| Pappy and the Sea Monster (Campaign 2 - Episode 109) |
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| Information | |
| Release Date: | August 26, 2024 |
| Recording Date: | August 20, 2024 |
| Episode Length: | 1:08:40 |
| Cast & Characters | |
| Michael DiMauro: | Dungeon Master |
| Tim Lanning: | T'Chuck |
| Jennifer Cheek: | Selene von Esper |
| Mike Bachmann: | Screech Echo |
| Guide | |
| Previous Episode: | Next Episode: |
| The Black Market | Hydra Hell |
After meeting that magical merchant the gang really wants to make some quick gold and luckily there is a bounty right up their alley. Apparently a nasty and mysterious sea monster has been plaguing some fisherman and now it’s our job to teach it a lesson while earning some cold hard gold.
Story[]
Long Story[]
The last episode ended with the party in the town hall of Brookwillow. They had just received a reward for slaying the wanted Goblin Zarnock, the Cruel. The person they are talking to is either the mayor (since that's who they were going to get the reward from), or just a receptionist (since they started speaking the second the party entered the building). Either way, this person tells them of another quest, worth a much greater reward. There's a monster in a nearby lake, that's causing all kinds of problems. None who dare to go kill the beast have returned. He shows the party a map of the lake, telling them that the go here, and ask around at the docks. There, they will find more information. He says that, in order to receive the reward of 5,000 gold, they will need to bring back proof of the creature's demise.
Also with the party is R'Oarc, like normal, but she has... guys, I'll be honest. I don't know what's going on here. Nika Howard isn't here this week, but R'Oarc is. And they keep talking about this weird device that she has? It's like a sausage roll warmer, but it's also described as a genie's magic lamp for some reason? At first, I thought it was just a joke I didn't need to make note of, but the more they talk about it, the more it sounds like an important magical item that R'Oarc has. It also sounds like she may have somehow stolen it from Lucius Vale, which seems impossible. So, I don't know what that's about. Hopefully, this gets clarified later.
Anyway, the party returns to check out the bulletin board, hoping to find more information on the ad for this quest. All they see is that there's a drawing of the lake, and off in the distance, they see a large, bulbous body, with a long neck, and a little head. As they turn away from the board, they find that R'Oarc is missing, but her weird sausage roll warmer is still there. They take it with them, and head down to the lake. It's big, like a great lake. And there are docks, with a few boats anchored. Not as many boats as you'd find in, say, a big city, but there are a few. T'Chuck approaches some of the fishermen, and introduces himself to a young boy. The boy (who goes unnamed) is nervous about going out into the lake, as anyone who's gone to slay the monster has been eaten. Supposedly. At least, that's what it seems like, based on the occasional spare foot, or finger bone that comes floating back to shore. No one has seen this creature for themselves, and lived to tell the tale. That is, except for Old Pappy.
Pappy is an old fishermen who claims to have seen the creature. The boy takes them over to see him, and T'Chuck pays him a single silver piece for his trouble. He's sitting on the front porch of an old hut, rocking on a rocking chair, and chewing on a straw. Classic. Old Pappy doesn't think the party has what it takes to bring this creature down. But after convincing him with some gold (and after many farts), Pappy agrees to take the party out on his boat. His young grandson will accompany them. It's unclear if the grandson is the same as the random young fisherboy that T'Chuck gave a silver piece to, or if that was a different kid.
Either way, the guy's boat is tiny. It is described in various different ways, such as: The same size as The Orca from Jaws; half the size of the Going Merry from One Piece; and so small that the grandson has no room to move around. It's ultimately decided that the boat is 10 ft wide, and 30 ft long. It doesn't have a crow's nest, but there is a mast with a sail on it. The boat can also be rowed. Along the way, Pappy gives them some more information; Because of the lake monster, the fishermen have had to avoid their best fishing grounds, which is near some old rocky caves to the west. Because of this, the townsfolk have been starving. Killing the lake monster would be a huge boon to the town. It's nearly dusk, which is when the prime fish feeding time is. During this, Screech is grappling around in circles, using the mast of the boat as his grappling point. He attempts to perch atop the mast, but slips and falls into the water. lol.
Soon, Pappy announces their arrival at the location of the lake monster. A misty fog begins rolling in. It's also getting dark (everyone has Darkvision). And through the mist and the darkness, the party sees a forboding shape emerge from the water. A long neck rises up, followed by a second. Then a third, and a fourth, and a fifth! Five heads, this creature has! It's a Hydra, and it's headed right toward them!
Screech does some shenanigans where he ties one end of his grappling hook to the boat, then uses some nearby cliffs to grapple over to the Hydra. He ties the other end of his rope to the most central neck of the beast. This is going to be a very strange location for Screech to be shortly. T'Chuck uses his new Summon Celestial spell to create a large Defender Celestial right in front of him. It begins attacking the Hydra, looking like a god damn Pacific Rim fight scene. Selene also uses her magic, this time a Fireball, which blasts one of the heads off of the creature.
The Hydra is surprised. It isnt' used to anything fighting back before. In shock, it dives underwater, and this is where I'm personally wondering where Screech is right about now. There's a moment of silence, as they all wonder if the fight is over. Then, the Hydra begins swimming, quickly. The boat lurches forward, sending Selene flying over the side. She's just barely caught by T'Chuck before falling into the water. That's the good news. The bad news is that the boat is headed right toward the sheer edge of the cliff face! They're about to crash!
Also, T'Chuck the idea for them all to grab the rope and yank it, but is worried he will forget. So, there you go.
Short[]
The party is warned that there is great danger in going to fight the lake monster. But they go anyway. Down at the docks, they meet an old sailor named "Old Pappy", who agrees to take them out to fight the monster, for 5 gold. They hop in the tiny boat (bringing along Pappy's grandson), and run into the creature. It turns out to be a 5 headed Hydra! Screech does some kind of nonsense with his grappling hook. He ties one end to the boat, and another end to the central neck of the Hydra. It sounds like he's up hanging out on its neck, which is confusing. Because, after Selene destroys one of the heads with a Fireball, the Hydra dives underwater and swims toward a cliff face. We don't know where Screech is at this time, but one thing's for sure. The boat is going to crash into the side of the cliff!
Trivia[]
- You know the dude who the party got Zarnock's reward from? The one who may or may not be the mayor? Well, it's that dude's job to post the wanted ads and job postings up on the bulletin board. It's a job he takes great pride in.
- Whoever drew the render of the lake monster is assumed to be a landscape artist, as their art style doesn't match the other renders they've seen. For example, the wanted posters are all incredibly detailed, and in color, whereas the drawing of the lake monster is more emotionally evocative.
- Also, the paper stock on this job ad is thicker than that of the jobs worth less reward.
- Bachmann hates pontoon boats.
- They don't need to worry about doing any kind of magic around Pappy. He says that no one would believe him if he said he saw anything.
- T'Chuck has a +9 to Survival and Perception, a +5 to Animal Handling, and a +0 to Nature and History.
- In Episode 105, Screech left his Bear Claw weapons with Captain Aldin in the Ironwood Armory, back in Brookwillow. He was told it would take 3 days to complete. Not even one day has passed since then. But apparently, before they left to fight the lake monster, Aldin gave him back his Bear Claws, temporarily. Seems he wouldn't be able to do any more work on them tonight. So, for some reason, and despite all semblance of reasonable logic, he gave them back to Screech for the night, unfinished.
In This Episode...[]
Cast and Player Characters[]
- Michael DiMauro - Dungeon Master
- Tim Lanning - T'Chuck
- Jennifer Cheek - Selene von Esper
- Mike Bachmann - Screech Echo
Non-Player Characters[]
- The un-named mayor, or perhaps a receptionist, in the town hall of Brookwillow
- Some random fisher-kid
- Old Pappy
- Old Pappy's grandson, who may or may not be the same as the random fisher-kid from two characters above
Locations[]
- Drunkeros
- Brookwillow
- The Lake of Brookwillow
- Brookwillow
Inventory[]
| T'Chuck | Selene von Esper | R'Oarc | Screech Echo | General Inventory | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Quest Board[]
- [Active] - Make enough money to buy something from Lucius Vale
- [Active] - Slay the Lake Monster
- [On-Hold] - Save Selene's family!
- [Abandoned?] - Go to Brunnell
- [On-Hold] - Wait for Ratma Ritmo to arrive in Brookwillow
- [On-Hold] - Recruit the help of Hortentia Calamore
- [On-Hold] - Travel to Vhur'endal
- [On-Hold] - Recruit the help of House Bartell
- [On-Hold] - Travel to Anchordowns
- [Abandoned?] - Go to Brunnell
- [On-Hold] - Find a cure for Thaldin Emberbrew
- [On-Hold] - Go to the nearby Drow city, probably Vhur'endal
- [On-hold] - Investigate "Bill, the Necromancer", in the far off city by the coast
- [On-hold] - Take the disembodied lips to the oceanfront, for a burial at sea
Quotes[]
- "Well, this is gonna ruin the Fourth of July parade, or whatever. Jaws reference." ~ T'Chuck
- "Screech walks up. He kinda kicks the side of the boat, runs his hands along the stern. Takes a step back, hand on his chin. 'Pretty good sized boat.' [PAUSE] 'What else ya got around here, anything else?'" ~ Mike Bachmann
"WE'REGONNANEEDABIGGERBOOOOOAT!!!" ~ T'Chuck
- "I thought the Going Merry was quite chode-like, though." ~ Tim Lanning
- "I do like that our DM is like, 'This is the size of the boat.' And we're like 'You're a fucking idiot. No it's not!'" ~ Mike Bachmann
"I don't remember anyone calling me a fucking idiot. Was that just in your own head, or...?" ~ Michael DiMauro
Rolls[]
- Selene rolls Perception while listening intently to R'Oarc's new sausage roll warmer - 11
- She doesn't hear anything.
- Selene rolls Persuasion to try to convince Old Pappy that they are capable of slaying the lake monster - Nat 1
- Selene farts.
- T'Chuck also rolls Persuasion for the same thing - Nat 1
- T'Chuck also farts.
- Screech also also Persuasion for the same goddam thing - 3
- At least it's not a 1. Oh yeah, Screech farts.
- T'Chuck once again rolls Persuasion, but this time, with Advantage - 18
- They've convinced him!
- T'Chuck makes a Perception check to see when Screech is going to say "We're gonna need a bigger boat", so he can say it first - 18
- Against Screech's Performance, for some reason - 17
- T'Chuck says it first.
- Against Screech's Performance, for some reason - 17
- Screech rolls Acrobatics to perch atop the ship's mast - Nat 1
- He splashes into the water, sadly. And then he farts.
- T'Chuck rolls either Perception, Survival, History, or Nature to see what the five-headed creature is - 6 + 9 or 0
- It appears to be a mythical creature known as a Hydra.
Combat Begins Vs Hydra
- Initiative
- Screech - 29
- Hydra
- T'Chuck - 10
- Selene - 7
Round One
- Screech
- Ties one end of the grappling hook to the boat, then uses the other end to grapple over to the Hydra, using a Ranged Attack Roll - 224
- Hit - He is able to grapple around his central neck.
- Ties one end of the grappling hook to the boat, then uses the other end to grapple over to the Hydra, using a Ranged Attack Roll - 224
- Hydra
- It swims 30 ft toward the boat
- T'Chuck
- Casts Summon Celestial to create a Celestial Defender
- T'Chuck's Celestial Defender
- Melee Attack vs Hydra {x2} - 21, 25-ish
- Hit, Hit - 18 + 12 Radiant damage
- Melee Attack vs Hydra {x2} - 21, 25-ish
- Selene
- Casts Fireball on the Hydra, requiring it to make a Dexterity Saving Throw - 11
- Fail - 35 Fire damage - Destroys one of the heads
- Casts Fireball on the Hydra, requiring it to make a Dexterity Saving Throw - 11
- T'Chuck's Celestial Defender
- Gets an opportunity attack when the Hydra dives underwater - 25
- Hit - 15 Radiant damage
- Gets an opportunity attack when the Hydra dives underwater - 25
Hydra runs away, Ending Combat
- They all roll Acrobatics or Athletics to try to keep their balance when the boat jerks forward
- T'Chuck (Athletics) - 14
- Selene (Acrobatics) - 5
- She is about to fall off the boat.
- Screech (unknown) - 23
- T'Chuck rolls Athletics to save Selene from falling off the boat - 21
- Success - He's able to grab her arm before she falls off.