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Episode 7 (S3E07) · Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: This is Brian from Transreal News and Swords Against Madness.
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: I hope you've got a sword with you as you've
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: arrived where chaos rolls. You're listening to Tale of the Mandicor.
• 0:15
  Speaker 2: The following podcast is intended for a mature audience. Listener
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: discretion is advised. Welcome back to Tale of the Manticor
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: Season three. Like the creature from which it takes its name,
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: Tale of the Manticor is a mashup, a cross breeding
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: between two different species of storytelling. Here you will find
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: the unpredictability of old school paper and dice games with
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: the story craft of a dark fantasy novel. No character
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: is sacred and none will be spared if the dice
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: decide the fate is at hand. According to Laura, the
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: Tale of a Manticor is barbed with cruel iron spikes.
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: There will be much pain in the days ahead. Last
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: time on Tale of the Manticor, Chapter six concerns the
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: resolution of a single random encounter. Achilia hears the sound
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: of someone being whipped. When she investigates, she finds three
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: orcs playing a game with a captive, whipping him to
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: see who can make him cry out. The loudest. Achilia
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: might have set moral obligation aside and moved on, but
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: she hears the captive speak words in Elvish and knows
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: then and there that she has to attempt to rescue.
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: She sneaks up on the camp and casts her only spell,
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: shrink on the captive so he might slip free of
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: the manacles around his wrists. The spell works, and once
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: the captive is free, she calls out an Elvish for
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: him to follow her, perhaps thinking his own people have
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: come to his aid. The captive runs in her direction,
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: but the Orcs give chase. Unfortunately for them, the monsters
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: are heavily encumbered and fall quickly behind. Eventually they give up.
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: Once at a safe distance, Achillia stops for her party
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: to regroup and to meet the person she has liberated.
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: When he arrives, he's thankful, but also somewhat suspicious. He
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: asks how it is that she speaks the Elvish tongue,
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: but he does not seem to accept her answer. Chapter seven,
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: Part one, Day six night party status achillea four out
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: of four hit points, court six out of six hit points. Supplies.
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: The companions have no food and two portions of water
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: remaining spells available. There are no spells available.
• 3:01
  Speaker 3: I I can speak Elfish because I am an elf.
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: She replied, No, you are not, said the other slowly.
• 3:11
  Speaker 4: Why do you say that, asked.
• 3:13
  Speaker 5: Akilia, Because I am an elf and you do not
• 3:18
  Speaker 5: look like me.
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: Achilia was thunderstruck. It took a moment for her to
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: form a reply.
• 3:24
  Speaker 4: She settled on, I can only tell you what I
• 3:26
  Speaker 4: have always.
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: Known, while presenting your hands palms up in a gesture
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: of helplessness. The silence then stretched out that was too
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: long for comfort in the former captive's side.
• 3:38
  Speaker 5: At every rate, one thing is certain. You have saved me,
• 3:42
  Speaker 5: and I am in your debt. My name is de
• 3:45
  Speaker 5: Reni of the Sotevi Marsh tribe.
• 3:49
  Speaker 3: Well met de Rennie of the Setevi Marsh. I am
• 3:52
  Speaker 3: called Achilia Muok, apprentice to Master Altve Muok.
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: She paused to see if the name would have any
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: effect on the other. Did not.
• 4:00
  Speaker 4: These are my companions, Cord and Robin.
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: She pointed to Cord, who watched the conversation he could
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: not understand patiently, then to Robin, now once again sitting
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: on her head. Surprisingly, Dorani did not seem overly moved
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: by the presence of a wooden construct. His attention had
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: been firmly on Achillie the whole time. Now, instead of
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: looking at Court, his eye was drawn up to Robin.
• 4:26
  Speaker 5: Your bird is wounded, it would appear, and possibly blind
• 4:30
  Speaker 5: as well.
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: Achillia started, then laughed. Understanding the error, she put up
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: her hand and Robin obediately jumped upon it. She presented
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: Robin to Dornni, who peered at it while furrowing his eyebrows.
• 4:42
  Speaker 4: Robin is a stuffed bird, she laughed, while do.
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: Rennie squinted at the poorly stitched skin revealed under Robin's
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: patchy feathers.
• 4:51
  Speaker 3: She may not be my master's most skilled work, but
• 4:53
  Speaker 3: she is not hurt and she can see perfectly well
• 4:56
  Speaker 3: despite appearances.
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: De Rennie looked from Robin to Court, and something seemed
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: to occur to him.
• 5:02
  Speaker 5: Perhaps you are of high heaven blood, then, if your
• 5:05
  Speaker 5: master can work such magic at least, this is unlike
• 5:09
  Speaker 5: any enchantment I have seen before.
• 5:12
  Speaker 3: I've not heard of high elves, or any kinds of
• 5:15
  Speaker 3: elves for that matter.
• 5:17
  Speaker 4: What do you mean.
• 5:18
  Speaker 5: As for first hand experience? Mine is limited to the
• 5:21
  Speaker 5: elves of my own tribe, But there are other tribes,
• 5:25
  Speaker 5: and I have heard that there is a race of
• 5:27
  Speaker 5: elves that live in cities as the men folk do. Truly,
• 5:32
  Speaker 5: I had always thought the high elves a children's fable.
• 5:36
  Speaker 4: Where is your tribe.
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: De Renny asked Akilia. De Renny considered hm.
• 5:42
  Speaker 5: Two days walk from here. I was on a hunt
• 5:45
  Speaker 5: when the Orcs caught me.
• 5:47
  Speaker 4: You hunt so far from home.
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: Asked Akilia. More out of curiosity than suspicion.
• 5:53
  Speaker 5: Something has driven away the fauna from our lands, the orcs.
• 5:57
  Speaker 4: Perhaps if there are more of them, for.
• 5:59
  Speaker 5: A c forbid, But perhaps yes, was the reply.
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: A chillier bit her lip, and then she asked.
• 6:06
  Speaker 3: De Rennie, would you take me us to meet the
• 6:10
  Speaker 3: rest of your people.
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: When I made a reaction roll upon de Rennie and
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: Achillia's first meeting, I got a modified eight, which is
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: slightly positive but still uncertain. This makes sense given that
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: both parties claim to be Elvin while looking slightly different
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: from each other. Now that the ice is somewhat broken,
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: I think it's time for a second check. This will
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: be to determine whether or not de Rennie is willing
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: to bring Achillia and her companions home with him, I'm
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: reducing the previous bonus of plus three to plus one
• 6:43
  Speaker 2: for this role in light of his lukewarm initial reaction.
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: Here goes on two six higher is better, eight plus
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: one is nine. Okay, the dice god seemed to want
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: this relationship to develop a little more That nine is
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: giving me yes but vibes. Since I have my bowl
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: of dice at hand, I'm going to take this chance
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: to roll up a new event, meaning to replace this
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: spent one on d percentile eighty five and ninety three.
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: That's negligence and weather. Well, that seems fairly straightforward. I
• 7:15
  Speaker 2: might need to wait awhile before using it, but I
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: guess you never know. Chapter seven, Part two, Day seven
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: morning mythic event meaning negligence, weather, party status. Achillia four
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: out of four hit points, court six out of six
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: hit points. Supplies. The companions have no food and two
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: portions of water remaining spells available. Achillea has memorized shrink
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: hours earlier. Having built some trust between them, Achillia, her companions,
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: and to Renni had decided to find a concealed spot
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: where they could make camp. They'd been exhausted and it
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: had grown late in the morning, Achillie awoke to powder
• 8:08
  Speaker 2: pink dawn sky. The woods were gowned and mist. She
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: studied for an hour before waking to Rennie. Once he
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: was awake, they shared her water skin and between the
• 8:18
  Speaker 2: two of them nearly drained it. Breakfast was not available,
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: and Achillea's stomach was beginning to growl. Even more than
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: the many dangers of the wilds, food had become her
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: biggest problem. On the bright side, she now had a
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: competent guide. They decided they would try foraging while on
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: the march. De Rennie said it would be wiser to
• 8:37
  Speaker 2: get home quickly rather than on a full stomach. Judging
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: by his willowy frame, Achillie guessed that he was used
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: to going without. But as for her, she had never
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: experienced hunger before, and she knew she would feel a
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: discomfort more acutely. Before they set out, Achillie decided to
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: extend her trust a little further and asked de Rennie
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: if he had heard of a person named Audoc. She
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: also asked him if he recognized any of the scenes
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: in the sketchbook as she showed it to him. The
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: expert rules said that there are two ways to acquire
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: food in the wilderness. Characters can forage while on the move.
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: A D six is rolled and on a one they'll
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: find one to six portions of food. The other choice
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: is to stop and spend a full day hunting. The
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: rules seem a bit vague here, but I think the
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: idea is that the one to six portions are guaranteed. However,
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: there's a cost. An additional wandering encounter roll must be
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: made for that day. Considering the high chance for such
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: an encounter, that option is truly risky, and I think
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: de Rennie may have the right idea in pushing ahead.
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: I'll make the foraging role now on a D six,
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: hoping for a one A two nuts or rather no nuts,
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: berries or otherwise. As we started a new day, there's
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: a few more roles to make for weather. A nine
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: decent weather means I won't be using my event meaning
• 9:57
  Speaker 2: today next to stumble upon Holy Cow another one? What
• 10:04
  Speaker 2: are the chances of that happening again? So soon? Does
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: this mean that, like with Edo, that the escaped danger
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: has caught up with them? I'll roll high low High
• 10:13
  Speaker 2: means it has on a D twenty another one, all right,
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: I wasn't expecting that it means something really bad is
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: going to happen. Let's take a quick ad break to
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: give me the time to come up with an idea.
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: The weather was about the only thing that cooperated within
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: that day. To start, de Renni turned out to be
• 10:36
  Speaker 2: unfamiliar with the name Oudoc and could not identify the
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: places pictured in Achillee's book. Furthermore, the terrain became less
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: forgiving with each passing mile. By noon, the land had
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: already started to become difficult, putting in their way steep
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: rises and gullies that could not be circumnavigated. Achillee found
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: herself winded by the ascents, and the declines were almost
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: as bad, slowing them down when they became precariously steep. Furthermore,
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: there was no water to be found anywhere. When she asked,
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: Dorani insisted that this was the way they needed to go.
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: He admitted that he hadn't been through this area before,
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: but he seemed confident in their direction, as if he
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: possessed an internal compass. Some time after the sun had
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: passed its zenith and the afternoon was well under way,
• 11:21
  Speaker 2: the party passed by an enormous mound with a face
• 11:24
  Speaker 2: of bald rock. The surface was riddled with holes dozens
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: of cave openings, ranging from the size of a fist
• 11:31
  Speaker 2: to as much as three feet across. Achilie looked at
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: it nervously, and Dornie confirmed her thoughts.
• 11:37
  Speaker 5: Best to steer wide of that place. It has a
• 11:41
  Speaker 5: bad look to it.
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: They had just put the caves to their backs, feeling
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: prematurely fatigued and just beginning to experience the pangs of
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: hunger and thirst, when ill fortune struck. As they crested
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: the next steep rise, perhaps only one hundred yards away,
• 11:57
  Speaker 2: another party of orcs, and this one was bigger than
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: the last. There were five of the pig faced brutes.
• 12:04
  Speaker 2: Worse they were spotted right away with a battle cry.
• 12:08
  Speaker 2: All five charged towards them, fanning out in waving axes,
• 12:11
  Speaker 2: swords and clubs above their heads. Back the way they
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: came would be the only means of escape, and Achilia
• 12:18
  Speaker 2: practically ran down the incline they just climbed with such
• 12:21
  Speaker 2: effort it was a miracle that she didn't trip. Her
• 12:25
  Speaker 2: feet seemed to barely touch the ground. That she threw
• 12:27
  Speaker 2: herself forward so quickly that she as much fell down
• 12:30
  Speaker 2: the slope as ran down it, her arms pin wheeled madly.
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: When she reached the bottom, still somehow maintaining her balance
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: without breaking stride, she dashed straight ahead. De Rennie was
• 12:44
  Speaker 2: right at her side to the caves. He yelled between
• 12:48
  Speaker 2: hard breaths. They made the caves, with the Orcs, having
• 12:52
  Speaker 2: closed the gap so that they were only a few
• 12:54
  Speaker 2: dozen yards away, and choosing a hole just large enough
• 12:58
  Speaker 2: that they could crawl through escaped. They found themselves in
• 13:02
  Speaker 2: a short, naturally formed tunnel that opened into a larger pocket.
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: While their enemy threatened and cursed from the outside, they
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: caught their breath, and as their infro vision took over,
• 13:12
  Speaker 2: regarded their new surroundings. The earlier stumble upon roll of
• 13:18
  Speaker 2: one means that the party is going to face risk
• 13:21
  Speaker 2: without any chance for reward. I mentioned this because the
• 13:24
  Speaker 2: Orcs waiting for them outside are not the PC's only problem.
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: There's a chance that the caves in this hill might
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: not be interconnected, and so Achille and her companions might
• 13:33
  Speaker 2: find themselves trapped. I wonder what the chances would be.
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: I don't know much about geology, so I'll just make
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: a high low roll. High means there's another way out,
• 13:43
  Speaker 2: rolling a D twenty who at eleven, Thank goodness for that.
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: In the gray scale of their dark vision, they took
• 13:54
  Speaker 2: in their new surroundings. They were in a kidney shaped
• 13:57
  Speaker 2: space that measured perhaps twenty feet in length and ten
• 14:00
  Speaker 2: feet across at the widest part. The walls here were irregular,
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: cracked and pock marked in some places, smooth in others.
• 14:09
  Speaker 2: There was an ominous looking crawl space opening at the
• 14:12
  Speaker 2: far end. The place felt cool and damp. It smelled
• 14:16
  Speaker 2: of mold. Achillia turned to look back through the entrance tunnel,
• 14:20
  Speaker 2: and her boots scuffed the loose dirt that covered the floor.
• 14:24
  Speaker 4: Do you think there's any chance they might give up
• 14:26
  Speaker 4: and leave?
• 14:27
  Speaker 5: Not much, orcs are stubborn.
• 14:30
  Speaker 2: Came to Renny's matter of fact reply.
• 14:32
  Speaker 5: But they are also nocturnal, so they'll have to sleep
• 14:35
  Speaker 5: at some point, Achilia, might I borrow one of those?
• 14:39
  Speaker 2: He looked at the pair of daggers on her belt meaningfully.
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: Achillie only considered for a moment before passing him one.
• 14:46
  Speaker 2: She couldn't leave him defenseless, of.
• 14:48
  Speaker 3: Course, good idea, But do you think we might be
• 14:51
  Speaker 3: able to slip past them without a fight.
• 14:53
  Speaker 5: Not from here, they'll post a sentry right outside that opening.
• 14:58
  Speaker 5: Our only real hope is.
• 15:01
  Speaker 2: And here, he pointed at the cross base.
• 15:03
  Speaker 5: Leads to another exit large enough for us to pass through.
• 15:06
  Speaker 2: It was fortunate that they were so small. Even Cord,
• 15:09
  Speaker 2: who stood six feet tall, was slender enough that he'd
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: been able to follow them in with considerable ease. Both constructs, furthermore,
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: could see in the dark, as their vision did not
• 15:18
  Speaker 2: depend on any physical organs, but was magical in nature.
• 15:21
  Speaker 4: And let's find out if it does, agreed.
• 15:24
  Speaker 2: Said do Rennie, and he took the lead. Achilie fell
• 15:28
  Speaker 2: in behind, and Cord brought up the rear, holding Robin
• 15:30
  Speaker 2: in his hand. As Derennie crouched down to crawl into
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: the little gap, that Killia saw the whip Weltz on
• 15:36
  Speaker 2: his back up close for the first time. It was
• 15:39
  Speaker 2: amazing her new companion was still standing. She thought his
• 15:43
  Speaker 2: fortitude inspired her to be brave when a few seconds
• 15:46
  Speaker 2: later it was her turn to get down on all
• 15:49
  Speaker 2: fours and crawl into the little opening. The claustrophobia came
• 15:54
  Speaker 2: almost immediately, with the tunnel roof just an inch above
• 15:58
  Speaker 2: her head and the rocky tunnel walls close enough that
• 16:00
  Speaker 2: they grazed her shoulders. The feeling of being completely vulnerable,
• 16:04
  Speaker 2: unable to move if anything were to happen, was almost
• 16:07
  Speaker 2: too much to bear. The further in they got, the
• 16:11
  Speaker 2: faster her heart beat, and a rising sensation began in
• 16:15
  Speaker 2: her brain that grew stronger and stronger, until it seemed
• 16:19
  Speaker 2: her sense of vision and hearing were constricted. Like the
• 16:22
  Speaker 2: tunnel she crawled through. She broke into a sweat as
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: panic threatened to take over her senses. Dramatis personae Achillia
• 16:36
  Speaker 2: fifteen years ago. Achillie was six years old when her
• 16:41
  Speaker 2: formal apprenticeship to Aldrey began and she started to learn
• 16:44
  Speaker 2: the secrets of magecraft. For the first year, the sole
• 16:48
  Speaker 2: topic of her lessons was meditation.
• 16:50
  Speaker 6: Oh, without clarity of mind, you'll never achieve the concentration
• 16:54
  Speaker 6: required for even the most basic spell.
• 16:57
  Speaker 2: That was the sentence with which Achillia began her journey
• 16:59
  Speaker 2: into wizardry. She took a seat on a mat of
• 17:02
  Speaker 2: reeds and waited further instruction.
• 17:05
  Speaker 6: Grows your legs so that the tips of your toes
• 17:07
  Speaker 6: and the outer edge of your thighs form a single line.
• 17:10
  Speaker 2: She did as she was told.
• 17:12
  Speaker 6: Good, now know your knees to the mat, Straighten your back,
• 17:17
  Speaker 6: push back your bottom, hips forward.
• 17:19
  Speaker 2: A Chillie let slip a laugh at the mention of
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: her bottom, and Oldvae patiently allowed it. Then, with a
• 17:25
  Speaker 2: gentle look that asked, are we ready to continue, he said.
• 17:29
  Speaker 6: He is in line with the shoulders, nose, in line
• 17:32
  Speaker 6: with your navel. Yes, like so, tongue nightly behind your top,
• 17:37
  Speaker 6: teeth eyes open.
• 17:41
  Speaker 2: By this point Achillie was settled, and, as a natural student,
• 17:44
  Speaker 2: had committed herself to doing things correctly. Aldve's instruction continued, take.
• 17:50
  Speaker 6: Long, even breaths, but do not try to control your breathing.
• 17:55
  Speaker 6: You wear of your thoughts. When various notions enter your mind,
• 17:59
  Speaker 6: neither soue not try to escape from them. Instead allow
• 18:04
  Speaker 6: them to come and go freely.
• 18:05
  Speaker 2: Achillia tried to do all this.
• 18:08
  Speaker 6: The mind is like the surface of a pond.
• 18:10
  Speaker 2: Back me.
• 18:11
  Speaker 6: If the wind blows, the surface is disturbed, now ripples.
• 18:16
  Speaker 6: It's difficult to see beneath the surface, even though the
• 18:19
  Speaker 6: water is.
• 18:19
  Speaker 2: Clear and pure. Achillia stirred. Her attention had already slept,
• 18:23
  Speaker 2: and she felt as though she were failing. Alvey did
• 18:26
  Speaker 2: not address it, but simply went.
• 18:28
  Speaker 6: On accept tranquility. Do not think I am breathing. There
• 18:35
  Speaker 6: is no mind, There is no body. Let go of
• 18:38
  Speaker 6: time and space, Let go of body and mind, and
• 18:43
  Speaker 6: just be.
• 18:54
  Speaker 2: Some of her fears were legitimate. If the tunnel ahead
• 18:57
  Speaker 2: dead ended or tapered to a point where they could
• 19:00
  Speaker 2: go no further, they'd be forced to crawl backward all
• 19:03
  Speaker 2: that way. Other fears were irrational. If the tunnel collapsed
• 19:07
  Speaker 2: behind them, they might find themselves entombed in miss Hill forever.
• 19:12
  Speaker 2: But Achilia, after so many years of study, knew how
• 19:15
  Speaker 2: to master her thoughts. She'd been practicing for years, Acknowledging
• 19:20
  Speaker 2: that they were the winds of blind panic, should wield
• 19:22
  Speaker 2: their thoughts to be calm. They crawled forward, slowly, navigating
• 19:27
  Speaker 2: a number of turns and drops, before the tunnel mercifully
• 19:30
  Speaker 2: opened up into another pocket. Dornni was the first out,
• 19:33
  Speaker 2: and on his feet, dusting off his knees, he held
• 19:38
  Speaker 2: forth a hand to help Achilia out, and then came
• 19:40
  Speaker 2: court holding Robin. There's a light ahead, said the elf,
• 19:44
  Speaker 2: his voice hopeful. Must take a look, replied Achilia. It
• 19:48
  Speaker 2: was above a stone lunch they would have to climb over,
• 19:50
  Speaker 2: but it seemed manageable. Dornni had only taken a few
• 19:55
  Speaker 2: steps when his foot struck a little mount of dirt.
• 19:58
  Speaker 2: Some movement caught his eye, and when he looked down,
• 20:01
  Speaker 2: the floor seemed to be coming alive. De Renni has
• 20:07
  Speaker 2: just disturbed the nest of three giant centipedes. I rolled
• 20:10
  Speaker 2: up this encounter in advance and off mic that it
• 20:12
  Speaker 2: was partially generated at random. At first, I rolled a
• 20:16
  Speaker 2: high low to see if any monster would be encountered
• 20:18
  Speaker 2: as the pieces searched for a second exit from the
• 20:21
  Speaker 2: cave system. It wasn't a sure thing, but unfortunately I
• 20:24
  Speaker 2: determined that yes, there would be by d M. Fiat,
• 20:28
  Speaker 2: I decided that the encounter would be with two to
• 20:30
  Speaker 2: five giant centipedes and rolled a three for that. Next
• 20:34
  Speaker 2: I rolled for the centipedes hit points and I rolled
• 20:36
  Speaker 2: a one. This is a good time to bring up
• 20:38
  Speaker 2: a home brew rule. I use entail of the manticor
• 20:41
  Speaker 2: when I rolled for monsters hit points. If I get
• 20:43
  Speaker 2: anything less than half the maximum number, I raised that
• 20:46
  Speaker 2: number to half. You'll often hear me refer to minning out.
• 20:50
  Speaker 2: This is something I do to keep encounters from being
• 20:52
  Speaker 2: overly easy. So these giant centipedes, which have a half
• 20:56
  Speaker 2: a hit die get two hit points each fifty percent
• 20:59
  Speaker 2: of their maxims of four. Even though I rolled a
• 21:02
  Speaker 2: one with hit points worked out, the only thing left
• 21:05
  Speaker 2: to Rule four was surprise. I ended up getting a
• 21:07
  Speaker 2: five for the centipedes and a four for the party,
• 21:10
  Speaker 2: so neither side would be surprised. I think that gives
• 21:13
  Speaker 2: us all we need to proceed, and it also brings
• 21:15
  Speaker 2: us to the first battle of season three, Injury Combat.
• 21:25
  Speaker 2: There are several versions of giant centipedes from addition to
• 21:27
  Speaker 2: addition of D and D, and I'll be using the
• 21:30
  Speaker 2: ones found in the basic rules. These creatures measure a
• 21:33
  Speaker 2: foot long, have an armor class of eleven, and their bite,
• 21:36
  Speaker 2: while it does no damage, is poisonous. The poison is
• 21:39
  Speaker 2: not deadly, but instead causes serious illness on a filled
• 21:43
  Speaker 2: saving throw. Let's begin round one initiative. The giant centipedes
• 21:49
  Speaker 2: a one, the Party a six. Well that is decisive.
• 21:54
  Speaker 2: When Durani disturbs the giant centipede's nest, the insect's first
• 21:58
  Speaker 2: instinct is to scatter before turning around to attack. Duranni
• 22:02
  Speaker 2: needs an eleven to hit with his borrowed dagger. His
• 22:05
  Speaker 2: roll at eighteen. Well done. To Rennie. Damage will be
• 22:11
  Speaker 2: four points. He cuts one of the ugly creatures in half.
• 22:15
  Speaker 2: Achillie is up next. She also needs an eleven. A
• 22:18
  Speaker 2: six will not do it. Her initial revulsion is so
• 22:21
  Speaker 2: strong she cannot bring herself to get in close. I'm
• 22:25
  Speaker 2: sure Court will have no problem with that. As his
• 22:27
  Speaker 2: axe comes down, he too needs an eleven or better
• 22:30
  Speaker 2: on a D twenty to score a hit. A fourteen
• 22:34
  Speaker 2: on the die is good enough. His axe will do
• 22:36
  Speaker 2: one to six points of damage. The roll a two
• 22:40
  Speaker 2: not a great role, but it is enough to squash
• 22:42
  Speaker 2: this bug into paste. It's the last remaining Centi beats
• 22:46
  Speaker 2: turned to attack, but in light of the party's initial success,
• 22:49
  Speaker 2: I'm rolling a morale check to see if it will flee.
• 22:52
  Speaker 2: Giant Centi beats have a fairly low morale score, only
• 22:54
  Speaker 2: a seven. Any roll of that amount or greater on
• 22:57
  Speaker 2: two six indicates flight. The role snake eyes. I think
• 23:02
  Speaker 2: this nest must contain eggs or young and so the
• 23:05
  Speaker 2: last centipede will fight to the death. I'll determine his
• 23:08
  Speaker 2: target at random. It's de Renni, and since he's not
• 23:11
  Speaker 2: only unarmored but naked from the waist up, the insect
• 23:14
  Speaker 2: only needs a ten to hit him. The roll a five.
• 23:18
  Speaker 2: Deurnni manages to kick it against the wall, where it
• 23:20
  Speaker 2: rise and twists. Yeah, it's round two initiative. The giant
• 23:25
  Speaker 2: centipede a six, the party a one. That's an interesting
• 23:30
  Speaker 2: reversal of fortune. The pieces thought that kick had killed
• 23:33
  Speaker 2: the insect until it came a rippling bag with uncanny speed.
• 23:36
  Speaker 2: Its target will once again be determined by a random roll.
• 23:40
  Speaker 2: It's poor de Renni again, payback for the kick. Maybe Anyway,
• 23:44
  Speaker 2: a ten is needed to hit, and this time it
• 23:47
  Speaker 2: does with a seventeen. The awful thing climbs right up
• 23:50
  Speaker 2: the ELF's leg and then he feels it bite him
• 23:52
  Speaker 2: below the knee.
• 23:54
  Speaker 6: Ah.
• 23:54
  Speaker 2: Now Dorni has to make a saving throw versus poison.
• 23:57
  Speaker 2: At first level, the elf needs droll a twelve or
• 24:00
  Speaker 2: or better. Here goes a sixteen. He makes the save
• 24:04
  Speaker 2: and brushes off the centipede before the venom is injected.
• 24:08
  Speaker 2: Now it's the PC's turn. Duretti will make his attack.
• 24:12
  Speaker 2: The fourteen hits and damage will be two points. The
• 24:16
  Speaker 2: ELF's boot comes down hard right on top of the
• 24:19
  Speaker 2: centipede and flattens it into a glooey pancake. With that
• 24:23
  Speaker 2: combat is over and looking at my runtime, so is
• 24:27
  Speaker 2: this episode. Thanks so much for listening to Tale of
• 24:33
  Speaker 2: the Mandicor if you're enjoying the show and would like
• 24:35
  Speaker 2: to help to support it, there are lots of ways
• 24:37
  Speaker 2: to do so. You can recommend the show online with
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  Speaker 2: your friends. You can like and repost episode announcements on
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  Speaker 2: social media. You can pick up one of my offerings
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  Speaker 2: on drive through RPG. You can purchase a Tale of
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  Speaker 2: the mandicor T shirt at www. Dot bear Arts dot store,
• 24:51
  Speaker 2: and finally, you can rate or review the show on
• 24:53
  Speaker 2: your podcastry of choice. I'm grateful for all of your
• 24:56
  Speaker 2: kind support. I enjoy sharing a listener view at the
• 25:00
  Speaker 2: end of each episode. This one was left by jag
• 25:03
  Speaker 2: vett Intovad jag sky Hetta. Jag vet Intovad jagsket Heta writes,
• 25:09
  Speaker 2: just so good. I'm guessing why Swedish is lacking and
• 25:12
  Speaker 2: I hope I didn't butcher that too badly. When I
• 25:15
  Speaker 2: promised much pain in the days ahead, I wasn't referring
• 25:18
  Speaker 2: to my pronunciation, but there you go. At any rate,
• 25:21
  Speaker 2: Thanks very much for that short but sweet review. Much appreciated,
• 25:25
  Speaker 2: jag Vet. Anyway, I have two voice actors on the
• 25:29
  Speaker 2: show today, Kyle on his back playing the rescued elf Dereni.
• 25:33
  Speaker 2: Also returning is Andrew Flinging in the role of Achille's
• 25:36
  Speaker 2: father and mentor, aldve Muak. As always, these two nailed
• 25:40
  Speaker 2: their parts and I'm truly grateful. Thanks guys. For those
• 25:44
  Speaker 2: curious to learn a bit more about Tale of the Manticore,
• 25:47
  Speaker 2: I keep a blog where I post all kinds of
• 25:49
  Speaker 2: show and RPG related stuff like art, maps, tables, crafts,
• 25:53
  Speaker 2: and show notes. You can find it a Tale of
• 25:54
  Speaker 2: Themantcore dot blogspot dot com. To get in touch with me,
• 25:58
  Speaker 2: I'm at Manticore, Tale on X, Tale of the Manticor
• 26:00
  Speaker 2: podcast on Instagram, or Tale of Themanticor at gmail dot com.
• 26:04
  Speaker 2: I'd love to hear from you. The adventure will continue
• 26:07
  Speaker 2: on the next episode of Tale of the Manticor. The
• 26:10
  Speaker 2: story will chaos rolls