The Adventure Zone

The Adventure Zone is a weekly comedy and adventure actual play podcast based loosely upon the Dungeons & Dragons game series, along with other role-playing games. The show is distributed by the Maximum Fun network and hosted by brothers Justin, Travis, and Griffin McElroy, and their father Clint McElroy. Regular episodes of the podcast feature the family solving puzzles, fighting enemies, and leveling up their characters in a series of cinematic and humorous encounters. The series is often represented by the stone rune ᛥ as a logo, which was the symbol of the Bureau of Balance in the original campaign. History Origins and Balance (2014–2017) In 2010, the McElroy brothers launched their flagship podcast My Brother, My Brother and Me, a comedic advice podcast which joined the Maximum Fun network in 2011. During the 97th episode in May 2012, the brothers answered a question about a Dungeons & Dragons game—which Justin called "The Adventure Zone". The McElroy brothers would ultimately begin playing with their father Clint in the summer of 2014, using the newly released Starter Set for the fifth edition of D&D, which was released that July. The set came with the module The Lost Mine of Phandelver, which served as the basis for the first few sessions. The first of these recordings was initially released as an experimental MBMBaM episode entitled The Adventure Zone on August 18, 2014, to cover for Justin's paternity leave. Starting that December, The Adventure Zone was then expanded into its own podcast on the Maximum Fun network, releasing biweekly. Griffin McElroy served as the show's primary host and Dungeon Master for the show's first campaign, later titled the Balance Arc. The campaign concluded with Episode 69 in August 2017. Additionally, three special episodes were released over the course of the campaign, titled The "The Adventure Zone" Zone, and these act as "an informal chat show" discussing the game.