It starts with a chilly cinematic opening, adds 9,000 fathoms of dungeon depth, adds professional comedians and performers, and sprinkles in a little evil capitalism, heart, and moose. Despite my Southern roots, I’ve never been a fan of Westerns. Aptly described as a “wet western,” Ms. Fortunate 4 is a fast-paced tale of an island “banished to the shallows” with an entrance to a dragon’s hoard deep within a dungeon. The promise of treasure creates an adventuring party of prospectors who keep picking up the dungeon, and those who reach the dungeon first enjoy a glorious life. Millennials especially understand this.
This dewy new season of the award-winning podcast unbalanced encounter The story of four fools who respond to a flyer that promises riches, fame, and almost certain death. Odion Ospreay-Heronshaw (craig pate) has just been fired from his internship at an adventuring party, but now he wants to start his own party. he realized that her luck was getting worse california iron water (caustic phoenix) just when she realized that she was in dire need of a large amount of money. If I’m lucky, Odion’s sister, Ariana Floridia “Flo” Ospreay II (emily graymoor), I also realized that I needed a job to prove myself to my family. They will be joined by enthusiasts Weevil Woebringer (concrete block street), gets the job after expressing a clear desire to slay the dragon. It is game master Patrick Perini who leads the fools into the dungeon.
overview:
audio:Professional quality (headphones recommended)
vibes: Dungeon Meal, Gold Rush Western, Comedy, Rich Story
Episode reviews are based on:1
system: Tales of the Valiant, Kobold Press
average episode length: 90-120 minutes
accessibility: Content warning in episode description
platform: spotify, apple podcastPatreon: unbalanced encounter
language: English
I will upload one episode every two weeks. Total 12 episodes. Premiere October 28, 2025 at 6:00 PM ET or 3:00 PM PT
The first episode will feature the first of several cold openings with guest voice actors. René Juneaucolorsbee, Adrian C. LawrenceasJohnny Law, noir enigmaasJareth Woodfoot, sarah robertsasValniceand Aram Vartianasdream devil. The scripted additions to this show reflect what I imagine when I think of classic westerns. This kind of framing is rare in actual play, where the audience has information that the protagonist, and perhaps the players, don’t know. The opening ends with a coin toss, sending a signal to the listener that fate still depends on luck. The remaining episodes begin with more cold openings, but the premiere is notably the longest of the series (approximately 10 minutes). Additionally, mid-roll newscasts expand the world beyond the player character’s perspective. These unplayable scenes especially create tension for the audience and allow them to participate in the world outside of the player. This framing could give viewers clues as to the true corruption in the city and who is pulling the strings in front of the protagonists, and such tension encourages players to root for them more.
Perini hopes to use the Tales of the Valiant system to casually take viewers beyond D&D to TTRPGs. Misfortunate 4’s story will end after 12 episodes, but plans are already in the works to further expand the shallow world into a TTRPG game system and new characters. Perini explains, “They feature very similar characters. We go back in time a little bit. We explain some backstory. We show what happens next in a few different ways.” Using multiple systems in the same setting is a growing trend in real-world play, and I can support this as the community wants D&D to be less dominant in this area.
When asked why he was particularly drawn to the gold rush subgenre of Westerns, Perini explains, “A lot of the early Westerns were about simple, unnuanced heroes. Movies with characters that look a lot like superhero movies, where the characters are clearly good guys in service of American idealism. What about later movies like Sergio Leone’s movies and spaghetti westerns and, ultimately, Treasure?” Sierra Madre and others have created works about antiheroes, right? They made a movie about these very fundamentally flawed characters who were the worst, and it was the worst because it was a product of their circumstances. ”
Cal, the first victim of their situation, represents a blue-collar hard worker stuck in a Sisyphean-like job of managing to pay off debts foisted upon him by a group of greedy insurance brokers. Perini says these debt collectors are like celestial Pinkertons, a contrasting visual that Unbalance Encounters likes to bring to the story. Cal is a cleric of the natural realm and has a small griffon-like familiar with him. Caustic Phoenix plays her as a giant moose’s stubborn stablemate. This trait could prove useful when they descend into the dungeon of the beast.
Another product of their environment, Cinderblocksally’s character Weevil raises more questions than answers. What is plaguing their dreams? Why are their shadows moving independently? Why are they so calm? He is full of naive hopes and enthusiasm to realize his dream of becoming a legendary adventurer, but his primary goal is crushed under the weight of the cruel reality of a broken system. Weevil is a wizard with high intelligence and low wisdom, and his subclass is a custom homebrew called Mote Tamer. His abilities are tied to controlling shadows as if they were familiars. Subclasses will be available to supporters of the show after the show premieres.
The gold rush in the form of dungeon exploration alone was intriguing, but there’s another layer behind it. In a conversation with Perini, they revealed that the Gold Rush setting was a self-insert of their time working in Silicon Valley, saying, “I fell in love with San Francisco, but I was surrounded by these crazy laissez-faire techno-capitalists. And throughout the arc, there would be even more people that I knew in that ecosystem…What I brought to the table very specifically was this motherfucker’s farewell letter that I sent during this period of my life.” Very complicated feelings. ” Worldbuilding as a self-insert is a bold move, leading to a story that is far more focused on a unified message so far, and clearly having a big impact on character building.
What Silicon Valley metaphor would be complete without a few Nepo Baby half-brothers? Odion and Flo come from the Osprey family, whose names hold significance in the city, both in money and legend. The two have completely opposite personalities. Odion is shy and lacks confidence, while Flo is loud and social and used to getting her way. Pate plays Odion similarly to Laios, the party leader in Delicious in a Dungeon. So I have a strong feeling that Odion has even more meaning than what we saw in the first episode. A weapon master fighter with great wisdom and power. Depending on the dice, Pate can lean more towards his position, or make this character realize the responsibility and weight of his position.
But Flo, like me, leaves everything on the table from the get-go, being both a reluctant adventurer and a character you want to hate. Embodying a character much like Georgette (Oliver & Company) and Stella (Hell-O-A-Boss), Greymoor’s performance was so impressive that the entire table seemed to react viscerally. Perini (Greymoor’s spouse) joked about the divorce, saying, “After the first episode, we talked about a real relationship, but I was like, I hate Flo so much that we’re going to need aftercare after this.” I’m especially looking at the “hell” part of her subclass and the question mark following her lineage in the character art. Flo probably has a secret that even she doesn’t know yet.
A notable aspect of this party is its inherent tensions and class divisions. Social media has featured a lot of conversation about building parties that want to work together, and Unbalanced Encounters sets up a lot of possibilities by combining the haves and have-nots. There’s only so much you can infer from a single episode, but we’ll see if the growth of these characters is influenced by the roll of the dice, or if there’s a predetermined story the player wants to tell. I personally hope for the former, but even pre-planned character arcs can be heavily influenced by dice rolls. Will class divisions be the cause of their downfall, or will they be able to find common ground against those in power? This is what makes the real-life story exciting, and only the dice really know.
Be sure to follow us for updates on this series and more — Bluesky (@uepodca.st), YouTube (@unbalanceencounter), TikTok (@unbalanceencounter), Instagram (@unblncdencntrs), Patreon (unbalanced encounter).
Episode 1 of **unhappy 4 It will be broadcast on October 28th after the advance premiere. Talkback with cast. Similar YouTube premieres occur every other week for each episode release, giving viewers a chance to win merchandise and copies of the film. Tales of the Valiant Pocket Player’s Guidecourtesy of Kobold Press!
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