Cybernetic heartbreak, social disasters, noble nepo babies, improvised space romance, mishaps that should have been fatal, and the wild joy of letting dice determine your fate. The Jaunty Mantis crew spirals into utter chaos building Traveller RPG characters. Buckle up — it gets weird

Welcome back to The Jaunty Mantis, the podcast with creative questions for curious gamers! In this episode, Jesse, Matty, and Chris dive into the art (and anxiety) of doing NPC voices — when they work, when they fall apart, and when they accidentally turn every character into an unhinged space gremlin.

The crew opens up about narrative style, the influence of Critical Role, how players respond to GM performance, and whether accents are helping or hurting the game. Then the episode shifts gears into full character-creation chaos as the team builds life-path characters in Mongoose Traveller 2e!

Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio