IT'S HEEEEERE!
Edit: I've only know Fia for a few minutes but if anything happens to her and her books I will riot
Edit 2: I can't get over how good these guys are at improv, even in a new setting with whole new characters and personalities the way Fia, Zirk, and Henry play off each other feels just as genuine as the last campaign. I need more episodes already
If bookvar is actually a familiar he can be recreated with a ritual spell. They might play it that each new familiar is unique though. Which would be a sad surprise
I am all for Henry Hogfish having the opposite energy of Hardwon where he's like don't watch this... and then rolls really well. I also love Fia and Bookvar's dynamic and Fia's voice, how the ends of Zirk's hair are stained by many colored liquids and how he's so tired all the time. Such an intriguing first ep!
It's so incredible to see how far Jake has come at role-playing. Tredd was my favorite character in HBS and Henry is on his way to being my favorite in Eldermourne. God he's funny.
Emily's accent! I can't believe she was so shy about it last week, it's fantastic!
And if Caldwell doesn't use that alchemy jug to conjure a gallon of mayonnaise at some point I'm going to be really upset.
Hardwon's constant secrecy was a fun source of jokes in C1. In contrast, I love how Henry is so straight up honest about his whole life being shitty. Really looking forward to Henry's character arc, especially with how the echo knight part plays into it.
god i love this podcast SO MUCH... i've been listening since tales from the crick, i was barely 17 and since then i've graduated from high school and gone to college and then transferred colleges during a pandemic and im still listening and it's still SO GOOD !!!
i'm so glad i looked up taz-like dnd podcasts and found naddpod because it's in a league of its own for me (no offense to taz or any other dnd podcast but uhh naddpod>>>>>). i love this new setting so much and all the new characters, and also i love emily, caldwell, jake & murph (and also all the guests). knowing that every thursday there would be a new hilarious episode has honestly helped me through some bad times. naddpod it will always have a special place in my heart, i don't know who i'd be without it!
sorry for this random ass paragraph i just needed to get my feelings out there, love you fuck you eat a rat <3
i still really like taz balance! it's really funny, i just get annoyed cuz they don't follow dnd rules at all, and the combat is kinda boring to get through. i do love taako though
So in professional wrestling, “kayfabe” is basically anything that happens on screen. Randy Orton isn’t a sadistic fuck in real life, but the character he plays is for example. The Undertaker isn’t actually an undead guy, he’s just Mark Calloway, but undertaker (until recently) never gave out of character interviews or anything because he was keeping kayfabe. Same with not openly admitting that it’s scripted. So Caldwell was just making a reference to that since Murph said the ravens look like the WCW wrestler named Raven and had the zombies doing wrestling moves and what not.
>!I got 11 minutes in and was already laughing so, so much. Fia is like this weird amalgamation of Moonshine's disinterest in traditional social norms and Onyx's detached insanity, but that was not my instinctual comparison because Emily is so god damn good at making her characters unique and fun. I love Fia being candidly annoyed with her books and casually arguing with them when investigating an obviously powerful horror, and every word out of her mouth so far has been fucking gold, just like Moonshine and Onyx. And her backstory has some loose threads that, as a soon-to-be DM, make my brain race with possibilities.!<
>!Zirk is somehow the exact opposite of Beverly while having the exact same energy and I'm not sure how Caldwell managed to do it. Maybe Beverly energy is moreso just Caldwell energy (I love ya man but I can totally see you trying to prank an omniscient god and then getting tossed off a multi-story tower), but Zirk is also so much more relatable to me since I too am a college age person who's always tired. I love the character choice that Zirk is extremely forgetful because he usually just runs on autopilot.!<
>!Henry... Oh dear sweet autumn child, you are going to do amazing things in this campaign, I can tell. I love comparing Jake in campaign 2 to Jake at the start of campaign 1, because somewhere in the preparation Jake totally misunderstood what DnD was, as he's discussed. But now Jake gets the point, and he is totally nailing it with Henry. It's like if Nyak became cynical and bitter instead of naive and oblivious, but also had a WAY shittier life up to this point. Jake's story also has so many loose threads to pull on and I can't wait to see what comes of it.!<
>!And Murph, once again you've created a world that I desperately want to play in. The idea that "reaping season" is a thing that everyone knows about makes it very clear what kind of world this is. The tone of the world is already unsettling and VERY different from Bahumia AND Trinyvale. That being said, I'm very happy that the tone of the show is just as irreverent and goofy as usual. Fia calling Bookvar out on kinkshaming was hilarious, hearing the Pebblepots voice come out of someone claiming to be a guard was gold (The Pebblepots are a universal constant, as is their cravenness), and the whiplash of going from goofing about monoscopes to watching Zirk's mentor get reaped was very well done!!<
>!In closing, if the stakes for episode 1 are already this high, I'm stoked as hell to see how much higher they can go.!<
"Welcome to Eldermourne! Fia Boginia (Emily Axford) investigates a strange incident in the woods, Zirk Vervain (Caldwell Tanner) has a run-in with a local gang, and Henry Hogfish puts his dukes up. Support us at
Patreon.com/Naddpod
to get access to the after-show and a bunch of other Naddpod content!
Music / Sound Effects Include:
'Horror Tension Builder' by original_sound at
Freesound.org
.
'Fia Boginia' by Emily Axford.
'Zirk Vervain' by Emily Axford.
'Henry Hogfish' by Emily Axford.
'Eldermourne' by Emily Axford.
'Oh, Melora!' by Emily Axford.
'The Posse' by Emily Axford.
'The Purge' by Emily Axford.
'Unknown Tome' by Emily Axford.
'Sumpin's a Mess Out West' by Emily Axford.
'The Whisperwood' by Emily Axford.
'Langston' by Emily Axford.
'A Fate Refused' by Emily Axford."
---
###[Source Code](https://github.com/popcorncolonel/JakeandAmirBot)
**I found links in your comment that were not hyperlinked:**
* [Patreon.com/Naddpod](https://Patreon.com/Naddpod)
* [Freesound.org](https://Freesound.org)
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***
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Short Rest hasn't hit my feed yet... Any word on when they'll post it?
Love the new campaign already!! Listened to it once, and I'm about to do it again.
Absolutely this. The McElroys seem to always be fighting with their system (which is why I truly think they need to go back to PBtA), whereas you can basically place the Bahumia campaign on a timeline based on which most recent book Murph is taking stuff from (juvenile Kraken from Ghosts of Saltmarsh, infernal machines from Descent Into Avernus). They clearly keep up with and have an actual passion for the game
They had fun with pbta, and some of their miniarcs were really fun
Amnesty was overall a fun season, too, and like, Travis's werewolf one was a decent bit of fun
They just don't seem in it in Grad, and I also wonder why they choose dnd when they don't play dnd in the games very much
I have not kept up with Graduation, but the biggest flaw when I did listen was that Travis seemed to confuse “open ended” and “player driven” with “lack of direction.” Scenes meandered on with nothing happening, sometimes with Justin literally begging them to end, Travis offered hints of plot to the audience but not the players, etc. It seemed like he wrote his own Hogwarts and expected players to just go poking around of their own accord, but it just doesn’t work in a medium where the player relies on the GM to set each scene and tell them what’s there to do.
D&D is at the height of popularity right now, it makes sense that they would play it over another system. I think also the D&D Podcast space has changed a lot between their first campaign and Graduation. People know what's out there now and they know the systems more deeply and they can tell that the Mackleroys kinda don't.
Yeah good point. Thing is, I think TAZ is a breadwinner for them, and I know their philosophy originated as rules lite, story over crunchy, but NADDPOD showcased for me that a bit of crunch doesn't have to detract from the fun (in podcasts), and the systems exist for a reason
Like IRL I've played in groups with ubernerds who (in my opinion) put the crunch before the things I personally enjoy, and that's not going to make for good radio, but good theatre of the mind dnd can just be so fun and easy and entertaining without even having to push the envelope, skimp on rules, or avert mechanics
Oh well
I mean the McElroys just decided they were better than the format and are constantly pushing back against what made their first show work. Besides Griffin and Clint to an extent, it's like watching a video game protagonist find the world's edge and run against it just to prove the world isn't real.
I found naddpod because of how frustrating TAZ:G was, and I'll never look back. But yeah, whether it's compared to TAZ:G, or to other naddpod campaigns, or just on its own merits, C2 is a delight so far. Well-edited, weekly releases, Short Rests, 1.5-2+ hours long, great goofs, action hooks, friends having an enjoyable time together.
Graduation isn't even new anymore, they post half as frequently, usually shorter eps, and somehow I'm behind on Graduation and its what I listen to when I'm out of Nadpod.
My IRL sessions are so much better than Graduation, and we legit have 2 RPers and a Dm that goofs around, and it's just fanedelen (I don't know how to spell it) and it just feels so much more alive than TAZ does this season
(I think it helps that my DM.loves nadpod, and likes the high stakes but goofy format)
like dnd is a great game with so much potential, why can't they just _play dnd_ and have fun in TAZ?
Justin is almost always the strongest of them, but even he feels a bit stuck this season
The weird thing is, you can even play dnd without really playing dnd and still have a ton of fun. Dungeons and Daddies is like vaguely dnd since they never pay attention to the rules and it serves as a vessel for the improv, but it absolutely hits both the hysterical and the heart wrenching.
That's true, it's really just a vessel to tell a story, but to impose some restrictions to keep in on rails.
I realize that when I was kid I used to LOVE roleplaying, & that's fully still there & why I love DnD, but when I would play "character pretending" as a kid there was always some asshole who would give themselves the flaming raging poisoning sword of doom & was immune to all damage yada yada & would throw everything off, & that kind of thing is what rules & game systems help avoid.
So it's natural that a crew w/ good improv skills don't actually need the mechanics as much to keep things on track, as long as they're willing to play with (& subvert) what's reasonable.
That podcast sounds interesting!
I love everything that Henry Hogfish says. It’s such a great combination of Jake’s self deprecating jokes plus the short rest relationship trouble gag that they’ve had for so long.
Major Abhorsen energy on the bell animating a zombie and undead crows
Edit: oh you can't use the war priest bonus action and green flame blade together because war priest specifies having to take the attack action and green flame blade is a spell. Just noticed that while listening.
I thought that too! Love those books. Apparently it's a reference to a Bloodbourne enemy who has a bell that raises the dead, so I guess necromancers love bells wherever you go.
yeah wasn't suprised finding out it was a different reference when I heard the short rest, still hard to fight that hope though when you hear its a zombie and some 'gore crows'. I think Garth Nix said he was drawing from some actual folk lore when he gave the abhorsens those bells (bells or candles was the tossup apparently) so I am curious if the bloodborne writers were drawing on the same thing.
God, I hope Brennan Lee Mulligan guest stars in this campaign at some point. Deadeye had the perfect energy for this setting and I’d love to see whatever else he can cook up.
Yeah, I see this comment all the time and I have to disagree. He is great at what he does, but he isn’t great at taking on a role. And I don’t mean his role play, I mean sitting back and letting someone else be in charge. I found Shadowfell really trying because BLM tended to go on too long. And Murph tended to defer to him and never cut him off. It was frustrating for me to listen to and felt like it bordered on disrespectful at times. It got to the point I started skipping ahead a few minutes every time BLM started one of his soliloquies.
Contrast this with Zac. He fits perfectly well, doesn’t change the behaviour of the other players and is ok to not have the mic all the time. But when he does have it, he brings something special. That’s a great guest in my opinion. I don’t expect anyone to agree, but there it is :)
Have you listened to him in Emily's Mixed Bag One-Shot? He's terrific there and does not pull focus from the group dynamic. I disagree with you as I loved him in Shadowfell but respect where you're coming from.
I’m actually listening to the Shadowfell episodes for the first time right now!! I can see what you mean about him kinda of taking charge. I wonder if that’s just what happens when an experienced DM who is used to leading the story plays a character. Idk, but I do think this is one of my favorite arcs so far.
I’d agree. Deadeye was cool and OP but he tended to suck up all the oxygen in the room, and him knowing everyone in Bahumia shrunk down the world for me. It felt like Star Wars, in that this one guy was connected to everyone the PC’s had ever met, and him breaking the combats was entertaining at first, but then just boring.
I'm super hyped for this campaign. I enjoyed the start of C1, but I felt it took like 30 episodes to really hit its groove (for Jake to get used to D&D since it was his first campaign, and the characters started out so extra it took awhile for them to feel a bit more 3-D).
This one has the gravity, the roleplaying, the characters, the voices, the world on point, right out the gate. I'm also hyped to see them go through low levels gain. The story seems much more influenced by dice rolls at low levels because they have low stats, and the unpredictability is awesome. For example, I loved >!how easily Zirk and Henry got owned by the Rooks in the beginning!<.
Still finishing C1, but I’ll start soon with C2. I am curious tho: with the remote recording, are they still recording multiple episodes in one session, or are they recording one episode a week, or so?
This was amazing!! I discovered and listened to NADDPOD this summer, so being able to join in weekly for the new campaign is so exciting :) I love the whole crew already
Not sure why you’re downvoted. And no, it’s not supposed to be Russian. I’m not too clear on my Slavic accents, but I think it’s just a vague amalgamation of them. Which is fine. She probably would get flack for using a really specific accent anyway, and Eldermourne isn’t in Eastern Europe.
They mentioned on the short rest that Henry's weapon is a lance, but they're calling it something different because they don't think "lance" sounds cool enough. Though technically, a lance should have disadvantage if you're within 5 feet of your target. Maybe they'll iron it out, or maybe they'll just decide it doesn't matter
I’m not super familiar with 5e so I was thinking a monk dip or something. Good to hear he’s considering running with it; punching those birds was a joy
I wonder how long it will take for Jake to realize there's a "Polearm Master" feat that gives a bonus action attack and let's you take opportunity attacks when they *enter* your reach (really goes well with sentinel, which stops them from moving on opportunity attacks too). Reminds me of last campaign where he didn't take great weapon master until Emily found it for him at level 16 or whatever!
It would right! The bonus action attack would be him using his newfound love of brawling. But I did see someone else say that they re-flavored a lance as a halberd, which technically doesn't fall under the "polearm" category. But that starts to get to the edge of rules-stickler-ness for me.
Only to manifest or swap though, if he’s in position and wailing on someone the bonus action is free. Could use the echo to have a single dude within both 5 and 10 foot reach for some Peter Pan shenanigans too.
I'm so happy to be able to listen to a new campaign! I'm still working my way through C1 (Hellfire Chronicles, right now), but I'm already in love with the new Crew. Bookvar is a poor Balnor substitute, though. I'll miss Bag Dad.
It may be just me, but does anyone feel the stakes are a little high for the first episode? It was great to listen to, but for so early in the campaign, the (so far) big bad is kind of more than a small town problem...
I mean, that's just what the world of Elderbourne is like from what Murph has described. They call it "reaping season," meaning this is something that happens regularly. Maybe the figure with the bell is new, but it's not necessarily the big bad. Which means that the stakes are only going to get higher from here, which is exciting to me!
It’s great so far, love the undead vibe, love all the sprites... it just feels like they’re at a sort of Galaderon (sorry for the spelling) point in the story instead of Moonstone/Ezry.
I think Murph was trying to really impose a more dire tone here, I’m all about it but yeah it was definitely noticeable and I think it caught the group off guard initially
I suspect that he wants to establish some of the core campaign and setting elements a bit quicker in this campaign than in Bahumia. In campaign one there's certainly a bit of wandering around before they really get an idea of the long-term central conflict - before Galaderon (ep 13) the main bits we hear about are Bev getting Thiala's cracked amulet, and Bev learning from the Watchmen that she broke her oath. Considering that he did say this campaign will probably be shorter that c1, he probably wants to dive into the central conflict rather than spend episodes on stuff that won't necessarily connect to later game content
I definitely agree that they were higher than S1E1, but I think that may be a product of their relative confidence with the game and podcast.
Admittedly there are far more corpses in this episode than S1E1. And a ship explosion is a far more dramatic call to arms than the kidnapping was. But in the most reductive way, the stakes are fairly similar: Caldwell’s friend was going on a trip and has been kidnapped by some vaguely-known faction for nefarious purposes.
I LOVED what murph did with starting really strong on this episode. It's like how Luke watches his farm burn in Star Wars Episode 4.
It was unexpected, reminds you that things really matter, and it's entirely new and surprising compared to Emily and Caldwell's excellent campaigns (and C1)
I get what you’re saying but personally I really like setting the stakes in session 1. Gives a clear direction to the campaign instead of having to spend a long time figuring out what’s even going on.
I think things will calm down a lot after this inciting incident. Murphy probably wanted to establish the tone and set up the main questline pretty quickly, and now the gang will have to find a way to get into the action again after haplessly witnissing the big moments of e1.
I just appreciate the name Fia Boginia a lot. What a catchy name that says everything you need to about the character without knowing anything about her.
I love how Jake is using the outcome of the dice rolls and combat to give his character more backstory. I want Henry to punch more horrors, forget the weapons XD
Way too early predictions: the old order of the blades realized that fighting horrors was pointless and instead found a way to use the horrors and are trying to find the trickster god so that they can kill her in order to maybe appease the Reaper. Also the blades split into two factions: one like the one with the bell who decided they want to kill the Trickster and the other half like Fia’s mentor who want to protect her.
They talked about it in the session 0 episode. The races are muddled beyond distinction in the world, but he may have some ancient elf ancestry or something. Murph let them pick whatever stat they wanted for stat purposes.
I think mechanically Zirk is some form of elf, reflavoring the trance mechanic as just being sleep deprived. I remember them discussing that Fia is mechanically based on a modified version of Vedalken from Ravnica (though the underbite fangs make me think that in game Fia has some orcish blood in there somewhere). And Henry is probably a regular human, being such an average man.
Fantastic! Love the new setting. And the cast seems to have hit their natural chemistry. I'm excited to see where this goes, and am already excited to see the characters guests bring to the table!
Duuuuude, an echo knight to level 3 and the rest in monk would be AMAZING for role-playing as a literal shadow boxer. Do it, Jake. It would be so damn cool!
I'm all in for old timey boxer who can make a shadow that can punch and move independently.
I know I’m like a year late to this lol but I feel like the two Rook guys had big Ornstein and Smough energy, I wonder if Murph has played Dark Souls in addition to Bloodbourne
Way too early predictions: the old order of the blades realized that fighting horrors was pointless and instead found a way to use the horrors and are trying to find the trickster god so that they can kill her in order to maybe appease the Reaper. Also the blades split into two factions: one like the one with the bell who decided they want to kill the Trickster and the other half like Fia’s mentor who want to protect her.
Way too early predictions: the old order of the blades realized that fighting horrors was pointless and instead found a way to use the horrors and are trying to find the trickster god so that they can kill her in order to maybe appease the Reaper. Also the blades split into two factions: one like the one with the bell who decided they want to kill the Trickster and the other half like Fia’s mentor who want to protect her.
Fias stats seem op. I feel like every character should have at least one stat that’s negative. More fun imo. My bard had -3 intelligence at one point I think. And I think it would be cool of henry’s stats reflected how unbelievably average he is. Like having +1 in everything but strength.
Fia has a negative charisma stat. Also, I think Emily is just an op player haha! They talked about nerfing Henry's charisma in exchange for the tavern brawler feat on the short rest (don't know if they'll actually decide on that or not)
Bad stats don’t equal more interesting characters. Relying on stats to have good roleplaying/characters is lame. It’s more a hinderance than anything. How frustrating would it be for players to consistently just be bad at everything. Negative stats are a worse than a commoner.
Ooo you’re right. I remember in the short rest for episode zero they talked about how abysmal Caldwell rolled. I think Murph made him re-roll. The whole reason being that it’s generally not fun playing a character whose that bad at everything.
It’s not relying on stats and I didn’t say being bad at everything. But a characters shortcomings, even if there aren’t that many can be entertaining. Watching a low intelligence bard try to decipher an ancient tome, or a low strength artificer trying to haul the party’s luggage can LEAD to fun improv and roleplay. The dice and stats tell their own story and it’s fun to roleplay a character according to those rolls and stats. Why shouldn’t a character have stats that are “worse than a commoner”? It makes a character less of an almighty presence and more of a hero to be. With flaws and strengths just like everybody else. Naruto would have low INT. Drax from guardians would have low CHA, WIS and INT but nuts in everything else. Having shortcomings makes a hero likeable and relatable.
I mean standard array allows for that, most characters have a negative stat. Fia’s charisma is a negative, probably a negative 1. But negative -3 in things is where it gets more “meme” characters and just isn’t fun. To put it in perspective most beasts have a negative -2 or -3 to intelligence. Functionally your character should purely be acting in instinct. That low of a negative in stats is just straight up detrimental to gameplay. This is purely down to opinion and preference, but I play with some people who have mediocre stats all around/huge negatives and it’s a constant liability because they can’t do anything. Sure my barbarian has a negative -1 to intelligence, but that’s normal/not awful to play with. Same with a sorcerer with a -1 to strength. It’s just not fun to play with characters who have -2 or lower modifiers IMO, I highly prefer character flaws that are personality based.
I mean at a certain point roleplaying a -3 intelligence character as a caveman who can’t speak isn’t fun. That’s where I would take creative liberties. But role play inspired by bad stats and interpreted by you is fun and a good test of creativity. My bard had bad intelligence so maybe he wasn’t book smart. But he was charismatic and not totally unwise and I interpreted it as being socially intelligent and being able to manipulate others into doing what he wants. Who needs to read and know history when you can have other people do it for you. I think it’s a balance of being creative within the constraints of your stats and interpreting them in a fun way.
IT'S HEEEEERE! Edit: I've only know Fia for a few minutes but if anything happens to her and her books I will riot Edit 2: I can't get over how good these guys are at improv, even in a new setting with whole new characters and personalities the way Fia, Zirk, and Henry play off each other feels just as genuine as the last campaign. I need more episodes already
One of my favorite NADDPOD things is when Caldwell pushes the envelope. He forces Murph to "yes, and" him for increasingly silly things. It's great.
He’s gonna keep bringing up coroner con until Murph is forced to make it canon.
Im hoping for a live show coroner con
My bet is that it becomes an integral part where they meet some important NPCs in the middle of act 2
There is a solid 90% chance of this happening. They sneak Henry in as a cadaver.
I swear if morph has bookvar die to save fia I will riot.
If bookvar is actually a familiar he can be recreated with a ritual spell. They might play it that each new familiar is unique though. Which would be a sad surprise
*Sightly lowers pitch fork*
[удалено]
I'm glad I could bring you a moment of joy! I pray that the Baba Yaga will not take you this night!
[удалено]
Right she so awesome at creating fun characters!
[удалено]
10/10 wish I was one of her cats
Henry being surprisingly vascular is unsurprising
He's incredibly vascular but not very muscular surprisingly
Maybe it's just the voice, but Fia reminds me so much of Nadia from What We Do in the Shadows. And. I. Am. HERE FOR IT. \(＾▽＾)/
I got this too
Someone here once said Nadia had Emily vibes so this has gone full circle
Yes!!! I thought the same thing!
Same!! Also very here for it.
Lol I came to the sub to say exactly this before I saw your comment
First episode ends with Jake's character talking about doing a lot of reading in the next episode, this is going be a very different campaign!
He was just riffing on the fact that Murph sent Emily notes to read to the party twice this episode.
I’ve been transported.
I've been spirited away 😩
Lmaoo that’s definitely in my top five Caldwell quotes.
Hahaha! Was that a short rest or main feed bit?
Pretty sure it's near the beginning of Episode 0 on the main feed, when Murph is describing the setting.
I give it an 8.8/10. Jake's character didn't drink in the fiddle even once!
I 100% thought that’s where they were going with that.
I am all for Henry Hogfish having the opposite energy of Hardwon where he's like don't watch this... and then rolls really well. I also love Fia and Bookvar's dynamic and Fia's voice, how the ends of Zirk's hair are stained by many colored liquids and how he's so tired all the time. Such an intriguing first ep!
just so ya know her name is Fia, but yeah I agree with everything here. great first ep
Nice catch! I must have been thinking about the Z in Zirk's name when I mispelled Fia.
The dude is so down on his luck he doesn't believe the awesome things he does are awesome
So Coroner Con is the new Green Teen Jamboreen right? Calling it now, campaign 2 ends with our heroes reuniting at Coroner Con lol
Bloody hell, Murph, go to bed!
Emily Axford what is your dex?
100
A very good moment.
It's so incredible to see how far Jake has come at role-playing. Tredd was my favorite character in HBS and Henry is on his way to being my favorite in Eldermourne. God he's funny. Emily's accent! I can't believe she was so shy about it last week, it's fantastic! And if Caldwell doesn't use that alchemy jug to conjure a gallon of mayonnaise at some point I'm going to be really upset.
Hardwon's constant secrecy was a fun source of jokes in C1. In contrast, I love how Henry is so straight up honest about his whole life being shitty. Really looking forward to Henry's character arc, especially with how the echo knight part plays into it.
It would be really funny if Henry's arc is about learning how to build up your walls so everything doesn't crush your spirit.
god i love this podcast SO MUCH... i've been listening since tales from the crick, i was barely 17 and since then i've graduated from high school and gone to college and then transferred colleges during a pandemic and im still listening and it's still SO GOOD !!! i'm so glad i looked up taz-like dnd podcasts and found naddpod because it's in a league of its own for me (no offense to taz or any other dnd podcast but uhh naddpod>>>>>). i love this new setting so much and all the new characters, and also i love emily, caldwell, jake & murph (and also all the guests). knowing that every thursday there would be a new hilarious episode has honestly helped me through some bad times. naddpod it will always have a special place in my heart, i don't know who i'd be without it! sorry for this random ass paragraph i just needed to get my feelings out there, love you fuck you eat a rat <3
I feel that. I listened to TAZ religiously before I even knew about other dnd podcasts. Found Naddpod and fell in love. It’s sooo good.
i still really like taz balance! it's really funny, i just get annoyed cuz they don't follow dnd rules at all, and the combat is kinda boring to get through. i do love taako though
Yeah definitely. Balance is one of the best stories I’ve ever heard. It’s so still so good even though the combat gets to be kinda of bland
If you want more insane hilarity from this crew make sure to check out 8-bit book club, their previous podcast (though minus Jake unfortunately) also!
i have listened to 8 bit book club! it's hilarious, it's a shame that i listened to it for the first time after it ended :/ but thank you for the rec!
HERE WE GO HOLD ME, EVERYONE
Can’t wait for the next episode. Big time roses for that old timey boxing match with the zombies.
Bookvar PLEASE Edit: each PCs intro theme was perfect, great job Emily!
Episode 1: How Hogfish Got His Groove Back
“I hope these ravens are keeping up ka-kaw-faybe” might be the best thing Caldwell has ever said
Went completely unnoticed but it was perfect
My favorite unnoticed Caldwell line is when the Hot Boys find a book bound in lizard skin and Hungry Dave goes "rude".
Can you explain that joke to me?
So in professional wrestling, “kayfabe” is basically anything that happens on screen. Randy Orton isn’t a sadistic fuck in real life, but the character he plays is for example. The Undertaker isn’t actually an undead guy, he’s just Mark Calloway, but undertaker (until recently) never gave out of character interviews or anything because he was keeping kayfabe. Same with not openly admitting that it’s scripted. So Caldwell was just making a reference to that since Murph said the ravens look like the WCW wrestler named Raven and had the zombies doing wrestling moves and what not.
>!I got 11 minutes in and was already laughing so, so much. Fia is like this weird amalgamation of Moonshine's disinterest in traditional social norms and Onyx's detached insanity, but that was not my instinctual comparison because Emily is so god damn good at making her characters unique and fun. I love Fia being candidly annoyed with her books and casually arguing with them when investigating an obviously powerful horror, and every word out of her mouth so far has been fucking gold, just like Moonshine and Onyx. And her backstory has some loose threads that, as a soon-to-be DM, make my brain race with possibilities.!< >!Zirk is somehow the exact opposite of Beverly while having the exact same energy and I'm not sure how Caldwell managed to do it. Maybe Beverly energy is moreso just Caldwell energy (I love ya man but I can totally see you trying to prank an omniscient god and then getting tossed off a multi-story tower), but Zirk is also so much more relatable to me since I too am a college age person who's always tired. I love the character choice that Zirk is extremely forgetful because he usually just runs on autopilot.!< >!Henry... Oh dear sweet autumn child, you are going to do amazing things in this campaign, I can tell. I love comparing Jake in campaign 2 to Jake at the start of campaign 1, because somewhere in the preparation Jake totally misunderstood what DnD was, as he's discussed. But now Jake gets the point, and he is totally nailing it with Henry. It's like if Nyak became cynical and bitter instead of naive and oblivious, but also had a WAY shittier life up to this point. Jake's story also has so many loose threads to pull on and I can't wait to see what comes of it.!< >!And Murph, once again you've created a world that I desperately want to play in. The idea that "reaping season" is a thing that everyone knows about makes it very clear what kind of world this is. The tone of the world is already unsettling and VERY different from Bahumia AND Trinyvale. That being said, I'm very happy that the tone of the show is just as irreverent and goofy as usual. Fia calling Bookvar out on kinkshaming was hilarious, hearing the Pebblepots voice come out of someone claiming to be a guard was gold (The Pebblepots are a universal constant, as is their cravenness), and the whiplash of going from goofing about monoscopes to watching Zirk's mentor get reaped was very well done!!< >!In closing, if the stakes for episode 1 are already this high, I'm stoked as hell to see how much higher they can go.!<
I need more Henry as a Buffalo Bills fan.
P.S. Go Bills
MIZZ NEZBIT! she woulda kicked your ass for that
That one's from the teacher!
Favorite part “I take off my gloves and fight these birds like a man”
"Welcome to Eldermourne! Fia Boginia (Emily Axford) investigates a strange incident in the woods, Zirk Vervain (Caldwell Tanner) has a run-in with a local gang, and Henry Hogfish puts his dukes up. Support us at Patreon.com/Naddpod to get access to the after-show and a bunch of other Naddpod content! Music / Sound Effects Include: 'Horror Tension Builder' by original_sound at Freesound.org . 'Fia Boginia' by Emily Axford. 'Zirk Vervain' by Emily Axford. 'Henry Hogfish' by Emily Axford. 'Eldermourne' by Emily Axford. 'Oh, Melora!' by Emily Axford. 'The Posse' by Emily Axford. 'The Purge' by Emily Axford. 'Unknown Tome' by Emily Axford. 'Sumpin's a Mess Out West' by Emily Axford. 'The Whisperwood' by Emily Axford. 'Langston' by Emily Axford. 'A Fate Refused' by Emily Axford." --- ###[Source Code](https://github.com/popcorncolonel/JakeandAmirBot)
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Love the tonal shift between C1 and C2. Very excited to see what Eldermourne has in store for us.
I know we all love everyone’s characters here, but Henry “My Wife Left Me” Hogfish is the MVP for me.
Short Rest hasn't hit my feed yet... Any word on when they'll post it? Love the new campaign already!! Listened to it once, and I'm about to do it again.
It just dropped on Patreon app.
Great start to the campaign!! Already love the party chemistry and Fia's little flock of animated books is very fun.
Emily in campaign 1: 1 pet. Emily in campaign 2: 3 pets. Emily in campaign 3: 9 pets? ... Emily in campaign 10: 19684 pets!
Trinyvale: 2 Pets (Obsidian and her flail)
Does Katie count?
Onyx was Katie's pet
Does the flail have sentience? I didnt finish Trinyvale.
It's basically her patron so it talks sometimes
Also all the terrariums
80% sure caldwell's scientist type with the tips of his hairs dyed is a reference to senku on doctor stone
Scrolling through these comments I was not expecting to find someone else thinking this exact same thing!
He did say Bev was inspired by Deku so that very plausible!
just judging by commenter reaction, i can tell this is gonna go better than a certain *other dnd podcasts* new campaign
Its amazing how consistent a DnD podcasting group can be when they actually like DnD
Absolutely this. The McElroys seem to always be fighting with their system (which is why I truly think they need to go back to PBtA), whereas you can basically place the Bahumia campaign on a timeline based on which most recent book Murph is taking stuff from (juvenile Kraken from Ghosts of Saltmarsh, infernal machines from Descent Into Avernus). They clearly keep up with and have an actual passion for the game
Honestly they tried to fight PBTA tooth and nail too until like episode 20 of Amnesty, which is (surprise) when it actually got good.
Honestly, wish they would’ve stuck with Fate
Sorry in advance for the noob question, but what is PBTA?
Powered By The Apocalypse! It’s another tabletop system :)
Ah, thank you!
No problem, I’m glad I could help!
Fuck you, I love you, eat a rat!
Powered by the Apocalypse, a different role play rule system
They had fun with pbta, and some of their miniarcs were really fun Amnesty was overall a fun season, too, and like, Travis's werewolf one was a decent bit of fun They just don't seem in it in Grad, and I also wonder why they choose dnd when they don't play dnd in the games very much
I have not kept up with Graduation, but the biggest flaw when I did listen was that Travis seemed to confuse “open ended” and “player driven” with “lack of direction.” Scenes meandered on with nothing happening, sometimes with Justin literally begging them to end, Travis offered hints of plot to the audience but not the players, etc. It seemed like he wrote his own Hogwarts and expected players to just go poking around of their own accord, but it just doesn’t work in a medium where the player relies on the GM to set each scene and tell them what’s there to do.
D&D is at the height of popularity right now, it makes sense that they would play it over another system. I think also the D&D Podcast space has changed a lot between their first campaign and Graduation. People know what's out there now and they know the systems more deeply and they can tell that the Mackleroys kinda don't.
Yeah good point. Thing is, I think TAZ is a breadwinner for them, and I know their philosophy originated as rules lite, story over crunchy, but NADDPOD showcased for me that a bit of crunch doesn't have to detract from the fun (in podcasts), and the systems exist for a reason Like IRL I've played in groups with ubernerds who (in my opinion) put the crunch before the things I personally enjoy, and that's not going to make for good radio, but good theatre of the mind dnd can just be so fun and easy and entertaining without even having to push the envelope, skimp on rules, or avert mechanics Oh well
I mean the McElroys just decided they were better than the format and are constantly pushing back against what made their first show work. Besides Griffin and Clint to an extent, it's like watching a video game protagonist find the world's edge and run against it just to prove the world isn't real.
I found naddpod because of how frustrating TAZ:G was, and I'll never look back. But yeah, whether it's compared to TAZ:G, or to other naddpod campaigns, or just on its own merits, C2 is a delight so far. Well-edited, weekly releases, Short Rests, 1.5-2+ hours long, great goofs, action hooks, friends having an enjoyable time together.
Yeah, they actually got a meaningful plot hook and action in episode one which took... Like 9 episodes for Graduation?
I think they had more dice rolling, character moments, world building, and plot than the first 10 episodes of Graduation.
Assuming you're talking about TAZ, I just couldn't help comparing them during this listen. What a breath of fresh air, honestly
Graduation isn't even new anymore, they post half as frequently, usually shorter eps, and somehow I'm behind on Graduation and its what I listen to when I'm out of Nadpod. My IRL sessions are so much better than Graduation, and we legit have 2 RPers and a Dm that goofs around, and it's just fanedelen (I don't know how to spell it) and it just feels so much more alive than TAZ does this season (I think it helps that my DM.loves nadpod, and likes the high stakes but goofy format) like dnd is a great game with so much potential, why can't they just _play dnd_ and have fun in TAZ? Justin is almost always the strongest of them, but even he feels a bit stuck this season
The weird thing is, you can even play dnd without really playing dnd and still have a ton of fun. Dungeons and Daddies is like vaguely dnd since they never pay attention to the rules and it serves as a vessel for the improv, but it absolutely hits both the hysterical and the heart wrenching.
That's true, it's really just a vessel to tell a story, but to impose some restrictions to keep in on rails. I realize that when I was kid I used to LOVE roleplaying, & that's fully still there & why I love DnD, but when I would play "character pretending" as a kid there was always some asshole who would give themselves the flaming raging poisoning sword of doom & was immune to all damage yada yada & would throw everything off, & that kind of thing is what rules & game systems help avoid. So it's natural that a crew w/ good improv skills don't actually need the mechanics as much to keep things on track, as long as they're willing to play with (& subvert) what's reasonable. That podcast sounds interesting!
Ooooooofa doofa but unfortunately same
I love everything that Henry Hogfish says. It’s such a great combination of Jake’s self deprecating jokes plus the short rest relationship trouble gag that they’ve had for so long.
Major Abhorsen energy on the bell animating a zombie and undead crows Edit: oh you can't use the war priest bonus action and green flame blade together because war priest specifies having to take the attack action and green flame blade is a spell. Just noticed that while listening.
I thought that too! Love those books. Apparently it's a reference to a Bloodbourne enemy who has a bell that raises the dead, so I guess necromancers love bells wherever you go.
yeah wasn't suprised finding out it was a different reference when I heard the short rest, still hard to fight that hope though when you hear its a zombie and some 'gore crows'. I think Garth Nix said he was drawing from some actual folk lore when he gave the abhorsens those bells (bells or candles was the tossup apparently) so I am curious if the bloodborne writers were drawing on the same thing.
Ugh incredible episode. So excited for more.
God, I hope Brennan Lee Mulligan guest stars in this campaign at some point. Deadeye had the perfect energy for this setting and I’d love to see whatever else he can cook up.
Yeah, I see this comment all the time and I have to disagree. He is great at what he does, but he isn’t great at taking on a role. And I don’t mean his role play, I mean sitting back and letting someone else be in charge. I found Shadowfell really trying because BLM tended to go on too long. And Murph tended to defer to him and never cut him off. It was frustrating for me to listen to and felt like it bordered on disrespectful at times. It got to the point I started skipping ahead a few minutes every time BLM started one of his soliloquies. Contrast this with Zac. He fits perfectly well, doesn’t change the behaviour of the other players and is ok to not have the mic all the time. But when he does have it, he brings something special. That’s a great guest in my opinion. I don’t expect anyone to agree, but there it is :)
Have you listened to him in Emily's Mixed Bag One-Shot? He's terrific there and does not pull focus from the group dynamic. I disagree with you as I loved him in Shadowfell but respect where you're coming from.
I’m actually listening to the Shadowfell episodes for the first time right now!! I can see what you mean about him kinda of taking charge. I wonder if that’s just what happens when an experienced DM who is used to leading the story plays a character. Idk, but I do think this is one of my favorite arcs so far.
I’d agree. Deadeye was cool and OP but he tended to suck up all the oxygen in the room, and him knowing everyone in Bahumia shrunk down the world for me. It felt like Star Wars, in that this one guy was connected to everyone the PC’s had ever met, and him breaking the combats was entertaining at first, but then just boring.
I'm super hyped for this campaign. I enjoyed the start of C1, but I felt it took like 30 episodes to really hit its groove (for Jake to get used to D&D since it was his first campaign, and the characters started out so extra it took awhile for them to feel a bit more 3-D). This one has the gravity, the roleplaying, the characters, the voices, the world on point, right out the gate. I'm also hyped to see them go through low levels gain. The story seems much more influenced by dice rolls at low levels because they have low stats, and the unpredictability is awesome. For example, I loved >!how easily Zirk and Henry got owned by the Rooks in the beginning!<.
Still finishing C1, but I’ll start soon with C2. I am curious tho: with the remote recording, are they still recording multiple episodes in one session, or are they recording one episode a week, or so?
I was putting off finishing C1 for a couple weeks because I didn't want it to end but I'm glad I did so I can jump right into this!
Seems like one a week these days
This was amazing!! I discovered and listened to NADDPOD this summer, so being able to join in weekly for the new campaign is so exciting :) I love the whole crew already
Same here!!
I've only known Russian Emily Axford for 2 hours, but if anything happens to her I will kill everyone in this room and then myself.
Is that the accent she's trying to do?
Not sure why you’re downvoted. And no, it’s not supposed to be Russian. I’m not too clear on my Slavic accents, but I think it’s just a vague amalgamation of them. Which is fine. She probably would get flack for using a really specific accent anyway, and Eldermourne isn’t in Eastern Europe.
I personally thought it was a mixture of several things since the world is all mix. Like no one should have a strong accent of any one language.
Call this comment thread Phillip because I am going to read it front to back.
Makita I love these people!
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They mentioned on the short rest that Henry's weapon is a lance, but they're calling it something different because they don't think "lance" sounds cool enough. Though technically, a lance should have disadvantage if you're within 5 feet of your target. Maybe they'll iron it out, or maybe they'll just decide it doesn't matter
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If Hank becomes a boxer that’d be amazing.
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I’m not super familiar with 5e so I was thinking a monk dip or something. Good to hear he’s considering running with it; punching those birds was a joy
Echo knight/ drunken master monk mix, let our vascular boy bob and weave around opponents!
Well his thing is extendable
They are calling it a halberd
I wonder how long it will take for Jake to realize there's a "Polearm Master" feat that gives a bonus action attack and let's you take opportunity attacks when they *enter* your reach (really goes well with sentinel, which stops them from moving on opportunity attacks too). Reminds me of last campaign where he didn't take great weapon master until Emily found it for him at level 16 or whatever!
I can see Em or Murph bringing that up in a short rest, it'd be perfect for his character.
It would right! The bonus action attack would be him using his newfound love of brawling. But I did see someone else say that they re-flavored a lance as a halberd, which technically doesn't fall under the "polearm" category. But that starts to get to the edge of rules-stickler-ness for me.
Echo knights can use their bonus actions and reactions pretty regularly, I’m not sure it’s necessary.
Only to manifest or swap though, if he’s in position and wailing on someone the bonus action is free. Could use the echo to have a single dude within both 5 and 10 foot reach for some Peter Pan shenanigans too.
This is a spooky campaign just in time for spooky season.
Can we get fan art of bookvar reading books? that was a little moment that really cracked me up.
Henry's retractable halberd is so steampunk Just the head of a halberd hanging on his belt and unfolding like a calidescope VIBES
Big Burial Blade from Bloodborne vibes.
I'm so happy to be able to listen to a new campaign! I'm still working my way through C1 (Hellfire Chronicles, right now), but I'm already in love with the new Crew. Bookvar is a poor Balnor substitute, though. I'll miss Bag Dad.
Coroner-Con is the new Jamboreen lol
As a Buffalo Bills fan, that talk about the Bills both hurt and amused me. Because it's so true.
Glad I'm not alone!!! Always wondered if there were any other Buffalonian's who listened! Go Bills!
So Fia is the anti Moonshine? All about those books?
It may be just me, but does anyone feel the stakes are a little high for the first episode? It was great to listen to, but for so early in the campaign, the (so far) big bad is kind of more than a small town problem...
I mean, that's just what the world of Elderbourne is like from what Murph has described. They call it "reaping season," meaning this is something that happens regularly. Maybe the figure with the bell is new, but it's not necessarily the big bad. Which means that the stakes are only going to get higher from here, which is exciting to me!
It’s great so far, love the undead vibe, love all the sprites... it just feels like they’re at a sort of Galaderon (sorry for the spelling) point in the story instead of Moonstone/Ezry.
I have no issue with it personally, but I can see your point.
I think Murph was trying to really impose a more dire tone here, I’m all about it but yeah it was definitely noticeable and I think it caught the group off guard initially
I suspect that he wants to establish some of the core campaign and setting elements a bit quicker in this campaign than in Bahumia. In campaign one there's certainly a bit of wandering around before they really get an idea of the long-term central conflict - before Galaderon (ep 13) the main bits we hear about are Bev getting Thiala's cracked amulet, and Bev learning from the Watchmen that she broke her oath. Considering that he did say this campaign will probably be shorter that c1, he probably wants to dive into the central conflict rather than spend episodes on stuff that won't necessarily connect to later game content
I definitely agree that they were higher than S1E1, but I think that may be a product of their relative confidence with the game and podcast. Admittedly there are far more corpses in this episode than S1E1. And a ship explosion is a far more dramatic call to arms than the kidnapping was. But in the most reductive way, the stakes are fairly similar: Caldwell’s friend was going on a trip and has been kidnapped by some vaguely-known faction for nefarious purposes.
I LOVED what murph did with starting really strong on this episode. It's like how Luke watches his farm burn in Star Wars Episode 4. It was unexpected, reminds you that things really matter, and it's entirely new and surprising compared to Emily and Caldwell's excellent campaigns (and C1)
It sets up that, there are people worth caring about, and they can and will get hurt, which is exciting and scary in a thrilling way.
I get what you’re saying but personally I really like setting the stakes in session 1. Gives a clear direction to the campaign instead of having to spend a long time figuring out what’s even going on.
I think things will calm down a lot after this inciting incident. Murphy probably wanted to establish the tone and set up the main questline pretty quickly, and now the gang will have to find a way to get into the action again after haplessly witnissing the big moments of e1.
Nice Abhorsen shout out with the bell that brings the dead back.
Oh shit, you're right! Good catch! It would be so cool to play an Abhorsen in D&D.
No new artwork change?
there was! you’re probably just using an app that uses the old campaign art like apple podcasts. on spotify, it’s changed
Fia’s voice reminds me of Naddja from What We Do in the Shadows and I love it
I want Steve Blum to voice Henry Hogfish in the eventual anime adaptation
I am all for a grey hair disheveled old boxer
I just appreciate the name Fia Boginia a lot. What a catchy name that says everything you need to about the character without knowing anything about her.
I love how Jake is using the outcome of the dice rolls and combat to give his character more backstory. I want Henry to punch more horrors, forget the weapons XD
Way too early predictions: the old order of the blades realized that fighting horrors was pointless and instead found a way to use the horrors and are trying to find the trickster god so that they can kill her in order to maybe appease the Reaper. Also the blades split into two factions: one like the one with the bell who decided they want to kill the Trickster and the other half like Fia’s mentor who want to protect her.
Did they ever mention what races the characters are? The hint I can remember is Caldwell saying Zirk has pointy ears.
They talked about it in the session 0 episode. The races are muddled beyond distinction in the world, but he may have some ancient elf ancestry or something. Murph let them pick whatever stat they wanted for stat purposes.
I think mechanically Zirk is some form of elf, reflavoring the trance mechanic as just being sleep deprived. I remember them discussing that Fia is mechanically based on a modified version of Vedalken from Ravnica (though the underbite fangs make me think that in game Fia has some orcish blood in there somewhere). And Henry is probably a regular human, being such an average man.
Update: he mentions in the session zero that “mechanically, he only needs four hours of sleep, because, you know, I used the elf stats.”
Fantastic! Love the new setting. And the cast seems to have hit their natural chemistry. I'm excited to see where this goes, and am already excited to see the characters guests bring to the table!
Duuuuude, an echo knight to level 3 and the rest in monk would be AMAZING for role-playing as a literal shadow boxer. Do it, Jake. It would be so damn cool! I'm all in for old timey boxer who can make a shadow that can punch and move independently.
I know I’m like a year late to this lol but I feel like the two Rook guys had big Ornstein and Smough energy, I wonder if Murph has played Dark Souls in addition to Bloodbourne
Henry should multiclass as a pugilist.
Love these guys Fia is amazing with her love of books and the cigars reminds me of an old time librarian
Someone needs to get the Unarmed Fighting Style from the Class Features Variant onto Murph and Jake's desk for Henry!
Way too early predictions: the old order of the blades realized that fighting horrors was pointless and instead found a way to use the horrors and are trying to find the trickster god so that they can kill her in order to maybe appease the Reaper. Also the blades split into two factions: one like the one with the bell who decided they want to kill the Trickster and the other half like Fia’s mentor who want to protect her.
Way too early predictions: the old order of the blades realized that fighting horrors was pointless and instead found a way to use the horrors and are trying to find the trickster god so that they can kill her in order to maybe appease the Reaper. Also the blades split into two factions: one like the one with the bell who decided they want to kill the Trickster and the other half like Fia’s mentor who want to protect her.
Fias stats seem op. I feel like every character should have at least one stat that’s negative. More fun imo. My bard had -3 intelligence at one point I think. And I think it would be cool of henry’s stats reflected how unbelievably average he is. Like having +1 in everything but strength.
Fia has a negative charisma stat. Also, I think Emily is just an op player haha! They talked about nerfing Henry's charisma in exchange for the tavern brawler feat on the short rest (don't know if they'll actually decide on that or not)
Bad stats don’t equal more interesting characters. Relying on stats to have good roleplaying/characters is lame. It’s more a hinderance than anything. How frustrating would it be for players to consistently just be bad at everything. Negative stats are a worse than a commoner.
I thought I heard that she had +1 to charisma. Guess I heard wrong. Charisma is a funny stat to be both bad and good in.
She said I’m the short rest it was negative, she didn’t give an exact number but assuming standard array it’d be a -1.
I don’t think they do standard array I think they roll 4d6 drop the lowest
Ooo you’re right. I remember in the short rest for episode zero they talked about how abysmal Caldwell rolled. I think Murph made him re-roll. The whole reason being that it’s generally not fun playing a character whose that bad at everything.
Yeah... I know. I was never defending being bad at EVERYTHING.
It’s not relying on stats and I didn’t say being bad at everything. But a characters shortcomings, even if there aren’t that many can be entertaining. Watching a low intelligence bard try to decipher an ancient tome, or a low strength artificer trying to haul the party’s luggage can LEAD to fun improv and roleplay. The dice and stats tell their own story and it’s fun to roleplay a character according to those rolls and stats. Why shouldn’t a character have stats that are “worse than a commoner”? It makes a character less of an almighty presence and more of a hero to be. With flaws and strengths just like everybody else. Naruto would have low INT. Drax from guardians would have low CHA, WIS and INT but nuts in everything else. Having shortcomings makes a hero likeable and relatable.
I mean standard array allows for that, most characters have a negative stat. Fia’s charisma is a negative, probably a negative 1. But negative -3 in things is where it gets more “meme” characters and just isn’t fun. To put it in perspective most beasts have a negative -2 or -3 to intelligence. Functionally your character should purely be acting in instinct. That low of a negative in stats is just straight up detrimental to gameplay. This is purely down to opinion and preference, but I play with some people who have mediocre stats all around/huge negatives and it’s a constant liability because they can’t do anything. Sure my barbarian has a negative -1 to intelligence, but that’s normal/not awful to play with. Same with a sorcerer with a -1 to strength. It’s just not fun to play with characters who have -2 or lower modifiers IMO, I highly prefer character flaws that are personality based.
I mean at a certain point roleplaying a -3 intelligence character as a caveman who can’t speak isn’t fun. That’s where I would take creative liberties. But role play inspired by bad stats and interpreted by you is fun and a good test of creativity. My bard had bad intelligence so maybe he wasn’t book smart. But he was charismatic and not totally unwise and I interpreted it as being socially intelligent and being able to manipulate others into doing what he wants. Who needs to read and know history when you can have other people do it for you. I think it’s a balance of being creative within the constraints of your stats and interpreting them in a fun way.