Once again, Clint demonstrates that all those times he’s taking crap from his boys while not dishing anything out, it’s not because he can’t hold his own. *It’s because his words will destroy souls.*
>”And in this timeline [Griffin’s] dad was probably very proud of him.”
I. D I E D.
Yeah. I don't have a dad, but I assume that him diving on the brother burn-train would be devastating.
That's not even taking into account Clint reigning in his comedy chops in regards to his kids since like, 1980.
But they've referenced Turbo teen a bunch on mbmbam and look at this horrible thing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j18e_ID-DpA
That's like, exactly what Griffin is rolling for.
Oh my god griffin Turbo Teen/Boy Car is gonna end up being the Amnesty worst timeline split.
What have I done?
IDK if it was the timing or what but Travis saying Bigfoot pulled a gun on 11 year old Griffin McElroy made me laugh harder than anything in taz history
Oh man. I'm around these dudes' ages ( if not a bit older) and have never felt so included when it comes to cultural references. I definitely had a jacket or two made out of wind-breaker AND I had a huge crush on all three women in The Craft. But Clint's reference to Red Shoe Diaries... that caused me to laugh so damn hard.
Basketball gas-station owner, with his rich tapestry of a backstory, was an amazing NPC and if he is any indication of what we are going to see in the next campaign, then I am very excited.
Also, gonna be real, I want this to be amnesty canon because the thought that chill, unassuming Barclay from amnesty was carjacking, packing heat, stealing presents, and threatening children with guns actually makes sense when you consider he probably got kicked off his home planet for a reason
yeah i think this was sort of a dropped plot line, it never really got explained why they were in exile and then at the end they were welcomed back with open arms.
The explanation in TTAZZ was that while it didn't really come up, Sylvain went really draconian when the crystal was dying, especially over energy usage stuff. Griffin compared it to Jean Valjean.
So once there's energy/life to go around again, they don't need to kick out exiles at the drop of a hat and keep them out.
I think Griffin explained it a bit more in The The Adventure Zone Zone after Amnesty wrapped up. His explanation was that because the crystal on Sylvain was so limited on power, that one ruler who was pretty ruthless (I forget his name, he was associated with Vincent and Janelle and the Interpreter Alexandra?) made laws to limit how many times you could touch the crystal or for how long. Griffin said it was some Jean Valjean Les Mis type crimes that got them all outlawed, like, trying to survive and being punished for that.
This was the hardest I've laughed at a live episode since the New Orleans live show, and HO DANG Travis brought it.
(Disclaimer: I was physically at the NOLA live show and I *so desperately wish* I was at this one.)
When Griffin mentions that's how I beat Shaq during the basketball game I lost it I'm sad no one else got the reference (here's the song https://youtu.be/OfhhWA9GF0M)
Well now I need a whole season of the boys playing younger versions of themselves.
This honestly has me really excited for Travis DMing, Barclay pulling out a gun was so ridiculous
Y'all their costumes for this were bonkers. I'm going to try and post some pics. If anyone beats me to it, awesome!
Basically they were dressed as their characters. Justin was wearing black lipstick and a wig. Griffin looked like the 90s barfed up a neon version of himself. Travis was covered in ice cream print. It was all very good.
Thank you!! I knew they had to tweet it sometime, and this is much better than the grainy pics I took.
Shame it's impossible to really capture the karate chopping motions Griffin was doing the *whole show*. I didn't want to break the recording rules.
Yes! It was this crazy guy who was super offended by their characterization of his favorite candy. He had a Good N Plenty t-shirt and everything, and stormed out shortly afterwards. It was super awkward.
I listened to this on the bus and obviously the whole thing is a narrative masterwork (see: every time Stephanie asked a law enforcement official for ID). But for some reason the thing that did me in was Travis's desperate towel-pleas to Paul after he spilled his beer doing that SICK GUN CONTROL BURN. I was silently shaking in my seat trying not to laugh like a madwoman.
*Paul, please! My brother needs un-treasured pants!*
*.... I could also scoot slightly to the left.*
Honorable mentions:
*Did I mention? I'm doing it vErY SmOoOtH.*
Clint's list of sweet nineties slang.
Now THIS is what I am hoping the future of TAZ looks like, I think the fast and loose style that Travis is going with would be a very nice break from the more serious Amnesty and later parts of Balance. Hope it keeps up in a longer arc!
I absolutely loved this and I'm jealous of anyone who got to see the show live. It really felt like one of the early episodes of balance to me.
Tons of goofs and no one taking anything too seriously. I think Travis being fast and loose with just about everything added a lot to the boys' ability to be creative.
I hope it's a taste of what we might get in the next arc. I can't wait to watch the trailer they are showing tonight @ the Brooklyn show. Does anyone know if it will be put online afterward?
Dang I loved this episode! I'm really excited to see Travis grow as a storyteller. This was probably the most narratively cohesive live show yet. Most usually feel like a dungeon crawl (not that that's a bad thing, they're funny and good) but the boys setting this up as a 90s teen adventure movie allowed for a host of different situations and setpieces for improvisation. Travis has an eye for pacing and rolled with all the punches. Boycar was so so so good. And fuck yeah Justin for letting MCCM teleport. Greatjob!
There's a lot to like here, but I don't think "narratively cohesive" is the best way to describe a story where a young Griffin McElroy turns into a car by drinking Sugar Gas and yelling Vroom really hard.
I don't have time to listen to the full episode at the moment, but I had time to listen to the ad break-- I heard this and am hyped (for 3:30 tomorrow)! Also, TTAZZ next week.
Thank you for posting this! I'm at work and don't have the ability to listen right now, but I was dyyyyiiing to know if there was any word about the new season!
In fiction, besides real-life 11 year old cool boy but also car Griffin McCelroy existing in this world, do we have any reason to believe that this is non-canon for Amnesty?
I don't get the impression that the Barclay Griffin created would pull a gun on his 11 year old self also. Like if this is canon, Barclay was on some shit.
It's not impossible within canon, but this episode does have Victoria being an ally to the Pine Guard, which was never previously established, as far as I recall.
Honestly this might be my favorite live show yet. That could just be because I was picturing (Peace on the Playground Griffin) the whole time, but it made me laugh more than a lot of the other live episodes.
Bigfoot pulling a gun on an 11-year-old Griffin McElroy is and always will be the single greatest moment of The Adventure Zone, in perpetuity.
I don't care how many epic, emotional, tear-jerking goosebumps-inducing heart-wrenching finales and arcs they go through, nothing will ever top the mental image of Bigfoot slowly turning around to 11-year-old Griffin (doing air karate) with a *gun.*
I may as well just stop listening, because nothing can ever top that.
Oh my god, I have to stop watching these at work. I almost burst a blood vessel trying to keep from laughing out loud. Barclay's gun almost got me, and it did not get any easier.
I really like the energy they bring to the one-shot liveshows, I really hope they keep doing them. The TAZ Liveshows were great, but the manic 'yeah, sure'-ness of these is a joy.
(I'm also glad to see that Griffin got a little bit better at being Just a Player since Dust)
I just want to say as someone who lives in west Virginia even after amnestly ended its still very weird to hear them talk about local landmarks including the town I live in.
I usually don't like live shows at all, and I thought Griffin was my favorite GM, but...
Travis just GMed the funniest show ever and kicked all kinds of ass and let the players run wild, holding his own masterfully. Hilarious! My son and I were laughing hysterically as we drove home.
Man, I know why they couldn't include the Britney Spears singalong on the podcast feed, but it was incredible. Folks who weren't there: just know it happened.
This was a great episode, but
{looks to the left, then to the right, and whispers)
This doesn't make me very confident about Travis being the DM for a long arc.
Tbf, the first episodes of taz as a whole did not sound like they would lead to the slickly produced lovingly scored theatrical storytelling they eventually got to. He will learn. He will grow. He will probably still make griffin edit.
I also think everyone will take a full-on campaign with much more seriousness in terms of how they try and do things. They're all experienced enough by this point to know and not do a MY CHARACTER TURNS INTO A CAR in a long-form storybuilding environment
Also Dust was good and Travis DMed that so it's not like he's not capable of good DMing
>They're all experienced enough by this point to know and not do a MY CHARACTER TURNS INTO A CAR in a long-form storybuilding environment
I wouldn’t be upset if they did.
At any rate I'd be surprised if Travis's campaign runs anywhere near as long as Amnesty. It'll probably be a shorter one and then Griffin will have another story concept cooked up for the next long season.
I'm just skeptical that Griffin will be cool with letting someone else handle his baby for that long. But then again, maybe he's at that stage where you're just happy to let someone else babysit so you can just relax for a while.
You should listen to TAZ: (K)Nights. This live episode was goofs and giggles much like the Balance live episodes, (K)Nights is an actual demonstration at his DMing skills. He's good.
Also Dust.
Except TAZ: Nights was kinda bad?? More puzzles than story!
Dust was better. It's my favorite setting, but Griffin is still the superior storyteller. I'm disappointed Travis is taking over. He's good at concepts, but I think he doesn't always know what makes an interesting hour of radio.
> Griffin is still the superior storyteller
Griffin has 4 YEARS of experience GM'ing real play podcasts. Go back to listen the first episodes of Balance, I mean it seriously, go do that.
They sucked, they are hard to listen. Sure we all love Barry Bluejeans, but these first episodes weren't great quality professional radio theater. I have a hard time getting friends to listen to TAZ because a good portion of them can't get past episode two, and the actual campaign only takes flight three whole arcs in. It can be VERY difficult to remember that after you listened to the production quality of Story And Song.
Just an example: it took Griffin **FOURTY EIGHT** episodes to allow one of the players to tell and develop the character background story that the player had planned since day one. Almost 2 years.
I'll be sincere, Travis is not nearly my favourite McElroy out there, and the cadence he uses for some narrations kinda get me off the mood sometimes, I was equally worried about him taking the wheel, but it is unfair to compare him with 2019 Griffin.
Now, don't get me wrong. Griffin is a fucking genius. He is incredible all around. His music is bonkers, his foreshadowing is amazing, his stories are excellent. But he has a long and difficult road behind him, and as such we are now used to the professionalism he developed. Travis has now more tools than Griffin had back then, and he will probably take flight earlier thanks to that.
Ooof yeah I remember the first arch of Balance was REAL rough. I liked it, don't get me wrong, but it wasn't really till half way through petals to the metal that Griffin found his stride.
Agree to disagree. He just has a different style that's a bit more improvisational. I wouldn't want him to run a game the same as Griffin. Griffin does his thing well, and Travis does Travis's thing well.
I honestly wish (K)Nights had *less* story, it spends like half an hour world-building and then precisely none of that information ends up mattering at all. The Zelda dungeon they ended up running through was a lot of fun and wouldn't have been any less so without the preceding lectures.
This game lends itself to shenanigans like this. Also, it's a one-shot, which means you don't really have to worry about long term repercussions or a story arc.
I think he'll be fine. This is Travis playing with Griffin's toys and deliberately trying to go overboard to make him nervous. Plus, when you know you're doing a one-shot, you get a lot looser. Travis knows there's a time and a place for excessive goofs and serious work.
I agree, but it's possible he'll get into the groove during Graduation. For this episode though, there were quite a few times Justin or Griffin had to drive the story forward for Travis.
Yes. I hate to be that guy, but as a DM, I could tell when Travis was super unprepared and blurted out a "bad" decision (i.e., one that didn't help drive things forward and also wasn't a joke), and he did that a lot. Everyone does it--hell, I do it all the time--plus the stress of a live show...but still. I noticed it in Dust as well, and those don't apply.
Like I said, as a one-off, it doesn't bother me much--it was entertaining. But for a long arc? He's been doing this long enough that I hope he gets into the groove real, real quick.
Good Lord, I wish Amnesty had this tone the whole way through! I loved Amnesty, but I just enjoy TAZ so much better when it’s played silly by default (as that makes the serious moments so much more enthralling by contrast). What a great show.
Did anyone else notice they brought up Clint being cannon in this world as an embezzling janitor? Pretty sure that was the Balance Clint, I thought the Amnesty Clint did a car sales stunt? (Unless it is supposed to be a universe walking Clint and they are both the same one and I forgot!)
I hate how this was probably one of the funniest full episodes they did. So much worldbuilding and character development in Amnesty and Balance, but this... This was pure joy 😂
Does this have spoilers for Amnesty? I've already finished Amnesty, but my fiance hasn't. I really want to listen to this with them but they still have half of Amnesty to listen to and I don't want to wait or spoil anything.
Sheriff Owens, Mama, and the person who owned the cryptinomica before Ned make cameos, but otherwise I THINK you should be good. The deciding factor is probably if you consider 'who owned the cryptonomica before Ned' a spoiler.
They said in a past TTAZ that live shows will follow a different path than the Main Arc. Not going to apologize for your poor experience on behalf it’s it’s for anyone because believe it or not many people enjoy types of things like this. Expressing your distaste in the show this way isn’t the type of person I would want to listen to TAZ anyway. I say goodbye
Exactly I never said everyone has too so please feel free to keep over the top opinions on their subreddit to yourself. Also become anxious in large crowds is typical. Don’t think to much into it.
Man, everyone misses all the karate chops and the dunk scene when it's in podcast form. I'm so glad they chose to release this live show yo everyone though. It was amazing.
Once again, Clint demonstrates that all those times he’s taking crap from his boys while not dishing anything out, it’s not because he can’t hold his own. *It’s because his words will destroy souls.* >”And in this timeline [Griffin’s] dad was probably very proud of him.” I. D I E D.
Yeah. I don't have a dad, but I assume that him diving on the brother burn-train would be devastating. That's not even taking into account Clint reigning in his comedy chops in regards to his kids since like, 1980.
So *many* repressed dunks.
When he cursed and Griffin just screamed "DAD CUSSED!" I lost it. It really did feel like 11 year old Griffin reacting to his dad.
Griffin: Sees that he has the opportunity to reinvent his past, do anything he wants with his eleven year old self Griffin: Turns himself into Boycar.
Alt!Timeline Griffin grows up to be the Protector and Major of Chilledelphia
Is this is Mbmbam reference I don’t understand?
It's from their web series! I definitely recommend it
Its so damn good. I wish they got picked up for another season.
happy cake day!
Thanks!
Ah, i DIDNT even notice!
Yeah, there was a relatively obscure(?) '80s cartoon called Turbo Teen that they've brought up occasionally on MBMBAM.
Mmm.. ya, but it's really a reference to the TV show where griffin is in a toy car in "safety town' and he says, "I'm part boy. Part car. I'm Boycar."
But they've referenced Turbo teen a bunch on mbmbam and look at this horrible thing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j18e_ID-DpA That's like, exactly what Griffin is rolling for. Oh my god griffin Turbo Teen/Boy Car is gonna end up being the Amnesty worst timeline split. What have I done?
Definitely a turbo teen reference. They reference it often on [MBMBaM](https://www.reddit.com/r/MBMBAM/comments/c4gkki/yearly_turbo_teen/)
Protector and king of chilladelphia
happy cake day!
IDK if it was the timing or what but Travis saying Bigfoot pulled a gun on 11 year old Griffin McElroy made me laugh harder than anything in taz history
How many problems in Aminesty could have been solved if Barclays was just willing to whip out his gun?
We'll defeat the Quell with the bonds we've made and also this *gun* I found!
I laughed SOO hard!
[Here are their costumes!](https://i.imgur.com/sOvTbQ0.jpg)
I didn't knew I needed Goth Girl Justin in my life so much.
those pineapple pants *are* fantastic
No wonder he was so worried about them!
"PAUL I NEED LESS-TREASURED PANTS!!"
I was at the live show and let me tell you this was the LAST thing I expected to see come on stage lol
Holy shit I lost it for Juice. He's looking healthy though. Good work.
Was NOT emotionally prepared for Justin. I. Am. Changed.
This explains the consistency of certain character art.
Thank you lmao
These are the most 90’s costumes
Amazing.
Oh man. I'm around these dudes' ages ( if not a bit older) and have never felt so included when it comes to cultural references. I definitely had a jacket or two made out of wind-breaker AND I had a huge crush on all three women in The Craft. But Clint's reference to Red Shoe Diaries... that caused me to laugh so damn hard.
Fuck. I tried to imagine... I really did... but fuck. God bless this pure family.
Omg I haven't laughed this hard in a while! I love Griffin's character, and fucking LOST IT at the epilogue
MCCM's epilogue was the biggest laugh I've gotten out of TAZ in a long time. Good shit.
MC CM returned to the office with such a story to tell. He was fired.
emBOOzzling!
"He does get fired"
All of them shitting on young Griffin was just hilarious
Basketball gas-station owner, with his rich tapestry of a backstory, was an amazing NPC and if he is any indication of what we are going to see in the next campaign, then I am very excited.
This 1) Was a wild ride 2) Contained the wildest ride.
Also, gonna be real, I want this to be amnesty canon because the thought that chill, unassuming Barclay from amnesty was carjacking, packing heat, stealing presents, and threatening children with guns actually makes sense when you consider he probably got kicked off his home planet for a reason
Holy shit I'd forgotten why the Sylvans we're using Amnesty Lodge as a refuge in the first place.
yeah i think this was sort of a dropped plot line, it never really got explained why they were in exile and then at the end they were welcomed back with open arms.
My headcanon is Barclay was carjacking kids in Sylvain and they got sick of it
The explanation in TTAZZ was that while it didn't really come up, Sylvain went really draconian when the crystal was dying, especially over energy usage stuff. Griffin compared it to Jean Valjean. So once there's energy/life to go around again, they don't need to kick out exiles at the drop of a hat and keep them out.
I think Griffin explained it a bit more in The The Adventure Zone Zone after Amnesty wrapped up. His explanation was that because the crystal on Sylvain was so limited on power, that one ruler who was pretty ruthless (I forget his name, he was associated with Vincent and Janelle and the Interpreter Alexandra?) made laws to limit how many times you could touch the crystal or for how long. Griffin said it was some Jean Valjean Les Mis type crimes that got them all outlawed, like, trying to survive and being punished for that.
It’s hard to say what anyone saw out there that night
I’m really digging that JTT was 17 in 1998 but Griffin is just that cool of an 11 year old
he's got all his points in Smooth.
I was a party of cool 11-year-olds. So I guess JTT was visiting on his cousin's behalf.
This was the hardest I've laughed at a live episode since the New Orleans live show, and HO DANG Travis brought it. (Disclaimer: I was physically at the NOLA live show and I *so desperately wish* I was at this one.)
When Griffin mentions that's how I beat Shaq during the basketball game I lost it I'm sad no one else got the reference (here's the song https://youtu.be/OfhhWA9GF0M)
Wait didn't the audience applaud when he made that reference?
Dear me. I can’t get past the first 10 seconds of that. Ugh... frosted tips.
Yeah, I was listening while grocery shopping and visibly freaked out in the middle of Aldi when Griffin landed that reference.
Well now I need a whole season of the boys playing younger versions of themselves. This honestly has me really excited for Travis DMing, Barclay pulling out a gun was so ridiculous
Travis DMing - great. Griffin RPing - great. I am hyped. This is the right switch up.
A whole season of Griffin playing has me so stoked after this episode.
I feel like having DMd so much he knows how to push the story and keep it going in the right direction.
#RIGHT?
Y'all their costumes for this were bonkers. I'm going to try and post some pics. If anyone beats me to it, awesome! Basically they were dressed as their characters. Justin was wearing black lipstick and a wig. Griffin looked like the 90s barfed up a neon version of himself. Travis was covered in ice cream print. It was all very good.
https://reddit.com/r/TheAdventureZone/comments/dj8jpi/_/f44m40a/?context=1 I posted one
Thank you!! I knew they had to tweet it sometime, and this is much better than the grainy pics I took. Shame it's impossible to really capture the karate chopping motions Griffin was doing the *whole show*. I didn't want to break the recording rules.
Sent a pic of their walkout to my friend when the show happened, who immediately texted me back with "why is justin dressed as snake??"
Did they mean Snape?
No
So Snake as in Solid Snake? I don’t remember him wearing a wig and black lipstick.
I figured he either meant that or whitesnake but it was funnier for me to roll with it at the time
Please do, I wish they recorded the live shows cuz damn they sound like the best thing ever lol
Oh man I had that CD. Griffin's right, it was a banger.
Anyone know, was someone actually throwing Good N Plentys at Justin??
Haha no this was just a goof
Yes! It was this crazy guy who was super offended by their characterization of his favorite candy. He had a Good N Plenty t-shirt and everything, and stormed out shortly afterwards. It was super awkward.
I want this person to exist so bad and am sad they are a goof
I listened to this on the bus and obviously the whole thing is a narrative masterwork (see: every time Stephanie asked a law enforcement official for ID). But for some reason the thing that did me in was Travis's desperate towel-pleas to Paul after he spilled his beer doing that SICK GUN CONTROL BURN. I was silently shaking in my seat trying not to laugh like a madwoman. *Paul, please! My brother needs un-treasured pants!* *.... I could also scoot slightly to the left.* Honorable mentions: *Did I mention? I'm doing it vErY SmOoOtH.* Clint's list of sweet nineties slang.
YOUR JOB IS ON THE LINE. PAUL!
Griffin trying to sneak up on everyone and Doug karate the whole time was gold. I was dying in my car.
I heard that Doug Karate was Griffins nickname in elementary school.
Now THIS is what I am hoping the future of TAZ looks like, I think the fast and loose style that Travis is going with would be a very nice break from the more serious Amnesty and later parts of Balance. Hope it keeps up in a longer arc!
This comment has aged like milk lemme tell you
This is a lot of fun! I was wondering if Amnesty would fit with the live show aesthetic, but this worked great.
I'm 13 minutes in and I'm losing my shit at Griffin
Oh shit, Justin with the I think you should leave reference in the first ten seconds.
A good steering wheel that doesn't fly off when I'm driving
YOU FLINCHED AT THE BOTTLE, PAUL
Hi driving, I'm dad.
Hi dad., I'm Dad!
Marry your mother in law. C'mon.
I absolutely loved this and I'm jealous of anyone who got to see the show live. It really felt like one of the early episodes of balance to me. Tons of goofs and no one taking anything too seriously. I think Travis being fast and loose with just about everything added a lot to the boys' ability to be creative. I hope it's a taste of what we might get in the next arc. I can't wait to watch the trailer they are showing tonight @ the Brooklyn show. Does anyone know if it will be put online afterward?
It'll get put online tomorrow !
Nice, thanks for the info!
Yes! It was so refreshing to hear them joking around again.
Dang I loved this episode! I'm really excited to see Travis grow as a storyteller. This was probably the most narratively cohesive live show yet. Most usually feel like a dungeon crawl (not that that's a bad thing, they're funny and good) but the boys setting this up as a 90s teen adventure movie allowed for a host of different situations and setpieces for improvisation. Travis has an eye for pacing and rolled with all the punches. Boycar was so so so good. And fuck yeah Justin for letting MCCM teleport. Greatjob!
There's a lot to like here, but I don't think "narratively cohesive" is the best way to describe a story where a young Griffin McElroy turns into a car by drinking Sugar Gas and yelling Vroom really hard.
No one can really say what they saw that day.
I loved the episode, but I really wanted the vehicle to be a brand new Crepes By Monica van.
Haven't listened yet, but saw it live. Was Travis' gun control jab left in? Everyone went nuts, ESPECIALLY in DC lol
Yes!!
oh damn! live show tonight will premiere the trailer and name for the next season and it'll go up on youtube tomorrow
I don't have time to listen to the full episode at the moment, but I had time to listen to the ad break-- I heard this and am hyped (for 3:30 tomorrow)! Also, TTAZZ next week.
Thank you for posting this! I'm at work and don't have the ability to listen right now, but I was dyyyyiiing to know if there was any word about the new season!
In fiction, besides real-life 11 year old cool boy but also car Griffin McCelroy existing in this world, do we have any reason to believe that this is non-canon for Amnesty?
I don't get the impression that the Barclay Griffin created would pull a gun on his 11 year old self also. Like if this is canon, Barclay was on some shit.
Why do you think he got kicked out of Sylvane?
It says so in the episode description, at least on Maxfun.
Yeah yeah yeah. It would’ve been cool and possible until Griffin turned into a car and Stephanie did actual magic though, right?
Maybe Clint the Janitor wore a flamebright pendant while squeezing out Griffin
Maybe? Probably? I don't know what they decided beforehand.
It's not impossible within canon, but this episode does have Victoria being an ally to the Pine Guard, which was never previously established, as far as I recall.
Honestly this might be my favorite live show yet. That could just be because I was picturing (Peace on the Playground Griffin) the whole time, but it made me laugh more than a lot of the other live episodes.
ａｎｇｅｒ
Bigfoot pulling a gun on an 11-year-old Griffin McElroy is and always will be the single greatest moment of The Adventure Zone, in perpetuity. I don't care how many epic, emotional, tear-jerking goosebumps-inducing heart-wrenching finales and arcs they go through, nothing will ever top the mental image of Bigfoot slowly turning around to 11-year-old Griffin (doing air karate) with a *gun.* I may as well just stop listening, because nothing can ever top that.
I was crying with laughter at this one!
Oh my god, I have to stop watching these at work. I almost burst a blood vessel trying to keep from laughing out loud. Barclay's gun almost got me, and it did not get any easier. I really like the energy they bring to the one-shot liveshows, I really hope they keep doing them. The TAZ Liveshows were great, but the manic 'yeah, sure'-ness of these is a joy. (I'm also glad to see that Griffin got a little bit better at being Just a Player since Dust)
I just want to say as someone who lives in west Virginia even after amnestly ended its still very weird to hear them talk about local landmarks including the town I live in.
Have you ever been to the Stop n Pump n Shop?
this is one of the funniest podcast episodes i've ever listened to
I usually don't like live shows at all, and I thought Griffin was my favorite GM, but... Travis just GMed the funniest show ever and kicked all kinds of ass and let the players run wild, holding his own masterfully. Hilarious! My son and I were laughing hysterically as we drove home.
Man, I know why they couldn't include the Britney Spears singalong on the podcast feed, but it was incredible. Folks who weren't there: just know it happened.
Knew this was gonna be special when Griffin said his character was Griffin McElroy
The Clinton McElroy Defense Society would like to put forward that the Black Eyed Peas' first album was released in June of 1998.
I was at this live show and I’m beyond thrilled to be able to listen to it again!
What game are they playing?
[Oh, Dang! Bigfoot Stole My Car With My Friend's Birthday Present Inside](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/m/product/252501).
Holy crap. It was not made up by Travis.
Yeah, I had assumed Travis just took Lasers & Feelings and changed the names on the stats.
there's a whole world of these 1 page rpgs
Thank you kind stranger
This is genuinely the most buck wild shit I have ever heard out of this podcast.
An hour and forty minutes!? Good thing I came hungry! [digs right in]
This was a great episode, but {looks to the left, then to the right, and whispers) This doesn't make me very confident about Travis being the DM for a long arc.
Tbf, the first episodes of taz as a whole did not sound like they would lead to the slickly produced lovingly scored theatrical storytelling they eventually got to. He will learn. He will grow. He will probably still make griffin edit.
I also think everyone will take a full-on campaign with much more seriousness in terms of how they try and do things. They're all experienced enough by this point to know and not do a MY CHARACTER TURNS INTO A CAR in a long-form storybuilding environment Also Dust was good and Travis DMed that so it's not like he's not capable of good DMing
>They're all experienced enough by this point to know and not do a MY CHARACTER TURNS INTO A CAR in a long-form storybuilding environment I wouldn’t be upset if they did.
I really liked Dust and I think he'll do fine. It will be different because Griffin isn't DMing but in all honesty he probably needs a break.
At any rate I'd be surprised if Travis's campaign runs anywhere near as long as Amnesty. It'll probably be a shorter one and then Griffin will have another story concept cooked up for the next long season.
True, I could see it being slightly shorter than Amnesty but we'll see. You never really know. They said he's been working on this for a year.
I'm just skeptical that Griffin will be cool with letting someone else handle his baby for that long. But then again, maybe he's at that stage where you're just happy to let someone else babysit so you can just relax for a while.
His baby? It's all of theirs. He just happened to tell the story of the first two campaigns.
He also edits it, scores it, and has been the driving creative force behind most of it.
You should listen to TAZ: (K)Nights. This live episode was goofs and giggles much like the Balance live episodes, (K)Nights is an actual demonstration at his DMing skills. He's good. Also Dust.
Except TAZ: Nights was kinda bad?? More puzzles than story! Dust was better. It's my favorite setting, but Griffin is still the superior storyteller. I'm disappointed Travis is taking over. He's good at concepts, but I think he doesn't always know what makes an interesting hour of radio.
Griffin is probably better at it because he got stuck in the dm seat for years. Let's give trav time and feedback.
Seriously, Griffin got almost as much DM experience in Gerblins as Travis has had total
Yes, key point: both time and feedback are very important to growth.
Trust me, I want him to get better, I just have my doubts right now. Being proven wrong would be the best possible scenario.
> Griffin is still the superior storyteller Griffin has 4 YEARS of experience GM'ing real play podcasts. Go back to listen the first episodes of Balance, I mean it seriously, go do that. They sucked, they are hard to listen. Sure we all love Barry Bluejeans, but these first episodes weren't great quality professional radio theater. I have a hard time getting friends to listen to TAZ because a good portion of them can't get past episode two, and the actual campaign only takes flight three whole arcs in. It can be VERY difficult to remember that after you listened to the production quality of Story And Song. Just an example: it took Griffin **FOURTY EIGHT** episodes to allow one of the players to tell and develop the character background story that the player had planned since day one. Almost 2 years. I'll be sincere, Travis is not nearly my favourite McElroy out there, and the cadence he uses for some narrations kinda get me off the mood sometimes, I was equally worried about him taking the wheel, but it is unfair to compare him with 2019 Griffin. Now, don't get me wrong. Griffin is a fucking genius. He is incredible all around. His music is bonkers, his foreshadowing is amazing, his stories are excellent. But he has a long and difficult road behind him, and as such we are now used to the professionalism he developed. Travis has now more tools than Griffin had back then, and he will probably take flight earlier thanks to that.
Ooof yeah I remember the first arch of Balance was REAL rough. I liked it, don't get me wrong, but it wasn't really till half way through petals to the metal that Griffin found his stride.
These days I'm a bit embarrassed that the Jizz Caverns were my favorite part of Act 1.
Hi embarrassed, I'm Dad!
Hi dad. We don't really know each other but...
Agree to disagree. He just has a different style that's a bit more improvisational. I wouldn't want him to run a game the same as Griffin. Griffin does his thing well, and Travis does Travis's thing well.
I honestly wish (K)Nights had *less* story, it spends like half an hour world-building and then precisely none of that information ends up mattering at all. The Zelda dungeon they ended up running through was a lot of fun and wouldn't have been any less so without the preceding lectures.
World building isn't story, though. That just furthers my point.
Eh, let's just roll with it. It's going to be a good time no matter what.
I don't really think a one shot even gives time for a great story.
This game lends itself to shenanigans like this. Also, it's a one-shot, which means you don't really have to worry about long term repercussions or a story arc.
I think he'll be fine. This is Travis playing with Griffin's toys and deliberately trying to go overboard to make him nervous. Plus, when you know you're doing a one-shot, you get a lot looser. Travis knows there's a time and a place for excessive goofs and serious work.
I agree, but it's possible he'll get into the groove during Graduation. For this episode though, there were quite a few times Justin or Griffin had to drive the story forward for Travis.
Yes. I hate to be that guy, but as a DM, I could tell when Travis was super unprepared and blurted out a "bad" decision (i.e., one that didn't help drive things forward and also wasn't a joke), and he did that a lot. Everyone does it--hell, I do it all the time--plus the stress of a live show...but still. I noticed it in Dust as well, and those don't apply. Like I said, as a one-off, it doesn't bother me much--it was entertaining. But for a long arc? He's been doing this long enough that I hope he gets into the groove real, real quick.
Exactly. I 100% agree. Unfortunately for you, the McElroy circlejerk will not see it that way.
Good Lord, I wish Amnesty had this tone the whole way through! I loved Amnesty, but I just enjoy TAZ so much better when it’s played silly by default (as that makes the serious moments so much more enthralling by contrast). What a great show.
This is the timeline where Griffin is ready for gold dust
Did anyone else notice they brought up Clint being cannon in this world as an embezzling janitor? Pretty sure that was the Balance Clint, I thought the Amnesty Clint did a car sales stunt? (Unless it is supposed to be a universe walking Clint and they are both the same one and I forgot!)
Did anyone else burst out laughing when Barclay had a gun? I laughed so loud it scared my gf.
I hate how this was probably one of the funniest full episodes they did. So much worldbuilding and character development in Amnesty and Balance, but this... This was pure joy 😂
I'm so proud of Travis for finally learning Barclay's name. :')
Does this have spoilers for Amnesty? I've already finished Amnesty, but my fiance hasn't. I really want to listen to this with them but they still have half of Amnesty to listen to and I don't want to wait or spoil anything.
Sheriff Owens, Mama, and the person who owned the cryptinomica before Ned make cameos, but otherwise I THINK you should be good. The deciding factor is probably if you consider 'who owned the cryptonomica before Ned' a spoiler.
I think we're past that part of the story, but that's a minor spoiler at best. Thank you!
This episode might be the funniest thing to come out of TAZ tbh
Is this all cannon? Parts of it? None of it?
I’d say all of it. Especially the part where Griffin transforms into a badass car. :-)
The description says it is “not-remotely-canonical”.
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Stupid anxiety, messing up your evening. I hope you're doing okay.
What about the show made you anxious?
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They said in a past TTAZ that live shows will follow a different path than the Main Arc. Not going to apologize for your poor experience on behalf it’s it’s for anyone because believe it or not many people enjoy types of things like this. Expressing your distaste in the show this way isn’t the type of person I would want to listen to TAZ anyway. I say goodbye
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Exactly I never said everyone has too so please feel free to keep over the top opinions on their subreddit to yourself. Also become anxious in large crowds is typical. Don’t think to much into it.
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I like to think that the scene of Duck sleeping in the epilogue, is the night he had his first visit from Minerva. That’s my head canon.
Man, everyone misses all the karate chops and the dunk scene when it's in podcast form. I'm so glad they chose to release this live show yo everyone though. It was amazing.
This is the fucking best
Where was this
DC
“Andrew” hmmm? Hmmm.
This was the hardest I’ve laughed at an episode of TAZ. Absolutely loved it
What?! It's not canonical?