Latest / Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama / Episode 8 (S3E08)

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Episode 8 (S3E08) · Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama

0:00
Speaker 1: Hi, this is George from Macathulu John and you're listening
0:03
Speaker 1: to Tale of the Manticor.
0:08
Speaker 2: The following podcast is intended for a mature audience. Listener
0:12
Speaker 2: discretion is advised. Welcome back to Tale of the Manticor
0:30
Speaker 2: season three. Like the creature from which it takes its name,
0:34
Speaker 2: Tale of the Manticor is a mashup, a crossbreeding between
0:37
Speaker 2: two different species of storytelling. Here you will find the
0:41
Speaker 2: unpredictability of old school paper and dice games with the
0:44
Speaker 2: story craft of a dark fantasy novel. No character is
0:49
Speaker 2: sacred and none will be spared if the dice decide
0:52
Speaker 2: their fate is at hand. According to lore, the Tale
0:56
Speaker 2: of a Manticor is barbed with cruel iron spikes. There
1:01
Speaker 2: will be much pain in the days ahead. Last time
1:13
Speaker 2: on Tale of the Manticor, Chapter seven begins with the
1:16
Speaker 2: somewhat awkward meeting between Achillea and de Renni, who seems
1:20
Speaker 2: unconvinced that his savior is what she claims to be.
1:23
Speaker 2: Once Achillia has introduced Cord and Robin, the quartete set
1:27
Speaker 2: off together in the direction of Doreni's home. Achillia is
1:30
Speaker 2: hoping that someone there who recognized the name adoc. Their
1:34
Speaker 2: immediate problem is a lack of food, and their first
1:37
Speaker 2: attempt to forage while on the move is unsuccessful. Adding
1:40
Speaker 2: to their misfortune, the Pieces stumble across a second group
1:43
Speaker 2: of Orcs on that very next day. Outmatched, they run
1:47
Speaker 2: and once again are pursued, but they are able to
1:49
Speaker 2: take shelter in a hill that is honeycombed with small caves.
1:53
Speaker 2: One of them is big enough for Achillea's party to enter,
1:56
Speaker 2: but too small for the much larger Orcs. Mixed fortune
2:00
Speaker 2: lies ahead, for while they discover a crawl space through
2:02
Speaker 2: which they might seek out another exit, they also end
2:05
Speaker 2: up disturbing a nest of giant centipedes. In the ensuing battle,
2:09
Speaker 2: the Pieces are victorious, dispatching their enemies with relative ease.
2:20
Speaker 2: Chapter eight, Part one, Day seven, late afternoon mythic event
2:28
Speaker 2: meaning negligence, weather party status Achillea four out of four
2:35
Speaker 2: hit points, court six out of six supplies. The companions
2:42
Speaker 2: have no food and no water spells available. Achillea has memorized, shrink.
3:00
Speaker 3: All right, I'm fine, that thing't bit you.
3:04
Speaker 4: I know they're poisonous.
3:07
Speaker 3: I know that too.
3:09
Speaker 4: Let me feel your forehead.
3:12
Speaker 2: Achillia reached out a hand, but Dornnie pulled away only
3:15
Speaker 2: in irritation, not anger. Achillia, her dagger now sheathed, showed
3:19
Speaker 2: her palms and surrender.
3:21
Speaker 4: I was only trying to help.
3:23
Speaker 3: Thank you, if you want to help, give me a
3:26
Speaker 3: boost Up there.
3:27
Speaker 2: There was a natural ledge that led to a raised
3:29
Speaker 2: cross base. Beyond they could see a flicker of daylight.
3:33
Speaker 2: Achillie went down on one knee and lifted Dorani's foot
3:36
Speaker 2: so that the elf could pull himself up the rest
3:38
Speaker 2: of the way.
3:39
Speaker 3: Humh, I'll be right back.
3:42
Speaker 2: He said, once up, and then he disappeared from sight.
3:47
Speaker 2: He was back in under a minute.
3:50
Speaker 3: It's big enough to get through and a good distance
3:53
Speaker 3: from the Orcs.
3:54
Speaker 4: They're still there, of course.
3:56
Speaker 3: They are, but it does appear they are about to
3:59
Speaker 3: make camp. We will wait an hour and then make
4:02
Speaker 3: a break for it.
4:06
Speaker 2: By d m fiat, I'm going to allow the party
4:09
Speaker 2: to escape while the Orcs, who are nocturnal, are sleeping.
4:12
Speaker 2: The exsit they've found is far enough away to justify
4:15
Speaker 2: that even if and when the Orcs leave a sentry awake.
4:19
Speaker 2: Between the risk of being trapped in the cave and
4:21
Speaker 2: the battle with the Giant's entipedes, I think I've exposed
4:24
Speaker 2: to Killia and her companions to enough danger to satisfy
4:27
Speaker 2: that roll of a one on the last stumble upon.
4:31
Speaker 2: I'm going to skip ahead a few hours. Now it's
4:33
Speaker 2: night and the party makes camp. I've already rolled all
4:36
Speaker 2: necessary checks for this day and night, but I still
4:39
Speaker 2: need to make rolls for the following day. Starting with weather. Ooh,
4:43
Speaker 2: A three is quite bad. Normally i'd say this calls
4:47
Speaker 2: for heavy rain, but here's a case where such weather
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Speaker 2: would actually help the PCs since they're out of water. Instead,
4:54
Speaker 2: I'll say it's hot and humid, making their travel even
4:57
Speaker 2: more difficult than usual. Next up is role for success
5:00
Speaker 2: in foraging as they go. A one on a D
5:03
Speaker 2: six will indicate success. A six these guys can't catch
5:08
Speaker 2: a break. It's making me nervous about these next roles.
5:11
Speaker 2: But here we go all the same stumble upon an eight,
5:16
Speaker 2: so nothing there. Finally, a check for wandering encounters. If
5:20
Speaker 2: this turns up positive, I'll revise my list again to
5:23
Speaker 2: account for the obvious presence of numerous orcs in the area.
5:27
Speaker 2: Here's the role. A one means, thankfully that there are
5:31
Speaker 2: no encounters. I won't narrate this day of travel. It's
5:35
Speaker 2: enough to say that moods are bad, bellies are empty,
5:37
Speaker 2: and throats are dry. The Pecs need to travel for
5:40
Speaker 2: one more day before they reach their destination, so it
5:43
Speaker 2: makes sense to simply go ahead and make these roles
5:46
Speaker 2: right now. So once again for weather, an eighteen. Well,
5:51
Speaker 2: that's nice, I think. The oppressive humidity breaks and an
5:54
Speaker 2: overcast day brings the cooler temperatures the Companions have been
5:57
Speaker 2: hoping for. Despite this improve of comfort, hunger and especially
6:02
Speaker 2: thirst are becoming a major problem, and now two days
6:05
Speaker 2: without either Achillea and de Renni will make all rolls
6:08
Speaker 2: at a minus one penalty. Next to stumble upon sixteen
6:13
Speaker 2: no result, and finally a wandering encounter check another one.
6:18
Speaker 2: It appears that luck is finally smiling on the Companions.
6:26
Speaker 2: Chapter eight, Part two, Day nine, late afternoon mythic event
6:34
Speaker 2: meaning negligence weather party status. The party status is unchanged,
6:41
Speaker 2: with the exception that they are now suffering from the
6:43
Speaker 2: effects of hunger and thirst. It was late afternoon when
6:52
Speaker 2: de Reni spotted familiar terrain. He led the others to
6:55
Speaker 2: where the land dipped, and then ahead they saw a
6:59
Speaker 2: pond crowded with cattails. To the famished Achillia, they looked
7:04
Speaker 2: like clusters of skewered sausages. De Renni brightly explained that
7:08
Speaker 2: most parts of the plant were edible, including the seeds inside,
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Speaker 2: the brown tube like tips, and the white, tender core
7:14
Speaker 2: of the stalk. He also said they were good boiled,
7:17
Speaker 2: and that even the pollen was edible if ground into flour.
7:21
Speaker 2: Achillie was more than satisfied to eat them raw, however,
7:24
Speaker 2: and did so with gusto, washing it all down with
7:27
Speaker 2: pond water. The seeds had little taste, but the shoots
7:31
Speaker 2: had a flavor, not unlike cucumber. Do Reni ate only
7:35
Speaker 2: a little bit, but he drank liberally, and while Achillie
7:37
Speaker 2: was filling her water skins, he announced that he had
7:40
Speaker 2: to go the rest of the way alone.
7:42
Speaker 3: I will return in an hour or two. I need
7:45
Speaker 3: you to wait for me here.
7:47
Speaker 2: Achille was disappointed, even when de Rennie explained.
7:50
Speaker 3: Why no outsider may enter the settlement without an invitation
7:54
Speaker 3: from the elders. I am sorry, that is our first lull.
8:00
Speaker 2: Before he left, de Rennie promised to take along Achilia's
8:03
Speaker 2: sketch book and ask his elders if they recognized the
8:05
Speaker 2: places depicted inside. He also promised to ask if they
8:09
Speaker 2: had ever heard of someone named Audac living in the Northlands.
8:14
Speaker 2: After he left, things seemed to become very quiet and still.
8:19
Speaker 2: In truth, the two of them had not spoken all
8:21
Speaker 2: that much in the three days they'd known each other. Hunger, thirst,
8:25
Speaker 2: and the rigors of travel had consumed much of their energy. Additionally,
8:29
Speaker 2: they had mostly traveled in single file elf fashion, as
8:32
Speaker 2: Derennie preferred, and this too had made conversation difficult. The
8:37
Speaker 2: only time they had spoken at length was at night
8:39
Speaker 2: when they made camp. Even then, they'd each shared only
8:42
Speaker 2: a little about their personal histories. The talk had been vague,
8:46
Speaker 2: and for the same reason. They both had people to protect,
8:50
Speaker 2: so the time had been filled swapping funny stories about
8:53
Speaker 2: their youth or talking by their favorite foods. Achillie had
8:56
Speaker 2: also taught a few words of the common tongue to
8:58
Speaker 2: de Renni, although he don't learned about ten of them,
9:01
Speaker 2: a few simple verbs and nouns. By the time they
9:03
Speaker 2: had arrived, Court had watched Achillea hand the sketch book
9:07
Speaker 2: to do Renni and had figured out what was going on.
9:10
Speaker 2: So the two of them sat at the pond edge
9:12
Speaker 2: and listened to the frogs while afternoon turned into evening.
9:16
Speaker 2: Akilia thought back on all that had befallen her. She
9:20
Speaker 2: figured she'd had more experience of the world in the
9:22
Speaker 2: past week than she'd had in the last ten years,
9:25
Speaker 2: and more danger than she wanted in a lifetime. From
9:28
Speaker 2: the bizarre exchange with Fim of the Iron Tower, to
9:31
Speaker 2: the discovery of her master poisoned and turned to stone,
9:34
Speaker 2: to the ill fated meeting with Edo, her rescue of Dornni,
9:38
Speaker 2: and then the fight with the giant centipedes. It was
9:41
Speaker 2: like a never ending bad dream. There was no waking
9:44
Speaker 2: up from it, no turning back. She was just beginning
9:47
Speaker 2: to entertain the troubling idea that de Rennie might not
9:49
Speaker 2: return at all when she heard movements in the bush
9:53
Speaker 2: and then parting a group of cattails down the middle
9:56
Speaker 2: and walking through the gap, came to Renni first, and
9:59
Speaker 2: then behind him a much older looking elf. So de
10:07
Speaker 2: Rennie has gone back to his people, who live in
10:09
Speaker 2: a settlement inside the Sitevy Marsh. He would have been
10:12
Speaker 2: sorely missed by now, so his family is deeply relieved
10:15
Speaker 2: at his return. He tells his story, explaining about his
10:18
Speaker 2: capture by the Orcs, and subsequent rescue by a strange
10:21
Speaker 2: looking young woman who claims to be an elf but
10:23
Speaker 2: does not look like one. I can imagine his repeating
10:26
Speaker 2: this story several times before word gets to one of
10:29
Speaker 2: the elders. Then he's telling his tale over again and
10:32
Speaker 2: true to his word, asking about the place's in Achilles's
10:35
Speaker 2: sketch book and about the name Adoc on her behalf.
10:39
Speaker 2: I think a couple of roles are in order here. First,
10:43
Speaker 2: I'll allow a chance that the elders would recognize either
10:45
Speaker 2: Audoc's name or the places in his drawings. I'll say
10:49
Speaker 2: it's a one in four chance, but I'm going to
10:51
Speaker 2: use a D twenty. The sixteen or higher will be
10:53
Speaker 2: a yes, and the higher than number, the more the
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Speaker 2: elders know, here's the role, well, well, oh, well a seventeen.
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Speaker 2: They do know where this is, though they are not
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Speaker 2: familiar with anyone named Adoc. But would they share this information?
11:09
Speaker 2: Would they be inclined to help? I know they'll want
11:12
Speaker 2: to meet Achillia, so I'll make the reaction role in advance.
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Speaker 2: I'm going to add a plus one for her speaking Elvish,
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Speaker 2: plus one for her having saved a member of their community,
11:21
Speaker 2: and a minus one for her clearly not looking the
11:23
Speaker 2: way they do. So I'm rolling twoty six plus one. Okay,
11:28
Speaker 2: I can work with that. Chapter eight, Part three, Day
11:44
Speaker 2: nine evening mythic event meaning negligence whether party status. The
11:53
Speaker 2: party status is unchanged, with the exception that they are
11:56
Speaker 2: no longer suffering from the effects of hunger or thirst.
12:03
Speaker 2: The cattail reeds bent to either side in a V,
12:05
Speaker 2: and then to court an Achillee's relief. De Rennie, now
12:09
Speaker 2: properly dressed in a sleeveless deerskinned jerkin, then looking much refreshed,
12:13
Speaker 2: stepped through. A short bow and quiver were slung over
12:16
Speaker 2: his shoulder, and there was a sword at his belt.
12:20
Speaker 2: Right behind him came a much older elf, similarly dressed,
12:23
Speaker 2: but somehow more impressive by virtue of their demeanor. Dorennie
12:27
Speaker 2: handed a wooden bowl to Achilie even before introductions were made.
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Speaker 2: It was full of nuts, roots and berries.
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Speaker 3: I thought you might still be hungry.
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Speaker 2: He said. She was, and it took considerable will power
12:39
Speaker 2: to refrain from digging in right away. But Alvey had
12:42
Speaker 2: taught her that manners were important, especially when meeting people.
12:46
Speaker 2: For the first time.
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Speaker 3: This is val Quin, one of the elders of my tribe.
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Speaker 2: Achilia wasn't sure if she should lace her fingers in
12:53
Speaker 2: front of her abdomen or not. She decided a simple
12:56
Speaker 2: bow would do and offered one, bending slightly at the waist.
13:00
Speaker 2: The elder made no such move, nor did they say
13:03
Speaker 2: anything at first. Valkeine was androgenous in appearance and of
13:07
Speaker 2: an age that was certainly much greater than de Renni,
13:10
Speaker 2: but hard to guess with certainty. Their face was wrinkled
13:13
Speaker 2: and tanned, with hair that was dark brown streaked with gray.
13:17
Speaker 2: The older ELF's expression was inscrutable yet intense. They stared
13:21
Speaker 2: at Achillie without blinking for several seconds before the small
13:24
Speaker 2: straight line of a mouth opened.
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Speaker 1: De Renie says, you speak our tongue.
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Speaker 2: Achilie had time to think, oh no, not this again
13:32
Speaker 2: before the elder continued.
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Speaker 1: He also tells me you can work magic. Where do
13:36
Speaker 1: you come from, child, and from whom did you learn
13:38
Speaker 1: your powers?
13:39
Speaker 2: Their voice was neither aggressive nor friendly. Achilie felt immediately
13:44
Speaker 2: on her back foot and decided that a little more
13:46
Speaker 2: forthrightness and honesty might be called for in this exchange.
13:49
Speaker 4: My master is the wizard old vay Luok.
13:52
Speaker 2: Whether Valkane knew the name was impossible to say. Their
13:55
Speaker 2: face remained unreadable.
13:57
Speaker 1: And where is your Femily?
13:59
Speaker 5: I was abandon as a child and adopted by Master Miwok,
14:02
Speaker 5: She replied, I'm looking for someone who can help me.
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Speaker 1: Help you what?
14:07
Speaker 2: The voice remained cool, and even the time worn face
14:10
Speaker 2: seemed to be studying her, But Achilia didn't want to
14:13
Speaker 2: give away too much.
14:14
Speaker 5: My master is in danger. I seek a person named
14:18
Speaker 5: Odoc who might be able to help.
14:20
Speaker 4: Do you know of him?
14:21
Speaker 2: I do not, came the simple reply, and Achille's heart dropped.
14:25
Speaker 1: But then I do recognize one of the places in
14:28
Speaker 1: your books of drawings.
14:29
Speaker 2: However, Achille's emotions reversed and a surge of hope filled her.
14:33
Speaker 4: Oh, please tell me whatever you can.
14:35
Speaker 1: These lands are far to the north. It would take
14:38
Speaker 1: you three weeks to get there.
14:40
Speaker 4: Three weeks.
14:42
Speaker 2: Achilie had not been expecting to have to travel anywhere
14:45
Speaker 2: near that far. In fact, she thought she must be
14:48
Speaker 2: very close by. Now she'd already been gone more than
14:50
Speaker 2: a full week, and.
14:52
Speaker 1: The way is not easy.
14:53
Speaker 4: I understand, yet I must go.
14:56
Speaker 1: I think you will need help.
14:58
Speaker 2: Balkine's large eyes bored into hers, unblinking.
15:01
Speaker 1: So I have allowed de Renni to accompany him.
15:04
Speaker 3: I told my people how you saved me from the Orcs.
15:07
Speaker 2: Mentioned de Rennie by way of explanation. Oh, Achillia brightened,
15:11
Speaker 2: Thank you, she said to both of them. Elder Valcan
15:15
Speaker 2: held up a gnarled brown finger.
15:17
Speaker 1: I still have questions. Of course, your master is an elf.
15:21
Speaker 1: He looks as I do, am. No Ah, he looks
15:26
Speaker 1: as you do.
15:27
Speaker 4: That Master Aldve is of the race of.
15:29
Speaker 1: Men, a human.
15:32
Speaker 2: De Rennie seemed surprised at this, though it made sense.
15:34
Speaker 2: Achilia had barely spoken of her mentor with him. She
15:38
Speaker 2: nodded in confirmation, wondering what this elder Valkan would say
15:41
Speaker 2: about her guardian's race. But they said nothing, nor did
15:44
Speaker 2: their face give away any hint of whether the news
15:46
Speaker 2: came as good or ill.
15:48
Speaker 4: How old are you child, I am twenty one.
15:50
Speaker 2: Years of age, replied Achilia.
15:53
Speaker 1: And your companion is of your making.
15:55
Speaker 2: Valcan had noticed court when they first met, but hadn't
15:58
Speaker 2: given him a second glance. He is up my master's
16:01
Speaker 2: Achillea corrected.
16:03
Speaker 1: Three weeks there, three weeks back.
16:06
Speaker 2: It took a moment for Achillie to realize Volcin was
16:08
Speaker 2: not speaking to her anymore, though their eyes still looked
16:12
Speaker 2: into her own.
16:13
Speaker 1: Your parents won't be happy to know that you've left
16:15
Speaker 1: again so quickly, to Rennie. But I agree, honor demands
16:19
Speaker 1: and perform this service all the same.
16:21
Speaker 2: Do not terry. The elder finally looked away and at
16:24
Speaker 2: to Rennie, as if to underscore the importance of their words.
16:27
Speaker 2: The younger elf, for his part, not an agreement. There
16:30
Speaker 2: was a sober look on his face, but his eyes
16:33
Speaker 2: betrayed his excitement. The elder returned their gaze to Achillia,
16:37
Speaker 2: and though their expression remained cool, the intensity was no
16:40
Speaker 2: longer there.
16:42
Speaker 1: You look half starved. You have my leave to eat.
16:45
Speaker 2: Valkine half turned, then had second thoughts and looked back
16:48
Speaker 2: at Achillia.
16:49
Speaker 1: Good fortune.
16:50
Speaker 2: With that, they walked through the reeds, back the way
16:53
Speaker 2: they had come. De Rennie remained, and while Achillie ate,
17:01
Speaker 2: he removed his bow and quiver and put down a
17:03
Speaker 2: backpack she had not seen before, then set about unpacking
17:06
Speaker 2: his bedroll. She noticed that he waited until the elder
17:09
Speaker 2: was out of sight before he did so. Achillia chewed
17:12
Speaker 2: a third mouthful of berries. Swallowed and then.
17:14
Speaker 5: Asked, why do you make him two or three hours
17:17
Speaker 5: of daylight? He had remained that we.
17:19
Speaker 2: Might use Dorani looked up with a mischievous grin and.
17:22
Speaker 3: Said, I have a surprise for you.
17:25
Speaker 2: Achillie returned to bemused squint what surprise you.
17:29
Speaker 3: Will have to wait and see.
17:38
Speaker 2: When I made Elder val Kene's reaction role previously, I
17:41
Speaker 2: got an eight, which is on the slightly positive side
17:44
Speaker 2: of neutral. In my mind, I pictured this character as
17:47
Speaker 2: an elf with a face devoid of emotion, completely unreadable.
17:52
Speaker 2: They've been alive for a long long time and have
17:55
Speaker 2: seen a lot. Seeing a construct like cord, for example,
17:59
Speaker 2: is not going to phasee them. I think Valkene suspects
18:02
Speaker 2: that Achillia is a half elf, maybe even knows it
18:05
Speaker 2: for a fact, but their mo is to never give
18:08
Speaker 2: anything away. They control the information they call the shots. Interestingly,
18:13
Speaker 2: Dernni had a similar kind of reaction to Achillia back
18:16
Speaker 2: in episode six, also a rolling an eight. It makes
18:19
Speaker 2: me wonder if maybe most elves in Merith are simply
18:22
Speaker 2: less emotional, at least outwardly, so they burn hot on
18:26
Speaker 2: the inside, but their culture is not to show it.
18:30
Speaker 2: Another role I made in advance this time off Mike
18:33
Speaker 2: was to determine how far away autoc Is thought to be.
18:36
Speaker 2: The spot Valken recognized from the book of Illustrations. I
18:39
Speaker 2: thought would be farther than Achilia had imagined traveling, but
18:43
Speaker 2: it wouldn't make sense that it was extremely far away,
18:46
Speaker 2: after all, both Aldve and Valken have clearly been there
18:49
Speaker 2: in the past. I ruled that it would be two
18:51
Speaker 2: to four weeks away on foot, and the result was three.
18:55
Speaker 2: De Renni has come prepared for the journey, bringing weapons
18:58
Speaker 2: and a backpack containing it armor, ten days worth of
19:01
Speaker 2: rations for each of them, and other sundry supplies. Clearly
19:04
Speaker 2: they'll have to forge and hunt on the way, but
19:07
Speaker 2: this makes sense. I don't imagine elves engaging in much agriculture,
19:10
Speaker 2: hunting and forging. I would think are more their nature.
19:14
Speaker 2: Speak ape Donni. Today he becomes a full member of
19:17
Speaker 2: the party, and so I'm going to roll him up.
19:19
Speaker 2: BX uses race as class, but I'm not going to
19:22
Speaker 2: do that. The reasons are twofold. One. I find the
19:26
Speaker 2: elf race in BX to be a bit merry sue
19:29
Speaker 2: they're good at everything, and that doesn't appeal to me,
19:32
Speaker 2: the second reason is an extension of the first. To
19:35
Speaker 2: counteract all the powers in BX, elves take twice as
19:38
Speaker 2: long to level up as other classes. I don't love
19:41
Speaker 2: that for this medium, so I'm making some changes to
19:45
Speaker 2: keep things simple. I'll say that Elves can be any class,
19:48
Speaker 2: but to balance out their racial abilities, they will get
19:50
Speaker 2: one die lower on the dice chain for hit points. Therefore,
19:54
Speaker 2: a fighter would not get a D eight but a
19:55
Speaker 2: D six. A magic user or a thief would get a
19:58
Speaker 2: D three instead of a DF FOULI. We'll talk more
20:01
Speaker 2: about leveling up and how that works in the next episode,
20:04
Speaker 2: but for now, I think just rolling out dur Annie's
20:06
Speaker 2: stats will be enough. I see him as a fighter,
20:09
Speaker 2: so he'll get the maximum of six starting hit points.
20:12
Speaker 2: Next up her stats, I'll just grab three D six
20:15
Speaker 2: and we're off. For strength, a ten intelligence, another ten,
20:22
Speaker 2: wisdom a little better. I've gotten eleven dexterity, Hey, a
20:28
Speaker 2: fourteen very good, constitution, a nine charisma thirteen that's pretty good,
20:36
Speaker 2: and without having to change a single thing, fits with
20:39
Speaker 2: what I already imagined about Durnni. He's going to be
20:42
Speaker 2: an archer primarily, but still knows how to swing a sword.
20:46
Speaker 2: With that done, let's get back to the narrative and
20:48
Speaker 2: find out what kind of surprise this elf has in
20:51
Speaker 2: store for Cord and Achillea. De Rennie still wore a
20:58
Speaker 2: private little smile as the unpacked his bag to show
21:01
Speaker 2: the others what he had brought for their travels. First,
21:04
Speaker 2: he pulled out Audoc's sketch book and turned to the
21:06
Speaker 2: page bearing the drawing Valcan had recognized. It showed a
21:11
Speaker 2: lake with a small island. On the island was a
21:14
Speaker 2: distinct lozenge shaped stone standing upright in the center. In
21:18
Speaker 2: the background were the dark shapes of mountains with snow
21:21
Speaker 2: capped peaks. After the book, Dorennie unpacked a chain mail shirt,
21:26
Speaker 2: which he said he would start wearing tomorrow. This spot
21:29
Speaker 2: was safe, so he didn't need it yet. He had
21:31
Speaker 2: also brought a flint and steel, thirty feet of rope,
21:34
Speaker 2: a sewing kit, a traveling cloak, a second water skin,
21:38
Speaker 2: and of course the portioned rations.
21:41
Speaker 4: That looks like a lot of food.
21:43
Speaker 2: Achilia commented. Indeed, on its own it represented two thirds
21:47
Speaker 2: of his load. It will not last forever, said De Rennie.
21:51
Speaker 3: We will have to hunt and forage.
21:53
Speaker 2: As we go.
21:54
Speaker 4: Whatever is required.
21:55
Speaker 3: I am willing, said Achillia, and we should bear slightly
21:59
Speaker 3: northeast the first few days. Elder Volcanes said. Both Orc
22:03
Speaker 3: groups we encountered were scouts for a larger war band.
22:07
Speaker 2: How large, asked Achillie, frowning, fifty.
22:11
Speaker 3: Or sixty in total? They come through every few years.
22:15
Speaker 4: Are your people safe.
22:16
Speaker 2: Asked the half elf, with real concern. Do any smile broadened.
22:20
Speaker 3: They are safe. The stevy marsh is not friendly to
22:24
Speaker 3: those who do not know the safe ways through.
22:27
Speaker 2: Achillie changed the subject.
22:28
Speaker 5: Are you ready to show me your surprise yet? Look
22:31
Speaker 5: the sun is going down?
22:33
Speaker 2: Not yet?
22:34
Speaker 4: Fine, keep your secrets.
22:36
Speaker 2: Achillie concluded, with exaggerated indifference.
22:39
Speaker 4: I cannot.
22:40
Speaker 2: For the next hour she sat with Cord and explained
22:43
Speaker 2: all that had transpired, using the common tongue so he
22:45
Speaker 2: could understand. The wooden man sat and listened patiently as
22:49
Speaker 2: she did. Every now and then Robin would wing in
22:52
Speaker 2: land on one of their heads, peep a quick melody,
22:55
Speaker 2: and then fly off again. With the sunset, the frogs
22:58
Speaker 2: started singing too. They were loudly chorusing up with the
23:02
Speaker 2: shiny crescent moon. When a noise drew the party's attention.
23:07
Speaker 2: Across the pond, in the exact same spot where de
23:09
Speaker 2: Renni and Valken had come into view, now appeared another
23:12
Speaker 2: solitary figure. Despite the fairly strong moonlight, it was hard
23:17
Speaker 2: to make out any details of their face.
23:19
Speaker 3: De Rennie stood, ah, my surprise has arrived.
23:28
Speaker 2: Thanks very much for listening to Tale of the Manticor
23:30
Speaker 2: and happy holidays everyone. If you're enjoying the show and
23:33
Speaker 2: would like to help to support it, there are lots
23:35
Speaker 2: of ways to do so. You could recommend the show
23:38
Speaker 2: online or to friends you could like in repost episode
23:40
Speaker 2: announcements on social media. You can pick up one of
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Speaker 2: my offerings on drive through RBG. You can pick up
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Speaker 2: a Tale of the Manticore t shirt at www Dot
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Speaker 2: bar Arts dot store. And finally, you can rate or
23:51
Speaker 2: review the show on your podcatter of choice. I am
23:53
Speaker 2: grateful for all of your support. Speaking of which, at
23:57
Speaker 2: this point, I'd like to read another one of your
23:58
Speaker 2: kind listener reviews. This one was left by Brad Bootim
24:02
Speaker 2: on Apple Podcasts. Brad writes, you got my creative juices flowing.
24:07
Speaker 2: I love the flow of your show. Going to go
24:09
Speaker 2: back and check out season one and two. Thanks very much, Brad.
24:13
Speaker 2: What really makes me happy about this review is that
24:15
Speaker 2: it seems to have been made by someone who only
24:17
Speaker 2: recently discovered the show. I'm delighted that folks are still
24:20
Speaker 2: finding Tail of the Manticor, Brad, I sincerely hope you
24:23
Speaker 2: enjoyed the first two seasons. There are two contributing voice
24:27
Speaker 2: actors on this episode. Ky Ellen is back playing de Renni,
24:30
Speaker 2: also in the role of val Keene, one of the
24:33
Speaker 2: elder elves of the Setevy marsh It's James from the
24:36
Speaker 2: Undercommon Taste podcast. My thanks to both of you, and
24:39
Speaker 2: welcome to the cast, James. For those curious to learn
24:42
Speaker 2: a bit more about Tale of the Manticore, I keep
24:44
Speaker 2: a blog where I post all kinds of show and
24:46
Speaker 2: RPG related stuff like art, maps, tables, crafts, and show notes.
24:51
Speaker 2: You can find it at Tale Ofthemanticore dot blogspot dot com.
24:54
Speaker 2: To get in touch with me, I'm at Manticore Tale
24:57
Speaker 2: on X, Tale of the Manticore podcast on Instagram, or
25:00
Speaker 2: Tale of Themanticor at gmail dot com. I'd love to
25:03
Speaker 2: hear from you. Before I sign off, I'd like to
25:06
Speaker 2: thank cast members and listeners alike and wish them a
25:09
Speaker 2: happy and healthy holiday. The next time we meet, it'll
25:12
Speaker 2: be twenty twenty five. Imagine that the adventure will continue
25:16
Speaker 2: on the next episode of Tale of the manticor this
25:18
Speaker 2: story where chaos rules