Four Orbs

Four Orbs is a great podcast ran by a great guy who I have had the pleasure of talking to extensively about podcasting, running a campaign, and building a world. Aesis, the world that the campaign for Four Orbs takes place in, is something the DM has been working on and building for many years. This world features some of the most unique and different creatures and enemies I have seen since I started listening to actual play podcasts, there are so many creatures that the players encounter that I don’t recognize from the monster manual. Whether Dave is just re-flavoring stat blocks from the book or creating these creatures from scratch, I very much admire his creativity and dedication to the craft. Dave also creates the music that they use in their show and is also responsible for creating the music that was used in our own podcasts promo.

The story that Four Orbs tells has everything you could want from listening to a story told through the lens of an RPG. The players have mostly been focused on one continent so far, but they have traveled all over it, seeing many different locations and experiencing a few cultures, including Bullywugs. The group has a great chemistry, filled with humor mostly led on by their bard. They spend time going through dungeons, solving mysteries, visiting the big city, and exploring a new and lost land. They have also made it easy to catch up to the story if you aren’t ready or able to commit to a long story arc.

Update August 2024

While all signs pointed to Four Orbs finishing, and being so close to the end of the planned story that Dave wanted to tell, it unfortunately seems to have gone into an indefinite hiatus. There hasn't been a new episode April of 2023, and before that, there hadn't been one since September of 2022. Our own show has been victim to multiple extended hiatuses as well, so I know a show can pull out of it, but there has been no word on their Twitter to suggest that anything is on the way. I am still subscribed and do hope they manage to wrap up the show as they had originally planned.