Podcast / Compelled Dual

The Season 1 cover art; image by @thelastbashtion

Al: Hey. Hey Barry.

Barry: Hey Al.

Al: Why does everyone like hit points?

Barry: Why?

Al: Because they're the life of the party. It's time for Compelled Dual!

— Season 1, Episode 2, The Princess and the Pub

Compelled Dual is a single player, Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition actual play podcast made by Barry and Al, starting in November 2020. Each episode, with the exception of the first and final episodes of Season 1, swaps between the perspectives of Phirora Valcyne and Leoril Valcyne, with Barry playing the Dungeon Master for Al, who plays Phirora, and Al being the Dungeon Master for Barry, who plays Leoril. In Season 2, since the two siblings are now traveling together, the perspective shifts more often, usually multiple times in an episode.

Season 1 switches between Leoril and Phirora's perspectives, as Leoril tries to amass an army large enough to take back the throne he views as rightfully his, while Phirora uncovers a web of conspiracies underpinning everything in her world. Season 2 features the both of them traveling together, trying to nip a potential war between Vog Voldhur and Astraria in the bud, and starting to become friends after years of being at each other's throats.

It can be listened to on all major podcast providers, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Bonus episodes and character playlists are also uploaded to their Patreon page.

---

Compelled Dual contains examples of:

• Action Girl: Nearly every female character. Phirora, Kalessa and Aravae stand out as examples.
• Abusive Parents: Phirora and Leoril's father Morlin is not a nice man. Leoril was the scapegoat to Phirora's golden child ever since they both were young, eventually driving Leoril to run away after Morlin attempts to force him to abdicate. Morlin's relationship with Phirora is only marginally better until he casts Dominate Person on her in episode 17, at which point it becomes much worse. It is heavily implied he had done the same to Leoril before he left, which gets confirmed in episode 3 of season 2.
• Abdicate the Throne: Leoril's refusal to do so is what kickstarts the plot.
• A Child Shall Lead Them: Warren Dawnchaser is ten years old, and is the king of Lockham. His mother does most of the political maneuvering until he gets old enough to actually understand what's happening. His support of Leoril before the coup of Lockham is largely based in his enjoyment of Leoril's cool magic tricks.
• Adopted into Royalty: Phirora was this, being the child of her father's mistress who was never meant to come near the castle, until she got older and her father decided that she would make a much better heir to the throne than Leoril.
• Affectionate Nickname: Leoril and Phirora are only ever addressed that way by their father or their respective gods; most of their friends just call them Leo or Phi.
  • Zed calls Leoril "boss", which becomes an Affectionate Nickname when they get their Relationship Upgrade.
  • The Captain calls Phirora "lass."
• Aggressive Submissive: The Captain is a Rare Male Example: he takes the initiative in his relationships with both Phirora and Sabine, though by his own admission he gets "all tingly inside" whenever they boss him around.
• The Alcoholic: Leoril and Kalessa both drink a lot, though it's little wonder after all they've been through. Kalessa deserves a special mention for bringing home an entire suitcase of Voldhuran booze when she returns to Astraria in episode 3.
• Alcohol-Induced Idiocy: In Near Misses Part 2, Kalessa gets so drunk at one point that she just wanders off, and is later discovered getting destroyed at pool by Zed Stonebloom. Leoril and Zed also almost have sex before running into Phirora, which sobers both of them up.
• Arc Words: "I do not accept this" become Arc Words for Phirora in Season 2, signalling moments of her sticking up to her principles in the face of adversity.
• Arranged Marriage: Leoril was in a Happily Arranged Marriage with Sorran Shakrana before running away. Morlin tries to orchestrate one between Phirora and Sorran's younger sister Lorelei in order to placate Sorran's family after Leoril's escape; the messenger gets a Chromatic Orb thrown at them.
• Armoured Closet Gay: Discussed in the second episode after Leoril makes a crack about one of the bandits trying to rob him being a closet case. They proceed to discuss the lengthy process of unlearning harmful attitudes about sexuality while having a spirited barfight, which Eleanora lampshades.
• As You Know: Done in episode 4 of season 2, when Barry explains the rules of The Games to Al, who knows the rules and helped make them, for the benefit of the listeners.
• Bad Powers, Bad People: Morlin Valcyne is a user of powerful enchantment magic, which he is not afraid to use on those closest to him.
• Bad Powers, Good People: Ruvaen can shift into a horrifying mushroom creature when he falls asleep, and Leoril is the servant of a god of death who often takes the form of a skeleton, but both of them are nice people.
• Bar Brawl: In the second episode, which is how Leoril meets Zed Stonebloom.
• Beach Episode: Season 2, Episode 9 starts off this way, before The Moray washes up on the shore of the island they're on, empty of her crew, with an unanswered Distress Call from Miriam.
• Bedsheet Ladder: Leoril does this to sneak out of the castle in the first episode, and gets caught red-handed by Phirora.
  • The Captain also did this to get out of State Service.
• Betty and Veronica: For Phirora, Sabine serves as the Veronica to Kalessa's Betty. Sabine is new and exciting and introduces Phirora to The Beacon; Kalessa, on the other hand, is Phirora's familiar Childhood Friend.
• Big Creepy-Crawlies: Everywhere in Oscea, a continent where all the flora and fauna are incredibly large. This includes moths the size of birds.
• Big Damn Kiss: Phirora gets one in Season 2 Episode 8, which is explicitly compared to the kiss in The Notebook.
  • Leoril gets one near the end of Season 2 with Zed.
• Big Fancy Castle: Everywhere, considering both protagonists are royalty. Two with prominent roles include the Ashthorne's castle and the Astrarian royal palace.
• Big Little Brother: Phirora is younger than Leoril, and significantly taller than him.
• Black Mage: Phirora in Season 2, trading out her healing capabilities for more abilities related to controlling lightning and thunder.
• Blood Knight: Mia, in spades. The main thing we know about them is they assassinate people - violently - in the name of the god Kimryl, and they take no small amount of joy in this task.
  Leoril: Dude! Breakfast? Like, maybe some coffee before we bring out the weapons? No?
  Mia: I can multitask. I'm chasing my bliss, Leo.
• Blue Blood: Most of the prominent characters are royalty or somehow related to royalty.
• Bondage Is Bad: Defiance is arguably the most openly antagonistic figure thus far, and the gang discover chains in her dresser. It is implied that The Captain has been locked up in them before.
• Bodyguard Crush: Fenandrys feels this way for Phirora, culminating in him kissing her in an attempt to convince her that he would choose her over Astraria if it came to it.
• Brother–Sister Team: Phirora and Leoril are shaping up to become this in Season 2, stranded in a foreign country with no one but each other.
• Brought Down to Normal: Leoril gives up his Cleric magic in the first episode of Season 2, after discovering Sorran's death, and realizing that Kimryl knew the whole time he was dead and never told him.
• Cain and Abel: Morlin is the Cain to Valoran's Abel; Phirora and Leoril seem like they will become this throughout Season 1 until they make up in Season 2.
• Cast Full of Gay: Nearly every character is transgender, gay/bisexual, or both.
• Casual Kink: The Captain casually mentions that he likes it when Phirora "gets authoritative," and it's heavily implied Defiance put him in chains consensually when they were in a relationship.
  • It's implied Sabine shares this proclivity, given her response when Phirora asks flirtatiously if her plan to get past the blockade involves her being in chains as well.
• The Chain of Harm: A central theme in the series; there is a cycle of abuse in the Astrarian royal family going back centuries, and the main characters have taken it upon themselves to try and break it.
• Court Mage: Elasha serves this role for the Astrarian royalty.
• Costume Porn: Phirora, Kalessa and Sabine's masquerade dresses are very lovingly described.
• The Conspiracy: The Beacon, a society dedicated to uncovering hidden truths - though disagreements on what to do with them are at the center of a lot of (often fatal) infighting.
• Creepy Good: Pelican from The Fleet is never seen without his zombified pelican familiar, who he uses to communicate, his magic involves tentacles bursting out of his chest, and he is a loyal member of The Captain's crew.
• Cuteness Proximity: Leoril is reduced to affectionate babbling whenever Ruvaen's undead bird familiar Sweetie appears.
• The Dandy: Even after losing much of his status and wealth, Leoril enjoys dressing well and taking care of himself. He mentions a skincare routine he's been involuntarily slacking on, and in the Near Misses two-parter he splurges on fine clothes even though he really can't afford it. Begins to grow out of this around Season 2.
• Darkest Hour: The entirety of Season 2 is this for Leoril - it's described as his "dark night of the soul" by the creators, and his playlist for the season is exponentially sadder than his playlist for Season 1.
• Death by Irony: Phirora's magical powers primarily revolve around lightning; she dies by being struck by lightning in episode 11 of Season 2.
• Definitely Just a Cold: Leoril insists he doesn't have a fever right up until passing out in the second episode of Season 2. This is preceded by him feeling off after getting bitten by a crocodile and having an open wound in filthy swamp water, and not saying anything.
• Dem Bones: Kimryl, when he appears to Leoril, typically appears in the form of a cloaked skeleton with horns. This freaks Leoril out.
• Destructive Romance: Sabine and The Captain's relationship is like this at first (post-episode Q&As compared them to The Alpha Couple, a horrifically abusive couple from The Mountain Goats' discography) until they reconcile halfway through Season 2.
  • The Captain's previous romance with Defiance was also this, though "destructive" is putting it mildly.
• Dirty Old Man: It is all but stated that Bertrand is this and the primary reason he's taking care of Leoril is because he thinks he's "very pretty."
• Dragon with an Agenda: Vice-Admiral Defiance is this to Morlin, advancing his interests as long as they suit hers. Her ultimate goal is still unknown, but she wants power for herself above all else.
• Dressed to Plunder: Leoril buys an outfit like this for himself when The Ship stops in Parlay Cove in episode 7, and the various pirates seen so far have at least one piece of the archetypal ensemble.
• Earn Your Title: Deed names in Oscea are earned as a result of something badass the named has done or still does.
• Energy Ball: Chromatic Orb, which gets used by Kalessa and Sorran.
• Elfeminate: Leoril, and to a lesser extent Ruvaen.
• Ermine Cape Effect: Phirora is usually wearing a very fine dress, unless she's training or expecting combat, in which case she breaks out her mage's armor. She also gets a literal cape, the Mantle of the Stormbringer, which she usually wears.
• Flair Bartending: Mentioned in passing at the nightclub Phirora and Leoril go to in Near Misses 1&2 that there are Gnomish bartenders "doing, like, crazy bottle flips and shit."
• Foil: Defiance is explicitly a narrative foil for Phirora; someone who is incapable of trusting people who aren't herself. In a similar vein, Morlin is a version of Leoril who didn't have people who loved him enough to keep him from doing the horrible things he felt needed to be done.
• Gods Need Prayer Badly: Kiva/ The Stormbringer is extremely reliant on belief, according to the post-episode Q&A for Episode 28. Kiva's Mantle, a weather phenomenon in the Zephyr Isles, became so associated with Kiva in people's minds that it became a seat of Kiva's power.
• God of the Dead: Kimryl is the Astrarian god of justice and calculated death, and is widely worshipped in Astraria. We learn in Season 2 that Kiva/The Stormbringer is a goddess of chaotic and unplanned death, as well as the inevitability of fate.
• Graceful Ladies Like Purple: Phirora takes this up to eleven; not only does she wear a purple dress, her whole body is purple, and she is quite elegant.
• Happily Married: Boots and Pelican, but Ylva and This One deserve special mention for being crowned "the most functional people on this goddamn podcast" by the creators, and getting their very own Patreon playlist.
• Hard-Drinking Party Girl: Kalessa Petris. Leoril is mentioned to have gotten his alcohol tolerance from doing a lot of hard drinking with her when he was a teenager, and her first idea in any given situation is to go drink on the palace roof.
• Hot Drink Cure: When Leoril comes down with swamp fever, the cure comes in the form of a Healing Herb brewed into a tea. This One's grandmother also feeds Leoril copious amounts of soup when he is convalescing.
• High Priest: The Archduke of Astraria is also the religious leader, since Astraria is a theocracy. There's also the Hierophant, who serves a similar role.
• His Name Really Is "Barkeep": Everyone in the Zephyr Isles' State Service has a name based on their job or role; all the Acolytes are called Acolyte. When you get a new job, you get a new name.
• I Need a Freaking Drink: Kalessa and Leoril both do this, predictably, but Phirora also expresses a desire to get blackout drunk after meeting her birth mother.
• Inevitable Tournament: From the minute The Games are mentioned by This One's brother in episode 3 of season 2, Phirora is making plans to enter them with Leoril; justified, as they need money to get back home.
• Iron Lady: Elasha, Phirora's magic teacher, is powerful and well-respected enough that she can chew out the absolute ruler of Astraria and not receive any punishment.
• Lady of Black Magic: Phirora and Sabine both count; Phirora is a Sorcerer, while Sabine is a Bard.
• Lady and Knight: Phirora and Fenandrys have this dynamic.
• Lame Pun Reaction: Sometimes follows up an episode's introductory pun from whoever didn't make the joke.
• Laughing Mad: Leoril and Phirora break down in a bout of this at the beginning of season 2 as it hits them just how bad their situation has gotten - it also is the first time in the season premiere that they aren't at each other's throats.
• Light Girl, Dark Boy: Inverted; Leoril is light blue, while Phirora is dark purple.
• Long-Lived: The elves in this setting - five elf years seems to correspond roughly with one human year.
• Lovable Rogue: The Captain fits this to a T. He's a pirate, but he does very little pillaging; his main job involves getting supplies to the more far-flung of the Zephyr Isles. That said, he does have quite a few criminal charges under his belt.
• Luminescent Blush: Quite literally in Season 1, Episode 10; Leoril blushes so intensely that he glows slightly (he's slightly bio-luminescent, as an Astrarian elf) when Eleanora fails at explaining why they were gone for so long to her extremely powerful father.
• Magic Knight: Kalessa's Arcane Trickster rogue subclass gives her access to spells, and Defiance from Season 2 is an Oathbreaker Paladin, which also lets her cast spells and channel magic into her sword.
• Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: Eleanora and Leoril have this dynamic.
• Medical Monarch: Phirora qualifies in Season 1 and the first half of Season 2, having access to healing magic as a perk of her Divine Soul bloodline.
• Meaningful Echo: "Something stupid" in the context of Leo and Zed's relationship. The first time they kiss, they don't go any further because Zed doesn't want to do "something stupid" (that being mixing business and pleasure), which hurts Leo's feelings. When they reunite in Season 2 after a year, Zed coming on to Leo while being high off his face on an unknown intravenous drug, Leo snaps that he doesn't want to do "something stupid" right now, on the verge on tears.
• Military Mage: Elasha previously served in a war that nearly annihilated Astraria, and still carries physical and mental scars from it.
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Deed names, a goliath custom, are this, describing something badass the holder has done or does. They are mostly used in formal contexts. At the end of the Oscea arc, Leoril becomes Leoril, He-Who-Rode-The-Crag-Cat and Phirora becomes Phirora, She-Who-Brings-Thunder-Down-On-Her-Enemies.
• Necromancer: Most of the mages in Astraria are this to some extent, since their primary god is one of death and justice. Churches of Kimryl are decorated with bones, and necromancers in need of bones can drop by one and get some.
• Nightmare Fetishist: From the perspective of his companions, Leoril's love of skeletal animals and tendency to dote on them comes off as incredibly alarming.
• Not-So-Safe Harbor: Parlay Cove, a town largely comprised of pirates, where weapons are forbidden, unless you're able to sneak them in. The Pirate Court has meetings at a local tavern, called The Rusty Cutlass.
• Not What It Looks Like: In the tenth episode, Eleanora's attempts to explain to her father where she was for the past day or so accidentally convince him that she and Leoril had sex. Ironically, they end up having sex not a few hours later once the coup of Lockham is over.
• Non-Human Non-Binary: Duminiel/Mia is described as an Astrarian elf "with the volume turned up", and is non-binary.
• Our Elves Are Different: There are multiple types.
  • There are Astrarian Elves, who are varying shades of blue and are bio-luminescent. They also have a weakness to poison which resulted in almost their entire nation being wiped out by sickness, including Fenandrys' two sisters. Leoril is almost killed by a disease that can normally be cured with a Lesser Restoration spell in Season 2 due to this weakness and the fact that Astrarian Elves can't have their conditions cured by healing magic the way other races can.
  • Daurir Elves have deer-like ears and warmer-toned skin, as well as rounder eyes - Ruvaen, Cellica and Talindra are all this type of elf. Warren's mother Wilhelmina is also descended from Daurir elves.
  • Infernal Elves are related to tieflings, and mostly live in the Silent Cities. Most Infernal Elves are named after virtues, similar to tieflings, the exception being Phirora, who was brought up among Astrarian Elves. If she'd remained with her birth mother, she would have been named Fortune.
  • Season 2 adds Stormfolk, who have iridescent skin and hair, and are based on different types of opals. They mostly live in and around the Zephyr Isles, and make their livings as sailors or pirates. They also have gills, enabling them to breathe underwater.
• Pirate Girl: You on The Ship.
• Pirate Song: The pirates of The Fleet in the Zephyr Isles know quite a few, most of them dirty. The Captain is mentioned to have an excellent singing voice for them, and in a post-episode Q&A it's mentioned that he didn't pursue fantasy hormone therapy due to the effect it would have on his ability to sing shanties.
• Pretty Boy: Leoril.
  Eleanora: Slow down there, pretty boy.
  Leoril: What is it - I’m not offended by it - I’m very well aware of how pretty I am - but I swear to God I’ve heard that word more times in the past twenty-four hours...
• Pointy Ears: Comes with the "fantasy involving non-human characters" territory. Most characters have them.
• Power Incontinence: Lorelei suffers this with her Wild Magic, leading to her being spirited away by Phi and Sabine; Morlin was planning on having her killed because her "volatility" would have caused problems down the line.
• Pseudo-Romantic Friendship: Phirora's relationship with Kalessa has tones of this. They're Childhood Friends who are very close to each other, to the point that Phirora feels comfortable lowering her courtly mask around her; when Morlin comes to rescue Phirora from the town she was briefly stranded in as a result of a teleportation accident, Kalessa stows away in a footlocker on the carriage rather than stay home like she was told. Phirora gets advantage on her Insight checks to discern how Kalessa is feeling because she knows her so well.
• Rebellious Princess: Kalessa is the most traditional example, being the daughter of two nobles who dislikes having to "put on the mask", but Phirora also qualifies, being a literal princess and a member of The Beacon; her rebellion is just more subtle.
• Red Mage: Both Leoril and Phirora have access to healing and offensive magic in equal measure, and make use of both. Phirora becomes a straight-up Black Mage in Season 2, particularly after her death.
• Really 700 Years Old: Leoril is much older than he looks - Zed puts him at "a rough 26", but he's been alive for 130 years. All the other elves in this setting are similarly long-lived.
• Riches to Rags: Downplayed. Leoril leaves Astraria with little more than the clothes on his back, but he is taken care of by King Bertrand for the first five years of his stay and enjoys much of the same quality of life he had before. It is only after escaping from Ashthorne Castle that this trope fully comes into effect.
• Rightful King Returns: Leoril's goal before being kidnapped: flee Astraria, then come back bringing an army strong enough to take his birthright back by force.
• Royally Screwed Up: The Astrarian royal family.
• Royalty Super Power: Heirs to the title of Archduke in Astraria are typically born with magical power; Leoril wasn't born with any, which was one of the many strikes against him that led to his father choosing Phirora as his successor.
• Scars Are Forever: Leoril incurs a scar after he's nearly killed by a crag cat which will remain for the rest of his life. It stretches from the hinge of his jaw all the way to the edge of his right eye.
  • Phirora gets Lichtenburg figure scars on her shoulders and back in Season 2, Episode 11 that marks her subclass changing from Divine Soul to Storm.
• Sheltered Aristocrat: Leoril starts off this way, learning more about the world and getting over himself as the story goes on.
• Shock and Awe: Phirora's magic revolves around the use of lightning and thunder, and her Hellish Rebuke spell deals lightning damage instead of the usual fire. Her deed-name even references this.
• Sibling Rivalry: Initially, Leoril and Phirora have one, largely from their father pitting them against each other since they were children. This seems like it will develop into Cain and Abel until it doesn't.
• Sick Episode: Episode 2 of Season 2, "Fever Dream" revolves around Leoril contracting "swamp fever", which is especially bad because Astrarians have a hard time recovering from illnesses. His Strength score is permanently reduced as a result.
• Spirited Young Lady: Kalessa Petris and Eleanora Ashthorne both count, being direct young women of noble standing who prefer drinking and fighting, respectively, to noble obligations.
• Succession Crisis: Drives the plot for the first few episodes.
• Summon Magic: Both Verity and Ruvaen have this, being druids, and in the final episode they ditch the fighting and make out while their respective summons are still fighting each other.
• Underground City: Gimtarum, a city in Vog Voldhur, and the closest place to "modern" in the setting.
• The Un-Favorite: Leoril was this to Phirora's golden child when they were young, and still is; in Season 2, Defiance is instructed to bring back Phirora alive, but it doesn't matter if Leoril dies.
• Uptight Loves Wild: Phirora falling in love with The Captain definitely qualifies, though her relationship with Sabine counts as well.
• Warrior Prince: Both Leoril and Phirora are royalty and can more than hold their own in a fight; Eleanora Ashthorne counts as well.
• Would Hurt a Child: Warren's advisors, who start the coup of Lockham in an attempt to get Warren off the throne.
  • Defiance in Season 2 as well, having killed a child in the sacking of Sabine's adoptive family's home and showing no remorse over it.
• Wizarding School: The Order of Illuna, a Mage Tower in Astraria where Sorran and Kalessa went to school together. They are the most skilled wizards in the land, and handle Phirora's teleportation to a speech she is supposed to give.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes??: The Captain is deeply claustrophobic, to the point that he needs to get stinking drunk in order to cope with staying in Gimtarum, an underground city.
• Vancian Magic: Of course, it's Dungeons and Dragons.

---