After months of seeing posts on social media and hearing about the McElroy brothers, I finally gave in this week and started listening to one of their podcasts, “The Adventure Zone.”
The McElroy brothers — Griffin, Travis and Justin — have been producers of popular content including 15 podcasts, YouTube series and a TV show. They’ve even been the source of a few popular memes. Their first podcast, “My Brother, My Brother and Me,” was originally a way for them to keep in touch while living in different states, and its popularity has led to a variety of different, mostly comedic, creative projects.
“The Adventure Zone” podcast is essentially a recording of a weekly Dungeons and Dragons game the brothers play with their father, Clint. It began in 2014, with new episodes still being posted today. When I started listening two weeks ago, I wasn’t sure that I was going to like the show and worried that the storytelling element would be too bogged down by the game-play itself. So far, I’m about halfway through listening to the first campaign (there are 12 total), “Here There Be Gerblins,” and I’ve been pleasantly surprised. It turns out the McElroy brothers are hilarious, and I’ve been missing out this entire time.
The characters in “The Adventure Zone” are as follows: Taako (Justin McElroy) is a high-elf wizard, Magnus Burnsides (Travis McElroy) is a human fighter-slash-rogue and Merle Highchurch (Clint McElroy) is a dwarf mercenary-turned-cleric, with Griffin McElroy acting as the Dungeon Master. This campaign begins when the caravan they’ve been hired to protect is attacked by “gerblins” and their employers are kidnapped.
While this podcast is of the “family fun” variety, it should be noted that most of the episodes are marked as being “explicit” due to swearing and sometimes-NSFW jokes that, while hilarious, aren’t exactly the kind of thing you want to listen to without plugging your headphones in. The podcast is pretty casual in nature as well, so the setup may not be for everyone. The narrative is often paused to clarify rules and the McElroy family does get sidetracked on a fairly consistent basis, but it’s a podcast I would recommend if you’re looking for something to brighten your day.
You can find out more about “The Adventure Zone” on the podcast’s official wiki. Download the podcast on iTunes or find alternative ways to listen here.
Story by
Megan Fairbanks
printchief@suunews.com
Photo courtesy of
The Adventure Zone
