Realizing the end of the world, intentionally failing a saving throw, and taking the summer off. This is the Afterparty, where we sit down after every episode to break down our game and answer your questions about how to play at home.
Live Show
- Come see us live in Nashville, NYC, Orlando, and Boston! Get dates, times, and ticket info at http://multitude.productions/live
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- website: jointhepartypod.com
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- tumblr: jointhepartypod.tumblr.com
- music: brandongrugle.bandcamp.com
Cast & Crew
- Dungeon Master: Eric Silver
- TR8c (Tracey): Brandon Grugle
- Inara Harthorn: Amanda McLoughlin
- Creative Contributors: Connor McLoughlin, Heddy Hunt, Julia Schifini, Mischa Stanton
- Multitude: multitude.productions
About Us
Join the Party is a collaborative storytelling and roleplaying podcast. That means friends creating a story together, chapter by chapter, that everyone from seasoned players to true beginners can enjoy. Where else can you get adventure, intrigue, magic, drama, and lots of high fives all in one place? Right here.
After each episode we sit down for the Afterparty, where we break down our game and answer your questions about how to play Dungeons & Dragons and other roleplaying games at home. We also have the Punchbowl, an interview series with people pushing D&D forward creatively, communally and socially. It’s a party, and you’re invited! Find out more at jointhepartypod.com.
Transcript
Amanda: Hey, hi, hello, and welcome to the Afterparty.
Brandon: Hi!
Amanda: Where do we begin? Do we begin with these like whimsical, modern colorful buildings? This Hunger Games capitol-style adornment and colorfulness? Or do we start with Representative Brinks?!?
[Brandon chuckling]
Amanda: Two choices, up to you really.
Eric: Wherever you want. I feel like I will really laid this out. And you can just kinda like choose your own adventure your way through this Afterparty.
Brandon: Can we somehow use the architecture as a metaphor for your relationship with Brink?
[Amanda laughs]
Amanda: Where you arrive at it expecting one thing, get maybe alienated by the surprising things about it? And then come around and be like, oh, you know what, I can orient myself and yeah, this works.
Brandon: And also, neither of you are rectangles.
Amanda: That is true. Neither. All…
Brandon: [chuckling] I'm good at metaphors.
Eric: Bingo Brandon.
Amanda: All non-rectangular shapes.
[Eric and Brandon laughing]
Thinking about it, we're all really just complex polyhedrons, now aren’t we?
Eric: That’s deep.
Brandon: So how did you and your, uh, other complex polyhedron kiss? How did you how did you get to this point?
Amanda: Uh, I wasn't prepared to see her even though I knew intellectually that with all the Representatives, she would be there. You know, I think at this point Inara has seen enough of the world and realizes the stakes of what exactly can go wrong. That embarrassing herself in front of a person she cares about, and like disappointing someone that she wants never to disappoint, is not the worst possible outcome. Which it kind of was before.
So, I think that now for the first time, she is willing to be like, “Hey, I am a flawed and strange person, here I am. If you want to love me, I'm available”. And that is a frickin hard place to get to. It has a lot of personal resonance with me. And it was just instinctual. Like the minute, you know, I knew Brinks was coming theoretically. But when Inara saw Brinks, like, that was the moment where it was like, nothing is more important than me being able to take whatever small time I have to say like, I care about you. And let's try again.
Eric: I do appreciate that an Inara’s idea of becoming more confident is just being like…”You want to kiss?”
[Eric laughs]
Amanda: Listen...
Brandon: Can we...? Could we all in a very nice and polite and consensual manner, just be like, “Wanna kiss?”.
Amanda: I have had great results by saying, “Hey, you want to make out?”
[Brandon laughing]
It just, it works for me.
[Amanda and Eric chuckling]
Brandon: Now, her sweatshirt...
Amanda: Yeah.
Brandon: Under the pillow all time? Or...?
Amanda: Oh, yeah. I think I think the t-shirt’s definitely folded up and stored under her pillow. And she has instructed the cleaners in her home, never to change her linens, [chuckles] She does it herself.
Eric: Mhm...yeah.
Brandon: Now do you think it’s going to irrevocably change the relationship with...
Amanda: Although you destroyed her boots?
Brandon: Yeah, the boots! The revelation comes to light!
Amanda: You know, I'm really hoping that she will think that it is a romantic act of self-sacrifice? And just find it like really like dashing and heroic, like a provider and for her future family. You know, all those good things.
Eric: I don't think she understood that they were a, one of the things.
Amanda: No, no, no, no. Me neither.
Eric: They were one of the faded items.
Brandon: That's actually an interesting point. Because it seems like the relics don't really hold that much importance to the Representatives, necessarily?
Amanda: On their own, yeah.
Eric: Yeah, I don't think that the current Representatives understand what they do. I think that some of them are more cursed than others. Honestly...what do we know? I think that the - the Liar’s Mouthpiece is the least powerful out of all of them, because it can be like, Kohl just had it. But I mean, think about the Flaming Sword of Revenant held onto it and then disappeared with it.
Amanda: Right.
Eric: The medallion is literally cursed. The boots were literally cursed. Oh, and then say Ze’ol was a part, like, imbued himself on the labyrinth key, which wasn't exactly a key in the first place. It was a compass. There are certain levels of current power imbued in these things.
Amanda: A lot of them seem very quotidian until they are animated by a god or you activate them in the right way. So no, I don't think she knew what they were. And I think what's important to her is that I held on to them.
Brandon: Yeah.
Eric: Yeah.
Amanda: And she'll - she'll understand, uh you know, fingers crossed, what the context and reason was for that.
Brandon: She also had, like, a little bit of cash stored in that pocket.
[Amanda chuckles]
So you do owe her like, $30.
Amanda: You know, she had $20 and a tampon in there for sure.
[Brandon and Eric laughing]
Eric: Stupid.
Maybe a stick of gum, just two loose Chiclets.
Eric: Oh, jesus.
[Amanda chuckles]
Amanda: Oof. How gutted am I that we didn't get that vote? I cannot believe that I rolled a critical 1 on a skill in which I have a +9.
Eric: This episode was the epitome of, I think, this entire Dungeons & Dragons endeavor for me as a DM. Because it really brought together all the skills that I've learned over the course of playing this game. I voiced about 200 [laughing] NPCs.
Amanda: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Eric: And I also am learning when you guys want to do something, I raise the stakes. Like I don't say no, but it's like you guys need to roll really fucking well. And I said, I wanted to be clear about it, I'm like, this is DC 18, it needs to be Persuasion. You need to make it, obviously, double or nothing. I mean, we've talked about what DCs mean. And like, a DC 18 or DC 20 is like heroic, but you are convincing someone who doesn't want to do something to do the thing.
You have to go double or nothing here. Like The Speaker offered you six votes, but you decided to try to push for seven. And I'm like, you know what, if this is parliamentary procedure of the highest level, like fantasy parliament, I don't know like, you have to go double or nothing. But I'm glad that I gave you the opportunity. And like I would have entertained however it went.
Brandon: Yeah, I think it honestly makes sense. Like I don't - I don't think Inara and Tracy operate best in the [chuckles] political realm anyway.
Eric: No.
Brandon: So like, I think - I think we had our backs against the wall. We may, who knows what the vote will end up being, but we may have our backs up against the wall again, that's when we do our best work.
Amanda: Yeah.
Eric: I think this is a real contract between the DM and the players. Be like, I will let you roll on this. But if you're wrong, you can't pout about it. You need to accept what my ruling is.
Brandon: We did pout.
Eric: Oh yeah, you did put, but like you said like, “Okayyy”. if you don't acknowledge this contract, the DM can be like, “Alright, like, you're gonna try to punch the dragon in the nose. But like, if you fail, you'll get eaten by the dragon”. And then like, the player will pout and be like, [childish] “The dragon ate me, I hate that!” I think that...
Brandon: They throw the guacamole on the floor and leave the apartment.
Eric: Exactly.
Amanda: I don't know, like, I just I want to know what happens so bad! I'm not gonna do that. And this episode, I feel this often playing during the party that I want to watch the plot continue? But I also have to participate in it. And now I feel like it's - it's worlds away from where we started, where I felt so much pressure in in my head about how to act and what choices to make and whether I was going to throw somebody off, any of the other players or the story off. And here, it's just so clear to me what Inara would and wouldn't do. And it's so clear to me how Tracey would act. And we're on the same page about a lot of things. Most things, I think.
I feel over and over again, especially in this last couple arcs, like I get people do this so much, [chuckles] and for so long, because it's really fun and really interesting. And I feel like I get the chance over and over again to demonstrate what my character is. And to really like put her in situations that challenge her. Whereas before it felt like I was just kind of like plucking from the air to figure out who this person was. I feel so much of that development. And - and like the good like, reassuring, weight of it.
Brandon: It's interesting to me, because I think about - I think about the same way. And I wonder what would happen if, you know, we just like scrapped everything and started again, with the same knowledge about who our character was, from the jump, you know?
[Amanda and Eric agreeing]
I wonder how that would make a difference, sort of like writing a novel and like, wrote a couple of bad drafts to understand how you actually wanted to write it.
Eric: Oh, I kind of love that. I think we'll have to get that into some other Afterparty.
Amanda: Yeah, that’s really interesting.
Eric: With the information that you know now, would you redo any moves? I have some! I definitely have some.
Amanda: Well, that's - that's also a fascinating way to say like, what is, I mean, like any, you know, expression of character and fiction? Like what are the important things to demonstrate early on? Whereas before, I think those weren't really choices for us. We were just sort of acting and figuring it out as we went.
Brandon: Right.
Amanda: But you know, in that first episode, like what would Inara in Episode 48 do that Inara in Episode 1 had no idea about? Like, that's really interesting.
I'm so delighted that we get to see a new city! I can't believe that I never speculated in my brain about what Concentra would be like. But Eric, please tell us, when's this futuristic vision? And how long have you been thinking about planning our visit to the capital?
Brandon: And is everyone in the city an architect, or...
[Eric chuckles]
Amanda: How many are Stanley Tucci? Like 1?
[Eric and Brandon laughing heartily]
Is it 100? Is it everybody is variations on a theme (Tucci)?
Eric: I think yes. [laughing] I think there is 3 Tucci.
Amanda: I know a joke lands with Eric when he points at me like, my guy.
[All laughing]
Eric: Man there was so much - this was, again, this was such an embodiment of my work that I've done as a DM here. It was weird writing down all the names of the Representatives. That was such a weird moment for me during this prep.
Amanda: Why?
Eric: It’s all of this work that I've done! Like I was like, okay, the Representative of Fidapolis is Representative Kiko, obviously. The Representative of Cronopolis is Representative Nectaria. Like, I've - I’ve had that locked in since Episode 1. But like the other three were things that we found along the way. We met Representative Shields and this shifting weird German accent. Brandon: Do you regret that, or?
Eric: I do regret that, don’t do that!
[Amanda laughing]
Never do that. Representative Brink was obviously a giant part of Bachelorette Party. And then we didn't interact with a Representative in Hunting Party. So I had to put forward someone that I thought would be Representative who was much like Salmon, like gnomes can work with mech suits for whatever reason. Like in my head, you know, gnomes can use mech suits for mobility, whatever that might mean.
If - if you can walk or you need it for labor, or whatever, so this gnome does it because she's a scientist. And I felt like the embodiment of a New Donk City Infropolis was someone saying they were a scientist more than once.
[Eric chuckling]
Brandon: Yeah.
Amanda: That’s very good.
Eric: It was such, like, it brought everything that I had been working on together. And I'm like, I need to remember my five cities. My sixth city, which I always had set up, and then I needed to remember the people who inhabit those cities. Concentra has been in my head for a very, very long time.
I think around Episode 1, I knew that Concentra was going to be this like Hunger Game-esque sort of place; the capital. Pretty standard as a fantasy fair, but I kind of wanted to cross it with Washington DC. You know, it's funny, I actually had, I knew what the scene was going to look like over a year ago.
Amanda: Wow.
Eric: I think they saw Black Panther with Amanda.
Amanda: Yeah.
Eric: And we walked out of Black Panther, And there were those scenes where the representatives of the tribes all met together. Especially the one where they introduced Killmonger and he says, “Hey Auntie!”
[Amanda chuckles]
Like that one. And I’m like, oh! This is how groups of people come together within a futuristic/modern country. Like I kind of love that. And I wanted there to be this boardroom scene, where The Speaker kind of like T'challa, but in a different way because T'challa’s the king. But The Speaker is like, the Speaker of the UN in this way, who runs the meetings, but like the five Representatives need to hash this out. Or nothing gets done.
Amanda: In my brain, they're all on like different color palettes, you know, like representing the motifs of the levels that we've passed through. And I think for musical cues as they come in. I really was really surprised at how swiftly this episode moved. Like, we spent a long time in conversation, and there wasn't a lot of like, “action”. But at the beginning, we didn't realize we were going to be going to the city, and yet Franny was like okay down the hole! Stop off for wings like, off we go! And...
Brandon: Classic Franny…
Eric: Classic Franny! Actually classic Franny!
[Amanda laughing]
Amanda: I thought that the meeting would be happening, like, two weeks from now in the Capitol, but this is clearly a matter of urgency and I love that disappearing paper airplane mail system! How cool! Who needs owls?
Eric: I love Franny.
Amanda: She's so associated with Sarah and my mind because we met them at the same time.
[Eric laughing]
That I just like - I picture fantasy hag: Sarah. And I love it.
Eric: Franny is so good at the things she's good at. And so bad at the things she's bad at, that I think that she is - I keep saying embodiment, but she's really the embodiment of the kind of person that is going to join your party when y'all don't have a third person. Like someone who's going to move things along, able to do things that y'all aren’t able to do. But also like, cannot speak and be a person, a trustworthy person, even though she is literally doing as much as possible to demonstrate she's your ally.
I mean, she's super magical, and she knows The Speaker, which makes sense because they're both like the oldest freakin people in the entire world. There's a thing about hags called weird magic, that it's like you can take spells that exist and you make them like as weird as possible. In traditional Dungeon & Dragons were a hag is just like this monstrous, witch woman, there is this thing where it's like you're supposed to give them a mount. So ordinarily, you would have like a flying horse or something. But it's like, do whatever you want! Give them a flying pig! Give them like a vacuum to ride! Like it's very much supposed to be as weird as possible.
[Amanda chuckles]
And I really wanted to lean into that. But not - she's not a monster. She is a misanthrope. Which
I love.
Amanda: Me too.
Brandon: [skeptically] I'm coming around...
Eric: [chuckling] Brandon himself is coming around.
Amanda: Speaking of assembling the council, though, tell us a little bit about how this council differs from the one that set up the astral prism.
Brandon: Yeah, I noticed that there is no kenku in this one.
Eric: Right. We have two different councils here. We have the current Representatives, who are the five people who have assembled. Brink, Shields, the two dads, and Dore. And then we have the original council. Who had the items, who put the Council of Bright away the first time?
Brandon: The OC if you will.
Eric: Yeah. [chuckles] Yeah, exactly. We don't really talk about what happened, what was the government or like, what was the world like before The Centering? But it's like, right now we know the Council of Bright was a megalomaniac and did all this stuff. And then they assembled these five people to put them away, and then they split off and created The City States as they are.
So, I think that's the real lore here. I think we finally have some connective tissue. Like what happens when the thing that happened a millennium ago now, current government people need to embody that? It's not necessarily going to be the same. Or it's ammonomical in this way.
My favorite DM trick that I've learned is asking you guys questions about what your respective characters are doing at this moment.
Amanda: Oh my god! And a dream popped, fully realized in my subconscious?! Yeah! Me too!
Brandon: Yeah, that is something that I’d recommend it any DM to do. Like it - It really widens and flavors the world, that really like, technically doesn't nothing for like the plot or movement. But it's such a rich character device that it's really nice to do.
Amanda: Yeah.
Eric: I think the first time I did it was when you guys were coming back from the challenge on the boat.
Brandon: Mhm.
Amanda: Yes!
Eric: And you guys were like, how happy are you just like being on this boat in the sun? And I think it's - it’s really made you guys think about your character a lot. And I'm very happy with it.
Brandon: Those are some of my favorite moments of the show. Like that one and the one on the summer roof scene?
Eric: Oh, yeah. When you guys were escaping Bachelorette Land.
Brandon: Yeah, some of the favorite stuff. I've gotten to score too. So like yeah.
Amanda: So you asked, very early on, I think maybe after we recorded Episode 1 or Episode 2, to think and, an invitation to talk with you, about what our characters want, what they're going for? And even a question that simple really helped me to sort of clarify, like, what is Inara doing here? Period. What is she doing? What does she want? And I feel like every time you ask me that question, or a question like that. You know, to sort of freestyle and you know, in Inara’s voice, it gets a little bit clearer, a little bit more instinctive, a little bit easier.
Eric: [laughing] Finally, on Episode 48, I was starting to understand what you guys want. I think I can finally like, lead you down the path as it's happening. Which is exciting.
How's Tracey doing? [chuckles] Brando?
Brandon: He’s doin good.
Eric: He’s good?
Brandon: Yeah, nothing's tangible yet. The Council seems just like such a ridiculous person that nothing that he says is like, worth entertaining until anything tangible happens, you know?
Eric: Yeah.
Brandon: So until something actually pops off in front of him, I think Tracy's just gonna play it cool.
Eric: I think that’s real.
Amanda: Yeah.
Eric: Yeah, I think I mean, you can only do so much within - within the bubble. In my head. The Council of Bright is like if Dracula was sent forward in time, like 1000 years. No, the actual like Baron who inspired Dracula?
Brandon: Oh yeah.
Eric: Like, why would I be afraid of Attila the Hun? Like, he's just some large man.
Brandon: Right.
Eric: Like who, wants to punch me in the face.
Brandon: Right.
Amanda: I’m nervous though, I'm nervous for Alonzo. And it was it was such a relief to hear his regular voice. It was so nice to identify the person that we were really close to becoming friends with, on that drive back from Infrapolis.
Brandon: Yeah.
Amanda: It was so heart wrenching, I think for both of us, Brandon, to see possessed Alonzo. What we now know to be possessed Alonzo. So it was it was wonderful to hear him. It was so nice to see him and Greg reconnect.
I hope that all listeners shared with me that like relief and joy seeing them together, albeit separated by Amber. And I just I just…
[Eric and Brandon start singing Amber by 311]
Amanda: I don’t know what that is.
[Continue singing off of each other]
What’s happening?!
Eric: It’s the song Amber by 311.
Amanda: Who’s 311?
Brandon: That’s the correct answer.
Eric: They’re like a dumb quasi reggae band from the late 90s.
Amanda: Does someone want to play the song for me as we as we end the episode?
Eric: Sure I’ll take it right now.
Amanda: Point being I missed Alonzo, I have wanted him and Greg to be happy for like four arcs. And I was really glad to meet him again, in this episode.
Eric: This is a little bit behind the screen that I really want to reveal something that I've been talking about with Connor for very long time. I wanted to demonstrate the effect of the medallion on Alonzo over the course of the campaign.
So, as each star went out, and like as whatever is happening with the medallion is happening. And the Council of Bright I guess is possessing him more and more, I wanted him to become like more aggressive and more warlike. So it was a fun time for me.
I was playing Alonzo for the first two arcs. Even after the stars, even after Political Party, in Pool Party. Do you remember how gung ho he was to destroy the whale?
Amanda: Yeah
Eric: Like totally different from the dude from Wedding Party.
Amanda: He wanted to be a hero.
Eric: Yeah, exactly. And I think like, that's enough. There's like, something that's pulling on you. So now there's one and these two are fully separated, like the person that you have interacted with so much, who was even was like a dick to Johnny at the end of Bachelorette Party, like had a lot of effect of stars on him.
Amanda: So is the idea here that kind of the Council crept into him with each successive star?
Eric: Yeah.
Amanda: And then finally, there was like a critical mass where the Council's able to speak for himself?
Eric: Yes, that was what happened when there were four stars out. Absolutely.
Amanda: Well, I'm glad that Alonzo is relatively okay. Even if he's suspended. And we love him. We have him near. He's nears Greg but have a lot to do before all is a happy ending here.
Brandon: Yeah, I think we should also just acknowledge that this is the first time that our parties resolved and steadfast in their commitment to Greg and Alonzo as a team.
Amanda: Yes.
Eric: Absolutely.
Amanda: Totally! Even Greg and Alonzo are on the same page. For the first time Tracey, Greg, Inara, and Alonzo are on the same page right now.
Brandon: Where’s Oatcake?
Eric: [chuckles] Oatcake has always been on board.
Amanda: Oatcake is here for the snacks. Which how about the plethora of breakfast foods we experienced? Oh my god.
Eric: You guys are so much.
Amanda: So good.
Eric: The Speaker knows...
Amanda: I love that she preemptively got us breakfast. That makes me very happy.
Eric: Absolutely. It's really coming to a head here I think next episode is going to be the last one of this arc.
Brandon: Mmmm.
Amanda: Oh!!
Amanda, do you want to take a guess a wild swing at what the name of the next arc will be?
Amanda: Hoo. Um, Welcome Party.
Eric: Welcoming party, that’s interesting. I like that.
Amanda: I think it'd be interesting for like Arc 7 to be called Welcome party.
Eric: I can’t tell you, I’m sorry.
Amanda: Homecoming party. That's not a thing is it?
Brandon: Wedding Party...2.
Eric: Revenge of the wedding.
Amanda: Renewal of the vows.
Brandon: Political party but again.
Amanda: Well we’ll leave the ark name speculation to all of you in the Discord and Twitter. But I cannot wait to see what happens! This is one of those episodes where I realized that it was the end of the plot. And I felt the ber-ber-ber-ber coming on. But I didn't want to stop cause I want to see what happens next! So I have to wait two more weeks, I guess.
Brandon: Amanda, you get to know ahead of time.
Amanda: I know. But we're recording two weeks from tonight. So I have to wait two weeks.
[Eric and Amanda chuckle]
Amanda: As we lay our sleepy heads down and Alonzo slumps in the bubble, poor soul...we are glad that you are here on the journey. Thank you for joining us. As always, we love to hear your reactions to the episodes and the Afterparties. When we post them, we get so excited we get ready by sitting on our computers and we just want to see what people think! So please hit us up. We're at jointhepartypod on Twitter and Instagram. And if you are a patron, if you are pledging your hard earned human dollars to support Join the Party, we love talking to you in the Discord. Share your pet photos, share the recipe you’re cooking tonight. Let us know what you thought in our spoiler story chat channel and ask us questions for future Afterparties. We love it and that is where we go first for questions every time! You can join the crew at patreon.com/jointhepartypod and if you're already a patron, thank you. That about wraps it up for us.
Gentlemen, anything to add here?
Brandon: Green bell peppers, goat cheese, and...chives to finish.
Eric: Are you still talking about pizza?
Brandon: Mhm.
[Eric laughs]
Amanda: Goat cheese on pizza is great!
Brandon: Bye guys!
Eric: You don't have to go home but you can’t stay here.
[theme music]