Latest news with #FuryoftheSmall
The Spinoff
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Spinoff
Listen: The Fury of the Small begins to grow…
In the second episode of The Spinoff's brand new tabletop series, our goblins unite in their grief and take in the ruination of their home. Fury of the Small blends radio drama, improv comedy and tabletop roleplaying into a unique audio experience. In our story, four stalwart heroes delve into a goblin den seeking fame and fortune. Months later, four avenging goblins step into the human world seeking retribution. All that follows is decided by the roll of the dice! In episode two, the goblins unite as a party. But there's no time for grief. They must find themselves a new home, and it's a dangerous world out there for a little goblin. Everyone has lost something precious, from Sly the outcast, to Scritches the elder, to orphaned brothers Skree and Smiggly. They are bound by grief, hardship and a bare glimmer of hope. From the aether, a mysterious ally appears to be watching over the youngest goblin, Skree. But even this ephemeral force cannot keep away the cold of winter. When the first frost comes, a traditional meeting of goblinoid clans is held. Jaggedjaw has lost all the goods it had to sell and trade, so our goblins will need to head to the human village to keep their newfound family alive. Fury of the Small is a limited series Dungeons & Dragons podcast produced by The Wild Magic Tavern, in partnership with The Spinoff. It stars Brynley Stent, Arlo Gibson, Ella Hope-Higgginson, Tom Eason and Paddy Carroll with sound design by Te Aihe Butler.
The Spinoff
3 days ago
- Health
- The Spinoff
The Weekend: Might I suggest a walk?
Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was. There's something about a long weekend that somehow makes the week preceding it feel unfathomably long also. For that reason, and because we are entering into the darkest days of the year ahead of winter solstice, I am keeping this short and suggesting one simple tip. Go for a walk. This is not a revolutionary idea, in fact it might just be oldest idea in human history. But as each winter arrives, I understand more and more why my mum would drag me along on her daily walks when I was little. For those who are able to, a walk is the first step (ha) to solving every problem. Part of it is the walking, the movement, the forced breathing. The other part is the air, the space, the sun. Everyone goes through the same cycle when it comes to basic, trite advice such as 'go for a walk'. First, it seems fine and reasonable to try. Then it feels patronising, as if all of my very complex and unique problems could be solved with child's play. And then, after extensive and expensive therapy, the realisation that yes, going for a walk and eating a vegetable is in fact very important and useful in order to survive the dark, dreary days of June. So this long weekend, go for a walk. And while you're walking, listen to the first episode of Fury of the Small, our new narrative Dungeons & Dragons podcast. It's the perfect accompaniment to looking at trees and grass and even if you're unfamiliar with the game, you'll have the joy of listening to people do something they absolutely love and be really good at it. And if you really aren't convinced to walk, read some of our best essayists wax lyrical about their own relationships with walking (and swimming). If ever there was a time to reconnect with ourselves and nature, it's now. In her late 50s, Anna Sophia I discovered long-distance hiking – and woke up to a new life infused with the rhythms of nature. A mental health battle in 2020 led Shona Riddell to embark on an eye-opening journey of wild swimming – the kind that doesn't cease when the weather turns cold. Walking in isolation Dougal Rillstone wrote about walking while In MIQ, and how 'a good walk can save a person, now more than ever'. The art of the plod Anna Rawhiti-Connell finds freedom in being really shit at something, but doing it anyway. In praise of swimming I found peace by taking the plunge with Hinemoana, writes Leonie Hayden. The stories Spinoff readers spent the most time with this week A certain blue British dress inspires Anna Rawhiti-Connell to argue that it's twee to pretend that fashion and politics aren't intertwined Hayden Donnell braves an Auckland Council debate on upzoning to discover councillors trying to sabotage the City Rail Link An even grumpier Hayden Donnell threatens to emit a supersonic howl of despair if the superannuation eligibility age goes up Why is a proposed change to glyphosate (or Roundup) residue levels so controversial? Shanti Mathias explains A 45-year-old tech worker fights 'lifestyle creep' in this week's cost of being Feedback of the week 'On February the 6th I observe Bob Marley's Birthday' 'Super validating response, so undefensive, about the emotional unavailability of kiwis. The culture is emotionally repressed and shame-based, locking people into the most superficial and distancing ways of communicating. The evidence for this is the culture's alcoholism and high suicide rate (according to UNICEF recently the highest teen suicide rate in the OECD). Get thee to a psychotherapist Kiwis! Free yourselves from shame and fear of intimacy.' 'Your friendly festival driver here. My name's spelled with a J, but that's ok. That drive to stage door may have been one of the most thrilling adventures of my career – I won't be forgetting it anytime soon. – Jillian.'
The Spinoff
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Spinoff
Fury of the Small: listen to episode one now!
In a brand new series, five of Aotearoa's coolest nerds gather round the table to tell an immersive fantasy story through the medium of Dungeons & Dragons. Fury of the Small blends radio drama, improv comedy and tabletop roleplaying into a unique audio experience. In our story, four stalwart heroes delve into a goblin den seeking fame and fortune. Months later, four avenging goblins step into the human world seeking retribution. All that follows is decided by the roll of the dice! Meet our 'heroes' in all their grimy bravado. Rhapsody White the dwarven trophy hunter, Karla-Rose the alluring halfling bard and Ser Norbert Reindholt, paladin of the Weeping Dame. These three mercs are led by the aged wizard Blustifer Greystorm, their employer. Together they delve into the darkness of a goblin cave in search of treasure – but before long the camera turns and the real story begins. Hours have passed and the adventurers have left chaos and death in their wake; the only survivors are four lowly goblins left to find each other among the wreckage. Each has their own journey to travel, their own demons to face, their own 'hero' to slay. The road to revenge is long and perilous. Fury of the Small is a limited series Dungeons & Dragons podcast produced by The Wild Magic Tavern, in partnership with The Spinoff. It stars Brynley Stent, Arlo Gibson, Ella Hope-Higgginson, Tom Eason and Paddy Carroll with sound design by Te Aihe Butler.
The Spinoff
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Spinoff
How to listen to Dungeons & Dragons
The Spinoff has partnered with the Wild Magic Tavern to present Fury of the Small, a new long-form narrative podcast told through the medium of Dungeons and Dragons. Here's how to best enjoy it. D&D has hit the zeitgeist a fair few times in its 50 years. You may have a passing familiarity with the staples of this Tabletop Roleplaying Game thanks to either… a. living through the 80s (remember the satanic panic feat. Tom Hanks?) b. those cute kids from Stranger Things / their less cute teenage counterparts c. the criminally underwatched Guardians-of-the-Galaxy inflected film of 2023 (RIP)Over the past decade, the game of D&D has had a huge resurgence thanks to addictive game design, the rise of mega-streamers like Critical Role and – perhaps surprisingly – the Covid-19 pandemic. Aotearoa has already stamped its mark on the tabletop scene. One of the country's most-watched YouTube channels, Viva La Dirt League, features D&D as part of its bread and butter content and many of their sketches star actors from our show. Pōneke is home to the Sketchgoblin, one of the most beloved and in-demand character artists of the global tabletop community. And filling out the constellation among the mega stars are amazing creators like Dungeons & Comediens, Dumplings & Dragons, Dice Legenz and Cobbled Together. Back in 2018 the Spinoff even dabbled in the action with Water Deep Mountain High! If all of these words are completely foreign to you below is all you need to know to get the most out of our nerdy-as podcast as a fresh listener. So…what is D&D? A game and a story combined. It takes its cues from works of high fantasy, video games and long-form board games. The stories are typically action-adventures set in a fantasy world heavily inspired by the likes of JRR Tolkien, Ursula K. Le Guin or George R. R. Martin. How do I know if D&D is for me? D&D is a perfect intersection of three things; fantasy, gaming and imaginative play. If tweenage-you binge-read the Eragon series, watched The Princess Bride on repeat or played any Legend of Zelda game to completion – D&D is probably for you. If you love the tactical edge and social melee of Settlers of Catan, Risk or Werewolf – D&D's got something in there for you, too. And if you (like me) miss the childhood sensation of circling up with your friends, choosing a setting, some characters and disappearing into a world of imaginative-play that felt timeless, tactile and utterly liberating – D&D is definitely for you. Whose voices will I be listening to? When you tune in, the first voice you'll hear is mine! I play the role of the Game Master (sometimes called a Dungeon Master). The GM is the narrator of the story, the adjudicator of the rules and the author of the adventure. I also play all the side characters of the piece. I'm here to facilitate the fun and guide the players and listeners through the narrative. Our four amazing players (Tom Eason, Brynley Stent, Ella Hope-Higginson and Arlo Gibson) portray the protagonists of the story. They possess full autonomy of their characters' thoughts and actions and the decisions they make will determine where the story goes. And what're you all actually doing? We're sitting at a table in the Spinoff's podcast studio. In front of us are piles of dice and character sheets. The sheets detail each character's name, abilities, health, inventory and much more (think of it like the menu and HUD display of a video game). They've been lovingly curated by the players, who have nominated an archetype for their character to embody – a sneaky Rogue, a practiced Fighter or a magical Wizard. The dice are the stars of the show. In tabletop games, when a player's character attempts something that involves luck, skill or any chance of failure, we roll a dice to determine the outcome. Typically this is a D20, a 20-sided die that is the true arbiter of fate in Dungeons and Dragons worlds. You roll high, you succeed. You roll low, there'll be consequences. You roll a one with the D20 – dire consequences. You roll a 20, everyone at the table cheers the words 'Natural 20!' as something incredible happens. At its simplest, the cycle of the game goes like this; STEP ONE. The GM sets the scene with some narration. STEP TWO. The players describe their characters' actions in the scene. STEP THREE. Any necessary dice rolls are made. STEP FOUR. The GM describes the outcomes of the players' actions and dice rolls. There're some specific dice rolls to listen out for. Checks. When a player decides to try something risky, I'll call for a Check. A character trying to discern whether the mayor is lying in his speech might need to make an Insight Check. Breaking through a door might require an Athletics Check, or recalling some esoteric lore might call for a History check. Players tumble their D20 and add a bonus to the roll. Different classes of character apply different bonuses to these checks, a squishy Wizard might have a +0 to their Athletics whereas a brawny Paladin might add a +10, for example. Saving Throws. Sometimes the story will force the heroes to react to a sudden danger. In this case I call for a Saving Throw, where the players need to quickly save themselves from harm. A rockslide might require a Dexterity Save, a mind control spell might call for a Wisdom Saving Throw. Attack Rolls. When words fail, we move into the cut and thrust of the game's combat system. The players fall into a fixed turn order, called The Initiative. The GM and the players start trading blows, drawing on their special abilities and working as a team. An attack has two parts, an Attack Roll (where you see if your strike connects against the target's Armour Class) and a Damage Roll (where you see how much hurt you brought). Those are the basics! All that's left is to invite you to enjoy our story with us! Your imagination is the final ingredient in making Fury of the Small feel complete. I hope it inspires you to start your own games, to tell your own stories, to bring friends to the table. As you hear our dice tumble, as we put on our silly-voices and play serious-pretend, as you hear us laugh, gasp and holler with excitement know that there's a gaming table just like this one out there for you.
The Spinoff
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Spinoff
What's so great about Dungeons & Dragons?
This Friday, The Spinoff launches Fury of the Small, a D&D narrative podcast. Today, one of the podcast's players remembers her first time at the table. I was in the thick of my Big Breakup. Anyone who has been through their own Big Breakup knows exactly what I mean. It's the one where it feels like life is leading one way and you're merrily skipping down the path then BAM. Life, whole new direction. Crying in strange places. Hallway. On the floor. In the bathroom. I think everyone has a breakup like that? Or maybe will? It's like a rite of passage. The one that changes you. My friends wrapped around me in ways I still to this day deeply appreciate. One of the true blessings of the end of that romantic love was the absolutely thunderous, deepening love I felt for my friends. There were movies (In the Mood for Love being one of them, which was a terrible choice after a breakup, but a stunning film all the same), drinking, retreats and then one friend suggested I join his… Dungeons and Dragons Campaign. Dungeon? Dragons? Campaign? Join? It's hard to remember the exact images it conjured for me but I had a sense I was about to put myself in a situation where I felt stupid, sweaty or irritated. Or worse – all three. I also had a feeling it was like some sort of real-life video game, and I am not a gamer. Not because I don't want to be, it just wasn't a part of my childhood. We weren't really even a TV household, so anything with a console felt way out of my scope. Like any good 90s kid I snuck in a few happy reps of Golden Eye and Prince of Persia at friends' houses, but even I knew that wasn't a well-balanced diet, so I didn't really have anything to lean on when entering this world. But, as is often the way after a breakup, I had a lot of energy for trying new things, a lot of spare time, and zero desire to be alone. My first character was named Contour. Super strong. Not very smart. Got bonus points whenever they went into a rage (post-breakup catharsis anyone?). Even in this fantasy realm, no character can be good at everything (humbling) so you sort of make trade-offs. Good at hiding and sneaking around but maybe not so good up close and personal in a fight. There is something poetic about the fact that, in my eyes at least, the game works best if you have a mix of characters who all have different skill sets and histories. Not super deep, I know, but it's still a nice thought. I made the character by chatting to my friend about the vibe I thought I might enjoy, using films, books, animation as a way to be like 'he's a bit like this or a bit like that' and then my (very helpful) friend helped me figure out what Class that character could be. There's lots of options: Fighter, Druid, Bard, Rogue etc. I get the sense some people do it differently, but saying 'I think I want to be part actual energy of rock, part Drax from Guardians of the Galaxy and part gentle shepherd' worked well for me. So. I'd created my character. Borrowed some dice. Then went to join the Campaign. My friend was the dungeon master (to my mind a combo of MC, the person who voices all the background extras and supporting actors in a film, a dad who's telling you a story, and tech support). Six of us sat around a table, my friend set up the world, narrator style. 'You're at the docks, you smell the salty sea spray…' I started meeting other characters and for the first time I shyly tried out my Contour voice and traits. Putting on a voice felt strange at first. I'm an actor so this is ridiculous, but somehow sitting around a table putting on a voice for no reason feels different, and not in a good way. Similarly, it's really the pits for me if I tell someone I'm an actor and they make a joke about wanting to see me do a monologue (no thank you). I don't like feeling like I need to put on a show in my downtime, BUT after a little while, as with most times hanging out with my friends, those feelings slipped away and I was babbling like a happy child, voice on, playing for fun. Then it was time to start rolling some dice. (We're really in the thick of the nerd stuff now.) Each time you want to do anything in the game – and I mean anything, the world is your oyster – you state what you want to do out loud. For example, 'I want to lift this boulder'. The DM then usually says something like 'well that's a strength check', because, well, it would take strength to do it. In front of you is a piece of paper (or laptop screen) which has all your character's skills written on it, things like Strength, Charisma, Performance, Deception and a number next to them representing how good you are at any one skill. In Dungeons & Dragons, most often you're rolling a 20-sided die. You combine what your character's natural ability is at something (maybe it's plus 2) with what's on the die (let's say 14). That means overall your character has a roll of 16 to try and lift the boulder. The Dungeon Master has a number, a fair one, in mind that you are trying to beat. Basically the higher the number the more likely you are to succeed and if you roll a 20 on the 20-sided die it's almost impossible for you to fail. If a friend in the game says 'I'm helping' – which is the equivalent of an '..and my axe!' – you might get extra pluses. Which is just lovely. That first proper game was a lot. Even so, there were enough moments of joy across that first 5-ish hour(!) game that made me very happy to be there. True silliness and creativity for no one but ourselves. In the game, through the form of smart storytelling it becomes clear there's a quest/objective. A wizard needs help finding an apple pie recipe. Why is the castle collapsing? Where is the dragon hiding? You know – relatable problems like that. And all the characters must work together to sort it out. Later that first night, my friend said something along the lines of, 'This will probably take a year or so to complete'. A YEAR? I mean who has a year! In what world would I still be sitting around a table playing an imaginary fantasy game in a YEAR. I'm sure you can see where this is going. I played that campaign, for not one, but TWO years. I sat around my friend's table through the seasons changing both outside (obviously) and also inside my friends' lives, eating snacks and rolling dice through the highs and lows. As the monthly catch-ups became a staple I realised I wanted more. I joined another campaign. I had two going at once. One finished, I added another. I played confident types, sneaky types, happy-go-lucky types, 'I cast a lot of magic spells' types. I'd create characters on a whim based on what I thought would be fun or a challenge and then spend the following months experimenting with this persona in the two-to-four hour games. I couldn't believe who I'd become. In hindsight, there were actually some big clues that I'd love it. I grew up on fantasy books. It's only now in my 30s I've finally admitted to myself that when I'm on the beach I don't want a rom com. I would much rather be reading Ursula K. Le Guin, Tamora Pierce, Diana Wynne Jones. It's the stone labyrinth mystery cave hidden under a cloak identity life for me. And then of course Carrie Fisher made me want to act. So yes, duh. Fantasy is for me. And this isn't even mentioning that my family loves all board, dice and card games (as I said, not a big TV family). So anything competitive you can play over a table is good. Even now my parents will still play at least two games of something on any given day (their current faves are Splendour and Yahtzee). There were things that did and still do make me nervous. Being slow. Fumbling dice. Not knowing what to do. And the voices… I love listening to other people, but it still takes me a good hour to sink in and I'm usually changing the voice for the first few games till I actually find something I like for the character. But there are other things that have taken me by surprise. I love the escapism. I love using my imagination. I love not looking at my phone. I love being in a room with dear friends for two hours laughing and not talking about work. Hell, I even love the snacks! Recently, it's become a delightful connection with my brother-in-law. As I was writing this I googled: What makes dungeons and dragons so popular. The internet replied with: What's so great about Dungeons and Dragons? Which if you ask me sounds a lot more salty than my original question, but the answers made sense nonetheless. D&D offers fun and educational benefits, including stress relief and mental health benefits. Breaking D&D rules can lead to memorable gameplay and encourage critical thinking. D&D can strengthen friendships and maintain connections, serving as more than just a game. I couldn't agree more. It's funny what you picture for yourself after a breakup. I'm not going to go into all the R-rated details of what I had in mind but suffice to say sitting around a table with sparkly dice yelling, 'Investigation check!! I want to investigate this goblin's cave!' was not it. Sure, D&D's not for everyone. In fact, I really thought it wasn't for me. Turns out I was wrong.
