You're walking in the woods, minding your own business, and suddenly, a voice rings out: "Hello-o? Can you hear me? Help me! I'm stuck.". You investigate the voice, and find... A jar? A really big jar. This is no mason jar, though. It's shaped like a friend, and has arms for huggin'.

His name is Alexander, or, more specifically Iron Fist Alexander, and he wants to assist you on your quests. We've bravely rescued him from his hole in the ground, and now he's ready to go on adventures with you!

Standing roughly 6.25" high, 8" wide and 8.75" deep, this Warrior Jar is constructed of the finest porcelain, glaze and clay. Though he may not swing at your enemies or get stuck in various mudpits, Iron Fist Alexander is ready to hold whatever dark secrets you might have in his (not food safe) interior. He comes ready to serve with arms crossed in repose, as well as a beautiful red clay seal gilded with the Erdtree itself.

Like the real Iron Fist Alexander, it is not advised to use this Jar Warrior for any food related purposes. He is happy to serve you as a planter, a storage container, or simply as a stoic figure cheering you on from a bookshelf or desk. He is also more fragile than he looks, so don't take him to any combat related festivals or similar scenarios.

Iron Fist Alexander was rescued from his hole in the ground, sorry, hand-crafted and donated by Michelle Rapp, the extremely talented ceramics artificer and improv wizard!

Alexander is a prize on offer for this year's Desert Bus run, and you'll have the chance to make him your own either as a giveaway or live auction! We're posting the full rundown of when prizes will be available soon, so make sure to check back, and get your alarms set! You don't want to miss out on this integral party member!

Are there more previews coming? More surprises? More announcements? Of course there are!!! Things are heating up as we get closer and closer to the start of the run, so keep your eyes on our socials and watch this space!

We at Dawn Guard have finally come to an accord, just in time for our contractually obligated appearance on the Desert Bus for Hope blog. We hope you enjoy, and please, leave your questions for after the meeting.

Entertainment is as follows:

James is a founding member of the Desert Bus for Hope charity marathon. Between Desert Bus, LoadingReadyRun, and digging holes in Minecraft he keeps pretty busy. One time he at an entire pumpkin pie to himself. He's survived by his wife Ashley, and dog Jade. In lieu of flo— wait... was this meant to be an obituary?

i like coffee

Ashton's back for another year of guarding the Dawn, and trying to keep these 6 wheels on the road.

I edit let's play videos for PlayFrame, the YouTube channel I run with my husband, Daniel. We make chill and cozy videos with a focus on animation. Daniel records most episodes solo, and I join him each Sunday, sometimes also joining our occasional Twitch streams!

Liz Smith, also known as Dammit Liz, is a person of many talents. She loves video games, dogs and the beach. Fortunately, she recently moved to Los Angeles where there is sun and beach. Prior to the pandemic she was producing live comedy stage shows where she enjoyed working with her friends to make people laugh. She hopes to do that again soon. These days Liz is a Producer at Riot Games in Santa Monica, California.

I'm Kate, sometimes known as billsmom ( Hi Chat !) I witnessed the birth of LRR before DB1. I earned fame on the Bus when it was feeding time. Left alone on air, the studio was invaded by government men.  I used my Jedi training to convince them. Since they were now on live stream,  to auction something !?!  That moment, was auctioning a houseboat trip, and then men in suits dancing. My proud DB milestone.

And Now, The Other Ones™:

Az is on the comms team for blog, and they are currently writing this. I also do art stuff, and I'm a spooky witch who likes the moon a little too much. Please do not perceive me.

Kelly is also on comms, but on social media. They are a long standing face at DB and very good at their job. Sometimes they like to dress up in kigarumis and spread chaos into their general surroundings.

Ashley is a cool person with a weird husband. She works in shipping and has previously been our beloved Prize Mines Mistress. She has a cute dog name Jade, and loves to scream "AAAAAAFRICAAAAA" at the top of her lungs.

Paxton is a site manager human man who's a big teddy bear and very good at cleaning up after others. He's also good at other stuff! But you'll have to ask him.

Boomer is chaos incarnate and makes very good cookies. She works in broadcast and likes to dress up and do cool make up, and they give very good hugs, as long as you ask for consent first!!!

Shawn also works in broadcast and helped Ian develop the ever elusive Dance Party Button!! If you can't tell, he is incredibly good at his job.

We will now go back into our chambers and finish the legal proceedings over the coffee pong incident. Good luck and we will see you soon!

In a bus, where shift clocks tell the time, and the volunteers swap out every six hours,  there exist the Unbound. These volunteers know no shift, and make their own schedule, all for the benefit of the bus. These are their stories.

Fugi works tirelessly as both an event organizer for Desert Bus for Hope, as well as one of the web techs behind DesertBus.org, and all of the numerous back end (heh, back end) pages needed to keep everything rolling along. If you can read this, it means everything is working as expected, so don't forget to say "Thank you Fugi!"

Johnny (he/him) is our broadcast producer and head of the broadcast team. The broadcast team keeps the stream on the air when it oughta fall down. Or, if it does fall down, picks it back up, dusts it off, and gets it back on air! You may see Johnny on air, or popping in as a disembodied voice during the run.

Remember when Desert Bus was written up in that thing you like? Or plugged by that person you like? That's all due to Dan (he/him), our head of public relations for Desert Bus! He's responsible for our press releases, liaising with news outlets, and generally spreading the good word of Desert Bus for Hope.

Look at this photograph, every time I do it makes me laugh. Likely because it was taken by Kolin (he/him), our official Desert Bus photographer! Kolin always gets the perfect shot, and harkens in a random dance party for every photo dump to photos.desertbus.org

Jason (he/him) is a video production master, having helped out remotely for various bits and intros for a few years, but now he'll be back in person for the first time since DB 10! He's on hand to support the Broadcast team, as well as getting behind the scenes videos. No bloopers, though, as Desert Bus is a blooper in and of itself.

We have one more volunteer preview on the way, but that's not all! We also have more prize previews, merch previews, and other surprises up our sleeves! Stay tuned! Same bus time, same bus channel!

BOY! When I was your age I had to climb up the Jötunheim mountain in the snow, both ways, just to look at a God of War replica axe and hammer as beautiful and perfect as these ones made by Sam's Skunkworks. You kids have it so easy these days with your deserts and your buses bringing the Leviathan Axe and Mjölnir right to the comfort of your cozy, weak little home where you can gape at them freely and maybe even bid to win them after the ride starts. You could bring them both home in a wooden chest and you don't even have to slaughter an entire pantheon to do it! ARRRRGH

Keep coming back to this MISERABLE website for more previews of the disgustingly awesome prizes and events in store for you after #DB2022 starts on November 12. That's only 3 days after God of War Ragnarök comes out but you make your own choices about how to spend your time.

Kids these days just want to dance around and support a worthy charity instead of battling ancient foes on the edge of a cliff like real, mature adults...

Night Watch stands ready for another year of Desert Bus antics. It takes a village to drive a bus, for some reason, but our volunteer village is up for the task! Come to our town hall every day from 6pm to 12am Pacific Time, starting on November 12, and join the ride with this ensemble cast of night riders.

Entertainment

Graham Stark (He/Him)
A founding member of Desert Bus for Hope, Graham continues to fill his November with DB weirdness because he knows no other way. When not performing unhinged nonsense for charity, Graham spends the rest of his year as a producer, director, writer, and performer, creating comedy and light entertainment with the team at LoadingReadyRun.

Matt Wiggins (He/Him)
Once upon a time, long long ago, Matt was a member of loadingreadyrun. Then he moved to Vancouver, and was replaced with a different Matt. You may know Matt from previous Desert Busses, a number of older LRR videos, from his streams on twitch, from one of the videogames he has worked on, or far more likely, as that guy who appears in photos of videos of his puppy Maple sometimes.

Ian Horner (He/Him/They)
Purveyor of quantified bullshit since 2005. Charismatic megafauna for LoadingReadyRun. One of the Olds.

Andrew Ferguson (He/Him)
Andrew has been a Desert Bus volunteer & organizer for over a decade now, starting out as our first official photographer at Desert Bus 6. Now, as our Communications Director, Andrew leads the thirstiest team on the bus and helps oversee our social media, blog, photography, & PR presence on the web. In addition to Desert Bus, Andrew's active in the indie game scene working on games, giving the occasional talk, and by assisting with Indiecade & the IGF awards.

Andrew also runs chiptune shows as a co-founder & emcee for the Vancouver Chipmusic Society and is the current board president of the Vancouver International Burlesque Festival. Andrew also has two incredible partners, Sara & Sandra, a very round calico cat named MySpace, and a sunglow boa constrictor named Helios. Andrew is not sure why he is writing this in the third person. Andrew is listening to loud hyperpop and has had too many coffees today.

Jordan Hopkins (He/Him)
Jordan Hopkins is a long time Desert Bus wordsmith and entertainer based out of Seattle. When not doing K-pop shenanigans or Gundam goofs at Desert Bus, Jordan streams too many roguelikes to count and crafts Social Media Marketing plans for Magic at Wizards of the Coast!

Max Loy (They/Them) – Stage Friend

Someone's got to fiddle while Rome burns, and Night Watch's stage friend Max is perfect for the job. They keep the show on rhythm while the entertainers waltz around, and sometimes soothe the wild beast that is our souls with their amazing live fiddle performances.

Broadcast

Ben Ulmer (He/Him) – Broadcast Producer

Cory McElrea (He/Him) – Broadcast Director

Broadcast magicians Ben and Cory let us beam our antics into your home, and they do it in style, with scintillating hi-def and quippy chyrons.

Site Manager

Brett Johnson (He/Him)

Night Watch is in person again this year, which means we have all these people in one physical location, which in turn means someone has bring order to the chaos that is the Moonbase. That wonderful someone is Brett.

Shipping

Alexandra Eastveld (She/They)

You know those fairy tales about helpful elves that come out at night to bake your cookies or cobble your shoes? Alex is that elf. If you get a prize from Desert Bus, Alex will emerge from a cozy cubby behind that bookshelf to ship it to you.

Communications

Juliana Cooper (She/Her)

Soraya Een Hajji (She/Her)

Julie (socials) and Soraya (blog) are both a mix of museum curator and intrepid reporter: they curate the finest gifs and bring you the latest news from Desert Bus. Without them, no one would know what's going on! ...Even with them, sometimes no one knows what's going on.

Next up for our previews is a painstakingly created piece of art made by Johanna Iles Art. This wool painting has been inspired by the wonderful generation 1 Pokémon characters.

Snorlax has a case of the munchies and is chowing down on his favourite thorns!
Nestled in the forest alongside him you'll find Pikachu, Cubone, Diglett, Charmander, Caterpie, Jigglypuff, and Eevee.

Every aspect of this picture has been sculpted from ethically sourced wool and natural fibres, using needle and wet felting techniques. The thorny vines are wired inside and can be carefully adjusted. Cubone is jointed with thread allowing their limbs and head to gently move.

If you love Pokémon you're going to love this prize, and if you love this prize I'm sure you'll love many more of them! So make sure to stay tuned because this prize and many more will be auctioned off & given away during our run, and starting Saturday, November 12th at 2pm PST!

The afternoon crew is here! Today, we’d like to introduce you to the team that’ll be running the bus during Alpha Flight, 12pm-6pm Pacific Time, coming to you from onsite at the Moonbase.

Entertainment

These are the volunteers you’ll see every day on Alpha Flight. They laugh, they do challenges, they roll dice, they… oh, right, also make sure the bus doesn’t crash.

Cameron Lauder
he/him

Cameron is an integral function of the universe as expressed as a collective of trillions of cells held together by assorted organic mucilage that spends most of its time being afraid of things that aren't real.

Erika Cole
she/her

By day Erika is a mild mannered public servant, but by night she is a mild mannered Shipping & Prizes coordinator for Desert Bus for Hope. She is also the self-proclaimed second most popular Minecraft stream who exclusively digs out chunks. [citation needed]

She is also an above average Magic player, a below average Warhammer painter, and a perfectly average baker.

Jacob Burgess
he/him

Jacob Burgess is an actor, writer, and helps run indie game publisher Ysbryd Games. You may have heard him in Arcade Spirits: The New Challengers or Glitchhikers: The Spaces Between, read his works in Vampire: the Masquerade or Exalted, or seen him run Not a Drop to Drink, a V5 Chronicle over on LoadingReadyRun.

If not, you're encountering him now. He says hello.

Kathleen De Vere
she/her

Bog witch who works by day as a video editor and producer for LoadingReadyRun, and by night as that too if I have a deadline to meet.

Mikey Neumann
he/him

Mikey Neumann is the creator of the YouTube channel Filmjoy where he spreads joy and talks about why film is art on his show Movies with Mikey. Before beginning his channel, he worked in the video game industry as a creative director on games such as Brothers in Arms, Borderlands, and Borderlands 2.

Stage Friend

Matt Griffiths, he/him, they/them

We know the energy of Desert Bus can look chaotic… and maybe it kinda is. But… that’s why our Stage Friend, Matt, is here to help keep the show rolling and organized. From picking challenges to reminding us that there’s another giveaway ready to go, the Stage Friend keeps everything running smoothly.

Broadcast

Joe Trollo
he/him

Martin “Map” Pittenauer
he/him

The fine broadcast team of Joe and Map is here to capture every moment and every happening of Desert Bus 2022. They make sure the video is hi-def, the audio is leveled properly, the dance party button is properly calibrated, and that the lower third is on standby to provide well-timed remarks.

Shipping

Jo Stinson
she/her

Should you be fortunate enough to win a giveaway or auction, Jo from the Shipping team is here to help get your sweet swag from Point A to Point B. The team also manages the on-site Prize Mines, albeit smaller than in years past, and makes sure to stress that, no matter how cool that sword is, you really shouldn’t try slicing bread with it.

Site Managers

Emily Jarrett
she/her

Sarah Toney
she/her

With Alpha Flight once again broadcasting on-site this year, the Site Manager team of Emily and Sarah are here to coordinate on-site logistical matters and make sure that no one burns anything down during the run. We hear that a burning Moonbase isn’t really suitable for an event.

Communications

Taylor “TQ” Quinn
she/her

Tim Lindvall
he/him

And finally, the Comms crew of TQ and Tim are here to words words words words words. We’ll keep you up to date on what’s happening and share the most premium GIFs on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and the blog right here at desertbus.org.

Let’s set the scene for this prize preview… you find yourself riding in a van capable of traveling all across the multiverse. It comes to a stop, and you step out into a grand library! Suddenly, as you step forth to explore further, an assortment of characters leaps out from the tales within and stand before you, from dashing bards to strong-willed warlocks, clever androids and road-rage vampires. Where will the adventure go next? Perhaps an investigation roll is in order?

This “Dice Friends” display set includes 54 miniatures, each modified and painted as characters from 10 “actual play” game campaigns hosted on the LoadingReadyRun and Desert Bus channels, including last year’s D&B Alpha Flight campaign. At 28mm or ~1:56 scale, they’re perfectly sized for your next D&D tabletop adventure.

And, to tie it all together, this set includes 8 upcycled books with magnetized covers, featuring the various tales these characters come from painted on the spine. Use them as miniature storage, dice tray, or a super stealthy way for your rogue to pass along coded messages.

This collection was hand-crafted and donated by Carrie Emmerich (@iris_of_ether) and is the result of over 8 months of planning and effort!

We’ll publish more information about this prize, our other prizes, and other scheduled happenings at #DB2022 very soon! Until then, check back on desertbus.org and our social channels for ongoing updates as this year’s event approaches.

Ladies, gents, and friends beyond the binary, it's time to ZETA! Okay, maybe not time to Zeta just yet, but it is time to show off who will be joining in on the overnight fun. A few new faces, a few returning faces, all of them ready to keep the bus on the road in the wee hours of the morning! Just a reminder, Zeta is remote this year, so we'll see you from the comfort of our homes!

Your Entertainers

This is our on-screen team, bringing goofs, laughs, and some awesome guitar solos!

Beej (he/him) is the longest standing member of Zeta Shift, having been the fearless leader since the jump! A little about Beej:

"Straight up, the last thing anyone wants to do is write a bio about themselves.  Like, I've got a nice enough keyboard here and everything, but I'm not really feeling the vibe.  Anyway, if you found this somewhere, you were probably thinking "hey, maybe I'll learn something neat about Beej" and honestly, there's going to be nothing buried in this prose that'll be illuminating.  I coordinate the selling of merch and I produce the Zeta shift; same as last year, and that's pretty good.  We should all be so lucky to have that kind of consistency in our lives.  By the way, I'm selling my entire bedroom suite (bed, desk, chair, toy box, and bookshelf - all matching colours), so if you're interested, hit me up.  They're pretty old, but they're well-built so I think you or your kid will see a lot of good use out of them."

Follow Beej on Mastodon at @beej@octodon.social

Cori (she/her) makes a return to Zeta this year, after exploring strange new worlds, and seeking out new life & new civilizations with Night Watch. About Cori:

Cori is a content creator at LoadingReadyRun and tiltyhouse. She first appeared at Desert Bus 4 in 2010 and has mostly continued to do so. Her most recent project is a podcast called Hey, Check It Out where she talks about movies with a couple friends.
Likes: Pop culture media
Dislikes: Seasonal allergies

Follow Cori at twitter.com/apsalar

Paul (he/him)makes his Zeta debut after being a Dawn Guard staple. This year, he trades in the coffee pong for mysterious lego, and we couldn't be happier to have him! More about Paul:

On vacation in South America, Paul was bitten by a radioactive sloth. He gained the proportional laziness of a sloth but has pledged to use his powers only to help those in need. Upon further investigation, it is possible that the sloth wasn't actually radioactive, in which case, the laziness was inside him all along!

Hang out with Paul at loadingreadyrun.com!

Broadcast

All of our teams rule, and none could do it without each other, but we literally could not do it without Broadcast.

Jen (she/her) returns for her second year as Zeta producer! We're thrilled to have her back and be continuously baffled by how to pronounce the names of tiny towns in the UK, and astounded with how awesome her graphics are.

Sarah (she/her) says Bye Bye Bye to Alpha Flight to get NSYNC with Zeta. She's here as director to overwatch the shift, and be a real daredevil in the broadcast booth.

Communications

Someone has to keep you in the loop, and provide your daily dose of silly memes and gifs. For that, we have our Zeta comms!

PJ (he/him) returns for his fourth year of Zeta shenanigans and consistent bus-posting.  While he may wrestle with finding the perfect gif, his posts are always too sweet. He's the reigning 24/7 Zeta comms champ!

Matthews (he/they) is also returning for a fourth year, tag teaming Zeta comms with PJ. Last year they brought a Desert Bus for Hope sign to an AEW event, so they've got that going for them. Which is nice.

And that's your Zeta for the year of our bus, 2022! Keep your eyes peeled for more previews coming soon! We have prizes, volunteers, and more coming soon!

HELLO AND WELCOME

We wanted to give you all a little taste of our prizes this year, and we are starting off strong with a beaut!

Celebrating the imagery and motifs from the timeless RPG masterpiece "Chrono Trigger", this handmade clock can sit handsomely on its LED-backlit base or can be lifted out and hung on a wall with the base used as a standalone art piece. Made by Odd Fox Laser Creations.

"Only time will see how it all ends."

- Guru Balthasar

Keeping track of time has challenged humanity since 65 million BC. Now you can take control of the 4th dimension with this one-of-a-kind hybrid mantle & wall clock.

At the bottom of the clock looms the fearsome destroyer Lavos. Above him rises a 3D time portal glowing with mysterious energy. At the center is the golden crest of the Eternal Kingdom of Zeal, and the face, hands, and pendulum pay tribute to the clock seen in the original title screen of the game.

Made from woods including Japanese tamo ash, spalted maple, and South American bocote, the clock has been sealed to protect against the passage of time. While seated on its base it measures 14"W x 17"T x 5"D and is powered by one AA battery and an optional USB cord for the LED backlight.

Does this clock intrigue you? Do you want to get your hands of this ART?!
Are you excited for even more wonderful creations to be shown to you?!
Then make sure to stay tuned as we slowly give you little snippets of our goodies!
This incredible prize and many more will be auctioned off & given away during our run, and that starts on Saturday, November 12th at 2pm PST!