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C1 Ep. 17 Eberron Reviewed Chapter Four
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This week on Eberron Renewed, Jeff and Eric sit down for another installment of Eberron Reviewed where they discuss the Darkness Rising storyline, missed opportunities for the characters, and playing mental chess with Philip. Come join us for another fun episode of Eberron Renewed!
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Transcript
Technical Issues and Episode Shift
00:00:09
Speaker
D20 radio, your game is roll.
00:00:27
Speaker
Hello everybody, and welcome to Eberron Renewed. My name is Jeff. I'm Eric. And this is Eberron Renewed. It's an actual play D&D podcast, but today...
Introduction to Darkness Rising Arc
00:00:38
Speaker
But today, unfortunately, we had some issues when we originally recorded this episode with Jeff's mic. So we're doing an episode of Eberron Reviewed where we sit down and talk
00:00:50
Speaker
about the show. And it's just me and Jeff tonight. Fortunately, Jeff's mic issues were resolved really early on in the show. So it's really just the intro that we lost. So yeah, we're going to be talking about the darkness rising arc. And that's really where the mic issues lit up. So take it back, Jeff.
00:01:11
Speaker
Uh, so let's just jump in the first episode. We meet our new companion. We lost Draconos and we gained Theradac.
Character Transition: Draconos to Theradac
00:01:22
Speaker
And, uh, you guys have already met, obviously you've already met Theradac through the show, but also the mini episode that Eric and Randy did together where you got to learn a little bit about him. Um, but so the show begins with an explosion.
00:01:39
Speaker
and starts off with a bang. Womp womp womp. Womp womp. So and that's how Barrick and Dex meet Theradac is he just is the kind of person who would run into a fray, which was exciting.
00:01:56
Speaker
to know for me as a player that Randy was already saying, this is the dude that he is. Yeah. Because that was the kind of guy that Draconis was too.
Integrating Theradac into the Storyline
00:02:08
Speaker
So at least I knew that we were going to have.
00:02:16
Speaker
uh so at least i knew that we were going to have the same sort of single-mindedness of jumping into situations yeah which is which makes it more fun for me and i think more fun for you guys as well but uh we do the thing at the building there's not a lot to it uh barrick we learned that barrick can teleport yeah which is super rad um
00:02:38
Speaker
And also doesn't know much about fire safety. The important thing is that we end up getting called to the headquarters or the office of the director of the, is it the King's Lantern? Dark Lanterns. The King's Dark Lanterns. King's Dark Lanterns, which is basically the CIA or the men in black of, of Sean or Breeland.
00:03:03
Speaker
Yeah. And so did you decide that Thera deck that Randy's character was going to be a member of this organization before he told you the character or was it? Oh, this could be a good thing. Like, when did that happen?
00:03:20
Speaker
I just knew based on the structure of the story once you all had kind of allied yourselves with Krast and I had already written in his backstory that he was a dark lantern and just where things were lining up in terms of timing with Trevor leaving the show that that would be the
Moral Implications of the Bombing Incident
00:03:39
Speaker
easiest
00:03:41
Speaker
way to introduce Randy's character to the narrative. And so I had made that call and then Randy told me about his character and I informed him, well, also this is a part of it, so. Okay, cool. And we also mentioned a bit, because you told me before we recorded the session, hey, by the way, Randy's character, you've met him in the past and you get to decide if he knows that or not. Yeah. And I was like, well, then he doesn't because that's going to be easier for both of us. Yeah.
00:04:09
Speaker
I don't want to say that not a lot happens in the first episode because it does, but it's exposition heavy. Yeah. I mean, one, one thing that I wanted to kind of talk about with the first episode is the, the bombing because it's one of those things where is like a story writer, you have an idea and I wanted to have, especially since you all avoided interacting with them in the seeking the teacher arc, which with the warforged writers.
Character Dynamics and Synergy
00:04:37
Speaker
You all never interacted with the Swords of Liberty, so I wanted to kind of force that a little bit, like maybe not interacting with them on a personal level, but just having some level of investment in the story. And once especially Barak started reacting, I realized I may have hit the throttle a bit too hard on that, because there's not a whole lot of moral gray area when
00:05:00
Speaker
Bombing happens in a major city and I just kind of didn't really think about that all the way through Yeah, Barrick and Philip. I think both had a very visceral reaction Yeah to the the bombing and not at the moment, but it certainly informed the later conversations. Yeah to a degree that While not tiresome
00:05:23
Speaker
Because I listened to Philip talk about anything was Distracting to Barrick. Oh, yeah. Yeah, and that's just a testament to Philip's ability to roleplay. Mm-hmm But anyway, and of course we meet commander Bala who is Rad character that I hope is a big part in the future. I'm doing it again I'm in this room and I'm slowly turning into deck
00:05:47
Speaker
But yeah, so we find out that we are being conscripted to work with the Dark Lanterns. Of course, Theradak already does. Beric might become one. Dex is along for the ride, which he's fine with. I think as much as he has decided that he wants to really align himself with Beric, like, he also is not a...
Motivations and New Adventures
00:06:15
Speaker
The whole thing about the start of this adventure was he was excited to leave. Missed marsh again. He had. It's almost like he had realized he was in danger of setting down roots. And so to not have the opportunity to join this what he considers a kind of badass elite group that he might have fun being a part of.
00:06:34
Speaker
The fact there's no real danger of him being able to makes him fine with jumping in. Yeah. And then we ride on a boat that floats, which, you know, is always a good time. I mean, yeah, you got to do fantasy skydiving. Man, it was so stupid how much fun I had thinking, picturing that and rolling well enough that I backflips, backflips, backflips that I won the day. And so we land in Zandraar, which is where we were going. And the point, man, you nailed that that name on on the first
00:07:04
Speaker
first attempt there. Well, I did listen to all three episodes today a couple of times to be able to do this. I got it wrong every other time. And the reason we went was because there's shadow activity in the forest near the town and that's the only reason that
Player Choices and Narrative Branches
00:07:23
Speaker
Well, I say that. At the time, that was the only reason that Dex and Berwick said, yes, let's go. But was this another prime minister situation? I think I even said in the in the podcast, like, could we have told her no? Yeah, I mean, you certainly could have. It would have really jacked your story up. Well, yeah, but I mean, that's.
00:07:40
Speaker
That's part of the deal here. With with the Prime Minister thing, I just I I had to get you all out of missed Marsh. Right. Because that would be a very short and boring tale about the death of Jacob. But three idiots who couldn't save a kid. But I had contingencies if you all just told the Prime Minister to go shove it in.
00:08:06
Speaker
and same thing with commander bala if you all walked out of that office it would have made bringing randy into the story a lot more difficult yeah but um but no i mean i i always have two or three story ideas whereas the main narrative is like a fully fleshed out ring i always have like synopses of other branches that like if if they decide to go this way i can pull
Crafting a Sandbox Game Environment
00:08:28
Speaker
something out of my butt
00:08:28
Speaker
Yeah, and that's something that, and again, you were the only, well, I did do a quick one-off the other night with my buddy Nico, and it was a lot of fun, but outside of that one, maybe 90-minute long session,
00:08:44
Speaker
that had a break in the middle to watch fireworks, but that's neither here nor there. You're the only DM I've ever played for, but I've read and heard the horror stories of railroading. Yeah. And I would say that you have yet to put us in a railroad situation.
00:09:02
Speaker
The closest that I've come to that with you was when you were dungeon crawling us on the other, on the Geek Pantheon podcast with Hugh and Tinsel. Oh yeah, yeah. And even then it wasn't a railroad, it was just a, you're in the cave, you only have this many options. Whereas the rest of it has been really sandboxy, which is both fun and terrifying for me.
00:09:29
Speaker
Well, and the whole deal with that is another show on the D20 Radio Network Order 66 podcast. They had a whole episode dedicated to creating a campaign and creating a story. And one of them told a horror story about playing in the World of Darkness RPG with werewolves and vampires and all that.
00:09:50
Speaker
But the DM had like set up some clues, but they were really vague and none of the players picked up on him. And so they were just kind of like, well, let's go downtown and beat up some vampires in a bar because they were all werewolves. So when they went to the bar to beat up vampires, the DM just kind of decided, well, the villains plans are going to continue whether or not the heroes intervene. And so the campaign ended after like three sessions with the world ending.
00:10:19
Speaker
and them having no opportunity to affect any change. And they were talking about the problem with that. And as a dungeon master, what you have to do
00:10:29
Speaker
to create the sandbox feeling but not be such a glutton for punishment that you really give your players unlimited choices is like the clues that this DM laid out at the outset didn't work. So when they go to the bar to beat up the vampires, once the fight's over, oh, it wasn't just a random bar fight. They interrupted a drop or there was a note. They were meeting somebody. So you take the things you were going to incorporate and you just
00:10:56
Speaker
Keep throwing it at the players and that that's what i've done with you all is like right you all will go off the reservation from that time to time, but I will Throw things at you until When does
Arrival in Zandraar and Episode End
00:11:08
Speaker
that happen? I like can you think of an example?
00:11:11
Speaker
because you don't you you you don't show your hand to us you don't let it on like i couldn't think of a time i can't talk about in this epiron reviewed because it happened in the session that we were just playing well stay tuned okay so so yeah so the first episode ends with us landing in zandar on the outskirts of zandarar um some of us more successfully than others philip
00:11:38
Speaker
and there's a fight going on, and end of episode, and we jump into episode two. Yes.
Character Development Through Conflict
00:11:45
Speaker
Where, okay, so episode two starts with the fight, or starts with us running toward the fight, and of course, at this point, Barak and Dex, if one of them sees the other one run, he follows. Yeah. They've gotten to that point, and I think we've both said that, like,
00:12:05
Speaker
I tend to win perception checks because I have a high modifier. I can't get below a 16. He tends to win insight checks. I don't think he can get below a 15.
00:12:25
Speaker
And now that Barrick and Dex have worked together for a while, one of them starts something, the other one goes along. Yeah. But then there's Theradak, who was like, I need to check with Krast. Yeah. And it was a great character moment.
00:12:41
Speaker
And obviously, you played it the way it needed to be played. Yes, just go. Well, and that's like, it was a wonderful moment of me being myself and Krast at the same time of saying, Theradak, just go make your own choices. Like Krast felt that way too, of like, I've been training you, we're in the field now. Just do things. Right. So, and we have the fight and there's a lot of fun flavor in this fight.
00:13:09
Speaker
from Theradak's first fight with shadows and Randy doing a pretty good, not a pretty, pardon me, with Randy doing a really good job of elucidating Theradak's thought processes with new situations. And then just me doing stupid things with my weapon and Barak and- Barak killing
Moral Dilemmas and Internal Conflicts
00:13:30
Speaker
everything. Well, Barak killing everything, but also Barak having, I killed some things, but also Barak having his
00:13:38
Speaker
It's not an internal struggle. Cursebringer, his sword, is an external entity. Yeah. But it happens inside of his head, which Randy played great, too. Like, why are you talking to yourself? Yeah. But so, so we win the battle, but it's also not, the action's not nearly over. No. Well, no, I mean, you all defeated the, the shadows and the shadow pup into your draw. You made, you made me attack a dog. I made you do nothing.
00:14:07
Speaker
I presented a dog and you attacked it. That was a pretty good joke when Randy attacked it. It's not like normally when you attack a dog. All four of us are dog owners and dog lovers.
00:14:22
Speaker
After after you all beat the shadows, the the tightest turned in favor of the. Non ethereal beings, the corporeal beings and the shadows are running out of town and the because you all saw like the city watch the shadows and kind of an unknown entity of these bird masking people. Yeah, dudes in blue eagle masks and they're booking it out of town. That same the eagle joke that Philip made was choice as a as a
00:14:53
Speaker
deep into it. Muppet fan. I was, I was very pleased that he made the joke. But yeah, then we, we get an interesting moral conundrum, the screen, the, the woman screaming in the distance, um, in a manner of, of help. And man, you and Barrett, Dex and Barrett didn't even, not even a second thought, just yeah. Well, no, to be fair, Barrett didn't hear it. Yeah.
00:15:19
Speaker
And I tried to play that true to Dex.
00:15:28
Speaker
Like Jeff, and this is regardless of the fact that we elucidated it was female, a scream of panic Jeff would give pause and may or may not, I mean, I'm not a fucking hero. I'm not a ding darn, I said a bad word, and he probably cut it out. So I'm not a stinking hero. In fact, I'm scared of a lot of things. There are several spiders that don't scare me.
00:15:58
Speaker
But Dex has a single-mindedness to him. And I think I'm trying to play, at least, that Dex is very good at quickly processing the greater effect, if not necessarily the greater good, or not necessarily the greater good, but the greater effect.
Balancing Power and Future Challenges
00:16:23
Speaker
And doubling back
00:16:27
Speaker
for a single scream is not going to yield the results of chasing down and potentially abducting members of a large organization that does bad things. Yeah.
00:16:42
Speaker
So I think that may have been the first real time that I made a distinction between myself and the character in a decision. Obviously, there are distinctions between myself and Dex. I don't know. When we get in this room, you all sound alike. Yeah, we do talk a lot alike. That's just because I'm not good at voices. But more so, obviously, he's much more cavalier in conversation with strangers than Jeff would ever be.
00:17:12
Speaker
Uh, I so desperately want to be liked by everybody to a crippling degree that I would never act like him. Um, but in that particular situation, yeah. Um, I kept going. Yeah.
00:17:27
Speaker
wanted to stop he did stop he didn't turn around he didn't change direction but he definitely stopped to the point that that that Barrick and Dex were 30 45 60 feet ahead yeah of him which is why we had to handle a little bit on our own in that fight at first yeah that we took care of handily
00:17:47
Speaker
Are we overpowered? Um, I would say no. Like, I'm just trying to get a feel for how much I need to throw at you all without being... punishing. Because pulling back the veil a little bit, we've already recorded the next three episodes. The fights don't go nearly as easily.
00:18:08
Speaker
you all no that's true we actually damn near eat it there's a difficulty curve so I'm starting to figure out sure what can be threatening to you all fair enough and shocker random dudes with swords ain't gonna cut it anymore so right and and we also find out in the same episode that they're like mid 20s early 20s towns people
00:18:33
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, it's kind of the same thing in the next episode with Trant. Like, these are not villains, they're NPCs. Yeah. It's a different ballgame. But anyway... Well, and this is the fight where really the confrontation between Cursebringer and Beric starts to come to a head because... Right, he's... Cursebringer is telling Beric, stop fighting them, and Beric's like, I don't think you understand, they're bad guys.
00:19:02
Speaker
They're not your single-minded bad guys, but they're absolutely bad guys.
Roleplaying Dynamics and Decision Making
00:19:07
Speaker
And it was really fun to listen. Well, well.
00:19:13
Speaker
Chris Bringer's voice is a hell of a thing. I want it to be distinct. So well, yeah, distinctly disturbing to Jeff. I think everyone else is probably fine with it. But Jeff is like, Eric, I don't like that in my ears. But but it was definitely interesting to hear that, that conversation of
00:19:35
Speaker
And again, I'm still learning about the Warlock class, but the idea that he has a bit of fealty to this sword because the sword represents his... The thing that gives him his power. Right, exactly.
00:19:55
Speaker
But he's also and and I don't know this is probably not every warlock but Barrick and Philip and the way Philip plays him is so strong-willed Mm-hmm that it made for a really fun and interesting confrontation between the two. Yeah, and Philip has mentioned even during these episodes and especially during the next few like
00:20:19
Speaker
I might just stop clenching my fist and bringing that sword up because we are at odds with each other. And that's really neat. Man, he makes for a compelling character. If I was as good as him, we'd have a really good podcast. If I was as good as him, we would have that much better of a podcast. Maybe I should say.
00:20:43
Speaker
And so we end up, we capture all of them, you don't kill anybody else. No, no, no, no, we don't kill anyone, but I think we only. You not got two kept one conscious. We apprehend three. Yes. In total. Which led to some fun in the third episode. Yes. Before we move on. Yeah, what am I missing in the second? You didn't miss anything, but I want to, because it is of no consequence now,
00:21:09
Speaker
And it's not going to be a big reveal down the road, but I want to reveal something about the episode that you all were unaware of. And obviously the listeners are unaware of of the the female screen and what path that would have led down. OK, sure. If all three of us or four had had changed course. Yeah. OK. Am I going to be mad we didn't?
00:21:34
Speaker
I don't think you'll be mad. It just would have been different because I I quote unquote grew up playing BioWare video games where your choices are all about which one is that Knights of the Republic, Mass Effect, Dragon Age. Those are their three big I've heard of Mass Effect and I think Dragon Age.
00:21:55
Speaker
That's the older book. Is that the Star Wars one? Yeah. Yeah. I don't know anything about it. Their games are all about your choices having unintended consequences. And so you do this thing that you think is very altruistic and good, but you muck something else up down the road. So the female scream was a ruse being put on by the Red Owl to try and let her men escape. And she would have asked you all to like take her somewhere safe and basically
00:22:24
Speaker
You all would would not have apprehended the red owl if you would have helped this woman And so it's that like you do the typical hero thing and you all never would have known that like you wouldn't have known until
00:22:37
Speaker
possibly many episodes down the road when you actually confront the Red Owl of like, wait a minute. Wow. So that was the intention. Y'all didn't didn't take the bait. So I was like, well, the Red Owl would go back to headquarters then since she wasn't able to. Sure. So yeah, that was the that was the game. So yeah, okay. I thought you all would like to know that. Awesome.
00:23:00
Speaker
I'm glad that we chose to be heartless. Yeah. Yep. That's it. Okay. Third episode. Third episode. So the third episode begins. We've restrained three of them. We're with two of them and Kras is with the third. Yes.
Interrogation Tactics and Ethical Conflict
00:23:14
Speaker
And we find out that Kras has just been beating the straight hell out of this guy. And there was a fun moment where I had to pull Theradak aside and say,
00:23:26
Speaker
I have to threaten Krasst. You are stronger than me. Please don't assume I'm being serious because I don't need you coming to his aid and Dex dying tonight. So yeah, Krasst is beating a prisoner. He is, he is bound. He is tied to a tree. He is defenseless and Krasst is beating the crap out of him with his gauntlets on. Like, yeah. And so, uh,
00:23:56
Speaker
I rolled well. That's the only reason it worked, I assume.
00:24:00
Speaker
Well, and you said some good words to go along with your role, which I have acknowledged benefits you when it comes time to roll for those social checks. Right. You'll lower the check. Yeah. So we get Crass to go away and Dex goes good cop and cleans up the guy's face and tries to get him on our side. Yeah. Which he doesn't because he is fully drank the Kool-Aid. Committed to the cause. No, I'm going to go with mine.
00:24:29
Speaker
But yeah, so, but at the same time, now he wants to, or he's willing to talk with Dex, but Dex is an idiot when it comes to, well, period, but also when it comes to this situation. He doesn't know the Swords of Liberty stuff. He's not from Breeland. He's certainly not from Sharn. He doesn't understand their thing.
00:24:58
Speaker
The two guys that do, well, the other three guys do. Krast, Barak, and Theradak all have that knowledge. But Randy had made it clear that Theradak is not a good interrogator. Yeah. And Barak has made it clear that he is distracted by his disgust at the bombing. So Dex goes and chats with Krast and
00:25:25
Speaker
And then Philip, and so we get Crass to come back, and then Philip has an idea, and relays it as Barak to Dex, that makes me so happy. Where Dex gets to shape shift, finally, full shape shift, to do crafty things. And I just stop myself from saying a cuss word, way to go forsy.
00:25:49
Speaker
and so we do that yeah like and you man I should have I should have gotten to choose them because I can't do I thought I could do voices there was a time in my life where I thought I could do voices I can't mimic yeah that's for sure so you don't got a good Australian in your back pocket I don't
00:26:10
Speaker
I don't know what to say to that, but I don't. See, I feel like my cartoonist German accent that I initially brought out would have been easier to mimic, but you poo-pooed that. That's true, but no one would have wanted to hear me go, yes! That is there, we have our... so bad. Okay, I was wrong. You're right. I'm not good at anything. You're good at a southern drawl. That's all I got. Whether you want to or not.
00:26:37
Speaker
So yeah, so we do the thing and it's a silly fun aside where I make jokes about how I'm standing behind him trying to get his face right and Beric tells me when it's right.
00:26:56
Speaker
And then we go over and we do the ruse and it works. Yeah. You did have me roll for a deception check. Yeah. I can't remember if you gave me advantage or not. Yeah, I think I did. Okay. But so it works. And I didn't think about it. Like this was you being really on the spot.
00:27:18
Speaker
that Krast was unaware that this was fake and was pissed that he thought we'd actually give one of these guys a deal. And we kind of hand waved a little bit where I just spoke in my normal voice and was like, hey, chill out. Everything's fine. But I liked that you brought in
00:27:41
Speaker
Krast's moral dilemma about lying to this guy about having the possibility of a deal when he had just been beating him up. Yeah. Well, I mean, and I, Krast is many things, but duplicitous is not one of them. And so
00:28:05
Speaker
So did it, did it matter when I said or when Dex said,
00:28:12
Speaker
You have yet to lie to him. Krast was, you are fair in acknowledging that he was beating the guy with metal fists of fury.
Team Dynamics and Ethical Dilemmas
00:28:19
Speaker
Right. But he felt gross about the whole thing, about lying to a prisoner and telling somebody that if you cooperate with us, we will let you go free and then not honoring that. Right. And that's why I'm asking, did it change the outcome?
00:28:37
Speaker
because crass. No, no, he OK. He still because because you all are operating as a unit at that point, he would have felt the same way if a superior officer would have done it or I mean, OK, yeah, that's just that's that's him. That's his deal as he.
00:28:54
Speaker
because that was like honor bound in a very specific right and actually I used those words I said you're not honor bound to anything because you didn't promise anything yeah we made up this story I said I'm not going to jail I said I I have made a deal you haven't offered anything
00:29:15
Speaker
yet, so go get your answers, but that didn't necessarily change his reaction. No. Okay. It would have been cooler if it had. Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm just being honest. Fair enough. So we get the information that we need out of the
00:29:33
Speaker
The tricked guy. Yeah, and really honestly like the way that you handled it the way that you said he just Is perplexed and hangs his head and says you promised me this like it almost made Jeff feel bad. Mm-hmm But then I remembered it was all fake and Jeff and Jeff felt fine Well, and I want to step back a bit to okay The original guy that you all were interrogating the one that you ended up mimicking like having to play
00:30:03
Speaker
Mental chess with Philip like Philip in interrogator mode of trying to get
00:30:08
Speaker
Yeah, me as Eric to trip up in my role playing of revealing things. Yeah, that Philip really was. He was like, I'm going to see where I can trick Eric. Yeah, he did it several times. He did it with with two swords and later with the red owl. And at one point he even gloated. He turned to me like, see what I did there. Yeah. Well, but that was the infuriating thing for me, not being able to.
00:30:35
Speaker
like still wanting to keep up the ruse is he was so proud that he got him to confirm that their base was in the forest when he like their base wasn't it was in the ruins like you found that out from the second guy and so i just wanted to scream at him you didn't find out anything like oh eric your pride yeah i know i hear it cometh before the fall yeah but hadn't come yet so but yeah playing mental chess with phil throughout this episode was a lot of fun and also terrifying of me having to pick my words very carefully at every turn right
00:31:05
Speaker
Yeah, because I will readily admit Philip is smarter than I am. So I'm not going to engage you in mental chess. I'm going to make jokes and let the dice do my fighting.
00:31:18
Speaker
Which has mixed results. But yeah, so we do get definitive proof that they operate out of the ruins across the river. And so we take the three guys to the blacksmith, and he confirms that he knows them. They are citizens of Zandral, they are townsmen.
00:31:44
Speaker
And I want to address something real quick. Okay. Um, the first episode of the next arc, you all talked to the blacksmith. I forgot that he was a half orc and completely mucked his voice up. And so the voice is going to be very different in the next episode. I realized as I was editing through these episodes. So apologies there. It's the same guy. He just sounds different. Okay.
00:32:06
Speaker
When you all said you were going to talk to blacksmith in the moment at the table, I was like, oh, God, I don't remember what he sounds like gruff British accent engage. So that's kind of your go to. Yeah, you know, but. And I thought it was. It's a cool idea that I don't know if we will revisit. In the podcast, but. In the.
00:32:35
Speaker
greater universe of what we're building that this whole town like almost almost like hot fuzz. Like this whole town might have a secret underbelly of descent. Yeah.
00:32:49
Speaker
Which is really neat. I use the speaking stone, I holler at Commander Ball. I'm like, hey, we got three of them. We're very good at this. Again, stumbling. Well, this was not stumbling to victory. We made, we made real decisions that led to a victory for the first time in the history of this podcast. So that's neat.
00:33:11
Speaker
Yes, the next day- Y'all did good on the train fight. I mean- Well, yeah, fair enough. But so the next day, we take the rest that we need because Barrick is very dying. Yeah. Wake up the next day, go to the DeConnie ruins. And we have another
00:33:35
Speaker
to solve. And I make a lot of jokes about being an idiot and they're not all jokes.
Problem-Solving and Riddle Challenges
00:33:43
Speaker
There are a lot of ways in which I'm a very dumb, dumb guy. But I like to think that I'm not a complete idiot. And it took you four sessions of Dungeons and Dragons to completely disabuse me of that notion. Eric Cutt, so much silence.
00:34:04
Speaker
And muttering. And muttering. And cursing me. And commiserating. And yeah, saying a lot of bad words to Eric. From that fucking riddle. We were so mad that we couldn't figure it out. Well, Phillip and I were demonstrably mad. Randy may have been mad, but he's kind of like a duck where the surface seemed calm, but under the water those feet were just scrambling.
00:34:33
Speaker
And you know what? I listened, I've listened to that episode multiple times now. A fishing lure and a fishing net are absolutely acceptable answers to that riddle. In, in a like sitting in a bar, like answer this riddle context. Yes. But when it's a magical door with a secret word attached to it, no, there's one word that will open the door. Hey, you know what? You know what? You're in charge of that. Yeah.
00:35:02
Speaker
And so you're a dick. Because, because my answer of fishing lure and fishing net, you could have been like, yes, those are also good answers. I'm going to open the door now. But you chose not to. And I think, I think it's because you hate me. No, it's not because I hate you. It's because honestly, you need to bring me down a peg. I feel that too. You have a lot of bravado in day to day life.
00:35:30
Speaker
That is the opposite of the truth. No, honestly, it was because as advanced as Eberron is with magic as technology, fishing lore is a thing that I just wasn't... I didn't know about in a fantasy setting. Don't roll your eyes at me. It's not the sophisticated technology of hunk of metal. You dick.
00:35:59
Speaker
fancily painted hunk of metal. But, um... So yeah, the answer was anchor, which crashed mercifully.
DM Techniques and Storytelling Adaptability
00:36:10
Speaker
Yeah, shut up. Here's a question. Did you have that riddle ready? Or did you? Because this is another thing. There was a large chunk of silence cut out when, um,
00:36:26
Speaker
When I said, I'm looking up jokingly, and you said, when you look up, you see this. And then there was a solid five to seven minutes of you with your phone in your hand, scrolling a lot. Did you look that riddle up? Yes. While we were playing? Yes. Because here's the thing about this session that was unique compared to the other sessions that we have played and you all have listened to.
00:36:52
Speaker
I think I said this in the final episode, but I put you all in the driver's seat. You said you had, at one point, I don't know if it made it into an episode cut, but you said you had not planned past us landing in Zandror. Yeah, because I wanted to really give you all that freedom. And I knew the story beats I wanted to hit, but I didn't want to, I am always fearful as a dungeon master of railroading. And so sometimes I take
00:37:21
Speaker
measures in the opposite extreme to ensure that I can't do that. And so yeah, I looked up the riddle on the, so yeah, I looked up at the riddle on the fly and found that one that seemed era appropriate. That explains why you were not amenable to my great answers. You are single-minded in your anchor talk. Um, but yeah, so Krast gives us the answer.
00:37:48
Speaker
and the door opens and we walk down it. And it turns out that Barak, in addition to his Nightcrawler powers, also can become invisible. Like, and that's, it might be fun for the listener. It's really fun for me that Philip does not share what spells he chooses. Because every time he does something new, I'm like, what? You can do that now? You monster?
00:38:18
Speaker
But yeah, so we go down, we hear voices, we devise a plan that I thought, mainly because it was my plan, I thought was a very good plan. Yeah.
00:38:33
Speaker
And then it turns out that it's Trant in the room. He's the gruff voice with the other voice that we don't know either of them at the time. And I liked that Philip, while invisible and holding a sword to the throat of the other person, screams, Dex, it's Trant.
Confrontations and Moral Intrigue
00:38:53
Speaker
Like that's going to change anything. Yeah.
00:38:57
Speaker
Say he knocked Trant smooth out. Yeah. I honestly, and again, this is, this is a symptom of being very new to Dungeons and Dragons. You regularly described Trant. He was a blacksmith. He was big. He was ready to fight. He was ready to, in the first episode you said, if I thought it was goblins, I would be holding a goblin head. Yeah. So I assumed.
00:39:25
Speaker
out of character that he could take a hit. And so I hit him and I think eight? Yeah. Damage? And you're like, well, he's dead. Not dead because I said explicitly subdue. I was expecting him to be stronger, but you're like, nope, that's what NPCs do. They're weak. Period.
00:39:50
Speaker
Well, because also you think about like Trent, even if he is a capable fighter, he's level one.
00:39:59
Speaker
like level one characters, if you can remember that far back, don't have a whole lot of hit points. Yeah, he's not adventured. Well, to be fair, even when Dex was level one, he had 14 hit points. Yeah. But I mean, he is not a fighter. He has like an NPC class of like townsperson or something. Right, sure. Which led to some fun jokes about pulling the punch and
00:40:28
Speaker
Yeah, so then we meet the Red Owl. Yes. We slap train around to wake him up and we meet the Red Owl, who is doing her level best to not tell us that she is the leader of the Swords of Liberty, or at least this chapter of the Swords of Liberty. And she and Barak have quite a conversation.
00:40:55
Speaker
while Theradac Index just kind of knows around and then the bomb. Yep. Uh, so was it just my bull in a Chinese shop?
00:41:09
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, if you if you would have made a check to check for any any traps, essentially, then you would have had absolutely had a chance to find the trigger, like seen some mechanisms that. Right. And and Dex's perception is crazy high. But I was just caught in the moment of we are acting. Yeah. Now we are moving. We are doing. And so I didn't even think.
00:41:34
Speaker
Hey, I want to check this space for bad things. And also, even if I had thought of that, I don't think that Jeff would have said.
00:41:44
Speaker
she might be willing to blow herself up to protect this. Well, and there was a three minute timer and she acknowledged like the bomb wasn't there for herself. It was if she was away and somebody came snooing. Right, right. But yeah, so Dex finds the mask is sure. And now everyone is sure she's the red owl and she doesn't do anything to dispute that assertion.
00:42:10
Speaker
But she does say, we're all going to die soon. Let's start going. And, and, and, and Philip and you have a very funny conversation. What else would knowledge, Theradak did not care. Like you all left and he stayed behind to rummage through the desk more and found, I think the, he found the bomb, I think.
00:42:29
Speaker
um yeah and he said yeah no exactly what happened was he he said yep here's the bomb and i said thanks um but yeah the the conversation between barrick and the red owl was i thought a lot of fun i mean oh no it was very much fun um and it's always and she pushed his buttons well that's the thing is that philip is such a great role player and also just
00:42:55
Speaker
wholly the most intelligent person in the room if I'm with him. Well, he was the most intelligent person in the room when we were recording. Yeah. And so... And I don't think any of us are dummies. No. Philip's a genius. But when in moments like that, when we're playing the Indian, I can get the upper hand on him and be pushing his buttons just feels so, so sweet. So...
00:43:21
Speaker
Um, but yeah, I mean, it was, well, and I think that's a benefit of having spent, I mean, we, it's shocking to think that including the episodes that haven't released, we've only played five times because it feels like a lot more, but I, I've hit a point where I know barracks character well enough to where. If I, if I want an NPC to be able to push barracks buttons, I, I can start doing that. So.
00:43:50
Speaker
And then she brought up his mom and that was
00:43:54
Speaker
Yeah, and both Philip and Barak showed restraint. Yeah. In that situation. Because that's a touchy subject for Barak. Then y'all took her to the blacksmith. Yeah, and she seemed real scared. She was very cavalier. Yeah. And I need to know right now, she's definitely escaping, right?
00:44:20
Speaker
tune in next time. Eric, I mean, she certainly thinks that she's going to be able to get out of this. Yeah. I mean, she, she was completely unconcerned. Yeah. And to the point where she told you all, take me to the blacksmith. Right. Like I, yeah, which also means that she knew the blacksmith was a dark laner. I am of two minds about the red owl. Okay. Uh, as a, as a listener of the podcast,
00:44:50
Speaker
She is in charge of an organization that carried out a terrorist attack. But she also is in charge of an organization that is actively trying to stop the shadows. And here's what I don't like is being conflicted morally. Yeah. So stop it. Just knock it off. Yeah. No, I mean, I.
00:45:17
Speaker
I've hit a point with this story where I've really wanted to start.
00:45:23
Speaker
subverting some tropes and introducing some elements like the bad guys working towards the, quote unquote, greater good, which is Barak's whole issue with both the Swords of Liberty and Cursebringer. Right. And once you all listen to the next three episodes we have in store, especially the third episode of that next arc, I hit that pretty hard of subverting some fantasy tropes. Boy, do you? Yeah, I feel like the next Everon review is going to be a lot more somber and accusatory. Yeah.
00:45:50
Speaker
Yeah, I also yeah, I've been trying to be nice. I don't like you anymore, Eric, as a person. Okay, well, that's fair. We're definitely not friends any longer. This is this is a nice teaser for what's to come because yeah, like thanks for having me be a groomsman as your wedding. You're dead to me. I really wish that you all as listeners could have been here after the last session when we were it was
Episode Teaser and Community Engagement
00:46:20
Speaker
It was the most somber I've ever seen a group of people be after a session of D&D and nobody died. I've been there when like characters that people have played for two plus years have bit the dust and it wasn't as silent and sad as last episode. Yeah, but let's save that. Yeah, good teaser. I think we're gonna we might not lose any subscribers, but let's save that. But yeah, so we
00:46:50
Speaker
I again contacts Commander Bala, or Dex again contacts Commander Bala and says, hey, are you sure about the security of these transport channels? And she says yes. And so we say, okay. Yeah.
00:47:10
Speaker
And that's kind of the end of the episode. I was surprised that nobody asked what the mode of transportation was, because I had that answer ready to go, but just... Was it another space boat? No. Was it a train? Because the trains are... Okay, just what it was, a transportation circle. Yeah. Really? Yeah. Okay. So, House Orion in Eberron man's transportation circles. So, yeah, I was just surprised that nobody
00:47:41
Speaker
Well, that would have been the sort of thing that I would have relied on the other two guys for that have, that have extensive Eberron knowledge. Like me, I was like, I don't know, they strap her to a donkey and they walk her to Sean. I don't care. I don't know. Yeah. Um, yeah. And that is, that is an interesting thing for Jeff, uh, that,
00:48:05
Speaker
Initially Trevor and I were both relative newbies to role-playing games and definitely new to this setting. Yeah. And so Phillip was kind of our, on our side Sherpa and you were also there with a lot of knowledge and now.
00:48:29
Speaker
I don't know dick about dick when it comes to Eberron and you and Randy and Philip have all played hours. Yeah. Like, dozens if not hundreds.
00:48:45
Speaker
I would say, though, that there are elements of Eberron that you know more about than me and Randy, at least, just because I haven't looked into it. And your whole thing with Dex showed a level of knowledge that I had to look stuff up. Yeah. I mean, I definitely did research. But that doesn't replace academic knowledge, doesn't replace practical knowledge in real life. And it really doesn't in this either. Yeah.
00:49:16
Speaker
Like I would have never have thought to say, how are you getting her there? And, and, and I clearly neither would have Philip or Randy at this point, um, or in this situation, but. Yeah. Is there anything else from episode three? No, I think we covered all of it. We probably did. Thank you guys for listening.
00:49:36
Speaker
to this episode of Everon Reviewed. We'll be back next week with the first episode of a new arc, and man oh man, is it a heck of a thing. Like, this is the most excited for an episode to drop that I've been since the first episode. It's nuts. And again, or not again. And really, it's because crazy things happen to Dex.
00:50:06
Speaker
And that's fun for me. But boy oh boy, the next arc is crazy. I'm excited to do the next Eberron review. I'm excited for these next three episodes to drop and then us to do this again and talk about what a terrible person I am. Yeah, how you're the worst. And also how you're so excited and yada yada. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Anyway, I'm just going to take a minute to thank
00:50:33
Speaker
all of you for listening. I thank all of you for sharing, talking about us. We have been consistently growing in our subscriber base and our listener base, both here at Eberron Renewed and also with the Geek Pantheon and with the Knowledge Check, which for very good reason is the most popular podcast.
00:50:54
Speaker
in our group. Eric and Philip just talking about DM stuff and it's a fantastic show. If you are interested in RPGs, specifically D&D 5e, but if you're interested in RPGs at all, that podcast is a fantastic resource. Well, thank you. Yeah, yeah. Just don't get too smug about it. All right.
00:51:20
Speaker
Anyway, thank you so much for listening and if you want to get involved and put your feedback out there, you can do so. We have a Facebook group, just search for the Geek Pantheon. We have Instagram, we have Google+, we have a Twitter, all at the Geek Pantheon. You can call Eric directly at
00:51:50
Speaker
Pretty sure we've made that joke on each of the podcasts now. So we hit the hat trick. Yeah, but one day I'm going to give your phone number and then when you cut it out, I'm going to put it on Facebook. Anyway, thank you guys so much. We would do this if we had no listeners because we have fun and huge egos. But the fact that there are people that listen and like it is genuinely baffling to me. Yeah. And humbling. And thank you so much.
00:52:17
Speaker
We would also like to thank Kevin McLeod for the music that we use on all of the Geek Pantheon podcasts. If you like what you hear in the intros and outros and the music that we use during the episodes, Encompetech.com
00:52:34
Speaker
I-N-C-O-M-P-E-T-E-C-H dot com. You did it! Yay! Is where you can find all this music. And we are also proudly members of the D20 radio podcasting network.
Credits and Sign-Off
00:52:46
Speaker
If you head over to D20radio.com, you can find all the other podcasts in the network, including the Order 66 podcast, which is a great podcast about Star Wars role-playing. So, if you're like the majority of people, but not like Jeff,
00:53:00
Speaker
You know what? Appreciate the greatest film franchise to ever come out in the history of cinema. Big words. Strong words. Lots of words there. And I stand by them. Have you never seen The Godfather? Yeah. And The Godfather 2? Have you seen Godfather 3?
00:53:21
Speaker
Have you seen the prequels? Yes, and I adore them. But if you like role-playing games and you like Star Wars, definitely go check out Order 66 podcast. But yeah, once again, thank you all so much for listening. I'm Jeff. And I'm Eric. Thanks a lot, guys. You're great. Good night. See you next time.
00:54:04
Speaker
Test, test. Sorry. Check, check, test. Yeah, you're on there. I'm a scat, man. I'm a scat. I'm a scat. I'm not gonna do a podcast tonight. You ready? You good? I've had three beers. This is low tolerance, Jeff. I've had three beers and zero foods.
00:54:33
Speaker
This will be good radio then. Yeah, it'll be great. What are we doing here? Everyone reviewed? What's that? Okay. The whole thing that you conceived? Ferris? The second thing you conceived. Fair enough. Okay, hang on.