I have been listening to more podcasts now than I have in the past. I listen to podcasts while I work, driving to and from work, and when cleaning the house. I mentioned NADDPOD (Not Another D&D Podcast) several times as I went to one of their live shows a few years ago. I finished listening to their first campaign several years ago and have since listened to their other campaigns. Since it’s been a bit, I decided it would be fun to go back and listen to their first campaign and I’m so happy I did. There was so much I forgot about. To celebrate the fact that I’m halfway through the campaign, I wanted to highlight some of my favorite moments or episodes that destroyed me emotionally.

If you have never listened to NADDPOD before, it might help to have some background. NADDPOD’s first campaign centers on the homeworld of Bahumia. Before the campaign began, Bahumia was saved by three adventurers with the podcast taking place after that major moment. The characters in NADDPOD are Moonshine Cybin (played by Emily Axford), Beverly Toegold V (played by Caldwell Tanner), and Hardwon Surefoot (played by Jake Hurwitz). The campaign is DMed by Brian Murphy or Murph for short. The first campaign focuses on Moonshine, Beverly, and Hardwon as they attempt to save Bahumia again.

Spoilers for the first 50 episodes of NADDPOD

Beverly Tricking a God – Episode #12

In episode #12, Moonshine, Bev, and Hardwon see a god and are each granted a question. Most of the questions center around their character’s stories. After asking their questions, Bev decides it would be a good idea to “trick” the god by handing the god a berry that would induce vomiting. The god rightfully gets pissed and throws Bev off a large tower. Bev almost dies from the amount of fall damage he takes and the group is astounded. I was laughing so hard.

I like this episode because it’s such classic Dungeons and Dragons shenanigans. One character trying to do something silly and it completely backfires. This is an episode to remember.

Hardwon cutting off Galad’s head – Episode #18

This episode was wild! Hardwon finds out that Galad Rosell conspired to murder his parents. Hardwon’s mom, Lydia Stormborn, makes a deal to return as a Revenant. For those who are unfamiliar, a Revenant is an undead creature that solely exists to kill the thing that hurt them. With Lydia becoming a Revenant, she focuses all her energy on killing Galad and earns the nickname “The Widow”.

Moonshine, Bev, and Hardwon catch up to Galad and have him pinned. Galad pleads for mercy and warns Hardwon that if he kills him, his mom will be lost as he will take away her mission. Hardwon does not care and kills Galad anyway. This moment was such an underrated moment, that even Murph was astounded at the outcome. I love this because it shows that you may have an idea as to what a player could do, they could do something completely different.

Balnor’s First Appearance – Episode #21

Balnor is an NPC that the group picks up earlier in the campaign. Moonshine and Bev agree to pull a card out of the “Deck of Many Things” which is a deck of magical cards that can grant different abilities depending on the card. They pull a card that gives them a Fighter character named Balnor. At first, the group teases Balnor, however, Balnor quickly becomes an important part of their group, and towards the halfway point of the campaign, the group finds out where Balnor came from.

NPCs are crucial to any campaign. Balnor is so sweet and has some of the funniest moments throughout the remaining episodes.

Marabelle Boss Fight – Episode #29

Moonshine, Bev, and Hardwon go to The Crick to help figure out the cause of Crick Rot. Moonshine learns that her aunt Marabelle is responsible for spreading this disease that’s been revealed to be demonic in nature. When the group discovers Marabelle, while they try to reason with her, they end up fighting her. After defeating her, the group sees a vision where Marabelle is targeted by a Necromancer and is forced into a ritual that turns her into what she is. It’s heartbreaking because she’s framed as a villain when she was a victim.

This episode sticks out to me because you can tell in the way the cast roleplays this, it’s getting to them emotionally. I believe I listened to one of their Q&As after this session and they mentioned either getting emotional during this portion or being close to that point. This episode solidifies how powerful TTRPGs can be in telling a story and how even though I’m not playing the game, I still feel emotionally invested in what happens.

Hardwon and Gemma’s private conversation – Episode #35

This isn’t necessarily a favorite moment, but I can’t not mention this episode. Moonshine, Bev, and Hardwon go to Frostwind where Hardwon grew up. Hardwon is made aware of his ex-girlfriend, Gemma Bronzebeard, who is getting married soon. Hardwon wants to speak with Gemma because he still has feelings for her. The group orchestrates this where Hardwon and Gemma can speak privately. As a listener, you think all is well until GEMMA IS KILLED BY AN ASSASSIN. Excuse me, but what in the actual fuck? Murph how dare you break all of our hearts like that. I felt so bad for Jake in this moment.

I still remember listening to this episode originally and how shocked I was. I’m overusing the word shocked here, but it still applies to this episode. While Hardwon may not have been able to reunite with Gemma, Gemma is an important character throughout Hardwon’s journey and motivates him to succeed in all of his trials and tribulations. If I could bring back one NPC from the dead in this campaign, it would easily be Gemma. RIP.

Hardwon grabbing the Coldain Kingshammer – Episode #45

After trying to uncover who killed Gemma, the group travels to Mount Forge to seek the Coldain Kingshammer, a hammer blessed by a god. After a pretty intense fight, Hardwon can grab the hammer and unlock the spirits of several dwarven families. Hardwon nicknames these spirits his “dwarven daddies” and the name sticks throughout the remaining episodes.

This episode is so important to Hardwon’s back story, but also, the dwarven daddies protect Hardwon when he needs it the most.

It’s been a blast re-listening to NADDPOD. NADDPOD taught me how powerful TTRPGs can be in telling an enchanting story. Once I finish the first campaign, I will write a second post summarizing all my favorite moments from the last 50 episodes. After that, I will get caught up on their third campaign and I may even start a new podcast altogether. If you haven’t listened to NADDPOD yet, you are honestly missing out on one of the best TTRPG podcasts ever.