PARTIZAN 41: Orbital Decay

This episode carries content warnings for body horror, injury and magical intoxication Like many of the truths of Realis, the nature of the Creature—conceptually—is contingent on context and subjectivity. In illustration: For the Child, the Dog may be First a companion, Second a responsibility, and Third a curious sliver of raw wilderness. For the Parent, the Dog may be First a living lesson, Second a dutiful guard, and Third, a fellow Caregiver, capable of providing food, shelter, and spiritual guidance for the Child in their own absence. Expand such a survey to include the Fisher, the Ranger (Scout), the Ranger (Herder), the Butcher, or, not least of all, the fellow Beast, and you will have a deluge of truth, each insisting on its own merit. One wonders: Why do so few dare ask the Creature to speak for itself?   Hosted by Austin Walker (@austinwalker on bluesky) Featuring Art Martinez-Tebbel, Keith J Carberry and Ali Acampora Produced by Ali Acampora Music by Jack de Quidt (available on bandcamp) Cover Art by by Oddesque With thanks to Amelia Renee, Arthur B., Aster Maragos, Bill Kaszubski, Cassie Jones, Clark, DB, Daniel Laloggia, Diana Crowley, Edwin Adelsberger, Emrys, Greg Cobb, Ian O'Dea, Ian Urbina, Irina A., Jack Shirai, Jake Strang, Katie Diekhaus, Ken George, Konisforce, Kristina Harris Esq, L Tantivy, Lawson Coleman, Mark Conner, Mike & Ruby, Muna A, Nat Knight, Olive Perry, Quinn Pollock, Robert Lasica, Shawn Drape, Shawn Hall, Summer Rose, TeganEden, Thomas Whitney, Voi, chocoube, deepFlaw, fen, & weakmint This episode was made with support from listeners like you! To support us, you can go to friendsatthetable.cash.

21 Feb 1h 53min

As far as traveling spectacles go, the Krinsky Family Circus has it good. Because it only operates on the four moons of the Tetraspherica, which orbit close enough for low orbit shuttles to traverse, it does not need to rely on the mercurial whims of an Orphan Vessel. And because of the variety of cultures encountered on its circuit, there is always the opportunity to find new hires and encounter fellow showmen from which new techniques. Most of all, because the route is short and reliable, Those Nerveless Chancers are able to do more than simply skate across the surface of the local culture, little more than tourists. They're able to dig a little deeper, so to speak. A little curiosity and some sharp application of professional skill is all it takes to open the right doors… Hosted by Austin Walker (@austinwalker on bluesky) Featuring Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal on bluesky) Produced by Ali Acampora Music by Jack de Quidt (available on bandcamp) Cover Art by by Oddesque With thanks to Amelia Renee, Arthur B., Bill Kaszubski, Cassie Jones, Clark, DB, Daniel Laloggia, Diana Crowley, Edwin Adelsberger, Emrys, Greg Cobb, Ian O'Dea, Ian Urbina, Irina A., Jack Shirai, Jake Strang, Katie Diekhaus, Ken George, Konisforce, Kristina Harris Esq, L Tantivy, Lawson Coleman, Mark Conner, Mike & Ruby, Muna A, Nat Knight, Nich Maragos, Olive Perry, Quinn Pollock, Robert Lasica, Shawn Drape, Shawn Hall, Summer Rose, TeganEden, Thomas Whitney, Voi, chocoube, deepFlaw, fen, & weakmint This episode was made with support from listeners like you! To support us, you can go to friendsatthetable.cash.

14 Feb 2h 8min

Ulled is a pocked and placid-seeming agricultural moon. But as the saying goes, be wary the still lake. Yes, farmers speak softly and tend to their crops with loving cultivation. Yes, life is quiet and late afternoons are restful. Yes, harvest work brings reward. But then there is underneath. There is underneath. But Those Nerveless Chancers, The Krinsky Family Circus And Travelling Curiosity, they know only what is above. They know they step on fertile soil and soft grass, perfect for staking their tents and stands. They know they walk through fields under the lights and shadows of the Citadel Bein, a fortress layered with history so visible that it is seemingly built from the accretion of time itself. They know that they stand above a castle village sonorous with the sounds of marketplaces and buskers and craftshops—a circus of a different type than their own, but not altogether unfamiliar. They know they stand on a geological shelf, the shore of a vast, shimmering lake beyond—open like a sea, polished as a mirror, reflecting the sky above, reflecting the Thousand Moons in conlunation, reflecting Realis-itself, and in its light The Tetraspherica: Three more marble-like moons. Cousin orbs. Neighbor spheres dominating the heavens above. So is it any wonder they do not consider what might be below? What might move in that fertile soil or between the blades of that soft grass? What else might have staked a claim on Placid Ulled? Or who else might move in the shadows of the citadel Bein? What else might hover above the echoes of the castle town? Who else might stare out onto the lake's horizon, might witness the impossible beauty of the dancing lunar quartet, might bathe in the bluelight of Realis-Itself, and radiating with pure possibility, dream!? It is no wonder at all. Such is life on the Thousand Moons. Such is life for those Nerveless Chancers, that circus caught in gravity. At least, for now. Hosted by Austin Walker (@austinwalker on bluesky) Featuring Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal on bluesky) Produced by Ali Acampora Music by Jack de Quidt (available on bandcamp) Cover Art by by Oddesque With thanks to Amelia Renee, Arthur B., Bill Kaszubski, Cassie Jones, Clark, DB, Daniel Laloggia, Diana Crowley, Edwin Adelsberger, Emrys, Greg Cobb, Ian O'Dea, Ian Urbina, Irina A., Jack Shirai, Jake Strang, Katie Diekhaus, Ken George, Konisforce, Kristina Harris Esq, L Tantivy, Lawson Coleman, Mark Conner, Mike & Ruby, Muna A, Nat Knight, Nich Maragos, Olive Perry, Quinn Pollock, Robert Lasica, Shawn Drape, Shawn Hall, Summer Rose, TeganEden, Thomas Whitney, Voi, chocoube, deepFlaw, fen, & weakmint This episode was made with support from listeners like you! To support us, you can go to friendsatthetable.cash.

7 Feb 2h 8min

I want you to close your eyes and imagine with me: Imagine Realis Itself, the Radiant Planet at the heart of the Thousand Moons, that orb which lights the cosmos entire. Above it, the betrayer star, the Corpse Sun, red and sick and pulsing ill, small and fainter by the day. Below it, hungry and roiling, the Great Void, an abyss of voracious clouds. And in between, those thousand moons, countless except you know their number. Varied eternally, yet all dwarfed by the azure orb around which they glide. And there, bring them to mind too: Four colorful moons, spinning and buzzing and twirling around each other. Do you remember their names? The names of the Tetraspherica? The Speckled Quartet, the Marbled Quartenion? Those spinning, glorious jewels—unique even among all thousand of the moons of Realis? Let me tell remind you: Placid Ulled. World of farms, of cultivation, of soil—and of what lies beneath it. The Crux. A vast colosseum world where victory, glory, and power have been rendered equivalent. Prismatic Principia: Home to the Endless Academy, whose halls house famed philosophers, eager alchemists, mages, and—it seems—the occasional ghost as well. And Hypnotic Dokine, where mists mystify, clouds corrode, and the light always reveals a new truth. For as Long as Long had been, these four vibrant moons have swung with dancer's rhythm around one another. Long before the great Powers spread their influence across the orbital sphere, long before the founders of Sphenic Polytechnic revived the Orphan Vessels, LONG BEFORE THE MOONFOLK UNDERSTOOD THEY WERE THE MOONFOLK, those who lived on the worlds of the Tetraspherica knew each other as neighbors, traveling through orbital shuttle, exchanging supplies and stories, marrying and moving and making lives together. "True as the tetrad," the saying goes. A stable waltz. Four marbles in alignment. Eternal. Reliable. Unshakeable. But today… in the shadow of an Ulledd mountain, in the keep of the Citadel Bein, where negotiators bicker and showmen entertain and lords gather for a feast, a treacherous conspiracy unfolds… Hosted by Austin Walker (@austinwalker on bluesky) Featuring Ali Acampora, Keith J Carberry and Art Martinez-Tebbel Produced by Ali Acampora Music by Jack de Quidt (available on bandcamp) Cover Art by by Oddesque With thanks to Amelia Renee, Arthur B., Bill Kaszubski, Cassie Jones, Clark, DB, Daniel Laloggia, Diana Crowley, Edwin Adelsberger, Emrys, Greg Cobb, Ian O'Dea, Ian Urbina, Irina A., Jack Shirai, Jake Strang, Katie Diekhaus, Ken George, Konisforce, Kristina Harris Esq, L Tantivy, Lawson Coleman, Mark Conner, Mike & Ruby, Muna A, Nat Knight, Nich Maragos, Olive Perry, Quinn Pollock, Robert Lasica, Shawn Drape, Shawn Hall, Summer Rose, TeganEden, Thomas Whitney, Voi, chocoube, deepFlaw, fen, & weakmint, This episode was made with support from listeners like you! To support us, you can go to friendsatthetable.cash.

30 Jan 2h 12min

Two and a half years ago, towards the end of our NNAFN fundraiser, I announced that I was making a game called Realis. That game is now here—at least in Ashcan form. So, what is Realis? Realis is a cursed orbital sphere of 1,000 mystical moons filled with mystery, magic, and impossible technology. Realis is a game of diceless storytelling, where characters deploy powerful Sentences, which are rewritten over the course of their saga. And it's available right now. This Ashcan version is being published by Possible Worlds Games. This version has 20 Playable Classes and 40 NPC Classes (both of which are less than half of what will be available in the final edition), three Grand Factions, two Example Moons, art by Sam Beck and Oddesque, and layout by Tyler Crumrine. It has some additional design and writing by Friends at the Table's own Jack de Quidt and Janine Hawkins. So, that is Realis. And today, we start our campaign of the game, beginning with this introduction to the game featuring me and Jack, free for all listeners of Friends at the Table. Then, tomorrow, all $5 members of our Patreon will get access to the character creation for our ongoing, Patreon-exclusive Realis campaign—and will receive a new episode every week for the first couple of months, as we catch up with our overdue Patreon episodes. And guess what: The whole first arc of that campaign will also be free, available here in this feed, just one week behind the Patreon release. Once that's over, we'll begin our next full, main feed season, Perpetua, where we'll be playing Fabula Ultima. We've already begun recording that, too, and it's been a blast. I can't wait for y'all to hear what we've been cooking up. (Oh, and definitely go listen to Media Club Plus. We're headed into the most exciting and dramatic part of the Chimera Ant Arc, and now is the best time to catch up with us!) Thanks as always for your support. -Austin Hosted by Austin Walker (@austinwalker on bluesky) Featuring Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal on bluesky) Produced by Ali Acampora Music by Jack de Quidt (available on bandcamp) Cover Art by by Oddesque With thanks to Amelia Renee, Arthur B., Bill Kaszubski, Cassie Jones, Clark, DB, Daniel Laloggia, Diana Crowley, Edwin Adelsberger, Emrys, Greg Cobb, Ian O'Dea, Ian Urbina, Irina A., Jack Shirai, Jake Strang, Katie Diekhaus, Ken George, Konisforce, Kristina Harris Esq, L Tantivy, Lawson Coleman, Mark Conner, Mike & Ruby, Muna A, Nat Knight, Nich Maragos, Olive Perry, Quinn Pollock, Robert Lasica, Shawn Drape, Shawn Hall, Summer Rose, TeganEden, Thomas Whitney, Voi, chocoube, deepFlaw, fen, & weakmint, This episode was made with support from listeners like you! To support us, you can go to friendsatthetable.cash.

24 Jan 1h 54min

Hey everyone, here's the audio for the Shooting the Moon finale!  Ali, Jack and Janine played Shooting the Moon by Emily Care Boss (which you  can find here: http://www.blackgreengames.com/shop).  Join us as we return to a far away toy shop in a  snow covered down as the beloved toymaker and her suitors chase their dreams and their hearts~ We'll be back very soon with brand new episodes.

17 Jan 1h 42min

Join us as we return to a far away toy shop in a  snow covered down as the beloved toymaker and her suitors chase their dreams and their hearts~

10 Jan 2h 26min

Here's part two of Shooting The Moon featuring Jack, Janine and Ali! The suitors meet their beloved and with her, an opportunity to achieve their dreams. Will they be able to overcome the hurdles that stand in their way? Will the beloved find a partner on her path to achieve her own dreams? A transcription is available for this episode here.

3 Jan 1h 51min