The Adventure Zone
The Adventure Zone is a weekly comedy and adventure actual play podcast based loosely upon the Dungeons & Dragons game series, along with other role-playing games. The show is distributed by the Maximum Fun network and hosted by brothers Justin, Travis, and Griffin McElroy, and their 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. The series is often represented by the stone rune ᛥ as a logo, which was the symbol of the Bureau of Balance in the original campaign.
The Adventure Zone
Griffin, Justin, Travis, and Clint McElroy
English
Biweekly (2014-21)
Weekly (2021-)
~90 minutes
Balance: 69
Commitment: 4
Amnesty: 36
Dust: 8
Graduation: 38
Ethersea: 44
Steeplechase: 42
Outre Space: 4
August 18, 2014[a]
History[edit]
Origins and Balance (2014–2017)[edit]
In 2010, the McElroy brothers launched their flagship podcast My Brother, My Brother and Me, a comedic advice podcast which joined the Maximum Fun network in 2011. During the 97th episode in May 2012, the brothers answered a question about a Dungeons & Dragons game—which Justin called "The Adventure Zone."
The McElroy brothers would ultimately begin playing with their father Clint in the summer of 2014, using the newly released Starter Set for the fifth edition of D&D, which was released that July. The set came with the module The Lost Mine of Phandelver,[2] which served as the basis for the first few sessions. The first of these recordings was initially released as an experimental MBMBaM episode entitled The Adventure Zone on August 18, 2014, to cover for Justin's paternity leave.[3] Starting that December, The Adventure Zone was then expanded into its own podcast on the Maximum Fun network, releasing biweekly.[4] Griffin McElroy served as the show's primary host and Dungeon Master for the show's first campaign, later titled the Balance Arc. The campaign concluded with Episode 69 in August 2017. Additionally, three special episodes were released over the course of the campaign, titled The "The Adventure Zone" Zone, and these act as "an informal chat show" discussing the game.[5]
"Déjà Vu" by Mort Garson (from the album Ataraxia: The Unexplained) served as the primary theme song for The Adventure Zone during the Balance Arc, as well as various interstitials and backing tracks. Griffin McElroy also created original compositions to enhance the show's production.[6] Balance was highly popular; by 2016 a graphic novel adaptation was announced. These would ultimately begin running in 2018, with each volume covering one quest from the campaign.[7]
Experimental arcs & Amnesty (2017–2019)[edit]
Following the conclusion of the Balance campaign in August 2017, the McElroys decided to work on smaller "experimental arcs", a set of shorter campaigns using other systems, in order to give themselves time to develop their next overarching storyline. Three experimental arcs were aired from October 2017 to March 2018, with the show temporarily moving to a weekly schedule to get to a full second campaign[b] more quickly.[8] These experimental arcs included Clint's Commitment arc (played with the Fate system), Griffin's Amnesty arc, and the first four episodes of Travis's Dust arc (both played using Powered by the Apocalypse). Each of these arcs takes place in their own game worlds separate from those explored in the other campaigns, though elements have crossed over since.
With the conclusion of these experimental arcs, the McElroys announced that Season 2 of "The Adventure Zone" would continue the story introduced in Amnesty, and that it would become the next full campaign. Griffin McElroy again took on the role of game master (called a "Keeper" in the system) as they returned to the Amnesty setting for a further 31 episodes. While the arc was inspired by monster of the week shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Supernatural, Griffin stated that the arc is mostly based on the Persona game series. To replicate the less connected nature of the former's 1990s setting, Kepler is situated in West Virginia's section of the National Radio Quiet Zone. Hal Lublin provides a guest voice in two episodes. The campaign ended after 36 episodes on September 23, 2019.
When performing live, the McElroy family continued to predominantly use the Balance setting in this period, though two Amnesty live shows, The Ballad of Bigfoot and Amnesty Halloween Special, released on October 17, 2019, and November 12, 2020, respectively.[9] Additional episodes of The "The Adventure Zone" Zone were released at the start and conclusion of the main run of Amnesty.[10][11]
Graduation (2019–2021)[edit]
All four cast members played as guests in Dimension 20’s Tiny Heist campaign, a game DMed by Brennan Lee Mulligan and released in early 2020 on the Dropout network.[12] Travis, the Dungeon Master of the upcoming arc, was inspired by Tiny Heist's worldbuilding, commenting that "the world in that was so well thought through that it was basically like a big playground..."[13] Travis's role as DM was confirmed in a SyFy Wire interview.[14] A trailer for Graduation released on October 18 and announced a return to the Dungeons & Dragons system.[15] The fantasy themed campaign, centered around a school for heroes and villains, ran from October 31, 2019, to April 15, 2021.[16] The arc was poorly received, with reviewers citing Travis's lack of experience as a DM, as well as the very high number of NPCs.[17] Travis considered stepping back from the show around the 20th episode, and having someone else brought in to finish the season, but decided that would be unfair to those who were invested, including the players.
There were few live shows during the run of Graduation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and none of these made use of Graduation's Nua setting. A "Laughter & Love" McElroy family tour in April 2020 would have featured The Adventure Zone performances in Boston and Baltimore.[18] Instead of Nua or another established setting, a series of new campaign settings were used in virtual live shows, sometimes with multiple episodes and continuity between performances. These minor campaigns include Fur (with Erika Ishii),[19] Hootenanny, Inheritance, Just Us, Mercer (with Matt Mercer) and Lords of Crunch.
Peacock announced in January 2020 that it had commissioned a script for an animated adaptation of The Adventure Zone, though the series did not progress beyond that stage.[20]
Ethersea (2021–2022)[edit]
Before the finale of Graduation, Griffin McElroy confirmed in an interview with Brennan Lee Mulligan that the fourth season of Adventure Zone would also be played in the Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition system, and would involve ships.[21][22] The campaign's name, Ethersea, and a brief trailer were released on May 3, 2021.[23] The series is set in and around the submarine city of Founder's Wake, for which Griffin McElroy drew inspiration from a number of sources including The Eternal Darkness: A Personal History of Deep-Sea Exploration by Robert Ballard.[24] A special primer episode was released on October 12 for the Maximum Fun Block Party, introducing new listeners to the podcast and suggesting where to begin- with Justin recommending Ethersea, Griffin recommending Balance, Clint recommending Amnesty and Travis recommending his experimental arc Dust.[25] An Imbalance mini-series was released in November 2021 under a new moniker, The Zone of Adventure. The game featured Aabria Iyengar as DM and released on YouTube rather than through the Maximum Fun network. The series also included video of the players, rather than being recorded simply as a podcast. Ethersea continued to air alongside it during November.[26][27]
There were several formatting changes brought into effect for Ethersea. Unlike previous arcs, in which world-building was undertaken privately by the GM, the world-building for Ethersea was a collaborative effort. This took the form of a five-episode prologue using the game system The Quiet Year, with the campaign proper beginning on July 8. The McElroys were able to hire Rachel Jacobs to handle post production of the series rather than editing it themselves, which made it possible for them to switch to a weekly rather than biweekly schedule.[24]
With the pandemic still underway in the United States, the McElroys began a limited return to live shows, with performances at Emerald City Comic Con in 2021,[28] as well as "live and virtual" remote shows. These used a variety of systems and settings, with some returning to the Hootenanny continuity seen in occasional live shows since 2019.[29] This was followed by the "Fancy Takes Flight Tour" from March to July 2022, which featured several Adventure Zone performances across the United States, along with other McElroy family shows.[30] Future live shows performed after the original run of Ethersea would broadly maintain the format- using one-shots in unique settings and occasionally reprising Hootenanny.
Dust season two & Steeplechase (2022–2023)[edit]
With the conclusion of Ethersea in August 2022, the McElroys announced that The Adventure Zone would be adopting a seasonal format- with Dust returning for a short second season later that year, a new Steeplechase campaign to follow and finally a planned second season for Ethersea in the future.[31] Dust aired as a four episode arc in September 2022, with Erika Ishii as a guest star.
Steeplechase was the first arc to be GMed by Justin McElroy, set in a vast layered theme park. Justin McElroy cited the theme park documentary series Defunctland as an inspiration, while the layout of their home-layer Ustaben was based on Kings Island. Some technical changes were made during Steeplechase's run, with Griffin McElroy producing only the main theme for the arc with the rest of the soundtrack sourced externally by Jacobs. This included a rendition of Ephemera's theme song "Dream it to Now", which was produced for the finale by Eric Near. The episodes were introduced by the character "Krystal with a K", in short clips inspired by Disney food vloggers. Krystal was voiced by Autumn Seavey Hicks.[32]
In September 2023, the family streamed "lofi taz radio ᛥ - beats to relax/study cantrips to", featuring 4 hours and 20 minutes of music from The Adventure Zone, and an animated rendition of the family surrounded by references to the series. The video is in the style of other YouTube lo-fi streams.[33]
Outre Space & Versus Dracula (2023–)[edit]
In an episode of The The Adventure Zone Zone following the conclusion of Steeplechase, the family revealed that the next arc would be GMed by Clint McElroy, in his first stint as GM on the show since Commitment in 2017.[34] The shorter arc, named Outre Space, is a continuation of the story of War of the Realms: Journey into Mystery, the 2019 comic which starred Miles Morales, Kate Bishop, and Wonder Man, and had originally been written by the family.[35] The arc also features Kate Welch and Gabe Hicks as guest players, portraying Kate Bishop and Miles Morales respectively. Outre Space aired across four episodes in late 2023.
The show returned to fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons in January 2024 with Versus Dracula, a fifth edition campaign DMed by Griffin McElroy. First Second books announced that February that the seventh volume of the graphic novel series, expected in 2025, would be the final volume.[36]
Main campaigns[edit]
Balance[edit]
Balance depicts a global war on Faerûn catalyzed by the Grand Relics; seven powerful magical artifacts that compel their wielders to wreak havoc and destruction. At the end of the war, knowledge of the relics was erased from the population's minds, save for the Bureau of Balance which seeks to collect the relics. The narrative also explores the mysteries of the Red Robes, the magical faction that created the relics, and their relation to a cosmic threat. The campaign is broken into a series of quests to retrieve these relics, with "Lunar interlude" downtime episodes between. Atop the Bureau's moon base the characters can regroup, purchase new equipment, and prepare for the next quest.
Secondary campaigns[edit]
(K)nights Campaign[edit]
A campaign consisting of 3 episodes created as exclusive content for the MaxFunDrive 2017. Travis DMs the adventure, which brings together an unlikely group of heroes: Troth, a tiefling monk played by Justin; Tom Collins, a half-elf warlock bartender played by Griffin; and Lenny Manolito, a human keytar-playing bard played by Clint. This campaign uses the Dungeons & Dragons system, and features a guest appearance by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who plays the bard Atreyus.
Elementary Campaign[edit]
Elementary is a two-shot campaign created exclusively for the MaxFunDrive 2019. The episodes use a special game system Four (sometimes five) Sherlock Holmes and a Vampire (Who Is Also One of the Aforementioned Sherlock Holmes), written by Andrew Young. What little plot there is involves Justin (as GM), Travis, Griffin and Clint (and once guest Patrick Rothfuss) each playing as a different version of Sherlock Holmes solving nonsensical, convoluted mysteries.
Fur Campaign[edit]
Much like Elementary, Fur is a one off made for the MaxFunDrive 2019, the game system used is Honey Heist, a one-page RPG written by Grant Howitt, and Travis is the DM. Justin, Griffin, and Clint play three bears attempting to rob a briefcase of Manuka honey from the Sacramento Convention Center during a screening of Bee Movie.
Hootenanny Campaign[edit]
TAZ: Hootenanny was performed live in Nashville, TN at the Ryman Auditorium and is a country music themed space opera. The game used One Seven Design's system Lasers and Feelings, inspired by The Doubleclicks's album of the same name. The party consists of three musicians, all from different planets: Shoots McKrackin (Travis), Benny Gene Esserit (Clint), and Pepsi Liberty (Justin) as the band Hootie and the Nannies, who are performing at the Grand Space Opry. Griffin acted as the game master. The game ended with the four McElroys and Paul Sabourin performing a cover of Future Folk's song "Space Worms".
A sequel, "2tenanny", was released during the 2020 MaxFunDrive as exclusive bonus content for donors to the Maximum Fun network. Clint acted as game master (Benny having left the band to go solo), with Griffin playing replacement band member 48 (short for the entire lyrics to the song "I Like It, I Love It" by Tim McGraw).
Inheritance Campaign[edit]
TAZ: Inheritance[c] was performed live at the Balboa Theatre in San Diego, CA during San Diego Comic Con 2019, based on an original system created by the players. The setting takes place in a post-apocalyptic desert wasteland, featuring groups of different stereotypical dads. The party consists of four dads, each from a specific dad tribe (Sports Dads, Vacation Dads, Car Dads, and Grill Dads). They team up to defeat the evil Crafting Dads in order to obtain the legendary TV remote control. The game featured all four McElroys as players, with CollegeHumor's Brennan Lee Mulligan, host of Dimension 20, as GM.
Mercer[edit]
TAZ: Mercer is a one-shot made for the MaxFunDrive 2020, marketed as a "modern day crime drama" set in an unnamed north-east American city in 2006 and based on Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. It was named after and guest DMed by Matthew Mercer of Critical Role.
Lords of Crunch[edit]
Lords of Crunch was a one-shot performed at the Taft Theatre in Cincinnati, OH. It was GMed by Justin, using an original system based on One Seven Design's Lasers and Feelings system. Travis, Clint, and Griffin play as cereal-box mascots. It was released as bonus content for the 2020 MaxFunDrive.
Charlieverse[edit]
Charlieverse was a one-shot released for MaxFunDrive 2021, GMed by Justin and designed by his 6-year-old daughter, Charlie. It was based on the Muppet Babies RPG system by Origami Gaming, an adaption of the Lasers and Feelings system. Griffin, Clint and Travis play characters that have been transformed into babies and who have to traverse the "Fruity Pebbles Castle of Torment: A Scary Castle with One Hundred Rats" to return to their adult forms.
Reception[edit]
The podcast has been well-received, especially among younger and LGBT+ demographics.[50] It has sold out dozens of live shows since 2014, and has been downloaded hundreds of millions of times.[51] One of the creators, Justin McElroy, said of the podcast, "[it] has a following."[52] The Adventure Zone currently holds a 4.9 rating on Podbay, and a 5.0 rating on Apple Podcasts.[53][54]
The Balance arc received overwhelmingly positive criticism. It was described by The Mary Sue as "one of the most moving and epic adventures of recent memory."[55] The climactic ending in particular was warmly received.[56] Patrick Rothfuss stated the show possessed “some of the finest storytelling I have ever experienced. In any genre. Ever.”[51]
The Amnesty arc was described by The Mary Sue as possessing a "uniquely compassionate kind of story-telling, based on connection and hope, and that's something so rare in this world that even the imperfect efforts must be applauded, simply because there's nothing else quite like it out there."[55] Comic Book Resources also received the arc positively, stating that it was "filled with great characters, goofs, and heart-wrenching moments."[57]
The Dust arc's two seasons were well received by The Escapist. "Not only did Dust deliver a tight, satisfying mystery, but it brought moments emblematic of the familial humor distinct to The Adventure Zone‘s gameplay, like the town’s collective roast of Griffin McElroy’s Errol."[58]
The Graduation arc received criticism for Travis McElroy's performance as dungeon master, with complaints that the arc had a confusing plot line, an overabundance of secondary characters, and a lack of meaningful consequences for poor dice rolls by the players.[59][56] Graduation was poorly received for its heavy exposition, lack of player agency and large cast of non-player characters (NPCs). The Mary Sue commented that "Travis... went a bit too far in crafting his own narrative and didn’t let his players, well, play enough."[60] The positive representation of Fitzroy Maplecourt as the show's first asexual character however was praised.[61] Em Rowntree of The Geekiary was more positive about the direction of the campaign, emphasizing that "the heart of TAZ as far as I'm concerned is a sort of very stupid and unexpectedly emotional outrageousness. It soars when it's narratively unjustifiable."[62]
The Ethersea arc was described as a "solid entry" by The Escapist, but levelled some criticism at the slow worldbuilding introduction and the arc's macro plot.[63]
The Steeplechase arc was warmly received by The Escapist, which described it as a "return to form" for the show, praising the use of smaller arcs and comedic encounters.[64] The introduction of the character Shlabethany during the Passion's Cove episodes was also highlighted by CBR.[65]
Animated series[edit]
An animated adaptation of the Balance Arc is in development for the NBCUniversal's streaming service Peacock.[79] It has not been picked up for a series as of January 2020.[80] In July 2020, the McElroys revealed that they are developing the pilot and that it will be different from both the podcast and graphic novel versions and possibly feature a different voice cast.[81]