The Bards Tale | The Mana Pool #761

To celebrate doing this show for 19 years (I know, it's crazy) we've decided to do something very personal. And what could be more personal than discussing what actually goes on inside our brains? Do the Dorks have an internal monologue? Can we form mental images? Do we talk to ourselves? Can we remember tastes and smells and sounds? Since we ONLY experience everything through our own brains, learning how other people do it is inherently fascinating, so we wanted to talk about it. There's a lot of input from friends & family, the TMP Discord, and Twitch chat too, which is why you should join up or come to the live recordings! Come join us in the future! The show is live on Thursdays around 8pm(ish) Eastern time on Twitch. Become a Lifeguard on Patreon! – patreon.com/themanapool Podcast RSS Feed: themanapool.libsyn.com/rss YouTube: youtube.com/TheManaPool The Deep End: youtube.com/@TheDeepEndTMP TMP Streams Archive: youtube.com/@TMPStreams Twitch: twitch.tv/themanapool Discord: discord.gg/7da7T6s BlueSky: themanapool.bsky.social Instagram: TheManaPool Threads: @TheManaPool Email: [email protected] Intro & Outro Music: Diamond by Swift – https://open.spotify.com/artist/0vAs5HIBkUPbuoN5b5GWTE

Were you freaked out by the sudden horror show of the boat tunnel in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory? Or by Large Marge in Pee-Wee's Big Adventure? Of course you were! The Dorks discuss these and many other instances of safe, non-horror movies & shows that have unexpected horrific sequences that scared, disturbed, or shocked us. Be sure to let us know about any we missed! Garfield's Halloween Adventure - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3FJePrGZb8 Come join us in the future! The show is live on Thursdays around 8pm(ish) Eastern time on Twitch. Become a Lifeguard on Patreon! – patreon.com/themanapool Podcast RSS Feed: themanapool.libsyn.com/rss YouTube: youtube.com/TheManaPool The Deep End: youtube.com/@TheDeepEndTMP TMP Streams Archive: youtube.com/@TMPStreams Twitch: twitch.tv/themanapool Discord: discord.gg/7da7T6s BlueSky: themanapool.bsky.social Instagram: TheManaPool Threads: @TheManaPool Email: [email protected] Intro & Outro Music: Diamond by Swift – https://open.spotify.com/artist/0vAs5HIBkUPbuoN5b5GWTE

The Dorks are pretty intelligent, absolutely stubborn, and definitely awesome, but could they survive a horror movie? Naturally that depends on the nature of the horror movie doesn't it? On this episode we're doing a tier list of monsters, based on how many of us could survive a horror movie with each monster. Well, mostly how many of the other Dorks would survive after Chewie gets got. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did! Tier List - https://tiermaker.com/create/monster-tier-list-of-monsters-19136194 Be sure to check out the video version to see the whole list! - https://youtu.be/2zKkmWvZ-eU Come join us in the future! The show is live on Thursdays around 8pm(ish) Eastern time on Twitch. Become a Lifeguard on Patreon! – patreon.com/themanapool Podcast RSS Feed: themanapool.libsyn.com/rss YouTube: youtube.com/TheManaPool The Deep End: youtube.com/@TheDeepEndTMP TMP Streams Archive: youtube.com/@TMPStreams Twitch: twitch.tv/themanapool Discord: discord.gg/7da7T6s BlueSky: themanapool.bsky.social Instagram: TheManaPool Threads: @TheManaPool Email: [email protected] Intro & Outro Music: Diamond by Swift – https://open.spotify.com/artist/0vAs5HIBkUPbuoN5b5GWTE

We are Brianless this week, so we're doing a Dorks Just Chatting. Chewie talks about what he's been watching for his 31 Days of Spooky project, watching a horror movie every day and writing it up on BlueSky and the TMP Discord. This leads into tangents about Betty White, the Five Nights at Freddy's games, and pretentious jerks from college. Oh yeah, we're all over the place here. The random conversation continues with car problems, the roguelike mode in Cross Blitz, and Mike's Halloween music selections before heading into a discussion about scary video games (and our troubles playing them). Then somehow we end up talking about roller coasters, good and bad ones. Let us know what you've been doing to celebrate the spooky season! Come join us in the future! The show is live on Thursdays around 8pm(ish) Eastern time on Twitch. Become a Lifeguard on Patreon! – patreon.com/themanapool Podcast RSS Feed: themanapool.libsyn.com/rss YouTube: youtube.com/TheManaPool The Deep End: youtube.com/@TheDeepEndTMP TMP Streams Archive: youtube.com/@TMPStreams Twitch: twitch.tv/themanapool Discord: discord.gg/7da7T6s BlueSky: themanapool.bsky.social Instagram: TheManaPool Threads: @TheManaPool Email: [email protected]

The dorks take a look at the new Magic: the Gathering set, Reality Fracture, because why not? Jace wants to create a new multiverse without suffering, so of course everything is all screwed up in all kinds of ways. Jace may or may not be a bit of an idiot. Mechanics: https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/feature/reality-fracture-mechanics Gallery: https://magic.wizards.com/en/products/reality-fracture/card-image-gallery  Come join us in the future! The show is live on Thursdays around 8pm(ish) Eastern time on Twitch. Become a Lifeguard on Patreon! – patreon.com/themanapool Podcast RSS Feed: themanapool.libsyn.com/rss YouTube: youtube.com/TheManaPool The Deep End: youtube.com/@TheDeepEndTMP TMP Streams Archive: youtube.com/@TMPStreams Twitch: twitch.tv/themanapool Discord: discord.gg/7da7T6s BlueSky: themanapool.bsky.social Instagram: TheManaPool Threads: @TheManaPool Email: [email protected] Intro & Outro Music: Diamond by Swift – https://open.spotify.com/artist/0vAs5HIBkUPbuoN5b5GWTE

The dorks are Dirkless this week so we're Just Chatting. We talk about Brian's recent tumble that made us take an unexpected week off, it was pretty brutal. Then Chewie spends way too much time talking about Marvel's Midnight Suns, a game he's spent a ridiculous amount of time on recently. After that we bounce around to Final Fantasy Resonance, the new Darkwing Duck, a game called Cross Blitz that Chewie has been streaming lately, small (mostly free) puzzle games by FLEB, and the guilty pleasure that is getting angry while watching Paranormal: Caught on Camera. Come join us in the future! The show is live on Thursdays around 8pm(ish) Eastern time on Twitch. Become a Lifeguard on Patreon! – patreon.com/themanapool Podcast RSS Feed: themanapool.libsyn.com/rss YouTube: youtube.com/TheManaPool The Deep End: youtube.com/@TheDeepEndTMP TMP Streams Archive: youtube.com/@TMPStreams Twitch: twitch.tv/themanapool Discord: discord.gg/7da7T6s BlueSky: themanapool.bsky.social Instagram: TheManaPool Threads: @TheManaPool Email: [email protected]

Like we did with Rogues back in episode 746, the Dorks are taking a look at bards and bard-like characters across all of media! From the very obvious and standards like Edward from Final Fantasy 4 and Jaskier from the Witcher to more speculative possibilities, we're digging around to see who we can find. What actually makes a character a bard? We're starting at D&D and going from there! Be sure to let us know who we missed and why we're wrong! Come join us in the future! The show is live on Thursdays around 8pm(ish) Eastern time on Twitch. Become a Lifeguard on Patreon! – patreon.com/themanapool Podcast RSS Feed: themanapool.libsyn.com/rss YouTube: youtube.com/TheManaPool The Deep End: youtube.com/@TheDeepEndTMP TMP Streams Archive: youtube.com/@TMPStreams Twitch: twitch.tv/themanapool Discord: discord.gg/7da7T6s BlueSky: themanapool.bsky.social Instagram: TheManaPool Threads: @TheManaPool Email: [email protected] Intro & Outro Music: Diamond by Swift – https://open.spotify.com/artist/0vAs5HIBkUPbuoN5b5GWTE

The dorks are talking about our favorite pets and animal companions in games! The dogs, dragons, horses, and whatever else that keep the player company or help out in some way need to be celebrated, and who better to do it than us? Let us know your favorites that we missed! Come join us in the future! The show is live on Thursdays around 8pm(ish) Eastern time on Twitch. Become a Lifeguard on Patreon! – patreon.com/themanapool Podcast RSS Feed: themanapool.libsyn.com/rss YouTube: youtube.com/TheManaPool The Deep End: youtube.com/@TheDeepEndTMP TMP Streams Archive: youtube.com/@TMPStreams Twitch: twitch.tv/themanapool Discord: discord.gg/7da7T6s BlueSky: themanapool.bsky.social Instagram: TheManaPool Threads: @TheManaPool Email: [email protected] Intro & Outro Music: Diamond by Swift – https://open.spotify.com/artist/0vAs5HIBkUPbuoN5b5GWTE

The dorks return to The Legend of Zelda to talk about our feelings on the next three games! We're hitting Link's Awakening (both the original Game Boy and the Switch remake), and the two Nintendo 64 games - Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. The weird little handheld one, the iconic jump to 3D, and the completely bizarre time loop fan favorite. Let us know how you feel about this batch of Zelda games! Come join us in the future! The show is live on Thursdays around 8pm(ish) Eastern time on Twitch. Become a Lifeguard on Patreon! – patreon.com/themanapool Podcast RSS Feed: themanapool.libsyn.com/rss YouTube: youtube.com/TheManaPool The Deep End: youtube.com/@TheDeepEndTMP TMP Streams Archive: youtube.com/@TMPStreams Twitch: twitch.tv/themanapool Discord: discord.gg/7da7T6s BlueSky: themanapool.bsky.social Instagram: TheManaPool Threads: @TheManaPool Email: [email protected] Intro & Outro Music: Diamond by Swift – https://open.spotify.com/artist/0vAs5HIBkUPbuoN5b5GWTE

The dorks discuss evaluating older video games, television, and movies in modern times. A lot has changed since the early days of each of these forms of media, from technological advancements to cultural shifts to changes in how each one is consumed. It's not just four old nerds rambling about the way things used to be, because we're not saying anything was better before. But we do want everyone to understand that things were different in ways you might not think about and that shaped why older media is the way it is. Come join us in the future! The show is live on Thursdays around 8pm(ish) Eastern time on Twitch. Become a Lifeguard on Patreon! – patreon.com/themanapool Podcast RSS Feed: themanapool.libsyn.com/rss YouTube: youtube.com/TheManaPool The Deep End: youtube.com/@TheDeepEndTMP TMP Streams Archive: youtube.com/@TMPStreams Twitch: twitch.tv/themanapool Discord: discord.gg/7da7T6s BlueSky: themanapool.bsky.social Instagram: TheManaPool Threads: @TheManaPool Email: [email protected] Intro & Outro Music: Diamond by Swift – https://open.spotify.com/artist/0vAs5HIBkUPbuoN5b5GWTE