POWER PLAY (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZwazRktCmA)
Having been caught up on Critical Role, I've been looking for something new to watch on off days. I love me some Acquisitions Inc., but I wanted a different genre. I found a few that I really liked. A Star Trek RPG, 'Shield of Tomorrow', but it has a huge back catalog to watch. I also found 'L.A. By Night ~ Vampire : the Masquerade' a World of Darkness horror RPG. Finally, I had found 'Callisto 6' a superhero rpg. But, while it has three seasons, only one season is available on YouTube. The last two were only on Geek&Sundry's Alpha channel on Twitch (which has been cancelled, so those are gone.)
But that all lead me to 'Power Play'. It's run on the 'Icon' RPG system, which I admit I am unfamiliar with. But, I kinda like that, because I don't have to think if what so-and-so does fits into the rules or not. They are only 15 episodes in,(and one is a charity one-off that doesn't really tie to the main story.) so there isn't alot of catching up to do. There are only four players and the GM, so alot less personalities to keep track of.
And for those that rage against the "Mercer effect", this seems to be one of the closest table games I've seen to an average player's game. Yes, a couple of the players do voices for their characters (although it's more generally just different speech patterns, not accents), the other two just speak as they normally do. One does wear some make-up to look closer to their character. And the GM, Rick Budd, is not all slick and polished. He doesn't give his NPCs all different voices, he describes his NPCs by referencing various actors in different roles , he doesn't pull out miniature sets for battles (he does have maps sometimes), and he stutters and stammers when he gets excited.
The drawback, like Critical Role, is that each episode is 2+hours long. But, as I suggest to anyone being daunted by the time length, remember that YouTube saves your place. You can watch 10-15 minutes or more, shut it off, and then come back later to watch more. Like I told my daughter, just because you CAN binge watch something, doesn't mean you have too. (I should really follow my own advice. :lol:)