Friends at the Table
500 episodes listed below
A continuous Fabula Ultima actual-play campaign following one party through the world of Perpetua.
Friends at the Table follows a long-form tabletop campaign through strange castles, political rituals, cosmic cycles, and very specific tactical snacks. Its best moments let big fantasy ideas sit beside casual table chatter without sanding either one down.
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Friends at the Table is an actual play podcast: recorded sessions of a tabletop RPG rather than an interview or panel-discussion show. A game master (Austin Walker) runs the ongoing "Perpetua" campaign using the Fabula Ultima system for a stable ensemble of players who return session after session as the same characters, including Jonathan, Elena, Kiva, Bronte, Antistrophe, Vale, Nikki, and Veil. Episodes are serialized, picking up directly from prior sessions' plot threads, character relationships, and running jokes, so they reward continuity-minded listeners more than newcomers. Content mixes mechanical play - dice rolls, Fabula Points, contested checks, combat rounds - with heavy original lore covering multiple fictional polities (the Northwind Clan, Southwind Dynasty, Empire of the Westwind, Kingdom of the Eastwind), a pantheon called the Ennead, and layered cosmology connecting the world of Alteros to the setting of Perpetua. Tone swings between comedic table byplay (bargaining over masks, joking about rules) and heavier material like grief, mortality, found-family loyalty, and a side character revealed to hold anti-elf prejudice. Co-host Jack Keep appears alongside Austin Walker primarily in show-administration moments, such as explaining platform distribution changes to listeners. Production is a straightforward session capture rather than a polished audio drama, prioritizing table dynamics over edited narration. The likely audience is existing actual play listeners already invested in long-form, system-specific campaigns rather than listeners seeking one-shot or anthology-style RPG fiction. The show publishes on Apple Podcasts and Overcast, and as of an early 2026 episode, had stopped updating its Spotify feed.
Made for: Actual play listeners who follow long-running, continuity-heavy tabletop RPG campaigns rather than one-shot sessions.
What sets it apart: Runs a single serialized Fabula Ultima campaign with years of accumulated lore and a fixed recurring cast, rather than rotating systems, one-shots, or guest parties common in other actual play shows.
Friends at the Table is an actual play podcast about critical worldbuilding, smart characterization, and fun interaction between good friends. Find us (and a listener guide) @Friends_Table on Twitter.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Collaborative fantasy gains texture here from precise game mechanics, layered continuity, and players who turn tactical complications into character-rich comedy.
Friends at the Table turns tabletop play into fiction that can hold a masked political puzzle, a cackling creature in the dark, and a conversation about cosmic cycles without losing the players' delight in the game.
A cosmic apocalypse pauses for mushroom coffee, crunchy oysters, and your next tactical argument.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A masked puzzle opens into cosmic dread, then slips back into sharp character comedy over sunglasses, wings, and a unicorn.
A masked ballroom puzzle gives Perpetua 39 its first jolt: Bronte is pulled away from a promised dance, Alayna and Jonathan are tangled in mask logic and the threat of a duel, and Jonathan simply starts fixing the door. Then the tone tilts hard.
A strange, funny castle episode where mask etiquette, odd loot, and shadowy magic keep shifting the room.
The Castle Eschatonica 06 moves through a place that keeps changing shape: a hornet puppeted by a thin hidden web, a mask puzzle built around house etiquette, and an ornate fantasy hallway that opens into something like an apartment art studio.
A mask shortage, a web-strung hornet, and combat mushroom coffee make for a funny, uneasy masquerade episode.
The Castle Eschatonica 05 starts with a very good problem: House Deadwind has arrived at the masquerade, but there are only four masks, and the door logic is already hostile.
A platform announcement turns into a pointed case for leaving Spotify and supporting artists more directly.
Friends at the Table steps out of its usual mode for a direct announcement to Spotify listeners: the show has stopped publishing there, intends to keep doing so, and may eventually pull its work from the platform.
A mountain side quest turns into magical cattle sickness, bad feed, and one costly roll on the road to Clay Ridge.
Perpetua 32 starts with the shape of a simple mountain errand: sick cows, a rude old man to escort, and a human interest story waiting at Spillaway Peak. Then the trouble curdles. The cattle seem drained of something that is not quite blood, the bad feed points toward D.G.
A warm, strange fantasy stopover where shopping, family awkwardness, and gem anxiety turn party logistics into character drama.
Friends at the Table makes a small homecoming feel faintly off-kilter here, as Jonathan's family absorbs stories about Vale's pilgrimage, a ruined tower, a ghost dragon priest, and the maybe-not-for-sale gem at the center of everyone's nerves.
A tense, funny investigation follows magical traces underground, then snaps into danger with one nasty stone-maul blow.
Perpetua 26: In Too Deep 02 keeps its pressure in the gaps between jokes and dread. The Hexclos seem to have left the city, Tyrius Iger is unaccounted for, and someone has been taken, which gives the party's questions a real edge even when the table is riffing about renting a…
Four McElroys narrate a wizard battle-royale tournament across elimination trials on Octave Ziggurat.
An ensemble cast plays teen superheroes through Masks: A New Generation campaigns and guest one-shots.
A recurring cast plays full Pathfinder 2E, Shadowdark, and Pendragon campaigns session by session.
A Dungeon World actual-play campaign following three comedians battling villain Callum Blackhammer.
Three masks open the door.
A hornet jerks on a thin web.
Four masks are all House Deadwind gets.
Austin Walker and Jack Keep use a short announcement to tell Spotify listeners that Friends at the Table has not been publishing there for the last month or so and plans to keep that way.
A group explores a dungeon, finds an invitation to a mysterious event called 'the end after the end' from High King Aleku and High Queen Sona, and encounters strange bat-winged creatures.
A character explores an academy with gem-locked doors and mysterious lights while reflecting on apocalyptic themes and personal bonds.
Visitors explore the mysterious Castle Eschatania, encountering cryptic dialogue about fate, dragons, and strange devices while being directed to an observatory for answers.
The host provides a scheduling update for the podcast Perpetua, announcing a delay in the next episode and thanking listeners for their participation in a successful fundraiser that exceeded its goal.
This episode sets a surreal fantasy scene in the Void, describing a landscape with nine suns and mysterious figures watching from the Dragonway.
The host makes announcements about a delayed episode and an upcoming fundraising marathon for the show.
Spillaway Peak has sick cows.
A group of friends role-play as characters helping an old man up a mountain, discussing payment and mysterious clues.
A character explains their personal quest and discusses becoming a journalist in a fictional world.
Gems become the problem.
This episode introduces a fantasy narrative where two groups—four adventurers in Perpetua and three travelers in the Elevana League—embark on interconnected quests involving prophecies, metaphysical sickness, and personal struggles, with hints of a larger mystery overseen by unseen forces.
Characters discuss magical theories and navigate an underground tunnel system while encountering mysterious hex cloaks.
Beachmitten still hangs over the table.
The episode sets up a post-dragon attack scenario in the city of Sen, with characters facing mysteries and seeking help from ice cream vendors.
Characters navigate a humorous aquatic scenario involving ice cream magic, jellyfish, and an encounter with clay pirates.
A character on a mission to investigate earthquakes confronts a goddess's attendant in a temple.
In this episode, characters arrive in the city of Sen to find it in crisis as the hex cloaks take over and earthquakes threaten the Ironclad Parade.
The players roleplay as characters being paraded through streets by guards, discussing their situation and a potential threat named Old Amour.
A group of friends plays a tabletop RPG, attempting to recover a flare and fire it from the Phlegas before missing a train.
The episode follows characters traveling through a desert wasteland, encountering a singing flower oasis and needing to recover a flare to catch a train.
Three heroes travel to the city of Sen, choosing between a safe path and a dangerous train ride, while devotees of Kasteen Living Metal gather for a parade.
Players navigate a fantasy city under attack, using role-playing and dice rolls to advance a collaborative narrative.
A group of friends plays a tabletop RPG, investigating a mysterious fire in a town.
The group introduces their characters for a tabletop RPG session, with one player creating a Goku-inspired explorer.
The host and cast introduce themselves and the new season of their actual play podcast focused on critical worldbuilding and character-driven storytelling.
A group of friends role-play characters exploring a dungeon with strange pigs and discussing a mysterious vault.
Players discuss the magical pigs that improve soil by absorbing joy during festivities in the fictional land of Iolid.
Austin Walker introduces a new tabletop game called Realis with co-designer Jack DeKeefe, explaining its diceless token-based mechanics.