Ant Trap (Episode 2x20)

Ant Trap (Campaign 2 - Episode 20)
Screech Echo: "Have a dollar!"
Information
Release Date:	June 13, 2022
Recording Date:	June 9, 2022
Episode Length:	1:02:27
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:
Seventh Day	The... Rescue?

The gang has to figure out just how much treason they want to do. Will they be able to maintain deniability when the lite treason is discovered? Who knows! But let’s hope something good happens because they are running out of options. Well, options that aren’t “give up Selene”.

Story[]

Long Story[]

The Adepts from the Ordinatio Theonitus will be arriving shortly, so the party discusses the current plan. The way the town of Rimeford is laid out, there is a road leading into town on the right. This is where the Order will be approaching. The caves that the ants and other insects live in is on the opposite side of town, to the left. The plan is to lead the ants to the road, a half-mile outside of town. There, they will meet the OT, and fight them. Ideally, they would then have Lucee retreat with the ants back to the caves, where the Order will either be killed off, or take out a bunch of the insects, or just be, in general, distracted. Selene also suggests pretending like they've been fighting these ants the whole time, which is why she was unable to complete her mission in killing Decacog. Maybe they could even appear heroically and save the Adepts as they're fighting. They briefly ponder if they should let everyone in town know of their plan. It wouldn't do to have the Rimeford-ians blab that they've all just been hanging out, not fighting ants this whole time. But they don't do that.

Screech has been sent out on reconnaissance, to tell the others when the Order is coming. He's out now in the forests, dressed in his Squirrel costume. He does see a dust cloud approaching, the arrival of the carriage carrying the conniving Adepts. Right on schedule. He uses the Sending Stone he got from Lucee to tell the others, and the uses his grappling hook to chase after it.

Back at the edge of town, the others have been hard at work laying out meat and other types of food to lure the ants on out. T'Chuck has even purchased a recently killed elk from the Hunter's Guild. But, the ants aren't coming. Night-time falls, and Screech, moving faster than the carriage, is able to make it on ahead and joins his friends. And soon, the carriage arrives. Still no ants. This isn't good. R'Oarc calls out to Lucee via her own Sending Stone, but there's no answer. Then, she receives a text that's an acronym suggesting they're on they're way, but in a pithy kind of way. And just at the last minute, Lucee arrives, riding atop a giant ant. Behind them are 10 more ants, all riding in formation.

The carriage is approaching quickly. The driver, who is named Dale by the cast, stands and shouts a warning to the others in the carriage. It stops, and out emerges at least two Adepts. There's a small-ish Half-Elf, who Selene recognizes from her days in the Order (she may have been a teacher's assistant or something like that), and a larger figure, who's wearing garb that suggests they're a much higher rank than the other. The Half-Elf sends a fire blast out and incinerates some of the insects. The larger figure does the same, but with lightning. As the ants are killed, they let out horrific screams, which seem to call out help to other insects. The ground beneath the carriage begins roiling, and soon, giant scorpions and praying mantises begin emerging from the ground, attacking the carriage! Dale is, tragically, killed.

The party thinks about what they should do. Ultimately, they decide to wait until one of the Adepts is killed, and then swoop in to save the other. Unfortunately, things don't really work out that way. The Adepts are still alive, but the whole carriage begins to sink down into the ground! Alright, time to join in the fight. But first, T'Chuck asks Squirrel Man if he can cast Emboldening Bond on him. The Squirrel allows this, but then regrets it immediately. R'Oarc casts Bardic Inspiration on T'Chuck. Selene pretends to see none of this.

And then, the party leaps into battle!

Short[]

Mostly, this episode is just: The Adepts arrive. The party sets up Lucee and their ants to attack the Adepts, but when they do, the insects cause a sink-hole, causing the carriage they ride in to sink into the ground. The party leaps into action to save the Adepts. Also, the best character ever, Dale, is killed.

Trivia[]

Day 7 of the campaign.
Screech says that he's in Squirrel Form in this episode, despite last episode being Drop Bear. In the next episode, he doesn't mention his costume, though he is wearing it. Then, in Episode 22, he's Drop Bear again. So, I think he's supposed to be Drop Bear here. There doesn't seem to have been enough time for him to change outfits, but then again...
- Screech has a tear-away form of his Squirrel costume, like a track suit. He can tear this off quickly, and is wearing his normal Screech clothes underneath.
  - Underneath those Screech clothes is his real Squirrel costume, that's not tear-away style.
    - Underneath that real Squirrel costume are 5 pairs of shorts, all of which have an image of his dick and balls printed on them.

In This Episode...[]

General Inventory

(More than) 5 gp, 17 sp

Hunting Knife

Bear Pelt^[2x02]

A stick^[2x04]

R'Oarc's Quill^[2x04]

Mining Hammer^[2x05]

Mining Helmet^[2x05]

Heavy Armor^[2x06]

Theonite Collar

Various Books

Devin Decacog's ring from The Farhold Trumpeter^[2x14]

Bear Skull^[2x02]

Torture Knife^[2x05]

D20-sized rock of Theonite^[2x16]

Theonite Sending Stone^[2x17]

Knife with another knife attached^[2x19]

Theonite Ring of Protection^[2x19]

30,000 Dollars (not gold pieces)

Meat Flask

+1 Battle Claws^[2x05]

Dirt Scooping Pen^[2x13]

Grappling Hook^[2x01?]

Torch^[2x16]

Bits of Theonite^[2x16]

Theonite Sending Stone^[2x19]

Various lab equipment, such as scalpels and syringes^[2x16]

Several drawings of ants^[2x16]

Quest Log Updates[]

[Active] - Survive the impending attack from the Order
[On-Hold] - Investigate the mysterious goings-on in Rimeford

Quotes[]

"Somebody slap me!" ~ Selene von Esper

"I don't think R'Oarc is smart..." ~ Nika Howard

"I hate that we invented Dale only to die!" ~ Tim Lanning

Rolls[]

Screech rolls Survival to go off by himself into the woods - Nat 1
- He goes down to the road, thinks he hears something, and sees wagon tracks leading toward town.

Screech rolls Acrobatics to traverse through the forest quickly to follow the tracks - 13
- He's doing it, but it's not pretty

T'Chuck rolls Survival to lure the ants out using meat - 20
- Success - He lays the meat out, but the ants don't follow

R'Oarc makes an Intelligence check to interpret Lucee's message - 17
- She's not super sure, but she thinks they're saying that they're almost there

Some of them roll Perception to hear what the carriage driver is saying
- T'Chuck - 17
- Selene - 11
- R'Oarc - 20
  - It's hard to make out, but he's relaying that there's a bunch of weird monsters up ahead

Everyone rolls Initiative to join the encounter against the OT vs the bugs
- Screech - 29
- R'Oarc - 18
- Selene - 9
- T'Chuck - 7