Podcast / Quest in Show

Doo-doo-doodady-doodady-doo

Quest In Show is a seasonal play podcast hosted by James "hotcyder" Docherty.

Every episode, a new guest takes on the role of a new protagonist in the fantasy kingdom of "Trottleara" ^note Named by the first ever guest on QIS, roughly translating to "Jerk Land", and it's in their hands whether things get worse or if this story may end happily ever after.

Quest In Show is available on Youtube, Spotify, and wherever better Podcasts are found.

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This show provides examples of:

• 0% Approval Rating: Prince Pratt’s decisions throughout the first season cause him to lose favor with practically all his subjects by the start of the finale. Fortunately, he manages to turn it around by the end of the episode.
• Absurdly Spacious Sewer: The sewer system under Trottleara is big enough that a community of Rat Men can live there completely unbeknownst to the existing subterranean society.
• All Webbed Up: Before reaching the Moondew Glade, Sylvester and Garcian stop to catch up a few birds to eat. Evidently, their webbing is edible.
• Alone-with-Prisoner Ploy: Pontus bluffs his way into Piotr’s cell by pretending to be a lawyer. The guard is reluctant to leave them alone, but is persuaded with a bribe.
• Animorphism : Alazar makes a potion that can transform someone into a sparrow. Balian snatches it to get away when he suspects Alazar has betrayed him.
• Anti-Hero: Many of the player characters are rather selfish and opportunistic, looking out for themselves rather than serving for the greater good.
• Anti-Interference Lock Up: When Duncan tries to leave the room he woke up in, he finds that Jack had locked him in from the outside. It is implied this was at the implicit behest of Jack’s master.
• Automated Automobiles: When Vasileios is arguing with the Tasque Guard, his motorcycle inexplicably comes to life and starts driving away.
• Bad Impressionists: The host in many instances
  • The guest GM in Episode 9 kept up this tradition
• Ban on Magic: Magic was outlawed in Trottleara after Balian tried to assassinate King Brenin.
• Bar Brawl: Subverted in Episode 5. The bartender tells them to take it outside, and they do.
• Bathroom Stall of Angst: Episode 9 opens with Prince Pratt hiding in the bathroom, filled with anxiety at the enormous pressure faced on him to fix the mistakes he made.
• Bear Hug:
  • Prince Pratt gives one to Vasileios Deksis in Episode 5.
  • One of Richie De L’Argent’s employees gives him one to cheer him up in Season 2, Episode 2.
  • Ivan Nebrekyu gives one to his mother (who is a bear) when he reassures her he will investigate Piotr’s arrest.
• Because You Were Nice to Me: Implied to be the reason Cody is willingly working for Aspirin and Prozac in Episode 5, despite having been originally been given to them as a hostage in Episode 2.
• Beneath the Earth:
  • Trottleara’s sewer system is staffed by a dwarf community living beneath the kingdom’s surface.
  • The Silkspool Kingdom, home of the Spider People, is located underground, where Sylvester’s people have been living since the days of Uriel Hemlock.
• Bewitched Amphibians: El Cid threatens to turn his attacker into a toad. His opponent calls his bluff.
• Big Budget Beef-Up: Episode 9 saw additional foley effects and background music, fitting for being the season finale
• Big Guy Rodeo:
  • When Undarda Sarfice discovers the giant rats nest in the sewer, a Rat Man attacks him by jumping on him from behind.
  • A goblin jumps Sylvester Strand shortly after Sylvester enters Pratt’s vacation house.
• Big "WHAT?!": Vasileios Deksis bellows one of these while eavesdropping on Aspirin and Prozac’s plot to kill Prince Pratt.
• Birthday Episode: The first season finale, “Hard to Die”, takes place during Prince Pratt’s birthday celebration.
• "Blackmail" Is Such an Ugly Word: When Suzy expresses discomfort at stealing Queen Manon’s things, Prose advises her not to think of it as stealing. When Suzy asks what should she think of it as, Prose replies, “Not stealing!” She then suggests “rehoming”.
• Blood from the Mouth: After agreeing with Duncan Brewer’s questioning of his master, Jack breaks into an involuntary coughing fit. It becomes increasingly dire when he starts coughing up blood.
• Bloodier and Gorier: Season 2, Episode 2, where Richie De L’Argent has to handle the messy remains of Vito Staccato.
• Bond Villain Stupidity:
  • The assassin in Episode 2 decides to leave the wounded Tristan Lambert alive, merely warning him not to follow. Though it's possible he ran out of arrows and didn’t want to get too close.
  • Droog Hemlock has taken hostages to halt Prince Pratt, and has magically shrunk him to a few inches tall, but inexplicably chooses to leave him behind with a dramite.
  • Played With in Season 2, Episode 5. Jack and Jill’s master doesn’t immediately try to kill Duncan Brewer, because he thought he could brainwash him into servitude just like he did Jack and Jill. When that doesn’t work, he tries to maintain plausible deniability until he eventually leaves to get his gun. Played Straight when we find out he was keeping a different prisoner alive for no apparent reason.
• Breaking Old Trends: Season 2, Episode 7 has two players, rather than one.
• Bright Castle: Trottleara Castle is described as being built like a lighthouse: A tall, stone edifice, topped with stained glass panels. At night, lanterns are lit, making the palace shine like a beacon, seen for miles around.
• Can Only Move the Eyes: Some of the castle guard are held in place with magic during Droog’s takeover.
• Captive Audience: Lampshaded by Droog Hemlock as he’s giving his New Era Speech to Prince Pratt’s guests.
• Chairman of the Brawl: During Ivan’s match against Pratt, Pontus throws a chair in the ring for Ivan. “Just like we did with the elves, yeah?”
• Character Title: Each episode is named after its respective protagonist, with the exception of Season 1, Episode 9 (“Hard To Die”), and Season 2, Episode 13 (“A King Walks Into a Bar”).
• Cheap Gold Coins: Season 2, Episode 6 establishes that gold coins in Trottleara have roughly the same value as 1 USD.
• Chekhov's Gun: The exotic potion Duncan uses to burn away the lock on a door is later used by him to fight and disfigure the villain in the climax of the episode.
• Circus Episode: Season 2, Episode 7 opens at the circus, where Ivan and Pontus are performing for their audience.
• City Noir: Inverted in Episode 2. The moment Tristan steps outside to begin his investigation, the sky clears and Blackgate looks sunny and vibrant.
• Clear Their Name: Ivan’s mother sends him to clear the name of his brother Piotr, whom has been wrongly blamed for the death of Vito Staccato. Instead, Ivan’s breaks Piotr out of jail and runs away, not even really believing Piotr was innocent.
• Closed Circle: A magical forcefield surrounding Trottleara Castle prevents Pratt from getting outside help during Droog’s usurp in Episode 9.
• Closet Shuffle: Prose Ethlina hides in a wardrobe while Suzy and Pratt discuss their relationship. Pratt discovers her despite Suzy trying to keep him from investigating.
• Comically Missing the Point: While Mark Mountain is at the palace waiting to see Pratt, a woman arrives and assumes he’s meant to be Manon’s dressmaker. When Mark tries to explain that he’s waiting for Pratt, the woman assumes that he means regarding Queen Manon.
• Content Warnings: The description for Season 2, Episodes 2 and 4 both contain warnings that they include excessive gore and spiders, respectively.
• Costume-Test Montage: Mario Q. Godot takes Prince Pratt to get fitted for an Adventurer Outfit like his own in Episode 8.
• Critical Staffing Shortage:
  • By the first Season Finale, much of the castle guard had been called away to serve on the Tasque Guard. Many courtiers had also left following the events of Episode 7.
  • In Season 2, we learn that Pratt has laid off most of his old staff.
• Cut His Heart Out with a Spoon:
  El Cid: Sir, if you come any closer to me, I will chop off your teeth and wear them around my ears and put a Versace logo on them. Don’t you take one step further!
• Dastardly Whiplash: One of the patrons in Hemlock’s Hoof looks like one, with a black suit, top hat, and a pencil mustache.
• A Day in the Limelight: After being a supporting character for most of the first season, Pratt finally serves as protagonist in the finale.
• Diegetic Soundtrack Usage: The tune that Jill is humming when Duncan Brewer wakes up from his accident is the theme to Quest In Show.
• Donut Mess with a Cop: Downplayed. Richie De L’Argent tries throwing donuts at the cops to get them to stop attacking him. They are momentarily tempted, but ultimately aren’t interested in donuts that have landed straight on the ground.
• Dungeon Crawling: The plot of Season 1, Episode 6 and Season 2, Episode 9.
• Empathic Environment:
  • When Pratt enters the library in Episode 9, it is cold and icy, presumably to reflect his haughty aunt.
  • Lampshaded by the GM in Season 2, Episode 5. After the villain was finally defeated, and Duncan Brewer is triumphantly making his way home with the lost king and queen in tow, the storm that was raging through the night clears to a bright and beautiful morning.
• Empire with a Dark Secret: Uriel Hemlock, the supposed founder of Trottleara, actually usurped the throne from a previous king.
  • Whom in turn had usurped it from Goblins that used the area in their Spiritual Channelling
• Enhanced Interrogation Techniques: Deconstructed. The Sorcerer Supreme’s attempt to coerce a confession only makes him more suspect in the eyes of the authorities than the guy being questioned. And he had the wrong guy.
• Evil Uncle: Droog Hemlock, Pratt's uncle, attempts to usurp the throne in Episode 9.
• Failed Attempt at Drama: When Sylvester sees a cottage has been built on the Moondew Glade, takes the opportunity to remind Garcian about the many injustices the Spider People have suffered…only to turn around and see that Garcian had wandered off.
• Fantastic Racism:
  • Spider People are largely seen as vermin by the other species and are in danger of being attacked on sight.
  • Implied to be the case in Season 2, Episode 7. According to Ivan’s mother, bears are not allowed out of the forest. And when Piotr was a suspect in the killing of Vito Staccato, the Dikeo police took him into custody without giving any due process.
• Fight Clubbing: Season 2, Episode 1 opens up with Prose facing off Goldtooth in the Bastard Sow.
• Flesh Golem: Richie De L’Argent quickly animated an improvised soldier to fight off the Dikeo police. Unfortunately, it has no sense of loyalty and immediately attacks the nearest person: Richie.
• Food as Bribe:
  • Artie Gynk offers one of Prince Pratt’s roast beef sandwiches to the troll on Mt. Pinkeyse to get him to play along with the staged fight against Prince Pratt.
  • Richie De L’Argent tries offering donuts to the Dikeo cops and the Flesh Golem attacking him as an attempted peace offering. It does not work; The Flesh Golem is angry at being burned by the hot oil, and the police aren’t interested in the donuts since they landed straight on the ground.
  • Undarda Sarfice makes scum griddles to help negotiate a deal with the family of Rat Men he found living in the sewers.
• Food Interrogation: Richie De L’Argent tries to recreate a pastry Vito Staccato liked before questioning him.
• Forced from Their Home: Tasque Riviliero asks for the manor of Baron Vogler as payment for his services. He persuades Prince Pratt to evict the baron, whom is from a rival family.
• Force Feeding: During the shootout, Duncan Brewer tires forcefully pouring the wine from the dinner into the mouth of Jack and Jill’s master.
• Friend on the Force: Detective Gregorious is this to Vasileios Deksis.
• Full-Boar Action: Pratt encounters and battles a warthog in Episode 8.
• Funny Background Event: While Pontus asks a Dikeo police officer about Piotr’s arrest, Ivan continues to accost the bar patrons, aggressively asking them whether they’ve seen a bear.
• Furry Confusion:
  • Tristan Lambert’s investigation leads him to a wool farm, which is filled with normal, non-sapient sheep.
  • While investigating the sewers with his pet rat, Undarda Sarfice discovers a family of Rat Men.
• Gold Makes Everything Shiny: The cover that the Head Sewer Technician used to enter the palace for the triannual meeting and the button they need to push to announce themselves are both gold.
• Gold–Silver–Copper Standard: While Trottleara mostly uses Cheap Gold Coins as currency, the Sorcerer Supreme accepts thousands of silver pieces as payment for his services.
• Go to the Euphemism: In Season 2, Episode 8, a drunken Pratt asks Yianni where he can go to “do kingly business.” Yianni tells him that he has a bathroom in the back of the restaurant.
• Grave Robbing: Before heading out with the gangsters, Richie De L’Argent resurrects a few corpses from a cemetery to escort him.
• Greasy Spoon: Yianni DeVito's restaurant, Nicky’s Bar & Grill, is explicitly described as one.
• Great Big Library of Everything: The library in Castle Trottleara. It is three levels of an ancient tomb which predates the rest of the castle.
• Green Rocks: One of the items a player character can start with is “Exotic Potions”, which seem to do whatever the plot requires.
• Guilt by Coincidence: According to Vito Staccato, the last thing he saw before his death was a “big, brown beast” (i.e. Prince Pratt). Piotr, a bear, is blamed for the murder and charged.
• A Handful for an Eye: El Cid smushes cheese from the nearby meal into his attacker’s face.
• Happy Circus Music: “Entry of the Gladiators” by Julius Fucik plays at the beginning of Ivan and Pontus’ episode, which opens up at a circus.
• Heist Episode: Season 2, Episode 1, where Prose Ethlina plots to burgle Trottleara Castle.
• Help Mistaken for Attack: When Sylvester sees Garcian between Pratt and Suzy, he assumes they’ve taken him hostage. In fact, they were simply listening to Garcian’s grievances regarding the Silkspool Kingdom.
• The Hero Dies: Rylan Dorr
• Hidden Wire: A shady figure puts a wire on Mark Mountain in hopes of recording a confession out of Pratt regarding the death of Vito Staccato. After Mark secures himself a job as Pratt’s advisor, he surreptitiously removes the wire and throws it into the fire.
• Holy Ground: The Moondew Glade, which used to be the site of an annual ritual the Spider People used to perform. Before the spiders had control of it, it was used by Goblin shamans. Sylvester Strand, who seeks to reclaim the spot in the name of the Spider People, is furious to see Pratt using it as a vacation getaway.
• Hot Blade: Pratt heats up his sword in fire, intending to burn off the rune on Droog’s arm.
• House Rules: Unlike usual play podcasts, Quest In Show uses a custom ruleset (based on Powered by the Apocalypse) for its episodes. This was explained by James in a post-mortem video as a means to speed up play time and keep things simple for new players.
• Human Head on the Wall: Played With in Season 2, Episode 5. Jack and Jill’s master has a deer head mounted on the wall in his house. Considering his two servants are of a deer-like species, it has much of the same effect as if it were a person’s head.
• Human Notepad: Pratt writes Mario’s advice on the back of his hand. Mario tells him that he’ll need more hands for all the upcoming notes, to which Pratt replies that he has his arms.
• The Hyena: The GM often cracks up during the adventure.
• Imagine the Audience Naked: Parodied in Episode 9. Prince Pratt tries this before making a speech, but given the setting and season, the audience’s underwear covers just as much as their outer garments do.
• Implausible Deniability: The Rat Men in Season 2, Episode 3 deny stealing from the sewer. From within their nest. Which is made from pilfered sewer parts.
• Improvised Bandage: Duncan Brewer rips the tablecloth from the meal to cover Jack’s bullet wound.
• Improvised Weapon:
  • When spotted by Aspirin and Prozac, Tristan Lambert looks past sticks and stones and decides to chuck a beehive at them. Barehanded.
  • Twice in Season 2, Episode 4 Pratt throws a painting like a discus to knock out the goblin whom Sylvester Strand is struggling with.
• Incredible Shrinking Man: Droog uses magic to shrink down Prince Pratt and some courtiers as part of his usurp in Episode 9.
• I Need a Freaking Drink: When Yianni DeVito discovers Scrappers has been taken hostage, he first pours himself some wine.
• Innocuously Important Episode: The ending of Episode 8 ends up being the cause of a running subplot throughout Season 2.
• In Vino Veritas: Despite working for the enemy, a drunken Jon Hapeño helpfully informs Pratt where he can find the next rune in Episode 9.
• Just Between You and Me: Right before their final showdown, Droog reveals to Pratt the location of the last rune: his arm.
• Kidnapping Bird of Prey: While Sylvester and Garcian are catching birds, a raptor takes notice of Garcian and tries to carry him off.
• Kid Sidekick: Garcian is only a few years old, but has been taken under Sylvester Strand’s wing. He accompanies him throughout the adventure.
• Laser-Guided Amnesia: Droog intends to use magic to make Trottleara forget Prince Pratt.
• Leave No Witnesses: When Ivan confirms that Vito’s ghost is the only known witness to the murder Piotr is being blamed for, he throws Vito’s remains into the nearby river, reasoning, “No witness, no crime!”
• List-of-Experiences Speech: Before the final showdown in Episode 9, Pratt references everything he had done the previous episodes, to prove that he is far more capable than anyone gives him credit for.
• Literal-Minded:
  • When Tristan warns Prince Pratt that he’s a “dark horse” (i.e. willing to engage in underhanded tactics), Pratt interrupts with, “No, you’re a black sheep.”
  • When one of the Tasque Guard calls Vasileios’ lucky charm “tasty” (i.e. valuable), Vasileios assumes he intends to eat it.
  • When Prince Pratt describes Roland Ward’s mission as a “smash and grab”, Roland reassures him that he will be very careful with any artifacts.
• Lock-and-Load Montage: Prose Ethlina engages in one of these in preparation for her heist.
• Locked Out of the Loop: When Undarda Sarfice enters the palace for the regularly scheduled meeting, there is no expected fanfare and the guards arrest him for intruding. Evidently, Pratt’s former staff had not informed him of the Head Sewer Technician’s triannual meeting.
• Locking MacGyver in the Store Cupboard: When Duncan Brewer discovers Jack has locked him in the room he woke up in, Duncan uses his mixing kit to whip up a concoction acidic enough to burn through the lock.
• Losing a Shoe in the Struggle: Prose’s getaway costs her her body armor and one of her boots.
• MacGuffin: A few episodes revolve around these:
  • King Brenin and Queen Manon for most of the series.
  • The stone tablet in Episode 6.
  • Queen Manon’s finery in Season 2, Episode 1.
  • Ricky Business in Season 2, Episode 3.
  • The Magic Wand in Season 2, Episode 9.
• Made of Explodium: Lampshaded in Season 2, Episode 7, when Ivan busting through the toll house inexplicably causes an explosion.
• Made O' Gold: The manhole which the sewer technician uses to enter the palace for the triannual negotiations is colored gold.
• Magic Feather: Artie Gynk creates an illusory hat, which she claims will grant Prince Pratt strength and courage in order to duel the troll in Episode 3.
• Malevolent Masked Men: Droog’s henchmen, who take courtiers hostage in Episode 9.
• May–December Romance: Pratt tries to flirt with his aunt in Episode 9 in order to get her to join his side. She doesn’t reciprocate.
• Medieval European Fantasy: A throwaway line in Episode 7 dates the series to the “13th century”, though the setting has no connection to the real world.
• Mistaken for Racist: Exploited by Tasque Riviliero to pressure the elf working at Mark Hart's Horses & Carts into offering him a better carriage.
• Mondegreen Gag: When Pontus informs Ivan that they may be guilty of high treason, Ivan replies, “But the trees are over there in the forest!”
• Mushroom House: According to Prince Pratt, Balian the Disgraced lives in one. It is later offered to Mario Q. Godot as payment for his mentoring the prince.
• Mystery Episode: Season 1, Episode 7, where the Sorcerer Supreme investigates a murder in the palace of Trottleara.
• The Need for Mead:
  • The Village Inn in Episode 1, where Tasque Riviliero goes to hire some enforcers.
  • The Bastard Sow in Season 2, Episode 1.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: A lot of Prince Pratt's actions throughout the series become this in the season finale.
• Noir Episode: Episode 2 follows Tristan Lambert, a Hard Boiled Detective pastiche who investigates a mystery.
• No, Mister Bond, I Expect You To Dine: Jack and Jill’s master reluctantly allows Duncan Brewer to join him for dinner.
• Non-Human Sidekick: One of the options for a player character is a pet or sidekick.
  • Cody, a raven who initially belonged to Tristan Lambert before he was left with Aspirin and Prozac. He later teams up with Vasileios Deksis.
  • Jergen Bradley, a dwarf who assists Roland Ward while he excavated the depths of Trottleara Castle.
  • Undarda Sarfice’s pet dire rat, Glint, who helps him traverse the sewers.
• Non-Indicative Name: Yianni’s restaurant, Nicky’s Bar & Grill, neither owned nor run by anyone named Nicky.
• Oh, Crap!: Pontus panics when he learns that the contestant Ivan brutalized in the ring is the king of Trottleara, and that they may thus be guilty of treason.
• Obsessive-Compulsive Barkeeping: Johnny Biggs is cleaning a mug when Pratt comes up to him in Episode 9.
• One Dialogue, Two Conversations: Yianni’s food supplier asks Yianni to speak to King Pratt about loosening the restrictions at customs. Yianni thinks the supplier wants to import exotic foods, but the supplier clearly has more conventional (albeit unspecified) contraband in mind.
• One-Steve Limit: Averted. Pratt Hemlock has a great uncle with the same name as him. It was also the name of Uriel Hemlock’s father.
• "Open!" Says Me: Pratt tells Balian to break down any locked doors he can find in the castle, reasoning that the the remaining runes holding up the forcefield would be secured behind locked doors. Pratt also does this to confront Droog, in order to keep the focus on himself while his allies free the hostages.
• Our Dragons Are Different: Dramites, which are about the size of quails.
• Our Goblins Are Different: Goblins have magic-weilding shamans, and hold a long standing grudge against the Spider People.
• The Plan: Pratt, along with Balian, a baker, and a guard, form one before facing Droog Hemlock in Episode 9.
• Popping Buttons: While Pratt is talking to Mark Mountain about his weight, a button pops off his outfit, which Mark catches. Mark uses the button as inspiration for the Line-of-Sight Alias he gives as “Greeny McButtons”.
• Post-Stress Overeating: When Mark Mountain meets Pratt, the king is stuffing his face with chocolates. He explains to Mark that he has dealing with the combined stress of disturbances by Rat Men, being taken hostage by Spider People, questioning by the Dikeo police, and dealing with his parents’ amnesia.
• P.O.V. Sequel: Season 2, Episode 12 takes place during the events of the previous episode.
• Private Eye Monologue: Used by the GM in Episode 2 to describe Tristan's newest client:
  “[They] had legs that went on for miles. A chest like something you would want to use as your bed-pillow. Big ol’ eyelashes. Curling brown hair around their shoulders. A voice that sounded like heavenly angels…”^note  It’s Prince Pratt.
• The Quest: Invoked by Prince Pratt in Episode 3, who climbs Pinkeyse in order to bolster his reputation. It does not go quite as intended.
• Recruiting the Criminal: Pratt enlists the help of Balian the Disgraced in Episode 9 to fight Droog Hemlock.
• Red Is Heroic: The figure in the opening sequence of Season 2 is a knight dressed in red armor.
• Refuge in Audacity:
  • Pratt defeats his aunt by doing a daringly improbable set of jumps. He then turns her men against her by asking them, “You really wanna work for a woman who got taken out by Prince Pratt, of all people?”
  • After Ivan brazenly disposes of a Vito Staccato’s remains (formerly in Dikeo police custody), Pontus claims to be an independent investigator and accuses the accompanying cop of being part of a systematic corruption. The cop drops his baton and scrams.
• Remembered I Could Fly: When Garcian is stuck in a tree and asks Sylvester for help, Sylvester reminds him he could simply crawl down the length of the trunk.
• Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies: When the GM asks the players of Season 2, Episode 7 what they think happens when they roll a low number, they jokingly guess that it means that everybody dies.
• Rump Roast: Happens to Prince Pratt when he crashes the ritual in Episode 9.
• Salt the Earth: The goblins in Season 2, Episode 4 intend to destroy the site of the Moondew Glade, making it unusable to the Spider People whom would wish to reclaim it.
• Schizo Tech: Due to the player driven nature of world-building, Quest In Show's high fantasy setting contains some anachronistic elements, such as:
  • Pneumatic Tubing
  • Sewerage
  • Carriages pulled by robot horses
  • Combustion Engines
  • Bubble Wrap
  • Hidden Wires
  • Lightbulbs
• Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: Subverted. Prince Pratt reassures Tristan Lambert that he could change the laws in case Tristan gets arrested during his investigation. When Tristan does end up in jail at the end of the episode, Pratt ruefully tells him he couldn’t change the law after all.
• Series Continuity Error: Season 1, Episode 9 briefly describes two Rat Men named Anton and Prim as loyal guards to Prince Pratt. But in Season 2, Rat Men appear to be unknown to the denizens of Trottleara, with characters reacting to them with surprise.
• Shipper with an Agenda: Gordon Toblerone wishes for his niece to marry Pratt so that he can be back in the royal family’s good graces.
• Shout-Out:
  • Tristan Lambert's neighborhood is called Blackgate.
  • When questioned by the Tasque Guard, Tristan claims to deliver letters on behalf of John Boyega.
  • Vasileios Deksis is described riding into the night “like some sort of non-caped crusader.”
  • While El Cid prepares for his demonstration to the local officials, the bards are playing “I Want It That Way”.
  • El Cid’s fireball is called Goodness Gracious Great Ball of Fire.
  • When discussing the eventual fate of Captain Mario Q. Godot, the GM and guest jokingly suggest that Pratt eventually sees him years later while sitting down at a café , borrowing the ending to The Dark Knight Rises.
  • Prince Pratt’s favorite play, Hard to Die, is about a ranger who resolves a hostage situation in foreign kingdom during a seasonal event. One of the actors in it is an Ent named Spruce Willis.
  • Pratt tries to find the fugitive Prose by having suspects try on the boot she left behind.
  • Undarda Sarfice’s backstory of having grown up in the sewer and only first seeing the street as an adult resembles that of Bane in The Dark Knight Rises.
  • When he sees his attacker is a Rat Man, Undarda Sarfice says to his pet rat, “Glint? I think we’re gonna need a bigger wrench.”
  • Sylvester Strand’s episode contains multiple Spider-Man references, including:
    • Sylvester's Broodmother is named Auntmay
    • Sylvester is told that he had a great responsibility over the power he wields.
    • Goblins have a long-standing enmity towards the spider people.
  • Mark Mountain comes to the kingdom with a cargo of 76 trombones.
  • The tune Mark Mountain hums on his way to the palace is “The Gold Diggers' Song (We're in the Money)”.
  • In Yianni DeVito’s episode, the GM opening narration goes, “Let’s go to a place where everybody knows your name…”. He even plays the Cheers theme in place of the usual music.
• Shout-Out Theme Naming: The two servants in Season 2, Episode 5 are named Jack and Jill. Lampshaded when Duncan Brewer notes their names while referencing the nursery rhyme.
• Side Bet: In Episode 9, after Pratt gives his speech, several courtiers begrudgingly exchange money. Evidently, many had predicted he would suffer stage fright and be unable to give his public address.
• Signature Item Clue: A Supreme brand cap and a vial of poison are found in the kitchen shortly after Prenty’s death, framing the Sorcerer Supreme for the murder.
• Smoke Out:
  • Pratt has flour dropped into the room before battling Droog in Episode 9.
  • Prose Ethlina’s Utility Belt comes with smoke bombs for this purpose.
  • Pontus Pendaghast uses a smoke bomb to escape after the prison guard notices something suspicious about Piotr’s cell.
• So Much for Stealth: When Jack and Jill’s master comes home, Duncan Brewer tries to slip out unnoticed. The squeaking floorboards immediately give him away.
• Stab the Picture: Prince Pratt is led into a trap by his Evil Uncle, where he finds a knife stuck into the birthday cake which bears his picture.
• Standard Fantasy Races: Trottleara is home to humans, elves, dwarves, orcs, gnolls, trolls, automatons, and multiple species of Beast Man.
• State Visit: The dinner Pratt and Suzy have at Nicky’s Bar & Grill is supposed to help mend strained relations between Trottleara and Dikeo.
• Stock Animal Diet: Scrappers, a Rat Man, is first seen eating cheese he stole from Yianni DeVito's restaurant.
• Stock Audio Clip: Some of Rylan Dorr’s lines, originally recorded for Season 2, Episode 11, are reused for the next episode, which is set during the same event.
• A Storm Is Coming: The tumultuous night of Prince Pratt’s birthday in Episode 9 takes place during a thundersnowstorm.
• Stuff Blowing Up: Happens at the end of Episode 8, killing several members of the Hayfever Tribe and the Staccato crime family, most notably their respective heads.
• Sudden Name Change: Gordon’s surname in his debut appearance was “Toberone”. In the every episode thereafter, it is “Toblerone”.
• Sword Fight: Pratt and Droog fight with rapiers at the climax of the season finale.
• Tap on the Head: Garcian knocks out a goblin who was choking Sylvester by smashing a vase over the goblin’s head.
• Temple of Doom:
  • Temple of Aldrid, which its owner fitted with, among other things, stone-activated ballistas and arrow traps.
  • The Depths of Trottleara castle, which contain anachronistic laser-grids and robotic golems.
• They Have the Scent!: Tristan Lambert as Cody sniff the arrows to track down Crescent's killer.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Sandwich: A dwarf couple who bought pepperoni pies from Richie’s shop throw them away once they’re outside.
• This Way to Certain Death: One room in the Temple of Aldrid contains piles of skeletons, presumably of previous adventures—with spiders fighting over the remains.
• Throwing the Distraction: Pratt does this in Episode 9 to get to the castle prison complex.
• Throwing Your Sword Always Works: How the Sorcerer Supreme prevents a culprit from making a break for it.
• Title Confusion: Season 2, Episode 7 is titled “Pontus Pendaghast and Ivan Nebrekyu” in the YouTube video, but is “Ivan and Pontus” on Apple and Google Podcast.
• Title Theme Drop: Used to self-depricating effect in Episode 9.
• Toll Booth Antics: Tristan Lambert has some trouble getting past the Tasque Guard in Episode 2, as does Vasileios Deksis in Episode 5.
• Tricked-Out Gloves: Prose’s dragon-scale climbing gloves. Capable of cutting through rock like a cake, it allows Prose to scale Trottleara Castle.
• Trojan Prisoner: Alazar suggests Balian be this, ostensibly as part of their plan to usurp the prince. Balian, who has started to grow suspicious of Alazar’s true intentions, tries to flee.
• Unknown Rival: When Sylvester Strand encounters goblins in the Moondew Glade, he assumes they’re simply there to rob Pratt, not knowing they even have an interest in the land he’s trying to claim.
• Unseen No More: After having been missing and presumed kidnapped since the beginning of the series, King Brenin and Queen Manon finally appear in person in Season 2, Episode 5, working as brainwashed slaves for an evil hunter.
• Waking Up Elsewhere: Season 2, Episode 5 starts with Duncan Brewer waking up in Jack and Jill’s home, having been found and rescued after his carriage had overturned.
• Wedding Episode: Season 2, Episodes 11 and 12 center around the wedding of Pratt and Suzy.
• Wham Episode: Season 2, Episode 5, wherein the missing King Brenin and Queen Manon are found and returned to the kingdom.
• Wham Line: The inscription on the stone tablet in Episode 6:
  [Bleep] you, Hemlock, you absolute [bleep]! How dare you steal this kingdom away from me and my spiders! You are not the rightful ruler of Trottleara! You stole the throne from me, you utter monster! I cast a hex on you and your children and your children’s children, you absolute [bleeeeep]!
• What Happened to the Mouse?: At the time of Duncan Brewer’s accident, he was traveling with one Basilio Riviliero. Though Duncan is discovered in the wreckage and tended to, Basilio’s body is nowhere to be found. His fate is never resolved.
• Who Writes This Crap?!: When Pontus is hyping up Ivan’s entrance:
  Pontus: I give you, the Beast From the East, the Mangler of Spines, and the Crusher of Kidneys—I don’t know who wrote this—Ivan!!
• Written by the Winners: The history of Trottleara is spotty and confusing, with very little hard texts surviving and several factions laying claim to being the true rulers of the Kingdom.
• You Dirty Rat!: Downplayed. Even the villainous Rat Men aren’t malevolent, just acting out of reasonable self-interest.
• You Mean "Xmas": Used inconsistently throughout the series. Christianity doesn’t exist in the Quest In Show universe, so the winter solstice holiday is called “Wintermas” or sometimes “Prattmas”. That being said, a few characters refer to it as “Christmas” in passing.
• You're Insane!: Prince Pratt, traumatized by the carnage he’s partaken in, declares Captain Mario Q. Godot crazy by the end of Episode 8.