D&D with drink talk, silly twists, and a soft heart.
Distinguished Adventurers is a Dungeons & Dragons actual play built around a Radiant Citadel campaign, with one-shots that put other players in the game master's chair. The cast say what they're drinking before play starts, and the stories get silly, from Christmas chickens to spy-agency errands, without losing their warmth.
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Distinguished Adventurers is a Dungeons & Dragons actual play, and its center of gravity is a campaign set in and around the Radiant Citadel. Lauren runs that campaign as dungeon master. The show does not stay put, though. Its one-shots have put other players in the game master's chair, and they swing hard between genres. In 'Hometown Holiday', a one-shot that grew into a two-parter, Jack runs a game in Quinoa Falls where three characters vie for one resident's attention in the manner of a cheesy Hallmark holiday movie. The errands are as small-town as it gets: steadying a Christmas tree, then getting a truckload of chickens to a Christmas concert just as it starts. Luke McKay plays in that game; he is a semi-frequent guest and the artist behind the art for most of the characters. 'Humble Horses' hands the reins to Jonathan as temporary DM. Its heroes are the ne'er-do-wells at the bottom of the Alderheart Intelligence Agency, quietly tasked by the First Desk with looking into Nick Ducky, head of the agency's paramilitary arm. 'Paragons Part 2 - The Knockabouts' turns to superheroes, as a team including Sweet Tart and Incognito slips into a mountaintop base and confronts a villain whose plan to discourage east-to-west flights comes with a threat against passenger planes and a gigantic laser weapon. Drinks are a running ritual. Before play, the cast go around and say what they're having, whether that's a blackberry-lime sparkling water or an unnamed sugar-free sports drink. The table talk wanders. A fantasy treetop district gets a luxury open-air mall with Nordstrom and Cartier, a character's desk drink turns out to be cotton-candy water, and a glowing blade song mostly buys one character enough walking speed to keep up. A player even breaks off mid-scene for a daycare drop-off story. Jack mentions that some iteration of the podcast has been going for almost ten years. The year-end episode 'Favorite Moments from 2024' sets the dice aside. Cast members recorded their favorite moments separately, to see whether anyone would land on the same one. One pick is a plot twist, credited to Lauren, that traced explosions beneath a city to what was basically flatulence, framed as an environmental disaster born of eating cows and careless stewardship. The same cast member praises a quieter beat, when characters who are not really fighters check on one another after a battle. That mix of silly and sincere sums up the whole show. Episodes sign off with dedications to Patreon patrons and a promise to see listeners next encounter.
Made for: Suits a listener who likes actual-play D&D with room for tangents, jokes and genre-hopping one-shots, but who also wants the characters to check on each other after a fight.
What sets it apart: Alongside the Radiant Citadel campaign, its one-shots give other players the game master's role, which has produced a Hallmark-style holiday game and an intelligence-agency job, and the show also takes on a superhero mission. Games open with the cast saying what they're drinking, a small ritual that sets a relaxed tone.
Every other week five friends get together, talk about their drinks, and play Dungeons & Dragons. Join Jack, John, Jonathan, Juls, and DM Lauren on exciting adventures on the Radiant Citadel, Wildspace, and BEYOND!
A cotton-candy drink becomes character lore; your appetite for tabletop silliness has found its table.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A cozy tabletop holiday romance gets warmly sidetracked by chickens at the Christmas kickoff.
Part two of Hometown Holidays leans into its small-town holiday-romance setup with a wink, turning a tabletop game into a cozy run of festive errands, flirtation, and seasonal absurdity.
A tree repair, a few uneven rolls, and table chemistry that turns maintenance into comedy.
Quinoa Falls gives Distinguished Adventurers a homier kind of detour, with Jack stepping into the DM chair, Lauren laying out her golden monkey tea and ginger ale setup, and a damaged tree turning into a modest test of teamwork.
A discreet agency job winds through badges, a glowing blade, and a luxury loft in the Humblewood canopy.
Nick Ducky, head of the Alderheart Intelligence Agency's paramilitary arm, gives Humble Horses Part 2 a clear spine. Once the First Desk hands off a job she wants kept quiet, the agency's bottom-feeder crew has to move with care through a Humblewood canopy of polished hotels,…
A D&D office caper where a paper barricade meets an increasingly bad mood.
Distinguished Adventurers steps away from its usual campaign for a D&D one-shot run by Jonathan, holding back the characters while the table eases in with Banzai Blackberry Lime, Vita Coco, and strawberry lemonade served in a 2001 Burger King Gandalf goblet.
A careful superhero infiltration turns into a laser-backed Payload showdown, with tactical table talk keeping the chaos readable.
Distinguished Adventurers returns to its mountaintop infiltration with the R3 superheroes already inside the base, turning powers into problem-solving tools rather than spectacle.
Dice, divine mysteries, and the trouble with good intentions.
Five friends play Dungeons & Dragons, starting a session in a treasure vault with drink talk and character introductions.
A special holiday episode where the DM and two players discuss the campaign and their experience at PAX Unplugged, with a patron dedication.
Five friends play Dungeons & Dragons, discussing their drinks and continuing an adventure in a treasure vault.
Distinguished Adventurers' 'Hometown Holiday Part 2' follows a no-kill shelter visit that turns into a plan to save a farm's Christmas eggnog by cheering up chickens with music.
Distinguished Adventurers' Hometown Holiday Part 1 sends Jack, Lauren, Jonathan, and guest Luke McKay to a town the hosts call Incipit Flats and later Quinoa Flats.
["Distinguished Adventurers' \"Humble Horses Part 2\" follows Jonathan, Jon, Jack, and Lauren as the Root House crew tracks Nick Ducky across Alderheart and the Humblewood.", "At the Merry Knot in the Trunk District, Scurry says Nick has not appeared for months, quit Berry Brew, and used to order four or five half-pints.", "The search moves to the Loft in the Canopy, where the reservation book has Nick Ducky and two unknown guests, and a Luma tells the team Mr.
Distinguished Adventurers' "Humble Horses Part 1" turns Slow Horses into a Humblewood one-shot, with Jonathan running the table as dungeon master, game master, and storyteller.
Distinguished Adventurers' 'Paragons Part 2 - The Knockabouts' follows Sweet Tart, Pared, and Incognito as they break into a concrete mountain base and reach a third-floor workshop.
Distinguished Adventurers presents a Paragon’s The Roleplaying Game one-shot led by designer Josh Simons, with Lauren Urban, Jonathan, and Eugenio Vargas playing heroes sent by the Alliance to investigate a mountain facility near Colorado’s Mount Elbert.
Distinguished Adventurers Campaign 2 Ep 32 reunites the party at the Radiant Citadel before a trip to Dialongon for the next part of their spell jammer.
Distinguished Adventurers Campaign 2 Ep 31 follows El Torito as he returns from Yongjing and confronts Lyric Reetmore about missing Radiant All-Stars Wrestling’s first Auroral Amphitheater match.
The episode features a crossover with Taking Initiative podcast, where the barbarian Surreal encounters past relationships in a tavern.