Podcasts about total party kill

In this conclusion to Shard of the Accursed, the party makes a lot of noise, one character gets possessed, and several players read their character sheets. Tony Sindelar with Annette Wierstra, Chip Sudderth, James Thomson, Kathy Campbell and Monty Ashley.

In this episode, a nice ghost helps out, we learn the origin of the shard, and the party sleeps with the dead. Tony Sindelar with Annette Wierstra, Chip Sudderth, James Thomson, Kathy Campbell and Monty Ashley.

In this episode, after Plan A for breaking the curse didn’t work as expected, the party scrambles for a Plan B. Plan B almost gets them killed. Tony Sindelar with Annette Wierstra, Chip Sudderth, James Thomson, Kathy Campbell and Monty Ashley.

In this episode, K’ronng has a cunning plan, J’osh spots the goal before anyone else, Jaee looks like a guard (but taller), Teebee does invisible parkour, and Tink twirls and sprays blood. Tony Sindelar with Annette Wierstra, Chip Sudderth, James Thomson, Kathy Campbell and Monty Ashley.

In this new adventure, the Keys need to perform a reverse heist! Along the way they meet an adorable playwright and a couple of improv goblins who keep slapping each other like two nine-year-olds in the back of a station wagon. Tony Sindelar with Annette Wierstra, Chip Sudderth, James Thomson, Kathy Campbell and Monty Ashley.

Few moments at the gaming table carry more weight than the death of a player character. Is it the ultimate consequence of failure, a dramatic turning point in the story, or simply an opportunity for the next chapter to begin?In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave tackle one of the oldest debates in tabletop gaming: how should DMs handle character death? From the evolution of death mechanics across editions to player agency, storytelling, and the ever-present threat of the dreaded Total Party Kill, the Wise DMs explore how death can shape both the game and the stories we tell together.2:15 A listener question from a returning special guest!4:55 Is it harder to kill a PC in 5e than other editions? Absolutely.7:40 The time invested in creating a character has increased and the game has evolved with it.8:30 Tension is increasing with everything leading up to death. Once a character dies, the tension is gone.10:50 Does death mean that the story is over? Providing player agency to what happens with death.11:55 There's a difference between Gauntlet and Skyrim – meatgrinding vs story.19:05 “We all win when we tell a good story.” What's the story that your game is telling?24:55 Mechanics don't appear from the ether. They spring from playing the game and wanting to experience new things.30:12 Total Party Kill vs Total Party Capture – which is more thrilling?31:30 Permadeath is rare in most fantasy settings.39:45 Final Thoughts.

This season finale features a good plan, a janky blankie, a lot of running, and some Gunk in the mix. Tony Sindelar with Aleen Simms, Dan Moren, Erika Ensign, Steve Lutz and Tiff Arment.

This episode features a split-level dungeon, the most aggressive delivery service ever, and a mid-size ruckus. Tony Sindelar with Aleen Simms, Dan Moren, Erika Ensign, Steve Lutz and Tiff Arment.

This episode features a hole stuffed with pants, a potato-shaped puddle, and a greasy brain. What could go wrong? Tony Sindelar with Aleen Simms, Dan Moren, Erika Ensign, Steve Lutz and Tiff Arment.

This episode, cobbled together from two recording sessions, features a chaotic escape, a police raid, a trip to the local sewer, and a food delivery gone wrong. Tony Sindelar with Aleen Simms, Dan Moren, Erika Ensign, Steve Lutz and Tiff Arment.

This episode features a lot of colon sass, a chance of tetanus, ding dong ditch, some sneaking around, many distractions, and so much gambling. Tony Sindelar with Aleen Simms, Dan Moren, Erika Ensign, Steve Lutz and Tiff Arment.

This episode features a job offer from a bearded fop, party introductions, a search for a missing person, a second bar, more beards, some purple shopping, and a midnight stroll. Tony Sindelar with Aleen Simms, Dan Moren, Erika Ensign, Steve Lutz and Tiff Arment.

We’re starting a new, longer campaign. Here are your dramatis personae for Dragon Heist: Aleen Simms as Zaratha Dreamstrike, the Orc monk - A reformed bully who went to monk school Dan Moren as Squeak, the Rock Gnome warlock - A wannabe chef who overclocked a grill Erika Ensign as Starah Jhasmine, the Halfling bard - A star reporter who also knows music Steve Lutz as Bun Bun the Barhareian, the Harengon barbarian - A bunnyman with no echo, but lots of puns Tiff Arment as Yikes, the Harengon rogue - An antlered bunny who collects … teeth? But they’re not really necessary because Tony is gonna run the campaign for himself. If you’re an Incomparable member, check your First Class feed for the members-only session 0 where everyone planned their characters … sort of. Tony Sindelar with Aleen Simms, Dan Moren, Erika Ensign, Steve Lutz and Tiff Arment.

In this episode… J’osh makes a guard blush. K’ronng is not standing in front of a door as he opens it - are you crazy? Jaee takes a lookout position. Tink Her Bell perceives some more. And Tony doesn’t trust statues and thinks you shouldn’t either. Tony Sindelar with Annette Wierstra, Chip Sudderth, Kathy Campbell and Monty Ashley.

In this episode… Jaee tries to be commanding. J’osh is a lover, not a fighter. K’ronng hides under things. Tink Her Bell is besties with Blueberry. And Tony is really good at Dungeons & Dragons. Tony Sindelar with Annette Wierstra, Chip Sudderth, Kathy Campbell and Monty Ashley.

In this episode… Jaee makes some fashion contacts. J’osh plays a boy toy. K’ronng picks a lock, at range. Tink Her Bell takes great advantage of flight. And Tony is just a guy who phrases things. Tony Sindelar with Annette Wierstra, Chip Sudderth, Kathy Campbell and Monty Ashley.

In this episode… Jaee gets mission-drunk. K’ronng wears a security-guard hat. J’osh is capable of causing a distraction. Tink Her Bell does a drone-style flyby. And Tony does less berating. Tony Sindelar with Annette Wierstra, Chip Sudderth, Kathy Campbell and Monty Ashley.

The Keys are sent on another mission - this time for a heist in the Big City! The planning is … chaotic. Tony Sindelar with Annette Wierstra, Chip Sudderth, Kathy Campbell and Monty Ashley.

In this thrilling conclusion, someone unexpected pays a visit to the final battle, someone expected performs a ritual, and (almost) everyone gets nicknames. Tony Sindelar with Bryan Guffey, Erika Ensign, Jason Snell, Mikah Sargent and Sarah Hendrica Bickerton.

In this week's episode, I answer questions I receive whenever I mention that STARFIELD is my favorite game of the 2020s. This coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Half-Orc Paladin, Book #3 in the Half-Elven Thief series, (as excellently narrated by Leanne Woodward) at my Payhip store: HECTOR50 The coupon code is valid through April 20th, 2026. TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 298 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is April 10th, 2026. Today I'm doing an FAQ about my experiences with Starfield, which is my favorite game of the 2020s. Before that, we will have Coupon of the Week and a progress update on my current writing, publishing, and audiobook projects. So let's start off with Coupon of the Week. This week's Coupon Code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Half-Orc Paladin, Book #3 in the Half-Elven Thief series (as excellently narrated by Leanne Woodward), at my Payhip store. That coupon code will be HECTOR50. And as always, the coupon code and the link to my Payhip store will be available in the show notes for this episode. And this coupon code will be valid through April 20th, 2026. So if you need a new audiobook for this spring, we have got you covered. Now for an update on my current writing, publishing, and audiobook projects. As of this recording, I am done with the first pass of editing through Blade of Wraiths and then starting on the second. It's taken a bit longer than I've wanted because I've had a lot of Real Life Stuff to do, but if all goes well, I'm hoping to have the book out in the second half of April, so hopefully not too much longer now. I'm also 19,000 words into Dragon-Mage, which will be the sixth book in the Rivah Half-Elven Thief series. Hopefully that will be out in May, if all goes well. No, that might slip to June, but I'm really hoping to get that one out in May. In audiobook news, Hollis McCarthy has started work on Cloak of Illusion, so hopefully if all goes well, we'll have that out to you in May sometime. In fact, I'm hoping that will come out concurrently with Dragon-Mage, because it's always nice when I can stack an ebook and an older audiobook in the series like that together. So that is where we're at with my current writing, publishing, and audiobook projects. 00:01:46 Main Topic: Starfield Now onto our main topic. This is ostensibly a podcast about writing and the business of writing, but I like video games, so we're going to talk about a video game this week. The reason for that is whenever I post about Starfield or share a screenshot from it, I frequently get a number of questions. I think it's because Starfield was an oddly divisive game when it came out. People have strong opinions about it and then have strong opinions about other people's strong opinions and I do not have these strong opinions myself. While I enjoy the game a great deal, if you don't like it, that's fine. There are lots and lots and lots of legitimate reasons to criticize Microsoft, which is the ultimate owner of Starfield. It's possible for two things to be simultaneously true that Microsoft has done a lot of sketchy things, and that Starfield is a good game that I enjoyed. I suspect it's a bit like enjoying a football game while at the same time knowing that the NFL is an unscrupulous cartel that could benefit from some thorough reforms. Despite that, I have to admit that I don't think it's super healthy to make gaming opinions, whether video games or sports games, a core part of your identity. A game in the end is just a fancy toy for amusement and idle moments. If God descended tomorrow and told me that Starfield would vanish from the face of the earth, I'd be rather disappointed, but my dinner would still taste just as good and my house would be just as warm. That said, I did enjoy the game quite a bit. Everybody needs a hobby and even I can't work every hour of every day. I wrote like a hundred novels in the last 10 years. Everyone has their own stresses in life, of course, but we seem to live in particularly stressful time these days, so a harmless hobby is a nice break from real life. The game's newest expansion came out a couple days ago on April 7th. And so with that in mind, I thought I would answer the most common questions I get whenever I post or talk about Starfield. Question: Did Starfield influence your Silent Order Science fiction series at all? No. But I'm always pleased when I get this question because it's easily answered. The final book of Silent Order came out on September the 4th, 2023, and Starfield came out on September 6th, 2023. I tried Starfield like the day after it came out, but I didn't actually start playing it in earnest until April of 2024, like I didn't actually finish the starter dungeon until April of 2024. So no, Starfield was not an influence on Silent Order. It would be fair to say that Silent Order was more influenced by James Bond, some H.P. Lovecraft, and Wing Commander: Privateer, which is actually our next question. Question: What initially drew your interest to Starfield? Part of the game reminded me a lot of Wing Commander: Privateer from the '90s, which was one of my favorite games back in the day. If you're not familiar with it, Wing Commander: Privateer was what's now called a "space trading sim" set in the Wing Commander universe. In all the previous Wing Commander games, you played as a Starfighter pilot fighting in the humans' war against the cat-like Kilrathi invaders. Your missions were assigned to you along with the specific ship you would fly for that mission. But in Privateer, you played a freelance captain with a rundown freighter. You can carry cargo, go bounty hunting, do mercenary work, trading, and just wander around the map following infinite procedurally generated missions from the Mission Board, the Merchants' Guild, and the Mercenaries' Guild. Eventually, you would have enough cash to upgrade your rundown ship to something better and configure it however you liked. There's a main plot, but you can totally ignore it and do whatever you want. I loved Privateer and I finished both it and the expansion. And of course, spent a lot of time doing the infinite procedurally generated quests. Starfield does the same thing, but with 30 years' worth of advancement of game design and technology improvements. In grand Bethesda game tradition, you don't even have to do any of the main plot lines. You can just wander around doing procedurally generated quests. It's like Privateer, but better and with ground-based quests as well. You can get out of your ship and walk around in a way you couldn't in Privateer. In Starfield, you can land at some random science outpost or industrial outpost and the inhabitants will have a quest for you. I've heard Starfield described as a "cozy game", since quite a few people enjoy just building their outposts and their ships and then decorating them like the science fiction version of Animal Crossing or Stardew Valley. In another sense, I suppose Starfield could be described as "cozy adventure". Granted, that might be a strange thing to say about missions where you machine gun space pirates, blow up their base, and then loot all their stuff, but Starfield is an excellent game for just puttering around. It's fun after a long day to play for an hour, take out some space pirates, upgrade your ship a little, maybe tinker with your outpost. And I do like, I have to admit, the main plot line and the various faction quests. Question: So the procedural generation stuff doesn't bother you? No. Procedural generation has been part of gaming forever and long before the civilizational blight that is modern LLM systems. Certainly there are points where the procedural generation of Starfield could be improved and it has been improved with patches, but I enjoy the randomness of it. Question: If you think Starfield is good, why did it have such mixed reviews? It did have some rough points at launch, like the lack of surface vehicles, the lack of city maps, and some weird choices for inventory management (among some other issues, though those were later patched or upgraded). I honestly think the game is better than the mixed reviews would indicate, and I also think the mixed reviews were a combination of different converging social factors, specifically, people's expectations of what they imagined the game would be versus what it actually was, its Xbox and PC exclusivity, and the unfortunate addiction to outrage culture in social media. As I mentioned before, I think it's obvious that we live in stressful times and for a variety of reasons that are beyond the scope of this episode, I think people are overall angrier and eager to lash out when a target presents itself, especially online. Additionally, I suspect a big part of the mixed reviews is that Microsoft has built up a lot of ill will since the launch of Windows 11 and Copilot, and Starfield is a convenient outlet for that. Like Outlook and Teams are widely hated software tools, probably some of the most hated software tools in the world, but your job forces you to use them and you can't do anything about it. It's more effective to criticize a consumer-facing business like video games than it is Outlook and Teams, since those tend to be sold in blocks of thousands of licenses to large institutional customers that don't particularly care what their employees think about Outlook or Teams. In fact, fun fact, while I was writing this episode, Outlook was causing problems on Artemis II, NASA's first manned mission to the moon in over 50 years. So there is yet another historical milestone for Outlook. Question: You've said repeatedly that you don't like multiverse stuff, yet Starfield's main plot revolves heavily around the multiverse. That's true. I don't really like multiverse stuff in fiction because it's hard to execute well without making the story pointless. If there are a billion parallel universes and somebody dies in one of them, so what? Just hop over one universe and find a new version of the dead guy. Multiverse and parallel universe plot lines are a bit like homemade lasagna or homemade spaghetti carbonara. It needs to be done by someone who really, really knows what they're doing, otherwise the end result is sad and unpleasant, indigestible, or outright disgusting. That said, multiverse as a game mechanic is actually the clever idea. Like we all know that if you really like a game, you're going to play it more than once. How many times have you replayed Skyrim? How many uncounted quintillions of times has the original Super Mario Brothers been replayed? Starfield rather cleverly builds that replaying into the game. You can start over in a new universe and play the game again, but this time your character has in- game foreknowledge of everything that's going to happen and that can affect the gameplay in fun ways. Question: Did you really lose 40 pounds while playing Starfield? Yes. Of course, the main factor was some lifestyle changes in terms of exercise and diet, but I did lose 40 pounds since starting to seriously play Starfield in April of 2024. The game was an excellent distraction instead of late night snacking, so I suppose I sublimated the snacking urge into blowing up space pirates. Question: Aren't you worried Starfield will influence or slow down your writing? Well, writers and other creatives draw inspiration from all sorts of places, but no, I'm not worried about that because Starfield draws so heavily on multiverse tropes and as I've mentioned a few times before, I don't really like multiverse stuff in fiction. In terms of productivity, I published a million new words in 2024 and again in 2025. Though in full disclosure, I will be surprised if I hit a million words in 2026 due to the amount of Real Life Stuff I will have to do this year, but admittedly that is Real Life Stuff unconnected to gaming or recreation and it's only April, so who can say how the rest of the year will play out? Question: Did playing Starfield so much take time away from reading? Probably not. In 2025, I read 69 books and by the end of March in 2026, I have read 15. Lots of people read more than I do, but 69 books in a year is still significantly higher than the American national average. In all honesty, I both read less and play fewer video games now than I did like 20, 25 years ago when I had way fewer responsibilities. Question: The expansion pack Shattered Space got mixed reviews, but you really enjoyed it. Why? I thought the concept was intriguing. "Religious leader builds machine to contact his conception of God and accidentally blows up half his capital city and creates a space time rift" is an interesting concept for both a game and for fiction. I also liked how the expansion pack went in depth into the crazy space cultists' home planet, which was a fun environment to play. Shattered Space is definitely Starfield on hard mode though. The game recommends it for Level 35 characters, but I think 50 might be better, if I'm honest. Question: If Starfield was a commercial failure, why do you play it? Well, "commercial success" and "I enjoyed this" don't necessarily overlap on the Venn Diagram, do they? Just because something is popular doesn't mean it is good and just because something is unpopular doesn't mean it is bad. That said, I don't think it's objectively correct to say Starfield is a commercial failure, regardless of one's opinion of the game. Microsoft is a ruthless corporate empire that has absolutely no qualms about cutting things that are liabilities, especially as more and more of its resources go into Copilot and LLM slop (though there are some indications that its AI focus is starting to loosen as reality begins to impose itself on the grand delusion of the AI powered future). Considering that in the two and a half years since Starfield came out, it's received a lot of patches, a lot of new free content, and two paid expansions, it's clear that the Lidless Eye of Microsoft has not turned towards Starfield in fiery wrath, especially since Microsoft laid off lots of people and shut down a bunch of its game studios during that time. People tend to focus on Steam rankings, but that's only a segment (if a very large segment) of the market. Various Starfield devs in interviews have said that the game is in the top 10 for played hours on Xbox Game Pass. Xbox Game Pass is really important to Microsoft, probably more important than the physical Xbox itself. So I don't think it's objectively true that Starfield is a commercial failure, though it definitely wasn't as successful as Skyrim or Fallout 4. Question: Baldur's Gate 3 (BG3) came out at about the same time as Starfield. Did you like Starfield better than Baldur's Gate 3? Yes. Question: What? Why? Everyone knows Baldur's Gate 3 is the better game. Baldur's Gate 3 is an excellent game. Well written, well designed, excellent voice acting, the works. That said, I also think Starfield is an excellent game and I just enjoyed it more. It's a matter of taste, I think, which is not quantifiable. BG3 is a big Larian/BioWare-style narrative RPG, which is kind of its own genre in the same way that a Bethesda RPG is also its own genre. I mentioned above that I enjoy the puttering around aspect of Starfield a great deal and BG3 doesn't offer as much space for that kind of puttering, some but not nearly as much. I have enjoyed that style of narrative RPG in the past. Dragon Age: Origins and Knights of the Old Republic were both excellent games I played back to back in 2009 or maybe 2008, back when I had more time for that kind of thing and I think they qualify as direct predecessors to Baldur's Gate 3. But these days, I like the freedom of puttering more, even if a game like BG3 offers an excellent interactive narrative. Additionally, I admit I got frustrated a lot with BG3 in a way I didn't with Starfield. In BG3, I kept frequently running into Total Party Kill situations, which is exasperating after you've sunk 20 or 30 minutes into a complicated combat encounter. So I think it's objectively and quantifiably true to say that Baldur's Gate 3 is significantly more popular than Starfield, but on the subjective level, I just enjoy Starfield more. Question: Do you like the soundtrack of Starfield? Oh yeah. It's some of my favorite writing music. For fun, go search on YouTube and watch the London Symphony Orchestra's concert of the Starfield soundtrack. The composer Inon Zur gets to conduct some of it. I'd say my favorite tracks are Into the Starfield, New Atlantis, The Safety of the Citizens, Freestar, The New Old Frontier (I think that plays in the Trackers' Alliance headquarters), Cydonia, Sublevels, Neon, and In Silent Orbit. The battle of music when you fight the Star Born is pretty great as well. I think it's called "Stars and Sacrifice", but I'm not 100% sure. I also quite liked the soundtrack for Baldur's Gate 3 as well, to return to an earlier question. Andrew Wincott totally deserved the BAFTA for "Raphael's Final Act." Question: If a Switch 2 port comes along of Starfield, will you buy it? I would wait for reviews, but honestly, I would be amazed if there was a Switch 2 port of Starfield. The Switch 2 is more powerful than its predecessor, but there's no denying that Starfield is a chunky, chunky game. Then again, I wouldn't have thought it was possible to get Cyberpunk 2077, Witcher 3, or Fallout 4 on the Switch, and apparently those are good ports, so I guess we'll see. Question: Favorite Quest in Starfield? The Mantis, Groundpounder, and the entire thing with the Terrormorphs. Also the whole freaky quest with the Crucible and the clones, that was some great '70s-style science fiction stuff. I enjoy any of the quests with Walter Stroud because he's a fun character, and also voiced by the actor who played Quark in Deep Space Nine in the '90s, back when I was playing Privateer. (Full circle moment!) Also fighting The Hunter for the last time is pretty great since he's such a smug Nietzschean jerk. One of the greatest moments in the game is how The Hunter is just chilling in a Spaceport bar and willing to have amiable conversations with you at the start of the game since he's killed alternate versions of you thousands of times before and isn't expecting trouble, so no reason not to have a civil chat over a drink. I also played through the new Trackers' Alliance plotline. If you get the premium edition of Starfield and its bonus 1,000 Creation Credits, I highly recommend you use them on the Trackers' Alliance expansion. It is a lot of fun. Question: Favorite ship in the game? The Razor Leaf and the Ecliptic Claymore. Also, this is a new addition, but I really like the Orchid you pick up from the fake Mantis Quest in the Trackers' Alliance Quest line. I think my favorite overall ship is the Shieldbreaker that you can buy on New Atlantis, but if you're going to buy a ship instead of stealing it, I think Walter's company Stroud-Ecklund (see above) has the best ships. Honestly, one of my favorite activities in Starfield is stealing ships from space pirates. It's always so much fun. Question: Favorite gun? The Magstorm hands down. Peace through superior firepower. The Magstorm is what I used for the final battle with The Hunter and then again for the final mission of Shattered Space. For stealth, the Hard Target with a suppressor and a scope. I've taken out entire pirate bases with the Hard Target and stealth mode. The one Starborn lady who sells stuff to you in New Universes has a really excellent stealth optimized version of the Hard Target in her inventory. I also really like the Urban Eagle pistol you get early in the Vanguard plotline, since it's usually the best gun in the game I found at that point. Conclusion I hope that explains why I enjoy Starfield and answers some of the questions people always seem to have whenever I mention it. I doubt anyone involved with Starfield will ever listen to this, but I would like to thank everyone who has worked on the game in any capacity: devs, artists, writers, composers, Q&A people, everyone. Thank you for all your hard work, which has given me a lot of enjoyment and mental escape during some very stressful times. So that's it for this week. I promise we will go back to writing related topics next week. Thank you for listening to The Pulp Writer Show. I hope you found the show useful. A reminder that you can listen to all the back episodes at https://thepulpwritershow.com. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave your view on your podcasting platform of choice. Stay safe and stay healthy, and we'll see you all next week.  

The battle with the Mummy Lord begins! Will the adventurers prevail? Or will the eyes have it? Tony Sindelar with Bryan Guffey, Erika Ensign, Jason Snell, Mikah Sargent and Sarah Hendrica Bickerton.

The party fights another hard battle, locates another organ, and gets some answers from an unexpected source. Tony Sindelar with Bryan Guffey, Erika Ensign, Jason Snell, Mikah Sargent and Sarah Hendrica Bickerton.

Excellent role play including medical exams, impromptu nakedness, soothing music, and door-knocking meant the entire party gained inspiration! Tony didn’t award it until after the recording was over, but it did happen! Tony Sindelar with Bryan Guffey, Erika Ensign, Jason Snell, Mikah Sargent and Sarah Hendrica Bickerton.

Only the worst battles are followed by an autopsy. Tony Sindelar with Bryan Guffey, Erika Ensign, Jason Snell, Mikah Sargent and Sarah Hendrica Bickerton.

The adventurers visit a demi-plane that’s mostly eyes and corridors. Tony Sindelar with Bryan Guffey, Erika Ensign, Jason Snell, Mikah Sargent and Sarah Hendrica Bickerton.

Another adventure begins at Candlekeep Library. As usual, that means a weird book and a lot of meatball subs! And once again, the party is in a book - but not like usual. Tony Sindelar with Bryan Guffey, Erika Ensign, Jason Snell, Mikah Sargent and Sarah Hendrica Bickerton.

In one of the more thrilling conclusions of a TPK adventure, Tony can’t tell if the players are being helpful or making fun of him. But that’s only fair because Tony’s gonna make fun of them for anything they do. Tony Sindelar with Annette Wierstra, Chip Sudderth, Monty Ashley and Kathy Campbell.

When all four adventurers reunite on the roof, that’s when the party really starts buzzin’! Tony Sindelar with Annette Wierstra, Chip Sudderth, Kathy Campbell and Monty Ashley.

This episode is either recon or snack-eating, depending on the adventurer. Tony Sindelar with Annette Wierstra, Chip Sudderth, Kathy Campbell and Monty Ashley.

In this new adventure, the Keys are sent to the country to investigate zombie activity. They meet an important cow. Also a zombie. (But not a zombie cow.) Tony Sindelar with Annette Wierstra, Chip Sudderth, Kathy Campbell and Monty Ashley.

In this thrilling conclusion, the final battle takes a turn that (almost) no one was expecting! Someone’s gonna need some therapy. Tony Sindelar with Aleen Simms, Annette Wierstra, Chelsea Hackman, Heather Berberet, James Thomson and Jason Snell.

On the hunt for a dragon, the adventurers take a bath, use creative magic to traverse a tunnel, and bring back a rare TPK favourite: an intra-party insight check! Tony Sindelar with Aleen Simms, Annette Wierstra, Chelsea Hackman, Heather Berberet, James Thomson, Jason Snell and Antony Johnston.

This action-packed episode involves one of the hardest things to do in a city without a good public transit system: get across town. Tony Sindelar with Aleen Simms, Annette Wierstra, Chelsea Hackman, Heather Berberet, James Thomson and Jason Snell.

The party is now level 3. Will that suddenly make them competent enough to find the slaying stone? Or track a dragon? Ok, maybe not, but they do have some new spells and abilities. Tony Sindelar with Aleen Simms, Annette Wierstra, Chelsea Hackman, Heather Berberet, James Thomson and Jason Snell.

Our adventurers deal with several goblins (and someone who is totally not a goblin) as their search takes them to the library. Tony Sindelar with Aleen Simms, Annette Wierstra, Chelsea Hackman, Heather Berberet, James Thomson and Jason Snell.

A paladin learns a valuable lesson about picking things up. Nearly everyone learns a valuable lesson about playing air-guitar. Tony Sindelar with Aleen Simms, Annette Wierstra, Chelsea Hackman, Heather Berberet, James Thomson and Jason Snell.

A broken bridge and a buncha wolves, what could go wrong? Many things, apparently. Tony Sindelar with Aleen Simms, Annette Wierstra, Chelsea Hackman, Heather Berberet, James Thomson and Jason Snell.

A crew of adventurers (some new, some old friends) gathers to do some academic research! And then hit the road toward the actual adventure. Tony Sindelar with Aleen Simms, Annette Wierstra, Chelsea Hackman, Heather Berberet, James Thomson and Jason Snell.

In the thrilling conclusion to our 8-bit adventure, our heroes stab someone to cure him, face off against a beholder, and try to find their way out of a multi-layered, increasingly silly, pixel-based prison! Tony Sindelar with Aleen Simms, James Thomson, Mikah Sargent, Monty Ashley and Tiff Arment.

Plummeting frogs, chaff owls, and seducin’ medusas - oh my! The party fights and reunites as their path through pixelated perdition continues! Tony Sindelar with Aleen Simms, James Thomson, Mikah Sargent, Monty Ashley and Tiff Arment.

A pitched battle with forest-dwelling medusas, a rock gnome smitten with said medusas, and giant angry birds harassing our heroes as they plummet to certain death are mere morsels of excitement in this installment of our adventurers’ saga inside a painting inside a book inside a house? Confusing? Yes! Tony Sindelar with Aleen Simms, James Thomson, Mikah Sargent, Monty Ashley and Tiff Arment.

Our heroes move onward in a land of pixels and paintings as they wrestle with a split party, getting deep, real deep, into a book and a forest full of foes at fractious frame rates! Tony Sindelar with Aleen Simms, James Thomson, Mikah Sargent, Monty Ashley and Tiff Arment.

Things take a turn toward the 8-bit in a new saga for our adventurers, who are tasked with travelling inside a book to…do some murdering? Join them as they venture into a town where everyone answers to “NPC”, the aesthetic leans toward “blocky”, and everyone loves mead! Tony Sindelar with Aleen Simms, James Thomson, Mikah Sargent, Monty Ashley and Tiff Arment.

Will the team steal a magic painting and get away scott free with zero consequences to return to accolades and riches? Not without generous dollops of magic, violence, and a grab bag of foes in our thrilling conclusion! Tony Sindelar with Aleen Simms, Annette Wierstra, Kathy Campbell and Monty Ashley.

Style and subterfuge intermingle as our heroes sweet-talk a gang of thieves into letting them infiltrate their headquarters and abscond with a painting that may or may not have magical properties. Tony Sindelar with Aleen Simms, Annette Wierstra, Kathy Campbell and Monty Ashley.

It’s a new adventure for our ragtag heroes as they use their powers of persuasion and keen fashion sense to butter up a vain gang of thieves to get a hold of a very special painting. Tony Sindelar with Aleen Simms, Annette Wierstra, Kathy Campbell and Monty Ashley.

The adventure concludes with friendly fire, double-grapples, and a whole lotta rules. Then we close the book on the whole thing. Tony Sindelar with James Thomson, Kathy Campbell, Monty Ashley, Steve Lutz and Tiff Arment.

This episode’s highlights are wet stairs and a bad plan. Tony Sindelar with James Thomson, Kathy Campbell, Monty Ashley, Steve Lutz and Tiff Arment.

Part 2 The cast of Critical Role transforms into one of their original campaign characters (voted on by our audience) for our Chicago Live Show! Watch Game Master Matthew Mercer transport our heroes into the deadly game show "Total Party Kill," hosted by the charismatic Malvolio Contreras (special guest Robbie Daymond). Critical Role's 10-Year Anniversary Chicago Live Show took place on April 10th, 2025 at the Wintrust Arena. BEACONWe're excited to bring you even MORE with a Beacon membership! Start your 7-day free trial today at https://beacon.tv/join and get unparalleled access to the shows you love completely ad-free! You'll receive NEW Beacon exclusive series, instant access to VODs & podcasts, live event pre-sales, merch discounts, & a private Discord. YOUTUBE MEMBERS / TWITCH SUBSCRIBERSTwitch Subscribers and YouTube Members gain instant access to VODs of our shows, moderated live chats, and custom emojis & badges:https://www.youtube.com/criticalrole/joinhttps://www.twitch.tv/criticalrole   Character Art by Frank Liu || @Massive_Mola || https://feiyangfrankliu.myportfolio.com/work"F*ck Your Favs" song by Robbie Daymond & Garrett Williamson, Vocals by Robbie Daymond & Matthew Mercer

The cast of Critical Role transforms into one of their original campaign characters (voted on by our audience) for our Chicago Live Show! Watch Game Master Matthew Mercer transport our heroes into the deadly game show ""Total Party Kill,"" hosted by the charismatic Malvolio Contreras (special guest Robbie Daymond). Critical Role's 10-Year Anniversary Chicago Live Show took place on April 10th, 2025 at the Wintrust Arena. BEACONWe're excited to bring you even MORE with a Beacon membership! Start your 7-day free trial today at https://beacon.tv/join and get unparalleled access to the shows you love completely ad-free! You'll receive NEW Beacon exclusive series, instant access to VODs & podcasts, live event pre-sales, merch discounts, & a private Discord. YOUTUBE MEMBERS / TWITCH SUBSCRIBERSTwitch Subscribers and YouTube Members gain instant access to VODs of our shows, moderated live chats, and custom emojis & badges:https://www.youtube.com/criticalrole/joinhttps://www.twitch.tv/criticalrole   Character Art by Frank Liu || @Massive_Mola || https://feiyangfrankliu.myportfolio.com/work"F*ck Your Favs" song by Robbie Daymond & Garrett Williamson, Vocals by Robbie Daymond & Matthew Mercer