Expounded Universe

Our heroes hit Cancun as we start killing off side characters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Background extras abound as our heroes mostly just faff around checking in with the lone gunmen and collect NPCs they'll need for later. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well, if you let Jon off the leash, you get X thing that isn't Star Wars, so I guess we shouldn't be surprised we're reading about Mulder and Scully now. And some archaeologist named Cassandra Rubicon who you simply must know is incredibly hot, it is vital. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Okay, we rerecorded this one, something went all screwy with the original recording. Don't worry, the only thing Jef never forgets is jokes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We arrive once more upon the closing of a narrative, as our heroes do basically everything this book was supposed to be about, in about seven pages of it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The penultimate chapter? Really? Okay I guess. Anyway Vader turns up but honestly doesn't really do much of anything. There's a war though! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey, Halla's back! But I already used that name joke. Damn it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let's not sugarcoat it, this whole chapter is Luke and Leia walking through a cave tunnel. Yes they get in a shocking fight at the end, but at what cost. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jon's on vacation, and Claire wants to make Jef listen to AP, so here we go, two episodes of the podcast classic Campaign Star Wars. What will Jef do when forced to confront Actual Play? Who knows!? Actually it was fine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everyone runs from a pre-exogorth exogorth. It's sorta neat how often big white snakes turn up in Star Wars. Someone should do something with that. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The escape is great! Our heroes carve an unusually gory trail to freedom and a great big truck. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Whoa, stuff happens! This book hasn't been bad but it certainly has felt like it needs to get on with things, and here we go! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well boy, ah say boy, we done found the voice for one of our particular villains in this here page-turner and it dominates the episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the perils of recording early is I'm guaranteed to forget what the episode was. But good news, I think they met one of this book's big bad guys, a pugnacious and dangerous Imperial officers hanging around in a ziggurat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey hey, it's time to meet Halla! She's a fun archetype that was made common in West End Games Star Wars RPGs, the burnout force user. We're also gonna find out about the big MacGuffin of the book this chapter, the Kaiburr Crystal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode our heroes discover a hidden city on their homeworld, and if you thought going back to 1978 would fix the Leia characterizations, you've got ... another think coming, I guess. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You can't get earlier Star Wars EU novels than this right here. Welcome to the "sequel in case the sequels didn't happen" of Star Wars, where the force was still mysterious and Luke didn't know who his sister was. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why, it's the twilight of Jedi Twilight! And frankly? Good. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

That ended abruptly! Sure enough we get a chapter containing both Vader and Xizor, but... eh you'll see. Also there's some robots and some big-ish reveals, I suppose! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vader packs up and rides to join the party, Jax and company fight some crazy robots, and Xizor meets Nick Rostu, surely that's fantasic, right? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Honestly, I-5 isn't even super important here, we just think it's so funny how he keeps having a module for exactly what the group needs every time. Really, this is the "Xizor Makes His Move" set of chapters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Man is I-5 ever useful. But who's also a protocol droid with a weird gun hand that everyone wants to know about? I bet you all forgot about Bug Eyes, who is theoretically the MacGuffin of this production, and who JUST TURNED UP. Yeah! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well dang, this was episode 300? Then I guess we shall podcast in the shade. In today's episode Jax and the gang escape some droid police (DROID POLICE, BEEP BEEP BEEP) on flying Segways, while Rhinann whines and Nick Rostu... also kinda whines. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oh hey, this book has act breaks! And we just found what might be the only one! You can tell because I-5 finally finds Jax Pavan. Who is an asshole about it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is a Jax-free space. We focus on Den, we check in with Nick Rostu, and somehow Kaird is still kicking around, but we aren't seeing what's up with Jax and Laranth. Also, Rhinan is making strong moves towards just ruining the Empire's public relations division. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Finally Laranth turns up, and she brings with her something we were missing last time we did this series, an explanation of what a Gray Paladin is exactly (besides the lamest D&D character that your lamest gaming buddy won't shut up about). Meanwhile, Dhur is a reporter and Nick is apparently a gambler, but good news! Joyous news! It's not sabacc! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No one new, and we'll still moving pieces into place, but hey Nick and Jax have met and headed off for a just-dudes sushi brunch, which if you think about it, Star Wars doesn't have nearly enough of. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We've met almost everyone we know we need to now! Just Laranth to go! But hark, we're meeting a subvillain for the book this time, and he hates Xizor, and now we're hearing that old classic Xizor bragging. Feels good to be home. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oh right, I just remembered that as much fun as Den and I-5 and laughing at Aurra Sing were, Jax Pavan is a dude what sucks. It's all coming back. Yes, that's right folks, welcome back to Coruscant Nights, the noir Star Wars. We're meeting a few new to us names today. Even Piell, Nick Rostu, and of course Jax are all running around the bowels of the city planet having remarkably similar adventures, all things considered. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Your burning questions! Answered! Our final thoughts on this book! Given! And the next book? Announced, baby! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Amnioid is Lema Xandret. Forget to say that in the episode, so it needed explanation here. Okay, we're wrapping it up! Another story in the can. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Definitely on the homestretch here, as some secrets are revealed and we start to see our Padawan/Sith Apprentice consider the merits of their respective other sides. Everyone's starting to unveil their big plans, but what of Dao Stryver? He's just flying around! What's that guy all about? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oh ho, so we've swapped masters and apprentices for a couple of little Jedi field trips, and the action is literally heating up with literal actual lava. Literally! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Look, I thought of that title like two months ago and I don't think we're ever gonna get it to line up perfectly, but I'll be damned if we don't use it! So in this episode Ula sort of takes control of the combine fleet, and that'll have to work! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This book is starting to seem like a big sifter designed to force our main characters slowly but inexorably into one party, and this is continuing here as Mandalorian Dao Stryver finally starts calling shots about the next steps to stop the hexes. How long can Hetchkee stick around? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(Oh no, this one has sat a minute, my bad) Everyone must find their own way to figure out where the trail leads, and this episode is all about how they're doing it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

And the action fires right back up! Is there something special in the space past where the books get better, because this is starting to remind us of Red Harvest with how much actual "doing shit" is happening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Finally, a bunch of heroes get sent on a quest. Honestly this book is actually shaping up to match that Lucas quote about Star Wars rhyming like poetry, which is frankly wild. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The grand battle plays on, though I think we're both getting fairly sick of Dao Stryver just being immune to absolutely everything. Meanwhile a few things are explained, a few folks are rescued, and we're seeing the seeds of our spy switching sides again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well well, we're already at a lightsaber fight. And get this, it's like three chapters of action sequence in a row! In a Star Wars novel this is considered something of an anomaly, as the middle of the books is normally utilized largely to introduce the identical cousins of background cantina characters or extending the page count. But not here! Here we're getting a fight! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The streams have begun to cross, but gently at first, as Ula Vii the reluctant spy has met everyone's instant favorite, JET NEBULA. Meanwhile, Ax does sith stuff, Shigar does jedi stuff, and Larin is apparently quite hot. Good for her. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Okay, this one I remember. Our characters one by one begin to converge on Nal Hutta, the current homeworld of everyone's favorite big slug gansgters. No one meets anyone else yet though. We're saving that for sweeps. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Okay, apparently I forgot to post this very important episode for a while and a half, between work trips and some ongoing medical drama, it just slipped my attention. I officially apologize. Also, I have no idea what happened in it. I don't even know what a moxla is anymore. Some sort of venomous thing, I trust. Please enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to Star Wars! Specifically that special brand of Bioware-era Star Wars (like, they got their own era) set 4000 years before New Hope! Meet a bunch of new characters with forgettable fantasy names and also JET NEBULA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What did we think? What did you want to know? What are we doing next? The elements? We answer all the questions! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The climax is reached, can this book actually change anything or move any of the in-game story along? Will Bwonsamdi survive? Who rides what mounts? The elements? You better believe it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The penultimate episode dawns! A race begins as the Zandalari and Horde fight to stop the Widow's Bite from killing Bwonsamdi. You know what all those words mean, right? I sure do. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well, I'd love to tell you things are coming to a head, but we still don't know what that would look like. We are getting mentions of actual Shadowlands content though! That's neat! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices