Afraid of diving into a new DnD5e podcast because of all the catch-up? Fear no more! Bardic Mystery Tour is an all bard adventure podcast with short story arcs that save listeners from feeling bogged down by years of backlogged episodes. Even better, they come out weekly (on Mondays)!
Their dungeon master, Edd, creates homebrew mystery adventures for his players who are typically in town to play a show as Antler Mayhem, a three-piece rock band. It seems that there’s always some sort of problem that the gang needs to solve before they can play their show. Brayton plays Sammy Stoneslinger, a rock gnome who drums for the band and leans on his spells in battle; Emily plays Flo Calhoun, a wood elf who is the singer of the band who tends to use a bow to fight her foes; and Grundledore is a method actor who plays the part of their half-orc tank (well… as tanky as a bard can be) who fights with a sword and carries a cursed lute. These episodes occasionally include special guest stars who are entertainers or musicians in their own right.
Outside of gameplay, the cast of Bardic Mystery Tour gets together to write lyrics, make music, and hang out in Pittsburgh. Musically, each player brings a lot of variety to the table. One of their favorite aspects of the project is writing spell songs--each player writes and records their own short songs that are later edited into the story. You can check these songs out, as well as their other songs, on their Bandcamp page and truly hear the difference in the players’ musical styles. Additionally, each story arc contains at least one Antler Mayhem song which is written and performed by the whole cast, often including Edd. Typically these songs are found at the end of each arc at an in-story rock show and, despite their #metalasbuck hashtag, these songs vary widely in genre.
If you’re looking for an entertaining story with fantasy shenanigans, original music, and a bunch of bards who aren’t very good at sleuthing, this show’s for you! Check out their website at bardicmysterytour.com where you can find links to their podbean and bandcamp pages.