Episode 33: "Were and Tear"
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OK! It is nice to have DCA back. This episode is fun and laid back. I find that these online D&D shows are very good to listen to while you’re doing something else, like drawing or driving.
We have a guest star today. It’s Aram Vartiam, who is returning as Emil Toranescu. He was on the show last season as this character but he really didn’t get to do much, so it’s nice to see him back.
Emil is from Barovia. It seems like we’re really getting a lot of Curse of Strahd stuff poured into Storm King, which is really interesting. Chris wrote both of these adventures and now we get to watch him smoosh them together in weird and unpredictable ways.
The Party
(Anna) Evelyn - Human Paladin of Lathander
(ProJared) Diath - Human Rogue
(Nathan) Paultin - Human Bard
(Holly) Strix - Tiefling Sorcerer
Last time, the adventurers took refuge in a lodge with a dwarf named Zog. Murderbot, the evil mannequin/golem/toy of doom, came down the chimney and was freaking everyone out.
We resume with Paultin trying to make buddies with Murderbot. Paultin casts suggestion on Murderbot to make friends. Paultin is in his tiny hut and at one point there’s some thought put into how they could use it as a toilet, let it vanish and then summon a new one. A poop-filled magic dome, that’s what D&D is all about.
The group argues about whether it is safe to keep Murderbot. Strix is so creeped out that she insists that she is going to go sleep out in the blizzard. The group sort of calls her bluff and she goes outside.
Owlbear Hug: The Owlbear is out there! It’s right by the door. The group had left a waffle out for it last session. We couldn’t tell if the white dragon ate the owlbear last time. I guess it didn’t.
The owlbear tackles Strix, gets her in a bear hug and drags her into the snow.
Strix smells like waffles. Paultin comes outside and tries to cast sleep, which is more likely to put Strix to sleep than the owlbear. He rolls low. Nobody's asleep.
Strix has five waffles in her robe. She throws one. The owlbear runs after it.
Strix crawls back into the lodge.
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| Murderbot and the dancing mindflayer |
Evelyn uses her incredible strength and the aid of her trusty steed Mourning Glory to bring it in to the stables. Strix helps with an enlarge/reduce spell.
Werewolves: The next day, the group is ready to go to the citadel that Zog needs to deliver a message to.
While the heroes are taking a whiz, werewolves show up. It is Emil, the werewolf who escaped Castle Ravenloft with Paultin. Emil is accompanied by his wife, another NPC from Curse of Strahd. I don’t think the group got to meet her in Barovia.
They have come to warn the group that other werewolves from Barovia have come here to take back the idol that the group used to trap Strahd in. I wonder who is directing them to do so? Baba Lysaga? Rahadin was slain. Escher?
The werewolves will be here soon. Emil says that the group's best bet to fend off the attackers is to become werewolves themselves! Evelyn is overjoyed because she gets to assume her were-pomeranian form again! That’s awesome.
Strix is going to cast a spell (remove curse?) when it is over to remove the lycanthropy.
Sprawling Battle: The bad guys show up and we are in combat. As the battle progress, it spills out of the lodge and everyone is scattered. Murderbot shoots a dart at them but they are immune to non-magic. Strix says, "Sorry, those darts only kill children."
A creature dominates Paultin and orders him to get the puppet,
Diath runs by him to help Strix. Paultin feels compelled to make an opportunity attack. Nate doesn't know what his plus to hit is or even what melee weapon he uses. This is like when I ran games in the game store for people who played every week for years but didn’t even own dice or bring a pencil.
Paultin hits Diath, who uses uncanny dodge to take half damage.
Paultin's shadow... is back? It separated from him in Barovia and as far as I know, Paultin has no shadow. People in chat bring it up, and Chris says that it is back but doesn’t elaborate. Interesting! It attacks Diath, too.
Strix is in gaseous form, which is protecting her from the would-be puppet snatchers. She becomes corporeal and races into the lodge to take cover near the owlbear.
Outside, someone has come to help. It's... DRIZZ'T! Wow. That's where we stop.
Overall
Fun show! I would like it if this show was on every week all year. I guess that’s not feasible, but I really enjoy it. So far this season, he group is hilarious and it’s just fun to watch them play no matter what is actually happening in the game.
I feel like there’s something of a “glut” when it comes to D&D shows. There’s a million of them out there now, but I’m not sure who has time to watch them. They are all so long that you really can’t devote your time to more than one or two. That seems like it will make it hard for most shows to get traction.
For example, Maze Arcana made a CGI intro of Eberron stuff. It’s amazing! It’s just hard to find the time to watch these other shows. I can sample them, but following them weekly is difficult.
I hope somebody watches them. We need some kind of way to know what’s out there, what’s going on in each of the shows and who the players/DMs to make note of are.
If I had the time, I’d watch and type up summaries of as many shows as I can, but that’s a full time job all on its own.