When this newsletter releases, I’ll have given the Quest Friends! team their annual anniversary gift, which means I can finally share it with you.
New Episodes
Arc 2 is done… ish! We may have left on just a little bit of a cliffhanger.
News & Neat Stuff
We’re doing another Trivia “Night” for this year’s anniversary stream! Join us on Friday, September 26th at 9:07 AM PT/12:07 PM ET and watch our team struggle through so many basic questions, it’ll make you wonder whether they actually played the game at all. Here’s the link: twitch.tv/questfriends
Patreon Highlight
Sasha, Gosha, and If's adventures at the premiere of Swanshine were a core part of The Midas Touch, so we thought it might be nice to compile them into a single episode. This episode is available to all Patreon followers, free and paid alike!
Necromonicon Entry: The Squees
Surprise! This one’s not actually a Necromonicon entry at all, because I spent way too much time on the Kyle’s Corner. Instead, it’s a behind-the scenes look at Eponine, the voice actress behind the squees. When she gets hyper, she can’t help but bite away at her squeaky toy, making her a very determined actress.
Kyle’s Corner: Survey Results 2025
A few months ago, we performed our first audience survey since 2023, and like last time, I’d like to share our results with you! For the sake of brevity, I’ll focus on the most interesting stats, but if you’d like a more detailed analysis, feel free to shoot me a message.
This survey received 16 responses, which is 22 less than last time. Quest Friends! has shrunk slightly in size since 2023, but that’s still a big difference in responses. This is primarily because none of the respondents learned about the survey through the announcement break, which was the largest source of respondents in the past. It looks like I’ll need to make sure I include all important ad information before the dynamic ads, rather than after.
As a result, a lot of the information from the survey can only be trusted so much. That doesn’t stop me from being giddy that heterosexual is no longer the most commonly picked sexual orientation, though.
What is Quest Friends?
I ask a lot of questions as part of the survey, but the most important category for me is “why do you like us,” which I ask multiple variations of. Specifically:
How did you learn about us? (what forms of outreach are working best)
Why did you originally listen? (what is appealing about us on a surface level?)
Why did you continue listening? (what is appealing about us on a deeper level?)
What was your favorite episode, and why? (what works on a smaller level?)
Would you recommend us to a friend, or why? (this is secretly a “do you like us,” question, as respondents are much more likely to be honest when asked if they’d recommend a product or show to a friend)
What do we excel at? (what’s something we should continue doing?)
What’s something another favorite podcast does that we should do? (what does our audience like in their podcasts?)
The goal of these questions is to find any areas of overlap in the answers, so that we can focus on not only providing the specific experience our fans would like the most, but also on
So what is the overlap? I noticed two key traits that kept coming up.
Trait 1: Parody and Experimentation
The most popular favorite episodes (Die Card, The State v. Irene Hawthorne, and Little Mon Big City) were either parodies or used mechanics unique to them. These episodes dethroned the previous favorite (The Necromon Thief), which was also a parody. So while we won’t become a show that’s entirely made out of spoofs, it looks like “trying something new” is a big appeal - as long as we don’t muddy the main narrative too much.
“i /have/ recommended quest friends to somebody who wanted to see Ace Attorney / courtroom drama rules in action”
“[Quest Friends excels at] bringing in micro-frameworks as needed (ace attorney rules, mon rules, etc.) and trying them out and modifying or ditching them as needed.”
It’s easy to assume that this means our audience doesn’t care about TTRPG mechanics, but I don’t think that’s entirely the case. Not only do mechanics inform how a game is played, but multiple fans claimed to listen specifically because we weren’t playing D&D. For example:
“The AP Podcast space has way too many D&D action bros. Queer Friendly found family shows inspired by Pokemon are a rare thing”
To be fair, that comment may be more related to trait 2:
Trait 2: The Cartoon Tone
I intentionally market Quest Friends! Hereafter as being similar to Gravity Falls and The Owl House for a reason. Both shows combine chaotic humor, wholesome characters, tense drama, and a lack of gore in a way that works really well. And apparently we do, too!
“Hereafter sounded like a fun setting that wouldn't be the kind of explicitly violent combat I find offputting in [actual play]”
“I love the chaos and perfectly balanced mix of humor and horror… The vibes almost make it feel like I’m in the room with yall, so it’s very fun”
“I love finales, and I love how [The State v. Irene Hawthorne] was action packed and suspenseful but still kept QF’s trademark humor. I couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry the whole listening to it”
“My two beloved queerplatonic husbands with benefits are in [Quique’s Golden Age]. Also it was a really nice break from all the angsty stuff going on lol”
In that way, I suppose it’s not a surprise that a moderately-sized crossover with a cartoon podcast did just as well promo-wise as the largest TTRPG podcasts we were able to get on.
Other Fun Answers
Here are some random answers I thought were fun.
When asked for reasons why they continued listening, some fans answered:
“Hallie”
“The humor and story telling. (Mostly the female performers)” Honestly this one’s a lose-lose for Emily. Either they’re incorrectly listed as a female performer, or they’re stuck with me in the bottom-tier 😭
Additionally, one fan recommended “The Magnus Archives does fun side episodes focused on individual characters (for example there’s one on Martin’s bad poetry) and I think that could be fun!” This fan was listening to Flashback Future and hadn’t gotten to the memory episodes yet. Let us all wish that poor soul good luck.
What’s Next?
When I finished analyzing the survey results, I made a list of key insights and action items. Here’s the list, (largely) unedited!
Fans are committed, but there aren’t many new ones
Start translating the spanish on transcripts (or provide a cheat sheet)
Promotional insights
Join the Party continues to be a smart promotional avenue
Cartoon & TTRPG podcast crossovers (Owl House Reaction & Character Creation Cast) work well
Do a collab with Very Random Encounters!
The fact that our show isn’t particularly grisly & gory is an appealing point. We swear, but that’s the only real reason we’re not appropriate
Well-done diversity is key to fan enjoyment
Welcoming vibes and wholesome, friend-focused tone is enjoyable
BUT the story is where we excel
Not being D&D is big. Related: fans like how we explore mechanics and storytelling
This includes things like our parodies, which would be fun to include more of.
Necromon battles were enjoyed! Have some more.
Keep that silly, sincere, and stakes sweet point going
NPCs
Big Jake Hell is popular
Oset is silly but has serious stuff going on
Walnut is infectiously enthusiastic
Unhinged characters are loved (rasputin & yunuen)
Lean into Lucifer being THREATENING
Add a SFX before outtakes?
The plot has TOO MANY THINGS going on. Simplify it and make it clear what the big tentpole story arcs are. Adventures should link back to those, even if they touch on other smaller plot threads (e.g. Juniper & Irene’s relationship)
Narrow the focus of the story and the stakes. Maybe have some kind of countdown to trouble?
Next arc - just a little shorter
Clear up Mateo, hilda, and rasputin. What happened before the campaign is a bit confusing. We also need to start tying our mysteries together
Make it really clear what happened to hilda, now that our characters know
Put announcements embedded in the episode announcement break itself. Then remove dynamically when time has passed.
Do an ad for the next arc once the musical episode ends? Or integrate it in with the summary?
Play with mechanics and micro-frameworks
Make more character art
Do a fan art contest OR a fan exchange