Brad

Summary

Brad is a player in this Dungeon World campaign who portrays the character Kat, a ranger with an animal companion named Monster. Brad handles transcription duties for the campaign sessions, a responsibility that becomes a recurring topic of discussion—in Session 5, Brad explicitly requests permission to record for transcription purposes and mentions actively transcribing previous sessions. By Session 7, Brad's session notes had reached 108 pages, demonstrating extensive commitment to tracking campaign details and continuity.

Brad is a professional web developer who operates through the company Altered Effect (Alt F) and has created multiple websites that gained unexpected recognition, including Bradacon (featured on Lifehacker and Gizmodo in 2007-2008) and the Family Wishlist site still used by Brad's family. Brad is characterized by other players as playfully "sinister" and mischievous, with cited examples including giving alcohol to younger siblings for birthdays and orchestrating elaborate Uber Eats popcorn delivery pranks involving multiple orders sent to fellow players during recording sessions. Brad is one of the core players at the table, participating regularly in both in-character roleplay and out-of-character discussions with fellow players Dayna, Shawn, Erin, and Abdul. Outside the game, Brad is vegetarian, mentions doing weights as part of an exercise routine, has lived in Australia, and lives in Vancouver with Dayna, sharing household details during out-of-character moments including being "in a feud with the Starbucks by our house." In Session 3, Brad appears to receive Uber Eats deliveries during sessions and has life insurance through a strategy box policy.

Playing Style

Brad approaches roleplay with a mix of practical problem-solving and philosophical character moments. Brad frequently asks clarifying questions about the fiction to understand what Katniss can perceive or accomplish, such as asking whether geese are literate or whether Monster can use a muddy footprint to track an intruder. Brad contributes world-building details drawn from Katniss's background, noting that the character "knows a bit about smuggling from all of the fiction books and also living in a warehouse."

Brad's comedic timing emerges in out-of-character moments, such as suggesting a mini disc as something Sucks might pickpocket, and questioning whether Dunko Guzman's improper recycling practices mean the party can trust him. Brad also creates memorable in-character moments of levity, having Cat whisper "Lucky we brought our own food" when discovering cultists eating underground, and having the character meow and dig like a dog when searching.

Brad balances humor with philosophical roleplay, such as when Cat puts a hand on Vasso's shoulder and says "this is what happens when you jump into violence." Brad also makes tactical decisions about when to aid other players, explicitly choosing not to aid Vasso because Vasso "had no respect for nature," mirroring an earlier decision not to aid Sucks.

• Brad maintains detailed notes about other characters, tracking information like the ages of party members and updating these notes during sessions.

• When Safia reveals shapeshifting abilities in Session 3, Brad responds with surprise ("Wait, you can turn into bats?") and practical questions about whether Safia could turn into a mole to dig the party out of their predicament.

• Social Engineering: Brad's most distinctive playing choice in Session 8 involved orchestrating an awkward matchmaking attempt between Sucks Benedict and a teenage salvager woman while simultaneously negotiating trade terms, creating multi-layered interactions that combine commerce, social dynamics, and party relationships with an insistence on specific financial arrangements.

• Creative Problem-Solving: Brad demonstrates a preference for unique angles on situations that align with character consistency, such as seeking a small wooden chariot for a pig cat or comparing mystery boxes to books during negotiations.

• Meta-Game Engagement: Brad actively offers observations that blend humor with setting logic, contributing to collaborative worldbuilding and questioning narrative implications like whether Safia would offer to get high after scene transitions.

• Tactical Problem-Solving: Brad proposes creative in-game solutions such as "We could maybe let the other guards know that these guards are in a band and then wait for them to fight among themselves," demonstrating strategic thinking about leveraging NPC conflicts.

• Attention to Fiction Details: Brad carefully tracks campaign continuity, offering corrections like "That was before that was after. You're right" and asking clarifying questions such as "Do all our pigs have houses?"

• Tactical questioning: Brad asks detailed environmental and positioning questions before committing to actions, as demonstrated when asking "Can Cat, there are two guards, right? They both have keys?" before planning Cat's rescue approach

• Deliberate boundary-pushing: Brad openly acknowledges playful disruption, stating "No, I just want to keep going off topic just to bug Abdul" during table conversation

• Observational humor: Brad makes dry observations that reframe situations, such as asking "Is this an escape room?" during complex tactical scenarios

History

Session 2

Brad plays Cat/Katniss during the party's investigation of Dunko Guzman's apartment and the subsequent underground cult discovery. When the group finds The Geese in Dunko's Apartment, Brad asks "Hey, Gooseman, are these geese your pets?" and uses discern realities to determine if the geese are literate and might have stolen a book.

Brad suggests that Monster could use the muddy footprint to Hunt and Track the intruder, then rolls for Monster's tracking attempt (getting a 4 after modifiers). When the party discovers food and supplies, Brad has Cat express hunger and advocate for taking food, saying "Cat's hungry" and suggesting they "take one for dinner but leave one for Dunko for dinner."

During the underground cult scene, Brad leads the party's stealth approach, successfully rolling a 9 on defy danger (modified to 10 with Dana's aid). Brad asks practical questions about the portcullis and Monster's position, noting "it's probably not meant to keep kittens." After observing the cultists, Brad has Cat announce "I choose the caverns" when Shawn asks what the party does next.

Throughout the session, Brad participates in extensive out-of-character discussion about package delivery mishaps and business credentials, demonstrating engagement with the group's table talk and banter.

Episode: "Session 3"

Brad participates in pre-session conversation about exercise routines, supplements, and life insurance before gameplay begins. During character discussion, Brad keeps detailed notes and asks "Is everyone 17 now? Except for sucks?" to confirm the ages of various party members.

Once gameplay begins, Brad demonstrates his comedic approach by promoting the "Echo Lord" deception throughout the session, suggesting that Katniss point at a bat and declare it the "Echo Lord", then encouraging the rest of the party to "bow to the Echo Lord." When discussing whether something is afoot, Brad delivers the pun "A wing." Brad attempts several creative solutions to retrieve items beyond the portcullis, asking whether Monster can grab objects and later requesting to borrow Vasso's dead goose to try flapping it at items to bring them closer. Brad also proposes helping Sucks aid Vasso by "getting Monster to. By rubbing monster on the goose. So some fish oil gets on it."

When the party encounters the Sniff Lord, Brad makes tactical suggestions including putting corks on the creature's tusks and attempting to tame it. Brad roleplays Katniss's investigation of the Purple Sludge, having the character dip food into it to test its properties, then warning the party "Guys, this, I don't think this is hot sauce."

During end-of-session mechanics discussion, Brad reveals limited familiarity with certain systems, admitting "Didn't know that was a thing until that" regarding alignment fulfillment. Brad hadn't intentionally freed the Sniff Lord to fulfill Katniss's chaotic alignment requirement, though it counted mechanically. Brad asks clarifying questions about bond resolution mechanics, demonstrating a willingness to learn the system, and notes not having any bonds to resolve yet.

Episode: "Session 4"

In Session 4, Brad's role as the campaign's transcriber becomes a recurring topic of discussion, mentioned multiple times during out-of-character conversations. Brad participates in extensive discussion about Bob Newhart, asking clarifying questions about whether Elf was a movie with Will Ferrell or a TV show featuring a puppet. During these conversations, the group characterizes Brad as playfully "sinister" and mischievous, citing examples including giving alcohol to younger siblings for birthdays and orchestrating the elaborate Uber Eats popcorn delivery prank that becomes fully revealed this session—Brad confirms sending popcorn to other players' houses, noting "I would have sent three, but someone was like, that's too much popcorn."

Brad works extensively with Shawn to fill out Monster's follower character sheet, selecting mechanical tags, moves, and statistics for the animal companion. Brad expresses genuine difficulty deciding which tag to remove from Monster's options, carefully considering "beautiful," "cunning," "stealthy," and "vicious" before ultimately choosing "tiny" and "cat" as defining features. During this process, Brad suggests thematic elements like "maybe monster needs a cost of freedom" as part of the companion's mechanical definition.

During the session's investigation of the Frozen Blob, Brad proposes the creative "Ice Raccoon Theory" to Vasso, explaining raccoons that produce different effects based on their "flavor" when they rub their hands together. When Vasso responds that he's never seen a raccoon, this creates a teaching moment for Cat's bond about understanding life in the wild. Brad contributes multiple tactical suggestions for dealing with the blob, including having Monster track by scent, creating a makeshift leash by tying popcorn to string from adventure gear, and proposing volume tests to Sucks: "You should turn down the volume a bit and see if it comes closer so it. If it wants to stay in a like a set volume range."

Brad actively roleplays Cat's participation in negotiation and shopping sequences, describing putting on "our bargaining hood" and having Cat explain that "free can mean different things, different types of free." Brad voices Cat's protest when physically pushed out of Louise Guzman's restaurant: "hey, Gooseman, we agreed to. No, no, shut the fuck up. We didn't say when." During the end-of-session alignment check, Brad argues that Cat fulfilled her chaotic alignment by freeing Thunk from "the figurative bonds of loneliness," a creative interpretation Shawn accepts. Brad also discusses Cat's bonds during review, noting the raccoon teaching moment but observing "I don't know if that would change the bond at all. I feel like I still have more to teach Vasso."

Episode: "Session 5"

In Session 5, Brad requests permission to record the session for transcription purposes, explicitly mentioning the ongoing transcription work. Brad participates in pre-session conversation about technical setup and food delivery coordination, sharing anecdotes about living in Australia where Brad stayed in a hostel and subsisted on one bag of popcorn per day from movie theaters for about a week, attempting to eat a lemon to avoid scurvy. For this recording session, Brad ordered two popcorns and milkshakes.

During combat with the Gordian, Brad demonstrates tactical expertise by asking detailed questions about Cat's "called shot" ability and working through mechanical implications before committing to the move. Brad successfully executes the called shot with Cat's bow, targeting one of the creature's jack-o-lantern holes to immobilize it, setting up Vasso's killing blow. When learning about ammunition mechanics in Dungeon World, Brad asks clarifying questions and discovers that Cat's three ammo represents effectively unlimited arrows under normal circumstances, as ammo only depletes on certain die rolls rather than with every shot. Brad proposes multiple entrepreneurial schemes for the pumpkin field, including selling harvested pumpkins at New Smoke and having Goober create pumpkin pies to sell when it's not pie season.

During character advancement, Brad increases Cat's intelligence by 1 to 11 and selects "Deliver a Message" and "Escape from Bind" as new abilities for Monster, working through the decision-making process with the group. Brad demonstrates collaborative play by regularly doing math for other players, particularly Dayna, and shows strong recall of past plot points by reminding the group that Safia knows a terrible secret. Brad's comedic timing appears in observations like noting that Goober's output "tastes like wood" and commenting on being the only one who initially received a visual description of the pumpkin creature.

Episode: "Session 6"

Brad opens the session helping recap previous events, stating "So we were doing something. I can't remember what. It's so many pages back. But then we found a. Oh, we were doing experiments with Gooball and we named him." Brad confirms having transcribed the previous session and confirms leveling up Cat. During planning discussions, Brad proposes creative uses for the pumpkin field, suggesting "What if we make like snowmen out of the pumpkins and put the sweaters on them?" as both a way to scare bandits and show off the sweaters to potential buyers, also asking "Do you think we could make any of these pumpkins? Like, put them together so they look like an extra pig?" showing tactical thinking about disguising their activities.

When the party becomes trapped in cursed sweaters, Brad attempts multiple escape solutions. Brad first has Cat call Monster for assistance, accepting the minus one to dexterity but gaining a plus one from the follower, ultimately rolling a 5. Brad then suggests "What if you moved your necklace up to your ear?" to Sucks, and has Cat try rolling closer to Goober to get the ooze to absorb the sweaters. Brad asks "Wait, can I assist her interfere by trying to roll into Sucks's legs?" when Sucks attempts escape, demonstrating willingness to use game mechanics creatively. Brad emphasizes Cat's attachment to the items, declaring "These six sweaters have been through a lot with me, okay?"

When Nick Silver appears, Brad has Cat maintain characteristic wariness, asking if the traveler's staff is a shillelagh and suggesting "Maybe you're trying to steal our sweaters." Brad asks the crucial question that reveals the connection to Felix Thoughtomation, initially saying "Does the name Felix Automation mean anything to Nick Silver? Sorry, Thought omation." After discovering Nick Silver's deception, Brad advocates for immediate violent action, whispering "Guys, we should let him go. Whispers Cat. And then we should do a called shot onto his head." Despite other players attempting to interfere, Brad rolled an 11 plus 2 for a total of 13, which after two interference attempts still resulted in a 9. When the attack fails, Brad suggests using sweaters to restrain Nick Silver, having Cat run up and start putting sweaters on him while claiming to help with the bleeding.

Throughout the session, Brad demonstrates literary knowledge by having Cat note "I don't know if going in a way that is known for smuggling is a good idea to use for smuggling. I mean, in the novels that I read, whenever that happens, they get caught." Brad also reveals sharing a household with Dayna in Vancouver, mentioning having blackout curtains and Dayna keeping multiple bags of Oreos on her desk during out-of-character moments.

Episode: "Session 7"

Brad began the session with technical participation, confirming "I got it working" regarding audio setup. Brad's extensive note-taking practice became a topic of discussion when it was revealed that Brad's session notes had reached 108 pages, demonstrating the detailed record-keeping Brad maintains throughout the campaign. During the session, Brad experienced significant technical difficulties when a computer broke, leaving Brad without access to Kat's character sheet for approximately six hours while continuing to play and roleplay without mechanical reference materials.

Brad made the out-of-character realization "I just now realized that Jasmine is different than saffron," which became relevant to understanding the Saffron Mask the party possessed. Brad engaged extensively in planning discussions about entering New Smoke, proposing schemes including selling pumpkin spice pies to people waiting in line and asking practical questions about the mask's function: "Should we put on the stiff mask to see if it goes somewhere smelly? Because I don't think we should take Goober to the sewer. Otherwise our pies are going to taste pretty weird."

Brad demonstrated attention to other characters' experiences during canal exploration planning, suggesting "we should at least show Vasso the canals" with the justification that "Vasso's never seen a canal." Brad also coordinated out-of-game gestures of friendship, telling Abdul: "there might be a bubble tea outside your house" as part of arranging to send bubble tea and snacks to other players. Brad clarified a mischaracterization from earlier sessions, noting that when discussing Nick Silver, "Brad tried to kill him" was inaccurate—"Stop him from leaving" was what actually occurred—showing concern for accurate record-keeping about player actions.

When the party encountered the Pine Cone Man, Brad positioned Kat as the diplomatic voice attempting to prevent violence, having the character yell from the underground canal "Guys don't attack random people" to teach a lesson the party had recently learned. Brad justified this approach out of character by noting "this guy never lied to us." Brad maintained Kat's patient, polite characterization even as the situation escalated into chaos, having Kat attempt a handshake greeting, comment "wow, that was rude" when ignored, and even ask "Can I interest you some pumpkin pies outside of pie season?" Brad also corrected pronoun usage for Monster, clarifying "Cat's a girl" when others misgendered the kitten, and tracked the animal companion's continued problematic behavior throughout the encounter.

Episode: "Session 8"

Brad opened Session 8 by delivering the recap, noting that the transcription work had reached the negotiation with Brusque (referred to as "the Pinecone man"), who had given each party member 45 gold and a monkey hat in exchange for dealing with a monster. Brad was recovering from food poisoning during this session and had been subsisting on Soylent for approximately a week, ordering cauliflower fried in cheese, hummus, keto bread, coffee, and kombucha from Caveman Cafe while expressing confusion about keto dietary restrictions.

During the market sequences, Brad had Kat search for "any sort of small wooden chariot that she could attach to a pig cat" and engaged in bartering with a salvager woman using Kat's unique logic, proposing: "Perhaps we could make a trade. Some of these things on your table for some of these things next to your table." Brad's comparison of a mystery box to a book—"you don't know what's inside the book before you open it and read it"—demonstrated the character's distinctive worldview.

Brad's primary contribution involved orchestrating an awkward matchmaking attempt between Sucks Benedict and the teenage salvager woman while simultaneously negotiating trade terms. Brad announced out-of-character: "I asked for the date for you," then insisted Sucks Benedict would pay for both the trade goods and the date itself, including meat patties. Brad clarified the innocent intention: "I thought you guys would just listen to music together for a bit." When the terms became complex, Brad observed through Kat: "I think he just got scammed." Brad also offered fashion advice, suggesting: "I think you might even be able to get away without the goat horns if you brought a pie" and "I think if you're gonna wear a top hat, you should go with pants."

Brad's out-of-character presence included technical discussions about filtered laughter in the audio processing, conversations about food and dietary restrictions with Dayna and others, and meta-game commentary like observing about guard recruitment: "I feel like we may have solved New Smoke because now there might not want to be guards anymore." Brad contributed to collaborative worldbuilding through quips like characterizing someone as "only nice to geese with human breasts."

Episode: "Session 9"

Session 9 shifts focus significantly to Brad's professional history as a web developer, when the other players discover Brad's unexpected Internet fame through projects created via Altered Effect (Alt F). Brad reveals having created Bradacon, an image-to-icon file converter, in 2007, which gained substantial visibility: "Yeah, it was in a magazine in the UK, which I only found out about because someone emailed me asking about it." The tool was featured on major tech websites including Lifehacker and Gizmodo during 2007-2008 and became particularly popular in Italy. Brad shares the amusing story of repeatedly attempting to add Bradacon to Wikipedia: "After I made Bradacon, I kept going on to Wikipedia and adding it to the Wikipedia page for icons. Yeah, no, they kept taking it off."

Brad also discusses the Family Wishlist website, created approximately 10 years ago for coordinating Christmas gift-giving and Secret Santa events within Brad's family. The site allows users to create wish lists and reserve items without the recipient knowing what they're getting, and Brad's family continues using it annually: "We use it for Christmas every year." When asked about updating the site, Brad responds with characteristic pragmatism: "I could, but I never have because I don't really care" and notes that Brad Icon "used to be useful" but is less so now. Throughout the technical discussion, Brad repeatedly emphasizes the temporal distance from these projects: "I don't even remember. I don't even remember doing these things because it was so long ago."

During the session, Brad provides domestic logistical support to Dayna, directing them to masking tape with the simple instruction "Yeah, it's under the bed," further confirming their shared living space. Brad also proposes a prank targeting Abdul: "What if you punk Abdul by putting it in LMG?" (referring to the comedy gallery Abdul manages). Brad participates in the group's discussion about Victoria's free pile culture and engages in the confusion about the Twilight movie series, initially believing there were four films when there are actually five. Brad also references the group's food-sharing tradition, sending food to other players but notably "refuses to collaborate" on coordinating orders in advance.

Episode: "Session 10"

Brad participates extensively in pre-session conversation, revealing multiple pizza orders from different services ("secretly" ordering "margarita from one place, one is fungus pizza from another place, and one is a different pizza from that place"), maximizing service charges in the process. Brad engages in banter about family ancestry and "dairy royalty" when discussing Dayna's and Shawn's Danish dairy farmer backgrounds. Brad contributes to discussions about professional GMing opportunities and business models, suggesting Patreon tiers at the "five hundred dollar level," and makes observations about workplace dynamics: "Strategy Box only has four employees in Canada. Just saying."

Brad's personal experiences become material for extended table conversation, including being described alongside Abdul as one of the "straightest edge people possible" and being the victim of Dayna's workplace prank involving banana-soaked peanuts. Brad reveals a strong aversion to bananas, describing them as "offensive to every single sense." Brad also discusses receiving a questionable business book called $100 Million Deals from the CEO, and attempted to moderate workplace pranks, stating "I tried to stop them." Brad demonstrates technical preparation by posting a QR code to Cat's character sheet before the session.

During gameplay, Brad directs Cat's tactical actions in the rescue mission with careful strategic planning. Brad asks detailed questions about the environment and enemy positions before committing to actions: "Can Cat, there are two guards, right? They both have keys?" Brad uses Monster strategically, working through the mechanics of having the companion fetch keys: "2D6 plus quality. 12." Brad maintains Cat's characterization throughout the sequence, describing actions like "Cat calmly walks over and picks up the keys" and demonstrates knowledge of campaign continuity by noting that "Cat totally still thinks that it's the pig that's been captured and doesn't understand why the pigs were separated."

Brad contributes absurdist humor and philosophical observations throughout the session, asking "Is this an escape room?" during a complex tactical situation and "Do you guys think Saruman might have been a sociopath?" during out-of-character discussion. Brad also playfully acknowledges deliberately going off-topic "just to bug Abdul" and asks world-building questions like "Is it like a mutagen? If we put some on Safia right now, do you think she would turn into, like a splinter type creature?" and practical inquiries such as "Feel really dumb asking this, but do bears have tails?"

Episode: "Session 11"

Brad continues his pattern of mechanical inquiry and tactical thinking in Session 11, asking numerous clarifying questions about Kat's capabilities throughout the barracks exploration and prison infiltration. Brad's questions range from stealth mechanics ("can Kat listen in stealthily?") to tactical considerations ("Can I shoot him in the legs?" rather than killing a guard) to unconventional strategies (whether the party might disguise themselves as prisoners rather than guards). When the party discovers a map, Brad actively engages with analyzing it, asking whether the depicted tree might be Rex Tree and whether the X's represent tunnel entrances and exits.

Brad demonstrates his characteristic blend of strategic thinking and absurdist humor during the session. Brad proposes creating a "Smokey Bear" disguise by wearing the bear costume under guard uniforms and suggests having Kat kick Vasso in the shin to make a voice impersonation more convincing. Brad also shows awareness of the campaign's broader objectives, reminding the group "we're also trying to launch a business venture" when considering their next moves. Brad proposes using Monster as a tactical distraction, asking whether Kat could "send in monster to just, like, walk through the room to distract them so their eyes are on monster and not on the other people coming into the room to go into that door?"

During out-of-character moments, Brad shares a story about proofreading a paper on To Kill a Mockingbird where someone thought Scout was a boy, demonstrating engagement with the social aspects of the table. Brad also assists other players with technical questions, directing someone to "Type into Google World 2D6" for dice rolling. Near the end of the session, Brad makes a meta-commentary on party dynamics, remarking, "I can't believe Sucks always gets mad at Cat for almost killing people. And now here Sucks is shooting an arrow at a guy in the same room as him," then asking whether Kat can tell Greta that Sucks did a good job.