Friends at the Table
Friends at the Table is an actual play podcast about critical worldbuilding, smart characterization, and fun interaction between good friends. Find us (and a listener guide) @Friends_Table on Twitter.
Episodes
Podcast: Friends at the Table: Sangfielle 03: The Curse of Eastern Folly Pts. 1-3
The tablefriends play The Ground Itself and create a Haven to be a base in their upcoming weird/gothic western season, Sangfielle. [more inside]
Podcast: Friends at the Table: PARTIZAN FINALE- 45-47: Operation Shackled Sun
It is the year 1424 of the Perfect Millennium. It is now. The question is not simply "Can Millennium Break win?" It is "What does victory look like?" Will they be seen as revolutionary heroes or jealous upstarts? Compromised cynics or naive insurgents? Can they break free from the gravity of the old logics in a way so confident, so stunning, that they inspire people everywhere to see the world differently, to not only raise arms, but lock them in solidarity, too? [more inside]
Podcast: Friends at the Table: PARTIZAN 42-44: Unbreakable Quarry, Tunnels Beneath, Prison at the Top
Buried deep in the records of the Divine Past is a peculiar absence. What is buried beneath the northern pole of Partizan? "The Chasmata Quarry," says the only public record, "specializes in rare mineral extraction." Eight words. But other quarries on Partizan all have more. You could write a book about the excavations spread across the Columnar's Memoria Teardrop, or those digs spread hive-like through the Apostolosian Barranca, or the industrial pockmarks across the long Orion flats of the Low Slate. So why, why were there only eight words about the Chasmata Quarry? [more inside]
Podcast: Friends at the Table: PARTIZAN 39-41: Escape Velocity, Engine Burn, Orbital Decay
In a hanger on a beach on the Isles of Logos, Kal'Mera Broun, Jesset City, Ver'Million Blue, Thisbe, Eiden Teak, Avar, Ryrira, and Si'Dra Balos stand around a spaceship. In just over a week, if all goes to plan, they will be inside of it and it will be outside of the Partizan system. First, though, they'll need to secure a launch platform, get past security checkpoints on and off world, and ensure the safety of not only themselves but the materials they'll need to actually build something wherever they end up. If, that is, they decide they want to build anything together at all... This week on PARTIZAN: Escape Velocity [more inside]
Podcast: Friends at the Table: PARTIZAN 37: The Gravity of Absence & 38: The Red Light
Having returned from his audience on the Reflecting Pool, Sovereign Immunity briefs his SBBR and their allies on the impending arrival of what the Witch in Glass would only refer to as "the Red Light." WIth only one day to prepare, SBBR stalls out, torn on whether to accept their longtime foe's offer of sanctuary or to take their chances on their own. For newcomers Kalar Anakalar and Phrygian, this is both a worry and an opportunity. SBBR may not have the heroic verve that the stories said they did, but that only means that its in need of a push. [more inside]
Podcast: Friends at the Table: PARTIZAN 35: The Witch in the Glass Pt. 1 & 2
The Witch in the Glass; a play in Five Acts Act 1: Perseverance, or the Sage House Act 2: Contentment, or the Community at Chorus Island Act 3: The Single Star, or the View She Sees of Poppies Spread Act 4: Attention, or the Snow in Summer Act 5: The Present Day, or the Adversary [more inside]
Podcast: Friends at the Table: PARTIZAN 34: Guests, Invited and Otherwise
After months away, SBBR has finally returned to Oxbridge, only to find it burning. Every day, the city is rocked by its own political revolution, as members of the Organization for the Foundation of the Orion Republic--who seek to reform Stel Orion as a league of independent republics--fight against Principality loyalists in the streets, alleys, and canals of the Stel's largest city on Partizan. The City of Little and Plenty is scarring over. But SBBR (and much of Millennium Break) have their own wounds to attend to. [more inside]
Podcast: Friends at the Table: PARTIZAN 31-33: The Grand Premiere, Glory Arrives, A Single Shot
It has been just over fifty days since Millennium Break took Cruciat, and each day has been more busy than the last. The hammer of the Principality fell on the organization's independent cells across the moon, and now the leaders of Millennium Break seek allies wherever they can find them. No potential partner in the fight against tyranny is more important than the Isle of Logos. As a sovereign nation with key control in Partizan's great sea, the Isle could offer Millennium Break a literal port in troubled waters. And so, Gucci Garantine and Apparatus Aperitif have spent the better part of a month negotiating towards that end. Protecting these ever-moving negotiations has been trying, as SBBR can attest to. Even the quiet days, where nothing happens, require utmost focus and practiced determination. Yet they cannot hope for such a today to be such a day: One where the only red they see is that of the carpet rolled out for VIPs, where the only flash in their eyes comes from the cameras capturing the event. To the north, the air of Obelle cracks with the sound of artillery fire. But here in Auspice, Zo'la has finished their film, and it is due its audience. This week on PARTIZAN: The Grand Premiere [more inside]
Podcast: Friends at the Table: PARTIZAN 29 and 30: Buried Beneath Golden Leaves & A Cemetary for Heroes
A month ago, Millennium Break seized control of Cruciat, ushering in a new age on the holy moon of Partizan. But like a counterpunch already chambered, the great Stels of the Divine Principality hit back with force and speed, driving minor Millennium Break bases into the dirt. Today, along with Cruciat, the only two strongholds left to the revolutionary group are the Lambic House and a trio of cities along the eastern edge of the Prophet's Path. Millennium Break must hold this ground, at all costs. And that is why, though they were one of the founders of the group, and its first executive elected, Valence's request for support in finding the parts of the Exemplar was denied. Even now, with actionable intel from their contact in Columnar, SBBR was being told that they'd need to go it alone. And with the memory of Gur Sevraq fresh in their minds, they saw no other option... [more inside]
Podcast: Friends at the Table: PARTIZAN 21-28: Millennium Break
For those who live under tyranny, the exhaustion and fear is such that it can be hard to even imagine or recognize what escape or progress or revolution look like. But when Icebreaker Prime came over the horizon, the citizens of Cruciat, beaten down by generations of chic, high-minded Kesh terror, knew exactly what they were looking at. [more inside]
Podcast: Friends at the Table: PARTIZAN 21: Millennium Break: We Will Take Hold of the Loom of History!
Any outrageous idea exists on one side or the other of a line drawn through history. On the near side is where most fall. However potent the seed, it dies on the vine thanks to the infertile soil of common sense, the harsh encumbrance of daily life, and the long drought, which leaves young thoughts unnourished and immature. But eventually, when the drought has lasted so long as to become dry fire, when the routines of the day become so heavy as to ruin the ground as we carry them across the dirt, outrageous ideas take on new character.
When we say that a notion is 'so crazy that it might just work' what we are really intimating is that only the outrageous holds opportunity.
This experiment of ours is one such opportunity. [more inside]
Podcast: Friends at the Table: PARTIZAN 19: On the Edge of Fracture
After a stunning victory in Orzen, the Society of Banners and Bright Returns must now face the cold light of day. Bodies wounded, hollows damaged, and reputations scarred, Broun, Thisbe, and Valence recuperate as best they can. [more inside]
Podcast: Friends at the Table: PARTIZAN: BITTER AIR- 16: BEHEST, 17: THREECARD, 18: COMBUSTION
In the weeks since Kesh's new offensive into Apostolos territory, little has changed besides the quantity of weekly war casualties. Halting Kesh's push is Fort Icebreaker, a massive defensive line composed of a dozen smaller forts, an intricate tunnel system, and a massive moving fortress called Icebreaker Prime which stalks along the border, rejecting any intruders with overwhelming force.
But that will change today, says Kesh leadership. [more inside]
Podcast: Friends at the Table: PARTIZAN 14: Deception in the Canyon City & 15: Divine Attention
Eager to refill their coffers, Kal'Mera Broun has brought Society of Banners and Bright Returns to meet Kesh noble (and HORIZON commander) Gucci Garantine, who offers the group a daring opportunity to both make some money and get access--however temporary--to some Stel Nideo state secrets along the way. [more inside]
Podcast: Friends at the Table: PARTIZAN 13: A Captive Audience
The rapid evening recovers peacefully after a difficult mission and nothing bad happens.
Content Warning: This episode features injury, surgery, and infection. [more inside]
Podcast: Friends at the Table: PARTIZAN 09: DESERT SQUIRE - VANTAGE, 10: RIPOSTE, & 11: SLEIGHT
A local religious minority goes on a pilgrimage and only Clem Kesh's historical cosplay club, the Rapid Evening, can protect them from the many dark conspiracies that threaten their lives- either that, or trap them in a much more poorly thought out conspiracy. [more inside]
Podcast: Friends at the Table: PARTIZAN 07: Ambush in the Sand and 08: Under the Boughs of the Court
Lots of talk about callsigns and lots of herding cats as The Society of Banners and Bright Returns takes on their second mission. [more inside]
Podcast: Friends at the Table: PARTIZAN 05: Profit and Loss and 06: A Palace During a Wake
DOWNTIME SPECIAL!
These last two episodes are all about bookkeeping, leveling up, and doing the most important part of any RPG: rolling to create additional problems! [more inside]
Podcast: Friends at the Table: PARTIZAN 03 & 04: SHORESIDE RECOVERY - DINNERDATE
After a dramatic crash and some unexpected interference in the ensuing battle, the sixth in line for the throne of Kesh and her historical LARP club/prison slaves are charged with recovering the most valuable part of the remains and capturing or killing anybody who's had direct access. [more inside]
Podcast: Friends at the Table: PARTIZAN 01: The Seaside Town of Obelle
It's the first episode of a new series! Austin gets very into world building. Everyone else chills on a boat for a long time. Giant robots are all over the place. [more inside]
Podcast: Friends at the Table: The Road to PARTIZAN 09: Microscope Pt. 1 and 2
For the most recent two episodes the friends built out the recent history of the galaxy, explaining the rise of the Divine Principality, some real shenanigans around Apostalos, and the fall of the partially synthetic Equiaxed in the Columnar Tabulary. The stage is now set for the season to begin. [more inside]
Podcast: Friends at the Table: The Road to PARTIZAN 05: Ech0 & Dusk to Midnight
In the leadup to the next season, the friends play two games that were made for the Emotional Mecha Game Jam. First, as several confused children playing games with a dying mech pilot from a battle long past, and then as a number of pilots losing a war against the season's big villains.
This episode features Austin, Jack, Art, and Keith
Podcast: Friends at the Table: The Road to PARTIZAN 01: Dialect Pt. 1 and 2
It's time for more worldbuilding as Friends at the Table opens a new season of scifi adventures. In this two part linguistic saga, we learn about a nomadic race of space deer and how their society is destroyed. Featuring Austin, Janine, and Andrew. [more inside]