicated matters for his sister and her friends. They grew more distant, surely he could feel them moving away, heeding his warnings, but he knew somewhere deep down that this would not be the end of things. He should have known she’d be stubborn.As he and his ghastly host staggered, stalked, and shambled among the great green trees that surrounded them, he kept a part of himself leashed to that book, that damnable almanac. His only link back to what had once been his home. He was certain she would want a word with him again soon.*In today’s episode, the Wanderers touch down in Port o’ Plenty, the trade and commercial hub of the Interdependency and home of the Greyfeather mercantile clan. What’s there to do around our Lyra’s old stomping grounds? Experimenting with old friends, seeing a familiar face in a not-so-familiar crowd, and having a genuinely upsetting conversation with your parents, and that’s just for starters.This week on Play By Podcast: The Interdependency Shuffle 09: The Prodigal DaughterPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@KeepCalmKlingon), and Laura Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@SixChordCircus)

He should never have come to this place. He hazarded to think this, to dissent, as he well knew now that his thoughts were no longer his own private purview.There was something else in here with him now.He had been a coward when he left home, he should have stayed a coward, not followed some frantic beacon of will out into the damned Miasma. That will had not been his own, but it had called to him just the same. Directionless as he was he followed.Something was coming to Shard. He knew. He had seen it. Spoken with it. It had, in its own grotesque grace, bestowed something to him. Some ability the limits of which he did not yet know.He knew he needed to warn someone. To warn her. Warn Leela. And so he summoned what power was available to him in secret.And he reached out.*In today’s episode, we take a moment to catch our breath with some enlightening downtime in the city of Sandbar. What news awaits our Wanderer’s in the sleepy little settlement? We drink moonshine with a dog priest, learn some unwelcome truths, and take a good look at a mysterious book. Call your brother.This week on Play By Podcast: The Interdependency Shuffle 08: In the Farther’s AlmanacPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@KeepCalmKlingon), and Laura Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@SixChordCircus)

An excerpt from the journal of Bumphrey Hogart, Privateer Captain:“The boy, Caedmon, he seems excited to begin our little thought experiment. I don’t misunderstand his enthusiasm, he’s entitled to it. He lost as much as I did in the Fire. Maybe more.I appreciate his efforts, he’s the closest thing I have to a real confidant, even more than Sibilance, but I do sometimes question his eagerness to do harm. When I told him the cost of our endeavor, our vengeance, his only qualm was that he be the voice, the face of our little club when the time came.I was the Captain of the Privateers, what did I care?His ideologies suit my purpose, his vision of a world without Wanderers, a return to antiquity, would play well in the streets of Glasstown, and anything that brought more minds to our side was of use.He’s come a long way from the boy I found sulking in the Iron Forge, it will be something to see when he’s reached his full potential. As long as he’s pointed in the right direction when the time comes.”*In today’s episode, the Privateers are closing in and the window for escape is shrinking ever faster. Caedmon Hightower joins the brawl in Asstown and the Deviants make a violent push in the Mercantile district. What’s in store this week? Fighting our ex with sarcasm, grounding a birdman, and tossing classists all over the shop.This week on Play By Podcast: The Interdependency Shuffle 06: Send Me On My WayPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@KeepCalmKlingon), and Laura Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@SixChordCircus)

An unsent letter, penned somewhere in Glasstown:I’m conflicted, Sierra.Conflicted over everything I used to be so sure of. My life. This town. You. Us. Was I just a distraction, like Bazeen said? Something for your spare time? Someone to entertain you? Were you play-acting your way through my vulnerabilities all along? What did any of this mean to you, really?I lose sleep thinking about the you I thought I was so sure of. What you would say. How you would make this all make sense. How could that person have done all this? To my friends? To my town? To me? You didn’t even say goodbye, didn’t even offer an apology, no you disappeared like a coward. You left me holding the baggage, taking the blame, and everything I ever wanted went up in smoke with you.*In today’s episode, we’ve got trouble right here in Glasstown and it’s B-I-G big. Past relationships come back to bite a particular Immolator in the ass and the clock is ticking on whether or not our intrepid trio will make it out in one piece. We burn down a head shop, get the drop on the cops, and someone’s getting shot with a crossbow bolt whether they like it or not.This week on Play By Podcast: The Interdependency Shuffle 06: She Knows Her Very WellPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@KeepCalmKlingon), and Laura Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@SixChordCircus)

“I don’t understand why Captain Hogart wants eyes on these new arrivals all of a sudden but she says jump, you know the rest. Here I am.Company of merchants rolled in this evening, later than usual for business, wagon called ‘Bazeen’s Bazaar.’ Something about the name, it really set the Captain off for some reason? Come to think of it, maybe I should keep my eyes and ears on after all. For merchants they do seem like a strange bunch.Word is they didn’t even open up shop, but some of ‘em wandered over to the Doc’s place with an unconscious woman in tow, started askin’ about the fires. The good doctor sent a tip our way and the Captain herself hauled off along with Marsh and Dallas to pay ol’ Bart a visit.She’s a good leader, and she’s put in the time, but fieldwork? Captain Hogart? Something’s gotta be up with these guys. I guess I’ll have to see for myself.”*In today’s episode, the gang’s back together again with Hollybell Kingandcrown and Doctor Bart in tow, but a suspicious house call from a cavalier Privateer lieutenant forces them to show their hand. Additionally, the group levels up and Michael is gay and bad at math. Check out our new abilities, ill-advised honeypots, and the legal amount of “Green Onions” that we’re allowed to air.This week on Play By Podcast: The Interdependency Shuffle 05: Hammer to FallPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@KeepCalmKlingon), and Laura Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@SixChordCircus)

ATTENTION: All working peoples of the Glasstown settlement, in an effort to aid in our ongoing investigation, the Privateers ask that you remain vigilant through these dangerous times, and that you report immediately any suspicions of pyromancy, fire worship, or any related activities among the populace that could lead to the apprehension of the coward immolator Sierra Scorchskin.We thank you for your efforts and your works. Together the people of Glasstown can bring this wanderer criminal to justice.-A bulletin from the Glasstown Privateers*In today’s episode, Sierra and Lyra’s investigation plants them on the wrong side of the Privateers while DeGrasse discovers that not everyone in Glasstown agrees with the Interdependency Doctrine after all. A criminal past, a not-so-friendly chat, and a brawl in the pleasure district await you within.This week on Play By Podcast: The Interdependency Shuffle 04: Glasstown ConfidentialPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@KeepCalmKlingon), and Laura Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@SixChordCircus)

“Hey boss, how long do you think they’re gonna take in there?”He gave no answer, eyes transfixed on the Northern horizon. Breath shaky under his old protective mask.“Bazeen?” the sound of his name brought him firmly back to reality.He turned toward the Jaxx, who had been his right hand for a number of years now, taking the briefest of moments to study his features before replying “I’m sure they’re alright, Buck.”Buck loosened the grip on his crossbow, letting it rest lazily across one shoulder. He turned toward Bazeen, incredulous “Are you alright, Bazeen?”“Surviving. As usual.”Buck chuckled, turning back East “You don’t like it out here, I can tell.”“I never took to it like she did. Sierra.”“It’s good of you to help her out, but this place isn’t for you and she should know that.”“I owed her one.”Buck signaled, abruptly lifting a fist “Hang on.” He sniffed the air.“What is it?”“Do you smell smoke, boss?”Bazeen turned toward the campus, spying the great clocktower, the library embedded within.“Oh, fuck.”*In today’s episode, the Wanderers scrape, claw, and burn their way out of a bad situation and make allies out of would-be rivals on the way to a reckoning with crimes of the past. We make a million bad rolls and still come out on top, and that makes us mighty. Burning books, sound tactics, and just the worst possible rolls I’m not kidding just have a listen.This week on Play By Podcast: The Interdependency Shuffle 03: Going to GlasstownPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@KeepCalmKlingon), and Laura Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@SixChordCircus)

“The Mourner’s March is about as close to living inside the Miasma as one could experience without wandering inside it outright. Aberrations of all sorts practically run that length of swampland thickets and mossy oaks, and they tend to vex them what venture through the March almost as bad as they do the folks in Lockstock up yon the border.Some fella out Boon way told me, and you’re gonna be particularly interested in this my friend, he told me there’s an old campus out there in the March. A regular bastion of higher learning out there in the Miasma, and ain’t nobody been out there since afore the Encursion.I’m not saying it’s gonna be just a trifle to walk up in there and take your pick of the litter, but if ever there were an untapped well of knowledge, I’d say it was there. Right there in the Library at Abernathy College.”*In today’s episode, we join our party of intrepid Wanderers as they brave the Miasma in search of relics from a bygone time, and find much more than they bargained for waiting for them. The crew also discuss the basics of adventuring in Dungeon World. Swampy wastelands, old enemies, and polytheistic dog priests abound.This week on Play By Podcast: The Interdependency Shuffle 02: The Library at Abernathy CollegePlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@KeepCalmKlingon), and Laura Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@SixChordCircus)

“Some 130 years ago, a dangerous miasma appeared and began swallowing up the land and sea in a toxic purple fog. It killed the people and animals caught inside, though not quickly. For 10 years this miasma slowly swept across the land, on a course to envelop everything.Strange creatures emerged from the miasma and attacked the villages and cities. Many died, and even more fled inland. When all seemed lost, the miasma came to a sudden halt, leaving only a sliver of habitable land. This land came to be known as Shard.With the apocalypse on an assumed pause, the people of Shard banded together and formed the Interdependency, a society wherein each settlement accepted the greatest tradespeople, workers, and creators available and began a network of shared goods and resources. For one settlement cannot hope to survive without the others. This system, the doctrine of the Shard Interdependency, has been the way of this land for the past 120 years.”- The Interdependency of Shard, A History VII Edition. Bellow, Atare 130 AME*In today’s episode, the cast present a primer on the world, peoples, characters, and ideals inside the Interdependency of Shard; a post-post-apocalyptic fantasy that is in no way reminiscent of Fortnite: Battle Royale. Fire-bending? Shapeshifting? Whips and feathers? We’ve got all that and more.This week on Play By Podcast: The Interdependency Shuffle 01: A HistoryPlay By Podcast is Michael Collins (@arealwriter), Leon Barnes (@SlapKatZ), Liam Higgins(@KeepCalmKlingon), and Laura Coe (@_NotMyDivision_)Cover Art by Ariel Corrales (@arielcorrales_)Music by Cody Ojea (@SixChordCircus)