Is it suitable for a 14 year old?
Content wise: there will be some swearing, descriptions of violence (heads getting lopped off, that sort of thing) and there will likely be some pretty unsubtle innuendo. I would say that young people who are very into D&D and don’t mind sitting still for 2 hours will have a good time.
Listening to an old episode should give you a good idea of what to expect.
Give me a quick history of the show
The show started in 2018 as a one off live show at Orange Studios in Christchurch New Zealand. It was so popular that it became a monthly show, and the adventures began to link together into a longer campaign. It eventually moved into the larger space of Little Andromeda in 2019, and has been there ever since.
All the adventures are written and DMed by Brendon Bennetts
Where can I find the podcast?
Here is the itunes link:
https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/dungeons-comedians/id1410496038
Otherwise just search for ‘Dungeons & Comedians’ in your podcast app of choice (except for spotify. We’re not on spotify. Sorry)
Do I have to have listened to all the previous episodes?
No. All the episodes are designed to be enjoyable and understandable on their own, while sometimes also advancing a larger narrative.
But if I really wanted to, how would I approach it?
The first campaign (Known as ‘the Belt Arc’) starts* with ‘Battle of the Bards’ and ends with ‘All’s Well that Ends in Hell’
The Belt Arc also has a couple of side adventures that star characters from the Belt Arc, but aren’t part of the main adventure: Underdogs in the Underdark pts 1-3, and D&C: The Movie: Live!
That adventure and those characters are now retired. So won’t have any relation to future episodes (beyond the occasional injoke)
There have also been a number of one-shot episodes that don’t connect with any larger campaign: X-Mas One Shot, D&C in Space, D&C the Musical, The Mall of Elemental Evil, Pirates! (available on youtube), and Detectives! (available on youtube)
The current arc starts with ‘A New Beginning’
* The Belt Arc technically starts with an episode called ‘Bad Necromance’ which was not recorded (because this show was initially intended to be a live only experience).
For completionists who don’t have a time machine, the closest you can get is a recording of an episode where I ran the same adventure, but with different comedians and characters. That is listed as ‘Bad Necromance: The Lost Episode.
What can I expect from the new campaign?
Starting with ‘A New Beginning’ in February 2021 this will be a monthly adventure performed live at Little Andromeda and then later released as a podcast. It will be in a different universe to previous adventures, and my current aim is to wrap it up after one year.
Do I need to know how to play D&D?
No, and in fact some of the players refuse to learn as well, so you’ll be in good company.
What edition of D&D do you play?
We use 5th edition, but with several customisations to make it flow better onstage. Our DM also has a tendency to stretch the rules as far as they will go to accommodate the players.
Is there audience participation?
No. We sometimes get advice from the audience, or get an audience member to roll a dice, but we never want to put anyone on the spot.
What does the show actually look like?
I’d recommend having a look at the video of our pirates episode. Even if you just watch a couple of minutes, you’ll get the vibe of the show.
How did Belt get into that tube?
This illustration by Tim Oliver might bring some clarity. (see episode ‘Pyramid Schemes about 1 hour 26 min in)
