Tavern Watch Podcast

Things are getting even weirder for our party of all Artificers as they wrap up their sojourn into the Mournlands in the name of... doing something. It's a little brain-bending. There's Kuo Toa, there's weird brain-sucking devices, there's dragon turtle friends, there's a lot going on here, honestly that I think we just managed to scratch the surface of. Also, someone turns into a kaiju, and it's not an enemy like you might expect!Our party of maybe slightly befuddled inventors in this session are:Joe Perez as Luther Benedict Greensmith, Esq., a Shifter Armorer ArtificerAnne Stickney as Coriell Kahz, a Changeling perfectly normal Halfling Artillerest ArtificerLiz Harper as Lionelle, a Kalashtar Cartographer ArtificerNick Marino as Royial, a High Elf Alchemist ArtificerI'll be honest, I'm not sure these Artificers managed to figure out what was going on, but at least they had a lot of fun doing it, and got to show off some of this extremely flexible class. This is the finale of a three-episode actual play; if you missed episode 1, you can check that out here, and if you missed episode 2, that one's here. If you enjoy our game, you can grab Eberron: Forge of the Artificer for yourself for your D&D book collection today, adding the species of Eberron and 2024-compatible Artificers -- including the all-new Cartographer Artificer -- to your array of character options. Artificers are always a rollicking good time and can really fill any gap in a party, plus Eberron is just frankly one of the coolest worlds ever developed for any edition of D&D, so I definitely recommend checking it out.Music from this episode is "Crossing the Chasm" by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License.

There's an old chestnut about how if you confront an average D&D party with a door, they'll try anything except going through it. Luckily, our merry band of Artificers who trekked into the Mournlands aren't just any old adventurers: they're extremely intelligent ones. This doesn't prevent them from being rude to talking doors and getting in fights with weird, goopy creatures (portrayed by DM Matt Rossi) that don't have any business on land, all in the name of getting their hands on something called an Annihilation Gauntlet.I'm sure that's nothing to worry about.The players juggling one collective braincell like an army of orange cats on this adventure are:Joe Perez as Luther Benedict Greensmith, Esq., a Shifter Armorer ArtificerAnne Stickney as Coriell Kahz, a Changeling perfectly normal Halfling Artillerest ArtificerLiz Harper as Lionelle, a Kalashtar Cartographer ArtificerNick Marino as Royial, a High Elf Alchemist ArtificerJoin our band of merry crafters as they finally start to dig into the heart of this little adventure into one of the worst corners of Eberron, and find things they probably weren't expecting lurking in the heart of the Mournlands.This is the second of a D&D 2024 game played with an all-Artificer party; if you missed episode 1, you can check it out here. If you enjoy our game, you can grab Eberron: Forge of the Artificer for yourself for your D&D book collection today, adding the species of Eberron and 2024-compatible Artificers -- including the all-new Cartographer Artificer -- to your array of character options. Artificers are always a rollicking good time and can really fill any gap in a party, plus Eberron is just frankly one of the coolest worlds ever developed for any edition of D&D, so I definitely recommend checking it out.Music from this episode is "Crossing the Chasm" by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License.

Is there any D&D 5E class more flexible without a single multiclass level than the Artificer? Frontliner, support, pet class, magic gunsmith, weird mapmaker, Dr. Frankenstein, whatever your fantasy of "techno wizard who builds thing" is, the Artificer has a way to help you live it out. In celebration of that, this edition of Tavern Watch Plays goes to the original home of the Artificer class, Eberron, as DM Matt Rossi guides a ragtag crew of adventuring tinkerers through an adventure into the dark and blighted expanse of the Mournlands. Our players for this adventure:Joe Perez as Luther Benedict Greensmith, Esq., a Shifter Armorer ArtificerAnne Stickney as Coriell Kahz, a Changeling perfectly normal Halfling Artillerest ArtificerLiz Harper as Lionelle, a Kalashtar Cartographer ArtificerNick Marino as Royial, a High Elf Alchemist ArtificerJoin our band of merry crafters as they set off into an adventure that might end up a little spooky, a little ominous, and probably a lot more waterlogged than anyone was properly planning for.If you enjoy our game, you can grab Eberron: Forge of the Artificer for yourself for your D&D book collection today, adding the species of Eberron and 2024-compatible Artificers -- including the all-new Cartographer Artificer -- to your array of character options. Artificers are always a rollicking good time and can really fill any gap in a party, plus Eberron is just frankly one of the coolest worlds ever developed for any edition of D&D, so I definitely recommend checking it out.Music from this episode is "Crossing the Chasm" by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License.

It's the beginning of one year and the end of the next here on Tavern Watch, and so we're both looking back with fond remembrance on the games we played this year (including the ones we played on Tavern Watch Plays, which you should check out!) and the ones due to come out next year. Liz was particularly pleased and surprised by Legend in the Mist, a statless rustic fantasy RPG. Matt played a lot of solo mythical create-your-own-god game Deify this year, but also is still thinking about that game of Masks we played (me too, Matt, me too). Joe had a great time with Rebel Scum, which is part of a lineage of games that really lower the barrier of entry on the rules and let you get straight into telling cool stories with your friends, and is hoping to get to play Cohors Cthulhu -- the Roman Empire meets cosmic horror, sounds good to me! And, a lot of games crossed Phil's table this year, including the phenomenally weird Triangle Agency and the tactical crunchy cinematic action of Draw Steel, but it's really Fabula Ultima that lives in my head rent-free.But it's not all nostalgia. In current events, we discuss Wizards of the Coast's light 2026 schedule, James Ohlen leaving Archetype Entertainment to become a tabletop game consultant for WotC directly, Ed Greenwood's new independent Forgotten Realms project, a general sci-fi toolkit coming to 5th Edition in the form of Dark Matter, and we're wondering whether a video game about a single class (and from a studio with a shaky reputation) can be a satisfying experience. I guess we'll see! Kickstarters are still going strong into 2026, too; a whole passel of them funded around the end of the year (including Thundercats, which funded fully in one minute). MCDM has funded an entire year's worth of content with their Crack the Sun crowdfunding campaign, and we're all mesmerized by Fomoria, which is funding in the near future and really needs to be seen for its striking art style and dark fantasy story.Last but definitely not least, we pay brief tribute to the passing of Tim Kask, TSR's first employee back in the 80s. Tim was not just part of this burgeoning industry we love in its infancy, but also a person who continued to be funny, opinionated, and inclusive right up until the end -- who could ask for anything more?

It's a valid question for our group of little old lady detectives, who have learned more than they expected about the strange history of their little town on a casual visit to the Brindlewood Bay Whaling Museum... with a little side of murder.It happens a lot in Brindlewood Bay. It's probably fine.This is the last episode of our game of Brindlewood Bay, a cozy mystery with a few dark twists. I'm running this game, along with some excellent role-players on the team who have taken well to mystery solving. Here is our party of little old ladies:Joan as Louisa, resident gardener who loves getting her hands dirty and has seen absolutely every episode of MacGyver. Always carries her Swiss Army knife (the TSA hates her).Matt as Ludmilla, an ex-powerlifter who has retired to a peaceful life in Brindlewood Bay. She keeps an indeterminate number of cats (and is never seen anywhere without at least one of them).Mitch as Bordy, a collector of all things, who has never seen a bauble she didn't want to add to her collection. She's also been getting mysterious messages on her answering machine lately, but it's probably nothing.Confused about what's going on? You should listen to the first episode and the second episode before starting this one!If you enjoy our game, you can give it a try yourself! You can pick up the Brindlewood Bay rulebook from from The Gauntlet, including the Nephews in Peril supplement which includes the adventure we're playing here! The whole thing is a little bit Murder, She Wrote and a little bit X-Files, and a whole lot of roleplaying. We had a lot of fun with it, so check the game out!Music from this episode is "Villainous Treachery" by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License.

A peaceful visit to the annual Brindlewood Bay Whaling Museum fundraiser has taken a turn for the worse when one of the volunteers turns up dead. Fortunately we have a team of little old lady detectives on the case... and they're pretty sure it wasn't an accident at all. (The harpoon stuck in his back is a pretty big clue.)This week we're playing a game of Brindlewood Bay, a cozy mystery with a few dark twists. Elizabeth Harper is running this game, along with some excellent role-players on the team who have taken well to mystery solving. Here is our party of little old ladies:Joan as Louisa, resident gardener who loves getting her hands dirty and has seen absolutely every episode of MacGyver. Always carries her Swiss Army knife (the TSA hates her).Matt as Ludmilla, an ex-powerlifter who has retired to a peaceful life inBrindlewood Bay. She keeps an indeterminate number of cats (and is never seen anywhere without at least one of them).Mitch as Bordy, a collector of all things, who has never seen a bauble she didn't want to add to her collection. She's also been getting mysterious messages on her answering machine lately, but it's probably nothing.This is the second episode in our three-part game! If you haven't had a chance to listen, start with the first episode.If you enjoy our game, you can give it a try yourself! You can pick up the Brindlewood Bay rulebook from from The Gauntlet, including the Nephews in Peril supplement which includes the adventure we're playing here! The whole thing is a little bit Murder, She Wrote and a little bit X-Files, and a whole lot of roleplaying. We had a lot of fun with it, so check the game out!Music from this episode is "Villainous Treachery" by Kevin MacLeod. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License.