| Frog Factions (Campaign 2 - Episode 113) |
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| Information | |
| Release Date: | September 30, 2024 |
| Recording Date: | September 23, 2024 |
| Episode Length: | 1:23:15 |
| Cast & Characters | |
| Michael DiMauro: | Dungeon Master |
| Tim Lanning: | T'Chuck |
| Jennifer Cheek: | Selene von Esper |
| Nika Howard: | R'Oarc |
| Mike Bachmann: | Screech Echo |
| Guide | |
| Previous Episode: | Next Episode: |
| Small, Evil Frogs | Cemetery Plots |
Having found emperor Beau extremely dead and stabbed, our heroes now must face the tough decision of using illegal magic to bring him back. Obviously they should…but, like, he could be really, really weird about the whole thing and it make be annoying and not worth it.
Story[]
Long Story[]
Having just defeated three frog-like assassins creatures, our heroes turn their attention to the newly assassinated Big Bo. He's dead. That sucks. Or at least, it would if it weren't for the fact that T'Chuck has the ability to cast Revivify! He does this, kneeling down and offering a prayer to his god Regnier. The tingling serenity washes over T'Chuck, and as he speaks the words, life springs into the caravan. Some potted plants burst into bloom. The wound on Bo's neck closes up. He opens his eyes. He's alive! Groggy, and disoriented, but alive.
The party decides to let Bo rest for a minute, and instead, turn their attention back to the frog-like assassins. There were three of them: one with red skin, one with blue skin, and one with green skin. In the last episode, they had killed the red one, and Selene had chased the green out the window. The blue surrendered. However, there's a little discrepancy in this episode. Later, they ask about the frogs' names. The one they are speaking to (presumably the blue one) is named "Zits", and the red one is named "Pimple". They also ask about "the dead one", who is named "Rash". So, it sounds like they are now claiming the green one is dead? Or possibly the blue one; I don't remember them specifying the color of the one they are speaking to. But he was blue last episode. It doesn't really matter.
Anyway, T'Chuck forms a Zone of Truth in their little train car, as Selene returns with the green red? frog. T'Chuck and Screech are able to lie during this, but Selene, R'Oarc, and the frogs cannot. Sucks for them! Using this, the party is able to get a lot of information out of the assassins.
We learn that they are a part of an assassin's guild, the greatest assassin's guild in the lands, called "The Dart Blades". They were given a job to take out the Emperor, but were warned that he might have protection. So, that's not good. Someone knows, not only that the Emperor is here, hiding out in the circus, but also that T'Chuck, R'Oarc, Selene, and Screech are there too, watching over him. Not good. Also, less good, is the fact that the assassins don't know who paid to have the Emperor killed. They were just given a job by their informant, a mysterious Aarakocra known as "Professor". The assassins were actually meant to cut off the Emperors head, and bring it to the Professor, in two nights time. They were to meet the Professor in a place called "The Grand Graveyard", just outside of the capitol city of Farhold. And, they were to be rewarded 20,000 gold for the job.
The frogs only agreed to give them their contact's name (more of a title, really) in exchange for the party letting them go free. The party agrees to this, but they aren't going to let them leave until the next morning. Can't let them get too far of a head-start, can they? Still forced to tell the truth, the frogs admit that, not only will the Professor probably try to kill the party when they arrive, but also that the Grand Graveyard is full of dangerous undead, who will also try to kill them. Oh, and also, if the party lets the assassins go, they will probably return later and, you guessed it, try to kill them. So, things aren't looking too good for our heroes. Although, things do look slightly better when the assassins give the party a map of the graveyard, to navigate it safely. That was nice of them. Granted, it was under duress...
Alright, well. The party wants to talk amongst themselves, so they try to stuff the frogs into some barrels for the night. Although, their skin is poisonous (as Screech learns, when he grabs Zits' tongue, trying to catch a fly in the air), so they can't be touched directly. Instead, the party comes up with a way to cloak the frogs in leather, and then stuff those leather sacks into the barrels. Away from prying ears (do frogs have ears?), the party is able to scheme.
They should probably go and talk to the Professor in two days, right? I mean, they gotta figure out who ordered the hit on the Emperor, and maybe stop it from happening again. They are close enough to Farhold that they could make it in time for the meeting. And Selene is able to cast Seeming, so they can make themselves look like the frog assassins. That way, the Professor won't just immediately kill them when they show up. They'll also have to deal with the undead, somehow. But that's a problem for future party. For now, it's getting late. It's been a long day. The whole "slaying the Hydra" thing was only a couple hours ago. Actually, this is still the same day the circus arrived in town! That's wild. With the frogs sealed away in the barrels, the party tucks in for the night. R'Oarc makes sure Big Bo is nice and snuggly, stuffing a hay boy into bed with him. And Screech sneaks away, for a nice expensive meal at "Fantasy Spago", an illustrious fine dining establishment in the center of Brookwillow.
The next morning, Big Bo seems to be doing much better. He has a headache, sure, but he's at least able to maintain an erection. Oh, I'm sorry. A conversation. I don't know why I said that, I guess just a force of habit.
Anyway...
Bo has heard of the Dart Blades. They came out of the east, a few decades ago, but Bo was never too interested in any actual "being the Emperor" stuff, so he didn't pay too much attention to it. One thing that he does pay attention to, however, is money. And he has some, a lot of it. In fact, he pulls out a bag full of 6,000 gold, and agrees to just give it to the party. Mostly, it's a thanks for bringing him back to life. That was no small feat. But, they don't want to continue needing to bring him back to life, so they decide it probably would be best if they brought Bo along with them. R'Oarc is able to use her disguise kit to make a Juggalo disguise for him, and he looks... great? It's hard to tell, really. She ended up shaving off his beautiful long golden locks, and made them into a wig he could wear later. For now, though, he's wearing what looks like a Ronald McDonald wig. She's keeping her wigs, by the way, in her magical new sausage roll warmer. Upon seeing it, T'Chuck freaks out.
T'Chuck tells R'Oarc that Lucius Vale had warned him about the dangers of the warmer, but that he didn't seem to remember saying anything afterward. R'Oarc isn't too concerned, though. She tells him that she met someone! A kind of devil/demon/genie. But when T'Chuck takes the sausage warmer for himself, it becomes dull and lifeless, like my erection after I get too drunk, and end up crying alone in bed, my wife packing her suitcase in the room next to me... I'm sorry, I don't know where that came from. That was just... a joke. Forget you read that, it was a joke.
Anyway, the sausage roll warmer only seems to work for R'Oarc. When she takes it back, it's magical properties return. So, T'Chuck can't use it. He does warn her that she shouldn't make pacts with weird devils, and as he says that, a dark and ominous laugh suddenly echoes around them. Well, that's fucking spooky. Hope that doesn't mean something terrible is going to happen.
Well, it's time to leave. Bo reminds them of the frogs, whom the party had completely forgotten about. Despite having promised that they would release them in the morning, the party decides to alter the conditions of their arrangement, and leaves them in the barrels for now. And with that, da party departs.
They make their way across town, to "The Golden Grain Tavern". There, they meet up with Lucius Vale, he of the ominous message, and the fake voice. Upon bringing them down to his secret magical shop, he returns to using his normal "Jay Leno" voice. As it turns out, he just happens to have received in a new item. A single Immovable Rod, which R'Oarc is very interested in. She wants to buy it, and is surprised to learn that he's only charging 700 gold pieces. Of course, when I say she's surprised, what I mean is that, she thinks that's too expensive, and is somehow able to haggle him down to a paltry 600 gold peices. He agrees to this (for some reason), and sells it to her. She also wants a second one, and requests that Vale reach out to her, should he ever come into possession of another. To that end, she gives him her Sending Stone, the one she was using to communicate with Lucee.
T'Chuck also wants to buy something, and purchases the Amulet of Proof Against Detection and Location, for 4,500 gold (that's including the 10% discount). He gives this Amulet to Bo, who immediately puts it on. Also, T'Chuck has been studying the new smooth stone he had found, and knows that it's a Stone of Good Luck (also called a Luck Stone). Neat!
As they are going to leave, the party tells Vale that they are heading to Farhold, and R'Oarc even gives him specific coordinates to the graveyard she thinks they'll be hanging out at, for some reason. Vale suggests that, once they reach Farhold, they should visit his friend Jerry, at a place called "Jerry's Big Emporium of Magical Items". He gives them the secret process of getting there: Go down to the docks, look for the old, closed down tavern that looks like an old boat. Go inside, down to the basement, and knock on the wall 3 times. Then, give the password, which is "Jerry's Very Big Magical Emporium". And that's it. Wow, that's quite the mouthful. Almost as much of a mouthful as this raging erection I got after taking too many boner pills... I don't know, guys. I was trying to do a rule-of-threes thing with the erection joke. It didn't work out. Wait, something about the Immovable Rod! Oh, it's too late, the episode's over...
Short[]
The party Revivifies Big Bo, who's now no longer dead. They cast Zone of Truth, and interrogate the frog assassins. Turns out they were given orders to take out the Emperor by someone known as "The Professor". The frogs were going to meet the Professor in two days, at a graveyard in Farhold. The party decides to go to that meeting themselves, taking the frogs' place. They sleep, and the next morning, Bo thanks them for resurrecting him. They all head out to Lucius Vale's shop, where R'Oarc buys an Immovable Rod, and T'Chuck buys an Amulet of Proof Against Detection and Location, which he gives to Big Bo. Vale then tells them of a place in Farhold they can go to buy more magical items.
Trivia[]
- During his days in the army, T'Chuck had heard whispers of the Dart Blades. Mostly, though, it was just warnings to stay away from them.
- Selene has taken an elective class on Assassin's Guilds.
- While in the Zone of Truth, Screech asks the frogs how to tie several different forms of knots. Zits doesn't know how to tie any, but Pimple knows them all.
- Zits is 2 ft tall, and Pimple is 2.5 ft tall. We don't know how tall the late Rash was.
- The frogs eat flies and worms, but the party doesn't have any of those. They discuss asking J'Michael if he has any. This probably won't come up again, but I wanted a reason to put a link to J'Michael in the Wiki, since he was brought up in the episode.
- Pimple became an assassin because it seemed cool.
- Pimple tells them of a really good pizza place in Farhold, called "Ray's Originals". It's on 34th street.
- Selene has never been there. When she was training with The OT, she mostly just ate in the dining hall.
- Pimple doesn't think Selene is worth assassinating, a sentiment that Selene is hurt by.
- R'Oarc learned how to make a Juggalo costume during her festival days, when she get hit by a flying can of Faygo.
- Lucius Vale's shop doesn't get new supplies every day, but today just happened to be a resupply day.
- Vale knew R'Oarc's short-term fiance, the late Fizzlebang Glimmerstone. They had been friends for 15 years. But he doesn't know that he's dead, or that he had gotten engaged to R'Oarc.
- R'Oarc also seems to have forgotten that she and Glimmerstone were never married. She also forgets that Vale is a dude, and that he's extremely attractive.
- Vale doesn't sell many of his items, due to their price, and illegality. In fact, it sounds like he never does any business, besides what the party buys from him.
- He also doesn't deliver. That's a big mark against his Yelp score.
In This Episode...[]
Cast and Player Characters[]
- Michael DiMauro - Dungeon Master
- Tim Lanning - T'Chuck
- Jennifer Cheek - Selene von Esper
- Nika Howard - R'Oarc
- Mike Bachmann - Screech Echo
Non-Player Characters[]
- Big Bo
- Zits and Pimple
- Lucius Vale
Locations[]
- Drunkeros
- Brookwillow
- The Big Top Traveling Circus and Magnificent Menagerie
- "Fantasy Spago"
- The Golden Grain Tavern
- Brookwillow
Inventory[]
| T'Chuck | Selene von Esper | R'Oarc | Screech Echo | General Inventory | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Quest Board[]
- [NEW][Active] - Keep The Emperor safe
- [NEW][Active] - Find out who ordered the hit on the Emperor
- [NEW][Active] - Meet "The Professor" in the Grand Graveyard outside of Farhold
- [NEW][Active] - Find out who ordered the hit on the Emperor
- [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[]
- "Tim's arguing with himself over here." ~ Jennifer Cheek
"Only person who can keep up with me." ~ Tim Lanning
- "I mean, if you want me to make it 3 days, I can." ~ Zits, or Michael DiMauro
- "Nika, you can't just tell Michael you have something, if there's not a history of your character having that. What if I tried to get away with something like that?" ~ Mike Bachmann
- "I never killed any snakes!" ~ Nika Howard
- "Why are you Googling knots?" ~ Zits
"I'm not! Google doesn't exist!" ~ Screech Echo
- "Don't make me gas!" ~ Zits, unfortunately
- "I'm very sexually attractive!" ~ Lucius Vale
Rolls[]
- T'Chuck makes a Medicine check upon waking up Big Bo - 12
- He seems a little dopier than usual.
- T'Chuck casts Cure Wounds on Big Bo, healing him for - 6 HP
- T'Chuck casts Zone of Truth, requiring everyone to make a Charisma Saving Throw
- Screech - Nat 20
- Success - Can lie
- Selene - 11
- Fail - Cannot lie
- R'Oarc - 10
- Fail - Cannot lie
- T'Chuck - ??
- Success - Can lie
- Blue Frog - 15
- Fail - Cannot lie
- Green Frog - 15
- Fail - Cannot lie
- Screech - Nat 20
- T'Chuck rolls a History check to see if he's heard of the Dart Blades - 16
- He's heard whispers of the Dart Blades, but he doesn't know anything about them.
- Selene rolls an Insight check to see if the frogs' story checks out - 25
- They seem like they'd be up to something if the party lets them go.
- Screech rolls Athletics to catch Zits' tongue as he grabs a fly, Jar Jar Binks style - 21
- He grabs the tongue, but it slips through his fingers.
- R'Oarc does something to heal Big Bo for - 10 HP
- R'Oarc rolls a d20 with Proficiency to create a disguise for Big Bo - 13
- She feels like she did a great job.
- R'Oarc rolls Persuasion to convince everyone that her disguise for Big Bo is a good idea - 17
- It works, they all think it's a good idea.
- R'Oarc does something again to heal Big Bo for - 11 HP
- R'Oarc rolls Persuasion to convince Lucius Vale to give her a better deal on the Immovable Rods - 29
- He agrees to give it to her for 600 gp.