Didnt realize you were a long time listener of TAZ - ive found it to be very hit-or-miss personally, but id be interested to hear your opinions on each of the seasons (or just your favourite and why if thats too long an ask)
Sure! A brief opinion on each season with some notes on mini-arcs.
Balance: extremely strong story, but, I will admit, having met people who are longtime D&D players and not actual play fans, TAZ Balance is the example I think of, because I like both but MAN do they play fast and loose at times. I am already a "no, you gotta read the rulebook too" kind of person but for TAZ Balance it really is like "please forget basically everything that occurred on a mechanics level and just vibe with the narrative." Of the Balance arcs, Crystal Kingdom was my favorite at the time but I think I need to give the Eleventh Hour another listen at some point for timeloop reasons; it does culminate really well.
Amnesty: I binged Balance first but I think Amnesty served for some time as the strongest marriage of a good story and a rule set that supported it, plus a setting that the McElroys clearly understood and deeply loved. I still think it might be their strongest overall, and people who left it because it wasn't More Balance are weak and will not survive the winter.
Graduation: ngl despite having purchased a book that is sort of a Magic Academia Book at a used bookstore last week and being a Fantasy High fan I feel like my tolerance for Magical Academia has really not been maintained. Like can we stop pastiching Harry Potter. Between Rowling being a rabid transphobe and me being tired of my nostalgia being strip-mined when it wasn't that deep anyway I just think we should start parodying literally anything else that was popular among children in the late 1990s/early 2000s. I did love The Firbolg though. It was fine, basically, but I suspect if it hadn't aired during the pandemic when I was taking like a 2 hour walk alone daily while also still driving a lot, if I'd have kept up.
Ethersea: I think the premise was great and to be totally honest I wish it had played out a little more slowly and for a longer time; I'm struggling to remember it because it felt rushed, even though I enjoyed it a lot at the time. I will say, The Quiet Year is not a good podcast-only system.
Steeplechase: Also extremely strong and very well done. In general I know that listenership dips when they do systems other than D&D but I happen to think those systems work better for them and they should say fuck the haters. Extremely good and I think Justin's approach to GMing was great; I still think about Shlabethany.
Vs. Dracula: I think it suits what Griffin wants to do namely "throw in everything" which is not a criticism, but I have found it a little harder to stick with. Like, it's fun, but it's a little insubstantial for me.
Mini-arcs: I recall not being terribly into Commitment in part because I think the Fate system is just. not great and hard to follow; the concept was cool. The Marvel season that Clinton GM-ed more recently was I think a better implementation. Dust is quite good and I'd like to see Travis work with that; also I loved Erika guesting in that. Also Dadlands is peak and I was at the second live show.
