Hello! I'm the host of an actual play podcast using the Genesys system, we concluded our first season a month ago and just launched season 2!

The podcast is called Melting Plot , it is an edited actual play podcast where we play as a randomized group of characters selected from among popular movie, TV, or video game franchises. We put those characters into a catastrophic scenario and try to survive! Each season features a brand new story with new characters and will be played until the characters survive the catastrophe or die trying.

You can find all of season 1 and the first episode of season 2 at the links below or wherever you get your podcasts.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/melting-plot/id1342478398
www.meltingplotpodcast.com

Our goal is to make the highest quality podcast we can to help tell a story in a cinematic way. We do this through the use of music and light SFX. We just released the first episode of season 2 and we'd love to know what you guys think!

I really enjoyed Season 1, so I'm glad to see the second season rolling out. My one complaint about Season 1 was that it seemed to drag on a bit too long, but other than that, I loved the players, the GM, the conceit of putting random characters together, and the story arc that developed. Looking forward to listening to Season 2!

20 hours ago, SavageBob said:

I really enjoyed Season 1, so I'm glad to see the second season rolling out. My one complaint about Season 1 was that it seemed to drag on a bit too long, but other than that, I loved the players, the GM, the conceit of putting random characters together, and the story arc that developed. Looking forward to listening to Season 2!

We're glad you liked season 1 and thanks for the feedback on the season length! The story can be difficult to pace because, while we're trying to tell a story in a narrative way, we're still playing a tabletop RPG so sometimes things don't go according to plan and pacing gets thrown out the window (I blame Hannibal)! Let us know what you think of season 2!

I know I just complained about the length of Season 1, but I wonder if you've considered doing a "Session 0" sort of thing, even if it's after the season ends. I like how you keep it a surprise which characters show up, but I'd love to hear what happens when you and the players learn who the cast of characters will be. "Oh, cool! I get to play Dougie Houser!" D o you record these sessions? Or is it done some other way?

I sort of missed previous annoucements for this podcast...but I have been enjoying it. I am curious what happened to Samurai Jack's player, but that may be revealed in the wrap up show (just started Ch. 13 part 2).

I too would be interested to know how characters are selected, after the season is done.

Just saw your post, great concept!

Starting to listen now!

3 episodes in and I'm hooked. Being able to hear everyone at the same level is such a nice thing to have in a podcast. RP, good play (use of the dice results) and keeping with the concept has been what has drawn me in. I have a new binge podcast. Thanks!

This sounds really interesting and actually somthing I would love to see with genesys, namely using it to create roleplayable versions of existing franchises and characters.

17 hours ago, SavageBob said:

I know I just complained about the length of Season 1, but I wonder if you've considered doing a "Session 0" sort of thing, even if it's after the season ends. I like how you keep it a surprise which characters show up, but I'd love to hear what happens when you and the players learn who the cast of characters will be. "Oh, cool! I get to play Dougie Houser!" D o you record these sessions? Or is it done some other way?

So we've actually thrown this idea around - as it turns out, selecting characters is not as exciting as you'd think. We have this big list of potential characters, and then we roll randomly to see who is selected. However, there is a TON of discussion after about how to make the selected group work together (if you've listened to season 1, you'll know that it doesn't always work out, sometimes a character is too much of a villain (spoilers?)).

We have also toyed with the idea of doing an Episode 0 but as you stated, it's kind of fun to be surprised when a new character pops up. That being said, at the end of season 1 we did a breakdown of the season with the cast. I fully anticipate we'll do that for season 2 and beyond. I will put a discussion about character selection on the list of things we break down in S2!

Who knows, maybe in S3 we'll record the character selection process...

5 hours ago, Norr-Saba said:

This sounds really interesting and actually somthing I would love to see with genesys, namely using it to create roleplayable versions of existing franchises and characters.

Genesys is SO GOOD for this. First of all, narrative dice is the best thing for keeping the story moving because it encourages players to be involved in the narrative. On top of that, the Genesys system is designed to be used in every instance, so if we roll up Tony Stark, Bilbo Baggins, and Bender as PCs, the system works for it. It's brilliant and has been a ton of fun to try to figure out how to build each character. If there is interest, we can post the character sheets from our past season.

Just discovered your cast and have been binging season 1. Love the concept of using familiar characters — as a listener I can immediately understand a player’s choices because I already have som understanding of the character. And I imagine it helps the players because they have a a strong archetype to play to rather than inventing a character.

Keep upbthe the great work!

Finished season 1! Awesome work. I really enjoyed the choices the players made with their characters. Keeping the editing to the narrative and limiting the table talk was a good idea. While I enjoy the table talk, sometimes I zone out during the table talk (I'm usually working while listening) and then miss important narrative points. It's a hard balance to strike and for your format I think you did pretty good. If you ever do a Patreon, table talk extras or uncut version could be tier reward.

On 9/21/2018 at 8:32 PM, Flobio said:

Finished season 1! Awesome work. I really enjoyed the choices the players made with their characters. Keeping the editing to the narrative and limiting the table talk was a good idea. While I enjoy the table talk, sometimes I zone out during the table talk (I'm usually working while listening) and then miss important narrative points. It's a hard balance to strike and for your format I think you did pretty good. If you ever do a Patreon, table talk extras or uncut version could be tier reward.

Thanks for the feedback, we are glad you liked it. Balancing table talk with the narrative is hard, and even through season 1 I was struggling with how much to keep. In the end I decided on focusing almost entirely on the narrative because, as you say, it's easy to zone out during non-narrative moments (and also, I typically don't like things that detract from the narrative in APs, myself). At this time, there are no plans for Patreon, but I have been planning on releasing some of the more entertaining out of game moments as clips on our twitter page (twitter.com/plotmelting).

Something we noticed while playing Genesys is that the system lends itself to remaining in the narrative. Even when trying to determine the results of a die roll (advantages, triumphs, despairs, threats), we talk about how to use those results to further the story. We really enjoy this at the table because it keeps everyone engaged. I highly encourage others to discuss die results as a group, instead of expecting the person who rolled the dice to do all the "work". This part is especially true for your GM... help us out, we need it!

Listening to Season 1 made me really excited to run a game. Unfortunately, it is in a queue, with a few other (currently running) games taking presidence.

Thanks for a great 1st season. Looking forward to the entirety of Season 2!

22 hours ago, BlackFoxHero said:

Listening to Season 1 made me really excited to run a game. Unfortunately, it is in a queue, with a few other (currently running) games taking presidence.

Get it to the table my dude, Genesys is excellent! Good luck!

4 minutes ago, HelixSix said:

Get it to the table my dude, Genesys is excellent! Good luck!

Oh believe me, I want to. Next game with my wife (doing a Pathfinder AP). My other group...not sure. But I will definately try!