Crew of VARÚÐ: Dead Ísland
Left Neil, Middle Eyþór, Right Dagur. Hidden behind the Camera Volly.
The crew of VARÚÐ: Dead Ísland got together and recorded for 10 days straight, creating over 48 story episodes plus a few bonus episodes. Yes the studio got hot and yes it was the sweet stench of nerds rolling dice, winding up the GM and having zombie survival actual play podcast fun!
It does come up occassionally, that our real life jobs and experiences feed into the almost realistic game setting that we have. From electrician, to the pharmacies, from design engineering to living in the United States, these aspects of our real lives feed into our ttrpg actual play throughout Dead Íslands story, affecting the resources and encounters throughout this make believe roleplaying game in Iceland.
Dagur Jóhannesson – Player, note taker and Icelandic helper
Dagur, despite being the least experienced at recorded play (see his amazing stint as guest GM on The Lucky Die though), he was a brilliant player for Nonni the resident almost doctor. He brings incredible note taking skills, humor, energy and a knockout emotional performance when needed. Plus, he assisted the floundering pronunciations of Volonda with patience and calm.
At Blighthouse Studio, Dagur has appeared as a voice actor on The Lucky Die and Counterbalance, guest GM as well as yet to be release guest player spots on The Sprouting. It was about time he joined officially as a core cast member on something. He is a stand out, note taking hero of the rpg table.
Dagur is a born and bred Icelander, and based in Iceland. He met Eyþór when they worked together as parking officers that eventually led to games of D&D. And it was through playing together that he also then met Volonda. He currently runs a kickass homebrew D&D game for the pair and their friends. Volonda says kick ass because they don’t want their character to die.
Out in the real world, Dagur works in pharmaceutical logistics and enjoys reading.
Eyþór Viðarsson – Player, video editor and builder
Eyþór brings his usual blend of wit, sincerity and heartbreak to VARÚÐ Dead Ísland in the form of Óli. Eyþór built the interior of the studio that we use to record in person, from the walls to the carpet to the inbuilt LED strips. Plus, he learned how to video edit for VARÚÐ RPG.
At Blighthouse Studio, Eyþór is utilised for his voice across multiple shows, from being a player on the actual plays to one of the lead actors on the scripted audio drama Counterbalance.
Eyþór is a native-born Icelander from the island Vestmannaeyjar, just off the south coast of Iceland. After moving to the capital for higher education, he quickly discovered his love for podcasts. Very shortly Eyþór began exploring voice acting and it was through one of these projects that he met Volonda.
Out in the real world, Eyþór is a master electrician in Iceland, son of a fisherman and married to the Game Master.
Neil Martin – Player, audio engineer, and musician
Neil is a fantastic player for VARÚÐ Dead Ísland, bringing in the non Icelandic family member Bryce. Not only is our American a solid player, he is also VARÚÐ RPG’s audio guru, doing everything from audio treatment to editing to creating all the eerie music you hear in the show!
At Blighthouse Studio, Neil is the resident musical and editing guru for our other actual plays, The Lucky Die and The Sprouting. Neil is both player, editor and musician for those shows as well, and you can find Neil’s music on Bandcamp, Patreon and on Roll20!
Neil got into podcasts and tabletop games after returning home from playing in punk rock bands in various parts of the country, which he did after quitting music education college. Having a personal love for cinematic and ambient music, Neil had dabbled in making experimental music in many genres before actually dedicating himself to learning audio production techniques.
Out in the real world, Neil lives in the USA and does deliveries as his main profession, alongside the paid editing work he does across Blighthouse shows.
Hem “Volly” Brewster – Game Master, producer and chaos keeper
Volly is the British keeper of madness, and also Dead Ísland. They have been intensely researching Zombies for a while and decided to create a game the likes of which they have never run before – leaning heavily into the idea of monster of the week, creating an infection system because a good one doesn’t exist (in their opinion, get in the comments), plus challenging themselves with the Icelandic phrases and places. Also, they’re the producer.
At Blighthouse Studio, Volonda holds the Lead Producer role, which was once described as doing all the odd jobs no one else can or has the time for, or finding resources for said jobs. They’re the resident cheerleader, organiser, promoter, finance person, resource finder and like a Bard, Jack of All Trades.
Volly had the sobering realization that they have been playing TTRPGs for nearly two decades, with nearly 16 years of that in the homebrew Game Master role. Creating systems, running games and generally doing what is needed to create a fun game with high stakes – mostly to entertain their friends first and the public second. Telling stories is in their blood and their raison d’etre.
Out in the real world, Volonda is currently a consultant, full time creator and lives in Iceland with their husband.
