Transcriber: thedreadbiter
Austin: Welcome to Live at the Table, an Actual Play live stream focused on critical worldbuilding, smart characterization, and fun interaction between good friends, I am your host, Austin Walker. Joining me today, Janine Hawkins.
Janine: Hey, I’m Janine Hawkins. I’m at bleatingheart on Twitter, and also on Youtube, where I’ve been playing Dragon’s Dogma this month, and that’s been fun.
Austin: That’s true. That’s been fun. Uh, Sylvi Clare.
Sylvia: Hey, I’m Sylvi, you can find me on Twitter at sylvisurfer, and you can listen to my other podcast Emojidrome wherever you get your podcasts.
Austin: And Keith Carberry.
Keith: Hi, my name’s Keith J Carberry, you can find me on Twitter at keithjcarberry, and you can find the Let’s Plays that I do at youtube.com/RunButton.
Austin: Mm. I was taking a sip of coffee. [laughs] Today, we are kicking off our game of Quest in the campaign we’re calling the Grand Tableau. Quest is a game designed by TC Sottek, and I don’t have a list of principles as such, because the game doesn’t quite lay them out, and I didn’t have the time to kind of go through and kind of cobble them together. But you know! We’re gonna make sure everyone at the table is safe, we’re gonna play to find out what happens. Draw maps, leave blank spaces, et cetera. Um, and speaking of those, speaking of blank spaces, let me start by setting up a little bit about what this game today is. For people who missed, I guess, the previous episode, the character creation episode, we’re gonna be playing a game called Quest, and in this game, we’re playing in a world called Tableau, which is sort of an amalgamation of a bunch of different Live at the Table games that we’ve done before, including Downfall, Skeletons, Stewpot — Shooting the Moon? Shoot the Moon? Shooting the Moon?
Janine: I think it’s Shooting.
Austin: Shooting the Moon.
Keith: I think it’s Shooting.
Austin: Uh, Bell Songs, Spoken Magic, I feel like I’m missing one. Uh, Beak, Feather and Bone. I’m looking at the map and realizing the ones that I’ve missed.
Janine: Did you say Stewpot?
Austin: Stewpot, for sure, yeah, I think I said.
Janine: Golden Sky Stories.
Austin: Golden Sky Stories! That’s the one I’m missing, yes, ‘cause that’s up there too. Um, and all of that is kind of coming together in sort of a world that has the sort of lightness and weird kind of inconsistencies of an MMO, of like a fantasy MMO or a game like Genshin Impact, or something in that sort of space. And instead of playing the kind of adventuring heroes coming in from out of the world to kind of reclaim some vague, you know, imperial right or whatever else MMOs tend to do with your characters very quietly, everyone is playing characters who are from this world, and have joined a group called the Conservatory, which is a group that is sent around the world to investigate, you know, strange magical occurrences, stuff that has to do with the new arrivals of this group called the Vivants, who are the kind of ostensible — I mean, for the people who are playing — who are living in this world, they’re strangers who’ve come in from the mists that obscure, you know, strange places in the world, obscure the edge of the world’s map, they’ve arrived, you know, by cart and by boat, and have begun doing adventuring of their own, and for y’all, you’re like bumping up against them, often, and — but also just dealing with the problems of the world and that is what has brought you to our kind of starting point here today.
You are in Vyrd, which is this big huge green kind of almost Y-shaped region at the center of Tableau, the name of the continent here. And from the breakfast smells of the United Hamlettes in the top and the northwest to the deep depths of the jungle of the Panther Queen, from the cool drinks at The Topside in the northeast to the terrible heat of the Crystalline Forest in the south, Vyrd is filled with the breath of life and culture and magic that is vivid as the kind of green pastures of its vast plains. We pick up, I’d say probably here on the eastern side of the Titansteeth Range, which is a mountain range that runs kind of from the north-center of Vyrd down to about where Sparrowsong is in Seare, this kind of like — kind of diagonal line across the middle of the region, from there to there. And on the eastern side of it, among one of the many foothills and valleys that make up the area around the edge of this mountain range, there is this little — a little town called Pacina, P-A-C-I-N-A, which is known for [laughs] just kind of being a quaint little place. There’s a mix of people there. Mostly human. There are… I’d say the kind of big things there are there’s a lot of farms there, that provide a lot of basic grains that turn into breads and other sorts of, yknow, basic foodstuffs.
Keith: Cereal.
Austin: Cereals, yeah, exactly. And then also, up in the mountains a little bit, is a bath. [muffled coughs in background] There is like an ancient bath that is, I don’t wanna say it’s a resort destination, my guess is there are other, better places to go to, but it’s sort of like… not quite a claim to fame, but it would show up on the brochure. You know what I mean? It’s like, oh, and there’s baths here, that’s nice! Presumably connected to some sort of hot spring, and that’s the kind of basic picture of what’s up there. The thing is, and I’ll move you over to this very rough Roll 20 map of the area, that if you take a look here, you can see that there is this kind of mountain on the left, mountain on the right, we’re looking straight down [laughs] at this area. Most of the town is inside of this big blue square, now. And that is because, about a week ago, in a freak overnight event, the town flooded.
The river does not seem like it has changed direction at all, as far as anyone can tell, there was no sound of thunder or lightning, there was no storm. But nearly half — more than half of the town’s densest area was put under the water, and it still is, and recovering from it still, lots of people’s stuff was damaged, the water is slowly kind of draining, both you know further down towards where the river line is and then also jus like into the soil. But lots of people’s lives here have been tossed and overturned in some way. They are, you know, hopeful that they’ll be able to return to their lives soon, but the mysterious kind of circumstances of the disaster make them worried that you know, who knows when the next strange magical flood will hit, or they’re assuming it’s magical. And so the Conservatory has sent you three here to investigate it.
You know, there doesn’t seem to be any [sighs]... You know, this is not a VIP situation, [laughs] this is not like a — it’s not a town of tens of thousands or more, there aren’t any great magical artifacts nearby, and so as a kind of fresh cohort from the Conservatory, who all have your own histories before joining this group, they find that this is like a good-enough first assignment for y’all. And speaking of y’all, we should go over your characters one more time before we kind of jump into it, so let’s start, Janine, tell me about your character.
Janine: Yeah! I am playing as Odette Van Ives.
Austin: Actually, yeah, do you wanna just read the profile sheet again so that we all have all of that info in our brains?
Janine: Yeah. I’m also retconning Odette Van Ives to have a space between the Van and Ives, instead of no space.
Austin: Okay. Gotcha.
Janine: Okay. Hello!
Austin: Still a Christmas spy, though.
Janine: [laughs] Yeah, still a Christmas spy, spoilers.
Austin: Oh, sorry.
Janine: My name is Odette Van Ives. She/they. I’m 28 years old and stand 5 foot 8 inches tall. I’m the party’s spy. When people see me, they first notice my willowy frame, wind-burned face, and flawless poise. I wear high-waisted fitted black stirrup pants, a cropped gigot-sleeve jacket/blouse, and move with an effortless glide. I’m from the Marchmont Mountains / a mountain town, where my people are known for their unhurried sense of time. I believe in compassion, but my indulgent side can get in my way. I dream of becoming a master performer/artisan.
Austin: Um, all right. Let’s go up the list here, Keith, you have a name now, which is exciting. Tell me about your character.
Keith: I do, yeah. I did notice that I’m missing my dream, which I am pretty sure that I wrote in, but I’m just wrong.
Austin: Do you remember what it is?
Keith: I’ll have to figure it out. I was about to open the book and grab it, which I can do later, or I can go after Sylvi if we want.
Sylvia: I can go first if you wanna do that.
Austin: All right! Yeah, Sylvi, let’s go with you then.
Sylvia: Okay! Hello! My name is Mana Mixup. She/her pronouns. I’m 29 years old and stand 5 foot 1 inches tall. I’m the party’s magician. When people see me, they first notice my sparkling eyes, mischievious grin, and my bat wings :).
Austin: Smiley face.
[Keith laughs]
Sylvia: I wear a pointed hat — yep! — well-kept robes, and move with a self-assured stride. I’m from a place I can’t name, where my people are known for a culture of secrecy.
[Austin laughs]
Sylvia: I believe in pleasure, but my overeager side can get in my way. I dream of being a world-famous illusionist.
Austin: Amazing. Keith, did you find your dream?
Keith: No! I’m seeing ones that I remember thinking were good… I’ll get there. I’ll just start.
Austin: I am — why do I not remember? People in the chat might remember, also.
Keith: Yeah, it’s totally possible that someone else remembers. Um. I remember seeing “sparking an idea that transforms the world,” I remember noting that one.
Austin: I do remember that.
Keith: I remember, maybe that was it, but I don’t know, I remember thinking that I wanted to change it. But I could have sworn that I had one. Um. God, this one, “having my name spoken by my leader,” that’s a little low.
Austin: [laughs] Well, it depends on like how big the place is and how, you know, how vast the…
Keith: Just spoken, though?
Austin: Yeah, I guess…
Keith: Like it could be like, March Manera is a dumb-ass.
Austin: That, I guess that is what could [laughs], that could happen. But that’s fun.
Keith: Dream accomplished! [laughs]
Austin: Um, anyway, go ahead and read the rest of your thing.
Keith: Hello! My name is March Manera. He/him. I am 62 years old and stand 6 feet 4 inches tall. I am the party’s invoker. When people see me, they first notice my willowy frame, laughing eyes, and air of mystery. I wear a fluttering cape, a tarnished ring and move with a spring in my step. I’m from a city in the mist, where my people are known for their sense of duty to each other. I believe in salvation, but my distractibility can get in my way. I dream of something.
Austin: Uh, a-large-fruit-salad says, Mana Mixup erased Keith’s character’s dream, and that sounds familiar to me in a way that is strange and unsettling!
Keith: It’s because someone else last session said Mana Mixup erased… my character’s name.
Sylvia: I don’t know any erasing spells yet.
Austin: Okay. Uh-huh!
Sylvia: So, I don’t like these unfounded accusations.
Keith: Right, but it was just a mix-up, you didn’t do it on purpose.
Austin: Right, it was a mix-up, yeah, perfect.
Sylvia: God.
Austin: Um. Well, you should figure out your dream.
Keith: Yeah, fair.
Austin: Uh, and when it’s time…
Keith: There’s a lot more than I thought.
Austin: Yeah, that’s fair. So! We pick up at the edge of this town, you know, y’all can kind of tell me a little bit about how you go about this investigation, I’ll give you a little more color here, which is that in the time since the flood, as people are still kind of trying to get back into the town to get their stuff, to try to see the degree of the damage, and honestly just to kind of recover and rest, you know, I think that there is a real sense of like the community has come together here. A lot of people are staying with their neighbors, who have homes above the waterline, or have moved into a sort of ad-hoc town of tents and stuff. The weather here is really nice, so there’s lots of people who just like sleep outside on the ground at night right now, because of the disaster. You know, they don’t have to worry about things getting too cold at night or anything like that. And in general, the atmosphere is mostly pretty positive. I think, you know, you see a lot of people who are trying their best to just focus on getting back to normal, versus people who are trying to like — there aren’t — most people are being like really… It’s fine that the world has paused right now, you know what I mean, like that’s sort of the vibe. It’s not a lot of people who are like hurrying to get back to work. Those who’ve lost a lot of things, which is the majority of people, are focused on caring for the people who feel like they’ve lost more than even them, and I think it speaks to, as you kind of move through this kind of area where all of the people who’ve lost their homes are, I think it speaks to the kind of tight-knit community here, to see everyone taking care of each other and pouring each other soup and helping people carry stuff and dry stuff out and go through stuff together. You know, people are grieving from having lost stuff, as happens in any disaster, but that sense of community is really bright, here. Um. What’re y’all looking for, or doing, or what is your first step here? Who takes the lead?
Keith: Could I get a, just real quick again, what — so this flood has happened here, we have been sent out. What is our thing?
Austin: Yep. You wanna figure out where the flood came from, because it didn’t seem like it stormed [slight laugh], the water didn’t seem to have shown up from the main river line here.
Keith: Right.
Austin: So it seems as if something broke bad and it’s not clear what. And there’s just not any — as far as you know, this is not a precedented thing, right? This isn’t like oh, yeah, on really bad winters, the snow builds up at the top of the mountain and do-do-do-do.
Austin: Like this has never happened in the history of this town, it’s been built in such a position to be safe from that exact sort of thing, y’know? Or safe enough, you know, comparatively.
Keith: Right.
Austin: I can give you a little bit more in terms of just who’s in town, if that gives you a little bit of a starting point. I think you very quickly get the sense that there are kind of a — I don’t wanna give you too many names, right off the bat, but basically there’s like a blacksmith who has kind of, thankfully, her workshop was not in the flood, and so she has kind of converted that into a space where she can help start to build things for people, or even just like getting spikes made to spike down tents, stuff like that.
Keith: And people sit near the forge.
Austin: They sit near the forge to stay warm, et cetera. Giving people stuff to do, just like hey, bring me this, just to like, hey do you want to fill your day with something and feel a little bit like you’re helping, totally. There is a community gardener who runs a little community garden that’s separate from the kind of big farm fields, where he grows like you know, tomatoes and herbs and smaller vegetables that get used in the kind of — they tend to be used in kind of big community events, for like big stews! You know what I mean? But also helps just — it’s not just that he’s the gardener, it’s also that he’s kind of the garden administrator, it’s a community garden so people can come and make their own — plant their own little, you know, crops for their home and their own personal use, and he makes sure that they’re like taken care of and stuff like that.
There is a bartender and dancer, who is doing their best to keep spirits up. Knows everybody in the town, that sort of vibe.
And then I’d say there are kind of two powerful figures in terms of what look like they have outsized influence — or not influence so much as stature, they hold themselves with that. There is a prioress, there is a kind of religious leader here, who is flanked by a pair of monks. Um. And she is in kind of… I would say kind of like blue- and copper-colored, and white-colored robes, like white is the base and then kind of blue color and copper color as accents. And then she has kind of like two extremely cut monk bodyguards with her.
And then there is a very fancy looking I’d say middle-aged dude in a fancy vest with a puffy shirt who you have to assume is the person who lives in that big manor on the hill to the northeast. You would probably even know that that is the viscount, Viscount Verona, who is the kind of like local leader of — like, technical ruler of this area. But you don’t necessarily know any more details than that. But, again, he’s just like walking around, talking to people. He does not seem to be removed from this community in that way.
Keith: Okay. My first instinct is to find someone who saw the flood as it was like happening.
Austin: Totally. Um. I think that you probably know enough then to — given that, I think your gut is to talk to the bartender, who likely was awake…
Keith: Up late, yeah.
Austin: Up late, and probably sober, because they were running their bar at that point, right. Probably has, if theyve been running this bar for a while, which they have, they probably know enough to keep — to kind of keep their head on a swivel, and stay aware of the situation. Um. I think you see them kind of working at an ad-hoc grill right now, kind of making like shish kabob type things, kind of like meat and vegetables and stuff on skewers, and…. they have kind of blue hair, with bangs and it’s a little, it’s like puffy-curly situation. Brown skin, and are very busy, like, have the sort of like apron that is, you know looked really good four days ago [slight laugh] but has been wearing it every day and has been like wiping their hands on it, and they are clearly like committed to just doing this work and getting it done right now. Their name is Gallon. I think that they look up at you and they go, um, what do they say? They say [laughs].
[as Gallon]: Do you want pork or pepper?
Sylvia [as Mana]: Can I get one of each?
Gallon: No, it’s only — right now, we only have enough for one per person, I’m sorry.
Mana: [quietly] Okay. Can one of you guys get the other type that I want? If I get pork, can one of you guys get pepper, and then I’ll just take it?
Austin: [laughs] Wow!
Mana: Is that okay? I really wanna try both.
Keith [as March]: I wanted —
Janine [as Odette]: What kind of pepper is it?
March: I wanted pork. Wait! I didn’t want anything!
Austin: [laughs] Yeah, wait, that’s not why you’re here! Um. They go, ah.
Gallon: Uh. Pork. Pepper.
Austin: And it’s like peppers, it’s like, you know, red peppers, green peppers. It’s actually probably a mix of peppers, including some spicy peppers, some very not spice — some sweet peppers, it’s like a pepper skewer, it’s delicious. Uh, I think holds up then one of each and says —
Gallon: Take what you need, as long as it’s only one of each.
Mana: Thank you!
Sylvia: And I take both.
Janine: I think — Odette— yeah, I was gonna say, Odette like looks disappointed the second that she sees it’s like peppers, like red and green peppers, not red and green like peppermints.
Austin: Uh-huh.
Janine: Or something.
Austin: Great. [laughs]
Janine: And then I think gets one — I was gonna say gets one from Millie. Uh-uh, wrong game.
Austin: Nope! Wrong game.
Sylvia: Different M name.
Janine: [laughing] Gets one from the…
Austin: Different M, uh-huh.
Keith: So, wait. I just wanna be clear that the Christmas elf considers peppermint a kind of pepper.
[Austin laughs]
Janine: I’m not an elf!
Keith: The Christmas spy, sure. Sorry.
Janine: I’m a human. I just think you can’t… say pepper and then not have a question. For Odette. It’s fine, it’s a throwaway joke, we don’t have to dwell on it.
Austin: No, I think we’re gonna stay here for a little bit longer, anyone else have any peppermint material?
[Keith and Janine laugh]
Austin: Um. They say —
Janine: Strangely enough, they do sell one that’s pillow mints, those little like weird like chalky ones.
Keith: Ugh.
Austin: Those are good, I like those.
Janine: Ah…
Austin: I’m a fucking fiend, I’ll eat up one of those. Those good.
[Janine laughs]
Sylvia: You can have ‘em.
Austin: I will. Um.
Janine: Yeah, I’ll get you one of those.
Austin: [laughs] They say —
Gallon: Three of you aren’t from around here, huh? I’m not gonna take the skewers back, but —
Mana: What gave it away?
Gallon: Yeah, well. Asking what type of peppers, everyone here knows what type of peppers we have. Ah. Can I help you, is there anything—
Austin: And like goes over and turns some skewers and puts some, you know, other ones on the grill.
March: We’re here, we were sent by the Conservatory, the Conservatory, about the flood.
Austin: They’re like turning the name over in their head, like —
Gallon: I think I’ve heard of that. Are you like some sort of, what are you, researchers? What are you, like weather people?
March: Yeah. We’re some sort of researchers, I think.
Austin: Looks at the other two of you.
Keith: I also do.
Sylvia: I’m busy eating, so —
Odette: Research takes a lot of forms.
Austin: [laughing] Fucking— good, researchers, yeah, good. Um.
Gallon: Well, um, right now I think the big thing we’ve learned is that, uhhh, it’s the basics, you know? Water showed up, it ruined a lot of people’s stuff, we’re doing our best to figure out what comes next. Uh. Sorry.
March: Well, the reason we’re out here is that we had heard that it was — it wasn’t — that a basic flood is already not basic. For this area.
Gallon: I mean, I guess that's — I’ve never —
March: And it didn’t seem like it came from the river.
Gallon: Yeah. Normally… I’ve been here a while, the river’s flooded a few times. Normally it means the south end of town, occasionally, will get some water damage. Every few years, maybe. This… I was at the bar late, and I heard coming down the mountain… The way they talk about avalanches in stories, a rumble. But not in the town, not above the town, like in the distance. And then it was here, like nothing. Any of y’all ever been to the ocean?
[pause]
Mana: Yeah.
March: Yeah.
Gallon: It was like that, it was more like an o — you know what I mean? It was like, pssshw, and then it kind of just settled here, in the middle, and that, yknow.
Odette: And the water level didn’t keep filling up, or… It just sort of…
Gallon: No…
Odette: It was like a burst?
Gallon: It was like a burst, it happened real quick. … It was like, one second everything was fine, and then within two minutes, three minutes, everything was — you know, it wasn’t instant, but… I know how long it takes to pour a drink, y’know?
March: … Faster than it seems possible, to get that much water into a place?
Austin: They nod, they say —
Gallon: Again, I’m not a weather researcher like you are, but, um, that’s, yeah. We’ve had bad rain before, you know?
March: Yeah.
Gallon: Anyway.
March: Did anyone see it recede?
Gallon: Oh, everybody, over the last couple of days it is receding, now, but we just don’t know if it’s gonna happen again. We don’t know why it happened, I… at this point we’re just trying to figure out… Just trying to figure out what comes next. I think there are some people who are a little angry. I know some folks are starting to try to figure out what happened and I’ve heard some people talking about the prioress, Prioress Fen, who used to live up at the bath. And I don’t know. It seems like BS to me, but I get it, you lose everything, you wanna know why. Thankfully, the viscount has already, um, started to offer to move some folks into the manor. I don’t know if that’s a permanent situation or what. Thankfully, you know, my home wasn’t hit in this, but, um. I think that’s keepin a lot of people calm. Knowing that the viscount is looking out for them.
Keith: Out of character.
Austin: Yeah.
Keith: But when you keep saying prioress, I keep hearing prior arrest.
Austin: [laughs] Uh-huh! Good. Yeah. She’s got her priors.
[pause]
Keith: What is a prioress? I don’t even know what a prioress is.
Austin: Do you know, uh, what a priory is?
Keith: A priory. [unsure] Mm…
Austin: It’s like a monastery, or like a…
Keith: Okay.
Austin: Like a… [clicks tongue] A convent? Is that the word I’m looking for, is that the other — or like a abbey? It’s a place where you like — you know.
Keith: An abbey, I know abbey, I know convent.
Austin: Yeah, it’s one of those.
Keith: Priory I think I’ve heard.
Austin: A priory is what that is.
Keith: It’s one of those ones that I was like ah, it seems religious-y.
Austin: That’s correct. Yes. She’s like a priestess, yknow, she’s like the head priestess of, apparently, this bath.
Keith: Okay.
Mana: Okay. Thank you for lunch, by the way.
Gallon: Mm. Everyone’s gotta eat! Which did you like better?
Mana: [indecisive noise] Mm. I kinda like the pepper one a little more! You guys got good peppers here.
Gallon: We got good peppers. We got good peppers, I gotta tell you, that’s thanks to, uh, thanks to our gardener.
Austin: Whose name I’m blanking on —
Gallon: Sergil. Thanks to Sergil.
March: Thank you, Sergil!
Gallon: Sergil’s over at the garden, if you wanna talk to him, I mean, he probably doesn’t know much more than me, but.
Mana: [cross] Okay. Well, we —
March: [cross] Okay. Well, we —
[Austin laughs]
Mana: Okay, no, go ahead.
March: We appreciate your information.
Gallon: Yep.
March: We’ll come back if we have any other questions. [pause] I will take a pepper.
[Sylvia laughs]
Austin: Hands you a pepper. Scene.
March: Thank you.
Sylvia: Um, so I was gonna say, do we want to go to the — in my mind, there’s a couple things we could do. We could go like check out the actual like spot of the flood or we could go see the viscount and like talk to them about it. Seeing as how they’re like taking people in and stuff now. I don't know. If you two have other ideas too as well that I might have missed, like…
Janine: Yeah, my first thought, my knee-jerk is like go scope out the mountains.
Sylvia: Mm!
Janine: See if there’s any weird shit up there.
Keith: Um.
Janine: Odette does not say weird shit.
Austin: No. [laughs] Does Odette curse?
Janine: Oh, that’s a good… Yeah, Odette has to curse, but I think Odette curses judiciously. ‘Cause I don’t want Odette saying like Jiminy Crickets and shit like that, that sucks, that’s so annoying.
Austin: That’s bad. Uh-huh.
Janine: And it’s not cool.
Austin: Yeah.
Janine: And first and foremost, all my characters must be cool unless their uncoolness is a point. Um. So she swears, just not as much as me.
Austin: Okay.
[Sylvia and Keith laugh]
Austin: Fair.
Keith: Sorry, I got distracted by hearing prioress as prior arrest and didn’t hear the thing that the bartender had to say about the prioress, and, um.
Austin: Uh, that some people are pointing fingers at the prioress, because the prioress used to live up at the bath, which is up the mountain, and next to the river, and so maybe the prioress did it. Not a lot of people, but you know, there are some people who are mad. So.
Keith: Okay. That seems like not… That seems like not true.
Sylvia: She doesn’t live up there anymore?
Austin: She does not live up there anymore, no. I guess —
Sylvia: Okay. ‘Cause I was gonna say if we wanted to check out the mountains, we could stop there on the way. But I guess not.
Austin: Yeah. She’s around town, the prioress, Fen, is around town and… I guess the bartender would have said… she moved here recently. She moved to town recently. She and those monks of hers moved to town recently, is probably what they would have told you.
Sylvia: Mm, okay.
Keith: Okay, so we’re choosing between checking out where we think the originating spot of the flood is, [Sylviaustin: Mm-hm.] checking out the mountains, and checking out the viscount.
Austin: And checking out the flood itself, was also one of those, right, like the part of town that’s still underwater.
Keith: Oh, I thought it had receded.
Sylvia: I — oh, no.
Austin: It’s receding…
Keith: Okay, got it. Yeah.
Austin: Y’all are like here, by the way, kind of outside of the flood zone to the east to the edge of this more dense part of this town.
Keith: I think the mountains. I think we should go up the mountains.
Austin: To the west or to the east?
Sylvia: Good!
Keith: Ooh.
Austin: The west is the way from — the flood came from the west, obviously, [laughs] because it didn’t ruin the fields to the east, so you know that that’s the side that it came from, yeah.
Keith: So, the west.
Austin: Yeah.
Janine: Mm-hm.
Austin: As you’re kind of walking around, then, the flooded area, you can see the people who are in big rubber wading clothes to go through some of the still-deep part of this. But also people where it has receded, especially at the kind of higher level of this part of town. Going through their stuff. You know, it’s lost of people having to like break the door off the hinge so that they can safely go in and out of a building, you know what I mean, it’s like that part where like, ugh, you almost have to break stuff more to make it safe enough to move about, and that sucks. But again there’s lots of people here, and I think as you kind of get closer to the mountain you definitely see that there is something weird about this water, about the kind of like… I guess, everyone give me a, uh, a d20. That’s the way this system works.
Sylvia: Okay!
[Keith laughs]
Austin: This is how this works. ‘Cause there’s no like — unless you have a skill or you think that you would have some upper hand that would give you some sort of perceptive bonus to what’s up with this flood, in which case let me know and we don’t have to roll. Y’know? But none of you are like nature people, right?
Keith: No.
Janine: No, most of my observational stuff involves paperwork.
Sylvia: I think that I have a thing that lets me see like if something’s magic.
Austin: Are you using that thing?
Sylvia: It lasts for an hour, so I might.
Austin: Okay!
Sylvia: Just for the like trip up the mountain.
Austin: Does that cost an AP to use?
Sylvia: It costs 1 AP, yeah.
Austin: [cross] All right, go ahead and spend that AP and use it.
Sylvia: [cross] And I briefly gain — do you want me to read the skill?
Austin: Yes, please.
Sylvia: So it’s Magic Eye: you briefly gain the ability to see beyond physical reality. For the next hour, you are able to see the following: magic, a faint aura surrounds any person or object currently affected by magic, or illusion, any illusory creature or object slightly flickers but you do not see its true form.
Austin: Okay! So instead of making anyone roll for this then, let’s just do this. And I think for Odette and March — is that your character’s name? Yes, Keith — you notice that there’s like a strange smell here. It’s almost — it’s funny that the bartender brought up the sea, because there’s almost a salty smell to this, or like a rock mineral smell, that maybe just comes from the water having come down the mountains, but Mana, when you — also, what’s it look like when you do this Magic Eye thing?
Sylvia: Uh…
Austin: How do you enact that spell?
Sylvia: Oh, I'm trying to think. I think she has to do like some sort of pose where like her hand goes in front of her eye and then it like glows and she can see magic stuff.
Austin: Perfect. Good. You can see that like —
Sylvia: Very over the top.
Austin: [laughs] You can see that this water is magical, right, and with this, you can like literally see the mark coming down — like the trail of water coming down, where it came down the mountain, basically.
Sylvia: Okay!
Austin: It’s almost like a… You can follow it all the way back up, you know, which — and it goes beyond your sight, right, it goes far enough up the mountain that it goes beyond some rocks that you can’t follow anymore, but then you see it pop up again, and then again, so you can tell that it definitely came from that direction, and yeah, this water seems to have been touched by magic in some way. I don’t know that you know more than that without some sort of special roll here.
Sylvia: Yeah.
Austin: Than that. But if you wanna roll, you can roll,
Sylvia: Yeah, sure! Is that just a d20, is that just how this works?
Austin: So yeah, let’s talk about [laughs] rolls in this game. Um, uh.
Keith: It’s very funny that you haven’t said — said d20 without having to qualify it.
Austin: It’s so — we’ve never, I don’t think I’ve ever rolled a d20 — have we ever rolled a d20 in a Friends at the Table game?
Keith: No, never.
Austin: I don’t think so, maybe damage or something, you know? It would be as a bit.
Sylvia: Like maybe… for something, but never regularly as part of a mechanic.
Austin: Never a primary roll, yeah. All right, so you roll the die in Quest to let fate decide what happens next. The Guide will ask you to roll when you try to do something risky — or when a bit of chance makes things fun. You must roll every time you make a basic attack, that’s not what you’re doing. After you roll, look at the number on the top of the die, then compare the result to the table below. So go ahead and give me a d20, and I’ll tell you whether it’s a Triumph, a Success —
Sylvia: I got a 1 — [laughs]
Austin: — a Tough Choice or a Catastrophe? You got a 1. In the first…
Keith: Yep, well, it’s a d20 so that means you die.
[Austin laughs]
[Janine laughs]
Sylvia: Damn!
Austin: No! But it is a Catastrophe, you automatically fail and you may suffer a severe setback. Um. I can tell you exactly what —
Sylvia: Did I fall in?
Austin: You fall into the water. No. You’re [stammers] guiding the crew up the mountain, and while you’re looking through your hand, there is a point at which it seems as if — so again, you’re kind of looking up these rocky mountains, and there’s this trail of kind of — with your magic eye up — what’s it actually called, I keep calling it a magic eye. Is it called magic eye?
Sylvia: It’s called magic eye!
Austin: When you’re with your magic eye up, it glows this like bright blue color. But it’s as if you’ve walked across a magic tripwire, or something. Or as if you brought a microphone close to a speaker, there’s a sense of like feedback, do you know what I mean? But like magical feedback where instead of this bright, sparkly blue, the entire like slime — what do you — like a trail, whatever the trail is, the water trail, has turned like a slimy green, almost, or a sickly green? It’s almost like toxic in color, and it like completely like blasts you in the face. I need you to take, uh, 2 damage, and you cannot use magic eye again until you do a recover, or whatever the rest thing — regroup. Until you regroup, you cannot use magic eye again.
Sylvia: Okay. Ow!
Austin: And your hand does like spark green, like bright green energy, as it pops, you know, away from your face.
Sylvia [as Mana]: Kay. So there’s definitely some fuckin magic shenanigans going on here. Ow!
Sylvia: Mana’s very upset about this whole thing. [laughs]
Austin: [laughs] That leaves you with what, 8 HP? Right? ‘Cause everyone starts with 10, so.
Sylvia: Yeah.
Austin: Off to a good start. You cannot tell — I’ll give you this one little bit. You don’t know what’s up with this water, this magic water. You do know that it leads to the bath. Or near the bath facility, up in the mountains. That’s like where you saw the bright green begin, before it kind of slammed into your magical awareness. So you at least have that direction. Does anyone respond when this happens to Mana?
Keith: So we saw the magic.
Austin: Mana saw the magic. I mean —
Keith: Mana saw the magic, says we saw the magic, and then…
Austin: Feedback effect, magical counterdevice, who knows, blew up in her face.
Keith: Right.
Austin: And she said ow.
Janine: Are these mountains with like snow? Is this like a snowy mountain?
Austin: No, I think these are — not this low. We’re at the very kind of — I mean, this map makes it look like they’re running — I guess I've been saying west and in reality my guess is that this is like… I mean, it doesn’t matter. This is a valley between two parts of the very edge of a mountain, you know? So it’s not… This is not the high snowy part of it. I think there probably is snow on the top of these mountains in the winter. It’s not wintertime, and you’re not anywhere near the top, so.
Janine: okay, I was gonna like — mm, it’s fine. I think Odette just asks like,
[as Odette]: Are you okay? That looked quite bad.
Mana: [sighs] [upset] I’m fine, it just zapped — ah.
Odette: That doesn’t happen a lot, does it?
Mana: It hurts, it zapped me in the face!
Odette: Yeah.
Keith [as March]: I fundamentally don’t understand what happened!
[Austin laughs]
Odette: You don’t need to understand this.
Mana: It’s fine. You need a really extensive knowledge of magic for me to really like explain it to you, so it’s not even worth my time.
March: I have an extensive —
Mana: It’s not even worth our time, don’t even worry about it.
[Austin laughs]
Odette: Okay!
March: I can do a Soul Gaze, that’s magic.
Austin: [laughs] Great.
Odette: We should keep going.
[Sylvia laughs]
Mana: Yeah, we should.
Odette: If everyone’s good to keep going, we should keep going.
Austin: Uh-huh. And you do so, I’m guessing?
Sylvia: Yeah!
Austin: Okay.
Keith: Yeah.
Austin: You head up to the baths, I’m guessing, also? Can I get a confirmation on that before I begin talking?
Sylvia: Yeah, if we — I mean, I’m cool with that.
Austin: You relay that that’s the way to go, and blah blah blah.
Sylvia: Yeah.
Austin: So when you get up there, the first thing that you see is that they’re kind of — the baths are rock-cut right into the side of a kind of cliff face in the mountains. I did not render that particularly well on this map, but trust me, that’s how it goes. And it has the sort of blue-green, copper and white kind of coloring that the Prioress had down in the town, and really the kind of blue-green and copper is especially on this kind of half-dome that is visible as you kind of come across one of the slopes of this mountain and see the front of the bath in general. You recognize immediately that this bath is in the style of the Chimeric Crown, which is this ancient empire that at one point conquered all of Tableau, was split into a kind of subset of five different empires, so it was sort of like a mega-empire, the Crown, and this is in that style. You don’t necessarily see like which sub-empire it is, it doesn’t really matter, maybe you don’t even know that stuff quite that well yet, but it is definitely an old empire bath, and you can see that it is fairly quiet, and the big columns outside holding up the dome and there is just — there is not — it is one of those atriums that is just the columns holding up a roof, and then a kind of big lobby space. There are not doors to this place, you know, it’s just kind of big open steps that you can kind of climb in to go into the big lobby area, which, if you do, is just kind of big and rounded and there’s a circular desk inside, but no one seems to be around. Everything has beautiful tilework, there are some mosaics of various things, including the ancient Chimeric language that you don’t, probably — if you wanna read, you’d either have to roll for it or have some item that lets you do that. And yeah! There’s kind of a reception desk and that’s kind of the entryway of this place. There are two doors that you can see from here. Each of them has one of the — a monograph — a pictograph from the old Chimeric language, and again without a roll I don’t think — or investigation or whatever, you don’t necessarily know what those mean but each is marked in mosaic by an ancient pictograph. I’ll note —
Janine: Sorry, what was the thing we would need to read, sorry, I —
Austin: There are pictographs here, there’s old Chimeric Crown language throughout this place, and that’s the stuff that like you don’t know how to read by default. You know, there’s like skylights here too in that dome and like also some of the dome I think has been broken? So there’s just that like, you know, [laughs] organic skylight of some of the roof caved in and now the sun is shining down through here. But it’s all kind of quiet and a little spooky as you step in, the way that like, you can see the bright sunlight outside, ‘cause there aren’t doors, it’s just a kind of big open entryway. And seeing the mountain and the town below in the sunlight, and then here you are, that’s just like kind of cold and in the shade, is weird.
Keith: How big is this space?
Austin: Pretty big! You know, I imagine it as being like the lobby of a theatre or something, you know. You could probably fit a few hundred people in here comfortably. So, it’s sizable. And again, two doors and then a reception desk, basically. No people as far as you can tell.
Janine: Um. I want to use my Dossier to copy the things.
Janine: The symbols.
Austin: Okay, what’s — can you read me the Dossier? Move.
Janine: [pleased] Yes! Dossier, it’s from the Stenography tree, which I just like saying ‘cause it’s fun that there’s a Stenography tree.
Austin: [amused] Uh-huh.
Janine: It’s a magic item. “A magic book that copies things. You can make a dossier of any size, from a pocket-sized folio to a coffee table book. You can use the book to copy any kind of writing or drawing that is pressed against its pages. For instance, if you press a handwritten letter against one of the dossier’s pages, a legible but imperfect copy will appear inside.” And it costs zero! Babyyy!
Austin: So are you like — how big is this book? How big is this… And are you like rubbing it against the wall mosaics?
Janine: Yes.
Austin: Okay!
Janine: Um, I think that’s the thing that happens, is I think this is probably… A5 seems too small but A4 seems maybe a bit big, but A4 is probably the right size. I think this is sort of like a leatherbound kind of… A4…
Keith: Maybe like a B5, then.
Janine: Maybe. Um. But you know, it’s kind of like standard document sized. I imagine it’s the kind of thing that like there is a notebook half and then like a clipboard kind of half.
Austin: Sure, yeah.
Janine: So it’s like about that size, like about the size of a useful clipboard, that kind of thing.
Austin: Mm-hm.
Janine: But it is like a leather bound folio, probably, with like the gold page, whatever the fuck it’s called, gilding? Gilding?
Austin: Gilding, yeah, gilding.
Janine: I think it’s gilding.
Austin: That sounds right.
Janine: Um. The kind that really hurts when you get a paper cut on it.
Austin: Mm-hm, mm-hm.
Janine: And white, you know, some embossing on the cover, it’s very nice. And yeah, Odette is getting as many of these symbols in this dossier as possible.
Austin: All right!
Janine: Just in case.
Austin: Yeah, so it’s, um, between the two doors, which have the biggest clear pictographs, and then stuff around the room, you’re able to copy that stuff down and you’re starting to work on a working, you know, it’s not a dictionary, because you don’t know what any of them mean [laughs], but a collection of these pictographs from the Chimeric Crown’s language.
Keith: Pictionary.
Austin: Pictionary, exactly. [laughs] What else are you doing? What else, what else is happening here in the atrium?
Keith: Does it feel like the reason that it’s empty just because everyone’s down helping with the flood?
Austin: Hh — you’re just asking for a vibe check?
Keith: Yeah, what’s the vibe on this place?
Austin: Bad vibes.
Keith: You said it felt spooky, kind of.
Austin: It feels spooky.
Janine: Like half finished tea or anything around here?
Austin: No. Important no.
Keith: No signs of a struggle?
Austin: So you’re — this to me sounds like you’re investigating. It sounds like some of y’all wanna roll dice to investigate. The second that you’re like, is there half-finished tea, that to me sounds like, I’m looking for clues.
Keith: I am looking for clues.
Sylvia: I —
Keith: I wanna — yeah, I was leading into looking for clues.
Austin: Uh, let’s — March, you go ahead and give me a d20 roll as you — again, unless you wanna use an ability of some sort as you investigate.
Keith: Um, I don’t think I have an ability that works here, so I will roll. [beep] That’s a 10!
Austin: That is a 10 on — in Quest, the way that this works is that you have a pretty good chance of basically succeeding, sorry, Mana [laughs]... [Keith laughs] Anything above a 5 is at least a success, a 6-10 gives you a tough choice, you succeed in your action but there’s a cost, the guide will give you a choice between two different setbacks. Let me quickly take a peek at your sheet to see if you have anything obvious. One second.
Keith: Oh! … Okay, no, it’s fine.
Austin: What were you gonna say?
Keith: Well, I remembered that I had…
Austin: Uh-huh.
Keith: I remembered that I had [laughs] a magic flask and I didn’t know yet what kind of spirit was in there.
Austin: But you did, you wrote it.
Keith: No, no, we — that was a placeholder.
Austin: Oh, I thought that was real. That wasn’t real?
Keith: No no, we took — I mean, it is a ghost spirit.
Austin: Oh, uh, yeah, uh-huh? Yeah.
Keith: Yeah.
Austin: Okay. Cool.
Keith: But the kind of spirit that it was — I mean, I guess that could be the… maybe just a general spirit, but.
Austin: Is it a spirit related to your, what we’ve kind of come up with as your pantheon?
Keith: [sighs] Yeah, I was —
Austin: Is that fun, like an embodiment of one of the archetypes?
Keith: Um. Yeah…
Austin: Or did you want to do — or was it something more specific than that?
Keith: So that’s where I… Before we had come up, before we had any sort of foundation for the pantheon, I was like, well this is probably some sort of spirit that is religiously significant to me.
Austin: Uh-huh.
Keith: [amused] But now I’m just like, maybe it’s a spirit of a detective.
[Sylvia cackles]
Austin: [laughing] You were walking around with the spirit of a detective with you??
Keith: I mean, we’re going detecting.
Austin: We are going detecting. [cross] How does that — read me the description of the flask really quick?
Keith: [cross] It’s weird unless you’re going detecting as a job. Um, yeah. Um. I have… One of my… useful items that you can carry around is a magic flask. A magic flask that automatically replenishes itself with a spirit of your choice, choose once.
Austin: Yeah.
Keith: And I looked in the book for what it meant by spirit, if there was like a list of like here are the different magical spirits you could have, and it doesn’t — the only other thing that is called a spirit in this book is like, ghosts. So I was like welp, that’s what’s in my flask, then. Is a ghost.
Austin: Yeah. Uh-huh. So then, here’s what I’ll tell you. You could spend that. It will recharge next adventure, right, you can only use it once per adventure. It lasts for, let’s say, one scene, basically. You’ll have to tell me the name of this detective ghost that you’re carrying around in a flask, which is very funny to me. Or, you don’t need to spend it at a 10, and you’re gonna make some noise. And gain the attention of something.
Keith: I’ll make some noise.
Austin: Okay, so you’re keeping your detective flask for now.
Keith: Yeah.
Austin: Your spirit flask. Okay. So you’re looking through — you’re at the reception desk. Why are you making noises, because you’re just being clumsy, or like being like rushed? What is it that makes noise? Do you toss something over your shoulder, do you knock something off the desk by mistake?
Keith: No, I know exactly what it is. I know exactly what it is, ‘cause I remember my flaw, which is distractible.
Austin: Ah, yes.
Keith: And we’re in this big stone space and I just notice that there’s an echo, so I just start making an echo.
Austin: You’re like echo! echo! clap! [claps]
Keith: Yeah. Yeah, so I’m like clapping and it does the thing where it sounds like a ping, almost like a laser shot, you ever do one of those kind of echoes?
Austin: Yep, okay.
Keith: So I’m doing that and that’s just fun, and I’m just doing that.
Austin: Uh-huh. Okay, well I’m gonna move some things around in my notes really quick. [laughing] And we’ll see what the consequence of this was later! For now, though, what you find is a little cheat sheet that is like slid underneath — so there’s reception desk, you know how desks have like the top of the desk but also a little under area for like the workspace part of the desk, for when you’re in like a reception or a retail mode, and there is just like straight up a little cheat sheet, someone’s little cheat sheet for the Chimeric language written down here. That you find. And, you know, some of the stuff is just like — a lot of the mosaic, a lot of the language written on just the random stuff on the walls is like, um. “Comfort. Poise. Relaxation. Rejuvenation,” right, it’s like that sort of stuff. But then the two big ones. There is the sort of — one of them says… “Guests.” And the other one says “Service,” or “Servants,” rather. And so — and probably there’s actually two symbols, and it’s changing rooms. One of these doors goes to changing rooms for the guests, one of them goes to changing rooms for like the back of house, the servants, the people who work here. Um. And then, yeah, Odette, if March shares this with you you can start writing down what the meaning of those words is.
Keith: Yeah, I totally do.
Austin: [slight laugh] Okay.
Janine: Okay.
Austin: Can you write down that you have — just on your Dossier that you have, like, the basics of… I guess, relaxation-related words [laughing] for the Chimeric kingdom’s language?
Keith: [laughs] Spa jargon.
Austin: Yeah, spa jargon is exactly right.
Janine: [laughs] Yes.
Austin: Okay. Um. All right, so now you have those two directions you could go.
Keith: Um.
Austin: Or — you know, or you could leave. You know? I mean. That’s up to you.
Keith: I mean, I think we definitely go. I think… uh… [snorts] March says:
[as March]: You know what they say, when there’s a fork in the road, take it!
Keith: And just goes left.
Austin: [laughs] Great. Left will take you to the guest changing rooms, is that fine?
Keith: Yeah. That’s fine. Well! Actually, no, I do wanna do the employees, I feel employees know what’s up.
Austin: [laughs] Okay. So you get there and you’re like, ah. This says guests. Let’s go to employees.
Keith: Yeah.
Austin: Okay, good. So, you go through the employee one and actually very quickly is a stairwell. It’s a stairwell that goes down and then sort of wraps around, it’s a right turn, a right turn and another right turn, and that puts you underneath the guest changing rooms. So it’s like the visitor changing rooms above, and then one floor below is the guest — or the kind of employee changing room.
Keith: And this is essentially like carved out of the stone at this point, right?
Austin: Out of — yes, this is a Dwarf Fortress-style [laughs] yeah, you’ve dug into the side of the mountain, yes. A hundred percent.
Keith: I don’t know if anybody’s ever been inside of a hole or a cave inside of a mountain but it gets cold in there.
Austin: It does get cold, and this room is very cold. And — though I do think that you can sense some warmth from the next room, but that’s not the main thing you sense. You come down here, this is a changing room. There’s no one here. There are wooden cabinets and lockers and stuff — not lockers — we think of lockers in changing rooms as a very particular modern aesthetic, but you know, they’re kind of wooden, tall cabinets and closets and stuff that have a sort of locker-like quality. There are little bins for people to put their personal stuff, there’s like a used towel basket, you know, it’s like, it’s one of those things. There probably is some sort of… basic like rinse available, but not — there’s no showers here, there’s not like a wall of showers or whatever. Maybe just like a little basin of water built into the side of the wall that has like some sponges and stuff like that. Anyway. The thing that draws your attention as you come in is the sound of the squelching arrival of two orb-shaped slime creatures, which have a similar green to the kind of feedback that you received, Mana, from before.
Mana: [annoyed] Hey! I don’t like this.
Austin: And they don’t have eyes, they don’t have fa — mm. Do they have eyes and faces? Are we an eyes and faces on our slimes game? How cute are these? I think they’re pretty cute. I think they have eyes.
Keith: They could have mouths but no eyes.
Sylvia: They could have eyes but no mouths.
Austin: Hm. They could have noses. They could have little bubble — little rounded noses…
Janine: They could have two noses instead of eyes and each nostril’s another eye so they have four eyes.
Austin: I don’t like that. That’s gross. That’s not this. [Janine laughs] [laughs] They’re like, Keith, you’re our Digimon expert, right?
Keith: Yeah. I mean…
Austin: Are there any like slimeball Digimon that aren’t super gross? ‘Cause I…
Keith: No! [laughs]
Janine: Don’t they all start as slimeballs?
Sylvia: No, all the slime ones are like poop, like.
Keith: Yeah, literally, yes.
[Austin laughs]
Sylvia: Literally they’re poop.
Keith: They’re poops.
Janine: But they all start as little blobs, don’t they?
Keith: Zurumon.
Sylvia: Uh. Really?
Austin: But like that is the specific face that I wanna call to — that style of like little…
Sylvia: Like baby Digimon.
Austin: Like baby Digimon…
Janine: Yeah.
Austin: Like, you know, big eyes, kind of like crinkly smile face. But these aren’t smiling, these are actually like… These look…
Keith: Here’s like a special Digimon that’s called Zurumon that’s a slime.
Austin: I’m excited to click this. On this link… Uh, Zurumon… This is close. This isn’t that far off.
Keith: He — Zurumon has a little bit of an attitude because he’s a computer.
Austin: Yeah! Ooh, computer slime.
Janine: Aren’t they all computers?
Austin: They’re digital monsters. Not a Ditto! Absolutely not a fuckin Ditto! Get that shit outta here!
Keith: You don’t like Ditto?
Austin: We’re talking about digital — I like Ditto, we’re not talkin about Pokemon, we’re talking about Digimon!
Keith: No, okay, we’re just not talking about Ditto.
Austin: [very firmly] We’re not talking about Ditto right now. We’re talking about the way baby Digimon look. Specifically. [laughs] Which is…
Sylvia: A sort of…
Keith: Yeah, the Digimon babies kind of look like little balls of…
Austin: Exaaactly. Yes, in fact —
Sylvia: Yeah.
Keith: They look like Nickelodeon toys, where it’s like it’s full of slime, but it’s got a face.
Austin: Right. Yes, exactly. Exactly. Digimon babies…
Sylvia: I found actually the exact one I was thinking of, it was Poyomon, which is just looks like a little ghost, kind of. But also a slime.
Austin: Okay.
Keith: Oh, yeah. I was gonna get a Poyomon.
Janine: Ohhh.
Keith: But Poyomon’s too — Poyomon is like the Ditto of Digimon.
Austin: Anyway, it’s like what if there was a creepy green — again, the smile is actually just kind of flat. Like the mouth shape on these things is just flat, it’s like affectless. So it’s almost like a zombie slime Digimon.
Keith: Wait. Sorry. You’re talking about the Ditto from the Pokemon episode where the Ditto couldn’t accurately transform and just made Pokemon with like really flat expressionless faces.
Austin: Is that a thing?
Keith: [amused] Yeah.
Janine: Oh, they got a whole series of plushes outta that.
Austin: But the — these eyes are just — Ditto eyes are not what we’re talking about here. The Ditto eyes contribute to such an affectlessness, and it’s not — it’s a shortcut to what I’m going for, which requires regular Digimon eyes.
Keith: Normal… okay.
Austin: Normal —”normal”, quote-unquote, Digimon eyes. Which are like big and expression — they have expression, they have like the — they look cute, except these look like that cuteness have been drained from them. You know? I’m also explicitly not talking about fucking Nume — what’s it called?
Keith: Numemon, the shit Digimon.
Austin: Numemon, the shit Digimon, absolutely not Numemon. I don’t know if anyone suggested that.
Janine: No.
Austin: But Numemons are —
Sylvia: There’s like fifty different types of Numemon, too, it’s really bad.
Austin: I hate them. They’re really gross. Anyway! Uh, there are two of these things, and they come sliding in from whatever the next room is, squeezing in through the doorway, having responded to the sound that March made above. And they are like — they’re kind of like — I’m doing with my body now, like wiggling the way like a — you know how like snakes do in cartoons, like side-to-side, you know what I mean, like a waggle?
Janine: [amused] You’re doing that? [laughs]
Austin: Yeah, as they get closer and closer to you, yeah, a hundred percent. And they’re leaving this like gross —
Austin: — trail behind them, and are kind of moving to kind — not encircle you — actually they are, and they’re kind of spreading their bodies out as they do it and getting a little wider [laughs]. You don’t know how they can do that, but they’re slime creatures.
Janine: Hrmm.
Austin: And they’re getting closer! What do you do?
Keith: Hm. Well, I guess I… hm.
Janine: Can we just leave?
Austin: Nothin stopping you!
Keith: [laughs] The slimes may be trying to stop us.
Austin: They’re going to be trying to stopping you — stop…
Janine: I don’t understand how — I mean, I guess the slimes could have made the flood. But this seems like maybe they’d be attracted, they would have just moved in ‘cause everyone was gone. That’s what slimes do, right, they tend to just find — like if there’s ruins and stuff? That’s what I know about slimes is they just like to hang out where people aren’t anymore.
Austin: Uh-huh.
Sylvia: I can distract at least one of them with an ability.
Keith: I also have an ability, and I’m kind of curious about this, so I don't know —
Sylvia: Go ahead!
Keith: Okay.
Austin: Yep.
Keith: I have a 0 —
Sylvia: ‘Cause I’ve used one of mine already.
Keith: I have a 0 AP ability called Declare.
Austin: Okay. What’s that say?
Keith: Once per scene you may declare a reason for intervening in a matter. I think it’s obvious why I’m intervening.
Austin: Uh-huh.
[Sylvia and Janine laugh]
Keith: Steeling my resolve, the reason should be based on your ideal and the scene’s context. For example, if you believe in order, you might tell highway robbers that they’re breaking the law, or if you believe in honor, you may say there’s no honor among thieves. Choose one result: you immediately make a successful basic attack on a nearby foe; you compel an NPC to explain what they are doing, they may lie to you; or you convince commoners to leave. And I think two of these are interesting because I might be able to compel these slimes to tell me what they’re doing, but I think that according to the book these slimes count as commoners.
Austin: They are not commoners, they are minions, unfortunately.
Keith: Ah! Damn, okay, well.
Austin: But, but you can do this, what is the — but I need to know what your belief is. What is your ideal again?
Keith: My ideal is salvation.
Austin: [laughing] So how do you communicate this to these slimes?
Keith: Um.
Austin: How do you declare that salvation is part of this… reason for intervening and why they should respond to this thing you’re doing?
Keith: W— well, I’m given — these two things are presented I need to do both of them, which is the scene’s context and also my ideal.
Austin: Right.
Keith: And the scene’s context is obvious, I think these slimes are about to attack my friends.
Austin: That’s true.
Keith: Which is clearly unjust.
Austin: Uh-huh.
Keith: Uh, and that to preserve their mortal souls, they mustn’t attack me and my friends.
Austin: Their mortal souls being the slimes’ mortal souls.
Keith: Yes.
Austin: Can you please say this in a sentence said by March, your invoker? [laughing] To the slimes.
Keith [as March]: Please, slimes, for the sake of your mortal souls, do not attack!
Austin: Also, wait, do you say mortal souls, are these just mortal souls?
Keith: Mortal —
Austin: Not immortal souls, okay, good!
Keith: [enunciating] Mortal. I don’t know that they’re immortal.
Austin: I — okay, fair!
Janine: Aw.
Keith: March is making an assumption that they’re not immortal.
Austin: That’s fair. Um, which of these three things are you doing, are you compelling an NPC to explain what they’re doing, or are you… immediately making a successful basic attack, or are you convincing — oh, they’re not commoners, so you cannot convince them to leave.
Keith: I don’t think it would be fair of me to make an attack on them based off of that.
Austin: Given — no, agreed, that would feel bad to me.
Keith: Yeah.
Austin: They say, um…
Keith: They say!
Austin: They, yeah, they do. They do say. They go:
[as Slime]: [cute little voice] Alakastra! Alakastra! Alakastra!
Austin: And there’s a sort of like, it’s like a bubbly sound and also they feel like they — they feel like they are being compelled. I think to both March and Mana, this seems like if not mind control, then some sort of… compulsion.
Sylvia: Okay.
Keith: Right.
Austin: Alakastra, you don’t know what the fuck that is.
Keith: Is that — I don’t know what that means, so is that them explaining what they’re doing either honestly or dishonestly?
Austin: Yes. Yes. Yes. Uh…
Keith: Can I roll to see if I understand what that means?
Austin: Yeah! Give me a d20. Roll the die, as they say.
Keith: [laughs] [beeping sound] 20!
Austin: That’s a nat 20. That’s what we got.
Janine: Wow.
Keith: That’s a nat 20.
Austin: A natural 20.
Keith: That’s a natty 2.
Sylvia: We’ve rolled a 1, a 10 and a 20.
Austin: Incredible. Incredible luck out the gate. Um. So on a 20… Rolling the die. Triumph! This is an exciting moment. You automatically succeed at what you were trying to do and you may even find added fortune. If you’re dealing damage, double it. You… ask them a follow-up question, is what I’ll say. [laughs]
Keith: Do I know what this means?
Austin: Uh, you get the sense that Alakastra is a person. So now I, Austin, am prompting you to ask a follow-up question.
Keith: Okay.
[as March]: Where is Alakastra?
Austin: Oh good question, good question. They are like continuing to like surround y’all. They haven’t attacked you yet, but they’re kind of closing in a little bit. And they say… They say:
[as Slime]: Eminence! Eminence below! Help the Eminence!
March: Eminence below. Is the Eminence the… Is the Eminence the prioress or is the Eminence the viscount?
Slime: No, no! No, no.
March: Neither.
Austin: And they have now surrounded you to the degree that you can’t go elsewhere in the room. You could still retreat away, but they have kind of like drawn a semicircle between the two of them with their slimy bodies through and over the benches in this room, beyond or past or through, you know, pushing over some of the wooden cabinets, and have kind of closed in this space. You get the impression, from this, and from your mastery of a certain type of magic, or your knowledge of it, that this is… [sighs] Hm. You rolled a 20. This is some sort of… This is some sort of magic that is not just compelling them but has caught them a sort of life… Not a life-bond, but they are tied to the life of someone else, presumably this person named Alakastra, but when you get them to say the Eminence, referring presumably to someone that they care about, they are almost torn between those two loyalties. The loyalty of Alakastra, who seems to have put them in the state that they are in, um, this living although sickly-looking state, and whoever this person called the Eminence is.
Keith: Can I do one more thing?
Austin: We are still—we are not in combat yet of any kind, so. What do you wanna do?
Keith: I want to Soul Gaze.
Austin: What’s this do?
Keith: Roll the die. Your eyes turn black like shimmering gateways to eternity as you peer into the eyes of a nearby creature.
Austin: Yeah.
Keith: They become momentarily transfixed on your gaze. On a 20, you learn the creature’s ideal and flaw, you also learn the best and worst thing they have done, and it gets worse from there.
Austin: Okay. [laughs] Give me a…
Janine: [alarmed] Oh.
Austin: Uh-huh. GIve —
Keith: [laughs] I mean, it’s just less effective the worse — the less — the further away from 20 you get.
Austin: [amused] Give me your — that’s spend 1 AP to do that, right?
Keith: Uh, yes, yeah.
Austin: So spend your AP, give me the roll. [beeping sound]
Keith: 11.
Austin: 11 is a success! It’s not a triumph, but it’s also not a mixed success. I think by the book, that just means you get the thing, I’m just double-checking…
Keith: Yeah, I learn their ideal and flaw, but not the best and worst thing they’ve ever done, which would have been a big get, but…
Austin: Which would have been a big one.
[Sylvia laughs]
Austin: Yeah, it would have been. Their ideal is… Their ideal is cooperation. Their flaw… is… [sighs] Their flaw is —
Keith: Drama.
Austin: [laughs] Is drama. No, I think that their flaw is… Is obedience. And that’s new, and I think you can sense that as you look into their eyes. There used to be a different flaw there. And now there is obedience.
Keith: Sick.
Austin: Yeah. Rules.
Sylvia: Really quick, just to get — they’re blocking us from getting to the other side of the room, not from getting out.
Austin: Correct. You could leave if you wanted to. Absolutely.
Sylvia: Okay!
Keith: Yeah.
Sylvia: And there’s like — we can go further into the building that way?
Austin: You could go back upstairs and go through the other changing room, if you wanted to.
Sylvia: Okay. [pause]
Austin: What do you do?
Keith [as March]: These are kind creatures twisted by a dark magic! [pauses] I think we should retreat.
Janine [as Odette]: Yeah, I don’t want to kill them, to be honest, although I know — this is a sign that there is maybe some shit in here that we wanna see, but also, I feel bad killing them.
Austin: That’s fair.
Sylvia [as Mana]: Meet me in… Hm.
Odette: It sucks.
Austin: Listen, they’re not going anywhere. As far as you can tell.
Keith: Yeah. We have a second — is it possible to leap over the slimes? Who I am picturing as short.
Austin: They’re pretty big, I should have described — no, they’re like chest height on you.
Keith: Okay, that’s big.
Austin: You know, they’re big.
Keith: Yeah.
Janine: How many of them are there again?
Austin: Two. Just the two right now.
Janine: Okay, I’m gonna — are these commoners or minions?
Austin: These are minions.
Janine: Okay, I’m gonna incapacitate one of them.
Austin: Oh my god! What are you — how?
Janine: [laughs] I just have a thing that’s like, I have Sneak Attack which, I can spend one point to incapacitate a commoner or a minion by touching one of their pressure points.
Austin: You cannot do that. You can only do that when a nearby foe attacks a creature other than you.
Janine: Uhhh…
Austin: Mm-hm.
Janine: Okay. Well let’s hang around for five seconds.
Austin: [laughs] Oh my god!
[Keith laughs]
Austin: Christmastime spy!
Keith: [laughing] You wanna goad —
Sylvia: I’m…
Keith: You wanna goad one of these creatures into attacking me so you can knock it out.
Janine: I mean, the other thing is, there’s two of them, there’s three of us. They can only be fighting one person at a time.
Sylvia: I’m also able to like mesmerize one of them. That’s a skill I have, I can dazzle a nearby commoner or minion with an optical illusion. Though I should ask, the slimes can see, right?
Austin: Yeah.
Sylvia: Because it does say the creature must be able to see.
Austin: That is correct, they can.
Janine: Yeah.
Austin: They can see.
Sylvia: And until you leave the area, can’t move, take actions, or respond to conversation. And it ends if they’re harmed.
Austin: All right. [sighs] This seems like we got a little combo situation here. In which I think what would happen is you would try to mesmerize one of these. There’s not a roll with this, this just happens, right?
Sylvia: Mm-hm.
Austin: So spend your 1 AP. Tell me how you mesmerize one of them.
Sylvia: I think…
Austin: Also, I wanna note, the cost of this is that the other one is going to try to attack you as you do this. So. Just know that that’s about to happen.
Sylvia: Okay, then I think it has to be something sort of like… a little like bombastic then, I think it’s almost like she’s got little like — it looks like fireworks exploding in her hands, and then she leaves it hanging in the air in front of the… in front of the slime. But it probably scares the other one.
Austin: Yeah, it scares the other one, the other one is very scared. The one that it’s right in front of is like overawed by it, and quickly like turns back into the smaller, denser version of it that’s not blocking you off from half of the room. But the other slime immediately kind of closes in on you, Mana.
[Mana shouts]
Austin: And hits you. With a 10.
Mana: Ow!
Austin: But only for half of its damage, which in this case means you only get hit for… 1 damage. As it kind of like splashes its slime goo on you.
Mana: Oh — god!
Austin: But in a case that’s kinda like — it hurts! It feels like you got hit by like a wet towel [laughs] it feels like you got slapped by a huge wet towel.
Sylvia: No, I know what you mean!
Austin: Which is a weird fucking feeling!
Mana: Oh my god! First I get zapped in the eye and now I’ve got gunk all over me, this is the worst day ever.
Austin: You got gunked. It’s bad. Anyway, at this point, Odette.
Janine: At this point, I can use my Sneak Attack.
Austin: You can, which…
Janine: Where I incapacitate a commoner or minion by touching one of their pressure points.
Austin: Where’s the pressure point in this slime?
Janine: [faster] They fall to the ground unconscious for the next ten minutes or until they are harmed. Um. So I’ve been thinking about that. Um. Would you say that, are these slimes solid or liquid? Like do they have an exterior, like a bag? Or like a surface?
Keith: Are they like Gak?
Austin: They’re not — they’re more like Jello than Gak.
Janine: But is it like Jello with a skin, or like the middle bowl — is it the exterior — is it the whole package of Jello, is it the whole bowl of Jello if you tipped it out and it’s got like the skin on the surface?
Austin: Yes.
Janine: Or is it just the Jello from the soft center of the bowl.
Austin: It is the entire, and what you know is, as they were extended out, they were stretching that skin further, so that it was a thinner, less dense interior, or more soft— you know what I mean? It’s clear they can play with that.
Janine: Oh, I have the perfect, the perfect thing for this. Um. [laughs] Ooh, this is like kind of gross, too. Okay. It’s not like gross-gross, it’s fine. Um. So as it like stretches, I think the pressure point — the way that I’m activating a pressure point is that I sort of reach to the thinnest part of that like exterior membrane…
Austin: Yeah.
Janine: And just like poke through it?
Austin: Yup.
Janine: So that it like snaps open?
Austin: [laughing] Uh-huh.
Janine: And, okay, so this sounds really bad, but I wanna say in my head it’s very cute, because I think in my head the thing that probably happens is that they like — instead of — ‘cause for the description of the skill it says they fall to the ground unconscious. I think what happens is they just like… spread?
Austin: Yeah. Uh-huh.
[Keith and Sylvia laugh]
Janine: Like they can’t maintain their — they can’t maintain their goopy ballness, so they just kind of like…
Janine: Bleuhhh, kind of like when you make a pudding and you tip it over but it doesn’t really set.
Austin: [amused] Uh-huh.
Janine: So it just kind of all melts into sort of like, it’s still together, but it’s like a…
Austin: It’s still together, but it’s all over the ground. Yeah.
Janine: And it’s gonna like take ten minutes for a new skin to form so it can firm up again.
Austin: Yes. That is… Uh-huh.
Janine: That I think makes sense.
Austin: [exhausted] That — well that happened. That just fuckin happened. And it’s all over the ground, and the other one is staring at these infinite fireworks, and they — [amused] you could do whatever you want at this point. [laughs]
Janine: Okay, let’s fuckin — we gotta go look, gotta move in, gotta take a look.
Keith: Yeah.
Austin: To the next place, is what you’re saying. You’re gonna move out of this room, beyond this room, through the door that they came in.
Janine: Past them, yeah.
Austin: Okay, totally. So, I think as you —
Janine: How much time do we have on the razzle dazzle? Does it say?
Austin: Until we lose —
Sylvia: It’s… Until I leave the area.
Austin: Uh-huh.
Janine: Okay. Okay.
Austin: Which…
Keith: What does area mean here?
Sylvia: That’s all it says!
Austin: I would say, I’m gonna give you the next room. Anything beyond the next room will be too far to maintain it.
Sylvia: Okay.
Keith: Okay.
Austin: Is that fair? Does that seem fair?
Keith: How long does it take for pudding to reget a skin?
Austin: Ten minutes. Ten minutes.
Keith: Ten minutes? Okay.
Janine: Yeah. Yeah.
Austin: So. Uh… You go into the next room, and you immediately get warmer as you see that this is the room — this is underneath the warm room. The baths above you are— and I think that you can see this and can check against the cheat sheet also, and copy it, I’m not gonna make you say that you copy this also. This is the kind of warming room for the warm room above, which is a sort of… kind of transitory area between the atrium and the changing rooms and then the kind of deeper zones of this bath. From here, in this room, there are two doors, and presumably above you there are also two doors, one that goes to a hot area and one that goes to a cold area. Actually I think here, actually, now that I think about it, there is a third room here. That room looks like it’s locked — it’s under a heavier metal door, and that one has a symbol on it that does not have to do with spa services [laughs] and so is much harder to — you don’t know what it means. Otherwise, this room is filled with hot coals, and also now less-hot coals, but it does seem like, to some degree, this area has been being maintained. In fact, I think that you see that there is one particular area where there is some stuff. In the corner of this room, there’s just like stuff on the ground. There’s a pipe just like in the corner with a cloak and like a backpack. It’s just like someone’s left their shit here, basically.
Keith: Ah, I think —
Janine: I absolutely wanna go through that backpack.
Keith: Yup. Same.
Austin: Okay.
Janine: [amused] Yeah.
Austin: Who — Janine, you started first. Give me a d20 as you start to pick your way through this backpack.
Janine: Okay… um… [muttering] I’ll have to change that… Okay. [beep] A 10.
Austin: That’s another 10, which means that there is a mixed success here. 11 is where just pure successes happen. You can either miss out on finding a secret thing here or you can take one damage as the secret pouch that you find inside bites you as you reach into it.
Janine: Uh, I’ll take a damage from getting bitten by the secret pouch.
Austin: Okay. As you —
Janine: In order to find the secret pouch.
Austin: You’re going through this fucking backpack and it’s just like filled with bullshit. There’s like three apples in here, two iron bars, there is, like I said, the pipe and there’s some like, you know, tobacco or weed or whatever.
Janine: This is absolutely what my inventory in an MMO looks like, so —
Austin: A hundred percent.
Keith: Carrying an iron bar?
Austin: Like two iron bars. It’s just — and it’s just left here.
Janine: You might have to repair your sword!
Austin: You might have to repair your sword, exactly. And in the little pouch, there is a… there is an envelope with a seal on it. You don’t recognise the seal from anything, but that’s just because — you just don’t. You don’t recognize the seal. But inside it is a letter — inside of this little envelope is a letter that says… “Your presence is requested at the Verona manor on this day at this time. Please feel free to bring any acquaintances whose trust you have for what will surely be an occasion of great festivities and opportunity.” This is an invitation to go meet with the viscount.
Keith: Who is it addressed— is it addressed to someone?
Austin: Uh, it does [laugh] yeah. This is addressed to Kevin. Kevin is spelled K-E-V-Y-N-N — excuse me.
Janine: [exasperated] Oh, god.
[Keith laughs]
Austin: It’s actually Kevynn Se — it actually says, um. To Sir Kevynn Seven. That’s K-E-V-Y-N-N S-E-V-Y-N-N.
Janine: Oh my god!!
Austin: So maybe it just says Sir Sevynn, but then in the text it says, you know [laughs]. “The heroism of Sir Kevynn are known throughout the land.” Et cetera.
Janine: Okay, I’m gonna bring my… I’m gonna bring my pen with — my magical pen —
Austin: Ah, good.
Janine: Up to this letter and I just wanna stock this up. It costs me two points to create a document, it does not say anything about any points spent for learning from the document.
Austin: And so this is a pen that you have that can steal…
Janine: Yes. This is my stenography — my mimic from the [laughs] stenography tree.
Austin: Uh-huh.
Janine: It’s a magical pen that guides your hand to copy any writer’s personal style. On the end opposite the pen tip is a magical stamp that can create forgeries of official seals. By bringing the mimic within reach of a handwritten document, it automatically learns how to reproduce the document’s handwriting styles, signatures, and seals. And then it’s two points to use any previously learned styles or seals to create a document, but I think combined it’s just three.
Austin: So you have two things from this, or three — you get three things from this. Uh. [stammers] You know what, for the sake of ease, this is one of those things where I’m gonna — I have a realistic answer to this, which is this is the handwriting of the butler or the valet or whatever of the viscount —
Janine: Eh, it’s still someone who writes invitations, that’s not nothing.
Austin: Totally, totally, totally, but for the sake of your notes, this is the viscount’s handwriting — and also ‘cause, again, in the world that we’re playing in, the viscount writes his own invitations, why the fuck not!
Janine: [sarcastic] Especially for grand heroes like Kevynn.
Austin: Right. Exactly. Like Kevynn Sevynn. The viscount… this is the viscount’s handwriting, signature, and seal. Viscount Vichel Verona. V-I-C-H-E-L.
Janine: Okay.
Austin: So again, there’s this pipe here still, and then… What did you roll? You rolled a 10 and I gave you the letter? Okay, yeah. I think that’s it.
Janine: And I got bitten.
Austin: And again, if you wanna take those iron bars, you can take those iron bars. And yes, you got bitten by a pouch, a toothed pouch. It’s like a zipper, but when you unzip it, then it turns into teeth, and then it bites you as you try to reach into it.
Janine: Ugh.
Austin: Not fun.
Janine: Hate those things.
Austin: Hate those things.
Janine: Uh, does anyone want this iron or these apples?
[pause]
Janine [as Odette]: March, do you do iron stuff?
Keith [as March]: Do…
Odette: Weapons?
[Austin laughs]
March: Uh, no, I have my swords.
Austin: [amused] Okay. The iron counts as an — the iron would count as a… like a trade good that you could then spend at some point.
Keith: Hm.
Janine: Okay, I’ll take it. What —
Austin: Two bars of iron, one slot.
Janine: Okay.
Austin: One inventory slot.
Keith: Oh right, we have all those slots.
Austin: You got all those slots!
Janine: Yeah. Yeah.
Keith: We just start with one thing.
Austin: Yeah. Mm-hm. You start with a bunch of them — I mean, you start with three weapons plus one item and then…
Keith: Sorry, one useful item, right.
Austin: Yes exactly.
Keith: [cross] But then we have all these slots.
Janine: [cross] Did you say there were three apples?
Austin: Three apples, I’m not gonna count those as a thing you can keep in your inventory.
Janine: I’m just gonna even out like one apple each.
Austin: Okay, yeah! Sure.
Janine: Just a snackin apple. We got all the way up on the mountain.
Keith: Sure, evenly divide the apple.
Austin: Yeah. You’re gonna eat these apples?
Janine: I mean, my apple.
Keith: What kinda apple is it?
Austin: Ah. Well.
Keith: Because, I mean, if we’re talking about iconography, it’s a Red Delicious, and then no, I’m not gonna eat it.
Austin: It’s a Red Delicious. So you’re not eating yours.
Keith: I’m not eating — no.
Austin: Uh..
Janine: That’s the worst kind of apple.
Austin: Who is eating…
Keith: It was the most popular kind of apple for like fifty years.
Austin: Who else is — Mana, are you eating?
Sylvia: Oh, yeah, my apple’s not making it out of this building. I’m eating this apple.
Austin: Both of you roll a d20 for me.
Sylvia: Ah, fuck.
Janine: Uh-oh. [laughs]
[pause]
[beep]
Janine: I got a 6.
Sylvia: Cursed, dude!
Janine: Sylvi got a 1 again!
[Keith shrieks with laughter]
Austin: [sighs quietly] Sylvi rolled a 1.
Sylvia: This is why we don’t play games that are d20s.
Austin: This is actually — can I just tell you, these are both extremely funny answers, who wants — Odette?
Janine: Uh-huh.
Austin: You forget all of your languages for a day.
Janine: [cross] What, even the one I use?
Keith: [cross] Including the main one?
Austin: Even the one you use!
Janine: What?
Austin: You bite into this apple and you feel words leave your mouth.
[Janine sighs]
Austin: Uh… Mana, your maximum HP is reduced by 2 until the Restore spell is cast on you. [pause] The Restore spell…
Keith: [amused] Should’ve not had a Red Delicious apple!
[Austin laughs]
Keith: Should’ve fuckin listened to me!
Janine: Look, I’m indulgent! I had to indulge…
Austin: You are indulgent! You know what, take an AP for fulfilling your indulgent flaw and forgetting language for a day.
Janine: Ugh.
Keith: Wow.
Austin: Yeah.
Keith: Two 1s for Sylvi. Maybe shouldn’t… Maybe she shouldn’t have named her character basically like… Will cause problems, the character.
Sylvia: That — why wouldn’t I name my character that when I’m trying to cause problems for this character, Keith?
Austin: Uh-huh.
Sylvia: Um.
Keith: It’s fair.
Austin: Hey Mana, or not Mana, sorry, Odette? How you doin? How’s this look? How do you — do you realize — you still — hm! You still have thoughts, you just can’t speak them? Is that what’s happening?
Keith: Can you write them?
Austin: No, you’ve forgotten languages, it doesn’t say spoken languages or written languages, so I’m just counting…
Janine: Well, you did say out of your mouth, but sure…
Austin: I did, but it says languages.
Janine: Yeah. [sighs]
Keith: So —
Janine: I don’t know what it looks like, honestly, I have no fuckin idea.
Austin: [amused] Okay.
Keith: Well, does that mean, ‘cause — okay, so, you’ve still got thoughts —
Austin: Right! We’re in some deep…
Keith: But you can’t use language in the thoughts, then.
Austin: Yeah. I think we…
Janine: I mean, okay, we don’t need to belabor this too much, ‘cause like there are people who can’t speak. Like, it’s a thing. Um.
Austin: Correct. Right, but this is not…
Keith: But they know language.
Austin: Right. This is not that. That’s my — the thing is that this is specifically —
Janine: Okay.
Austin: This doesn’t say you can’t speak for a day. This says you forget languages for one day.
Keith: That sucks.
Austin: I’m gonna say you can still — I’m gonna say you forget how to communicate your thoughts for a day, which means both written and… but the thing is…
Janine: Okay, no, but that’s worse, because then you can’t pantomime.
Austin: Yeah, you’re right, that is worse. So I’m gonna say you can pantomime.
Janine: You truly can’t — you can’t say I bit an apple and then forgot all methods of communication.
Austin: I mean, I could. Yes I could say that.
Janine: But that’s fucked up.
Austin: [amused] It is fucked up! You ate a magic apple without checking into it.
Janine: I got the better roll!
Austin: You should see what the other rolls are!
[Keith laughs]
Sylvia: Wait. I guess it has been an hour since I used — well, yeah, ‘cause I got a 1 on that so my spell stopped. I wouldn’t be able to still see magic, never mind.
Austin: Correct. Yes.
Sylvia: Right.
Keith: Oh, I didn’t realize that roll was tied to the spell, I thought that was just like a different thing you did.
Austin: No, that one roll with the backfire that prevented —
Keith: Yeah.
Austin: Sylvi would need to have taken a regroup action in order to address it.
Sylvia: Yeah.
Austin: If anyone has like a dispel or something, now would be a great time.
Sylvia: So wait, did I also forget how to talk?
Austin: No, you only took the damage. That’s a 1 on this roll.
Sylvia: Okay. So wait, that’s 1 damage or 2?
Janine: That seems like a way less bad thing to me.
Austin: Uh, it’s permanent until one of the highest level doctor spells gets cast on you, so.
Janine: I guess, that’s true, that’s true. Yeah. Okay.
Austin: You could just go to an inn for a day, you could be like you know what, we gotta get outta here.
Sylvia: So wait, so now my max HP is 8.
Austin: [amused] Correct.
Sylvia: Okay.
Austin: Uh-huh!
Sylvia: That’s fine.
Austin: Uh-huh. Um, I think, Odette, yeah, I think that you’re able to pantomime, you’re able to do ad hoc sort of communication, but nothing — no codified language system whether that is signing, writing, or… sentences, you know, are able to be strung together because of this.
Sylvia: Mana has a really bad stomach ache.
Keith: Hey, I mean, it’s a good thing we do have a pictionary with us. ‘Cause you can point, right?
Austin: You could point to those words, [laughs] you could point to the spa words you know.
Janine: Yeah, I’m gonna point to “Relax.”
Keith: [laughing] Okay, cool.
Austin: Oh my god. What do you do?
Janine: Actually, you know what I actually point to? I bet there is one of those glyphs that’s like “Quiet.” Or like…
Austin: Sure. Yes. Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah.
Janine: Something like that.
Austin: Mm-hm. Um, and here’s what I’m gonna say.
Keith: God, I wish I had something for this, I don’t have anything.
Austin: They’re pictographic, and I know pictography or that style of writing is a language, I’m not trying to take away from that aspect, but I’m gonna say that that sort of… there’s like a short… What’s the word I’m looking for? Not short — it short-circuits this effect a little bit, because even under this magical negative, you’re able to work out the meaning of this because it’s still pictographic in a way that you understand, if that makes sense.
Keith: Also ‘cause she’s not writing it, she’s just pointing at it.
Austin: Yeah.
Keith: Which is different than using it.
Austin: Uh, you forget languages means you wouldn’t be able to read them either, I think. But I’m not gonna — I think that’s a fun — we’ve built ourselves this thing where you have this book with spa words, I think it’s fun to have you use those [laughs] to communicate with at this point.
Janine: Mm-hm.
Austin: So yes, “Quiet.” Uh-huh.
Keith: God, I wish I could — I don’t have anything even like a stretch. Like there’s nothing even kind of…
Austin: Yeah, yeah. Yep. Well, things to think about as you take your next set of moves, you know?
Keith: Yeah! [laughs] Sometimes people get cursed —
Austin: Sometimes people get cursed.
Keith: Because they, uh, [laughing] they won’t refuse to eat a Red Delicious apple!
Austin: Listen, really good things could have come from that, is the other thing.
Keith: Yes. Yeah yeah yeah, yeah.
Austin: You could eat the third one and maybe something great happens, you know? Who knows.
[Sylvia laughs]
Keith: Yeah. The flip side is that they eat it, both get something really cool, and then I’m like, oh okay, then I’ll eat mine, and then it sucks.
Austin: Correct. You could eat the third one, maybe the third one would undo this effect, who knows.
Keith: Ff — yeah, let’s do it!
Austin: Not you, I meant one of them!
Keith: Oh, I thought maybe it would give me the power to undo… [laughs] Okay.
Sylvia: I don’t — well, ‘cause doing that feels like… I don’t know if you know the picture of like… the like — I’m just gonna link it, it’s a Yoda meme?
[Austin laughs]
Janine: Uh-huh?
Sylvia: And it’s all this makes me think of, is “Going back for more olives at 2:12 AM.”
[Austin and Keith laugh]
Sylvia: Like, it’s not a good move!
Austin: It’s not a good move! “After eating 37 olives straight out of the jar.” [laughs]
Keith: This looks — I have been exactly there. With the olives.
Austin: Oh, it’s so good.
Sylvia: I just lost 2 HP permanently until I get this spell cast, I don’t know if I want to eat another one of these apples.
Austin: What is your HP at right now?
Sylvia: My HP now is at 5. ‘Cause I take the damage, right?
Austin: Okay, then you should not eat one more, you should not eat another apple.
Sylvia: No, yeah, I’m good!
Janine: [doubting] Hmm.
Sylvia: [laughing] ‘Cause I got — I got zapped! I got slapped by the slime, and now I got 2 damage from this.
[beep]
Austin: Oh my god, Keith, did you just roll?
Keith: I rolled, I ate the apple.
Austin: Your maximum HP is reduced by 2, you rolled a 1!
Keith: I rolled a 1.
Austin: You both rolled 1s!
Keith: I just feel like in the spirit of unity and cooperation… Maybe something good would have happened, but at least that I’m doing this with my team.
[Sylvia and Austin laugh quietly]
Janine: I’m glad that Keith did that, ‘cause if he didn’t, I would have eaten the apple.
Austin: Uh-huh.
Janine: I would have just like fuck it, and I feel like I just got saved from myself.
Austin: Yeah. A hundred percent, a hundred percent…
Sylvia: Ohhh my god!!!
Austin: Uh-huh.
Sylvia: Just all… leaving the spa with really bad stomach aches.
Keith: Can we do… Has there been a single roll that hasn’t been a 1, a 10 or a 20?
Austin: There’s a 6. There’s the 6 that [laughing] cost Odette language!
Keith: Oh right, there was a 6, yep, yep.
Austin: Um, are you moving on to one of these other rooms? What are you doing?
Keith: Well, time to go!
Austin: There’s a hot room, a cold room, and then a room that you don’t know the pictograph for. Or there’s a heating room, a cooling room. The hot room and cold room would be above those rooms.
Keith: Can I roll to see if I could work out what that last room is?
Austin: [inhales] You could try it. You can give me a d20. [beep] That’’s a 10, which again is a mixed success. Um. Yeah! I think that you put it together by combining some other stuff and erasing some other stuff and you’re looking at the book that Odette has and then —
Keith: The just-right temperature room.
Austin: It’s the just — it’s just right. Um. No, I think that you work out that it says, um, there’s like a weird… It’s like transfer — holy transference or something like that. Which like, I don’t even know what that means. Holy, H-O-L-Y. Um.
Keith: Right.
Austin: There’s something in the word transference, in the symbol, that is… You wouldn’t — you got a success, it [stammers] it feels like it’s not actually transference, it feels like it’s like a… transference of eminence. Right? Like there’s like a, it’s tied to what they were saying before about eminence, and it’s like a — the word eminence but with a form on it, and this going to be really hard to explain to Odette who doesn’t understand languages right now, but with like, you know, an article attached to it or whatever that changes the meaning from having eminence to transferring or handing across eminence. Um so yeah it seems to be some sort of religious room, presumably. And then, and then, and then, you get — with a 10, I give you an option of one of two things. Either in the attempt to translate this, your… you again will attract the attention of something else, or I think you require — again, I’m giving you the same things — you require the help of your detective spirit to piece this together.
Keith: Um. Yeah, I think it’s time for the detective.
Austin: So tell me about your detective spirit.
Keith: Um.
Austin: It’s a ghost of a detective, this is what we got. Is it a Sherlock detective, is it a… detective-monk, like that detective-monk from TV show — not Monk the — not Monk. The other one. The other one, about a monk who is a detective, from forever — not from recently?
Keith: Not… you’re not talking about Monk the…
Austin: The USA TV show. No.
Keith: The USA show.
Austin: No.
Janine: Ranchester or something like that?
Austin: [cross] I don’t think that’s what I…
Janine: [cross] No, that’s a priest, that’s a priest.
Sylvia: Ghost Columbo?
Austin: [facetiously] Ghost Columbo is who I mean.
Janine: Like Columbo’s a monk.
Austin: What is the name of it… [cad-fell] Cadfael? Cadfael.
Keith: I didn’t know there was a non-Tony Shalhoub detective-monk.
Austin: Well, Monk isn’t a monk. Tony Shalhoub Monk isn’t a monk.
Keith: No.
Austin: Cadfael? The Cadfael Chronicles, is about 12th century England, about a Benedictine monk who is like a murder-solving monk.
Keith: I love that. I’ve never — I’ve basically not heard of this, but i think it’s great.
Austin: Okay, I barely know it, but it’s cool. Yeah. Uh-huh. It’s a… there’s like a couple of novels and then a TV show that ran for a while, I believe. It’s like what if there was a murder mystery happening in the middle of Crusader Kings, you know?
Keith: Yeah, which often there is.
Janine: There always is. Yeah.
Austin: Oh, whoops, yeah.
Janine: That’s a part of Crusader Kings.
Keith: You just don’t get a lot of info on it.
Austin: You just don’t get the…
Janine: Oh, this is what’s-his-name! The guy! That guy!
Austin: It’s [cad-file] Cadfael, Cadfael, not [cad-fail] Cadfael…
Keith: It’s also Tony Shalhoub, is that what you mean by that guy?
Janine: No, this actor — this dude. What the fuck is his name?
Austin: Derek Jacobi.
Janine: Yeah.
Austin: Derek Jacobi.
Janine: Weird.
Austin: Mm-hm! Anyway.
Keith: Derek Jacobi. I don’t know who that is.
Austin: Great name. Uh, anyway, so you empty this flask out? And a monk pops out — a ghost monk pops out? Which it helps —
Keith: Yeah, yeah. I think you do have to — you do have to pour it into a glass, and then he comes out from the glass.
Austin: Okay. Great. You find a glass in that backpack…
Keith: [laughing] ‘Cause it is a spirit…
Austin: Or do you carry a glass with you for this purpose?
Keith: Yeah, just like a little glass just for this. Or maybe the lid to the flask is a cup.
Austin: Yeah. Yeah, I like that, yeah yeah yeah.
Keith: Yeah.
Austin: [laughs] It’s more like a thermos. Um. Comes up, and is like…
[as Ghost Monk]: Ah, what a predicament you three have gotten yourselves into this time.
Austin: What’s this monk’s name?
Keith: Oh, well, he’s a monk so he’s gotta have like a monk name, he can’t just be called like Jonno.
Ghost Monk: Ah, ah, it’s me, Jonno the monk. It’s Jonno now, isn’t it?
[Keith laughs]
Jonno: Um. What do we have here, what do we have here? [sing-song] D-d-duh… Hm, holy, yes, okay. [murmuring]
Austin: And I think —
Keith [as March]: Jonno, the thing I appreciate you is that you get right to work.
Jonno: [a little testy] Yes, I only have a few minutes here, trying to make sure that we both get what we bargained for, which was your aid.
March: Thank you, I appreciate you.
Jonno: Um. Are the two of you okay?
[pause]
March: No. Oh, the three of us are not okay.
Jonno: Oh, are you also not okay?
March: Yeah, we…
Jonno: March.
March: Two of us ate an exploding apple, and I think one of us can’t talk.
Jonno: Hm.
Austin: Leans in close to Odette.
Sylvia [as Mana]: Apples suck!
Jonno: Hm. Never eat an apple when you don’t know the tree.
Mana: It was a Red Delicious, so we knew the tree.
Janine: I have no idea what he’s saying.
Mana: And we knew it was a bad tree.
Austin: [laughs loudly] No — there’s no —
[Keith laughs]
Austin: Yeah, again, it’s like, uh…
Janine: I can infer from the tone that he’s…
Austin: Being a judgemental asshole.
Janine: That he’s attempting to shame me in some way…
Austin: Correct.
Janine: But I cannot understand, nor do I give a shit.
Jonno: Yes, yes, yes, very well. Um, well. [breathes in through teeth] Well, hm. This is all… You’re in a Chimeric crown bath, I see. I see, I see, I see. You know what they say—
March: Hm. I saw that too.
Jonno: About this place. Is, um, um.
March: Oh?
Jonno: These places were, well, this is rumoured, of course. Places where the most powerful of the old Chimeric Crown would come and enjoy themselves in a sort of spa day treatment resort, and that there would be — they would get the enjoyment of seeing their subjects serve them, which I believe was a euphemism for, um, uh, monster slavery, I believe. Whoever the locals were, they would force them to work in their resorts, as a way of — ah — they’re a terrible people — a sort of combination resort-zoo situation, you see. Thankfully, contemporary faiths being what they are, different relationships. I don’t know this particular bath, um, but… If you’ve seen any creatures nearby, I would suspect a similar stock.
March: Mm, we saw some… We saw some slimes.
Jonno: Ah, the slime! A wonderful creature.
March: They were definitely — this monster slavery thing was happening to them.
Jonno: Still! Today? The Chimeric Crown has been gone for millenia! Seems unlikely that… Unless? Hm. Old Chimeric magics.
March: No, I did magic on them and I know for sure.
Jonno: Mm. Very interesting. A mystery — for you — to solve.
Austin: And then dissolves back into a liquid, into the cup.
Mana: I don’t like that guy.
[Austin laughs]
March: I love him.
Austin: [laughs louder] Bye, Jonno!
March: Bye, Jonno. Thank you for your help
Mana: [mocking] “A mystery for you to solve.”
[Austin and Janine laugh]
Sylvia: That’s in-character. I’m going to be very clear about that.
Austin: [laughs] Good! Uh-huh.
Keith: It sounds like the last line of like a PBS documentary?
Austin: [laughs] Exactly! Or just like a children’s show, or like a throw to commercial, or a throw to “open your workbook,” you know.
Keith: Yeah.
Janine: Yeah, I was gonna say it’s like a school instructional video where it’s all like blown-out sounding, like… [laughing] I can’t even…
Austin: Uh-huh!
Janine: It’s like that like museum audiovisual, sort of, [hand over mouth] “It’s a mystery for you to solve!” [sings theme music]
Austin: [also sings theme music] Yeah, and it’s like the chime plays, yeah, exactly.
Janine: There’s like a sunrise or something and like a weird old logo for some company that doesn’t exist anymore.
Austin: A hundred percent. Yes, definitely. Mm. Well.
Janine: Good stuff.
Austin: You still can’t get into this door, this door is a big heavy metal locked mechanism. But you know that it has something to do with all that.
Keith: Oh, I didn’t — I missed that it was locked.
Austin: Yeah. Yes.
Keith: Well, maybe the way to unlock it is in one of the other rooms, so…
Austin: Heating room or cooling room, which one do you wanna go to?
Keith: Well, let’s cool off in the cool room, and then if it gets too cold, we can go to the hot room.
Austin: There we go! Um, so. You head in…
Keith: When you say cooling room, is this like you go, you open up your pores in the hot room and then you jump in a cold bath?
Austin: This is exactly right, this is exactly right.
Keith: Okay, so we’re doing it in reverse, but.
Austin: Well, yeah. Tota — or! I mean, you could just come for just the cooling. That is a thing you could do. But you go into — and actually, to be clear, this is the cooling room for the cold room above. This is where, presumably, servants or slimes, or slaves in the age of the Chimeric Crown, would have kind of cooled the room above using a combination of techniques arcane and mundane. Um, here, you come through the door and immediately there is light from above shining down because the ceiling of this smaller, the kind of low ceiling, excuse me, of this cooling room has been destroyed, and then above that the ceiling of the much higher room, which goes out to the mountain, has also been destroyed, and so light is pouring in from outside of the mountain into this room, and when I say it’s destroyed, I don’t mean the whole floor has been destroyed, but there’s like a big hole in it. If you imagine that this room is like the size of half a basketball court, you can — it’s as if the free throw area has been — like the key has been destroyed. And, you know, there’s rubble headed down into this room in such a way that you could climb up to the higher cooling room — or the cold room from here.
And up in the cold room you can see that there are like baths with cold that are being magically cooled somehow, or at least some of them are, and then down here you can see there are kind of arcane symbols, more of these pictographs with cold and stuff written into the walls, and then like there are like slots where you imagine people — worker, slimes — would be using the mechanisms to cool the area above the magical mechanisms above. You also see, unfortunately, the bodies of two — I don’t know, kind of like near the rubble — two monks. One of them is — they look like they’re in the same sorts of uniforms of the people that you saw down in town. One looks like a kind of less-elaborately-dressed version of the prioress, so think of kind of like a nun vibe here, white with blue and copper, and then a kind of martial-artsy kind of looking — or not martial artsy looking, but like baggy pants and a kind of like tunic with a belt. A monk, an attendant monk next to them, and they are both unfortunately seemingly dead, and one of them is clutching a book, and that is your kind of first blush of this room. What do you do?
[pause]
Keith: I don’t know, I feel bad. One of us can’t talk.
Austin: Mm-hm!
[pause]
Janine: I go get the book and bring it to someone else.
Austin: [sad laugh] Uh-huh. It is — who do you bring it to, Mana or March?
Janine: Uhh…
Austin: Uh, you bring it to both of them. On the cover it’s — as you start to flip through it you see that it is a collection of prayers to something called the Translucent Eminence. Sometimes called Their Translucent Eminence. Um, it’s some sort of slime monarch. i think you put this together based on the poetry and prayer inside. And it’s pretty easy to work out that the religious sect that was living here before, that the prioress was in charge of, seems like they were working with and maybe worshipping the slime god below? Um. Presumably behind the holy door. Um, so. And this worshipper, this… nun…
Keith: Is this a problem? That they would be doing this?
Austin: I think it’s…
Keith: Like, culturally?
Austin: Um! Uh, mm… Yes and no. Right? Didn’t seem like it was hurtin anybody, up until now. Up until this happened, there was no cause for concern, as far as anyone else could see.
Keith: Right. But this also doesn’t seem like the slime god’s fault.
Austin: [affectionate] No, and the prayers to the slime god are really, like, warm, and about everyone finding their place and being part of a whole. It’s a little creepy, there’s a degree to which it’s diff — when a slime god called the Translucent Eminence is referred to as being part of a whole, and you understand that that means like, oh yeah, it’s just like a big slime body, there’s a degree to which the metaphor breaks down when you’re also talking about individual people who are not a single slime body [laughs], and when you try to make those metaphorical leaps, it’s a little like stomach-churning in points? But it works! And these people all seemed happy. These are all like very pretty songs, or, you know, songs that you — hymns, basically, that you would sing. It’s a mix of things, and whoever this worshipper was, seems to have held it close to them, as, you know, in their final moments.
Keith: Is there anything in here that would lead me to believe that it could get that other door open?
Austin: Um. So you’re looking around? Are you staying on this bottom floor or are you — are you saying the book? The book doesn’t seem like it would… Um…
Keith: Oh, no no no, not the book. In the room, in the room.
Austin: Oh. In the room. Um, nothing on the bottom floor. I’m gonna say as you peek to the top floor, the actual room where the baths are, the cold baths are, you see in one of the corners, someone — you hear first someone snoring in one of the corners, and as you peek your head up above the floor, you see like legs — like — kind of falling out of the bath, like over the edge of the bath, filled with ice.
Keith [as March]: Legs! I see legs!
Sylvia [as Mana]: Yeah, no, that seems like a person over there. Uh-huh.
Austin: Uh, it is a person. He is… he is big as shit. He has spiky —
Keith: His name is big as shit.
Austin: No, his name is Kevynn. Kevynn Sevynn. He’s a big warrior boy. He has… he’s like cooling off and resting in some sort of ice tub, basically, like in the… You know, the way a pitcher does after a hard game in baseball. And…
Keith: Yeah. Ice bags on your shoulder?
Austin: The whole — I mean, is in a pool — is in a bath of ice, literally. Is also asleep in that bath of ice. All of his shit is next — not all of it, but like his weapon is next to him, he’s not wearing his armor right now, it’s on the floor next to him. And you can hear him kind of like tossing and turning a little bit, but that’s it, and that’s where he is. I guess you wouldn’t know that it’s Kevynn Sevynn. But I’m telling you it’s Kevynn Sevynn.
Keith: Hm.
Austin: He’s big, he’s like 6’11. He’s like, you know…
Keith: That’s big.
Austin: 280, muscle. He’s big.
Keith: Sliders all the way up, on the muscle slider.
Austin: Yeah, sliders up. Muscle sliders all the way up, [laughs] a hundred percent.
[pause]
Keith: I don’t know what this means!
Sylvia: Yeah, I don’t wanna like — my big worry here is, um, the big guy getting the weapon and thinking we’re, uh, enemies. Also why’s he sleeping in ice, that seems like a weird thing to do. I don’t trust that.
Austin: Yeah. Fair.
Janine: I am so mad I can’t communicate right now.
Austin: Uh-huh!
Janine: Or like I don’t have language. I’m so mad. I know exactly what I would do, and it’s very unfair.
Austin: Can you try to communicate it with your wordbook?
Keith: What would you do? Oh, yeah.
Janine: I can’t! No, I can’t!
Keith: Can you draw a picture?
Janine: ‘Cause it’s not — I can’t!
Austin: Can you draw a picture?
Janine: It’s a thing — no, it’s not a thing I can — that’s not how it works. That’s not what it would be.
Austin: Okay.
Keith: Not even as a Drawful, like, prompt?
Janine: It’s a thing you guys can’t do.
Keith: Oh.
Sylvia: Oh, is it like one of your moves or something?
Janine: Yeah!
Austin: And it requires you to talk?
Janine: [amused] Yes, a lot, probably!
Austin: [pitying] Uh-huh… You can’t use that move on someone else, right? It says you?
Janine: No! I can’t make a persona for someone else!
Austin: You’re sure, it doesn’t say…
Janine: That doesn’t make any sense.
Austin: Okay.
Janine: Well…
Austin: Listen.
Keith: Who…
Austin: It does not say anything about you.
Janine: Actually… Hm… Well, the thing it says is when you use your alter — when YOU use your alternate identity, you must outwardly present yourself as that person by wearing their costume.
Austin: Yeah. Mm-hm. Here’s what I’m gonna say, if you spend 1 extra AP, you can extend this to a different person.
[pause]
Janine: I’m trying to think of like what the… what’s the play here then? Also, when do our AP refresh?
Keith: When we regroup?
Austin: You get 5 back at the end of a session, no, not when you regroup.
Janine: Hm, okay.
Austin: Yeah. I can also reward them for certain things like when you follow through with your flaw, for instance. Or if you come up with a clever plan that I think is really good. Those sorts of things.
Keith: Ah. Do I get one for yelling, earlier?
Austin: No — ahh — yeah. I’ll give you one for that, sure. Yeah, uh-huh. That was the distracted — the echo bit was fun, yes. [pause] Oh, no, you don’t because that was not a choice, that was you failing — that was a mixed success.
Keith: Oh, it was actually a choice because I could have used my Detective then instead.
Austin: Yeah, but that wasn’t — if you had lined yourself up for it…
Keith: Okay.
Austin: You know what I mean? If you had said I’m gonna start clapping, because I’m impulsive — er, because I’m distractible, that would have done it, but it was a response to a mixed success roll. Whereas when Odette said yeah, I’m gonna eat this thing… Uh, that was not primed.
Keith: Okay.
[pause]
Austin: Okay, so how are you communicating your persona plan?
Janine: I can’t, that’s the other problem is that like I…
Keith: Grab one of us?
Austin: Okay, what was your persona plan, let’s work backwards.
Janine: [sighs] I just, I don’t think this works either because I don’t know enough about this dude’s like goals or anything to infer who he would want to see and also what our goal is in having him see anything.
Sylvia: Yeah.
[pause]
Keith: You could just grab his stuff.
Austin: Could just sneak up and grab his stuff, that’s true.
[pause]
Austin: Um, my thought was, were you going to try to create someone with the Verona like symbol on it, like someone from the Viscount’s manor or something, that you know he would have been in communication with.
Janine: Um… I mean, I guess — I don’t think I can do that [laughs].
Austin: Why? Yeah, you could! You can’t create a specific person, but you could create someone who — if you could create quote “an officer…”
Janine: But like i don’t know what their uniforms look like, do I?
Austin: Uh, you have their seal. You have their official seal, right?
Janine: But that’s for documents.
Austin: Yeah, but — do you think Kevynn Sevynn — you’re the spy. This is the important thing is, you carefully prepare a convincing alternate identity. It does not say you need to have super-important information, blah blah blah. This is not that — we are not playing that game here. Right, this is not Hieron where I’m like, how do you know that. This is Quest…
Janine: I also just don’t know that like, sending him there is good, either.
Austin: [cross] I just wanna make sure that you’re… I just wanna sure that we’re on the same…
Janine: [cross] That’s my other problem is that like I don’t… I don’t know, I don’t have enough info. I also can’t get much more.
Austin: I wanna make sure that we’re on the same, like, level of how much… justification you would need to be able to use your cool abilities, which is not that much.
Janine: Yeah.
Keith: What if, uh… What if we just wake him up?
[someone coughs]
Sylvia [as Mana]: I mean, if you wanna wake him up, go ahead. I’m gonna be standing… um… Far away. Out of, sorta…
Sylvia: Is it a sword that’s on the ground next to Kevynn?
Austin: Yeah, it’s like a big greatsword.
Mana: Yeah, I’m gonna stay outta sword range. Um. That’s sorta my whole thing here. I’ve had a bad enough day. Things are going rough for Mana Mixup, okay, so I’m staying away from this weirdo in the ice bath.
Keith [as March]: You got it, I’ll take point on this one. Hey, excuse me!
Austin [as Kevynn]: [startled, waking] Hwuh!
March: Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.
Kevynn: [calling out] Hey, guys! Hey, guys, there’s people! Hey, guys, there’s people!
March: No — yes, we are all people here.
Kevynn: [calling out] There’s people here!
March: Just having a quick question for you. Um, hope you were enjoying your bath there. We are exploring, and, uh, just curious about what you’re doing and if you know anything about the slimes. Oh! Or if you know anything about the flood, I’m just remembering that.
Austin: I think he looks very nervous, and is like trying to figure out how to get out of the bath and grab his weapon, but not in a “and then he’s gonna swing it” way, in like a “he’s scared” way.
Keith: Right.
March: Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you. We mean you no harm.
Austin: Give me a D20.
[pause]
Sylvia: This is why I got out of sword range.
Austin: This is why you got out of sword range.
Sylvia: Cause there was a dice involved.
Austin: There’s always — yeah, uh-huh.
Keith: No, I put that in the youtube chat. Nope.
[Austin and Janine laugh]
Austin: You’re rolling — nope, it didn’t roll anything, huh?
Keith: No, it didn’t roll — that didn’t work. They don’t have that feature in youtube yet.
[beep]
Keith: 19.
Austin: Mm! That’s a success. I think he calms down, and he says…
Kevynn: Um. [still calling out] I think it’s okay, never mind! [quieter] Are you guys…
Mana: Who are you talking to?
Kevynn: What — to Alakastra and, and, um, Kairitara. Are you okay? Are you — are you guys… Um. The slimes. Yeah, we beat ‘em.
March: You beat them.
Kevynn: Yeah.
March: What do you mean, you beat them? They’re…
Kevynn: They took over the bath and we beat them. And now we’re waiting to see if we can beat their god.
March: No, the —
Kevynn: I think Alakastra has a big plan, um, but, I don’t know, they’re weird.
Mana: I don’t know if they do anymore.
[pause]
March: I don’t know what you mean by beat them! They were down there, and they seemed upset.
Kevynn: [amused] Oh, there were more before. We, uh, we beat most of them. Um, I think Alakastra took a couple ones as like pets.
Mana: Okay. Oh, that was the thing they were saying! Alakastra.
March: Yeah, they were saying Alakastra.
Mana: Okay, that makes sense.
Kevynn: Yeah, Alakastra. They’re like a, I don’t know, they’re like Empire of the Cat. Like kind of like a necromancer.
March: Like Ala-cat-ster.
Kevynn: Ah — that’s what I would have chosen as a name. If I was that.
March: Oh, it’s not? It’s not that.
Kevynn: No, just Alakastra.
Mana: I don’t wanna be like, too rude — are those the people that we found — are those the bodies we found?
Kevynn: Oh no, they worked here.
Mana: Oh, okay.
Kevynn: I think they were like slime cultists?
Mana: Oh, so you did that?
Kevynn: Um, that might’ve been Kairitara. I was focused on the slimes.
Mana: Okay. Just accomplices. Okay.
Kevynn: Mm-hm. Well! They were accomplices, to the slimes, yes.
Mana: Sure. Yep! That you killed.
Kevynn: Yeah!
Mana: Okay. Just wanted...
March: Why are you — we don’t understand why you’re killing the slimes. You’re killing the…
Kevynn: What, why? Because… They took over… The… [frustrated sound] Are you new?
Mana: Uh-oh.
March: Well, we don’t live here, no.
Kevynn: Oh!
Mana: I think this… Mm.
Kevynn: So. Um. This is a Chimeric bath, and if we get all of the Chimeric baths, um, we can get more powerful.
March: What do you mean, get them? [cross] Like, visit them?
Kevynn: [cross] If we take them over. And like give them back to… Yeah, visit them and then claim them.
Mana: I think…
Kevynn: And then, well, what happened was we didn’t even know this one was here, and then we got an invitation from the viscount —
Kevynn: — who told us about the cult, and now, uh, we’re going to get to claim it, and this is gonna be our tenth one! And that’s gonna give us the bonus.
Sylvia: Can I just like go over to March and just sorta whisper:
Mana: I think it’s a Vivant!
Keith: That’s actually what i was about to — I was about to pause and ask like, how much does the Conservatory know about the Vivants…
Austin: [cross] It’s enough to under — yes, yes, this is a Vivant.
Keith: [cross] And like am I seeing past the Vivant shit?
Austin: You, um, I think that you’re all new to direct confrontations. You know Vivants really want to reclaim the ruins — reclaim and rebuild the ruins of the old Chimeric Crown. That is what’s happening here. You know that they speak in strange ways, like this. Um. You know that they…
Keith: They talk about — they like, talking about “getting” things.
Austin: Yeah, “getting” things. “Winning”, a lot. They’re big on winning. [laughs]
Keith: Yeah.
Austin: They have like a really weird relationship with “stuff” in a way that you don’t.
Keith: Right, they… yeah.
Austin: They just like leave — they just drop shit sometimes. I don’t know if people— you may have—
Keith: They carry around iron bars.
Austin: Yeah, uh-huh, but you do that too now. So that part’s — you know — both of you.
Keith: Right.
Austin: But yeah. Uh-huh. And there’s a range, here. Out of character, this is not a thing that you know, but a thing that Keith, for instance, would know. I believe that we’re playing on an RP server, which is why most people are not just constantly — most Vivants are not just talking about theorycrafting —
Keith: Right. This is a game.
Austin: — this is a game most of the time. It’s why someone has named themselves Alakastra. Um, and…
Keith: Right. But also there’s Kevynn Sevynn.
Austin: But also there’s Kevynn Sevynn and Kairitara. Yeah. Uh-huh. [laughs] My OC, do not steal. Um. Yeah. Uh, I think he like scoots back down and says, um.
Kevynn: Anyway, I’m recovering, so, um. Once I’m done, we’re gonna go back down and finish the boss.
Keith: [stammers] What’s — when we find a Vivant.
Austin: Yeah.
Keith: What does it — what are we supposed — what is our job about that?
Austin: That’s a good question.
Keith: Am I supposed to kill this guy?
Austin: That is not what the Conservatory has taught you. You’re trying to figure out what their fuckin deal is.
Keith: Yeah. [cross] It’s not go find and kill… Yeah.
Austin: [cross] And stop them from hurting people. If they’re hurting people.
Keith: Yeah, okay, I guess that’s what I say, I mean…
Austin: Oh! That’s the other — I mean, here’s the other thing is, you can’t kill them as far as you know. They’re like demigods.
Keith: Right, cause they just will show up somewhere else. [cross] They’ll just show up back in town.
Austin: [cross] They’ll show up again somewhere else! Sometimes in the same place you are!
Keith: Yeah. Yeah. Um…
March: Look, I mean, I’ve gotta say, it’s not… We’re having a hard time understanding why you would want to come — to visit this bath, you didn’t even come here on purpose, why are you killing the slimes?
Kevynn: The slimes —
Mana: Yeah, it just seems kinda fucked up, you know?
Kevynn: Why are you yelling at me?
March: It’s not okay — it’s not… It’s… [pauses] I mean, it’s wrong!
Kevynn: It was wrong that the slimes took over our bath!
March: It wasn’t your… you said you didn’t know about it.
Kevynn: Yes it was! We’re the Scions of the Chimeric Crown! I’m…
Janine: Can I gesture at the water?
Austin: Uh-huh. Which water, the bathwater?
Janine: And then like make like a — yeah, the bathwater, but then make like a big arms motion?
Austin: Uh-huh.
Janine: [cross] To remind people…
March: [cross] Hug water? Are you saying hug water?
[Austin laughs]
Mana: Do you know anything about the flood?
Janine: [snaps fingers] Thank you.
Austin: Good.
Kevynn: The flood? Well, when we beat —
Sylvia: Mana gives a big thumbs up to Odette, by the way.
[Austin and Janine laugh briefly]
Kevynn: When we beat the first form, there was a big splash.
Mana: Okay.
March: Oh, the flood. I forgot again about it.
Austin: Oh my god. [laughing] Keith, are you sure you didn’t eat the apple?
[Keith laughs]
Austin: Um, the uh, the language apple.
Kevynn: Um. The Eminence? The slime god. When we beat it the first time, there was like a drain, it went [high to low pitch] woosh-woosh-woosh-woosh-woosh-woosh-woosh.
[pause]
Mana: God, wait. Oh no, is that slime out there?
Kevynn: Probably.
Mana: Aw… They did a slime flood, guys.
March: Oh, that was a big slime that flooded?
Mana: At last that’s what I’m guessing here.
Kevynn: Is everything okay?
Mana: The town’s all jacked up, dude!
March: Yeah, you really ruined that town!
Kevynn: No, the viscount said that he was gonna take care of everybody. And it wasn’t gonna be… They could all move into the manor, and help him. He’s gonna make the town better.
March: [cross] Hmmm.
Mana: [cross] Oh, okay. So, and let me guess.
March: Everyone down there is very upset about their houses and all their stuff and…
Mana: Just really quick, the viscount was also the guy who like told you to do this, right?
Kevynn: Uh —
Austin: And he looks over —
Kevynn: Ugh, I left my backpack downstairs. He sent me an invitation!
Mana: Yeah, okay. Nice!
March: There was no backpack down there, don’t check.
[Austin starts laughing]
Mana: Didn’t see a thing, but like if he did give you this invitation, so like, had you gone to see him yet, or were you still planning on that?
Kevynn: Uh-huh!
Mana: Okay.
Kevynn: We had a big dinner, um, and he told us about the baths and how this evil slime cult took it over, so we dealt with them, I said that, that’s, you know, we’re heroes.
Mana: Yeah.
Kevynn: And so we dealt with that, and now we’re gonna finish the slime god once I’m finished healing up. And then we’ll claim it, and we’ll get to repair it, and it can be a new like home for us, a new home point.
March: Home point?
Kevynn: Like a new… Yeah. Where we...
Austin: Kevynn is really trying to RP.
Kevynn: Um. [laughs] A new, like, um…
Keith: Every time we call Kevynn out on something he thinks it’s just because he’s not RPing right.
Austin: A hundred percent, a hundred, a hundred, a hundred percent.
[Keith laughs]
Sylvia: That’s so funny!
Austin: Yes, he thinks you’re GM characters. Like he thinks that the GMs have — like The Matrix Online — have summoned characters to RP with him, he’s very excited right now! Because it’s like, this doesn’t happen to everybody! Um.
Janine: Lo, the point doth you re-rez, and waketh, ‘pon the morrow.
[Austin and Keith laugh]
Janine: Winky face ;).
Austin: Yeah. “There’s aught of value here, eh, Arisen?” Um. [laughing] They’re…
Janine: He just — just like accidentally triggers the wrong emoji and is like oh, sorry.
Austin: Sorry, sorry, sorry.
Janine: It was the wrong emote.
Austin: A hundred percent.
Janine: I didn’t mean to wave, I didn’t mean to dance.
Austin: Yeah. [laughs] I did not mean to dance in my ice bath! Um. Like. Yeah, uh-huh. And so yeah, that is… [laughs] That is what’s happened here. Kevynn has explained pretty clearly that — I mean, I don’t think you understand the viscount’s… goal, necessarily. Kevynn is not the one who’s going to give you all that, I think.
Keith: Yeah.
Kevynn: Anyway, um. If I… I’m sorry if I don’t understand everything.
March: Well, my only questions —
Kevynn: If you wait until I’m done, I can… I can bring you down to see Alakastra and Kairitara and they might be able to explain more to you. They probably wanna meet you, for sure.
[pause]
Mana: Um, eh, do we need to do that? [laughs]
March: I think as members of the Conservatory, it’s our job to meet with them.
[pause]
Kevynn: All right, well.
Mana: Okay. [whispering] Vivants just kind of —
March: I wanna be —
Sylvia: This is Mana whispering.
Austin: Yeah.
Mana: [whispering] Vivants just kind of freak me out, you know? They’re just scary. [laughing uncomfortably] They’re weird.
March: They are extremely scary and weird, but…
Austin: [laughs] Well.
March: We must do this.
Kevynn: Um, I’ll be probably another thirty minutes, and then I’ll be ready to go.
Mana: We could like...
Janine: This is a bad MMO.
Austin: Yeah, it’s serious — it’s like a survival situation, you know? People take it seriously. I think it’s like a debuff, probably. Like I think he probably got knocked out in the last fight and then he has like a…
Janine: Or also — we probably perceive time differently.
Austin: Oh, that’s also definitely true, right?
Janine: That’s — yeah.
Austin: Yeah, that makes — that’s easy.
[pause]
Sylvia: Okay, out of character, I’m fine meeting with these guys, I just feel like going directly to the viscount feels like the move, um. Just ‘cause it kinda sounds like he manufactured this to get people to go work for him.
Austin: Oh, he definitely — that definitely is the case.
Sylvia: Yeah, like.
Austin: I think you’re confident of that. The thing — there’s kind of two — I can just give you the kind of like, which thing are you chasing at this point? Do you wanna chase down this corrupt viscount who you know where he is right now, you believe that you know that he’s guilty of this thing? Or do you want to intercede before they kill this slime god and claim the bath?
Keith: That’s sort of what i was thinking, but then also I’m like how are we gonna intercede on two invincible, invulnerable like…
Austin: Well, they’re not invincible. And you know that they don’t have this as a home point yet. [laughs]
Keith: Invulnerable, I guess.
Austin: Yeah. I need to come up with a fancy, in-character name for where they get to like respawn [laughs] that’s not a home point or a respawn point.
Keith: Right.
Austin: But like…
Keith: The waters of something something.
Austin: Right, right, exactly. Exactly, the waters of something something something. The scionic waters. Scionic… S-C-I-O-N…
Janine: Scintillic, scintillic’s better. Use scintillic.
Austin: Oh, but, I’m, it’s a psionic [in the psychic sense] pun.
Janine: Oh, okay. Got it.
Austin: It’s S-C-I-O-N hyphen I-C. You know, scion — or not even a hyphen, but just scionic, but like scion —
Janine: Mm-hm.
Austin: Scintillic’s fine. Um.
Keith: Uh.
Austin: Anyway. Those aren’t here, so they can’t come back here, so you could at least stop them for now.
Keith: Okay.
Austin: But I’m also — I am like hanging this over you in some sense, in the sense that like anytime you spend letting the viscount continue to worm his way in with the populace, or get, you know, learn that you came up here, gives him time to prepare a response, or flee, or be corrupt in some other shitty way… [laughs]
Sylvia: Yeah.
Austin: And we don’t need to decide this right now, it is 9:48 PM. I have no problem kicking this to a second session, we’ve been going for a little bit of time now, I believe.
Keith: Two and a half hours.
Austin: That’s a real amount of time.
Keith: Not all of on…
Austin: Not all of that was game. But.
Keith: Yeah.
Sylvia: Yeah.
Keith: Um, I, uh, I’m fine with pushing it to the next thing, and I’m also fine with doing another half hour or whatever, so. Whoever — if anybody’s like we should save it.
Austin: Sylvi, Janine?
Sylvia: Uh… I could keep going, like I feel like I know where I wanna go.
Janine: Yeah, I could do another half hour too.
Keith: Yeah.
Austin: Let’s keep — let’s do another half hour, then.
Keith: I was like so — this is the problem with having a bad sleep schedule. I was beat when we started, I was so fucking tired, and now that it’s ten o’clock I’m like wide awake.
[Janine and Austin make quiet sympathetic noises]
Keith: [laughing] So… I’m like, yeah, this is the start of my day, 10 PM.
[Janine laughs]
Austin: Mm-hm.
Keith: Um. I am also up for…
Austin: If you choose to wait here with him — I’m not saying you have to do that if you want to try to continue and go down below and meet them and blah blah blah. Because there’s other ways to make that happen. But if you did want to just wait with him here that would be a Regroup, which is, you regain up to the halfway point of maximum Hit Points, which…
Keith: I have full Hit Points right now.
Austin: Uh, well then, I don’t know — I actually don’t know that this helps anybody, ‘cause I don’t think it goes under…
Sylvia: It would give me Magic Eye again. i think that’s it.
Austin: It would give you Magic Eye again. That is true. It would.
Keith: I’m fine with either. I think, like, if our priorities are learning about the Vivants, I think that both of these are good options. And I think that… That March has — is feeling for the slimes, so. [pause] But i could go either way, I don’t think that either of these are like bad choices.
Janine: I feel like even if we don’t get the viscount, it’s valuable information that people are collaborating and using people in this way, using the Vivants in this way.
Austin: Yeah. Totally.
Sylvia: Okay! Yeah.
Janine: That’s not useless info even if we don’t like get the dude on our first go and his plan is just to make people like him more, like, you know.
Keith: The question I have out of character is like, if this is a — this is a game, right?
Austin: Uh-huh.
Keith: And so like at what level is someone like losing agency when someone — well, like there has to be a quest somewhere. I don’t know — or these are just like people who decided the Vivants —
Austin: Your characters… As far as you know, these are people — and this is true! You have agency — you are agents in this world. There are other agents in this world. They… The viscount came up with a plan. You don’t know the breadth— you don’t know the whole of this plan yet, but, part of that plan was I bet I can get the [first syllable rhymes with bye] Vivants — buh — the Vivants to go do this for me, the [first syllable rhymes with give] Vivants to do this for me. We don’t need to — your characters have no way of getting to that [laughs] to that part of the ontology of this world.
Keith: Yeah. Yeah. That’s just where I’m at.
Austin: But yes, I know what you mean. Yes.
Keith: Yeah. Um. I will…
Austin: It sounds like y’all wanna stick with the slime…
Sylvia: We could… Hm.
Austin: Go ahead. Sylvi.
Sylvia: We could… [laughs] We could try and turn this back on the viscount and tell Kevynn over here that he’s been tricked.
Austin: Ooh.
Sylvia: [amused] And try and get the quest to be…
Keith: That’s great.
Sylvia: Oh, get the viscount.
Austin: What do you say? This is a fun one.
Keith: That is a really fun one.
Sylvia: I think we just gotta like…
[as Mana]: Look, the slime god’s harmless. You guys saw those slimes, right? They’re just little guys. What’s happened here is that you’ve been lied to. About…
Mana: Sort of the nobility of your task. And what you’re doing. By fighting that slime, you flooded this poor town, and now the viscount is manipulating everyone! I mean, we need a noble hero to help us out.
Austin: [laughs quietly] Give me a d20.
Sylvia: Oh boy. Let’s — not a 1, please.
Keith: Is there an assist — there’s no assist mechanic [beep] in this game, is there — oh! 19, look at that.
Austin: There’s, that’s nice. That’s a good question, Keith. Is there an assist? [cross] Is there a way to help?
Sylvia: [cross] If you add this roll and my last roll, it’s a 20!
[Keith laughs]
Austin: Uh.
Keith: I don’t think there is.
Austin: I’m trying to remember if there is… I’m checking, just in case. I’m — here — let’s see what the book is…
Keith: I had Quest open. Okay, I do have it open.
Austin: I do also…
Keith: Control-F. Assist. It says it three times. Um… You may ask another player to assist you.
Austin: Uh-huh!
Keith: If an ability asks you to do something — oh, okay. No no, that’s at the table, if you can’t or won’t do something, at quote-unquote “at the table”.
Austin: Oh, that’s like — yeah yeah yeah, uh-huh.
Keith: Um. There’s a move that lets someone assist in combat.
Austin: Yeah. I think it’s just moves. I don’t think there’s anything here that’s like…
Keith: Yeah. There’s one — there’s two moves that do this. It’s for the Fighter.
Austin: Yeah…
Keith: Has to recruit an attendant.
Austin: yeah, that’s like a different thing.
Keith: That’s a different — oh, that’s like an NPC, yeah.
Austin: Yeah, yeah. Um.
Keith: Um. That’s kind of weird—
Austin: If anyone in the chat —
Keith: I don’t think I’ve played a game in like —
Austin: Years.
Keith: I haven’t played a game since earlier versions of Dungeons & Dragons…
Austin: Yeah.
Keith: That didn’t have assist moves yet. Didn’t have an assist move.
Austin: I’ll dig into it and see if there is anything — you know — if there’s any… additional… you know. If anyone talked about that on Reddit or what the fuck ever, you know? Anyway! You rolled a 19, which is a success. I think Kevynn says —
[as Kevynn]: [gasps] But he was so nice!
Mana: That’s where he gets ya.
Keith [as March]: Yeah.
Kevynn: He gave us.. There was a big dinner, and there was music.
March: [cross] Bribes. Bribery.
Kevynn: [cross] And he said he loved everyone!
March: But not the slimes.
Kevynn: I remember it, he said “I love everyone in this town.”
March: And then he flooded them.
Kevynn: Well, the slimes did that. You said so.
Mana: But who — well, no, he — but like he got you to fight the slime god and that caused the slime. The flood. So like. You see what I’m saying here, Kevynn? Lil messed up.
Kevynn: We gotta go talk to Alakastra and Kairitara.
Mana: I think that’s a really good idea.
March: And I think that time is of the essence.
Kevynn: [sighs] I guess I don’t need to finish my healing.
March: I agree.
Austin: And there is a — and he likes claps his hands together, there’s a big puff of smoke, and he is like suddenly redressed in his outfit, magically.
March: Whoa!
Austin: And he’s like back on his feet. He is still dripping wet.
[Keith laughs]
Austin: [laughs] He still has the soaked status or whatever. But he’s like — and he’s like so — he’s just so tall! He’s just a big, buff dude. Um.
Keith: Sliders all the way up!
Austin: Sliders all the way up. And he goes, he pulls out a key and he goes,
Kevynn: Good thing they gave me this key.
Austin: Which like, yeah, [laughs] ‘cause you’re sent up here to be the guard, Kevynn! And leads you down back to the holy door and opens it.
Keith: That’s so funny. “Kevynn, why don’t you stay at the bath and heal?”
[Keith laughs]
Sylvia: Wait, what? But he’s the one I convinced!
Keith: No no no, that’s them, that is his party saying, yeah.
Austin: [amused] Oh, that is you being his friends. Yes, a hundred percent.
Keith: Yeah. His friends would be like...
Austin: They were very much like, “can you just stay and heal” — that is exactly what happened, yeah.
Keith: Yeah.
Austin: Kevynn means well, Kevynn’s a child. Um. I don’t know that he’s actually seven, I suspect he’s been using the name Kevynn Sevynn online for many years. In any case, he leads you into the holy room, the room of transference, and as you enter it, you see this room connects via a gate which he also has a key for, to a sort of cave system, but before you even reach that, this room is the most beautiful room in the baths. That same sort of mosaic tiling is here, except the mosaics, the little tiles, seem to have been made by some — or made out of a sort of magical material that glimmers and glows even here in a room that does not seem to have much light at all. And they present two different murals.
On the left side of the room, there is the mural of the Chimeric Crown successfully defeating the Translucent Eminence, the slime god, and enslaving the slimes to do the work of operating these baths. But on the opposite wall, there is a new, different mosaic with different materials, that have clearly been put in place by the — whatever this church was. In which — you know, it’s big, bright figures, it’s really — highly stylized, or highly simplified, figures of someone who looks in the same outfit that the nuns and the prioress were wearing, reaching out and like — grasping a bucket in one hand — or with their hand, and then also a slime reaching out and grasping a bucket, and it seems like there was some sort of — this new church seems to have sworn some sort of oath of friendship between them and the slimes from below, in which both of them do the work of operating the baths together. There’s some sort of ceding of control of the cave system in this mural, that you can tell.
And…. you kind of get the idea that hey, here’s the old mural of the Chimeric Crown that came before, here is the mural of the church, aka the slime cult, which seems to have made peace with these slimes and kind of gone into bath operation alongside with them. And this whole place just has like a nice vibe, and as you move through it, um, everyone — I want everyone to just give me a quick d4 roll. I guess — everyone who’s been hurt a little bit give me a d4 roll.
[beep]
Keith: Ooh, if my max health has changed —
Austin: No. Your max health —
Keith: But I’m not hurt.
Austin: — Unfortunately, this is not that spell. [beep] Heal that HP. So, Mana goes up by 4, Odette goes up by 3.
Sylvia: Wow, I only go up by 3.
Austin: Wait, wh — oh, ‘cause that’s your cap, now.
Sylvia: ‘Cause — no, ‘cause — yeah, ‘cause my health has -2, so I’m at 8.
Austin: And Odette, you only had 1 or 2 damage before?
Janine: 1. Just 1.
Austin: Okay, just 1.
Keith: So we’ve got this like church of people who has decided to become friends with this like slime religion.
Austin: Yeah. And I guess the —
Keith: And like the game, quote unquote, is reading as “slime cult”?
Austin: Slime cult. Yeah, a hundred percent.
[Keith laughs]
Austin: They’re — the thing that’s happening here, I guess the murals are probably enough to make this out to some degree, is that the slimes live on… The slimes… The baths help feed the slimes [laughs]. The slimes are gross. The slimes are living off of dirty bathwater.
Keith: They eat dirty water.
Austin: Yeah, a hundred percent. And process it. That’s part of what they do here. Which, the game — the —
Keith: So they are Numemon.
Austin: Is that what Numemon does?
Keith: Numemon eats shit, yes.
[Austin and Sylvia laugh]
Austin: So they’re basically Numemon…
Sylvia: Tell me about it.
Austin: Ah…
Keith: Yeah. When I say Numemon eats shit, I don’t mean Numemon sucks, I mean Numemon’s job in Digimon world is to eat Digimon’s shit.
Austin: [laughs] That’s so gross. I hate it. Um. So yes, that is sort of the role… But, but, there is a — or it’s not the role that they play, that’s just part of their reality. They can live off of other things —
Keith: It’s just what they do.
Austin: They can live off of other things, also. They could be eating, you know, the moss that grows in the cave, they probably also eat that moss. [cross] You know, they consume a lot of things.
Keith: Sure, but the dirty water just comes right to them.
Austin: It comes right to them! In fact, they have an entire church that provides it for them now. Um, you could see how easily it would be to make this — to codify this or to frame it as a gross slime cult. [laughs]
Keith: It says soup — it says — it’s a soup kitchen, but instead it’s a human soup kitchen.
Austin: [laughs] It’s a hotel for dogs, but, yeah, uh-huh.
Keith: [laughs] Right, instead of a hotel, it’s a church, instead of for dogs, it’s for slimes to eat dirty bathwater.
Austin: [barely keeping it together] Yeah, a hundred percent. Um. Kevynn, uh, says,
Kevynn: Okay, we gotta be really quiet, because there’s guards. And I have the code word, but they might still attack you so we gotta be careful.
Keith: Did Kevynn get healed by the slime baths?
Austin: Uh, a little bit. Yeah, but.
Keith: Yeah.
Austin: But he still has the Soaked debuff, and, uh, some sort of permanent, you know — or long-term wound from being knocked out in the first phase of the slime fight.
Keith: I just wanna reinforce — reinforce Mana Mixup’s work here and say like,
March: See, if they were so bad, why would they be healing you?
Austin: Yeah. You know what, Janine, give me a d20, also.
Keith: Ooh.
Austin: This will not have a — there will not be a negative negative — there will not be — you cannot fail this roll.
Janine: Mm-hm.
Keith: This is a free win if it works. Good.
Austin: Uh-huh. This room is holy. This is a nice place. [beep]
Janine: [cross] 14.
Austin: [cross] All right, that’s a full success. Um, as you like are running your hands across these mosaics, they’re very pretty, you find your main language return to your mouth. I don’t think that you have any of your extended language stuff, if you had any of that, like if you had also learned —
Janine: Did I?
Austin: I don’t know. But if you did, you would not have that now. The Chimeric stuff we already talked about is being a kind of loophole so that still is there. But yes, you can now speak.
Janine: Okay, rad.
Austin: Thank — give thanks — don’t give thanks to me, give thanks to, uh, the Translucent Eminence.
March: Blessed be to the slimes, huh?
[Janine laughs]
Austin: Blessed be to the slimes. Um. [laughs]
[Keith laughs loudly]
Austin: And as you, as Kevynn leads you down this — this just like opens into a cave system. Just like straight up into a kind of like, the tiles slowly stop being there and then it’s just caves, and it’s like a little tight at points, or at least it’s tight for Kevynn who is a giant, uh, Scion, Vivant of the Dog Empire. And kind of like squeezes through — [quickly] I wanna be clear, he’s a human. He’s a human, but he has dog — he has like — he’s — the ancient empires were all human empires, but they… were all named after various animals. And he particularly has some doglike, you know, characteristics. He has that sorta like big, loyal dog vibe. You know, he’s like a big golden retriever. Anyway. Instead of a hotel for dogs, it’s an empire for dogs. Uh. He leads you through this cavern system. And at one point goes Shhh! and you hear the sound of — you hear sort of like a clattering sound in front of you, and I think he probably has a lantern, Kevynn probably has a lantern. And uh… He holds it up, and he goes,
Kevynn: I think those are the skeletons.
Austin: And in fact it is. It is a pair of skeletons who clatter their way down the hallway towards you, and when they see the four of you, take up a kind of offensive posture, and Kevynn says the magic, what is the magic word —
Keith: Please.
Austin: It’s probably not please. Uh. He says, um. What would Alakastra’s magic word be? Um. He says, uh, he says.
Kevynn: We are the shadows under the light!
Austin: And the skeletons shuffle past you as if it’s not a problem, and begin to continue patrolling their route in the caverns, and Kevynn takes you further and deeper into the caves, and at a certain point you start to see a sort of phosphorescent glow from ahead, and there is a… kind of another turn, and the cavern opens, or the cave system opens up to a vast cavern, where you see two figures. One of them is seated on a rock and is reading a book. Um, um, and she has kind of brown hair, she’s buff, not as buff as Kevynn. More like a live kind of fighter type. She has a pair of tonfa kind of through a belt around her waist. Um. And, what else about her? I think that’s the big stuff. She has the symbol of the fish or the Chimeric Empire of the Fish. And then you see the source of that light, and it is the Translucent Eminence, who is seemingly locked in place by the third figure, who is Alakastra, whose hands are out, and there is very familiar-looking green glow, Mana, coming from their hands as they seem to be doing some sort of ritual to the slime god, the Translucent Eminence. It’s not necessarily clear what that is, but it does not seem too dissimilar from whatever was done to the smaller slimes before. And I think Kevynn says,
Kevynn: Hey, guys, we — uh — some people came through. Um, they told me the viscount was a bad guy. Um.
Austin: And Kairitara like slams the book that she’s reading shut and like grabs her weapons and like runs over to you, to the group of you, and is like,
Kairitara: [quietly frustrated] Kevynn! I told you — ugh. Hahh!
Austin: And like steps into a fighting stance. Um, and is like standing between you and Alakastra and the god.
Mana: Oh, come on. We don’t — there’s no need for this. Please...
Austin: Kevynn’s like,
Kevynn: [cross] No no no no no!
March: [cross] Yes, we mean you —
Austin: Go ahead.
March: We mean you no harm.
[Austin laughs quietly]
March: [whispered aside] Well, it worked before.
Austin [as Kairitara]: Kevynn, what’s goin on?
Austin: And Kevynn says,
Kevynn: Buh — the viscount’s — he’s — he played us like a fiddle!
March: A trickster.
Mana: Oh my god.
Austin: Um, and she goes,
Kairitara: What do you mean? What do you know about the viscount?
Mana: Well… K… [slight laugh] So you know how you guys fought this thing before?
Sylvia: Pointing at the big slime.
Austin [as Eminence]: Bloob-bloob-bloob-bloob.
Mana: Yeah, so, he asked you to do that —
Austin: Huge. It’s huge, it’s rolling in —
Austin: — it’s like what if the inside of jello could become the outside of jello and then it just keeps doing that over and over again, it’s kind of a glowy blue color that’s shifting into a green, just giving you some color on Translucent Eminence.
Keith: Maybe I haven’t had the right kind of jello, but the inside and the outside of jello are the same and it doesn’t have a skin to me.
Austin: [amused] Okay. That’s fine. Um.
Eminence: Bloob-bloob-bloob-bloob-bluh.
Austin: Continue, Mana.
Mana: Anyway. Uh, so, the viscount got you to fight that, and when you beat it the first time, the whole town sorta got flooded and everyone now has to rely on the viscount, which sort of seems to have been his nefarious plan to get everybody under his thumb. I guess like, long and short of it, you and your crew have been bamboozled and I’m really sorry to inform you about this.
Austin [as Kairitara]: We’ll just beat the crap out of the viscount after we’re done here, then.
Mana: Yeah, but you’re gonna hurt more people if you do more of the slime stuff.
Kairitara: [sighs]
Odette: Also, if you beat the crap out of the viscount after doing his disaster business that he wants you to do, then everyone’s going to hate you. Because he’s their hero now, not you.
Austin: She like drops her guard a little bit, and she says…
Kairitara: We always knew a lot of people would hate us anyway. They don’t want us… They don’t want us to take back what was taken from us. And… And we just have to face those enemies with courage and honor!
Austin: And like goes back into a fighting stance.
Mana: What was taken from you? This seemed like it was kind of the slimes’ place.
Kairitara: The slimes took this bath from — none of us were from the Empire of the Mouse, but you know, the Chimeric Crown! We built this whole place!
Mana: Oh, yeah. Definitely.
Kairitara: Yes, definitely!
Mana: Mm-hm!
Sylvia: So what… [laughs] Just out of character, to get a grasp on the situation, there’s another person who’s casting a spell, right?
Austin: Yeah, Alakastra is holding this…
Sylvia: Okay.
Austin: Hands up, whispering words under their voice, you know, quietly.
Sylvia: I would like to use an ability here.
Austin: What is that ability?
Sylvia: That ability is Phantom Menace.
Austin: Ooh!
Sylvia: You read the mind of a nearby NPC and produce an illusion of a creature they find extremely irritating. Only you and the target of the spell can see and hear the illusion. For the next ten minutes, the illusion relentlessly mocks and taunts your target, provoking their full attention.
Austin: Okay!
Sylvia: You may control the illusion directly and have it manipulate small objects. For example, you can have it steal an item from the target and lead them on a chase. Or you may let the illusion go wild, allowing the guide to narrate its behavior.
Austin: Do you…
Sylvia: And I wanna do this with the person — Alakastra, right, who’s casting the spell right now?
Austin: Yeah, Alakastra. Does this cost — what’s this cost you?
Sylvia: 2. 2 AP.
Austin: All right, so spend that AP.
Keith: 2, wow, only 2 AP to conjure Nute Gunray.
[Austin and Janine laugh]
Austin: No, I know who — I know the thing that, uh, that annoys — one second, I’m just checking…
Janine: Is it just another Kevynn?
Austin: [amused] It is just another Kevynn! It is just another Kevynn…
Sylvia: Yeah.
Austin: Who just… I mean, this is yours, you can control this, right, is that what happens?
Sylvia: Well, so, I was —
Janine: Is it Kevynn before Kevynn — [stammers] this is just a suggestion, is it Kevynn before Kevynn paid 20 dollars for the appearance change token?
Austin: [laughing] Just…
Janine: When Kevynn was like purple hair, like wore some sort of… I don’t know…
Austin: Ridiculous…
Sylvia: Got the big pompadour.
Austin: Yeah.
Janine: [laughing] Maybe, yes, something tacky.
Austin: Pompadour, like, not lore-compliant Kevynn? Yes, a hundred percent.
Janine: Totally didn’t know he was on an RP server until his character was up to level 30 and then he was like, mm, I don’t wanna reroll.
Austin: [disappointed] “I don’t wanna reroll, I’m just gonna, I’ll just get lore-appropriate clothes.”
Janine: [disappointed] “I guess.”
Sylvia: Do they… Are they reading from like a book or anything to cast the spell?
Austin: No, they’re just, uh, seemingly reciting something. They’re like —
Sylvia: Well then, fake Kevynn is just going to start asking a lot of questions about that, I think.
Austin: Okay, good. Good, good, good.
[as ILLUSORY Kevynn]: What’s that spell do? What do you —
Austin: And Alakastra’s like,
[as Alakastra]: [under breath] Kevynn! Wh — stop — I’ll —
[Sylvia laughs]
Austin: You know, saying, uh —
Alakastra: Controlatoris! As — under my — whoa!
Austin: And is like —
Alakastra: [frustrated] Kevynn! Stop it! St — get out! [sighs] Kytara, can you — can you come get Kevynn?
Austin: And Kevynn is like,
Kevynn: I’m over here.
[Sylvia laughs]
Austin: And I think at that moment —
Janine: There must be lag, someone’s connection…
Austin: [laughs] Alakastra like waves their hand in like a huge — like their right hand in like a huge like windmill motion, and, you know, says, um…
Alakastra: Stasis!
Austin: And the slime god seems to freeze in place. And then whips around. Alakastra has green hair, bright green hair, thank you. Some of it is covering one of their eyes in kind of a long, very emo bang. Dark black cloak. But also the kind of like heavy armor of a cleric and a mace slotted into their waistband or their like belt that seems to have lots of like arcane symbols and stuff inside of it. They are a Vivant of the Cat, obviously, and they say:
Alakastra: Who dares disturb Alakastra Nelonge the IV, True Scion of the Empire of the Cat?! Who are these people? And why are there two Kevynns?!
[pause]
Mana: Yeah, sorry, we were just here trying to keep you from making an awful mistake, um. I don’t know what you’re talking about with two Kevynns.
Alakastra: I have never made a mistake in my life. Ever since I’ve come here I’ve done nothing but work for the reclamation of what was taken from the Chimeric Crown!
Mana: [whispering] Not again.
Alakastra: None has achieved as much as I have. Not in this domain, anyway.
[another pause]
Keith: These are Vivants, so they’re not commoners.
Austin: [laughs] They are extremely not commoners.
Keith: Um… God, I have no good — I don’t have any moves to do anything here, which is unfortunate.
Sylvia: Mm.
Keith: I could tell — I mean, I could tell them, I could tell, specifically, Alakastra that they’re — are we still lying about the viscount to them?
Austin: Wait, what’s the lie?
Sylvia: [cross] Hang on, I believe what I’m saying.
Janine: [cross] We’re not lying to them.
Keith: The lie is that they’re being tricked by the viscount.
Sylvia: Yeah, like, I…
Janine: I mean, that’s true.
Sylvia: It seems true.
Keith: I don’t know, I don’t think they’re being tricked, I think they’re doing… They are on, they are legitimately…
Janine: They’re being tricked by omission.
Keith: I don’t even think that’s true.
Austin: Well, what do you say?
Keith: Uh, I, that their frustrations are better aimed at the devious tricks of the corrupt viscount.
Alakastra: [scoffs] Foolish. Foolish paladin. Do you not think that someone as wise as Alakastra the IV had not seen through the deception of the pathetic viscount? This is a world of competition and… claw marks. We all take what we need. The viscount needed the town flooded, fine. We needed to reclaim this bath. Whether my compatriots understood the terms of the exchange, means no difference to me.
Mana: Oh, okay.
Alakastra: The Nelonge family has, for generations, held the true spirit of the Empire of the Cat in our hearts. And the true spirit of the Empire of the Cat is to scratch all those around us and climb to the top.
Mana: Including, like, your friends? ‘Cause it sounds like you’re talking about them just like they’re like, lackeys or something.
Sylvia: And then Mana turns to the two others like,
Mana: Pretty rude to say that about you, honestly.
Austin: Uh, Kairitara says,
[as Kairitara]: Oh, they’re just like this. They’re just really dramatic. It’s not a real thing.
Austin: And Kevynn says,
Kevynn: [upset] No, that’s mean.
[Keith laughs]
Kevynn: They’re being really —
Mana: Thank you, Kevynn.
Kevynn: Why are you — you don’t have to — did you say we were pathetic??
Austin: And, uh, Alakastra says,
[as Alakastra]: I don’t think I said that exactly, no. I said some other things, though. And I stand by all of them.
Mana: It sounded pretty close to you calling these guys pathetic, if you ask — just sort of like an impartial, third-party observer, um, that’s my perspective on the whole situation.
Odette: Yeah, Mana, what would you do if I called you pathetic?
Mana: Probably be really upset.
Odette: Mm-hm.
Mana: I might even start using like my magic against you or something, if I was really upset about it.
Odette: [cross] Yeah! I think you’d be entitled to.
Mana: [cross] Definitely wouldn’t work with you.
Odette: I think I would expect that, actually.
Mana: Yeah, I think that would be fair, I think…
March: A resolution of the blade.
Mana: Yeah!
Odette: If you will.
Austin: Kevynn like… Kevynn’s hand slips down to the greatsword — slips up to the greatsword on his back, and he pulls it out slowly, and he goes,
[as Kevynn]: I never wanted to have to… This isn’t why I signed up for this!
[Sylvia laughs]
Austin: And Kairitara says,
[as Kairitara]: Wh — Kevynn, calm down. You — oh my god. [laughs] This is not — they’re trying to turn you against us! This is classic Tableau!
Austin: Uh, and Alakastra says,
Alakastra: [sighs] Either strike us now or leave us be. We’ll deal with the viscount after. But I’m going to turn this Translucent Eminence into another creature under the control of the Chimeric Crown, where it belongs.
Sylvia: Okay. I would like to do a move here now.
Austin: Uh-huh!
Sylvia: Called Illusory Creature. And I’d like to spend 4 AP on it, to make it, uh, a creature that already exists.
Austin: Ah. Uh-huh.
Sylvia: Um. That creature being the slime god.
Austin: [amused] Okay!
Sylvia: [laughs] And so… [laughs] I’ll just read this full move. You create a convincing illusion of it that appears nearby. It looks, moves, and sounds like the creature you imagined, it even feels real to the touch. It has 6 HP and banishes at 0. It can behave independently and travel away from you, you can program the illusion’s routines. For example, you may have it clean a house, patrol an area, et cetera. But you can also set rules for it — I share — don’t harm anyone or don’t let anyone pass through this door. You share a telepathic bond with the illusion when it is nearby, and you can control it directly during your turn. You can make it move, act, and speak your lines. It can hold and use weapons to make basic attacks, and after one day it will vanish. Mana’s gonna ask:
Mana: Yeah? Which one?
Sylvia: And then there’s gonna be two big, um, slime gods where there was used to be just one of them.
Alakastra: [angry] Illusionist!
Austin: Says Alakastra. And then says,
Alakastra: Two can play at this game. Arise!
Austin: And the floor begins to shake as, uh, coming up like from the dampness in the ground are some additional, uh, undead slimes rising to form into formation around Alakastra as kind of defensive units. There are three of them here. Um, and they like do that same sort of like snakelike wiggle as they move into place, defensively. And I think at this point Kairitara like shakes her head and is like,
Kairitara: [sighs] All right. Let’s go.
Austin: And then falls back into formation with Alakastra and the rest of the slimes. And I think this is probably —
Keith: Is Kevynn on our side?
Austin: Kevynn’s on your side! Yeah. Kevynn flipped that PVP switch on.
[Keith laughs]
Janine: Kevynn’s also still hurt, though.
Austin: Kevynn is still hurt, unfortunately. And soaked.
Keith: I have a move, I have a move, let me know if I can alter this at all. Shield: you summon a magical shield that appears as an aura of soft light around your body. The shield blocks up to three hit points of damage. And then there’s more specifics. It does say my body, but is there a way I could cast this onto Kevynn?
Austin: Mm… One second. Let me read it. Uh… I think it’s probably just you.
Keith: Yeah.
Austin: I think that this is… This is just you, but you should be, um… I think we should leave it here, and I should look into team up moves, or assisting, or protecting, ‘cause I do like the idea of you being able to try to protect Kevynn. There might be — if I sleep on it, I might decide just like if you wanna extend something like this, spend an extra AP, is…
Keith: Yeah. Yeah.
Austin: Is a viable way to do it, that seems fun. But we will not have time — I — we should stop now, because we cannot do a whole fight scene five creatures right now.
Keith: Fair.
Janine: Yeah. Yeah.
Austin: And I’d rather tee it up next time, as we [laughs] face off against Alakastra, uh, Nelonge the IV, Kairitara, their three undead slimes, versus the three of you, Kevynn, and this illusory, uh, whatever i said —
Sylvia: Slime god.
Austin: Slime god, yeah, Translucent Eminence. Love it.
Sylvia: The Illusory Eminence. This one.
Austin: [laughing] Right, the Illusory Eminence, exactly! In the Dark Souls version, the second life bar would have shown up and it would have said Illusory Eminence underneath the almost-dead Translucent Eminence one.
Sylvia: God.
Austin: Um. Thank you for joining us, this has been our first Quest game. It’s been pretty fun. We’ll try to pick this up again pretty soon, this seems like light enough to just kind of fall into again, I think, pretty quickly.
Keith: Yeah.
Austin: Um, which is nice. You can find me on twitter at austin_walker, where can people find you, Keith?
Keith: Uh, you can find me on twitter at keithjcarberry, you can find the Let’s Plays that I do at youtube.com/RunButton, we just had a new episode of Silent Hill go live, it was on Patreon for a couple days but it’s up now.
Austin: Yeah! It’s good.
Keith: Um. Really interested in Silent Hill: Homecoming. I’m surprised at how I feel about it considering how I feel about the other Silent Hill games.
Austin: It’s been really fun to hear y’all play that game. Because it helps — there’s just been good conversations, especially as Kylie has like become increasingly a Silent Hill fan over the years — like, there’s definitely — it feels like there is a, or, uh, absence makes the heart grow fonder [laughs] —
Austin: — between Silent Hill and Kylie specifically.
Keith: Yeah.
Austin: But both of you have like, this game has been scratching a lot of the itch that I think a lot of people have scratched by other Silent Hill games, and so it’s been fun to watch.
Keith: We talk a lot about that in an upcoming episode, so.
Austin: Okay, cool. Cool. It comes up even in this one a little bit, and also…
Keith: Oh, okay, maybe it is this one.
Austin: And also there is just some good… there’s just some good NPC bullshit in this one that went out the other day, so that was some good Silent Hill nonsense, which I’m always here for. Uh, Sylvi, where can people find you?
Sylvia: You can find me on Twitter at sylvisurfer and you can find my other show Emojidrome wherever you get your podcasts.
Austin: And Janine!
Janine: You can find me at bleatingheart or on Youtube this month.
Austin: Awesome! Uh, that has been really fun also. For people who don’t know, Janine’s doing Dragon’s Dogma for Witching Hour, I’ve been guesting on those, that has been a blast. As a Dragon’s Dogma fan it’s been a blast, as a Witching Hour fan it’s been a blast, as a fan of doing streams with Janine it’s been a blast. So. People should tune in for that. We should also shout out Jack’s — Jack and KB doing a Hallowstream of Majora's Mask, which I’ve been watching all of.
Sylvia: It’s really good.
Janine: Mm-hm.
Austin: It’s been really good. Majora’s Mask is great, so shout out that, that you can find at twitch.tv/katbamkapow —
Janine: Shoutouts to being just a little guy.
Austin: Just a little guy [laughs] that’s true. Oh, I love it. Alright, everybody, have a great remainder of your Sunday night. We will be back hopefully soon to finish this first adventure off. bye!
Janine: Bye!