What happens when you hand a live audience the keys to a D&D session and tell them to cause as much chaos as possible?
You get this episode.
Recorded live at FanX 2025, this one is unlike anything we've done before. No script. No safety net. Just four people at a table, a room full of audience members armed with prompts, and a whole lot of trust in the dice gods.
Here's how it worked: Ian ran a one-shot for players Justin, Tanner, and Matthew — all showing up with level 10 characters ready for anything. The audience? They got to create the monsters, magic items, spells, and NPCs that showed up at the table in real time, powered by Worldsmith. The players had no idea what was coming. Neither, honestly, did anyone else.
What unfolded was a live, audience-driven adventure featuring:
A big bad built by the crowd — designed (or sabotaged) by the audience before the session even started.
An investigation gone sideways — a midnight carriage ride, a mysterious shopkeeper, and a paranormal threat that only got weirder from there.
A rescue mission with actual stakes — ambushes, improvised plans, and a magic item that nobody saw coming.
A dungeon full of traps, riddles, and chaos — including a rolling boulder, a stone statue that really didn't want to be touched, and a door that rewarded the bold.
A boss fight to end it all — with loot, laughs, and the kind of ending only a live audience can create.
This is actual play the way it was meant to be: messy, surprising, and completely alive.
Cast:Ian Hawkes — Dungeon MasterJustin Lewis — PlayerTanner Weyland — PlayerMatthew Thompson — Player
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