Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

The Adventure Zone

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Genre
  
Comedy, adventure

Updates
  
Bi-weekly

Language
  
English

Length
  
About an hour

Hosted by
  
Griffin, Justin, Travis, and Clint McElroy

No. of episodes
  
59 (plus 5 bonus episodes)

The Adventure Zone is a fortnightly comedy and adventure podcast based upon the popular Dungeons & Dragons game series. The show is distributed by the Maximum Fun network and hosted by brothers Justin, Travis, and Griffin McElroy, and father Clint McElroy. Regular episodes of the podcast feature the family solving puzzles, fighting enemies, and leveling up their characters in a series of cinematic and humorous encounters.

Contents

Format

Griffin McElroy, the show's primary host and dungeon master, guides his brothers and father through a series of stories and encounters that make up the overlying story for the show's listeners, Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition.

Advertisements from corporate sponsors and paid messages from listeners, "Jumbotrons", are read by Griffin in the center segment of the program. Fans tweeting about the show using "#thezonecast" may be selected to become the namesakes for various non-player characters in the story lines. Fans can also suggest items to stock a "Fantasy Costco" for the characters to buy between quests.

A special episode of the McElroy's flagship podcast, My Brother, My Brother and Me called "The Adventure Zone", was released on August 18, 2014, shortly after Justin and his wife had a baby. It featured the brothers playing a game of Dungeons & Dragons with their father, Clint. "The Adventure Zone" was later developed into its own podcast on the Maximum Fun network.

"Déjà Vu" by Mort Garson (from the album Ataraxia: The Unexplained) serves as the primary theme song for The Adventure Zone as well as various interstitials and backing tracks. Griffin McElroy also creates original compositions to enhance the show's production. These compositions are available for listening and purchase on the websites SoundCloud and Bandcamp.

A graphic novel series adapting the first story arc, The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins, is currently set for release in 2018. The book will be written by the McElroys, illustrated by Carey Pietsch, and published by First Second Books.

Quests

The primary quests in The Adventure Zone challenge the characters to retrieve a magical artifact, one of seven Grand Relics, each created under the alignment of one of the schools of magic. In addition, interlude episodes exist which allow the characters to regroup, purchase new equipment and prepare for the next quest. Griffin McElroy has confirmed that the ideas for some episodes occur when watching a film or a TV show.

  • Here There Be Gerblins – an introductory quest that's loosely based off the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set adventure called Lost Mine of Phandelver. It involves the discovery of the Phoenixfire Gauntlet, aligned around the school of evocation.
  • Murder on the Rockport Limited – a murder mystery on a train, written by Griffin McElroy. The Grand Relic the party discovers is the Oculus, aligned around the school of illusion.
  • Petals to the Metal – a racing and fighting adventure, written by Griffin McElroy. The Grand Relic the party discovers is the Gaia Sash, aligned around the school of conjuration. Based around the idea of ilegal street racing, it occurred to Griffin while watching Fast Five.
  • The Crystal Kingdom – a science adventure, written by Griffin McElroy. The Grand Relic the party discovers is the Philosopher's Stone, aligned around the school of transmutation. This arc occurred to Griffin while watching Alien, based around a creature following and hunting the players in a space station but it devolved into something else.
  • The Eleventh Hour – a time-loop adventure, written by Griffin McElroy. The Grand Relic the party discovers is the Temporal Chalice, aligned around the school of Divination. The players must cycle through the same hour repeatedly while trying to solve the mysteries of a wild-west inspired town and save it from destruction.
  • The Suffering Game – an adventure written by Griffin McElroy. The Grand Relic the party is currently searching for is the Animus Bell, aligned around the school of Necromancy. Inspired by the Zero Escape video game series, in which the characters enter a magical game show that promises a Grand Relic as the reward for winning.

    • Characters

  • Magnus Burnsides (controlled by Travis McElroy) – A human fighter armed with a battleaxe. He often rushes into situations recklessly.
  • Merle Highchurch (controlled by Clint McElroy) - A dwarven cleric armed with a warhammer. Originally a cleric of Marthammor Duin, he later switched his allegiance to Pan, the god of nature.
  • Taako (controlled by Justin McElroy) - An elven wizard who is an acolyte of Oghma with a focus on transmutation. Taako is a thief, and usually acts in an aloof manner.

    • Hosts

    Justin, the oldest brother, lives in Huntington, West Virginia, and works as the managing editor of Polygon, a video game website. He also co-hosts the medical history podcast Sawbones with his wife, Dr. Sydnee McElroy. Travis, the "middlest" brother, lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, and worked as a master carpenter for the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. He also co-hosts the doomsday prepping comedy podcast Bunker Buddies. Griffin, the "sweet baby brother", lives in Austin, Texas, and is the deputy news editor for Polygon. Together with their father, a radio personality himself, the brothers produce the show.

    All three were raised in Huntington by Clint and Leslie McElroy.

    References

    The Adventure Zone Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA