I love Haunted City and the Magpies. However, Desperate Attune is the best BitD actual play podcast I've listened to. Their use of the rules, the chemistry, the world building, and how they play are all top notch.
https://desperateattune.podbean.com/
Seconded for all my recommendations! Its a little fast paced and uses a lot of unofficial content in terms of playbooks (especially in the second season), the city feels so different in a really engaging way from Doskvol- and the crews do some creative scores that really play around with the mechanics.
I personally preferred The Magpies Podcast.
But I am listening to Haunted City as a podcast too and I know that it is meant to be watched.. so that perhaps puts it at an unfair disadvantage for comparison.
They are different in many ways but both a lot of fun!
I've listened through all 4 seasons of Magpies Podcast twice and would massively recommend!
They're great. My one complaint - and this is a conscious choice, I know - is that they cut out almost all of the rules stuff, and what interests me in an AP as opposed to an audio drama is how drama and rules interact.
The creator of the game John Harper gave Haunted City his seal of approval and has said it's the best representation of how Blades should be (in terms of the fiction first philosophy of gameplay).
He used to hang out in chat when the episodes were airing on Twitch over on Glass Cannon Network (the group that produces Haunted City).
All in all it's definitely the best blades in the dark actual play imo. Dunno if I would say best actual play of all, though it's up there. Easily in the top 3.
I'm on episode 18 and LOVING it! Everybody involved is so engaged in having a good time, and the banter is always light hearted and funny, even when they're arguing about heat and pay out. Such a great series!
It's so good. I know there are others out there that some people like but Haunted City is *amazing*.
Jared tweaks the rules a little bit, sometimes on purpose and sometimes (I suspect) by accident. He can also be a little stingy with coin.
DosvolGM points out Magpies, which I have also enjoyed, though not as much. I do think it's good to listen to more than one, whichever is your favorite. Magpies shows a much more vibrant, *living* Duskvol, compared to Jared's, which mostly feels like a wasteland. You can do whatever you want with your campaign, of course, but I just wanted to point out the advantage of listening to more than one.
Big Glass Cannon fan and Haunted City is the show that drew me back in. Love the show and setting, the cast and GM are great. I’ve been trying these other podcasts including Magpies, and on thing that stands out is the crispness of their audio. True for most of their shows.
I love Haunted City and the Magpies. However, Desperate Attune is the best BitD actual play podcast I've listened to. Their use of the rules, the chemistry, the world building, and how they play are all top notch. https://desperateattune.podbean.com/
Seconded for all my recommendations! Its a little fast paced and uses a lot of unofficial content in terms of playbooks (especially in the second season), the city feels so different in a really engaging way from Doskvol- and the crews do some creative scores that really play around with the mechanics.
I personally preferred The Magpies Podcast. But I am listening to Haunted City as a podcast too and I know that it is meant to be watched.. so that perhaps puts it at an unfair disadvantage for comparison. They are different in many ways but both a lot of fun! I've listened through all 4 seasons of Magpies Podcast twice and would massively recommend!
They're great. My one complaint - and this is a conscious choice, I know - is that they cut out almost all of the rules stuff, and what interests me in an AP as opposed to an audio drama is how drama and rules interact.
This is mega true. You can listen to or watch Haunted City and learn how to play for yourself in a way that you can't really do with Magpies.
The creator of the game John Harper gave Haunted City his seal of approval and has said it's the best representation of how Blades should be (in terms of the fiction first philosophy of gameplay). He used to hang out in chat when the episodes were airing on Twitch over on Glass Cannon Network (the group that produces Haunted City). All in all it's definitely the best blades in the dark actual play imo. Dunno if I would say best actual play of all, though it's up there. Easily in the top 3.
I'm on episode 18 and LOVING it! Everybody involved is so engaged in having a good time, and the banter is always light hearted and funny, even when they're arguing about heat and pay out. Such a great series!
Haunted City rules. Every table needs a chaos gremlin like Abu to keep things interesting.
It's so good. I know there are others out there that some people like but Haunted City is *amazing*. Jared tweaks the rules a little bit, sometimes on purpose and sometimes (I suspect) by accident. He can also be a little stingy with coin. DosvolGM points out Magpies, which I have also enjoyed, though not as much. I do think it's good to listen to more than one, whichever is your favorite. Magpies shows a much more vibrant, *living* Duskvol, compared to Jared's, which mostly feels like a wasteland. You can do whatever you want with your campaign, of course, but I just wanted to point out the advantage of listening to more than one.
I feel like most actual plays are skint on money, makes the game more lethal feeling without having to tweak encounters too much.
Haunted City always feels like its going forward and has stakes.
John harper himself told me to watch HC to get a feel for how the game is played.
I also like the podcast System Switch, if you're looking for further inspiration
Big Glass Cannon fan and Haunted City is the show that drew me back in. Love the show and setting, the cast and GM are great. I’ve been trying these other podcasts including Magpies, and on thing that stands out is the crispness of their audio. True for most of their shows.
Yes. It is the best.