Player character death is 100% on the table. No PC can see in the dark — but every monster can. The Jaunty Mantis crew puts Shadowdark RPG to the test with a real dungeon crawl. Jesse takes the GM seat and leads a dwarf fighter with immaculately waxed facial hair, a halfling thief who will absolutely pick her own party's pockets, and a soft-hearted half-orc priest into the Lost Citadel — chasing rumors of forgotten gold and magical weapons of the ancient kings. Torches burn for 60 real minutes. Hit points are low. Damage is high. And something with very large hooves has been walking these halls. Run on Foundry VTT with the Shadowdark module.

THE PARTY

⚔️ Jorbin Ironhelm — dwarf fighter (Matty)

🗡️ Ralina Biggins — halfling thief (Peaches, aka The Beast)

✝️ Iraga Dragu — half-orc priest (Chris)

🎲 Game Mother — Jesse

This video is an independent production under the Shadowdark RPG Third-Party License and is not affiliated with The Arcane Library, LLC. Shadowdark RPG © 2023 The Arcane Library, LLC.

We reviewed Troika! by Melsonian Arts Council once before — but we hadn't played it yet. Now we have. Does actually playing it change anything? (Yes. And no.) Jesse, Matty, and Chris dig into what it's actually like to sit down at the table with an acid fantasy OSR system, whether rules-light games are good for new players, and the eternal question: if story is all that matters, why try different games at all? Also: Matty fixed D&D 5e combat, Jesse ran vampires into emotional ruin, and someone pulls out a Labyrinth goblin field guide. Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio

Roll to ignore the cats. The tiger can tell you really want to pet it, so it's ignoring you harder. Part 7 of our Troika! one-shot on The Jaunty Mantis. The elevator gets four new passengers, the attendant makes an extremely poor choice, and a tiny knight in painted armor enters the party's life and never leaves. Cast

Jesse as Gormer the Underbursar

Matty as Darlo Tik'l

Anna as Moth

Chris as Game Mother

Featuring the silent stylings of Sir Two Stamps

Find us 🦋 Bluesky: @jauntymantis 📩 [email protected] Like, subscribe, and ideally find yourself in an elevator crowded with tigers at least once in your life. We are not affiliated with the Melsonian Arts Council. Played for the love of weird fantasy.

Gormer pulls a gas mask out of the door in his forehead. Moth's fashion sense becomes an Art Nouveau gas filter. A small egg-shaped man hustles them out of eleven silver.

Part 6 of our Troika! one-shot on The Jaunty Mantis. The party rides the elevator up through floors none of them asked for, solving puzzles that didn't need to exist.

Cast

Jesse as Gormer the Underbursar

Matty as Darlo Tik'l, Red Priest (currently cursed to swear)

Anna as Moth

Chris as Game Mother

Find us

🦋 Bluesky: @jauntymantis

📩 [email protected]

Like, subscribe, and tell us your favorite Weezer song they didn't write.

We are not affiliated with the Melsonian Arts Council. Played for the love of weird fantasy.

Darlo rolls double sixes. The oops table opens. From there, things only get worse.

Welcome to The Jaunty Mantis — a podcast of creative questions for curious gamers.

This is Part 5 of our Troika! one-shot at the Blanc Mange & Thistle, where three strangers share a hotel room on the eve of the Feast of the Chiliark. In this episode: a demonic puddle on the stairwell, an experimental burning, and a curse the Red Priest will be living with for the rest of the night.

Cast - Jesse as Gormer the Underbursar, Sorcerer of the Eighth Door - Matty as Darlo Tik'l, Red Priest - Anna as Moth - Chris as Game Mother

Moth picks a fight with an owl. Everyone else suffers the consequences. Plus: Darlo discovers his new favorite hobby, Gormer's combat strategy is "wave knife around hopefully," and the staircase ahead has a problem the party is not prepared for.

The session-one finale of our Troika! Numinous Edition mini-campaign. Session 2 incoming.

CAST - Jesse as Gormer the Underbursar (Sorcerer of the Academy of Doors) Matty as Darlo Tik'l (Red Priest) Anna as Moth (Abyssal Myth Crusher) Chris as Game Mother (GM)

SYSTEM - Troika! Numinous Edition by Daniel Sell, published by the Melsonian Arts Council. Buy the game: https://www.melsonia.com/

We are not affiliated with the Melsonian Arts Council. Played for the love of weird fantasy.

ABOUT THE JAUNTY MANTIS - A podcast of creative questions for curious gamers. We play, review, and argue about tabletop roleplaying games.

A staircase mural of beaked figures, serrated keys, and a horde of screaming demons. Two knowledge rolls. Both fail. The party concludes everything is fine. Spoiler: it is not.

Episode 3 of our Troika! Numinous Edition mini-campaign.

SYSTEM - Troika! Numinous Edition by Daniel Sell, published by the Melsonian Arts Council. Buy the game: https://www.melsonia.com/

We are not affiliated with the Melsonian Arts Council. Played for the love of weird fantasy.

CAST - Jesse as Gormer the Underbursar (Sorcerer of the Academy of Doors) Matty as Darlo Tik'l (Red Priest) Anna as Moth (Abyssal Myth Crusher) Chris as Game Mother (GM)

ABOUT THE JAUNTY MANTIS - A podcast of creative questions for curious gamers. We play, review, and argue about tabletop roleplaying games.

Darlo bonds with his new roommates the only way he can: by demanding the most inedible pickled vegetable on the menu and sharing it with them. Plus: a herbal beverage best described as "Jagermeister, but vodka," and a hotel festival that involves shooting fireworks at neighboring rooftops.

Episode 2 of our Troika! Numinous Edition mini-campaign.

CAST: Jesse as Gormer the Underbursar (Sorcerer of the Academy of Doors) Matty as Darlo Tik'l (Red Priest) Anna as Moth (Abyssal Myth Crusher) Chris as Game Mother (GM)

SYSTEM: Troika! Numinous Edition by Daniel Sell, published by the Melsonian Arts Council. Buy the game: https://www.melsonia.com/

We are not affiliated with the Melsonian Arts Council. Played for the love of weird fantasy.

ABOUT THE JAUNTY MANTIS: A podcast of creative questions for curious gamers. We play, review, and argue about tabletop roleplaying games.

A door-wizard with disastrous luck, a death-priest who'd rather be elsewhere, and a swamp-mystic with a mission walk into a hotel. It's the only room left. They're sharing it. Episode 1 of our Troika! Numinous Edition mini-campaign. Character creation, the first stat-roll catastrophe, and the most reluctant agreement to share a drink in podcast history.

Jesse as Gormer the Underbursar (Sorcerer of the Academy of Doors) Matty as Darlo Tik'l (Red Priest) Anna as Moth (Abyssal Myth Crusher) Chris as Game Mother (GM)

Troika! Numinous Edition by Daniel Sell, published by the Melsonian Arts Council. Buy the game: https://www.melsonia.com/

We are not affiliated with the Melsonian Arts Council. Played for the love of weird fantasy.

ABOUT THE JAUNTY MANTIS A podcast of creative questions for curious gamers. We play, review, and argue about tabletop roleplaying games.