The Adventure Zone’s new season won’t use Dungeons & Dragons

Today marks the fifth season of Adventure Zone, the podcast that features the McElroy clan in actual plays. The Adventure Zone podcast is also known as “Called”. SteeplechaseThe campaign takes place in a fantasy theme park set in an alternate Georgia. Unlike some past TAZ seasons, Steeplechase will not use the 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons ruleset. Instead, game master Justin McElroy is relying on John Harper’s Blades in DarkAnother highly acclaimed game for tabletop role playing is.

Blades in Dark Evil Hat Productions first published it in 2017. It is set in Doskvol (a fictional European-inspired town in the midst of an industrial revolution plagued by undead spirit), and the game takes place in this setting. Players take on the role of criminals, and are encouraged to play those characters like they are “driving a stolen car.” Sessions often take the form of elaborate heists, with players able to improvise solutions in creative ways. Our review was published in 2021.

Players have the freedom to come up with their own solutions for any problems presented to them at the table using the 327-page rulebook. It’s less about having the right skills at the right time, and more about using the world that you’ve created around you as the motivation for in-fiction inspiration. Want to get into that fancy party but don’t know how? Play a scene from earlier in the day where you try and bribe someone to get you onto the guestlist. You need to be on the edge of a fight. Wave your hand to the game master and drop some dice onto the table. Then, grab those brass knuckles that you had packed earlier in day.

The Steeplechase campaign began Thursday with a “session zero,” in which Justin McElroy introduces the setting and the game’s mechanics. The game is set in a vertical stack with Westworld-style immersive amusement parks, instead of Victorian style. McElroy said in an email to Polygon that Ustaben, the campaign’s first level, is actually a repurposed map of King’s Island in Cincinnati, Ohio.

“[It’s the same layout of the] theme park we used to go to all the time as kids,” McElroy said. “It’s pretty low rent, but I think it’s a good representation of how I’m putting my stupid theme park obsession to good use.”

Photo: The McElroy Family

Also, the episode introduces Griffin McElroy (Jim McElroy), and Clint McElroy (their father). This campaign is unlikely to end at any point and will continue on a consistent basis over many years. You can download episodes free of charge.

This is not the first time that The Adventure Zone has stepped away from the D&D ruleset. Its inaugural Balance The campaign arc ended in 2017. EngagementRelied upon the Fate System Amnesty was based on Evil Hat Productions’ Monster of the weekPlease see the following: DustUse Urban Shadows. GraduationThe 2019 premiere of the film, titled???? returned to D&D as did Ethersea.

Blades in DarkThe popularity of the site has increased in recent years. Glass Cannon Network has just launched a Doskvol campaign. Raised by Wolves’Abubakar Salim is a BAFTA winner production house working on an adaptation for TV. One More Multiverse, which launched on October 13, a virtual solution for support to the game by One More Multiverse.

[Disclosure: Justin McElroy and Griffin McElroy co-founded Polygon before going full-time as podcasters and content creators. Though they still occasionally collaborate on projects at Vox Media, they’re disconnected from all editorial decision-making.]