Latest / Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama / Episode 25 (S3E25)

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Episode 25 (S3E25) · Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama

0:00
Speaker 1: Hi, this is Thomas the Hanchling and you're listening to
0:04
Speaker 1: Tell of the Manticle. The following podcast is intended for
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Speaker 1: a mature audience. Listener discretion is advised. Welcome back to
0:30
Speaker 1: Tale of the Manticor Season three. Like the creature from
0:34
Speaker 1: which it takes its name, Tale of the Manticor is
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Speaker 1: a mash up, a cross breeding between two different species
0:39
Speaker 1: of storytelling. Here you will find the unpredictability of old
0:44
Speaker 1: school paper and dice games with the story craft of
0:46
Speaker 1: a dark fantasy novel. No character is sacred and none
0:51
Speaker 1: will be spared if the dice decide their fate is
0:54
Speaker 1: at hand. According to Laura, the Tale of a Manticre
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Speaker 1: is barbed with cruel and spikes. There will be much
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Speaker 1: pain in the days ahead. Last time on Tale of
1:14
Speaker 1: the Manticor, in the last chapter, the companions take fair
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Speaker 1: wind On as part of their number and depart the
1:20
Speaker 1: land of the cay Horse. They walk and walk and
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Speaker 1: walk for over two days. Nothing interrupts their travels. Along
1:28
Speaker 1: the way. Ten Tire begins to complain of the effort
1:31
Speaker 1: and boredom, causing Achille to remember a fable all Day
1:34
Speaker 1: had once told her about a fletcher who obtains a
1:36
Speaker 1: magic stone and then foolishly wishes his whole life away.
1:40
Speaker 1: She shares the story with the others on their third
1:42
Speaker 1: day of travel after leaving the Land of the cay Horse,
1:44
Speaker 1: when Tentyre begins to grumble and gripe once again, and
1:47
Speaker 1: although fair Wind appreciates it, the lesson appears to be
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Speaker 1: wasted on the brothers. In the evening, the companions round
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Speaker 1: a hillock and are shocked to see an iron tower
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Speaker 1: in the distance not too far away. Chapter twenty five,
2:06
Speaker 1: Part one day nineteen, early evening mythic of then meaning
2:13
Speaker 1: propose weapons, party status Achillia nine out of nine hit points,
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Speaker 1: Cord fourteen of fourteen, Durni twelve of twelve, ten Tier
2:27
Speaker 1: ten of ten, fair Wind thirteen out of eighteen. After
2:32
Speaker 1: receiving one point of natural healing supplies, the companions have
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Speaker 1: no food and sixteen portions of water. Remaining spells available.
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Speaker 1: Achillea can cast shrink, message and glitter, dest Cord can
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Speaker 1: cast entangle and slow poison. Fair Wind can cast purify
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Speaker 1: food and water.
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Speaker 2: Is that's pasturani wonderment?
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Speaker 1: Yes, said Achilia, without consulting the others, She passed by
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Speaker 1: a tentire, taking the lead and heading in the direction
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Speaker 1: of the tower.
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Speaker 3: Achilia wait for us.
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Speaker 1: Tindyr called after her. The others had to hurry to
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Speaker 1: catch up and to keep up for while Achilia was
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Speaker 1: not running, she maintained a brisk and determined pace in
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Speaker 1: a direct line towards the tower. The half helf never
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Speaker 1: looked down. She remembered what had happened when she had
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Speaker 1: gone back to the tower after finding Alvay turned to stone.
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Speaker 1: It had been gone, and all she had found was
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Speaker 1: a flattened circle of earth and shrubs. This implied that
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Speaker 1: the tower was able to appear and disappear by some
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Speaker 1: kind of magic. Achillie did not, for a moment entertain
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Speaker 1: the idea that this was a different tower. It had
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Speaker 1: to be the same one. It just had to be.
3:47
Speaker 1: There was a flutter of wings as Robin flew past
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Speaker 1: her and on ahead, piping all the way. Achilia is
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Speaker 1: right about a couple of things. This is the same tower,
4:00
Speaker 1: and it does have the magical ability to travel by dematerializing
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Speaker 1: from this plane of existence, shifting its position in the
4:06
Speaker 1: ethereal plane, and then rematerializing elsewhere in the ethereal plane.
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Speaker 1: The rules of time and space do not exist in
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Speaker 1: that misty place. Movement is accomplished by force of will.
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Speaker 1: I'm not sure if the main characters of this story
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Speaker 1: will ever go to the ethereal plane, but I do
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Speaker 1: now know what the Tower is doing here. When I
4:25
Speaker 1: dreamt up this thing at the beginning of the story,
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Speaker 1: I just thought it was cool and strange, but I
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Speaker 1: had no idea who fimgrim Atresch and Bellario were. I
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Speaker 1: didn't know why they were there, and I have enrolled
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Speaker 1: at random to see if they had ever heard of Aldbay.
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Speaker 1: That ice said that they had not. And so while
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Speaker 1: I knew I wanted to see them again at some
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Speaker 1: point in the future, and I knew they would somehow
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Speaker 1: matter to the story, I.
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Speaker 2: Didn't know what they were doing or what they wanted.
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Speaker 1: It was only recently, months after writing those initial scenes
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Speaker 1: that I figured it out. Now I do know why
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Speaker 1: they are disappearing and reappearing in this region. And with
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Speaker 1: this information in mind, ahead of her and only a
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Speaker 1: few hundred yards away, the Tower of Iron began to dim.
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Speaker 1: No Achilliea blinked away the sweat that fell into her
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Speaker 1: eyes and broke into a run. She wouldn't let it,
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Speaker 1: get away, she told herself, all the while ignoring the
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Speaker 1: obvious truth that she was powerless to stop it. He
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Speaker 1: was dimmer still, and now she could see the shapes
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Speaker 1: of trees through it, as through a fog. She redoubled
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Speaker 1: her speed, racing well ahead of her companions, who were
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Speaker 1: huffing and puffing behind her. Akilia wait, She heard her
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Speaker 1: any call, but she paid him no heed and bolted
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Speaker 1: straight for the tower. By the time she had crested
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Speaker 1: the hill, it was so pale that she could see
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Speaker 1: clouds through it. It was barely there at all, just
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Speaker 1: a suggestion of itself, and when she actually arrived, it
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Speaker 1: was gone. Akilia found herself standing before yet another circle,
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Speaker 1: a flattened grass and stones pushed into the earth. Unable
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Speaker 1: to help herself, she dropped to her knees and wept overhead.
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Speaker 1: Robin circled, trilling and frustration. Oh Bobby, I've failed you,
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Speaker 1: I've failed you, she cried, tears cut twin tracks through
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Speaker 1: the dirt on her cheeks. Then Cord was there, offering
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Speaker 1: a strong wooden hand to help her up. Derennie was
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Speaker 1: there too.
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Speaker 3: It's not your fault, Achillia. You never had a chance
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Speaker 3: to get here in time, and at any rate, you
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Speaker 3: haven't failed. Your quest remains the same. We continue to
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Speaker 3: head north.
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Speaker 1: Call me cruel, but I knew that the iron tower
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Speaker 1: would disappear before Achillia could reach it. She's upset, and
6:51
Speaker 1: that's reasonable, But Derenni has a point. Their goal is unchanged.
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Speaker 1: I think the companions will take a moment to recover
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Speaker 1: and then continue on their journey another couple of miles
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Speaker 1: before finding a safe place to make camp. That means
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Speaker 1: I am back to rolling dice for day twenty sex
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Speaker 1: crawl ready at D twenty for the weather, the fourteen
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Speaker 1: means a pleasant summer day. Stumble Upon twenty oh was
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Speaker 1: not expecting that. I gosh, I had zero ideas. I
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Speaker 1: think I'll make the rest of the rolls and see
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Speaker 1: if a combo might be possible. The next step is
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Speaker 1: for the cord assisted forging roll on a D six
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Speaker 1: before means no luck. Finally, there's a chance for a
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Speaker 1: wandering encounter. The five or six on this D six
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Speaker 1: means there is one rolling a six. Somehow I knew
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Speaker 1: there would be one. It has been a while. In
7:45
Speaker 1: anticipation of needing a new table, I've already gone ahead
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Speaker 1: and made one. Usually I just direct listeners to my
7:51
Speaker 1: blogs bot account and I will post it there, but
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Speaker 1: this time I'm going to share it here too. It's
7:56
Speaker 1: a kind of collapsed table. You'll see what I mean. Usual,
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Speaker 1: it contains a variety of possibilities, some of which are
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Speaker 1: not monster encounters. For this table, I'll start with a
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Speaker 1: D six. Here are the potential results, each of which
8:09
Speaker 1: will trigger a second role to determine the type and
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Speaker 1: number encountered. On a one, the party will find some
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Speaker 1: kind of larger game animal. On a two, it will
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Speaker 1: be a dangerous animal or insect. On a three, you
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Speaker 1: will be a humanoid. On a four, an exotic dangerous creature.
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Speaker 1: On a five, an exotic neutral creature. On a six,
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Speaker 1: the party will find some kind of settlement or layer complex,
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Speaker 1: possibly active, possibly in ruins. Use the role a five
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Speaker 1: exotic neutral creature or creatures. I'm feeling there's potential here
8:44
Speaker 1: not only to use my stumble Upon twenty but also
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Speaker 1: my event meaning what to do. I'm going to need
8:51
Speaker 1: a subtable so I can get busy with that, and
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Speaker 1: maybe an idea will spring to mind. But I'll do
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Speaker 1: all that stuff off Mike. Let's take a quick ad
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Speaker 1: break while I figure out this encounter.
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Speaker 2: Be right back.
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Speaker 1: Chapter twenty, Part two, day twenty sunset mythic event meaning
9:18
Speaker 1: propose weapons party status achillea nine out of nine hit points,
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Speaker 1: Court fourteen of fourteen, de Renni twelve of twelve, ten
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Speaker 1: Tier ten of ten, fair Wind fourteen out of eighteen.
9:39
Speaker 1: After receiving one point of natural healing supplies, the companions
9:45
Speaker 1: have been without food for one full day and have
9:48
Speaker 1: twelve portions of water remaining. Spells available. Achilia can cast shrink,
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Speaker 1: message and litter. Due Court can cast entangle and slow poison.
10:02
Speaker 1: Fair Wind can cast purify food and water. The sun
10:09
Speaker 1: had just melted behind a horizon of rolling hills in
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Speaker 1: the west, but left behind was a vibrant smear of
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Speaker 1: orange and pink whose glow allowed the companions to continue
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Speaker 1: their march in good light a while longer. The chillier
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Speaker 1: was still processing what she perceived as a personal failure
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Speaker 1: from the day before. Fair Wind behind her was turning
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Speaker 1: to a page halfway through his book of prayers, as
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Speaker 1: he did every sunset. When he prayed, the clerk did
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Speaker 1: not rate or preach, but spoke in a low voice.
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Speaker 1: His prayers were personal.
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Speaker 2: Greats at all.
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Speaker 1: We ask for your continued blessings, that you may guide
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Speaker 1: us through the darkness. May your light shine upon us,
10:48
Speaker 1: illuminating our path and showing us the way forward. It
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Speaker 1: was only a few minutes after he concluded that they
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Speaker 1: heard it Robin, now sitting atop Chord's head as was
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Speaker 1: her wont, recently emitted a frightened series of peeps. Both
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Speaker 1: Tentyr and Dorannie unslung their bows, but said nothing. A
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Speaker 1: few minutes later the sound came again, and louder. The
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Speaker 1: third and fourth times were louder and closer. Still, these
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Speaker 1: were clearly call and answer.
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Speaker 3: They are hunting calls.
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Speaker 1: Said Doranni in a tight voice, drawing an arrow and
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Speaker 1: fitting it to his bow. This is not good, replied Tentyr,
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Speaker 1: doing the same. By now the light from the set
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Speaker 1: sun had faded, but a bright and silvery three quarter
11:41
Speaker 1: moon hung in the sky, illuminating the hillside. Then from
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Speaker 1: the top of the hill, just out of sight, came
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Speaker 1: an explosion of noise. The cacophony of snarling and barking,
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Speaker 1: yelping and growling broke the relative silence of the night.
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Speaker 1: Before the companions had a chance to run, a black
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Speaker 1: and white tornade of teeth and fur and claws came
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Speaker 1: roiling down from the hilltop. It was a pack of
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Speaker 1: wolves that tumbled and fought with a smaller pack of
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Speaker 1: white furred dogs. The wolves were no ordinary wolves. They
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Speaker 1: were much larger, with shining red eyes and coarse black fur.
12:16
Speaker 1: The white dogs were also not common examples of their species.
12:20
Speaker 1: While smaller than the black wolves, they were clearly creatures
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Speaker 1: of magic. For every few seconds they would disappear and
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Speaker 1: then instantly reappear nearby, launching their attacks from a new
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Speaker 1: direction while keeping their enemy confused and off guard. Despite
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Speaker 1: this advantage, the smaller white dogs were clearly outmatched. There
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Speaker 1: were five of what Achillia new former studies to be
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Speaker 1: dire wolves, while the other creatures only numbered three. In
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Speaker 1: a matter of a few furious seconds, both sides were
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Speaker 1: wounded and blood matted fur, both black and white alike. Presently,
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Speaker 1: one of the dire wolves went down, savaged by a
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Speaker 1: white dog that disappeared on its left flank before reappearing
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Speaker 1: on its right, walking its jaws on there's throat and
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Speaker 1: ripping it out in a scarlet spray. Then two of
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Speaker 1: the wolves somehow anticipated where one of its blinking enemies
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Speaker 1: would appear next and brought it to the ground, shredding
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Speaker 1: open its belly with their razor sharp claws. Now there
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Speaker 1: were four dire wolves against two of the smaller blinking dogs.
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Speaker 1: All were injuries.
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Speaker 3: This is not our fight, said de Rennie. Best if
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Speaker 3: we get away from here.
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Speaker 1: I'm not leaving those creatures alone to die, replied.
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Speaker 2: A Chillia flatly.
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Speaker 1: Then she started towards the battle, raising her hands in
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Speaker 1: the first gestures of a spell. The pieces have come
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Speaker 1: across a battle between dire wolves and blink dogs, the
13:42
Speaker 1: latter being a creature listed in the Expert rules. The
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Speaker 1: encounter is a result of combining my natural twenties stumble
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Speaker 1: upon roll, which is meant to indicate a boon for
13:51
Speaker 1: the party, with my Wandering Encounter roll of neutral exotic creatures.
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Speaker 1: I'm mentioning this because even though there's always a possibility
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Speaker 1: for things to go pear shape when combat takes place,
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Speaker 1: this encounter is not designed to put the PCs in
14:04
Speaker 1: mortal danger. There are currently four wolves and two dogs,
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Speaker 1: all are wounded. The first thing I want to figure
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Speaker 1: out is how far away from the battle the party is.
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Speaker 1: If you'll indulge a quick aside. This morning, I was
14:16
Speaker 1: listening to Roleplay Rescue, and the host Chay Webster, briefly
14:19
Speaker 1: spoke about the difference between describing distances using precise measurements
14:23
Speaker 1: like one hundred feet versus more relatable terms like forty paces.
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Speaker 1: The episode made me stop and think, do I really
14:31
Speaker 1: know what one hundred feet looks like? Out of curiosity,
14:34
Speaker 1: I did a quick Google search and found that a
14:36
Speaker 1: typical high school basketball court is eighty four feet long.
14:40
Speaker 1: On a baseball diamond, the distance between first and second
14:43
Speaker 1: base is ninety feet. You know that really does help
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Speaker 1: me to imagine distance is better. Thanks for the idea, Jay,
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Speaker 1: Love your show all right. Aside over, the party is
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Speaker 1: about one hundred feet away from the battle at this point.
14:55
Speaker 1: As soon as Achille the heads in that direction, Cord follows,
14:58
Speaker 1: and then fair Wind. When Tinier looks at de Renni,
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Speaker 1: the older brother mutters a curse and then draws back
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Speaker 1: an arrow, taking aim at one of the wolves. Injury combat,
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Speaker 1: Dire wolves have four plus one hit dice and an
15:16
Speaker 1: armor class of fourteen. They bite for two to eight
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Speaker 1: points of damage. Blink dogs have four hit dice an
15:22
Speaker 1: armor class of fifteen and bite for one to six
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Speaker 1: points of damage. They also have a special limited teleportation
15:28
Speaker 1: ability that allows them a free attack if they win
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Speaker 1: the initiative by blinking away before the enemy can retaliate.
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Speaker 1: I have altered the creature description a little by making
15:37
Speaker 1: them white furred for this battle, I'm ignoring morale by
15:41
Speaker 1: d M fiat. Another deviation from my usual mo is
15:44
Speaker 1: to have creatures on both sides max out their hit
15:47
Speaker 1: points at half instead of minning out. This will reflect
15:50
Speaker 1: wounds already sustained. Therefore, each dire Wolf will have fourteen
15:56
Speaker 1: hit points and the Blink Dogs will have Okay, they
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Speaker 1: will map out at sixteen. In short, I'm looking at
16:02
Speaker 1: the battle this way. If the pieces can save one
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Speaker 1: or more of the blink Dogs before the combat is over,
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Speaker 1: they will be handsomely rewarded. Let's get into the fight.
16:11
Speaker 1: It is round one initiative. The party and the Blink
16:16
Speaker 1: Dogs five, the dire Wolves three. Both Blink Dogs attack.
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Speaker 1: They each needed twelve to hit. The first one gets
16:26
Speaker 1: a seventeen and does six points of damage a savage bite.
16:33
Speaker 1: The second blink Dog at nineteen. This one does two points.
16:41
Speaker 1: We are off to a great start now, the pieces
16:44
Speaker 1: may act. Achillie needs to close some of the distance
16:47
Speaker 1: to cast her spell of Shred, but with her wand,
16:50
Speaker 1: it has an impressive range of sixty feet. Since she
16:53
Speaker 1: can move forty feet into combat round, she can still
16:55
Speaker 1: get off the spell. She picks a dire Wolf at random,
16:58
Speaker 1: points her wand and speaks the art words. The direwolf
17:01
Speaker 1: must save versus magic or be reduced in size by
17:04
Speaker 1: forty percent. The saving throw is a fourteen or better.
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Speaker 2: Here's the role. An eight means the dire Wolf fails.
17:11
Speaker 1: It safe and shrinks to a little over half of
17:13
Speaker 1: its original size. Cord considers using his spell of Entangle,
17:18
Speaker 1: but as it will affect all combatants, he decides not to.
17:21
Speaker 1: He runs towards the battle, but can I get there
17:23
Speaker 1: this round? Similarly, since firing into combat is so risky,
17:27
Speaker 1: dur any intent here will both spend this round drawing
17:30
Speaker 1: their swords and following. Chord, eager to do his part,
17:33
Speaker 1: Fairwood rushes into the battle as well. Because the dire
17:37
Speaker 1: Wolves lost the initiative, the blink Dogs were able to
17:40
Speaker 1: attack and teleport away, so they have no available targets
17:43
Speaker 1: and essentially lose their turn. This brings us two Round
17:47
Speaker 1: two initiative. The party in the blink Dogs A four
17:51
Speaker 1: the Direwolves A five.
17:54
Speaker 2: Oh.
17:55
Speaker 1: This time the Direwolves will get to attack, and it
17:58
Speaker 1: only makes sense to me that they are still focused
18:00
Speaker 1: on the blink Dogs. Each will need a thirteen to hit,
18:03
Speaker 1: with two Direwolves on each blink Dog rolling for the
18:06
Speaker 1: first attack, A sixteen hits. Damage will be ooh six points.
18:12
Speaker 1: A brutal attack. Dire Wolf two A ten misses over
18:19
Speaker 1: to the next pair. Dire Wolf three tries to bite
18:22
Speaker 1: its enemy, then eleven fails to hit. Lastly, dire Wolf four,
18:27
Speaker 1: which has been shrunken by Achille lunges. A nine is
18:31
Speaker 1: a miss. Now the blink Dogs can retaliate and the
18:34
Speaker 1: pieces will enter the fray as well. Blink Dogs first
18:37
Speaker 1: one attacks A three is a miss, and the other
18:42
Speaker 1: and eighteen will hit. Damage is five points. Hopefully the
18:48
Speaker 1: pieces can land some blows. Two coord needs a fourteen.
18:52
Speaker 1: An eight means his axe cleaves only the air. Fair
18:56
Speaker 1: Wind is next, also needing a fourteen, but an eleven
19:00
Speaker 1: is not good enough. Now for the Elves during any
19:03
Speaker 1: target number is thirteen. His role seventeen. The Elven blade
19:08
Speaker 1: plunges into black fur doing four points of damage, and
19:12
Speaker 1: this wolf is now terribly injured ten tiers using the
19:17
Speaker 1: blade of lear Haan. We'll talk about it special properties later,
19:20
Speaker 1: but for now it's enough to say it is a
19:22
Speaker 1: plus one short sword. This means ten tier also needs
19:25
Speaker 1: a thirteen to hit the role A two. Achille considers
19:30
Speaker 1: using her new spell of litter Dust, but holds back.
19:33
Speaker 1: If cast it would hinder more friends than foes. Round
19:37
Speaker 1: two is over, and now that the pieces are in
19:38
Speaker 1: the melee, it occurs to me that the dire Wolves
19:41
Speaker 1: will need to declare their targets in advance of initiative
19:44
Speaker 1: going forward. I'll roll a D six for each wolf,
19:47
Speaker 1: then on a one to two, that wolf will change targets.
19:49
Speaker 2: I'll try to make this quick.
19:51
Speaker 1: Four D six is a four, a five, a six,
19:55
Speaker 1: and a one. The shrunken dire Wolf breaks off to
19:58
Speaker 1: attack ten tier. All others well, for better or worse,
20:01
Speaker 1: stick with their original targets. Round three initiative. The party
20:07
Speaker 1: in the blink dogs the three, the dire Wolves A
20:11
Speaker 1: four hard luck. The dire Wolves attack first. Here come
20:15
Speaker 1: the rolls. The first attacks A four doesn't come close.
20:20
Speaker 1: The second dire Wolf, the six is yet another miss.
20:25
Speaker 1: The third is badly wounded, practically in a frenzy that
20:28
Speaker 1: lunges with mad violence, and eighteen will hit. Damage is
20:33
Speaker 1: two D four woof six points. Finally, the shrunken Direwolf,
20:40
Speaker 1: now the size of a normal wolf, springs a ten
20:42
Speaker 1: tier all fangs in slobber. You will need a thirteen
20:45
Speaker 1: to hit his ac A sixteen is a hit. Whatever
20:49
Speaker 1: damage I roll, I need to factor in the shrink spell.
20:52
Speaker 1: Hopefully it won't be too bad. On two D eight
20:56
Speaker 1: four points times point six equals two point four round
20:59
Speaker 1: to day. On to two, Tender still has eight hit
21:02
Speaker 1: points remaining. The blink dogs and the PCs may now retaliate.
21:07
Speaker 1: The first blink dog gets the four no good, and
21:11
Speaker 1: the second only a seven. Cord tries with his axe again,
21:17
Speaker 1: A twelve just misses. Can ferwind connect with his cudgel.
21:23
Speaker 1: A fifteen will hit four three points of damage. Come on, dernny,
21:28
Speaker 1: we need another good role. A thirteen is required. Will
21:31
Speaker 1: he get it? The three The Direwolf is quicker than
21:34
Speaker 1: it looks. I hope Tender can do better. Of fourteen,
21:39
Speaker 1: that's enough damages even with the plus one from his
21:44
Speaker 1: sword eat only three points This combat is proving to
21:48
Speaker 1: be both longer and more dangerous than I anticipated. We
21:52
Speaker 1: are on two round four target declarations for the Direwolves.
21:56
Speaker 1: Will they change targets? I've got A two, A five,
22:02
Speaker 1: A one, and a four.
22:04
Speaker 2: That's bad.
22:05
Speaker 1: Two of them do, and now Cord and Doretti are
22:07
Speaker 1: in much more danger than before. Initiative the party in
22:11
Speaker 1: the blink Dogs five nice. The dire Wolves oh no,
22:18
Speaker 1: A six. These initiative roles are not going well. Clearly
22:21
Speaker 1: the dire Wolves have adapted to the new threat and
22:23
Speaker 1: are giving it some serious attention. One of the beasts
22:26
Speaker 1: leaps at Cord. You will need a twelve or better
22:29
Speaker 1: to hit him. The role A thirteen is a hit
22:32
Speaker 1: damages on two D eight. That's four points, and Chord,
22:36
Speaker 1: who is only just recovered from Mombi's attack, is back
22:39
Speaker 1: down to nine hit points. That is very frustrating. The
22:45
Speaker 1: second dire Wolf is still locked in battle with a
22:47
Speaker 1: blink Dog. The role an eight is a miss. The
22:52
Speaker 1: third snaps of de Renni A two means the off
22:55
Speaker 1: leaps to the side, avoiding the long yellow teeth. Finally,
22:59
Speaker 1: the shrunken Wolf attacks ten tier and eighteen. Oh this
23:04
Speaker 1: is not going well, damage will be six times point
23:08
Speaker 1: six equals four points. After rounding up, it's a ruthless
23:11
Speaker 1: bite to the forearm and ten tier with four hit
23:14
Speaker 1: points left is in real trouble. Now time for the
23:19
Speaker 1: counter attack, and they had better lands and good hits.
23:22
Speaker 1: The first blink Dog attacks A thirteen is just enough,
23:27
Speaker 1: damages four points. The second blink Dog A four is
23:32
Speaker 1: a miss over to the PCs cord chops down and
23:38
Speaker 1: eighteen will do it, and this might be a death
23:40
Speaker 1: blow if he rolls high enough seven points. That is
23:43
Speaker 1: high enough with room to spare. The battle axe's blade
23:46
Speaker 1: goes through the monster's shoulder, shattering.
23:48
Speaker 2: Its spine and killing it. This could be the break
23:52
Speaker 2: the PC's need.
23:53
Speaker 1: Can they keep up the momentum? Fair Wind strikes a
23:57
Speaker 1: fifteen another hit damage is on a D four or
24:00
Speaker 1: two points. Duranie is next. His opponent is also wounded
24:05
Speaker 1: to the point that one well placed thrust could kill it,
24:08
Speaker 1: and Durnnie will certainly try, but A three is not
24:11
Speaker 1: the role to get the job done. Ten two will
24:14
Speaker 1: strike last, needing a twelve or better to hit at twelve,
24:18
Speaker 1: I'll take it. Damage is one D six plus one
24:22
Speaker 1: four points as lear hands sword carves a red line
24:25
Speaker 1: into the dire Wolf's side. It is round five target
24:29
Speaker 1: declarations for the dire Wolves. Will they change targets? I've
24:33
Speaker 1: got a five, one, five, and a six. Isn't that something?
24:39
Speaker 1: The dire Wolves have figured out to favor the enemies
24:42
Speaker 1: that don't keep blinking away, and by sheer roll of
24:44
Speaker 1: the dice, all of the PCs in melee are not threatened.
24:48
Speaker 1: It's an awful development, but it's also kind of incredible
24:51
Speaker 1: that things.
24:52
Speaker 2: Fell out this way. Let's roll initiative.
24:54
Speaker 1: More than ever.
24:55
Speaker 2: The PCs need a win here.
24:57
Speaker 1: The party in the blink Dogs uh oh, the dire
25:01
Speaker 1: Wolves oh A one. This could really swing the battle
25:05
Speaker 1: in the right direction. Let's hope for a high rolls
25:08
Speaker 1: as the blink Dog is attack. Here goes the first
25:10
Speaker 1: but fourteen is a hit, doing just two points of damage,
25:15
Speaker 1: and the second blank dog the three is a miss.
25:20
Speaker 1: Now it's Chord's turn. He hacks down with his blood
25:22
Speaker 1: soaked axe.
25:24
Speaker 2: A nineteen.
25:26
Speaker 1: Yes, Cord, once again a good role. Here will kill
25:29
Speaker 1: the monster an eight A five would have done it,
25:32
Speaker 1: but with an eight he lops off the monster's head. Cord,
25:37
Speaker 1: you are a certified badass. Two wolves remain, but fair One, Dourni,
25:42
Speaker 1: and ten here will all get a turn before they do.
25:44
Speaker 1: Fair One's attack A six will not be enough. How
25:48
Speaker 1: about dur Renni another six, another miss. Finally, it's ten Tier,
25:54
Speaker 1: who is bleeding freely from several deep cuts. He needs
25:57
Speaker 1: a twelve or better and he really needs to hit,
26:00
Speaker 1: and eleven means he just fails to connect. And here
26:04
Speaker 1: come the counter attacks. The direwolf under Annie at fourteen
26:08
Speaker 1: misses by one point, and the monster's jaws come close
26:11
Speaker 1: enough to Dorrenny's face that he can smell its hot breath.
26:15
Speaker 1: The second Direwolf will attack ten Tier, and if it hits,
26:18
Speaker 1: there is a chance it will kill him. Ten Tire
26:20
Speaker 1: only has four hip points left the roll. A thirteen
26:24
Speaker 1: does hit now for the role I do not want
26:27
Speaker 1: to make on two D four, I've got a four.
26:31
Speaker 1: That role would have killed ten Tier if not for
26:34
Speaker 1: Achille's spell. Adjusted for the shrink spell effect, the actual
26:38
Speaker 1: damage is only two and ten Tiers down to his
26:40
Speaker 1: last two head points.
26:41
Speaker 3: Oh ah, get back ten Tier.
26:44
Speaker 1: Dennie cries. The younger Elf does not need to be
26:47
Speaker 1: told twice. On his next turn, he'll attempt a fighting withdrawal,
26:50
Speaker 1: but they'll need to win the initiative to get him
26:53
Speaker 1: clear of.
26:53
Speaker 2: The fight quickly.
26:54
Speaker 1: I never expected this battle to be so bloody or
26:56
Speaker 1: last so long. We are now at round six. Target
27:00
Speaker 1: declarations for the dire Wolves. I've got a two and
27:04
Speaker 1: a four. Surprisingly, Doreni's opponent decides to re engage with
27:08
Speaker 1: a blink Dog. Unfortunately, ten Tiers is not distracted and
27:12
Speaker 1: stays on him, barking with homicidal blood lust. Initiative winning
27:19
Speaker 1: this is more important than ever. The party in the
27:22
Speaker 1: Blink Dogs A one, the dire Wolves A five. Not good,
27:28
Speaker 1: not good, not good. Let's get the easier roll out
27:30
Speaker 1: of the way. The full sized Direwolf turns away from
27:33
Speaker 1: Dorrenni and springs at one of the blink Dogs A
27:36
Speaker 1: nineteen hits four five points, biting it repeatedly. That blink
27:43
Speaker 1: Dog now has only five hit points left. Now for
27:46
Speaker 1: the unavoidable role that might kill ten Tier. The Direwolf
27:49
Speaker 1: needs a thirteen to score a hit, but almost any
27:52
Speaker 1: hit will kill ten Tier. Despite a Kille's spell, chances
27:55
Speaker 1: for Tender to keep his life are a little better
27:57
Speaker 1: than a coin toss. Here goes nothing. An eleven Oh
28:02
Speaker 1: my goodness, I thought I was going to lose ten
28:04
Speaker 1: t here. Just then the young alf dodges to the
28:07
Speaker 1: side and the cruel jaws tear it nothing more than
28:09
Speaker 1: the edge.
28:10
Speaker 2: Of his cloak.
28:12
Speaker 1: Now it's time for the party's reply. Both blink Dogs
28:15
Speaker 1: try to take down one of the two remaining dire Wolves.
28:18
Speaker 1: The first attack gets a nineteen that'll do for three
28:23
Speaker 1: points of damage. This enemy still has two left, but
28:28
Speaker 1: the other blink Dog has yet to attack. It does so,
28:32
Speaker 1: but an eight misses.
28:35
Speaker 2: Court.
28:35
Speaker 1: His wooden body, now painted red in wolf's blood, will
28:38
Speaker 1: try to claim a third life. An eleven fails to connect.
28:43
Speaker 1: Fair Wind is next. His cudgel misses as well, with
28:47
Speaker 1: a seven on the die can de Rennie delivered the
28:50
Speaker 1: killing blow with a fifteen. He does not miss, and
28:55
Speaker 1: five points of damage means his Elvin blade finds the
28:57
Speaker 1: monster's heart and ends its life. One wolf remains, and
29:03
Speaker 1: by now ten Terre is withdrawn from the fight, clutching
29:05
Speaker 1: at his wounds. Looks like we're going to need yet
29:08
Speaker 1: another round of combat. Let's begin round six rolling to
29:12
Speaker 1: see who the final direwolf will attack.
29:14
Speaker 2: I'll make it random.
29:16
Speaker 1: Okay, it's going to try to kill one of the
29:17
Speaker 1: blink Dogs before it dies. Initiative the party in the
29:21
Speaker 1: Blink Dogs A three, the Direwolf A three simultaneous combat.
29:27
Speaker 1: Even if the party kills it, there will be a
29:29
Speaker 1: fifty percent chance that the Direwolf can retaliate before the
29:32
Speaker 1: blink Dog teliports out of reach. Here come the attack rolls.
29:36
Speaker 1: The first two Blink Dogs roll and nineteen and a fifteen.
29:41
Speaker 1: That's two hits, rolling two to six for combined damage.
29:45
Speaker 1: Seven points is the exact number this monster had remaining.
29:48
Speaker 1: Will it have the chance to retaliate? A high low
29:51
Speaker 1: roll will determine that HI means yes. The roll on
29:54
Speaker 1: a D twenty before the Direwolf lashes back, but the
29:58
Speaker 1: enemy has vanished form where it is just been a
30:00
Speaker 1: split second before. Then, bleeding from a dozen gashes, it
30:09
Speaker 1: drops lifeless to the ground. Thanks for listening to Tale
30:16
Speaker 1: of the Manticor. This episode is another one of those
30:19
Speaker 1: that clocks in at over thirty minutes, so I will
30:21
Speaker 1: do the express version of the outro and jump right
30:24
Speaker 1: into the credits. This one features the core cast of
30:27
Speaker 1: voice actors. They are, of course, Kyellen Asdreni, Kevin Barringer
30:31
Speaker 1: in the role of ten.
30:32
Speaker 2: Tier At David Cooper who plays Fairwind.
30:35
Speaker 1: My eternal gratitude to these three excellent actors. The adventure
30:38
Speaker 1: will continue on the next episode of Tale of the Manticor.
30:42
Speaker 1: It's the story where chaos rolls.