Pickaxe
291 episodes listed below
Table chaos with real emotional consequences.
Cast Party follows D&D parties through campaigns where jokes, rules checks, and emotional fallout all share the same table. Recent episodes move between Nocturne’s Curse of Strahd story, split-party city trouble, combat-focused side paths, and frank behind-the-scenes reflection.
PRESS PLAY
Cast Party is a Dungeons & Dragons series with the texture of a busy, affectionate table. It is story-forward, but never embarrassed by the game underneath the story. Rules talk, party logistics, character grief, bad plans, and small jokes all stay in the mix. That looseness is part of its appeal. Recent episodes show a wide spread of play: the gothic endgame of Nocturne, split-party city exploration, combat-focused detours, and behind-the-scenes conversations about what the cast meant to do before the dice and relationships changed things. Nocturne brings the darker material. Castle Ravenloft, Vallaki, Argenvostholt, Theron’s death, and a looming wedding finale give that arc a tragic, high-pressure shape. The cast does not treat those stakes as decoration. Characters carry grudges, debts, fears, and private histories, including one discussion of a brutal plan that would have changed the group’s trust completely. Then the tone snaps back to table warmth. Someone stumbles through an intro. Someone needles the longest-running bit. A tactical question turns into a joke, and the joke becomes part of the room. The broader Cast Party feed also makes room for lighter chaos, from Order of the Chrysalis intrigue to spa rumors, theater gossip, soup night, and a possible ghost in the sauna. Split-party episodes give individual characters sharper focus, as with Jackal Campman and Santos heading toward a fight in the hollows of Karmarth. The show’s best moments come from that push and pull: character sincerity without stiffness, comedy without dropping the stakes. It is not a lore lecture. It is a seat near the table, close enough to hear the planning wobble, the emotional choices land, and the cast decide together what kind of trouble comes next.
Made for: Best for D&D fans who like ensemble chemistry, audible table chatter, gothic campaign stakes, and character decisions that carry emotional weight.
What sets it apart: Cast Party keeps the table visible: the jokes, mechanics, rewrites, and behind-the-scenes regrets matter as much as the polished fantasy. Its campaigns feel communal rather than scripted, with comedy and tragedy constantly interrupting each other.
Welcome to Cast Party, the PERFECT Blend of Comedy & TragedyLike what you hear? Support us directly on Patreon! Patreon.com/CastParty
Based on 5 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Character-first actual play meets candid behind-the-scenes reflection, showing how player choices turn an ongoing campaign into ensemble drama.
Cast Party turns Dungeons & Dragons sessions into character-led ensemble drama, with table talk and jokes sitting comfortably beside grief, danger, and confrontation.
Strahd gets thunder and lightning; you get the table's what-if about a betrayal that never happened.
Press play if you want
Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A quiet library bluff turns into a sharp test of the party's improvisational nerve.
The split party reaches the Order of the Chrysalis library in Silktop, and the scene settles into quiet pressure fast. What works here is the cover story they invent on the fly, with a tutor-and-magic angle that feels just plausible enough to keep them moving while a…
A brisk recap that turns a villain plan and a grief beat into character depth.
This behind-the-scenes hour revisits episodes 42 through 49, moving from the end of the Masquerade arc and the trip back to Vallaki to Theron's death and the walk out of Argenvost Holt.
A finale that earns its sunrise, with banter and dread sharing the same breath.
This episode closes the campaign in Barovia with a full-throttle showdown: the Sunbringers face Strahd in his throne room, and his furious speech shifts the room from eerie to plain dangerous.
A strange, tender spell lesson that keeps tripping into real feeling.
Spellcasting 101 treats magic as something awkward, personal, and still under construction: a training session with the Order of the Chrysalis, glitching doors, and a quieter drift toward Eloise's world.
A roomy, banter-forward episode that finds its biggest lift in the planetarium.
Cast Party uses Rocky's wedding-week absence and the visit to Eloise to keep the episode moving outward. The planetarium stretch lands as the strongest passage, letting the wonder settle before the table pulls it back to plain, human reaction.
Family-friendly fantasy with table-chaos momentum.
Nilay Patel presses tech and media CEOs on how they actually run their companies.
Physician Shoshana Ungerleider pairs TED talks with interviews on aging, drug prices, and menopause.
Food52 hosts break down recipes and food-business origin stories, from sourdough to Salty Pimp cones.
Rocky is missing from the table because she is getting married and is buried in the final wedding prep stages and her honeymoon.
The podcast introduces a Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying episode set in the Curse of Strahd campaign during Valentine's Day week, featuring the cast and their characters.
The podcast episode introduces the cast and characters of a Battletech roleplaying campaign, recapping the previous episode's cliffhanger involving a rescue and a burning building.
This segment introduces the podcast hosts and cast members as they prepare for a role-playing episode set in a wedding scenario within the Curse of Strahd universe.
This segment introduces the hosts and cast of a podcast discussing Battletech fiction and a role-playing game session for Curse of Strahd, with personal introductions and social media handles.
The podcast introduces a book club covering Battletech fiction and transitions to a role-playing game segment where adventurers discuss a mysterious mark and training with a character named Stratton.
The podcast introduces its hosts, promotes Patreon benefits, and begins a D&D campaign episode with character introductions.
This segment introduces the podcast's focus on Battletech fiction and promotes Patreon perks, then transitions into a D&D game episode titled 'Nocturne, a curse of Strahd Dale' with cast introductions.
This episode introduces a podcast that discusses Battletech fiction and D&D gameplay, with promotions for Patreon support and cast introductions.
This segment introduces the podcast 'Of Mex and Men' as a Battletech book club, promotes Patreon benefits, and transitions into a D&D actual play episode called 'Nocturne, a Curse of Strahd Tale' with cast introductions.
This segment introduces financial planning for business owners and promotes a podcast with exclusive content on Patreon.
This segment introduces the podcast 'Of Mex and Men' as a Battletech book club, promotes Patreon benefits, and transitions into a D&D episode called 'Nocturne, a Curse of Strahd Tale'.
The podcast introduces its book club format covering Battletech fiction, promotes Patreon benefits, and transitions to a D&D actual play segment called Nocturne: A Curse of Strahd Tale.
The Sunbringers reach Strahd's throne room.
This segment introduces the podcast's focus on Battletech fiction and promotes their Patreon for exclusive content, followed by the cast introducing their characters for a roleplaying session.
This episode introduces the podcast's focus on Battletech fiction and promotes their Patreon for exclusive content, followed by cast introductions for a D&D game segment.
The episode opens by recapping the Order of the Chrysalis training, where the group has to figure out what to remove from themselves as their aura-copies turn into energy balls and shoot out of the room.
This episode introduces a book club podcast focused on Battletech fiction and promotes Patreon benefits for exclusive content and community engagement.
Cast Party: A Dungeons & Dragons Podcast returns in “Swords And Scales” with the party confronting a smoke dragon formed from the metallic dodecahedron that fell near Twin Rivers.
Cast Party's “Gems, Vampires, & BATS!” follows Colin McManus, Ryan McManus, Anna Brisbane, and Raquel Skellington through Kele's mines after six miners disappear.
This episode marks the finale of the Nocturne, A Curse of Strahd campaign, with host Ryan McManus directing for the last time as cast members Mae and Jose introduce their characters and reflect on the emotional journey.
This episode of Cast Party introduces the hosts and characters for a Dungeons & Dragons adventure, with a humorous and promotional tone.
Behind the scenes of Nocturne gets messy almost immediately.
This episode promotes the interactive Dungeons & Dragons podcast 'No Quest For The Wicked', where listeners can join the council to vote on decisions and influence the story.
This episode introduces an interactive actual play podcast where listeners join a council to vote on decisions, create NPCs, form factions, and influence the story in a sci-fi/fantasy setting.
This episode of Cast Party is an actual play role-playing game session focusing on characters Jackal Campman and Santos the Glavenator as they navigate the hollows of Karmarth, continuing their fantasy adventure story.
This episode is an actual play D&D podcast where listeners can interactively influence the story through voting and community engagement.
This episode features multiple sponsor advertisements for Iron Brew ice cream, West Home Wagyu beef, and the podcast's Patreon subscription service.
The host shares a surprisingly smooth experience selling a car through Carvana while expressing anxiety about things going too well, followed by sponsor ads for PayPal Pay in 4 and Patreon, and a transition back to their D&D podcast Nocturne.
This episode of the actual play podcast No Quest For The Wicked announces cast member Christian's departure while continuing its interactive sci-fi story where listeners influence the narrative.
This episode is part of an actual play Dungeons & Dragons podcast where the cast and crew, including characters like Theron, engage in a collaborative storytelling session set in a fantasy world, with a focus on a wedding scenario within the Curse of Strahd campaign.
This episode is an interactive actual play D&D podcast where listeners can vote on decisions, create NPCs, and influence the story as two characters face a dark threat in a sci-fi setting.
This episode continues a collaborative D&D actual play podcast where listeners can influence the story through voting and participation while following characters in a sci-fi fantasy setting.