You hear it subtly at first: a whisper, nay— a near harmony whispering across the desert sands. It's an episode of Initiative Role, recorded so long ago nobody even knows what it's about. Sorry, folks. This one was in editing for a long time while the holidays were in swing. In this episode: Desert Critters; Marco Polo's Journal; Adventure Loop Follow us at @initiative_role on Twitter and @initiative_role on Instagram. If you like bad jokes and defenses of The Rise of Skywalker, you can find Logan on Twitter at @loganhasatake. Find the .mp3 file here.

Look. We know we did a bad thing, okay? This episode of Initiative Role was technically recorded right after the Thanksgiving season, when we thought we'd reliably be able to produce content while also finishing our finals for school. And admittedly, we were struck down for our hubris. Now, our podcast-less bodies tumble to the earth, ready to be received to the dust we came from. In this episode: The art of human decomposition; A guide to the undead; The Endless Graveyard Content Warning: We deep dive the science of death on this one. If you have a hard time with themes of death or get sick thinking about the breakdown of corpses, this is a good one to miss. Follow us at @initiative_role on Twitter and @initiative_role on Instagram. If you like bad jokes and rants about Businessweek's rhetoric, you can find Logan on Twitter at @loganhasatake. Find the .mp3 file here.

Howdy, y'all! It's me, space cowboy Logan, here to tell you all about the newest episode of Initiative Role, where we discuss how to do Dungeons and Dragons and outer space at the same time! I'm not really a space cowboy. I'm sorry to deceive the public like this. In this episode: Logan rips into Star Wars; Setpiece usage; Tangled Up in Bluth; Doctor Who?; Star Zack's Deep Space Diner and Burger Joint. Follow us at @initiative_role on Twitter and @initiative_role on Instagram. If you like bad jokes and rants about people who complain about Pokemon, you can find Logan on Twitter at @loganhasatake. Find the .mp3 file here.

Hey folks! Due to an unforeseen file corruption, we took a minute to get this re-exported and uploaded, but here it is! Recorded away from our regular soundstage (sorry bout the audio quality) and out of sync with the rest of the season, this episode is a special reflection on our last year! Hope you enjoy it, but honestly, if it's unendurable, don't feel bad skipping this one. Thanks for your support! Follow us at @initiative_role on Twitter and @initiative_role on Instagram. Find the .mp3 file here.

Soundstage 2 is still without power, and it's also under threat of extinction. But we're talking about caves and the Underdark in this one, so if there's a time to record in the darkness, I guess this is probably it. In this episode: Audio crimes by Nathaniel Johnson; Cave Spiders; Moldy molds; Hang tight to the ceiling; Things that live beneath; "Just be an elf"; The Hunting Grounds. Follow us at @initiative_role on Twitter and @initiative_role on Instagram. Find the .mp3 file here.

This spooky spooky episode of Initiative Role is brought to you from the deep dark caverns of Soundstage 2. Yep. We recorded this one in the dark, which is why it took so long to edit. We needed to find an audio editor that supported dark mode. In this episode: Vampyr Origins; Some creepy werewolf noise; Playing a monster; Vampire Boy Band; We stan a legend Follow us at @initiative_role on Twitter and @initiative_role on Instagram. Find the .mp3 file here.

Welcome to the spooky swamps of Initiative Role season 3! In this brand new take of our classic formula, we— you know what, just listen to the episode. In this one: Swamps; Bugs; Spooky Hags; A Wild Snake; Some Trees; Moss; and a little bit of Monster of the Week. Follow us at @initiative_role on Twitter and @initiative_role on Instagram. Special thanks to Brian Altano and Weird Heat for the use of their tracks "Fear" and "Isolation", which we use during Monster of the Week at the end of the show. Find the .mp3 file here.

Greetings, Traveler! I have been informed that, regrettably, there are no jokes on the episode tonight. Not even one solitary bit of wordplay with which my mean pen could grace the edges of this post. Alas, Nathaniel has said that indeed there are none, a fact he surely discovered as he edited the podcast. Those of you who come to the show exclusively for Logan's trademark wit will undoubtedly be sorely disappointed; yea, perhaps even ashamed by his performance in this, the greatest of podcasting tragedies. My sincerest apologies, refunds will be issued at the door. In this episode: We speak and muse about the planar sky, The earthly world and all our knowledge of The planes, both deep beneath and high above. But forsooth! It seems the japes have died. But sorrow not, nor let your hearts feel dread; You may create your own within your mind. This sonnet may your heart's deep wounds now bind: You're free to write your own goofs in your head. Follow us at @initiative_role on Twitter and @initiative_role on Instagram. Special thanks to Brian Altano and Weird Heat for the use of their tracks "Fear" and "Isolation", which we use during Monster of the Week at the end of the show. Find the .mp3 file here.

Hey all! Special episode of Initiative Role for you this week. In this one, we sit down with Alaina, a dungeon master getting ready for her first campaign. The three of us plan together on how to make her campaign as great as possible! In this episode: Well, I don't want to spoil it, but let's just say there are pirates. Enjoy the episode, me hearties! Follow us at @initiative_role on Twitter and @initiative_role on Instagram. Find the .mp3 file here.

Hey, all— On today's episode of Initiative Role, we discuss a lot of films, a few books, and Nathaniel learns who the protagonists of It are. It's one heck of a ride. In this episode: Hollywood Pitchcast; Cheating in duels; We actually master a dungeon; Alt dungeon design; Steven King and haunted hotels; Some spicy Monster of the Week. Follow us at @initiative_role on Twitter and @initiative_role on Instagram. Special thanks to Brian Altano and Weird Heat for the use of their tracks "Fear" and "Isolation", which we use during Monster of the Week at the end of the show. Find the .mp3 file here.

This week on Initiative Role, it's all about timing. Ya know, making good use of time. We're great at that here. No tangents or rambling. Ever. You know us too well to accuse us of those unpleasant sorts of things, right? In this episode: Dora-watch 2019; Keeping time; Logan roasts Nathaniel's campaign; Setting plot hooks; Ode to a Bard; More Monster of the Week. Follow us at @initiative_role on Twitter and @initiative_role on Instagram. Special thanks to Brian Altano and Weird Heat for the use of their tracks "Fear" and "Isolation", which we use during Monster of the Week at the end of the show. Find the .mp3 file here.

Hey, all! Great news: it seems that our new place of recording— affectionately nicknamed Soundstage 2— is permanently our to use as we wish to record this podcast. Bad news: It's giving us 'big Uni energy'. There's a tough edit somewhere in here due to a file corruption, hopefully you don't notice it. In this episode: 'Where do you think we're recording?'; Building a railroad at 80 mph; Fight the Ghost Hobo; Check your sources; Remember to turn in your quizzes! Follow us at @initiative_role on Twitter and @initiative_role on Instagram. Special thanks to Brian Altano and Weird Heat for the use of their tracks "Fear" and "Isolation", which we use during Monster of the Week at the end of the show. Find the .mp3 file here.

Hello Interwebs! This week on Initiative Role, we record from a soundproof room on our University campus, resulting in some of our cleanest audio yet. In this episode: Intriguing Politics; FlutterDuke and WingBaron; When to end a session; Nathaniel decides independent clauses aren't worth finishing; Harry Potter, High School Dropout; and a special, yet hotly anticipated surprise. Follow us at @initiative_role on Twitter and @initiative_role on Instagram. Special thanks to Brian Altano and Weird Heat for the use of their track "Fear", which we use near the end of the show. Find the .mp3 file here.

Hey, all- This week on Initiative Role, we've queued up some of our best jokes, japes, and Shrek-adjacent content yet. And we've shelved it all to talk about haunted and spooky locales. In this episode: Location, Location, Location; We take a wrong turn past Albuquerque; The Sunken Temple of the Dragon; Black Morass; D'oh!; Yes, and there are children crying. Follow us at @initiative_role on Twitter and @initiative_role on Instagram. Find the .mp3 file here.

Hey all- This week of Initiative Role is a fun one. We've got something of a live audience in the room with us, and there's a few rough bits where people are screaming in the background. And not cause the jokes are good, though they were. In this episode: Plot progression and living worlds; Recreating Dr. Kurt Connors; Harry Potter's Hill Travels; Jimmy Eat World: Greatest Hits; Nathaniel's Pokemon Pantheon. Follow us at @initiative_role on Twitter and @initiative_role on Instagram. Find the .mp3 file here.

This belated episode of Initiative Role comes to you after roughly 14 bad takes (yes, there's an outtake reel; no, you can't hear it) and one breakdown of Audacity. But hey, life isn't all rainbows and butterflies, right? And it certainly isn't all Bandits and Boromirs. In this episode: "What is a villain?"; Rewriting X-Men; Our first real writing section; It's okay, split the party; Season Shrek. Find the .mp3 file here.

Dear fans: we slaved long and hard (as we are contractually obligated to) to create this episode for you. There was a lot of punchy energy, a couple of takes, some bad air, and a half-listen of Carly Rae Jepsen's song Cut to the Feeling. A few cherry beverages were consumed as well. In this episode: Coming in hot, again; Of mice and magic; Nathaniel is an eligible bachelor; Logan dunks on his favorite novelist; Sir Fluffington. You can find the .mp3 file here.

Hello, Internet! Initiative Role is back after a long hiatus with our highly anticipated second season! Fans and critics alike begged and asked, and we delivered! In this season, there's more Shrek, and that's an Initiative Role Guarantee! In this episode: We're back, baby!; On the topic of NPCs; What's *really* happening behind that screen?; The Shrex Files; An homage of Ice and Fire; The Jack Horner Corner. You can find the .mp3 file here.

Hey, all- We're hoping to be back in the proverbial saddle with some regular episodes soon, but until then, here's Nathaniel and Gregg talking about a recent adventure we ran. Hope you enjoy it!

Hey all! This episode comes in hot after some positive feedback about episodes where we create characters. In this episode, we'll be working with some players to create characters for a new campaign we'll be playing later this summer. Meet Alton Pockettaker and Jim Hawkins! Find the .mp3 file here.