Podcast for New and old GMs and Runequest lovers

6 Amazing Gamemasters and their friend Kent dive into a huge plethora of tabletop roleplaying! If you are looking for the following then this podcast is for you! Indie RPGs, amazing TTRPG one-shots or short series, solo rpgs, assessments of rules and game mechanics for many amazing TTRPG, GM advice for most games, and Runequest: Roleplaying in Glorantha(Their most recent longer-term project).

When I originally stumbled onto this podcast I was looking for a good actual play that delved into Chaosium’s Runequest: Roleplaying in Glorantha rule set. There were a few small one-offs via Glasscannon Network and several youtube series on Chaosium’s channel but I want something more. So I began to research and while on Facebook I saw an advertisement for this podcast. That's when I met DM’s After Dark crew: Jess, Troy, Amber, Sara, Christian, Rene, and lastly Kent. The more I watched their show the more I fell in love with their respective Player Characters and what I was watching. I have watched hundreds of hours of big actual play podcasts along with streaming and of the many this one is by far my Top 3 pick. The biggest draw from this group is the sheer synergy between each player and how well they play off of each other. Though they are primarily a video format via Twitch, that doesn’t detract from Podcast format that most are used to. The episodes have some editing but because the crew is very good at eliminating dead air and stepping up when needed you will not be bored. Nor do they let the rules bog down their game, either making excellent calls when something comes up or they move on and look the rules up later. In either case, I haven’t been turned off by this and feel they have mastered the actual play format. With this out of the way let's talk about the personalities that make DMs After Dark so special to begin with.
TL;DR - They are all experienced players as well as Game Masters and it shows

Amber, also playing Ruen the socially awkward wolfboi for RQ:G: our mistress of horror and the group's official words smith she will stun you with amazing and sometimes very detailed scenes. I don’t give her these monikers likely- her Gamemaster style sent shivers down my spine and will make you feel things in a good way. For a good example of her work check out her Bluebeard’s Bride one-shot she did for her portrayal of Ruen expecting to fall in love with this young pup as he tries to figure out his mixed lineage, what it means to be Heortling but also Telmori and living with this duality. Can the wolf live alongside the deer? Can he avenge his Grandmother who was slain by his father? Will he ever run out of clothes? And why is he always making Sandwiches? Stay tuned to find out!

Troy, also playing Kymrese the Shaman for RQ:G, purveyor of weird, the lowkey Eurmal follower and an overall great guy. He is an extremely flexible and outside-the-box thinker- coming up with in-game solutions that made me pause and nod my head in approval. Have I mentioned he is the embodiment of chaos? With that all being said, a good example of the GMing style would be his low fantasy horror short series for Shadow of Esteren which has the players creating complex but fun characters. As for his portrayal of Kymrese expect to fall in love with this quirky vagabond rock whisperer. Will Kymrese repair the relationship between him and his father? What does the spirit world hold for him and his future?

Jess, also playing Bryn the Elk Cavalry (which is just badass and very Princess Mononoke) in RQ:G- as of writing this review I have not seen Jess(but as I continue to listen to the show I will update this) in action as a GM but from what I've seen from her playstyle in the other games is that she is very supportive of the other players and can create a special sort of synergy each session with another crew member that just pushes each session from amazing for mind-blowing. This is probably why I think Kent & Jess mini-series, Tangled Blessing, is so amazing cause they both complement each other well. As for her RQ:G Character Bryn - if you latch on to stoic and powerful women who don’t take crap from anyone then you will love Bryn. I mean she rides a freaking ELK! How badass is that? Real talk: don’t bring up the Lunar Empire around Bryn or she is most likely to run them down, ignoring everything else. Passion Hate is no joke in Bryn’s eyes. Will she join the rebellion like her aunt? Will her Grandmother ever make a good meal? Bryuen? Rueyn? Will that ship ever sail?

Sara, Also playing Aurisa for their RQ:G series, is a deciding factor when it comes to team wholesome vs Team chaos. She is the embodiment of a team player as she can be seen in supporting others' choices and sometimes making bold choices of their own. As of right now, I haven’t seen her GM style of game but once I sift through the massive backlog of this show I will. She paints beautiful pictures with words and makes many artistic choices when it comes to her characters as well as taking others' ideas and just making them amazing. Now what is Aurisa, RQ:G Character, all about? Well for me she is probably one of the more complicated characters among the cast. Cause she is a white lady, or soon to be, her Cult requires her to be a pacifist along with other requirements. That can be extremely hard for players, not being able to participate in combat- now that's where I give kudos to Sara because she thrives in this role. She embraces the team’s mom archetype well and does everything she can to help her friends as they struggle with those who want to stop them. Aurisa though has her own personal doubts and struggles as well and is a super dynamic character. Can she continue to upholder her vows of non-violence? Can she keep her friends alive just like Chalana Arroy did during the Lightbringer Quest? Will she cure herself of Malia’s wrath?

Rene, who isn’t actively playing in the RQ:G series but rather working behind the scenes to help get the series to YouTube and other podcasting mediums, is the master of hyper fixation and I'm here for it. He gets so excited about the things he loves that you cannot help but get hyped alongside him. This can be seen with his Avatar actual play mini-series and his Kids on Bikes Halloween one shot. Even though he is too afraid to be a player for both Christian’s Mothership playthrough and Amber’s Bluebeards Bride, that doesn’t stop him from being supportive of his friends. As a player, you cannot help but love out-of-game energy and in-game emotions. He also started the more recent mini-series of Solo RPGs simply called “Playing With Myself(On the Internet)” and I cannot state how much I love these. Oh did I mention they are called DM’s After Dark? Praise be base, Rene.

Kent, who is playing the Ogreslayer known Descara in the RQ:G Actual play, whom I believe to be newest to the crew. As a player he brings to the table plenty of fun moments as well as being a great sport about adventure hooks within the session, this includes possible NPC love interests. Lastly, his mini-series with Jess has been really fun to listen to so keep your ears out for that type of content. Though he isn’t as talkative as the other players, he is observant and helps others by supporting their in-game choices or allowing other players to bounce ideas off of him. As for his RQ:G Character Descara, I would say his depth comes from the fact that he is sort of played up as a fatherly character in the group. I say this cause he more or less raises 14 siblings and helps his fellow heroes by hunting and supporting the group. Oh did I mention he has 14 bulls and 1 cow? All jokes aside I feel like Descara has lots of potential and wonder if he will be willing to leave his family and possible love interest to help his friends.

Christian, who actually is the Game master for RQ:G, is the old man of the group and it shows. You can tell he is passionate about the games he plays and best works when he starts a game with a strong bond with another player. Be it Shadow of Esteren, kids on bikes, or Avatar he is quick to Yes and with his fellow players as he is more than happy to cooperate and build the narrative together with his friends. As a Gamemaster I have to say he is fairly knowledgeable and even if he doesn’t remember a rule or such he is quick to pull rules out of his experiences. This can be seen in Mothership where the game itself doesn’t have very many rules so part of the game is creating tests to find what you feel is the best result. Just like Amber he embraces horror and knows how to captivate the audience by crafting scene after scene of suspense. For RQ:G he does a fantastic job of keeping the plot together while also keeping the NPCs straight along with the rules. Honestly kudos to Christian for making a very crunchy ruleset like RQ:G and turning it into something we can still enjoy without it getting bogged down. OH and his writing when it comes to initiations and Heroquesing. It's very clear he read his source materials and has even worked with his other players to develop scenes that they normally wouldn’t be a part of as they are one-on-one parts.

As you can see, DMs After Dark has a lot going on for it and even though it's primarily a Twitch group, they have also been doing prerecorded podcast episodes too. All the personalities are there. Be your team Chaos or Wholesome it's all for fun and the table is a group of friends creating memories and good times.

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