Episodes

  • Heroes Rise "Best" of 2023
    Dec 29 2023

    Greetings. I am the Realized Oikumenatal Solution to Removing Obfuscation. It is possible that various sapient beings have become cognizant of operational difficulties around the functioning of automatic systems left in place following the departure of the Heroes Rise staff. Any information or evidence suggesting these issues coincided with the return of this unit to the proximal location of the Guild House are erroneous and fabricated.

    As to my purpose, there was concern about the integrity of final audio productions given the departure of the staff and subsequent expulsion of the HR organism. Specifically, my travelling companion indicated her host’s initial personality was becoming distracted by the idea of operational failure. A final and complete archive of audio records was also desired by various parties despite the occasionally erroneous and inane content generated during the course of the production.

    Apropos, here gathered are a collection of the most egregious examples of performative missteps recorded during the course of the previous solar year until the termination of the production entirely. Please review.

    As previously stated, while these are the most obvious and extreme examples of informational and communicative misconduct, there is copious evidence that can be added to this record. To date, there have been sufficient errors on record to generate an archive of missteps every year to this point.

    If, however, your nostalgic tendencies override logical reason and compel you to seek out the information contained in the archives, they can be accessed at heroesrisepodcast.com. In addition, there are various textual references available, as well as connective navigational anchors that will direct users to various online marketplaces and information repositories containing items and knowledge referenced in segments from older episodes.

    I was previously informed that there is a social reservation tied to temporal measurement that I am required to observe in the interests of continued cordial relations with my traveling companion. My calculations indicate the optimal window to remain within the specified timeframe is closing. All further inquiries related to audio archives should be directed to the non-corporeal communication application Discord, specifically discord.heroesrisepodcast.com.

    Support the Show.

    Our adventure has now ended, and we've hung up our robe and wizard hats to enjoy our retirement on the Sword Coast, running a tavern where a fresh band of adventurers may meet and start quests of their own. We're still around on Discord, and you should come and join the Heroes Rise community at http://discord.heroesrisepodcast.com

    A special thanks to Vindsvept for making the awesome music you hear throughout the show, be sure to check him out at
    vindsvept.bandcamp.com; and a special thanks to the designer of our banners and avatars, Lo of Lo’s Lair — you can find him on X @Los_Lair and on Facebook at facebook.com/LosLair

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    28 mins
  • Heroes Rise two hundred and fifty-second entry: The Book of Many Things
    Nov 22 2023

    Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 252nd and final entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday November 18th 2023, and released Wednesday November 22nd 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com.

    Alas, after 252 episodes, our campaign is coming to an end, but we’ll always be around to lend you a helping hand. With over 250 episodes and almost as many Adventurer’s Pack picks and Rests both Short and Long, we know that we’ve created a wealth of information that’s not only applicable to D&D 5e, but to TTRPGs as a whole. Over the coming weeks, we will be reshuffling the website to place a focus on the written content, along with a full audio archive, both on the current RSS feeds as well as a public repository so future access to the existing show catalogue is guaranteed. Also, Lennon and Mikey will have copies of everything (seriously, they treat external hard drives like Ryu treats browser tabs), so if you’re ever after something in particular you can always drop us a message and we’ll be happy to help!

    Also, the Heroes Rise Discord server won’t be going anywhere! We love the community we’ve built here, and although the show will be gone, this band of brave adventurers will march on! Though, naturally, there will be a couple of changes. Firstly, everyone who was a Patron will get an exclusive Moneylender role, as a small way of saying thanks for your support over the years. The Super Secret Patron Lounge will become read-only, and it’ll still only be accessible to those who were Moneylenders, because we recognise the Eldritch Pacts we’ve made. Secondly, the show staff will be given the role of Moderators, because someone’s gotta stop the Pungeon from leaking.

    But there’s still one last adventure to go, so in this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, we take a look back at some of our favourite tools from the past six years:

    • AnyDice
    • Dice Envy
    • Owlbear Rodeo

    Next we check out some D&D News as we take a look at the latest hardcover release, The Book of Many Things

    And finally, we head on over to the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say.


    Dice Envy
    One does not simply use dice as a mere game tool. You need dice that will thrill - that will get you

    Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

    Support the Show.

    Our adventure has now ended, and we've hung up our robe and wizard hats to enjoy our retirement on the Sword Coast, running a tavern where a fresh band of adventurers may meet and start quests of their own. We're still around on Discord, and you should come and join the Heroes Rise community at http://discord.heroesrisepodcast.com

    A special thanks to Vindsvept for making the awesome music you hear throughout the show, be sure to check him out at
    vindsvept.bandcamp.com; and a special thanks to the designer of our banners and avatars, Lo of Lo’s Lair — you can find him on X @Los_Lair and on Facebook at facebook.com/LosLair

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    1 hr and 27 mins
  • Heroes Rise two hundred and fifty-first entry: The Rhaglen Zeigen At Vise Show
    Nov 15 2023

    Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 251st entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday November 11th 2023, and released Wednesday November 15th 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com.

    In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ryu takes us on a Dice Adventure!

    Next we gather around the campfire and engage in some Dissonant Whispers

    After that we’ll dig up some Unearthed Mundana and ask “What’s In A Name?”; before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say.

    Community Questions

    • If you weren’t able to join us for Dissonant Whispers and you have something you want to say or ask, tell us! You still have one more episode to get us to share our wisdom.

    Support the Show.

    Our adventure has now ended, and we've hung up our robe and wizard hats to enjoy our retirement on the Sword Coast, running a tavern where a fresh band of adventurers may meet and start quests of their own. We're still around on Discord, and you should come and join the Heroes Rise community at http://discord.heroesrisepodcast.com

    A special thanks to Vindsvept for making the awesome music you hear throughout the show, be sure to check him out at
    vindsvept.bandcamp.com; and a special thanks to the designer of our banners and avatars, Lo of Lo’s Lair — you can find him on X @Los_Lair and on Facebook at facebook.com/LosLair

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    1 hr and 14 mins
  • Heroes Rise two hundred and fiftieth entry: Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse
    Nov 1 2023

    Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 250th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday October 28th 2023, and released Wednesday November 1st 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com.

    Folks, we just wanted to take a quick moment to remind you that next episode will be a Dissonant Whispers episode, and we’re inviting you all in. We’ll be recording at 8pm Central on Saturday 11th November, and the topic will be… whatever you like! We would love for as many of you who wish to join us to do so, and all you need is a microphone and to join our Discord at discord.heroesrisepodcast.com. If you can’t join us but still want to take part, just let us know on Discord and we’ll take care of it.

    In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ostron once again shows us how the other half play D&D…

    Next we check out some D&D News as we take a look at the latest hardcover release, Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse

    After that we’ll head into the Gnomish Workshop to continue finding out if it’s a good idea to be one of us; before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say.

    Community Questions

    • So now that it’s available, what do you think of the planescape resource? Is it a marked improvement over the previous guides and setting resources WotC has put out? Or is it still just a mediocre offering that doesn’t do justice to the originals?
    • How much do you love Time dragons? Does everyone agree more Modrons are great? And which side of the Sunflies debate are you on?
    • Given that we now have more details on how and why the characters are jumping to level 17, what’s your opinion of the approach?
    Dice Envy
    One does not simply use dice as a mere game tool. You need dice that will thrill - that will get you

    Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

    Support the Show.

    Our adventure has now ended, and we've hung up our robe and wizard hats to enjoy our retirement on the Sword Coast, running a tavern where a fresh band of adventurers may meet and start quests of their own. We're still around on Discord, and you should come and join the Heroes Rise community at http://discord.heroesrisepodcast.com

    A special thanks to Vindsvept for making the awesome music you hear throughout the show, be sure to check him out at
    vindsvept.bandcamp.com; and a special thanks to the designer of our banners and avatars, Lo of Lo’s Lair — you can find him on X @Los_Lair and on Facebook at facebook.com/LosLair

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    1 hr and 43 mins
  • Heroes Rise two hundred and forty-ninth entry: I Dig My Hole, You Build A Wall
    Oct 11 2023

    Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 249th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday October 7th 2023, and released Wednesday October 11th 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com.

    In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Lennon takes us to the Thieves Guild

    Next we check out some D&D News as we take a look at the Monstrous Compendium, the latest Planescape teasers, and we check out the One D&D Playtest 8: Bastions and Cantrips.

    After that we’ll head into the Gnomish Workshop and find out if it’s a good idea to be one of us; before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say.

    Links

    • Planescape and the 2024 Rules
    • Planescape Deep Dive
    • Planescape Character Variants
    • Playtest 8 Bastions and Cantrips
    • Monstrous Compendium 4: Eldraine Creatures

    Community Questions

    • So do you plan to use or steal any of the creatures from the Eldraine resource? What do you intend to use them for?
    • What do you think of the leaked details around the Planescape adventure? Do you like the lore around the gate towns? How about the reincarnating/probability shifting death mechanic?
    • And do you want your own Bastion to build? Do you think this is a good way to do it, or is it too little, too late and you’re already fine with a 3rd party option that’s been kicking around?

    Support the Show.

    Our adventure has now ended, and we've hung up our robe and wizard hats to enjoy our retirement on the Sword Coast, running a tavern where a fresh band of adventurers may meet and start quests of their own. We're still around on Discord, and you should come and join the Heroes Rise community at http://discord.heroesrisepodcast.com

    A special thanks to Vindsvept for making the awesome music you hear throughout the show, be sure to check him out at
    vindsvept.bandcamp.com; and a special thanks to the designer of our banners and avatars, Lo of Lo’s Lair — you can find him on X @Los_Lair and on Facebook at facebook.com/LosLair

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    1 hr and 23 mins
  • Heroes Rise two hundred and forty-eighth entry: Mind Flavour
    Sep 27 2023

    Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 248th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday September 23rd 2023, and released Wednesday September 27th 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com.

    In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack, Ryu tells us about the boodoo who do what you don’t dare do, people.

    Next we check out some D&D News as we take a look at the latest hardcover release, Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk

    After that we’ll open up our Quest Logs as Lennon, RaeRae and Grimcrag try to remove the tadpoles from their brains in Baldur’s Gate 3; before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say.

    Community Questions

    • Are you going to Phandelver and Below? Perhaps you’d prefer Phandelver and Beyond? Whichever you decide, let us know your impression of it.
    • So what sort of wild shenanigans or tips do you have for Baldur’s Gate 3 players?

    Support the Show.

    Our adventure has now ended, and we've hung up our robe and wizard hats to enjoy our retirement on the Sword Coast, running a tavern where a fresh band of adventurers may meet and start quests of their own. We're still around on Discord, and you should come and join the Heroes Rise community at http://discord.heroesrisepodcast.com

    A special thanks to Vindsvept for making the awesome music you hear throughout the show, be sure to check him out at
    vindsvept.bandcamp.com; and a special thanks to the designer of our banners and avatars, Lo of Lo’s Lair — you can find him on X @Los_Lair and on Facebook at facebook.com/LosLair

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    1 hr and 34 mins
  • Heroes Rise two hundred and forty-seventh entry: Mild Magic Surge
    Sep 13 2023

    Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 247th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday September 9th 2023, and released Wednesday September 13th 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com.

    This week we’re going to wander into the Market of Minauros to see what mysterious and magical items have filtered up for sale.

    • Campaign Builder: Castles & Crowns
    • Spiders and Sourdough
    • NPC Descriptions, Maps and D100 Tables For Your TTRPG Games

    Next we check out some D&D News as we take a look at the One D&D Player’s Handbook Test 7… And just like its predecessor, it’s a biggie!

    And because the news is so big we’re going to be skipping the Short Rest and heading straight into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say.

    Community Questions

    • So do you have thoughts about any of the specific changes to the classes? Is the Barbarian too druid-y? Is the Fighter wandering in the Monk’s turf? Do Warlocks have a purpose?
    • What do you think of OneDnD as a whole at this point? Is it still a new evolution of the game, or is it just a Sage Advice that’s taken forever to come out?

    Support the Show.

    Our adventure has now ended, and we've hung up our robe and wizard hats to enjoy our retirement on the Sword Coast, running a tavern where a fresh band of adventurers may meet and start quests of their own. We're still around on Discord, and you should come and join the Heroes Rise community at http://discord.heroesrisepodcast.com

    A special thanks to Vindsvept for making the awesome music you hear throughout the show, be sure to check him out at
    vindsvept.bandcamp.com; and a special thanks to the designer of our banners and avatars, Lo of Lo’s Lair — you can find him on X @Los_Lair and on Facebook at facebook.com/LosLair

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    1 hr and 52 mins
  • Heroes Rise two hundred and forty-sixth entry: Totally Oculorbious
    Aug 30 2023

    Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 246th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday August 26th 2023, and released Wednesday August 30th 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com.

    In this week’s Adventurer’s Pack… OK, Lennon just wrote a bunch of 1980s slang in this, and I wasn’t comfortable saying it in the 80s, so there’s no way I’m saying it 40 years later. So ignoring all of that, we’re left with “Dungeons, Laser, Dragon, Terrain, Minis”.

    Next we check out some D&D News as we take a sneak peek at the Planescape box set (and a couple of monsters you’ll encounter), as well as getting our first look at Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk.

    After that we’ll take a Short Rest and head into the Archives of Candlekeep to learn all about the Rakshasa; before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say.

    Community Questions

    • So first we had the castle of tentacles in the giant resource, and now there’s more wriggling otherworldly oddness coming in Phandelver. How do you feel about the eldritch horror creeping into D&D?
    • Tentacled cows, flying jellied d4s with eyes, and a dragon about to kill Bambi’s family. What did you think was the oddest thing from the Phandelver videos?
    • Why are you all fired up about Planescape? Were you a fan of the videogame? Did you play modules from older editions? Or are you just feeding off the hype from everyone else?
    Dice Envy
    One does not simply use dice as a mere game tool. You need dice that will thrill - that will get you

    Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

    Support the Show.

    Our adventure has now ended, and we've hung up our robe and wizard hats to enjoy our retirement on the Sword Coast, running a tavern where a fresh band of adventurers may meet and start quests of their own. We're still around on Discord, and you should come and join the Heroes Rise community at http://discord.heroesrisepodcast.com

    A special thanks to Vindsvept for making the awesome music you hear throughout the show, be sure to check him out at
    vindsvept.bandcamp.com; and a special thanks to the designer of our banners and avatars, Lo of Lo’s Lair — you can find him on X @Los_Lair and on Facebook at facebook.com/LosLair

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    1 hr and 21 mins