Episode 98 - Mail Bag-O-Thon

We take a moment out of our hectic adventure to answer questions from you, our wonderful listeners, on this week’s episode. Dive into the art and science that makes our brain tick and learn our thoughts on underwear. We certainly had fun recording this special episode and I am willing to wager, you will enjoy it as much as we enjoyed recording it.

## **Q&A**

*NOTE: All name spelling should be taken with a grain of salt. I am mostly guessing, although I tried to find people on Twitter and what-not. SECOND NOTE: Matthew Morris asks a great many questions in this episode. If the "Question X:" is in bold, it is from him.*

* Question 1:
	+ Michael Urban asks "How much planning into player characters' aspirations do you all do outside of the game? Outside of the obvious quest goals, where do you think the PCs see themselves going in life?"
		- Jennifer: Hardly any at all. She keeps forgetting.
		- Nika: Doesn't think about Jaela's future, but how she can play Jaela better in the moment.
		- Tim: Thinks about it constantly.
		- Michael (for Zird): Playing Zird is like a fever dream.
	+ Also asks, "Who among the Player Characters is the best Player?"
		- Tim: Tim.
		- Jennifer: Nika.
		- Nika: Tim.
		- Bachmann: Nika.
		- Michael breaks the tie: Jennifer!

* Question 2:
	+ @ThroneDigest asks, "What are your other interests?"
		- Jennifer likes anime, and working out, and baking, and nail polish.
		- Tim like video games, reading, improv, playing squash, sleep, pretending the pain isn't there, travelling, making Jennifer laugh, and Tv/movies.
		- Nika likes outdoorsy things, horror movies, playing games, cosplaying, and history.
		- Michael, is dead inside, doesn't enjoy anything. Except chicken wings.

* Question 3:
	+ Ten O'clock Robot in the chat asks, "When will there be more Random Encounters?"
		- Tomorrow!
			* This is interesting, because if you view the Combined Listening Order table, you will see that the first episode of the Darkblade Academy series was uploaded 2 days before this one was. If they recorded this episode on Thursday, April 24, this timeline makes sense.

* Question 4:
	+ Stuck Cat asks, "Thrifty, what graced us with your recent visit?" (the Pacific Northwest)
		- He is there for a conference for his actual, real job.

* Question 5:
	+ "What are your day jobs?"
		- Tim: Client Administrator for an intellectual property law-firm.
		- Jennifer: Marketing/Proposal writer for a very large engineering firm.
		- Nika: Transaction Co-ordinator for a loan officing team for a mortgage company.
		- Michael: Director of Web Development for a liberal arts college.
		- Bachmann is an IT professional
	+ "Thrifty, has there been any moment where the players made a decision that you really weren't expecting?"
		- He though they were going to go after Bucky first.
	+ "Tim, who's a good baby and how do people feel about you?"
		- Tim is a good baby, and everyone loves him!

* Question 6:
	+ How is babby formed?"
		- It's a secret to everybody!

* Question 7:
	+ Josh from Cthulhu & Friends asks,, "How's it going?"
		- It's goin' all right, buddy. How about you?

* Question 8:
	+ Leapington from the chat asks, "On a scale of 1 to Gnoll, how badly do y'all want to kill Zird?"
		- Tim: Gnolls
		- Jennifer: 7

* Question 9:
	+ Thrifty Nerd asks, "Jennifer, why are you so negative all the time?"
		- Jennifer: "Because the world is a piece of shit, and I just want to lie on the ground and stare at the sky all the time."

* **Question 10:**
	+ "If you could have one alcoholic beverage named after you, what would it be made from, and what would it be called?"
		- Tim: A dope-ass beer.
		- Michael: Tim would be a *Dark and Stormy*, Jennifer would be an *Irish Car Bomb*, Nika would be some sort of purple berry concoction

* **Question 11:**
	+ "If you could be on any game show, past or present, what would it be?"
		- Tim: That one game show where the guy memorized the patterns and won a lot of money.
		- Jennifer: Wheel of Fortune

* **Question 12:**
	+ "Tim, will your comedy troupe ever go on tour somewhere interesting?"
		- Yes, he went Philly, maybe going to Vancouver.

* **Question 13:**
	+ Tim, if you could be any other character from the show, who would it be, and how would you kill Zird?"
		- Luccan, and shoot him with an arrow right before he reveals his master plan. Then he'd say...
			* *"Good. I couldn't wait for that fuck-dick to stop talking. Who wants to get some puss?"*

* **Question 14**:
	+ "Tim, Why does it seem like you don't enjoy playing games on the podcast? Do you feel like you're being singled out or bullied? This is a safe place, and you can be open with us, this is the time for healing."
		- He really does enjoy it, but leans into the character that is better than everyone else.

* **Question 15:**
	+ "Jennifer, when looking for new anime series to watch, what factors are most important to you?"
		- Looks for the gayest ones *(The correct answer)*. But also, it depends on the mood. Sometimes sad ones (like Evangelion, and Tokyo Ghoul), but then palate cleansers. And sometimes Tumblr tells her what to watch.

* **Question 16:**
	+ "Jennifer, do you ever miss Aludra being a druid, or are you super chill being a warden?"
		- She's happy being a warden, but would want to play another character as a druid.

* **Question 17:**
	+ "Jennifer, if you could your new-found boxing prowess to fight one person living or dead, who would it be and what would your signature move be?"
		- She defers this until later, and then forgets about it.

* **Question 18:**
	+ "Nika, when are you going to email me that character sheet?"
		- Soon.

* **Question 19:**
	+ "Nika, how drunk is too drunk?"
		- If you can't stand up, then you're too drunk, and also if you start talking to people about weird sexual things.

* **Question 20:**
	+ "Nika, what was your favorite TV show growing up? Broadway show?"
		- The Ken Burns Civil War Miniseries, and also Ren and Stimpy. For Broadway, *Chicago* and *Seven Brides for Seven Brothers*.

* **Question 21:**
	+ "Michael, could you let me know when you regret telling me to send lots of questions?"
		- About 5 minutes ago

* **Question 22:**
	+ "Michael, how do you center your chi before DMing an episode of Drunks and Dragons?"
		- He's full of anxiety.

* **Question 23:**
	+ "Michael, when will we see some more guests on the podcast?"
		- He's not answering.

* Question 24:
	+ The Cat Dad asks, "Would you rather jizz shit, or shit jizz?"
		- Obviously, it's shit jizz. There's no contest.

* Question 25:
	+ Josh in the chat asks, "Will Harper be engaging in any sensual bromance with any dude-bro characters in the coming future?"
		- No, Harper is unfortunately pretty straight.

* Question 26:
	+ Anders Haley "Why do Thom and Aludra care more about Harper's slave sister, than about their son who has probably been eaten by now? Also where is Daisy?"
		- Aludra is weak willed, and easily swayed, and Harper is a forceful personality.
		- They don't talk about Daisy.

* Question 27:
	+ John, aka, VGviciouskitten asks, "Do you guys plan to play any more games with the community?"
		- Yes.

* Question 28:
	+ DMinvictus asks "If Michael killed everyone off, and didn't undo it, what characters would you re-roll?"
		- Jennifer: Play a warlock, or a controller.
		- Tim: A snooty crumpy paladin, but probably a barbarian. Or an elf ranger.
		- Nika: A high-level rouge, maybe a warlock.
		- Michael: A wizard, if he could play.

* Question 29:
	+ Michael asks, "What happens if they reach level 30?"
		- They'll probably fight gods and the like, or re-roll and make new characters.

* Question 30:
	+ Mike Urban again, asks, "Cake or Pie?" - *A day that will live in infamy...*
		- They have an intense fight about this.
			* Michael: Pie
			* Tim: Pie
			* Jennifer: Cake
			* Nika: Cake
			* This Wiki Editor: *Cake, obviously, all dissenters are fools.*

* **Question 31:**
	+ "How did you get into tabletop gaming? What was the first game you played, and what made you want to play more?"
		- Jennifer: Made her parents play kids board games as a youth, and then in grad school, with friends Harry and Tia. Played Risk and Monopoly.
		- Tim: Sameish. Hated board games whilst young, due to the competitive nature, and then jumped in with Jennifer and friends. Played Risk and Monopoly.
		- Nika: First played *Hero Quest* with friends, then an RPG that was just RP. Then learned about DnD, and fell in love.
		- Michael: Tried to start for many years, and it didn't work out, then one day, the podcast started.

* Question 32:
	+ Dapper Epiphany asks, "What are the best characters you ever made? If outside of the podcast, any descriptions."
		- Tim: Harper/Theric Bugbarian the Bug Bear Barbarian. Or Phylo Toblerone.
		- Jennifer: Temerity Barakas. And Sarsaparilla.
		- Michael: Latigo.
		- Nika: Jaela, but everyone else answers for her.

* **Question 33:**
	+ "Outside of upcoming Patreon games, are there any plans to try more systems for the Random Encounters feed, now that all the Kickstarter stuff has been fulfilled?"
		- Yes, probably.

* **Question 34:**
	+ "Guys, boxers briefs, or the hybrid model? Ladies, is there a similar debate that y'all have?"
		- Tim: Boxer-briefs.
		- Michael: Boxer-briefs.
		- Jennifer: Boxer-briefs are the most attractive on a man.
		- Nika: Boxer-briefs are fine, in fact anything is, just as long as it's not tighty-whiteies or a thong.
		- This Wiki Editor: *I enjoyed answering the cake/pie question before, so I'll answer this one too, since there's no-one to stop me, I'M UNSTOPPABLE! It's also boxer-briefs*

* Question 35:
	+ "With the controversy surrounding what is known as 'Gamer-Gate', and the frustration and pain that such a topic brings when brought up into a social setting, could we avoid it completely and just have you tell us what your favorite brand of ice-cream is and why it is the best?"
		- Tim: Publix Mint Chocolate Chip
			* Mint Chocolate Chip has to be Green
		- Michael: Ditto
			* Mint Chocolate Chip has to be White
		- Nika: Green Tea Ice Cream, or Pistachio. Or occasionally, Ben & Jerry's Brownie Chocolate, mixed with Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, and freeze a tube of icing and put it on top of it.
			* Mint Chocolate Chip has to be Green
		- Jennifer: Black Cherry Ice Cream
		- This Wiki Editor: *Since I can't be stopped, I'll add that I like chocolate with fudge bits in. Also, some could argue it's not an ice-cream, and that's fair, but I'm partial to orange sherbert. MMM. And Nika's "fat kid" desert ice cream sounds incredible, and I must have it.*
			* *Mint Chocolate Chip has to be Green, White is blasphemy*

* **Question 36:**
	+ "What is your favorite kind of pizza?"
		- Nika: Canadian bacon, breakfast bacon, mushroom, and black olive. And green pepper.
		- Michael: Pepperoni and onions.
		- Jennifer: A good Supreme pizza, but the best is bacon and mushroom.
		- Tim: Sausage, peppers, onion, and sometimes mushroom.
		- This Wiki Editor: *I'm a pizza traditionalist. I like peperroni, and I'm kind of okay with just that. Sometimes I dabble in bacon and/or ham, but these weird muchrooms, onions, and olives, can get fucked. I'd never do that to myself. **NOTE: Everyone can eat what they want, and like what they like, I'm not saying anyone's wrong for liking pineapple or whatever. I'm just saying it can get fucked.***

* Question 37:
	+ Ben Apperson, (who, incidentally, came up with the Bapperson Rule) asks, "How many requests have you gotten to kill of Harper?"
		- Quite a few. One or two a week.

* Question 38:
	+ Nika asks "If you were to play a different type of RPG system, what would you be most interested in playing?"
		- Jennifer: Star Wars
		- Tim: Star Wars or Game of Thrones
		- Michael: Fate
		- Jennifer: Fiasco! again
		- This Wiki Editor: *I think it's pretty obvious that she was hoping the other's would want to play Pathfinder, which is super fun and they should do it. I want to play The Secrets of Cats game that they play later on, that seems fun.*

* Question 39:
	+ Immizel "Is Ros evil?"
		- No.

* Question 40:
	+ "Who Harper's favorite NPC and why is it Zird?"
		- Tim: Raphael, the painter from Caer.
		- Nika: Luccan.

* Question 41:
	+ Ben D. Cooks "Is mayonaise an instrument?"
		- They don't understand that this is the funniest line in Spongebob Squarepants.

* Question 42:
	+ Dapper Epiphany in the chat asks, "What are your favorite bands?"
		- Tim: Built to Spill, or Radiohead.
		- Michael: Same, and Eliot Smith, Childish Gambino, Flight of the Concords.
		- Jennifer: Nickle Creek, Regina Spektor, and also, same.
		- Nika: Reel Bug Fish, Glass Animals, Tritonal, and The Glitch Mob.
		- This Wiki Editor: *Green Day and Pink Floyd. And this isn't a band, but Kōji Kondō, who did a lot of Nintendo games' music.*

## **Trivia**

* This episode was recorded because Mike Bachmann couldn't make it this week, and also so that episodes 99 and 100 would be recorded together
* This episode marks the beginning of Tim Lanning using the statement, "Knowledge is knowing that Frankenstein is the doctor, but wisdom is knowing that Frankenstein is the monster."
	+ This was a tweet he read, but he can't remember who said it
* Re: Tim's answer to the game show question. He is probably thinking of Michael Larson on Press Your Luck
* Harper is a 1 on the Kinsey scale, not a zero. This means *there's a chance...*
* This is the beginning of the great Cake or Pie debate
* Nika is interested in DMing something on the Random Encounters feed. We'll see if this happens
* Jennifer likes to wear gym clothes at home, because she is lazy

## **Quotes**

**"The world is a piece of shit, and I just want to lie on the ground and stare at the sky all the time."** ~ *Jennifer Cheek*