Episode 66: DnD Character Creation

Andi and Lise talk about character-building (literally) for Dungeons and Dragons. Or, more to the point, Andi had Lise talk about all the things in that regard because Andi is a total D&D novice and is working on building her very first character. They also discuss different approaches to developing D&D characters and how it differs from developing characters for writing projects. They also talk about how characters in D&D are affected by the world-building the Dungeon Master develops, but also how things can change during play.

More resources:
D&D website
D&D character-building
Official character sheets
Types of characters
Character species

Lise’s shout-out: Epic fantasy tale The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon. Includes at least 2 queer relationship situations.

Andi’s: The CW’s Nancy Drew reboot. Gritty, a little dark, with murder and paranormal elements intertwined. Includes lots of kickass women and at least one F/F dating situation.

Episode 63: Rat Queens

This week, Andi and Lise waxed philosophical fangirl about the first 2 collected volumes of the comic Rat Queens, put out by Image Comics. First launched in 2013, Andi is horrified that she didn’t look into these sooner and thanks Lise profusely for telling her to get with it and read them already. ComiXology might have the best description of the Rat Queens:

Who are the Rat Queens? A pack of booze-guzzling, death-dealing battle maidens-for-hire, and they’re in the business of killing all gods’ creatures for profit. It’s also a darkly comedic fantasy series starring Hannah the Rockabilly Elven Mage, Violet the Hipster Dwarven Fighter, Dee the Atheist Human Cleric and Betty the Hippy Hobbit Thief. This modern spin on an old school genre is a violent monster-killing epic that is like Buffy meets Tank Girl in a Lord of the Rings world on crack!

Rat Queens is also full of diverse characters (primary and secondary), kickass women, and LGBTQ rep (it won a GLAAD award), including Betty, one of the queens. Great world-building, awesome characterization, strong writing, explorations of relationships and past baggage – Rat Queens is the shizzle. Give this comic a read and re-read!

Shout-outs: Lise recommends Jodi Taylor’s Chronicles of St. Mary’s books, which are a time traveling historians saga (and Andi will be running out to read) that Taylor insists you NOT call time travel because it’s “about a bunch of disaster-prone historians who investigate major historical events in contemporary time.” And Andi is just about done with Tamsyn Muir’s Gideon the Ninth (Lise’s recommendation), which is mind-blowing and so much awesome – lesbian necromancers who also do some space travel. I mean. Why would you not want to read that? Also, Andi wants a poster of the cover.

Episode 35: Interview with Amanda McLoughlin of the Join the Party podcast

Andi and Lise totally fangirled over Amanda McLoughlin, but they still did manage to chat with her about one of her cool-ass projects, “Join the Party,” a collaborative storytelling and roleplaying podcast in which four friends create a story together, chapter by chapter. Everyone from seasoned players to total beginners can enjoy this Dungeons & Dragons gameplay, with adventure, intrigue, drama, magic, and the chance to follow diverse characters.

According to the Bello (podcasting) Collective, Join the Party has “gargoyles, robots, queerness, political intrigue, and a whole lot of sound design.” JTP also has introductory episodes to teach new listeners how to play D&D, and they also have interviews with innovators who are pushing the game forward.

Amanda McLoughlin is a producer, founder of the production collective Multitude, a business builder, and old-school internet creator from New York who some of you may know as one of the co-hosts of the fabulous mythology, folklore and legends podcast, “Spirits.”

Hit the link to visit the awesome:

Join the Party

Other D&D podcasts you might dig:

The Adventure Zone

Venture Maidens

Dames & Dragons

Episode 32: Dungeon Crawling with Nita Round

Lise has gone off the rails without Andi this week, and brings in author Nita Round to geek out about one of her favorite subjects of late: D&D!!! For those not in the know, D&D stands for Dungeons & Dragons and is a fantasy-based role-playing game.

Nita and Lise talk about their experiences playing the game, the sorts of hi-jinks that happen when you get cranky wizards together with clueless clerics, and games devolve into one long attempt to barbecue their way across a fantasy landscape.

Nita Round (and her fabulous books) can be found at nitaround.com.

More about D&D can be found at the Wizards of the Coast Dungeons & Dragons website.

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑