The Unforgiving City | Age of Umbra Episode 6 Part 1

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This is Ashley Johnson and Tellison Jeffy.

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Hey there, Matthew Mercer here, and you're listening to the podcast version of Age of Umbra, a dark tale and campaign setting from our recently released tabletop RPG Daggerheart from Darrington Press.

You don't need to know anything about the rules or system to enjoy the story, but if you're inspired to want to play along, we have several short how-to-play resources we lovingly call Get Your Sheet Together, available to watch right now on beacon.tv and youtube.com/slash critical role.

This is part one of the episode right now, and part two arrives the following Tuesday.

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And that should cover it.

Now, let's dive into the adventure.

Hello, everyone, and and welcome to tonight's episode of The Age of Umbra.

Now, before we jump in for tonight for Age of Umbies, Risha, you got an announcement?

Yes, you guys, Critical Role Cooldown, our beacon-exclusive after-show, has had some really awesome little discussions after Age of Umbies.

You know, not only getting into the story, the world, and characters, but also like debriefing about how Dagger Heart plays in general.

If you're not familiar, we have a show called Cooldown.

It's exclusive to Beacon.

You should watch it.

You can hear our feelings on death moves, combat flow, and you know how we all share in the narrative with Matt and how just incredible he is.

In fact,

if you haven't watched any of Cooldown and you've been interested, we are giving new and returning Beacon subscribers a free month to check out these after shows as well as all the other perks and content that Beacon holds.

So just go to beacon.tv slash join and use code Cool Umbra

through the end of July.

Cool Umbra, bro.

Through the end of July to watch all of the Age of Umbra cooldowns as they release.

It's good fun.

Yeah.

I believe that concludes our announcements.

So let's go ahead and jump into tonight's episode of

The Age of Umbra.

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Welcome back to the age of Umbra.

Before we jump into our session, when we did our cooldown after the end of the last episode, we recalled that I had forgotten the number of you who had fallen unconscious in the previous episode.

We forgot to roll for your possible scars in which you roll your hope die.

And if you what you roll is equal to or lower than your current level, you permanently cross out a hope.

So, we did that in the cooldown, but for those who haven't seen it, you rolled for yours, you were fine, you rolled twice, once was fine, one was not.

And as such, Misty now has a permanent hope slot crossed out.

But in the Age of Umbra, you get plus one to all damage rolls for each scar that you have, so you're just a little bit more deadly.

Fueled by trauma, indeed.

However, Paul.

So,

last we left off.

You all were fleeing from the screaming forest and suddenly were stopped at the edge of a recently erupting, ever-shifting sinkhole that had stopped you in your tracks while something had been notified of your recent presence and was giving chase.

Mother, the matriarch of the hive beneath the forest and the one responsible for the unique mutations that make up August, August,

assumed that she could clean you out and drag you back to the hive for her own experimentations.

The battle was hard fought, and many of you fell multiple times and it got very hairy.

However, before she could truly flee, she was struck down.

And with that, you rent from near her corpse the massive glaive that she used in that struggle, which is now wielded by Eidol,

as well as at least a momentary bit of comfort to know that the Screaming Forest is slightly less dangerous for the time being.

You then left the forest and came to the Amber Gate.

You took a long rest there, had some strange visions, and upon waking stepped into Amber Reach itself.

You decided amongst the various paths that you could take towards your destination to head westward, past the drowned sprawl, into the Ashkaw Quarter, then onward into the Cinnabar Quarter,

past the Astra Foundry, and then eventually to the barrow of blind repose.

Entering the water-sunken district known as the Drowned Sprawl, you had to leap from rooftop to rooftop while spirits from the past began to manifest, beginning to recall and reenact the ancient riots that set fire to this city.

after the apostasy.

Some of these spirits took notice of you.

You battled with a number of them, while some of you dove into the waters and began to uncover secrets from that moment of the past and convince them to look away, eventually breaking what held these spirits to your presence here in the sprawl.

And battered,

jumped and swam your way to the edge of the district, climbing onto the base of the Ashkall Quarter.

Here, looking up, this crumbling mountain of cracked cobblestone and winding stairways around ever-taller academies and institutions, slowly crumbling with the passage of age, just rise before you.

At its apex, you can see the mighty university fortress known as the Celsian Athenium.

It looms like a lone survivor against the shaded spaces and dark that surround it.

The distant fiery sacred pyre burning for one of its reinforced towers.

The one little spark of light and safety.

And possible promise should you make it.

As you all kind of catch your breath, trying to dry, your bodies soaked, those that fell into the kind of murky, thick waters.

Eventually try and shake it off.

You gather yourselves, prepare for what's ahead of you.

What would you like to do?

I'm gonna go steal the fire from that pyre and get out of here.

That would be very much much easier probably.

Pyre heist?

Pyre heist.

Pyre heist.

I'm going to pull out the piece of fabric,

the piece that was wrapped up

and

try to see what it is.

So as you unbundle this kind of waterlogged fabric,

it seems somewhat like hydrophobic.

The water kind of falls off of it for the most part.

It's drier than you expected.

And as you kind of shake it out, it is a piece of quilted armor.

It's like a tunic that is very, very well crafted.

Something that you also see has emblazoned on it

one of the veiled gods' symbols, ones that you don't necessarily recognize.

But you get why, in the midst of that conflict in which heretical judgment was being thrown about in the riots, why such a symbol was being hidden within the temple by that individual.

But you do discover this

title, soft armor

is now at yours or somebody's disposal, should somebody wish to.

to brings your thresholds up

to age 18, which is great.

Your armor score up, you gain a plus two bonus to rolls.

You make to move silently.

But check it, the bottom part's the most interesting.

Armor utilized by the Hyrule scouts of the Ordinate Crest.

You could pretend to be somebody you're not even more with official merch.

I mean, my armor's really bad.

I feel like

you keep dying.

Yeah.

It's

like...

No, but you're...

How many armor slots?

Look, your damage threshold is...

I mean, mine is also very low, but yours is...

You built a shitty character.

This is not how you play this game.

Don't listen to him.

I did.

No.

Fine, I'll take it.

Give it to the killer.

Does it say what God it is?

Soft armor.

I almost need it.

You don't need it.

You don't need it.

Listen, but if you change your appearance to wear this stuff, you're going to have to make really kick-ass like changes.

She doesn't recognize the name of it.

No,

being one who has been in the high and deception.

Yes, that's my high.

For one who's been in the

proximity in desperate luck to the various researchers and shreds of past faith that you've had fascination and a growing personal interest in.

Tyrus is the name of one of the veiled gods.

Tyrus

is one of the names of the veil.

But Derrida tells anyone anything about the

instinct role.

Just a second, we'll do your instinct roll and then you can do a knowledge roll if you like.

Brixton, tell us about the old gods.

Well, you see, can I use historically inspired to add to this?

Yeah, if you want to spend a hope to add to it, go for it.

Experience.

Would you like one of the five pencils I have over here?

Uh, yeah, well, I used to have a bunch.

No, I'm not going to.

I keep stealing this.

Okay.

Um, six.

13.

Knowledge?

This is instinct for you.

Actually, no, no, you, but you've studied on this.

This would be knowledge.

14 with hope.

14 with hope.

Okay.

Take a hope.

Best you can recall,

Tyrus was a veiled god that was primarily known for the protection of family and hearth.

They were one of the veiled gods that, as opposed to being a defender and a protector, they were one that swallowed the dark that would threaten to creep into your home and safe spaces.

So

in its own right, a somewhat dark and strange god without context, like many of the veiled gods were,

you know, beheld as beautiful entities, but most of their presence

was almost a negative to the mantles that they promoted.

And Tyrus was indeed

a dark shadow being amongst the gods, but from that shadow was the bastion that held it at bay.

Interesting.

Okay.

This is a good omen.

It is.

Would anyone like to take a look at it?

Seems like it's for you.

You got it.

You should wear it.

I'll take a look at it.

Take a look at it.

I mean, it would be useful for anyone.

I'm fine.

And above table, the Hyriel Scouts of the Ordnance Crest.

This is an old-timey Before the Fall Order.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

The Grand Ordnance were were probably the same generation as the ghosties we saw.

Likely.

Yeah.

But if someone sees you wearing it, are they gonna be

since they were trying to keep that hidden, the ghosties?

You don't know.

That was a hundred years ago.

So it would have to be somebody who's pretty well studied to recognize it.

Okay.

Or at least somebody who is faithful within the old ways to recognize the symbol.

I feel like this wouldn't let my skin breathe the way I'm accustomed to.

Yeah, it would cover up your Sephora.

Yes.

Can't get a tug in so easily.

A tug-in?

What?

No, he grabs it with his

pink glass.

Oh,

yeah.

I didn't know if he was trying to get a casual tug in.

Yeah, a little.

Whenever possible.

Quick little.

What is happening?

Yeah, what was the hand gesture there?

Much like rolling your nose.

Yeah, that's what I was doing.

There you go.

Oh, boy.

You take a little pinky underneath.

Yeah.

Oh god.

Okay.

Would you like this?

No, I'm good.

I'm good.

Violet could wear it.

It's Misty's.

You should wear it.

You found it.

I think I will put it over top of your stone.

I think it will.

And I think I will put it on, and it'll look great.

And I will very much enjoy having a little bit more health.

So, because this is armor four, and I only have two armor shields left, do I just go up to four?

How many did you have?

How many I have spent one?

Oh, so because my armor is three, so I have spent one.

So, what would that but it would be plenty of new armor?

That's a good question, actually.

That's something I had confirmed previously.

We'll look into it.

Hmm,

because I can do this.

Because this is a new game.

Will you look in that book and see if if there's anything I can do to lower my stress?

Yeah, if we take a rest.

I'm in the game.

I'd be suggesting to just like for a while.

Oh, if I knew.

Stay here at this table.

Doesn't look at any more stamina potion.

I can make one or another.

So that armor is gigantic.

It's the size of a field tent.

It would really only fit you, Misty.

Can we only make them during long rests?

Just whenever you take a rest action.

Oh, any downtown.

right now

um

this is the area where most of the monsters are

but perhaps they won't see us how long is a short rest short

consuming an hour ish

i can't find the rule off me and i don't want to sit here and do it i'm going to say for the purposes of this uh it is new armor

So you can

change it out, but you can't just quickly, you know, change the armor.

It'll take you a minute to do so.

Oh, so we should take a short rest while she changes her armor.

If you'd like to.

That works out well, I.

Yeah.

Let's do that.

Alright.

Yeah.

Is this a safe place?

I won't look for it.

No places.

No places.

I will try to find the safest user.

What a quest.

Go ahead and make an instinct roll for me with Advantage just so that you can

find a place nearby that would be the safest.

As we stand here, I notice Misty.

What's that new scar you seem to have on you?

If you would like to describe how your scar has

manifested itself upon you, I think this that

in the battle of with

fighting with a stone statue, I do think I'm missing the top, one of my top wings.

So you're

missing a wing?

I mean, I have four sets.

Wait, four sets of my four sets.

And now she's missing one?

You're going to fly all fucking quickens.

That's what I was trying to do, because Tallis showed me the biblically accurate angels, and they horrified me.

So I was like, this is what I'm going to do.

Yeah, so I think her top.

So she has.

Did you have

two?

No, I think one full.

Like a broken wing.

One full.

Yes.

So now I have a full wing.

Thank you.

So three wings on the.

Yep, break it off.

Break it off!

Break it off!

Break it off!

Um, yeah, so I think her top

left.

So, as your illusory form that you had placed upon yourself upon traversing the sprawl vanishes, you can see the snapped wing that, in the chaos of fleeing and resting, has managed to chip and fall away from her stones.

I've lost my soprano notes

to musical.

A jagged, sharp-chipped spike.

Would you like to run your finger along the side of it?

I I also have a broken horn thing.

What happened to you?

Oh, just life.

So, Screve, what'd you want?

I got a 20 with fear.

My dice are appropriately cursed

at this table.

What's the

floor?

Screve keeps an eye out to find a safe space for you guys to rest and take your momentary reprieve.

You step over into what looks like an overhang of a higher level banister and like

a railing that protrudes from the stone of the first proper level of the ash call, you all kind of scurry underneath.

You can hear, it sounds like the foot scraping of stone from above and this distant kind of low gurgling growl that just kind of every now and then peeks out like a creature communicating with a language you don't understand in the far distance you haven't taken a moment to get a good look at what's ahead of you beyond just the shapes of these massive structures to climb and eventually rise to

but you have a brief moment to recover so now you can take your short rest if you'd already marked it because you were impatient that's okay i did too minor stand them

oh my gosh

yeah me neither

you now take your short rest you can change all your armor and i will say that'll allow your slots to

okay

short rest.

So would that be one of my actions then?

Switching out the rats?

No, I'm just letting you do that as part of this right now.

Until I can look at the rules specifically.

New games.

I'm just gonna learn

my new issue myself, too.

Indeed.

But,

so, is anybody taking watch?

Or do you leave it to fate?

And that means you

get to roll your Hulk dice for one of your actions, and you can choose to use yours or mine.

And you're trying to roll higher.

Right, but so I does that mean I don't do one of my upkeeps.

First steps?

I will

take watch because I was only bad in one department, not multiple.

Okay, go for it.

So we're not gonna roll.

This asshole is gonna sit over here.

There we go.

I'll take mine.

What's yours?

Nine.

Nine.

Very well.

As you won't.

What was that?

Mine was a seven.

know.

Gamble's got enough.

Exactly.

So, as you all settle here and catching your breath, you can still see past the mists and fog of the drowned sprawl the little flickering blue lights of the various ghosts and spirits that blink in and out through the water above the water.

And you hear the shifting above.

I was ready for that one.

Heavy footfalls that get heavier, then softer.

Something large patrolling

the region above, the path you're looking to take, unseen, just heard and felt.

It shakes you all to your core as I gain one fear.

From that one.

But I still get to roll a D4 to see what else I get.

That's going to be two more.

So I'm gonna come out of here with 11 feet.

Just win, just win, just take the last one.

Why not?

Just fuck it.

Now I want to earn it fast.

But with your actions taken, the brief reprieve allowing you to

study yourselves, your new protective armor intact.

What would you like to do?

They've been trying to get a pyre festival going in this quarter for years, but it always falls apart.

I heard the guy who's running it, he was locked away for a long time.

And then

they let him out, and then he tried to do it again, and that also fell apart.

Yeah.

And anybody that signed up for the second time was just

chokes on him.

Record the food situation was

an ancient university

stronghold.

Do we go in or do we go around?

Do we have to go through?

There's lots of monsters in this area.

They seem to be drawn to it, haven't you noticed?

But it's safer.

We can go inside.

If they'll let us in.

It could take us some time before we even get there.

Oh, yes, I'm sure.

Might be our best bed for a long rest.

Just so you're aware, too, the path to get to the Athenium, which is at the top of this district, is winding up a series of rising levels.

It's like climbing up a series of switchback streets and the various structures that rise up it.

And the path to escape into the Cinnabar quarter is alongside the Athenium.

So we have to go there anyway.

Unless you want to double back and pick another route.

No, no.

No.

We go up.

We climb.

We go up.

Onward hoe.

Who are you calling?

Myself.

Oh, you're sort of taking power over myself.

I'm taking power over my arm.

As a hoe.

As you step

from the safety of shadow,

you are now exploring the Ashcall corner.

So I place on here

as part of your dangerous ascent

both of these.

There is a progress counter,

and there is a consequence countdown.

As you traverse this,

your successes and attempts to get safely through this region will work towards your progress.

Your failures or fears will work towards the consequence counter.

So, who is helming the first leg of this journey and what are you doing to help ensure your safety as you move?

Um,

I can do it.

I'm very good at avoiding monsters.

And um,

maybe I can lead the way.

Okay, so you want to peer through the mists towards the parts of the rising ridges and the expanded platforms and the stairways that wind up along this rising cliff face of the entire corridor for the best path forward and the safest path forward.

I would like for you to roll an instinct roll forward.

Are the streets full?

You haven't started climbing.

Do you want to keep an eye out?

Yes, please.

I'd like you to also make an instinct roll.

Can I use my experience?

They mostly come at night.

Yes, you may if you want to spend a hope to do so.

Is it March?

Uh, no, it is late.

It is late afternoon, but it's about monsters.

Okay, gotcha.

Okay.

Fifteen.

Thirteen with fear.

Uh hope.

Thirteen with hope.

Hope.

Alright.

So you take a hope, and yours was with fear.

With fear.

Okay.

What was yours for?

13.

Oh, hey, just to see if the streets were empty or full or

okay.

So.

You take a hope.

I don't take a hope.

Correct.

So for you.

Over here, Adelia,

looking up and peering on the path, you begin to lead the troop off around one of the bottom most wide staircases.

There's multiple like spiral, heavy spiral staircases that are 10 feet, 15 feet wide, kind of rise up.

Two of them are partially collapsed.

And at the top, you can see a group of devils hanging over the top, like

kind of looking out.

One of them has a massive, looks like a pike with some sort of an arm, like an untethered arm just speared on it.

It's kind of dangling.

It's fingers, kind of half-rotted.

And they're peering out.

So you move them around successfully, bringing the troop up a third through the quarter as you maneuver around and find one open region.

The next higher platform here has a large marble surface where it looks like perhaps there might have been celebration or events that were held here in a once grandiose period of time.

But now you can see the marble is cracked and there is an open expanse in which you are both exposed, but there doesn't appear to be anything immediately present.

But you grab the rest of the troop and you wait for a moment to hear for no movement, no sound, and you all rush through.

You hear another distant boom and the pattern of walking and you instead of stopping, you just rush to the nearby side, but nothing seems to react to your presence.

So that is success for the first leg of the journey.

You,

keeping an eye out with a hope, you look around to see where the source of that was.

And as you rush past this like marble opening there, you...

careen around the side to the what looks like a gazebo like a beautiful tall 20-foot gazebo that it's cracked on top and looks like bits of glass like sunglass that were built on the sub, has shattered and cracked and fallen to the floor around you.

You kind of slide and catch yourself there and look up and you hear this distant.

And there are flying beasts ahead.

It looks like something may have noticed movement.

And at least is screeching out to notify its brethren or all other things that exist in this quarter that you present.

Careful.

We may have been spotted.

In the air.

Brixton, is there any

veiled gods that we can pray to for guidance or protection?

You know about this stuff.

Yes, well, um.

Ironically, the armor that Misty just found from Tyrus is technically the god of protection and hope.

Oh.

It's strange.

Just being here in this Halcyon domain, and

back in the olden times, he was looked at as an intimidating figure, but

maybe perhaps his

presence is far more suited for

the times we live in now.

I find comfort and shadow.

And that was his aesthetic, as the kids say.

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Hey there, critters.

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It's at this point as you're talking about this, that part of the gazebo you're hiding in

crumbles from under your foot.

A piece of the somewhat broken terrain all of a sudden falls from underneath, and you just barely keep your hands on the side before you watch as Idol falls down below, ends up stumbling into a platform beneath.

Heavy impact.

You hit the ground, not enough to damage you, but enough to knock the wind out of you for a second.

And now the rest of you are up above and about 20 feet down.

Is Idol separated

as I use the waning structure to separate your group.

Also, because you had rolled with fear to bring it back to me as part of an action,

the echo of

fear.

Sorry, you rolled with fear.

But it's still killer.

No, sorry, I missed that.

So, yeah.

So, as

more of a poet, as you see him plummet down there and idle for a moment, isn't even visible, except for just like the slightest bit of light that kind of creeps through from

the nearby bit of moon that kind of barely peeks through the clouds, you feel the echoes of anxiety wash over you

and you lose a hope.

Lose a hope.

This area.

I'm going to fly on down to idle.

I would like you

to explain to me how your fears manifest in your vision and memory as you feel the hope fade from you.

I

remember escaping from my home, and

I was alone, and

I had to hide in the tunnels underneath.

And it was very scary.

I heard stomping above and

things falling from the roof, and

I was afraid it was going to get me.

And Violet, I couldn't sleep.

I don't know how long I was there

before

Before screen.

You notice that Adelia, whispering to herself, almost

living through a recollection, her hands shaking.

The one darkened.

hand itself blackened with whatever strange magic transferred from the box that you carried, quivering next to it.

And she shakes free from it.

And so idle, you pick yourself back up and find yourself in some partially collapsed subterranean chamber.

Adelia,

are you praying?

As Snick suggested,

um,

would you like to pray?

Sure,

good night, sleep tight.

Don't let the bed bugs bite.

And if they do,

then

um, I hope they eat me quickly.

Correct.

That was a good prayer.

Thank you.

Amen.

Amen.

Um, I'm just going to just

sort of saunter over a little and sort of

put a couple of my wings out and just sort of.

I'm sorry.

Thank you.

I'm glad you're sorry to her.

I just fell in this fucking hole.

That's okay.

I'll take my divine powers and I'll light up my bone-hooked glaive because I have no fucking teammates.

And I light up the

subterranean area to try and see what's around.

Wait, Idol, stay put.

There are things down below.

August, can you fly down and get him?

Oh, yes.

One moment.

I'm going to take my I'm gonna fly down into the

cavern.

Wait, we should okay.

I don't know what's down here.

Looking around.

How far can we still see?

It's about 20 feet.

Okay, not entirely.

Yeah, and you like, like, you hit the ground.

They're lost.

Definitely dead.

Anything to see down there before we get out of here?

It's like I can see.

Dancing around here.

It looks like this was a larger subterranean hall that has mostly fallen in from what looks like part of the interior

rock of this kind of built-out hill that it was constructed on had kind of slit into it.

So not much is visible beyond just this like collapsed period and kind of this maybe 35-40-foot-wide space.

Cool.

So

fly down.

Oh, yeah.

I don't mind it beyond something.

Scrave, why don't we take the tunnels?

Sure, I don't want to

push this little party in directions they didn't want to go in.

I don't think there are any tunnels, Dan.

Are there tunnels?

You can go ahead and search if you'd like.

I think I just fell in a hole.

Our tunnels were to the

east of here,

but there must be catacombs

beneath the sky.

Let's look for some real quick.

Can I search around a little bit?

Yeah.

Okay, so you go ahead and build the light of the space.

With more light in the vicinity, you go ahead and begin to search for other means of egress from this chamber.

Go ahead and roll an instinct roll for me if you don't mind.

I have dark vision, so can I assist with that?

Do you want to spend a hope to do so?

I'll assist.

Spend that hope.

To help an ally.

To help with the terminology.

Out of five.

Out of five.

What was the roll, kind?

Instinct.

21 with

hope.

26.

Hope.

Nice.

That counts down the progress to a two.

Glancing about inside here,

this chamber, you feel pretty confident is

locked solid.

There doesn't seem to be an additional way out of here.

This just looks like an unfortunate collapse at your moment of reprieve.

So, looking about, you feel confident that you can move on from here.

And with your help,

you emerge back onto the top point where the rest of you have been kind of waiting, keeping an eye out.

You begin

and praying as well.

Maybe you should start to pray, also, idol.

Do you have a favorite of the old gods?

Nick, went neck, knick-knack, tallywack, give a dog a bone.

These old gods should be gone.

Shoeby gone?

Should be gone.

Amen.

A shuddering chill washes over your shoulders at your improper, profane attempt

to spend a fear to mark a stress on you as some

of the dark curse that sits on this quarter seems to either playfully enjoy your blasphemy or punish you for the way you lean into it.

You're uncertain.

Sacrilege.

We're skipping out of here.

Alright, the next leg of this climb.

Who is

helping and how?

Regardless, I'm going to scoop underneath the Delian.

Lift her up onto my shoulders.

Hold her little hands.

None of it makes any sense, does it?

That's why it's best to find our sport where and when we can.

Lean to the left.

Lean to the right.

Sorry, idol.

Alright, I'll get out of your way.

I figure I can I can take a stab at it.

Yeah?

Yeah.

So I'm going to get a little distance and fly up and see if I can start tracking the next leg from the air.

Okay

We kind of glide up the the mist sits in this space, but there are like shapes of things flying in the kind of low clouds around here So you do your best to keep perception available in case something were to crawl closer towards you from the sky Looking upon you can see the multitudes of layers that wind and switch back up the corridor itself.

Go ahead and make an instinct instinct roll for me.

And then we'll go ahead and make it with disadvantage.

Cool.

Yeah, nice.

Because fuck you specifically.

Fuck me specifically.

Yeah, that's fair.

You'll just staring.

I don't smile.

Just staring in disappointment.

Maybe it'll change.

Four with fear.

Wait, no, I'm so sorry.

Six with fear.

Oh, wait a minute.

Six with disappear.

Are you daddy?

Yeah, two.

Did you roll a six at all?

I rolled a one.

No,

and then with a negative one and then a four.

It's bad.

It's bad.

That was just awful.

Why did you take them both away?

Uh-oh.

Because the event's done.

Uh-oh.

Oh, shit.

Here we go.

Oh, shit.

You see, actually, up this next portion of the cliff, there is

the rocky hill that this is built on as it rises up.

It's kind of a small mountain.

There There are these kind of switchback staircases that lead upward and you can see these beautiful towers and these monumental structures that represent various houses of learning

where once, at a point in time, this was probably a beautiful alabaster beacon of knowledge, history, learning.

You can almost have this vision of the past.

And to see it fallen as it is, it's also impressive that it stood strongly this time in the face of all of this decay.

But you follow the path I can see indeed if we go this way, this way, this way, and we go through this massive archway that leads upward.

That gets us through the secondary wall and hopefully beyond that, that can get you to the fortress, to the lyceum, to the lyceum itself.

You found it, Auguste.

Did he find it?

You let the rest of the team know and you all begin to clamber up around.

Other creatures kind of growl beyond the way, and you stay low.

You head around the base of one of the massive structures and begin to head up the sense of staircase.

And as you get halfway up to where the large archway sits, you would saw a shadow begins to loom out of it.

A massive 20, 25-foot humanoid shape

lumbers through, and you hear this.

oh my god every fucking time

rocks rattle and tumble down the cliff face and scatter on the ground around you as it emerges from the mists you can see uh

pale blue

some

lifeless or corrupted skin smooth

stretched wide shoulders with metal bolts in them, with chains wrapped and dangling.

Where the extended small head would be, a metal cage of dark iron is affixed and wrapped around it.

And as it

leans and stumbles one shoulder into the side of this arch, part of it cracking in the process, it steps forward with its other leg, and you see with the chains wrapped around and dangle from one arm, the other one has built and bolted into it a massive metal cage that is partially open and bent and empty.

As it stands there,

gives out this heavy, bassy, baleful cry that echoes loudly out into the space, calling forth whatever may have heard it.

Give me just a moment.

Oh yeah, oh my god, no!

Oh no!

I don't like it.

Oh, it's so pretty, it is.

Oh my goodness.

It is like Lombard Street.

Yeah.

Switch backs.

Whoa, cool.

Oh boy.

Wow.

Holy crap.

Now all this comes with the base box of Dagger Heart.

Correct.

This paper crap pulls out.

As you all

have gotten

cool,

man.

Come on.

Who was it that fell?

Which one of us?

I think it was Idol.

Idol, that's all he does.

Almost there.

Almost there.

There he is.

Oh, you almost got it.

You almost got it.

There he is.

I'm the distributor.

I can't check him.

Oh shit.

He's so cool.

He's so cool!

I kind of love him.

Is that a cage on his head?

Yes,

he's a big one.

Oh, he looks so impressive.

It roars out into the space around you,

and you know at least this has spotted you, and other things may be coming.

What do you do?

Maybe we can push him down the stairs.

Where are we?

We do have to get through that.

This is the path you had seen that would head towards the inner wall on the outside of the Athenium.

I feel like anytime we try to run, it's backfired.

Have we ever tried to run?

Yes.

Well, we tried.

I'm going to take off running.

Thank you.

I'm going to run up the stairs.

Close there.

If you want to go for a far, you can go ahead and make an agility roll to see if you can go the full length on that.

Thank you much.

Oh no, he's doing it.

Get a hope so we get an all-run.

Yes,

yes.

Clear a stress.

Take a hope.

And that'll get you up to that point on the stairs before you're

rushing.

You guys, the rest of you watch as idol

goes into a full sprint, up around the curve of the top of the stairs, across the center pathway, and starts heading most of the way up the second set.

And there you arrive.

Anything else you want to do while you get there?

Get off the X!

I'll send a beacon bolt just as I arrive just to try and light him up.

You got it.

Go ahead and roll for for that beacon bolt.

Light him up.

This is a spellcast roll.

It's 10,

11, 12, 13.

Shining a light in the dark.

14, 15.

15 with

hope.

15 with hope.

Take that hope, and that just hits.

Just hits.

Yes.

15 just hits.

Okay.

Good to know.

So go ahead and roll damage on that.

D8.

That's a one.

Two ones.

Plus two, four.

Four points of magical damage look at that that's fine it takes a minor wound as one hit point is marked however it is currently two ones vulnerable yes it is and is this like a sheer cliff face around us

uh it's not like once it's sheer it is oh off the edges here no like the the whole like the the the rocky elements kind of continue outward i just can't build a map this big no for sure this is

see if we could push them i'd love to yeah uh to fly up uh these are all neighborhoods and and things around here.

You can try and, if you want to try and push them off down there, there is like some creatures would still fall and take damage maybe, or you know, things like that.

But there is no like sheer cliff like some previous encounters.

Gotcha.

Good.

Gotcha.

I would love to try and take flight and head towards that little rock outcropping next to the tower.

Okay, so you're spending a fear to take flight?

I don't think I'm fine.

It's not a fear.

Do I have to spend a I think I can just take flight, can't I?

As a fairy?

Yeah, you can fly while flying.

Yeah.

Oh, while flying, you spend it to do a thing.

That's what it is.

Yeah.

Sorry, I misunderstood.

No worries.

All right, so.

I'm going to just head towards that little outcropping to get as far as I can.

That is reaching.

Which way?

Which outcropping?

The one next to the tower, yeah.

Oh, gotcha, gotcha.

So, just kind of on my way over there.

Okay.

So you

push about there for close range.

Sure.

And then I'm going to just attack with.

I'm just actually just going to use my wand.

I'm just going to give a little pinprick and fire off a quick go flast at that with advantage.

All right.

Let's do a little better than last time, shall we?

Much better!

Okay, that's

child 3515

21

25 to hit

with

magic with hope.

Oh, with hope.

I'm sorry.

Yeah, please.

Please always not hope.

That's all good.

I'm so used to fear that it didn't even, it didn't even like.

No, fair.

All right, yeah, that definitely hits guardable damage.

All right.

Slip one then.

That's 2d6.

There we are.

That's seven points of damage.

Okay, that is another minor wound to him.

I'm going to spend a fear

to

spotlight the Glom Tower Thrall.

Glom Tower Thrall.

Now, the Glum Tower Thrall is a slow creature.

So it's spotlighted and does nothing.

Instead, I put a token on it, and the next time I activate it, it can go.

So as you slam it, it's like

oh boy.

And that's him.

Oh, that's it.

And that's his activation.

Frank train.

Yeah, yeah.

So it's a slow-moving creature.

Oh, my God.

Big token's got hurt.

I feel like we're going to get hit by this thing.

So

wet and dirty.

You guys might have noticed in the last couple days I've been infested with small bugs.

I didn't remember your swarm.

I shake my body a little bit and a whole bunch of armored beetles fly off me and surround me.

I'm going to conjure a storm, but I'm going to tell my beetles to protect me.

So they just fly around me in protection.

I mark a stress to do that.

You got it.

And then I'm going to move,

just

hop up a level and go.

No, no, no, like...

Hop up here.

Yeah, and then try to go up those stairs as much as I can.

I can get about there for close range.

Okay.

Oh, that's right.

Fearful.

Beetles and crabs.

The crabs don't protect me.

They're just for fun.

Is that all you want to do on your go?

I think so.

I'm not going to do anything that spends fear because I don't want to activate him.

If anyone else wants to do any preparatory things, or should we just start hitting?

Well, I mean, I don't know.

Or running?

I want to run.

I want to run and get off of where we are.

Then do it.

Okay.

Can I run up?

Stop talking about it.

Okay.

Is it possible to run up and get behind this thingy right here?

Like, not to the stairs, but...

Alright, so you can get close range.

If you want to try and hop up here, that is about a 10-foot jump and climb.

So I will have to ask, because you're not a fawn, unfortunately.

I would ask you to

make a strength or agility roll to try and make that leap.

Or you can take the stairs.

But the stairs, I would like to make sure you...

But the stairs will only get you about

You can make a leap, and I could try to catch you.

Cameron, shake your head and make a leap.

Yeah.

So I spent a hope to do that.

You spend a hope to do that.

You roll a d6 and you roll a strength or agility.

Your choice.

What is that?

Wow.

That was

a skill shot.

Okay.

11, 16, 17, 18, 19.

Plus two more.

21.

Oh, no.

I rolled a six.

Oh, okay.

That's fine.

19, but I rolled with fear.

So you do success.

You run, you leap up, and you barely reach forward and grab her arm, pulling her up onto the platform.

Ignore the Beatles.

Right as you get up,

the massive thrall.

I can't run anymore.

I just did the leap and I can't move anymore.

If it goes on a failure, it brings it to me.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Success, but a fear.

Oh, sorry, I was success with a fear.

Yes, but a fear or a failure, it comes to me from the sun.

So as you get up onto there, before you get a chance to even turn on, the thrall turns turns

and it's going to

activate.

I'm going to remove the token.

We are going to go ahead and get a little bit of a.

Oh, no.

Did you mean to just isolate yourself out in the open like that?

No, yes.

I was drawing it to me.

That's what it looks like when you get it.

And it's going to do Cage the Judged.

Going to spend a fear.

Judged.

Oh, no.

I don't like that.

That's my Cage the Elephant cover band.

I love two past tense words in an attack.

To make an attack against.

Oh, sorry about it.

Oh,

he's a big boy.

He's good.

It's going to make a very close range on you.

Yeah.

Oof.

That's an actual 18.

So 21 to hit you.

Yeah.

Oh, yeah.

All right.

So.

About to watch a dealer get punted off of this motherfucker.

Oh, I think it's quite easy.

You take

29 points of physical damage.

Okay.

Listen.

And you are restrained as it slams its armed cage upon you.

Shkoof.

And it slams onto you and it pulls its arm back.

The rock cracked and wrecked around as it

pulls it free.

It has snapped onto Adelia and you are now caught in its cage.

Yes!

Get in the cage.

Wait, I gotta do the math here.

So 29 points, you said?

So my doubled is 24.

So that's four points.

That's four hit points.

Okay, I'm gonna try to use my rune ward to at least take it away from that.

Oh, do you not have any armor left?

I do have armor, so give me a second.

I'm gonna run.

Okay, we're doing it stage by stage.

Stage by stage.

So I'm using a hope.

Rune ward.

Oh, fuck.

Okay.

No, that's a D8.

Where's the fucking D8?

That's a Rune.

Okay, that didn't do it.

So I'm still 29 or still 26.

Holy shit!

Okay, so then I'm gonna use some armor, and I'm gonna drop it down to.

Then it just drops to severe.

Yeah.

Oh my god.

So wait, how much damage did she just take?

26.

Not down plus three armor.

Two armor, so I can at least drop it down to a minor.

So I'm gonna spend no

than one armor.

29 total.

Wow.

You only spend more armor for a hit.

So

Bowsers.

So I'm in.

You're bleeding in a cage.

So I'm taking

hit points right now.

Oh my goodness.

I'm gonna spend a fear

to activate off screen

another sound begins to catch your attention.

Fast-paced, heavy footfalls, and what sounds like a chorus of moaning voices.

As oh, keep laughing,

you can do as much as you want.

You get to laugh at yourself.

As a massive clawed gray hand

clomps onto the side of this tower.

And pulling ahead, you see.

I said a massive gray hand, so another giant is coming.

A 25-foot-tall demonic entity creeps around, its vacant eye sockets and tooth-filled jaw opening wide, wide enough to swallow one of you whole, its horned crest of a crown curling up behind its head, massive spiked shoulder armor protruding from its shoulders, and as it pulls around, its corpulate, swollen body opens into an iron cage.

Within, souls push against the bars, screaming and reaching out.

As it begins to turn the corner, it's off him.

Shh, Shh, cracks a massive whip of continued pieces of sharpened vertebrae that snap against the top of this tower and

send it cracking and falling backward.

Lucas and bitches.

Look at that smoke.

His spotlight was his arrival.

It's back to you.

This point is a good idea.

We have to put the rival skeletons in his tummy.

His activation was here.

Save.

I don't like it.

We saved too late.

We saved too late.

This is not the point to save.

Pick them against each other.

I know.

I was actually thinking that.

About this whole thing.

I'm going to go up the stairs and leap at the cage hanging from

big boy number one's arm.

Yeah.

All right.

You're going to leap up the stage.

She's in the cage, right?

Yeah, she's in his arm.

So Screve is going to leap to try to hang on to the cage, and then I want to use pick and pull.

I've got to

first, because you're leaping to the cage, that is an agility or strength roll to see if you can, since it is both moving and crossing a distance to go onto it.

You got this, you got this.

Can I use creepy climber?

My experience is that.

That's exactly what their experience is for.

Shit, the fever's cocked.

That was barely cocked.

That was barely cocked.

I should have just taken it.

It was cocked.

14 with fear.

Unfortunately.

Then I'm going to use my human ability to ring.

Well, actually, no, that wasn't against his difficulty.

This was you leaping.

So I'll put that in a 12 difficulty since that's not a terrible thing to leave through.

You succeed, but it is a fear.

All right.

Which means you leap and clasp onto the cage.

So you're about to use adaptability?

Yeah, cool, cool, cool.

That's cool.

May I continue to try to to pick and pull in this moment or something?

Unfortunately, no, because of the fear, it comes back to me.

Just a moment.

So

you do successfully leap and grab onto the cage, and you're not hanging onto it as the arm's like pulling back.

As it comes to my

to my spotlight, I'm going to go ahead and put a token back on the slow thrall, who now is like reaching the arm back, seeing you on it, and is making a large arc with it.

I'm going to spend a fear now to activate the terror gut.

The what?

Yeah, that was a good thing.

What is wrong with you?

All right.

This is going to

be too long.

I can try.

Step forward.

Oh, he's fast.

To the top there.

He gets to move

close range, up to there.

A little bit closer to there, actually.

What creature's vertebrae is that?

That's a hit.

And is going to attempt to devour you.

To devour me?

Oh, and you'll be in his bed.

Wait, no, actually, sorry.

The devour requires...

I'll give you that.

Gets better than fear.

Let's do it.

The terragun is going to reach forward with its open hand and say,

a language you don't understand,

but you feel the intent.

That's going to be a 17 to hit.

Definitely hits.

All right.

So you...

That's basically what it translates to.

You take...

Alright.

That's going to be 20 points of physical damage.

Great.

And you need to roll a strength reaction roll for me.

That is strength reaction roll.

That is 16, 17, 18, 19 with hope.

That is a success.

You don't take any hope because it's reaction roll.

That's okay.

But he goes and reaches, and the claws dig into you, and as he begins to pick you up, you just pull his claws and fingers away from you and leap out of his grasp.

Hit the ground, I'm back on your feet.

The souls

reaching for you past the iron bars, like they're asking for help, or they want to consume what heat you have.

You don't know.

Are they souls or are they

souls?

They're souls.

That's my activation.

I'm going to try to release Delia from this cage before one or both of us get squished.

All right.

So, uh, pick and pull you've advantage on action rolls to pick non-magical locks.

Maybe we can wait.

Maybe we can tag team this.

The lock?

No.

Or the baddie.

Oh, wait.

Sorry.

Before this happens, because I have to remember, I'm getting used to these things that I built.

It does have, as part of its terrifying passive, when Terra Gut makes a successful attack, all PCs within far range lose a hope and I gain a fear.

Oh,

everyone within far range.

Oh, God.

Which is

all of you lose a hope.

Okay.

That was what reminded me about that.

So I'm going to try to open the cage.

Okay.

Alright, so that is with advantage.

And it's

this agility or finesse?

Finesse.

This be finesse.

Finesse.

So plus two and advantage.

Stop lucking me.

Lemon drop die.

Oh, oh.

They fucked me again.

I was driving.

Fifteen is exactly the difficulty.

Okay, good.

Okay, so with fear team.

Managed to find part of the cage.

There is a like odd iron latch that like hooks past and holds in place.

You get your blade and lift underneath, find the right lever of the fulcrum to pop it off, and

it opens and you

onto the ground there, right beside him, where you're standing.

Do a barrel roll.

At which point...

I'm going to activate Tupologlom Tower Thrall by...

He's been winding up.

He's been winding up, and the cage is now open.

So I'm going to spend a fear

to have him cage the judged against you.

As you're in the air to the left of it, the cage is now open.

It's empty.

Just one massive swing towards you with the now open cage.

That is 15

hits.

Okay.

12 plus 3.

For this, you take.

Don't make that face.

That's not cool.

27 points of physical damage.

Yanks.

I'm going to spend a shield to mark that down to major damage.

Okay.

Benjamin, you are fluffed from the air

and are currently now

inside his cage.

Alright.

Rage cage.

Okay.

Argus is gone.

Let's leave him.

I'm risking another fear to activate the terror gut.

No.

Who's going to use its bone whip?

Okay.

Let's say within close range.

You're right in front of him.

And you broke free from his grasp and it's going to.

Alright.

So cool.

Oh, that's only gonna be an eight.

That misses.

That misses you.

Great.

So the boos, you just dodge out of the way, and you sneaks kind of dive the other direction, and it cracks into the stone, which splits, and bits of rock and shale go flying across the place at impressive speed.

The whip comes to rest

across the entire hip.

And as he withdraws it, it hooks

and it tears and grinds through the stone.

Like a red knife.

Its massive mouth kind of

opens with its teeth.

How much hope do you have?

Alright, I have three.

I also have three.

I'm gonna look at Misty.

Let's do a tag team.

I sense a deep-seated rivalry between these two fucks.

Yeah, I do too.

I feel like I'm gonna try and push him into

the big rock gutty guy, and then maybe you can do an illusion, make him look like he's like...

Great.

Fuck you, man.

Yes, so I will cast an illusion, and if as they're sort of getting, you know, pushed and pressed together

They're all starting up.

They're all slipping.

Yeah, so it seems like big boy up here he has hands fingers to be

Yeah, he has an open hand like a crate.

So he has a middle finger

So in this sort of you know them getting pushed together

since I can't make any

If it works If it works

He's gonna flip off the other guy.

Yeah, we're gonna make it

off.

This guy's gonna flip off this guy.

I'm trying to incite a fight.

And that's the illusion.

All right.

Yeah, we're trying to incite a fight.

Okay.

So, can I move base to base with this guy, kind of in front of Misty?

Okay.

So you move.

There-ish.

Yeah, that's great.

You got it.

Yeah, and I will.

Say you.

I know.

Does that just remain?

Do you want to move anywhere or do you want to stay behind?

You know what?

I'm just going to sort of get behind.

Yeah.

Beside and behind.

Get behind me.

Right there.

Yeah.

Okay, let's both roll.

Okay.

Right, we both roll, right?

Yeah, you both roll and you take your choice of the two rolls.

Come on, come on.

Come on.

Come on.

Wait, hold on.

Let me see if I can add anything.

Do do good.

Please do good.

Okay, okay.

Let me see if I can add anything.

I don't think I can.

Fuck.

Okay.

We're not reliable.

We're in it.

What are we at?

What am I.

Can I add anything?

I'm going to six inch minutes.

Seeing if I can add anything here.

Is it a spellcast roll?

Because we need to add your spellcast modifier.

Yeah, but.

Okay,

it's 12 with fear.

13 with fear.

Oh, no.

Hang on, wait.

Do I have anything?

Hang on, I know, I know, I know, I know.

We've got to have something.

Wait, which one were you pushing?

The big giant.

The big gun.

You have advantage.

And I have advantage.

You both have advantage on this because he is still hit by the bolt beacon.

Can I use so roll a d6 and you roll a d6?

No, but I have to spend a hope to do an experience.

Six.

Okay.

Six.

Oh, that's way better.

Just roll it.

Yahoo!

It's a five.

Okay.

It needs like a certain amount of rotation in your hand.

Respect to that.

So.

So we're both with fear, right?

19 with fear.

19 with fear.

That does succeed.

That does succeed.

19 with fear.

You're welcome.

Thank you for watching.

You create something.

You Manipulate this illusion of the massive terror gut standing there, its whip kind of curling back.

So, wait, I'm doing my

forceful push ability, so I push this guy into

damage, right?

Or does it just push it?

Well, on a success, I knock them back into close range, and then also he does take damage.

Right, let's roll it out.

So, this is gonna be plus seven.

Drop the lowest.

Okay, so that's

12 plus

seven is

19.

19 points of damage.

19 points of damage.

That is a major wound on the Glom Tower Thrall.

The Glom Tower Thrall has a feature, a passive, called dense but clumsy.

An attack that would move the Thrall moves them two fewer ranges.

So he stays put.

However, the Thrall has to succeed on a reaction roll of 10, and if he fails, he falls over.

Okay.

Come on.

That's a two.

Okay.

So he doesn't.

He doesn't slam into it.

But as you slam into the thrall with your body,

its leg slides out from underneath it.

And it just comes crumbling down towards the two of you.

The two of you kind of barely step out of the way as it slams onto the steps.

And still with you rattled in its cage, the thrall is now

on the ground.

What an idiot.

So, in our tag team, to try and aggro this guy.

Restrained and vulnerable, temporarily.

And then the tag team.

Did it work?

We did a tag team.

Did it work?

Correct.

Did the guy

after he fell?

The guy flipped him off.

You're uncertain if the thrall was affected by the illusion necessarily because you don't know yet.

It just fell over.

Now, do we both spend three hope?

Or one of us?

You do, okay.

I did.

So you keep yours.

Are you queued up with fear?

I am, unfortunately, because that tag team was with fear.

Well, I don't know.

It was a good idea here.

We're trying.

We're trying.

I'm going to activate the Thrall on the ground.

It's going to go ahead and put a token on its slow passive as it's now like withdrawing its cage with August in it, with its arm back.

Then I'm going to spend a fear.

The Terragut.

Two.

Let's see.

It's going to release a shambling zombie.

You watch as its arm reaches into its mouth.

Its mouth

opens up and it pulls one of the partially digested corpses out and throws it on the ground.

It

stumbles past the stairs.

That's a good, that's good.

And begins to lumber forward.

And it immediately is spotlighted.

This zombie is going to move.

Right here next to you.

Snake drops on the stairs between the two of you.

And it turns towards you as a shambling zombie.

It's going to attack you.

Four.

Five.

Just out of the way.

Okay.

I have a quick, concise.

I'm going to just take a few skitter forward towards big guys on the ground and do what I tried to do the other day and throw my arms into the ground and shadows come out of my little piercings into the ground, I'm going to shadow bind the big guy while he's down.

Okay.

I gotta get out of the cage.

15 with fear.

Concise.

15 with fear.

Crazy.

So that's a success.

Again a fear.

Also, as a note, because of the echoes of anxiety,

you both lost hope because you rolled your spell with fear to illusion.

Okay, so both of you lost a fear.

The Ashcall Quarter's curse siphons the hope from you as you spell as you cast spells with fear.

So both of you lose a hope.

I had to have hope to begin with.

Boom.

Boom.

There you go.

However,

as you bind the shadow, you feel some traumatic memory kind of seep into your brain.

Misty,

what flash from your traumatic past shakes you where you stand and pulls you momentarily from this fray.

Um

I just

I remember

being in in the tunnels

and I have uh

a memory of

being attacked

by one of these creatures

and

this is a very similar creature i think and it it brings back a memory of my wandering soul of possibly how i was murdered

you recall a thrall smaller but similar to this one spinning its arm out and smashing

your small frame against the wall.

You feel your bones break as you tumble onto the cold rock.

And as your vision begins to go dark, you turn to see your family scream and the statue you've been dragging through the tunnels with you.

You pull out of the vision.

New cracks kind of forming on your body.

And a wave of recognition you weren't expecting.

Screeve.

What trauma curls through your consciousness?

I remember the years of abuse taken from Pharah, the ruby crown and the damask.

Queens kicking me, cutting me, bruising me, slashing me,

treating me like a dog.

Which is why I've worked so hard to own my pain,

be fueled by it.

It's mine,

not theirs.

That pain subsides and you harness what you can hold on to, but it slips before you can grab onto it.

And with that, that bit of hope leaves your spirit.

But as you come back to yourself, your fingers are still within your shadow.

The shadow that now clings, the thrall, to the stonework.

With that, it comes to my go.

I'm going to activate the thrall, taking its token away so it can now activate.

It's going to cage slam.

It's going to cage slam against you.

She's just a little ghost.

You're the first that escaped its cage, and you're kind of off at the side, and you're just right around its armor reach as it spins its orph over

to the side.

It has disadvantage, clearly, because it's on the ground.

No.

Okay.

Sorry, so I spend that fear there.

I would be ruinous if I didn't try.

No, fair.

That's going to be a 17.

Hits.

Okay.

So,

both Adelia

and August, as it damages the person within the cage equally upon the impact,

you both take.

It's cocked.

Okay, that's gonna be 24 points of physical damage on each of you.

Okay, I'm gonna spend it home.

To

use my rune ward.

At least it takes it out of

that, and then I'm gonna drop it down to major.

She very clearly.

Oh no, but that's all my hit points.

It doesn't matter.

That's still on my hit points.

Are you down?

She's not.

She's out of range.

Damn it.

Just on that ledge.

That's all my hit points.

That's all your hit points.

Okay.

Is this your first one?

So,

Adelia.

First time?

First time.

As the shadow of the cage comes crashing down upon you,

a flash of bodily pain before possible darkness takes you.

What do you choose?

Blaze of glory?

to have an immediate critical success and then leave this plane?

Avoid death and face the consequences in which you will drop unconscious and may roll your fear die to see if you take a scar and possibly have to recover elsewhere or risk it all and roll your duality dice.

And if I risk it all and I succeed, I come back.

You come back, you get to heal your hit points or stress equal to the number you roll in your hope die.

That's really good.

But if your fear is higher.

I'm dead.

And I get nothing.

Nothing.

You lose.

Good day, sir.

Good day, sir.

Yeah, it's rough in there, ain't it?

Yeah, it's so hard.

Decisions are so much worse than going.

Save everyone.

It's your first time down.

Save everyone.

It's your first time down.

Already know what you're going to do.

Yeah, I think you should.

I kind of want to blaze it, y'all.

You've only been with your attention.

Because

you guys would be.

It won't necessarily help us see.

I know, it's a thing.

If there was like

a little closer to me, listen.

If I roll bad, then I'm just gonna.

But I know you like craps.

I do like craps.

Oh my god, my palms are sweating.

Yeah.

Oh, shit.

You guys, this is so stressful.

Give yourself a nap.

Take a little nap in the cage.

Give yourself a break.

For your first one, don't go yet.

Your paints are waiting at home in the cage.

they call yet

one moment we roll together i'm still here if i die

adelia what are we doing

i'm rolling to see if i'm rolling with the ghost to say okay let's do it risk it all adelia roll on the table oh my god

Does she get to use her feature?

They mostly come out at night to dance tomorrow.

No, it hasn't!

I should have just blazed it!

Delia.

The Halcyon Domain is a cruel place.

Uncaring.

But the people within it are.

And you've met some people in the time away from your strange upbringing that showed you a glimmer of that.

And as you look around at the companions you've only just met,

after such periods of time alone or just with one other,

a little glimmer of that hope is brought to you.

Could you please describe your final moments for me?

Oh no.

As I lay underneath the cage that's just squished me

I'm going to reach down and pick up Violet

and I'm gonna look at Screve next to me

Make sure she's safe

I love you Screeve

I'm sorry

Oh no,

Oh no!

Take the doll and wedge her into the ring against my flesh, so there's no longer any loose space, and she just hangs there off my chest.

The rest of you stare in horror

as the creepy little girl,

like many kind,

wayward souls in this domain, have

leaves this mortal plane.

I'm going to spend a fear.

No remorse, no mercy.

We don't get a move after that.

We don't get a move now.

It's okay.

I'm going to bring her back.

Because you watch

as Tabody

switches.

It's been two seconds.

I'm back.

And you're a shambler.

Oh, God.

Oh, no.

She's even creepier.

Yeah.

Scream.

What the hell so fast?

We didn't even get a swimming.

You never know how long it takes.

Oh, my God.

So, wait, does she work against us now?

She's a shambling zombie.

No!

It's your activation.

What would you like to do?

Oh, you have to kill me.

We have to go.

We can't fight these guys.

We've got to go.

Alright, I'm going to pump some wild flame.

I'm pissed.

I just hands on

the big guy's head that's laying down.

Go boosh.

Pump some flame into him.

Do you have your

three hope?

No.

No.

I only have two hope.

All right, so I'm going to do that.

I'm going to do that.

I think we should run.

I would like to...

We should tag team Whiplash.

Do you have any hope?

I do.

Oh, my God.

Spellcast roll.

Okay, I mean, I got to make a roll first.

Oh, and I can...

I feel like we can outrun one of these guys.

We just need to kill one, and that one's already hurt the other one.

Yeah.

I can...

I can do this up to up to three...

up to three creatures.

So is there any way I could get into an area where I could have it be on both of them?

It does say

within melee range, so probably not.

No,

I'll say okay.

So, you want to move up to get in the melee with this guy?

Yes.

All right, so you shift up the stairs.

Just double-checking, is this going to do damage to me too?

You don't know.

Fog of war, baby.

Okay.

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,

oh,

I assumed it was a crit by the reaction.

Hell yeah.

It's a six with me.

I didn't do that.

It does not affect you because you are within the iron of the cage, and this affects the thrust.

What's that girl?

Adelia fell down the well?

You gain a hope, you clear a stress, and for the damage of this,

you maximize the damage dice, which would be...

Okay, it's 2d6.

12.

So 12.

12.

And then roll the dice and add that.

Roll high.

Okay.

Seven.

So 19.

So 19 points of damage.

That is a major wound.

The Glom Tower Thrall

is hurt and on fire.

So I do mark a stress as flames erupt from my hand.

But now he's all he...

Yeah.

I think that's all.

I think that's all.

I want to try to get

them out of the cage.

I'm going to try to get it.

It's still our chart.

You're going to try to get it.

It's still your guys' go.

So you can go get it if you have some help getting out of the cage.

Dive.

Dives into the shadows between Misty and the giant.

I'm going to spend a stress to vanish,

and I'm going to reappear in the shadows

around this thing's grundle.

Okay.

So I am cloaked between its legs, and I immediately start stabbing.

Alright.

Let's go.

You know it, baby.

Um, and I'm gonna.

I can't spend a hope.

I don't have a hope, so I can't use an experience.

So, this is finesse, cloaked.

Remain, uh,

when you move, we gotta get him out of the cage.

Does cloaked give me advantage?

I can't remember.

Cloak gives you advantage on your pack, yeah.

Okay, he's still

volunteerable, so you get it.

Get it anyway, anyway.

All right, ooh, hope for once.

13, 14, 15.

Wait, 8 and 5 is 13, 18.

20 with hope.

That succeeds?

For once.

40.

Destroy.

Okay, so

I'm just going to give you the shambling zombies that please.

Oh, I'm going to be a shambling zombie.

I figure it's more fun.

When I tell you it's time, you can choose how to

be your zombie.

Okay,

plus three.

What do you want to do?

Move it.

Ooh, pretty good.

Let's move.

twelve sixteen

twenty one

twenty twenty four

twenty four i just with iron rusty tetanus ridden claws just start

uh tearing apart his fucking anus that is a major wound he is looking very very hurt as you're shredding into it it's pale flesh like tearing open there's no blood there's just like dried muscle and sinew kind of like coming out in shredded tatters um and it's

it's trying to rouse from its current prone position but it's having a hard time doing so as you're carving it close to its destruction and he is shell-shocked screeve is shell shocked he's not laughing he's not crying he's not talking he's just breathing really heavily still your go if you want to go again or somebody else wants to know someone wants to take some damage or get out yeah

Yeah, I'm gonna try and get out of this thing.

All right.

I'm going to make a strength or agility action roll to try and break free.

I'm going to, can I use an experienced sticky fingers because i i've got like my needles and i've got i'm gonna try and get into that lock and pop it

uh here that was the notion of it yeah oh i'm looking to see if you can add experiences to reaction rolls or just action rolls okay i'm just gonna double check real fast

because a reaction roll

okay

Laura died.

I died, you guys.

You fucking died.

I'm sorry.

I really wasn't expecting expecting you to be the first one.

I actually agree with him.

It should have been him.

I've been aiming for it.

Sometimes that's what the dice say.

Damn.

I can't believe you're wrong.

I am near that.

I might have to die.

And a 12.

Yeah, that was a high.

I know.

I was like,

I was like, oh, a 10.

She's going to make it.

I'll go.

I was like, hey, that's a four?

No, that is the dagger.

Yellow draws the eye first, so we all saw the 10 and got excited for half of a second.

Yes, it's true.

All right.

You know what?

This isn't allowed.

I'll look it up later.

So I'm going to mark a stress,

which means I get to double that, so I get a plus four, and it's agility or

agility or strength.

Okay, no finesse.

Okay, that's fine.

This is you.

It doesn't matter.

Agility and finesse are the same.

Yeah, this is you trying to squeeze through in this instance.

And this, I do not get an advantage because of his.

Yeah, it's just a straight roll.

Or no, no advantage for this since it's a

no, it's because it's not against him.

Because it's not against him.

One by one, we die until we all are dead.

We die until we all are dead.

Yeah.

16.

16 is what you needed.

With hope.

Not that hope matters.

So, yeah, so that manages to break you free.

You break free from the cage.

But you can still keep going.

That's just a reaction rule.

So it doesn't think you're out.

Do we think he's about to die or no?

Yeah, go for it.

All right.

Just don't biff it.

I won't biff it.

I'm actually

going to.

I'm going to make an auto hit

just because

that that way we don't have to know.

Which is a.

Where is it?

I've lost the thing.

There it is.

Arcane.

There's too many things.

Arcane Barrage.

I'm just going to.

As I fly out of there, I'm going to just shoot an Arcane Barrage for just one D6, because.

Okay, go for it.

One point.

But it's still.

It's still a minor wound.

It's minor point.

It's holding on by a thread.

Okay, so, and that didn't trigger anything.

Anyone else wants to hit?

I am flying the fuck away from this dude.

Alright, so you pick up and

scoop up.

You take off, flying out of the cage, like the most grotesque butterfly.

Which direction do you want?

I'm going up and towards the arch there.

Yeah.

There you are.

All right.

So activation is still yours.

Snicks?

Do you want to do?

Yeah, let's do something.

Take care of him.

Go get him.

And me, who?

What?

Do you want to take care of the guy that's down?

He's going to go any second.

Go.

We're giving Snicks a how do you want to do this again?

Yes.

But we were gonna do a tag teaming.

Yeah, but it's all done, isn't it?

Yeah, we can do that.

Just kill the thing that's down.

All right, I'll go.

Do what you want to do.

I'll go kill the thing that's down.

Do what you want to do.

It's my mission within our group to be the guy who kills everybody.

Form the Blazing Sword.

Through the cleanup crew.

Alrighty.

I say a quick prayer to

Tyrus.

Tyrus.

Yes.

Tyrus.

Tyrus.

Please protect my friends who are still alive.

Yeah.

Eye contact, brutal.

And I'll go over there and do a leap and bring my boomerang down right on its jaw.

I know it's a far thing, but I can get one

far move without an agility.

Correct, so you just go for a full-on, you're rushing, and you're stabbing it?

Ah, yeah, full-on leap.

Leap.

Like jumping right in front of Misty and Screeve as you arc in the air.

You're

fawn form.

Yes.

She's so vulnerable.

Okay.

Oh no.

Terrible.

12 with fear.

Can I use a prayer dice to give him an extra three?

You can.

Yep.

Oh, they'll do it.

Is that 15?

15 is exactly what you need to do.

Oh,

God.

That's where the seraph kicks in, baby.

Thank God.

Thanks.

That was Tyrus who blessed me.

What?

Tyrus.

Tyrus was smiling on me and gave me an extra blessing.

Praise be to Tyrus.

So I take a fear and it will come to me up spotlight, but we'll go ahead and roll your damage.

That's a success.

Okay, damage.

I will actually, I'll spend, I'll mark a stress to increase my damage dice by one.

There we go.

24.

26 points of damage.

Howdy, doody do this.

I will scream out Adelia's name for Adelia!

And I will plunge my boomerang down

straight into

its mask, into its face.

You push through the cage, and as you slam it into it, it collapses inward.

You hear

this horrible low-sucking sound.

And then it just stops moving and goes limp against the stairs.

I'm going to leave it there because it's going to stay there.

Sure.

And is also on fire.

Smoldering.

Just slowly burning in place.

But it is finished.

As it comes to me, the terragut is going to.

It's going to attempt to devour you again, since you're still right there in front of it.

Expend a fear to do so.

That's going to be a nine to hit you.

That is my evasion.

That does hit.

So,

you take, as the claws, with much more gusto and fury from you,

avoiding its devour before, and avoiding its last strike with its whip.

Slams down with its claws with extreme prejudice.

That is.

You're post-mortem guilting her.

Sorry, 20 points of physical damage upon you.

20 points, okay.

I'm going to burn one armor to drop that to a minor.

Alright, and I need you to make a strength reaction roll for me.

You got it.

Strength reaction.

Don't want to go in the belly.

16, 7, 17 with...

It's a reaction.

17 is a success.

You remember.

It grabs it, it grabs you and lifts you up into the air.

And the rest of you watch as it's about to plunge

idol into its jaw, and he's holding tight.

As part of its terrifying passive, you all watching this lose a hope.

And I gain a fear.

You lose a hope as well, right?

Yes,

But you have no hope to lose?

No, neither.

I gain an additional fear.

Oh,

I also have no hope to lose.

I also have no hope to lose.

Everybody loses hope who's in far range.

Everybody's lost.

I'm sorry.

I lost a hope.

Okay.

Delightful.

But right as idle beans disappear into the jaw, you withstand.

And you watch as he pushes away his halberds holding it upwards of Blave at this point.

And you leap from its jaws and back down onto the stone.

It is very unhappy.

I'm going to spend a fear to, after that, activate that shambling zombie.

That's going to turn around and assail you from the back.

As you land, it stumbles over to try and grab you from behind.

That's going to be...

Well, that's an 18 to hit.

That is.

All right, so you take

six points of physical damage

as it reaches onto your back and is like trying to bite into your throat, but your armor and fur is keeping keeping it from digging too deep into your skin.

And then I'm going to spend another hope to activate.

Sorry, another fear to activate Adelia.

Adelia,

the shambling zombie form filled with hunger and the need to destroy, rend, and consume.

Who do you stumble towards?

I stumble towards Aita.

No, there's the one fucking person!

Ring another girl?

Fuck!

As a dude.

Scampers up with the hair in her face and rushes toward you.

As you turn around to try and get help, you just watch.

I don't, I think she's still in there.

You can reach her if you just talk to her.

Oh, bro.

Go ahead and roll an attack, please.

I think Laura just doesn't want to uber home.

I gotta get in here.

But you get to use

20 for this, since you're rolling in my end.

I add six because I'm...

We've got multiple ones around him, so I get too many to handle.

You do indeed.

no.

That's kata.

That is rollover.

Nope.

Road high, a beach.

That's 18.

Does she roll a d20 now?

I roll d20, you guys roll 2d12, but since I'm letting her roll for me, since it's her corpse,

that hits, so go ahead and roll 1d6 plus 10 physical damage.

Yeah, hit her.

Oh, wow.

Oh, wow.

Wow.

I'm picturing she's like down

on her hands and like feet like crawling like this.

And so she's gonna bite his calf.

Oh, okay.

I've got a pet cemetery.

Oh, just two damage.

Two points of physical damage to you, Idol.

Very tiny teeth.

I'm little.

I'm still talking a little bit.

I'm not totally brain dead yet.

Alright.

You now have two zombies upon you, one of which was your previous companion.

The rest of you watch as Adelia is now feasting on the ankle of Idol.

It's your activation.

Screav's going to skit her off of the giant's body, and I'll put me right where Adelia was

a moment ago.

And I'm going to reach out a hand towards Adelia, who's chewing on Idol.

Adelia,

we still have more games to play.

And I'm going to use Enrapture and make a spellcast roll

on Adelia.

Okay.

So low.

Seven, nine.

Couldn't use it.

It's only an eight.

With hope.

Unfortunately, the difficulty is ten.

That's a male.

Okay.

Adelia, how do you react to this attempt of spellcraft?

I

glance behind me, then I look back at Idol and shake it off and just keep gnawing on him.

You got him.

Alright, so that brings it back to me.

Wait, right?

You failed, though.

There was hope.

There was hope, but

if you fail,

or if you're

the terror gut is going to activate.

But you lose a hope if you failed your spell.

Is that right?

So it just kicks it out.

Or you lose a hope if you roll with your spell.

You're taken care of.

It's going to turn back towards you as you're going to fly by.

It watches the zombies swarm and it's going to

see this

buzzing sound as August flies through the air and it's going to take its whip

and whip out with its massive bladed bone whip.

That's going to be an 18.

Yeah, hits shit.

All right.

That's going to be.

Unless it's real low, I'm going down.

20 points of physical damage?

I'm down low.

You're down down?

I only have one HP left, so.

It's still one HP.

If I marked it down, I only have one HP left.

Do I have anything I can do?

You watch.

You watch as August goes creaming in the air as the terra got

starts arcing down toward like at a massive drop towards the base of this archway.

Here in this moment, do you wish to choose to Blaze of Glory, avoid death and face the consequences, or risk it all?

Okay.

So I have a question.

Yes.

I'm not going to

negotiate.

Can you undo what you just did?

So, Blaze of Glory.

Gods aren't here anymore, buddy.

That's that's I need no gods, only only devils.

Uh,

does Blaze of Glory have to be a damage thing, or if I come up with an interesting narrative thing, can I do anything?

Any action you want to?

If it's if it's a critical success within reason,

it automatically succeeds and it's a critical, but then you immediately die.

Okay,

I am

going to uh yeah, I think I'm gonna fuck.

I think I'm gonna blaze with glory if I can do this.

I can end this fucking fight.

I can end this fucking fight, I think.

Sure, can you?

Yeah, you're creative.

That was a good question.

Can you?

What's your name?

What's your idea?

What's your idea?

Maybe a hit from the GM.

No, no, I think he can come over and see.

The terragut's taken one hit.

Yep.

I am going to just look at everyone.

You're doing it?

Run!

And I'm going to fly right at the fucking terragut.

I'm going to grab onto the rib cage and I'm going to full blast

my arcane push and I'm going to knock the fucker over.

Okay.

And I'm going to send him down the fucking stairs.

Okay.

So you...

I have Sarah slams you with the whip.

You watch as August.

Fucking run, people.

Begins to arc down,

crashing into the ground right beside it as the blood begins to leave his body

you clasp your hands together and begin to utter the last words from your lips which are the incantation it is a critical success go ahead and

not wearing my hat that is my hat is gone what is the damage for the spell that is uh where is it I'm so sorry, there's so much stuff on these cards and I'm freaking out.

There we are.

That's

two that's 2d10 plus 2, so that's 22 plus 2d10.

Roll was my 1d10, 2d10.

2d10 plus 10.

Well since it's a crit,

it's 2d10, which is 20, plus 2, which is 22,

plus

22, 32, 33 points of damage.

Nice.

That is three wounds to it.

That's a mate.

It's a severe wound to it.

And it blasts back to far range, you see.

Yes.

Whoa.

Oh, sick.

Cool.

This is far though.

Oh, also, it's actually that adds another four points because it's, oh, yeah, because it's also using my proficiency, so it's another four points on top of that.

That's still just.

Okay, yeah.

Justin.

That's okay, good enough.

You all watch as August

begins to arc down August.

In this moment that you've accepted...

The moment of sacrifice

of all you've experienced and endured, the friendships you've made, and the hope of this journey to save the city of Desperlock that has been a place of solace and new beginnings for you.

You realize what's at stake and what needs to be done to help the rest of them finish this journey and save not their lives, but the lives of the many, many more that wait for the success of this mission.

What are the thoughts that go through your mind as you careen towards the stone clutching the arcana you're about to blast from your hand?

The number of people who have been kind to me after seeing my face

is very small

and they are all here.

It's not even about the pyre.

It's about...

It's about them.

If they continue, good will happen.

And this is much longer than I was supposed to live.

I was...

long supposed to be dead.

If it weren't for that one.

I'm.

Very grateful for nearly having one bonus a year of life.

Worth it.

This is all worth it.

Vanishing behind the terra gun as it turns back over its shoulder.

A blast wave of Arcana detonates from behind and you watch as the terra gun

is flung at an arc and thrown

and continues to tumble off the side of the cliff in the very bottom.

and is restrained as it falls to the ground.

The next moment, you're waiting for August to stand back up.

August?

But he doesn't.

But the last words that still ring in your ears that he shot at were.

Run.

Brixton grabs.

I'm right next to Misty.

So once again, as I run by, I grab Misty.

Come on.

He did it for you.

Okay, we have to run.

This way.

Typically, like decapitated dealio.

Damn it, Adelia.

Well, so you're both running.

Close or full far-range run.

We would have to run, well, like make rolls.

You have to make agility rolls to try and make the full distance.

But if you don't have to make agility rolls, all right, let's go.

Let's go.

Alright, so the two, you just run up the stairs around the corpse into there, and then you run up these stairs.

Unless you want to try and climb up here, otherwise there's two zombies in the way that you can run past, but it'll prevent you from moving further than this.

I'll try.

You'll climb?

I'll try to climb.

Okay, make a string fall for me, please.

Can I?

I was going to say, could I spend a hope to try and encourage her by saying, we've got to go, you got it, let's go.

Spend that hope.

That adds a D6 to your roll.

You just need to be a 12.

Yeah.

Would agility be a little bit of this?

I'll allow a jump if you want to go agility.

It's only about a 10-foot jump and it's trying to catch the ledge, so.

God darn it.

Okay.

Was it bad?

Added your D6?

I did.

Okay.

11 with fear.

Okay.

With the D6?

Yeah.

So, you leap and catch the edge.

It's not a high difficulty.

It's a 10 to do this.

So you succeed.

You catch up and pull yourself up

onto the ledge.

A little bit of a boost behind me.

You can get right about there with your...

close movement, but that's going to end your spotlight.

Bringing it to me.

A gain of fear.

I'm going to activate both shambling zombies.

Did I run?

Did I get Adelia?

Close enough?

Is that as far as I could get?

I hadn't

ran up the stairs, but that's that's a close distance.

Damn it.

Like I said, if you want to go that full distance, make that agility roll, and if you succeed, then you go that full length.

I was doing that, but then she rolled with fear, right?

So it's back to you.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So.

okay so go ahead and roll your attack against idol please or anyone else you'd wish to change it up could be anybody else it's true actually i am i'm i'm going to as i'm actually

i'm biting idol i'm gonna stop and look back over my shoulder

and she's gonna turn and look at screef

and I'm gonna crawl and try to bite him.

That's too brutal.

But But it's like a bad thing.

The other zombie is still close, right?

So I still get advantage on him.

Yes, you still have...

You still gotta use the too many to handle passive feature.

14.

Oh, yes.

Go ahead and roll Wendy 6 plus 1 physical damage on Screeve.

I am your shield.

I'm still just biting for a little measly too.

Alright, so

I see that Screve is in this fugue state and he's not reacting.

And I just kind of shove him to the side and throw my shield up in front of him.

It's not her anymore.

She's gone.

She's biting on your leg and your armored shiny.

So that blocked all that damage?

I take the damage.

Whose side is the turn?

Is it now yours or ours?

I'm still going.

You're still going.

How much damage was that?

Two.

Two.

Two points of physical damage against you.

Okay, I'll.

The other zombie is still focusing on you, Idol.

It's going to be a seven to hit you.

Can't see me.

Misses you.

It's still clamoring to try and bite towards you

but it just can't seem to find purchase on your flesh again um and the last fear to activate the terror gut which we're going to spend a fear to remove his uh restraint ability and the one to act so he gets back up

down here

um

he will move

up to there and he's gonna go ahead and

the only thing he can do from here is make his bone whip strike out to a close range.

This is going to be, I think only Screeve's the one in range.

Oh no.

Is it in range?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Screevy.

So that's going to be...

Screevin!

11?

Uh, no.

Nice!

Nice!

As you kind of like taken back by the sight of her trying to attack you and biting onto Brixton, you hear the crumbling and shifting of stone and at the corner of your eye, you see this massive form of the terra gut clambering back up onto the cliff face.

And as it withdraws its whip, you just shh, and it just

whips past you with just barely a motion as you can come back into your body.

That's my spotlight.

I shoulder past the whip, I shoulder past Brixton, and I reach down and I scoop Adelia up and wrap her in close.

Screeve!

We have to go back to the tummels, Screve.

No!

We have to go back, and I just start walking with her in arm this way towards that

structure.

That's not the way we're going!

Scream!

It's not the way we're going!

What?

That's my move.

It's your activation.

Oh!

Your spotlight.

No!

Let me, I'm going to run up and get base to base.

You're holding her like this.

Yeah.

Let me train go for this zombie, this shambler, the sex exidle at least

to that cuz he's blocking our way right.

Yeah, I mean you can you could probably try and shoulder past if you wanted to you can well it's not a lot of room there actually.

Let me just kill him.

I'm gonna kill him.

There you go.

Here you go.

The zombie.

Okay.

At least I'm gonna try to better roll with fucking hope.

Jesus.

Guess what?

What?

I didn't.

No!

12 with fear?

12 with fear.

This is so rough.

man.

That's a success.

Okay.

Because the zombie only has difficulty at 10.

Okay.

So go ahead and roll damage.

That's stupid.

This is stupid.

That's a really good roll, though.

That is.

So that's going to be 18 plus 7.

25.

Yes, whatever he said.

25?

That's more than double its threshold.

So it takes four hit points.

It has four hit points.

Okay.

You just completely carve through this zombie.

Screeve!

I just shout out again.

I'm going to spend...

Well, first it's my activation.

As you are being carried off by Screve, it's your spotlight.

Go ahead and roll an attack against Screave.

Oh, come on!

Screve and Colbert!

No!

19!

1v6 plus 1 physical damage against you, Scream.

You bite down on his neck.

You feel the pain of her

just tearing into your shoulder.

Still just chew!

I'm sorry.

Wait, so it's two points of damage?

Two points of physical damage.

So if that's under my

minority.

No, it's all minor.

Oh, it's a minor.

Yeah.

Okay, so she's like chewing through the leather.

Yeah, she's tearing away my

doll.

I just breathe through it and I'm still slowly like walking forward as she digs in.

And you're going, you're like, you're going to go.

I'm not taking like an official action because I could get, you know, a quite a ways.

And I'm not taking my turn because I want you guys all to have your turns.

But he's moved another six inches as she like digs it.

All right.

So?

I'm going to pick up August Spotty.

I'm going to spend one more fear.

I don't think that there's activate the pterogot.

I have a hat up,

so spotlight's going to be him.

He's going to move.

Yeah.

God damn it.

We've got to run.

We've got to run.

Come on.

We can just imagine it higher.

We don't have to risk it.

That works there.

Cool.

Risk it for the biscuit.

Shifts up.

And it's going to go ahead and make whip strike against you, Snicks.

Since you're now...

Actually, no, you're kind of over by the corpse there.

The most viable one it's going to see are the two of you.

Yep.

And you just took out the zombie.

It's going to be coming towards you.

Great.

Let's go, baby.

Natural one.

Yes.

Great.

It to strike at you with its bone whip, and as it pulls back, the bone whip is caught on one of the nearby pieces of stone and kind of like

we've got to run.

Yes, we do.

We're trying to pull it free.

So your spotlight.

I'll run.

I'll take off.

Yeah.

Idols in front of me.

Everybody move.

Don't sprint.

Just move.

That way you can't roll with fear.

I know.

There's no like

you can't use your action to dash or anything, right?

You You can more or less like you're rolling agility to see if you can.

Yeah, but that's a chance to fail.

Or we can just...

If you don't do that, I'm going to spend a fear to spotlight.

So we should do it.

So we should do it.

You can't just break the system by slow moving and doing that.

Yeah, well, just

rolling agility.

Okay, brother.

You can't even see me anymore.

I suppose it's he who is farthest should then roll with.

I technically can take my spotlight if ever it feels like it fits the narrative.

So if you all just just start moving slowly, I can slowly take my spotlight.

It's 16 with fear.

16 with fear.

That is the success test.

You continue your run over here to the edge, and as you're rushing up, you look over and

see the crumpled

form

of

August.

Alright, but that finished that with fear.

Pauses to just take a quick leak on the body.

I thought for a moment I was going to zombie too, but that's good.

It's now my spotlight because you're old enough.

Going to activate you once more.

Oh, I failed that one.

I just kind of like.

And just rest my forehead on his shoulder.

No.

Zombie needs a nap.

It's now the terra guts.

Fuck.

Activation.

It's going to

step up onto this platform and it's going to go ahead and try and whip out

probably you again.

Come on.

Come on, come on.

You're making me angry.

That's going to be a 12.

Hits.

Damn it.

You need spider evasion, man.

Did your armor fall off when you were running away by any chance?

21 points physical damage.

Got it.

wait who his armor is yeah it's real good

grab his armor

and then i'm gonna spend the fear

august's leg begins to twitch oh it's having

to get out of here

or you know i'll bring the armor to you

that's fair that's actually fair

because i don't know if this big boy can fit through the arch yeah or if you guys have just made it through the arch yeah where did he put the uh He would have been fine.

Oh, it's he's hidden in there.

Oh, okay.

Sorry.

Over here?

Yeah.

Okay.

Stands up

and kind of like gets back to its feet.

The hat missing.

The head is partially caved in.

You can see one of like the kind of tucked mandibles is like bent off to the side.

The shoulder is busted with a bone poking out.

And as August stands up.

And heads towards you, Misty.

Go ahead and make an attack wall with the D20 for you, please.

Dude.

15.

Wow.

Now I'm rolling well.

Roller D6 plus 1.

6 plus 1, 7.

7 points of physical damage.

I am your shield.

That's 7 points of physical damage to you, Brixton.

Yanks.

I'm just going to take the damage at this point.

Once again, I'm just watching all my friends become victim to my other friends.

I'm going to just try and bash him away with my shield.

We've got to run.

Yes, we do.

I am going to pump flame onto August.

That's not running.

I got it.

I'm not going to let him die over here like this.

His body's been fucked with too much.

She can move after.

Okay.

So

grab the armor.

I know.

13 with hope.

13 with hope.

That succeeds.

Difficulty is 10.

So take a hope and roll damage.

Okay.

So

five points.

Five points of damage.

That's two wounds onto you.

You have four hit points.

You have two more hit points left.

So you watch as you ignite.

Did he catch fire?

He catches fire.

Alright, so as you reach out,

tell me what you say and do as you reach out to August and set him aflame.

I just sort of grab his face,

and even though he's twitching,

I kiss his forehead

and I say, I'm sorry, but I want to set you free.

You can't live here like this.

Flames begin to curl up around.

So Hope is still with you.

I can't take his top hat.

Yeah, the top hat.

You can go again, or someone else can take it.

I'm gonna burn three Hope to do a combo move with you to pull you up from the ledge and flip you over backwards and turn and run through the door.

You're comboing me just to get me out of there?

Yes, you are.

I'm so agile, though.

I understand.

Okay.

Just run.

So we both run?

Or I we both roll?

Yeah.

Okay.

So what are you both doing?

You're just leaping over that way.

I guess I'm just doing this.

I'm also helping you open.

Should I also fire off a shot as part of this combo move or no?

Well, here's the thing.

If you're helping him roll, then you're making his agility roll for him, I'll say, to get him over there, which means you won't be able to move double distance.

Okay.

And you'll be able to make your attack call.

I'll allow that.

You're running three hopes and tag teams.

Yeah, so I'm saying I'm allowing it.

Okay.

Okay.

Okay.

1, 2, 15, 16, 17 with hope.

Yay!

Sweet.

Well, that's a 10.

So I'll take his.

So both of you gain a hope, and that is definitely a success.

With that, you're going to go upfill from there.

That's right.

You pass idle over an idle.

You go flying through the archway to the opposite end and kind of like catch the edge and land as you're in the air.

I am going to fire the scepter of Elias

at Adele.

Can you reach me?

I'm so far.

It's far range.

So if you're over here, you can do it while you're leaping, which would be.

Within range.

Oh, lovely.

Good.

So as you run over to grab the hand of Idol, you

10 points of magic damage.

Why are you trying to kill me?

I'm trying to get you off of him so he'll come with us.

So,

as you're walking away

and she's gnawing towards your shoulder

everything's washing over you second wave filming Adelia

Spatters against your shoulder and neck.

No, I'm not

dead.

And there's no dead in your grasp as you now see this dark shadow of the soul blight

spill out of her.

The corruption that animated her post-her demise and it clicks you that what you're carrying

hasn't been her for a moment

I

turn my head over my shoulder

and see the goat man.

Oh no

As I walk into this archway here, I'm looking over my shoulder the the small one over here

me me screeve I know.

I'm doing that because on your turn, as part of that, you would have moved on down.

I step into the shadow of this archway while looking back at Snyx,

and you just see my form go

and melt into the ground and shadow, and I'm gone.

Okay.

Spending stress.

Oh, no.

Oh, no.

Because I succeeded, I also get to roll a D4 because of the scepter and get rid of all my stress.

All of it?

I rolled a four on the D4.

It says you get rid of A stress if you roll a four.

It says, on a hit, roll a D4.

Oh, on a four, clear A stress.

Got it, got it, got it, got it, got it.

Got it, got it, got it.

Okay, I cleared a stress.

There you go.

And you are here on the archway with Idol right at the edge.

You guys are all rushing towards the exit point.

It's still your go.

So the spotlight's on your team.

Screed has vanished in the shot.

I'm going to reclaim my last prayer dice,

which is a three, and I'm going to redeem it for a hope equal to the result.

Okay, so take three hope.

Also, we didn't move Misty after she did her blazing hands.

She should have.

You would have shifted into here.

Yeah.

These guys come.

We gotta come.

I'm going to run by as I do a move.

I'm going to try and

put August out of his misery because I do agree with Misty.

All right.

Go ahead and roll it up.

He shouldn't die like this.

Not like this.

Not like this.

Come on now.

No, wait.

Hang on.

These are two fear die.

What's good?

What's good?

Let's try this one.

Bless this.

Bless this.

He's a zombie.

Great.

Well helped.

Wait.

Wait.

Wait.

No.

That was a 69.

I thought it was a Chris.

69 is a nice 69.

And our house rolls.

Okay, so that's going to be

15 plus 3, 18 to hit.

It definitely hits.

With hope of fear.

With fear.

Well, that is a success.

Go ahead and low damage.

You do two damage.

Yeah, I definitely do.

That's going to be 17, 24 damage.

Oh,

my first howdy-doody-doody, and it's Tal Tal.

Welcome to the Ajum, bro.

My coat has mostly burned away, and now all you see are my six arms and my legs, which are very inacharid, and the weird moth that is sewn to my back that clearly hasn't quite died yet that's trying to peel off in the sky.

Oh, yeah.

Its wings completely burned.

That is

a full and

spider.

There is nothing human left.

Brixton just kind of goes up.

And she kind of grabs the back of his, like the nape of his neck, and just kind of buries it in her chestplate to give that protection from any type of bite.

And she whispers a small prayer to Aratu and takes her blade.

Says,

Many will live

for your sacrifice here today.

Thank you.

And I'm just going to slowly plunge it right into the back of his neck.

The creature goes limp, and as you release it.

No, I don't do that.

I throw him over my shoulder because I want this armor.

It is on fire.

Well, no.

Because it's not unleashed.

Cinder grasp keeps them on fire.

Oh, I see.

I misunderstood.

Wild flames does not.

Gotcha.

No, I'm not sure.

I think you might have said yes.

I'm sorry.

I misunderstood.

My bad.

Okay.

So, fair enough, you take the charred body and throw it over your shoulder.

Little Fireman carry.

And with that.

And then I run for the rest of the way in.

I would have gotten, yeah, as far as I can go.

That was with fear, you said.

Yeah,

the activate there.

As you all begin to charge on the way out, the terra guts can attempt to strike out with its bone lip.

Oh god, what if he gets on the spine power?

That's gonna be

so.

I didn't even say it was attacking, which isn't fair.

I'm gonna have to re-roll that.

Um,

you've been avoiding it this whole time, and it's really pissed at you.

That's gonna be a 21 to hit.

Wait, but I thought you were already in the archway.

He's standing right outside of it.

He's not on the inside.

Wait, he gets hit with what?

With the train, the whip again?

And this guy would have been him right over there.

Are you gonna do your thing?

Probably.

That's gonna be.

I believe in you.

Okay.

14 points of physical damage.

That was a really bad damage roll.

I am your shield.

What does that do?

I take it for you.

You take 14 points of physical damage.

That's good, or I would have been rolling.

I have a lot of physical armor.

This is the thing that I do.

Although, wait, I should have been marking stress for these.

I did it for you earlier.

How many times have I done?

And I did it for you.

This is the third.

One, two, three.

So this is the third.

Okay.

Yeah, don't forget that.

Yes.

As you're like calling everyone in and shouting, you look over and see August being put down and thrown over the shoulder.

And in that brief moment of distraction, you shout in slow motion, like,

right as you turn and see, like,

stepping over the whip, cracking down in your direction, just as Brixton shoulders in and crack takes it across the back and shoulder.

I kind of

use the shoulder that I have on.

I was about to say,

the legs are sheared off.

I'm gonna take

two armor to make take that to be no damage

as you all gather and charge through the archway the terror gut slams into it and is a little bit too large to pull through tries to begin clamming on climbing on the other side but that's more than enough time for the rest of you to charge past this outer wall and begin to enter the exterior perimeter surrounding the Athenium Before we fully...

I'm not going to do anything, but

once we start going in, I'm just going to scream through the archway.

Screws!

It echoes out into the late afternoon.

But nonetheless,

you shout a name with no response.

Sweating.

Still processing the sudden and unexpected losses around you, you rush towards the one little glimmer of hope that carries you forward.

The sight of the sacred pyre that burns above this fortress.

And that's where we're gonna take our break.

Oh

boy.

That was a lethal first half.

I thought I'd hang in there a little bit longer.

Dude, I thought, but that tin was deceiving.

That was deceiving.

I know.

I saw the tenant was like, oh,

me.

I thought you were going to take one mulligan and then start playing, start gambling.

No, it's a gambling.

Although I can't hold back on the gambling.

Save it for the after show.

Alrighty.

That's a wrap for part one of this podcast episode.

Part two will land here the Tuesday after this episode at 5 a.m.

Pacific, and we'll pick up this story right where we left off.

Until next time, keep the umbra at bay, and we'll be back for more of this adventure before you know it.

Oh, Gecko, I just love being able to file a claim in under two minutes with the Geico app.

Could you sign it?

Sign what?

The app?

Yeah.

Sure.

Oh, it rubbed off the screen when I touched it.

Could you sign it again?

Anything to help, I suppose.

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