Worlds Beyond Number

I have listened to many dnd podcasts. And among the best are The adventure zone, Critical role (sometimes), and THIS. I LOVE IT WHEN A PODCAST BALANCES STORY AND GAME. Brennan does an amazing job I strive to at least come close to his dm level with my own group and the players make ALL the right choices that perfectly fit their characters. I haven’t been this invested since the end of the balance arc from the adventure zone. If your looking for a dnd podcast, THIS IS IT.

I’m not much of an actual play guy. I love ttrpgs, I’ve been playing with a group continuously for over two decades now, and have regular side games. But I do kinda ascribe to the notion that trying to enthuse to those outside your group about your latest adventure typically goes over as well as describing your dreams to your coworkers. So when I started this and realized what it was, I almost stopped right there. But then I noticed a name, Brennan Lee Mulligan. Now I’m not trying to build his legend or anything, (not that he’s not deserving but I ascribe to the Brennan Cannot Win school of thought,) in fact the reason I knew the name at all was because of the animations of a YouTuber DeepBlueInk. So I listened and it is brilliant. Everyone involved is majestic, the three characters are so well played, invested and heart felt it’s staggering, the world is fascinating and compelling, this story runs partly on improv and partly the literal roll of the dice and yet the story is better than most fully scripted podcasts I listen to. I absolutely love this podcast, I love everyone involved (kinda crushing on Lou Wilson’s voice,) but I do just want to reiterate, if it weren’t for deepblueink odds are I’d never have discovered this masterpiece at all! He’s good press!

This storytelling is electric. The depth of characters, plot and character development, sound design, production choices, unreal cast chemistry, it’s all perfect. I’m a fan of these creators and performers in their other projects, but what they do in WBN is transcendent. It’s rapidly becoming better than any fantasy series I’ve read and more immersive than any film or tv show. I am so grateful for this literal work of art.

… The players ought to know that the audience doesn’t need to hear every compulsive vocalic uttered directly into the mic. Aabria and Erica are both guilty of excessive gasps, squeals, coos, sighs, squeaks, mh-mhms, and every other non-linguistic vocalization you can imagine. It’s one thing to be excited or emotional to heighten the drama, but the frequency and volume of their “effusiveness” just becomes distracting and disingenuous at a certain point. I tried to get my wife into the podcast by listening to the first episode with her and her only response was “why does that woman sound like she’s having an orgasm in the background?”… fair question.