Community Spotlight: The Sembian Revival by Longwinded One

This is first in a series of short articles I will be writing to showcase some of the great fan-made Forgotten Realms content out there. Considering I am a fan and the community here is rather small, I still find it is helpful to have some sort of camaraderie with other members in the Realms fandom.

So first and foremost, I want to highlight a fun podcast by the Longwinded One, website here (YouTube if you prefer). Specifically, the fourth season which is titled The Sembian Revival. It is a sort of audio drama about Sembia in 1491 DR, a sort of follow-up to the Erevis Cale novels, particularly the last one, The Godborn. It was released in short episodes, originally based off the events of a campaign played around a table before being messed with to create a story in podcast form. The whole thing can be listened to on platforoms where podcasts are hosted, such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Each episode can also be listened to on YouTube. There is a final episode, number 200, which is all of them combined to make a more than five-hour long experience somewhat like a short novel.

This is a story that will take you on a tour of Sembia and even some close locations like Battlerise, Cormyr. It is very well researched and put together. Fans of epic campaigns will not be disappointed. 

The one thing left out of the final episode are all the interviews the host, Jared, was able to put together throughout, including talking with Realms names like Ed Greenwood, Philip Athans, Richard Lee Byers, Dave Gross, John Pruden and Clayton Emery. There are also interviews with the cast, so you can get to know them. Of all the content I have watched in recent years, this just might be the most underrated. Almost no one knows about this show, and I think many Realms fans would enjoy it considering the dearth of novels and other lore heavy materials today.

I know that there was a follow up campaign in Cormyr, and maybe someday we will get a similar audio drama in podcast form going over those events. I would be ecstatic if that happens, but for now, go and check out The Sembian Revival from Longwinded One.

It is also worth noting, that it was my conversations with Jared that led to this blog being created. I was reading many Forgotten Realms novels as I was rocking my newborn daughter and in conversation with him on Twitter. That was almost three years ago, to the day, I created this blog.

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You can track my current progress here.