Players of the classic tabletop game Dungeons & Dragons would be familiar with how quickly a serious game can turn into a ridiculous sequence of bizarre in-jokes, derailed plotlines, and off the cuff one-liners. And while there is an abundance of D&D podcasts out there, few manage to capture the complete absurdity of the game as entertainingly and accurately as ‘Dungeons & Drongos’.
Set in the realm of Fantasy Australia, Dungeon Master Luke leads a team of three oddly charming noobs through a land where “every bugger wants to kill your face”. Hell-billy fighter Plank, bitch-elf wizard McKenzie, and little-tacker ranger Gadai solve mysteries, fight bogans, and drink their way across the most dangerous country in the world, all while led by wholesome team manager, Wenzo. Along the way the party faces the kind of monsters and national icons you would expect to find in Fantasy Australia – flamin’ crows, evil Beerholders, alcohol-sucking Drunkula’s, foul-mouthed Alf the Steward, and everyone’s favourite Fantasy Australian Idol runner-up, Shannon Troll.
‘Dungeons and Drongos’ is light on the rules, heavy on the puns, and makes for easy listening on a long drive. You don’t need to be a D&D veteran to understand what’s going on. In fact, you don’t even have to know what D&D is to appreciate the strange shenanigans that these beer-sculling adventurers get up to.
The stories created and improvised by Luke often irreverently infuse the best and worst of Australian culture with famous TV shows, movies, and international holidays. The ‘Stronger Thongs’ story centres on the ethereal realm of the Down Under; ‘The Sloshed Boys’ is an affectionately drunken twist on the classic vampire movie ‘The Lost Boys’; and Fantasy Australia’s own version of Halloween comes in the form of Spookaroo. The supporting characters that push these stories along are given hilarious voices by Luke, each of them playing on our favourite Aussie stereotypes.
Brought to us by the witty team at Fruitless Pursuits, ‘Dungeons and Drongos’ recognises the ridiculousness of adults sitting around a table pretending to be fictional characters, and plays right into the sheer absurdity of the concept. It bucks the trend of D&D podcasts that take themselves a little too seriously, instead creating a podcast series that is as funny as it is distinctly Aussie.
You can listen to Dungeons and Drongos over on YouTube!
