Lore Watch

Most people think of the 80s as a simple time full of big hair and scrunchies, but those of us who were into Dungeons and Dragons will remember the Satanic Panic, a period of time when parents were terrified that every piece of media was making their children evil. Our hosts Matt and Joe take a walk through a history they remember quite well, drawing from their own experiences as kids trying to get into D&D and comics.A listener asked about the history and influence of the Satanic Panic, so Joe and Matt were more than happy to talk smack about Tipper Gore for an hour. If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lore Watch this week explores three questions sent in by our listeners, all ending in answers we may see as we go forward into Midnight. First, they talk about the different types of magic -- specifically that Warlock magic stems from the Titans -- and why that knowledge didn't knock the socks clean off the Kirin Tor. Or maybe Xal'atath literally knocking those socks off also knocked some sense into them, and that's where we'll see them in Midnight. Then, we turn to the cry of Azeroth we saw in the teaser trailer for The War Within -- where did Anduin and Thrall go, by the way? Did everyone really hear the cries of Azeroth, or was that something else? Finally, on a scale from one to ten, just how elfy an expansion is Midnight going to be? Because we suspect pretty elfy (and when we say "pretty elfy" we're not just talking about Kael'thas).As always, the answers to the questions posed lead to some interesting places.If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where y

With the rigidity of the structure of the Kirin Tor and the Jedi Order, and their propensity for keeping secrets about power -- and sometimes that power for themselves -- there are a ton of parallels between these two organizations. Our hosts Matt and Joe dive deep into both the World of Warcraft universe and the Star Wars universe in order to compare and contrast the master light side wielders of the force and the best mages in Azeroth.While this doesn't imply that, for instance, Rhonin is a Jedi, it doesn't not imply it, either.If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While we’re all excited about the new trailer for Midnight from gamescom, Matt and Joe took this opportunity to discuss what narrative threads we may see in Midnight as a whole. They recap some of our adventures on K’aresh, discuss the order of what might be coming, plus what the nature of the energy-based Ethereals have to do with Azeroth. It’s a multi-faceted lore deep dive on the story up to now, and some conjecture as to what we may see in the future as a result.And we’d just like to disclaim that Matt and Joe recorded this on August 18, with absolutely no knowledge from the gamescom trailer. Just a lot of lore in their heads.If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's Lore Watch Podcast is just as majestic as the last, with even more discussion of the lore of Jurassic Park. This time, Joe, Matt, and special guest Eric O'Dea discuss the second set of Jurassic media, starting with Jurassic World. They give a rundown of the plots of the newer movies, then move into analysis. While scientific hubris clearly has its role to play, perhaps the true villain here is capitalism. But whatever the allegory or moral, I think we can all agree that dinosaurs are cool -- especially the ones InGen (or now, Masrani Global) made up along the way.If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Matt, Joe, and special guest Eric O'Dea dove into one of the most influential series for the 90s kids in the audience: Jurassic Park. From Michael Crichton's groundbreaking novels to the movies, dinosaurs were inescapable -- pun intended. Our hosts discuss the first few works in the series, how the books and movies differed, and just how wrong the science was. Jurassic Park influenced a generation of kids to be really into that dino DNA and spawned a ton of our favorite memes.If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's Lore Watch Podcast featured three different listener questions, answered by our intrepid hosts Matt and Joe. First, they delved into some pop culture references in WoW, specifically focusing on Final Fantasy (or possibly He-Man). The second question talks Quilboar and the Scourge -- what did the Scourge get out of working with the Quilboar anyway? Finally, we go cosmic with a question about the Titans, and what force the baby Titan Azeroth might control when she grows up.If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's podcast features three different reader questions shoved into one podcast trenchcoat. First up, would it be possible to see a Void version of Demon Hunters, considering what we know now about Void as a magic source? Which of course, raises the question of, say, Light Demon Hunters or Arcane Demon Hunters. Then, we try to shove magic sources together, like Deathwing's Shadowflame (and why does this always seem to be a villainous move?). Lastly, game mechanics: do we like it when they're also a narrative device, like book characters popping a hearthstone, or does it break us out of the immersion of the story?Note: there are spoilers for the upcoming storyline involving Xal'atath in patch 11.2.If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our hosts Joe and Matt were joined by frequent guest and DM for our Tavern Watch podcast, Phil Ulrich. Together they explored the storytelling aspect of TTRPGs. While they do enjoy the aspect of "math rocks go brrrr" TTRPGs bring to the table, the ability to tell a story collaboratively makes it more appealing to them than a typical game like Catan or Monopoly, though certainly both those games have their own stories to tell. We recount some of our favorite story beats from our own gameplay over the years, and discuss what using different systems like Daggerheart versus Pathfinder can lend to an epic adventure -- and an epic story.If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two listener questions form bookends to an overarching concept this week on the Lore Watch Podcast. First, what is happening to Outland as it is now, 20 years after we visited? Is it still crumbling as it was, and what is becoming of the people and creatures still living there? Then, continuing on the theme, the next question asks, what if Azeroth's fate -- after burrowing Old Gods and Titan stabbing and 20 years of varied psychic abuse -- is already sealed, and our planet is doomed to crumble as well?It's a very optimistic, cheerful episode of Lore Watch this week. We hope you enjoy it?If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's episode covers a lot of ground, because we're answering your burning listener questions (but you should still see a doctor). One involves modding and romance options in games like Fallout 4 or Cyberpunk 2077. The next question is all about class fantasy in WoW, and which our hosts think is defined the best. The final question is about the upcoming Legion Remix: what are our hosts looking forward to the most on the revisit? And what do they think might change, or be added. After all, we've done this all before.And, as per usual on Lore Watch, the questions are really just the beginning.If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With the new Lorewalking feature, it has some of us curious about the Lorewalkers. What is their history in the game, and why exactly do they know so much? A listener asked us just that -- somewhat suspiciously. As Matt and Joe discuss the Lorewalkers, it is evident that many are not your average NPC, empowered with longevity, or great memory. The path leads us to the Time Walkers and the dragonflights, and whether any of them can be trusted to tell the truth.If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Lore Watch takes a deep dive into the character of Faerin Lothar, based on the recent short story "Faith and Flame," as well as the release of patch 11.1.7, which sends us questing back into the Arathi Highlands. Faerin's story is inextricably tied to the Arathi race as a whole, but also unique to her -- noble or no, not many seven year olds are going to stow away on a ship to join the Hallowfall Expedition. Join Matt and Joe as they recount the ancient history of the Arathi, all the way into what you need to know as we embark on the latest chapter of WoW, the Arathi Campaign.If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The new Lorewalking feature in World of Warcraft is one we can use to explore more moments from the game we haven't seen, or explore the ones we have seen more in-depth. A listener wrote in and asked Matt and Joe which other points of lore they'd like to see show up in Lorewalking later, so of course, the entire hour is devoted to answering that question. From the huge, earth-shaking moments involving the Titans, to the old events leading to the current ones with the lineage of humans, all the way to long-forgotten quests, there are a lot of story beats they'd love to experience from a new angle.If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who would have thought that the hosts of the Lore Watch Podcast would be excited to talk about the new Lorewalking feature coming to World of Warcraft? The episode goes through the scenarios in detail, so if you'd prefer to have your Lorewalking experience as unspoiled as your own recollection of past events, note that they discuss everything about them at length. Part of that discussion also includes the implications of why we might be visiting these particular points in the lore -- Arthas, the Ethereals, and Xal'atath's backstory -- as we chase Xal'atath to the end of this narrative arc's conclusion.If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If in between hauling Brann's sorry carcass through another delve and racing around in your car in Undermine you haven't been paying close attention to the story of The War Within, we've got your back. Starting from the pre-patch and the radiant song, Matt and Joe recap the events of the expansion so far. There will be spoilers up through the end of the Undermine raid, so be wary. And of course, it just wouldn't be a Lore Watch Podcast if there wasn't a bit of heavy speculation as to where the story might be going next.If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's Lore Watch is based on a listener question, which mashes together two of Joe and Matt's favorite topics: Azeroth and Dungeons and Dragons. Specifically, this episode goes through doing just that: how they would play their way through a World of Warcraft-themed D&D campaign. They discuss their picks for the best tabletop system to play their way through a potential Azeroth-themed adventure, and then dive deep to discuss which small corner of Azeroth's history -- from setting to characters -- they'd like to experience in tabletop form.If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's Lore Watch Podcast, Joe and Matt are joined again by our writer Eric O'Dea, and they continue to explore how the telling and re-telling of stories about creatures in folklore has evolved into the creatures we now know in some of our favorite media. This week they start the discussions with dragons and all their forms -- sapient, verbal, Dungeons and -- and how Dragons tend to affect the retellings of other creatures, too.If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While they are unassuming little creatures, their presence in fantasy lore ranges all the way from traditional folklore all the way into modern day Dungeons and Dragons and World of Warcraft. With the help of staff writer Eric O'Dea, Joe and Matt delve deep to discuss the history of these little critters, from their origins as sprites or brownies or the fae all the way up to "you no take candle." They also discuss the evolution of creatures in general, like vampires, and how they are imagined in different ways in different cultures, and how they shift in pop culture media.If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Joe and Matt take to the mailbag to answer your questions, which are as varied as you are. First, since WoW has a tendency to bring back characters from the dead, and we just quote-unquote "killed" Gallywix, do we think he's actually dead, or will he be back? Then, in harkening back to a past episode, the connection between the Arathi and the Nerubians -- and whether the Nazrethim is what is keeping them in balance.Also, we discuss Galactus and his place in the Marvel universe. As I recall it's mostly "eating it," but Joe and Matt have a lot to say on the topic.If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.