It’s the end of an era. After seven years and 326 non-arbitrarily-numbered episodes, the Glass Cannon Network has officially closed the book on their first flagship Pathfinder Giantslayer Campaign. Episode 326, clocking in over 6 hours and 3 parts, released this morning to much fanfare, tears, and joy.
Here at Nerds on Earth, we’ve been following The Glass Cannon Network from the beginning. That’s long before they were a full-fledged Network and just the Glass Cannon Podcast. Now they offer a myriad of podcasts like the Starfinder podcast – Androids & Aliens, their chillingly-exciting Delta Green show – Get in the Trunk, and the hottest show for scoundrels on the network – Haunted City. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg for all of their ongoing content.
There’s nothing quite like the ending of a show. On the one hand, you’ve been anxiously awaiting to see how the story will wrap up. On the other hand, there’s this bittersweet feeling of an old friend moving away, becoming little more than a memory that you can occasionally visit. And the same holds for the Giantslayer campaign and inaugural podcast from the Glass Cannon Network.
For a lot of people, the Giantslayer podcast is what got them into tabletop gaming. I know that I never would have started playing Pathfinder if I hadn’t started listening to the exploits of Gormlaith, L’orc, Barron, and Gelabrous. Listening to the story, cast, and characters evolve has been a real ride, and a part of my weekly (and sometimes daily) life for the past seven years.
But as it ends, the Glass Cannon podcast feed will transition and merge with the ongoing Glass Cannon Live playthrough of the Strange Aeons Pathfinder Adventure Path. And after that, a whole new campaign through GCP 2.0. I’m so pumped to continue that story and see what they’ve been cooking up at the studio for 2.0, but in the back of my mind I know that I’ll still be missing Giantslayer.
Luckily the podcast is all captured digitally and collectively throughout the GCN fandom (aka The NAISH) we probably have hundreds of redundant backups to ensure that the Glass Cannon Podcast is always a piece of history for aliens to discover in a thousand years. So even though it’s ending, we can always go back and relive our favorite moments with our favorite characters.
A long time ago (read: June 2018), we published an article of Four Things I Learned Listening To The Glass Cannon Podcast. With the end of an era, I thought it would be nice to share three more things to round it out to be a classic Nerds on Earth List of 7.
1. Follow Your Bliss
I won’t get into any #GCPFinale episode spoilers, don’t worry. But in Troy’s introduction to the Finale of Episode 326, he talks a lot about how getting to this point with the Glass Cannon Network was never an easy journey. There were many opportunities where they could have thrown in the towel or settled for a ‘soul-crushing 9-5 job’. Instead, Troy knew that he wanted to carve out a niche in entertainment and continued working at it every day. And look at the Glass Cannon now.
Things are rarely going to be easy, and giving up may look like a worthwhile option. But if you are truly passionate about something, you just need to make incremental steps towards that goal and keep that fire alive inside you. A couple good things are gonna happen if you do.
2. Fandoms Are Double-Edged
Whenever you’re telling a story, there are always going to be pieces of that story that people don’t like. Whether it’s the actual content, the inflection, or long periods of banter, fandoms can be a sickly sweet poison. People don’t generally like change, and the second something begins to turn from what it used to be, some people break out the pitchforks and take to the message boards to complain.
You’re never going to totally like everything. There’s bound to be a piece of content that doesn’t resonate with you like others. And that’s totally okay. You can wish that things were back like they were in the good ol’ days, but it’s not an excuse for you to yuck somebody else’s yum.
Within a fandom or community, we should lift each other up and support the creators that we appreciate and value. And share your joy of your fandom with others so that they might discover something they didn’t know they needed.
3. Friendship is Joy
After listening to the OG Glass Cannon crew so much, it certainly has made me appreciate my own friendships that much more. Not only did I start up my own weekly Pathfinder gaming group with my brothers and friends, but we played through the entire Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path from start to finish. It’s helped us keep in touch over the years, even when we live 2,000 miles apart.
Cherish your friendships and relationships with the people that you love. Now, you don’t have to go and record a thousand hours worth of podcasts to prove your friendship, but maybe breaking out a board game or some paper and dice will be the ticket to further solidifying that relationship. At a bare minimum, you’ll get to spend some time together with some worthwhile company, right?
The Glass Cannon Network Is The Giant Now
It’s amazing looking back to our old interviews with the Glass Cannon Crew and hearing some of Troy’s hopes and dreams for the Network. Not surprisingly, many of them have come true!
For example, Troy wanted to get noticed by Paizo, and they’ve been an officially licensed partner for many years now. They’re Guests of Honor at PaizoCon each year, and serve as de facto emissaries for all things Pathfinder.
He also wanted to do live podcasts and panels at conventions, which is definitely some of their best content. If you want an electric atmosphere, try to catch some Glass Cannon Live when it comes to a city near you!
And perhaps the most important one:
My hopes for the future of the podcast is that, if nothing else, we finish all six books of Giantslayer, which would probably clock in at about 180-200 episodes…
Troy Lavallee – 2015
As Joe said in today’s episode, we all should have hammered the over on that one.
To the Glass Cannon Network: Thank you. Thank you for all of the laughs, the tears, and for letting us in on your game. Know that we’re right here with you, anxious and excited for what comes next.
We all look up to the real Giants of Tabletop.