Who are we?
Top of the Round was created in 2019 in a basement in Washington state. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. All we knew is we had a story to tell, one that deserved to be heard, and that desire quickly turned into an obsession with storytelling in audio form. In 2020 we formed White Raven Studios, and in 2022 we built our own home studio in Minnesota where we all currently reside. Since then, our fans have enjoyed our weekly releases and theorizing about our homebrew worlds. While we are technically an Actual Play podcast using TTRPG games as a base, listening to Top of the Round, or TotR, as our fans call it, is more like diving into an immersive audio drama or radio play. We take character development and worldbuilding very seriously, and want to not only do our characters justice, but to make people think.
Our first campaign ranked #16 WORLDWIDE in the Audio Fiction World Cup in 2023. While we are wildly proud of this, as it speaks to the incredible amount of work we put into our production, we hope to rank even better in 2024 with campaign 2.
Our first campaign ranked #16 WORLDWIDE in the Audio Fiction World Cup in 2023. While we are wildly proud of this, as it speaks to the incredible amount of work we put into our production, we hope to rank even better in 2024 with campaign 2.
Kenon Pearce
Game Master / Worldbuilder / Writer / Story Weaver / Editor
In 2017, Kenon began creating Ishnar - the homebrew setting of our story. His goal was to create a truly open sandbox world robust with stories and intriguing characters for his players to encounter. In Ishnar, there is no set BBEG. The characters decide who they think is in the right, and who to stay loyal to, and deal with the consequences. Kenon finds inspiration in music, art, and anime. He takes great joy in both traumatizing and encouraging his players and weaving one hell of a story. Life can be overwhelming, but Ishnar helps Kenon focus and process when his brain is feeling spicy. By day, Kenon spends his time managing a local coffee chain, but by night, he pours his time into the continual development of Ishnar and Top of the Round.
Twitter/X: @Mr_fugufish
Twitter/X: @Mr_fugufish
Nikki Richardson
Player / Producer / Social Media / Website Admin / Main Editor / Writer
Nikki has always adored the written world. Constantly being enveloped by the pages of a good book, the only thing she loved more than reading a book was writing them. Her love for a well crafted story translated over to TTRPGs when she and Jordache dove headfirst into Ishnar. Nikki is our Commander and Chief. Writing content while being not only the social media manager, but also head editor. She is also the only one in the group with the power to keep us all on schedule. Every episode is fine-tuned and expertly paired with music to accompany and elevate each episode we release. In Campaign 1 Nikki roamed the land of Ishnar with Talice Illoryn, a formidable member of a secret organization, pulling at the strings of fate. Follow those strings into campaign 2 as Nikki will re-enter as a new PC, Clover Barrows.
Twitter/X: @thenikkiri
Twitter/X: @thenikkiri
Jordache Richardson
Player / Co-Producer/ Co-Editor / Writer / The Brains / The Only One Who Can Do Math
Jordache has always had an obsession with well told stories (ask his comic collection). When we started playing TTRPGs in 2018, he was immediately hooked. We like to call him the wildcard, as he has a tendency to play characters that always do the unexpected. Jordache has a quick wit, is the ONLY one of us that can handle a math problem, and enjoys writing and helping Nikki with our scripted content – see our Patreon TotR Caps for just how hilarious and unhinged he can be! Jordache enjoys visiting family back home in Hawaii, voice acting, and spending time with his wife, Nikki. In Campaign 1, Jordache played the lovable and chaotic Chaz Walker, a young druid trying to find himself in a world of powers beyond his control. In Campaign 2, Jordache joins us as a new PC, Varien Tyris.
Twitter/X: @Jdash24
Twitter/X: @Jdash24
