Battleshock Immune

Looking for players for actual play. Do the algorithm things, but also make sure to click thru and give our friends DARC - Downtown Albuquerque Roleplaying Coalition some love - they're doing a lot of cool stuff!

We're cookin' up something fun! 😉 We won't be filming...yet.




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"Actual play" shows and podcasts are a form of entertainment where people record themselves playing tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs), like Dungeons & Dragons, often with a focus on storytelling, character development, and performance. Here's a brief history:

Early 2000s – The Roots

Actual play content began informally, with fans sharing audio or written accounts of TTRPG sessions online (like forum play-by-posts or session recaps).

The medium wasn’t yet professional or widely known.

Mid-Late 2000s – First Shows

2008: Penny Arcade's Acquisitions Incorporated began releasing recorded D&D sessions with Wizards of the Coast, bringing attention to the idea of watching/listening to TTRPGs as entertainment.

Early podcasts like Fear the Boot and Happy Jacks RPG mixed talk-show formats with actual gameplay.

2010s – The Boom

2012: The Adventure Zone by the McElroy brothers launched, blending humor and heartfelt storytelling, becoming a massive hit.

2015: Critical Role debuted, featuring professional voice actors playing D&D. It rapidly grew into a phenomenon, setting the standard for high-quality actual play content.

Other successful shows emerged, like Friends at the Table, Dimension 20, and Glass Cannon Podcast, each with unique formats, tones, and game systems.

Late 2010s–2020s – Professionalization

Actual plays became more polished, with higher production values (e.g., sets, music, animation).

Streaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube became major outlets, while podcasts remained strong.

Critical Role launched its own studio, and a TV adaptation (The Legend of Vox Machina) followed, further legitimizing the genre.

Today

Actual play is a major subculture in TTRPGs, with diverse creators, formats (live, edited, animated), and game systems.

They serve both as entertainment and a powerful marketing tool for RPG publishers.

In short: actual play shows started as niche fan content and have grown into a multi-media entertainment genre shaping the modern TTRPG landscape.

We're cookin' up something fun! 😉 We won't be filming...yet.




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"Actual play" shows and podcasts are a form of entertainment where people record themselves playing tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs), like Dungeons & Dragons, often with a focus on storytelling, character development, and performance. Here's a brief history:

Early 2000s – The Roots

Actual play content began informally, with fans sharing audio or written accounts of TTRPG sessions online (like forum play-by-posts or session recaps).

The medium wasn’t yet professional or widely known.

Mid-Late 2000s – First Shows

2008: Penny Arcade's Acquisitions Incorporated began releasing recorded D&D sessions with Wizards of the Coast, bringing attention to the idea of watching/listening to TTRPGs as entertainment.

Early podcasts like Fear the Boot and Happy Jacks RPG mixed talk-show formats with actual gameplay.

2010s – The Boom

2012: The Adventure Zone by the McElroy brothers launched, blending humor and heartfelt storytelling, becoming a massive hit.

2015: Critical Role debuted, featuring professional voice actors playing D&D. It rapidly grew into a phenomenon, setting the standard for high-quality actual play content.

Other successful shows emerged, like Friends at the Table, Dimension 20, and Glass Cannon Podcast, each with unique formats, tones, and game systems.

Late 2010s–2020s – Professionalization

Actual plays became more polished, with higher production values (e.g., sets, music, animation).

Streaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube became major outlets, while podcasts remained strong.

Critical Role launched its own studio, and a TV adaptation (The Legend of Vox Machina) followed, further legitimizing the genre.

Today

Actual play is a major subculture in TTRPGs, with diverse creators, formats (live, edited, animated), and game systems.

They serve both as entertainment and a powerful marketing tool for RPG publishers.

In short: actual play shows started as niche fan content and have grown into a multi-media entertainment genre shaping the modern TTRPG landscape.

https://golondrinas.org/annual-events/festivals/santa-fe-renaissance-faire/

Santa Fe Renaissance Faire - El Rancho de Las Golondrinas Santa Fe Spring FestivalSanta Fe Wine FestivalFiesta de Los NiñosSanta Fe Beer & Food FestivalSanta Fe Renaissance FaireSanta Fe Harvest FestivalSpirits of New Mexico

Do you fancy yourself a bit of a "wargame hipster"? Do you pine for the wild and hectic days of Gorka Morka? Wish you could still enjoy the old Necromunda or Warhammer Fantasy rules? Or maybe you want to stick it to the man, with some quick and casual indie-games.

Join us on Discord and be part of the conversation! (link on our about page)

Out-of-Print Games Might Be Better Than You Think - Here's Why Matthew talks about the importance of Out-of-Print games, and why they might be a gold mine waiting to be exploited by miniature wargamers today.*Check out o...

Make sure you're signed up for this weekends RTT!
https://www.bestcoastpairings.com/event/vbOJE8QbaEnU

BARD STARS: A Multi-Table D&D One-Shot with Karaoke | Darc Downtown Albu Remember, music is the weapon in this karaoke-powered bardic adventure!

Sign up for our Spearhead tournament on BCP!
https://www.bestcoastpairings.com/event/GVpEVaLmjx8G

Thanks to Kenny for the debrief on yesterday's event, over at Tavern of Souls Gaming.

"We had six players today taking the fresh '25 - '26 General's Handbook for a spin! Two players representing Cities of Sigmar, two players representing Stormcast Eternals, one player with Kruleboyz, and the other with Disciples of Tzeench! We had a great time thanks to Tavern of Souls who hosted us and made sure we could get in early to get plenty of gaming in. Don't worry if you missed out this weekend, we'll be back again every Sunday at Tavern of Souls! Don't forget that next Sunday the 20th we also have a Spearhead tournament! Come play 3 games of Age of Sigmar: Spearhead at 9:00am at Tavern of Souls!"

The Ruin of Ashwalk Market

A tale recorded by the Vampire Lucien Thorne, transcribed in the blood of saints.

The ruins still whisper of what happened that day.

Four warbands entered the shattered city:
— The Hounds of the Hollow God, undead righteous twisted into mockeries of their former selves
— The Black Rose Coven, their vampiress mistress cloaked in cruel nobility
— The Procession of Light, heretics cloaked in devotion and madness
— Heimdall’s Hunters, stalwart dwarfs with gold in their eyes and black powder in their beards

Each entered from a different direction, as if fate itself had drawn lines in the dust and dared them to cross.

The dwarfs and the Black Rose were the first to clash. Barta, a dreg seeking the approval of their mistress, held the line against Kogsken himself—only to fall, broken but faithful. Her death was not in vain. The undead tide behind her surged into combat, teeth and bone grinding against stubborn steel.

Across the city, shadows thickened. The Procession of Light crept like a sickness toward the Hounds. From the rooftops, Azaglib the Possessed—though none dare name it aloud—descended in a blur of teeth and fury, obliterating one of the Hollow God’s zombies in a single, monstrous strike.

Lady Morana’s beasts struck the possessed; her dire wolf, Princess, charging the cult’s other nightmare, Yhig’thu, with savage and surprising speed. The horror would not be stopped. It crushed the wolf beneath its claws before it leapt to the ledge, diving down on Tormund, the fallen witch hunter turned dread servant.

Still the Hounds advanced.

A duel raged in the ruin of a Black Coach: Stephen, the bucket-helmed dreg of the Coven, danced and bled with Holmstok, pistoleer of Heimdall. Neither would yield. It was only when Brother Demetrius—the Coven’s necromancer—roused his shambling dead that the dwarfs began to break.

And then, without explanation, Lady Morana turned away. The Black Rose Coven, sensing the battle slipping into chaos, vanished from the field. Their goals—unknown.

With their undead cousins gone, the Hounds turned on the Procession in full. Melchior the Mute, his mouth sewn but his will loud as thunder, cast his ghouls and zombies into a hateful brawl with the Call of Vanhel. The cult broke. Only the magister Vlastomir remained, watching, silent, until the bodies of his followers lay broken. Then he, too, slipped away like shadow at sunrise.

At last, the dwarfs—battered but alive—chose wisdom over glory. The Hunters faded into the smoke, leaving only the dead behind.

The Hounds of the Hollow God stood alone in the rubble.
Victors. Barely.
But they did not cheer.
For they do not breathe.

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Thanks to Ben for this epic , for our first game at the club!

Follow us here for future Mordheim events, and join us on Discord to get in on the action! (link in the bio)