The Adventure Zone

The Adventure Zone is a biweekly comedy and adventure actual play podcast based loosely upon the "Dungeons & Dragons" game series, along with other role-playing games. The show is distributed by the Maximum Fun network and hosted by brothers Justin, Travis, and Griffin McElroy, and their father Clint McElroy. Regular episodes of the podcast feature the family solving puzzles, fighting enemies, and leveling up their characters in a series of cinematic and humorous encounters.
History.
Origins and "Balance" (2014–2017).
In 2010, the McElroy brothers launched their flagship podcast "My Brother, My Brother and Me", an advice podcast which joined the Maximum Fun network in 2011. During the 97th episode in May 2012, the brothers answered a question about a "Dungeons & Dragons" game—which Justin called "The Adventure Zone".
The McElroy brothers would ultimately begin playing with their father Clint in the summer of 2014, using the newly released "Starter Set" for the fifth edition of D&D, which was released that July. The set came with the module "The Lost Mine of Phandelver", which served as the basis for the first few sessions. The first of these recordings was initially released as an experimental "MBMBaM" episode entitled "The Adventure Zone" on August 18, 2014, to cover for Justin's paternity leave. Starting that December, "The Adventure Zone" was then expanded into its own podcast on the Maximum Fun network, releasing biweekly. Griffin McElroy served as the show's primary host and Dungeon Master for the show's first campaign, later titled the Balance Arc. The campaign concluded with Episode 69 in August 2017.
The McElroy family performed 13 live bonus sessions within the "Balance" setting from 2016 to 2019, with several of these continuing beyond the conclusion of the campaign's primary story. Additionally, three special episodes were released over the course of the campaign, titled "The "The Adventure Zone" Zone", and these act as "an informal chat show" discussing the game.
"Déjà Vu" by Mort Garson (from the album "") served as the primary theme song for "The Adventure Zone" during the Balance Arc, as well as various interstitials and backing tracks. Griffin McElroy also created original compositions to enhance the show's production. Later arcs would use original themes for opening and closing. An officially produced trailer for the Balance arc was uploaded to YouTube on January 25, 2018.
Experimental arcs and "Amnesty" (2017–2019).
Following the conclusion of the "Balance" campaign, the McElroys decided to work on smaller "experimental arcs", a set of shorter campaigns using other systems, in order to give themselves time to develop their next overarching storyline. Three experimental arcs were aired from October 2017 to March 2018. These included Clint's "Commitment" arc, Griffin's "Amnesty" arc and Travis' "Dust" arc. Each of these arcs takes place in their own game worlds, separate from those explored in the other campaigns. With the conclusion of these experimental arcs, McElroys announced that Season 2 of "The Adventure Zone" would continue the story introduced in "Amnesty", and that it would become the next full campaign.
Griffin McElroy again took on the role of game master (called a "Keeper" in the system). While the arc was inspired by monster of the week shows such as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Supernatural", Griffin stated that the arc is mostly based on the "Persona" game series. To replicate the less connected nature of the former's 1990s setting, Kepler is situated in West Virginia's section of the National Radio Quiet Zone. Hal Lublin provides a guest voice in one episode. The campaign ended after 36 episodes on September 23, 2019.
When performing live the McElroy family continued to predominantly used the "Balance" setting in this period, though two "Amnesty" live shows, "The Ballad of Bigfoot" and "Amnesty Halloween Special", released on October 17, 2019 and November 12, 2020 respectively. Additional episodes of "The "The Adventure Zone" Zone" were released at the start and conclusion of the main run of "Amnesty".
"Graduation" (2019–2021).
Prior to the "Amnesty" finale, it was confirmed in a SyFy Wire interview that Travis McElroy would run the third Season of The Adventure Zone. A trailer for the Season released on October 18, 2019 confirmed a return to the "Dungeons & Dragons" system. The campaign began on October 31, 2019 and ended on April 15, 2021.
"Ethersea" (2021–).
Before the finale of "Graduation", Griffin McElroy confirmed in an interview with Brennan Lee Mulligan, as Episode 18 of Adventuring Academy, that the fourth season of Adventure Zone would also be played in the "Dungeons & Dragons" 5th edition system, and would involve ships.
It was announced in "Post-Grad", the "Graduation" wrap-up show, that the first episodes of the next campaign would involve the group collaboratively building the world, breaking from previous "The Adventure Zone" campaigns where the GM was solely responsible for creating the setting. The campaign's name, "Ethersea", and a brief trailer were released on May 3, 2021.
Structure.
To date the podcast has had three "seasons", consisting of longer campaigns.
Additionally, there have been several shorter campaigns without the season designation. These have variously been released as bonuses to Maximum Fun donors, as experimental arcs or as live shows which are released online later. Along with the main campaigns, each game corresponds with a letter of the alphabet (albeit performed out of alphabetical order). Some, such as Lords of Crunch were initially performed live, with the recording released as a donor bonus. The second season, Amnesty, originated as an experimental arc that was later extended into a full campaign. Several of these games also have special episodes for set-up and character generation marked as #0, which are not counted here.
Advertisements from corporate sponsors and paid messages from listeners are read by the Dungeon Master in the middle segment of the program. Fans tweeting about the show using "#thezonecast" may be selected to become the namesakes for various non-player characters in the story lines. This trend has continued with the experimental arcs. During the Balance Arc, fans could also suggest items to stock at "Fantasy Costco" for the characters to buy between quests. The Fantasy Costco system has been partially revived in each successive season to give fans a way to interact with the show.
Main campaigns.
Balance Arc.
The overall plot of "The Adventure Zone" first campaign, the "Balance Arc", involves a global war catalyzed by the Grand Relics—seven powerful magical artifacts that each contain the essence of one of the schools of magic. These relics compel those who find them to use them, almost always in a chaotic and destructive manner. The relics have been erased from everyone's minds save for the Bureau of Balance, an organization that seeks to find and destroy the relics. The narrative also explores the mysteries of the Red Robes, the magical faction who purportedly created the Grand Relics, and the lost histories of the main characters that involve a shadowy, cosmic threat to the universe. The primary quests challenge the characters to retrieve one of the Grand Relics. In addition, interlude episodes exist which allow the characters to regroup, purchase new equipment, and prepare for the next quest. Griffin McElroy has confirmed that the ideas for some episodes occur when watching a film or a TV show. The Balance Arc takes place over the course of several quests:
As the Dungeon Master, Griffin portrayed all non-player characters (except for Garyl, Taako's summoned phantasmal binicorn). Notable characters include Lucretia, the Bureau's stony, mysterious director; Killian, a crossbow-wielding orc woman who becomes an early ally of the protagonists in "Here There Be Gerblins"; Carey Fangbattle, Killian's girlfriend (later wife) and a dragonborn rogue who trains Magnus; Lup, Taako's transgender twin sister who is a lich and married to Barry Bluejeans; Barry Bluejeans, a denim-clad scientist and lich; Davenport, Lucretia's ward and captain of the Starblaster; Johann, a morose bard employed by the Bureau and self-proclaimed greatest musician in the world; Kravitz, a grim reaper employed by the Raven Queen and later Taako's boyfriend; Angus McDonald, the world's greatest (boy) detective; Garfield, The Deals Warlock, sinister owner of the Fantasy Costco; Roswell, an armored elemental who serves as deputy of Refuge; Lucas Miller, a Bureau-affiliated scientist conducting research into the workings of the planar multiverse; and John, the enigmatic and disturbing antagonist.
Amnesty Arc.
Initially the second of the mini-arcs, Amnesty was later announced as season two's full length arc on March 29, 2018. The first five episodes, as part of the mini-arcs, began the series' temporary weekly schedule to get to a full second season more quickly. The Amnesty arc is based on the "Monster of the Week" system by Evil Hat Productions, and is set in the fictional ski-resort town of Kepler in contemporary West Virginia. Kepler is regularly invaded by eldritch monsters nicknamed "Abominations" from a mysterious otherworld called Sylvain, opposed by a monster-hunting organization called the Pine Guard headquartered at the titular Amnesty Lodge. Sylvain is a dying world, being consumed by an evil force known as the Quell, and the latter half of the series partly involves the cast attempting to stop it.
The Game Master, Griffin portrayed all non-player characters (except for Beacon, Duck's talking sword). Notable characters include Madeline Cobb (called Mama), the owner of the Amnesty Lodge; Barclay, who is Bigfoot; Indrid Cold, who is Mothman; and various other residents of the Lodge such as Dani, a vampire; Jake Coolice; and Agent Stern, an FBI agent who is looking for signs of supernatural activity.
Graduation Arc.
The players initially take on the role of students who have enrolled in the henchperson and sidekick program at Hieronymous Wiggenstaff's School for Heroism and Villainy. The campaign focuses initially on their classes and misadventures at the school, but later moves to broader themes such as Order vs. Chaos, threats of Demon wars, mind control vs. free will, and rebellion against capitalism.
Ethersea Arc.
The Ethersea campaign was announced on May 3, 2021 and is slated to start May 6, 2021. 
Secondary campaigns.
(K)nights Campaign.
A campaign consisting of 3 episodes created as exclusive content for the MaxFunDrive 2017. Travis DMs the adventure, which brings together an unlikely group of heroes: Troth, a tiefling monk played by Justin; Tom Collins, a half-elf warlock bartender played by Griffin; and Lenny Manolito, a human keytar-playing bard played by Clint. This campaign uses the Dungeons & Dragons system, and features a guest appearance by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who plays the bard Atreyus.
Commitment Arc.
The second campaign, and the beginning of a selection of "mini-arcs", was a superhero inspired RPG that does not take any setting or characters from the Balance arc into consideration. The game was run by Clint McElroy with Griffin now taking the role as a player, along with Travis and Justin. As opposed to "Dungeons and Dragons", this arc uses the FATE system. The characters all work for the Do Good Fellowship, a "cult adjacent" organization that uses technology and science to improve the world. This arc has a total of four episodes, not including the setup episode the McElroys used to establish their characters, etc. It was notably inspired by the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents series of comics.
Dust Arc.
Travis McElroy takes the role of master of ceremonies in the fourth campaign, using the "Urban Shadows" system by Magpie Games. Originally, the arc was envisioned with the making of a custom role-playing game in mind, but the task proved too large for the given time frame. The campaign is set in a fictionalized version of the Wild West, where creatures such as vampires and werewolves live alongside humans, and focuses on feuding families in the town of Dry River.
Elementary Campaign.
Elementary is a two-shot campaign created exclusively for the MaxFunDrive 2019. The episodes use a special game system "Four (sometimes five) Sherlock Holmes and a Vampire (Who Is Also One of the Aforementioned Sherlock Holmes)", written by Andrew Young. What little plot there is involves Justin (as GM), Travis, Griffin and Clint (and once guest Patrick Rothfuss) each playing as a different version of Sherlock Holmes solving nonsensical, convoluted mysteries.
Fur Campaign.
Much like Elementary, Fur is a one off made for the MaxFunDrive 2019, the game system used is "Honey Heist", a one-page RPG written by Grant Howitt, and Travis is the DM. Justin, Griffin, and Clint play three bears attempting to rob a briefcase of Manuka honey from the Sacramento Convention Center during a screening of "Bee Movie".
Hootenanny Campaign.
TAZ: Hootenanny was performed live in Nashville, TN at the Ryman Auditorium and is a country music themed space opera. The game used One Seven Design's system Lasers and Feelings, inspired by The Doubleclicks's album of the same name. The party consists of three musicians, all from different planets: Shoots McKrackin (Travis), Benny Gene Esserit (Clint), and Pepsi Liberty (Justin) as the band Hootie and the Nannies, who are performing at the Grand Space Opry. Griffin acted as the game master. The game ended with the four McElroys and Paul Sabourin performing a cover of Future Folk's song "Space Worms".
A sequel, "2tenanny", was released during the 2020 MaxFunDrive as exclusive bonus content for donors to the Maximum Fun network. Clint acted as game master (Benny having left the band to go solo), with Griffin playing replacement band member 48 (short for the entire lyrics to the song "I Like It, I Love It" by Tim McGraw).
Inheritance Campaign.
TAZ: Inheritance was performed live at the Balboa Theatre in San Diego, CA during San Diego Comic Con 2019, based on an original system created by the players. The setting takes place in a post-apocalyptic desert wasteland, featuring groups of different stereotypical dads. The party consists of four dads, each from a specific dad tribe (Sports Dads, Vacation Dads, Car Dads, and Grill Dads). They team up to defeat the evil Crafting Dads in order to obtain the legendary TV remote control. The game featured all four McElroys as players, with CollegeHumor's Brennan Lee Mulligan, host of "Dimension 20", as GM.
Just Us.
The Just Us campaign is GMed by Travis McElroy, and described by Griffin as "Travis' take on superheroes trying to pretend to be normal". It was recorded as a live show in Atlanta using the game Supernormal, written by Ursidice.
Mercer.
TAZ: Mercer is a one-shot made for the MaxFunDrive 2020, marketed as a "modern day crime drama" set in an unnamed north-east American city in 2006 and based on Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. It was named after and guest DMed by Matthew Mercer of "Critical Role".
Lords of Crunch.
Lords of Crunch was a one-shot performed at the Taft Theatre in Cincinnati, OH. It was GMed by Justin, using an original system based on One Seven Design's Lasers and Feelings system. Travis, Clint, and Griffin play as cereal-box mascots. It was released as bonus content for the 2020 MaxFunDrive.
Charlieverse.
Charlieverse was a one-short released for MaxFunDrive 2021, GMed by Justin and designed by his 6-year-old daughter, Charlie. It was based on the Muppet Babies RPG system by Origami Gaming, an adaption of the Lasers and Feelings system. Griffin, Clint and Travis play characters that have been transformed into babies and who have to traverse the Fruity Pebbles Castle of Torment to return to their adult forms.
Reviews and criticism.
The podcast has been well-received, especially among younger and LGBT+ demographics. It has sold out dozens of liveshows since 2014, and has been downloaded hundreds of millions of times. One of the creators, Justin McElroy, said truthfully of the podcast, "[it] has a following." "The Adventure Zone" currently holds a 4.9 rating on Podbay, and a 5.0 rating on Apple Podcasts.
The "Graduation" arc received criticism for Travis McElroy's performance as dungeon master, with complaints that the arc had a confusing plot line, an overabundance of secondary characters, and a lack of meaningful consequences for poor dice rolls by the players.
Graphic novel adaptations.
"The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins", a graphic novel adapting the first quest, was released in July 2018. The book was written by the McElroys, illustrated by Carey Pietsch, and published by First Second Books. It quickly topped New York Times' best-selling trade fiction list, becoming the first graphic novel to do so. A sequel, which adapts the quest "Murder on the Rockport Limited", was released on July 16, 2019. The third book in the series, "Petals to the Metal", was released on July 14, 2020. "Crystal Kingdom", the fourth book in the series, is set to be published July 13, 2021.
"The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins", "The Adventure Zone: Murder on the Rockport Limited!", and "The Adventure Zone: Petals to the Metal" have all become New York Times Bestsellers.
Animated series.
An animated adaptation of the Balance Arc is in development for the NBCUniversal streaming service Peacock. It has not been picked up for a series as of January 2020. In July 2020, the McElroys revealed that they are developing the pilot and that it will be different from both the podcast and graphic novel versions and possibly feature a different voice cast.