Anthony 0:01
Greetings, adventurers, and welcome to the Adventure Incorporated Podcast! I am your Dungeon Master. Okay, hold on. I want to do this- I’m going to start over. This was almost exactly perfect if I was going to do this like, like a morning- hold on. Greetings, adventurers, and welcome to the Adventure Incorporated Podcast. I’m yo’ Dungeon Master, Anthony Reed. This is episode number 30, and it is part of the Gathering Darkness story arc. I don’t know. That was weird. I kind of loved it though. There was a part of me that got a lot of joy out of. And you know, I really needed that. So thank you for sticking through me- sticking through. Thank you for sticking through me. We want to thank the Patrons at patreon.com/adventureinc who make this show happen. Without you it wouldn’t. I mean it would, maybe, but we’d all be a lot sadder about it. And so instead you come and support the show. We get to do way cooler things with the show. We get to do all this bonus material that we put together. We had a great live stream this past month for the Beholder Levels. That was a lot of fun where we built out a new subclass for a Time Sorcerer, which was a blast. And there’s always stuff like that happening. So, make sure you’re following the Discord. Make sure you are following our Twitch, twitch.tv/SRSBiz_Network, all the fun stuff we’re doing over there. And if you’re not a Patron become one. Patreon.com/adventureinc. There’s all kinds of levels that you can support. Whatever you can manage, and it gives you a special RSS feed that gives you all the content you crave, all in one place, including the episodes so you don’t even have to do anything special. It’s just all there for you. So, yeah, head over there. Help us out. Check out all the links on the website. Adventureincpod.com. This, this was scattered. It was frank, and frankly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Let’s get started.
Nobles and farmers, knights and scoundrels, gather round, gather round to hear a tale of excitement and mystery. Brave adventurers facing grave dangers.
Belroth, the Ranger.
Belroth 2:32
She’s a Grimalkin. That’s, uh, but that’s understood. No pets allowed, even though she’s not a pet. I will wait outside. Everyone, if anyone needs anything, I am outside.
Anthony 2:42
Skarpin the Cleric.
Belroth 2:44
Should I just try and snipe them from over here?
Skarpin 2:47
Yeah, okay. I did say there was good as dead. I would hate for my, you know, to break my word on our first contract with Adventure Incorporated.
Anthony 2:55
Ellori, the Bard.
Ellori 2:57
We would want you to leave this warehouse.
Anthony 3:01
He points behind it. Church!
Ellori 3:04
Oh, sorry. We want you to leave this church.
Anthony 3:08
Deeran, the Wizard.
He say, you no worship Shattered Fang.
Deeran 3:13
Yeah, man he’s like, super wrong. We love Broken Tooth- uh, Shattered Fang, man.
Anthony 3:18
Prepare yourselves, for these are the tales of Adventure Incorporated!
The 4 of you march your horses across the Starlight River. You found a shallow spot to march them across on your way into the Untamed Forest, searching for the temple that you’ve been guided to by the head of the Court of Beggars. And he has sent you out here to search for this object in an ancient temple that belongs to the Celestial Host, one that has not been used since the Untamed Forest overgrew. You know that this is going to be a dangerous mission. The monsters and creatures of the Untamed Forest could pop up at any point, but as you cross the river, you already hear the sights and sounds of the forest. It is like the forest itself is groaning, that it is making its own sounds you haven’t heard anywhere else as you begin to approach it.
Belroth 4:29
You know, this is probably a weird time to bring this up. I actually have never been in the Untamed Forest. I’ve just studied creatures from the untamed forest.
Ellori 4:40
I’ve never been here either. I also haven’t studied anyone from here.
Belroth 4:45
That’s fair.
Deeran 4:48
Yeah, I’ve only sampled some of the fauna from around here- flora, sorry. I mean, flora.
Belroth 4:59
Me too, and also, me too.
Ellori 5:01
Belroth, I hate- I don’t want to sound rude, but that feels like something that as someone who studies animals you probably shouldn’t confuse. One of them is animals, and one of them is plants.
Belroth 5:15
It’s sort of more of a colloquial phrasing, but I never really- when I’m writing papers I never say flora and fauna because why would I do this? Anyways, it’s besides the point. What I was trying to say is that I’m very excited to be here, and I’m a little nervous because I’ve dedicated my whole life to studying a thing I’ve never stepped foot in.
Ellori 5:34
The fauna.
Deeran 5:37
Well, he shouldn’t step foot in them. He should study them
Skarpin 5:41
I don’t know how you study fauna.
Deeran 5:44
Not with your feet, Skarpin.
Skarpin 5:46
Well, I didn’t know that until now.
Belroth 5:48
Well, there’s a few fauna that you could accidentally, you could definitely accidentally smoosh with your foot. I’ve definitely seen a very- because of the nature of the forest and all the manipulating factors, I’ve definitely seen a very, very tiny dog, but it breathed fire, and it was very strange.
Ellori 6:04
You can step on a tiny dog and smoosh it with your foot.
Belroth 6:08
Well, unless it breathes fire on you, yes.
Ellori 6:16
Ellori has her eyes down. Like, she’s watching every step she makes.
Belroth 6:20
Then there’s also the lightning gorillas-
Deeran 6:22
Wait, are we not on horses? Did I leave Black Lightning?
Anthony 6:26
No, you have your horses. You have your horses.
Belroth 6:28
I figured we’re trotting forward and talking about it.
Anthony 6:31
Yeah, it’s been like a week and a half trip from Redbridge West to the Brass Palace to discuss things with Elder Riggs at Adventure Incorporated, and then you came North on horseback all the way to the other side of Mare Glade. Now, of course, as you pass through Mare Glade, the training camps there- so, the training grounds of the Imperial Wardens are empty, where you might have expected to see members of the Wardens. Although, perhaps none of them have made their way back up from Morevia yet. And you continue to travel, as I said, across the Starlight River. And now as you make your way on to the area near the Untamed Forest, it’s beginning to get thick and dense, too thick for horses. Skarpin are you down to one horse now? Where are we at?
Skarpin 7:34
No, there’s been a lot of fauna in the forest. So, Skarpin still has 4 horses.
Anthony 7:40
Wow, still have all 4 horses. Okay.
Skarpin 7:45
I don’t know why you would think otherwise.
Belroth 7:47
Should we tie up our horses up by the old training grounds so that we don’t lose- you know, tie them to a tree in the Untamed Forests and then the forest shifts and we lose those horses forever?
Skarpin 8:03
That’s not a bad idea.
Deeran 8:06
Yeah, I’m kind of surprised we haven’t like, seen a town in a while, you know?
Anthony 8:13
You could head back to the training camps at Mare Glade. They are on the other side of the river, and they are currently empty. But the next closest town to here would be, you know, half a day’s ride back South through Grey Woods.
Deeran 8:33
Is that further or closer than the training grounds?
Anthony 8:37
Oh, no, the training grounds are right across the river.
Belroth 8:39
Oh, yeah, let’s do the training grounds.
Deeran 8:44
Yeah, it doesn’t seem like we’re gonna be able to get through with the horses. So, I guess we should leave them behind.
Belroth 8:56
Belroth ties his up, makes a little pouch of the remainder of the feed, and just kind of like puts it there for the horse. And puts a little bucket of water.
Anthony 9:08
I mean, they have like, a stable there that is like, you know-
Deeran 9:12
Staffed?
Anthony 9:13
No, there’s no staff because there’s nobody there, but it’s like a big, you know, like, grazing field or whatever, where you can shut them into a fence and let them run around. They don’t have to like have a feed bag on for X days.
Belroth 9:27
Belroth doesn’t tie them up, but still does this.
Deeran 9:34
I’m just worried because Black Lightning is not great at grazing, you know? Like, left to his own devices he will eat too much.
Anthony 9:43
Okay, well, that’s gonna be tough. There’s big bales of hay, and then there’s the field, the open grazing field. So, I mean, Black Lightning might have a bit of a bellyache, often, you know? You might come back to some piles of, uh, you know, horse throwup. Do horses throw up?
Ellori 10:04
Oh, my god not- we just-
Belroth 10:09
No, no, no, Steph, I think this is a valuable tangent for us to have.
Ellori 10:12
We’re gonna rename this stupid podcast “Google Something About Horses Incorporated.”
Skarpin 10:22
That’s not a good name.
Deeran 10:27
Yeah, but I bet the SEO is great.
Skarpin 10:30
Yeah…
Deeran 10:34
Wow, Mikey brutal.
Skarpin 10:37
Sometimes I want to get the joke, but I just don’t.
Ellori 10:39
I was gonna say, Mike it wasn’t because he didn’t think it was funny. It’s because he doesn’t know what SEO is.
Deeran 10:46
It’s Search Engine Optimization, Mikey.
Skarpin 10:50
Ugh, I fell asleep. Skarpin let’s loose his 3 remaining horses now.
Deeran 11:02
Into the wild?
Skarpin 11:03
No, no into the paddock.
Deeran 11:05
Got it.
Belroth 11:06
Which one did you have: Breakfast, Lunch, or Dinner?
Skarpin 11:09
Lunch and Dinner left as well as Orchid. Orchid is going to live a long, long, healthy life.
Anthony 11:16
Fruitful life. Okay. And then the 4 of you begin to march back up to the North. You head into the forest, and you can feel there’s- as soon as you like, cross into the woods there is a- it’s almost like a humidity that is here, a smell in the air, a feeling of life. You look around at the trees and the plants with massive leaves, bigger than you’ve seen anywhere else. And they are strange varieties of plants. Like strange, weird strains and mutations that you’ve never seen before outside of the forest.
Belroth 12:09
I’ve seen that. I have not seen that one.
Anthony 12:12
But it’s a weird one of even the ones you’ve seen. It’s weird.
Belroth 12:15
Sure, sure.
Skarpin 12:17
Skarpin picks some flowers and they’re like, kind of more muted than he likes.
Anthony 12:22
But the pedals are massive.
Skarpin 12:26
Yeah, so he picks them and decorates his staff and a shield.
Anthony 12:32
Okay, perfect.
Belroth 12:34
How was Freya doing back in her kind of birthplace?
Anthony 12:41
There is a pensive look to Freya, and after just a few minutes here in the forest, like after that sort of passes, she is very on alert.
Belroth 12:55
Okay. I would like to make some Survival Checks to try and get us through this mess.
Anthony 13:02
I would like you to.
Belroth 13:03
Gonna do it.
Anthony 13:05
I’ve been hoping.
Belroth 13:06
Here it comes. That’s a dirty 20.
Anthony 13:12
Okay.
Skarpin 13:13
Nice.
Anthony 13:15
Yeah, okay. You make your way through the forest a little ways. And as you travel you know, you’re using the skills that you have tried to prepare for this pathway through here. You have a general area you’re looking to scout to find this temple, and you know it’s gonna take you about a day of traveling through the forest before you’re even close. And as this travel continues on, you’re scouting ahead gets you the opportunity to- you hear something in the woods ahead, what sounds like voices, there’s a bit of like chittering, but there’s a rhythm to them, that you get the sense that there are- it’s like speaking.
Belroth 14:04
Belroth puts his hand up and- can I make an observation to see- like, is there- can I see anything through the- or is it just too dense?
Anthony 14:18
Give me a Perception Check.
Belroth 14:25
15.
Anthony 14:27
So, with your Survival Check and your Perception Check, what you are able to piece together is that you can see some tracks in the ground that make you think that this area is patrolled a little bit by whatever creatures are over there. You can’t see anything except for you can smell on the air a little bit of smoke. But that’s all you can really- and you can hear their voices every once in a while. They’re very distant and very muted, muffled and muted, but they are present.
Belroth 15:02
And the tracks, what are the shape of the tracks that I’m looking at?
Anthony 15:07
They look like paws.
Belroth 15:09
Okay, so they’re, so they’re not humanoids that’s for sure. Okay, everyone- he turns around. I need everyone to be on somewhat of alert. This area is heavily patrolled by something that seems to be communicating with other things like it. So, we’re either about to be ambushed or can sneak through without a problem, but-
Ellori 15:42
Got it. We’re on the lookout for something that may be anything that might be communicating with anything that might attack us loudly or quietly.
Deeran 15:51
Or not.
Belroth 15:52
Right. That is exactly what I said. And now that you have said it back to me, I feel like I could clarify a few things.
Ellori 16:00
That would be helpful.
Belroth 16:01
Okay, there is some sort of a creature in the area.
Ellori 16:05
This isn’t getting much better, Belroth.
Belroth 16:07
It’s an intelligent creature. So, it could be either- I don’t quite know necessarily what it is, but if you look at its tracks, its paws, it seems to be a pack of something.
Ellori 16:19
It looks like Freya’s.
Deeran 16:21
Does it?
Anthony 16:23
They are paws? For Belroth, you look them and no. They don’t look like Freya’s.
Ellori 16:28
But for Ellori a paw is going to look like a paw.
Belroth 16:32
Freya is polydactyl. There’s more than one like, toe-bean. I don’t-
Ellori 16:41
Oh, I love the little toe-beans. Sometimes when she’s batting at my face because I’m keeping the snacks from her it’s a little beans on her feet that hit my face, and they’re just-
Belroth 16:50
But you know how she has 5 toe-beans? These have 4 toe-beans.
Ellori 16:53
I’ve never counted.
Belroth 16:56
Now you know that she has 5 toe-beans. She’s polydactyl on every paw.
Deeran 17:02
When like, Belroth is pointing at these paw prints compared to Freya’s are they bigger or smaller?
Anthony 17:12
Larger.
Deeran 17:14
Deeran’s nervous.
Belroth 17:16
Either way, there is a pack that is- I think the key things to take away are there is clearly a patrol. So, we need to be on alert of something very familiar with the area that could ambush us. So, just be on slightly higher alert than you already were.
Anthony 17:36
So, where you sort of have an indication based off these tracks, based off the sound you’re hearing, the smell you have an idea of the direction of the camp. What is your goal now as you can as you traverse the woods?
Belroth 17:51
Avoid the camp.
Deeran 17:54
Anthony is it werewolves?
Anthony 17:56
You don’t know.
Belroth 17:57
It’s not night.
Deeran 18:00
Wait, I don’t know that.
Ellori 18:02
PAFO, bitches.
Deeran 18:07
Wait, can werewolves only happen at night in D&D?
Belroth 18:09
You don’t know.
Anthony 18:10
You don’t know.
Deeran 18:12
I know. That’s why I’m asking. That was me.
I bet it’s werewolves.
Ellori 18:21
Hey, Siri, can werewolves in D&D be in the daytime?
Anthony 18:33
I’m really curious what she has to say about that.
Deeran 18:39
There are 5 results.
Ellori 18:41
Hey, Siri can werewolves in D&D be around in the daytime? ~Okay, I found this on the web, can werewolves be around during the daytime?~
Belroth 18:54
Check it out, Steph.
Ellori 18:56
I’m checking it out.
Anthony 18:57
Great. Okay-
Deeran 18:59
Also, listeners this is a reminder to set your Siri to your voice and not Steph’s.
Belroth 19:08
Okay, Siri, subscribe to Adventure Incorporated Podcast.
Anthony 19:15
So, go ahead and give me another Survival Check to avoid detection as you travel around this camp.
Belroth 19:24
18.
Anthony 19:26
Okay, cool.
Skarpin 19:30
Are we also doing them?
Anthony 19:32
No, no. Rob is cutting a path for you, basically. So, as Belroth chooses the way for you to go around the camp to, you know, best move through the forest and avoid these creatures-
Belroth 19:47
I assume as we travel because Freya and I have become more and more bonded as we’ve journeyed we’re like, kind of bouncing off each other almost tracking like, in tandem.
Anthony 19:59
Okay, sure. At one point as you travel over this you found like, a little ridge. And as you pass over the ridge, there’s enough of a clearing to see down into this space. And what you see are humanoid creatures that have features like a jackal or a hyena. Their bodies are hulking 7 feet tall, and they have an extra set of arms off of their backs that loop up over their shoulders. And so, they’re like, they’ve got 4 arms and then are standing upright.
Belroth 20:32
And you said there’s like, a cliff looking over? Like, a safe cliff to see this?
Anthony 20:36
Yeah, you’re far away from them.
Belroth 20:38
Belroth takes out his notebook and starts drawing. I’ve seen troglodytes. This isn’t troglodytes. This isn’t kobold. This is something else.
Anthony 20:49
Yeah, if you were to compare this to anything like, you know, similar to what you’ve seen in the past, it almost looks like old drawings of gnolls except these are very different. They’re much taller, much burlier, and they have extra arms.
Belroth 21:02
Hmm. Interesting. Belroth is furiously sketching.
Deeran 21:14
Hey, man, it’s okay. Like, this is pretty cool. Oh, you don’t have to be furious.
Belroth 21:18
I’m trying not to lose time while we have good daylight, but I also, also these are really cool. I want to meet them but they’re, they definitely do not look safe.
Deeran 21:30
Okay!
Belroth 21:30
No, no, no, no, no. We gotta, we gotta be sneakret about this.
Deeran 21:37
But like, why? We don’t know. Maybe they can help.
Ellori 21:45
They could be very nice and not monsters at all.
Belroth 21:50
Insight Check on the kobolds with 4 arms that I’m looking at?
Deeran 21:55
Gnolls.
Belroth 21:58
Is that a thing I can do?
Anthony 22:00
Um, you can- I don’t know that I would do an Insight Check here. I guess you could try to Perception Check for clues.
Belroth 22:11
I’m trying to get a vibe on their- just trying to get their vibe. You know, me and my party-
Deeran 22:17
Yeah, he wants to do a vibe check.
Anthony 22:21
Yeah, yeah.
Belroth 22:23
Okay, Perception Check?
Anthony 22:27
I guess so. I don’t think you’re gonna see their vibe, but we’ll talk.
Belroth 22:33
I’m looking for anything that would indicate that they are warlike or actively hunting us or just overall violent or any sort of communication. I know the communication I heard I couldn’t understand.
Anthony 22:49
Roll Perception.
Belroth 22:51
Sure. I rolled a 16.
Anthony 22:53
Okay, um, you do spot what appears to be some crude weapons piled up at the edge of camp. They look like spears.
Ellori 23:05
And they all have swear words on them. They’re really crude.
Anthony 23:11
Those are some crude ass weapons.
Belroth 23:14
This is my ass spear. It just says ass on it.
Anthony 23:20
There are enough spears that based on the number of creatures you can see that it seems like they probably wield a few weapons when they wield weapons. And you also see what looks like several racks of animals over a fire. So, they’re definitely meat-eating. You don’t get a whole lot of other than that.
Belroth 23:46
No prisoners? No organization of prisoner type stuff?
Anthony 23:49
Not that you can see.
Deeran 23:52
Great question.
Belroth 23:53
Thank you. You know, unless anyone can speak with a gnoll I don’t think this is a good idea to try and interact with them.
Ellori 24:07
You know, Belroth my grandma always says, sometimes people just look on their face like they’re gonna murder you, but it’s just because that’s what their face looks like when it’s relaxing. And you never know that their personality might be, you know, a little bit nicer than what their murdery face might let on.
Anthony 24:25
I’ve never heard that. Weird
Ellori 24:30
Sounds fake.
Deeran 24:34
Also, man, like, if they can help like, it’d be really beneficial to have like, locals to guide us, you know?
Skarpin 24:45
Belroth, do you think that you can get us to where we need to go without help?
Belroth 24:50
I do. I absolutely do. I think it’s a risk, especially if we are taking something from a sacred space that they might worship.
Deeran 25:02
Well, yeah, like, we wouldn’t just like, tell them hey, man, we’re gonna do all sorts of stuff that might be bad. Like, I mean, we wouldn’t tell them that, right?
Belroth 25:13
I don’t know, what do we tell them?
Ellori 25:14
No, we wouldn’t go up to them and say, hey, can you point us in the direction of the Aurora Orb because then when it went missing, they would know exactly who took it.
Deeran 25:25
Yeah, that feels like a bad plan.
Belroth 25:30
Right, exactly.
Deeran 25:34
A good plan would be like, hey-
Ellori 25:37
Making friends.
Deeran 25:38
Yeah.
Ellori 25:40
But Belroth if you think we can- if you can get us to the aura orb- Aurora- Aurora Orb. Aurora is very hard. Aurorarara.
Deeran 25:53
If you can get us to the orb that’d be awesome.
Belroth 25:56
The Aurora Orb?
Deeran 25:57
Yeah, that’s the one.
Belroth 25:59
I can take us to the Aurora orb.
Skarpin 26:04
Sounds like he can get us there.
Belroth 26:06
Okay. I think it’s a risk, and I don’t know if I want to take it, but if I- here, I’ll tell you what, if I fail to get us to the orb with the coordinates that I was given with the directions I was given we’ll track our way back here, and we’ll make friends.
Deeran 26:28
All right.
Belroth 26:30
Belroth goes back to scribbling because he was interrupted-
Skarpin 26:35
What, wait-
Belroth 26:36
Then he finishes. Okay, now let’s go.
Skarpin 26:42
Following you, Belroth.
Anthony 26:48
Okay, you guys continue to trek through. Go ahead and give me another Survival Check.
Belroth 26:52
Sure. 12 plus 7 is 19.
Anthony 26:59
Okay. You make your way down off of this ridge and deeper into the Untamed Forest. As you travel the sounds that come from wildlife, things like birds and creatures around they get like, a wider range of sounds, right? Like, the bird voices get a lot deeper.
Belroth 27:28
~Caw.~
Anthony 27:33
But you hear like, hoots and growls coming from the canopy as well as squawks and tweets, and chirps. And before long, you get the sense that you come across a game trail, a trail where obviously many creatures sort of make their way through. Maybe there’s a water source nearby, or a plentiful food source. But you’re on one of these game trails. So, as you do so with a heightened sense of what’s around I want everyone to give me Perception Checks that Advantage
Skarpin 28:25
Unnatural 20.
Ellori 28:28
23.
Belroth 28:30
- Deeran 28:32
Deeran just happens to look in the right direction and gets a 20 on his Perception Check, a natural one.
Belroth 28:38
You know, Belroth told everyone to keep their eyes open for everything around. Belroth did not follow his own advice. He rolled a 9. He is very focused on this game trail.
Anthony 28:50
Yeah, so you’re looking down the trail like, trying to discern like, what’s down there? Everyone else is looking the other way when a massive boar with 6 sets of tasks and what appears to be like, a ridge of ice down its back comes bursting out of the woods charging towards you all. We’re going to say that the 3 of you Deeran, Ellori, and Skarpin you get a surprise Action. Belroth does not and then we’re going to roll Initiative.
Belroth 29:26
Okay.
Deeran 29:33
Deeran is going to dive out of the way, and as he does so he’s going to look at Skarpin and just go, come on, man. Hurry up. And as he says it, power is going to shoot out of his necklace, engulfing Skarpin and casting haste on him. So, Skarpin will now have double speed, plus 2 AC, advantage on Dex Saves, and an extra Action per turn.
Skarpin 30:17
Holy smokes.
Deeran 30:23
Haste is ridiculous.
Belroth 30:25
How does that work with spells? Can you cast 2 spells or no?
Anthony 30:29
No, you still can’t cast 2 spells. That’s just the rules of spells.
Belroth 30:34
Okay.
Deeran 30:36
But you can cast a Cantrip and a spell.
Skarpin 30:42
Excellent. So, Skarpin was about to just jump out of the way and just let this boar run by them, but he feels emboldened so, he readies his quarter staff and takes a big old swing at this boar, casting Inflict Wounds at level 3.
Anthony 31:08
So, it’s a touch attack?
Skarpin 31:10
It’s a melee.
Anthony 31:12
Yeah, so the boar is charging, and so you are now charging, playing chicken with the boar more or less.
Skarpin 31:20
Yeah.
Anthony 31:21
And so I know that looking at him, seeing his charge, seeing his intention, and you moving up to him. If you do not kill him he will still charge through you.
Skarpin 31:34
Sure, sure, sure. So yeah, yes Skarpin, running up to him right at the last possible minute, braces the staff against the ground attempting to allow the boar to skewer himself with his Inflict Wounds at level 3.
Anthony 31:52
Okay.
Belroth 31:54
And then 2 more actions after that. Action and a Bonus Action, I guess.
Anthony 32:02
So yeah, give me, give me the Inflict Wounds.
Belroth 32:04
God, haste is so gross.
Skarpin 32:08
11 to hit.
Anthony 32:10
Okay, yeah, that does not hit cool. As you, as you position it the staff like, bounces off the hard exterior and moves out of the way.
Skarpin 32:25
All right. Seeing that, I was hoping he could get a Toll the- so, he’ll Toll the Dead instead so that he misplaced his staff and then grabs it last second, bangs it off his shield and hopes this boar fails his Wisdom Saving Throw of a 14 for DC.
Deeran 32:49
You know the saying, why is this a wild boar?
Anthony 32:52
It passes.
Deeran 32:54
Oh, my god.
Skarpin 32:57
Cool, cool. Bonus action. He will- never mind. He’ll fuck right off.
Anthony 33:06
Ellori?
Ellori 33:07
Ellori holds her hands out and sings ~Here comes thunder, so back up. It was a mistake to act up.~ And she’ll catch Thunder Wave to try and stop his charge, push him back a little bit.
Anthony 33:22
So, it’s a Dex Save from the boar?
Ellori 33:24
It sure is not. It’s a Constitution Save.
Anthony 33:31
Okay. That’s a success.
Belroth 33:33
God damn.
Ellori 33:35
Damn it. All right, well it’s still gonna take half of 13.
Deeran 33:44
6 and a half, baby!
Anthony 33:48
Perfect. I’m tracking down to the half. Now that we’re level 5, I’m tracking down to the half point.
Belroth 33:58
Everyone’s saves should be a little higher now too, right, because our proficiency went up?
Anthony 34:07
Okay, everybody roll Initiative.
Ellori 34:16
- Sorry, 8.
Belroth 34:20
11.
Deeran 34:22
As good as Deeran was at noticing what was happening, he is equally bad at being ready now with a natural 1 plus his 1 dexterity.
Anthony 34:36
Bring us home, Skarpin. What do you got?
Skarpin 34:39
A natural 20 to counter, so 19.
Anthony 34:43
So, then you had 11, Belroth?
Belroth 34:47
Yeah.
Anthony 34:48
Okay. Skarpin you really clearly wanted to get out of the way of this thing now that you failed to hit it, and it is charging. Everyone else didn’t back you up on that play sadly so the boar comes crashing in.
Deeran 35:07
I got out of the way first.
Anthony 35:09
I mean, in their Initiatives. He couldn’t get out of the way because his Initiative wasn’t high enough. So, the boar comes crashing in and it is going to like, launch you away with its tusks and try to keep barreling through toward Belroth. If it fails the attack that it’s trying to make here and cannot do so to knock you away then you’ll have basically stopped in its tracks, right? So, we’ll see how the momentum plays out here. Okay, he deals you 8 damage and launches you into the woods 15 feet as you slide across the ground, and he continues to barrel forward toward Belroth. He also hits Belroth. He deals you 8 damage and launches you 15 feet as well. He stomps forward another 10 feet and then slowly like, comes to a stop, turns himself around, pads the ground twice like he’s gonna charge back towards you.
Belroth 36:29
Okay. Well then, Belroth and Freya’s closest, right? Was I knocked prone?
Anthony 36:40
Freya is closest?
Belroth 36:41
Was Belroth knocked prone?
Anthony 36:47
Yeah.
Belroth 36:48
Okay.
Anthony 36:49
You were knocked 15 feet away onto the ground so, yeah, you’re probably on your ass. You didn’t like, land on your feet.
Belroth 37:03
Yeah, Belroth is gonna stand up and gonna make some attacks. He’s gonna make 2 attacks with his bow and arrow. And oh, wait, hold on a second. I forgot how this works because it’s been a bit of time. I’m trying to get Freya to have an attack too.
Anthony 37:41
Well, so it doesn’t have to be him. He can read. Someone else can go.
Belroth 37:44
Yeah, somebody else go.
Skarpin 37:50
Skarpin spends his entire movement standing up. Ugh, this boar is cranky. You could use a little nap there. And he casts Inflict Dream on the boar? Take a little boar nap.
Anthony 38:09
Okay, tell me about this.
Skarpin 38:10
They have to succeed at a Wisdom Saving Throw.
Anthony 38:15
Ooo, 1. He does not succeed his Wisdom Saving Throw.
Skarpin 38:21
So, they fall asleep for 10 minutes.
Anthony 38:24
But if they’re attacked they wake up, right?
Skarpin 38:28
Yes. Because they’re just sleeping.
Anthony 38:31
Okay, the boar, it’s eyelids get heavy. And then it like, lets out a ~snuff~ from its nose and when it does you see it’s like, a blast of cold, icy air that creates like, frost on the plants that it coalesces on and then it totters a bit and then falls over asleep.
Skarpin yells out, they’re just sleeping. Don’t wake them. Don’t wake them up. You woke him up. You yelled and you woke him up.
Skarpin 39:02
Oh, my goodness.
Anthony 39:03
No, I’m just kidding.
Belroth 39:12
Should we press our advantage, or should we just move on and ignore this boar?
Skarpin 39:17
I don’t wanna wake it up.
Ellori 39:19
Yeah, it’s sleeping. Move on.
Deeran 39:20
What if we tie it up so that it can’t like, find us later?
Anthony 39:24
Who’s ever tried to hog before? That’s silly.
Skarpin 39:26
That sounds crazy, Deeran.
Deeran 39:30
I don’t know, man. I bet there’s a way to do it to make it like, not be able to get us.
Ellori 39:36
Yeah, you just tie its feet together.
Deeran 39:37
Oh, see?!
Ellori 39:39
I’ve done it before if you give me a moment. That’s not considered an attack, right?
Anthony 39:44
No.
Ellori 39:46
Ellori definitely knows how to tie a hog up.
Belroth 39:49
And Belroth assists with the other one. Or I guess would you tie all 4 legs together or like, 2 like, individually. I assumed it would be like, 2 legs, 2 legs.
Anthony 40:04
No becuase then you can still hop.
Belroth 40:07
Yeah, sure, sure. Okay. Belroth doesn’t help then because he doesn’t need to.
Skarpin 40:14
But he learned.
Belroth 40:14
He learned something very valuable about hogtying today.
Anthony 40:18
He’s making notes while Ellori hogties.
Belroth 40:21
Oh, my god, yeah.
Deeran 40:26
Um, can Deeran make an Arcana check looking at what is clearly the influence of magic on this boar?
Anthony 40:34
Absolutely. I wish you would.
Deeran 40:36
Great. I wish I would too. That is a 15.
Anthony 40:43
There is clearly magical influence on this boar.
Deeran 40:49
Thank you. And so we move on.
Anthony 40:53
No, there are definitely some strange things about this boar that are, you know, based off the stories you’ve heard, based off the rumors and the common lore of being a member of New Meritta, right, a person who lives here you know that there are strange things in the forest. And people say it is the forest that does these things to people and to the creatures. And so this boar, it’s got, you know, this row of ice down its back. It’s got 2 extra sets of tusks coming off the side of its mouth. And you know, when you get a chance to look at its hooves, it’s got like 3, like an extra clove, I guess on a hoove.
Deeran 41:45
Cleef.
Anthony 41:47
Fair. Well, yeah, you’re right. I see it. I see it. An extra cleef on the hoof. So, yeah, I mean there are some some biological differences to this boar-
Belroth 42:01
Chimerological differences.
Deeran 42:04
Yeah, I was going to say I don’t pick up on any of those. I just want to know the magic.
Anthony 42:08
Yeah, it does not look like, it does not look like someone took a boar and transformed it. It looks like this creature was born this way, but there is a magical influence to how he was ~boar-n.~
Deeran 42:23
Got it.
Anthony 42:25
It’s his Boarne Identity.
Belroth 42:27
Belroth is feverishly taking notes and like, muttering to himself about like, the nature of like, this boar and like taking out like, a little view-glass as it’s like, falling asleep- or as it is asleep, I guess, resisting the urge to take a sample and like, rip off piece of piece of it’s like, icy tusk or whatever until the hogtying is done.
Deeran 42:53
As you go to Deeran puts a hand out. No, man if we do any sort of damage to it it’s gonna wake up.
Belroth 42:59
When am I going to see glacial scofa again?!
Ellori 43:04
You’re gonna see him again if this boar wakes up, and you’re gonna see him in probably your…
Deeran 43:10
Butt?
Ellori 43:10
I almost said “butt”, Deeran. I think that’s your- that’s not something I would say. I think that’s your influencer rubbing off on me.
Belroth 43:20
Okay, okay I won’t.
Deeran 43:22
Deeran puts a hand up for a high five from Ellori.
Ellori 43:25
She gives him a high five.
Anthony 43:26
You high five and it wakes up the boar. It’s just so loud.
Skarpin 43:29
Oh, no!
Anthony 43:37
No, it’s still sleeping.
Deeran 43:39
No, man, like, I get it.
Belroth 43:41
I haven’t, I haven’t been this immersed in my work in about a year. So, it’s, it’s, it’s just very surreal to come back and just feel all of the things that are so exciting, and like, look, look at these! Look at these! He picks up like, the frozen giant flower that was like underneath in the underbrush. When have you ever seen this? When have you ever seen this? And like, shoves it in Deeran’s face a little bit?
Deeran 44:10
I mean, I’ve seen something similar, but like, on a spirit journey, you know? I mean, it was close but like, the weird thing was when it started to like, pulse and change colors because like-
Belroth 44:21
I didn’t think you made it to that class. I really didn’t think you made it to that class when we went over the pulsing flowers.
Deeran 44:29
Oh, no, I just-
Ellori 44:31
Which way to the orb?
Belroth 44:33
Oh, I’m sorry. I’m just getting caught up in my past life. It’s not really my life anymore. I think it’s this way. Belroth makes another Survival Check.
Deeran 44:49
Hey, Ellori?
Ellori 44:50
Yeah.
Deeran 44:52
I haven’t told Belroth that I never took his class.
Ellori 44:58
I mean, it was pretty clear you were talking about doing drugs. So, that feels like it’s on him for misinterpreting.
Deeran 45:09
Like, he’s mentioned me missing class a couple of times, and like, I feel like it’s too far now to like-
Ellori 45:16
Yeah, no. You have to keep it up.
Deeran 45:18
Yeah, like, I don’t want to hurt his feelings.
Belroth 45:20
Good bit, Mike. It’s a very good bit.
Skarpin 45:24
Hey, Belroth it’s really nice to see you in your element. It feels good to see you happy. You’ve been kind of down lately.
Belroth 45:32
I mean, yeah, yes. I mean, it’s, yes, it feels nice. It feels nice to be in my element again. I just- it’s just so invigorating. It’s why I came into this, why I was originally in my field. And Belroth rolled in 11 because he was distracted from like, chatting with everyone.
Anthony 45:58
So, you travel a little ways. It is getting dark. It’s getting late, and you travel to a clearing that you think will probably be reasonably safe to set up camp.
Belroth 46:09
Campable?
Deeran 46:12
And you see 4-armed gnolls and they’re hanging out. And we see some crude spears that look awfully familiar.
Anthony 46:22
You like, looped back around by accident?
Belroth 46:25
This is my spear. It says poop on it.
Anthony 46:33
Okay, so are you guys gonna set up camp?
Belroth 46:35
I think, I think we need to. I mean, I know we’re getting pretty close, but traveling at night in this area is probably not too safe.
Deeran 46:45
Is it safe to stop and like, start on fire and draw attention to ourselves?
Belroth 46:50
Um, well if we-
Deeran 46:55
Ellori, because like, you’ve never been here, Belroth. You don’t know. You’re kind of like an indoor cat, you know?
Skarpin 47:06
That’s so mean.
Belroth 47:07
What’s that supposed to mean? You’ve never been here.
Deeran 47:11
It’s just like, you know? No, of course not, man. That’s why I asked.
Belroth 47:16
Well, then it’s completely safe.
Deeran 47:20
Okay. I wasn’t trying to like, say that- you know, I was just trying to be like, is it safe cuz I don’t know cuz I’ve never been out here.
Belroth 47:33
Well, neither have I, so…
Deeran 47:38
And yet you know.
Skarpin 47:44
I’ll take first watch.
Anthony 48:08
Hey, everyone. DM Anthony here, just reminding you that if you’re enjoying the show, tell your friends, tell your family, let people know word of mouth. And you can support the show at patreon.com/adventureinc, or you can check out the shop at adventureincpod.com/shop. Make sure you check the show notes on the website for all our social media including our Discord where you can come and hang out with some great people. We’ll see you there, and until next week, I wish you nothing but critical success.
Adventure Incorporated 48:42
Serious Business.
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Transcribed by https://otter.ai