Welcome to Roll, Ponder, and Play (RPnP), a podcast dedicated to crafting stories through the application of role-playing game engines, combined with creative thinking, and propelled into the aether by the barest of prompts. I take on all the roles of game master, solo player, author, and narrator. Come with me on a journey, and together let us explore realms of shadow, danger, and wonder! One roll can decide the fate of many things… Roll, Ponder, and Play podcast blends immersive story telling with ambient sounds and music into a compelling audio drama. I use role-playing game (RPG) systems to both propel the plot forward and to handle conflict mechanics. Out-of-character (OOC) moments pull back the curtain, revealing die results, insights into game mechanics, character decisions, and on-the-fly world building. Praise for 'Queen of Shadows' on Roll, Ponder, and Play: "After I saw your email I started listening to Queen of shadows right away. And I am hooked. I love the way you tell your stories. Your language is dark, rich, and poetic in a way I wish I could match. And your voice! I envy your pipes. I definitely hope I will see you on the SRN discord! In the meantime, I will be binging your show!" -Brian from "Swords Against Madness" and "Trans-Real News" "I'm working through Queen of Shadows quickly and really liking what you bring to the table!", "...and if I haven't said it before, you've got a hell of a voice." -Jon Cohen from "Tale of the Manticore" "This is great! Very professional, nice pacing, and you have a knack for storytelling." -aleksrs in Ironsworn discord, 'creator-promos' channel, 'Queen of Shadows (Podcast)' thread Current Shows: Queen of Shadows - (Currently available with new episodes dropping weekly!) In the dark and unforgiving Ironlands, Eilwen--huntress of Frostbridge--struggles to reclaim her lost heritage and uncover the mystery of her mother’s past. Her journey of self-discovery will test even the strongest of bonds. Genre: Dark Fantasy RPG: Ironsworn Content Rating: PG-13 for violence, dark thematic elements, and some minor foul language. Flight of the Oracle - (Currently available on my Patreon) At the edge of known space, the UASN Oracle, a military destroyer turned science vessel, begins a survey mission in an unexplored star system. In the face of a dire threat to all of humanity, Ardelle Leath, a junior officer, on board the Oracle, will struggle to overcome her past and fulfill her duty to the United Alliance Space Navy (UASN) as leadership is thrust upon her. Genre: Military Sci Fi RPG: OneDice Content Rating: PG-13 for action violence, gore, and some minor foul language. For detailed information about the content rating for my shows, see my About page at https://www.patreon.com/rollponderandplay/about Ways to Show Support: * Join my Patreon for free at https://patreon.com/rollponderandplay, or join as a paid subscriber and get additional content * Give the show a positive review * Share the show with others * Reach out to me and say hello Websites: https://patreon.com/rollponderandplay https://rollponderandplay.podbean.com/
Welcome to my very first ever podcast, the Queen of Shadows, a multi-part and as of 2025 ongoing episodic (and epic) work of fiction where I, Jared Hess, your friendly neighborhood game master, solo-player, author, and narrator bring to life the story of our protagonist, Eilwen, a huntress from the faraway settlement of Frostbridge in the Veiled Mountains.
Ways to Show Support:
Previously:
In my previous upload to this podcast (I can't call it an episode really), I described the origin and impetus for the Queen of Shadows podcast series. And now, onto episode 0 where we will discover our character and do some world building.
Ways to Show Support:
Previously:
In our previous episode (our "Session 0" if you will), we met Eilwen, our main character and protagonist, a young huntress of Frostbridge in her late teens. We found out that Frostbridge, Eilwen's settlement, is a failing mining settlement deep in the cold and snow-ridden wilderness of the Veiled Mountains. We learned that Eilwen is daughter to her mother, Arwed and to her father Cadfael. We found that she has twin brot...
Previously:
In our previous episode, the prologue, Eilwen and her twin brother Aron were both only 15 years of age. They discover that Eilwen's ailing mother has kept in her possession for many years, a finely carved box, and in that box is a cloven crown of gold with a crimson ruby shorn down the middle. This is the lost crown of the royal line of Queens from generations ago when these lands were first settled by her forebears. Ei...
Previously:
In our previous episode, Eilwen her twin brother Aron, both 18 years old, find out their father and Chief Mabon have not returned from their morning hunt. Eilwen vows to find them and she and Aron gather supplies in preparation. Before they can set out however, a huge silverback bear enters Frostbridge hoping for an easy meal. In the ensuing fight, two members of the community are slain by the bear before it retreats in...
Previously:
In our previous episode, Eilwen and her twin brother, Aron, meet with Drystan, a member of the Frostbridge community. They manage to convince the large man to aid them in their search for Mabon, the missing chieftain of Frostbridge and Cadfael, their missing father. Drystan agrees and brings his sleds and dogs so they can travel more quickly over the snow. During their travels, Eilwen hides her mother's wooden box cont...
Previously:
In our previous episode, Eilwen chases the retreating figure and ends up in a clearing where she finds ancient stone blocks and two strange iron pillars. She investigates the pillars and to her surprise realizes she can read at least some of the angular runes on their faces. She remembers how her mother had taught her the skill through a deep study of the iron disks. At the base of one of the pillars, she discovers a pa...
Previously:
In our previous episode, Eilwen, Aron, and Drystan arrive safely at Rockriver, however they find that the town has been attacked and half burned to the ground, its inhabitants dead or missing. They aid one of the wounded survivors, a man named Kyffin. He tells them that the town was attacked by none other than Uzak an erstwhile and now exiled member of the Frostbridge settlement who has raised his own warband and terror...
Previously:
In our previous episode, Eilwen and Aaron leave behind Drystan behind in Rockriver with instructions for him to care for Kyffin so that they can move more quickly through the mines and get ahead of the Wolf Fang warriors and their prisoners. They find the mine entrance one valley over to the west and enter it about mid-morning. In the timeless dark, they find a large underground lake and a strange skeleton of a creatur...
Previously:
In our previous episode, Eilwen and Aron find a sheltered spot with an overhang, largely obscured from view where they can see the valley below. They prepare for the Wolf Fang raiders to circle the mountain and come into view. Eilwen goes hunting and nearly falls to ruin when she encounters a pack of hungry wolves that chase her onto an slippery log over a ravine. She manages to escape and returns to camp. From their hi...
Previously:
In our previous episode, in the dead of night, Eilwen spots, within the Wolf Fang Clan raiding party's encampment, her Father, Cadfael, and Frostbridge Chiefton Mabon in a wooden cage with some old women. She awakens Aron and they get a closer look. When they see that only one sentry is on duty, guarding the cage, she and Aron decide they won't get a better chance to rescue the two men. With Aaron covering her with her...
Previously:
In our previous episode, Eilwen, Aron, Cadfael, and Mabon enter the mine in an attempt to get away from the Wolf Fang warriors and return to Rockriver and then Frostrbridge. After a few hours they recross the rope bridge and navigate the mine's dark tunnels and reach the edge of the dark underground lake. Eilwen shows the lake-side skeleton to Cadfael and Mabon and is about to resume their journey, when Cadfael and Ma...
Previously:
In our previous episode, Eilwen, Aron, Cadfael, and Mabon, Chieftain of Frostbridge, escape the mine and make it to Rockriver's ruins where they rest and recuperate. They journey back to Frostrbridge and find that Belvan isn't there. During the feasting that ensured upon Mabon's return, Carys, the old crone, tells Eilwen that Belvan went looking for the burial chambers that Eilwen's mother, Arwed, had found three years...
Previously
In our previous episode, Eilwen rests and recuperates after her duel with Belvan and makes preparations for the journey through the mountains to the burial chamber Belvan had infiltrated. Her father reminds her that it is a place of death and is what led to her mother's illness and subsequent demise.
On the morrow, Eilwen reveals herself to Mabon and to Frostbridge as the rightful heir to the throne and as owner to the s...
Previously
In our previous episode, Eilwen, Aron, and Cadfael race back to Frostbridge to find it beset by some enemy. Several buildings are ablaze and the corpses of the fallen are in the streets offering visceral witness to the violence done to them. They find Mabon cornered by a spirit-possessed blacksmith Gwili, one of the men who had been on burial duty, and who now bore the octagonal ring that Belvan had once possessed. Gwili...
About this Podcast Series:
At the edge of known space, the UASN Oracle, a military destroyer turned science vessel, begins a survey mission in an unexplored star system. In the face a dire threat to all of humanity, Ardelle Leath, a junior officer, on board the Oracle, will struggle to overcome her past and fulfill her duty to the United Alliance Space Navy (UASN) as leadership is thrust upon her.
'Flight of the Orace' blends immer...
About this Podcast Series:
At the edge of known space, the UASN Oracle, a military destroyer turned science vessel, begins a survey mission in an unexplored star system. In the face a dire threat to all of humanity, Ardelle Leath, a junior officer, on board the Oracle, will struggle to overcome her past and fulfill her duty to the United Alliance Space Navy (UASN) as leadership is thrust upon her.
Previously
In our previous episode, Drystan and Kyffin find Eilwen at Frostbridge. The two men had arrived the night of the attack after seen the smoke from Drystan's home on the outskirts of the settlement where Kyffin had been convalescing. As they arrive, Frostbridge is holding a ceremony of remembrance, and while the bonfire burns, and the people mourn their fallen, Kyffin asks to travel with Eilwen and Aron whenever they com...
Previously:
In our previous episode, Eilwen, Aron, and Kyffin continue their journey to the mountain pass. There, amid the gray, ice-rimed cliffs, they find a body of a humanoid with a cracked wooden mask of curious design and ruined weapons and armor of fine make. The human-like being, is clearly not human and its missing eyes, and open chest cavity, reveal it is missing its organs. In addition, they see strange blackened holes po...
Previously:
In our previous episode, Eilwen, Aron, and Kyffin continue to press through the pass, but the constant snow combined with blasting winds, strong enough to strip shards ice and flakes of sharp rock from the narrow canyon walls forces them to look for shelter or be flayed and frozen alive. They find a crumbling tower and hurry inside, grateful for the protection it offers from the slashing winds. Inside, they find Edris...
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