Compare & Campaign

It's a sidequest extravaganza in Magill's session of The Verse, which sees his players splitting up the party (gasp!) to take part in a series of mini stories. Meanwhile, Al's Aces have taken part in a naval assault of Port Ravendust, and now they battle through the streets to liberate this part of the world of Drale from Nightside Eclipse influence. And over in the tavern: more Silver Bayonet! Fi...

We wrap up 2021 with a nice, long episode as Al's Aces take part in a Dralic naval assault on Port Ravendusk and the crew of the Phoenix are invited to a soiree being hosted by a local mine baron, only to find themselves in a Die Hard situation when some old enemies bust in and take the party hostage! Then in the tavern, Magill talks about RPG accessories and Tom shares his newfound love for Silve...

Name a more iconic duo than Tom and joke cereal. Can you do it? We certainly try on this episode, where, continuing the battles of the Draelic war, Al's Aces take to the air to attack a fleet of airships in their Black Sabbath Squadron! And over in the Verse, the Phoenix has come face to face with a crew of rival scavengers and their ship: the Cantankerous! Then over in the tavern, Tom profiles th...

The Draelic War has begun and Al's Aces has to respond to an extraplanar strike force sent by the Nightside Eclipse to attack the Crimson Tower! And this is just the beginning of a multi-pronged assault from the Nightside Eclipse, so the heroes strap on their jetpacks to wade into the battle. Meanwhile, in the Verse, the crew of the Phoenix are tasked with salvaging an abandoned ship in an asteroi...

A new month begins, which means that Tom and Magill start things off by talking a bit about what they've been up to besides playing RPGs! So expect movie and TV recommendations, game recommendations, and a discussion of the best worst fan-made Lays potato chip flavours. Then in the Verse, the crew of the Phoenix has to make an unscheduled stop at the Cloud 9 space station where they find themselve...

Al's Aces enter a new act on this episode, with Act 7: Saros! Then over in the Verse, the crew of the Phoenix suddenly find their ship disabled after they discover a corpse in a hidden compartment in the cargo hold! Then in the tavern we talk about hit locations, dice rollers, Waste Monkeys and the powers of the Gangrel! Additional materials can be found at compareandcampaign.wordpress.com Find us...

An act ends and a new campaign begins on this episode of C&C! First, Tom tells the tale of Operation Old Tree, wherein Al's Aces summon their allies to finally confront their long-time nemesis: Salayeth the War Witch! Then Magill takes us to the outer reaches of space in The Verse, a space Western campaign inspired by Firefly, where the players form a crew, get a ship, and get the hell outta d...

A new campaign begins on this episode as Magill sets the stage for his spacefaring, Firefly-inspired campaign "The Verse!" And Al's Aces continue their attempts to stop the Cult of Cryonax by returning to Murderfrost Monastery and finding a secret passage to a snowglobe dungeon! There are jetpacks, there are domed temples, and there's a pop quiz, so brush up on the history of Drale if you want to...

Al's Aces are called upon to rescue the dwarven king Abbo Stormhammer from the foul clutches of their old enemy: Salayeth the War Witch! And the Destiny of Istus campaign comes to an end on a giant cliffhanger as the heroes attempt to reactivate the Godtrap and ensnare Iuz once and for all! But first Tom and Magill talk a bit about other things they've been doing lately, and it all wraps up in the...

Expect banking drama, Banshee, Balto, and other things that start with a B on this episode of Compare & Campaign! Plus a bunch of RPG stuff, of course. Al's Aces are sent to investigate an Underdark hideout that might act as a base for the Cult of Cryonax, or worse: the Nightside Eclipse! And the heroes of the Destiny of Istus campaign head further underground into the megadungeon beneath Cast...

The adventurers in the Greyhawk campaign continue to delve deeper and deeper into the megadungeon beneath the ruins of Castle Greyhawk, where they encounter an old foe! Meanwhile, Al's Aces watch a play, solve an assassination, and clear their names! And as this is all going on, Magill and Tom contemplate why fantasy stories are so fixated on describing every plate of food the characters come acro...

Al's Aces head to Murderfrost canyon to investigate the source of a magical super-blizzard that is ravaging the Northern mountains of Drale. And that source? The Cult of Cryonax! Meanwhile the adventurers in the Destiny of Istus campaign begin their dive into the mega-dungeon beneath the ruins of Castle Greyhawk, hoping to reactivate the legendary Godtrap! Then in the tavern we have a prolonged di...

The weather is behaving strangely in the mountains of Northern Drale and it's ruining Winterfest! Clearly the Cult of Cryonax is up to no good, and so when two otyughs burst out of the sewers and start terrorizing the city, Al's Aces have to seek out the aid of the Sunsmoke Order. Then in the Destiny of Istus campaign, following the barbarian siege on Leukish, the heroes decide to go on the offens...

Intrigue! Siege tactics! A flying jellyfish! All this and more on episode 77 of Compare & Campaign, as the adventurers from the Destiny of Istus campaign have to defend a city from a raiding barbarian fleet, and Al's Aces have to investigate the death of a Flumph - the Flying Spaghetti Monster of D&D. Then in the tavern we've got a bunch of rules for farts and Tom reviews a Drizzt novel. W...

It's almost the technical end of summer, so Tom and Magill talk a bit about what they've been up to lately before diving into their respective campaigns as Al's Aces go to the Highlands to investigate the Cult of Cryonax and the Destiny of Istus heroes find themselves stalked by a Jason Voorhees surrogate! Plus Tom half-heartedly reviews a sub and talks about the Subway tuna sandwich scandal, and...

The fun starts as the adventurers in the Destiny of Istus campaign travel to Wintershiven to loot a crypt and meet a sarcastic flaming skeleton. Tom hates the name Wintershiven! Then Al's Aces infiltrate a retreat being run by the Cult of Cryonax and discover strange things underground, including a cell block and a foul temple. In the tavern we talk about Kobold Fight Club and Nosferatus more. PLU...

A new act begins in the Al's Aces campaign as our heroes return from the Nightside Eclipse realm of Sitra Arha only to discover that someone else has stowed away with them when they travelled through the portal home! Obviously the only things to do are attend Winterfest and pay a visit to the Bong Druid of Mammoth Weed Mountain. In the Destiny of Istus campaign, the adventurers infiltrate a Scarle...

In the Destiny of Istus campaign, following their encounter in Eldredd, the players head back to Greyhawk for an exposition dump and are granted a parsonage to use as their base of operations! Meanwhile, Al's Aces escape Sitra Arha and the Gigalich via the Glumurphonel, navigate a security checkpoint and explore the Demilich Ring Observatory! Then over in the tavern, Osprey Publishing gets a momen...

Al's Aces, still behind enemy lines in Sitra Arha, descend into the homeworld of the Nightside Eclipse called the Gigalich where they're thrown into a pit fighting arena run by cannibal undead! And the heroes of the Destiny of Istus campaign find themselves in the city of Eldredd where they have to infiltrate a manor that was once owned by an alchemist who might know the secret to creating a cure...

Magill and Tom talk vaccines as this episode of Compare & Campaign opens, and then Al's Aces, having escaped Worships pursued by the cyborg goblin Rex, run into Gutbones while navigating and hacking an outpost to gain critical data in their fight against the Nightside Eclipse. Then in the Destiny of Istus campaign, the players track the animal avatar Morgorath with the help of some centaurs, t...

Al's Aces continue their adventures in Sitra Arha on Operation Abysmal Heirships as the players infiltrate a data hub, having passed through the gateway realm of Nespithe. And then in the Destiny of Istus campaign, the players head to Jurnre to try and obtain a healing amulet that could hold the power to stave off the plague sweeping the land. Over in the tavern, Magill talks about the I'll Be Bac...

Tom wraps up Operation Portal, which he has been covering on the last couple of episodes, where Al's Aces are frontier operatives in Sitra Arha, stuck in the gateway realm of Nespithe. Then over in the Destiny of Istus campaign, Maeve the paladin is officially inducted into the Order of Istus while her friends are gassed and forced into an underground fighting ring! Then in the tavern, Tom quizzes...

In this great big episode of Compare & Campaign: the adventurers in the Destiny of Istus campaign get entangled in a catfishing romance scam as a bratty price stows away with the party disguised as a knight! And then Al's Aces go undercover as extraplanar mercenaries in the Nightside Eclipse base of Sitra Arha from whence the undead faction plans and launches their assaults on other factions....

Al's Aces take over another episode as another act of Tom's campaign starts. Take the Stargate to Necro-Hell along with them and meet that wacky undead dude known by many names, but whom the players call Gutbones! Thrill as Tom recounts key pieces of black metal lore! And then in the tavern Magill talks about an obscure RPG called HoL: Human Occupied Landfill. NOTE: Alex, don't listen to this epis...

Tom and Magill are feeling goofy, so this episode starts with a lengthy discussion about non-D&D topics including the sudden release of Black Summer season 2, places where the guys used to buy discount computer games, and the time William Shatner left a voicemail for Tom's mom. Once that's all out of the way, Al's Aces engage in Operation Forgiven Rot, where they liberate the Isle of Labyrinth...