Dark Dice

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;[12] 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.[13][14][15]

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.[16] Jeff Goldblum was announced as cast member for the second season in June 2021, as the character Balmur.[17][18][19] 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.[15]

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)."[20] 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."[21] 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.[4][6] 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.[22][6]

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.[23] Other contributors include players Hem Cleveland and Eyþór Viðarsson, who wrote and performed the song "Funeral Song 1"[Note 2] 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.[24][23]

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.[25] The two tracks written by Sakimoto are "Echo of Seasons" and "The Sufferers' Cant".[23] David Wise, the British video game composer, has also composed music for the series and is credited for the outro theme in season 3.

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.[14] 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.[26][27] 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.[28][27]

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.[27]

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.[27]

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.[8][29][30][31] 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 turn 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.[27]

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.[14][32]

Official art of the first season's characters. From top to bottom and left to right: The Nameless God, Iaus Innskeep, Soren Arkright, Flygia of Zarketh, Sister Cavernsfall, Father Westpike, and Rowena Granitepike.

The Willow's Wake's first stop on its way to Winterport is the town of The Sunken Bulwark, where they meet the Halfling bard Yuehai.[32]

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.

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."[34]

In 2020, the Audio Fiction and Arts Festival included Dark Dice in their Gold Listening Showcase Official Selection.[35]