Big Gay Nerds

The united knights of Jorl make their last push to prepare for the coming invasion! Agrippa proves that shame works, Geoffrey makes an uncertain promise, Zeno writes two letters, and Sara completely derails our podcast for a good couple minutes, cementing 100% canon details into another character's backstory by sheer force of will. Also featuring a Patreon shoutout!

Listen, usually I put a lot of thought into these descriptions, but this time... there's a point in this episode where someone says "betrothed by the Squatchmaster General" and I just can't top that. Come listen to this to hear that line if nothing else. The rest is also good, just not better than "betrothed by the Squatchmaster General."

After a slight detour, we're back in Knights of Invasion, with the newly-organized party taking it upon themselves to rally their countrymen towards a unified defense! First off, we've got to meet the rest of Agrippa's family, and see if we can warm up a big gruff Dreamworks Dad. Then, Prim has Schemes to set up, Zeno has a Message to send, and Geoffrey has Regrets to dwell on. Also, many silly asides.

That's right, Maid is back! But it's not the charmingly mundane Maid focused on the world-jumping Hawksmore fortress and its frilly agents of conquest; this is M.A.I,D., a futuristic task force of super-powered peacekeepers! Unfortunately, a recording hiccup prevented us from showing you the random character creation, so: PLEASE believe me when I say that the bondage themes were selected by dice rolls, I didn't--Mom, if you're reading this, it was all the dice, NOT ME. Content Warning: A few deaths by explosion, one self-inflicted.

With the tournament over and cosmically larger problems heaped onto their collective plate, the knights of Jorl reassemble their blown minds and take stock of the situation. Both King Karl and Queen Kelda agree that the situation is dire, but is life or death enough to make them cooperate? And, now that they're not being flung together by the spirit of competition, will our beloved knights find a reason to hang out together? I hope so, or my job's about to get way harder.

The tournament comes to a head when all four of our knights--and two that aren't ours so much as mine, being NPCs--wade into an all-out melee! This plays out as what may be the longest single combat scene in Big Gay Nerds history, one full of fleeting alliances and desperate gambits. When the dust settles, who will be the sole victor? Also: there's a twist ending! So you'd better be pretty enticed by all of this.

It's time to tilt! We've got a real strong bracket for this jousting tournament, folks, with Ser Zeno the handsome foreign heir starting on one side and Ser Geoffery the handsome horse-whisperer on the other! Who will overcome some unexpected opposition and earn the Big Prize? And while that's happening, what will Agrippa and Prim do to prepare for their upcoming competitions? Most importantly, do any of us fully understand the rules yet?

No occasion bigger than Queen Kelda's 30th birthday could bring the courts of Jorl together for civil competition, making this a fantastic opportunity for knights to win glory... or a political advantage for their kingdoms. Among these gathered tournamenteers are a handsome heir from overseas, a small-but-bold second child, a horse-whispering country boy, a representative of a reclusive house who's definitely who she says, and... a green-clad outsider who no one can make sense of. Hmm.

Here we go, with an adventure that I think I've wanted to run since the show's inception, if not earlier! It's the enticingly open-ended Fate system, where the little personality quirks setting your character apart are the most mechanically important things about them. We're using it to play a game of chivalry and conflict, set on a fictional island divided between two kingdoms. With knighthood as a baseline, what kinds of misfits will the party develop to fit into their armor? https://www.evilhat.com/home/fate-core/

The crew of the Australia is ready to meet with a mysterious contact... and get some shore leave in the meantime! Or station-leave, to be precise. If shores are planets in this metaphor than I guess a space station would be... a bundle of docks in the middle of the water, like in Flapjack. Anyway, X aims to regain some social standing, Eva sings, Craig logs in, and Nat shakes on it.

A handful of prisoners and backwater settlers are given the chance for a fresh start for themselves and humanity as a whole... once they get their hands on some prohibitively rare fuel for their mining-barge-turned-interstellar-ark. It's also uncertain if a gun-toting revolutionary, a disorganized hacker/pilot, a neon-faced failed guard, and a bodybuilding farmer are even capable of keeping their fellow humans (and one methane-filled companion) focused on the same goal. Includes discussion of post-scarcity interior decoration, alien hula girls, art majors, and elder millennials. Note: almost everyone experienced technical difficulties at the tail end of the recording, which is why they suddenly go quiet, but luckily nothing was lost.

The Big Gay Nerds are boldly going where only playtesters have gone before: the universe of Termination Shock! Join Owen, Saturn, Snapper, and newcomers Nick and Vanessa as they brush up on timelines, get acquainted with multicolored dice, and set their sights on a new home for humanity. Includes discussion of Space Australia, amicable exes, Elan Sleazebaggano, reverse-Les Miserables, and personalized Death Stars.

The holiday celebration is winding down, but many questions are left unanswered. Will Simone's entirely nonmagical charms work on a professional mindbender? Will Liam's dedicated campaign of kissing up protect him from repercussions? Will Corvina have any reason to regret making a pact with a known cultist? Will Albert be able to ditch his new friend before he becomes part of the main cast? And will anyone learn what nondenominational winter gatherings are really all about?

Now that this celebration is properly underway, it's time to get into the holiday spirit with some shady political maneuvering! Good will toward man is all well and good, but when everyone either wants you pushed out of their way or dragged into their schemes, you need to take precautions. Albert learns a lot about a pesky subject, Liam tries to buddy up to an eldritch being, Simone stands up for her friend, and Corvina makes the worst possible decision.

December is a month full of celebration for many different faiths and cultures, but there's one event that everyone can appreciate: the end of the fall semester! But for the faculty of America's #1 magical college, there's still one last test. It's the Dean's holiday retreat, where nog-fueled hobnobbing is more powerful--and risky--than any spell. Can our untenured heroes come out on top of a social free-for-all?

We're doing another Kickstarter tie-in! But this time, our episodes are being hosted on the designer's channel. You can listen to me, Saturn, Snapper, and two new Big Gay Nerds here https://soundcloud.com/greg-stolze/big-gay-nerds-presents-termination-shock-part-1 and help get the full game published here https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gregstolze/termination-shock-the-print-version . Hope you enjoy!

The Resurrectionists have found a skilled (and gilled) smuggler who can help them move ill-gotten goods, but there's one problem: she's already contracted to another gang. Our scoundrels have stolen, killed, and sabotaged their way to victory before, but how will they fare when the simplest solution is asking nicely? Especially since their smoothest talker is also their least trustworthy member?

It's another planning-focused episode as the Resurrectionists consider their options in the wake of a city-shaking disaster that they, for once, are not directly linked to. Is it time to seek profit in tragedy like the opportunistic scavengers they are, or hole up and look out for number one like the opportunistic scavengers they are? Also featured: matters of political praxis, the dangers of promotion, Thalia's hazing, and Victorian jazz.

In the aftermath of their daring and damaging scavenger hunt, the Resurrectionists still aren't out of the woods, as the consequences for their actions are nipping at their heels. Blondie takes one for the team, Arden tries to patch things up, Crowle runs interference, Flint does his thing, and a mysterious new figure extends a greeting! Also appearing: three different pets, and some brief awkwardness due to software problems.

After searching desperately through the Lost District, the Resurrectionists finally close in on their priceless target... at the same time as their heavily-armed competition! They say that no plan survives contact with the enemy, but hopefully the planners do.