A short retrospective on D&D and Podcast review.

Nerd Pokers Podcast official cover art

Me and Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons was not something I ever played in my youth, but it conjures a rich collection of memories. My brothers and some of my friends older siblings played it. I was always curious about it. The first thing I think of is those ornate pewter figurines that were always off limits to me. Touch and die was the general warning. But I couldn't help myself. I had colorful toys with articulated limbs. Toys like wolverine with his pop out claws or my Robotech bioroid fighter. Despite this I still snuck a peak when it was safe. The pewter figures had an allure. They seemed to tell a story and even when unpainted they were rich with character. Perhaps it was the Tolkien in my blood that drew me to high fantasy relics. Who can say. I knew there was some sort of game you played. I wanted to try it, but I was too young and I never got the chance.

Recently I've been toying around with the idea of trying out some board games to see what I was missing all those years ago. D&D once again popped into my head.  I wanted to know what a real D&D game was like first hand. So naturally I had someone else do it for me... While I listened in of course. I turned to the Nerd Poker Podcast. The podcast description reads: Each week, under dark of night, a group of warriors lead by Brian Posehn gather to play Dungeons & Dragons, and you're invited to attend!

 The Review

Nerd poker is an ongoing podcast that started in 2012. The host is standup comic Brian Posehn. The other participants in the podcast are Sarah Guzzardo, Deadpool comic writer Gerry Dunn, standup comic Blaine Capatch, and finally Scott Robison from machinima.com.  In a nutshell the podcast is a recording of this group of colorful personalities. They play D&D and making merry with humor of varying degrees of offense. I naturally started off with the first episode which has a nice introduction to the participants of the podcast. Each person introduced themselves, then they introduced the D&D character they had created for the play sessions the cadre would soon embark on. Following that the DM (Dungeon Master or the person designated to be the games moderator) gave a basic rundown of Dungeons & Dragons and what to expect. At this point the game began. 

The DM began the adventure by telling everyone that they were on a ship. He then asked each player how they managed to get there and what was the last thing they remember. Each player developed a story off the top of their heads. Some funnier than others. Each character seemed to fit nicely with the personality of their creator, and the back story they produced really gave you an idea of how they were going to play this game. The party had characters like a wealthy pompous Dragon-Born, an oafish barbarian, and an elf and shaman that were sorely picked on. I find that people tend to choose characters and avatars that they identify or resonate with on one level or another, rather than just arbitrarily. The case was no different with these comedians and it lent a fun quality to the listening experience. A phenomenon I especially enjoyed was their dedication to their characters. When they had a greater foresight or judgment as a player they stuck to the perspective and limitations of the characters they were playing. This was highly amusing. As the DM wove the story together they worked as a group to navigate through the challenges. Not much ground was covered in the first podcast, but each step of the way was humorous and pretty fun to listen to.

 About the humor
The podcast has some humor that may be a bit crass for many people. It widely varies from moment to moment going from clean clever wit to discussion of stool size and shape. It's not for everyone. If your offended by dick and fart jokes or foul language you'll want to avoided this one. For me the funniest stuff wasn't their off task joking. The funniest moments were when the group was really focused on game play, and as stated above, I really enjoyed when they reacted to things in character. Especially Brian who had the attitude of smashing everything in his path.

 Conclusion

I'd say this podcast isn't just for veterans and players of D&D, but also a great place to start for anyone curious about it. It's a fun introduction into this colorful corner of nerd culture. I give this Podcast the thumbs up based on my experience with the first episode. I very much look forward to see what nonsense will happen next. If I've sparked your interest you can find all of their Podcasts at Nerd Pokers website, or on the podcast app on your nearest smart phone or tablet.

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