Storytelling Breakdown

It doesn’t get much more classic than Ravenloft and Barovia, two of D&D’s most beloved settings. Come along with Stephen and Ben as the former takes you further down the rabbit hole of his run of Curse of Strahd. Curse of Strahd is one of the most popular modules built for 5th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons and has roots going back to the beginnings of the game. Each run of the module is different, so even if you have played it before, you’ve never played it like this. 

In the first episode, Stephen walked us through the preparation and the first real sessions. Now it is time to descend to the heart of darkness as the players take their first steps into the twisted landscape of Barovia. Beginning with a brief adventure on the Sword Coast and ending with an ominous prophecy, this episode will have you wondering does anything good happen in Barovia? 

All in due time. 

Subscribe to Storytelling Breakdown wherever you get your podcasts. You can find out more about our regular episodes and campaign diaries at storytellingbreakdown.com. There you can also find our blog community and support us through Patreon. You can contact us via email at [email protected] or using the Storytelling Breakdown Facebook or Instagram. 

Storytelling Breakdown Campaign Diaries are hosted by Ben Clemmer and Stephen Stachofsky. Our theme music is by Kurt Roembke. The Storytelling Breakdown logo is by Daniel Church. The Adventurers Assemble logo is by Michael Ganser. The Curse of Strahd logo is by Jeremy Stroup. Our podcast is hosted by John Dawkins and Wayneshout Productions. 

Adventurer down! We’re being vague here so we don’t spoil what happened in the first episode if you haven’t gotten to listen to it yet. SB Hosts Ben Clemmer and Stephen Stachofsky are bringing you campaign diaries, inviting you to hear the tales of their Dungeons & Dragons games as told by the Dungeon Masters. Welcome to the second session of Adventurers Assemble. 

When we last saw our heroes, they were exploring the Shrine of the Emperor of Bones, dangerous ground for any adventurers, but especially a group of level one characters. The clock is ticking as the party splits up to rescue a fallen comrade, while also recruiting the help they need to get through the shrine and rescue the children trapped underground. There’s skeletons, zombies, illusions, hideouts, betrayal, and a particularly dangerous set of chairs in this chapter of our story. 

Ben and Stephen discuss adjusting plotlines on the fly, reskinning characters who appear in multiple campaigns, and how this group of five is going to survive, or risk becoming a group of four or less very quickly. 

Subscribe to Storytelling Breakdown wherever you get your podcasts. You can find out more about our regular episodes and campaign diaries at storytellingbreakdown.com. There you can also find our blog community and support us through Patreon. You can contact us via email at [email protected] or using the Storytelling Breakdown Facebook or Instagram. 

Storytelling Breakdown Campaign Diaries are hosted by Ben Clemmer and Stephen Stachofsky. Our theme music is by Kurt Roembke. The Storytelling Breakdown logo is by Daniel Church. The Adventurers Assemble logo is by Michael Ganser. The Curse of Strahd logo is by Jeremy Stroup. Our podcast is hosted by John Dawkins and Wayneshout Productions. 

The idea of “show, don’t tell” allows creators to communicate ideas to those experiencing their stories through sensory details. You can learn a lot about a character and their world by watching how they interact in a given space. You’ll likely learn even more in watching them fight. 

Combat is an element of so many significant pieces of media we have and haven’t covered yet on Storytelling Breakdown. From Marvel to Star Wars or from The Witcher to The Princess Bride, we can learn so much about characters from watching them contend with an opponent. The openings not taken, using an enemy’s tactics against them, and the preparation that can go sideways in an instant make this deep dive with Casey Stombaugh a blast for all involved. 

Hook is the subject of this episode’s Spotlight. Our guest is Ben Murphy and he is introduced around the 01:23:20 mark. 

Subscribe to Storytelling Breakdown wherever you get your podcasts. You can find out more about this show at storytellingbreakdown.com. There you can also find our blog community and support us through Patreon. You can contact us via email at [email protected] or using the Storytelling Breakdown Facebook or Instagram. 

Storytelling Breakdown is hosted by co-founders Ben Clemmer and Caleb Meyer. Since the beginning of 2022, Storytelling Breakdown has also been hosted by Stephen Stachofsky and Larissa Whitaker. Our theme music is by Kurt Roembke. Our logo is by Daniel Church. Our podcast is hosted by John Dawkins and Wayneshout Productions. 

This was a long time coming. Dungeons & Dragons has surged in popularity so much in the last decade. All four of Storytelling Breakdown’s hosts currently actively play or DM in at least one campaign. After blogs and episodes dedicated to RPGs, SB Hosts Ben Clemmer and Stephen Stachofsky host a series of campaign diaries, inviting you to take a seat at their tables and experience the tales told by the Dungeon Masters. 

It doesn’t get much more classic than Ravenloft and Barovia, two of D&D’s most beloved settings. Come along with Stephen as he takes you through the set up and first sessions of his run of Curse of Strahd. Curse of Strahd is one of the most popular modules built for 5th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons and has roots going back to the beginnings of the game. Each run of the module is different, so even if you have played it before, you’ve never played it like this. 

Our first session begins with getting players to the table, and trying to survive the “Death House”. Will our heroes survive the swirling mists of Barovia, or are they going to be something, or someone’s dinner? 

Subscribe to Storytelling Breakdown wherever you get your podcasts. You can find out more about our regular episodes and campaign diaries at storytellingbreakdown.com. There you can also find our blog community and support us through Patreon. You can contact us via email at [email protected] or using the Storytelling Breakdown Facebook or Instagram. 

Storytelling Breakdown Campaign Diaries are hosted by Ben Clemmer and Stephen Stachofsky. Our theme music is by Kurt Roembke. The Storytelling Breakdown logo is by Daniel Church. The Adventurers Assemble logo is by Michael Ganser. The Curse of Strahd logo is by Jeremy Stroup. Our podcast is hosted by John Dawkins and Wayneshout Productions. 

This was a long time coming. Dungeons & Dragons has surged in popularity so much in the last decade. All four of Storytelling Breakdown’s hosts currently actively play or DM in at least one campaign. After blogs and episodes dedicated to RPGs, SB Hosts Ben Clemmer and Stephen Stachofsky host a series of campaign diaries, inviting you to take a seat at their tables and experience the tales told by the Dungeon Masters. 

Our story begins in Murktown, a location Ben borrowed from a homebrew module. Murktown is an old village in the Fairknot Region of the continent of Omeria. For ages it has served as a trading post. There hasn’t been an attack on Murktown in hundreds of years, but there hasn’t been a noble living in the keep to call for aid for even longer. There is a river that flows through the town to the bay and three bridges connecting the two largest neighborhoods, Monarchy and Wastefall. The town is old, kind of dirty, and sees travelers of all kinds. 

On this day, we look to the interior of the Loaded Buckler, a tavern near the center of Murktown. Upstairs are simple sleeping quarters that can be rented for a night. The main room of the tavern is lit by a pair of fireplaces and torches mounted throughout in brackets on the wall and support columns. Tables and bar seating remain available. A young, redheaded half-elf has just seated a strange group of travelers, five in total and that is where we start our first session. 

Subscribe to Storytelling Breakdown wherever you get your podcasts. You can find out more about our regular episodes and campaign diaries at storytellingbreakdown.com. There you can also find our blog community and support us through Patreon. You can contact us via email at [email protected] or using the Storytelling Breakdown Facebook or Instagram. 

Storytelling Breakdown Campaign Diaries are hosted by Ben Clemmer and Stephen Stachofsky. Our theme music is by Kurt Roembke. The Storytelling Breakdown logo is by Daniel Church. The Adventurers Assemble logo is by Michael Ganser. The Curse of Strahd logo is by Jeremy Stroup. Our podcast is hosted by John Dawkins and Wayneshout Productions. 

How did it take us this long to get here? 

Pirates have had an up and down cinematic history. While classic pirate images come to mind from the earliest days of Hollywood filmmaking, the genre was considered cursed for several decades before a movie with “Curse” in the title brought the genre into a renaissance. And it is a genre we are finally discussing.

Our Flag Means Death takes this genre to fascinating depths with the craft of one of the most creative directors working today *cough* Taika Waititi. Rhys Darby turns in a phenomenal performance as Stede Bonnet. Historic pirates get new takes in a story that sees clashes with the Royal Navy, shows the transformative power of authentic relationships, and explores the terrible expectations of toxic masculinity. 

Peacemaker is the subject of this episode’s Spotlight. Our guest is Caleb Linnemeier and he is introduced around the 01:08:32 mark. 

Subscribe to Storytelling Breakdown wherever you get your podcasts. You can find out more about this show at storytellingbreakdown.com. There you can also find our blog community and support us through Patreon. You can contact us via email at [email protected] or using the Storytelling Breakdown Facebook or Instagram. 

Storytelling Breakdown is hosted by co-founders Ben Clemmer and Caleb Meyer. Since the beginning of 2022, Storytelling Breakdown has also been hosted by Stephen Stachofsky and Larissa Whitaker. Our theme music is by Kurt Roembke. Our logo is by Daniel Church. Our podcast is hosted by John Dawkins and Wayneshout Productions.

“I believe in America.” 

After Cinematic Icons: A Meeting of the Five Families and Boardwalk Blinders & The Roaring Twenties, our gangster episodes have become a trilogy. That said, this conversation stands alone, much as The Godfather does 50 years after its release. The Storytelling Breakdown team reflects on our first viewings of the film, the numerous production hurdles that could have made for a very different movie, and how this classic is viewed today.

Fringe is the subject of this episode’s Spotlight. Our guest is Georgia Stachofsky and she is introduced around the 01:00:15 mark. 

Subscribe to Storytelling Breakdown wherever you get your podcasts. You can find out more about this show at storytellingbreakdown.com. There you can also find our blog community and support us through Patreon. You can contact us via email at [email protected] or using the Storytelling Breakdown Facebook or Instagram. 

Storytelling Breakdown is hosted by co-founders Ben Clemmer and Caleb Meyer. Since the beginning of 2022, Storytelling Breakdown has also been hosted by Stephen Stachofsky and Larissa Whitaker. Our theme music is by Kurt Roembke. Our logo is by Daniel Church. Our podcast is hosted by John Dawkins and Wayneshout Productions.

When we last saw our heroes, it was years, maybe even decades ago. Now they are back, older and wearier, but we are thrilled to see them again. They have new allies. Our story follows a new hero or several figuring out their place in a universe. 

If you’ve seen a story like this recently, it was probably a legacy sequel. The popularity of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Creed, and other films sets up this conversation between Ben, Caleb, and Larissa as we take our own journey into the world of continuations, years after the last film in a franchise featured a hero we know and love. 

The live action Scooby-Doo films are the subject of this episode’s Spotlight. Our guest is Brittany Smith and she is introduced around the 01:02:25 mark. 

Subscribe to Storytelling Breakdown wherever you get your podcasts. You can find out more about this show at storytellingbreakdown.com. There you can also find our blog community and support us through Patreon. You can contact us via email at [email protected] or using the Storytelling Breakdown Facebook or Instagram. 

Storytelling Breakdown is hosted by co-founders Ben Clemmer and Caleb Meyer. Since the beginning of 2022, Storytelling Breakdown has also been hosted by Stephen Stachofsky and Larissa Whitaker. Our theme music is by Kurt Roembke. Our logo is by Daniel Church. Our podcast is hosted by John Dawkins and Wayneshout Productions.

“I’m Mary Poppins, y’all!” 

When we think of quotes that came out of the horribly beautiful mind of James Gunn, this one might be one of the most recognizable. That said, there’s a couple recent quotes from interviews with James Gunn that inform our conversation in our season three premier. 

“I love making movies and telling stories. But, there was part of it I was using to try to fill a whole in me that didn’t feel loved by other people… I felt like everything in my life had been taken from me at one time, but in that moment all of a sudden all of these people loved me--in a moment when I thought my career was over. I felt loved for the first time in my life, and it was an incredibly empowering experience.” 

Storytelling Breakdown Host Larissa Whitaker leads the conversation, and joined Ben, Caleb, and Stephen in the studio to discuss The James Gunn Love Bomb Spectacular. 

Baseball is the subject of this episode’s Spotlight, though it is more specifically about the Chicago Cubs, and even more specifically about MLB: The Show. Our guest is Steve Mullaney and he is introduced around the 01:00:53 mark. 

Subscribe to Storytelling Breakdown wherever you get your podcasts. You can find out more about this show at storytellingbreakdown.com. There you can also find our blog community and support us through Patreon. You can contact us via email at [email protected] or using the Storytelling Breakdown Facebook or Instagram. 

Storytelling Breakdown is hosted by co-founders Ben Clemmer and Caleb Meyer. Since the beginning of 2022, Storytelling Breakdown has also been hosted by Stephen Stachofsky and Larissa Whitaker. Our theme music is by Kurt Roembke. Our logo is by Daniel Church. Our podcast is hosted by John Dawkins and Wayneshout Productions. 

In an effort to avoid false advertising, our team does have to confess that this episode has almost nothing to do with Avatar: The Last Airbender. 

This month we are bringing you our annual community update. Ben Clemmer and Caleb Meyer were joined in the studio by Storytelling Breakdown’s newest hosts Stephen Stachofsky and Larissa Whitaker. We’ll reflect on our last season, look ahead to some of what’s coming up, and all four hosts discussed their year in media for 2021. 

We’ve got Babylon Berlin, Barbaren, Bo Burnham: Inside, Castlevania, CJ The X, D&D, Get Back, King of Staten Island, Marvel Phase 4, Mass Effect, Matthew Colville, Mike Birbiglia’s Working It Out, Monster of the Week, Mythic Quest, No Time to Die, Overly Sarcastic Productions, Secret Base, Succession, Ted Lasso, Vincenzo, The Witcher and The Young Pope. We probably forgot to list a few things.

The 2017 videogame Night in the Woods is the subject of this episode’s Spotlight. Our guest is Megan Bracker and she is introduced around the 01:10:34 mark.

Subscribe to Storytelling Breakdown wherever you get your podcasts. You can find out more about this show at storytellingbreakdown.com. There you can also find our blog community and support us through Patreon. You can contact us via email at [email protected] or using the Storytelling Breakdown Facebook or Instagram.

Storytelling Breakdown is hosted by co-founders Ben Clemmer and Caleb Meyer. Since the beginning of 2022, Storytelling Breakdown has also been hosted by Stephen Stachofsky and Larissa Whitaker. Our theme music is by Kurt Roembke. Our logo is by Daniel Church. Our podcast is hosted by John Dawkins and Wayneshout Productions.