“One of the main things I look for in my carefully procured actual play podcast list is inclusivism. Though I’m unsure how many people of color are represented, the TLD world represents a portion of the LGBT community with respect. But they’ve gone above and beyond with Rhal. As a character, he lives with an ongoing, challenging disability - AND he’s a beloved hero who fights on in any way he can. That kind of representation is so rare, and usually is portrayed by an NPC easily sent to the background. I love that Volly and Neil work together to make a realistic character with agency and impact.
The production and world-building are great, and the role-playing is immersive. Volly creates distinct NPCs and I like her flexibility as a DM. Rule sticklers have their place, but IMO they shouldn’t ruin the rules of fun or cool. There’s some homebrew stuff which supersedes the core rules, and hey - it’s her table, and the players agree, so it works for them. There’s still a lot of “rule-restriction” and fair application of failed checks/saves that challenge the players. The fight encounters aren’t a breeze, either.
I’m still bingeing through, but I haven’t gotten bored, and look forward to popping in my headphones to continue catching up.
Finally, I love LOVE the theme song. After a few eps, I usually skip over the intro, but I look forward to TLD’s every time.”
EllayB via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
07/28/20