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Ep. 148 The Lantern and The Spider - Bellum Draconis
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The Undying Champions crew The Un-severed Compass and Nyx regales the tale of The Lantern and The Spider.
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Intro written and produced by Joseph McDade
Music kindly provided by Fesliyan Studios
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Transcript
Introducing Characters and Setting the Tone
00:00:00
Speaker
ah I guess I'm starting this. Yeah. Yeah. This has not gone in the past, but I'll do my best. You got this. We won't you. We won't judge you.
00:00:38
Speaker
Now.
00:00:41
Speaker
This is the bit I always have the most anxiety about. Not actually running the session, but trying to be Mark. All it does is it just sets the tone for the entire episode and our listeners. Don't worry about it. no i mean also and like This please could be the opening right now. Let's just just do it like this. Listeners, you're in. You're listening to The Fellowship at the Tabletop. Welcome to our 2024 live play podcast.
00:01:05
Speaker
ah said We've gathered again for your listening needs, as we do every single week on a Friday. And there's more than just me here tonight. We have Will, who plays the Dragonborn true a how Valcon.
00:01:22
Speaker
Yash, I play the Dragonborn Druid.
00:01:27
Speaker
Who else is playing, Ian? We have Callum who plays the high, not high elf. No. No. What am I, Ian? Tell me. Tell me. You're, oh God, you're right. This is a bit difficult. You you play the automaton. No.
00:01:43
Speaker
This is going to decide who our class is. No, no, automaton. We're doing a complete character revamp based on what Ian completely. Yeah. That would be fantastic for a one-shot as well. Play fucking Alpha. I'm Alpha. I'm also a Warforged. Warforged Artificer. Thank Sorcerer.
00:01:58
Speaker
Sorcerer. ah We have our Pooh Bear. Pube. ah Who plays our human... but Cleric. Not even a human anymore. Not even a human anymore.
00:02:14
Speaker
Emron. Asimar.
00:02:18
Speaker
Ass to mouth. Ass to mouth. Ass to mouth Emron.
Embarking on a Pirate Adventure
00:02:24
Speaker
Hello there, listeners. Sorry about this. And we have Darren who plays, ah this will be interesting, interesting a barbarian called Tharok.
00:02:35
Speaker
Orc. Yes, half-orc barbarian called Tharok Sinjari. Yes, that's correct. Hello. And I play Nyx Carell, a blue teethling warsaw.
00:02:47
Speaker
And of course, without further ado, our VIP of D&D, Danny. Hold on, Ian. You can have inspiration for um literally taking that from the palm of my very nervous hands.
00:03:01
Speaker
And fucking it up on a biblical scale. No, no. No, no. I cannot critique from this position because I was about to do it myself. It's okay. I i had put myself front and center and then my mind went, what the fuck are you doing? Needless to say, listeners, is we've we've now identified the most important role in this podcast is not, you know, the players is not the DM. It's none of that.
00:03:22
Speaker
It's just Mark starting us off because we're all just a bunch of... um ah really indecisive 30 year olds who clearly don't listen to each other's characters for the long time however ill tell you one person we always do listen to around this time see segues are still there though we pull the camera out of this intellectual bunch of goofs all the way over to a different ship not the torch tabaxi we're not entirely sure what this ship is called but it is wrecked upon
00:03:57
Speaker
an island. And as we pan into the wreckage, the captain's crabis the cabin stands on the sand as if it had got yeeted away from the ship itself. We open the door and we see old gal sat in the captain's chair, crystal ball in hand, whiskey in the other hand,
00:04:19
Speaker
his long toes tapping out themes from pirates of the caribbean his favorite film on the wooden deck of where the sands are because the deck survived too i'm losing it but oh girl notices us turns to us and says oh a probably not drink and sail
00:04:40
Speaker
And he's standing! McBanner's will states an apology to Tharok and gives him his own fucking boat, the Torch Tabaxi, and all of its contents.
00:04:50
Speaker
Apart from a chest that he has in his compartment, he says, take that to Drago. Emron identifies some weaponry. There's some pretty cool shit in there. The group tries to discuss some sort of name with some pretty cool ideas, but they don't settle on anything yet.
00:05:05
Speaker
And then they decide to do a long rest in which Emron dreams that there's some sort of vertical stacked metal metropolis. It's that dream again. And this time he sees Baal with some telepathic links and it's alignment day.
00:05:18
Speaker
It's over to you for now. I'll protect you from yeah And then Amron accidentally stumbles onto the group name whilst he's telling the people of this, and he calls the group the Undying Champions.
Navigating the Seas and Team Dynamics
00:05:30
Speaker
Thava offers to take the eggs and trunks for the group because she was told by none other than Prego that the party would need help.
00:05:38
Speaker
What cunt! The group... Leave her with Trunks and get on the torch to Baxi, which might now have a different name of the Severed Compass. Tharok opens up the cabin door, but it catches, and there's a familiar scent coming out. That familiar scent is just 54,000 gold pieces. The champions, with Nyx at the helm, sail off towards Scorch Helm.
00:06:05
Speaker
The sound of squawking gulls and very faintly crashing waves hitting dock posts fill your ears. The bitter, briny smell of a sea breeze fills your nostrils.
00:06:22
Speaker
Your legs are constantly now compensating for the buoyant bounces as you begin to forget the stability of the sands for this more rhythmic footing.
00:06:35
Speaker
As the bay wrapping Beach Barrow port begins to drift away from you, you now crew a ship of your own. Formerly the Torch Tabaxi, now transitioning to the severed compass,
00:06:50
Speaker
As you meet other seafarers in the future, or make port again, perhaps nautical folk across the land will gossip great deeds of this vessel, or perhaps the crew who sail upon her, the undying champions.
00:07:08
Speaker
This ship, your ship, a nimble, lightly built tuner, built for speed and manoeuvrability rather than battle, supports its signature flag, an upside-down cat hung upon its foremast.
00:07:28
Speaker
Below deck, the hull supports a single large chamber cargo hold with 12 bunks, a small bilge pumping station, and this lovely reinforced iron and oaken keel.
00:07:45
Speaker
On deck, Emron and Alpha stand on the bow, looking ahead at the horizon. Atop the main mast, do you remember there's a twin mast from last time.
00:07:56
Speaker
The crow's nest is where Seth attempts to meditate in solitude, but Nithra'far kind of disrupts that silence. coiling the mooring line and securing the anchor as Tharok, grateful for being able to labour heavy objects once again.
00:08:12
Speaker
Atop the quarter deck, propping himself against this patterned, carved taffrail, his bar, studying the tide diligently.
00:08:24
Speaker
next to Baal, and eager to meet the day and flex his sea muscles once again, seemingly now the captain of this band, Nyx Carell, grasping the rudder wheel tightly.
00:08:41
Speaker
Your destination is Scorch Helm once again, to report back your discoveries of Beach Barrow Port at this emergency meeting of the entire complement of the winged watch.
00:08:53
Speaker
In steady conditions and a favourable wind, this is a day and a half's journey along the coastline west.
00:09:03
Speaker
But how fares the weather today? Nix, can you make a D8 roll to determine the weather and a D6 roll to determine the wind direction, please? I'm so excited for this!
00:09:16
Speaker
So my D8 roll is 2. Okay. okay And my D6 is... 6.
00:09:25
Speaker
six Okay. So, Baal, as you sort of look up from the horizon and begin to take in the the skies above, you're seeing clouds forming, dark clouds, patchy clouds.
00:09:42
Speaker
so it's this this This very light rain sort of begins to fill the scene.
00:09:51
Speaker
And a few seconds later, you feel the wind change.
00:09:59
Speaker
It begins to blow at quite a steady pace in a south-westerly direction. The exact direction you need for optimal speed to Scorch Helm.
00:10:10
Speaker
With this favourable wind, but the rain impacting your visibility slightly, you should make this in a day maximum, if not quicker, depending on how your captain manages this journey.
00:10:26
Speaker
So that's a a southwesterly wind and light rain for your notes. Normally, this task falls to Baal, who has been the guide in the deserts, but it seems that Nyx is perhaps the best suited to this ah journey.
00:10:41
Speaker
So, Nyx, I want you to make a departure roll, please, to determine how you fare on this journey. For listeners who haven't who are joining us at this point, we borrow this from the Adventures in Middle-earth rule set from the Lord of the Rings port of 5e, where they they have a really cool journey mechanic.
00:10:58
Speaker
So what need you to for this, Nick, is I need you to make a navigator's tools check. So in D&D 2024, they got rid of the proficiency of of vehicles and instead your proficiency transferred to navigator's tools. So um I need you to make a straight wisdom roll, adding your a proficiency bonus, please.
00:11:19
Speaker
ah My proficiency bonus? You've got efficiency in wisdom or navigator tools? ah So your proficiency bonus full stop, like which at your level, I believe is plus three.
00:11:34
Speaker
It is. so ass So it's just a straight wisdom roll. Plus three. Yeah. Oh, oh, wow. Okay. So that's 16, 17, 18, 18, 18. Okay. Okay.
00:11:46
Speaker
sixteen seventy eighteen eighteen eighteen ok So the party have access to four preparation die on this journey. Okay. And for, again, final reminder, that is a D6 that you can add to any damage roll, any D20 roll, or can subtract from any roll I make.
00:12:07
Speaker
There are four of those available to the party at any given moment. You just need to elect for when that happens. When you arrive at your destination, you make an arrival roll. And at that point, any leftover um or remaining preparation die are just gone. Okay, so they need to be used on this journey to sort of symbolize how Nyx has best set you up for the journey ahead.
Encounters with Sea Creatures and Allies
00:12:28
Speaker
And finally, the last roll. I need you to roll a d10 three times, please, Nyx, as we begin to find what you might encounter on this journey.
00:12:42
Speaker
Three in total or three separate? Three separate d10 rolls, please. Okay, no worries. So first dice roll will be Spider That Swims. Second dice roll will be Spider That Swims. So the first is a healthy six.
00:12:54
Speaker
Thank you. The second is a healthy six. Four. It was almost a six. It just cheekily, as soon as you said six, it turned. And the third is a obscured by my little pop-ups there.
00:13:10
Speaker
Sort it out. D&D Beyond. on a five. Thank you. Six, four, and five. Perfect. So... With the last pull of that line, Tharok is able to completely center the anchor in the center of the ship and the mooring line is gone. You are completely detached and you are now about 200 feet away from the dock in Beach Barrow Port.
00:13:30
Speaker
The wind picks up. You shout to Tharok and to Seth to release those sails and almost like a car kicking into its next gear, you are all boom, boom.
00:13:41
Speaker
accelerated almost, while these twin sails pick up this incredibly favourable wind. that Six is the best role you could have really hoped for to get you to Scorch Helm in a prompt fashion. And you are away, Nyx, and you are steering, and this ship is so responsive. You never really got the chance to do this part whilst on the Esmeralda.
00:14:01
Speaker
You were so low in that pecking order, but you studied it diligently, and you knew every time your captain made an adjustment how that ship would respond. And this is about... two-thirds of the size of the Esmeralda. So the Esmeralda was a bit broader, a bit bigger.
00:14:18
Speaker
But as a result, this ship is just far more responsive to everything you're doing. So as you're heading out into this light drizzle, heading on the horizon, your your gut here is to stick to the shore most of the way. You don't have the weapons to risk encountering pirates, and your understanding of this shoreline is that you're safest closer to land.
00:14:46
Speaker
As Nix guides us all out in that direction, you estimate you should be there by nightfall, Nix, if this wind continues, if your journey is uninterrupted.
00:14:59
Speaker
What do you all want to do?
00:15:03
Speaker
As soon as the ship starts to leave, Farrakh will take out his hip flask. He'll raise it to the mast and the tabaxi up there. And he'll just go, grant us fair journey.
00:15:14
Speaker
Carl, the purple light cunt. And he'll take a sip of the whiskey and he'll just turn around and go I didn't call him that. That's what Benner calls that thing. And he'll just keep slipping on the whiskey.
00:15:29
Speaker
Fair play, Danok. I appreciate the... ah apparently you should Apparently you should have superstitions on a boat and I'm going to have a drink in the name of and offer fair good journey to Carl the Purple Light Cunt.
00:15:42
Speaker
And he'll just take another swig. There seems to be a lot of people with the same nickname that we know or at least encountering.
00:15:52
Speaker
Yeah, we've lot them, haven't we?
00:15:57
Speaker
Anyway, guys, right now I am just loving life because we are sailing hard, sailing fast, and we're sailing right where we need to be going. This is a good day. ah good. So but we can have ah ah a little relax, get to Scorch Elm, and then what's the plan? how how long How long away is the meeting we've got to get to?
00:16:21
Speaker
Well, we'll be in Scorch Elm in about a day. If we carry on like this, with the fine sea air, billowing our sails out.
00:16:32
Speaker
Yeah, you're doing a cracking job. Oh, don't control the winds, but this is great teamwork, guys. I would say that we could we can down tools for, I mean, I can't down tools. I'm steering this thing, but like if we could at least have one of you on deck at any time, that would be great.
00:16:50
Speaker
It looks like Seth's not coming down for the foreseeable, but um you know, he's got company up there. He'll be fine. But the rest of you is like, I don't know. your time's your own. Not that I'm saying that what you should do and the time is like your own. It's like, you know, I'm just saying like, if you wanted to walk around deck or go down, check out the hull, now's a good time to do so. But we just need another pair of hands up here on the deck.
00:17:14
Speaker
um You know, that's how the Esmeralda was around anyway. Always have some hands on deck and, and, and that was a fine vessel.
00:17:26
Speaker
I never sank, got caught, but never sank.
00:17:32
Speaker
Okay. ni It sank in the harbor a few days ago. That was at the end. That was at the end of its life. I just couldn't. I'm sorry. And that wasn't sank by any ah ah of the the crew's
00:17:48
Speaker
doing. Oh, feel like I fucked your... Well, I'm glad you brought it up, Bal. That was lovely.
00:17:56
Speaker
It's a good message. No, I like it. Things don't die until the end of their life, and then they die. I think there's simplicity in that message that I quite like.
00:18:09
Speaker
I've killed the mood. Fuck. ah Does anyone have any more drink? Drink to the... the the the Yes, I'll i'll join you, Tharic. And he's going to awkwardly kind of siphon himself away from Nyx.
00:18:21
Speaker
Nyx is going to pull out his bottomless mug and drink the ale that's in that. He's having the best time. even the Even the reminder of the Esmeralda sinking was a it was a mu momentary like, oh, yeah, you're right.
00:18:36
Speaker
Nah, Shake's head. He's taking a big old deep breath of the sea air. And he's just, it's just, everything's going well. And that is a rarity. So he's just taking a moment to really let that stay present and sink in.
00:18:54
Speaker
It's interesting you say that. Oh, no fuck. Fuck. He's not being present. He's not feeling good. He's feeling like shit. make it Make a perception check for me. You're fucked us.
00:19:06
Speaker
You're fucked us. Seth's asleep.
00:19:17
Speaker
In those moments where you are pulling away from the bay and in this sort of first 20 minutes of ah being in full sail and basking in it, you do you do notice that Hundreds of spiders sort of leave your cuff and leave your trouser leg and head in all sorts of directions around the ship.
00:19:38
Speaker
And nervous and apprehensive at first, I'm sure, you you begin to sort of look around at what they're doing. And often when they when they're in the sands, they kind of just burrow down and you never see them again, but they don't have that option necessarily here.
00:19:51
Speaker
And you begin to study the small cluster that from a distance when they're closer together, you can see them rather than when they sort of scatter.
00:20:01
Speaker
And you see that they're sort of climbing up the masts onto the sails.
00:20:10
Speaker
And small holes in the sails are beginning to get repaired.
00:20:17
Speaker
webs from these spiders begin sort of layering and latticing and and just finding parts of this ship that aren't quite 100% efficient and are just tweaking it.
00:20:32
Speaker
They're putting weight on certain booms in order to try and encourage the sails to best meet the next gust or the next gale.
00:20:43
Speaker
Almost as if they are serving your purpose.
00:20:53
Speaker
ah Does Nick notice anyone else looking at this? Yeah, do we all notice this? We haven't really elected what you're doing, but this is all happening in very bespoke areas where you need to understand how a ship really works in order to kind of see the repair work that these creatures are doing. So if anyone has any proficiency and in anything that's sort of in this field, then maybe you might. but But if you're new to sort of vessels, um sea travel and and woodwork in general, then... then or
00:21:26
Speaker
fabric work, then you probably wouldn't see what they're doing and think otherwise. I'm proficient in leather workers, smiths, tinkers and wood carvers.
00:21:36
Speaker
Then yeah, you you would probably just detect this passively, just like small repair works that are now like covered in webs, but not in a way that's not in way dusty and creepy in a way that's actually binding and and um useful.
00:21:50
Speaker
Okay. Okay. Barl's got a passive perception of 22 currently, and he would have just made his way to the the mast and and taken a swig from Tharic's hip flask if he would have allowed him to and probably be looking up for it. so You would detect, I would then so argue, but please make a nature check to try and really study the creatures here, because you're not really thinking about um the impact on the ship. It's more the behavior, I think, that might be appropriate for Barl.
00:22:17
Speaker
Yeah, it's 15 for the nature check. They're clearly being directed. Like, this is like you're akin this to like a hive of bees under command from a queen.
00:22:29
Speaker
But these these tiny, yeah these tiny spiders are are doing a bidding with purpose and direction. They are not like just wild and chaotic.
00:22:40
Speaker
They are unified under a single mind. And there are thousands of them over the ship at the point that you're beginning to clock into this. Okay. And with that kind of curiosity looking through and and seeing that, is it possible to collect one, to take one?
00:22:56
Speaker
Sure. Make it um yeah i mean make it make an animal handling check to try and like keep it because they are very nimble. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. fortunately it got proficiency in that one so that's a 23 yeah you can sort of scoop one that's kind of resting after a period of serious webbing i really don't know how spiders sort of do that thing but um like you can see i'm picturing like you know how ducks fly and they've always put the the one that's injured towards the front wherever and keep pace like you you can kind of identify when one is done for a bit and having a rest and you kind of just sort of scoop and caress and then keep it in your hand
00:23:31
Speaker
Cool. And does this look similar to the ones that Nix has kind of had around him before? Because there's been moments like at the campfires and stuff like that. Bile's been around obviously long enough to two together things in. in your intimate moments, you've had to contend with the fact that Nix can't really control this. It just is a thing. And, you know, you kind of accept it put up with it. Yes, these these are definitely like an extension of him.
00:23:57
Speaker
Cool. And so with that, with it kind of in his hand and seeing all this going on, he'll let it go back to the mast and he'll kind of turn around and... and Now with a little bit of ah whatever the hell was in Tharix Flask in his system, he'll make his way kind of back beside Nix a little bit and kind of give him ah ah a sidewards eye and then over to the spiders.
00:24:20
Speaker
Nice. And they're not making seismic impact here, Nix. They're kind of like... like think Picture a slow puncture. They're kind of just delaying the speed at which that puncture deflates things or, you know, they're giving you like...
00:24:34
Speaker
one one hundredth of an extra knot of speed like it is it is not huge things but it is it is beneficial nonetheless and you recognize that Nix is yeah genuinely just in ah in a happy place. He's got a grin. He's got a slight sway to him as as he starts to just get his seat leg back. And each time the boat sways, Nix is counteracting with his own body weight just to kind of keep that motion in his own body going so that he doesn't feel um the weight of the water stir within him.
00:25:05
Speaker
And it's just been a while. He's good. Nyx, darling, are you channeling this or is it then ask them? them.
00:25:21
Speaker
And should we be worried? Actually, for the first time, i don't feel like they're going to do us harm or anyone else around me harm.
00:25:35
Speaker
they said okay yeah I don't know. I can't explain it. I could never explain in the first place. I can tell you that it's different to how ah it's been different ever since the, well, the Jewel of the Desert Champions. is That relationship has been different.
00:25:56
Speaker
Not in a good or bad way, just in a, it's different noticeably. But right now it serves the purpose, I guess.
00:26:09
Speaker
I haven't really thought about it. I don't know. i don't know if that's... I'm trying to not think about it because genuinely, obviously, that's a door that if I open, there's quite ah yeah a lot of emotion behind it. So I've just tried to seal it shut for now. Yeah.
00:26:27
Speaker
But no, this is just happening to me as opposed to something that I am willingly pushing forth. That makes sense.
00:26:39
Speaker
Yeah, certainly. Sounds, guess if it's there to help, it's it's there to help. Okay. Let the spiders push on, I guess.
00:26:50
Speaker
I thought you were to say that the spiders hit the floor. Don't know why that made me laugh. Mm-hmm. Oh, that one did just fall, but... Oh, no, it's look, it's fine. It's... yeah Ah!
00:27:03
Speaker
Nice. Nice. Nice. Alfred, you declared last time that you sort of positioned yourself towards the front of the ship. what What is it you're doing as you're back on a boat again for the first time, and last time it wasn't the most favourable um experience?
00:27:19
Speaker
No, and um it still... not the most valuable for him at this stage. He, he, he probably got on and the initial kind of excitement kind of happened where Nick's is, um, just being his best captain, you know, giving the orders, getting everybody to work together, working as team for a moment, out his mind kind of,
00:27:42
Speaker
left himself and then as we kind of started on sail, Alpha took himself to the front of the ship and he remembers the first time he ever actually went on a boat and that was with Reigns and Emron escaping Shadow Men for what seemed so long ago and Reigns just comes back into his head. So he's kind of brooding along the front of the ship at the moment, gazing out over the horizon.
00:28:06
Speaker
um He wouldn't have noticed anything about the spiders. He's not even looking at that. um But he's still kind of thinking and believing that Reigns is out there somewhere. um Still maybe on his way back to Shadow Men, still believing that Reigns is doing something good.
00:28:22
Speaker
with everything, and still going to hold the parrot that Rain's had beforehand, just going to bring out his satchel again, just going to hold it for a few seconds before it puts it back in and stays back out over the horizon.
00:28:40
Speaker
Make a perception check for me as you do stare over the horizon. Well, this isnin't going to be good. No, definitely not good. Five.
00:28:50
Speaker
You kind of have to squint because the drizzle doesn't really allow you to keep your your eyes open, but then you're inorganic. So this I really struggle sometimes with with how you perceive.
00:29:01
Speaker
um But you you look out on the horizon and like the the view distance isn't great. It's it's ah it's a mile at best, a nautical mile at best. um You don't really spot anything of note during that time.
Weathering the Storm and Team Resilience
00:29:18
Speaker
And this morning kind of progresses in the same vein. And you sort of look to your southern, to your south, and next you're really diligent about making sure you don't go too close, that you get pulled into any sort of tidal
00:29:34
Speaker
movement, but also that you don't lose sight in this reign of the shore and you're using that really as your guide. This is possibly the easiest journey you'll ever make because you know it's not a long distance and you know you you can use a landmark the entire time to sort of tether ah your journey too.
00:29:54
Speaker
But after about two hours of this and everyone's sort wandering around the ship just enjoying this moment of of unity.
00:30:07
Speaker
very high-pitched voice just bellows down from the crow's nest. Aquatic life approaches. You must destroy it. As Niv'lifar dribbles onto Tharok's shoulder out of pure excitement.
00:30:24
Speaker
As that happens, Tharok's got out like McBenners training dummies and has just been adjusting to the rate ratio of having a spear. And he'll go, yes, yes, little fucker, I will get the fishing rods out at tea time. Do not worry.
00:30:37
Speaker
and he's just going to continue practicing with his sphere against this. The weight ratio is very different to that of an axe. It requires a little bit of concentration if you could stop drooling on me.
00:30:50
Speaker
He might have something else in Infernal that you don't quite grasp, but you sense it's insulting.
00:31:00
Speaker
Anyone else respond to the the shout of aquatic life approaches? Biles speaks Infernal. can i Can I tell what the insult was? He tells him he looks like an overgrown child holding that wooden pole with a pointy tip.
00:31:13
Speaker
Excellent. Baal will stifle a little giggle. ah But then with the warning, yeah, he's going to pop the shield on his arm and he'll make his way towards the bow because obviously if that's the way the the ship is moving, it's going to make sense that that's where he's going to be able to see what's going on and he's going to try and see if he can work out what this danger is but on alert.
00:31:33
Speaker
All right, make perception check then. Ah, yeah, and with the shield that he's got on, he can do this at advantage. Come on. Not bad. Non-natural 20.
00:31:44
Speaker
nice Nice. You see to the north of you, coming directly towards the ship, ah quite an exciting manor, a pair of dolphins.
00:31:58
Speaker
And life for you is not... sea life for you is not um I don't have a register here. You're used to the sands, you're used to towns, you're used to the mountains.
00:32:13
Speaker
Water, you have very little experience being on and seawater at that next to none. um But you've seen dolphins in bays. You've seen them when they're migrating. You've seen them and they they do kind of do this sort of um breach of the water then dive back in and in schools and in lines and in formations.
00:32:33
Speaker
It's very interesting to see dolphins beelining directly for the ship.
00:32:37
Speaker
Two of them.
00:32:41
Speaker
Okay. ah Yeah, he'll just pipe up over his shoulder. Couple of dolphins on the way. Next? is That's not usual, right? Dolphins charging at a ship?
00:32:53
Speaker
ah Charging or just swimming with... Is it malicious intent here? is there Or they dancing in the sea direction? I can't tell.
00:33:05
Speaker
One might be scowling. I'm not sure. I haven't seen dolphins before. But i kind of but are they jumping out and in? Out and in? Or are they underwater and heading towards like an arrow from a bow?
00:33:18
Speaker
Yes. Okay. Okay. Well, I mean, just get your spells ready. i we Because there's nothing we can do unless you are i i want to stop the ship. Do I shoot dolphins? Am I shooting a dolphin?
00:33:31
Speaker
and and and and No, no, no, no, no. He's got fire is pondering in his hand. Wait, wait, wait. They might be friendly dolphins or they might be messengers. We don't know yet. We need for them to let them make first contact.
00:33:45
Speaker
Oh, fuck. I've never... ah Fine. Okay, okay. I can try and speak dolphin. You're a druid. Can't you be in there? Like, can't you... I can't just be a dolphin, willy-willy. You can be a camel. What's the difference?
00:33:59
Speaker
didn't mean that. I didn't mean what's the difference. That's okay. I don't take a... Whilst he's saying this, he's trying to go back and forth and keep an eye on having a mini domestic. It's really awkward. Everyone else is just sort of like, just be looking anywhere apart from where they're having going... I'm guessing you're all sort of studying the dolphins too at this point.
00:34:18
Speaker
you can You can kind of see, like you' you've entered into this really kelpy area and there's sort of a break from this drizzle that you've sort of been wiping off your brow every five or six minutes.
00:34:32
Speaker
And you see as you're sort of moving through like really rich greens and reds and browns that kind of stick to the side of the ship almost as you're going past, almost like clawing it.
00:34:46
Speaker
And this kelp kind of spans in a really organized um sort of nebulous. And at the center appears to be this floating wreckage.
00:34:56
Speaker
Nyx, could you make a history check for me? or No one else here has much experience at sea. um But maybe alpha disadvantage because you have a perfect memory. Just see if this there's anything you've encountered of this ilk before.
00:35:09
Speaker
What does inspiration do? had a D6. You also have prept eyes, should you want it? um I'm wait for Alpha to... Yeah, yeah, yeah. yeah yeah yeah But Alpha might be able to whoop it forwards. I got a natural one.
00:35:27
Speaker
but oh shit! oh i got I have to roll with disadvantage. So, unfortunately, I have to go with the 11, not the natural 20. We have prep die. You could spend a prep die to boost the 11. What's the prep die do?
00:35:38
Speaker
Add a d6 to it. yours. No shit! there no point adding it to yours no shit I've got a natural one. I'd like to use a prep die for that.
00:35:49
Speaker
Can't use a prep die. Everyone, I'll use a prep die. Yeah, the captain says so. Let's go. Well, there you captain says. So please, someone track that you have three remaining. So go ahead and roll. You can use another one if you want to, if the roll's not to your satisfaction. It's an additional four. So that takes you up to 15. Ah, that's solid. All right. that
00:36:10
Speaker
You study this for a bit and while everyone else is looking somewhere between threatened to curious to uncertain, you're you're just sort of trawling through the memory banks and you remember one thing you observed and that was somewhere in the passing from Shadomend, so much more north than where we are now, sort of on the crossing around the Sanguine lands.
00:36:35
Speaker
You remember someone on the ship then telling you about the drifting gardens
00:36:43
Speaker
And this is beginning to connect with ah with us but an area you'd passed previously. And it appears to be this swirling mass of kelp that are attached to these certain architectures of ships.
00:36:57
Speaker
But what you remember most are these glowing pink sea lilies that are sometimes found dotted around, and they are currently... And you remember being told about this this peaceful colony of sea elves that are tending to a collective garden of mourning that sort of is scattered around the ocean in these drifty small drifting gardens.
00:37:21
Speaker
And then you're beginning to put a few things together here, sea elves, dolphins coming directly towards you. And all of a sudden you feel a lot more relaxed because you've been led to believe in the past this is peaceful.
00:37:32
Speaker
This is just knowledge that you're pulling back. You haven't relayed this to anyone else yet.
00:37:37
Speaker
ah Before Alpha can speak, Reigns is just looking at Emron. Reigns isn't here anymore. Oh my God. Wow. He's back. Daddy, you're back. Farrah is going to... Is Reigns looking at me from the afterlife? Farrah is just going to go listening to the... listening He's got his spear in hand and he's just going to go, I don't understand what they're arguing about. Are we about to have a moving target practice or what?
00:37:58
Speaker
Emron's been sort of sat with his back sort of to the the edge of the the the boat. I know, but i mean we're on a boat, so i mean unless it physically gets on deck, i mean there's not much we can actually physically do to it.
00:38:12
Speaker
So I'm sure someone will shout up if it's going to... I seem to remember when we sailed over from Shadow Men, a sailor said killing dolphins was bad luck. So hopefully we don't do that.
00:38:26
Speaker
um He's right. So we don't burn the dolphins. I got nothing else. They make first contact.
00:38:34
Speaker
I still think you should become a dolphin, though. I mean, like, you know, like maybe not now, but later I work on it for you. I think would be great, that's all. I can try. ah Sounds like a sex thing to me It's not a kink thing, Emron. But it does have a blowhole, Emron.
00:38:52
Speaker
Lol. I feel like I need to wash my ears out now.
00:38:58
Speaker
Alpha, what do you see as you're peering over the boat? Sorry, blowhole got me. What's your... Emeron, Emeron, I remember something else that um the sailors we travelled with mentioned about dolphins and drifting gardens.
00:39:16
Speaker
um I believe they... Meadles, no harm. Nick, on the mention of Drifting Gardens, you pieced this together. You've seen other variants on this before, but it's not until your memory sort of jogged there that you're like, oh, okay. These guys these guys are safe.
00:39:36
Speaker
You say Drifting Gardens, Alpha. but Yes, something about the environment reminds me of the what I believe to be, one would say, an old wives' tale from a sailor.
00:39:50
Speaker
Drifting gardens, the kelp environment. The pink lilies. Dolphins, pink, glowing pink pink lilies. Plink lilies? Glowing pink lilies as well. Everything seems to match up.
00:40:01
Speaker
What do you know of them? Everyone, we're safe. Just this enjoy the view and have a look at the the nature surrounding. As Alpha says, this is part of an old sea tale.
00:40:17
Speaker
And it's just as nature intended. It's beautiful, luminous, and we're surrounded by the animals of the ocean.
00:40:28
Speaker
Just enjoy. This is like a cruise. In fact, in fact, shall we just take it like a cruise? Let's take it down some. Let's take, Alfred, do you want to go to the main mast? Just um just roll up some of the sail. Not all the way. Let's just half it.
00:40:41
Speaker
and Let's just knock the speed out. Just just a fraction. As you wish. Yeah, I'll go and just roll up a bit. Okay. Okay. And Nick says, you present that assured confidence.
00:40:53
Speaker
That sail goes up and you begin to decelerate a little bit. You see as the kelp gets a a little bit tighter around the ship and you're slowing down quicker than you'd expect for just a single sail folding in.
00:41:11
Speaker
and Before you really get a chance to react, the dolphins continuing their speed...
00:41:18
Speaker
burst into a brief pool of light and then two elves are clinging onto the side of the deck. One very playfully, arms above the other, chin resting on the deck, just smiling at all of you.
00:41:31
Speaker
And another with one hand swinging on a rope line above, just sort of looks down. ah kind of like Peter Pan dress, like a kelp foliage garments.
00:41:43
Speaker
This really rich, greeny blue skin. It's like turquoise-y skin. And this one that's just floating just says, All right, travelers, right there. Welcome to our part of the ocean.
00:41:54
Speaker
Well, see, see they they can turn into dolphins. but Yes, I'll work on it. I'm just saying, like, you know, they fooled me. Yes.
00:42:07
Speaker
Fine. Greetings.
00:42:11
Speaker
Sorry, sorry. um ah Ahoy there. Welcome to the Unsevered Compass. You step upon the vessel of the Undying Champions.
00:42:24
Speaker
Still dangling from that that line above. Never heard of this shit before?
00:42:31
Speaker
It did go by another name. and what was that? i We're flying under new colours. The previous owner called this the... Torch Tabaxi. Torch Tabaxi.
00:42:45
Speaker
Nope. Not in my memory. And just sort of looks down to his friend. And his friend just very playfully looks up at him and lifts his chin off his hands off the the side of the deck. Shakes his head really, really energetically. And looks but but looks but looks back at Baal with a lot of curiosity.
00:43:00
Speaker
And the one just swinging just says, never heard of you. Right. I mean, protocol dictates that you should be asking for permission to step on board this vessel. You should be asking permission to come through our gardens.
00:43:16
Speaker
Very well, we've reached an impasse on this. Call it evens. can we Can we come through your garden? You may if you pay the toll. Oh, I one. I know this one. Everyone closes his eyes for minute. Why does everybody want toll? Bile kind of starts igniting again as his hand.
00:43:37
Speaker
Don't worry. I'm not falling for it again, guys. I've got this. Okay? And he'll look at the other ones. Right. What is it? it's It's half all we have, isn't it?
00:43:48
Speaker
Yes. Good one. We're paying. We'd be here a very long time if it's half of all you have. Why? Well, we just ask a story.
00:44:02
Speaker
A story. A story from the sea. And if it's to our liking, the kelp will let you go. And if it's not?
00:44:13
Speaker
I don't know. we We like a lot of stories. Oh, okay. Our captain is masterful at telling tales from the sea. He told me one that was absolutely fantastic many, many moons ago now.
00:44:29
Speaker
The one that has isn't speaking just looks very excitedly at the word captain, looks around and assumes it's Emron.
00:44:38
Speaker
ah i'm um' i' not I'm not the captain. Looks quite shocked at that. No, no, no. I mean, we're all the captain, kind of. Just in this particular scenario, I guess I'm the captain.
00:44:53
Speaker
And the one that was looking at Emron now looks incredibly puzzled at the fact that you're the captain. He's the driver of the boat.
00:45:05
Speaker
Sailor, not driver, but yeah. The one swinging just says, hope it's a goodie. they look at you expectantly. Okay, I mean...
00:45:18
Speaker
Let's do it. i have a story that my old captain used to tell me. it is called The Lantern and the Spider.
00:45:30
Speaker
The sea was drunk that night. The sky wore no stars. The moon was a ghost and the wind had lost its nerve. The Esmeralda floated like a secret on a flat black mirror.
00:45:45
Speaker
Her sails slack, her crew silent with unease. Captain Hildegard stood at the prow, lantern in hand. The light inside pulsed, not flickered,
00:45:58
Speaker
Pulsed like a heartbeat. Not his. Something older. Something other. He'd stolen it, of course, from a collector.
00:46:11
Speaker
Who paid in blood to have it locked away in a vault lined with runes. That should have been a clue. But Hildegard wasn't one to heed omens.
00:46:25
Speaker
He was one to bend them. The crew hadn't asked questions when he came aboard with a grin, sharp as a cutlass and a glowing prize. But now they whispered behind him, watching the horizon like it might split in two.
00:46:44
Speaker
And then it did. The water broke, not with waves but with legs. Long, jointed, spindly legs glistening with brine.
00:46:57
Speaker
They pierced the surface like masts rising from the deep, dragging up the body of a creature. that should never have swum. spider, vast, pale, endless eyed, heaving itself silently above the surface.
00:47:19
Speaker
The crew recoiled, some muttering prayers, some frozen in terror. But Hildegard, he only set his jaw and raised the lantern higher.
00:47:33
Speaker
The thing's voice crawled into his skull like silk threads pulling tight. Return it, thief of lantern light, return what is mine.
00:47:48
Speaker
The captain's grin widened. Is this how you ask a man for a dance? No, no, if you want back.
00:47:59
Speaker
Yield bargain. The spider who swims shifted, dripping seawater, its cluster of eyes fixed on the mortal daring to parlay.
00:48:10
Speaker
The sea stilted, waiting. Who would you have, pilot? Hildegard's eyes gleamed hard as steel.
00:48:22
Speaker
Safe passage. A tale worth singing. And my crew untouched. A pause. Then. Done.
00:48:34
Speaker
The lantern burst, not with fire, but with strands of silvery web. Threads of starlight spun across the sky and sank into the sea. The spider dissolved into the depths, vanishing without a sound, leaving only ripples spreading like a woven net across the water.
00:48:55
Speaker
The crew never spoke of it again. They called him Captain Web Breaker after that and kept their distance whenever the sea grew too still. As for Hildegard, he drank deep, laughed louder than the storms, and told the story himself when he pleased, always ending with the same warning.
00:49:18
Speaker
If the sea whipples when no wind stirs, pray you've nothing in your pockets, the spider who swims might want it.
00:49:32
Speaker
There you go! Unbidden to me, that story. Like I said, told to me from my previous captain. you make a performance check for me, please?
00:49:43
Speaker
Yeah. The elf that hasn't spoken, that rests his chin on deck of the ship.
00:50:04
Speaker
It's just jaw dropped, eyes wide in awe of everything you're saying. Halfway through your story, the one that was swinging, that asked for this story, let's go and sits cross-legged on the ship and looks up to you like a child at school.
00:50:19
Speaker
And when you finish, they look at each other.
00:50:24
Speaker
lot of excitement on their faces.
00:50:29
Speaker
Thank you.
00:50:32
Speaker
ah love stories about the spider. Don't tell me thank you. It might break me. Oh.
00:50:41
Speaker
Good day, travellers. I will look for these sails for another story in the future.
00:50:49
Speaker
Let's go. And within a heartbeat, Berthias hopped back into the sea, assumed dolphin form again. and swim off towards the wreckage at the epicenter of this sort of kelp pool.
00:51:07
Speaker
and as you peer over the sides, the kelp that almost was clawing around the lower parts of the hull is just floating beneath the surface of the water again.
00:51:19
Speaker
And that drizzle begins to pick up.
00:51:25
Speaker
and you begin to get speed. Even without dropping that secondary sale, the speed just naturally picks up once again.
00:51:34
Speaker
Friendly locals?
00:51:38
Speaker
Yeah, seemed pretty all right. That was a good story, Nick. Well done for coming up with On Top of Your Head. Thanks, thanks. ah It's amazing what drinking grog will do for you.
00:51:51
Speaker
I feel like you should tell more stories. I could tell as many stories as you want, Emron. Maybe one later for I could send you to sleep with a story. Oh, good. Yeah, every time we have a long rest, you should tell us a story.
00:52:04
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, I'm surprised you don't want a sea shanty. You know, Vegas can't be choosers. Oh, go on then. you can You can sing a sea shanty for us. I'll write one later off the top of my head. So skilled I am.
00:52:16
Speaker
ah Danny, have a question for you. Yes. Now that Nix is kind of, um like I said, he took the time there and he's really enjoying life and he's got his sea legs back.
00:52:28
Speaker
I'm interested. Does Nix get a pulse of information regarding the siren's eye?
00:52:40
Speaker
how How do you mean a pulse? So when Nyx chose his way back with the yeah Dragon Queen and everyone had to choose yep what they wanted, and I believe that everyone said nothing and Nyx was the only one that said power. Not everyone, but some people, yeah. Yeah. ah He was given information about the Siren's Eye, which is a relic sat in the bow of a ship called the Corrupted Coward. Mm-hmm.
00:53:10
Speaker
And I know that location. Now, I don't know if that's a location like a GPS. I have a ping, like a radar. I'm close to it. Or if it's more like a cross on a map.
00:53:21
Speaker
So only you know that the siren's eye is on the Cursed Coward. No one else, including the crew of the Cursed Coward, knows it's on there. That's the information you hold.
00:53:32
Speaker
Okay, cool. So you'd need to inquire about the corrupt way that a corrupted a coward. the not cursed. The corrupted coward. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool. That answered my question.
00:53:43
Speaker
Cool. Onwards!
00:53:47
Speaker
So, does anyone else do anything as you continue now? You're you're past the midday point. Just relaxing on a boat. Mm-hmm. Got your flippy floppies?
00:53:59
Speaker
Baal had been kind of staring for a long time at Nyx as he's retelling this story. Just kind of like, i imagine how like Alpha was with Emron's initial story i' right at the beginning of this kind of campaign, if you like, where when they were on the boat here, that kind of sense of awe taking in that story and a little kind of smile to himself.
00:54:20
Speaker
And when those elves left, Did they ch turn back into dolphins? Yep. Yeah, he is taking like a snapshot memory of them in dolphin form and kind of ah really assessing their their visuals for that. And he's just going to spend his time like obviously if he's needed to navigate or if he's needed to kind of be up front or or anything like that, he's obviously got the cane on him. He's got ah pretty decent skills there, but he's going to be inwardly kind of trying to to ah get in touch with his druidic side, shall we say. Yeah. And like, as you're looking out among this drifting garden for
00:55:00
Speaker
period that is invisible range, you see maybe two, three dozen dolphin in that time in similar behavior to these elves, just sort of around that space. So it's kind of fluctuating between the snapshot of those two when they were closer, but also all of these ones that you can see at a distance and you're sort of studying that.
00:55:19
Speaker
and But yes, absolutely. You can observe so dolphins and how they they form and how they behave. Thank you. And that sort of moves out of sight. And I imagine you continue to move parallel to the shoreline again, making sure that you're using that as the point.
00:55:38
Speaker
You reach the point where you're about you're about halfway to Scorch Helm now as you move into early afternoon. And then the weather, the weather begins to almost turn on a knife edge.
00:55:49
Speaker
You got really used to this drizzle, this very constant southwesterly wind. And after in the space, about 15 minutes, the wind begins to die down a little and that there the the drizzle becomes a lot more condensed and you hear the rumbling of thunder.
00:56:07
Speaker
And then you spy the first flash towards the north as a lightning strike ah appears. The weather has changed. The wind's kind of more chaotic and unpredictable, but but thunder and lightning and heavier rain is beginning to conjure up.
00:56:25
Speaker
So anything as a collective you do to prepare the ship under that condition. Yeah. ah So Nyx would just kind of start shouting out, ah we need to furl up the sails on the main mast and the foremast.
00:56:40
Speaker
We need to stop ourselves from moving. If we catch any wayward wind, it will spin us and you don't want to spin the ship. So let's best try and ride this out. We need to get the sails up.
00:56:53
Speaker
Farrakh will take the fishing lines that he was starting to unscramble in preparation for finding a nice tee. He'll take the training dummies that he's been using and he'll just lob them in the cabin and slam the cabin door shut.
00:57:04
Speaker
And we'll then go, what do we, what what do I, tell me what I should do.
00:57:10
Speaker
Sails. Thank you, Alpha. Come with me, Farrakh. And I'm going to escort Farrakh over to Sails. It's like teaching him. oh so If you start to unwrap this rope, you can then use it as a pulley and the Sails will then collapse in on itself. This is what I've learnt.
00:57:27
Speaker
You do the other one. Farrakh will follow instruction. Okay. Generally hoping I got that right. So... ah Lightning continues to strike far more regular over the course of three or four minutes.
00:57:46
Speaker
And it gets to the point where you're in you're in the eye of the storm temporarily and there is lightning all around you.
00:57:56
Speaker
we're going to move into a bit of a skill challenge. So you will already have one success based on the fact that you, you, you pulled those sales up. Okay. But we're going to roll initiative. Um, we're going to follow order, um, skill challenges here can work in a series of ways. You can either elect to pass your turn, but I'm looking for a certain amount passes per round. Okay. So if you feel like you don't have anything beneficial to add that round, then, uh,
00:58:21
Speaker
You could always pass. You could use skills. In place of skills, you could use some sort of magical ability. In place of magical ability, you could use some sort of creative ability. and In place of that, you could use some sort of tool. It's not necessarily bound to a single this skill, but but just an action you do to try and um help the party and the ship's constitution moving through this.
00:58:42
Speaker
You do ascertain Nix from your sort of passive understanding here that you kind of need to just get through this. though The storm will pass, but if you can go in a direction, opposite to the way that the storm is going, you'll get through it quicker. Does that make sense? So if the storm is storm is moving easterly, you know you need to hit head west.
00:58:59
Speaker
ah big You'd be in the danger zone for less time if you could somehow make that happen. Nix's plan is to follow the ah the waves rather than the chaoticness of the wind. The waves are... Then then don't tell me too much now.
00:59:12
Speaker
Okay. Everyone roll initiative, please.
00:59:18
Speaker
Anyone above 25? Anyone
00:59:22
Speaker
above 20? Anyone above 15?
00:59:27
Speaker
and about fifteen I'm 15 on the dot. ah Okay. And above 10? A little bit worried that no one is mentioning anything here.
00:59:38
Speaker
We're all rolled really poorly. Macro are otherwise engaged, so I'm going to bring it on myself. and Number five? i got nine. Yes, I got a six. Wow, guys. I also got a six.
00:59:51
Speaker
I'm guessing... I've got a minus one to my dex. Yeah.
00:59:57
Speaker
I have a plus at the very least. And Tharok, what did you get? rolled a two, which I add two, two, which makes four. Great. Okay. Nyx probably aptly. The stabber system is this back. Nice.
01:00:10
Speaker
ah Top of the round, as it I guess, is the most fitting, really, given your experience here. So how do you respond? Okay. ah So Nyx is steering with the...
01:00:23
Speaker
the movement of the tides, because that's the best way to get motion when you've no longer got your sails. And because the storm is kind of swirling and there's lightning, he's just followed. And because the wind would have been pushing, the tide would have been pushing with the wind.
01:00:39
Speaker
And it's really, the tides won't move that quick. Like the wind does, doesn't switch on a dime. So he's just keeping the ship steady and he's constantly moving with the waves. Okay, so what would be the most appropriate skill? There is pressure against the rudder, so itd be an athletics check to try and how you know provide some counter strength to it.
01:01:00
Speaker
um If there's any other means to try and i follow that, there or if it's actually going to try and study to try and study the the surges in the tide and yeah the wave movement. Okay, go for it, nature check.
01:01:17
Speaker
Because Nyx isn't the most... um I'm going to add my inspiration.
01:01:26
Speaker
What does that do? 1D6, right? one d six on na na na na na na na and and and no no if Someone just won a race. Yeah, hopefully.
01:01:37
Speaker
um That is, I believe, a 14. What did I get on that roll there? Yeah, 14. 14. is a pass thank you very much as you just study and look for the bigger crashes ah to make sure that you are in a prime position where as much surface area of the ship is going to be hit by that bigger crash to help propel you out of that that that danger area uh you're able to just coolly work on that for this round thank you very much bal you're up next cool your entire arsenal doesn't have to be a skill it's not up to you
01:02:12
Speaker
Yeah, Bal doesn't know boats very well. He knows storms quite well. One of the first times the party encountered him, he literally conjured a storm of lightning in itself. um So ah under the survival skill, it explicitly states avoiding natural hazards.
01:02:30
Speaker
And I don't know, maybe I'm stretching it going, is a storm a natural hazard technically in some way? Can I link to this? um So what he's going to do is he is basically going to be keeping eyes on the skies and following the pattern of the clouds, the pattern of strikes of lightning and things like that, because he knows, doesn't need to be a genius to know that lightning plus wood could equals fire.
01:02:51
Speaker
So he's probably going to be nearish to Nyx as well to shout out instructions or or basically guide him from the skies, if that makes sense, but also be on hand to put out fires if they're there. so What I'm hoping for is the ability to make a survival check to do that.
01:03:08
Speaker
um But yeah, in reaction, if there's ah if there are fires, his focus will be there instead. kind of need you to pick a lane there. Are you preparing for the event that fire outbreaks or are you helping Nyx in navigating where the clearest route out of this storm would be based on the skies?
01:03:25
Speaker
The latter, because ah one leads to the other and without one, the other wouldn't necessarily be there. So I'm looking at the skies. i'm looking for the navigation. Okay, go for it, please, then. Roll a survival check. Awesome. ah It was almost incredible. It's a 16.
01:03:40
Speaker
That is a pass. Cool. Yeah, you you see Nick's first to respond is immediately trying to position the boat so that hits certain waves, and you kind of interrupt and say, no no, no, no, you want to make sure that you are propelled in this direction because if you look up in the sky, that you can just see that Klaus Anna is dense. That might be our route out.
01:03:58
Speaker
Perfect. Thank you very much. Alpha, you're up.
01:04:02
Speaker
I think Alpha, after looking at how Nyx has reacted and trying to maybe avoid the wind and follow the waves in this instance, is going to go up and stand by him.
01:04:16
Speaker
Nyx, I believe I might be able to help something with the wind, similar to what I did in the desert.
01:04:26
Speaker
actually a feature. um I'm going to be using the ah storm guide, which basically lets me control the direction of any wind. And I'm going to be kind of just ah following Nix's lead on which direction he wants to lead to the wind to go. So if it's to follow the direction of the ship, it'll be the direction the ship. If it's to try and keep it away from the ship, it'll be away from the ship.
01:04:49
Speaker
um I will say that the wind basically blows in whatever direction Nix tells me until the end of my next turn, which... Didn't matter last time, but it does while we're in an initiative role.
01:05:00
Speaker
So what you'll really be doing there is blowing into the sails to just give you that propulsion. and It's a 100-foot radius sphere around amazing for the wind. that kind of are up Sails are up.
01:05:14
Speaker
ah All sets are up, but you're able to that the wind would still impact the movement of the boat. Yeah, absolutely. Against the hull and stuff, I just wanted to. The ability itself negates the need for a roll, so that's an automatic success in my reading of that. Yeah, boy! Nicely done. that is for one minute that will be beneficial for one minute, but I'll need you in the next round. if we even make it, cause you guys are doing quite well, um, to, to elect for a different approach as well. yeah Thank you so much.
01:05:43
Speaker
That takes us to Emron.
01:05:47
Speaker
Um, I mean, I've got this, uh, everyone's gonna be sort looking around just not sure what to do uh is he sort of gonna sorry i should have prefaced if you pass it is not a fail oh i'm gonna i'm gonna pass then because yeah so i don't know what i'm doing now yeah you rather than feel like you have to risk something if you elect to pass it will not result in a failure well yeah i pass okay
01:06:18
Speaker
so I didn't want to interrupt you mid-flow there, but I wanted to make clear that you did have an option. Well, thank you. Then we go straight to Tharok. Yeah, Tharok is looking around and he, similar to Barl, sees Barl checking the skies and looks that way himself. He also knows storms. He's also provisioned in survival and he's used to often having to stare up at the clouds and track your day through that. He grew up as a Keltrad farmer, so looking up at the clouds and realizing the way they impact your day is something that he's pretty proficient with he's going to take a deep breath and it's going to conjure memories of his younger years and what he's going to do is is he's going channel his rage and he's going to let the rage flow through him and what he's going to do is he's just going to enjoy that and he's going to make a open it look at the sky feel the rain and just
01:07:08
Speaker
This is the first time in my life I've done this for many years. Feel it in his hair and he's just going to shake his hair out. and' be ah ha ha And as he looks at the sky, what he's going to do is he's he's going to also track for survival and he's he's he's tracing lightning. His rage is focusing him in on lightning.
01:07:27
Speaker
I get to use primal knowledge with this if I'm raging, which means I turn it into a strength check, which means I give myself advantage. Okay. So you're looking for lightning strikes. You're studying the pattern. He's right he's literally kind of almost like ah ah like a dog when it watches a ball that's being thrown or kicked. His eyes are just tracking the regular rhythmic timings of this lightning. He's looking for where it's striking, where its potential proximity is. he's he's he's he's He's basically on fire duty. he's He's playing the role of guard dog with this.
01:07:58
Speaker
Okay.
01:08:01
Speaker
So I'm trying to move it from a sentry action.
01:08:08
Speaker
So are you hoping that you study it in preparation of something that comes next? Or are you then converting that that idea of understanding the pattern and then doing something assertive or positive for this moment?
01:08:22
Speaker
it So like Bahl was watching and then advising Nix. what is what is What is your interpretation of that? You're watching and doing what? He's turning around... And keeping an eye on the sails. He's tracking where the lightning is coming. He's he's he's he's learning. He's tracking for danger. okay He's looking for... and So so and make your roll, but I don't think it'll help in any of the past.
01:08:50
Speaker
It won't contribute to this round, but it might give you advantage in the next round if you do something based on this um yeah outcome. Yeah. It was a natural 20 for 26. Cool. Yeah. So you haven't contributed to the passes, but you'll have advantage on your next ability that is a physical response or a decisive response to what you're studying, if that makes sense. You're preparing yourself and taking it and surveying, which I'll put in there.
01:09:15
Speaker
Awesome. Bottom of the round. um While you feel like the wind is now um in your favor, Nick's, right? this The sails are...
01:09:27
Speaker
sails are coiled, you know you're not benefiting from that now favorable wind that Alpha is generating, but you know it's there. You you have a heading, and Baal is advising you based on memorations. You see that the Emron is poised and ready, and um you can see that Tharok is sort of locked into like a tunnel vision.
01:09:45
Speaker
the end of that round, there is just this almighty crash of a wave against the side of the ship that nexted you have sort of prepped, and that the ship almost sort of
01:09:55
Speaker
tilts to about a 30 degree angle and you just hear two plops, one on the starboard, one on the port side of the ship, one much lighter than the other. You look around and Seth and Nidravar have fallen into the sea.
01:10:11
Speaker
They fell from the crow's nest. Emron, as someone who passed, I'll give you a chance to do a reaction um should you wish to do anything in this moment.
01:10:23
Speaker
ah Yes. If I can see some like coils of of rope and that kind of stuff nearby, I'm going to try and throw the rope ah into the water where Seth went.
01:10:40
Speaker
Cool. Make an athletics check for me, please.
01:10:50
Speaker
throw it in with as much strength as you can. It lands about 10 feet from Seth and Seth has to sort of spend the next round trying to swim desperately towards it while we see what everyone else wants to do. But you've primed that for for other people to maybe sort of watch and see.
01:11:05
Speaker
Thank you.
01:11:08
Speaker
It is the next round. You've all seen your ally fall a great height into the sea. Nyx, you're feeling that wind pick up and Alpha, you're really concentrating on that. Tharuk, your eyes are locked into the sky. Perhaps you didn't really see what was going on around you in that moment with Seth.
01:11:23
Speaker
Top the round, Nyx, what are you doing now? Some decisions to make. Yeah, so as soon as he sees that shape kind of leave the crow's nest, it's natural for him to shout out to the group, Man overboard!
01:11:35
Speaker
um just from years of that shit happening from getting drunk on the Esmeralda. It was often him falling overboard. He's going to, as his hand twirls with the rudder wheel, ah he's going to place one of his hands on top of the other, on top of the ring of foresight, which was given to him by old gal. And in one movement, he's just going rub the top of his palm over the top of the ring and cast, um, augury.
01:12:01
Speaker
And, uh, in doing so, i don't need to expend a spell slot for it. yeah And I want to, uh, use augury to kind of in a similar way where I highlighted in Tetris style back in the, uh, the pyramid where the spikes weren't on the tiles.
01:12:23
Speaker
He wants a clear path, just for a moment in front of him where he's steering the ship.
01:12:42
Speaker
And for a second, everything begins to slow, like it does when the spider who swims tries to make direct contact with you. You see everyone around you responding to the call of man overboard as Emron is desperately trying to pull his friend back up.
01:12:58
Speaker
Baal looks down. Theral continues to focus on the skies. Alpha is sort of trying to continue to give that favorable wind... You just look in the horizon and there is this meandering snake-like purple bioluminescent light.
01:13:15
Speaker
The chart has a set course southwest through this for about a quarter of a mile at best. And then it just stops. Awesome.
01:13:26
Speaker
You see that for about 12-ish seconds.
01:13:32
Speaker
everyone else that's time is six seconds that makes sense and that's your turn but that's my turn i will follow that luminescent path and i'll count that as a pass uh thanks old gal gift that keeps giving uh does it look like seth is gonna grab the ring rope as in the rubber ring The rubber ring rope. rope. The rope. The rope. The rope. The rubber. Yes.
01:14:01
Speaker
I threw the rubber rope. The rubber rope. How rubbery. It looks like he will struggle. Cool. That's your best um reading with your passive perception.
01:14:16
Speaker
Okay. Barl's going to quickly scan his eyes. This is semi-subconsciously quickly for any other boats in the vicinity. There are none.
01:14:28
Speaker
Cool. He's going to ah look back to Nyx and say, hopefully it doesn't fuck up this time, and he's going to launch himself off the boat. Okay.
01:14:40
Speaker
In direction of Seth. In the direction of Seth. And as you leap... Form of giant crocodile. Nice. You wild shape. One giant is a large crocodile.
01:14:55
Speaker
And yes, you land straight next to, belly flop almost, next to Seth. Yeah, nailed it. is there anything else you want to do? Action grapple? Mm-hmm. um If I can, i ah he if he's willing to be grappled He will be willing Crocobile Then yeah, Crocobile has got a good swim speed So we'll obviously won't necessarily be able to keep keep up with the boat for now But we'll be tail ruddering hard And he'll probably as well snarl at Nithravar and just completely ignore him Nithravar was on the other side of the ship
01:15:29
Speaker
Oh, amazing. In which case, brilliant. Fuck that thing. ah he's Yeah, he's got he's got Seth and he is paddling hard back towards said boat. He can't do anything else this turn, but as long as he's got Seth yeah and in his mouth. you're You're also within range of the rope too, so it's sort of around you.
01:15:45
Speaker
Ah, but he's got he's he's used his action to grapple, bonus action to wild shape. A little little crocodile hand might not be able to get the rope. um If it can, if crocodile you You can swim swim adjacent to it, I'll say. Then yes, yeah I'll do that for now.
01:16:01
Speaker
ah He'll just swim adjacent to it. That's me. That's me. So last round, what you were doing was really useful to Nix in helping him understand the landscape because he hasn't got that information now.
01:16:13
Speaker
That's going to count as a fail. Excellent word, me. Nick's over the course of you casting this spell and trying to learn your your um safest route out. You've also then lost the person who's steering you in live time.
01:16:27
Speaker
like you've got your You've got your long-term objective that Augury has given you, but your short-term um support goes in order to save Seth, but it will count as a fail. Such wisdom, much wise. Alpha. Alpha.
01:16:42
Speaker
What would you like to do? it are you you're concentrating you concentrating on this ability, or is it just you have control of that wind direction now? ah What's wording for it, don't we? Double check if it's not concentration, but otherwise you're free. not concentration.
01:16:57
Speaker
um then Then you are free then to to offer your next action.
01:17:04
Speaker
Yeah, it just says the wind blows in that direction until the end of my next turn. so um I will just do one final kind of push in but whatever direction the ship is going for the direction of the wind, just to try and give it a final bolster.
01:17:20
Speaker
and And Alpha's priority is going to be Crocoball and Seth at this stage. Although I think Balfin would have been much more helpful rather than Crocoball.
01:17:32
Speaker
I can't do Balfin yet. I can long rest. Yeah.
01:17:39
Speaker
He's not got anything that would really be able to help, uh, ball or Seth grab onto the rope. So it's going to be kind of poised where was going to try and take one end, wrap it around himself, tie it to himself. Cause I am a weight by myself anyway.
01:18:01
Speaker
And then I'm going to be kind of, This could end up very poorly. Gesturing over to the ship, to Baal and Seth, look, I've got the rope here. yeah I've lifted up the rope. I'm pointing at the rope and I'm gesturing like I'm ready to pull for when they grab.
01:18:15
Speaker
And Emron will have one part of it too, but you're just adding additional counterweight. Yeah. yeah additional but Great. i don't I don't think that necessarily needs a check. I think it's poised for a check depending on what Bal and yeah so Seth would do next turn. Could be a reaction type. I would say anything involving the physical... and Anything involving a strength-based action next turn, you will have a vantage on based on the fact that you're preparing yourself now, if that makes sense.
01:18:44
Speaker
Yes. Great. Absolutely. Okay. We are on to Emron. Emron, you you threw out this line. There is now a crocodile next the line and Seth... um I'd say you guys can have it in your hand, but but what are you doing back on deck, Emron?
01:18:58
Speaker
um ah How far away are the various people in the rest of the party from me? Well, Alpher is pretty much next to you. Darok is at best 10 feet from you.
01:19:09
Speaker
Nyx will still be on the quarter deck, holding onto the rudder. Baal and Seth are in the water about 20 feet below you. How far away Nyx? About 20 feet to your right, to your east. Cool.
01:19:22
Speaker
I'm going to cast Bless. Okay. To help people with their saving throws. um So I'm going to cast it at second level. And I'm going to cast Bless on Alpha, Nyx, Tharok, and Baal as my four targets.
01:19:38
Speaker
Great. So we all get to add a D4 to the attack rolls. Not relevant, but saving f throws. Yeah. We get to add it to saving throws. And so Elmron sort of calls down a prayer of Aledo and just asks Aledo to guide them through ah this and their protection on things.
01:19:55
Speaker
If Alpha's going stick his somewhat finger at the air, then he won't get blessed. And that's how that shit happens. like sorry dad Nice. ah yeah Thank you. It will not count as a pass. It will not count as a fail. But you again, you've primed people.
01:20:09
Speaker
So we'll end the round on Therok.
01:20:15
Speaker
um Is Farrakh aware now that someone's overboard? Yeah, you would have heard the call.
01:20:21
Speaker
Farrakh will turn. He'll bonus action, just keep his adrenaline, his momentum going. And he'll come over to the but rope. And just if he can get a big hand on it as well, he's going to just help pull up these people when they're ready to be pulled up.
01:20:38
Speaker
Okay, so we're at that point. I would say naturally... just swimming, your hand will be like touching the the the rope anyway.
01:20:49
Speaker
So, end of the round. Emron, Therok, and Alpha, can you all make athletics checks? Therok and Alpha will be at advantage to yank a giant crocodile out of the sea.
01:21:06
Speaker
I will clarify, I also have to roll with disadvantage, because I'm still not proficient with my armor, so it's only going to be one. Great, straight roll. so I have a combined total in my head. If you meet it, you manage to pull a very big crocodile and your friend Seth out of the water.
01:21:20
Speaker
Farok rolls 22. Farok just single Alpha gets 14.
01:21:27
Speaker
em emron got seventeen alpha gets fourteen Alpha, your roll was redundant because these two hit really hit hit the value I needed. And you watch as you all three in complete unison like a well-oiled machine pull one strategic pull out.
01:21:46
Speaker
And Barl, you're almost like propelled. I need you to make a strength saving throw for me, please. Don't forget to add you plus four. Plus one d four Crocaball's got 15 strength, which is better than mine.
01:21:59
Speaker
So I'll roll it with a random thing that's already plus two. And that's a 12 without bless. So going to put the bless on top of that. And that makes it a tasty 14. Oh, wait, no, shit. Can't do maths. sixteen 16.
01:22:13
Speaker
Great. Yeah, you manage to avoid inflicting any injury from this sort of real rush of force that youre you are you are caught in almost. And this giant crocodile lands on deck with a very wet seth.
01:22:31
Speaker
He'll release it from his mouth and just kind of kind of spit it out and still is a big crocodile in Baal's
Smooth Sailing and Unexpected Bumps
01:22:36
Speaker
voice. You'll hear, I was going to do the wings thing. You didn't need to do that. I was going to do the flying fucking dragon.
01:22:42
Speaker
You know, I caused a big fuck up last time. i was going to make it right with, oh, never mind.
01:22:51
Speaker
Worst day ever.
01:22:56
Speaker
ah Worst day of your life, you might say. Worst day of his life. As we end that round, Nix, you are able to follow the course that you charted using the propulsion coming from Callum's controlled wind.
01:23:10
Speaker
You get halfway towards that that quarter of mile and already you're feeling the benefit of that. The storm is dissipating. It is behind you. You no longer feel threatened.
01:23:23
Speaker
That was a complete success. One failure in all of that. And that was to distract yourself to to go and save Seth. So well done all. Mark's welcome. We didn't let Seth drown because that have been really awkward. Look at us, guys. We're like a proper team.
01:23:40
Speaker
And now that the unfavorable wind has been corrected by Alpha. You said it was about an hour. Alpha, you can control this for if I read that right or a minute. but a I just basically choose the direction every round so I can just keep doing it. out Continuously.
01:23:56
Speaker
Continuously. There's no limit to it. It's ridiculous. You are the best thing to have on a ship. My entire wind table is entirely redundant because you can control it. yeah What a knob. Which is great. I mean, you've just got to stay in sorcerer form forever, right?
01:24:13
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Great. And you progress now for about another hour as you're approaching mid-afternoon.
01:24:25
Speaker
And all of a sudden, Nix, as everyone goes back to that peaceful peace state they were in for most of the morning sailing before you hit that patch of stormy weather,
01:24:41
Speaker
something Something knocks really heavy into the side of the boat.
01:24:49
Speaker
and Into the port side of the boat.
01:24:54
Speaker
Only you feel this. What do you like do? It feel from the hull, lower down? From the outside of the ship, almost. from the outside of the ship.
01:25:07
Speaker
Yeah. who's Is anyone next to me? anyone man in the rudder? The last we left, you would be on the rudder wheel. On the tiller, to be a bit of a thing. Oh.
01:25:19
Speaker
ah Or the helm. Emron. Yo. I'm listening.
01:25:31
Speaker
so It's a long ship. It takes a while for messages to carry, for so sound barriers and such. Just hold the wheel for a second, please. ah Okay. Everyone sort of comes up and his big hand sort of hold the wheel just like this. Just like that, my friend. You look mag-fucking-nificent right now.
01:25:50
Speaker
I just need to go and slash over the side of the ship, if you know what I mean. And Nix is going to make his way to port side where he felt, or he believes he felt the bump. and um Keep it steady!
01:26:04
Speaker
Do I want to piss on my boots? And look down.
01:26:10
Speaker
and as you look down, you just peer over the edge. You just see... By the way, I am going for it. This very um quick moving projectile coming towards you. i need to make a dexterity saving throw. it
01:26:26
Speaker
oh no. I shouldn't... Dick back. Dick back. Dick back. No, this is this is about an hour afterwards. No. No.
01:26:34
Speaker
oh ah next Why, Nix? Why? Six. We have got travel dice. You could spend a travel dice. you don't die this singular that it's not like a vet It's not a group thing. This is a Nix thing.
01:26:50
Speaker
Six. Yep.
01:26:53
Speaker
Don't chop it off.
01:26:56
Speaker
A Kraken. I can regrow it, right? ah reboin so um mend it right mending Mending. You mend wood.
01:27:08
Speaker
ah Carve your wooden dick.
01:27:12
Speaker
If it's dead, I can revive it. The Aerith version of a strap-on. This... The Emron. Harpoon. This coral-encrusted purple and blue harpoon just hits you square into the shoulder and you sustain five points of piercing damage. Mother! And as you put your hand on that harpoon to remove it, you look...
01:27:36
Speaker
at the the craft of this harpoon and it is was was once wooden is now rotten through and has sort of shells and kelp and anemones and all sorts of like coral life um binding it now.
01:27:52
Speaker
And it has that like crusty, rocky like texture of of um of coral reef that sort of crumbles as you you put some pressure under it.
01:28:03
Speaker
As you yank that out immediately, you know what is attempting to board the ship. It's up to you whether you announce this to the rest of the crew, but you are being boarded by deep sea reavers.
01:28:18
Speaker
And that is where we're going to end this week's episode of the Fellowship the Tabletop, Bellum Draconis.
Reflecting on the Episode and Audience Engagement
01:28:24
Speaker
Oh! Did I get my dick back in my pants? Asking the big questions or the little questions.
01:28:30
Speaker
That's what everyone wants to know. oh no! Oh, no. Oh, I'm glad that I'm the one who elected to go and take a look rather than send ah send someone to have a look.
01:28:43
Speaker
Oh, my. I loved that. I loved that whole episode. I felt feel free. It was good. Oh, um amazing. um And I got to say a little story in the in the middle of it.
01:28:56
Speaker
Wrote it myself. can't believe you came that yourself just off the top of your head. It's amazing. Yeah. so chat gtp guys this this is an incredible dnd tool if you're not using it use it like it is it is amazing especially when you have friends like callum in the group that you know as soon as he says oh no we have someone who could come up with stories i'm already typing ah can you please write me a story because i was trying to get there before he did it i know what was coming um you just have to remember parts of your backstory to fill in the blanks
01:29:32
Speaker
On that fair weathered note, my friends, ah thank you for tuning in listening, making us a part your everyday week. Welcome to the seas. Hopefully you enjoyed our little piratey adventure.
01:29:43
Speaker
If you wanted to keep in touch with the podcast, we have many ways. The best way is through our main website, which is fellowshipatthetabletop.co.uk. And then if you wanted to hit us up individually, you can do so.
01:29:58
Speaker
ah Will we have some other social medias before I go down the Donald Trump line? We've got um ah Fellowship Tabletop on Blue Sky. Let's just search Fellowship Tabletop and you'll find us.
01:30:11
Speaker
And then we've got our Facebook page, which is the Fellowship of the Tabletop. We're consistent with our naming. Yeah, man. It's good. If you Google us, we are like the first hit on all of Google now. So fuck you, Peter Jackson.
01:30:23
Speaker
But we are next. You can follow us individually you want to I'm at iRoll1. Darren's at. Darren Page 06. Will is at.
01:30:35
Speaker
Fellowship MBCBC. Beautiful Pooh Bear is at. Natural 20, Will.
01:30:44
Speaker
Callum's out. The D20. He's such a pie-smashing motherfucker! And our VIP of D&D, Dungeon Master Danny, can be found out.
01:30:55
Speaker
Total Party Thrills. Until next time, guys. Blow holes!