The Adventure Zone

The overall plot of The Adventure Zone's first campaign, the "Balance Arc", involves a global war catalyzed by the Grand Relics—seven powerful magical artifacts that each contain the essence of one of the schools of magic. These relics compel those who find them to use them, almost always in a chaotic and destructive manner. The relics have been erased from everyone's minds save for the Bureau of Balance, an organization that seeks to find and destroy the relics. The narrative also explores the mysteries of the Red Robes, the magical faction who purportedly created the Grand Relics, and the lost histories of the main characters that involve a shadowy, cosmic threat to the universe. The primary quests challenge the characters to retrieve one of the Grand Relics. In addition, interlude episodes exist which allow the characters to regroup, purchase new equipment, and prepare for the next quest. Griffin McElroy has confirmed that the ideas for some episodes occur when watching a film or a TV show. The Balance Arc takes place over the course of several quests:

• Here There Be Gerblins (Episodes 1–6) – The introductory quest is loosely based on the Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set adventure Lost Mine of Phandelver, but quickly diverges into the primary plot of the adventure. The party helps Merle's cousin Gundren find and reclaim his family's lost treasures, but are quickly dragged into a conspiracy involving a powerful magical weapon of mass destruction, a war no one seems to remember, and the mysterious Bureau of Balance which seeks to keep it all hidden. The plot centers on the discovery of the Phoenix-Fire Gauntlet, the Grand Relic of evocation.
• Moonlighting (Episodes 7–9) – In a non-relic retrieval quest, the party is introduced to the Bureau of Balance headquarters, located on a second, false moon. They are inoculated by drinking voidfish ichor and meet various characters, including the mysterious Director of the Bureau and her ward, Davenport. To prove their worth to the Bureau, the party undergoes a brief challenge involving ogres and robots. They receive non-removable bracers with the Bureau of Balance logo on them, a mirrored Berkanan rune.
• Murder on the Rockport Limited (Episodes 10–16) – The party goes to reclaim a relic found by a Bureau operative killed after placing it in an unbreachable vault on the Rockport Limited train. Finding a Rockport staff member murdered on the trip, the party must discover the murderer before the train arrives in Neverwinter. During their mission, they meet and are aided by the World's Greatest (boy) Detective, Angus McDonald. The party discovers and retrieves the Oculus, the Grand Relic of illusion. (This relic is not used.)
• Lunar Interlude I: Carnival Chaos (Episode 17) – The party attends a midsummer carnival on the Bureau of Balance's lunar headquarters. They all dress in costumes. The carnival ends when the party sees the sky turn black with millions of eyes for a split second, causing the rest of the partygoers to fall unconscious.
• Petals to the Metal (Episodes 18–27) – The party is sent to retrieve the Gaia Sash, the Grand Relic of conjuration, used to control nature and weather. This relic is currently being used by a master thief known only as the Raven. Through a series of events, the party find themselves allied with Hurley, a law enforcer and former lover of the Raven, and taking part in a mostly-illegal death race to claim the relic. A mysterious Red Robe appears at the end of the arc. The plot for the quest occurred to Griffin while watching Fast Five.[4]
• Lunar Interlude II: Internal Affairs (Episode 28) – The party returns to the Bureau of Balance's moonbase for a debrief with the Director and a visit to Fantasy Costco. They host a Candlenights party in their new apartment, which is interrupted by a frantic phone call to the Director from the scientist Lucas Miller. This jump-starts the events of The Crystal Kingdom.
• The Crystal Kingdom (Episodes 29–39) – A science-fantasy adventure quest focused on the Philosopher's Stone, the Grand Relic aligned with the school of transmutation. The Philosopher's Stone has begun transmuting a floating laboratory into pink crystal, with lethal consequences for the world below if it is not kept from crashing. The party must navigate the dangers of the crystallizing laboratory, track down rogue Bureau scientist Lucas, and battle with mysterious enemies including crystal golems and the undead bounty hunter, Kravitz. The plot for the quest occurred to Griffin while watching Alien.[4]
• Lunar Interlude III: Rest & Relaxation (Episode 40) – The party takes some time off.
• The Eleventh Hour (Episodes 41–49) – A quest based around a time-loop mechanic. The party is sent into the Woven Gulch to retrieve the Temporal Chalice, the Grand Relic of Divination. Avi, friendly Bureau cannoneer, helps them enter the bubble-surrounded and wild-west inspired town, Refuge. There, the party first meets Roswell, a clay-based earth elemental with a Vermilion flycatcher acting as their voice, and find themselves cycling repeatedly through the final hour of the town's life, in a loop created by the Temporal Chalice.
• Lunar Interlude IV: The Calm Before the Storm (Episode 50) – The heroes explore some sidequests between their main quests.
• The Suffering Game (Episodes 51–57) – A darker quest in which the party must retrieve the Necromancy Grand Relic: the Animus Bell. This relic was discovered by the Director before the Bureau was created, and in her failed attempt to retrieve it, she sacrificed twenty years of her life. Inspired by the Zero Escape video game series,[5] the party delves into Wonderland, a lethal, mentally taxing, and endless deathtrap that promises whatever participants desire as a prize for surviving. However, as the party travels through Wonderland, making sacrifices and fighting horrific monsters, the place is revealed to be a trap created by a pair of twin Liches who feed on suffering.
• Lunar Interlude V: Reunion Tour (Episodes 58–59) – The party is tasked with an infiltration mission.
• The Stolen Century (Episodes 60–66) – A prequel quest in which the party rediscovers their long-forgotten memories and gains better insight into the Hunger, the ultimate foe of all reality.
• Story and Song (Episodes 67–69) – The climactic finale quest of the Balance Arc, in which old friends and former foes join the party to stop the Hunger from consuming the multiverse.

An officially produced trailer for the Balance arc was uploaded to YouTube on January 25, 2018.[6]

• Magnus Burnsides (portrayed by Travis) – A human fighter/rogue armed with a battleaxe, spear, and sword. He is an avid lover of animals, a master carpenter, described as "rustically hospitable", and often rushes into situations recklessly. Prior to joining the party, he worked as a carpenter in Ravens Roost, where he lived with his wife Julia. His catchphrase is, "Magnus Rushes In," and his philosophy in life is to "Do Good, Recklessly."
• Merle Highchurch (portrayed by Clint) – A dwarven cleric armed with a warhammer and the Extreme Teen Bible. Originally designed as a cleric of Marthammor Duin, Clint later switched Merle's allegiance to Pan, god of nature, because the name was easier to remember. Merle lived as a beach dwarf with his ex-wife and two children.
• Taako (portrayed by Justin) – An elven wizard with a speciality in transmutation. Taako is a former celebrity chef, gay,[7] and usually acts in an aloof manner (despite being arguably the most clever of the party members). One of many popular one-liners that Taako delivers is "Taako's good out here!" Justin also voices Garyl, an unflappable Binicorn phantom steed that Taako can summon. Taako's catchphrase is "I’m Taako, you know? From TV."

As the Dungeon Master, Griffin portrayed all non-player characters (except for Garyl, Taako's summoned phantasmal unicorn). Notable characters include Lucretia, the Bureau's stony, mysterious director; Killian, a crossbow-wielding orc woman who becomes an early ally of the protagonists in Here There Be Gerblins; Carey Fangbattle, Killian's girlfriend (later wife) and a dragonborn rogue who trains Magnus; Lup, Taako's twin sister (who is transgender); Barry Bluejeans, a denim-clad scientist and lich; Davenport, Lucretia's ward; Johann, a morose bard employed by the Bureau and self-proclaimed greatest musician in the world; Kravitz, a grim reaper employed by the Raven Queen and later Taako's boyfriend; Angus McDonald, the world's greatest (boy) detective; Garfield, The Deals Warlock, sinister owner of the Fantasy Costco; Roswell, an armored elemental who serves as deputy of Refuge; Lucas Miller, a Bureau-affiliated scientist conducting research into the workings of the planar multiverse; and John, the enigmatic and disturbing antagonist.

A campaign consisting of 3 episodes created as exclusive content for Maximum Fun donors. Travis DMs the adventure, which brings together an unlikely group of heroes: Troth, a tiefling monk played by Justin; Tom Collins, a half-elf warlock bartender played by Griffin; and Lenny Manolito, a human keytar-playing bard played by Clint.

This campaign uses the Dungeons and Dragons system, and features a guest appearance by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who plays the bard Atreyus.

The second campaign, and the beginning of a selection of "mini-arcs", was a superhero inspired RPG that does not take any setting or characters from the Balance arc into consideration.[8] The game was run by Clint McElroy with Griffin now taking the role as a player, along with Travis and Justin. As opposed to Dungeons and Dragons, this arc uses the FATE system. The characters all work for the Do Good Fellowship, a "cult adjacent" organization that uses technology and science to improve the world. This arc has a total of four episodes, not including the setup episode the McElroys used to establish their characters, etc. It was notably inspired by the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents series of comics.

• Irene Baker / Kardala (portrayed by Justin) – A hero partially inspired by Marvel's Thor, Irene Baker works in HR and can transform into the significantly more powerful Kardala, who takes influence from the Inuit goddess Kadlu.
• Nadiya Jones (portrayed by Travis) – A brilliant scientist of Bangladeshi, English and American heritage who values intelligence over most people. She gains the ability to manipulate her body into shapes and weapons in a similar fashion to the T-1000.
• Chris "Remy" Rembrandt / Springheel (portrayed by Griffin) – An athlete who failed publicly on American Ninja Warrior, previously working in the Fellowship's IT Department. Remy gains super agility, in particular high jumping. His character was partially inspired by Spike Spiegel and Xavier Woods.

Initially the second of the mini-arcs, Amnesty was later announced as season two's full length arc on March 29, 2018. The first five episodes, as part of the mini-arcs, began the series' temporary weekly schedule to get to a full second season more quickly.[9] The Amnesty arc is based on the Monster of the Week system by Evil Hat Productions, and is set in the fictional ski-resort town of Kepler in contemporary West Virginia. Kepler is regularly invaded by eldritch monsters nicknamed "Abominations" from a mysterious otherworld called Sylvain, opposed by a monster-hunting organisation called the Pine Guard headquartered at the titular Amnesty Lodge. Sylvain is a dying world, being consumed by an evil force known as the Quell, and the latter half of the series partly involves the cast attempting to stop it.

Griffin McElroy again takes on the role of game master (called a "Keeper" in the system). While the arc was inspired by monster of the week shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Supernatural, Griffin says the arc is mostly based on the Persona game series. To replicate the less connected nature of the former's 1990s setting, Kepler is situated in West Virginia's section of the National Radio Quiet Zone. Hal Lublin provides a guest voice in one episode. The campaign ended after 36 episodes on September 23, 2019.

• Edmund "Ned" Chicane (portrayed by Clint) – The elderly owner of "The Cryptonomica," a museum and tourist trap showcasing strange creatures and anomalies in Kepler. Ned is a conman and former criminal with a checkered past. Physically, he resembles Brian Blessed.
• Aubrey Little / The Lady Flame (portrayed by Travis) – A pyrokinetic goth magician who is bisexual, Puerto Rican, and has a New Zealand rabbit named Dr. Harris Bonkers, Ph.D. She was inspired by the character Harry Dresden, named after Aubrey Plaza, and based on three of Travis's friends.
• Wayne "Duck" Newton (portrayed by Justin) – One of many chosen ones, Duck attempted to avoid his destiny by retreating into the woods and becoming a forest ranger in the Monongahela National Forest. Justin also voices Beacon, Duck's magical sentient urumi-esque weapon.
• Arlo Thacker (portrayed by Clint) – A former Pine Guard member who was lost in the Quell and left feral, later restored to his former consciousness.

Travis McElroy takes the role of master of ceremonies in the fourth campaign, using the Urban Shadows system by Magpie Games. Originally, the arc was envisioned with the making of a custom role-playing game in mind, but the task proved too large for the given time frame. The campaign is set in a fictionalized version of the Wild West, where creatures such as vampires and werewolves live alongside humans, and focuses on feuding families in the town of Dry River.

• Augustus Parsons (portrayed by Justin) – The deceased industrialist of a successful cashew company who is bound to Earth as a ghost in order to make up for being a terrible person in life. He also has a twelve-year-old daughter named Anna Cardium Parsons.
• Gandy Dancer (portrayed by Clint) – An Asian-American wizard whose parents were killed when she was an infant. She is terrified of death, studying magic to conquer it. She has a demon assistant/carriage driver named Uncle Oni whose current corporeal form is a Bunraku puppet.
• Errol Ryehouse (portrayed by Griffin) – An aspiring and well-meaning Latino politician whose dreams of becoming president were dashed when he attempted to cure his lycanthropy, ultimately failing and turning himself into a permanently half-transformed werewolf.

Elementary is a two-shot campaign created exclusively for Maximum Fun donors. The episodes use a special game system Four (sometimes five) Sherlock Holmes and a Vampire (Who Is Also One of the Aforementioned Sherlock Holmes), written by Andrew Young. What little plot there is involves Justin (as GM), Travis, Griffin and Clint (and once guest Patrick Rothfuss) each playing as a different version of Sherlock Holmes solving nonsensical, convoluted mysteries.

Much like Elementary, Fur is a one off made for the Maxfun Drive 2019, the game system used is Honey Heist, a one-page RPG written by Grant Howitt, and Travis is the DM. Justin, Griffin, and Clint play three bears attempting to rob a briefcase of Mānuka honey from the Sacramento Convention Center during a screening of Bee Movie.

TAZ: Hootenanny was performed live in Nashville, TN at the Ryman Auditorium and is a country music themed space opera. The game used One Seven Design’s system Lasers and Feelings, inspired by The Doubleclicks’s album of the same name. The party consists of three musicians, all from different planets: Shoots McKrackin (Travis), Benny Gene Esserit (Clint), and Pepsi Liberty (Justin). The game ended with the four McElroys and Paul Sabourin performing a cover of Future Folk’s song “Space Worms.” A second episode was recorded but is currently unreleased.

Prior to the Amnesty finale, it was confirmed in a SyFy Wire interview that Travis McElroy would be running the next major campaign of The Adventure Zone.[10] On September 24, 2019, he confirmed via his Twitter account that the next major arc of The Adventure Zone, following Amnesty, would have a title beginning with the letter G.[11] He later denied speculation that the campaign would take place in a space setting.[12] On October 18, 2019 a trailer[13] was launched for the new campaign, which began on October 31, 2019 and returns to Dungeons & Dragons 5E. The players take the role of students who have enrolled in a school for sidekicks and henchpeople.

• Argonaut "Argo" Keene (portrayed by Clint) – A water Genasi rogue, a former sailor with a handlebar mustache and blue-green skin.[14]
• Firbolg (portrayed by Justin) – A nameless Firbolg druid who speaks in a slow, halting voice and has an affection and connection with animals, seeming to prefer them to other students. Other characters occasionally suggest names for him, which have included Bud, Professor Mushrooms, and Fiscal Responsibility.[14]
• Sir Fitzroy Maplecourt (portrayed by Griffin) – A wealthy and arrogant former student of Clyde Nite's Night Knight School who was forced to leave the school after the emergence of his heretofore-unexplained magic powers.[14] Fitzroy, a half-elf, belongs to the barbarian class, although he possesses magic powers uncommon in most barbarians.

TAZ: Inheritance[lower-alpha 1] was performed live at the Balboa Theatre in San Diego, CA during San Diego Comic Con 2019, based on an original system created by the players. The setting takes place in a post-apocalyptic desert wasteland, featuring groups of different stereotypical dads. The party consists of four dads, each from a specific dad tribe (Sports Dads, Vacation Dads, Car Dads, and Grill Dads). They team up to defeat the evil Crafting Dads in order to obtain the legendary TV remote control. The game featured all four McElroys as players, with CollegeHumor’s Brennan Lee Mulligan, host of Dimension 20, as GM.

The Just Us campaign is GMed by Travis McElroy, and described by Griffin as "Travis' take on superheroes trying to pretend to be normal".[15] It was recorded as a live show in Atlanta using the game Supernormal, written by Ursidice.[16] It is currently unreleased.

TAZ: Mercer is a one-shot made for the Maxfun Drive 2020, marketed as a "modern day crime drama" set in an unnamed north-east American city in 2006 and based on Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. It was named after and guest DMed by Matthew Mercer of Critical Role.

Lords of Crunch was a one-shot performed at the Taft Theatre in Cincinnati, OH. It was GM’ed by Justin, using an original system based off of One Seven Design’s Lasers and Feelings system. Travis, Clint, and Griffin play as cereal-box mascots. It has not yet been released.

The podcast has been well-received, especially among younger and LGBT+ demographics. It has sold out dozens of liveshows since 2014, and has been downloaded hundreds of millions of times.[17] One of the creators, Justin McElroy, said truthfully of the podcast, "[it] has a following."[18] The Adventure Zone currently holds a 4.9 rating on Podbay, and a 5.0 rating on Apple Podcasts.[19][20]

The Adventure Zone: Balance received criticism from listeners for various reasons, including the apparent death of a gay couple in Petals to the Metal. Griffin McElroy subsequently apologized for this in a Twitter thread, and the couple was later returned to prominence in the finale of Balance.[21]

Both The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins and The Adventure Zone: Murder on the Rockport Limited! are New York Times Bestsellers.[22][23]