March 25, 2024 • 67 mins
Ever wondered if your dice collection is simply impressive or if it's ventured into hoarding territory? Mariah and Alejandra from the Table Talk podcast join us to discuss the infectious joy of tabletop RPGs and the fine line between a healthy habit and an obsession. We reminisce about nostalgic video games, laugh over the whimsy of automating household tasks magically, and get real about the importance of walking away from toxic gaming environments. It's a conversation that celebrates creativity, camaraderie, and the heartfelt tales that bind us to the gaming worlds we adore.
Roll for initiative as we delve into the intricacies of Dungeons & Dragons campaign mechanics with our spirited guests. We share stories from the front lines of our own campaigns, debate the merits of XP versus milestone leveling, and compare notes on our favorite dice vendors. From fantasy RPG character conversations to the nuances of mounted combat, this episode is a treasure chest brimming with anecdotes, advice, and a bit of friendly contention over which fictional character makes the ultimate questing companion.
To cap off our adventure, we explore the rewarding systems in tabletop gaming, discussing how we tailor experience points to fit our narratives and play styles. Whether you're a veteran Dungeon Master or someone curious about the world of tabletop RPGs, our episode provides a rich tapestry of insights and laughs. With Mariah and Alejandra's expert guidance, we navigate through the vibrant tapestry of gaming memories, leaving no stone unturned, from the allure of old-school video games to the latest in dice fashion. Join us for this session filled with the legends, loot, and lore of our beloved gaming pastime.
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Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Welcome everyone to the Legends, lute and Lore
podcast where we're doing it.
We're doing an evening.
This is like an eveningrecording for me.
This is great.
We are after dark Sesh.
After dark, legends, lute andLore.
After dark, I feel like I'm inan episode of 902 and I'm at the
Peach Pit, but anyway, don'tmind me.
(00:33):
We are here with the hosts ofTable Talk, the official All
Things, table Top RPG podcast,with the hosts Mariah, and I
cannot roll my Rs.
So, alejandra.
So tell us a little about yourpodcast, talk about, maybe, what
(01:00):
got you started, what was yourinspiration for doing this, and
share some memorable moments ofthe, because I think we started
about the same time, probablyearly mid summer.
So what's your journey been like?
Start from the beginning, forsure.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Mariah, do you want to give the spiel?
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Yeah, I'll give the spiel of how we started and then
, if you want to give our little, our little press junket
marketing guru.
Yeah, so we've talked about itfor a couple of years now,
because Allie and I have beengood friends for quite a few
years at this point, and itstarted as like as most of those
things do is like the verystereotypical, like two best
(01:44):
friends.
I mean we should have a podcast.
And it was like a very it was ajoke.
And then I was like, is thejoke still a joke?
And it's like, well, what if wedid it?
What would it be about?
It's like, okay, well, d&dobviously, and two TRPGs,
because that's like what we dowith most of our free time.
And then it just reallysnowballed from there and we
(02:05):
started doing it and then,shortly after we started, we
went to pack some plugs and thatwas a crazy awesome experience
for us.
We met so many people and wemade a lot of friends and we met
a lot of friends that we hadalready made online and we had
this like came out of it withthis huge lineup of guests that
(02:25):
we've then we're still meetingwith and recording, and it's
just.
We carved out this fun littleniche for ourselves where we're
talking about everything that isrelated to TRPGs, from like
mechanics and dice hoarding andlike the interpersonal
interaction side of it, and likethe gaming industry at large
and imposter syndrome and we'retalking about like everything
(02:49):
around it and we're not actuallygoing into doing the actual
play.
I think it's something we wouldlike to do, but both like Allie
and I, have no chill when itcomes to anything, so we're like
we got to wait until we canhave a whole in house production
set up production.
So that's like a couple yearsdown the line we started
plotting, plotting it.
But yeah, we started.
(03:11):
We're both, we both work inmarketing, we're both pretty
like business focused and Ithink both of us in general,
like both of us have this toeach other of like we're the
only really friends, becausethey're very stereotypical, like
don't do it, don't do it abusiness with your friends.
But Allie and I are verycompatible and we have our
compatible skills and we see alot of things the same and we
(03:32):
have good both businessbackgrounds, so there's a lot of
things that we just inherentlyknow and either where one person
is an expert in something theother person isn't, and vice
versa, and so it's just kind ofbeen a fairly seamless process.
I mean, nothing is fullyseamless, right, but as these
(03:53):
things go like, I feel likewe've kept a pretty good clip
the whole time since we started.
That's amazing.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Allie and I do share a brain cell and, like 99% of
things, whatever we like, startto broach the subject.
I'm like, no, I'm in fullagreeance with you and like on
the same page, and it's likecool, just double checking.
But we've worked really welltogether.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
That's awesome, so okay.
So now, of course, my questionis because I as well, I'm in
marketing.
So what are your fields inmarketing?
What are your specialties?
Speaker 2 (04:28):
So mine is social media as well as, like in my
profession, I was doing a lot oflike the general, like campaign
marketing management for thecompanies that I worked for and
that's mostly like my focus.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
Nice, that's awesome.
I mean, I did some marketing incollege.
As far as like actual adultbusiness stuff, I kind of I cut
my teeth in tech.
It's still where I work.
I do a lot of like contentmarketing and also similar of
like campaign management andbeing that subject matter expert
for how we talk about thecertain products and the words.
(05:05):
Specifically, I work inapplication security, which is a
nice fun little nerdy sector tobe in, and I've dabbled a bit
in social media and things likethat.
But I like the, the campaignand the conceptual strategic
side of marketing a lot.
That's.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
That's quite fun for me and I'm in like the real
estate sector.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Nice, oh, very interesting.
I'm always curious, it's so.
So our podcast started out witha friend and I and very, very
similarly, I had I think we'dstarted off right, like, right
around.
I got, I got laid off of my joband and I had started a podcast
(05:48):
at at work for, for our bank,and I'm like I really loved the
whole, just the whole, puttingit all together, recording it,
editing it.
I loved the.
I loved all the aspects ofdoing a podcast.
I'm like, so, like, how can Ido this in my life?
And like, and we had that, wehad the same thing, like, what
(06:08):
are we interested in?
D&d?
So why not?
That's awesome.
So, so, so.
So talk about some of the.
What are some of theinteresting guests you had on
your, your show?
What would have been some ofthe interesting topics that you
you've had the opportunity to todiscuss on your, on your
(06:29):
podcast?
Speaker 3 (06:31):
We just, at the time that we're recording this, the
most recent episode, not thisweek's episode.
The episode before that was byfar the most unhinged thing
we've ever recorded and put outon the internet, and it was just
us talking about irrationalfears for an hour with one of
(06:51):
because we were part of the biglike TTRPG fundraiser for
Doctors Without Borders inJanuary, and so one of the man
from Big D&D Energy.
Yeah, who's fantastic, andshadowed Aaron, he's lovely.
Yeah, I don't know how thathappened.
That wasn't the original point.
I think I'm mostly responsiblefor diverting on that track.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
DRL us.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
But we, we will.
You, we can usually get back onthe track, and that never,
happened, it went we did not, itwas not.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
No.
She took the wheel, swarmed usoff the road and we were all
just in that ride and and addingour own irrational fears to it.
And then, by the end of theepisode, I was like and this is
a great inspiration for DMS forsure, yes, yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Oh, absolutely Never, never, never tell a DM your
rational fears, because theywill they will come to life
somewhere, somewhere in thecampaign.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Yeah for sure We've had.
I mean, we've had a ton ofreally, really awesome guests.
Like the episode that we hadwith Talking XB, who was one of
our first guests, is still oneof my favorites, because we
talked a lot about impostersyndrome and then we just became
really like genuinely goodfriends with Johnny at this
point.
I think another one that ispretty notable and has, I think,
(08:11):
had the most effect on peopleis the Toxic Tables episode,
where we talk about how to oneidentify that you're at a toxic
table and you know, knowing thatit's okay to leave it, even if
you're having that feeling oflike this is the only time I get
to play D&D.
You don't have to like sufferthrough a not ideal situation
(08:32):
just because you feel likeyou're not going to get any D&D
at all, like you can and willfind other tables with people
that are much healthier to playwith and you'll enjoy those
games so much more.
And that, I think, is theepisode that like we got into it
because like I mean honestly,truly our journey is deeply tied
to us leaving a very toxictable.
(08:54):
I wouldn't be DMing if I didn'tdo it, because that kind of
forced me into the position andit's been the best thing that we
ever did, to be honest.
So we've had a lot of peoplereact to that episode and like
tell us that it's inspiring themto leave not ideal situations.
So that one I keep like closeto my heart as a favorite, just
(09:17):
because it makes me feel goodthat it helps people.
Absolutely that's amazing.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
Yeah, we also had a really great episode with SJ
Bikin, or he just kind of talkedabout.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
Oh, my God.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
That was like we it got very therapy psychopomp,
which, like that's my shit.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
I love that.
It was very just like diggingto, like being a creative and
dealing with imposter syndromeand deal with how do you build
because, like he has like wholeworld of Ebbondale and he
creates so much cool stuff, andso he talked about that.
But then also like thepsychological side of like how
not second guessing yourself andlike how you, how you go about
(09:54):
forming the world, and like whendo you draw the line where it's
like no, we can just call achair a chair and we don't have
to like come up with a funmythological name for everything
, because then we'll be insane.
Right, you're not all Tolkien,unfortunately.
Like well, not evenunfortunately, like it's not,
you don't have to go quite thathard.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
You don't got to go that deep.
No.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
You really don't, and it's funny I was, so we.
So we now do an actual playonce, once a month, which is,
you're absolutely right about,the production of it is insane.
But while but yeah, but one ofthe one of the one of the one
guy that plays with us is Edm'sa campaign that I'm in, but he
(10:40):
said the same thing.
He's like sometimes a room isjust a room.
It doesn't have to be filledwith a ton of stuff.
You know, you can just walkinto an empty room there.
There doesn't have to be amimic like hiding in the corner,
like it doesn't, it doesn'thave to be this big.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
A lot of crazy, crazy how in a world of magic there's
still a broom closet Right Likethat just has rooms.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
Absolutely.
You still have to like washdishes somehow.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
Yeah, and well and well, let me see, let me go back
to so, let me so this, this,this, just I, because I talked
about my list of questions, solet me, let me ask you this
question.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
Okay, okay.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
If, if you could enchant one mundane object in
your home to perform one taskforever, what would it be and
how would it potentiallyhilariously backfire?
Speaker 3 (11:37):
I have a question.
I have a question.
Yes, is it going to beperforming this task constantly,
forever, or will it perform thetask for?
When appropriate when needed,so like, for example, a coffee
maker.
If it's a coffee maker, is itjust always going to make coffee
, or is it going to make coffeeevery day at 8am?
Speaker 1 (12:01):
I would, I would say, I would say it's going to, it's
going to do it at itsappropriate time.
Think of, think of like aRoomba.
It just kind of goes when itneeds to go.
It doesn't.
It doesn't have to, it's notgoing to go 24, 7, so Absolutely
.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
I have my answer if you need a second.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
You can go first, because I'm trying to answer.
Let's hear it.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Okay, I can see this happening very much like a genie
wish situation and like myinnate reaction would be like I
need my laundry machine to do mylaundry and put it away.
That's the thing.
I fucking hate laundry.
I hate it and that would be myfirst gut instinct.
The way that I think it wouldhilariously like turn on me is
(12:40):
the fact that the laundrymachine now has to scrape itself
across my floor to get to myroom, gobble up all the laundry
and just like drag itself backto plug itself into the
waterline and like do it andthen again go back and like put
that shit away.
And it would just be the mostannoying thing, like once every
(13:02):
two weeks, that this thing hasto just fucking scrape itself
across my floor Like the actualwash machine yeah, just a big
congy machine, yeah, that justhas to like.
Speaker 3 (13:12):
It's just like fucking oh, no, no, no, yeah,
yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
You're on a zoom call for work and and you see the
thing like scraping the floorbehind you, scraping across that
shit.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
Yeah, you get kicked out like I forgot that it is the
time that it's going to go intomy closet and gobble all my
clothes.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
That's amazing.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
It's time, yeah, okay , I have mine then Okay, great,
let's hear it.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
My chore that I hate doing and will forever get into
and not doing is dusting.
I don't know why it justenrages me.
It's probably because I'vealways lived in places with poor
insulation and so it's like Ifinished dusting and then I'll
be damned if there's not moredust already, and I was like
this is a never ending story.
That's not cute and is justdepressing for me.
So I don't do it until it'slike a problem for my allergies.
(13:59):
And then I'm like why am I theway that I am?
So I would like to have like alittle Swiffer, like feather
duster situation that would justtake care of that.
I do think it would gohilariously wrong because me and
the duster would run into eachother because neither of us
would have the appropriatesituation like spatial awareness
.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
And yeah, I'd probably you'd be like making
coffee and it's like goingacross the cabinets and
definitely dust your face in thetime and like or it would be it
would like to accidentally typean email for me or something
like that.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
It would just go, or it would just scare me Like I
would get home at night and Iwould forget that the duster
dusts on Tuesdays at nine pm andI'm like, oh, there's a spirit
in my home.
It's like, no, it's just theduster.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
You do be having adrenaline issues and you cannot
be out here.
I haven't, I should just moveit around.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
I do have chronic illnesses, one of which is
adrenaline issues, and Istartled very easily.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
It would be rough, but it would be nice to have the
dust, so I feel like we'd haveto coexist.
Yeah, definitely.
Oh, my God, that's, that's.
It's just it kind of vaguelyreminds me of Was it the
Weasleys home in the HarryPotter movies, like, where
everything was, was, was likeprobably.
(15:19):
I think she had like everythinglike like that, like the dishes
were washing themselves andeverything was kind of going on
in the background.
I always just wonder like whatthat would be like to be able to
and chant an item and and haveit do something for you.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
Like every other chore I can do literally.
The other day I paid someone todo my fucking laundry because I
was just done.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
I get that.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
I totally get that Like yeah, I'm not doing the
laundry.
Speaker 3 (15:45):
It really becomes like a behemoth.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
A mountain when?
Speaker 3 (15:48):
you're like I'll die under this pile of laundry.
It will never get done.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
Yes, it's a problem, it's a real problem and, like
you said, I think, for me, forme it's the folding, it's the
folding of laundry.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
It's the folding.
I can do the laundry.
Absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker 3 (16:08):
It's the putting that shit away.
I don't see, I don't mind it,but I am bad about like.
I'm good about washing it, I'mgood about getting wet things
either hung up or put into thedryer, because I get real weird
about things potentially molding.
I don't my brain and I just itstresses me out, I don't know
why always has.
I am bad, but like once thething is dry and I'm like, oh,
it's reached a safe homeostasisand now I can forget that it
(16:31):
exists, and so I'll go to domore laundry, and I'm like, oh,
there's the towels that havebeen in there for like two weeks
and they're dry, it's fine,they're just hanging out,
they're dry and they're clean.
But like it's fine, I'll just belike oh, I'm sorry, friends,
I'll fold you up now, but likeit doesn't bother me, it just is
a it bothers other people, likemy mom, who doesn't do that
(16:51):
with laundry.
Then I'm like I do just be thisway.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
It's all right.
Like you said, the job.
The job is to wash laundry, notto like the folding and putting
it away.
That's secondary.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
As long as it's clean , that's all we can have.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
Exactly, I completely agree.
So okay, so we have ourenchanted items.
So let me go back to evenfurther back in history and how
did you both get started?
What was your firstintroduction to the world?
(17:26):
What was it?
D&d, was it another tabletopgame Like?
What was your?
What was your gateway drug tothe world?
Speaker 2 (17:35):
of.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
D&D and dice, goblinism, etc.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
Yeah, I'll go first.
So my first initialintroduction was I've always
been like big into video games.
I loved reading fantasy likehashtag nerd since the moment I
could conceive of it.
But yeah, I had a friend inearly college, like my first
year of college, who mentionedDungeons and Dragons and that he
(18:03):
wanted to learn to DM and hehad bought all the books.
And so he was like, if I getsomething together, would you
play?
And I was like sure, I don'tknow what the fuck it is, but am
nerd, I'll do it.
And like he explained it to meand I was like, yeah, that
sounds cool.
And then I like did research andI was like, oh, I have to like
act out my character at a tableof people I don't know.
And I was like that induces alittle bit of anxiety and I'm an
(18:24):
extrovert.
But I was still just likethat's not something I've done
before.
So my solution to that was tobring two bottles of wine.
I drank one before we had evenstarted.
The other one sat next to me asI played.
So I was like that loosened meup a little bit, but it was like
not a great game, not for faultof his own.
(18:45):
He made like a really coolstory and I was trying to engage
with it as much as possible.
The other two players not itchief they were just like
sitting back on their phones notreally paying attention.
If it wasn't combat they didn'tcare, and even when it was
combat, they just were like I domy hardest hit or my biggest
spell and then I go back to notcaring and oftentimes the only
reason we lived is because Itook the time to RP some shit,
(19:07):
to get us fucking health potionsor some shit.
So it wasn't super engaging andwe only played maybe a couple of
times before.
I was like this isn't for me.
And then, like a couple ofyears went by and then I met our
old DM, who was how me andMariah like got introduced to
each other and he had known thatI had tried it once before.
(19:29):
So he was like if you'reinterested, we need a player If
you want to join.
So I did, and that was thefirst time I experienced a table
of people that were actuallylike into it and they were in
character, they had voices andall this stuff and I was like,
oh, this, like that.
That was when the bug bit meand I was like no, yeah, I'm
addicted to this shit for real,for real.
And that from there is history.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
That's awesome.
So so do you remember yourfirst, your first character?
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Yeah, her name was Nefara.
She was a rogue tiefling, likeany good bisexual woman would do
, and she had a little owl.
Familiar at the time Didn'tknow that rogues can have
familiars.
He just let me have it and hisname was Cosmo and I I think I
had a picture of that owl thathas like the genetic like
mutation to where his eyes justlook like literal galaxies, and
(20:23):
so I was like this is my verb, Ithink I did some wild shit that
I was like can I use a disguisekit on my owl to make him look
like a dragon and prestigitatethe sound of a dragon to scare
these bitches off?
And he was like fuck it, I'lllet you do it, because everybody
else is lame and I'm like cool,sick.
Now that's what I love.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
I love the.
I love the.
I love the kind of ability thatyou have to just Just to think
of whatever you possibly could,to to solve a solution.
Like I'm always, I'm always atthe school if there's got to be
an answer to it, however bizarreit may be, but there's got to
(21:02):
be a solution to figuring thisout.
I love, I just love thatcreativity.
So that's that's.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
that's just amazing, that's so yeah, I think from the
jump I've always been the kindof player that I'm like I'm
pouring over my character sheetand not just looking at the
things that I can do.
But I'll be like what's in myinventory, what other like
feature shit do I have that Icould like play into this turn
and like how many action, likeeconomy things can I get out of
this turn?
(21:30):
Oh yeah, and so I thought Ithought from the jump I was like
the point of the game is to doas much as possible on your turn
.
So I was like can I do this andthis and this and this and that
and that, like, like, and justsee what happens?
Speaker 1 (21:42):
That's a.
That's fantastic, mariah.
What about you?
So?
What was what's your?
Your origin story?
Speaker 3 (21:48):
So mine was.
I've also been pretty nerdy mywhole life.
I kind of like I knew of D&Dgrowing up but I'd never played
it.
And then my first job out ofCollege, I was in QA analysis
and I worked pretty close with adeveloper his name is Dean
shout out Dean, if you happen tobe watching this and so he kind
(22:09):
of got me into like theMcElroy's and their D&D podcast
and just sort of started he got,he got me into listening,
critical listening to criticalrole, because I was like I
simply k, it's five hours, Isimply can't.
And then I accidentally spoiledmyself because I watched the
real, the real sad part at theend and I'm like, well, now I
have to know what happened.
(22:29):
Vox Machina, though, like I seemy mother part of Vox Machina
and I was like cool, I'm foreverbroken now and I must watch it.
Just clean, it'll be fine.
Cut to like 85 hours later itwas not fine chief.
The kids were not alright.
And so Dean and our our old DMthat is, introduced, ali and I
(22:55):
we were all kind of planning tostart playing like a little
campaign in the office, likeafter work once a week.
And then of course quarantinecame, so we got sent Of me
office day, like we'll see intwo weeks, and two weeks turned
into like a couple months, andthen our old DM put together a
group and Invited me and so Iwent and played and then shortly
(23:16):
we played a handful of sessionsand then Ali got brought in as
well and that was how that wasmy first like actual campaign
playing, my first character.
Her name was Ren, she was achangeling sorcerer.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
Oh, I love, I Played a shapeshifter once and you're
fun, so much fun.
There's just, there's just somuch you can do with that.
And I was.
It was funny, I played.
I played the shapeshifter as asnon-binary Because I, because I
(23:53):
said, because my, because mybackground was, he's they, they,
they had changed their shape somany times they don't even
remember what, like what, theiroriginal form what original was.
Yeah, so they were just.
They are what they are, yeah,so, oh yeah, shapeshifters are
just they're super fun oh.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
I know, I know we have a non-binary shapeshifter,
bard, and one of my currentcampaigns that I'm in and yeah,
their name is K shout out K.
But yeah, they're, they're awonderful, wonderful little
character to play with.
They're, they're very fullyflirtatious and they'll just
take on like whatever Spectrumof attraction is available and
(24:34):
I'm like I love this character.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
That's fantastic, so so I asked this question to you,
so.
So, so what?
What is, what is your dicecollection like?
Speaker 3 (24:49):
Pretty like well, not , not so out of hand, that it's
like concerning, but also notand mine's pretty good on it.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
I'm concerning, well, what?
What are you doing?
How do you define concern?
Speaker 2 (25:02):
Okay, here's how I'll define concerning and how
everybody else should beconcerned for me.
Okay, every single time I makea character, I don't just get
character dice.
I have to get between three tofive dice for like a little dice
, charcuterie, mood board ofthis character, because I can't
be satisfied with that, becauseone, as we all know, you can get
(25:22):
pretty dice.
Those dice could fucking hateyou.
So I I make my odds a littlebetter because I'm like I have
the aesthetics here, but I knowthat this specific dice is the
one that lucked out and is theone that I need to roll for this
character.
But I just like to see all thedice together while I'm playing
this character, which does meanI spent boo-koo money on dice
(25:43):
and I do have like a bag ofholding with like multiple
sections in it for all thedifferent.
I have one of those dice types.
Yeah yeah, I like.
Right now we were in StrixHaven and I have my big-ass dice
tray and I have a dice forevery single school on the outer
rim, because then I roll thosedice for the characters and what
school they are specifically in.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
I love that so much.
Speaker 3 (26:06):
Yeah, I feel like I might.
I don't think mine is as badbecause I got.
I also got one of those likebig dice bags with the Little
dividers, but mine is likecomically huge, so it looks like
I don't have that many dice andI think maybe I think maybe
I've just gaslit myself intothinking I don't have a problem.
Speaker 2 (26:27):
Right, because there's a lot of you guys, a
bigger bag.
Speaker 3 (26:30):
Yeah if the bag is a full yeah, it's just like
absolutely by color becausedefinitely, like when I first
started playing, I went prettyham and it was just like shiny,
shiny, pretty rocks, like I justgrabbed them.
And now I'm more.
As I got more into buying likethe fancier, more expensive dice
, I did have to cool my heelsbecause it's not gonna be some
more selective right when you'rebuying the ones that are like
(26:53):
five, ten, fifteen, even twentylike a pop, you can, you know,
you can just eat them likePringles, but you have to when
we're getting to the fancy boys,we have to, like, make some
calls to the 60 to 100 range.
Nice, and so, yeah, I have nowrecently.
Speaker 1 (27:10):
I admit nothing.
Speaker 3 (27:12):
Yeah, oh, it packs.
We saw like there was a ladythat made a set of dice that was
worth like $3,000.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
I think they were like 3k.
Speaker 3 (27:21):
They were beautiful really yeah they were.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
Who was that beautiful Cuz I, cuz I hit all
the guys all the guys, vendors.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
Oh my god, if you give me a second, I could look
her up and it does out and post.
Hold on.
Speaker 1 (27:35):
Dying to know, cuz I know one of one of my favorite
vendors is dice dungeons.
They're out of there, out ofBaltimore and they have.
They have like a tungsten d20oh that is I think like $6,000.
Oh.
Speaker 2 (27:55):
I got her RG dice butik.
Her name is Raquel InterestingRG dice boutique.
They're 3k because she handpainted like stained glass
effects on this shit and likeall the all the stuff that was
on the inside, like I think itwas Insane and they were in fact
the most beautiful dice I'veever fucking seen in my life and
(28:16):
I was like no, yes you look atthem three K.
Speaker 3 (28:18):
Yeah, of course, right.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
Yeah, she was like no , I spent I don't even remember
how many hours like painting allthis intricate detail into
those dice and I was like, no,yeah, no, you're worth.
These are a hundred percentvalued at that, if not more.
To be honest, they're gorgeous.
Speaker 3 (28:34):
Why and why have you told me about this site?
These are great.
Why have you, why have you donethis to me?
I thought we were friends.
I.
Speaker 2 (28:43):
Love looking at the reflection of the dice shopping
on my glasses.
We're like I don't know aproblem.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
Yeah, there's a couple.
There was another vendor that Iran into at at packs I started.
I started watching her ontiktok and Her brand is called
long dog dice.
She's got, she's got a coupleof doxons and so so it's named
after after her, her two dogsand she does.
(29:14):
She does like commissions.
So I, I, I can't, I don't wantto give it away, because my
players listen to this podcastbut there may or may not be
commissioned dice for theircharacters, because she's like
tell me what you think aboutthis.
(29:35):
She, she's like tell me.
She's like, send me pictures ofthe characters, send me their,
send me their character.
She's tell me their backstories.
So she takes all thisinformation and then and then
comes up with like a design Inthe dice for the character.
So I'm, I'm so excited.
Speaker 3 (29:52):
I really want to have like uh VTM dice commissioned
and I think if I start doingthat.
That's going to be a slipperyslope, because then I'm going to
have one for like this Princeand one for that prince and the
yeah, I can't.
I'm.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
Can't baby.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
She's oh, she's gonna , she's gonna do this, she's got
socks.
She's blind, so oh, are yougonna sit there?
Speaker 2 (30:21):
Sweet baby.
Yeah, just sit there, yep, justlay down like a scarf.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
She does this is this is all she does, so she will.
Speaker 2 (30:28):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
This is DD, dd, dd, short for daredevil, because
she's the blinds, she's the catwithout fear, so she's named
after the cartoon character ifyou can't see the danger, danger
can't see you Exactly oh.
She's a good girl.
Um, I I have.
I have a serious dice problemand I may or may not have a
(30:53):
display case for some sets ofdice that.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
I would like to do that when I have more room.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
Yeah, I found, I found a little it's like six
sets of dice from it displaysfrom amazon and I was like I
just Sure some of them are justso nice.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
Man, can I talk about the bullshit that we did for
that that xdm for for his olddisplay?
Yes, yes, yeah, okay uh, neverregretted a decision more in my
life.
So, so we had made I think thiswas for Christmas, uh, because
we were in like a Ravenloftcampaign that went on for like I
think, like over a year, um,and, to be fair, the campaign
(31:36):
itself.
We had great times.
Speaker 3 (31:39):
Um, but yeah, people that are not the people we still
play now, but everyone elsetrash the campaign trash, throw
them away.
Speaker 2 (31:46):
Um.
But the campaign itself, likethe reason we stuck it out so
long was because we were soinvested in that story and uh,
but we decided to him we madelike a little shadowbox display
and so in like a metal tin whichlike I hand painted like the
lid on it and stuff, and like weset that to the side.
Um, we each gave up one of ourdice, um, for like a full set
(32:10):
and then it was like of ourcharacter dice, yeah, um.
So each of us like chose one.
I think I had the d8 because Iwas the bard and that's my
bardic inspiration, so that'swhat I gave up, um, but I gave
up one that was like from one ofmy really nice metal sets
because she was a warforged Umand I was so pissed after the
shit that fell out and I waslike that dice that will never
(32:31):
be complete.
Speaker 1 (32:32):
Oh my god.
Speaker 3 (32:33):
And I'm like the one that was like the one good
decision I made in relation tothat man was to be petty in that
circumstance because I knew, Iknew in my soul I was like this
person's not going to stay in mylife and I refuse to fuck up an
entire set of dice.
So I have some sets of dicethat have four d6's.
So I was like, okay, soimmediately, when they're like,
which dice are you going to go?
I was like I want the d6,because I was like then I can
(32:56):
give one of those and like, yeah, I won't have all four, but
I'll suffer the consequencestill have a set and I won't
have to sacrifice anything forhis dumbass.
And that's what I did, andthat's like the one good
decision I ever.
I burned all my good decisionbrain cells on that.
I stayed for everything elsewith the.
I didn't mess up a dice set soI know I can take that.
Speaker 2 (33:13):
Yeah, but sometimes we fantasize about it and we
were like we're like, do youthink he still has that shit
hung up, or did they put thatshit away once?
Speaker 3 (33:20):
they were like we're being petty like sure, like one
of our friends, would like surebe ashamed if we just broke into
his house if someone broke inthere and and reclaimed our
babies.
Speaker 1 (33:30):
I love it, so that's too funny.
I could, I could go on all dayabout dice, but let me ask, let
me ask this question um, so, so,other than dnd, so what?
What other?
What other rpgs or tabletopgames?
What is there anything you'recurrently playing or or what
(33:52):
else do you like to play?
Let's talk about that.
What's what's?
Speaker 2 (33:56):
Go on, brian, do you should I?
Speaker 3 (33:58):
run vampire the masquerade.
I run a very, very heavilymodified fall of london when
it's like we're not reallyplaying with the in position
right now.
We're mostly just playing with,like Prince Anne V Mithras, um,
because I just want vampirecourt shenanigans, uh, and then
we'll bring in the inquisitionlater, um, so that's that's one
that like I I'd watch for yearsand like wanted to run.
(34:20):
It was just too nervous toowith that previous group and
then felt more, felt comfortableenough to try with like our
group of four that we have now.
Speaker 1 (34:30):
Um.
Speaker 3 (34:31):
I also.
I have blades in the dark whichI really want to run.
Okay, um, there's also.
We played kandel up skewerawith johnny one time and that
was really fun.
I would love to play kandel upskewera more.
What else?
Speaker 2 (34:46):
We've done Overgrown on Roldy 5 and that was super
fun.
Mariah got to play Perils andPrincesses.
Speaker 3 (34:53):
Perils and Princesses was still good.
Speaker 2 (34:54):
Yes, yeah, super, super cute game.
One that I really want to runat some point is the Dragon Age
TTRPG, because I managed to snagone of them books after like a
really long hunt for one, andI'm just a Dragon Age whore and
I really want to take them.
(35:15):
I want to take them.
I don't know if it's okay tocuss on your podcast.
I didn't ask.
I hope so.
Okay, cool yeah we're half-timeBecause I'm a sailor.
I was like too late.
Speaker 3 (35:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (35:26):
You can just bleep me out like super funny, but yeah,
no, I love Dragon Age and allof them.
Mariah's played a little bit ofInquisition.
I need to play, but the othertwo, yeah, the other two have
not, and so I really and like,realistically, not many people
are really going to go back toorigins because of how old it is
and the mechanics are and thegraphics are rough, buddy.
Speaker 3 (35:49):
I only get through it out of nostalgia along, but
it's rough and I don't expectanyone to do it, but I was the
same way I get through Ocarinaof Time and Super Mario 64.
Yeah, that's my yeah, so it's.
Speaker 2 (36:03):
I've played around with the idea of like running
them through the events oforigins as like a TTRPG and
having them pick from like thedifferent you know origins
starting stories and then likeletting that play out how it's
going to play out.
And you would need to do likeno prep for that because you
have a biblical knowledgebecause I am a steel trap of
(36:27):
Dragon Age Lord, like 98% of mybrain space is devoted to that.
That's impressive.
Speaker 3 (36:32):
When I was like going because, like we're all like
every time I see anythingrelated to Dread Wolf, I will
send it to Ali, and nine timesout of 10, she's already seen it
, but I'm like I will do it.
But when I was like you know,start playing Inquisition which
I need to restart it andactually like get through
Trespasser because that's thegood, the good STEMI and not
romance Black Wall because he'lljust leave your ass spoilers if
(36:53):
you haven't played Inquisition,but it's quite an old game.
In my defense, he just shows upin your room in the middle of
the night, lean and dance thewall and is suddenly like hey,
do you want to be in arelationship?
Speaker 2 (37:03):
And what were you to do?
Speaker 3 (37:04):
Yeah.
And then the first time Ipanicked, quit the game because
I was like I can't make thisdecision right now and I was
like okay, but then he justleaves you.
I'm like why, why, why, blackWall, anyway, not the point at
all, separate rant, but like Ihad, I literally had it all.
I'd be like, okay, just tell mewhat happens in the first two
games.
And she just rattled it off andI'm like fantastic.
Speaker 2 (37:26):
I was like, cool, we're going to stay here for
like a four hour conversation,nice Just late, late, all that
time.
Like, yeah, I a lot of people.
It's my life mission tointroduce people to these games
and like just indoctrinate them.
So anytime someone who showseven remote interests, I'm like
cool, I have all of the gamesand all of the DLC.
I'm going to give you mypassword and you're going to go
in and you're going to play andI'm like the only requirement I
(37:49):
have is that you stream it to meso I can watch you play and I
can enjoy that.
So Mariah would have me likewatching her play inquisition
and half the time I'd be likelooking at my phone while she's
playing and she'll get stuck andI'll look up and I'm like I
have no context for what she'sbeen doing for the past like 30
minutes and I'm like so you gotto go here and do this and do
that in the book and I knowexactly where I've recognized
(38:09):
that tree anywhere.
Speaker 3 (38:12):
I would be looking for the shards, and I've walked
the same circle in thehinterlands like 18 fucking
times I've gotten mauled bybears I've got.
Why are there so many bears inthe hinterlands still?
Speaker 2 (38:23):
There's so many.
Speaker 3 (38:24):
Why have they not been hunted to extinction yet,
like.
And then I was like I cannotfind the shard and I was like,
oh, it's up there and it wouldbe right where she indicated.
And I'm like, how?
Now, in my defense, becauseInquisition is one of those
games, like it doesn't auto loadthe map sections.
You load the map sections bywalking the terrain, which is a
(38:44):
pet peeve of mine.
I am much more of a fan of,like you get map pieces because
I like to see what the terrainis.
So I know if there's like a bigvalley or an insurmountable
mountain range that I can't andI'm just like let me through and
I'm not going to be able to getthrough.
But that's on how all gameswork and that's fine.
But yeah, I just wouldn't knowhow to get around and I would be
(39:07):
like no go here.
Speaker 2 (39:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (39:09):
And I'm like thank you.
Speaker 2 (39:10):
But I just have photographic memory of every
nook and cranny of those maps.
Speaker 1 (39:14):
Wow, there's probably a few games like that that I
could still remember.
It's not an RPG, but I'm veryexcited for my birthday.
Well, for Christmas I bought mywife the Atari 2600.
Like one of the original Nice,but it's updated from Atari
(39:40):
because it has an HDMI port soyou can watch your old games in
widescreen.
But then for my birthday shegot me Pitfall, which is like my
old school 1980s love.
So I am so excited.
But again, it's like you knowevery like where to jump, where
(40:02):
to go to this where to do that.
Speaker 2 (40:03):
Yeah, it's just.
I could be 98 years old on mydeathbed and somebody could boot
that shit up.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (40:13):
So you just like you hope, you hope for a trivia
contest that has like that, Likethose types of questions like
this is my fucking destroy.
Speaker 2 (40:26):
I'd be like it's just me by myself.
Give it to me yeah she went no,yeah, I have.
Like I have all the.
I've read the novels and likeall the lore books and extended
stuff and the comics and thelike you fucking name it I'm,
I'm all deep in that shit.
Speaker 1 (40:47):
That's an encyclopedic knowledge.
I consume it very raciously.
Yeah, that's amazing.
I'm impressed.
Speaker 3 (40:57):
I'm a little bit like that with Vox Machina and so
then, like my friends well,always started to listen to the
campaign of Vox Machina.
I've like finally worn her downover after three years of being
like you should.
But the animated series isreally like a great gateway drug
.
But watching it with me I'msure is painful, because I'm
having to just like temper allof my reactions because I can't
(41:21):
react to the foreshadowing andspoil things.
But I'm like I'm losing my mindand they're like why, what's,
what is this?
I'm like I can't tell you yeah,it's brutal, yeah, it's rough
out here.
Speaker 1 (41:33):
That's tough.
It's always getting gettingsomebody, getting somebody like
into your hobby or your, yourinterest, and then, yes,
especially like a TV show orsomething like that, and you're,
you sitting there watching andyou're like, yeah, I know what's
going to happen.
Speaker 2 (41:49):
And you have to try to be so fucking chill about it
too, because you're like I justwant someone to get to the point
where I'm at with it.
Yes, like I just need one otherhuman on the face of this earth
to love the thing that I love,the way that I love it, so then
I could just talk about thattill the ends of the earth, till
the sun bursts in the sky andeverything erupts Like that's
all I made by each repeat.
(42:10):
That's all I want.
Speaker 3 (42:14):
Is this all?
Speaker 2 (42:14):
right, you have to be super chill about it, and so
they get entrenched.
Speaker 1 (42:19):
Yeah, so on on that note, let me ask this question
since, since we're talking aboutlooking for people of similar
interests, so another one of myquestions for you the one that
Alejandra, I know is lookingforward to which D&D monster do
you secretly relate to on apersonal level?
(42:41):
I prepared for this one, andwhat does that say about your
dating life?
Speaker 3 (42:47):
Oh man Okay.
Speaker 2 (42:49):
So you're good.
You're good, you're good.
So I thought about it for a bitand I would like definitely
viciously scrolling through likethe monster manual shit,
because I was just like listen,first of all I only know the
monsters at this point.
That I think countered not allthe monsters that exist in D&D
Period.
But when I thought about it andthen I was like okay, I think
(43:11):
it would be an ethic,specifically because of the way
that they just like unmakethemselves into this little
creature because of theirobsession with like arcane
knowledge.
I think is pretty much the waythat I am about like
specifically the TTRPG hyperfixation because, especially now
(43:32):
running my own game and theamount of like when I get into
the mind palace situation andI'm like rotting from the inside
because of the maladaptivedaydreaming I've told this to my
players.
But especially recently, I'mvery big on like music and I
specifically see that's most ofmy prep is listening to playlist
(43:53):
, because I just go into afucking spiral about envisioning
the scenes and the interactionsthrough music.
So recently we've hadsituations where I'm like as
soon as I realize that thing ishappening, I find the song that
is fucking perfect for it, andthen I'm like I'm sitting at my
eight hour work week listeningto the same song on repeat for
(44:14):
eight fucking hours, and thenprobably more hours once I get
home, like a maniac.
Speaker 1 (44:18):
We have no idea what you're saying.
Speaker 2 (44:20):
No, did you hear me at all?
You can't hear me what?
Speaker 1 (44:29):
happened?
I have no idea.
Can you hear me?
I can hear you now.
Can you hear us?
Yeah, yeah, you, you, you frozeand I hate that.
Speaker 2 (44:42):
Okay, I'm so sorry.
Where did I?
Speaker 3 (44:44):
leave off About how you like, pick when you have
things you want Sorry.
When you have like scenes youknow you want to have happen and
it came in here, you will finda song to like define that.
Speaker 2 (44:56):
Yes.
So I find a song and thenrecently that song, I will
literally go to work and fromthe moment I get to work, for
eight straight hours I'mlistening to the same song on
fucking repeat, just living inthat scene for the whole
duration of my day and evensometime after I get home and
(45:17):
I'm like that descent intomadness and obsession feels like
no thick coated.
What that says about my fuckingdating life is just I don't
know, someone's going to have tobe really fucking prepared for
that type of energy.
And I'm like, if you're goodwith me listening to the same
song for 12 hours, then we'll begreat.
And just let me descend intomadness.
Speaker 1 (45:38):
That's all it is.
Speaker 2 (45:40):
And be there on the other side, that's all you need
Just hold me when I come out ofmy fucking fever dream.
Speaker 3 (45:51):
I was thinking about it and I just like instinctively
remembered that flumps are athing.
And then I saw, I Googled themand they just kind of float
around the under dark and liketo learn about philosophy and if
they encounter a bad thoughtthey turn red and get angry.
And I feel like that's my vibe,just collecting info, just
floating around being chill.
Like an under dark jellyfishJust vibing.
Speaker 2 (46:16):
Yeah, Until there's a bad thought and you're like
nope.
Speaker 3 (46:19):
Yeah, I don't know what that says about my dating
life, aside from well, yes, I do.
I think of like I will stay insituations until they get real
bad and then, yes, I will turnred and get angry and burn the
person's soul off the earth.
Speaker 2 (46:36):
Yeah, and just go back to floating.
Speaker 1 (46:40):
Just keep on, keep on floating.
Speaker 2 (46:42):
Don't float Wonderful .
So yeah, we're just, we're justa no thick and a flump in a
trench coat.
Speaker 3 (46:48):
No thick and a flump, I love it.
Speaker 1 (46:50):
So where, so?
Where did you, where did youencounter a no thick?
Speaker 2 (46:54):
Oh, I used them.
Oh, do you?
Yeah, we had a situation again.
My, my campaign that I run is astrict saving campaign by the
skin of its teeth, and I take alot of liberties, and it's very
homebrew at this point.
So strict saving that's that isabout the cannon.
Yeah, got it.
That's about what we took fromthe book.
(47:16):
But the I had it to be wherethe wither bloom, the wither
bloom dragon runs the detentionbog in her human form, and so a
part of the detention bog isthere, are, I put, no thicks as,
like the creatures, that kindof inhabited it, and so the the
players have to cross thedetention bog, retrieve this
(47:39):
crate and bring it back over theno thicks are specifically
attracted to arcane items, whichall of them have.
So they encounter them and theytry to like steal things.
They're actually not like superaggressive, so their main
objective is to steal thingsfrom the players and that's kind
of you know, a good punishmentfor having done shit you weren't
(48:01):
supposed to.
But the no thicks are very muchlike her pets that she cares
for and because it is a magicschool and it's a very magic
centered city that they're in, Ifeel like no thicks would
happen and like they areattracted to the school because
it's such a concentration ofmagic and she just kind of takes
them in and cares for them.
Speaker 1 (48:19):
That makes sense.
Speaker 2 (48:22):
Cause they were once, you know, great wizards that
just got got into the sauce.
Speaker 1 (48:28):
To loss in the sauce.
We had one of the one of thefirst campaigns I I played I
think it was the first campaignI played in um it was, it was
lost minds of Van Delver and oneof the you know like, you know,
like the, the caverns underthis, under this building, there
(48:49):
was a no thick there and Iremember one of our party
members, um befriended don't,don't ask me how befriended the
no thick and and I don't know ifthey kept it, I want to say
kept as a pet, but they it was,it was underneath this house.
So they, they took, they tookover the house and and kept the
(49:10):
no thick, like in the house.
Speaker 2 (49:12):
It was like a smeagle companion yeah.
Speaker 1 (49:14):
It was.
It was like a companion, likelike the doctor, so it was, it
was their companion and it wasjust the no thick.
So instead of instead ofkilling in no thick, we were
like, oh, let's just make itfriends, yeah.
Speaker 2 (49:27):
I mean they just, they just really want like magic
shit.
They're not super, like theywon't aggro on you unless you
aggro on them, right, like theyjust they just want to afford a
little magic, they just wantshiny.
Speaker 1 (49:40):
So let me ask you this question, cause I've I've
been.
I was watching a video earliertoday on Tik Tok and it was it
was the whole debate of XPversus milestone um leveling,
leveling up in in campaigns, andwe we've talked about this on
the podcast before and I and andmy contention is like with if
(50:06):
you play using XP, I feel likeyou tend to have More murder.
Speaker 2 (50:15):
Yes, exactly, thank you.
Speaker 1 (50:18):
You have parties that tend to be murder hobos because
they want to clear the level.
Speaker 3 (50:22):
It's like the old video game syndrome you got to
clear the level and but when youplay milestone, yeah, because
it's like players like I want todo my own stuff and then it's
allowed me to do this and, likeyou, can't do that because I
need the XP, whereas if it'smilestone, then I've always
loved.
So what's, what's?
Speaker 1 (50:38):
your take on on that.
Speaker 2 (50:41):
I have to agree.
I think going off of XP andagain it's it's the element of
like there is a table foreverybody.
If you are like super intocombat and crunch, I think XP is
the way to go because that'svery rewarding.
It's like the XP sets it up toa point where, like you are
being rewarded for getting intocombat all the time and if
(51:01):
that's the thing you find joy inlike follow your truth, but
yeah, it is, it is definitely asystem.
I think that rewards that moreunless you were like I thought
about.
Like if I were to do an XPsituation, I think I would
reward it in the same way that,like video games, do that as
well is like you get XP for surefor you know killing things,
(51:24):
but you also get XP fordiscovering new areas.
You get XP for clearing, likedifferent points in the story
and missions and things likethat.
So I feel like if I was to doan XP system, that's probably
what I would do.
So there would still be anelement of reward if you are
finding creative solutions.
But I think traditional yeah,xp definitely encourages more
(51:47):
combat centered stuff.
We've always been milestonegirly because we will sit there
for fucking eight hours roleplaying and not touch our dice.
So in a way that I would dothat Also.
I don't like math.
I'm not gonna fucking do math.
Speaker 3 (52:03):
I would not want to run D&D version of XP like.
What VTM does is, like all ofmy games play a bit like older
kind of, so they had someexperience points to spend and
then, generally, like everysession you play, you get like
one experience point and then,if you clear, if you like, you
know to feed a big boss, you dosomething particularly good, or
whatever you get, you can getmore as the kind of storyteller
(52:26):
rewards it.
But I always give everyone thesame amount and like I just want
it's easier to keep track oflike so you don't have to worry
about like one character gettingahead of the others or being
overpowered and then someonetrying to have like too much
main character syndrome.
And also it's just like the VTMway of doing experience points
(52:49):
because those are used to likebuy more powers and disciplines
or different skills orrelationships.
Like though, with that versionof XP is fine, but like for D&D
I would.
I would never want to run that.
It's.
It's too much math and I justyeah, I think it's too easy for
(53:10):
like parties to get imbalancedand it's also harder for me to
be like.
Oh well, how do I decide whatis the correct amount of XP for
this interaction?
Speaker 1 (53:21):
Right.
Speaker 3 (53:22):
Like that feels kind of arbitrary, which I guess like
my own song.
Leveling is too.
In a sense it's like well, whendo you earn a level?
But at least that it's, it'ssimpler, right, then it's like I
feel like we should get 500 forthis and not 250.
Like I don't, I don't want todo all that, it's just, it's not
my bag, but like, if the ifit's your thing, go for it.
Speaker 1 (53:43):
Yeah, like you said, you know, if you, if you're
totally into, just if you wantto be a combat heavy campaign by
all, by all means, that's,that's a great way to to do it.
Speaker 2 (53:54):
I mean, I'm going through dungeon crawls and the
strategic and do it Right.
Speaker 1 (54:01):
So I suppose you could do the same thing.
You know, with XP if you, ifyou either, if you, if you kill
something, you get the XP.
But, like you said, if you finda creative way to not kill that
creature and and be able toadvance in the, the adventure
that way, maybe you still getthe XP for for the same version,
(54:23):
for just not.
Speaker 2 (54:24):
Yeah, it's just an element of how you, how you
choose to reward your players.
Speaker 1 (54:29):
Interesting.
Speaker 2 (54:31):
Yeah, I mean we have like it's also milestone can
have its own, its own faultsbecause, like you know, you can
have DMs that like.
For we talked about this acouple of times because, in
comparison of our currentcampaign to our previous, we
played that previous campaignfor over a year almost two, I
think and we were playingbiweekly, if not sometimes three
(54:51):
times a month, and these weresessions that we were playing
like eight to 10 hours everytime and sometimes we'd play
twice in a weekend because wewere lost in the Saucies
campaign for real.
It was like we were veryinvested in like tapping our
fucking veins every chance wegot, so like we did that much
(55:12):
gameplay and we gained one leveland the entire time we ran it.
So, like you know, to eachtheir own, but I think we should
have had a little bit more inthat specific situation, whereas
ours, like I think I think youguys have just gained your
fourth level and we've hit ayear and that's just one, in
(55:32):
part because of the way thatStrix Haven structures their
levels and I'm not trying tohave them play this for six
years and likes have gottenthree levels out of it.
Strix Haven is meant to takeyou from one to 10.
You can drop it at whateverlevel you want, but like by the
time they graduate they shouldbe a 10th level.
So it's like once we hitcertain points in the year, or
(55:53):
every time they take an exam,they gain a level.
So it's like two major pointsin which you're supposed to have
gotten a level.
Right now we just did.
We're in between the first yearand the second year and we're
having a little bit of like aball situation that's just
starting to wrap up.
But the ball has taken longerthan I expected because we've
been doing a lot of serioushardcore.
(56:13):
I should have known.
I should have known.
But I was like thinking.
I was like, well, the ball isgoing to take maybe two.
It's now three, like three fullsessions.
But by the end of it I was like, yeah, y'all fucking gain a
level.
We've done so much shit whilewe're out in this goddamn ball.
Are you kidding me?
Yeah, no, fuck it.
I was going to be one to 11.
(56:35):
But like that doesn't matter.
Speaker 3 (56:38):
I'm just trying to get us up to one more so I can
have mounted combat and let megraduate.
Speaker 2 (56:43):
Well, you'll get us soon enough.
Speaker 3 (56:45):
Because I've made the deal with Alex.
My character has a griffin andit's a baby right now.
Actually, you can't have yourdead mother's adult griffin.
I'm so sorry.
I refuse to run mounted.
Speaker 2 (56:55):
At level four.
That's not happening and I'mlike that's fair.
Speaker 3 (56:58):
That's fair.
The worst you're going to hearis no, or you get a baby griffin
instead.
But I'm like, ok, I said that Iwill wait until, like, the
level 12 ASI to take mountedcombat, and because then we'll
either have been graduated for afew years or be like right
after, it's like it'll make moresense.
Speaker 2 (57:13):
That gives the griffin time to age, time to get
trained in flying combat andall that shit.
Time for you to train in flyingcombat?
Yep yeah, Because I'm likeyou're not making me deal with
this flying shit when you're atlevel four.
Speaker 3 (57:27):
No, you can't have like a trained war griffin.
You're freshman year of MagicCollege.
Speaker 2 (57:32):
No, I'm so sorry Y'all hustle hard and I respect
it.
I do.
Speaker 3 (57:37):
Yeah, the griffin's just killing everyone that we're
fighting.
It's like a play fight atschool.
It's like a duel and Zephyrus,her mom's griffin, is just
murdering people because he'shuge.
Speaker 2 (57:48):
Yeah, like now we're not even those people.
The vlog gutting students.
Speaker 3 (57:51):
We can't have that, that's too much.
He only, he's all gas, no break.
Speaker 2 (57:56):
He only knows how I already give you all advantage
for the dumbest fucking reason,just because I feel like it.
Speaker 1 (58:01):
So Very nice.
All right, I know we're gettingclose to the end of time here,
so let me let me.
I can't thank you enough forjoining us today.
I've got I've got one finalquestion for you, so I'm going
to modify my question a littlebit.
(58:21):
So if you had to go on a quest,what, what one famous fictional
character would you want inyour party?
Speaker 2 (58:37):
If you had.
This is hard.
Speaker 3 (58:38):
Right, this is a hard one.
Speaker 2 (58:40):
You're asking two very fantasy focused bitches,
Like the amount of books we'veread, the amount of games we
played, the movies, the shows,the movies you had to pick.
Speaker 1 (58:52):
You had to pick one.
Speaker 2 (58:53):
One.
Speaker 1 (58:55):
I'm.
Speaker 2 (58:55):
I'm thankful you narrowed it to one and not like,
hey, what's your whole partyCause?
Then I would be, we'd be herefor three more hours.
Speaker 3 (59:02):
That would be easier for me because I could pick like
three.
Speaker 1 (59:05):
That would be a whole episode on the sound.
Speaker 3 (59:07):
I mean I'll just go with like my gut, my initial gut
instinct, Cause, like I, I readthe throne of glass series
recently and um AalenGalathenius from that would be
really nice because she was liketrained as an assassin and she
has like all of these firepowers and she, she would be
helpful to be, very helpful tohave along Um I think, hmm, this
(59:40):
is so fucking hard.
Speaker 2 (59:43):
Um, I think one of my soft spot Um decisions would be
um Varric Tethris from DragonAge.
Because, like when I playedHawk, I was like, yeah, no, this
is my best friend in everyfucking sense of the word and I
loved their relationship so muchand I was just like I just love
(01:00:04):
Varric and I feel like if I, ifwe were in real life traveling
together, it would be that exactsame like dynamic as Hawk and I
just I just have a big softspot for for that character.
Speaker 3 (01:00:16):
Hawk would also be really nice.
Speaker 2 (01:00:18):
Hawk would also be dope, specifically Mage Hawk.
Yeah, because there's no othercorrect answer.
Speaker 3 (01:00:27):
Iron Bull would be fun.
Speaker 2 (01:00:30):
Yeah, I'm sure it would.
Speaker 3 (01:00:33):
Hey now, hey now, don't take that, talk with me.
These are stones and glasshouses.
Yeah, exactly you were thewoman that told me that
somewhere on some developer'scomputer, uh, Iron Bull's
canonical dick exists.
Speaker 2 (01:00:49):
You're the person who gave that information.
It's a crime that they've keptthat from the community.
To be honest, that's right.
Speaker 3 (01:00:55):
No, no, no, you don't know Um who else would be good.
Speaker 2 (01:01:06):
I'm surprised you're not saying any critical role
characters.
Speaker 3 (01:01:08):
Oh, fuck, I've read about critical role.
There's so many fandoms.
I forget about my children,Right?
Um, I forget about my children.
Oh my gosh, Uh, Vax would bereally good.
So the twins Vax and Vax wouldbe great.
Speaker 2 (01:01:29):
I would love to be like fucking dropped in a
quarter fan flowers.
Speaker 3 (01:01:33):
That'd be fun.
Speaker 2 (01:01:33):
Like I can't tell you who I would pick at that point
because I love them all so much.
But can I just be?
Can I elect to be?
I know this is not the question.
Can I just be dropped there?
Sure.
Speaker 1 (01:01:41):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (01:01:44):
Yeah, I'd like to be just dropped into Vox Machina.
That would be cool, then Iwouldn't have to pick.
Speaker 1 (01:01:52):
Well, so let's do this.
Yeah, I was just saying so,let's do that question.
That'd be the opposite question.
If you could be a character inanother party, what party would
you want to be a part of?
Speaker 2 (01:02:12):
I would.
As traumatic as this wouldprobably be crowned candy.
Like in there would be dope,Just as the story is fucking
good and it's like it's likegoddamn Game of Thrones and
you'd be crying and thenrealizing it's about a
conversation between a gummybear and a piece of cake, but
it's so good and that's likethat, like we're we're trauma
(01:02:35):
hosts, so we love to role playlike really gritty, like
emotionally deep stories.
Love that shit.
That's fantastic.
Speaker 1 (01:02:45):
I like that yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:02:46):
Never after would also be really fun.
I mean, I think I really likedthat world of like the dark
fairy tale stuff the intrepidheroes also would be a fucking
blast.
Speaker 2 (01:02:58):
Yeah, yeah.
For me it's between the cordufeand flower stuff and then
crowned candy for sure.
I feel like I would be.
I'd probably be a meatlander,if I'm going to be honest either
meatlander or like postination.
Speaker 3 (01:03:19):
That's another question.
Who would like crown of candyhouse Like I would?
Speaker 1 (01:03:26):
even be a dairy.
We got, we got down his rabbithole.
Speaker 3 (01:03:28):
My goodness yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:03:30):
No, you're welcome.
Speaker 3 (01:03:31):
We're here now.
I'm not.
I don't feel like I'm avegetable, I don't really feel
like.
I'm a fruit person.
I'm not meat either.
Speaker 2 (01:03:40):
I could honestly see you as a little fun guy, a
little mold person.
Speaker 3 (01:03:44):
I could be a little mold person or like a dairy
islander, yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:03:49):
I was going to say dairy too, ampail as lactose
intolerant as you are.
Speaker 3 (01:03:56):
It would go away and not an AU it would go away if
you were made up?
Speaker 2 (01:04:00):
I think so.
You were made up there, youcan't be allergic to yourself.
Speaker 3 (01:04:03):
You just die.
Speaker 1 (01:04:05):
You build up a tolerance, yeah, over time, all
right, well, again, again.
Mariah Alejandra, thank you somuch for joining the podcast
tonight.
It's been it's been a pleasuretalking to you both.
Everybody.
Please check out their podcastTable Talk.
(01:04:27):
Table Talk on what are you?
On?
Apple, spotify, on all the On,all the Everywhere that you can
listen to a podcast.
Speaker 2 (01:04:36):
Our social medias are all at Table Talk or Table Talk
RPG, on Instagram, tiktok andThreads Technically YouTube,
though we haven't postedanything on there yet, but yeah,
pretty much everywhere you canfind us there.
Speaker 1 (01:04:48):
Awesome, wonderful.
Well, thank you again so much,have yourselves a great evening
and hopefully we'll talk to yousoon.
Speaker 2 (01:04:55):
Thank you.
Thank you for having us have agreat night.
Speaker 1 (01:04:58):
Bye, bye.
Welcome everyone to the Legends, lute and Lore
podcast where we're doing it.
We're doing an evening.
This is like an eveningrecording for me.
This is great.
We are after dark Sesh.
After dark, legends, lute andLore.
After dark, I feel like I'm inan episode of 902 and I'm at the
Peach Pit, but anyway, don'tmind me.
(00:33):
We are here with the hosts ofTable Talk, the official All
Things, table Top RPG podcast,with the hosts Mariah, and I
cannot roll my Rs.
So, alejandra.
So tell us a little about yourpodcast, talk about, maybe, what
(01:00):
got you started, what was yourinspiration for doing this, and
share some memorable moments ofthe, because I think we started
about the same time, probablyearly mid summer.
So what's your journey been like?
Start from the beginning, forsure.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Mariah, do you want to give the spiel?
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Yeah, I'll give the spiel of how we started and then
, if you want to give our little, our little press junket
marketing guru.
Yeah, so we've talked about itfor a couple of years now,
because Allie and I have beengood friends for quite a few
years at this point, and itstarted as like as most of those
things do is like the verystereotypical, like two best
(01:44):
friends.
I mean we should have a podcast.
And it was like a very it was ajoke.
And then I was like, is thejoke still a joke?
And it's like, well, what if wedid it?
What would it be about?
It's like, okay, well, d&dobviously, and two TRPGs,
because that's like what we dowith most of our free time.
And then it just reallysnowballed from there and we
(02:05):
started doing it and then,shortly after we started, we
went to pack some plugs and thatwas a crazy awesome experience
for us.
We met so many people and wemade a lot of friends and we met
a lot of friends that we hadalready made online and we had
this like came out of it withthis huge lineup of guests that
(02:25):
we've then we're still meetingwith and recording, and it's
just.
We carved out this fun littleniche for ourselves where we're
talking about everything that isrelated to TRPGs, from like
mechanics and dice hoarding andlike the interpersonal
interaction side of it, and likethe gaming industry at large
and imposter syndrome and we'retalking about like everything
(02:49):
around it and we're not actuallygoing into doing the actual
play.
I think it's something we wouldlike to do, but both like Allie
and I, have no chill when itcomes to anything, so we're like
we got to wait until we canhave a whole in house production
set up production.
So that's like a couple yearsdown the line we started
plotting, plotting it.
But yeah, we started.
(03:11):
We're both, we both work inmarketing, we're both pretty
like business focused and Ithink both of us in general,
like both of us have this toeach other of like we're the
only really friends, becausethey're very stereotypical, like
don't do it, don't do it abusiness with your friends.
But Allie and I are verycompatible and we have our
compatible skills and we see alot of things the same and we
(03:32):
have good both businessbackgrounds, so there's a lot of
things that we just inherentlyknow and either where one person
is an expert in something theother person isn't, and vice
versa, and so it's just kind ofbeen a fairly seamless process.
I mean, nothing is fullyseamless, right, but as these
(03:53):
things go like, I feel likewe've kept a pretty good clip
the whole time since we started.
That's amazing.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Allie and I do share a brain cell and, like 99% of
things, whatever we like, startto broach the subject.
I'm like, no, I'm in fullagreeance with you and like on
the same page, and it's likecool, just double checking.
But we've worked really welltogether.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
That's awesome, so okay.
So now, of course, my questionis because I as well, I'm in
marketing.
So what are your fields inmarketing?
What are your specialties?
Speaker 2 (04:28):
So mine is social media as well as, like in my
profession, I was doing a lot oflike the general, like campaign
marketing management for thecompanies that I worked for and
that's mostly like my focus.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
Nice, that's awesome.
I mean, I did some marketing incollege.
As far as like actual adultbusiness stuff, I kind of I cut
my teeth in tech.
It's still where I work.
I do a lot of like contentmarketing and also similar of
like campaign management andbeing that subject matter expert
for how we talk about thecertain products and the words.
(05:05):
Specifically, I work inapplication security, which is a
nice fun little nerdy sector tobe in, and I've dabbled a bit
in social media and things likethat.
But I like the, the campaignand the conceptual strategic
side of marketing a lot.
That's.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
That's quite fun for me and I'm in like the real
estate sector.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Nice, oh, very interesting.
I'm always curious, it's so.
So our podcast started out witha friend and I and very, very
similarly, I had I think we'dstarted off right, like, right
around.
I got, I got laid off of my joband and I had started a podcast
(05:48):
at at work for, for our bank,and I'm like I really loved the
whole, just the whole, puttingit all together, recording it,
editing it.
I loved the.
I loved all the aspects ofdoing a podcast.
I'm like, so, like, how can Ido this in my life?
And like, and we had that, wehad the same thing, like, what
(06:08):
are we interested in?
D&d?
So why not?
That's awesome.
So, so, so.
So talk about some of the.
What are some of theinteresting guests you had on
your, your show?
What would have been some ofthe interesting topics that you
you've had the opportunity to todiscuss on your, on your
(06:29):
podcast?
Speaker 3 (06:31):
We just, at the time that we're recording this, the
most recent episode, not thisweek's episode.
The episode before that was byfar the most unhinged thing
we've ever recorded and put outon the internet, and it was just
us talking about irrationalfears for an hour with one of
(06:51):
because we were part of the biglike TTRPG fundraiser for
Doctors Without Borders inJanuary, and so one of the man
from Big D&D Energy.
Yeah, who's fantastic, andshadowed Aaron, he's lovely.
Yeah, I don't know how thathappened.
That wasn't the original point.
I think I'm mostly responsiblefor diverting on that track.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
DRL us.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
But we, we will.
You, we can usually get back onthe track, and that never,
happened, it went we did not, itwas not.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
No.
She took the wheel, swarmed usoff the road and we were all
just in that ride and and addingour own irrational fears to it.
And then, by the end of theepisode, I was like and this is
a great inspiration for DMS forsure, yes, yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Oh, absolutely Never, never, never tell a DM your
rational fears, because theywill they will come to life
somewhere, somewhere in thecampaign.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Yeah for sure We've had.
I mean, we've had a ton ofreally, really awesome guests.
Like the episode that we hadwith Talking XB, who was one of
our first guests, is still oneof my favorites, because we
talked a lot about impostersyndrome and then we just became
really like genuinely goodfriends with Johnny at this
point.
I think another one that ispretty notable and has, I think,
(08:11):
had the most effect on peopleis the Toxic Tables episode,
where we talk about how to oneidentify that you're at a toxic
table and you know, knowing thatit's okay to leave it, even if
you're having that feeling oflike this is the only time I get
to play D&D.
You don't have to like sufferthrough a not ideal situation
(08:32):
just because you feel likeyou're not going to get any D&D
at all, like you can and willfind other tables with people
that are much healthier to playwith and you'll enjoy those
games so much more.
And that, I think, is theepisode that like we got into it
because like I mean honestly,truly our journey is deeply tied
to us leaving a very toxictable.
(08:54):
I wouldn't be DMing if I didn'tdo it, because that kind of
forced me into the position andit's been the best thing that we
ever did, to be honest.
So we've had a lot of peoplereact to that episode and like
tell us that it's inspiring themto leave not ideal situations.
So that one I keep like closeto my heart as a favorite, just
(09:17):
because it makes me feel goodthat it helps people.
Absolutely that's amazing.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
Yeah, we also had a really great episode with SJ
Bikin, or he just kind of talkedabout.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
Oh, my God.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
That was like we it got very therapy psychopomp,
which, like that's my shit.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
I love that.
It was very just like diggingto, like being a creative and
dealing with imposter syndromeand deal with how do you build
because, like he has like wholeworld of Ebbondale and he
creates so much cool stuff, andso he talked about that.
But then also like thepsychological side of like how
not second guessing yourself andlike how you, how you go about
(09:54):
forming the world, and like whendo you draw the line where it's
like no, we can just call achair a chair and we don't have
to like come up with a funmythological name for everything
, because then we'll be insane.
Right, you're not all Tolkien,unfortunately.
Like well, not evenunfortunately, like it's not,
you don't have to go quite thathard.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
You don't got to go that deep.
No.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
You really don't, and it's funny I was, so we.
So we now do an actual playonce, once a month, which is,
you're absolutely right about,the production of it is insane.
But while but yeah, but one ofthe one of the one of the one
guy that plays with us is Edm'sa campaign that I'm in, but he
(10:40):
said the same thing.
He's like sometimes a room isjust a room.
It doesn't have to be filledwith a ton of stuff.
You know, you can just walkinto an empty room there.
There doesn't have to be amimic like hiding in the corner,
like it doesn't, it doesn'thave to be this big.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
A lot of crazy, crazy how in a world of magic there's
still a broom closet Right Likethat just has rooms.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
Absolutely.
You still have to like washdishes somehow.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
Yeah, and well and well, let me see, let me go back
to so, let me so this, this,this, just I, because I talked
about my list of questions, solet me, let me ask you this
question.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
Okay, okay.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
If, if you could enchant one mundane object in
your home to perform one taskforever, what would it be and
how would it potentiallyhilariously backfire?
Speaker 3 (11:37):
I have a question.
I have a question.
Yes, is it going to beperforming this task constantly,
forever, or will it perform thetask for?
When appropriate when needed,so like, for example, a coffee
maker.
If it's a coffee maker, is itjust always going to make coffee
, or is it going to make coffeeevery day at 8am?
Speaker 1 (12:01):
I would, I would say, I would say it's going to, it's
going to do it at itsappropriate time.
Think of, think of like aRoomba.
It just kind of goes when itneeds to go.
It doesn't.
It doesn't have to, it's notgoing to go 24, 7, so Absolutely
.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
I have my answer if you need a second.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
You can go first, because I'm trying to answer.
Let's hear it.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Okay, I can see this happening very much like a genie
wish situation and like myinnate reaction would be like I
need my laundry machine to do mylaundry and put it away.
That's the thing.
I fucking hate laundry.
I hate it and that would be myfirst gut instinct.
The way that I think it wouldhilariously like turn on me is
(12:40):
the fact that the laundrymachine now has to scrape itself
across my floor to get to myroom, gobble up all the laundry
and just like drag itself backto plug itself into the
waterline and like do it andthen again go back and like put
that shit away.
And it would just be the mostannoying thing, like once every
(13:02):
two weeks, that this thing hasto just fucking scrape itself
across my floor Like the actualwash machine yeah, just a big
congy machine, yeah, that justhas to like.
Speaker 3 (13:12):
It's just like fucking oh, no, no, no, yeah,
yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
You're on a zoom call for work and and you see the
thing like scraping the floorbehind you, scraping across that
shit.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
Yeah, you get kicked out like I forgot that it is the
time that it's going to go intomy closet and gobble all my
clothes.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
That's amazing.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
It's time, yeah, okay , I have mine then Okay, great,
let's hear it.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
My chore that I hate doing and will forever get into
and not doing is dusting.
I don't know why it justenrages me.
It's probably because I'vealways lived in places with poor
insulation and so it's like Ifinished dusting and then I'll
be damned if there's not moredust already, and I was like
this is a never ending story.
That's not cute and is justdepressing for me.
So I don't do it until it'slike a problem for my allergies.
(13:59):
And then I'm like why am I theway that I am?
So I would like to have like alittle Swiffer, like feather
duster situation that would justtake care of that.
I do think it would gohilariously wrong because me and
the duster would run into eachother because neither of us
would have the appropriatesituation like spatial awareness
.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
And yeah, I'd probably you'd be like making
coffee and it's like goingacross the cabinets and
definitely dust your face in thetime and like or it would be it
would like to accidentally typean email for me or something
like that.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
It would just go, or it would just scare me Like I
would get home at night and Iwould forget that the duster
dusts on Tuesdays at nine pm andI'm like, oh, there's a spirit
in my home.
It's like, no, it's just theduster.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
You do be having adrenaline issues and you cannot
be out here.
I haven't, I should just moveit around.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
I do have chronic illnesses, one of which is
adrenaline issues, and Istartled very easily.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
It would be rough, but it would be nice to have the
dust, so I feel like we'd haveto coexist.
Yeah, definitely.
Oh, my God, that's, that's.
It's just it kind of vaguelyreminds me of Was it the
Weasleys home in the HarryPotter movies, like, where
everything was, was, was likeprobably.
(15:19):
I think she had like everythinglike like that, like the dishes
were washing themselves andeverything was kind of going on
in the background.
I always just wonder like whatthat would be like to be able to
and chant an item and and haveit do something for you.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
Like every other chore I can do literally.
The other day I paid someone todo my fucking laundry because I
was just done.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
I get that.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
I totally get that Like yeah, I'm not doing the
laundry.
Speaker 3 (15:45):
It really becomes like a behemoth.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
A mountain when?
Speaker 3 (15:48):
you're like I'll die under this pile of laundry.
It will never get done.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
Yes, it's a problem, it's a real problem and, like
you said, I think, for me, forme it's the folding, it's the
folding of laundry.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
It's the folding.
I can do the laundry.
Absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker 3 (16:08):
It's the putting that shit away.
I don't see, I don't mind it,but I am bad about like.
I'm good about washing it, I'mgood about getting wet things
either hung up or put into thedryer, because I get real weird
about things potentially molding.
I don't my brain and I just itstresses me out, I don't know
why always has.
I am bad, but like once thething is dry and I'm like, oh,
it's reached a safe homeostasisand now I can forget that it
(16:31):
exists, and so I'll go to domore laundry, and I'm like, oh,
there's the towels that havebeen in there for like two weeks
and they're dry, it's fine,they're just hanging out,
they're dry and they're clean.
But like it's fine, I'll just belike oh, I'm sorry, friends,
I'll fold you up now, but likeit doesn't bother me, it just is
a it bothers other people, likemy mom, who doesn't do that
(16:51):
with laundry.
Then I'm like I do just be thisway.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
It's all right.
Like you said, the job.
The job is to wash laundry, notto like the folding and putting
it away.
That's secondary.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
As long as it's clean , that's all we can have.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
Exactly, I completely agree.
So okay, so we have ourenchanted items.
So let me go back to evenfurther back in history and how
did you both get started?
What was your firstintroduction to the world?
(17:26):
What was it?
D&d, was it another tabletopgame Like?
What was your?
What was your gateway drug tothe world?
Speaker 2 (17:35):
of.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
D&D and dice, goblinism, etc.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
Yeah, I'll go first.
So my first initialintroduction was I've always
been like big into video games.
I loved reading fantasy likehashtag nerd since the moment I
could conceive of it.
But yeah, I had a friend inearly college, like my first
year of college, who mentionedDungeons and Dragons and that he
(18:03):
wanted to learn to DM and hehad bought all the books.
And so he was like, if I getsomething together, would you
play?
And I was like sure, I don'tknow what the fuck it is, but am
nerd, I'll do it.
And like he explained it to meand I was like, yeah, that
sounds cool.
And then I like did research andI was like, oh, I have to like
act out my character at a tableof people I don't know.
And I was like that induces alittle bit of anxiety and I'm an
(18:24):
extrovert.
But I was still just likethat's not something I've done
before.
So my solution to that was tobring two bottles of wine.
I drank one before we had evenstarted.
The other one sat next to me asI played.
So I was like that loosened meup a little bit, but it was like
not a great game, not for faultof his own.
(18:45):
He made like a really coolstory and I was trying to engage
with it as much as possible.
The other two players not itchief they were just like
sitting back on their phones notreally paying attention.
If it wasn't combat they didn'tcare, and even when it was
combat, they just were like I domy hardest hit or my biggest
spell and then I go back to notcaring and oftentimes the only
reason we lived is because Itook the time to RP some shit,
(19:07):
to get us fucking health potionsor some shit.
So it wasn't super engaging andwe only played maybe a couple of
times before.
I was like this isn't for me.
And then, like a couple ofyears went by and then I met our
old DM, who was how me andMariah like got introduced to
each other and he had known thatI had tried it once before.
(19:29):
So he was like if you'reinterested, we need a player If
you want to join.
So I did, and that was thefirst time I experienced a table
of people that were actuallylike into it and they were in
character, they had voices andall this stuff and I was like,
oh, this, like that.
That was when the bug bit meand I was like no, yeah, I'm
addicted to this shit for real,for real.
And that from there is history.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
That's awesome.
So so do you remember yourfirst, your first character?
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Yeah, her name was Nefara.
She was a rogue tiefling, likeany good bisexual woman would do
, and she had a little owl.
Familiar at the time Didn'tknow that rogues can have
familiars.
He just let me have it and hisname was Cosmo and I I think I
had a picture of that owl thathas like the genetic like
mutation to where his eyes justlook like literal galaxies, and
(20:23):
so I was like this is my verb, Ithink I did some wild shit that
I was like can I use a disguisekit on my owl to make him look
like a dragon and prestigitatethe sound of a dragon to scare
these bitches off?
And he was like fuck it, I'lllet you do it, because everybody
else is lame and I'm like cool,sick.
Now that's what I love.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
I love the.
I love the.
I love the kind of ability thatyou have to just Just to think
of whatever you possibly could,to to solve a solution.
Like I'm always, I'm always atthe school if there's got to be
an answer to it, however bizarreit may be, but there's got to
(21:02):
be a solution to figuring thisout.
I love, I just love thatcreativity.
So that's that's.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
that's just amazing, that's so yeah, I think from the
jump I've always been the kindof player that I'm like I'm
pouring over my character sheetand not just looking at the
things that I can do.
But I'll be like what's in myinventory, what other like
feature shit do I have that Icould like play into this turn
and like how many action, likeeconomy things can I get out of
this turn?
(21:30):
Oh yeah, and so I thought Ithought from the jump I was like
the point of the game is to doas much as possible on your turn
.
So I was like can I do this andthis and this and this and that
and that, like, like, and justsee what happens?
Speaker 1 (21:42):
That's a.
That's fantastic, mariah.
What about you?
So?
What was what's your?
Your origin story?
Speaker 3 (21:48):
So mine was.
I've also been pretty nerdy mywhole life.
I kind of like I knew of D&Dgrowing up but I'd never played
it.
And then my first job out ofCollege, I was in QA analysis
and I worked pretty close with adeveloper his name is Dean
shout out Dean, if you happen tobe watching this and so he kind
(22:09):
of got me into like theMcElroy's and their D&D podcast
and just sort of started he got,he got me into listening,
critical listening to criticalrole, because I was like I
simply k, it's five hours, Isimply can't.
And then I accidentally spoiledmyself because I watched the
real, the real sad part at theend and I'm like, well, now I
have to know what happened.
(22:29):
Vox Machina, though, like I seemy mother part of Vox Machina
and I was like cool, I'm foreverbroken now and I must watch it.
Just clean, it'll be fine.
Cut to like 85 hours later itwas not fine chief.
The kids were not alright.
And so Dean and our our old DMthat is, introduced, ali and I
(22:55):
we were all kind of planning tostart playing like a little
campaign in the office, likeafter work once a week.
And then of course quarantinecame, so we got sent Of me
office day, like we'll see intwo weeks, and two weeks turned
into like a couple months, andthen our old DM put together a
group and Invited me and so Iwent and played and then shortly
(23:16):
we played a handful of sessionsand then Ali got brought in as
well and that was how that wasmy first like actual campaign
playing, my first character.
Her name was Ren, she was achangeling sorcerer.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
Oh, I love, I Played a shapeshifter once and you're
fun, so much fun.
There's just, there's just somuch you can do with that.
And I was.
It was funny, I played.
I played the shapeshifter as asnon-binary Because I, because I
(23:53):
said, because my, because mybackground was, he's they, they,
they had changed their shape somany times they don't even
remember what, like what, theiroriginal form what original was.
Yeah, so they were just.
They are what they are, yeah,so, oh yeah, shapeshifters are
just they're super fun oh.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
I know, I know we have a non-binary shapeshifter,
bard, and one of my currentcampaigns that I'm in and yeah,
their name is K shout out K.
But yeah, they're, they're awonderful, wonderful little
character to play with.
They're, they're very fullyflirtatious and they'll just
take on like whatever Spectrumof attraction is available and
(24:34):
I'm like I love this character.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
That's fantastic, so so I asked this question to you,
so.
So, so what?
What is, what is your dicecollection like?
Speaker 3 (24:49):
Pretty like well, not , not so out of hand, that it's
like concerning, but also notand mine's pretty good on it.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
I'm concerning, well, what?
What are you doing?
How do you define concern?
Speaker 2 (25:02):
Okay, here's how I'll define concerning and how
everybody else should beconcerned for me.
Okay, every single time I makea character, I don't just get
character dice.
I have to get between three tofive dice for like a little dice
, charcuterie, mood board ofthis character, because I can't
be satisfied with that, becauseone, as we all know, you can get
(25:22):
pretty dice.
Those dice could fucking hateyou.
So I I make my odds a littlebetter because I'm like I have
the aesthetics here, but I knowthat this specific dice is the
one that lucked out and is theone that I need to roll for this
character.
But I just like to see all thedice together while I'm playing
this character, which does meanI spent boo-koo money on dice
(25:43):
and I do have like a bag ofholding with like multiple
sections in it for all thedifferent.
I have one of those dice types.
Yeah yeah, I like.
Right now we were in StrixHaven and I have my big-ass dice
tray and I have a dice forevery single school on the outer
rim, because then I roll thosedice for the characters and what
school they are specifically in.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
I love that so much.
Speaker 3 (26:06):
Yeah, I feel like I might.
I don't think mine is as badbecause I got.
I also got one of those likebig dice bags with the Little
dividers, but mine is likecomically huge, so it looks like
I don't have that many dice andI think maybe I think maybe
I've just gaslit myself intothinking I don't have a problem.
Speaker 2 (26:27):
Right, because there's a lot of you guys, a
bigger bag.
Speaker 3 (26:30):
Yeah if the bag is a full yeah, it's just like
absolutely by color becausedefinitely, like when I first
started playing, I went prettyham and it was just like shiny,
shiny, pretty rocks, like I justgrabbed them.
And now I'm more.
As I got more into buying likethe fancier, more expensive dice
, I did have to cool my heelsbecause it's not gonna be some
more selective right when you'rebuying the ones that are like
(26:53):
five, ten, fifteen, even twentylike a pop, you can, you know,
you can just eat them likePringles, but you have to when
we're getting to the fancy boys,we have to, like, make some
calls to the 60 to 100 range.
Nice, and so, yeah, I have nowrecently.
Speaker 1 (27:10):
I admit nothing.
Speaker 3 (27:12):
Yeah, oh, it packs.
We saw like there was a ladythat made a set of dice that was
worth like $3,000.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
I think they were like 3k.
Speaker 3 (27:21):
They were beautiful really yeah they were.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
Who was that beautiful Cuz I, cuz I hit all
the guys all the guys, vendors.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
Oh my god, if you give me a second, I could look
her up and it does out and post.
Hold on.
Speaker 1 (27:35):
Dying to know, cuz I know one of one of my favorite
vendors is dice dungeons.
They're out of there, out ofBaltimore and they have.
They have like a tungsten d20oh that is I think like $6,000.
Oh.
Speaker 2 (27:55):
I got her RG dice butik.
Her name is Raquel InterestingRG dice boutique.
They're 3k because she handpainted like stained glass
effects on this shit and likeall the all the stuff that was
on the inside, like I think itwas Insane and they were in fact
the most beautiful dice I'veever fucking seen in my life and
(28:16):
I was like no, yes you look atthem three K.
Speaker 3 (28:18):
Yeah, of course, right.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
Yeah, she was like no , I spent I don't even remember
how many hours like painting allthis intricate detail into
those dice and I was like, no,yeah, no, you're worth.
These are a hundred percentvalued at that, if not more.
To be honest, they're gorgeous.
Speaker 3 (28:34):
Why and why have you told me about this site?
These are great.
Why have you, why have you donethis to me?
I thought we were friends.
I.
Speaker 2 (28:43):
Love looking at the reflection of the dice shopping
on my glasses.
We're like I don't know aproblem.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
Yeah, there's a couple.
There was another vendor that Iran into at at packs I started.
I started watching her ontiktok and Her brand is called
long dog dice.
She's got, she's got a coupleof doxons and so so it's named
after after her, her two dogsand she does.
(29:14):
She does like commissions.
So I, I, I can't, I don't wantto give it away, because my
players listen to this podcastbut there may or may not be
commissioned dice for theircharacters, because she's like
tell me what you think aboutthis.
(29:35):
She, she's like tell me.
She's like, send me pictures ofthe characters, send me their,
send me their character.
She's tell me their backstories.
So she takes all thisinformation and then and then
comes up with like a design Inthe dice for the character.
So I'm, I'm so excited.
Speaker 3 (29:52):
I really want to have like uh VTM dice commissioned
and I think if I start doingthat.
That's going to be a slipperyslope, because then I'm going to
have one for like this Princeand one for that prince and the
yeah, I can't.
I'm.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
Can't baby.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
She's oh, she's gonna , she's gonna do this, she's got
socks.
She's blind, so oh, are yougonna sit there?
Speaker 2 (30:21):
Sweet baby.
Yeah, just sit there, yep, justlay down like a scarf.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
She does this is this is all she does, so she will.
Speaker 2 (30:28):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
This is DD, dd, dd, short for daredevil, because
she's the blinds, she's the catwithout fear, so she's named
after the cartoon character ifyou can't see the danger, danger
can't see you Exactly oh.
She's a good girl.
Um, I I have.
I have a serious dice problemand I may or may not have a
(30:53):
display case for some sets ofdice that.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
I would like to do that when I have more room.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
Yeah, I found, I found a little it's like six
sets of dice from it displaysfrom amazon and I was like I
just Sure some of them are justso nice.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
Man, can I talk about the bullshit that we did for
that that xdm for for his olddisplay?
Yes, yes, yeah, okay uh, neverregretted a decision more in my
life.
So, so we had made I think thiswas for Christmas, uh, because
we were in like a Ravenloftcampaign that went on for like I
think, like over a year, um,and, to be fair, the campaign
(31:36):
itself.
We had great times.
Speaker 3 (31:39):
Um, but yeah, people that are not the people we still
play now, but everyone elsetrash the campaign trash, throw
them away.
Speaker 2 (31:46):
Um.
But the campaign itself, likethe reason we stuck it out so
long was because we were soinvested in that story and uh,
but we decided to him we madelike a little shadowbox display
and so in like a metal tin whichlike I hand painted like the
lid on it and stuff, and like weset that to the side.
Um, we each gave up one of ourdice, um, for like a full set
(32:10):
and then it was like of ourcharacter dice, yeah, um.
So each of us like chose one.
I think I had the d8 because Iwas the bard and that's my
bardic inspiration, so that'swhat I gave up, um, but I gave
up one that was like from one ofmy really nice metal sets
because she was a warforged Umand I was so pissed after the
shit that fell out and I waslike that dice that will never
(32:31):
be complete.
Speaker 1 (32:32):
Oh my god.
Speaker 3 (32:33):
And I'm like the one that was like the one good
decision I made in relation tothat man was to be petty in that
circumstance because I knew, Iknew in my soul I was like this
person's not going to stay in mylife and I refuse to fuck up an
entire set of dice.
So I have some sets of dicethat have four d6's.
So I was like, okay, soimmediately, when they're like,
which dice are you going to go?
I was like I want the d6,because I was like then I can
(32:56):
give one of those and like, yeah, I won't have all four, but
I'll suffer the consequencestill have a set and I won't
have to sacrifice anything forhis dumbass.
And that's what I did, andthat's like the one good
decision I ever.
I burned all my good decisionbrain cells on that.
I stayed for everything elsewith the.
I didn't mess up a dice set soI know I can take that.
Speaker 2 (33:13):
Yeah, but sometimes we fantasize about it and we
were like we're like, do youthink he still has that shit
hung up, or did they put thatshit away once?
Speaker 3 (33:20):
they were like we're being petty like sure, like one
of our friends, would like surebe ashamed if we just broke into
his house if someone broke inthere and and reclaimed our
babies.
Speaker 1 (33:30):
I love it, so that's too funny.
I could, I could go on all dayabout dice, but let me ask, let
me ask this question um, so, so,other than dnd, so what?
What other?
What other rpgs or tabletopgames?
What is there anything you'recurrently playing or or what
(33:52):
else do you like to play?
Let's talk about that.
What's what's?
Speaker 2 (33:56):
Go on, brian, do you should I?
Speaker 3 (33:58):
run vampire the masquerade.
I run a very, very heavilymodified fall of london when
it's like we're not reallyplaying with the in position
right now.
We're mostly just playing with,like Prince Anne V Mithras, um,
because I just want vampirecourt shenanigans, uh, and then
we'll bring in the inquisitionlater, um, so that's that's one
that like I I'd watch for yearsand like wanted to run.
(34:20):
It was just too nervous toowith that previous group and
then felt more, felt comfortableenough to try with like our
group of four that we have now.
Speaker 1 (34:30):
Um.
Speaker 3 (34:31):
I also.
I have blades in the dark whichI really want to run.
Okay, um, there's also.
We played kandel up skewerawith johnny one time and that
was really fun.
I would love to play kandel upskewera more.
What else?
Speaker 2 (34:46):
We've done Overgrown on Roldy 5 and that was super
fun.
Mariah got to play Perils andPrincesses.
Speaker 3 (34:53):
Perils and Princesses was still good.
Speaker 2 (34:54):
Yes, yeah, super, super cute game.
One that I really want to runat some point is the Dragon Age
TTRPG, because I managed to snagone of them books after like a
really long hunt for one, andI'm just a Dragon Age whore and
I really want to take them.
(35:15):
I want to take them.
I don't know if it's okay tocuss on your podcast.
I didn't ask.
I hope so.
Okay, cool yeah we're half-timeBecause I'm a sailor.
I was like too late.
Speaker 3 (35:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (35:26):
You can just bleep me out like super funny, but yeah,
no, I love Dragon Age and allof them.
Mariah's played a little bit ofInquisition.
I need to play, but the othertwo, yeah, the other two have
not, and so I really and like,realistically, not many people
are really going to go back toorigins because of how old it is
and the mechanics are and thegraphics are rough, buddy.
Speaker 3 (35:49):
I only get through it out of nostalgia along, but
it's rough and I don't expectanyone to do it, but I was the
same way I get through Ocarinaof Time and Super Mario 64.
Yeah, that's my yeah, so it's.
Speaker 2 (36:03):
I've played around with the idea of like running
them through the events oforigins as like a TTRPG and
having them pick from like thedifferent you know origins
starting stories and then likeletting that play out how it's
going to play out.
And you would need to do likeno prep for that because you
have a biblical knowledgebecause I am a steel trap of
(36:27):
Dragon Age Lord, like 98% of mybrain space is devoted to that.
That's impressive.
Speaker 3 (36:32):
When I was like going because, like we're all like
every time I see anythingrelated to Dread Wolf, I will
send it to Ali, and nine timesout of 10, she's already seen it
, but I'm like I will do it.
But when I was like you know,start playing Inquisition which
I need to restart it andactually like get through
Trespasser because that's thegood, the good STEMI and not
romance Black Wall because he'lljust leave your ass spoilers if
(36:53):
you haven't played Inquisition,but it's quite an old game.
In my defense, he just shows upin your room in the middle of
the night, lean and dance thewall and is suddenly like hey,
do you want to be in arelationship?
Speaker 2 (37:03):
And what were you to do?
Speaker 3 (37:04):
Yeah.
And then the first time Ipanicked, quit the game because
I was like I can't make thisdecision right now and I was
like okay, but then he justleaves you.
I'm like why, why, why, blackWall, anyway, not the point at
all, separate rant, but like Ihad, I literally had it all.
I'd be like, okay, just tell mewhat happens in the first two
games.
And she just rattled it off andI'm like fantastic.
Speaker 2 (37:26):
I was like, cool, we're going to stay here for
like a four hour conversation,nice Just late, late, all that
time.
Like, yeah, I a lot of people.
It's my life mission tointroduce people to these games
and like just indoctrinate them.
So anytime someone who showseven remote interests, I'm like
cool, I have all of the gamesand all of the DLC.
I'm going to give you mypassword and you're going to go
in and you're going to play andI'm like the only requirement I
(37:49):
have is that you stream it to meso I can watch you play and I
can enjoy that.
So Mariah would have me likewatching her play inquisition
and half the time I'd be likelooking at my phone while she's
playing and she'll get stuck andI'll look up and I'm like I
have no context for what she'sbeen doing for the past like 30
minutes and I'm like so you gotto go here and do this and do
that in the book and I knowexactly where I've recognized
(38:09):
that tree anywhere.
Speaker 3 (38:12):
I would be looking for the shards, and I've walked
the same circle in thehinterlands like 18 fucking
times I've gotten mauled bybears I've got.
Why are there so many bears inthe hinterlands still?
Speaker 2 (38:23):
There's so many.
Speaker 3 (38:24):
Why have they not been hunted to extinction yet,
like.
And then I was like I cannotfind the shard and I was like,
oh, it's up there and it wouldbe right where she indicated.
And I'm like, how?
Now, in my defense, becauseInquisition is one of those
games, like it doesn't auto loadthe map sections.
You load the map sections bywalking the terrain, which is a
(38:44):
pet peeve of mine.
I am much more of a fan of,like you get map pieces because
I like to see what the terrainis.
So I know if there's like a bigvalley or an insurmountable
mountain range that I can't andI'm just like let me through and
I'm not going to be able to getthrough.
But that's on how all gameswork and that's fine.
But yeah, I just wouldn't knowhow to get around and I would be
(39:07):
like no go here.
Speaker 2 (39:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (39:09):
And I'm like thank you.
Speaker 2 (39:10):
But I just have photographic memory of every
nook and cranny of those maps.
Speaker 1 (39:14):
Wow, there's probably a few games like that that I
could still remember.
It's not an RPG, but I'm veryexcited for my birthday.
Well, for Christmas I bought mywife the Atari 2600.
Like one of the original Nice,but it's updated from Atari
(39:40):
because it has an HDMI port soyou can watch your old games in
widescreen.
But then for my birthday shegot me Pitfall, which is like my
old school 1980s love.
So I am so excited.
But again, it's like you knowevery like where to jump, where
(40:02):
to go to this where to do that.
Speaker 2 (40:03):
Yeah, it's just.
I could be 98 years old on mydeathbed and somebody could boot
that shit up.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (40:13):
So you just like you hope, you hope for a trivia
contest that has like that, Likethose types of questions like
this is my fucking destroy.
Speaker 2 (40:26):
I'd be like it's just me by myself.
Give it to me yeah she went no,yeah, I have.
Like I have all the.
I've read the novels and likeall the lore books and extended
stuff and the comics and thelike you fucking name it I'm,
I'm all deep in that shit.
Speaker 1 (40:47):
That's an encyclopedic knowledge.
I consume it very raciously.
Yeah, that's amazing.
I'm impressed.
Speaker 3 (40:57):
I'm a little bit like that with Vox Machina and so
then, like my friends well,always started to listen to the
campaign of Vox Machina.
I've like finally worn her downover after three years of being
like you should.
But the animated series isreally like a great gateway drug
.
But watching it with me I'msure is painful, because I'm
having to just like temper allof my reactions because I can't
(41:21):
react to the foreshadowing andspoil things.
But I'm like I'm losing my mindand they're like why, what's,
what is this?
I'm like I can't tell you yeah,it's brutal, yeah, it's rough
out here.
Speaker 1 (41:33):
That's tough.
It's always getting gettingsomebody, getting somebody like
into your hobby or your, yourinterest, and then, yes,
especially like a TV show orsomething like that, and you're,
you sitting there watching andyou're like, yeah, I know what's
going to happen.
Speaker 2 (41:49):
And you have to try to be so fucking chill about it
too, because you're like I justwant someone to get to the point
where I'm at with it.
Yes, like I just need one otherhuman on the face of this earth
to love the thing that I love,the way that I love it, so then
I could just talk about thattill the ends of the earth, till
the sun bursts in the sky andeverything erupts Like that's
all I made by each repeat.
(42:10):
That's all I want.
Speaker 3 (42:14):
Is this all?
Speaker 2 (42:14):
right, you have to be super chill about it, and so
they get entrenched.
Speaker 1 (42:19):
Yeah, so on on that note, let me ask this question
since, since we're talking aboutlooking for people of similar
interests, so another one of myquestions for you the one that
Alejandra, I know is lookingforward to which D&D monster do
you secretly relate to on apersonal level?
(42:41):
I prepared for this one, andwhat does that say about your
dating life?
Speaker 3 (42:47):
Oh man Okay.
Speaker 2 (42:49):
So you're good.
You're good, you're good.
So I thought about it for a bitand I would like definitely
viciously scrolling through likethe monster manual shit,
because I was just like listen,first of all I only know the
monsters at this point.
That I think countered not allthe monsters that exist in D&D
Period.
But when I thought about it andthen I was like okay, I think
(43:11):
it would be an ethic,specifically because of the way
that they just like unmakethemselves into this little
creature because of theirobsession with like arcane
knowledge.
I think is pretty much the waythat I am about like
specifically the TTRPG hyperfixation because, especially now
(43:32):
running my own game and theamount of like when I get into
the mind palace situation andI'm like rotting from the inside
because of the maladaptivedaydreaming I've told this to my
players.
But especially recently, I'mvery big on like music and I
specifically see that's most ofmy prep is listening to playlist
(43:53):
, because I just go into afucking spiral about envisioning
the scenes and the interactionsthrough music.
So recently we've hadsituations where I'm like as
soon as I realize that thing ishappening, I find the song that
is fucking perfect for it, andthen I'm like I'm sitting at my
eight hour work week listeningto the same song on repeat for
(44:14):
eight fucking hours, and thenprobably more hours once I get
home, like a maniac.
Speaker 1 (44:18):
We have no idea what you're saying.
Speaker 2 (44:20):
No, did you hear me at all?
You can't hear me what?
Speaker 1 (44:29):
happened?
I have no idea.
Can you hear me?
I can hear you now.
Can you hear us?
Yeah, yeah, you, you, you frozeand I hate that.
Speaker 2 (44:42):
Okay, I'm so sorry.
Where did I?
Speaker 3 (44:44):
leave off About how you like, pick when you have
things you want Sorry.
When you have like scenes youknow you want to have happen and
it came in here, you will finda song to like define that.
Speaker 2 (44:56):
Yes.
So I find a song and thenrecently that song, I will
literally go to work and fromthe moment I get to work, for
eight straight hours I'mlistening to the same song on
fucking repeat, just living inthat scene for the whole
duration of my day and evensometime after I get home and
(45:17):
I'm like that descent intomadness and obsession feels like
no thick coated.
What that says about my fuckingdating life is just I don't
know, someone's going to have tobe really fucking prepared for
that type of energy.
And I'm like, if you're goodwith me listening to the same
song for 12 hours, then we'll begreat.
And just let me descend intomadness.
Speaker 1 (45:38):
That's all it is.
Speaker 2 (45:40):
And be there on the other side, that's all you need
Just hold me when I come out ofmy fucking fever dream.
Speaker 3 (45:51):
I was thinking about it and I just like instinctively
remembered that flumps are athing.
And then I saw, I Googled themand they just kind of float
around the under dark and liketo learn about philosophy and if
they encounter a bad thoughtthey turn red and get angry.
And I feel like that's my vibe,just collecting info, just
floating around being chill.
Like an under dark jellyfishJust vibing.
Speaker 2 (46:16):
Yeah, Until there's a bad thought and you're like
nope.
Speaker 3 (46:19):
Yeah, I don't know what that says about my dating
life, aside from well, yes, I do.
I think of like I will stay insituations until they get real
bad and then, yes, I will turnred and get angry and burn the
person's soul off the earth.
Speaker 2 (46:36):
Yeah, and just go back to floating.
Speaker 1 (46:40):
Just keep on, keep on floating.
Speaker 2 (46:42):
Don't float Wonderful .
So yeah, we're just, we're justa no thick and a flump in a
trench coat.
Speaker 3 (46:48):
No thick and a flump, I love it.
Speaker 1 (46:50):
So where, so?
Where did you, where did youencounter a no thick?
Speaker 2 (46:54):
Oh, I used them.
Oh, do you?
Yeah, we had a situation again.
My, my campaign that I run is astrict saving campaign by the
skin of its teeth, and I take alot of liberties, and it's very
homebrew at this point.
So strict saving that's that isabout the cannon.
Yeah, got it.
That's about what we took fromthe book.
(47:16):
But the I had it to be wherethe wither bloom, the wither
bloom dragon runs the detentionbog in her human form, and so a
part of the detention bog isthere, are, I put, no thicks as,
like the creatures, that kindof inhabited it, and so the the
players have to cross thedetention bog, retrieve this
(47:39):
crate and bring it back over theno thicks are specifically
attracted to arcane items, whichall of them have.
So they encounter them and theytry to like steal things.
They're actually not like superaggressive, so their main
objective is to steal thingsfrom the players and that's kind
of you know, a good punishmentfor having done shit you weren't
(48:01):
supposed to.
But the no thicks are very muchlike her pets that she cares
for and because it is a magicschool and it's a very magic
centered city that they're in, Ifeel like no thicks would
happen and like they areattracted to the school because
it's such a concentration ofmagic and she just kind of takes
them in and cares for them.
Speaker 1 (48:19):
That makes sense.
Speaker 2 (48:22):
Cause they were once, you know, great wizards that
just got got into the sauce.
Speaker 1 (48:28):
To loss in the sauce.
We had one of the one of thefirst campaigns I I played I
think it was the first campaignI played in um it was, it was
lost minds of Van Delver and oneof the you know like, you know,
like the, the caverns underthis, under this building, there
(48:49):
was a no thick there and Iremember one of our party
members, um befriended don't,don't ask me how befriended the
no thick and and I don't know ifthey kept it, I want to say
kept as a pet, but they it was,it was underneath this house.
So they, they took, they tookover the house and and kept the
(49:10):
no thick, like in the house.
Speaker 2 (49:12):
It was like a smeagle companion yeah.
Speaker 1 (49:14):
It was.
It was like a companion, likelike the doctor, so it was, it
was their companion and it wasjust the no thick.
So instead of instead ofkilling in no thick, we were
like, oh, let's just make itfriends, yeah.
Speaker 2 (49:27):
I mean they just, they just really want like magic
shit.
They're not super, like theywon't aggro on you unless you
aggro on them, right, like theyjust they just want to afford a
little magic, they just wantshiny.
Speaker 1 (49:40):
So let me ask you this question, cause I've I've
been.
I was watching a video earliertoday on Tik Tok and it was it
was the whole debate of XPversus milestone um leveling,
leveling up in in campaigns, andwe we've talked about this on
the podcast before and I and andmy contention is like with if
(50:06):
you play using XP, I feel likeyou tend to have More murder.
Speaker 2 (50:15):
Yes, exactly, thank you.
Speaker 1 (50:18):
You have parties that tend to be murder hobos because
they want to clear the level.
Speaker 3 (50:22):
It's like the old video game syndrome you got to
clear the level and but when youplay milestone, yeah, because
it's like players like I want todo my own stuff and then it's
allowed me to do this and, likeyou, can't do that because I
need the XP, whereas if it'smilestone, then I've always
loved.
So what's, what's?
Speaker 1 (50:38):
your take on on that.
Speaker 2 (50:41):
I have to agree.
I think going off of XP andagain it's it's the element of
like there is a table foreverybody.
If you are like super intocombat and crunch, I think XP is
the way to go because that'svery rewarding.
It's like the XP sets it up toa point where, like you are
being rewarded for getting intocombat all the time and if
(51:01):
that's the thing you find joy inlike follow your truth, but
yeah, it is, it is definitely asystem.
I think that rewards that moreunless you were like I thought
about.
Like if I were to do an XPsituation, I think I would
reward it in the same way that,like video games, do that as
well is like you get XP for surefor you know killing things,
(51:24):
but you also get XP fordiscovering new areas.
You get XP for clearing, likedifferent points in the story
and missions and things likethat.
So I feel like if I was to doan XP system, that's probably
what I would do.
So there would still be anelement of reward if you are
finding creative solutions.
But I think traditional yeah,xp definitely encourages more
(51:47):
combat centered stuff.
We've always been milestonegirly because we will sit there
for fucking eight hours roleplaying and not touch our dice.
So in a way that I would dothat Also.
I don't like math.
I'm not gonna fucking do math.
Speaker 3 (52:03):
I would not want to run D&D version of XP like.
What VTM does is, like all ofmy games play a bit like older
kind of, so they had someexperience points to spend and
then, generally, like everysession you play, you get like
one experience point and then,if you clear, if you like, you
know to feed a big boss, you dosomething particularly good, or
whatever you get, you can getmore as the kind of storyteller
(52:26):
rewards it.
But I always give everyone thesame amount and like I just want
it's easier to keep track oflike so you don't have to worry
about like one character gettingahead of the others or being
overpowered and then someonetrying to have like too much
main character syndrome.
And also it's just like the VTMway of doing experience points
(52:49):
because those are used to likebuy more powers and disciplines
or different skills orrelationships.
Like though, with that versionof XP is fine, but like for D&D
I would.
I would never want to run that.
It's.
It's too much math and I justyeah, I think it's too easy for
(53:10):
like parties to get imbalancedand it's also harder for me to
be like.
Oh well, how do I decide whatis the correct amount of XP for
this interaction?
Speaker 1 (53:21):
Right.
Speaker 3 (53:22):
Like that feels kind of arbitrary, which I guess like
my own song.
Leveling is too.
In a sense it's like well, whendo you earn a level?
But at least that it's, it'ssimpler, right, then it's like I
feel like we should get 500 forthis and not 250.
Like I don't, I don't want todo all that, it's just, it's not
my bag, but like, if the ifit's your thing, go for it.
Speaker 1 (53:43):
Yeah, like you said, you know, if you, if you're
totally into, just if you wantto be a combat heavy campaign by
all, by all means, that's,that's a great way to to do it.
Speaker 2 (53:54):
I mean, I'm going through dungeon crawls and the
strategic and do it Right.
Speaker 1 (54:01):
So I suppose you could do the same thing.
You know, with XP if you, ifyou either, if you, if you kill
something, you get the XP.
But, like you said, if you finda creative way to not kill that
creature and and be able toadvance in the, the adventure
that way, maybe you still getthe XP for for the same version,
(54:23):
for just not.
Speaker 2 (54:24):
Yeah, it's just an element of how you, how you
choose to reward your players.
Speaker 1 (54:29):
Interesting.
Speaker 2 (54:31):
Yeah, I mean we have like it's also milestone can
have its own, its own faultsbecause, like you know, you can
have DMs that like.
For we talked about this acouple of times because, in
comparison of our currentcampaign to our previous, we
played that previous campaignfor over a year almost two, I
think and we were playingbiweekly, if not sometimes three
(54:51):
times a month, and these weresessions that we were playing
like eight to 10 hours everytime and sometimes we'd play
twice in a weekend because wewere lost in the Saucies
campaign for real.
It was like we were veryinvested in like tapping our
fucking veins every chance wegot, so like we did that much
(55:12):
gameplay and we gained one leveland the entire time we ran it.
So, like you know, to eachtheir own, but I think we should
have had a little bit more inthat specific situation, whereas
ours, like I think I think youguys have just gained your
fourth level and we've hit ayear and that's just one, in
(55:32):
part because of the way thatStrix Haven structures their
levels and I'm not trying tohave them play this for six
years and likes have gottenthree levels out of it.
Strix Haven is meant to takeyou from one to 10.
You can drop it at whateverlevel you want, but like by the
time they graduate they shouldbe a 10th level.
So it's like once we hitcertain points in the year, or
(55:53):
every time they take an exam,they gain a level.
So it's like two major pointsin which you're supposed to have
gotten a level.
Right now we just did.
We're in between the first yearand the second year and we're
having a little bit of like aball situation that's just
starting to wrap up.
But the ball has taken longerthan I expected because we've
been doing a lot of serioushardcore.
(56:13):
I should have known.
I should have known.
But I was like thinking.
I was like, well, the ball isgoing to take maybe two.
It's now three, like three fullsessions.
But by the end of it I was like, yeah, y'all fucking gain a
level.
We've done so much shit whilewe're out in this goddamn ball.
Are you kidding me?
Yeah, no, fuck it.
I was going to be one to 11.
(56:35):
But like that doesn't matter.
Speaker 3 (56:38):
I'm just trying to get us up to one more so I can
have mounted combat and let megraduate.
Speaker 2 (56:43):
Well, you'll get us soon enough.
Speaker 3 (56:45):
Because I've made the deal with Alex.
My character has a griffin andit's a baby right now.
Actually, you can't have yourdead mother's adult griffin.
I'm so sorry.
I refuse to run mounted.
Speaker 2 (56:55):
At level four.
That's not happening and I'mlike that's fair.
Speaker 3 (56:58):
That's fair.
The worst you're going to hearis no, or you get a baby griffin
instead.
But I'm like, ok, I said that Iwill wait until, like, the
level 12 ASI to take mountedcombat, and because then we'll
either have been graduated for afew years or be like right
after, it's like it'll make moresense.
Speaker 2 (57:13):
That gives the griffin time to age, time to get
trained in flying combat andall that shit.
Time for you to train in flyingcombat?
Yep yeah, Because I'm likeyou're not making me deal with
this flying shit when you're atlevel four.
Speaker 3 (57:27):
No, you can't have like a trained war griffin.
You're freshman year of MagicCollege.
Speaker 2 (57:32):
No, I'm so sorry Y'all hustle hard and I respect
it.
I do.
Speaker 3 (57:37):
Yeah, the griffin's just killing everyone that we're
fighting.
It's like a play fight atschool.
It's like a duel and Zephyrus,her mom's griffin, is just
murdering people because he'shuge.
Speaker 2 (57:48):
Yeah, like now we're not even those people.
The vlog gutting students.
Speaker 3 (57:51):
We can't have that, that's too much.
He only, he's all gas, no break.
Speaker 2 (57:56):
He only knows how I already give you all advantage
for the dumbest fucking reason,just because I feel like it.
Speaker 1 (58:01):
So Very nice.
All right, I know we're gettingclose to the end of time here,
so let me let me.
I can't thank you enough forjoining us today.
I've got I've got one finalquestion for you, so I'm going
to modify my question a littlebit.
(58:21):
So if you had to go on a quest,what, what one famous fictional
character would you want inyour party?
Speaker 2 (58:37):
If you had.
This is hard.
Speaker 3 (58:38):
Right, this is a hard one.
Speaker 2 (58:40):
You're asking two very fantasy focused bitches,
Like the amount of books we'veread, the amount of games we
played, the movies, the shows,the movies you had to pick.
Speaker 1 (58:52):
You had to pick one.
Speaker 2 (58:53):
One.
Speaker 1 (58:55):
I'm.
Speaker 2 (58:55):
I'm thankful you narrowed it to one and not like,
hey, what's your whole partyCause?
Then I would be, we'd be herefor three more hours.
Speaker 3 (59:02):
That would be easier for me because I could pick like
three.
Speaker 1 (59:05):
That would be a whole episode on the sound.
Speaker 3 (59:07):
I mean I'll just go with like my gut, my initial gut
instinct, Cause, like I, I readthe throne of glass series
recently and um AalenGalathenius from that would be
really nice because she was liketrained as an assassin and she
has like all of these firepowers and she, she would be
helpful to be, very helpful tohave along Um I think, hmm, this
(59:40):
is so fucking hard.
Speaker 2 (59:43):
Um, I think one of my soft spot Um decisions would be
um Varric Tethris from DragonAge.
Because, like when I playedHawk, I was like, yeah, no, this
is my best friend in everyfucking sense of the word and I
loved their relationship so muchand I was just like I just love
(01:00:04):
Varric and I feel like if I, ifwe were in real life traveling
together, it would be that exactsame like dynamic as Hawk and I
just I just have a big softspot for for that character.
Speaker 3 (01:00:16):
Hawk would also be really nice.
Speaker 2 (01:00:18):
Hawk would also be dope, specifically Mage Hawk.
Yeah, because there's no othercorrect answer.
Speaker 3 (01:00:27):
Iron Bull would be fun.
Speaker 2 (01:00:30):
Yeah, I'm sure it would.
Speaker 3 (01:00:33):
Hey now, hey now, don't take that, talk with me.
These are stones and glasshouses.
Yeah, exactly you were thewoman that told me that
somewhere on some developer'scomputer, uh, Iron Bull's
canonical dick exists.
Speaker 2 (01:00:49):
You're the person who gave that information.
It's a crime that they've keptthat from the community.
To be honest, that's right.
Speaker 3 (01:00:55):
No, no, no, you don't know Um who else would be good.
Speaker 2 (01:01:06):
I'm surprised you're not saying any critical role
characters.
Speaker 3 (01:01:08):
Oh, fuck, I've read about critical role.
There's so many fandoms.
I forget about my children,Right?
Um, I forget about my children.
Oh my gosh, Uh, Vax would bereally good.
So the twins Vax and Vax wouldbe great.
Speaker 2 (01:01:29):
I would love to be like fucking dropped in a
quarter fan flowers.
Speaker 3 (01:01:33):
That'd be fun.
Speaker 2 (01:01:33):
Like I can't tell you who I would pick at that point
because I love them all so much.
But can I just be?
Can I elect to be?
I know this is not the question.
Can I just be dropped there?
Sure.
Speaker 1 (01:01:41):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (01:01:44):
Yeah, I'd like to be just dropped into Vox Machina.
That would be cool, then Iwouldn't have to pick.
Speaker 1 (01:01:52):
Well, so let's do this.
Yeah, I was just saying so,let's do that question.
That'd be the opposite question.
If you could be a character inanother party, what party would
you want to be a part of?
Speaker 2 (01:02:12):
I would.
As traumatic as this wouldprobably be crowned candy.
Like in there would be dope,Just as the story is fucking
good and it's like it's likegoddamn Game of Thrones and
you'd be crying and thenrealizing it's about a
conversation between a gummybear and a piece of cake, but
it's so good and that's likethat, like we're we're trauma
(01:02:35):
hosts, so we love to role playlike really gritty, like
emotionally deep stories.
Love that shit.
That's fantastic.
Speaker 1 (01:02:45):
I like that yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:02:46):
Never after would also be really fun.
I mean, I think I really likedthat world of like the dark
fairy tale stuff the intrepidheroes also would be a fucking
blast.
Speaker 2 (01:02:58):
Yeah, yeah.
For me it's between the cordufeand flower stuff and then
crowned candy for sure.
I feel like I would be.
I'd probably be a meatlander,if I'm going to be honest either
meatlander or like postination.
Speaker 3 (01:03:19):
That's another question.
Who would like crown of candyhouse Like I would?
Speaker 1 (01:03:26):
even be a dairy.
We got, we got down his rabbithole.
Speaker 3 (01:03:28):
My goodness yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:03:30):
No, you're welcome.
Speaker 3 (01:03:31):
We're here now.
I'm not.
I don't feel like I'm avegetable, I don't really feel
like.
I'm a fruit person.
I'm not meat either.
Speaker 2 (01:03:40):
I could honestly see you as a little fun guy, a
little mold person.
Speaker 3 (01:03:44):
I could be a little mold person or like a dairy
islander, yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:03:49):
I was going to say dairy too, ampail as lactose
intolerant as you are.
Speaker 3 (01:03:56):
It would go away and not an AU it would go away if
you were made up?
Speaker 2 (01:04:00):
I think so.
You were made up there, youcan't be allergic to yourself.
Speaker 3 (01:04:03):
You just die.
Speaker 1 (01:04:05):
You build up a tolerance, yeah, over time, all
right, well, again, again.
Mariah Alejandra, thank you somuch for joining the podcast
tonight.
It's been it's been a pleasuretalking to you both.
Everybody.
Please check out their podcastTable Talk.
(01:04:27):
Table Talk on what are you?
On?
Apple, spotify, on all the On,all the Everywhere that you can
listen to a podcast.
Speaker 2 (01:04:36):
Our social medias are all at Table Talk or Table Talk
RPG, on Instagram, tiktok andThreads Technically YouTube,
though we haven't postedanything on there yet, but yeah,
pretty much everywhere you canfind us there.
Speaker 1 (01:04:48):
Awesome, wonderful.
Well, thank you again so much,have yourselves a great evening
and hopefully we'll talk to yousoon.
Speaker 2 (01:04:55):
Thank you.
Thank you for having us have agreat night.
Speaker 1 (01:04:58):
Bye, bye.
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