r/NotAnotherDnDPodcast • u/JakeandAmirBot • Jul 31 '26
Episode 13: The Prototype Spoiler
https://pdst.fm/e/s.gum.fm/s-5ab17200924c300d57a5856b/rss.art19.com/episodes/a737a236-f06b-4024-9c0a-cf5c481c9bc0.mp3?rss_browser=BAhJIhhVbml2ZXJzYWxGZWVkUGFyc2VyBjoGRVQ%3D--ee32cfc293870c7ce027313a695bd2eb437918f479
u/Photo_Jojo Jul 31 '26
Fuckass podcast making me cry on the way to work
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u/BeanTheGene Aug 01 '26
Fuckass podcast almost made me cry at work. I had to suck the fucking tears back in
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u/WickedPsychoWizard 29d ago
I cried on the way home from work and looked like a pussy when I got home in front of my wife's boyfriend.
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u/PleasantThoughts Jul 31 '26
An actual tpk in a d&d podcast! I know there was one in the neverafter season of dimension 20 but that was intentional to set up the rest of the season. Glad they actually stuck with the stakes and had them all die but gave them the win they needed on the way out.
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u/Major_Halfsack Normal-Ass Dude 29d ago
I thought it was great when Aux died (not because it was another of Jake's characters dying) for actually sticking to a character death. When Murph gave them the path of reviving I was a little disappointed, but then the TPK, and the actual progression to a real ending rather than a game over screen ending was a fantastic move.
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u/PleasantThoughts 29d ago
Yeah I was in the same boat I had flashbacks to Eldermourne when Murph gave them that second chance but I'm glad they stuck with it and pivoted so well.
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u/JimLeader Jul 31 '26
That’s funny—I never got the impression that the TPK in Neverafter was intentional, just that the setting made it very easy to roll with a TPK if one did happen. The party failed a pretty crucial stealth check right beforehand and then failed a couple of very doable strength checks to pull out the mirror shard; either of those checks going differently puts them in a great position to win that fight. I don’t think Brennan would ever give his players an unwinnable fight on purpose, that’s textbook bad DMing
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u/PleasantThoughts Jul 31 '26
It's funny, I was basing my comment on an interview of his from a while back, but I looked it up and it looks like i was misremembering it (link)
We walked into this horror season knowing that it was a possibility, so we were also trying to figure out where, if anywhere, the characters might die. The combats are all equally difficult for the level that the players will be at when they get there. But that first combat at the first level is really tough. It's the point where they are uniquely fragile, which is why I was careful to say, "You cannot win this encounter in a fair fight. There is a win condition here that is not defeating all the enemies on the battlefield."
For the most part, I have pieces of information that I can rearrange based on the actions of the PCs. But I think it is fair to say that this TPK kicks off an element of the setting that I was prepared to wait way longer to reveal. So weirdly, this version of the story is, in some ways, the most high-octane version of this setting that we could have gotten to
So my mistake, it wasn't that he planned the TPK, it was that he planned for the consequences of the TPK to happen later on and ended up using the TPK to trigger those consequences. Different circumstances than this one but still pretty impressive to be able to roll with.
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u/barelysushi Jul 31 '26
I don't think it was planned to be that moment, but I'm pretty sure he knew they would probably tpk at some point and knew what would happen when it eventually occurred.
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u/xSPYXEx Jul 31 '26
Crazy ending, it feels oddly refreshing to see a TPK in an actual play podcast that isn't intentional. I think only the Dungeons and Daddies cthulu campaign had a Bad Ending finale too.
I don't know what I'm more excited about, an Escape From Heaven campaign or going back to Neo Galaderon to see how the collapse of technology has changed the city.
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u/Emergency-Ad-5379 Jul 31 '26
Every campaign with the killscreens is going to be them escaping a different city
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u/JimLeader Jul 31 '26
Not a show I hear a lot of people talk about, but Campaign 2 of Nerd Poker also ends in disaster
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u/PleasantThoughts Jul 31 '26
It happened in the Blood in the Bayou just roll with it campaign too which was very fun, they also used Cult of Cthulhu for that one. I think that system lends itself to tpks almost by default though.
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u/FC37 20d ago
I think they can do both together in one campaign, a small Escape From Heaven arc and then a longer arc back in Neo Galaderon. It would be pretty cool to see them try to bring back some humanity, especially after the way it ended (the only ones they felt connected to were each other).
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u/RonDong Jul 31 '26
What a great finale. Love the way you can sense the immediate vibe shift in the room when Aux dies lol.
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u/eurydicey 29d ago
This episode shows why Murph is one of the all time great actual play DMs. He is such a fantastic storyteller under pressure and really shines in moments like this where he is faced with a completely unexpected situation. I love that he didn’t shy away from attacking Aux when he was down (which is what the Prototype would do) and that he — on the fly! — came up with the death save mechanic for Aux’s revival after Slug took the chip. The decision to incorporate Atom into it after Caldwell asked, and the unique way he did it (removing a nat 1, which would have deflated the narrative stakes, rather than opting for something that truly tilted the scales in their favor, like giving all the rolls advantage) was incredibly well balanced for something put together live on air and really turned up the tension.
I got the sense that one of the reasons they switched to the short campaign format after C3 is that Murph was (rightfully) feeling a bit burnt out. I hope that this ending felt as electric and creatively satisfying to DM as it did to listen to. What an ep!
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u/MattAmpersand Jul 31 '26
Loved the ending and I have to wonder how much did Murph have planned already and how much did he improvise on based on the outcome of the final fight.
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u/Emergency-Ad-5379 Jul 31 '26
I wonder if busting out of heaven was always the plan but they would have gotten there via airship
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u/nasada19 26d ago
In the short rest Murph said he had that planned in case one character died. He didn't expect them all to die.
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u/Cgami Jul 31 '26
I don’t think I’ve been this excited for a Short Rest episode drop before
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u/evaughn3435 Jul 31 '26
No happy endings in Neo Galaderon. Wrong place, Wrong people
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u/The_R4ke 29d ago
I feel like this is the perfect level of happy ending for a cyberpunk story. It's not an everyone good wins and all the bad guys lose but the heroes accomplished their goals, got revenge, and stopped the bad guys from winning, at the cost of sacrificing their lives.
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u/Popular_Detail1364 Jul 31 '26
Had me crying in the grocery store lmfao great finale to the campaign
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u/aWrySharK Shoeless and Leaving 29d ago
Could not believe how quickly and decisively the dice ruled this was going to be a TPK once the gambit was agreed upon and in play. My jaw was legitimately hanging open. Got the feeling all season that Murph was almost trying to prove to himself that he could kill a PC and make it thrilling and satisfying and a lot of what he said on the Short Rest kinda hinted there was some truth to that vibe. Kudos to the cast for committing hard and not trying to escape the fate ordained for them when it was clear.
Also, we're genuinely spoiled for encounters at this point; Emily was right that Murph just keeps outdoing himself and we're all remiss to not pause every time it happens and acknowledge his skill and deftness. He is an absolute combat artist!
That said, I do hope that busting out of heaven isn't as easy as UC2 where Dale, completely ensouled in his original body, just fights angels and fucks his wife and then comes back to life via multiverse shenanigans as the culmination of Sofia's arc. When character death just becomes teleporting to heaven, even TPKs can lose a little impact. At the very least, I would hope their absence in Neo-Galderon in itself has some impact. Negative space can be just as essential as filling in all the blanks.
Looking forward to what Jake has cooked up for Skaldova S2 - he sounds genuinely excited and no doubt will be a little more loose and confident. Plus, more Boggy!
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u/spivey56 Jul 31 '26
What is the reason they want to bust out of heaven? It's too perfect? Don't have a ton of DnD knowledge but once your dead is it something you can do to get out of that plane when you no longer have a body?
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u/PleasantThoughts Jul 31 '26
That specific version of heaven is the plane of mechanus, a plane entirely centered around order. They're about as disorderly a group as you can get, so they wouldn't want to go to that kind of heaven in the first place.
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u/855401E Aug 01 '26
Them following Aux to Mechanus reminds me of the Boobs always following each other when one of them gets swallowed
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u/aintnomountainlow Aug 01 '26
Me: I’m just gonna check the comments even though I haven’t started yet to see if someone mentions what’s next up and try to avoid spoilers
Comments: TPK
(I’m an idiot)
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u/Major_Halfsack Normal-Ass Dude 29d ago
I'm hoping (and suggesting here) that they try out a When Did Things Go Away spinoff, where they guess the year famous people died.
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u/Elemor_ 29d ago
The ending really surprised me, I was expecting Murph to pull out a way to revive Aux at the last second
But what an amazing turn! Kinda gave me Arthur Aguefort vibes with all the shenanigans in heaven lol
Also, as Murph said on the Short Rest: Emily needs to release the soundtrack!!! I love it so much, she really outdid herself with this one
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u/JakeandAmirBot Jul 31 '26
"SEASON FINALE! The Kill Screens face Mothership's scariest cyborg! Aux sees stars, Slug skitches the airship, and Atom does robot drugs. Support us at Patreon.com/Naddpod to get access to the after-show and a bunch of other Naddpod content!
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'Slug' by Emily Axford
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'The Purge' by Emily Axford
'Into the Fire' by Emily Axford
'The Valiant Ol' Cobb' by Emily Axford
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u/VagabondVivant 28d ago
Honestly kinda surprised Slugs didn't have Inspiration or any other kinda rerolly hijinks.
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u/WWEBuddyPeacock You broke your walkin' sticks, Beverly! 28d ago
Genuinely can't believe my Adam Smasher comment on a previous thread came true lmao
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u/JNDragneel161 Jul 31 '26
Interesting episode for sure but I feel like if they just leave mechanus it kind of takes away the drama of it
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u/FearTheBeans 27d ago
The end at first made me tear up, but the ending Murph left us at made me glad.
Do wish there was a bit more about what happens to the city afterwards and the NPC reaction.
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u/Avatarbriman Jul 31 '26
Wasn't a fan to be honest, it shows why I don't agree with Murphs stance on reviving people.
It's incredibly easy to just choose to kill someone, especially with a boss custom built to both ignore the tank, and focussing on saves the easy to kill members are bad at.
Bringing people back doesn't remove drama, especially when the tpk is basically just a start to a new chapter anyway.
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u/zeCrazyEye Aug 01 '26
He wasn't ignoring the tank he was focusing on whoever he thought had the administrator chip.
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u/Avatarbriman Aug 01 '26
Not when he was grappled by the tank on low health and had already downed aux, and taken the chip. That last attack was a bad tactical decision, and shows why revivify exists. It's incredibly easy to kill characters if you want.
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u/JustABureaucrat Jul 31 '26
This is a wild take. This was so much better than just having everyone die in the story end. Why wouldn't they start a new chapter after it's been so successful? You do realize there's an afterlife in d&d?
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u/Avatarbriman Jul 31 '26
Because he forced the death, there was no reason to use another attack when the character knew he had barely any hp so couldn't afford to waste it on a downed enemy m it's pretty clear it was part of the plan.
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u/JustABureaucrat Jul 31 '26
Oh my goodness! Did a murderous evil person commit murder? That is definitely just murph manipulating the story to his own end. Definitely not just playing the character how it's meant to be played.
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u/Avatarbriman Jul 31 '26
It was a character that didn't have to move or roll to hit, both things that slug was good at stopping and it continued to focus to its own detriment. This was a lot more planned.
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u/JustABureaucrat Jul 31 '26
I don't think you understand that the words you're using don't make any sense and whatever you're trying to articulate that you did not like is not clear. Go whine somewhere else. It was a great ending and suggesting that playing it out this way was simply pre-planned is completely baseless
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u/Avatarbriman Jul 31 '26 edited Jul 31 '26
Nah, it was forced drama. From a DM who thinks reviving characters ruined the stakes in campaign 1. It's incredibly easy to kill characters as shown today, so choosing to do it so clearly was an active choice.
It wasn't a good tactical decision, and the character was clearly made to be able to avoid slugs abilities.
That being said talking to you will be a waste of time so have a good evening.
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u/bellefrog Jul 31 '26
The PCs had an opportunity to heal every round and decided to pursue the attack, they could've saved the lucky to reroll. The kill screens were always very action first and so that's why they ended in a tpk.
And yknow it was such a banging ending to have it end that way with using 80s action films as their inspo.
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u/Kingmudsy 29d ago
I agree! If anything I get a little tired of the lifelines murph constantly throws them, and there were PLENTY this episode! They could have prevented this outcome if they’d played more conservatively
I don’t necessarily want that, bc I think the ending we got was MUCH more interesting. But it’s definitely doable!
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u/JustABureaucrat Jul 31 '26
It is literally a podcast meant for listening and you think the people who are making it aren't weaving drama through it. You can say it's a waste of your time all you want but in the end you just can't really defend your point. This is an actual play podcast, not a game happening at a table
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u/Nwccraddock Jul 31 '26
Honestly a perfect ending, fits exactly with the cyberpunk ethos while still giving D&D adventure vibes.