Round Table Episode 39-42

January 9, 2026·50 min·4 clips

The Red Dirt D&D crew debates whether a kobold named Pepperoni is a fitting character name for their Extra Life adventure.

1. Red Dirt D&D's Round Table covers episodes 39 through 42 of the Curse of the Clockwork City actual play campaign, with players Michael Kross, Connor Chenault, Johnny Payne, Kiri Hester, and DM Brett Bullock. 2. The episode was recorded in mid-to-late October 2025 at approximately 80 degrees Fahrenheit in Oklahoma, contrasting with the January release date when temperatures will be in the teens. 3. The episode opens with the cast recapping an Extra Life 2025 charity event Connor ran at the Kobold Lounge, where players played all-kobold characters in Ironspire trying to accumulate treasure for a small dragon living under the city — now canonized into the campaign. 4. Connor ran six and a half hours of content for the Extra Life playtest, which was recorded for Patreon members; Michael edited in sound effects and music based on the raw recording. 5. Only one table of Extra Life participants visited the in-game Siren Song bar, disappointing Kiri; most prioritized the Copperman Casino and other locations. 6. The cast discusses the mutual affection for Connor's kobold character 'Kobe' — including his ongoing compensation in maple syrup and his role managing the Siren Song in the main campaign during the party's absence. 7. Kiri's character Moxie first encountered mimic creatures in the dungeon, messaged Sable that something attacked them, and received the response that there was another one in Sable's room — without specifying whether it was still alive. 8. DM Brett Bullock reveals his headcanon that the frozen dead desk in the dungeon was a deceased mama mimic, and that the non-fighting drawers were her dead babies — meaning August likely inhaled dead mimic dust when one crumbled in his hand. 9. The cast debates whether mimic offspring are limited to wooden furniture shapes or could grow up to become doors, coffee mugs, or telephone stands, and notes that in decades of D&D no one has ever stayed to watch a mimic's corpse after defeating it. 10. Sable/Connor's dice performance in episodes 39-42 is described as exceptional — at least two natural 20s in combat including spider climb sequences — prompting Kiri to say 'the three of us equal out to one Sable.' 11. Brett identifies himself as a 'player's DM' who enjoys watching players decimate enemies, and notes that his own dice have historically rolled poorly until switching to 'sparkly shiny dice.' 12. Johnny/August contributed to a memorable combat moment by giving his high initiative roll to Dr. Stone and remaining in a roleplay argument with Kiri about whether you could identify a mimic only from its name — while staying in character throughout the initiative phase. 13. The cast anticipates that episodes following 42 will deliver major revelations when the party reaches a bay of windows deep under the dungeon, with Brett teasing 'you guys are going to see the vision in front of you.' 14. Michael Cross describes confusion when finding the Manual of the Planes in-game, initially mistaking it for one of the stat-boosting magical manuals in D&D rules, then recognizing it as the actual 2E/3E sourcebook on planar cosmology. 15. Brett explains that fifth edition preserved the inner and outer planes cosmology almost entirely from first edition D&D, just removing dated language, and that this lore is consistent going back to Gygax's original Greyhawk material. 16. The cast discusses the Living Greyhawk revival by Baldwin Games, which has WOTC support, will be set slightly ahead of original Greyhawk's timeline, and is organized regionally with the biggest regional convention as each area's home base. 17. Brett attributes the rise of Paizo and Steve Jackson Games to Gary Gygax's historical resistance to third-party D&D content, and celebrates WOTC's recent decision to fully open D&D Beyond to third-party publishers as a turning point for the hobby. 18. The episode closes with shoutouts to new Patreon members from October — Lewis 'the Mean Dean,' Timothy B., and Jacob — and discussion of a Discord-reported Cog of Fate bonus for Johnny's unreturned gift to patron Scott. 19. The roundtable format is casual, affectionate, and lore-deep, with the cast frequently interrupting each other, referencing inside jokes, and weaving Oklahoma weather observations into the discussion. 20. D&D players and actual-play fans who enjoy behind-the-scenes campaign commentary, DM philosophy, and tabletop game industry history will find this episode engaging.

As heard by us

A loose, funny table talk episode that keeps campaign details moving through running jokes.

This roundtable spends most of its time on Curse of the Clockwork City, and its appeal is the way the crew turns recap into live chemistry. The jokes, the Extra Life shirt chatter, and the running callbacks give the table a worn-in feel without smoothing off the rough edges.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

If you want a recap that keeps slipping into bits, this roundtable has you covered.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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