Good lord, it's actual plays a-go-go this month. Following on rapidly from Flintlocks & Fireballs, I've now picked up this from Definitely Human, who you may remember as the creators of the excellent Down and The Monster Hunters.
However, whereas Flintlocks could be described as "long", with its multi-hour episodes and currently approx. 90 episodes, this is "short". Each episode clocks in at 30 minutes, and the first series ran just to 26 episodes over half a year, broken down into a number of short arcs, of 3-6 episodes.
Getting even further away from the Flintlocks end of the spectrum, this show also doesn't run with the same people every episode. Thus far, Maxamillian John has been a consistent DM, but the players are a rotating cast of different people, each of whom have their own character. There's been priests, barbarians, chefs, ghosts, someone who seems to have something of a penchant for blood, and an escapee from the shopping channel.
Their adventures are all based around the merchant republic of Fortuna, which means they get thrown into a collection of loosely connected one-shots/mini-adventures, rather than maintaining a long-running narrative. The ever-changing cast means there's a constant novelty in the inter-personal relationships, but does eliminate some of the attachment you might build over time with a continuous cast.
It's probably best to think of it along the lines of an improv sitcom, rather than an a straight actual play, because this is very heavy on the role, and relatively light on the rolls. There's a lot of back and forth between the characters, and the plot mostly progresses through their chats, and they're generally relatively light.
A decent bit of short entertainment either way though.
Tagged: Audio fiction Drama Cast Actual play Fantasy Serial