Our Noodley Ally (Episode 2x57)

Our Noodley Ally (Campaign 2 - Episode 57)
The map and setup for the in-person recording.
Information
Release Date:	April 24, 2023
Recording Date:	March 31, 2023
Episode Length:	1:37:25
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:
The Chasm	Spidered Man

Suppose we should have assumed that the Abbott was going to be a weird little guy, but this feels like the weirdlest littlest guy yet. Unsure how to even describe him but that doesn’t matter as long as he can help J’Michael!

Story[]

Long Story[]

Oh No! A large Flumph has just appeared before the party! Surely this is going to be a bad time, right? Actually, no. It's a friendly Flumph! A voice in their heads greets them cordially. He communicates psychically, and after a bit of back and forth, the party learns that this, the Flumph, is The Abbott! The very one they've come here to talk to! Neat!

The Abbott is a bit paranoid. He suspects that the party is here to harvest his "sweet meats". Apparently, the different parts of his body are valuable, and highly sought after by magic users. After the party stresses that they are, in fact, NOT here for his meats, the Abbott agrees to help them. Unfortunately, he's unable to infiltrate the boggy mire that is J'Michael's mind. It's just too fucked up in there. He will be able to properly penetrate his brain, IF he had the right resources. Namely, the hypothalamus of a creature known as a "Brain Collector". That's the bad news. The good news is that there is a Brain Collector nearby. It's here (The Abbott thinks) specifically because it detected The Abbott's psychic brain waves. It's probably here hunting him. Remember the valuable glands and other body parts of The Abbott? Yeah, the Brain Collector is after those.

The Abbott marks on their map where the Brain Collector can be found, and also uses his psychic powers to help them track and find the creature. He also stresses to them NOT to go to The Boneyards, much to R'Oarc's disdain. He says the only thing they'll find there is bones, not realizing that this isn't a proper deterrent for this group. The party decides to leave J'Michael and Gertie behind, as they aren't going to be doing much good against a creature such as this.

And with that, the party departs. Departy departs, I should have said. They travel south for a few hours, with T'Chuck successfully finding some brain doo-doo. Congrats? I guess? It's still fresh, so they're on the right track. Soon, a psychic buzzing in their brains tells them they are close. The party prepares for a fight. Screech and Milton Graves (still in the Beholder-doodle costume) manage to hide in the shadows. T'Chuck casts Spirit Guardian and also grants Emboldening Bond to everyone. R'Oarc gives Bardic Inspiration to T'Chuck. There's a long discussion about positioning, and where everyone moves, so they're all in position. I don't think it's 100% necessary to describe every detail of it.

Soon, the Brain Collector appears before them. It appears to be a large mobile brain, with additional brains clinging to its back. A brief but mighty battle is fought. Heroes are made. Brains are popped like pimples. Much like the Bulette from a few episodes ago, it is finished off by Selene. After carving out the needed hypothalamus from the creature's corpse, the party also searches for other glands and various valuable viscera. They collect about 200 gp worth of an unknown "silky smooth, highly valuable substance".

Short[]

The Flumph reveals himself to be the Abbott, so that's good news! He can't help J'Michael, though. Not without the hypothalamus of a nearby Brain Collector. This proves to be an easy task, as the group is able to hunt down the Brain Collector, kill it, and harvest the needed hypothalamus. They also are able to collect some "silky smooth, highly valuable substance".

Trivia[]

Day 17 of the campaign.
The Abbott's body can be harvested for various purposes. His brains, for example, can, when powdered, be used to craft levitation potions. His tentacles can be harvested for Oils of Acid Resistance. The general meat of his body is very delicious. And he has one gland that's very stinky, and not delicious. But, it's still incredibly valuable.
The Abbott's diet consists of mushrooms.
Screech's parents are Blast and Toot Echo, as we all know. Blast is his mother, and Toot is his father. This makes them Lord Toot and Lady Blast.
The Brain Collector is a creature known as a "Neh-thalggu".

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 / Beholder-doodle (Milton Graves)

Non-Player Characters[]

Locations[]

Drunkeros
- Whispering Peaks
  - The tunnels below the mountain
    - The Cloisters

Inventory[]

General Inventory

Hunting Knife

Heavy Armor^[2x06]

+1 Mace of Regnier^[2x31]

Diamond worth 300 gp^[2x34]

Breast-plate armor^[2x34]

Backpack full of various useful things, such as "a tent or two", jerky, bread, cheese, etc.^[2x38]

Theonite Collar

Various Books

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

Bag of 50 gp^[2x22]

Torture Knife^[2x05]

D20-sized rock of Theonite^[2x16]

Theonite Sending Stone^[2x17]

Theonite Ring of Protection^[2x19]

5 Potions of Greater Healing^[2x23]

Homemade "Resuscitation Kit"^[2x38]

3 bones^[2x50]

Crudely copied map of the tunnels around Mineford^[2x55]

Handful of different mushrooms from the tunnel walls^[2x55]

Penny candies from the Mineford General Store^[2x55]

+1 Battle Claws^[2x05]

Grappling Hook^[2x01?]

Torch^[2x16]

Map of the tunnels around Mineford^[2x55]

Crystal that shows some glowing mushrooms^[2x55]

[NEW] Hypothalamus of the Brain Collector

[NEW] 200 gp worth of an unknown "silky smooth, highly valuable substance" from the Brain Collector

Quest Log Updates[]

[On-Hold] - Restore Mineford to it's true potential
- [On-Hold] - Find and kill the Drider in the tunnels
[Active] - Restore J'Michael to his true potential
- [Complete] - ~~Find The Abbott in The Cloister~~
  - [Complete] - ~~Convince The Abbott to cure J'Michael, somehow~~
- [NEW][Complete] - ~~Collect the hypothalamus of a Brain Collector~~
  - [NEW][Complete] - ~~Find and kill the Brain Collector~~
- [NEW][Active] - Return the hypothalamus to The Abbott

Quotes[]

"In my mind, they're like, little brain shaped doo-doos." ~ Jennifer Cheek

"The best way to think about nothing is to try to remember the names of any of your wards." ~ Screech Echo, or Mike Bachmann. Hard to say...

"That will save us upwards of 13 inches. From the ground, and I do mean that explicitly. This time, for real." ~ Tim Lanning

Rolls[]

T'Chuck rolls Insight on the Abbott, to see if he's being truthful - 14
- He's not sure.

Selene also rolls Insight on the Abbott, to see what his friggin' deal is, man - 15
- She thinks he's on the level.

Screech rolls Insight on Gertie, to see if she's cool with staying with the Abbott - 19
- She doesn't want to go to the Brain Collector, so I guess she's cool with it.

T'Chuck rolls Survival to hunt for the Brain Collector (with Advantage) - 20
- They find the trail.

Some of them roll History or Nature to see what they know about the Brain Collector
- Screech - 13
  - I think he doesn't know. It's not clarified.
- Beholder-doodle - 5
  - He doesn't know
- Selene - 6
  - She thinks it's a different type of creature
- R'Oarc - 16
  - She's heard of them, and they are known to grapple people and pop their skulls open to devour their brains.

Screech rolls Stealth to be stealthy - 21
- Success - He's stealthed
Beholder-doodle also rolls Stealth to also be stealthy - 13
- Fail - He's not stealthed

Everyone rolls Perception while tracking the Brain Collector
- T'Chuck - 11
- R'Oarc - 15
- Screech - 5
- Selene - 20
  - Selene hears the sound of claws against stone up ahead

Beholder-doodle rolls Stealth again to hide - 19
- Success - He is hidden

Combat Begins vs Brain Collector

Initiative
- Screech - 29
- Beholder-doodle (Milton Graves) - 12
- T'Chuck - 5
- R'Oarc - 5
- Selene - Nat 1 + 2

Round One

Screech
- Melee Attack vs Back Brains (with Sneak Attack) - 18
  - Miss
- Melee Attack vs Brain Collector - 18
  - Hit - 10 damage

Brain Collector
- Must make a Wisdom Saving Throw, due to T'Chuck's Spirit Guardians - 16
  - Success - 8 Radiant Damage, and its speed is halved
- Casts Ray of Sickness on T'Chuck - 3
  - Miss

Beholder-doodle
- Melee Attack vs Brain Collector - 17
  - Hit - 12 damage
- Melee Attack vs Back Brains - 26
  - Hit - 8 damage - Destroys one of them

T'Chuck
- Casts Inflict Wounds on the Brain Collector - 19
  - Hit - 21 Necrotic damage

R'Oarc
- Gives Bardic Inspiration to Selene
- Melee Attack vs Brain Collector - 17
  - Hit - 9 damage

Brain Collector (Legendary Action)
- Melee Attack (Claw) vs T'Chuck - 25
  - Hit - 12 Slashing damage

Selene
- Casts Fire Bolt on Brain Collector - Nat 20
  - Hit - 22 Fire damage
- Uses a Bonus Action to Telekinetic Shove the Brain Collector, requiring it to make a DC 15 Strength Saving Throw - 14
  - Fail - It is shoved

Round Two

Screech
- Melee Attack vs Back Brains (with Advantage) {x2} - 14, 23
  - Miss, Hit - 11 damage

Brain Collector
- Must make a DC 16 Wisdom Saving Throw, due to T'Chuck's Spirit Guardians - 12
  - Fail - 9 Radiant Damage
- Casts Lightening Bolt on a bunch of people, requiring Dexterity Saving Throws
  - R'Oarc - 24
    - Success - 13 damage
  - T'Chuck - 17
    - Success - 13 damage
  - Selene - 11
    - Fail - 26 damage

Beholder-doodle
- Melee Attack vs Brain Collector {x2} - 25, 15
  - Hit, Miss - 17 damage

Brain Collector (Legendary Action)
- Melee Attack (Claw) vs Screech (with Disadvantage) - 17
  - Hit - 12 Slashing damage

T'Chuck
- Uses Balm of Piece to heal R'Oarc and Selene for - 17 HP
- Moves back

R'Oarc
- Moves back

Selene
- Casts Fireball on the Brain Collector, requiring a Dexterity Saving Throw - 15
  - Success - 11 damage - Destroys all the Back Brains
- Uses a Bonus Action to Telekinetic Shove the Brain Collector, requiring it to make a DC 15 Strength Saving Throw - 21
  - Success - It is not shoved

Round Three

Screech
- Melee Attack vs Brain Collector - 17
  - Hit - 15 damage
- Takes the Disengage action to hide behind a pillar

Brain Collector
- Melee Attack (Claw) vs Beholder-doodle {x2} - 23, 22
  - Hit, Hit - 18 Piercing damage
- Melee Attack (Bite) vs Beholder-doodle - 19
  - Hit - 6 damage - Knocks him unconscious, also requires him to make a Constitution Saving Throw (with Disadvantage) - 16
    - Success - Not poisoned

Beholder-doodle
- Must make a Death Saving Throw - 3
  - Fail - One Failure

Brain Collector (Legendary Action)
- Grapples Beholder-doodle, and begins moving him forward to bite him

T'Chuck
- Casts Healing Word on Beholder-doodle, healing him for - 8 HP
  - He's no longer dying
- Casts Toll the Dead on the Brain Collector, requiring a Wisdom Saving Throw - 15
  - Fail - 10 Necrotic damage
- Also, the Spirit Guardians require another Wisdom Saving Throw - <15
  - Fail - 11 Radiant damage

R'Oarc
- Casts Aura of Vitality on Beholder-doodle, healing him for - 10 HP

Selene
- Casts Firebolt on the Brain Collector - 22
  - Hit - 7 Fire damage - Kills It

Combat Ends

Some of them roll Nature or Survival to see if the Brain Collector's brain is edible
- T'Chuck - 31
- R'Oarc - 15
- Screech - 20
  - Together, they know how to carve out the hypothalamus

Screech rolls Nature to see if any of the other glands are valuable - 16
- He is able to find a silky smooth "highly valued substance", 200 gold pieces worth