Matt and Joe explore the possibility that Faerin Lothar of Hallowfell is being set up as a love interest for Anduin, the questionable motivations of the High Heavens and Burning Hells post-Diablo 3, and the parallels between the way the Diablo and WoW franchises approach storytelling. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Matt and Joe debate the philosophical implications of how the Light affects free will, its relation to the Void, and its influence on prominent lore characters like Anduin Wrynn. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We conclude our Dragon Age lore series with the game that started it all: Dragon Age: Origins. This episode delves into the morally complex world of Thedas, the struggles of the Grey Wardens, and the foundation of the Blight plus other key elements introduced in this title and further developed in the sequels. As usual, more spoilers than Morrigan …

Matt and Joe are joined by Liz as they dive into what you need to know about the Dragon Age 2 storyline to prepare you for this week's launch of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. They cover the major events and characters of the title as well as the themes of power, agency, and moral ambiguity the game explores. And, of course, the introduction of everyon…

Matt and Joe are joined by Liz as they wrap up their discussion of the events in Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred. They cover how the final confrontation of the campaign sets up the next chapter in the game’s story, the larger motivations of Mephisto, and the influence of corporate monetization strategies on the depth of storytelling. Also, multitasking w…

Matt and Joe delve into the narrative, characters, and villains from the latest Diablo 4 expansion, Vessel of Hatred. They cover everything from Neyrelle’s continued story arc to the spiritborn’s connection to the spirit realm to the most memorable moments in the game. And, most importantly, how the appearance of a certain spirit was absolutely, to…

Matt, Joe, and Liz cover everything you need to know about the lore of Dragon Age: Inquisition in preparation for the upcoming release of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. They cover topics ranging from the main Inquisitor storyline to the history of the elves to the deceitful companionship of trickster god himself, the Dread Wolf. Spoilers abound if you …

Join Matt and Joe as they explore how the plight of the Nerubians of Azj-Kahet may provide insight into other groups corrupted by the Old Gods, more potential underground regions that could be explored in Azeroth, the history and destruction of Dalaran, and the burning question keeping us up at night: Why don’t the Earthen have Scottish accents? Ho…

Join Matt and Joe as they explore the theory that Xal’atath may have began as a Titan construct, the surprisingly inclusive beginnings of the Scarlet Crusade, and the recent influence of the most terrible, evil, and loathsome Old God of them all, daily grinds— uh, Y’Shaarj. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Join Matt and Joe as they untangle the history and origin of the Arathi from their establishment of the Seven Kingdoms to their alliance with the high elves to their war against the trolls. Plus an overview of which faction in WoW canonically beat major dungeons and raids in the game and how the unholy mixture of void magic and old god corruption p…

In this episode, we are joined by Phil “The goblin with the dumb name that you all love” Ulrich as we go in-depth on the good, the bad, and the ugly of the new Player’s Handbook. Also the trend of more open development by TTRPG game designers, what upcoming games we are looking forward to playing, and what we want from Wizards of the Coast’s upcomi…

Join Matt and Joe as they explore the repeated use of echoes and memories through the storyline of the current expansion leading to a discussion about the cyclical nature of WoW’s storytelling as well as the subversion of tropes in recent narratives in the game. (Spoilers for the War Within main campaign.) Also, the origins of Moonkins and murlocs …

Join Matt and Joe as they explore the history and culture of the Arathi Empire, speculating on its transformation from a human-led nation into a society of mixed human and elven heritage. Tin foil hatting ensues about the empire's leadership, the role of prophetic visions from the Sacred Flame, and their zone in the new expansion, Hallowfall. And t…

Matt, Joe, and Liz have been playing through early access of The War Within and have tHOuGhTz & oPiNioNz on the new lore info in the expansion. Topics include the extra depth we're getting on the lead lore characters and themes of mental health throughout the game as well as how you can see the Earthen's Titan roots throughout their story, the envi…

Join us as we explore what we know so far about The War Within storyline to tin foil hat our way through implications for WoW’s larger narrative. Like we do. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join us as we explore Marvel’s recent Comic-Con announcement that Robert Downey Jr. will return to the MCU as iconic villain Doctor Doom for the upcoming “Secret Wars” two-part movie. Discover why we think Viktor von Doom can be described as a villainous Boy Scout, how his relationship with Tony Stark is the world’s most dangerous and dysfunctional…

Join us as we explore how the Scarred, a corrupted Earthen race in Khaz Algar of The War Within, may be connected to the twisted Dark Iron Dwarves of Grim Batol. Going further down the rabbit hole, we also delve (hehe) into how many underground zones in WoW could be linked through Old God corruption and how this might be a larger narrative in the g…

Join us as we discuss how we think the story of Magni and Brann Bronzebeard might play out in the upcoming expansion, various interpretations of The Prophecy of The Boy King (spoiler: it may not be about Anduin), and the possible connection between the Nerubians and the underground spider-elf hybrids known as drider-- uh the Fal’dorei of Suramar. H…

Tavern Watch is our podcast devoted to tabletop roleplaying games brought to you by the people behind the Blizzard Watch and Lore Watch podcasts. In this episode, we discuss the updated D&D rulebooks rolling out soon, the impact of the recent massive layoffs at Wizards of the Coast on both their own products and the larger industry, the role of AI …

Join us as we discuss if WoW is a narrative-first game, the evolution of the portrayal of goblins, and if Anduin taking center stage in the upcoming expansion means Sylvanas will also make an appearance. Bonus: Just how old is Dadgar—uh, Khadgar? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

From the Old God-imbued Saronite to the crystalized blood of Azeroth we call Azerite, many of the raw materials we use for crafting in WoW have a deeper connection to myths and legends in the game. Join us as we go waaaay down the rabbit hole of the surprising lore behind many WoW crafting sources. Plus more Xal’atath background and what’s up with …

From Shadow Priest artifact weapon to retconned manipulator of Azeroth’s history to the Old God-adjacent big bad of The War Within, we discuss what we know about the void entity known as Xal’atath. Followed immediately by everyone's favorite part: wild speculation! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Join us as we conclude our deep dive into the narrative of the Fallout video game series with a focus on New Vegas as well as possible story tie-ins with the second season of the Fallout TV show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join us as we continue our Fallout lore exploration with a focus on Fallout 3’s narrative highlights including the changes made to the series as it moved from Interplay to Bethesda, the journey from Vault 101, how the V.A.T.S. system affected the story, and the unforgettable villains. Also, the lasting impact this title had on the rest of the serie…

Join us as we continue to explore the expanding lore of Fallout 2 picking up with the release of the game sequels and going all the way through to the recent Amazon Prime show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've all been there. A forgotten underground temple full of mysteries, treasures, traps, and more than a few dusty old skulls. (At least we're pretty sure that's dust.) But we're adventurers, and never walk away from danger (in fact, we frequently cause the danger ourselves). In this week's adventure, GM Matt Rossi escorts the hapless Tavern Watch…

Lore. Lore never changes... It's October 2077 and a global nuclear war has devastated the world. And that's just the beginning of the story of Fallout. This week we explore the very first Fallout game, and how this sprawling story began. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

GM Matt Rossi continues to guide the hapless Tavern Watch crew through a Pathfinder 2e game, based on the classic Rise of the Runelords adventure. This week, we faced the classic tabletop conundrum: if one of your party members is slower than the rest, should you leave them behind as you sprint ahead into adventure? They'll eventually catch up, rig…

The Tavern Watch crew continues its Pathfinder 2e game, based on the classic Rise of the Runelords adventure! In our latest adventure, GM Matt Rossi watches in amusement (we assume it was amusement) as the party picks a fight with a squirrel and sets on the trail of who — or what — just attacked the town of Sandport. One of these is perhaps more im…

This week we explore the Nathrezim's purpose on Azeroth and whether their manipulations had any impact on Sargeras. (Spoiler: probably not.) Plus we recount the whispers of Il'gynoth, what we know about Xal'atath, and just what role the Old Gods might play in the story moving forward. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Our Pathfinder 2e: Rise of the Runelords campaign begins! GM Matt Rossi sends our adventurers to the town of Sandport, where the party visits the local festival, has a curious encounter with a fortune teller, and fights off a group of angry goblins who descend on the celebrations. Surely that won't have any consequences at all. Hosted on Acast. See…

We ran an entire adventure, from beginning to end, in one session using the v1.2 open beta playtest rules for Daggerheart, the new TTRPG developed by Darrington Press and the team at Critical Role. GM Phil Ulrich leads a tiny frog merchant (Liz), a construct (Matt), a guardian (Nick), and a fairy (Anne) into the treacherous forest of the Sable Wood…

Join us as we explore an alternate universe where daughter of the sea becomes the master of the Scourge. After all, it’s not as if she hasn’t done horrible things as a human. To quote Matt Rossi “if you need someone to wield power, I’m your girl.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

In anticipation of the upcoming Worldsoul Saga multi-expansion we explore the death of previous World Souls, including the one arranged by the Jailer to knock out the Arbiter. And in our continuing fascination with the lore of Cyberpunk 2077 we explore one of the troubling Phantom Liberty endings involving V, Songbird and Reed, asking ourselves: wa…

The Tavern Watch crew are back with another TTRPG podcasting adventure! Join us as we jump headfirst into the v1.2 open beta playtest rules for Daggerheart, the new TTRPG developed by Darrington Press and the team at Critical Role. In this Session Zero for our upcoming one-shot adventure, GM Phil Ulrich shepherds Matt Rossi, Anne Stickney, Nick Mar…

Join us this week as we explore if the Azerothian Archives should become a replacement for the dated Archaeology profession in WoW, how old you need to be start getting cyber implants, and if Spider-Man and Madame Web had a conversation, what would they talk about? Obviously, not box office numbers… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more i…

Join us this week as we explore which tech-based based stories in WoW could go full Cyberpunk 2077, how each Starcraft faction would fare against their counterpart in Warhammer 40k, and if the war in Warcraft is honing Azeroth into the ultimate weapon (which would be hunter loot, obviously.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informati…

Join us this week as we explore an alternate version of Azeroth’s history where Sargeras didn’t betray the Pantheon, but instead became a champion of the Light. From the elves never existing to the Horde never forming to the Dark Portal to Draenor never opening to a massive confrontation with Zovaal in the Shadowlands by a Titan-led army of Light, …

Join us this week as we discuss Calia Menethil’s dilemma about her role in the future of Lordaeron, the difference between Wild Gods, Titan Watchers, and Titans in WoW, and who would make a better fixer in Cyberpunk 2077, Joe “I just hope everyone had a good time” Perez or Matt “I don’t play well with others” Rossi. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/p…

Join us this week as we discuss the origins of hearthstones and their connection to Meeting Stones as well as the Brokers, if there is a way to wield the void without being corrupted by it (asking for a friend), and the mystery of Northern Lordaeron, the unexplored region between Ghostlands and Western Plaguelands that may get the spotlight in the …

Join us this week as we use Cyberpunk 2077 as a jumping off point to explore character building in video game storytelling, settings as characters, what power means in these worlds, the history of immortality and how many of these elements are reflected in WoW lore. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Join us this week as we go on a wilder tangent than usual (and that’s saying a lot) about the connection between the Forsaken and Death Knights through pain and suffering and how that could be Azeroth’s own perpetual energy source (because science!) Yeah, hope you’re strapped in for this one. Bonus: Worgen talk. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priva…

Join us this week as we explore WoW patch 10.2.5’s Gilneas storyline including Lillian Voss's struggle with what’s left of her humanity and Calia Menethil grappling with her family’s dark legacy. We also dive into evolution of key characters in WoW, the impact of in-game events on the lore of Warcraft, and the relationship between Superman and Shaz…

Join us this week as we explore the key elven NPCs in the WoW patch 10.2 Guardians of the Dream campaign, the possible plans of the First Ones to prevent the universe from being devoured, and the tinfoil hat theory that the leaders of each the four Shadowlands’ factions are actually Titan constructs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more …

Join us this week as we explore how the ending of Cyberpunk 2077’s Phantom Liberty expansion reframes everything you understood about the game. We also cover the stories of A.I., Mr. Blue Eyes, and the Methuselah cult. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join us this week as we explore the idea that the upcoming three expansion Worldsoul Saga may be setting the stage for a new era in WoW storytelling, the mystery behind the son of Medivh and Garona Halforcen, Med’an, and the questionable actions of Diablo 4’s Sister Octavia. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Join us this week as we explore the future of Gnomeregan. Can it get the reclamation that is coming to Gilneas in patch 10.2.5? We also talk about how deep and wide the roots of the World Tree go. Probably not as deep and wide as our tin foil hatting about it, that’s for sure. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Join us this week as we delve into the history of the dragon flights, the idea that the Titans may not be all about Order, and the hotly debated question of the location of the first World Tree. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join us this week as we delve deeply into the idea that Azeroth's races may be programmed to protect the planet by the Titans and if they fail, the Titans will reset the world and let it play out all over again. Plus, the possible impact of non-druid classes entering the Emerald Dream. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Join us this week as we delve into the newly introduced story of the first World Tree, Elun’Ahir. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.