Dunce (Dunce) Revolution

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We decided to take the "Reading is Fundamental" feat and dive into R.A. Salvatore's "Homeland," the first book in the Legend of Drizzt series (some would argue it's the 4th and they are wrong *cough* Sarah *cough*).

When we do eventually get around to talking about the book, we cover the first two chapters of the novel and stand there, I mean dumbfounded, mouth agape at just how evil those Drow really are. Content warning for things like slavery, faceless wizards, baby sacrifices, big spiders, fratricide, dismemberment, and deadly espionage. I mean, they looked at the evil menu and said, "Yeah, one of everything and a Coke Zero."

Apart from the scandal, we also ponder the depiction of the Drow in Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, specifically working through questions around misogynist interpretations of the famously matriarchal species. Sarah takes an interesting viewpoint of comparing them to a modern interpretation of the Gorgons of Greek myth, while Buzz wonders if it's possible to reclaim the identity altogether?

Will bravely soldiers on in this episode despite tornadoes literally touching down around him. Remember: you should head to a basement or interior room whenever you hear a tornado siren!

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The latest round of video game commercials has come to a close with the Summer Game Fest (seriously, why not games plural?). Despite the heat dome reminding us how cooked our goose really is, we manage to temper our expectations for the showings from this year's vitamin E3 supplement.

But beyond arguing about games we might not see until 2026, highlights of this episode include:

Buzz realizes how much he missed out on Alan Wake II last year.

Another sign of the apocalypse arrives with Sarah having managed to net herself a platinum trophy with the game Sable. 

Lots of Dragon Age discussion. Like, a lot.

Will finally puts a pin in Rebirth and wants to know what the heck is up with that ending.

It's simply too hot out.

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It's a Hadozee, sorry, a doozy of a dungeon crawl, as we discuss that sensitive subject of race (soon to be species) in D&D.

With One D&D updates starting to crest over the horizon (or  "2024 Revision to 5th Edition,"? I genuinely don't know how they are marketing this anymore...and I think the MM comes out in 2025 anyway...), the ways in which we generate our player characters and NPCs will be updated, including that important first step of choosing a race.

We also look back at all the elements that have often found themselves tangled up with DND races, such as language, culture, and alignment, and how the soon-to-be updated source books are offering a looser connection between one's species and other character traits.

Somehow we get wildly off target by talking about Target, Pride, Harvest Moon, Larian Studios, Farmer's Only, Animal Well, Indika, and even Orcas!

Like Jessica Rabbit once said, "I'm not evil. My character race was just written that way."

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As the legendary Ellen Greene once sang
"
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Which I reference because we kick off this very special episode talking about our future overlords: computers!

And then we get right back into what we assume our five listeners really came here for, us being petty.

Video games? Yes, we talk about those too I suppose. 

We play amateur anthropologist as we marvel at how Shenmue crawled out of the primordial pond to allow Yakuza to grow a vertebrae and complex digestive system. And speaking of evolution, we can't help but think about (and beg for a better) version of Pokemon on the still secretive "Switch 2". 

We also wonder if Nintendo will pull a fast one on Metroid fans before the year is out, and stand with mouths agape at Microsoft shutting down studios (congratulations share holders!)

I mean, I don't care what anyone says, spending massive amounts of money to make Starfield, the most visionary game ever to drop from the sweat of old Todd's brow, and lovingly made available day one on Game Pass I might add, was definitely a better decision than keeping around the studio that made Hi-Fi Rush (winner of awards including CEDEC, Golden Joystick, Game Awards 2023, New York Game Awards, 24th Game Developers Choice Awards, and 20th British Academy Games Awards).

Games we discuss include: Little Kitty, Big City; Shenmue II; Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth; Atelier Marie; Hi-Fi Rush; Caves of Qud; KeeperRL; and Pokemon.

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Join us from the opposite end of the dungeon experience as we put on our lich-hats and talk through the finer points of setting up your lair in expectation of pesky would-be adventurers. Frankly, we just think liches are cool and will take any excuse to talk about them.

We also get sidetracked by some of those other big DnD topics, including our thoughts on how stale alignments are at this point in the game, Curse of Strahd (the best module?), and NBC's Community sitcom not making that one episode with a Drow costume in it available for streaming.

Also, while we're not an "Actual Play" format podcast, we still end up chatting quite a bit at the end there about our current campaign (We just hit one hundred hours and recorded the day we get together to run it, so please find it within yourself to forgive us).

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Sarah and Buzz take a gander at their first 35 hours with Capcom's Dragon's Dogma 2, the unexpected, but oft wished for, sequel to the cult classic Dragon's Dogma.

As it turns out we love/loathe this title and predict it will/won't be taking GotY. It's an incredible/lackluster experience, and one that is absolutely brimming with ingenuity/time-wasting faff.  (Don't worry, we have many more positives than negatives (I counted), we just aren't sure if the game is the result of madness or brilliance, then again, why not both?)
 
Pawns, start your engines, and may the best Arisen...Win!

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Or at least that's what we are calling the hit game Balatro going forward. Apparently it was the term used for professional jokers or jesters that entertained wealthy folks in ancient Rome. The more you know!

Aside from addicting deck builders, Sarah really wants to talk about Delicious in Dungeon, and since it's a great show and we need a second season like yesterday already, we allow it!

Elsewhere, we check in with Will as he tenders tokens timidly towards tawdry trinkets at the Gold Saucer in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.

We also mull over the news that Larian Studios will not be developing the next installment of Baldur's Gate. This of course leads us to wonder about One D&D and the future of a tabletop game we are over-invested in (we swear this is not three tinier D&D podcasts in a video game podcast's trench coat).

Oh, and Buzz has some wrong opinions about Dragon's Dogma 2 (he apparently didn't try the "Doze off" option while fast-traveling the first time). Forgive him, the siren song of the Joker Poker has him.

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Where the kisses are hers and hers and his - Final Fantasy VII!

As if any of us could escape the gravity well that has been Final Fantasy VII Rebirth over the past two weeks...so of course we are going to cover more of it and its many, many mini-games.

Buzz somehow managed to sink something like 95 hours into Rebirth before switching gears for some Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen ahead of the sequel's release this week.

Meanwhile, Sarah decided to try that Outcast - A New Beginning game and is pretty sure it outlasted it's welcome on her console.

Oh, and Dragon's Crown Pro stops by to say "Hi!".

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Take a deep breath of that fresh Grasslands air as we step out into the wide open world that is Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. We unpack the massive first two chapters in this episode as we climb radio towers, collect trading cards, and get frustrated at Chadley and Mai's incessant nattering.

Try to keep Kalm, as we keep it spoiler free this episode and limit break our plot discussion to chapters 1 and 2 (with minor nods to the overall content of the original Final Fantasy VII).

And now to leave you all with a classic haiku straight outta Wutai:

Dogs on Chocobos
Who mixed this darn audio?
Cloud plays Yu-Gi-Oh! 

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Welcome back adventurers for another exciting dive into the Dunce dungeon. Sarah was unexpectedly stuck on another plane of existence, so that leaves Buzz and Will to reminisce about previous TTRPG experiences and the struggles of finding a solid group to actually play with.

We get a little meta this episode, as we talk about the importance of a good session 0, how the best DM/GMs operate, and what can make or break a player's experience at the table.

Of course, we also manage to chat about Final Fantasy VII Rebirth right there at the end, but  we avoid sharing any spoilers.