A Friendly Orbit

Do you ever feel like you're not making a difference? Do you ever feel trapped by the whims of fate? No this is not a scammy infomercial, but boy do I have a tale of woe for you. Today we bravely venture into the tomb or r/rpghorrostories, and give our two cents on a DM who squanders the best players in the worst way. You can read the original story here ! You can find us at ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠www.youtube.com/@...

Ah! Run! Ceres is in control of the remote and he’s making us do a series on television that might actually be good! The theme? Old Sci-Fi. How old? Not that old. Well it depends on who you ask. Anyway this week it’s Firefly. Join us as we (re)-discover an old gem of a TV show and use our shiny new patent pending Watch or BotchTM framework to rate it. It’s a great time. You can find us at ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠www...

Wherein the lava-squid-crows come home to roost. This is the finale on our series on Kingdom! Kingdom is a game designed to inspire collaborative worldbuilding about a community and their choices. This week the citizens of Cinderhollow decide who they want to be. You can check out our progress on our Kingdom here ⁠ . Also, If you don’t know anything about Megafauna World - check out ⁠⁠⁠the series...

We return to the wild, and the wild returns to us. This is part 3 in our four part series on Kingdom, a game designed to inspire collaborative worldbuilding about a community and their choices. This week Cinderhollow faces a crossroads with dire consequences. You can check out our progress on our Kingdom here . Also, If you don’t know anything about Megafauna World - check out ⁠⁠the series where w...

Who lives in our Kingdom? This is part 2 in our four part series on Kingdom, a game designed to inspire collaborative worldbuilding about a community and their choices. This week we flesh out the factions and characters of Cinderhollow, our outpost of civilization in the wilderness of Megafauna World. You can check out our progress on our Kingdom here . Also, If you don’t know anything about Megaf...

Worldbuilding is back! Theia found out that Ben Robbins (the guy who made Microscope ) made another game called Kingdom - and the rest was history. Join us for part 1 of our four part series, as we come up with a frontier settlement in Megafauna World and decide just how many deaths to bake into the premise.  You can check out our Kingdom on this google sheet. If you don’t know anything about Mega...

Winning is fun, and so is a power fantasy - but when does the desire to win become problematic for your table? This week, acclaimed D&D gold medalists Theia & Ceres sit down to discuss how they’d beat D&D, why they think it’s actually pretty easy, and the many reasons it’s more trouble than it’s worth. You can find us at ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠www.youtube.com/@afriendlyorbit⁠⁠⁠⁠ . If you're feeling fris...

The finale is here! In this third installment of “Head Up Your Ass with Theia” we look at Francis Ford Coppola’s new disasterpiece Megalopolis - a film with a vision as grand as its box office losses and a message as foggy as the inside of its director’s trailer. Enjoy! You can find us at ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠www.youtube.com/@afriendlyorbit⁠⁠⁠⁠ . If you're feeling frisky you can send us a message at ⁠ afriendlyor...

There’s nothing like cracking a game open, drinking all the game juice and picking through the cogs and wires to figure out how it works. That’s what Ceres thinks anyway, and this week he shares his three favorite tips on game design with Theia that he’s learned over the last year. You can find us at ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠www.youtube.com/@afriendlyorbit⁠⁠⁠⁠ . If you're feeling frisky you can send us a message at ⁠...

Eyy it’s the conclusion! For now… Probably. We like this world we’ll probably be back soon. Anyway we played microscope and we worshipped megafauna. You know the drill. You can find the final timeline of Megafauna world here ! And you can learn more about Microscope here . You can find us at ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠www.youtube.com/@afriendlyorbit⁠⁠⁠⁠ . If you're feeling frisky you can send us a message at ⁠ afriendl...

It’s Microscopin' time! And we Microscoped all over the place. Get ready for ancient empires, the death of the F.E.W.P. and the more giant monster gods than you can shake a stick at. Stay tuned for part 3 next week! You can find the final timeline of Megafauna world here ! And you can learn more about Microscope here . You can find us at ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠www.youtube.com/@afriendlyorbit⁠⁠⁠⁠ . If you're feeling...

Theia & Ceres use a fun little game to focus in on some good ol’ fashioned collaborative worldbuilding - and end up making Godzilla-World together. Stay tuned for part 2 next week! You can find the final timeline of Megafauna world here ! And you can learn more about Microscope here . You can find us at ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠www.youtube.com/@afriendlyorbit⁠⁠⁠⁠ . If you're feeling frisky you can send us a messa...

Self-compassion as an alternative to self-criticsim? In this economy? According to author Kristin Neff in her book 'Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself', we should. You can find the website with the arguments for self-compassion here . You can find us at ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠www.youtube.com/@afriendlyorbit⁠⁠⁠⁠ . If you're feeling frisky you can send us a message at ⁠ afriendlyorbit@gmail.c...

Does Magic need to have laws? Well, it depends, according to Sanderson's Laws of Magic. Wait that's confusing, I meant the other kind of laws. Ok just listen to the episode, it's good advice. Join Theia and Ceres as they discuss the rules to write a compelling magic system identified by author Brandon Sanderson. Check this link to read more! You can find us at ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠www.youtube.com/@afriendlyorbit⁠...

The new 2024 D&D Monster Manual is out. We’ve had it for a few days, we have THOUGHTS™. Does it beat Flee Mortals? (no) Is it worth the price? (maybe) Why do Modrons have huge fleshy lips? (we have no earthly idea). Ceres made a csv of monster names, challenge ratings, subtypes, legendary status, taglines and more. Here it is! It was designed specifically for compatibility with Kobold+ Fight C...

Theia is back with another Movie-Passion-Project-That-Encapsulates-One-Director’s-Vision-And-Was-Made-Nearly-Single Handedly-And-Is-Very-Bad™. This week we dive into the mentally direct and inefficient story telling of Rebel Moon part 1 & 2. Get ready for 5 hours of… honestly not that much. Also the audio is pretty bad this week, we’re sorry! You can find us at ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠www.youtube.com/@afriendlyo...

What makes a good man? No idea. But we might know what makes a good D&D character. Join the crew for a review of our past characters as we go through the good, the bad, and the Trollssassins. Check out the final rating ! You can find us at ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠www.youtube.com/@afriendlyorbit⁠⁠⁠⁠ . If you're feeling frisky you can send us a message at ⁠ afriendlyorbit@gmail.com ⁠. Special thanks to Paul van La...

Are you a real Marvel fan? Or just a poser who doesn’t even know about Bigwheel? Play along with Ceres to find out in our insane Marvel character guessing game. 10 of these weirdos are real. 10 are made up by Theia’s sick mind. Can you tell? No googling allowed! You can find us at ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠www.youtube.com/@afriendlyorbit⁠⁠⁠⁠ . If you're feeling frisky you can send us a message at ⁠ afriendlyorbit@gmai...

Well, it all went up in flames. And is about to explode. What were you expecting? Join us for the final installment of the Draw Steel playtest, and some of our immediate post-game thoughts on the system. You can find us at ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.youtube.com/@afriendlyorbit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ . If you're feeling frisky you can send us a message at ⁠⁠⁠⁠afriendlyorbit@gmail.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠. Special thanks to Paul van Laar for cre...

Why are bosses always unreasonable? Why is there ash on deck and poison in your eyes? Is Ceres about to TPK the party? Will Theia forgive him? That’s right - it’s time for Part 2 of our Draw Steel playtest.  You can find us at ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.youtube.com/@afriendlyorbit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ . If you're feeling frisky you can send us a message at ⁠⁠⁠⁠afriendlyorbit@gmail.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠. Special thanks to Paul van Laar for...

High Seas? Check. Mysterious Cargo? Check. Drawing Steel? MEGACHECK. Welcome to part 1 of 3 of our Draw Steel playtest adventure, wherein Ceres and Theia navigate a new rule system and the deadly mysteries of a pet bird. Join us, as Silverjack and Niphilum take on the world! You can find us at ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠www.youtube.com/@afriendlyorbit⁠⁠⁠⁠ . If you're feeling frisky you can send us a message at ⁠ afrien...

We try to expand our horizons beyond D&D by talking about a new TTRPG… and mostly comparing it back to D&D. Well, we tried. Join us for a discussion of Draw Steel, a well designed and intentionally crafted tactical, cinematic and heroic fantasy game. And next week you can listen to a playtest session of it we ran back in early January! You can find us at ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠www.youtube.com/@afriendlyorbi...

Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, a nickelodeon show became very popular with adults and children for its writing, but everything changed when M. Night Shyamalan made a really bad movie adaptation. Join an ecstatic Theia and a flabbergasted Ceres as we dissect the worst piece of cinema either of us has ever seen. And we've seen Sharktopus. You can find us at ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠www.youtube.com/@afriendlyorbit⁠⁠...

250 million years ago dragons were kinda real. 1 year ago Ceres started to obsessively listen to a paleontology podcast. Join the Orbit crew on a Dinosaur trivia night to find out who is the smartest-saur with special guests Proteus and Copernicus competing for the title. The questions are dubious, the answers are questionable and Theia has opinions about the power-ups.  You can find us at ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠ww...

A rebel, exotic chef, and a wooden transformer lady walk into a bar… Well not a bar but a dark fantasy world ruled by mindflayers and more. Join Ceres, Copernicus, Neriad and Theia for our favorite moments from Edge of Extinction, our recently completed home campaign! You can find us at ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠www.youtube.com/@afriendlyorbit⁠⁠⁠⁠ . If you're feeling frisky you can send us a message at ⁠ afriendlyorbi...