Friends At The Table

This week, we enter into The Sprawl in earnest. Big Cass finds himself pulled between familial duty and personal safety, AuDy calls in a favor from a fellow sentient machine, Mako goes digging for information, and Aria finds, to her surprise, that she has a new hit record.  This week on COUNTER/Weight: "A Thing You Know About Nightclubs" Get ready to feel the beat! Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Keith J Carberry (@KeithJCarberry), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), Ali Acampora (@ali_west), and Art Tebbel (@atebbel) Produced by Ali Acampora Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) Intro Music by Jack de Quidt A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

After 10 or so episodes of using Jeremy Keller's excellent MechNoir, we're switching our game of giant robots, neon hair, and gig economies over to Hamish Cameron's upcoming game The Sprawl. This week, we transfer Aria, AuDy, Cass, and Mako to the new system, but it's also a lot more than just shifting stats around!   After the food crisis that struck Counterweight, tensions between OriCon, the Diaspora, and the remnants of Apostolos are high. The Chime has gone to ground, giving them a chance to reminisce about their pasts and reveal a little bit more about who they are and what they really want in life. But while they'd would love to wait for things to cool off, you need to run missions to eat, and each mission brings change. Cass reveals that the September Institute played a horrific role in the defeat of Apostolos during the Golden War, AuDy begins to doubt their free will, and Mako determines that he will be the funniest person in the room, even if it costs everyone else their lives. Meanwhile, on a be

Throughout the Golden Branch sector, a dozen little pieces begin to move all at once, each one causing two dozen to move, and each of those, four, and suddenly the whole sector is... What will happen to those loyal souls on the abandoned world of Sage? What tricks does the manipulative headmaster of the September Institute have up his sleeves? What do the disenfranchised do when they find themselves in power? And what force sleeps, buried in the ice of Ionias? All of that and more...   This time on the Friends at the Table: COUNTER/Weight Faction Turn: "This Month of Ours" There's no turning back, you know. Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Sylvi Clare (@captaintrash) and Andrew Lee Swan (@andrewleeswan) Produced by Ali Acampora  Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) Intro Music by Jack de Quidt   A transcription is available for this episode here. A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription proj

The battle continues as The Chime tries to rescue Orth Godlove but they aren't the only ones with their sights set on him... between the Iron Choir and the Netted Wave, this Orth guy is pretty popular! Who knows what they want with him, but who's asking questions when his life--and more importantly, kredits are on the line? This time on COUNTER/Weight:  "Our Hostage Below"   Ready for action?   Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Keith J Carberry (@KeithJCarberry), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), Ali Acampora (@ali_west), and Art Tebbel (@atebbel) Produced by Ali Acampora Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) Intro Music by Jack de Quidt   A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

The Chime's sometimes-employer Orth Godlove has gone missing and the group is on the hunt... but the mysterious Netted Wave is just a few steps behind them. A key witness, who is both familiar and strange, leads them to a brand new line on the Starlight Straights MagLev System. Will they find Orth out in the the desert wastes of Counterweight... or will they run into something else altogether?   This time on COUNTER/Weight: "I Am Not Allowed"   Keep your head down, Orth!   Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Keith J Carberry (@KeithJCarberry), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), Ali Acampora (@ali_west), and Art Tebbel (@atebbel) Produced by Ali Acampora Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) Intro Music by Jack de Quidt   A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_

After a few weeks of recovery and dry times, The Chime finally gets a new job from Orth Godlove: to investigate his own disappearance. Stakes are high but tensions are even higher as protesters fill the streets around the Consolidated Counterweight Technocracy. Just what, if anything, do the protests have to do with Orth? Where is Orth and what else can The Chime learn about him while they have the chance? This episode of COUNTER/Weight: "Here's Your Bribe Tip" Things are heating up! Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Keith J Carberry (@KeithJCarberry), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), Ali Acampora (@ali_west), and Art Tebbel (@atebbel) Produced by Ali Acampora Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) Intro Music by Jack de Quidt   A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com

In this episode of Friends at the Table, we introduce the "second layer" to our MechNoir campaign, combining elements from Microscope and Stars Without Number to get a fuller picture of the powers that be in the Golden Branch star sector. Find out what Snowtrak Industries is digging up from the icefields of the planet Ionias. Listen in on EarthHome Entertainment as they put wicked machinations into action. And get ready to meet the slickest pirate fleet you've ever heard of.   This time on Friends at the Table: COUNTER/Weight "A Ship of Seeds"   Remember not to lose the forest for the trees!   Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Sylvi Clare (@captaintrash) and Andrew Lee Swan (@andrewleeswan) Produced by Ali Acampora  Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) Intro Music by Jack de Quidt

The Chime continues their rescue of Cene Sixheart, the brilliant roboticist kidnapped by Snowtrak Industries and forced to work on a mysterious project in a research and development facility. Surely things couldn't get any worse—or ridiculous—for our heroes, right? AuDy (Jack de Quidt) makes a scene, Aria Joie (Ali Acampora) makes a statement, Mako Trig (Keith Carberry) pushes the limits of his charm and Cassander (Art Tebbel) tests his skills as a doctor. This episode of COUNTER/Weight: "The Bells Are Ringing" Gotta lose some to win some! Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Keith J Carberry (@KeithJCarberry), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), Ali Acampora (@ali_west), and Art Tebbel (@atebbel) Produced by Keith J Carberry Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) Intro Music by Jack de Quidt   (Heads up, this episode is still using an OBS back up and is a little lower quality than our usual standard! We apologize and thank you for understanding~!) A transcription is available for this episod

The Chime, our intrepid group of freelance investigators and problem solvers, managed to survive their encounter with the mercenary band known as The Weightless. But many questions remain unanswered: Who are The Weightless. What have they done with Cene Sixheart? What does Orth Godlove of the Consolidated Counterweight Technocracy know about all of this? And who, or what, are the angels of Counterweight? Mako Trig (Keith Carberry) and Aria Joie (Ali Acampora) devise a cunning (and absurd) plan to answer these questions. AuDy (Jack de Quidt) and Cassander (Art Tebbel), meanwhile, have a much more direct approach in mind. This episode of COUNTER/Weight: " It's Fine, We're Criminals"   There's nothing like a little breaking and entering!     Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker)   Featuring Keith J Carberry (@KeithJCarberry), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), Ali Acampora (@ali_west), and Art Tebbel (@atebbel) Produced by Keith J Carberry  Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) Intro Music by Jack de Q

In their search for the missing roboticist Cene Sixheart, Cassander Timaeus Berenice (Art Tebbel) and Mako Trig (Keith Carberry) have tracked down the secret hanger of a mysterious mercenary group. But elsewhere on counterweight, AuDy (Jack de Quidt) and Aria Joie (Ali Acampora)  find themselves pursued by the specialized mechs from that very paramilitary outfit!    This episode of COUNTER/Weight: "Soldier Game."    Get ready to launch!     Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker)   Featuring Keith J Carberry (@KeithJCarberry), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), Ali Acampora (@ali_west), and Art Tebbel (@atebbel) Produced by Keith J Carberry  Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) Intro Music by Jack de Quidt   A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all

In the first session of our new MechNoir game, the freelancer problem-solving crew known as The Chime begins an investigation into the disappearance of their friend, the genius roboticist Cene Sixheart, and the destruction of the recently completed BluSky Dome. Mako Trig (Keith Carberry) and Cassander (Art Tebbel) deal with increasingly absurd robots. Meanwhile, the robotic AuDy (Jack de Quidt) tests the limits of their spaceship, and Aria Joie (Ali Acampora) launches!   This time on COUNTER/Weight: "I Would Like a Bribe"   Welcome to Counterweight!   Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker)   Featuring Keith J Carberry (@KeithJCarberry), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), Ali Acampora (@ali_west), and Art Tebbel (@atebbel) Produced by Keith J Carberry  Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) Intro Music by Jack de Quidt   A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project

Whether you're a brand new listener or a long time fan, welcome to Friends at the Table, an actual play podcast about critical worldbuilding, smart characterization, and fun interaction between good friends.   This season, we'll be using a combination of games to explore the relationship between individuals, society, and technology. Oh, and uh, there will be lots of giant robots and explosions, too.    All of this will happen across two "tiers" of play. First, in a game of Jeremy Keller's MechNoir, a team of freelance problem solvers living at the galactic crossroads will try to keep a massive cold war from going hot. Then, in a game that will combine elements of Stars Without Number's "Faction Turn" and the open-ended roleplaying of Microscope, we'll zoom out to a higher tier, figuring out what the major organizations of this universe are up to.   In this first, extra-long session, Ali Acampora, Keith Carberry, Jack de Quidt, and Art Tebbel create their MechNoir characters. If you're itching for more conte

Since we've reached the finales of both boat party and ice party's arcs, we take some time to discuss the show and answer some questions during a live stream.   Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Keith J Carberry (@KeithJCarberry), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Nick Scratch (@drevilbones), Andrew Swan (@andrewleeswan), and Art Tebbel (@atebbel) Produced by Keith J Carberry  Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) Intro Music by Jack de Quidt   A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

In the season finale of Friends at the Table: Dungeon World, The Great Fantasmo (Nick Scratch) makes a new friend, Thorondir (Andrew Swan) tries to keep his friends safe, and Hadrian (Art Tebbel) finishes a chase he didn't realize he'd started.   Featuring Nick Scratch (@drevilbones), Andrew Swan (@andrewleeswan), Art Tebbel (@atebbel), and Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Produced by Keith J Carberry (@KeithJCarberry) Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) Intro Music by Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal)   A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

In this season finale of the "Boat Party" group, Lem is torn, Fero is frustrated, and Hella finds herself face to face with the last scion of the line of Tristero.   Featuring: Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Keith J Carberry (@KeithJCarberry), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), and Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Produced by Keith J Carberry Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) Music by Jack de Quidt   A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

Hadrian recommends splitting up, Thorondir grows uneasy, and the Great Fantasmo finally finds his voice.   Featuring Nick Scratch (@drevilbones), Andrew Swan (@andrewleeswan), Art Tebbel (@atebbel), and Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Produced by Keith J Carberry (@KeithJCarberry) Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) Intro Music by Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal)   A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

The court proceedings continue. Lem leans into conspiracy theory, Fero tries to save his friends by throwing them under the bus, and Hella takes the stand. The crowd reacts. The life of the case comes to a close. Featuring: Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Keith J Carberry (@KeithJCarberry), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), and Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Produced by Keith J Carberry Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) Music by Jack de Quidt   A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

Hadrian learns it's a tough thing to be obliged, Thorondir waits patiently, and the Great Fantasmo won't turn down a free meal. And something about Sting   Featuring Nick Scratch (@drevilbones), Andrew Swan (@andrewleeswan), Art Tebbel (@atebbel), and Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Produced by Keith J Carberry (@KeithJCarberry) Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) Intro Music by Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal)   A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

Hella receives words from the outside, Lem tries to play his part and Fero starts the show with a show stopper.   Featuring: Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Keith J Carberry (@KeithJCarberry), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), and Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Produced by Keith J Carberry Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) Intro Music by Jack de Quidt   A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

Thorondir does a little shopping, Hadrian goes for a little jaunt, and the Great Fantasmo makes a little mistake. Austin launches a new podcast about door knobs.   Featuring Nick Scratch (@drevilbones), Andrew Swan (@andrewleeswan), Art Tebbel (@atebbel), and Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Produced by Keith J Carberry (@KeithJCarberry) Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) Intro Music by Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal)   A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!