The Adventure Zone

In 2010, the McElroy brothers launched their flagship podcast My Brother, My Brother and Me, an 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,[2] 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.[3] Starting that December, The Adventure Zone was then expanded into its own podcast on the Maximum Fun network, releasing biweekly.[4] 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.

The McElroy family performed 13 live bonus sessions within the Balance setting from 2016-2019, with several of these continuing beyond the conclusion of the campaign's primary story. 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.[5]

"Déjà Vu" by Mort Garson (from the album Ataraxia: The Unexplained) served as the primary theme song for The Adventure Zone during the Balance Arc, as well as various interstitials and backing tracks. Griffin McElroy also created original compositions to enhance the show's production.[6] Later arcs would use original themes for opening and closing. An officially produced trailer for the Balance arc was uploaded to YouTube on January 25, 2018.[7]

Following the conclusion of the Balance campaign, the McElroys decided to work on smaller "experimental arcs", a set of shorter campaigns using other systems, in order to give themselves time to develop their next overarching storyline. Three experimental arcs were aired from October 2017 to March 2018. These included Clint's Commitment arc, Griffin's Amnesty arc and Travis' Dust arc. Each of these arcs takes place in their own game worlds, separate from those explored in the other campaigns. With the conclusion of these experimental arcs, McElroys announced that Season 2 of "The Adventure Zone" would continue the story introduced in Amnesty, and that it would become the next full campaign.

Griffin McElroy again took on the role of game master (called a "Keeper" in the system). While the arc was inspired by monster of the week shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Supernatural, Griffin stated that the arc is mostly based on the Persona game series. To replicate the less connected nature of the former's 1990s setting, Kepler is situated in West Virginia's section of the National Radio Quiet Zone. Hal Lublin provides a guest voice in one episode. The campaign ended after 36 episodes on September 23, 2019.

When performing live the McElroy family continued to predominantly used the Balance setting in this period, though two Amnesty live shows, The Ballad of Bigfoot and Amnesty Halloween Special, released on October 17, 2019 and November 12, 2020 respectively.[8] Additional episodes of The "The Adventure Zone" Zone were released at the start and conclusion of the main run of Amnesty.[9][10]

Prior to the Amnesty finale, it was confirmed in a SyFy Wire interview that Travis McElroy would be running the next major campaign of The Adventure Zone.[11] On October 18, 2019 a trailer[12] was launched for the new campaign, which began on October 31, 2019 and returns to the Dungeons & Dragons system. Travis McElroy thanked a series of "DM mentors" at the start of the campaign, including Kate Welch, Brennan Lee Mulligan, Matt Mercer, Satine Phoenix, Chris Perkins, and Griffin McElroy.

The overall plot of The Adventure Zone's first campaign, the "Balance Arc", involves a global war catalyzed by the Grand Relics—seven powerful magical artifacts that each contain the essence of one of the schools of magic. These relics compel those who find them to use them, almost always in a chaotic and destructive manner. The relics have been erased from everyone's minds save for the Bureau of Balance, an organization that seeks to find and destroy the relics. The narrative also explores the mysteries of the Red Robes, the magical faction who purportedly created the Grand Relics, and the lost histories of the main characters that involve a shadowy, cosmic threat to the universe. The primary quests challenge the characters to retrieve one of the Grand Relics. In addition, interlude episodes exist which allow the characters to regroup, purchase new equipment, and prepare for the next quest. Griffin McElroy has confirmed that the ideas for some episodes occur when watching a film or a TV show. The Balance Arc takes place over the course of several quests:

• Here There Be Gerblins (Episodes 1–6) – The introductory quest is loosely based on the Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set adventure Lost Mine of Phandelver, but quickly diverges into the primary plot of the adventure. The party helps Merle's cousin Gundren find and reclaim his family's lost treasures, but are quickly dragged into a conspiracy involving a powerful magical weapon of mass destruction, a war no one seems to remember, and the mysterious Bureau of Balance which seeks to keep it all hidden. The plot centers on the discovery of the Phoenix-Fire Gauntlet, the Grand Relic of evocation.
• Moonlighting (Episodes 7–9) – In a non-relic retrieval quest, the party is introduced to the Bureau of Balance headquarters, located on a second, false moon. They are inoculated by drinking voidfish ichor and meet various characters, including the mysterious Director of the Bureau and her ward, Davenport. To prove their worth to the Bureau, the party undergoes a brief challenge involving ogres and robots. They receive non-removable bracers with the Bureau of Balance logo on them, a mirrored Berkanan rune.
• Murder on the Rockport Limited (Episodes 10–16) – The party goes to reclaim a relic found by a Bureau operative killed after placing it in an unbreachable vault on the Rockport Limited train. Finding a Rockport staff member murdered on the trip, the party must discover the murderer before the train arrives in Neverwinter. During their mission, they meet and are aided by the World's Greatest (boy) Detective, Angus McDonald. The party discovers and retrieves the Oculus, the Grand Relic of illusion. (This relic is not used.)
• Lunar Interlude I: Carnival Chaos (Episode 17) – The party attends a midsummer carnival on the Bureau of Balance's lunar headquarters. They all dress in costumes. The carnival ends when the party sees the sky turn black with millions of eyes for a split second, causing the rest of the partygoers to fall unconscious.
• Petals to the Metal (Episodes 18–27) – The party is sent to retrieve the Gaia Sash, the Grand Relic of conjuration, used to control nature and weather. This relic is currently being used by a master thief known only as the Raven. Through a series of events, the party find themselves allied with Hurley, a law enforcer and former lover of the Raven, and taking part in a mostly-illegal death race to claim the relic. A mysterious Red Robe appears at the end of the arc. The plot for the quest occurred to Griffin while watching Fast Five.[14]
• Lunar Interlude II: Internal Affairs (Episode 28) – The party returns to the Bureau of Balance's moonbase for a debrief with the Director and a visit to Fantasy Costco. They host a Candlenights party in their new apartment, which is interrupted by a frantic phone call to the Director from the scientist Lucas Miller. This jump-starts the events of The Crystal Kingdom.
• The Crystal Kingdom (Episodes 29–39) – A science-fantasy adventure quest focused on the Philosopher's Stone, the Grand Relic aligned with the school of transmutation. The Philosopher's Stone has begun transmuting a floating laboratory into pink crystal, with lethal consequences for the world below if it is not kept from crashing. The party must navigate the dangers of the crystallizing laboratory, track down rogue Bureau scientist Lucas, and battle with mysterious enemies including crystal golems and the undead bounty hunter, Kravitz. The plot for the quest occurred to Griffin while watching Alien.[14]
• Lunar Interlude III: Rest & Relaxation (Episode 40) – The party takes some time off.
• The Eleventh Hour (Episodes 41–49) – A quest based around a time-loop mechanic. The party is sent into the Woven Gulch to retrieve the Temporal Chalice, the Grand Relic of Divination. Avi, friendly Bureau cannoneer, helps them enter the bubble-surrounded and wild-west inspired town, Refuge. There, the party first meets Roswell, a clay-based earth elemental with a Vermilion flycatcher acting as their voice, and find themselves cycling repeatedly through the final hour of the town's life, in a loop created by the Temporal Chalice.
• Lunar Interlude IV: The Calm Before the Storm (Episode 50) – The heroes explore some sidequests between their main quests.
• The Suffering Game (Episodes 51–57) – A darker quest in which the party must retrieve the Necromancy Grand Relic: the Animus Bell. This relic was discovered by the Director before the Bureau was created, and in her failed attempt to retrieve it, she sacrificed twenty years of her life. Inspired by the Zero Escape video game series,[15] the party delves into Wonderland, a lethal, mentally taxing, and endless deathtrap that promises whatever participants desire as a prize for surviving. However, as the party travels through Wonderland, making sacrifices and fighting horrific monsters, the place is revealed to be a trap created by a pair of twin Liches who feed on suffering.
• Lunar Interlude V: Reunion Tour (Episodes 58–59) – The party is tasked with an infiltration mission.
• The Stolen Century (Episodes 60–66) – A prequel quest in which the party rediscovers their long-forgotten memories and gains better insight into the Hunger, the ultimate foe of all reality.
• Story and Song (Episodes 67–69) – The climactic finale quest of the Balance Arc, in which old friends and former foes join the party to stop the Hunger from consuming the multiverse.

As the Dungeon Master, Griffin portrayed all non-player characters (except for Garyl, Taako's summoned phantasmal binicorn). Notable characters include Lucretia, the Bureau's stony, mysterious director; Killian, a crossbow-wielding orc woman who becomes an early ally of the protagonists in Here There Be Gerblins; Carey Fangbattle, Killian's girlfriend (later wife) and a dragonborn rogue who trains Magnus; Lup, Taako's transgender twin sister who is a lich and married to Barry Bluejeans; Barry Bluejeans, a denim-clad scientist and lich; Davenport, Lucretia's ward and captain of the Starblaster; Johann, a morose bard employed by the Bureau and self-proclaimed greatest musician in the world; Kravitz, a grim reaper employed by the Raven Queen and later Taako's boyfriend; Angus McDonald, the world's greatest (boy) detective; Garfield, The Deals Warlock, sinister owner of the Fantasy Costco; Roswell, an armored elemental who serves as deputy of Refuge; Lucas Miller, a Bureau-affiliated scientist conducting research into the workings of the planar multiverse; and John, the enigmatic and disturbing antagonist.

Initially the second of the mini-arcs, Amnesty was later announced as season two's full length arc on March 29, 2018. The first five episodes, as part of the mini-arcs, began the series' temporary weekly schedule to get to a full second season more quickly.[16] The Amnesty arc is based on the Monster of the Week system by Evil Hat Productions, and is set in the fictional ski-resort town of Kepler in contemporary West Virginia. Kepler is regularly invaded by eldritch monsters nicknamed "Abominations" from a mysterious otherworld called Sylvain, opposed by a monster-hunting organization called the Pine Guard headquartered at the titular Amnesty Lodge. Sylvain is a dying world, being consumed by an evil force known as the Quell, and the latter half of the series partly involves the cast attempting to stop it.

The Game Master, Griffin portrayed all non-player characters (except for Beacon, Duck's talking sword). Notable characters include Madeline Cobb (called Mama), the owner of the Amnesty Lodge; Barclay, who is Bigfoot; Indrid Cold, who is Mothman; and various other residents of the Lodge such as Dani, a vampire; Jake Coolice; and Agent Stern, an FBI agent who is looking for signs of supernatural activity.

The players take the role of students who have enrolled in the annex henchperson and sidekick program at Hieronymous Wiggenstaff's School for Heroism and Villainy.[17] The campaign focuses initially on their classes and misadventures at the school, their adventures beyond its boundaries, and conflict with the demon prince Gray. Later on, Fitzroy is transferred to the villain track, while the other two characters remain in the sidekick program. A plot from the forces of Order and Chaos is revealed that the party must war with Gray in order to plunge the world into Chaos. The party attempts to circumvent these plans by bringing about Chaos in other ways.

The dungeon master, Travis portrays all non-player characters. Notable characters include Rainer Michelle, a necromancer and daughter of the Undying Lord; Gray, the Demon Prince; Hieronymous Wiggenstaff, Founder & Headmaster of Hieronymous Wiggenstaff's School for Heroism and Villainy and former dog; Higglemas Wiggenstaff, reclusive brother of Hieronymous; Althea Song, an employee of The Heroic Oversight Guild; Chaos, a god-like being; Order, another god-like being; Gary the Gargoyle, a system of helpful sentient gargoyles; Snippers, Fitzroy's magical crab familiar; and Festo, a fey-folk magic professor.

A campaign consisting of 3 episodes created as exclusive content for Maximum Fun donors. Travis DMs the adventure, which brings together an unlikely group of heroes: Troth, a tiefling monk played by Justin; Tom Collins, a half-elf warlock bartender played by Griffin; and Lenny Manolito, a human keytar-playing bard played by Clint. This campaign uses the Dungeons & Dragons system, and features a guest appearance by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who plays the bard Atreyus.

The second campaign, and the beginning of a selection of "mini-arcs", was a superhero inspired RPG that does not take any setting or characters from the Balance arc into consideration.[18] The game was run by Clint McElroy with Griffin now taking the role as a player, along with Travis and Justin. As opposed to Dungeons and Dragons, this arc uses the FATE system. The characters all work for the Do Good Fellowship, a "cult adjacent" organization that uses technology and science to improve the world. This arc has a total of four episodes, not including the setup episode the McElroys used to establish their characters, etc. It was notably inspired by the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents series of comics.

Travis McElroy takes the role of master of ceremonies in the fourth campaign, using the Urban Shadows system by Magpie Games. Originally, the arc was envisioned with the making of a custom role-playing game in mind, but the task proved too large for the given time frame. The campaign is set in a fictionalized version of the Wild West, where creatures such as vampires and werewolves live alongside humans, and focuses on feuding families in the town of Dry River.

Elementary is a two-shot campaign created exclusively for Maximum Fun donors. The episodes use a special game system Four (sometimes five) Sherlock Holmes and a Vampire (Who Is Also One of the Aforementioned Sherlock Holmes), written by Andrew Young. What little plot there is involves Justin (as GM), Travis, Griffin and Clint (and once guest Patrick Rothfuss) each playing as a different version of Sherlock Holmes solving nonsensical, convoluted mysteries.

Much like Elementary, Fur is a one off made for the Maxfun Drive 2019, the game system used is Honey Heist, a one-page RPG written by Grant Howitt, and Travis is the DM. Justin, Griffin, and Clint play three bears attempting to rob a briefcase of Manuka honey from the Sacramento Convention Center during a screening of Bee Movie.

TAZ: Hootenanny was performed live in Nashville, TN at the Ryman Auditorium and is a country music themed space opera. The game used One Seven Design's system Lasers and Feelings, inspired by The Doubleclicks's album of the same name. The party consists of three musicians, all from different planets: Shoots McKrackin (Travis), Benny Gene Esserit (Clint), and Pepsi Liberty (Justin) as the band Hootie and the Nannies, who are performing at the Grand Space Opry. Griffin acted as the game master. The game ended with the four McElroys and Paul Sabourin performing a cover of Future Folk's song "Space Worms".

A sequel, "2tenanny", was released during the 2020 MaxFunDrive as exclusive bonus content for donors to the Maximum Fun network. Clint acted as game master (Benny having left the band to go solo), with Griffin playing replacement band member 48 (short for the entire lyrics to the song "I Like It, I Love It" by Tim McGraw).

TAZ: Inheritance[lower-alpha 2] was performed live at the Balboa Theatre in San Diego, CA during San Diego Comic Con 2019, based on an original system created by the players. The setting takes place in a post-apocalyptic desert wasteland, featuring groups of different stereotypical dads. The party consists of four dads, each from a specific dad tribe (Sports Dads, Vacation Dads, Car Dads, and Grill Dads). They team up to defeat the evil Crafting Dads in order to obtain the legendary TV remote control. The game featured all four McElroys as players, with CollegeHumor's Brennan Lee Mulligan, host of Dimension 20, as GM.

The Just Us campaign is GMed by Travis McElroy, and described by Griffin as "Travis' take on superheroes trying to pretend to be normal".[19] It was recorded as a live show in Atlanta using the game Supernormal, written by Ursidice.[20] It is currently unreleased.

TAZ: Mercer is a one-shot made for the Maxfun Drive 2020, marketed as a "modern day crime drama" set in an unnamed north-east American city in 2006 and based on Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. It was named after and guest DMed by Matthew Mercer of Critical Role.

Lords of Crunch was a one-shot performed at the Taft Theatre in Cincinnati, OH. It was GMed by Justin, using an original system based on One Seven Design's Lasers and Feelings system. Travis, Clint, and Griffin play as cereal-box mascots. It was released as bonus content for the 2020 Max Fun Drive.