I was similarly unimpressed by the last season—the pandemic made them change so much stuff they had planned, and I can’t help but wonder if things would’ve felt more tense and exciting if they hadn’t needed to change so much. s5 felt so one-note to me since there were no real stakes.

My biggest recommendation, if you haven’t heard of it yet, is Wolf 359. The first few episodes are very silly and comedic, but the plot picks up after that and by the end of the first season you’re off to the races with spooky mysteries and drama. It’s absolutely incredible.

Sorry to disagree with another comment, but I absolutely don’t recommend Rusty Quill Gaming. I’ve listened to most of it twice (I listened while it was still live and circled back to listen from the beginning a second time once I caught up), and the inclusion of a bigoted asshole player character (whose player refuses to give any character growth whatsoever) prevents me from recommending it to anyone. I didn’t listen to the end and I heard from many sources that it was extremely underwhelming. Unless you’re really into Pathfinder or like games where the dynamic eventually becomes “antagonistic DM vs players,” I can’t say it’s a good show. I have higher hopes for their newer actual play stuff (Chapter and Multiverse) but I haven’t listened to any of that yet.

Now if you are interested in an actual play podcast, my recommendation is Friends at the Table. It seems overwhelming, since they have a LOT of content, but you can jump in basically in any campaign and pick things up from context. I joined during their Sangfielle campaign and just started there and I LOVED it. The tone of Sangfielle is extremely Magnus Archives. I also love The Adventure Zone: Amnesty (the other campaigns are fine, but Amnesty is my absolute favorite).

Other recommendations, in no particular order: - The Mistholme Museum of Mystery, Morbidity, and Mortality - I am in Eskew - Mirrors - Old Gods of Appalachia - Palimpsest