Dark Dice

Dark Dice is a horror-dark fantasy actual play podcast created by the husband and wife duo of Travis Vengroff and K. A. Statz and produced by Fool & Scholar Productions. It is set in an original medieval fantasy setting created by Vengroff and follows characters trying to overcome an evil shapeshifting being known as the Nameless God. Vengroff acts as gamemaster, joined by Statz as co-gamemaster in season 3.

Dark Dice emphasizes the potential deaths of all player characters, and the potential losses of their sanities, which affect their perceptions of the world; a player whose character dies does not get a new character, and instead leaves the show. Episodes for each campaign are divided in chapters: the first season and campaign, Domain of the Nameless God, premiered on September 25, 2018, and concluded on January 14, 2021. The second season, a direct continuation called The Long Road, which is divided into dual campaigns, "A" and "B", premiered on February 26, 2021; season 2 was put on hiatus after March 2023, and the third season and fourth campaign, Shores of the Silver Thrum, set in the same world but otherwise unrelated to previous campaigns, premiered on June 20, 2023, with season 2 expected to resume after its conclusion.

The series features immersive sound design and original music, with all non-player character (NPC) dialogue from season 2 onwards being re-dubbed by voice actors during post-production. The show is fan-funded; it was originally released on a monthly basis before switching to a bi-monthly basis for season 3. The podcast has been developed based on the 5th edition rules of Dungeons & Dragons.

Casting and recording
The show features a number of voice actors having previously worked with Fool & Scholar Productions; season 1 notably featured exclusively players who were involved in The White Vault, namely Hem Cleveland, Eyþór Viðarsson, Peter Joseph Lewis, David Ault, and Kessi Riliniki, who, together with Lani Minella, formed the main cast of the first season of The White Vault, and Statz, who was the creator and writer of The White Vault, while Vengroff, the gamemaster, was its director, producer, sound designer and editor; Minella herself would later voice an NPC, Gunther, in season 2, and players who later joined the series include The White Vault cast members Eric Nelsen, Sophie Yang, Danilo Battistini, and, briefly, Tanja Milojevic.

The second season of the show was originally conceived as a shorter "epilogue" story, titled "The Long March"; instead, it became a fully-fledged season with dual campaigns renamed The Long Walk. Jeff Goldblum was announced as cast member for the second season in June 2021, as the character Balmur. The White Vault cast member Tanja Milojevic was also intended to join as a player in the B campaign, but her character died in battle shortly after being introduced, and therefore remained unnamed and is only briefly featured in the first episode of the campaign.

In a special release on April 14, 2021, Vengroff and Statz announced that, if they reached 2,500 subscribers on Patreon by May 12, they would switch Dark Dice from being a side-project of Fool & Scholar Productions to part of their yearly production schedule, "with seasonal releases every two weeks (or more if we're able)." The second season went into hiatus after episode 5A (the fifth episode of the A campaign), released in March 2023, due to the upcoming wedding of Cleveland and Viðarsson, the two players featured in season 2's A campaign; the following May 26, Vengroff announced that the rest of season 2 was postponed due to Cleveland and Viðarsson deciding to take time off following their wedding; he announced that the show would move forward with its third season, and would return to season 2 "after this new story concludes so our cast can enjoy the first few months of their marriage." Season 3 premiered on June 20, 2023, with a prologue episode featuring two of the eight new players, in which Vengroff confirmed that Dark Dice was now upgrated to a bi-monthly release. Domain of the Nameless God was always intended to be followed by a new campaign with a cast of all-new characters, and as such season 3, Shores of the Silver Thrum, featured new players playing original characters.

Music
Steven Melin wrote the opening theme of the series, "Domain of the Nameless God"; Melin, Brandon Boone, and Vengroff act as main composers for the series' original music. Other contributors include players Hem Cleveland and Eyþór Viðarsson, who wrote and performed the song "Funeral Song 1" in Icelandic for the show, and the song "Elven Wood Cutting Song" improvised on the spot by player Jeff Goldblum while recording season 2 (with fellow cast members Russ D. More, Peter Joseph Lewis, and Holly Billinghurst joining in), with Melin, Vengroff, and Mike Pettry later adding orchestration in post-production.

On August 3, 2022, Japanese video game composer Hitoshi Sakimoto was announced to create new music for Dark Dice, with the recording sessions taking place on August 12 and 22. The two tracks written by Sakimoto are "Echo of Seasons" and "The Sufferers' Cant". David Wise, the British video game composer, has also composed music for the series and is credited for the outro theme in season 3.

Season 1: Domain of the Nameless God
The first season of the podcast revolves around a party of six characters attempting to find and rescue the children of Ilmater's Hope, a town whose children inexplicably disappeared. The party consists of Darwen cousins Rowena Granitepike and Father Westpike, Human ranger and necromancer Soren Arkwright, innkeeper Iaus Innskeep, whose son Barrin is among the missing children, paladin Sister Cavernsfall, and the witch Flygia of Zarketh, feared by the townspeople. The team follows the trail of the missing children into the Dead Pines forest, where they start being hunted by The Silent One, a sinister creature that has the ability to shapeshift into whoever it pleases. The first loss of a party member happens in Chapter 7, when Rowena, under the influence of a cursed dagger, attempts to stab Father Westpike, only for Sister Cavernsfall to sacrifice herself by taking the blow in his place. The second casualty is Flygia, who is separated from the party and finds herself in a hall of mirrors in Chapter 9; although the end of the scene is left ambiguous, and she seemingly reunites with the rest of the party, "Flygia" turns on the party in Chapter 12 and is killed by Iaus in self-defence, with necromancy revealing that she had been killed and taken over by a creature in Chapter 9, with Flygia's player secretly playing as the creature afterwards.

Rowena, Father Westpike, Soren and Iaus reach a bastion at the heart of the domain of the Nameless God, who had abducted the children in order to sacrifice them, allowing it to reach its full strength. Although most the children have already been sacrificed, the team manages to save the two still alive, including Barrin, as well as a third child of unknown origins also present; however, a huge mistake from Iaus' player results in the ritual being successful. The four barely manage an escape from the Nameless God's domain with the three children, but learn that they must sacrifice someone in order to seal the gateway linking its domain to their world. In an ambiguous scene, Soren seemingly stabs himself to seal the gate, only to be revived by a being which might have been the spirit of Sister Cavernsfall or the Nameless God. The campaign ends on a bittersweet note, as the party of four returns to Ilmater's Hope mostly unsuccessful in their rescue attempt, and with two of their members dead; they also realize that time passed differently within the domain of the Nameless God, and that 10 months have passed in the outside world since their departure; the village suffered a harsh winter, a food shortage, and with the children missing, many of the townspeople took their own lives. However, Iaus got his son back, and the four know that by sealing the gate, they stopped the Nameless God, at least for now.

Season 2: The Long Road
The second season is a direct continuation of the first, and is divided into two campaigns, "A" and "B"; the series alternates between the two campaigns, mostly focusing on the B campaign originally while focusing on the A campaign for a lengthy period afterwards; both notably focus on what really happened at the end of the previous season during Soren's "sacrifice".

The A campaign follows Rowena and Father Westpike, staying at Ilmater's Hope with Aud, the child of unknown origins they rescued the previous season; Rowena remembers the end of the previous season as it was presented to viewers, while Father Westpike struggles to remember it, and both are left with severe trauma from their rescue mission. Their new life is troubled by the hostile townspeople, who doubt their story; Aud similarly claims that she saw Rowena kill Soren, and that he did not come back to life. The two go to the town's church to attempt to help the people inside, who turned their backs on their gods, but are attacked by them and kill one in self-defense; as the behavior of the townspeople worsens, the cousins flee Ilmater's Hope with the help of Gunther, the third kid they saved with Barrin and Aud, and head north for Westman's Hold, to reunite with Father Westpike's family, whom he is worried about, and fight against the Kordalum, a family related to them they wish to take revenge against. They rest at the Riverside Inn, in which they meet Rafaj, a slaver, and free the creatures in his possession.

The B campaign follows Soren, who remembers being unexpectedly killed by Rowena at the end of the previous season, yet finds himself alive in the Dead Pines as Human siblings Gaelle and Glom of House Vogelberg attack a group of elven slavers, rescuing the Elven hunter Balmur and the Scaleskin storyteller Ildrex Mystan from being sacrificed to the slavers' god; the five team up in an attempt to reach Ilmater's Hope, with a vengeful Soren looking to find his former teammates. In Chapter 3B, Balmur is revealed to be The Nameless God in disguise, leaving the party but starting to stalk the team members; the following episode, he murders Gaelle by strangling her, removes her body, and shapeshifts into her to take her place; Ildrex is the only witness, but his fragile sanity makes him think it was a dream. Unaware of the traitor within their ranks, the team returns to Ilmater's Hope, which Rowena and Father Westpike have already left by this point: Soren learns that the two are now wanted criminals, and have notably been charged with murder for the deaths of Soren, Sister Cavernsfall, and the person they encountered inside the church in campaign A. Soren reunites with a worried Iaus, who claims that Rowena stabbed Soren before the others could react; Soren forgives him for his "death". Iaus, who now takes care of both Barrin, Aud, and Gunther, plans on leaving town with them, feeling that they are no longer welcome in Ilmater's Hope, and is gone by the time the group wakes up from their first night in town. Realizing how dangerous the town has become, with its people having turned to dark gods, the group leaves and keeps following Rowena and Father Westpike's trail, reaching the Riverside Inn and later the town of Audin.

Season 3: Shores of the Silver Thrum
The third season marks a departure from the three previous campaigns, acting as a stand-alone story set in the same world, and following a party of new characters. It takes place on a 190-years old ship called The Willow's Wake, whose crew, hired by the Farhauler Company and including the Orc deckhand Konvo and the Human shipwright Jare Driftwood, is tasked with transporting cargo from Embergrad northward to Winterport, a Vinnelhaven colony within the Northrealm lands. Several guests are also aboard: the trio of Elf clan leader Vind Greyview, half-Orc warlock Agé Ogun, and wide-eyed young Halfling Nimbleremble "Nimble" Troutspinetrout, travelling together in a quest to appease the Gods whom they believe have repudiated their respective villages in the Blackstone Forest, the lively Tiefling Vivianna Bloodchamber and the Human noblewoman Lady Lán Qiu, seeking help for her cursed native lands.

The Willow's Wake's first stop on its way to Winterport is the town-island of the Sunken Bulwark, populated by believers in a god named The Sunken One, where the guests meet the Halfling bard Yuehai, also to join the ship as a guest from that point onward. Yuehai tells the story of the nearby Diviner Shell Cave, which legends say tells one the truth of their innermost desires, leaving them so overwhelmed that they do not notice the water rushing into the cave and drown. With Agé eager to use the cave to learn the identity of his mother, a secret long dear to his heart, the trio of the Blackstone Forest explore the cave, but by the time Agé's question is answered, the water threatens to drown him. A misguided attempt at rescue causes Nimble to fall into the water, leading Agé himself to dive back in to save Nimble; he is successful, but Vind, aware that Agé suspects that he killed his brother to become tribe leader, seizes this opportunity to push the other two back into the storming waters and flee. Agé barely survives but realizes that Nimble died during their struggle, and promises to kill Vind in revenge.

Player characters

 * Introduced in season 1
 * Lady Rowena Granitepike (played by Hem Cleveland), a female Dwarven bard. She is a distant relative of Father Westpike, and the two refer to each other as "cousins".
 * Father Sindri Westpike (Eyþór Viðarsson), a male Dwarven cleric. A priest who worships Celegon, he is Rowena's distant, much-older relative.
 * Soren Arkright of the Bright Vale (Peter Joseph Lewis), a male Human ranger. A monster hunter and tracker, he is hired by Sister Cavernsfall to help find the missing children, and is also capable of a necromancy spell temporary bringing a soul back to question it.
 * Iaus Innskeep (David Ault), a male Tiefling rogue. The innkeeper of Ilmater's Hope, his son Barrin is among the missing children. He is capable of summoning a dead bird which gives him advice on how to proceed.
 * Sister Tsavorite Cavernsfall (K. A. Statz ), a female Dwarven paladin. She is a member of the Paladins of Iluvians, a religious group aiming to defend rightful causes and spread their beliefs. She was staying in Ilmater's Hope building a church when the children went missing.
 * Flygia of Zarketh (Kessi Riliniki), a female Tiefling druid. Living in isolation near Ilmater's Hope, she is feared by its citizens, who nickname her "the demon-witch of the grey swamp", "the keeper of the wilds", and "the lady of bunnies".


 * Introduced in season 2
 * Balmur (Jeff Goldblum), a male Elven sorcerer with strong cleric attributes. Although Balmur originally poses as an uplifting religious Wood Elf, he is later revealed to be The Nameless God in yet another disguise; although the reveal is followed by Balmur's departure from the party, and therefore Goldblum's departure from the show as a player, he continues to voice The Nameless God as an NPC for the rest of the series, although the character still wears other faces and voices.
 * Ildrex Mystan (Russ D. More ), a male monk who is a member of the Scaleskin, a rare dragon-like species. Curious and kind-hearted, he is a talented storyteller who worships Aijinder, the dragon god and god of will.
 * Gaelle of House Vogelberg (Holly Billinghurst), a female Human warlock and Glom's sister. The two were hired to deal with a group of Elven slaver. Following Balmur's departure and Gaelle's death, Billinghurst plays as The Nameless One having taken Gaelle's appearance and replacing her in the party.
 * Glom of House Vogelberg (Sean Howard), a male Human fighter and Gaelle's brother. Stubborn and often acting on whims, he only truly trusts Gaelle.
 * The "sixth player" (Tanja Milojevic), an unnamed female Dwarven Druid introduced in the first episode of season 2's B campaign; the character happened to die during the B campaign's opening battle before having any lines, and as such remained unnamed, with Milojevic's contributions as a player being mostly removed from the episode; she remains the only player to have been credited as "also starring" rather than "starring", and is not mentioned on the official website's cast page.


 * Introduced in season 3
 * Vind Greyview (Eric Nelsen), a male Elven rogue and a guest on the Willow's Wake. He is the leader of the Shade Elves clan, a position he inherited with the recent passing of his older brother. He uses a spear and throwing javelins. He, Agé and Nimble come from three different tribes all residing within the Blackstone Forest; following natural catastrophes which badly damaged their respective villages, the three, believing that gods of nature are upset with them, travel together to the gods' shrines in the hopes of appeasing them with gifts.
 * Lady Vivianna Bloodchamber (LilyPichu), a female Tiefling rogue and a guest on the Willow's Wake. Young, slender and very tall, she is insatiably curious and easily distracted, and her strong tendency to get bored causes her to impulsively seek anything she thinks might be exciting. She comes from a wealthy family of known thieves and assassins.
 * Agé Ogun (Jasper William Cartwright), a male half-Orc warlock with elk-like horns and a member of the Sangoma Orc clan of the Blackstone Forest who is a guest on the Willow's Wake. He is capable of summoning the minds and memories of his ancestors after dying and being brought back to life prior to the events of the campaign.
 * Lady Lán Qiu (Sophie Yang), a female Human bard and a guest on the Willow's Wake. A charismatic noble of Asian-like ethnicity dressed in a qipao, she originates from mountains in Darleria, an area now cursed with darkness and undeath. She travels in a quest to recruit followers to help her free her land, but avoids fighting and prefers to let others take risks.
 * Nimbleremble "Nimble" Troutspinetrout (Danilo Battistini), a male Halfling ranger and the local "hero" of his Halfling village in the Blackstone Forest, who is a guest on the Willow's Wake. Young and friendly, he is very excited to go on his first adventure far from home.
 * Yuehai (Sam Yeow), a female Halfling bard who is a musician and storyteller. She is the final member of the party, joining the others on the first stop of the Willow's Wake's journey rather than prior to its departure from Embergrad.
 * Konvo (Enrique Perez), a male fighter of mostly Orc descendance covered in tattoos, nicknamed "The Painted Man". He is a 45 years old experienced first mate and navigator, working on the Willow's Wake as a deckhand.
 * Jare Driftwood (Florian Seidler), a 24-year-old male Human rogue working as the shipwright of the Willow's Wake. He travels with Ceelie, his female pet barn owl. He claims to originate from the town of Dochheim, in Vinnelhaven.

Notable guests
In addition to acting as gamemaster and narrator, Vengroff also voices most NPCs in the first season; in subsequent seasons, all of them are re-dubbed by voice actors in post-production for the episode releases, although Vengroff still voices them during the original play sessions.


 * Eric Nelsen as Coal (season 1), a man who travels with the party for a time
 * Ronald Hamrák as Helrintheenath (season 2)
 * Theo Merksamer as Aud (season 2)
 * Danilo Battistini as Elven Captor
 * Florian Seidler as Fuchs (season 2)
 * Lani Minella as Gunther (season 2)
 * Florian Seidler as Fuchs and Drunk Storyteller (season 2)
 * Tanja Milojevic as Lirril (season 2)
 * Felix Trench as Nickrick (season 3)


 * Nichole Goodnight as Eddel (season 3)
 * Karim Kronfli as Captain Gelmain, the Captain of the Willow's Wake (season 3)
 * Chris Luhrs as Mazson Luhrs, the first mate of the Willow's Wake
 * Ciara Baxendale as Av Mitoph (season 3), the second mate of the Willow's Wake
 * Lika Khukhashvili as Yelena (season 3)
 * Peter Joseph Lewis as Ula (season 3)
 * Mikael Heidner as Linsen (season 3), the longest-serving crew member of the Willow's Wake
 * Marisha Tapera as Eudaw Quit (season 3), the cook of the Willow's Wake
 * Beth Eyre as Sister Prina (season 3), a fortune teller in the Sunken Bulwark.

Critical reception
The Syfy Wire commented on the podcast that "the show edits out the pauses that naturally come while playing D&D, re-records NPC voices with trained voice actors, and scores the whole thing with Foley work, an orchestra featuring more than 30 medieval instruments, and a live 40-person choir singing in Icelandic, Elvish, and more."

In 2020, the Audio Fiction and Arts Festival included Dark Dice in their Gold Listening Showcase Official Selection.