Transcript - Episode 1: What is Push the Roll with Ross Bryant?
Audio for What Is Push the Roll with Ross Bryant?
What is Push the Roll with Ross Bryant?
Wed, Aug 13, 2025
“Push the Roll with Ross Bryant” is produced for the ear and includes emotion and emphasis that's not on the page. Transcripts are generated using a combination of speech recognition software and human transcribers, and may contain errors.
Ross Bryant 00:00:07
What is Push the Roll you ask? Well, that's what this episode is here to answer. I am Ross Bryant. Let's get down to first principles. I am Ross Bryant. I'm your host. I am an improviser and an actor, a writer. You might know me from shows I do on stage, like the Improvised Shakespeare Company, or maybe from like Dropout TV, or from a bunch of bizarre commercials I've done over the years.
Paula Deming 00:00:33
I keep getting fed one in my Instagram. Not to interrupt you, but I'm like, oh, that's my friend!
Ross Bryant 00:00:39
Yeah, yeah, odd pharmaceutical commercials whose makers shall remain nameless. So that's who I am, but I am. I'm here with my pals cup and Paula, who also appear on Push the Roll.
Paula Deming 00:00:52
That's right, yes, hello. I started talking before I was introduced, which I feel is like podcast hosting no-no, but I do what I want.
Ross Bryant 00:01:00
That's right. Power move. Real power move.
Paula Deming 00:01:03
My name is Paula Deming. I am an actor, improviser, YouTuber, gamer, so weird saying all these words after my name. But I make a lot of content about board games. I play in a number of actual play games. Perhaps you have seen some of them, The Calyx with Good Time Society, some things with Chaosium, The Glass Cannon Network, a variety of places. Maybe you've seen some of those things. But if not, now you know me because you're here, so yay!
cuppycup 00:01:37
And I am cuppycup, cup, or Corbin Cupp, these are all names you'll see floating around the internet. I'm known in this space as the producer of Ain't Slayed Nobody just running and playing lots of games there. We started with Call of Cthulhu in the Old West then branched out to other settings and eventually systems. We then went into improvised Call of Cthulhu games, which I think is what led us here. Ain't Slayed Nobody and Push the Roll with Ross Bryant share the same Patreon page, which I manage at patreon.com/pushtheroll. Do go sign up for that sweet, sweet bonus content where you can submit titles too. And hear our companion podcast "Bout of Radness" where we discuss the titles we didn't get to use. It is a lot more fun than it sounds. patreon.com/pushtheroll. Other than that, I don't know. I'm a dog owner.
Ross Bryant 00:02:34
That's good, a lover, a fighter, a rambler and a gambler.
cuppycup 00:02:39
And Ross, I do need to ask. We need to go back to the very beginning. How awkward is it for you to say this is Push the Roll with Ross Bryant, because that is the official title of the podcast.
Ross Bryant 00:02:48
That is the official title. It'll become less awkward the more often I say it, like most things, familiarity will breed comfort. I'm really, actually quite excited to be taking a little bit more ownership over one of these types of shows, because, like Paula and cup here, I've really fallen in love with tabletop roleplaying games and these actual play shows over the past seven or so years. I also do a lot of stuff with my friends. Started a streaming channel during kind of pandemic years called Stream of Blood that was sort of absorbed into the all encompassing, grasping pseudopod of The Glass Cannon Network. And I've done a bunch of stuff with them as well. It's become one of my favorite things to do. So it's fun to get my hand on the tiller for one of these things and set sail on a project bearing my name. What could go wrong? Surely, this hubris shall not redound upon my head a thousandfold. No, these wax wings shall carry me far.
cuppycup 00:03:52
I think, in my first outreach about doing this, I said, Ross, you are uniquely talented. And then I was like, dot, dot, dot. And then the premise for this show. But I think all this kind of leads us into, what is this? What is Push the Roll with Ross Bryant? And Genevieve on Discord, had asked, what is this show and what isn't this show? Which I thought was interesting, because I hadn't really thought about what this show isn't.
Ross Bryant 00:04:20
Ooh, interesting. What is this show? What is this show? What isn't this show? Well, I'm gonna go ahead and answer this question for people who may not have a familiarity with these types of shows at all. A tabletop roleplaying game is a very unique art form. You get with your friends, usually around a table, and you tell a story together, everybody sort of embodies a character that they create. All the different games have different ways of creating these characters, but ultimately, you're sort of creating this little avatar. For games like Dungeons and Dragons, probably the most famous of these games, you're making a sort of fantasy character of the type that you read about in a book, like the Lord of the Rings. Then you take these characters through an adventure. There's usually a Game Master, a Dungeon Master, or, in the terms of the game we play, a Keeper, who sort of guides and narrates the story. This is like foundational human creativity stuff. We're all getting together and letting our imaginations run wild and tell a story.
Paula Deming 00:05:20
Except sometimes what you want to happen in the story doesn't happen because we have to roll dice to determine outcomes, which is what makes it a little different from just an improv show, right?
Ross Bryant 00:05:32
Exactly. It's kind of like an improvised radio play, and the podcasting format is very much that. But of course, you've got the dice involved, so that's what these games are. What makes this show, I think, unique is that we crank that improvisatory. We crank, improvisatory?
Paula Deming 00:05:54
Yep, that's it now. That's it.
cuppycup 00:05:55
I like that.
Paula Deming 00:05:57
Canon, that's the term.
Ross Bryant 00:05:58
That's right, we crank that improvisational thing all the way up. Very often these games have stock scenarios or your Dungeon Master, Keeper, Game Master, has gone to great pains to prepare a scenario for you to play through, done a lot of preparation about the kind of characters you're going to interact with, the kind of battles and challenges you will confront. All that is very fun to prepare and to use. But as cup was saying, we've been doing these sort of improv games on Ain't Slayed Nobody. And it was like, I come from the improv world. Paula comes to the improv world. Many of the people that we have on as guests do as well, and I find it to be a fun challenge to dream up the whole scenario on the fly. So the premise of this show is that our Patreon subscribers submit titles. We then roll on a table of those titles. We select a title at random, and then I come up with the entire scenario on the fly, and then everybody comes up with characters that would fit in that setting. And then we improvise the whole story like that. But one thing that I've really loved about Push the Roll as we've recorded it is that we get the opportunity to take those titles and imagine some very off canon settings for these horror stories.
Paula Deming 00:07:22
Yes, yes!
Ross Bryant 00:07:24
We have had some very interesting genre and era takes on the Lovecraftian Mythos that I find really inspiring. One of my favorite things about this show so far, is that we've been able to go so many different places, and come at these horror stories from so many unique angles and in ways that I feel like I haven't seen or heard people play Call of Cthulhu.
Paula Deming 00:07:52
Yeah. And it's so cool we get a title, and then usually Ross kind of like does that improv thing. "Okay, that's making me think of this," and we kind of bounce around ideas. And then as we settle in on "this is gonna maybe take place in 1998 New York City." And then, as a player, I'm now suddenly rifling through all my files of character archetypes, and going, okay, who, what is gonna fit? How do I take, okay, let me take this pre generated character. Okay, I think maybe a journalist could work here. Okay, yeah, they work for a gossip blog, though, you know. And, the process of then, taking that, making some adjustments on the fly to it, and then pitching my character idea to everyone as to how I think that's gonna fit in with what's already being suggested, just from the title we got, has been such a fun part of playing in these games.
Ross Bryant 00:08:50
It's so cool, this little avalanche of inspiration that takes place where everybody's ideas are kind of pinging off one another. I think, I hope this podcast can change the world. But I do think that so many people nowadays, not just in games but in life in general, are really hamstrung by overthinking, that they allow overthinking and self criticism to keep them from taking risks and having the little adventures that may nourish their soul, whether or not it's games or in life in general. And I hope that there's a soft lesson or message that is sort of implicit in our show, which is that if you just like, step out on the ledge, like, let yourself be inspired, go into these things with an attitude of of curiosity and celebrating one another's ideas and building off of other people's creativity, that you can kind of get out of that morass of overthinking that can maybe keep you from having the fun that you've been craving. I know that I have that tendency and these games and playing in this way, I find very therapeutic.
cuppycup 00:10:02
Yes, absolutely. And we've managed to gather a group of sickos that loves to fail at Call of Cthulhu. So, yeah.
Ross Bryant 00:10:10
Yeah, this is for the sickos and the freaks folks. So climb aboard. What isn't Push the Roll you ask? That's what it is.
cuppycup 00:10:19
And it's an anthology, right? It's episodic. It's not a campaign. I think that's important to point out.
Ross Bryant 00:10:25
That's important to know, too. Like a lot of other actual plays, you'll do a story that spans many, many, many episodes, like an epic tale, which is very fun and cool. One thing I like about the show that we've created is that it is kind of like a horror anthology series. This is our own little Night Gallery.
cuppycup 00:10:45
Oh yeah, Tales from the Crypt.
Ross Bryant 00:10:47
Yeah, exactly, like Tales from the Crypt or something. It'll be interesting as we record more of them to see how the different episodes may or may not rhyme with each other. Maybe there will be connections that will occur as we continue to go.
Paula Deming 00:10:59
Maybe a character who somehow miraculously survived comes back, who knows?
Ross Bryant 00:11:04
You never know.
cuppycup 00:11:05
Probably with the last name St. Clair, Paula.
Paula Deming 00:11:08
I do use St. Clair a lot. It's a last name I use quite often in these games, I've realized. But it helps me as a player also, talking about that feeling free, like take big swings. I don't need to worry about losing this character that I've had with me for 100 episodes already. I'm like, look, this person is here just for this so why not read that book I know I probably shouldn't? Why not look in that cursed box? Why not? Because that's gonna be way more dramatic, and it's okay if this person doesn't survive, they're probably not coming back, even if they do survive.
Ross Bryant 00:11:43
That's right, or if they do come back, they'll be changed.
Paula Deming 00:11:46
They'll be very different, yes.
Ross Bryant 00:11:49
And what isn't this show is kind of an interesting question, I think. As you probably already gleaned, this is a horror comedy show, so it's a show that doesn't take itself too seriously. These aren't stories that will be on rails, so to speak. They'll be very reactive to the imaginations of all the different players.
cuppycup 00:12:07
And it's not, you mentioned audio drama earlier, so these are edited. So it's not raw, improvised tabletop roleplaying. So they're edited in terms of cleaning up dialog, and then I am adding sound effects and music beds just to kind of thematically make it, I don't know, better to listen to.
Ross Bryant 00:12:27
Yeah, exactly, so it's not as if we're sort of cheating the improv of it and like really filing all the edges off. But cup is going in and editing things to make them more streamlined and doing interesting audio production to make the stories more atmospheric. But if I can flatter ourselves into something, a vibe that I truly want to cultivate in this show. There's a type of actual play or radio drama that is very, very serious and moody and intense. There's a kind that's really bonkers and silly and free wheeling. And I would hope that all of them will strike a balance between those two tones, where the stories can get really intense and creepy and atmospheric and vibey, but we can always pop out and as ourselves touch base with how much goofy and ridiculous fun that we're having. And how off kilter or wacky some choice was, and hold a nice balance there where neither tone totally overwhelms the other.
cuppycup 00:13:33
Yeah, and in editing, I think the tonal shifts have been my favorite part. I think that's one area as a Keeper where you really excel, Ross, is, you know, it's all light and it's fun, and we're kind of setting up the mood and the drama, but then you just drop us into something so pitch dark that it's unbelievable.
Ross Bryant 00:13:48
Good!
cuppycup 00:13:48
And the reactions are always amazing.
Paula Deming 00:13:50
There have been multiple times in recording these episodes where I've literally been like, sitting here in this closet I'm in and going, "oh!" or being like, "oh no, oh no!" Like, genuinely creeped out.
Ross Bryant 00:14:03
Yes, this is this Paula is flattering me right now, you see.
Paula Deming 00:14:09
I know how to make a Keeper like me. "Oh my gosh. Your games you run are so good!"
Ross Bryant 00:14:15
But I'm such a fan of horror fiction and horror movies and the way in which you can create these atmospheres. And I grew up with one of my media windows on the world being audio entertainment, because my parents, rather stubbornly, didn't have a TV in the house until we were, like, 10 or 11 years old. So it's such a cool challenge to get with a group of people and build these atmospheres with words. I love it. And with cup's amazing post production.
cuppycup 00:14:46
Oh, thank you. See now he's flattering me, Paula.
Ross Bryant 00:14:48
Yes!
Paula Deming 00:14:49
That's the other important person to flatter, the producer.
cuppycup 00:14:55
And I think related to the kind of episodic versus anthology style of the series, Kaen on Discord asked how long the episodes will be. So I should say it's an anthology, but they're split across about three episodes each. So I think most will be three. Some might be two or four, but we'll basically have a session broken into three different episodes. And the plan is to drop three, a full series, on launch day, September 10th. And then drop them weekly, every Wednesday, is what I'm currently looking at there. But yeah, they'll go in three episode cycles for the most part.
Ross Bryant 00:15:27
Yeah, like little limited series coming to your ears.
cuppycup 00:15:31
Yeah.
Paula Deming 00:15:32
So why Call of Cthulhu? Why do we think that this is the right game system for this style of, you know, anthology limited series, kind of play?
Ross Bryant 00:15:45
Call of Cthulhu has become one of my favorite, if not my favorite tabletop roleplaying game.
Paula Deming 00:15:50
It's my favorite.
Ross Bryant 00:15:53
I think it's almost tailor made for this kind of show or this kind of play, this kind of limited series, as we were saying. And part of the reason is that, like in your Dungeons and Dragons campaign, and in your other roleplaying games, you're probably playing a super-powered demigod who can throw fireballs and summon dragons and turn people to stone. In Call of Cthulhu, the characters that you play are human, all too human, and they are confronting characters that are cosmic and vastly powerful in a way that the mind cannot contain. So it's highly, highly likely that the characters that the people play in these games are going to be destroyed, mind and body. And that is actually super liberating, kind of like Paula was saying that, like the characters in a horror movie, you are stepping into the unknown. That born from which you may not return. And so it gives you some freedom to just, in the words of my buddy, John Harper, the creator of the amazing game Blades in the Dark, which has some Cthulhuesque DNA, that you can play your character like driving a stolen car. That you're not too precious about them, not too protective of their wellbeing. And that makes for interesting stories. We probably all watched a horror movie where you're like, why are you walking through that door.
Paula Deming 00:17:24
That's so dumb! Don't go in the woods by yourself!
Ross Bryant 00:17:29
Well, counterpoint, if they didn't do that, there wouldn't be a movie.
Paula Deming 00:17:33
We would have no story.
Ross Bryant 00:17:34
So part of the fun of playing Call of Cthulhu is making the type of character that has a reason to walk through that door and being the type of player that's gonna make them do it. Playing with that level of engagement is something that is so facilitated by Call of Cthulhu, where you know that you're going to be overwhelmed by the things that you're going to encounter, but that's part of the fun.
cuppycup 00:17:56
And also, Call of Cthulhu is easy.
Ross Bryant 00:17:58
Yeah.
Paula Deming 00:17:59
Yes!
cuppycup 00:17:59
BRP, these percentile based systems, like we've had guests on who've not really played anything, right? They haven't done any tabletop. And I think that it's so easy to say, like, hey, whenever you're swimming, you have a 20% chance of succeeding at something challenging. That's like, an easy concept, I think, to grasp.
Ross Bryant 00:18:16
Amen to that.
Paula Deming 00:18:17
It lends itself to theater of the mind really well also, and so I think that will help with listeners. And if you are listening and you don't know the system, I really, truly believe you will be able to follow along, not just the story, but the mechanisms of the game and why they matter when we're using them. I think you will understand them because the system is so approachable, but still has like, bite to it. There are consequences to these rolls.
Ross Bryant 00:18:45
Very well said, yeah. Listening to the show is really fun in that we get to play with people who are really steeped in this game world, like Paula and cup and some of our other friends, like Scott Dorward, who's like a Lovecraftian character himself.
cuppycup 00:19:03
Someone called him a mad wizard on Reddit.
Ross Bryant 00:19:07
Yeah, yes, truly one of the loveliest people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. But we also have people who, like cup was saying, have never played a roleplaying game before, and this game is so easy to pick up and learn right away. As for why the show is called Push the Roll.
Paula Deming 00:19:24
Yeah. Does that come from something that's in the game, a term from inside the game? Is it a really clever title?
Ross Bryant 00:19:32
What an astute question, Paula. Yes, it happens to be a reference to the mechanics of Call of Cthulhu.
cuppycup 00:19:38
Oh, APantaloni also asked this question over on Discord.
Ross Bryant 00:19:43
As we're saying, you know, if you have a challenge moment, you roll those dice to see if you get under your target number. With any roll, there's the opportunity to succeed, but also the opportunity to fail. And if you fail a roll in the game Call of Cthulhu, you got a couple options. You can spend the currency of Luck to see if you succeed. But a more interesting thing to do is to do what the game calls "pushing the roll," which is, you try to do whatever you were doing a little bit harder. You try maybe a different tactic to succeed. And you know, it gives you the opportunity to succeed where you have failed. But the bargain of pushing a roll is that if you fail a pushed roll, something terrible happens to you.
cuppycup 00:20:25
And I do think it's evolved in an interesting way. So originally it was just that idea that, hey, this is completely improvised. It's a little bit riskier, akin to pushing the roll in the game, but then we mechanically implemented it into the show as well. So it's not always halfway or midway through the game, Ross, but at some point, whenever we remember, or when Ross remembers, he can basically like, quote, unquote, "push the roll" and ask for a second title to be introduced. And it really is just like a wrench in the works, something that can, just like pushing the roll with dice in Call of Cthulhu, it can be glorious or it can be a disaster, right? So it's the same idea. Usually it's glorious and a lot of fun, but sometimes the disasters are fun in Call of Cthulhu too.
Ross Bryant 00:21:07
So it's, yeah, it's the challenge of integrating some new information into what you've already created. The fun of improvisation is that, like even in those moments where the wheels come off and you really feel, okay, we're trying to hammer this thing into shape.
Paula Deming 00:21:21
How's he gonna fit it in? How's he gonna make it work?
Ross Bryant 00:21:25
There's some fun in seeing the wheels turn a little bit pushing the roll is all about taking a risk. And there is a risk about, like, just grabbing the title and then stepping out into the void to see if we can weave a little tale on the fly.
cuppycup 00:21:39
Excellent. And then I think maybe I've saved the most important question for too deep into this conversation. But another question we've had quite a lot is, who's in the show? You know, who's going to be in this, how do you come up with the guest players and the cast? I'll start by just saying that we have kind of a rotating core cast. So just because I have all the passwords, I've been in all of them. Ross is in all of them as the Keeper, of course.
Ross Bryant 00:22:08
Yes, I have not yet barred cup from the Zoom call.
Paula Deming 00:22:12
You can't be in this one!
cuppycup 00:22:14
We've been close.
cuppycup 00:22:16
But I think other than, other than me, Paula, you and Scott Dorward have been in the most games, so again, part of that kind of rotating core. And then we also have Josephine McAdam and Nic Rosenberg in that rotation. Virginia Lee's also been in a couple of these. So this is kind of like a core cast that rotates a little bit. And then we have one seat that's kind of dedicated for a guest player. I was gonna say a one time appearance, but now I'm thinking about late night talk shows and they come back, maybe they'll come back and we'll continue the story. Who knows?
Ross Bryant 00:22:45
Oh, I imagine that they will. It's a cool dynamic. I like that we've got this, this our little repertory company of players that kind of swap in and out in these rather consistent chairs, and then we've got our guest seat so to speak. The people in our sort of rep company are people from the world of actual play, pretty steeped in these games. A lot of them are very skilled and prolific voice actors. But then we've got people from all kinds of worlds coming in to be in that guest seat. Many of them are people that we're connected to, or I'm connected to, through the worlds of improv and comedy and writing and Dropout, etc. I mean, you want, you want some names. Folks we got a lot of people coming through.
Paula Deming 00:23:28
They want them, name drop! They want to know. Get them hype.
Ross Bryant 00:23:31
It's Hollywood, baby. It's time to drop some names. We got, I'm happy to even refer to a list, because we've got so many people who've agreed to do this thing.
Paula Deming 00:23:40
It's pretty impressive.
cuppycup 00:23:42
Oh, yeah. Oh, the trailer, right? Go watch the trailer. It's on, pushtheroll.com, or the Ain't Slayed Nobody YouTube channel.
Ross Bryant 00:23:49
That's right, we've got, there's a whole bunch of people. I'm just gonna say, in no particular order, my buddy, Abubakar Salim, like an amazing, amazing voice actor and screen actor and super nerd. My friend, the incredible actor, Ashly Burch, Brennan Lee Mulligan, Becca Scott, Chris Grace, Colton Dunn, Ify Nwadiwe, Jared Logan, Matt Young from the "Hello from the Magic Tavern" podcast recorded with us, and we got those guys on deck to come in as well. My buddy, Mary Lou, Mark Meer, Matthew Lillard, Nora Ibrahim, Rashawn Scott, Rob Kerkovich, Vic Michaelis, Zach Reino, the list goes on.
Paula Deming 00:24:33
It's an incredible list. I'm like, wait have you recorded all these yet? Because I'd like to get in on some games with some of these people.
cuppycup 00:24:39
We haven't. We haven't, but yeah we've recorded a bunch of them. And it's funny, every time you mentioned somebody we recorded with Ross, I was like, yeah, they're a genius. I just edited the one with Colton Dunn. It's just, he's so amazing.
Ross Bryant 00:24:50
He's so funny.
cuppycup 00:24:51
Everyone's been incredible. And I think I really appreciate Ross that you said "in no particular order" and then named them alphabetically by first name.
Ross Bryant 00:24:59
Yeah, well, that's because that's just how I collate people in my brain. It wasn't because I was looking at a list that you made earlier. There's so many great people. When you start a new project that requires guests to come in, there is a part of you that, part of me anyway, that's a little bit nervous about like, "are people going to want to play with me?" And it's been very inspiring and encouraging that everyone I've reached out to has been like, "oh, hell, yeah." So it's been so fun, and I'm so excited to have recorded with such funny, awesome people so far, and to record with such awesome folks coming down the road. We've got some amazing people coming through who are just great voice actors, great actors, great improvisers. And I'm equally excited to play with the people who are, like super gamers, who really know this world inside and out.
cuppycup 00:25:52
Yeah, Mav Haenze, Bridgett Jeffries, Seth Skorkowsky, Brian Holland, we are spoiled for talent.
Paula Deming 00:26:00
Frankly, I can't believe you guys have let me be in so many of these episodes, considering the incredibly impressive list of people you've been able to get to say yes.
Ross Bryant 00:26:11
Come on, Paula, don't talk about my friend like that.
cuppycup 00:26:16
Hey, Paula, you were in the kickoff episode that inspired the whole series, so please.
Paula Deming 00:26:20
That was so fun. I can't wait for y'all to listen to it. I literally walked away from that game and, like, texted a bunch of friends and was like, "Call of Cthulhu is the best. I just played the best game." I'm so excited, yeah.
cuppycup 00:26:31
But I do think the number one thing I've learned in starting the show up is that Ross is very well liked. People want to play with Ross, and I don't blame them, because he's an amazing Keeper and person.
Ross Bryant 00:26:41
It's very sweet. You know, I've been in these improv streets a long time. So it's time to start calling in some chips.
Paula Deming 00:26:48
Time to call some favors in.
cuppycup 00:26:51
and if you're like, "hey, but you're all actors," I am the everylistener. I represent you. I am just like stunned, playing with these people every session. So I represent you as, like, the goofy, underqualified player in the mix with, like, all these amazing improvisers. But it really is cathartic, and I'm excited to see where it goes.
Ross Bryant 00:27:12
Yeah, me, too.
Paula Deming 00:27:13
Me three.
cuppycup 00:27:14
And speaking of where to go, should we do some calls to action?
Ross Bryant 00:27:18
Yes, it's time.
Paula Deming 00:27:20
It's time for the CTA.
Ross Bryant 00:27:21
It is time, gentle listeners. I see you. I see you waiting like greyhounds in the slips, begging to know what action you are being called to. I command you, if you dare, if you have the courage to go to pushtheroll.com where you can learn more about the show, you can find links to subscribe on your podcatcher of choice. And you can also find links to subscribe to the Patreon if you would like to submit titles to inspire the ensemble to create brand new horror stories.
cuppycup 00:27:55
And everybody at every tier can submit titles. But of course, if you pay more, you can submit more titles. So everybody at the $10 plus level gets to submit basically twice the number, double the number of titles that everyone else does in a particular month. You too can submit titles at patreon.com/pushtheroll. We could really use your support!
Ross Bryant 00:28:22
You can also follow us on socials. I'm @rossbb on Instagram. That's my primary social media. There's a Push the Roll official account too, right?
cuppycup 00:28:31
Yeah, we've been pretty active sharing updates, and clips, and teasers, and things like that. Follow us on Instagram @pushtheroll, we are on Bluesky, trying to build that one up, @pushtheroll.com and we're on TikTok a little bit @pushtheroll.
Ross Bryant 00:28:35
@pushtheroll on TikTok where I'm doing all kinds of cool dances.
cuppycup 00:28:37
Yeah, I got my dog on there.
Ross Bryant 00:28:40
Doing mukbangs and stuff.
cuppycup 00:28:42
So go follow us primarily on Instagram, Bluesky and TikTok. We are distributed by Rusty Quill, part of that incredible network of shows. So go check them out at rustyquill.com. You probably know them from the horror anthology audio drama, maybe the most famous audio drama of all time, The Magnus Archives and now The Magnus Protocol. Or maybe, you know we're an actual play, so maybe you know them from Rusty Quill Gaming, and I imagine we will eventually see some crossover with our friends at RQ. So we're over time, but that's never stopped us before.
Ross Bryant 00:29:36
Yeah, I don't have anything going on.
cuppycup 00:29:39
First of all, there's no shame in not having your title selected, okay? It's a random roll, so don't feel like we're favoring other backers over you. It's just the way the dice come up, right? It's chance. However, I was thinking, Ross, maybe we dig into the pile of titles that we haven't used yet. Just to give like, an example of how this ideation kind of works when we do this.
Ross Bryant 00:30:04
Sure, I'll be disappointed if this is a really good idea, and then we don't get to do it now, we can't use it.
cuppycup 00:30:10
And if you all back us on Patreon, and this like blows up into something super huge, I could see us doing a lot of fun things with unused titles down the road.
Ross Bryant 00:30:16
Yeah. And then hopefully we're around for a long time, and we'll get to them all. Let's, we'll give you an idea of what the top of one of these is like.
cuppycup 00:30:25
Which one of you wants to roll it? Paula, you roll real dice. So do you want to roll this?
Paula Deming 00:30:29
I do. Ooh, yeah!
cuppycup 00:30:30
I've got 20 titles here. So if you want to roll a d20.
Paula Deming 00:30:33
Great. I have that right here. A 14! Oh, I just wasted a really good Pathfinder roll.
cuppycup 00:30:42
14.
Ross Bryant 00:30:43
That is a pretty great Call of Cthulhu roll.
Paula Deming 00:30:45
Yeah, actually, yes.
cuppycup 00:30:47
This is a title from Aaron. Oh, it's actually pretty cool. House of Inner Children.
Paula Deming 00:30:53
House of Inner Children.
Ross Bryant 00:30:57
Yeah, that is a great title. Wow, Aaron. Aaron, props, yeah. But don't worry, Aaron, this doesn't mean this title is like, going to waste. Hopefully someone hears this and is, like, catches the vibe of the thing.
cuppycup 00:31:09
Oh yeah.
Ross Bryant 00:31:10
House of Inner Children.
cuppycup 00:31:12
You know where my mind went first, Ross, is Twilight Zone: The Movie. The "kick the can."
Ross Bryant 00:31:17
Oh yeah.
cuppycup 00:31:18
They're like, in a retirement home. And then they all, like, go back to childhood.
Ross Bryant 00:31:22
They all de-age? Yeah.
Paula Deming 00:31:25
I'm picturing, like, orphanage, something like creepy, haunted orphanage. I don't know. Yeah, what are you thinking, Ross?
Ross Bryant 00:31:31
I love both of these concepts. I love the idea of, like a boarding school or a place like that. This is a genre of thing that I am only aware of because of the internet, and I feel like it's come into prominence over the past 10 years, the idea of dark academia, things that are set in Gothic boarding schools and tweedy English universities. We're thinking lots of tartan skirts and tweed blazers.
cuppycup 00:32:01
Oh, yeah.
Paula Deming 00:32:03
Like head boy and head girl, you know.
Ross Bryant 00:32:09
So I want you all to start thinking of characters, students, that would be at a 1970s English Gothic boarding school. Every window has a stony peak. Every corner of every building has a horned gargoyle leering down on you, and you are all students at this recently co-educational boarding school. Actually, no, let's make it a boys' school. We're all boys.
Paula Deming 00:32:39
Okay, yeah, all kinds of weird stuff can happen. Gosh, okay, so I'm throwing away the name I was just thinking of, because it was not a boy's name.
Ross Bryant 00:32:50
You could be, maybe this is a "She's the Man" situation.
Paula Deming 00:32:54
I love a good girl disguised as a boy for some reason, storyline, I'm not sure it quite fits here. Okay, 1970s, well, I just want to be Edward.
Ross Bryant 00:33:06
Love that.
Paula Deming 00:33:07
So that's my first idea, Edward and, hmm, oh, maybe I could use, I know, I referenced this earlier. I could use the journalist kind of character sheet and make him like the editor of the school paper or something. You know, maybe he's like that kind of, he's investigating. And maybe he doesn't have quite, he's not as moneyed as maybe everyone else at this school is. Maybe he's on some sort of.
Ross Bryant 00:33:40
A scholarship boy.
Paula Deming 00:33:41
Scholarship, yes, so must always have to be proving myself.
Ross Bryant 00:33:47
Yes, indeed. Oh, it must be. It must be so, so hard to feel the barely perceptible but social slights of your social betters as they move past you in the hallway.
Paula Deming 00:34:03
They say them so politely, but I know what they're really thinking.
Ross Bryant 00:34:08
But you're here because of merit and achievement.
Paula Deming 00:34:10
That's right, it's because I'm actually smart. I earned my place here, and I'll prove it to all of them.
cuppycup 00:34:18
Amazing.
Paula Deming 00:34:18
And if there's anything strange going on, any scandals, I'll uncover it.
Ross Bryant 00:34:22
In fact, as a matter of fact, let's really, just as a nod to things, let's call this. This is a college, even though it's a boys' school, you know, in the way that Eton college would be considered that way. This is Dunwich College.
cuppycup 00:34:36
Oh yeah.
Paula Deming 00:34:36
Yes, yes, yes, it is.
cuppycup 00:34:41
And I've always wanted to play a Crispin. I'm sad that this is fake, that we're not actually going to play it out, because this is my chance.
Paula Deming 00:34:49
Just like I use St. Clair. I'm Edward St. Clair, by the way, just like I use St. Clair all the time. St. Clair is probably too fancy of a name for this character, but whatever. It's not his real last name. He just uses it to fool people. You could be Crispin again.
cuppycup 00:35:02
I think Crispin Halbrook. And I wanted to think of a name that would fit like a really pale, wiry kid with like a mop of black hair, and he is a chess prodigy. And he was winning adult chess tournaments when he was 12 years old. But at the same time, he's a complete disappointment to his parents, who want him to be a piano prodigy. So he comes from a family of musicians, and they all are just like masterful musicians. He never could really pick it up, but he has that kind of mind, so he's been able to really soar as a chess player, but they have no interest in that. Maybe there's a music teacher here who he's supposed to be under the tutelage of at Dunwich College. Are we calling it?
Ross Bryant 00:35:47
Yes, Dunwich college, right in the center of England. This was probably an old monastery or abbey. But then when Henry the 8th did away with all that, it became a private residence, then given over to the school, and since then, its grounds have only grown, but still shows its history. And every bit of masonry jutting off of every gothic surface, the crows and owls roosting up in every little tower, beautiful.
cuppycup 00:36:20
This is how the riffing works, because now I'm thinking, I'm going to be stealing heavily from "Queen's Gambit" like playing chess in the basement.
Paula Deming 00:36:25
Yes!
cuppycup 00:36:27
So we've got, it sounds like we've got two relatively middle class students here. Maybe all of our party are not quite as well-heeled as most of the students here.
Paula Deming 00:36:39
That's why we're all friends. We've we spotted each other, and we're like, that elbow patch you have on your jacket is functional, not fashion.
cuppycup 00:36:48
Oh yeah, I love this. I wish we could play it.
Ross Bryant 00:36:55
So, yeah. So I just want you to see, I just want you to see the moon, the full moon. Silhouetted in front of it is a gothic spire with crenulations down each side. You can hear the murmurations of bats flitting in and out of its tiny little apertures. Like moving down, you begin to hear the sounds of a boys choir singing, I don't know, something like "Malo" from Benjamin Britten's opera "The Turn of the Screw." And like the stained glass of saints in the windows, the colonnades with boys in tweed jackets with monogrammed blazers.
Paula Deming 00:37:42
Ties that have been loosened.
Ross Bryant 00:37:45
Yes, yes, striped ties with the school colors loosened. In a little room with a chessboard set up and a crackling fire, we come upon our two students and just off behind them, as they're maybe setting up the board, a boys' choir is there right on the stained glass, singing, staring off into the middle distance. Just children all around you, the palpable presence of all the other students that have been here before that seem to haunt this place. Inside every bit of masonry, their eyes seeming to peer from every little statue, children inside the walls. Inner children, if you will.
Paula Deming 00:38:29
Isn't it strange, the idea that we might leave here and not be children anymore, but be totally different, like completely grown up, and not even the same as who we were when we first came?
cuppycup 00:38:42
Come on, Edward, it's your move.
Paula Deming 00:38:45
Oh, sorry. I was just um, waxing poetic on an op-ed. I was thinking of, how does this school change us irreparably? Um, I guess um, pawn three to knight eight? Paula doesn't know about chess.
cuppycup 00:39:01
That's illegal.
Ross Bryant 00:39:04
Playing with unconventional rules are you, St. Clair? This is someone coming. Yeah. And you know, this is how we get going,
Paula Deming 00:39:11
Yeah.
cuppycup 00:39:12
Oh, that's fantastic.
Paula Deming 00:39:14
Oh, man!
cuppycup 00:39:15
Well, thank you, Aaron, yeah, that was a cool title.
Paula Deming 00:39:18
Yeah, I'm like, we file it away. Let's play it, because I got thoughts on what happens at this school.
Ross Bryant 00:39:23
Same, same. Luckily, the chance for more social integration into the school is forthcoming, because one of the first boys is coming to you with an opportunity to become social magnates of the school. That is, if you can go through a very particular hazing ritual.
cuppycup 00:39:40
Yeah. So good.
Ross Bryant 00:39:41
Did you like that? Did you enjoy what you just heard?
Paula Deming 00:39:46
Did you?
cuppycup 00:39:46
I did, Ross!
Ross Bryant 00:39:49
If you want to listen to these kinds of improvised horror comedy tales, we're making a bunch of them. Our new podcast, Push the Roll with Ross Bryant, I am super excited to launch it. I can't wait for people to listen to it. If you'd like to listen to it, please follow us on your podcatcher of choice. You can find out everything that you need to know about the podcast at pushtheroll.com and it is also there, where you can find links to join the Patreon, where you can have the opportunity to suggest titles to inspire completely brand new, improvised Call of Cthulhu scenarios set in any time, any place, anywhere, any when, right behind you right now.
cuppycup 00:40:33
And it's Push the Roll, R-O-L-L, Critical Role ruined that for everyone. So gotta spell it every time.
Ross Bryant 00:40:39
Yes, yes. It's very much Push the Roll, double "L."
cuppycup 00:40:44
Oh, very nice. Thank you both. That's incredible.
Paula Deming 00:40:46
Yay!