| Dino Dirge (Campaign 2 - Episode 85) |
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| Information | |
| Release Date: | January 29, 2024 |
| Recording Date: | January 23, 2024 |
| Episode Length: | 1:05:11 |
| 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: |
| Full Circus | Deep Jungle |
We set off to find R’orc who is most likely having a fun and strange time with the Jokester. I hate that guy so much. When we finally find them they are both in so much trouble.
Story[]
Long Story[]
The party is led into the mountains by Penelope Whistleblow, a carnie who was hired to track down The Jokester. His footprints lead up into the mountains, along with R'Oarc's. Every now and then, they also see the tracks of some kind of large flying creature, which (presumably) would land, and then take off again. They better hurry. There are other footprints all around; large, barefoot tracks that most likely belong to the Hill Giants.
Their journey takes them up, further up, furthest up, the air getting increasingly colder. But then, they begin to descend. The tracks appear to be leading them down into a kind of valley. The frigid air breaks, and a warmth settles over the land. In fact, it appears to be getting almost... humid. The grey craggy rocks of the mountains give way to a luscious, verdant landscape of trees and plants. The trees are so thick that they can't even see the sky above them. In addition to the flora, the fauna is noteworthy, too. A mosquito the size of a softball buzzes past them. I hate to think on it. T'Chuck sits, to take a sip of his canteen, but stops when he notices a rippling in the water.
Footsteps. Massive, earth-shaking footsteps, from somewhere close. What could be causing such disturbances? The group goes to investigate. There's a clearing nearby, with a lake in the center of it. And walking through that lake, are several giant, long-necked lizards. They wade across the lake as if it were a puddle, their legs as long as buildings. Their necks even longer than that. As soaring music swells, one of the long-necked creatures stands on its hind legs, reaches up, and bites the leaves off the top of a tree. Each of the party members take in this wondrous sight before them.
Screech stands up inside a jeep, taking his sunglasses off. T'Chuck sticks his hand inside one big pile of shit. Selene is in The Land Before Time.
They decide to leave these "dinosaurs" alone for now, since they're not harming anyone. They do elect to be quiet, however. Continuing on, darkness begins to fall, as night approaches. Ahead of them, music can be heard, and the flicker of several campfires signals the presence of some for of encampment. Screech stealths on ahead, to get the lay of the land. What he sees is R'Oarc! She's sitting around a fire, playing a mandolin. Next to her, The Jokester sings along, in a "warbly" voice. They are also surrounded by several Hill Giants, dancing and singing along with the music.
Screech returns to the others and tells them what he saw. R'Oarc seems to be okay, but just to be sure, T'Chuck casts Sending to shoot a quick message over to R'Oarc: "R'Oarc, are you okay? We are here to save you. Are you cool? We were so worried about you. Would it be safe if we walked into the clearing with you?" (By my count, that's 31 words, but what do I know?)
R'Oarc sends back: "Everything is chill. Why does the sun shine here in Higglytown? Nothing's gonna change when you will die. Kiss me, son of god." (This is 23 words, so it works)
Well, that sounds like a bunch of gibberish, so the party decides to just waltz on in. R'Oarc seems happy to see them, but as she hugs them, she speaks some more straight up nonsense. Screech thinks that she's under some kind of curse the Jokester put on her, so he throws him against a tree and demands to know what he did to her. He did nothing, however. R'Oarc's just a weirdo. She admits that she thought it would be funny to speak in "They Might be Giants" song titles. She's fine (so to speak). But at some point in the conversation, the Jokester vanishes. Great.
Okay, well everything seems to be fine now, right? Right? Oh, no, you silly fuck! Of course not! Because now, it's night time. And, as R'Oarc and the Hill Giants inform the party, that's when the dinosaurs come out to attack! Music is the only thing that can soothe the savage beasts, so that's why R'Oarc and the Jokester were playing their music. But what about before R'Oarc arrived? Well, as two Hill Giants named "Linnell" and "Flansburgh" explain, they used to have a gem called "The Crystal of Harmony", but it was recently stolen by a giant bird! The bird took this crystal high up into the mountains, where the Hill Giants can't go for some reason.
The Hill Giants request that the party go and retrieve the Crystal of Harmony, though they are under no obligation to do so. In exchange, they do extend an offer to the party to sleep here in a nearby cave for the night. R'Oarc has slept most of the day, so she is good to stay up all night playing her music, thus keeping everyone safe.
And so, the night passes uneventfully.
Short[]
Penelope Whistleblow leads the party up into the mountains. They find R'Oarc hanging out with the Hill Giants, and the Jokester, playing music and being merry. She stops playing when her friends arrive, but the Hill Giants demands she continue. At night, if there's no music playing, the dinosaurs will come out and attack. They used to have a magical "Crystal of Harmony", which kept the dinosaurs at bay, but it was recently stolen by a giant flying bird. The giants ask the party to climb the mountain, infiltrate the bird's nest, and retrieve the crystal. With the Jokester once again missing, R'Oarc plays music all night while the others sleep.
Trivia[]
- Clown footprints are the easiest to track.
- The shoes R'Oarc wears are a type of Converse, but they're called "Silence".
- The treads on the bottom are moons and stars, so it looks like the night sky wherever she walks.
- Bachmann wonders what Screech's relationship with the Jokester was. From what I remember, it wasn't much of one. The Jokester was just a nuisance that more annoyed Screech than anything. They weren't arch-nemesis or anything like that.
- The mountain they are to climb up has "many grapple points up the side".
- There are 15 Stone Giants living at this settlement.
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[]
- Penelope Whistleblow
- The Jokester
- Linnell, the Hill Giant
- Flansburgh, the Hill Giant
Locations[]
Inventory[]
| T'Chuck | Selene von Esper | R'Oarc | Screech Echo | General Inventory | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Quest Board[]
- [NEW][Optional] - Retrieve the Crystal of Harmony
- [Complete] -
Save R'Oarc from The Jokester! - [On-Hold] - Save Selene's family!
- [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
- [On-Hold] - Recruit the help of Hortentia Calamore
- [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[]
- "You don't believe in dinosaurs. Yer in... a story of... them... now. Yer in-- Dinosaur stories, yer in one..." ~ T'Chuck, the pirate
- "Right now, they're not sucking OR fucking." ~ Michael DiMauro
- "I only feel alive when I'm truly close to death!" ~ R'Oarc
Rolls[]
- T'Chuck rolls Survival to see if there are other footprints along with the Jokester's - 23
- He also sees R'Oarc's footprints
- Screech rolls Nature upon descending into the valley (with T'Chuck's Guidance) - 16
- They must be on some kind of geyser
- Selene rolls Nature to see if she knows what these dinosaurs are - 16
- She's heard sketchy information about lizards, but doesn't really know anything. They're kind of like cryptids
- They all roll Perception to see there are any guys riding on the dinosaurs
- Screech - 19
- He doesn't see any guys
- T'Chuck - "Really bad"
- Selene - 21
- She doesn't see any guys
- Screech - 19
- T'Chuck rolls Survival to see how recent the tracks they are following are - 20
- R'Oarc and the Jokester's tracks are about a day old, but the other tracks are varied in age
- Screech rolls Stealth to sneak up on the campfires, and see what there is to see - 23
- He fades into the mists