Episodic Adventures: TTRPG Module Reviews

We returned to Madison this year for one of our favorite cons: Gamehole! Join Sean, Jordy, and Lisa as we reminisce about the games we played (and playtested!), multi-table epics, high level gameplay, creative community, good fortune, and Traveller – lots of Traveller. Note: We did not avoid con crud, lol. Mask up! Or at least wash your hands after digging in the community dice bin. CW: drugs Game...

This week, Lisa, Jordy, and Sean take on the horror of the economy (with a side of zombies) in Trabajo, a portfolio for Red Markets, with a focus on the contract “Oil Be Back”. We discuss deals gone wrong, tenuous community bonds, and cruel choices in latest-stage capitalism. Note: The Red Markets 2e playtest materials are live and free! CW: zombies, poverty Trabajo is written by Ross Payton and p...

Beware, ye who enter “The Crack’d and Crook’d Manse”! In this spooky seasonal episode, Jordy, Lisa and Sean investigate a classic module republished in Call of Cthulhu 7th Editition’s Mansions of Madness, Vol 1. We discuss the murder house trope, copious red herrings, mysterious letters, and whether the players should know the name of their fears. Note: Chaosium recently made the decision to chang...

This week, Jordy and Lisa are all about the money. We discuss Jordy’s foray into quantum quest-writing, crowdfunding (and Kickstarter fatigue), and personal hobby economics.  Note: Academia Arcana is available for pre-order!  As a supplement to this convo, Bright Bard Games recently blogged about their successful experience vending at GenCon with a group of other indie publishers–it’s a worthwhile...

Kneel before us, mortals, as Sean, Jordy and Lisa chase immortality in Lichdom, a solo roleplaying game about sorcerers reaching for eternal life. We discuss inciting events, pesky interlopers, the highs and lows of probability, mastering your own game, and playing with fate. Note: A limited print rerun of Lichdom: Immortal Edition is Kickstarting soon, for ye nefarious mages. CW: undeath, suicide...

For this doubly special episode, Lisa and Sean convene with special guest Mel the GM to review our first-ever system agnostic adventure: Broken Heart of the Castle! We discuss beastly curses, burying your gays, a hair-trigger confrontation, and, inexplicably, another duck. Note: “ Sleeping Heart of the Garden ” is Cloud Curio’s woodsy system neutral entry CW: “Bury your gays” trope “ Broken Heart...

Welcome back to another Sidebar with Lisa and Sean! This week, we discuss our gaming family tree and how our roots spread. Theme music credited to Zane Little. New to the show? Check out our links: https://linktr.ee/episodicadventures Have gaming opinions or questions? Email us at episodicmailbag@gmail.com .

This week, Sean, Jordy, and Lisa descend into a downright Jaquaysian tangle of tunnels in search of the “Dark Tower,” a fantasy game aid for AD&D. We discuss the joy, humor, and mischief of Jaquays’ design, leading with artifacts, the horrible hall of the silent ball, and a super-secret hidden (main) boss, plus the hosts share their hot slash fic of the dungeon denizens. “Dark Tower” is writte...

Grab a blade from the pile and join Jordy, Lisa, and Sean in arms with Temple of 1000 Swords, an adventure module for Old-School Essentials. We discuss rusty swords, random swords and secret swords, the maternal instincts of cannibalistic duck-men, and playing god (of swords). CW: body horror “ Temple of 1000 Swords ” is written and published by Brad Kerr. Old-School Essentials is designed by Gavi...

Join Jordy and Sean, Masters of Shadow and… Daggers, as they bring you another Sidebar! We discuss Origins Game Fair, Free RPG day, metacurrency in Daggerheart and Draw Steel, Shadowdark and donating blood (O Bros for life). Note: Legends in the Mist won multiple 2026 ENNIE categories, including Best Game (silver). The DCC Free RPG Day offering this year was Pretenders to the Rat King’s Throne. Am...

Ahoy! Join Sean, Jordy, and Lisa for another nautical escapade in “The Temple of Endless Sea,” a Dragonbane adventure location from Arkand – City of Waves and Flame. We discuss water cult anthropology, a rowdy cityscape, trying not to drown, and swan men of mystery. CW: Cults, demons, drowning, self-harm (drowning), thalassophobia Arkand – City of Waves and Flame and Dragonbane are published by Fr...

Weekend bonus episode Surprise Round! In this con special, Sean follows up with three of the wizards of Wizard Staffing Co., a cohort of tabletop roleplaying game enthusiasts and event runners, to discuss their time at Gen Con 2026. Mel, Jonah, and Evan discuss games played and ran, con highlights, and lessons learned. Note: A database of the ENTIRE, LIFETIME catalogue of Gen Con events is availab...

Follow Lisa, Jordy, and Sean as they stumble into nostalgia with the DIE RPG quickstart. We discuss multi-layered characters, improvised encounters, and memory–in both a poetic and practical sense. Note: While we do not refer to it in the review, the name of the module in the quickstart is “The Dreams We Had As Children.” Also, in the comic, the dictator can affect the other players with her abili...

On this week’s Sidebar episode, Sean and Lisa examine - gasp - GMs who don’t run modules. We discuss when to run or bail on a module, creativity challenges, and our con updates. GMs who never run prewritten adventures Theme music credited to Zane Little. New to the show? Check out our links: https://linktr.ee/episodicadventures Have gaming opinions or questions? Email us at episodicmailbag@gmail.c...

Hail, listeners! This week, Jordy, Lisa, and Sean seek the myths, honor the seers, and protect the realm in “What a Horrible Knight,” an introductory “choose-your-own-adventure” module for Mythic Bastionland. We discuss hyperlinked, spiral-bound, higgledy-piggledy caves, the quest for glory, brutal traps, and rolling on the ominous noises table. Note: While we are no longer active on Instagram, we...

Welcome to Season 2 of Episodic Adventures! Lisa, Jordy, and Sean are kicking things off with a sci-fi noir investigation in “Murder In Metal City,” a deluxe introductory boxed set adventure for Starfinder Second Edition. We discuss adventure paths, lore dumps via handouts and frantic Wikipedia scrolling, and an evasive, shadowy villain. Note: With Meta sinking to new lows (what’s new?), we are pl...

For our final summer bonus episode, Lisa joined Chase on Gamestorm, a game design podcast from Storygames Chicago, to build an impromptu larp/board game about multilevel marketing using Yahtzee's dice mechanics. Calling all boss bros/babes! You can find all the Gamestorm-developed RPG releases on Itch ! Chase on Bluesky  Storygames Chicago on DriveThuRPG New to the show? Check out our links: https...

We called for adventurers, and the city answered. Last March, Lisa, Jordy and Sean attended a local player/GM matchmaking event hosted by the Chicago Tabletop Gaming Association with mic in hand to ask our fellow hobbyists about the adventures they adore. This collection of interviews is their response! Chicago Tabletop Gaming Association Ben Guest Theme music credited to Zane Little. New to the s...

In this very special bonus episode, Lisa and Sean interview Bruce (Lisa's dad) about the creation of his Christian RPG: Soul Guardian. We discuss the satanic panic, two realms of play, playtesting with two children under the age of 10, and fighting baddies. Note: The link to the Dragonraid RPG.net entry below includes a few excellent reviews of the system, including some mechanics that Soul Guardi...

Dear Listeners: Season 1 of Episodic Adventures is a wrap. Join Jordy, Lisa, and Sean as look back over a treasure trove of reviews, award superlatives to notable modules, and portent what’s next to come… in Season 2! Scheduling Note: For the month of July, we’ll be on a brief break from our weekly release schedule. Stay tuned for a few delightful bonus episodes in the interim. H.A.G.S.! Theme mus...

Jordy, Lisa, and Sean return to the dank basement of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons with cheetos and twinkies in tow as offering for the grandaddy of all modules: “G1 Steading of the Hill Giant Chief.” We discuss tactical mapping, Gygaxian naturalism, beefy slaps, and insane manticores. CW: slavery, references to child death “ G1 Steading of the Hill Giant Chief ” is written by Gary Gygax and pub...

Lisa, Jordy, and Sean are out for blood with “Love Bites,” a Vampire the Masquerade story. We discuss vampy vocabulary, political intrigue, well-hidden machinations, and an unloveable lovebird. CW: addiction, violence, drug use, sex “ Love Bites ” is written by Rachel J. Wilkinson and published by Renegade Game Studios. Vampire: the Masquerade, Fifth Edition is developed by Kenneth Hite and publis...

This week, Jordy and Lisa raid the mailbag! We discuss our OSR adventures (of varying lethality), the nebulous world of metagaming, roll-gated information, and GM burnout. The Mind of Guy Theme music credited to Zane Little. New to the show? Check out our links: https://linktr.ee/episodicadventures Have gaming opinions or questions? Email us at episodicmailbag@gmail.com .

Join the party of Sean, Jordy, and Lisa as they take on “Press Start,” a tutorial scenario for Fabula Ultima. We discuss videogame logic: JRPG edition, unlockable character sheets, player synergies, and dramatic boss fights. Note: The art of Fabula Ultima is stylistically similar to the character portraits from Octopath Traveller and other Square Enix/Acquire JRPGs. “Press Start” and Fabula Ultima...

We have a Bluesky now! You can follow us here This week, Lisa, Jordy, and Sean carve through the treetops in search of the “One-Armed Scissor,” a free starter adventure for The Wildsea. We discuss the uncertain fate of a ship, introducing a weird world, and finding where the journey takes us. “ One-Armed Scissor ” and The Wildsea are written by Felix Isaacs and published by Mythworks. Wild Words S...