Actual Play with Dungeon Master Seth McKay

Hi Alison!

Hi Mattie!

Um I just uh thought that this next episode needed a little bit of explanation since it's going to be yeah a little context because, you know, it's a deviation of sorts from our regularly scheduled broadcast, would you say? Yeah. Okay good Hey I'd say the one thing people ask us the most since we started ADHd20 which is a podcast that finds the intersection between TTRPGs and

ADHD You flipped the script on me! You making sure was actively paying attention?

Kind of! Maybe!

Passed! Anyhoo...

You passed! I'd say one the number one questions that we get is: But what is D&D How do you play? What's happening? Can I play? I don't get it! What are you guys talking about? Please be quiet! Heeeeelp!

I hope they don't say those last two! I'll be sad if they do!

They do

There goes my RSD

Googoogoogoo! Yeah, so there's a genre of YouTube video actual play probably made the most famous by Critical Role, so we're not gonna get into all that get on YouTube look up Critical Role, spend the next 500 hours of your life having a good time, right Alison?

Oh yes that's most of my free time now is watching Critical Role, thinking about Critical Anyways enough Critical Role to us! What

So yeah, what's actual play, then?

So actual play is just when a group of friends like we are get together and play their normal D&D game but with the camera on. Uh and so you've probably heard us use phrases like a homebrewed world meaning not something taken from a script written by a company, but just kinda living in our own imaginations. Uh, and so that's what we did. We called our good pal, Seth McKay, web designer and professional GM Extraordinaire! And said, would you come be our GM for game?

Yeah. Yeah. and, and so this next episode is what came of that. Uh, Seth is pro, literally figuratively, and, uh, we had a, uh, you know, oftentimes one shots are longer, but we just of wanted to give people a taste, kind of give people an idea, and we had a ton of fun and we hope that you will too. I'll say a couple of things. This definitely a longer episode. It clocks in close to an hour and a half ish, And also, I did not edit out any profanity.

We strive to get on their level, if we're being honest.

...gonna motherfuckin' happen! Ha ha ha Yay! So, ha ha ha. So, if you like what you hear and see, please tell us. Because we had a blast making this and editing it. And we would love to do it again. Please enjoy our

I mean, I've got a soup ladle big enough for Bud's butt. So here we go.

All right, man. Let's go. Come

Messed up

we, we did not take it easy on the chaos, Seth. I hope. I hope that's okay.

Yeah, of course. That than, okay. That is honestly very exciting.

Great.

Okay, hello everyone. I'm Seth McKay, your dungeon master for the day. And, uh, I think we're just gonna go around here real quick and, uh, get some introductions, uh, character introductions from our players here. Diving in, I guess let's have the, uh, marvelous Matt Bivins kick us off.

Hello. Uh, my real name is Matt and I will be playing Mordekai "Moody" Ouiscon. Oui, uh, who is a, tiefling Warlock, and Moody is, you could just think of the prototypical, uh, goth character. But he, the, the point is that he's used his tiefling name as a hopeful point to, to, he wants to aspire to be moody.

I love it. All right. How about, uh, the awesome Alison Kendrick, aka AK.

Ak

As I'm sure is wholly original. You've never heard that before?

Never ever ever. I love it so much. I love the alliteration. And tonight I will be playing Moody's twin sister Matilda Ouiscon. Uh, she is known as Snoopy. Uh, she's a, uh, Clockwork Soul Sorcerer. She has a fascination with learning, with taking things apart. Um, and she has some pretty cool mind palace abilities we'll get to see. And she's not at all moody. She is pretty happy I think. Love

it. All right, uh, next we got the extraordinary Evan Bivins.

Uh, hi. I will be portraying the character of Crygglinexxerflump "Bud" Buddlicker. He is a, uh, a deep gnome, so he is just a little guy, um, came from an underground and he's a rogue and he is a little bit of a, of a, of a salty country bumpkin. And he and Herb have been friends for a good long time. And, uh, and uh, but he does like these new whipper snappers though, you know, like one is real moody or, or like, supergoth. The other one's like a clockwork robot. He's into it.

Awesome. Speaking of, uh, Herb, how about the fantastic Fitz? Who are you playing tonight?

I am playing Herb, who is a, uh, tortle um, aka a just a giant turtle. And, um, you know, if you asked them, they would say that they are a chef. Unfortunately, they have some anger management problems, which puts them in the barbarian class, um, within the D&D terms. Um, and, you know, being a seafaring creature, they are, uh, path of the Storm Herald.

Awesome. Sounds very fun and So shall we dive in?

Yes.

Welcome everyone to the town of Twigton, a small settlement nestled at the base of a vast mountain range, surrounded by the deadly and unpredictable landscape of the Edwrath Forest. Our story begins where most D&D one shots start: a tavern. Or rather it begins just outside of a tavern. The four of you approach The Sour Apple. It's the local inn and tavern within Twigton, and an establishment you've visited on many occasions.

Well, you know, my first thought here is that they really, they, this is why they didn't get an A on their health and safety rating was because I knew that that oven was gonna go one of these days. But, you know, maybe that wouldn't cause this, this time loop.

Hey man, cold. Ol' Toby's, he's fucking dead, man. Come on. That's heartless. You're just cracking on his,

I'm gonna roll here for Gotta

fix the gas leak.

Roll for Ol' Toby.

Everyone go ahead and give me, uh, perception checks or investigation if you would like, something like that.

Oh, with the natural 20, y'all. Come

Are you kidding me?

I'm not gonna ask cuz Bud'll figure it out.

That is a 26 total.

I, can I cast a spell super quickly?

Yes.

As I'm investigating, as soon as this happens, I'm gonna Moody, Herb, Bud come here and I'm gonna just touch each of them really quickly and I'm gonna cast aid across each of you. So you have, uh, your hit point, maximum and current hit points increase by five for the duration, which is eight hours.

Wonderful.

Maximum and temporary up. Um, and then I rolled a 21 on investigation.

Okay.

14 for me.

14. Okay. So, um, we had a Nat 20 from Evan. What, what's your total, Evan? Obviously Nat

Uh, 26 total.

26. Wow. Okay. As you all kind of react to this, this explosion, of this tavern, Bud, you see, uh, first of all, immediately you see a figure fleeing the scene. Kind of on the opposite side of where the entrance was. Uh, you see a, a fairly small form, um, in a just ragged cloak, kind of just scrambling through the street. I would say Snoopy and Herb, uh, you both see this as well. You also see Ol' Toby, um, moving up to, to him, uh, seems just maybe barely conscious.

Well by, before, before it's too late. Cuz you said that we saw a cloaked figure running away. Right? Um,

Mm-hmm.

Do they seem to be running away because they are scared or are they running away because they are trying to hide their identity and get away?

They seem very, uh, guilty in their. fleeing,

okay, I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I've got this turtle's got 40 foot speed and I'm coming for him.

What?

Uh, so Herb, you, uh, takeoff, um, after this individual, as Snoopy, uh, kind of instinctively react, uh, in a reaction, kind of casts the spell of aid on all of you. Um, are the rest of you giving chase or

I'm gonna jump on Herb's back right in. Like just dig into her Shell garden. Just nestle on in.

Okay.

Grab onto some of that, that, uh, that loose humus and I just screamed to Moody and Snoopy. This was not a gas leak. That guy looks incredibly guilty. We have to get him. And I just start taking off with Bud grabbing onto some lettuce or something on the back of my shell garden.

I thought you said loose hummus.

Yeah. Like, you know,

That's what I,

Like dirt, not like chickpea hummus, like dirt humus, my dude.

Oh, oh, oh.

I'm glad Evan and I were the there.

Globs, of chickpeas.

yeah. I put, I made some, some hummus and I put it in a bowl and I just stuck it in the middle of a cabbage. Just for safekeeping for later.

I'm allergic.

Delicious.

I was picturing the same.

DM, would, would Moody be able to send, uh, uh, just a, a, a very bold, Eldritch Blast in the direction of our little friend?

Definitely most certainly Go ahead and make an attack role for me.

Alright. Uh, that's 26 to hit.

Nice.

Uh, uh, go ahead and describe it for me as you, uh, kind of summon this magic and, and cast it

So Moody watches Herb and, uh, and Bud, Bud jumping on the humus of, of, of Herb's back. And before he, he knows that his sister doesn't love it when he, when his first reaction is violence, but he just can't help it. And he just kind of, he kind of opens up his palm and there's like this little black spot that starts on his palm and then it grows and grows and grows into this ball that's kind of wisping and has sort of these black tentacles.

Fantastic. As this blast of energy from your hand, uh, passes, uh, Bud and Herb, it, it impacts on this individual kind of just as you're catching up to it, Herb. And, uh, you see them just splay out. Uh, and as the cloak hits the ground, uh, Herb, you see just beneath it almost this, uh, mini just of like a detonation as the cloak sort of falls flat.

Oh, no.

Uh, but,

That's

In this case, uh, I, I guess it wasn't necessary, um, as this form just, you just see kind of a cloak now laying where it was,

Ol' Tobywan. What happened?

Uh, yeah, exactly. Full on Obiwan

I would say, uh, pulling, pulling from your, previous checks, uh, investigation perception, these, the 21's, 26, um, uh, Herb and Bud. As you get there, you're able to kind of quickly. of, uh, tossed through these robes and you see kind of falling out. Um, looks like there's probably a necklace of some kind with, with like a emblem on it. Uh, and you look at it and, um, it's just kind of this orb of like breathing writhing flame. It's just some sort of token to this individual.

Okay. I just, I just looked over at, at, at my sister with a slight sheepish. Yeah, slight sheepish look on my face, cuz I've, I've done it again. Um, so I, I slowly walk over to join

I shrug and I wanna cross over to where we saw him running from. See if maybe anything was dropped or any clues over in that area.

Okay. Um, you see, just continuing with, with that initial investigation, uh, you see kind of at the, the back, which you assume kind of opposite the entrance of the, the rear of the tavern. Um, you see, uh, kind of a smaller sigil that that resembles the, the four that you saw on the corner of the tavern. Um, and I would say with that check you can identify it seems like some sort of, uh, kind of sparking, um, something that initiated this arcane effect on the tavern.

Hmm.

Um, as the two of you are kind of looking at this, Herb and Bud, kind of just in inspecting this, uh, emblem, uh, you get almost like a ping, uh, it kind of warms up every now and then. Uh, kind of like begins to, to get cool. Cooler or warmer, warmer, warmer. And then it'll kind of fading and kind of cool off as you kind of are moving it about in the air.

Oh, you ever see something like this, Herb?

No, I haven't seen anything like this. Did I have a question though, Bud? Did Moody just explode that guy or did he, did he

He straight obliterated his ass. Yeah, man. One. And what's like,

And he's, and he walks up and he is like, I'm deeply sorry,

Nah, I don't think you are, man. I think you enjoyed it. That's, it's okay. You, there's no shame in the game you took. Look at, look man, he's just a smoking husk.

Let me try to make up

Let's check it. Is there actually any body to this?

Uh, no. You see just ashes.

Okay

Mm,

Whoever this was is just incinerated. Finished.

See that's my question is I wonder if, uh, Moody actually exploded this guy, or if Bud, you've told me not to hold in my farts. Cuz you know, you might just unexpectedly explode. And I mean, in a moment of stress, I mean, he's ashes now.

Yeah.

He, look like he has, he had digestive stress?

Uh, it's hard to say. He's just dust now, it's so tough.

Could've used some yogurt. I think.

Uh, I don't know. Let's

have this.

shake it. Herb. Shake it

I, I, I can cast a, a spell to try to identify that trinket.

Oh, snap. Yeah. What you waiting for?

All right. I have, I need 11 minutes. So specific. So

Really?

Yeah. Uh, and so I I, I start casting identify for, and it'll take minutes. Yeah. I out book, I pull out a book. I've got my, my favorite book. It's a book of shadows and, uh, and it's very worn, uh, but taken well care of. And I just start flipping through. I put on my reading glasses and, uh, even though I don't really need them, I think, I think that they make me look distinguished and I start casting, Identify.

Okay. Um, as you cast the spell, you feel the magic sort of, um, coalesce and, you, get kind of this, this wave of, of sort of recognition, um, passes over your mind as you see this now as an emblem of Kosuth. And, I would say with this spell Identify you understand Kosuth is actually, uh, the Lord of Flame in the elemental plane of fire actually. Um, and with that, um, spell as well, you also get a sense of its sort of purpose.

Oh.

And with that, we are going to, uh, move forward as you all journey north following this, this fiery compass. Um, you traveled for about half a day, about four hours, uh, northward, sort of, sort of, uh, using this to guide you forward. Uh, the four of you come upon a small clearing where the forest and the mountains meet. Uh, you see, uh, in this clearing, a simple ramshackle fortification, uh, with roughly, uh, built walls of wooden planks.

Okay. Before we go anywhere, go. You guys, as we've been traveling, I, uh, made some snacks. It's been a long day. I wanna make sure everybody has enough, uh, protein and, um, everything that we need if we're gonna get into a scrap. So, uh, here, here, I, uh, I use the medallion to toast some pita bread, so I give everybody a couple of pita pita crisps. Um, and then I, I reach onto my shell guarded and I pull off a couple of fresh bell peppers, and I hand those out.

This is really warm.

Do you have anything other than bell peppers? The, the inflammation's really bad for me.

Oh

Yeah

You want I have, I have, um, I, I have some other things. I've got some tomatoes, if you'd like some of those.

Beautiful. Thank you.

At, at cucumber. Okay, great. You know what, why don't you just go to the shell, grab whatever you want and, uh, because I have the chef feat, um, everybody who eats, uh, a snack, uh, on our trip up here gains three temporary hit points

Dang.

Oh,

Beautiful.

By the way the, the, timing on aid that I cast earlier is eight hours, so you also still have those five.

Boom.

All right, so let's take a look around. Wait, so there's pointed sticks and somebody put out a fire and what else?

Uh, the, sorry, what'd you say, Herb?

I was ignoring Bud's request for more information and I was gonna ask if we should just go walk up and say hello.

Well

Always good to be impulsive in life. And in D&D.

Yeah, go for it!

Herb, you are welcome to go ahead and walk up, but as you do, uh, I guess everyone go ahead and gimme perception checks as you are kind of surveying the area. See what else you see.

It has to be Perception? It can't be investigation?

Uh, no, investigation will work as well for this.

21.

Either way, it's not a great roll

Uh, dirty 20

An eight for me. I got distracted by my book again. Sorry.

So, so Bud had a 21 and Moody had.

Mm-hmm. Hmm.

Dirty 20. Uh, and 10 and eight. So, uh, I guess Herb, are you walking up?

I ask if I should walk up. Should we just go say hello everybody? Yeah. Okay.

Yeah.

Yes

Sorry, Moody, you had your finger up. What were you gonna

I was going to suggest caution, but

Oh, why?

Simply because the creature that, that we last met destroyed an entire tavern.

Look. Justice for Ol Toby, are you in? Are you out?

I'm in. Always.

Go.

Alright.

Let's go.

Okay. So, uh, as you approach Bud and Moody, you actually don't hear anything beyond these walls immediately. Um, kind of, uh, taking a, a moment to kind of see if you notice any movement or anything, you feel pretty confident that it's somewhat abandoned. Um, but as you all move into the space, you do, notice with the, the emblem you have Moody, of this emblem of Kosuth, uh, begins to, to flare in warmth almost, uh, to, to an uncomfortable degree.

Do we want

Do get that

This, this, This tent area a a once over before we go in, just in case?

Taint area?

Sure.

What?

Def Definitely not the taint area.

Sorry. Sorry.

Why are you like this?

I'm sorry.

Tent area, Bud.

Do we wanna give the tent, taint area a once over? Yeah.

Yeah. Let's check it out. Let's check out.

All

A, a quick investigation check perhaps in the, in the general, or is it too large to do comfortably?

Oh, snap! Look at that taint.

It's a very, very, very nice taint!

Yeah, it's natural, man. Come on. Yeah

Kind of a, a rough cloth hanging over this, this entrance, this cave entrance.

Is there a treasure chest filled with healing potions by any chance?

Uh, everyone go ahead and gimme investigation checks.

Okay.

Got a, 21.

Another 21. Wow.

Ooh,

I'm. Rolling. good tonight, y'all. Appreciate ya.

Good Job

Snoopy, what did you say?

17.

And just an 11 me. Moody

Trust me guys, I have an intelligence of nine. So my investigation was, uh, very, very great at an 11.

All right. Good.

As the four of you poke around this, uh, encampment, um, looking for anything valuable, you're pretty confident there's, there's not really anything, uh, noteworthy. However, with those checks you get kind of looking at the tracks, it's, it's a well worn sort of floor. It seems like, uh, this has probably been set up for, for a while, maybe six months to a year. You see, with the 21, you, you notice probably two sets of footprints that seem more recent that, that enter this this cave.

How big, like if I measured my little old foot next to one of them, is it about the same size?

Um, some of 'em about the same size, some of them, um, maybe a little bit one, one or two sizes up. Even with that, they're, they're not quite like, uh, a goblin's footprint. They, they almost, they look similar, um, but they look a little distorted or something. Just kind of some, some of the other sort of creatures you're familiar with. Uh, it doesn't.

The stank foot goblin the infamous stank ass foot goblinoid creature. No, not

I was just gonna ask you, Bud, you've got that look on your face. It looks like you found evidence of stank ass feet.

Man, you can smell a mile away. Now what about, what about these big, these big'uns? Are those, those are going inside the, the tunnel. The cave tunnel. How big is it

Those seem to be proceeding within, um, looks like a large sort of boot print.

I turn around with a big smile on my face and just go, I'm ready to go in the cave now.

Oh, oh, that's, God.

There's more things to see there!

Sister is excited.

God, you scared me to my core!

Well, why

That was the scariest. I don't know, but there was something about that, and it was this most terrifying thing I think I've ever seen in my life. Whew. That's okay. I'm over.

Yeah.

It's

I, I'm just always in...

keep you keep that energy going

...hot pursuit of information. Let's go.

Right

Let's go.

Snoopy, are you leading the charge?

Yeah. With my, you know, super high passive perception of nine. I should definitely be in the front.

Oh

I do have, I do have 60 feet of dark vision though, so yeah. Unless somebody else in the party overtakes me, Snoopy's gonna start marauding. Let's do this.

Her

I, I,

Isn't the best.

I actually, I actually, uh, I have the ability to, to speak to my sister, uh, using, telepathy and I, and I say, Snoopy, please return, let us send the tank into the dangerous area first. Please.

And without I, I don't have a way to respond to him,

No, you, respond....

so he's got his telepathy, I have my telekinesis, and I'm just gonna give him a good old telekinetic shove and try and pull him up five feet towards me. Let's go.

Okay. Yeah, she's, she's very excited. Let's

What are y'all doing over there?

I don't know, they're really excited to die.

So as you all to die.

I am very excited to die.

Know, man. Come on. That's weird. You need some, you need to work on your self-esteem a little bit.

By the way, you, you, uh, Moody can choose if you want to, uh, with try and withstand my telekinetic

Oh, I'm, I'm so used to it. I'm so used to it that I, that I just kind of just go with the

Embrace it

Yeah, embrace it. And what it signifies is that, is that Snoopy is just excited. So, uh, yes

Okay.

Okay.

So the four of you Bud, can

You in the dark?

Ooh, good question.

Yeah, man. Come on please. That's, well, that's like the most insulting thing I've ever been asked in my life.

Well look, I know you're from the Underdark, but I thought it would be rude to assume. I can't see in the dark. Would you hold my hand please?

Of course, I would. I promise.

go.

We, we should move forward.

Yeah. Come on.

As you, the four of you enter this tunnel, uh, you feel kind of a, uh, wafting of warmth hits you as you enter. Um, it's not uncomfortable at first, but fairly quickly it gets to that point. As you sort of moving along this tunnel, it's probably about 10 feet wide. Um, you see the walls of the tunnel are, are somewhat sort of wavy and textured, um, but have this smoothness to them. And, uh, it seems to descend, sort of winding down chaotically.

I don't know if, if, if, yeah, I don't know if they sweat, but I'll say that the, um, leafy greens on my shell garden are wilting a little bit, not as crisp.

They definitely are wilting as, as some of you, your clothes begin to stick to you, um, uh, just, just from the heat. And, uh, you see about, uh, as you proceed probably about 20, no, about 20 minutes uh, down, down this path, you, um, see the tunnel opens up, up ahead and there is light down here. Um, you see a sort of shifting glow, um, and you see, uh, kind of as this tunnel opens up, uh, you see, uh, uh, kind of a series of torches, kind of flanking the entrance.

We should skim along the walls.

Okay.

Yeah. Should we do a, should we do a little stealthy time?

Yeah.

And while, Bud is saying this, he's pulling out his, his, um, water skin and he's just squirting, uh, Herb down.

Okay. Just watering the

Look, I know that you ain't, I know. You ain't got no sweat glands, you know, so just trying to help you out. It's hot.

It's hot in here and I have no clothes to take off, so

Oh, snap.

Okay. Okay. Let's be sneaky.

Yeah.

So I will describe the room as, um, as you kind of peek in kind of along the walls. Before you, the chamber, before you, uh, seems to be a large open cavern space with, with rough stone walls. Uh, near the center of this room, you see there are two columns formed, uh, where some stalagmites and stalactites, uh, meet. Um, you see must be the source of this sweltering heat, a large circular platform, uh, on the, uh, sort of opposite the wall you are at, uh, maybe 20 feet across.

Oh, thank God I rolled that one high cuz I'm a negative one. Uh,

That's not very good.

18, 18.

Okay.

I rolled a 10.

And also 18 for me.

18 for Bud?

13. Sorry.

13 and Moody. What did, did you already say what you Sorry.

And I got an 18.

Ah, okay. Twins!

Twins. Yes. That's.

So the, the two sneaky twins kind of, uh, move in, um, kind of seeing this chamber first. Um, and, uh, you hear sort of, uh, the sounds of sort of splashing water and, and, uh, a little bit of, uh, maybe some evaporating happening as, as Bud is sort of pouring water over Herb behind you. Uh, as you move in, uh, you, you hear your two companions, being louder than, than maybe the two of you would hope, uh, with how stealthy you are being.

You

So good of you all to arrive on time. I suppose I should introduce myself properly. You see the wrinkles fade, the hair unfurls down to the waist. The ears extend to pointed tips. And the illusion you are so familiar with altogether drops.

You have got to teach me how to do that.

As this, uh, new form is, is revealed. You see, he seems to ignite in flames for a moment before they kind of fade away. Um, I am Tobinduil, the Tricky! Harbinger of the Herald, Keeper of the Gate. And you, you four shall be my final sacrifice. Uh, you see this excitement in his eyes. Um, I guess with that, I'm, I'm sort of retconning in my head, realizing Moody and Snoopy got 18, um, that maybe he didn't see the four of you. Uh,

He saw those two behind us.

Yeah. Yeah, he goes, ah, you all will be my final sacrifice. Um, do you all react at all or would you like to

I, I have a question, but the, first of all, what kind of sacrifice? Cause I don't wanna like, you know, explode or die or anything like that. But like, if you need, I don't know, if you just need a helper, I guess I could do that, but, but I have a question though. I really, more importantly, I'm, I'm confused because why would you blow up your old restaurant unless it was for like an insurance scam. So what does an insurance scam, and needing sacrifices have to do with each

Oh dear. My plans are far beyond your, I'm sorry, what?

Have you always been Ol' Toby? Are you just masquerading as Ol' Toby now? Or, I mean, think about all the good times we had together. I mean, we were like, you

Oh no. I killed old, Ol' Toby before he was old. I've been Ol' Toby for, I wanna say around 50 years working this plan.

Oh my God. So all those times together where we sat at the bar late at night, just, you know, drunk out of our minds and cuddling each other, all of stuff was was you.

It was meaningless? Our karaoke duets meant nothing to you?

Exactly. Yeah. Good call Herb, man. That's messed up.

They meant absolutely nothing. The only thing that mattered is summoning the Herald. The Herald of Kosuth. And this is that day.

Um, so he can't see Moody or me, right?

Right. So you all, you two have kind of slunk into you. You kind of, uh, identified some, some pockets of this rough, uh, sort of cavern that, that kind of were cloaked in shadow, due to the torches and, and kind of slipped into those areas.

As he kind of reaches that pinnacle, can I cast a spell at him as he's railing on my friends?

Definitely. Yes. You may. Go ahead. What would you

So I'm gonna just step out. So how far from him are we? First of all, let me,

So this is, uh, the, sort of pit of fire, um, on the opposite side of the chamber is about 20 feet wide. Um, I'd say he's about 60 feet from you.

So then I'm gonna step out and I'm gonna hit him with Tasha's Mind Whip at second level.

Okay.

Whip it good.

What this is, is I physically lash out at a creature. I can see within range. He's gonna need to make an Intelligence Saving Throw for me. DC is 15.

Okay.

Let's first see if he does that.

Okay. He is good at these, this intelligence saves. So, uh, however that is a natural one.

Yes.

Sucker.

Snap.

So couple cool things are gonna happen now. Um,

Okay.

Yeah, having no impulse control finally paid off for maybe the first time in Snoopy's life. Um, so first thing we're gonna hit him with the damage, so that's gonna be six and five. So, uh, he's taking 11 points of psychic damage, and when we get to his turn, he only gets a move, an action or a bonus action, and he can't take reactions for the next round.

Oh, snap.

Wow.

I guess with that initial strike, um, let's go ahead and roll some initiative y'all.

Yeah, we will.

Yeah, yeah.

We'll be the Critical Role sound effect here.

So, Snoopy, since you kicked off us, kicked us off with this combat, uh, what was your initiative?

I I'm really glad I, I sneaked in that turn cuz I rolled pretty low uh, 8 for initiative.

Okay. Snoop? We got Snoopy at eight. What about Moody?

18.

Ooh

Not bad.

He always has to one up me.

Must.

Uh, Herb, what you got?

Uh, 16.

And Bud?

I also got a 16.

Ooh.

You're probably more dextrous than I am. Oh rollies!

Rollies! Oh man. All right. What you got? Nine.

I got a. I got 15.

Go Herb.

Beautiful. Okay. All right. So

It's a beautiful dance, combat.

It's a beautiful dance. I have a question for my sister. Did you, did you take the opposite wall Snoop? Or did, or did we kind of sneak together?

Yeah, I stuck to you

Yeah. That's what I, that's what I thought.

And I didn't, and the, the spell range was 90 feet, so I didn't really, like, I may have taken like one step forward, um, to kind of announce my presence, but I did not go far.

Okay.

Yeah, so, uh, just since we're kind of going Theater of the Mind with this. He is on the far side. So he's just beyond kind of on the, the far end of the room, almost as far back as you can get. And you see kind of before him this kind of platform, uh, to about waist height, uh, like a, like a altar that he seems to be standing in front of.

Darn

Oh. Shit.

He is actually going to go first, um, after this initial reaction. However, um, he only gets one, one of his things correct.

One, one of the three. Action, bonus action or movement.

Okay. So that is very unfortunate, uh, with him, I guess. Um, now that we're in combat and, and, and kind of diving in, Snoopy, would you describe the, the mind whip for us.

Uh, yeah. So, uh, Snoopy's, you know, her, her, her magic is a little bit more transparent, uh, than her brothers, uh, but with like a little bit of glitter. So it's just kind of like this more silvery, wisp, um, comes out and you don't see it until the second before it hits you. So it, it kind of leaves her hands, travels through the air, and then shows up in his face and pow. And boy does he feel it.

Yes, he does. the spell indicates, you see him kind of whiplash his head back. Um, and he's, he's reeling from the pain, um, and you see him stagger a bit and his eyes, uh, go a little wide, uh, not expecting this. Um, and he is actually going to, um, use his action to, uh, just futz with the, the sort of platform, the altar in front of him, um, because that he can only do one thing.

Oh

Oh, no.

and unless one of you moves over towards these footsteps, uh, which you very well can do Moody, it is now your turn.

Okay. So, the, the sound is from the left of him?

Kind of as you, as you enter this sort of funnel of the room, it's kind of coming straight to the left where the, where the wall kind of curves around.

Okay. So my goal was going to be to see if I could get over to him and if there was any, and as I was running, I would, it's pure theater. But I, I have this thing that I do where I, where I cast a shadow, create a blade made of shadow, but I pretend that I've got like this, sheath for the sword. And I'm unsheathing and I think I look super cool when I'm, well, I'm pulling this, sword.

Look cool.

And it kind of, as I move my hand out, it just sort of extends out into this, to this long sort of, uh, shimmering shadow weapon. Uh, and my goal was if he was in dim light or darkness, I would have advantage to attack him. But I don't know if number one I'll run into this approaching creature or no.

Yes, would, would I guess Snoopy and Moody, would y'all have gone to the right side or the left side? Apologies if you had already stated that.

I did not state that. What did we do, Snoopy?

Do you wanna roll for it?

Yeah.

Yeah. Yes. Always.

What are we, what

Even, even on the left?

Right.

Okay.

Odd, left even.

You wanna do the honors? Okay. Odd left even right? That's a six. So that's the Right. So that's

Yes.

Okay. So

The footsteps are coming opposite the side you are

Opposite. Great. Then if I have the ability to go around and stay as hidden as I could and maybe just kind of come out out at him with the sword, I would do that.

Yes. So you, uh, sort of, I would even say since, uh, since you were stealth and kind of, uh, uh, kind of slinking along this wall, uh, you, you kind of seeing your, your sister react, you were able to kind of get yourself into position, um, where you see, uh, Tobinduil standing. Uh, he is cast in this, this bright light from the,

That's

um,

Fair.

From what you see now is just a lava pool. Um, and, uh, as you approach, so, uh, I would say with the shadows. However, if, if it requires you being in dim light or darkness, then, then you would definitely be able to find that advantage. Um, but if it requires for the creature, then I would say he's

He's

Pretty illuminated from.

He's lit, man. Um, he's pretty lit. Uh, no, it's the target. See, you use this word to attack a target that's in dim light, that's advantage. So that's okay. I will still try to stab him through the, um, side.

Okay.

Okay. Do I, that's just regular attack. Okay.

So this is a melee spell attack. Alison, he cannot take reactions, if I remember correctly.

Correct. For this round.

That's a dirty 20.

Yeah, it is.

Uh,

20, that definitely hits,

Ooh. And then 18 points of damage.

Yes.

18 points of damage. Okay. Wow. Um, as you,

Go Bro!

Go bro! As you move out, you slash with this sort of, um, would you say it's, it's billowing a bit as you swing the, the smokey sword? Um, uh,

Shimmering yes, pulsing.

As the, as the blade, uh, this arcane blade pierces into a Tobinduil, uh, you actually see, uh, flames almost erupt. Um, what's your passive perception?

Uh, 11.

Okay. Uh, you see them erupt kind of from his side. Um, and you actually take 11 points of fire damage, which you are.

We're resistant.

Wait, are a tiefling?

Yeah.

Okay,

Halved to five. Um, but you see this burst of flame as you strike out, uh, with your blade. Um, but it sinks deep, uh, and he reacts, uh, in this groan of pain. Um, you also, now that you're up here, you get a good look sort of at, um, the sort of altar in this, this large pit now that seems constructed. You see ruins sort of around the, the exterior of it. Um, and uh, you see flame beginning to, uh, appear around in a circle around the pit.

Okay, so there's, there's something appearing, starting to appear in the lava pit, and then there's noise on the left side of the room and then him.

it's all coming from this lava

Okay.

Yes. And the noise on the left

And the noise on the side

Yes. And you see, you see kind of, of, um, uh, from your, your perspective now standing up where Tobinduil is, uh, you see this hulking or sort of stepping out of the shadows. Uh, you see, see, she has two long, kind of tightly woven braids down to either side of her head. Uh, these, uh, these massive menacing tusks protruding out of her mouth. You see one of them is pierced with like a metal ring.

Yeah. Just one attack. Yeah.

Okay, so I have a very important question.

Yes.

Was it, Tobin that gave fire damage to Moody? What exactly gave fire damage to Moody?

Uh, it was Tobin. It was when the, when the blade hit, Tobinduil um, he seemed to burst in out in flame.

Okay. Uh, well, here's the deal. Nobody. Hurts. My. Buddies. And I go into a rage and I am going to run head log at him. Um, uh, full, full speed ahead. I go running for Tobin And I pull out my, my meat tenderizer, which is just a maul but, um, it's my meat tenderizer. Uh, and I am going to give him a hearty smack for

Okay,

Moody.

Awesome. Go ahead and roll your attack, which I believe you get two attacks. Correct. Okay, awesome.

Like I said, nobody hurts my buddy

Going reckless. So you get advantage on this attack. Uh, so you're gonna roll twice and take the higher number?

Yep. Oh boy.

Oh.

Rolled a two and a four. So a, uh, wait, wait, I gotta do math. An 11. so my, so my first swing uh, I was, I was running and I, you know, the, the rage has taken hold. Um, and I just couldn't see straight a little bit there for the first one. So I'm go in it for the second one. That's better. Okay. That's a, that's it's 24 to hit.

Ah, that hits yes.

Great. Okay.

Surprising no one, that hits the Wizard.

I'm kind of surprised at the 11, didn't hit

Know he, um, yeah, he's

rolled ones on all of my D sixes

You No really.

It's, yeah. So it's a big, uh, let's see. So I, I get six points of, uh, what kind is this bludgeoning bludgeoning damage from the meat tenderizer and, and how many points is my rage worth these days? Hold on. Plus two and two rage points of

Okay. Beautiful.

Um, oh, oh, oh. An important thing to note, it's not gonna take effect this time because I used my bonus action to rage, but there is now a 10 foot aura, uh, radiating around herb that is crackling with lightning.

I love it. That's awesome. So you, Herb, as you run up, you see this massive kind of glowing, uh, fiery figure appearing in this lava, uh, seemingly being summoned from this ritual. Um, you swing out at Tobinduil uh, glancing him with one blow as this lightning crackles around you. Um, and as you hit,

Yeah.

Take 5 points of fire damage. As this now, uh, you see sort of, uh, reacting to melee attacks, this fire shield, uh, erupts outward

I mean it,

That will bring us to Bud.

Yeah. Fuck

him up, herb. Don't, don't let him send your nethers. Uh, alright, so, uh, okay. So the, orc who came out? They, what did they say again? Did they they said, Bud blew my cover.

Uh, she, she seemed upset that, uh, this wizard kind of revealed her position. Uh, she just said

She's not with us. She's with him.

the wizard.

Gotcha. Gotcha, gotcha. Okay. So here's what I'm gonna do. So I have two people who are within Melee of the Wizard, and was there a panel that he was like working on near the

like some, yeah, just like a stone sort of platform.

Okay.

alt, uh, he's just kind of reacting to the altar.

Right. Okay. Interesting. Alright, well for my bonus action, I'm going to use Insightful Fighting on the Orc

Okay

So she will need to, it's a, um, contested check. I will roll Insight against her Deception. Yep.

Okay.

Oh no. Nope, nope. That's a natural one.

Oh,

Bud Bless blessed.

I mean, I don't know. Roll Deception. Maybe she'll get a natural one too.

Uh, she, she actually got a 20 total.

Oh boy.

Sick. Well, that's okay. Um, so I'm going to attack the wizard who, um, Uh, with my crossbow. So I'm just gonna maneuver since I see the orc coming on the left. I'm gonna get over towards the, the right wall, get some distance between me and her and 25 feet, uh, or however many feet there is, and I'm going to attack him. And, uh, Ooh. Yeah, 17 plus eight, I'll probably do it.

Yes.

.To hit. Okay, so that's seven plus sneak attack damage 3d6 Oh, snap. Come on, come on. So that was seven plus oh 7, 8, 9, 10, 14 points of crossbow piercing damage.

Okay. Uh, he's, he's looking pretty hurt at this point. Um, as you, uh, kinda snipe with your crossbow. Uh, you see it pierces him, uh, kind of in the up upper shoulder. Uh, and, uh, he's, he's looking a bit, sort of frantic now being flanked on both sides. Uh, you don't see the, the, the kind of fire around him react to your crossbow bolt.

Oh.

Justice for Ol Toby.

Uh, would you like to move at all or you, you, uh, or did you already, you.

Yeah, just further away from the, or like, not too close to anybody. Just trying to kind of.

Keep

yeah. Keep a, like, keep away.

Um, it is Domas turn now. Uh, this, uh, uh, sort of hulking orc, um, is going to, uh, she's gonna rush over to Herb, um, as you are attacking Tobinduil. So, uh, you see she, uh, pulls out this massive war mace, um, and just barrels over to you. Hey, hey, stop. Uh, and it's just gonna swing

Hey,

seems very sort of,

Hey yous Aus.

Hey you.

get outta here.

Hey, cut it out. Uh, he's paying me. Um, and she gets an eight to hit on the first swing,

Nope.

Uh, and an 18 to hit on the second.

That gets.

Wait a minute. You, she would have advantage against you though.

That's

Um, I'm going to use my reaction to restore balance and I'm going to take away her advantage on Herb. So she will be doing a straight roll.

Oh

Beautiful. Um,

heard of

clock

It's, uh, it's uh, part of the clockwork soul sorcerer, so it's called Restore Balance. And so when I see somebody, uh, within my range, if you, if a foe is ro rolling against myself or my allies at advantage, I can cancel that advantage. If you are rolling at disadvantage, I can cancel your disadvantage. It's pretty cool.

Boom.

Love them robots.

Uh, so the first strike still misses, uh, and the second strike only hits for, for a sad six damage.

And is that halved already?

No. So it would be three

Nice.

Because of your rage.. Um, as you are just raging out on this, uh, this, uh, ancient high elf, um, who is hurting your buddies. Uh, you, you don't even really notice as the war mace just glances off of your shell.

Yeah.

that will bring us to

Snap under the weight of it.

Yeah.

So are the orc and the, the, the mad mage, are they, are they close to each other now?

They are very close.

Great. We're gonna do

a double sandwich situation going,

Amazing. We're gonna do something super fun then. I am going to, um, I'm, I'm, I'm, first of all, I'm feeling a little left out and lonely that everybody else is up in that party and I'm, so, I'm, I'm gonna run over there, um, and get with my buddies. And then I am going to cast at second level Crown of Madness, and I'm going to expend two sorcery points to twin that spell. So it's going to be hitting both the orc and the Wizard. So they both need to roll me Wisdom saving throws DC 15.

Okay. The wizard got a 16, unfortunately. Um, however, that's a nine for the orc.

Okay, so the orc then, um, so what's gonna happen, a, a humanoid of your choice that you can see within range must succeed on a wisdom saving throw or become charmed by me for the duration. While the target is charmed in this way, a twisted crown of jagged iron appears on its head and madness glows in its eyes. The charmed target must use its action before moving on each of its turns to make a melee attack against a creature other than itself that you mentally choose.

End of each turn. Fantastic.

So I am no officially out of second level slots and I am down two sorcery points. Bye-bye.

Whoa.

So at the, is it at the end of your turn that the mind whip fades or at the beginning?

We've gone through a round, so yeah. So Mind Whip, mind whip peace out.

Okay. So he's got, he's got all his stuff. Um, so it is now his turn. Um, Tobinduil is going to, you know what, he's going to cast Fireball. Centered on himself actually. And you see, as he sort of calls this fire down, um, he, uh, sort of, you see the, the fire, the flames, wreath and kind of, uh, move around him almost like water flowing off of a, a repellent surface. Um, him and the orc, seem to be, uh, unfazed by this fireball.

Oh dear.

Right, now I'm at advantage cuz I am raging.

Yes, I'm gonna roll these dice.

Oh Lord. Okay. Okay. It's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay, maybe.

Extra hot hummus coming up.

Yeah, right.

Cooked hummus!

Is scorched.

I love fried

Yeah, fried hummus is pretty good, actually.

Got some roasted red peppers, and that's about it. That's left on the shell. Sauteed mushrooms? Uh, I got a, I got a 18.

That's pretty

18 is a success. And 22. So you both succeed. Uh, the damage was 30 damage cuz he also gets to add five to his damage, um, of any, any evocation spell he casts. So, uh, it'll be half to 15 for each of you then halved again, halved again for Moody, uh, to seven.

Nice. Yes. Good job.

Not that bad. Um, and then you see him, uh, as a bonus action. He's going to continue to tinker with these sigils uh, that you see, uh, uh, this ritual being performed. Um, and that is gonna be his turn,

Okay.

Which brings us to Moody.

Did he move, did he did or did I move or, or am I still kind of right next to him?

You're still kind of up there, sort of sandwiching with, with Herb there.

Mm-hmm. I put the, I put the altar bit. Okay. Well, I, I, I have this sword, so I have to roll concentration, don't I? Cuz it's, it's a concentration.

Oh, it's a,

I'm not usually a spellcaster. So, and what, what do I have to do? I have to con

or higher on a con saving

I don't, so I'm, and I, so I swing to, to slice him again and the swords just gone. Um, so, okay. I have to, I have to rethink that then. Um, I am going to hope that he is distracted and try to get some space between the two of us. Cuz I've, I have by, him before. And I'm just going to, I am going to, I'm just gonna go. You know, stereotypical warlock and I'm going to give him an Eldritch blast.

it worked so good last time. I mean, you destroyed his ass before.

Yes.

just.

Maybe. Maybe there's an

He does not react to you moving away. He seems pretty focused. Um, so you back up, um, and go ahead and make your attacks?

Great. So that is a 22 to hit, and then

Yes. That will hit.

Uh, for, ooh, for 14 points of damage.

14 points. Okay.

Cantrips kill

I rolled

kill

I roll. Cantrips Kill, cantrips kill.!

you, are you fifth level wizard? I mean, warlock.

Yes

Are you full Warlock? So, um, at fifth level you get to cast Eldritch blast twice. Um, so you, you make it a separate attack role for each, uh, attack. So you get to go again.

Oh Alright

That wispy tendril

Uh, six

Crispy tendrils getting hungry, man.

That is only a 13 to hit though.

13 does not

Darn. The other one goes wide. Um,

Nobody

Some, he's got some Wiley

Second one, don't worry.

And I think that's me.

14 points of damage. He looks very hurt and very sort of frazzled. You see, uh, these, this culmination of his hopes and dreams, uh, over all these years. Uh, you see the, the sort of craze in his eyes as, as you, you can see it just slipping away from him. Um, and that brings us to Herb.

A side note. Side note, you're kind DM Seth, because my favorite to do the players, my favorite thing to players is talk about the enemy's hopes and dreams being or brothers being killed. All kinds. That's my favorite thing Mad respect.

Well look

respect. Next

Thank you

Now look, he should have stuck to arson and because he d-didn't just do, I mean, he could have been a lot of money on an insurance scam, but instead he decided to summon some sort of thing and to hurt my buddies. And for that I'm gonna recklessly smash him in the face with my meat Tenderizer,

Okay.

and that's a natural 20.

Yes

Yes.

Nat 20.

Yes.

Oh

dear Seth, let me ask you at your games, uh, because depending on the dm, uh, critical hits can get different types of damage. So how do you calculate the extra natural 20 damage?

Uh, versus you mean doubling the dice or rolling twice as many dice?

Mm-hmm.

Um, I honestly leave it up to the player on what they prefer to do, um, generally.

Well, I'm gonna go full click.

I know rolling more dice is, is very fun.

So satisfying.

Yes.

Oh. Especially as a, as a raging barbarian,

Yeah. Oh, that's so many of them I can tell. And I love it.

Oh no.

I rolled a lot of sixes, y'all.

Yeah, girl.

All right. So that's, um,

then kill him Dead. Moody, I think somebody's about to die.

Uh,

Welcome.

That's 29 points of damage! 29

points. Um, you see as, uh, as Tobinduil sort of reacts to, this eldritch blast kind of hitting him in the side from the left, uh, he sees, uh, Herb, you flanking him on the, on the right. Uh, he, he goes, no, no, I am, I'm, I'm the Harbinger, the Herald of, of, of Kosuth. I'm, I'm the one who, who, who's supposed to summon the guy who summons the guy. Uh, and, uh, go,

You're just the middle manager, my dude.

Uh, go ahead. And Herb, would you please describe with before us, he had seven hit points left. So, uh, describe for us how you would like to finish off this, uh, this fraud.

Okay, well, um, look, getting at the restaurant business is tough, I should know. Uh, but he did it all wrong. And for that, uh, he's getting a meat tenderizer straight to the face. And as, um, it slow motion, you just see it like impacted his cheek smoosh. And, um, with the full weight of a 411 pound turtle behind this tenderizer, uh, this tiny little, little wizard just goes flying into the lava pit.

Whoa.

I love it. Um, as the body sort of hits the lava, you see, uh, kind of.

Let the bodies hit the floor.

the.

The very hot floor. Um, you, you still see this monstrous fire entity, um, sort of flickering in and out. And as the body hits and singes and, and, and sears, this smoke goes up. Um, you see, uh, the face of Doma, this, this orc kinda be like, uh, and kind of step back a bit. Um, and the, uh, flames seem to build a bit. Um, and as they do, you see this, this massive sort of outpouring of energy.

Oh boy.

Still raging.

I'm good. I'm good. I'm good. I'm good. I'm

Oh, that's not good. Oh, that's a

Eight for me.

Four.

Eight.

Mm-hmm

What, what'd you get, Herb? Sorry. 12. Okay, Bud.

26.

Wow.

Okay. I guess I'm actually gonna roll for this orc as well. Um, the, orc.

Who is still under the influence of Crown of Madness, by the way.

Oh, very true. So you tell me, would, would she react to this based on the spell

um,

with the, with the

eyes

Maybe I'll just roll with disadvantage.

Yeah. Yeah. It doesn't say anything about reactions, it's just, yeah. So, yeah, she's, she's, um, there's a madness glowing in her eyes as she rolls a disadvantage. Sounds great.

Yes. I rolled in 11 for both rolls, um, which becomes a 17. So she actually succeeds. Bud, you succeed as well. And you Bud, you witness your three companions as this explosion of energy. You see it sort of, uh, in envelop this entire room. And as they, as it does, you see similar to, the tavern, The Sour Apple, your friends sort of are blown back from this. They kind of freeze an air before, in the air, before being sucked, drawn into this flaming, uh, portal that has appeared.

Fuck.

Uh, you see the remnants of this energy is still there. What do you do Bud?

Holy shit. Uh,

Over this lava hole. All three of your companions have, have, have vanished. Um, and you see the, the sort of arcane, um, residual sort of energy that, that they seem to have vanished within.

Oh shit. I'm gonna run over to that panel with them sigils that, that, that Toby, Toby was, uh, was looking at. See if I can make sense of it.

Very cool. Uh, go ahead and gimme an Intelligence check.

Oh,

Um, you could add,

Oh, I'm pretty good

Just be, Arcana or just straight Intelligence? I guess it would be the same or better as arcana So gimme an Arcana check

Oh, balls nasty. That's a, that is a four.

Four. Um, you, uh, rush over to this, the, the, or seems to kinda be standing there, just sort of out of it. Um, you cannot make heads or tails of what this is or how to reverse it or how to, uh, affect it in any way. All you know is that your friends were, were sucked into this portal and there's probably only one way for you to get to them.

Oh my God. So, uh, the portal is there in front of me. I can seize it. Right.

You

And it's over the pit.

It's over the pit and it seems to be fading a bit.

Oh, shit. I'm, I'm gonna back up a little bit and I'm gonna, I'm gonna run, I'm gonna jump up off the lip of the thing. I'm gonna jump right into it.

You jump as you do, you leap out, um, almost, uh, like a whirlpool.

And into the lava pit

Yeah. yeah it vanishes you are melted. Um, uh, no, you, you almost hang in mid-air about halfway over this pit, uh, about halfway to the portal. And you almost begin to circle it. Uh, almost like being flushed down a drain. You are, you, you spiral around and, uh, your vision flashes to white and then fades. And as you come to the first thing that hits you all four of you is the heat, like a physical blow. You breathe in and your lungs burn.

Hmm.

And that is where we will end our session.

Oh noooooo!

Oh

Honey I'm home demons. Demons, demons. Demons

The twins are in a great place. Uh, Bud Herb are a a little spicy in here.

Yeah.

Oh man. That, was

fun that was That fun!

That was so amazing. Thank you.

Hey,

Yay.

Thank you. Um,

Yeah.

I'm, I'm glad y'all had a good time.

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