Latest / Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama / Episode 54 (S3E54)

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Episode 54 (S3E54) · Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Hey there, this is Nile Spain from No Quest for
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: the Wicked and you're listening to Tale of the Manticore.
• 0:07
  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
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: Season three. Like the creature from which it takes its name,
• 0:33
  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
• 0:40
  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
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: sacred and none will be spared if the dice decide
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: their fate is at hand. According to Lare, the Tale
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: of a Manticore is barbed with cruel iron spikes. There
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: will be much pain in the days ahead. Last time
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: a Tale of the Mantigor. The previous chapter continues the
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: conversation with Seger the Dwarf. While a single minded sculptor
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: lacks manners and isn't particularly friendly, he does share some
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: potentially important information. He says that when a petitioner reaches
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: the end of the golden path, they may ask a
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: boon of the goddess before granting it, the deity will
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: ask them to choose between law and chaos. Judging by
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: Sagar's experience, choosing chaos is extremely risky and the consequences
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: of ill fortune are severe. He chose chaos lost, and
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: was tasked with producing one stone idol for each hair
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: in his beard, a task that will require centuries of
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: labor to complete. Despite this warning, Achilia is not put off.
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: She has no intention of following the path to the
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: end and no desire to meet the goddess, for only
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: our goal is to find odok Zygock. The companions leave
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: Segar behind and move into the next cavern. This one
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: is also full of stone idols, as is the next,
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: and the next, and the next twenty or so. Just
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: when it seems like they'll never reach the end, the
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: pecis find a cavern with an enormous sculpted archway. One
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: half is stylized to resemble cascading water, the other the
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: cloudy sky above a tower. While most of the party
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: is taking this in, Tinder is distracted when he hears
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: his name being whispered. The whisperer turns out to be
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: one of the stone idols. When Tender approaches it, it
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: teaches him a word of power, one that can cause
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: magical flames to spring from his blade. The episode ends
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: with a dramatis personai section in which we witness Achillia
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: and Aldbay bonding during their first years together. That dramatis
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: personai section at the end of the last episode was
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: my clumsy attempt to fulfill the event meaning betray pleasure.
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: The idea was that out of Ulalun's betrayal, or to
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: be fair, her perceived betrayal, there came a pleasure in
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: the form of baby ACHILLEA. Looks like I need to
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: generate a new event meaning pair were are my deepercent down?
• 3:13
  Speaker 3: Oh? Here they are.
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: These ones were sent to me some time ago by
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: Royal Rollers and they are beautiful. Thanks Royal Rollers. Let's
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: get rollin. I've got a sixteen and again a sixty
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: four that gives me inquire and a burden. That's interesting.
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: Inquire about a burden? Ah, yes, I see how to
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: use this, but I won't just yet.
• 3:37
  Speaker 3: I need to.
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: Catch up with Achillia and the others. First chapter fifty four,
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: Part one, day forty three, early evening mythic event meaning
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: inquire a burden, party status achillea sixteen of seventeen hit points,
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: Cord twenty six of twenty nine, de Renni twenty three
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: of twenty three, ten Tier thirty one out of thirty five,
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: fair Wind thirty seven of forty two, Flicker ten of
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: sixteen supplies. The companions have four portions of food remaining
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: spells available. Achillia can cast in large, detect evil, glitter, dust,
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: dispel magic and flame. Arrow, Cord can cast entangle, slow, poison,
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: hold animal, tree, shape and pass plant. Fair Wind can
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: cast cure light wounds times two old person and bless. Slowly,
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: Tintyre looked up and into the amazed eyes of his companions.
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: She spoke to me, he said, as if that explained anything.
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: The light blue flame, still dam instant, curled along the
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: length of the sword of lear Haine. It produced no smoke,
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: but Tender could feel the heat coming off it. Who spoke, King,
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: asked Achilia. She did, replied Tantyar. Once again, he seemed
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: entranced by the movements of the flame through the owl. Presently,
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: the flame died down and disappeared. Tent Tyre seemed to
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: come back to reality. He looked up once again, and
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: this time his eyes were clear.
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: That owl he pointed behind him, taught me a word
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: of power.
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: The others looked over his shoulder, with confusion showing on
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: their faces. There were dozens of owl idols behind the
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: younger elf. That one, Tenttir said, again, turning around. Oh,
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: whereas before one of the owls had been looking right
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: at him, now all of the owls shared a uniform
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: blank stare, directed roughly at the middle of the cavern.
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: Tender shook his head in surprise. Even he was not
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: sure which one it had been that had spoken to him,
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: but one of them?
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: Did I swear you saw that.
• 6:04
  Speaker 4: No one's doubting you, said, Achillia, We all saw what
• 6:07
  Speaker 4: just happened.
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: Tendier looked relieved.
• 6:10
  Speaker 4: Perhaps the goddess favors you.
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: Ten Tier blushed a little.
• 6:14
  Speaker 4: Me Why me, who can say? Why the gods do
• 6:18
  Speaker 4: what they do?
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: Achillia continued. She waved around the room, indicating all the
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: years of labor Segar had completed to make the hundreds
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: of idols. Here was there any reason for him to
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: have done all that work? It seemed arbitrary to her
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: cruel Even while Achillia worried for having had a blasphemous notion.
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: Tintyre seemed to brighten at the idea that he was
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: favored by a goddess. He stood a bit taller, and
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: after the blue flames dissipated, he sheathed his sword. So
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: what do we do now? No one was really sure,
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: so the party members spent a few minutes talking through
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: their options. Achilia also translated what Tender had said for
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: the benefit of Ferwynd, who had understood nothing of their
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: conversation before. Someone suggested that they remained here for an
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: extended rest before they continued, but it was not very
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: late in the day and no one felt tired. Achillee
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: offered to expand one of her spells to see if
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: the gigantic Archway radiated evil, but this idea, too, was
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: rejected on the theory that Aheya would not have bestowed a
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: blessing upon tent here in a place of evil. Eventually,
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: the decision was made to push on and find out
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: what lay beyond the air water gate. Even though I
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: hate to take the spotlight off tent Tire, this episode
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: is actually a level up episode for a different character.
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: Chord becomes a level of seven Druid. Today I can
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: see by my chart that this is the last level
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: up we'll see for a little while, so I'm hoping
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: it'll be a good one. Let's find out what the
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: dice have to say. First. Up is a D six
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: of new hit points mini out at three the roll
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: a one oh well boosted to three. That means that
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: Chord's max hit points go from twenty nine to thirty two.
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: I need to open the rule book to see what's next.
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: Let's see. Okay, some things are unlocked at seventh level
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: Cord because immune to the charm abilities of fake creatures
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: like dryads. At this level, I'm also ruling that his
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: connection with Robin by now is so strong that the
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: stuffed bird will be able to act in a proactive
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: manner and make reasonable judgment calls. We might say that
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: Robin graduates to personhood in this episode. She's fully sentient
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: and has intelligence above so called animal intelligence. Seventh level
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: is when a druid gets the famous shape changeability and
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: can turn themselves into an animal. But I just don't
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: see how this makes any sense, even with the PCs
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: right here in the Queendom of the Goddess of Magic.
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: It's just way too random. I'm going to have to
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: think on this one. Hopefully by the end of this episode,
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: the story will supply an alternative power that makes sense.
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: Chord saving throws and his basic attack bonus do not
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: change at this level, so we're onto spells or spelling
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: powers in this case, and it's a huge jump here.
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: Chord already has two spells at each first, second, and
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: third levels, and one each of levels four and five.
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: Now he will get three more. An additional first set,
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: second and fourth level spell like ability are unlocked today,
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: let's find out what they are. At the first level,
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: he will get animal friendship. Well, that couldn't make more sense.
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: But reading the spell entry, I see it's not quite
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: what I thought it was. This spell actually binds an
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: animal to the caster permanently, not unlike Chord's existing relationship
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: with Robin if you think about it anyway, I guess
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: we'll have to wait and see if an opportunity ever
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: comes up. Seems unlikely, but you never know. At second level, Barkskin, well,
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: that also makes sense and is a welcome edition. Barkskin
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: is what it sounds like. The spell improves the beneficiaries
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: ac by one point and helps with all saving throws,
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: except those versus magic. Finally, a role for the fourth
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: level spell like ability. Oh wow, it's cure serious wounds.
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: This one is straightforward too. It's a double strength cure
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: light wounds that heals two D six plus two hit
• 9:53
  Speaker 2: points of damage. A quick note before I end this
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: section to say that Chord does not memorize spells, and
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: so these powers will be available to you years right away.
• 10:08
  Speaker 2: The tunnel beyond the archway was so big a giant
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: could have walked through it, with plenty of room to
• 10:13
  Speaker 2: either side and overhead. It made the companions feel like
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: insects as they pushed forward. Fairwan's lantern light only just
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: touched the rock walls to either side, and the ceiling
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: beyond the reach of its illumination was lost in darkness.
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: For a time, there was only the sound of their
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: footfalls and flickers panting. After a while, just as fair
• 10:36
  Speaker 2: Wind was beginning to worry about running out of lamp oil,
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: a change in the quality of air became apparent. By
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: some small degree, it was cooler and fresher.
• 10:45
  Speaker 5: I think we must be close to the end.
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: Said Dernni.
• 10:49
  Speaker 6: I think so too, Chillie.
• 10:50
  Speaker 7: Replied, And it's a good thing, because Phaerwan's light won't
• 10:53
  Speaker 7: last much longer.
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: This was true. The oil tenier taken from the caym
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: Or crypt had all been used by now, and the
• 11:00
  Speaker 2: supply Nacho had provided them with was almost gone. With
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: every passing minute, the air grew cooler and fresher still,
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: and then the low moan of the wind could be
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: heard coming from ahead. Finally they saw the small triangle
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: of light that indicated the tuttle exit. That small triangle
• 11:20
  Speaker 2: grew and grew and grew a beacon that expanded as
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: the party drew nearer. When they finally reached it, Ferwind
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: blew out a breath of relief.
• 11:30
  Speaker 8: Who I am glad to be leaving this place, he said, Ah.
• 11:35
  Speaker 8: At the same time, I am not sure. I wish
• 11:38
  Speaker 8: to know what we will find up ahead.
• 11:41
  Speaker 4: It's only one way to find.
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: Out, said Achilia. She motioned to Derani to lead on,
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: and the Elven fighter brought them to the end of
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: the tunnel, with the wind now strong enough to lift
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: the ELF's wild manes and make Achillea's cloak flap. Outside,
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: it was evening, though the sun was nowhere to be seen,
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: having dropped below the bridge of the mountains. The companions
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: found themselves standing in the lee of the cave mouth,
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: looking out and into a huge canyon. Massive sheer, vertical
• 12:10
  Speaker 2: rock walls rose to either side. Looking up, they could
• 12:14
  Speaker 2: see the open sky flanked by the tops of the
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: canyon walls that rose yet hundreds of feet above their position.
• 12:21
  Speaker 2: Looking down, they saw a long, winding series of stairs
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: cut into the natural stone that went down and down
• 12:28
  Speaker 2: and down until they reached a river that filled the
• 12:30
  Speaker 2: canyon floor.
• 12:31
  Speaker 8: These stairs, they must go for a thousand feet, said
• 12:36
  Speaker 8: fair Wind in wonder. But I suppose there is only
• 12:39
  Speaker 8: one way to go.
• 12:40
  Speaker 2: He said Achilia absently.
• 12:43
  Speaker 4: I suppose that's true, But.
• 12:45
  Speaker 2: She wasn't sure. It was at the end of the canyon,
• 12:48
  Speaker 2: above the water line of the river. She thought she
• 12:51
  Speaker 2: could see something. She wanted to ask Tantier, who had
• 12:54
  Speaker 2: the best eye sight out of all of them, if
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: he could see it too, But by now the young
• 12:57
  Speaker 2: elf was saying something to his brother and the who
• 13:00
  Speaker 2: shared a serious look in their faces. She would ask
• 13:03
  Speaker 2: him later, and so the party members began the long
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: trip to the bottom of the stairs. As the stairs
• 13:10
  Speaker 2: were no more than three feet wide, they were forced
• 13:13
  Speaker 2: to go in single file once again to anyone, first,
• 13:16
  Speaker 2: followed by ten tier. Then it was cord, bearwund Achille
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: and flicker from a top chord's head. Robin peeped and trilled,
• 13:25
  Speaker 2: excited to be once again under the open sky. Chapter
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: fifty four, Part two, Day forty three, early evening mythic
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: event meaning inquire a burden. While Achillia's group began the
• 13:53
  Speaker 2: long trip down the stairs to the bottom of the
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: Canyon Bellario, the Nome was entering the last segment of
• 13:59
  Speaker 2: the tunnel that connected to Sagar's gallery. Unlike the companions,
• 14:03
  Speaker 2: he did not have to navigate the lengthy series of
• 14:06
  Speaker 2: corridors with the abruptly changing design. By taking the hidden
• 14:10
  Speaker 2: trail Achilles group had missed, He'd bypassed almost all of
• 14:13
  Speaker 2: that and entered the tunnel right near its end through
• 14:15
  Speaker 2: a secret door. It slid closed behind him with a
• 14:19
  Speaker 2: grating sound as he entered Sagar's cavern with its honeycombed
• 14:22
  Speaker 2: cells tenanted with stone owls. Upon stepping through the archway,
• 14:29
  Speaker 2: he looked all around, trying to locate the source of
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: the noise. Then, putting two and two together, he called.
• 14:35
  Speaker 3: Out, shell yourselves, sculptor.
• 14:40
  Speaker 2: The chiseling stopped, and Sagar's form, once again ghostly gray
• 14:43
  Speaker 2: and whitewood dust emerged from one of the cells. Another one,
• 14:48
  Speaker 2: said Sagar, staring down at the diminutive Belario.
• 14:52
  Speaker 3: Listen here, I already lost enough time to the last bunch.
• 14:55
  Speaker 3: I ain't wasted no more time with the legs of you.
• 14:58
  Speaker 2: It took some doing, for it was not very likable,
• 15:01
  Speaker 2: and Sager was not inclined to talk. But by offering
• 15:04
  Speaker 2: to help the Dwarf's task, the Nome did manage to
• 15:07
  Speaker 2: coax out a little information. Still, even negotiating how to
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: help had not been easy.
• 15:13
  Speaker 3: The task is mine and mine alone.
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: Segre had said.
• 15:16
  Speaker 3: No one could do the carvg for me. But what
• 15:20
  Speaker 3: if I could offer aid without doing the work directly?
• 15:25
  Speaker 3: Surely that would not be a problem.
• 15:28
  Speaker 2: After inquiring about Sagar's burden, Blario had first offered to
• 15:31
  Speaker 2: help him clear away rubble using his floating disc spell,
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: but the Dwarf had refused. However, he had accepted the
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: Dome's second suggestion, and, by means of Belario's haste spell,
• 15:42
  Speaker 2: accomplished in thirty minutes what would have taken an hour.
• 15:45
  Speaker 2: For this, he said he was willing to spend five
• 15:47
  Speaker 2: minutes in conversation. Blario managed to get an additional five
• 15:51
  Speaker 2: when he produced from his bag a covered bronze pot that,
• 15:54
  Speaker 2: when he lifted its lid, turned out to contain a
• 15:57
  Speaker 2: steaming hot portion of braised kubrick. As it's well known
• 16:01
  Speaker 2: that kubrick is the most comforting and nostalgic of all
• 16:03
  Speaker 2: dishes where dwarfs are concerned, it was small wonder that
• 16:06
  Speaker 2: Belario's gift of it loosened Segur's tongue. In the end,
• 16:10
  Speaker 2: he shared more secrets with the Gnome than he had
• 16:13
  Speaker 2: with acchillious group. When the last bite of the meal
• 16:15
  Speaker 2: was eaten, Segre swept his finger around the inside of
• 16:18
  Speaker 2: the bronze pot and then put it in his mouth
• 16:20
  Speaker 2: to suck the juice off it. Then he cocked a
• 16:23
  Speaker 2: doubtful eye at the Gnome, and instead of thanking him,
• 16:26
  Speaker 2: said time's up.
• 16:27
  Speaker 3: I'll be off with you. I got work to do.
• 16:30
  Speaker 2: Blario took back his bronze pot and packed it in
• 16:33
  Speaker 2: his bag. One out of sight, the pot disappeared. It
• 16:37
  Speaker 2: and the meal had only ever been illusions to begin with.
• 16:40
  Speaker 2: Balario grinned evilly at the dwarf's back, a sigar lumbered
• 16:44
  Speaker 2: back up the steps to his cavity.
• 16:47
  Speaker 3: Aye glant you goull it forge.
• 16:49
  Speaker 2: He called after him. Then, as the sound of chiseling resumed,
• 16:53
  Speaker 2: Belario left the cavern through the arch on the far side.
• 17:06
  Speaker 2: I think at this point I need to stop the
• 17:08
  Speaker 2: action and roll up Blario, So let's do that. By now,
• 17:12
  Speaker 2: we know he's a magic user of some kind. His
• 17:14
  Speaker 2: Gnomish heritage might tempt me to class him as an illusionist,
• 17:18
  Speaker 2: but I don't.
• 17:18
  Speaker 3: Think I will.
• 17:19
  Speaker 2: Bellario will be more interesting and versatile if he's a
• 17:22
  Speaker 2: regular magic user. Just a second, well, I'll get a
• 17:25
  Speaker 2: pencil and a fresh index card ready. These are what
• 17:27
  Speaker 2: I use for all my character sheets. By the way,
• 17:30
  Speaker 2: BX is so simple, we just don't need anything else.
• 17:33
  Speaker 2: For his level, I'll say he's a ninth level magic user.
• 17:37
  Speaker 2: The first rules will be for his stats, and I'll
• 17:39
  Speaker 2: be applying my usual house rule of re rolling anything
• 17:42
  Speaker 2: under his six. It's likely i'll need to reorder the rules,
• 17:45
  Speaker 2: so I'll just pencil them in for now, and let's
• 17:47
  Speaker 2: begin going down the line from strength to charisma using
• 17:50
  Speaker 2: three D six ten, nine, seven, fifteen, nine fourteen. Next,
• 18:06
  Speaker 2: I'm going to rearrange these numbers to reflect what I
• 18:08
  Speaker 2: already know about the gnome. He's obviously intelligent, that's a given,
• 18:12
  Speaker 2: and we also know that he makes a poor first impression.
• 18:15
  Speaker 2: I think the order that makes the most sense is
• 18:17
  Speaker 2: strength ten, Intelligence fifteen, Wisdom nine Dexterity fourteen, Constitution nine,
• 18:24
  Speaker 2: charisma seven. All right, I'm moving on to hit points.
• 18:26
  Speaker 2: There's no bonus for a nine conscore, so I'm just
• 18:29
  Speaker 2: using an unmodified ninety four. I don't have that many
• 18:33
  Speaker 2: D fours handy, so I'll just roll in groups of three.
• 18:35
  Speaker 3: Here we go.
• 18:41
  Speaker 2: I got twenty one in total. That's above the half
• 18:44
  Speaker 2: minute of eighteen, so it stands. Finally, Belarius spells, the
• 18:48
  Speaker 2: distribution is as follows for a ninth level magic user.
• 18:51
  Speaker 2: For spells of level one to five, there will be three, three, three,
• 18:56
  Speaker 2: two and one. We only know for sure from this
• 18:59
  Speaker 2: story that he is the spell spectral Force. There's a
• 19:02
  Speaker 2: mention of that spell back in episode thirty eight when
• 19:04
  Speaker 2: Belario told his pupil to recreate a meal using it,
• 19:07
  Speaker 2: and we can assume that as the master he would
• 19:10
  Speaker 2: know it too. All his other spells will be rolled
• 19:12
  Speaker 2: at random. While it might be boring to do this here.
• 19:15
  Speaker 2: I think Bellario is a cooler character if it's clear
• 19:18
  Speaker 2: what he can do. So I'm going to roll his
• 19:20
  Speaker 2: spells off Mike and then come back with the completed list.
• 19:23
  Speaker 2: Hang tight, be right back, Okay, All done. Here are
• 19:29
  Speaker 2: the spells Blario knows at level one charm person, floating
• 19:33
  Speaker 2: disk protection from good at level two, continual light, invisibility,
• 19:40
  Speaker 2: knock at level three, spectral force, clairvorance haste at level four,
• 19:47
  Speaker 2: charm Monster confusion, and at level five conjure elemental.
• 19:52
  Speaker 3: All right.
• 19:53
  Speaker 2: He is the usual combination of stinkers and whoppers. In
• 19:56
  Speaker 2: the spirit of good sportsmanship, I will not suppress or
• 19:59
  Speaker 2: ignore any of them. Every spell will be memorized one time,
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: with no doubling up with the good ones. And with that,
• 20:06
  Speaker 2: Belario's character sheet is almost done. For equipment, I won't
• 20:10
  Speaker 2: make a detailed list, but I will mention that he
• 20:12
  Speaker 2: has two magic items. One is the Iron Tower, a
• 20:15
  Speaker 2: remarkably powerful item that is not only a pocket sized fortress,
• 20:18
  Speaker 2: but can also travel at a certain cost through the
• 20:21
  Speaker 2: ethereal plane. Blario wears the medallion that functions as a
• 20:24
  Speaker 2: key to the tower around his neck by the way,
• 20:27
  Speaker 2: and Oh yeah. The other piece of equipment worth mentioning
• 20:31
  Speaker 2: is Belario's very special magic rig. I won't explain when
• 20:34
  Speaker 2: it is just yet, but I think we'll find out
• 20:37
  Speaker 2: soon enough. Chapter fifty four, Part three, Day forty three
• 20:48
  Speaker 2: early evening mythic event meaning eighty nine seventeen attract the
• 20:56
  Speaker 2: spiritual party status. The party status is unchanged with the
• 21:01
  Speaker 2: exception of Cord, whose gained the spells animal friendship, bark skin,
• 21:07
  Speaker 2: and cure serious wounds. Long before the companions could see
• 21:15
  Speaker 2: the bottom of the stairs, they were able to discern
• 21:18
  Speaker 2: that the river towards which they moved was large and deep,
• 21:21
  Speaker 2: and filled the canyon floor so completely that the rock
• 21:24
  Speaker 2: of the mountain formed a kind of gigantic chute through
• 21:27
  Speaker 2: which the water traveled. Its source was a waterfall that
• 21:30
  Speaker 2: fed the river from somewhere deep inside the mountain. The
• 21:33
  Speaker 2: Stairs took the party under this waterfall eventually, and then
• 21:36
  Speaker 2: to the end, or not exactly to the end, but
• 21:39
  Speaker 2: as far as they could go. The stairs themselves continued
• 21:42
  Speaker 2: straight into the river, where they quickly faded from sight
• 21:45
  Speaker 2: below the flowing surface of the water. By now, the
• 21:48
  Speaker 2: companion's backs had started to ache in reaching this dead
• 21:51
  Speaker 2: end was a disappointment. It really seemed as though there
• 21:55
  Speaker 2: were no plausible way to move forward. Achillie looked up
• 21:58
  Speaker 2: at the aperture through which the waterfall flowed, but saw
• 22:01
  Speaker 2: no viable options there. Not only would it be difficult
• 22:04
  Speaker 2: to reach, but it was filled with rushing water. As
• 22:07
  Speaker 2: the companions were arranged in a diagonal line on the stairs,
• 22:10
  Speaker 2: with the sounds of the waterfall all around, they were
• 22:13
  Speaker 2: forced to raise their voices in order to communicate with
• 22:15
  Speaker 2: each other.
• 22:16
  Speaker 6: Maybe these stairs were built before there was a waterfall.
• 22:19
  Speaker 2: Here, suggested Achilia, wiping spray from her face.
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: Or the stairs were built for people who could somehow
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: navigate the.
• 22:26
  Speaker 2: River, said Tantyr.
• 22:28
  Speaker 6: You think people brought boats down.
• 22:30
  Speaker 2: Here, Achillia was dubious.
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: That's not what I had in mind. See how the
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: steps just keep going down. Could this place be for
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: people who could, you know, swim and breathe water. There
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: are creatures in the world that can do that.
• 22:47
  Speaker 2: Tintou's idea might have seemed far fetched if the companions
• 22:50
  Speaker 2: had not experienced many things stranger than that. Maybe, said Achilia.
• 22:55
  Speaker 2: Just then she remembered seeing something in the distance. She
• 22:58
  Speaker 2: looked again, and there it was a shining light, just
• 23:01
  Speaker 2: as she seemed before.
• 23:02
  Speaker 6: Tint here do you see that?
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: Of course it's been out there the whole time, replied
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: the elf. What do you think it is?
• 23:10
  Speaker 6: It's like a beacon? Do you think that's what it is?
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: You mean, something to show us where to go from here?
• 23:18
  Speaker 6: That's the only idea I've got.
• 23:21
  Speaker 2: Durenni joined the conversation.
• 23:23
  Speaker 5: Ayami mentioned there would be other tests. He offered, what
• 23:27
  Speaker 5: exactly did she say?
• 23:29
  Speaker 2: The ELF's features bunched up as he tried to remember.
• 23:32
  Speaker 5: That hers was the first of many.
• 23:35
  Speaker 7: The giant gate showed water and air. Is the idea
• 23:39
  Speaker 7: that we need to reach that beacon via one or
• 23:41
  Speaker 7: the other?
• 23:41
  Speaker 2: Masta Killia. After posing the question, she quickly turned to
• 23:45
  Speaker 2: Fairwind and translated all that they had spoken about.
• 23:47
  Speaker 8: It is akin to the choice Sekah had to make
• 23:51
  Speaker 8: between law and chaos.
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: Ventured to Cleric, a kind of motif of duality.
• 23:58
  Speaker 8: One might say, yes, it.
• 24:00
  Speaker 6: Does make a certain amount.
• 24:01
  Speaker 2: Of sense, agreed Akilia. A brief discussion with frequent pauses
• 24:05
  Speaker 2: for translation, followed, in which the party members tried to
• 24:08
  Speaker 2: figure out what to do next. Eventually, Tenttu threw up
• 24:12
  Speaker 2: his hands and said.
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: Well, seeing as we are rot to sprout wings anytime soon,
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: I guess that leaves the river.
• 24:20
  Speaker 6: Cherwind would have to leave his armor behind if we tried.
• 24:23
  Speaker 2: To swim, said Achilia.
• 24:24
  Speaker 6: Come to think of it, I'm not even sure he
• 24:26
  Speaker 6: does know how to swim.
• 24:28
  Speaker 2: Derenni had been silent during this exchange, but now he
• 24:31
  Speaker 2: spoke up.
• 24:32
  Speaker 5: Ten Dear, we might not have wings, but we do
• 24:35
  Speaker 5: have that pipe a Yami gave us. She said we
• 24:38
  Speaker 5: should use it when we have need.
• 24:41
  Speaker 7: She also said it will only work twice. What if
• 24:44
  Speaker 7: the second use is meant to be saved for the
• 24:46
  Speaker 7: trip back?
• 24:47
  Speaker 2: Protested Achilia.
• 24:48
  Speaker 5: It might well be, But as far as I can figure,
• 24:52
  Speaker 5: our choices come down to three. We can give up
• 24:55
  Speaker 5: and go back the way we came, we can try
• 24:58
  Speaker 5: to swim, or we can use pipe again.
• 25:01
  Speaker 2: Achilia asked fair Wind if he knew how to swim,
• 25:04
  Speaker 2: and the clear proplied that he did not, adding that
• 25:06
  Speaker 2: when they crossed the rapids, he'd basically just walked across
• 25:09
  Speaker 2: while hanging onto the rope for dear life. However, not
• 25:13
  Speaker 2: wanting to be the reason for their quest to end,
• 25:15
  Speaker 2: Fairwan said he could try holding on to court if
• 25:17
  Speaker 2: the Construct didn't object. As the evening was growing darker
• 25:22
  Speaker 2: and twilight would come within the hour. The decision was
• 25:25
  Speaker 2: made to go back up the stairs and make camp
• 25:27
  Speaker 2: in the mouth of the tunnel exit. In the morning
• 25:30
  Speaker 2: they could plan their next move. The climb was long
• 25:35
  Speaker 2: and tiring, but after an hour or so the companions
• 25:38
  Speaker 2: regained the top and set about making camp. Faerwind gave
• 25:42
  Speaker 2: the gift of divine healing to Tenere and Flicker when
• 25:45
  Speaker 2: they were all settled. After that, since the climb had
• 25:48
  Speaker 2: completely exhausted them, sleep came easily. As always, Cord washed
• 25:53
  Speaker 2: over them as they passed into slumber. Let me quickly
• 25:59
  Speaker 2: make the rules for fair winds, cure light wounds spells
• 26:03
  Speaker 2: tend to We'll get three more hit points and Flicker
• 26:06
  Speaker 2: will get three as well. I can see that my
• 26:09
  Speaker 2: episode run time is almost to where I should wrap
• 26:12
  Speaker 2: things up, so instead of my usual cliffhanger, I'll end
• 26:15
  Speaker 2: with the cliff overlooker scene with Cord gazing out across
• 26:19
  Speaker 2: the canyon towards the shining beacon that gets brighter and
• 26:22
  Speaker 2: brighter as the last of the daylight fades into velvet darkness.
• 26:26
  Speaker 3: But before I.
• 26:27
  Speaker 2: Go I mentioned earlier in this episode that I would
• 26:29
  Speaker 2: try to find something for Chord's level up that made
• 26:32
  Speaker 2: more sense to the story than the rules as written
• 26:35
  Speaker 2: druidic shape change ability. I didn't really come across anything
• 26:38
  Speaker 2: in game as I was hoping to, but I did
• 26:41
  Speaker 2: think of something that at least won't break immersion and
• 26:44
  Speaker 2: feel someone natural. Here's the idea. Instead of shape change,
• 26:48
  Speaker 2: Cord will get the ability to cast growth upon himself
• 26:51
  Speaker 2: once per day. This spelling effect will use the same
• 26:54
  Speaker 2: rules that would apply for drinking a potion of growth.
• 26:57
  Speaker 2: And what does that do a potion of growth cause
• 27:00
  Speaker 2: is the user to go to twice normal size, temporarily
• 27:02
  Speaker 2: increasing strength and giving the ability to inflict double damage
• 27:06
  Speaker 2: on any successful hit. The user's hit points did not increase.
• 27:10
  Speaker 2: I like the solution because it's simple and it makes
• 27:13
  Speaker 2: some kind of sense in the story, but mostly because
• 27:15
  Speaker 2: I thought I would forget to include this at the
• 27:17
  Speaker 2: end of the chapter, and somehow I remembered. I guess
• 27:20
  Speaker 2: Fairwind isn't the only one who enjoys the occasional miracle.
• 27:29
  Speaker 2: Thanks for listening to Tale of the Mantacre. Stick around
• 27:32
  Speaker 2: after these credits for a brief podcast adversary message. My
• 27:37
  Speaker 2: listeners are very generous for their support, and I'm very grateful.
• 27:40
  Speaker 2: If you'd like to help out too, there are loads
• 27:42
  Speaker 2: of ways to do so. You could recommend, or like
• 27:45
  Speaker 2: and repost episode announcements on social media. Purchase a Tale
• 27:48
  Speaker 2: of the mantacre a t shirt at Barreart's dot store
• 27:51
  Speaker 2: or one are my offerings. I'll drive through RPG rate
• 27:53
  Speaker 2: and review the show on your favorite podcatcher, will give
• 27:55
  Speaker 2: me a sub on YouTube. Let's read a review left
• 27:58
  Speaker 2: on Apple Podcasts. This one was left by Simsidan. Apologies
• 28:02
  Speaker 2: if I'm pronouncing that wrong. Simsidan writes, I've never been
• 28:06
  Speaker 2: a Dungeons and Dragons slash RPG player, but as a
• 28:08
  Speaker 2: child of the eighties, it's always been in my orbit.
• 28:11
  Speaker 2: I've been binging Tale of the Manticore since the back
• 28:13
  Speaker 2: of last year, and I'm truly hooked. The universe is
• 28:16
  Speaker 2: incredibly well formed, The characters are compelling, and the voice
• 28:19
  Speaker 2: acting is superb. John does a great job of weaving
• 28:22
  Speaker 2: an immersive story with interesting behind the scenes information in
• 28:25
  Speaker 2: the mechanics. Season three is the best so far. Great work.
• 28:29
  Speaker 2: Thanks very much, Simpsidan for that very kind review. Your
• 28:33
  Speaker 2: words are fuel for my creative fire. And plus one
• 28:36
  Speaker 2: from me about the voice acting. I'm very lucky in
• 28:38
  Speaker 2: that I get to work with some of the best,
• 28:41
  Speaker 2: very happy to hear that the current season is your favorite.
• 28:44
  Speaker 2: When I set off on this path, I wasn't sure
• 28:45
  Speaker 2: if the toe would rubb folks the wrong way. I'm
• 28:48
  Speaker 2: glad that didn't happen and that this season's high fantasy
• 28:51
  Speaker 2: flavor is appealing. At this point, I'd like to put
• 28:54
  Speaker 2: the spotlight on my excellent cast of voice actors. This
• 28:57
  Speaker 2: episode features five of them. Playing to Renny Tantier and
• 29:00
  Speaker 2: Fermund are Kayellen, Kevin Barringer, and Dave Cooper. Chris Sager's
• 29:05
  Speaker 2: writer for Tales from the Void on Global Comics, is
• 29:07
  Speaker 2: back again playing the mad Mason Sager and finally in
• 29:11
  Speaker 2: the role of Bellario. The nome is Hodegg RPG. Thanks guys,
• 29:15
  Speaker 2: I'd be nowhere without yet. For those who wish to
• 29:18
  Speaker 2: find other like minded creators doing similar shows, please check
• 29:21
  Speaker 2: out Solo Roleplayers Network dot com, and if you're curious
• 29:24
  Speaker 2: to learn more about this show, I keep a blog
• 29:26
  Speaker 2: where I post all kinds of show with RPG related
• 29:28
  Speaker 2: stuff like sketches, maps, tables, crafts, and show notes. You
• 29:32
  Speaker 2: can find it at Tale of Theemantacre dot com. To
• 29:34
  Speaker 2: get in touch with me at a Tale of the
• 29:36
  Speaker 2: Mantacre dow Blues Guide, do social Tale of the Manticor
• 29:39
  Speaker 2: podcast on Instagram, or Tale of Themantacre at gmail dot com.
• 29:45
  Speaker 2: Before I sign off, I wanted to let you know
• 29:47
  Speaker 2: that a few days ago, Tale of the Mantagor passed
• 29:49
  Speaker 2: at sixth year anniversary. Boy Howdy, where does the time go?
• 29:54
  Speaker 2: I can't put into words how much satisfaction I've gained
• 29:57
  Speaker 2: from making this show, and it seems like there's always
• 30:00
  Speaker 2: something new and exciting going on behind the scenes too.
• 30:03
  Speaker 2: In just the past year, so much has happened. The
• 30:06
  Speaker 2: Solo role Players Network came together. It experienced a few
• 30:09
  Speaker 2: growing pains during the early days, but it has settled
• 30:11
  Speaker 2: into itself by now. If you haven't checked out Solo
• 30:14
  Speaker 2: Roleplayers Network dot com, I'd strongly encourage you to do so.
• 30:18
  Speaker 2: Another dot com, Tale of the Mantagor finally got its
• 30:21
  Speaker 2: own URL. It didn't really change much, but it does
• 30:24
  Speaker 2: feel a bit more professional. At about this time last year,
• 30:27
  Speaker 2: I put out the one Shot in the Dark expansion
• 30:30
  Speaker 2: returned to Duervar. It's currently a copper best seller and
• 30:33
  Speaker 2: Drive Through RPG, which is cool but much cooler. Pendulum
• 30:37
  Speaker 2: the World Building Assistant has gone gold, and the original
• 30:40
  Speaker 2: One Shot in the Dark is creeping towards platinum. It's
• 30:43
  Speaker 2: not there yet, but hopefully one day will be. Other
• 30:46
  Speaker 2: milestone highlights this year include topping one million downloads and
• 30:50
  Speaker 2: collaborating with the singer Cianna Jay to produce what I
• 30:53
  Speaker 2: think is the best tale of the Mantacore composition to date.
• 30:56
  Speaker 2: And I'm really proud of all those things. I have
• 30:58
  Speaker 2: a couple of irons on the fire for things that
• 31:00
  Speaker 2: will be released later this year too, without spoiling anything.
• 31:04
  Speaker 2: Both should show up around October of this year. One
• 31:07
  Speaker 2: is a short series of experimental fiction that will be
• 31:09
  Speaker 2: released after Season three raps. The other is really unrelated
• 31:13
  Speaker 2: to tell the Manticor, but it should be a strong
• 31:15
  Speaker 2: match for the Halloween vibes of its release month and
• 31:17
  Speaker 2: hopefully of some interest to horror fans. More info on
• 31:21
  Speaker 2: both of these to come. Finally, with the high highs
• 31:25
  Speaker 2: come the low lows. What can I say about my
• 31:28
  Speaker 2: SSD failure and subsequent rebuild other than may it never
• 31:32
  Speaker 2: happen again? Please? Mazagar said Al aheya whoever is listening.
• 31:37
  Speaker 2: Once is enough for me, amen. And that's the update.
• 31:42
  Speaker 2: Here's looking forward to all the adventure this seventh year
• 31:45
  Speaker 2: of Podcasty will bring. And speaking of adventure, this one
• 31:48
  Speaker 2: will continue on the next episode of Tale of the
• 31:51
  Speaker 2: Manticor It's the Story where Chaos Rolls