The Møst Håpless Ådventüring Pårty
A møøse once bit my sister...
After 22 episodes of mayhem and incompetence, the Vikings & Valkyries actual-play podcast has come to an end. Good lord, but it’s been a lot of fun.
For the past six months or so (!) my Monday evenings have been spent in a state of confusion and fun as our characters tried to figure out which end of the sword went where, and how to tell a gambanteinn from a hörgr. (spoiler: one is a spell-casting implement, and the other is… uh…)
The game is When the Wolf Comes, and it’s set an alternate world where Vikings are the dominant culture, spreading their Norseness across the world and the planets beyond. Our gang of clueless idiots hopeful adventurers were caught up in an exciting adventure called The Thought & Memory Saga.
It was enormous fun with our ruthless GM Ian Stuart Sharpe conducting the orchestra of chaos featuring myself, my ancient venerable friend Bill, and the excellent C.J. Adrien. Every week we welcomed one or more guests, most of them Norse-inclined academics, writers, and performers, who fought valiantly to be heroic and useful right up until we got them killed.
Described by one listener as “Possibly the most hapless adventuring party I’ve ever encountered”, we had a hell of a lot of fun. If you’re looking for a new actual-play podcast where you can laugh with (and at) the characters, maybe give us a bit of a listen.
Here’s the list of all the cast who took part. Unlike we three stooges, most of them are competent and intelligent experts in their fields. It was so much fun meeting and playing with them (even though their characters met their inevitable demise).
Friends, Vikings and Hirdmenn include:
Bill Hopkins, a GM-for-hire on StartPlaying (using the stage name MagicLudi). He also has channels on Facebook, Twitch, and Youtube so you can get a taste of his GM style before signing up.
Steve Madill, a prolific author of science fiction and fantasy, with over a dozen books across three series.
C.J. Adrien, an award-winning author of Viking historical fiction novels and co-host of the Vikingology podcast.
Special Guest Stars include:
Joseph Aleo, the creator of the epic Vikings vs Samurai comic series.
Kaitlin Felix, author of Ran’s Daughters and creator of catastrophe
Fjörn the Skald, Norse-minded medievalist and historian, with a channel full of Vikings
Sam Flegal, Fateful Signs creator and Norse illustrator.
Matt Forbeck, New York Times bestselling author behind the Marvel Multiverse RPG.
Mike Foucher, the man behind the app-integrated power browser, Shift.
Rowdy Geirsson, translator of The Impudent Edda, author of The Scandinavian Aggressors
Joshua Gillingham, the author, game designer, and editor behind the fantasy trilogy The Saga of Torin Ten-Trees and the Althingi game.
Jeremy Hall, DM at Old Men Rolling Dice.
Terry Harvey-Chadwick, Viking re-enactor, aka the Science Viking.
Josh Heath, COO of High Level Games. He is also known as the Heathen Philosopher, a US Army veteran who helped convince the Department of Defense to add several religious preferences to their official list, including Heathen.
Rebecca Hill, a proud Norse Nutter, book blogger, and YouTuber with Valhalla Conversations.
Thilde Kold Holdt, author of the Hanged God trilogy and sailor on the Sea Stallion
Annina Kaski, actor, writer, producer and star of Bardic Quest. Find more of her work at the Awkward Actress.
Jay and his bandmates in Oba have just released their first single Could Have. Listen here on YouTube and Spotify.
Taylor Moe, filmmaker, blacksmith and Dungeon Master at Silver Fire Films
Dr. John Sexton and Dr. Andy Pfrenger of the Saga Thing podcast