Hi there, sorry if this is a bit much but I started listening to friends at the table a while ago from episode one but dropped after the first couple of eps bc i couldnt get too into it. I think its bc i quickly lost track/interest in them setting up the world and not quite knowing where it all was going? Im very curious about picking it back up at sangfielle though, but i was wondering what your recomendation(s) is(/are)?
Oh, it’s an honor to be asked The Big Question!
I think we’re currently living in the one year when the answer to this question is very straightforward. Start with Sangfielle! It’s the current season, it’s a brand new setting so there’s no prerequisite listening, it has both the excitement of fresh material and the smoothness born from the many years of experience on every player’s record.
Sangfielle starts with three episodes where everyone is playing a worldbuilding game, then an episode where the players introduce their characters, and the classic adventuring in two parties starts from episode 5. I recommend starting right from episode 1 — don’t be intimidated by the unusual format.
Keeping track of 8 unfamiliar voices at once might be tough (though if you’ve listened to a few episodes, you have a headstart!). Fortunately, the show has official transcripts! Unfortunately, they’re on Google Docs. Here’s their twitter account with the link to the list of all transcripts in the pinned tweet.
I feel obligated to also add a quick guide to the rest of the show! The other seasons are split between two universes:
Autumn in Hieron, Marielda, Winter in Hieron, and Spring in Hieron are the fantasy seasons. Autumn, Winter and Spring follow each other directly, Marielda is a mini-season set in a different time. When/if you continue with Hieron, I recommend you to stick with Autumn, especially since you already know the characters a bit! It will probably get easier from episode 5 forward, when the players split into two parties. The other commonly suggested starting point is Marielda. This part of the show is now complete, so there’s no rush to catch up.
COUNTER/Weight, Twilight Mirage, PARTIZAN, and the upcoming PALISADE belong to a universe featuring various flavors of sci-fi and a ton of mechs. Counter/Weight, Twilight Mirage and Partizan are separated by huge time skips, but Palisade will be a direct sequel to Partizan. So I recommend starting either with Counter/Weight to go through everything chronologically, or with Partizan to catch up ASAP. Some people find Counter/Weight’s first several episodes difficult to get into, but the season is definitely worth trying.
You can also listen to the entire show in a chronological order, if you don’t mind jumping back and forth between fantasy and sci-fi. This way you’ll organically follow the show and its growth, and won’t be confused in the rare minor instances something from another universe gets mentioned (the biggest of which is in Counter/Weight to Autumn in Hieron — later the show made an effort to keep the seasons self-contained).
