The Glass Cannon

{{Short description|Fantasy-based role-playing game podcast}}

{{Infobox podcast

| title = The Glass Cannon Podcast

| image = The Glass Cannon.png

| caption =

| starring = {{Plainlist|

  • Troy Lavallee (Game Master)
  • Joe O'Brien
  • Skid Maher
  • Matthew Capodicasa
  • Grant Berger (Campaign One)
  • Sydney Amanuel (Campaign Two)
  • Kate Stamas (Campaign Two)

}}

| genre = Comedy, adventure, roleplaying

| updates =

| length = ~60-90 minutes

| language = English

| num_episodes = 326 (As of 4/17/2022)

| list_episodes =

| began = June 16, 2015

| ended =

| ratings =

| cited_for =

| provider =

| license =

| website = https://glasscannonnetwork.com/

| theme_music_composer = Kevin MacLeod

| cited_as =

| module =

}}

The Glass Cannon is an actual play podcast featuring the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game by Paizo Publishing, and is the flagship podcast of The Glass Cannon Network (GCN). The first episode was released on June 16, 2015, and over 326 episodes were produced before the first campaign came to its conclusion in June 2022. The first campaign of the podcast followed the Giantslayer adventure path from Paizo, supplemented by homebrew content to further flesh out the backstories of characters outside the purview of the main adventure path resources.

History

After receiving his MFA in Acting from Columbia University, Troy Lavallee spent the better part of two decades looking for work as an actor and comedian in New York while bartending on the side. Troy came up with the idea for the Glass Cannon Podcast while gaming with his friends Joe O'Brien and Skid Maher. At the time, there was a dearth of actual play podcasts and the ones that did exist were playing Dungeons & Dragons. The project found itself uniquely positioned due to the relative lack of Pathfinder podcasts in circulation, compared to other tabletop roleplaying games.{{cite web | url=https://nerdsonearth.com/2015/10/interview-troy-lavallee-dungeon-master-of-the-glass-cannon-podcast/ | title=Pathfinder RPG: The Glass Cannon Podcast | publisher=Nerds on Earth | date=June 21, 2019 | accessdate=January 28, 2021}}

In 2017, the GCN signed a first of its kind licensing deal with Paizo which allowed monetization of the show. The deal was further extended three years in 2018.{{cite web | url=https://paizo.com/paizo/press/v5748eaidgs9n | title=Paizo and Glass Cannon Extend Partnership | publisher=Paizo Publishing | date=December 6, 2018 | accessdate=January 28, 2021}} The GCN also receives funding from fans via the crowdfunding platform Patreon. As a result of this financial support, they were able to add a second weekly show and a Patreon exclusive show, after which some of its founders left their previous jobs to make the Glass Cannon Network a full-time project.

In 2018, the Glass Cannon began a US Tour. The tour followed Paizo's Strange Aeons Adventure Path which was converted to Pathfinder Second Edition in May 2022.

In Spring of 2023, the second major campaign launched on the Glass Cannon Podcast feed featuring the Pathfinder Second Edition Adventure Path Gatewalkers.

Sound effects and music are made with Syrinscape, as well as compositions by Kevin MacLeod.{{cite web |date=July 1, 2017 |title=The Glass Cannon Podcast Interview |url=https://www.sword-buyers-guide.com/glass-cannon.html |accessdate=December 7, 2019 |publisher=Sword-buyers-guide.com}}

Reviews

Geek & Sundry reviewed it as one of the best tabletop podcasts.{{cite web | url=https://nerdist.com/article/even-more-gaming-podcasts-for-all-kinds-of-gamers/ | title=Even More Gaming Podcasts for all kinds of gamers | publisher=Nerdist | date=April 9, 2016 | accessdate=December 7, 2019}} Forbes described it as engaging and bawdy, but not for kids.{{cite web |date=August 23, 2017 |title=Save Yourself From Gridlock Boredom With 2 Apps, 3 Podcasts And 1 Technology Hack |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonykarcz/2017/08/23/save-yourself-from-post-eclipse-traffic-with-2-apps-3-podcasts-and-1-technology-hack/#5144a9181339 |accessdate=December 7, 2019 |work=Forbes}}

References

{{reflist|30em}}