Superdillin

I only beat it twice, with two of the possible endings and they both wrecked me. The world is so fascinating. The characters so compelling. The way the lore unfolds out over the trilogy is so beautiful, the emotional affect of the experience of playing Mass Effect has been, for me, uniquely profound. It doesn't always nail it and of course I have things I could pick apart etc., but I'm writing an academic paper about Samara the Justicar right now and how cool is that? As a medieval Arthurian Literature specialist, the medievalist lens by which you can read ME is also just...so cool.

Do you want to hear a improvised Action Rom Com where Katie Marovitch and I have bombs strapped to our chest by my fiance's maniacal Aunty played by Shenuque Tissera

Yeah obviously you do.

This was the beggining of the current form of the US fascist movement and it underpins the entire thing about it to this day. If you live in the US and Gamergate isn't familiar to you, you're missing critical history to understanding US fascism. I'm not joking even a little bit here, you will understand modern United States fascism so much better if you are familiar with Gamergate.

It has taken me SO long to respond to this because I really want to give a comprehensive answer so HERE GOES:

First, One Shot is a podcast that's been on the air for over 10 years, showcasing a different tabletop RPG, very often by indie designers, in self-contained one-shots with a rotating cast of performers from the Actual Play, Voice Acting, and Improv worlds. It was created and hosted by James D'Amato, until I took over the host position just over 2 years ago.

If you are already into games, one way you can decide where to start is to start with a game you find interesting (or one that hones in on a genre you really like). Our episode titles are the game titles (with rare exception) so this is an easy way to search our feed. You can also try to pick a series to start with by checking out episodes with performers you already know you like.

For instance, if you love Persephone Valentine OR love star-crossed lovers, check out You Know Me Still. If you love Amelia Som OR pastoral horror, check out Under the Autumn Strangely. If you like Christian Divyne or raucous teen comedy, check out Slugblaster. etc etc

If you aren't terribly familiar with a lot of games or names though, you here are my recommendations for One Shots that are just really great. (They're all pretty great, but these are just some offhand favorites.)

Bloodbeam Badlands

Vampires in an apocalypse where the sun never sets. The game is such a unique take on vampires, and is completely unlike the more popular vampire games, with deeply original setting-specific character types. Features the game's designer, Viditya Voleti, and two of the best Vampire the Masquerade players on earth - Josephine McAdam and Laura Tutu.

Husband Daddy Protector Hero

A true beer & pretzels, best friends around the table nonsense game wherein my best friends and roommates play a game I wrote high as a fucking kite. We get full Tim Allen Santa Claus'd. Part One features game designers Viditya Voleti, Elliot Davis, and Robin Ekberg, and in Part Two we add in games journalist Rowan Zeoli.

Under The Autumn Strangely

An eerie pastoral horror game where two people embody The Terror, two embody The Arcadians (or the world itself) and one is the Traveler, the protagonist being affected by the others as they wander through a disturbing wood. Features Amelia Som as the protagonist, Apollo Pierce and Fiona Howatt as The Terror, and myself and Brian Flaherty as The Arcadians.

Campanions

If you've ever played games like Mass Effect, Dragon Age, or Baldur's Gate and wondered "what are the rest of my companions doing back at the ranch?" This game answers this question in such a fun way. We told a very steampunk tale of adventurers who were tossed aside by their leader in favor of her latest favorites. Featuring voice actor Candace McAfee, Robin Ekberg, and Kai Ferreira.

The Time We Have

A two-player game about brothers in the zombie apocalypse. One has been infected, the other hasn't, and you play on opposite sides of a closed door during the infected brother's final days. I play my first in-person One Shot recording with the game's designer and one of my best friends, Elliot Davis.

Last Train to Bremen

A fully improvised MUSICAL (including the singing and musical accompaniment). The game at base follows a four-piece band who made a deal with the devil for their success, on the run as he finally comes to collect. I partnered with the cast of RPG Major, an improvised musical Actual Play, and flew to their studio to record such a uniquely special One Shot - which is the only One Shot to have it's own album on streaming and Bandcamp.

VOID 1680 AM (aka One Shot 100.1 OSN)

My ambitious 100th episode celebration, playing the radio show-inspired RPG VOID 1680 AM. Guests from my 2 year run hosting the show returned, playing their characters calling into my radio show to speak with me. Me, me. Not characters I've played. Truly one of the most magical pieces of actual play I've ever made, and I am bragging about it.

Classic Adventures: Typical One Shot Adventures, our characters discover their mission and jump into the action, a healthy mix of roleplay and combat.

Story Driven: Playing games that are mechanically centered around a specific story or emotional beat, usually with a more serious tone.

Beer & Pretzels: Light mechanics and heavy on the goofs. Friends at the table vibes. There's for sure a story, but it's not exactly the point.

World-Building: Playing games that are specifically about world-building, character creation, and collaborative brainstorming. There may also be story, but the building is the center point.

I will say that ALL of these overlap in some way in at least one other section - Slugblaster is also pretty classic adventure, All's Fair is also story-driven, Rise, Wizards! is very much a Beer & Pretzels. But I sorted them based on what I feel stands out the most.

Last Train to Bremen, our improvised musical One Shot, was just nominated for an ENNIE!!!!!

This is the most adventurous and ambitious actual play I've ever made and I really hope you'll listen to it before voting opens =)

I played VOID 1680 AM, a solo RPG where you host a radio show. But 27 guests from across two years of RPGs revived their characters and called in with their unfinished business. We have original music by the fictional band from our improvised musical One Shot, commissioned music from 14 musical artists, and it was truly a magical thing to make but a more magical thing to listen to.

this character I played on Unprepared Casters in 2024 is why I use mirror pronouns for myself now, which has been a solid end to a years-long journey through a lot of "eh, I guess" attempts at matching pronouns to my identity

So, I think you should donate to support Petaur, the close-up magic novice sugar glider so that a. he doesn't die and b. because this little critter actually helped me solve a queer little puzzle that I didn't know could be solved! (make sure to write "for Petaur" or "for Dillin"!!)