Rag-NERD-rok Actual Plays – Rag-NERD-rok Podcast: Recent Episodes
The Rag-NERD-rok Crew
In the season finale of The Hellhounds, our favorite villains take another run at tech bro billionaire Ethan Stank, targeting his company’s commercial space flight test launch for all the world to see. As befitting someone of his station, Stank reacts to all of the targeted harassment and taunting with poise and aplomb.
Just kidding. He finds his own demonic amulet, builds himself a suit of power armor, and prepares to end The Hellhounds’ reign of terror once and for all.
Can they defeat him, or will they find themselves between a rocket and a hard place? Listen to find out!
The Hellhounds are back, and more sinister than ever! If they want to turn their ill-gotten FuTurk into a demonic vehicle that can pass through walls and strike fear into the hearts of heroes and civilians alike, they’ll need to acquire some special components. Like demon parts, from other Hellbinders. Can they pick a fight with another hellish host and win the day? Listen to find out!
In this week’s Eclipse Phase one-shot, Firewall scrambles a group of Sentinels on Extropia to neutralize an exsurgent outbreak at a swanky fundraising dinner. Can our team infiltrate the restaurant hosting the party before the chef infects everyone in attendance with their angry alien protein goo and save Extropia from becoming an exsurgent’s hors d’oeuvre? Listen to find out!
When three friends find themselves trapped inside the fictional world of the card game Dominion, they’ll have to play the game in order to escape. And that means–you guessed it–cranking out as much money as they possibly can and buying all the land they can get their grubby little hands on! Luckily, none of the people in the fictional world are real (or so they tell themselves), which means there’s no exploitative depths to which our…heroes…?…won’t sink if it means taking home the most Victory Points. Can they escape the game, or will they have to discard their futures to the trash? Listen to find out!
Everyone’s favorite band of baddies is back, and this week, they’re going car shopping! Continuing their beef with tech billionaire Ethan Stank, the gang sets their sights on the CyberTurk, a prototype electric vehicle about to be released by Stank’s Edison Car Company. Can they steal a one-of-a-kind getaway car, or will their hopes go up in flames like a lithium ion battery fire? Listen to find out!
The Hellhounds, Apex City’s favorite band of nefarious ne’er-do-wells, are at it again! This week, they take on their most obnoxious adversary to date: tech bros! When “genius” billionaire Ethan Stank announces that he will be unveiling the world’s first general artificial intelligence, the gang decides to crash the release and “liberate” the newly-minted mind. Will their caper make tech industry headlines, or are they doomed to be yesterday’s news? Listen to find out!
(NOTE: Actual gameplay begins at 22 minutes 30 seconds)
The Poppleton Mall is a friendly place, where each welcoming storefront promises commerce and community. One Family-owned business in particular offers its customers the opportunity to become more—if they’re cheerful, hard-working, and willing to invest in themselves. Becoming a member of The Family is the first step to owning your own happy storefront where you, too, can spread the joy of premium dietary supplements. It’s as easy as purchasing your own starter supply, signing up for a series of Family leadership seminars, and sticking to your prescribed regimen of brain-enhancing nootropics. As the staff are medically conditioned to say, “Welcome to our home!” Welcome to Poppleton Mall!
It’s time for our newly-minted villains to launch themselves into the world of Eeeeeeeeevil! In this week’s episode, the team will design their costumes, develop their gimmick, and pull their first heist. If they want to work their way up the ranks in The Cabal, they’ll need to dress to impress, and make a splash. Will their inaugural caper go off like a flash-bang, or will it be a complete dud? Listen to find out!
This week, we kick off the first arc of a new Better Angels campaign! Years after the diabolical misadventures of the Fear Force Five, Apex City remains a battleground between sinister supervillains and angelic heroes. On an ordinary day at Radish Top Memorial Hospital, when an ex-con, a police detective, an orthodontist and a would-be influencer find themselves confronted with a rampaging terror from the pit, they’ll need to become Hellbinders to survive. Will they find themselves treading the same road of good intentions as their villainous predecessors? Listen to find out!
This last Spooktober game is a little bit late because it wasn’t actually recorded as one—shhh! People got sick and life got in the way, and we didn’t actually get to play a fourth spoopy one-shot. So please enjoy this re-purposed game of Heart that Ryan, Erik and Alex played a few months ago, and try to think Halloween-y thoughts while listening.
When a decadent high-elf noble sends an emissary to the undercity to procure a particular preferred pastry, it’ll be up to a Deadwalker and a Deep Apiarist to acquire the confection in question. In order to perform their assigned task and get paid, they’ll need to rescue the baker from a terrifying creature of the Heart. Will they survive their journey into the depths with their minds intact, or will a loaf of bread prove to be their undoing? Listen to find out!
It’s time for the annual July 4th Block Party on Wisteria Court, a quiet cul-de-sac in a peaceful suburban neighborhood. They’ve got a food truck and a slip’n’slide, a bounce castle and a DJ. But something’s wrong on this idyllic block, and an unnatural force is about to drag the whole street out of reality itself. Blane and Zaq, two obnoxious undergrads who are renting a house on the block, will have to step up and save their neighbors from certain doom, but it’ll take more than their garage ninjutsu or hyper-potent Australian marijuana to set things right. Can they pull it off, or will they be lost outside of spacetime forever? Listen to find out!
This week, Alex runs us through the QuickStart scenario for Candela Obscura! In a world of magic, intrigue and a serious lack of safety standards, three members of a secret society investigate the death of a woman modeling a stunning but lethal new fabric. The hunt for answers will lead them to an isolated company mining town with a terrible secret. Can they uncover the truth before it’s too late, or will they find themselves on the wrong side of laissez-faire capitalism? Listen to find out!
I’ll bet you all thought that Rag-NERD-rok was dead and buried, but here it is, clawing its way up through the sod, clumps of graveyard dirt in its hair! And speaking of dead things climbing out of their graves, it’s spooky season once again! In this year’s first Spooktober episode, Ryan runs Don’t Rest Your Head for Alex, Ed and James.
When the Tacks Man sets his sights on a struggling author, a rockstar with a haunted past, and a chronic insomniac, they’ll have to band together to pay off their debts. Will a trip to the Bizarre Bazar get them what they need to balance the books, or will they find themselves literally in the red? Listen to find out!
Join us this week for the series finale of A Song of Remembrance! Can Sha-Sheena (The Giant!), Nylathria, Garek, Wei and Xeno defeat the evil General Orax before his sinister plan to revive the dead god Rohr comes to fruition? In order to do so, they’ll need to gain entry into the Thyraxian capitol, infiltrate [...]
We’re back from our hiatus with another episode of A Song of Remembrance! In this week’s adventure, the adventurers and their ancient counterparts split up to gather the forces they’ll need to fight General Orax. One group travels to the Cave of Wonders, where an artifact known only as the MacGuffin is hidden. The other [...]
The No Way! Squad is back! Well, a No Way! Squad is back. Des Moines has become the latest hotbed of supervillainy and general shenanigans. And a new No Way! Squad is needed to deal with the threats. But will the team be able to come together for the good of the city? Or will [...]
Three men owe a great deal of money to a man in London. They’re all down-on-their-luck criminals, so the man asks them to do something for him: smuggle seven parrots on an overnight flight from New York to Heathrow. But the parrots are also criminals. And they hate being cooped up and smuggled.
After a long, long journey, the party finally crosses over to the other side of The Shimmer. They hope to put an end to the threat and save their world. But what will they find waiting for them in this strange land? Will they be able to stop the general? Listen to find out!
With the artifacts in tow, the group has decided to destroy them by throwing them into a pit of acid. But first, they’ll have to contend with a possible betrayal from within. Will they be able to trust their own? And can these artifacts actually be destroyed? Listen to find out!
Three FBI agents are summoned to Colorado Springs to investigate a series of seemingly unconnected shootings that share a strange similarity: they were all committed with the same gun. The victims and their assailants did not know each other, had no known interactions with one another, and came from a variety of cultural and socioeconomic [...]
Regina is finally getting married. To a reality TV bounty hunter, of course. The wedding is going to be the event of the century! But for security reasons, the happy couple decides to hold their nuptials in the middle of the desert. Will they be able to pull off a miracle and have the wedding [...]
Trapped in the Mcallister Building, the investigators wander the Night Floors, trying to find a way out. But the hallways are strange and shifting, and hide more than they reveal. Will the investigators make it out alive? Or are they doomed to become the latest victims of the building? Listen to find out!
Now that Sha-Sheena and Xeno have surrendered the artifacts of Rohr that almost turned them against the party, Garrick must shoulder the terrible burden. As the group continues through the subterranean maze beneath Magh Thorem, the dead god whispers to him of his past, tempting him with the promise of being reunited with his lost [...]
After a long investigation, the group finally heads upstairs to the Night Floors. They’re floors that shouldn’t exist, with architecture that makes no sense. What will they find up there? And will they live to tell anyone about it? Listen to find out!
Deep in the tunnels beneath Mag Thorem, the party sets out to deal with the Ossified. But they run into a party of Mag Men along the way, and they have a familiar face with them. Will they make new friends or new foes deep beneath the earth? And will they ever learn the cause [...]
A dragon lawyer has come down with a rare case of…something, and it’s up do Doctor Cabin’s team to figure out what’s wrong with her. They’ll perform esoteric tests, commune with their gods, and do some magical drugs along the way. Will they be able to save their patient? Or will their drama get in [...]
The group begins to make their way through the tunnels beneath Mag Thorem. Twisting paths full of unknown dangers and encounters. To make it to the other side of the Shimmer, they’ll have to deal with Mag Men, the Ossified and…mushrooms! Will they survive? Or will they falter at the eleventh hour? Listen to find [...]
It seems the feds are on to the school. They’re going to be conducting tests to see if anyone has kaiju DNA. Which is real bad news for our three heroines. How will they be able to stop themselves from getting found out? And what strange monstrosities are waiting in the wings to attack? Listen [...]
The Agents dig deeper into the mysteries surrounding the Macallistar Building, but discover only frustration and madness. Some try to reproduce the fantastical effects they witnessed previously after dark, but with little success. Some continue to puzzle through Abigail Wright’s bizarre collage of junk. And some pursue a link to another building refurbished by the [...]
Having completed their tasks for Gravelbeard, the group returns to Mag Thorem. With their seemingly impossible tasks done, they should be able to travel through the mines and to the other side of the Shimmer. But something is rotten in Mag Thorem. And getting into the mines may be more difficult than expected.
Things are never easy in high school. Especially when two (former) best friends decide to have competing parties! Which party do you go to in that case? Oh, and there are aliens invading the city again. And lots of rumors are flying around. It’s a weird day, even in this city. Will the girls pick [...]
As the investigators continue to look in to the history of the Mcallister building, things get even stranger. And this time, it seems some of the strangeness has followed the investigators home.
Life is tough when you’re in high school. You have to deal with drama from your friends, homework, overbearing adults and, of course, turning into a 10-story tall monster that wreaks havoc on the city. And when brain-stealing aliens are invading, things are even worse. And that reporter guy is giving off some majorly weird [...]
The quest to create the swarm’s hottest new sport continues! The gang has a venue, and now they need to put together their track. They decide to call in favors from friends to get it done and create the best drone death race they can. Will this latest venture be a hit? Or will it [...]
The investigation expands, as the team begins to interview residents of the Macallister Building. Very odd residents. Some of whom seem to have things to hide…
A woman has gone missing under mysterious circumstances. The Organization puts together a task force to investigate. Their investigation takes them to the Macallister Building, a seemingly benign apartment building in New York City. But things are not what they appear. Something sinister is lurking in the building. Will the investigators find the answers they’re [...]
The party sets their sights on the next item on their ever-growing to-do list: slaying the dragon atop Frostkill Peak. The path up the mountain is treacherous, and it will take skill and careful planning to make it to the top. So they’re all probably going to die. And even if they do make it, [...]
Two Delta Green agents are sent to a town in upstate New York after a young woman goes missing. Her body was found — 40 years in the past. The agents need to figure out what’s going on and put a stop to it. They also need to run damage control with the local police, [...]
Hot off the heels of their foray into semi-professional chess-boxing, the posse decides its time for a new venture. Something new and entirely theirs. They decide to create a new sport of competitive, combative drone racing. But they’re going to need help. They reach out to friends and contacts, and start dreaming up the next [...]
The group takes a breather to collect their thoughts after the confrontation with Lotilish Loq, and sets out on the next leg of their adventure. Can the party reach the mountain of the dreaded Quan’Thar, or will their own thirst for danger—well, Sha-sheena’s thirst for danger—get the better of them? Listen to find out!
It’s time for the main event! Mamba is going up against their opponent, who is a professional chessboxer. They’re in for quite the bout! Luckily, the group has a few tricks up their collective sleeves. And while Mamba is fighting in the ring, Octi is fighting for his life against a gang of angry mobsters. [...]
With Xeno in the clutches of the city’s evil wizard, the group bands together (some reluctantly) to go rescue him. But navigating a wizard’s tower is never an easy task. Especially one as powerful as Lotilish Loq. Thankfully, they’ll have some help from the inside. Will they be able to rescue Xeno in time? Will [...]
Join us this week as friend of the show Reizor (of the [insert quest here] podcast) takes Alex and Chris through a preview of their new game, Make Our Own Heaven. In Make Our Own Heaven, you play as angel/human hybrid clones, on the run from the corporation that made you and the government that [...]
As the day of the big bout approaches, the Phelan’s crew hatches a plan to rescue the egos trapped in the Kartelyei’s fortified server. But it will take some fast hands and nerves of steel to swipe the key from Ivan during the weigh-in. Can Gulliver hold his own against his opponent? Will Octi be [...]
Now that they have an escape plan, the group needs to find a way to lay low until sundown. But that’s easier said than done. They’re still in the heart of the Fire Nation, and they’re still fugitives. Will they be able to make it out of the Fire Nation unseen? Or are things about [...]
Spiders have invaded the woods where the silk worms of Elyrius make their home, and in this week’s adventure, the gang plans to liberate it! Can they save the queen of the silk worms from the queen of the spiders (who, apparently, also have a queen)? Listen to find out!
It’s the eve of the coronation of Fire Lord Ozai. Instead of celebrating, a small band of rebels tried to steal a scroll containing some of the true, un-doctored history of the Fire Nation. But they were captured. Now, as the city comes to life to honor the new fire lord, they try to make [...]
What can prompt two rival restauranteurs to set aside their differences and go into business with an animal control specialist? Is it the big chain eateries, popping up like weeds and squeezing the life out of the local markets? Or could it be the lousy economy, with its supply chain problems and staff shortages?
Neither. It is an idea so bizarre, so new, so outlandishly stupid, that it just might be the next big craze.
Is it a laundromat? No.
Is it a cat café? No.
Is it a bar? No.
It’s all three.
In order to receive help from the Keyfarens, the group has been given a simple request: remove all of the angry, hungry, giant spiders from the forest that are disrupting silk production.
The spiders are very angry, very hungry and oh-so giant, and they don’t want to leave the wood.
Will the group be able to save the silkworm queen, and the economy of Elyrius? Or will they become trapped in the spider queen’s web? Listen to find out!
Fresh off their big score, the gang decides to take a little break on Woodstock. A few days later, coming down from their respective highs, they get a call about another job.
Some of the local Night Cartel members were running a side racket they shouldn’t have, and they went and got themselves egonapped. The gang has been hired to bring them back.
And there’s only one way to do that: chess boxing!
After perpetual darkness descended and the power went out for good, after they came, humanity’s only hope lay in the dwindling islands of light. The world is dark, but people still survive—for now.
In this bleak world, with time running out, a group of four marines sets out on a dangerous mission to rescue as many survivors as possible, and bring them to the rendezvous point for extraction. With limited time and even more limited chances, the team will need to face down the demons in the dark, as well as the demons within, if they hope to survive. Can they locate the survivors and shepherd them to safety, or will they lead their flock astray? Listen to find out!
On their way back to Elyrius, the party stops near a shrine to rest for the night. But instead of rest, they find a group of elves desecrating the shrine.
They also find a strange acorn, with an even stranger surprise inside.
Later, in the city, the party tries to meet with Nyla’s parents to discuss opening trade with the dwarves. But things are never easy in Rhoorsgrave.
There’s a new crew operating out of the scum swarm of Phelan’s Recourse. They’ve just managed to get themselves a decent prize: a new, experimental morph. Now they have to sell it.
Will they be able to pull off the job, or is a life of crime too much for them? Listen to find out!
News Channel Six is not doing well. Their tiny market of Sitka, Alaska doesn’t have much news. And what it does have usually gets scooped by the jerks at Action News 11.
But the Alaska Day celebration is coming up, and that’s an opportunity for the crew at Channel Six to turn things around.
That is, if the lead anchor isn’t too distracted directing his “art film.” And his co-anchor and field reporter aren’t trying to kill him. And if the camera man can stay awake.
Whatever happens at Alaska Day, it’s guaranteed to be a fiasco!
It’s time for the final confrontation. The crew is making a last play to get to the nuke and take MONARCH out once and for all.
But the genius AI isn’t going to let some pesky humans ruin all of its plans. And it isn’t going to go down without a fight.
Can this ragtag team pull off the impossible and kill MONARCH? Or are they doomed to die at the 11th hour? Listen to the finale to find out!
With the beginnings of a plan, the party starts to make its way to the Dwarven city of Mag Thorem. And they meet a curious man along the way.
But things in Rhorsgrave are never easy. And getting help from the dwarves may be more difficult than they expected.
After finding their way back to the labyrinth and meeting up with The Minotaur, Zark, Rook and Titus finally have a decent(-ish) plan to defeat The Monarch once and for all. However, the AI has a few dozen tricks left up his sleeve. Can the trio survive some unpleasant surprises and strike at Monarch where it’s weakest? Listen to find out!
Three unlikely companions — a naïve rich girl, a barbarian princess and a curmudgeonly hermit — set off on a quest to discover the source of strange dreams they’ve been having.
But things outside the walls of Elyrius are more dangerous than they seem. And two eager, young charges could create quite the headache for a guide.
Will this trio manage to survive the start of their journey? Or is their quest doomed before it even begins? Listen to the start of our newest campaign to find out!
Note: We apologize for the background noise in this episode. We were recording in a place without AC, so you can hear a fan in the background.
It’s Milicent’s birthday! And now that she’s come of age, it’s time for her to make a quest into the human city to retrieve useful wigs for her enclave.
Milicent and her best friends set out for the city. But dangers they could never expect wait for them.
How will these trashkin blend in among the horrible city of humans? Will they be able to find the wigs? And will they be able to make it back home alive?
Listen to find out!
Refreshed, restocked and reinvigorated, the crew has made its way back to The Deep, this time with some backup.
But The Deep is a terrible, dangerous place. And they’ve been gone for quite a long time. Long enough for Monarch to make preparations.
What new horrors will the crew find waiting for them on the station? And will the be able to complete their impossible mission? Listen to find out!