Roll, Ponder, and Play - Dramatized Solo Roleplay
Roll, Ponder, and Play is a dramatized solo roleplaying podcast where the host takes on all roles—game master, player, author, and narrator—to craft immersive stories using RPG systems. Each episode blends narrative with ambient sound and music, creating an audio drama experience. Out-of-character moments reveal dice results and game mechanics, offering insight into the storytelling process. The podcast has been praised for its compelling production and engaging narratives.
Episodes
Queen of Shadows - About
Welcome to my very first ever podcast, the Queen of Shadows, a multi-part and as of 2025 ongoing episodic (and epic) work of fiction where I, Jared Hess, your friendly neighborhood game master, solo-player, author, and narrator bring to life the story of our protagonist, Eilwen, a huntress from the faraway settlement of Frostbridge in the Veiled Mountains.
Ways to Show Support:
Join my patreon fo
Queen of Shadows - Episode (Session) 0
Previously:
In my previous upload to this podcast (I can't call it an episode really), I described the origin and impetus for the Queen of Shadows podcast series. And now, onto episode 0 where we will discover our character and do some world building.
Ways to Show Support:
Join my patreon for free at https://patreon.com/rollponderandplay or as a paid subscriber and get additional additional conte
Queen of Shadows - Prologue
Previously:
In our previous episode (our "Session 0" if you will), we met Eilwen, our main character and protagonist, a young huntress of Frostbridge in her late teens. We found out that Frostbridge, Eilwen's settlement, is a failing mining settlement deep in the cold and snow-ridden wilderness of the Veiled Mountains. We learned that Eilwen is daughter to her mother, Arwed and to her father Cadfa
Queen of Shadows - Episode 1
Previously:
In our previous episode, the prologue, Eilwen and her twin brother Aron were both only 15 years of age. They discover that Eilwen's ailing mother has kept in her possession for many years, a finely carved box, and in that box is a cloven crown of gold with a crimson ruby shorn down the middle. This is the lost crown of the royal line of Queens from generations ago when these lands were
Queen of Shadows - Episode 2
Previously:
In our previous episode, Eilwen her twin brother Aron, both 18 years old, find out their father and Chief Mabon have not returned from their morning hunt. Eilwen vows to find them and she and Aron gather supplies in preparation. Before they can set out however, a huge silverback bear enters Frostbridge hoping for an easy meal. In the ensuing fight, two members of the community are slai
Queen of Shadows - Episode 3
Previously:
In our previous episode, Eilwen and her twin brother, Aron, meet with Drystan, a member of the Frostbridge community. They manage to convince the large man to aid them in their search for Mabon, the missing chieftain of Frostbridge and Cadfael, their missing father. Drystan agrees and brings his sleds and dogs so they can travel more quickly over the snow. During their travels, Eilwen
Queen of Shadows - Episode 4
Previously:
In our previous episode, Eilwen chases the retreating figure and ends up in a clearing where she finds ancient stone blocks and two strange iron pillars. She investigates the pillars, and to her surprise, realizes she can read at least some of the angular runes on their faces. She remembers how her mother had taught her the skill through a deep study of the iron disks. At the base of o
Queen of Shadows - Episode 5
Previously:
In our previous episode, Eilwen, Aron, and Drystan arrive safely at Rockriver, however they find that the town has been attacked and half burned to the ground, its inhabitants dead or missing. They aid one of the wounded survivors, a man named Kyffin. He tells them that the town was attacked by none other than Uzak an erstwhile and now exiled member of the Frostbridge settlement who ha
Queen of Shadows - Episode 6
Previously:
In our previous episode, Eilwen and Aaron leave behind Drystan behind in Rockriver with instructions for him to care for Kyffin so that they can move more quickly through the mines and get ahead of the Wolf Fang warriors and their prisoners. They find the mine entrance one valley over to the west and enter it about mid-morning. In the timeless dark, they find a large underground lake
Queen of Shadows - Episode 7
Previously:
In our previous episode, Eilwen and Aron find a sheltered spot with an overhang, largely obscured from view where they can see the valley below. They prepare for the Wolf Fang raiders to circle the mountain and come into view. Eilwen goes hunting and nearly falls to ruin when she encounters a pack of hungry wolves that chase her onto an slippery log over a ravine. She manages to escape
Queen of Shadows - Episode 8
Previously:
In our previous episode, in the dead of night, Eilwen spots, within the Wolf Fang Clan raiding party's encampment, her Father, Cadfael, and Frostbridge Chiefton Mabon in a wooden cage with some old women. She awakens Aron and they get a closer look. When they see that only one sentry is on duty, guarding the cage, she and Aron decide they won't get a better chance to rescue the two me
Queen of Shadows - Episode 9
Previously:
In our previous episode, Eilwen, Aron, Cadfael, and Mabon enter the mine in an attempt to get away from the Wolf Fang warriors and return to Rockriver and then Frostrbridge. After a few hours, they recross the rope bridge and navigate the mine's dark tunnels and reach the edge of the dark underground lake. Eilwen shows the lake-side skeleton to Cadfael and Mabon and is about to resum
Queen of Shadows - Episode 10
Previously:
In our previous episode, Eilwen, Aron, Cadfael, and Mabon, Chieftain of Frostbridge, escape the mine and make it to Rockriver's ruins where they rest and recuperate. They journey back to Frostbridge and find that Belvan isn't there. During the feasting that ensured upon Mabon's return, Carys, the old crone, tells Eilwen that Belvan went looking for the burial chambers that Eilwen's mo
Queen of Shadows - Episode 11
Previously
In our previous episode, Eilwen rests and recuperates after her duel with Belvan and makes preparations for the journey through the mountains to the burial chamber Belvan had infiltrated. Her father reminds her that it is a place of death and is what led to her mother's illness and subsequent demise.
On the morrow, Eilwen reveals herself to Mabon and to Frostbridge as the rightful heir
Queen of Shadows - Episode 12
Previously
In our previous episode, Eilwen, Aron, and Cadfael race back to Frostbridge to find it beset by some enemy. Several buildings are ablaze, and the corpses of the fallen are in the streets offering visceral witness to the violence done to them. They find Mabon cornered by a spirit-possessed blacksmith Gwili, one of the men who had been on burial duty, and who now bore the octagonal ring t
Flight of the Oracle - Episode (Session) 0
About this Podcast Series:
At the edge of known space, the UASN Oracle, a military destroyer turned science vessel, begins a survey mission in an unexplored star system. In the face a dire threat to all of humanity, Ardelle Leath, a junior officer, on board the Oracle, will struggle to overcome her past and fulfill her duty to the United Alliance Space Navy (UASN) as leadership is thrust upon her.
Flight of the Oracle - Prologue
About this Podcast Series:
At the edge of known space, the UASN Oracle, a military destroyer turned science vessel, begins a survey mission in an unexplored star system. In the face a dire threat to all of humanity, Ardelle Leath, a junior officer, on board the Oracle, will struggle to overcome her past and fulfill her duty to the United Alliance Space Navy (UASN) as leadership is thrust upon her.
Queen of Shadows Podcast - Episode 13
Previously
In our previous episode, Drystan and Kyffin find Eilwen at Frostbridge. The two men had arrived the night of the attack after seen the smoke from Drystan's home on the outskirts of the settlement where Kyffin had been convalescing. As they arrive, Frostbridge is holding a ceremony of remembrance, and while the bonfire burns, and the people mourn their fallen, Kyffin asks to travel wit
Queen of Shadows - Episode 14
Previously:
In our previous episode, Eilwen, Aron, and Kyffin continue their journey to the mountain pass. There, amid the gray, ice-rimed cliffs, they find a body of a humanoid with a cracked wooden mask of curious design and ruined weapons and armor of fine make. The human-like being, is clearly not human and its missing eyes, and open chest cavity, reveal it is missing its organs. In addition,
Queen of Shadows - Episode 15
Previously:
In our previous episode, Eilwen, Aron, and Kyffin continue to press through the pass, but the constant snow combined with blasting winds, strong enough to strip shards ice and flakes of sharp rock from the narrow canyon walls forces them to look for shelter or be flayed and frozen alive. They find a crumbling tower and hurry inside, grateful for the protection it offers from the slas
Queen of Shadows - Episode 16
Previously:
In our previous episode, at the zenith of her despair, Eilwen draws strength by feeding her anger at those who would slay the innocent for their nefarious and dark magics. She and Aron and Kyffin manage to barely escape from Edris's clutches and those of his leather-winged minions by fleeing through a rusty trap door near their feet and nearly falling down a metal ladder into the dark
Queen of Shadows - Episode 17
Previously:
In our previous episode, Eilwen, Aron, and Kyffin venture into the dark subterranean ruins beneath the tower of the Husk, Edris, hoping to pass through to the other side of the mountains. They move through a huge rectangular-wrought chamber with large finely-crafted statutes carved into the pillars holding up the ceiling. The artistry is similar to what they found on the mask of the
Queen of Shadows - Episode 18
Previously:
In our previous episode, Eilwen and Aron finally made their way through the large pile of rock and continued their journey through the subterranean depths. In one area, they found some strange blue-glowing water that would pass through living matter with little effect, but would affix itself to unliving matter such as stone or metal. Eilwen pulls out her sword and lets the dribbling gl
Queen of Shadows - Episode 19
Previously:
In our previous episode, Eilwen and Aron finally made their way through the large pile of rock and continue their journey through the subterranean depths. In one area, they find some strange blue-glowing water that would pass through living matter with little effect, but would affix itself to unliving matter such as stone or metal. Eilwen pulls out her sword and lets the dribbling gl
Queen of Shadows - Episode 20
Oct 7, 2025 - (I've reuploaded this file to capture some corrections.)
Previously:
In our previous episode, Eilwen and her brother Aron make their way down out of the frozen heights of the Veiled Mountains into another mountainous region, much lower in elevation, known as the Tempest Hills. Still considered the highlands, these high golden alpine meadows are alive with bees, butterflies, and bird
Queen of Shadows - Episode 21
Previously:
Welcome to Episode 21 of the Queen of Shadows Podcast on Roll, Ponder, and Play! I'm Jared Hess, your friendly neighborhood game master, solo-player, author, and narrator. In our previous episode, as night falls in the settlement of Redcrag, Seith allows Eilwen to keep the baby wyvern, Scratch, in his shed prior to Eilwen, Aron, and Seith leaving to confront Mattox, a ne'er-do-well an
Queen of Shadows - Episode 22
Previously:
In our previous episode, Eilwen, Aron, and Seith are reunited near Seith's home, with Aron leading several horses. While Seith is gathering supplies for a departure from Redcrag, Aron reveals that they have little some time but not much if they are to stay ahead of their pursuers from the Wolf Fang Clan. By the light of moon and stars, they consult the Wolf Fang Clan's map that Eilwen
Queen of Shadows - Episode 23
Previously:
In our previous episode, in the gray early-morning hours, during their breakfast, Eilwen, Aron, and Seith are ambushed by a group of Varou, who, using the thick fog to get in close, were able to attack their camp. In the ensuing fight, as their horses are being slaughtered, Eilwen is wounded in the forearm, and due to the thick fog, and the chaos of battle, is separated from Aron and
Queen of Shadows - Episode 24
Previously:
In our previous episode, Eilwen, having fled from the Varou assault on their campsite the day before, and having spent the night in the deep woods, spends the next day healing, hunting, resting, and recuperating. As she does so, Scratch, the little wyvern, gets into her food, attacks her boot laces, attempts to fly, hunts bugs, climbs a tree and after leaping at Eilwen's face, takes a
Queen of Shadows - Episode 25
Previously:
In our previous episode, when dawn comes, Eilwen and Scratch make their way back near the escarpment where their camp had been attacked two days before. Together, they arrive in the treeline and study the clearing where their camp had been. Amidst the din of cawing ravens and buzzing flies feasting on the fallen slaughtered horses, Eilwen finds that her brother, Aron, and Seith must ha
Queen of Shadows - Episode 26
Previously:
In our previous episode, Inside Greenhome, the above-ground ruined building built for the queens of old, Eilwen hears sounds of fighting above her. Rushing to investigate, she sees Seith's bloody and still form rolling down some stone steps towards her. He's alive but hurt and soon loses consciousness. She proceeds up the stairs and is ambushed by a savage varou who leaps out of her fr
Queen of Shadows - Episode 27
Previously:
In our previous episode, Eilwen investigates the ruined palace at Greenhome while Seith and Aron take their rest. She finds a cellar and beyond the cellar a prison--a prison where manacles where wrenched free from their mountings and the door burst asunder! She feels a darkness and evil emanating still from that prison and flees back to the ground floor. She begins to piece together t
Channel Update - Nov 2025
Hi friends, I wanted to give a brief channel update. First of all, I'm going to be taking a hiatus from publishing weekly until the new year. Posting weekly is a tremendous time commitment, and with the approaching busy schedules associated the Thanksgiving and Christmas season, I frankly need a break, and don't want to risk burning out. I do intend to continue to release episodes next year, but I
Queen of Shadows - Episode 28
Previously:
In our previous episode, Eilwen calls the shadows to her, pulls one of them into her amulet which activates something. The amulet flares a bright sapphire glow before settling on a steady dim light. And in the amulet's swimming depths, she focuses on the shadow and sees… a series of three visions:
In the first vision, Eilwen becomes a child, the princess Morwen, in fact. She is in th
Shadow of the Demon (D&D 5e) - Session/Episode 0
Welcome my friends to the post-Christmas days of early January (if you’re in the northern hemisphere, anyway), though where I live it is very atypically rainy and wet, where usually the ground would be frozen solid with snow. In any case, I hope you had a very Merry Christmas and a happy new year celebration! I was going to record this episode earlier, but I’ve been sick, and my voice is finally s
Shadow of the Demon (D&D 5e) - Episode 1
Previously:
In our previous episode we did a session zero, showcased the previous three adventures our party had been on, bringing them from level 1 up to the lofty level of level 4. We introduced our characters and did some Craewan kingdom building, and then rolled up some details about our upcoming adventure.
Attributions:
- 'Emergent' and 'Simulacra' by Scott Buckley (www.scottbuckley.com.au) r
Shadow of the Demon (D&D 5e) - Episode 2
Previously:
In the previous episode, it remains winter, and the party travels to the town of Inolulen. It is crammed full to the rafters with refugees and there is no room in the inn, unless you are Renchant and are able to wave about copious amounts of coin for yourself and speak in stirring tones. Which he does, and he secures himself a well-furnished room, one with a bath, a fireplace, and luxu
Shadow of the Demon (D&D 5e) - Episode 3
Previously:
In our previous episode, back at the inn, in Renchant’s room, Renchant and Tatyana enjoy an evening together. Renchant gets his massage and tries to seduce the young woman; he offers her a job to come with him to the south. He succeeds in convincing her to come, but she turns the tables on him. She recognizes her prospects are small in this town filled with refugees. And with war on th
Shadow of the Demon (D&D 5e) - Episode 4
In our last episode, Renchant Pel Nil discovers that Tatyana has engaged the hotel staff in preparing for an engagement signing celebration and anxious to not be tied down considers fleeing through the open window of the hotel’s second story window into the snow. But instead, he stands his ground, and he and Tatyana have a serious discussion about marriage, the nature of happiness and the freedom
Shadow of the Demon (D&D 5e) - Episode 5
Previously:
In our previous episode, Renchant and Tatyana attend their signing ceremony and become officially engaged (or betrothed). There is much feasting and celebrating their potential union. Some in the party, Raena foremost among them, have misgivings about Renchant’s motives, but after confronting him, she eventually becomes convinced that Renchant is sincere in his affection towards Tatyan
Shadow of the Demon (D&D 5e) - Episode 6
Previously:
In our previous episode, the party arrives at the palace in Southmarch, the new capital to the Kingdom of Craewen. They ride up the winding icy streets to the kingdom’s palace atop a large hill in the center of Southmarch and witness the Craewan military in full mobilization. At the palace, they are met by the palace steward, a man named Paron, who with the authority and backing of the
Shadow of the Demon (D&D 5e) - Episode 7
Previously:
The party, enroute to fulfill a mission for the king of Craewen, rests and supplies at the royal palace in the new capital of Southmarch. They are attacked by a malevolent force consisting of part physical and part shadow substance. The larger spider-like demon creatures are also accompanied by smaller shadow spiders. We learn that the party’s assailants are sent from the chaos realm b
Queen of Shadows - Episode 29
Roll, Ponder, and Play is now on YouTube! Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/@RollPonderAndPlay
Websites:
https://rollponderandplay.podbean.com/
https://patreon.com/rollponderandplay
Ways to Show Support:
Join my patreon for free at https://patreon.com/rollponderandplay or as a paid subscriber and get additional content
Give the show a positive review
Share the show with others
Reach ou
Queen of Shadows - Episode 30
Previously:
In our previous episode, as the companions make camp around the peaceful iron pillar infused with golden mystical ight, Eilwen, during her watch activates her magic and calls the shadows to try to unlock the secrets of the pillar. One of the two-dimensional beings made of shadow stuff tries to lead her astray through a shadowy twisting door. But she resists and binds the shadows to he
Queen of Shadows - Episode 31
Previously:
In our previous episode, the companions awaken and continue their travels from the iron pillar, following the river south through the tempest hills. About midday, the road takes them to a rotten wooden bridge that spans a large and deep ravine through which the heedless river courses with rapidity. A covered wagon perches precariously near a ragged hole where a tangle of horses and rei
Queen of Shadows - Episode 32
Previously:
In our previous episode, Eilwen discovers Valeri watching her by the fire. As they engage in conversation, she finds that Valeri had, long ago, actually met her mother, Arwed, a lovely blond woman whom Valeri referred to as ‘The Witch’. This was many years ago at the circle of Redhall when Valeri was but a young girl and when Arwed was a beautiful woman in her prime.
Valeri tells Eilw
Queen of Shadows - Episode 33
Previously:
In our previous episode, Eilwen and Valeri continue their talk around the campfire. With only Eilwen and the silent forest trees for spectators, Valeri opens up about her purpose in coming to these lands. She seeks an ancient treasure to buy the freedom of her husband, Edyard, and her eldest son, Gethyd, who are both thralls to Yormid, leader of Redhall circle, working in his mines,
Queen of Shadows - Episode 34
Previously:
In our previous episode, Eilwen and her companions finish their final leg of travel and arrive at the settlement of Longfalls. They witness a beautiful sunset backdropping twin waterfalls, the namesake of the settlement itself. The falls cascade off of a grassy plateau where, fed by cold mountain streams far to the north, they feed the green valley and that spreads out below them, wher
Queen of Shadows - Episode 35
Previously:
In our previous episode, near nightfall, Eilwen and her companions engage in hand to hand combat against the four warrior priests who seek their death for blaspheming “Delos the High One”. The companions slay the warrior priests but a few moments after they fall, tar-like shadow creatures rises from the fallen forms and infect others in the settlement. The companions flee Longfalls to
Queen of Shadows - Episode 36
Previously:
In our previous episode Eilwen and Aron split the party. Leaving Seith with Valeri and her children with a few supplies, hidden in the countryside around Longfalls, the twins make their way towards Highcrag, a day’s journey by foot to the west, to confront Delos, the Iron Priest. En route, around mid day, at a road function that splits off to the north, they are ambushed by warriors dr
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