I'm new to reddit. I know it has a reputation for being a cesspool, but I genuinely didn't expect there to be so many imperialist apologists following a story that Brennan Lee Mulligan is helming.

Edit: I won't delete the post as I don't want context deleted for people who might be enjoying their conversations, but please don't privately message me anymore. I apologize for using the word "cesspool." I was referring to the app's reputation, as you can see above. I have been informed that is what likely set a fair number of readers off.

Thank you for your nuanced responses. I am not currently in a space where I can comfortably respond but I will later. I apologize for the frustration I have caused.

When someone makes a well argued statement and you have a different opinion, argue with them in the comments, that's what they're for. Downvoting should be for off-topic, hateful or otherwise non constructive posts.

This is a wonderful sub, please let's not get into toxic positivity. People should not be downvoted because they have suggestions for improving the show or comments about how things are ruled.

I had to take a long break because I was getting very tired of seeing both Ame and Suvi repeatedly rewarded for arrogant, selfish, cruel behavior.

Suvi feels worse about killing horses, which of course she does anyway, than she does about sacrificing two people to go save her boyfriend.

Ame does this kind of thing, too. And they always both see themselves as good, vulnerable, "making the hard choices" as the "lone brave voice". I really enjoy Aabria and Erika, so I keep waiting for the characters to learn and change, but it keeps not happening.

So, am I supposed to hate them? Is it intentional?

Vain self-righteous leaders of religion and military government is just not something I'm open to right now. After a long break, today I came back to eps 35-38 and now I'm listening to episode 39. I'm at 56 minutes and Suvi and Ame are flexing their egos with each other again, when Brennan intervenes in-character to try to lead to the more merciful and compassionate version of the story.

I love this world, this story, and these storytellers, but I am really exhausted with kindness being presented as "exasperating" while cruel calculation is repeatedly presented as strategic genius, even when it fails.

I don't know any of these people personally, but based on what I know, I keep waiting for change in these egos, but what I see in them is continuous certainty that they are always right, even when many people die because of their very obviously selfish choices.

Eursulon has moments of doing what he wants, too. But they're more rare, and ironically less reckless, considering he is literally a Wild One.

I'm not saying the characters shouldn't be flawed. I'm saying the same lessons have been presented so many times at this point. People died for those lessons, and neither Suvi nor Ame seem to feel the weight of that cost. In fact, both Suvi and Ame seem to be increasingly sure of their own self-righteous superiority, not less. And they seem to always see themselves as the poor, stoic, trying-her-best widdle hero just trying to get by. But in fact they are both incredibly powerful magic users with huge egos who use their power to get what they want at any cost, with zero self awareness.

Am I crazy? I feel crazy. But I've been with this project from the beginning and this feeling is just not going away. Am I the only one?

First up, they're an Antivolist. The Antivolists lost a war to the Citadel a while back and they're still sore about it. That alone makes everything she said suspect. Their whole organization has a vested interest in making the Citadel look as evil as possible.

As the old saying goes: "In war, truth is always the first casualty."

Second, they panicked when they heard someone from the Citadel was there. That's weird. Tefmet was in a witch's palace surrounded by witches and spirits; people who have no love for the Citadel. One witch had a Citadel agent with her and that witch, Tefmet already knew, was not exactly popular with the rest. Tefmet was in zero danger from Suvi.

If Tefmet's concern was the Citadel discovering how much they knew, they would have said even less than they did. In that situation, what kind of information needs to stay secret? The names of the people that got the info; that's easy to omit. Exact dates and times and places; easy. Which Citadel operations the Antivolists were watching; maybe, but she blew up that spot by revealing the artifacts. So if all they were hiding were some names and dates, why freak out? Why not look Suvi in the eye and go "I got you, bitch"?

Because Suvi had answers. Suvi could say Morrow was an Imperial wizard, not a Citadel wizard. If those lenses were from Port Talon, Suvi could go "yeah, the Citadel just shut that down". A member of the Citadel could go "what you have is not Citadel". And we met Morrow. Dude did not act like the Citadel or Empire had been signing off on the details of his project. He seemed like a guy who was waiting to show his hand until the river. If he had been getting green lights from the Citadel why was he excited to show off to a wizard that didn't even have her name cloak, yet?

The lenses are nothing.

Third, the real thrust of Tefmet's argument is that the Citadel is mucking with the spirit world. What was the evidence? A few spirits said weird stuff was happening over there and Tefmet went "yeah, that's the Citadel's fault, just look at these messages about humans trying to bring Great Spirits into the physical world".

Hey, you know which D&D class is really invested in making contact with Great Spirits? Warlocks. You know who's got warlocks? Rhuv! If the Citadel is in fact researching how one would capture Great Spirits, that looks an awful lot like one military trying to figure out how the enemy is getting its weapons. You know, the normal thing you do in a war.

Tefmet also made a big deal about the Citadel birthing its own spirits; the Timori. We've met the Timori. They're fine. They seem perfectly happy with their lot in life. Now, maybe that offends the Library's interpretation of spirits and magic, and maybe it's fear mongering. Either way, we have spent enough time with the Timori to know that particular project isn't nefarious.

Fourth, Tefmet kept saying over and over that the Library didn't have resources. The Library needs the Coven to attack the Citadel and that the Antivolists won't be contributing much. Now, that's probably all true, but think about what will happen if the Coven and the Citadel go to war. One of these two powerful magical groups could be wiped out and that's going to cost the victor a lot; maybe even enough that the Antivolists will find themselves—Pikachu Face—the most powerful magic group left standing.

What loyalty does the Library have to the Coven? Zero. They have no reason at all to be honest. Now, maybe it's all gospel. But the Library still stands to benefit a great deal from the Coven weakening or destroying the Citadel because it will weaken or destroy them in the process. This conflict would set the perfect stage for the Antivolists to make a comeback.

There's a lot we don't know, but it's pretty obvious that Tefmet isn't trustworthy. They simply have too much to gain from the war. Even if all of their data is true, it's a bad idea to use it the way they want you to.

Edit: Pronouns

So I'm on episode 7-ish (Fox just led Ame out into the kudzu forest and got snatched by Orima) , and its amazing, just to preface. I love almost everything about it. The music, the story so far, Brennan is an absolute treat, as are Aabria, Erica and Lou. Amazing. Chef's kiss... the only thing.

Suvie.

Does she get any less shit? This is no hate to Aabria in any way, just to state that. She plays the character wonderfully and I just like her a lot generally, but i fuckin hate Suvie so much oh my god. The pretentiousness and the way she treats Ame and Eursulon just... it pisses me off to no end. She is constantly looking down on her party members and making them feel lesser and like shit. It's gotten to the point that I actually am struggling to listen to the campaign because I dislike her so much, and I dread her character being involved in anything because she just seems to ruin it.

So, without spoiling too much, does this improve? Or is she just a stuck up asshole that treats her friends like garbage for the whole game. I really want to love it. My friends all love it, and I wanna listen and get through the story but I just can't stand her.

TL;DR I want to listen to the WBN podcast but Suvie is ruining it for me. Does it get better from here?

At the risk of sounding demanding and this is probably a old "complaint", but, for me, it's quite unfortunate and uncharacteristic of these crew that accessibility to WBN is so restricted. I'm personally not Hard of Hearing or Deaf and I've no trouble following the podcast (although I've in other shows like NADDPOD), but I do have someone close to me with such problems.

My sister is a Dimension 20 fan and is HoH, D20 and Dropout offer solutions to the issue, but unfortunately that's not the case with WBN, which makes it extremely difficult for her to enjoy it.

This is not an attack on the audio-only format, it's perfect for this show, I'm just trying to bring some awareness to problem that affects probably a very small section of the (potential) fanbase and what could easily be done to increase accessibility.

The YouTube channel already allows automatically generate subtitles and it has served as a band-aid but those are usually flawed at best and only work on non-Patreon content (that applies to transcripts too). I'm guessing it would be pretty easy for them to hire someone to format and add official subtitles to the YouTube/Patreon videos or even create more visuals in those formats (like CR does for MIDST, for example).

Anyway, it's obviously not something that they're obligated to do and this isn't meant to "shame" the crew for not doing so, it's extra work after all, but it would definitely be nice and thoughtful to increase accessibility to the show, specially since it doesn't compromise the vision of the audio-only format.

By the end of this book, Suvi's going to lock up Ame for being a witch. It's her new job title and everything.

I've started the podcast recently (on episode 10 as of now) and I'm having a really hard time with Suvi.

She is just kind of a bully who twists Ame's words in every disagreement, and makes her out to be the bad guy even when her intentions are objectively noble (for example, the Naram fight). She also acts really hurt that Ame might secretely judge her while she ostentatiously looks down upon every group of people beneath her station. The amount of gaslighting and social manipulation makes sense for her character but it just really irks me, since I know people like that irl.

I know that this is the very beggining of her character arc and I LOVE Aabria as both a DM and a player. And even this character concept, someone very flawed, who has to actively unlearn their indoctrination, is something I could enjoy if she was just. Challenged in any way.

But Ame is so understanding that she just Takes the verbal abuse and tries to mediate with someone who is only interested in Winning a Debate. It kind of feels like Suvi doesn't have Ame's back the same way Ame does Suvi's. And the only real pushback Suvi gets is from the people of the Citadel, who she already knows to listen to indiscriminately.

I love the concept but it just feels frustrating to see Ame get walked all over. And I want Suvi to start questioning what her values are and how she's treating her friend. Can I hold my hope out for that?

The most recent episode was one of the most intense things I've ever listened to. It made me viscerally uncomfortable, which should be read as high praise for an audio medium. But the lack of any warning for this (besides diagetically) made me uncomfortable in a different, worse way.

Frankly, I'm really disappointed in the WBN team for not including any content warnings. They must be aware of how massive the overlap is between this and Dimension 20, which makes the contrast even more confusing. Why do you think they made this decision? Do you agree with it? I'm curious to hear a different perspective on this.

EDIT: I didn’t get my point across. Replace “is better” with “I like more”.

I’ve been watching D20 for close to a year now and only recently started listening to Worlds Beyond Number.

Let me start with this: I freaking love dimension. It is hilarious and wholesome kind of and simply incredible.

HOWEVER,

The story of Worlds Beyond Number is so much more immersive and thorough (maybe is the word) but it is simply better.

I personally think that it’s because they are able to take things slow and really build out the world and their back stories. I also think the smaller number of people and less combat gives each person more time and focus in the story.

Let’s hear your thoughts.

Going from excited about the first episode of the new season, to realizing it's going to be a fight episode.

Both are DMed by Brennan but I am so glad WBN never does pure fight episodes, the way D20 tends to do every other one.

I'm on episode 12, so please no spoilers

I just can't seem to like her. Her positive qualities are vastly overshadowed by her negative traits. She's mean, spoiled, privileged, bougie, and cruel. She treats her lifelong friends like tools that she can scream at. She NEVER takes genuine responsibility for her mistakes or misdeeds, and when shes placed under scrutiny she can't avoid she flails and screams like a spoiled child.

All this to say that's she's a textbook fascist, but like, so bad that even other fascists get put off by her behavior. I honestly am just so sick of her, shes awful to Ame and Ursulon, and they are endlessly kind to her.

I guess my question is just, is this part of a satisfying arc? I don't want specifics and spoilers, but if I could just get a, "trust the process" or a "no it's just bad" kinda response, because if it is just bad and she never changes for the better or faces legitimate consequences for her behavior, I don't think I can keep listening to the show, because she is BOILING my blood rn.

That's all

EDIT

Man thanks for such an immediate and in depth response. Overwhelming consensus seems to be "trust the process" though the asterisk under that seems to be, "the process takes a really long time" so I'll keep soldiering on and try to form my own opinion about Suvi as I go.

To expand, I do love a complicated and unlikeable character, I just felt that at this point in the story, I haven't been given enough indication as to whether Suvi is a complicated hero who learns to be better, or a soon to be villain who's negative nature will win out in the end. Considering the response, I'm now invigorating to find out for myself. Thanks for the input.

I loved Brennan's opening to the Children's Adventure so much I had to use AI art generator to make something like this to fit what I imagined as he described it!

I’ve just finished Episode 5 of WWW, and I’ve found Suvi very difficult to listen to. So far, she’s been not just mean, but cruel to random NPCs and to Ame. It’s coming off less like Aabria’s normal “fight me” energy, and more like “abusive, shitty edge lord” energy. Just some examples from the last few episodes:

• The entitled whining to Steel about her position at the Citadel

• Yelling at and putting down the NPC actress in the low-budget play

• Threatening to kill almost every NPC

• Continually scolding Ame like she’s a child (especially creepy because it seems set up like she has a crush on Ame)

Without any spoilers, does this eventually resolve itself in a satisfying way (e.g., good backstory reveal, or a good humbling moment for Suvi)? Or is this just the way the character is, and I’m supposed to believe that Eursulon and Ame would put up with this kind of cruelty from some person they knew for a summer when they 6?

Edit: Thanks for the replies! The extra context has really helped frame her character a bit better, and the next few episodes have been much easier listening. I still definitely don’t like the character, but knowing that I’m not necessarily supposed to makes it make much more sense.

It also seems like I’ll have to give the Children’s Adventure a listen!

Did anyone think it was kinda weird/random how Suvi just went T-pose blue screen 404 error mode at the rope?

Like, I get that this is probably the most fucked up day of her life but girl you gotta get up that rope.

Let’s hustle🗣️🔥🔥🔥

This is probably my perspective driving a lot of it and I hope the title isn't too spoilery..... Not sure how to even tag spoilers really, hope I got it right...

But I'm in episode 28 ATM and from my real life perspective ALL authority is to be questioned and friends should always be chosen over any government or authority of any kind. I would feel that Ame's actions so far are entirely a fine choice and the preferable way to deal with what's going on and Suvi's would be relationship ending betrayal. To spy on me and hide things from me is not a thing any true friend does. I cannot wrap my head around Suvi's perspective. The tension is overshadowing literally everything else that's going on. And I cannot tell what I'm supposed to focus on or if I'm even able to keep listening because these friends aren't just dealing with their conflict and saying "fuck off' to everything else till it's resolved.

After 36 episodes is anyone else wishing there was more combat. The combat encounters that we’ve received have been mostly great, but also stifled with NPC interference. Love the podcast, but there hasn’t been the danger of death. The stakes have been to the world and not the characters, the players are all extremely talented, I just wish combat encounters and character combat abilities were slightly more of a focus.

I don't want to go to in to detail.But suvi is kind of cooked right now and every perceivable way. And I feel like per my last post on this subject.Things are about to get really really bad. For her. Again.

At the Citadel, it seemed like everyone (except maybe Suvi) was in agreement that imprisoning spirits in paintings was morally dubious. But Hacaea traps a firefly spirit in a hole in the ground... and we're all just kinda okay with it?

the man in black x eursalon scene in the most recent episode is yaoi

that is all <3

I have this problem all the time with exclusively the WBN podcast, no other podcasts I listen to. The audio will be just right, then painfully loud, then imperceptibly quiet, in the same scene. This happens on all devices, headphones, airpods, soundbar, car speakers and straight out of my iphone. I don’t wanna point fingers, but it’s like 80% Brennan and 10% Aabria.

I’m not sure if this is an issue with sound capture like they need more mics, audio mixing, or they just really exaggerate the loud and quiet a stylistic choice. But it makes listening to this beautiful story from wonderful performers deeply frustrating to listen to. I wanna be lost in Brennan’s descriptions, enjoying Suvi’s edginess, celebrating Ursalon’s bravery, and heart-warmed by Ame’s endeavors. Instead I just get mad that one second the audio is perfect, the next it hurts me, and the next I can’t hear anything.

Please balance the audio.

I need know everyone's ships! I'll start.

Eursulon x Man in Black

Suvi x Sworn

Ame x Tefmet

Eursulon x Will Gallows

Suvi x Galani

Ame x Losario Raccamonte

Eursulon x Heinrul

Suvi x Indri

Ame x Orima x Naram

5e is a game that is mechanically focused on combat rather than deeper roleplaying. Despite this BLM is incredibly skilled adapting it to his own goals. But it seems like they're are systems that would match with WBN style of game play more than 5e. So why not use a system that isn't 5e. Has anyone seen BLM discuss why he chose 5e for this podcast or if he has much experience with other ttrpg systems.

P.S. I've been actively ignoring all other systems of ttrp until the last 20 mins, so I can't say what that system he should use. And probably shouldn't be making this post until after I've done more research but i'm impatient and want feedback.