Part 2: A Terrible Transformation | Starter Kit - Advanced D&D

Summary

Starter Kit: Advanced D&D – “Part 2: A Terrible Transformation”

Podcast: Critical Role & Sagas of Sundry
Host/GM: David Nett
Original Air Date: November 10, 2025
Current Season: Ten Candles: Eclipse
Episode Summary:

---

Episode Overview

This episode continues the tense, urban Dungeons & Dragons adventure with the player characters facing a horrific transformation during a murder investigation. In a city teeming with intrigue, the team deals with a monstrous emergence, showcases inventive teamwork in combat, and follows the resulting horror’s trail into the city sewers. The session masterfully blends mechanics education, character-driven decisions, and story-driven horror, providing a captivating “starter kit” experience for both new and experienced players.

---

Key Discussion Points & Story Beats

1. Immediate Aftermath: Combat with the Monster

[01:30–11:18]

• The episode picks up mid-chaos, as the party faces a terrifying transformation: a young man, seized by Igneous, is suddenly overtaken by a monstrous presence—his face splitting open, tentacles and mandibles emerging.
• Players debate tactics in real time, discussing implications of urban settings for class abilities (e.g., warlocks, rangers).
• Combat Highlights:
  • Eraviel attempts to use Toll the Dead—“I point at Tentacle Boy, and the sound of a dolorous bell fills the air...” (Eraviel, [04:02]).
  • Narlak launches a bold Firebolt: “He can take it right here” (Narlak, [05:18]), hitting the creature for 9 damage.
  • Igneous tries to disengage, but is lashed by a tentacle, fails his saving throw, and is paralyzed: “Oh, so you rolled a one. This is one of those times when you don’t want to have rolled a one.” (David, [09:00])
  • The creature emerges fully—a centipede-like horror with tentacles and mandibles, eight or nine feet long.
  • Shywin bursts onto the scene, casts Hunter’s Mark, and delivers dual bow shots: “You basically marked this thing; this is your quarry.” (David, [12:02])
  • Leona and Eraviel rush to join melee; Leona lands a decisive sword blow as the monster flees into the night.

2. Pursuit and Investigation: Into the Sewers

[24:08–34:05]

• The creature escapes into the city’s sewer system; Shywin expertly tracks it with her ranger skills and Hunter’s Mark:
  • “You can totally follow it by the broken branches and stuff.” (David, [26:13])
• The party navigates into darkness, forming a new marching order and lighting the way with spells as they track the monster’s slimy path.
• A standout moment: Igneous uses Speak with Animals to question the sewer’s rats, extracting valuable (and hilarious) intelligence:
  • “I give them some…we have a little conversation.” (Igneous, [31:03])
  • Rats describe seeing “big worm…legs and worms on face,” but disagree on which way it went.
  • The party also learns that people “like us, dark, cloaked” have passed this way recently.

3. Return to Crime Scene: Clues and Analysis

[35:21–42:50]

• The characters decide to return to the original murder scene, finding City Watch have uncovered new evidence:
  • Four bodies bearing “harpy” tattoos, three with “rivers” gang symbols; several mangled by the same tentacle burns seen on the creature, others stabbed or torn apart.
  • Loot is discovered (lockpicks, jewelry, gold) consistent with an interrupted robbery.
  • “You actually have a really good memory… that was Madam Flagstaff’s diamond choker.” (David, [40:40])
• The group assesses the possibility of rival gangs interrupted by the monstrous intruder—was it a setup, or coincidence?
• Through survival checks, most of the party recognizes the monster as a carrion crawler—a known scavenger of the city’s depths, but one never before seen to puppet a human:
  • “Are they known to take control of human bodies?” (Leona, [36:29])
  • “Not in the slightest that you’ve ever heard.” (David, [36:32])

4. Theories & Next Steps

[41:38–43:54]

• The episode closes with cementing the mystery: two gangs, a gruesome, seemingly supernatural event, and clues leading only to more questions.
• As dawn breaks, the party’s supervisor Smiles acknowledges their progress and leaves the team to puzzle over the night’s events:
  • “Congratulations on catching a case. I expect you’ll keep working on it.” (Smiles, [43:33])

---

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Spellcasting Tactics:

  • “We have different prior—” (Eraviel, gently calling out a party member’s disregard for friendly fire, [05:20])

• On Monster Transformation:

  • “The boy’s face is peeling open now…his skin is peeling open. Oh, boy.” (David, [07:01])

• On Ranger Prowess:

  • “Rangers don’t get lost.” (David, [28:39])

• On Animal Empathy:

  • “I talk to animals. They’re lovely little creatures, really.” (Igneous, [34:45])

• On Urban Druid Life:

  • “This is where you’ve lived largely. It’s closer to the bedrock of the city.” (David to Igneous, [27:23])

• On Unanswered Mysteries:

  • “Are they known to take control of human bodies?”—Leona
  • “Not in the slightest that you’ve ever heard.”—David ([36:29–36:32])

• On Crime Scene Humor:

  • “You can’t wear the same necklace to…two…” (Leona, [40:57])

• On Party Dynamics:

  • “You have that very impressive longbow. I think maybe we put Igneous right behind me in this case, though, because he’s got an advantage down here.” (Leona, planning the marching order, [27:14])

---

Key Segment Timestamps

• 01:30 — Recap of previous events; DM’s comments on urban adventures
• 03:22 — Combat begins; Eraviel and Narlak attempt ranged spells
• 05:40 — First direct Firebolt hit lands on the monster
• 09:00 — Igneous becomes paralyzed by carrion crawler’s poison
• 10:34 — Creature finishes transformation; full horror revealed
• 12:02 — Shywin casts Hunter’s Mark; dual bow attack sequence
• 17:00 — Eraviel summons her magical flail “Glash”
• 23:11 — Leona slices the monster as it flees; chase begins
• 26:03 — Shywin’s high survival check finds the tunnel trail
• 30:10 — Igneous “converses” with rats; split reported on monster direction
• 36:02 — Group deduces it’s a carrion crawler, with formerly unknown behavior
• 39:02 — Return to the scene; City Watch updates on clues, loot, gangs
• 43:33 — Supervisor Smiles gives remarks; team faces a long investigation ahead

---

Conclusion & Teasers

The episode artfully blends atmospheric tension, mechanical teaching, and player-driven action. Despite setbacks (and a spectacular failure against monster paralysis), the party presses on, blending city guard procedures with urban exploration. The discovery that the familiar sewers harbor unfamiliar terrors sets the stage for both monster hunting and tangled human intrigue going forward.

Next Time on Starter Kit:
[43:59+]

• The party prepares to face the thieves’ quarter, seeking answers from rival gang leaders—and perhaps the head of the harpies in disguise.

---

Perfect for: Fans of D&D, actual play podcasts, and gritty urban fantasy, as well as new players curious about city-based campaigns and how “nature” classes adapt to concrete jungles.

Transcript

[Podcast Host]

You chose to hit play on this podcast today. Smart Choice Progressive loves to help people make smart choices. That's why they offer a tool called Auto Quote Explorer that allows you to compare your Progressive car insurance quote with rates from other companies so you save time on the research and can enjoy savings when you choose the best rate for you. Give it a try after this [e-mail] Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates not available in all states or situations. Prices vary based on how you buy.

[Game Trailer Narrator]

As a raider scavenging a derelict world, you settle into an underground settlement.

[Player Character - Narlak]

But now you must return to the.

[Game Trailer Narrator]

Surface where arc machines roam. If you're brave enough, who knows what you might find. Arc Raiders, a multiplayer extraction adventure video game.

[Player Character - Narlak]

Buy now for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S and PC rated T for Teen. Last time on Starter Kit.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Gather the team.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

Team, gather up whatever you demand. Sergeant.

[Player Character - Narlak]

What did you see in there?

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Two guards knifed at the door. Seven more bodies upstairs. There's a new gang. They call themselves the Rivers. The door flies open. You there. Stop.

[Player Character - Igneous]

In the name of the city Watch.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Welcome back to your starter kit. I'm David Nett, your Dungeon master for this D and D adventure. When playing an urban adventure, it's easy to dismiss traditionally nature based characters like Druids, Barbarians, and Rangers. But while these classes truly shine in their traditional environments, there is a place for them in an urban setting as well. Every class has something to contribute, even in unlikely circumstances, and it can be a fun challenge for players and Dungeon Masters alike to discover new twists on these old archetypes. All right, when we left off, Igneous, you were wrestling on the ground with a young person dressed all in black. Young man who was crying said that he's sorry, he didn't mean to, and then his mouth opened wide and mandibles came out in tentacles. And you're locked on the ground there with him. This is bad. So in this moment, the two of you, Narlak and Eraviel, are also running down the stairs. You're lying outside the servant's door on the ground, wrestling with this. Whatever this thing is happening. As you're running down the stairs, you hear Igneous make a little bit of a startled noise. I'm just not gonna put that in your mouth, but I'll.

[Player Character - Igneous]

It's definitely a startled noise. Sounds right.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

So you run down the stairs. We'll say Raviel is just slightly ahead of Narlak. Raviel's dexterity is higher, so a little bit faster. Even though you rolled the same thing for initiative. So Raviel, you see the struggle happening outside, and then you hear this sound coming out of Igneous, this startled sound. And you see a weird thing waving up around him, A couple of tentacles, like, waving on either side of them in the moonlight outside. You're halfway down the stairs. You've made your movement already because you said you were running after him. So the first part of your combat round is movement. In this case, you ran. Now, when you reach the end point, you can take a standard action, and that action can be you can cast a spell. You could attack, you could move again. That's called a dash. You could leap forward and try to grapple with these two if you want to. Or what would you like to do?

[Player Character - Eraviel]

My training and all of my experiences make me want to protect, by all means, people in my squadron. So I will actually attack whatever it looks like is attacking. You're welcome, Igneous. And so that will be first.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

So now they're outside the door and a little ways down the stairs. If you're gonna make an attack, it has to be a ranged attack from here because you can't reach them unless you move further. And that'll take your action.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

Okay, awesome. Then what I will do is, as an action, I will toll the dead on his face.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

What does toll the dead do? So you've got a spell called toll the dead?

[Player Character - Eraviel]

Yes, it's a cantrip, which means it doesn't take up a spell slot.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

You can cast it as often as you want to because it's a cantrip.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

And it's a range of 60ft. So I point at Tentacle Boy, and the sound of a dolorous bell fills the air around that creature. The target must succeed on a wisdom saving throw or take 1d8 necrotic damage. If they're missing any of their hit points, it takes one D12.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

So he hasn't taken any damage yet.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

But yes, a wisdom saving throw. And my DC is 13.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

So 13 is your spell DC based upon your charisma. Right. Because you're a warlock.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

Based on my charisma.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Gotcha. So he's gonna roll a wisdom save. He'll add his wisdom bonus. You toll the dead, and because they're wrestling on the ground and he's screaming and crying and you point to him, you don't know whether you just can't see him well enough or whether you can't see what's going on, but nothing. You hear the sound of the bell, but nothing.

[Player Character - Leona]

Great.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

Okay. But what I do hear is a disappointed Cha Cha.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

You're on the stairs there. You're right behind her. Gnarlak, what are you doing on the stairs?

[Player Character - Narlak]

Well, my first instinct was perhaps I was going to cast some sort of spell to hold the boy in place. But now that I see this other creature coming out of his mouth, I'm going to cast firebolt at the creature.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Just trying to fling a firebolt, even though Igneous is wrestling with him. You're going to fling a firebolt?

[Player Character - Narlak]

Yeah, I'm going to. He can take it right here.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

We have different prior.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Okay, sure. So you're gonna roll to hit. And what you do then is you're going to roll your D20. That's your attack die, and you're going to add your magical attack bonus. This is a magical attack you're casting. Fire bolt a spell.

[Player Character - Narlak]

This is a sorcerer spell.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Sorcerer spell. So you've got a sorcerer attack bonus there. So roll your D20 and add that.

[Player Character - Narlak]

I get a total of 17.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

All right. And you hit. His armor class is lower than that. I'm not going to tell you what his armor class is. It's a number you'd have to hit, but it is lower than that. So you hit him. Okay.

[Podcast Host]

Yay.

[Player Character - Narlak]

So I do nine points of damage.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

What? So as you're wrestling on the ground over your shoulder, this arc of fire just smashes into.

[Player Character - Igneous]

Misses me.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Misses you right over your shoulder. It sizzles against you, smashes into this creature. And there's like a weird harmonic scream. Like four or five different vocal cords vibrating at the same as the tentacles crawl. And that's all three of you who've acted as well as this person. So the first round of combat only included the three of you and this thing because you guys were doing investigations. But now we're in the second round of combat. So what I'd like you to do is I want to have the two of you roll initiative so I can add you into the Initiative. You hear these blood curdling screams up in the rooms where you're investigating. So both of you roll and add your initiative bonus.

[Player Character - Shywin]

10 plus 7. 17.

[Player Character - Leona]

I rolled a one.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Okay, so Shywin, you got a 17. And you've got a big initiative bonus as well, because you've got Dread Ambusher as one of your powers. So you've got a really serious plus. We're just gonna say you were like deeply. You were throwing over the mattress on the bed, making sure that this room was clear.

[Player Character - Leona]

I really wanted to make sure the room was clear.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

And so the muffled scream takes you a moment to register what's going on before you step out of the room.

[Player Character - Igneous]

You're further away.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

I do like that you yelled out clear. And then what we didn't hear was, and yet.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

So, Ignis, you still have the 20. You rolled the highest initiative, so you still go for it. Now this thing is underneath you is. The boy's face is peeling open now his jaw is out, and this thing is coming out of it. His skin is peeling open. Oh, boy. And underneath it, this is kind of pulsy, chitinous thing kind of crawling out of him. What do you want to do? Oh, boy. During your combat round, again, you can move, and then you can take a standard action that's cast a spell. That's attack. That's disengage. If you want to get off of him and get away, you can disengage.

[Player Character - Igneous]

I'm going to try to get away.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

So there's two ways that movement works here. If you just try to use your move action, theoretically, and you don't know whether he will or not, he can take a reaction and try to swipe at you as you move away from him. But there is a standard action called disengage. And what that does is it kind of lets you fight your way away from him, and then you can move without him taking an action against you.

[Player Character - Igneous]

Right, but I can't take an action.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Then you can't take an action with this.

[Player Character - Igneous]

I would definitely want to take an action because this seems like an apparent threat that we should probably take care of.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

So you're just going to try to.

[Player Character - Igneous]

Move away, get a little space.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

So he's. As you move away, he's screaming, and his body's kind of pulsing open, but those tendrils lash out at you nonetheless and swing toward you as you try to move away. What is your armor class?

[Player Character - Igneous]

12.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

All right, so as you try to back away, the thing lashes out with one of its tendrils, and the tendril kind of wraps around your neck and pulls at you. As you kind of try to scramble away, it does five points of damage to you. But as it wraps around you, you feel it sort of like sizzling, burning into your skin. And I need you to make a saving throw for me. Okay, so you're gonna make a constitution saving throw. What this means you're gonna add up in the left hand side of your sheet there. You've got saving throws next to your abilities. Right? That's good. Now, a saving throw is something when. Sometimes when a creature attacks you or you attack that creature, they need to resist an effect. So that's when somebody's doing something to you. If you've got a constitution saving throw bonus, you're gonna add that to your roll, okay? And you're trying to hit a 13 or better.

[Player Character - Igneous]

13 or better.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

Come on.

[Player Character - Igneous]

Igneous.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Oh, so you rolled a one. This is one of those times when you don't want to have rolled a one. So as you kind of try to get up off him, that tendril wraps around your neck, just kind of slams you to the ground. And you feel this sensation going into your body, and your muscles are paralyzed, and you're just held there for a moment, just stunned and paralyzed. So the action that you are going to take, no good.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

You really can't because of his stupid reaction.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Now you're paralyzed there on the ground. Now, at the end of your turn, you're paralyzed right now. When this condition hits you at the end of your turn, you can try to break free again. Okay? So you didn't get to take your action, but it is now the end of your turn. You can roll that saving throw again against the 13 and try to break free.

[Player Character - Igneous]

I'm going to try to break free. Ah, 10.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Okay, 10. So you're not able to. You're just. You're shaking it on the ground. You can feel these, like, this weird energy coursing through your muscles as this tentacle sort of snakes its way off of you. And you see this thing continuing to transform next to you. The next person in Initiative is actually this creature. So next to you on the ground, as you lie there on the ground shaking, you guys are up on the stairs. You can see the boy's chest, like, bursts open, and out of his chest crawls this giant sort of centipede, y looking thing, tentacles and mandibles. And I'm going to show you a picture of it because it's fun. You can turn a Leon if you want to. I'm going to cover what it is. And this is what you see crawling out of the boy as it crawls out. You can see it's eight or nine feet long. It's big eyes on the sides of its head, this mandibles, and all these tentacles around it inside that poison.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

Poor boy.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

That's what you see from where you are on the stairs. Now, in initiative order. Shywin, you are up next. So you're upstairs. You hear the screaming. You hear yelling from the stairs. You hear sizzling of firebolts. What are you doing?

[Player Character - Shywin]

Is there a window facing that direction?

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Unfortunately, the stairs went down the opposite of these rooms. There is a window, but if you jump out of it, you're on the other side of the house.

[Player Character - Shywin]

Okay, I guess I have to run down there.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Okay, so you take your move action to run. You can get halfway down the stairs with one move action. You find yourself right near both Narlac and Araviel. And you can see through the door, some struggle happening. This giant, weird centipede thing is outside the door, kind of crawling out of the body of this boy. And next to him on the ground, Igneous is just frozen there on the ground. So you can take another move action. You can take an attack action. What do you want to do?

[Player Character - Shywin]

I will cast Hunter's Mark.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Okay, so Hunter's Mark is a bonus action. So this is a spell that you have that's a bonus action. So on your turn, there's a thing called a bonus action as well. And some of your powers are activated this way. So you've got a standard action and a move on your turn and. But you also might have a bonus action. Depending upon your martial skills or bonus actions, some of your other spells might say bonus action on them. Hunter's Mark is a bonus action. So you can cast that sort of for free. Before you do anything else you've run. You cast Hunter's Mark as a bonus action. Will you read for me what Hunter's Mark does?

[Player Character - Shywin]

You choose a creature you can see within range and mystically mark it as your quarry. My range is 90ft until the spell ends. You deal an extra 1d6 damage to the target whenever you hit it with a weapon attack. And you have an advantage on any wisdom perception or wisdom survival check you make to find it.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Basically. So you've. Basically, you've marked this thing. This is your quarry. Anything you do is going to give you extra damage against that. So now you've marked it. What are you doing now then?

[Player Character - Shywin]

I'm going to shoot it with my bow.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

So you're a fifth level ranger. So you have two attacks with your bow. To make the attack, you're going to roll a D20 and then you'll add the attack bonus that's listed next to your bow on your weapon sheet there, right in the middle of the page. So you can see you've got plus eight. Yep. Yeah. Again, you've got crazy attack bonuses. Your dexterity is super high. You're a very, very skilled ranger. Let's roll that.

[Player Character - Shywin]

13 plus 8.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

All right, that is going to hit him. So now you're gonna roll damage. The damage is listed. The dice is listed right next to the weapon right there. So it's a D8 for a longbow. It's the pointy one. It looks kind of like two pyramids. That's it right there.

[Game Trailer Narrator]

Greetings adventurers. Now I have a burning question for all the gamers out there. Are you seriously going to miss out on Alienware's biggest gaming sale of the year? I hope not, because these are Black Friday prices we're talking about. It's not just another sale. I took a look and this is some pretty big bang for your buck. I mean, you know, it's Alienware with some of the most advanced engineering out there, with systems at the top of reviewers lists. And what about a gift to yourself? You deserve it. You've worked hard. Gift yourself a new Alienware 16 Aurora gaming laptop. This bad boy's got performance at the absolute next level with Intel Core processors. And even better, you can get it during Black Friday starting at 899.99. Plus you can save on all kinds of displays and accessories like the Alienware 32.4K QD OLED gaming monitor for ultimate visual fidelity. You'll miss nary a pixel. These really are some incredible deals on PCs that have otherworldly performance. So if I were you, I'd visit alienware.comdeals pretty soon and grab what you can before their biggest sale of the year goes dark. Greetings adventurers. It's that time of year again. The days are getting shorter. And between having a toddler and holiday travel, my body's natural defenses feel pushed to to their limit. So, like buffing up my D and D character with some protective spells, I drink AG1 daily to support my resilience with things like antioxidants, probiotics and functional mushrooms. Now, you might be wondering, what is AG1? Great question. AG1 is a daily drink that lets you create an all in one foundational nutrition habit that supports whole body health. It's clinically shown to help with gut health and fills in common nutrient gaps with over 75 vitamins, minerals and probiotics in one daily drink. And it's tasty. Comes in flavors like tropical berry and my favorite citrus. And as I mentioned, the days are getting shorter. But thanks to the superfoods and B vitamins in AG1, they help support steady energy without the crash. And since I've started drinking it each morning, I've noticed more energy, better digestion. I just feel calmer and healthier. So if you're ready to reinforce Your health routine. Head to drink ag1.com criticalrole to get a free welcome kit with an AG1 flavor sampler and a bottle of vitamin D3 +K2 when you first subscribe. That's drinkag1.com criticalrole.

[Player Character - Shywin]

Okay, it's three, but I have a plus seven.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

So you have three plus seven. So that's 10 points of damage you do on that first blow shot. So the arrow whistles through the air and thunks into this creature's thick hide, and it makes this weird hissing, screaming harmonic noise again that you heard before as it thunks into it. And then you have a second attack. So you've got one more attack.

[Player Character - Shywin]

So let's hit it with another arrow.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Yeah. All right, do it.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

10 damage.

[Player Character - Igneous]

That's good.

[Player Character - Shywin]

Wait.

[Podcast Host]

Yes.

[Player Character - Shywin]

You roll the D20 and then the.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Yep, yep, D20 plus whatever that. I think it's plus eight, your bonus.

[Player Character - Shywin]

Ooh, 16 plus eight.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

So the total is 24. That definitely hits.

[Podcast Host]

Yes.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

To roll another damage for your other arrow. Okay, There you go.

[Player Character - Shywin]

Four plus seven.

[Podcast Host]

So 11.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Okay, 11. We forgot your hunter's mark. The hunter's mark does extra damage to the bad guy when you hit them. Yeah. Right. So each time you get an extra D6.

[Player Character - Igneous]

Yeah.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Oh.

[Player Character - Igneous]

Oh.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

So what I want you to do is I want you to roll a D6 for each of those.

[Player Character - Shywin]

I'm using that one. So for the first one and then the second one.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

The first one, and then for the second one.

[Player Character - Shywin]

Okay, four.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

So there's four more points from the.

[Player Character - Shywin]

First one, and then five more for the second one.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Five more for the second. So you, on the stairs there, fire two arrows that thunk into it. The thing screams. You can hear the thing screaming next to you. You can't do anything, but you can look to the side. You can't even really see it, but you can feel this transformation happening beside you. Then we've got Eraviel. You are next. Now, the three of you are kind of crowded on the stairs. You're basically filling that stairway right now. So you can fire from here or you can move. What do you think you'd like to do?

[Player Character - Eraviel]

I think it's time for me to summon my flail.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Okay.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

Named. It's named Gale Lash, which I shortened to Glash.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Glash.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

So she appears in my hand.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

So you reach out your hand, and this magical flail appears in your hand?

[Player Character - Eraviel]

Yes, and it is the color of my dice. It's. It's gray and blue and a little bit ethereal, but still corporeal, but that's an action actually.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

So you take an action to do that.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

I take an action to do that. But I do move closer to the monster.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Okay, so you're going to then run down the stairs, flail in hand, run down the stairs. It'll put you right in front of this monster.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

And then, because I can, as a bonus action, I'm going to hex that tiny little mother multi legged beast.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Well, it's about nine feet long. Now, tiny is not the right word, but I get what you're doing.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

I'm trying to patronize. It's just a mission.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

So you cast hex. Now, this is one of your first level spells, is that right?

[Player Character - Eraviel]

It is a first level spell, but I can cast it at a spot of third level or third. Yeah, third level. So I shall.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

So you are a warlock, so you have two third level spell slots. You cast this first level spell. This isn't one that improves by being cast as a third level. I don't think it does. Oh, it does. What does it do?

[Player Character - Eraviel]

It just means I can maintain the concentration for up to eight hours. So maybe I won't.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

So it's fine so long as you remain hexed. This thing, if it does get away, you. You have eight hours that you are still. That this thing is still hexed. If you want to, you don't have to.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

But already it's up to an hour, so I don't want to be extra.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

You only have the third level slot, so that's okay.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

Yeah, I do only have. Okay, so I only have two third level slots, and so I'm never going to not cast something not at third level.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Yes, exactly. Because you're a warlock, so your spells will always be cast at this one level.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

Cool. Everyone do the grammar on that sentence. Okay, so.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

So you've hexed the three levels.

[Player Character - Leona]

I've hexed it.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

I've summoned my blade and then I look at, I hear Cha Cha and my head kind of turns around and I glare at it and Cha Cha comes forth. And until the spell ends, I can deal an extra d6 necrotic damage to the target. Very similar to Hunter's mark. And I can choose an ability. They have disadvantage on ability checks made with the chosen ability. I shall make that. What is the skill that he's using for? Grapple.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

So grapple would be a strength check.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

Can I do strength?

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Yeah, you can absolutely do strength.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

Okay, so now he has disadvantage.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

So whenever he tries to do strength things, he has disadvantage now because he's cursed. So what disadvantage means is it's like when you had advantage earlier, when you guys helped each other do investigation. But Instead of rolling 2D 20s and taking the higher, you roll 2D 20s and take the lower. That's disadvantage. Alright. So he will have disadvantage if he has to make a strength save. And now moves to Narlak. What are you doing there on the stairs?

[Player Character - Narlak]

What does the boy look like? Does he look completely ripped off?

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

The boy is mostly gone now. He's got some clothes on the ground, but the boy is. He's replaced by this thing.

[Player Character - Narlak]

There would be nothing left for me to try to save him.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

There is no him as far as what you can see. It's the thing.

[Player Character - Narlak]

Very well. I shall cast firebolt again.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Okay, so you're gonna roll to hit him.

[Player Character - Narlak]

I got a 9.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

That does not hit. So the firebolt flies as it's wiggling out of where it is and standing up, rearing up, tentacles flying. It just blasts past it. It dodges, looks at the firebolt and looks back up the stairs at you with the tentacles, tentacles going. And then Leona, you are up now. So you are at the top up in the room still. You hear the sizzling of fire. You hear yelling, screaming. And you're up in the room. What are you going to do?

[Player Character - Leona]

Run at the sound, you run to the stairway.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

You run down the stairs. And you can see bulking up the stairs right in the midd, you see Narlak and Shywin. Shywin's got her bow out. Narlak has just let off a firebolt. You see further down the stairs, Eraviel has run to the doorway. Beyond the doorway. You can't really see what's happening except that there's this shadow with a little bit of moonlight glinting off of it. This weird tentacles and some strange creature beyond Eraviel in the door. But you can't quite make out what it is. So that's your move. Action that's getting you to there. Now you can take a standard action here. That is, you can dash, which is moving again, just moving to the bottom of the stairs. You could attack if you have a ranged attack to make. You've got a crossbow. But now you've got a pretty crowded doorway there. I'm going to actually give this guy cover against your attack. You could call out or take another action if you wanted to. Is there anything that you'd like to do?

[Player Character - Leona]

I think I got to get as close as I can because most of my power is close range.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Yeah, you're a close combatant, definitely. So you push through the crowd at the stairs and run right down, and you find yourself kind of right beside Eraviel. What you see when you get there is this giant centipede creature that I described. These big, glistening eyes, huge tentacles, mandibles inside those tentacles clacking. And down on the ground beside this creature, Igneous is just frozen on the ground because they're shaking a little bit right beside it. And then we are at the top of the Initiative order again. So igneous, it is your turn now. You're paralyzed, so during your turn, you can't do anything. But at the end of your turn, you can try to break free. Free again.

[Player Character - Igneous]

This is great.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

So it's another DC13 constitution save.

[Player Character - Leona]

All right.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

What does your face look like when you're paralyzed, though?

[Narrator - Scott Sigler]

14.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

All right, so you are able to. You take a big breath, realize you haven't breathed for a full 12 seconds. Each combat round is six seconds. You suddenly breathe, and you kind of pull yourself up. Now it's the end of your turn, so you can't actually get to your feet or anything. But you are now no longer paralyzed. You can turn your head and see this massive thing next to you that I am actually see it really pissed at. Now. It is the creature's turn next. And he kind of looks at you on the ground, looks at the two of you moving in the doorway, Raviel and Leona. It shakes its head a little bit, tentacles in the air, makes these screaming sounds, and just turns and bolts. Like all of its legs bolting across the yard. Now, the same thing that happened before when we did, the reaction from the creature when you tried to move away, you guys get to do. You're close to him, so as he turns to run, he doesn't disengage from you. He just runs. Means you can use your reaction, if you want to, to try to attack him as he goes. It's just one single attack with a weapon. If you want to do that, you can. Leona, do you want to do that?

[Player Character - Leona]

I'd like to take a swing with my magical sword.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

All right, you're take a swing with that sword as he goes. You're going to roll a D20 and then add that plus 8 that I've written next to the longsword there.

[Player Character - Leona]

15 plus 8.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

So 23, you swing your sword down, and you definitely slice this thing as it tries to move away. So you're going to roll your damage for your long sword. Sword now. And the damage says one D8 plus seven plus seven. Yeah. So that's a D8. There's a point. D1. Yep.

[Player Character - Leona]

Six plus seven. Thirteen.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

So 13 points of damage as you slice this thing. It screams in horror and anger as it tries to get away. And Eraviel, you can take attack if you want to.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

Now that my flail has been summoned, she's gonna do some work.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Now, normally, on your standard attack, on your round, you would both attack twice. However, this is a reaction. So you just get one attack.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

Oh, darn. That's fine. But I still get my hex. I still get my hex.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

You still have your hex.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

If I hit?

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

If you hit, you'll do more damage.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

Okay, let's do this. Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry, guys. That is a nine.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Nine total. Leona leaps forward and slashes at its back and it screams and just with a burst of speed, bursts away. And as you swing the flail, you just swing in the empty air as the thing is, and it's trucking across the lawn, digging up chunks of grass, and it's heading toward the bush, is at the perimeter of the house. Just like crashes into the bushes. You can hear a scream. And because it's entered the bushes, you don't see anything. So now, Shywin, what are you doing?

[Player Character - Shywin]

I want to get closer to it.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Okay.

[Player Character - Shywin]

And then.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

So you race across the lawn. Basically, the bushes are at the far end of your movement. You can race all the way across the lawn and try to look into the bushes if you want to.

[Player Character - Shywin]

Yeah, I'll see if I can see anything.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

So you use your movement and then you dash as well as your standard action to race all the way across the lawn. And you peer into the bushes and you can see beyond the bushes. The thing is gone. You don't find it at all. It's burnt ground in bushes, at least.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

Really pouring it left.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

What do you want to do is you can call out to them when you get there if you want to.

[Player Character - Shywin]

Yeah, definitely.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

So you call out that it's gone.

[Player Character - Shywin]

Yeah.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Okay, so we're going to drop out of combat rounds now because there is nothing for you guys left to fight, at least in this moment. But you can choose to still try to pursue it and find it if you want to. You can try to follow it. You can go back upstairs and investigate more. What do you guys want to do?

[Player Character - Shywin]

We should probably.

[Player Character - Leona]

We have to follow it. It's a danger to society and our job is to protect the people.

[Podcast Host]

I know.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

And we're still in the City, Right.

[Player Character - Leona]

We're in the heart of the city.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

So he's crashed through the bushes into the neighbor's yard. So you're gonna try to follow it. So the way that you will try to follow it here is you are going to. You're gonna make another one of those observation rolls. When you're tracking something, the roll that you would use is survival. So survival lets you find tracks and try to track the thing. So you guys kind of run up to the bushes all around Shywin. And who's going to try to track this thing? It's gone.

[Player Character - Igneous]

What about. Doesn't hunter's mark and or hex help us here, actually?

[Player Character - Shywin]

And you have advantage on any wisdom perception or wisdom survival check you make to find it.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

So. Yeah, so now that's great. So now that it's marked, you actually are going to have advantage. So you probably should be the one trying to track this. You're also a ranger. Tracking is one of your specialties.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

Can we give her double advantage if we help her?

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

No, unfortunately, damage doesn't stack, so even if you helped her, she would still only have advantage. So. So you're gonna try to find the trail of this thing. Yeah. So you're gonna roll with advantage. You're gonna roll a survival check that is indeed a wisdom check. As the hunter's mark says, wisdom or survival. So it's survival. You should have a survival skill, and you have a bonus there.

[Player Character - Shywin]

Plus five.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Plus five. So you're gonna roll that die, add five to it. But you have to roll twice and take the higher one because you have advantage.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

Shywin. MVP.

[Player Character - Shywin]

17. 5.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

So 22 to start with.

[Player Character - Shywin]

23.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

So at least 22 is what you've got to track this thing.

[Player Character - Shywin]

Or 25 or 25.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

So you scramble around in the bushes pretty quick for a little bit, and you're able to find the trail. This thing was pretty big, and even though it looks like it was crawling through the bushes with that scrambling that you heard, you can totally follow it by the broken branches and stuff. You force your way through the bushes. Do you guys follow her? Yeah, it's kind of pushing through the bushes and everything. It's a pretty thick hedge. You force your way down about 30ft, and then you come to it. Looks like the trail of this thing curves downward. And you look down and there's a sewer grate that has been pulled aside. So inside this hedgerow, there's a sewer grate been pulled aside. And the thing looks like it went down into the sewers.

[Player Character - Shywin]

Nasty little Jerk.

[Player Character - Leona]

Sounds like we're heading to the sewers, then.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

Yeah, that's right, AI Sergeant.

[Player Character - Igneous]

That's good for this guy.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Yeah. So there is a ladder. You guys lower yourselves down. What order do you go down the sewers in? Do you keep the marching order you had before, or are you going to change this up now?

[Player Character - Shywin]

Well, I mean, since I have a ranged weapon and you're close, you're better in close combat. Do you want to take the lead and then I could take the rear?

[Player Character - Leona]

Yeah, we put you in the back.

[Podcast Host]

Always.

[Player Character - Shywin]

Always wanted to take.

[Player Character - Leona]

You have that very impressive longbow. I think maybe we put Igneous right behind me in this case, though, because he's got an advantage down here.

[Player Character - Igneous]

I spend a lot of time down here.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

This is where you've lived largely. It's closer to the bedrock of the city.

[Player Character - Igneous]

That's right.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Absolutely. That's a great order. So you guys head down to the sewers. You climb down the ladder one at a time. You reach down there, there's no light. Of course, down here you are in the sewers. Now, where before you had some moonlight, now you're totally dark. Some of you have darkvision. Shywin has darkvision. You can see in the dark. And in fact, you can see quite a ways because you're a gloomstalker. Arabiel, you have darkvision. You can see in the dark. I don't believe anyone else does.

[Game Trailer Narrator]

No.

[Player Character - Narlak]

I could cast light on the end of my staff.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Okay, please.

[Player Character - Narlak]

I will cast the spell light on the end of my staff and use.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

That and lights a cantrip. You got that however often you want to. So now you have a pretty bright radius of light and then a little bit off into the darkness.

[Player Character - Leona]

Thank you, Narla.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

As you were coming down, you're looking at the marks on the ladder and stuff, and you actually can see that this thing, it started down the sewers and then went to the wall and onto the ceiling. And so by the time you drop to the ground, the ceiling's about 10ft above you, and you can see a little bit of a trail of slime that goes a little ways into the sewer.

[Player Character - Shywin]

Duh. I'm still tracking it. I should have got worse.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

That's okay. I mean, you all went down the ladder. No big deal. Okay, so you see where the tracks are going in the sewers here? You gonna follow it?

[Player Character - Shywin]

Heck, yeah.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

All right, so Shywin takes off at a loping run. You guys come along after. We'll move Shywin to the front of that marching order there, because you're tracking.

[Player Character - Shywin]

Just stop trying to.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

And she can see in the dark too, so she can move out in front of the light. So you run down, take a couple of quick turns. You guys almost immediately are concerned that you're gonna get lost here. But Shywin seems like she knows where she's going. You know, of course, Shywin, that rangers don't get lost. So you're moving through the sewers and you're running pretty fast. You guys are kind of racing to keep up. You take a couple of big turns. You probably run almost a mile into these winding sewers. So you take a good 10, 15 minutes as you're booking through these sewers. And you get to a crossroads that goes off like eight different directions. And you don't know. You can't tell. There's rushing water in here. Looks like maybe the thing came down to the floor. There's a lot of muck and. And water on the floor, and you don't know where the thing went.

[Player Character - Shywin]

Did it smell?

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

It did smell when you were up close to it, and you can kind of see when you were tracking it, but the smell of the sewers of the free city of Greyhawk and the off castings of 250,000 people into the sewers.

[Game Trailer Narrator]

Oh, okay.

[Player Character - Igneous]

That's.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Any smell that you've smelled before has been pretty overwhelmed by this smell.

[Player Character - Igneous]

Pretty pungent.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

And you realize now, after the kind of adrenaline drains out of chasing this thing or chasing shadow Shywin as she runs down the sewers, you're standing in, you know, right here and like halfway up your foot deep of foul smelling, horrible water. Rats scurrying in the corners, not such a big deal for you?

[Player Character - Igneous]

No, they're my buddies.

[Player Character - Shywin]

Are the rats running from a particular direction?

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

They're not. They're kind of scurrying around, but.

[Player Character - Igneous]

But I can talk to them.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

You actually can.

[Player Character - Igneous]

I can talk to rats. That's one of my things, my jam. Okay, so I'm gonna find a rat.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

You have this speak with animals. Well, speak with animals is a spell that you can use, but you also have. Because you are a druid of the shepherd, your circle is circle of the shepherd.

[Player Character - Igneous]

Circle of the shepherd. I can converse with beasts and fey.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Yes. So you can converse with animals. Now you have to lure an animal to you to talk to it. These are rats. They're not used to talking to people. A little skittish, but you can try. Do you have a skill called animal handling?

[Narrator - Scott Sigler]

I do. Animal handling.

[Player Character - Igneous]

Yes, I do. Plus six.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

So what I want you to do is I want you to roll an animal handling check to see if you can get one of the rats to come to you to talk to you.

[Player Character - Igneous]

D20.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

D20. And you would add your six. 18. So 24. So you kind of get down on your haunches there and you motion for maybe do you have some, like, food in your pack?

[Player Character - Igneous]

Always keep a little food because, you know, animals get hungry. You know, you want to serve the animals.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

The rats are pretty, pretty bold. They live in the sewer, so they kind of come out to investigate people. And two of them actually come all the way out to you and sit back and look at you for food.

[Player Character - Igneous]

And I give them some. We'll give them a little food and then, you know, we have a little conversation.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

What do you ask them?

[Player Character - Igneous]

What have you seen? Because I know animals don't. They don't think like us.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Right. They're not smart. Yeah. They're in a Disney movie. They don't remember a whole bunch of things, but. So like. Yeah, you can ask them simple things.

[Player Character - Igneous]

Like, what have you seen recently? What's come through here recently?

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

The rats kind of look at each other and one of them says, worm. Big worm.

[Player Character - Igneous]

Big worm. Which way did big worm go?

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

They look at each other again and one of them points down a left hand tunnel, the other one points down the tunnel straight away, and they start to squabble a little bit. No, no, not this way. And one of them basically says, you hide. How do you know? You hide. And they kind of get into a little fight there, but they point it in these two directions and they can't seem to come to an agreement there.

[Player Character - Igneous]

Does big worm live down here?

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

They don't know. Never seen. I don't know.

[Player Character - Igneous]

Never seen it before.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Never seen big worm. Very big worm with worms on face.

[Player Character - Igneous]

Worms? Yeah, worms. That's. That's what we're looking for.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Legs and worms on face.

[Player Character - Igneous]

Trying to think of what else we can ask for. Here's some more food. Yeah.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Okay, so they take a little.

[Player Character - Igneous]

Here's some more food.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

What else?

[Player Character - Igneous]

Can I ask them?

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

What else?

[Player Character - Igneous]

What else do we need?

[Player Character - Eraviel]

Anything else? See if there's anything else.

[Player Character - Leona]

Ask them if I've seen anything out of the ordinary.

[Player Character - Igneous]

Yeah, anything. Anything else other than big worm living down here?

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Us. Lots of us. Lots and lots and lots. Lots. Angry log. Angry log.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

Oh, boy.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

And flying. Flying us. Flying us down here. Yes. Bugs. Little crawly crawlies. They're delicious crawlies. Yeah.

[Player Character - Igneous]

No, they're young. That's good.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Sometimes you.

[Player Character - Igneous]

Sometimes. Yep. I'VE been down here a lot more.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

You too?

[Podcast Host]

Oh.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Oh, more.

[Player Character - Igneous]

More of us like us today.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Yeah.

[Player Character - Shywin]

Not.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Well, today. Uh, I don't. Maybe. Okay, today doesn't seem like a concept.

[Player Character - Igneous]

At the rats.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Yeah, I really grasp.

[Player Character - Igneous]

I don't have a lot of long term memory.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Before you came, other direction.

[Player Character - Igneous]

Oh, so people like us came the other way?

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Yes. More food.

[Player Character - Igneous]

Yeah. Yeah, more food. So the other way. Which way? Which direction?

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

The rats. An agreement this time, point back the way you came.

[Player Character - Igneous]

So some people like us came down earlier, and then big worm came this way as well.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

That's what the rat says.

[Player Character - Igneous]

Okay.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Rats are very known to be reliable.

[Player Character - Shywin]

We're wearing the City Watch cloaks, right?

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Right now you are? Yes. So your cloaks are black cloaks with red stripe down the side of them.

[Player Character - Shywin]

Can you ask them if they were dressed kind of like us?

[Player Character - Igneous]

The other people who came dressed like us? Same sort of cloaks.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

You point to your cloak and they kind of converse for a second. Say, cloaks. Cloaks.

[Player Character - Igneous]

Same color.

[Narrator - Scott Sigler]

All black.

[Player Character - Igneous]

All red.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Dark. Dark. All dark.

[Player Character - Igneous]

Okay.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

Which way did those.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Yeah.

[Player Character - Igneous]

Where did they go?

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Dark. And they point back the way that you came.

[Player Character - Igneous]

Okay.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

Oh, they went there.

[Player Character - Igneous]

So they came. Where did they come from?

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

They kind of conversed and they don't know.

[Player Character - Igneous]

I don't know if we can get more out of these guys.

[Player Character - Leona]

Yeah, this feels like a dead end.

[Player Character - Igneous]

It feels like we got to either choose left or forward. All right, thank you. I thank them for their service and give them a little more food.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

It takes a little food and scurry off back into the darkness.

[Player Character - Igneous]

So either left or forward or back.

[Player Character - Leona]

The way we came to try to find.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

There is much at the murder scene that you guys didn't look. I mean, you were interrupted pretty quickly at the murder scene too.

[Player Character - Shywin]

I mean, I'm guessing it was those guys that came through. The guys who are, like, now.

[Player Character - Narlak]

Different themes.

[Player Character - Leona]

We need to see more evidence. We need to round up more questions.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

I will say that was very impressive, what you did there. Igneous.

[Player Character - Igneous]

Thank you. Thank you.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

Pretty adorable as well.

[Player Character - Igneous]

They're lovely little creatures, really. I talk to animals.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

All right, so you guys decide you're gonna head back to the crime scene.

[Player Character - Leona]

Mm.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Okay. So you make your way back to the sewer a little slower this time. Again, Shywin leads you and seems to know exactly the turns that you made, which is good, because none of you would have been able to back out. Back up the ladder, through the bushes, and back into the. Into the house. There's City Watch everywhere, Like, beating the bushes and stuff. And you come out of the sewers smelling like you've been down in the sewers. And a couple of. There's a couple of shouts and a bunch of city watch run over to you. Is everything okay? What happened? We saw the creature and you were gone. What happened?

[Player Character - Leona]

We apprehended a young lad who turned out not to be a lad at all. There was a creature inside him, Enormous, long centipede, like long tentacles off of its face. It has powers. It paralyzed, igneous. We gave chase. We lost sight of it in the sewers.

[Player Character - Narlak]

Would any of us know what this creature is now?

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Okay, so now that you've had a moment to think about it, possibly, if you want to check, you would roll a survival check. This is another survival check. Your hunter's mark doesn't technically count here because you're thinking of something more broad, but. So a survival check. If you want to roll, you can figure it out.

[Player Character - Leona]

I got a 17. I have a 19.

[Player Character - Igneous]

Okay, I've got a 16.

[Podcast Host]

19.

[Player Character - Shywin]

24.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

7. Yeah. Now that you've had a moment, all of you, except for Gnarlak, it makes sense. Narlik's not native to this city or this plain.

[Player Character - Narlak]

I am not from this world.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

The rest of you, however, there are always rumors of stuff living in the sewers. And actually you've come across some droppings and things that you didn't really recognize. You think this was a carrion crawler? They live in the sewers? Typically, they live in the sewers. They eat refuse and dead bodies. They're scavengers. Horrible, gross, monstrous things.

[Player Character - Leona]

Are they known to take control of human bodies?

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Not in the slightest that you've never heard. Attack. So they're scavengers and they're big, so if somebody stumbles on them. Yeah. But the taking human bodies or transforming, that is not something you've ever heard of carrion crawlers doing.

[Podcast Host]

The holidays are approaching, and everyone knows that this time of year, the sooner you can get things done, the better for both shoppers and businesses. The best time to score great deals during the holidays is during that Black Friday Cyber Monday weekend. And if you have your own business, whether you've been around the block a few times or this is your first year going through the holiday sale rush, the most important thing you can have is a platform that can handle everything that's about to be thrown at you. This is a crucial time for your business and your customers. And with Shopify, you can be sure that your tools and platform are ready for Anything that comes your way. Shopify is the commerce platform behind millions of businesses around the world and 10% of all e commerce in the US from household names to entrepreneurs who will be participating in their first Black Friday Cyber Monday this year. With everything else going on, you probably don't have time to spend hours poring over every little detail in your online store. That's why Shopify's thousands of templates and tools help you streamline website creation and make sure that your site isn't just aesthetically pleasing, but functional and easy to use. Shopify's expedited checkout shop pay saves customer information and reduces hassle. And the best part is that it's been proven to boost conversions, meaning you'll see less abandoned carts and more profits. You can also stress less knowing that Shopify's award winning customer support team is on standby 24. 7 to help with any issues that arise, allowing you to get back to your business as fast as possible. This Black Friday joined the thousands of new entrepreneurs hearing for the first time with Shopify. Sign up for your free trial [e-mail] realm. That's shopify.com realm. Go to shopify.com realm and make this Black Friday one to remember.

[Game Trailer Narrator]

As a raider scavenging a derelict world, you settle into an underground settlement.

[Player Character - Narlak]

But now you must return to the.

[Game Trailer Narrator]

Surface where arc machines roam. If you're brave enough, who knows what you might find. Arc Raiders, a multiplayer extraction adventure video game.

[Player Character - Narlak]

Buy now for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S and PC rated T for teen.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Okay, so you guys talk a little bit to the guard, head back up to look at the crime scene again. And they've done some investigation while you were gone. Some Lieutenant Wainwright has gathered some evidence in your absence. Since they didn't know what to do as far as following you, they disseminate some additional information to you. Things that you didn't see at the crime scene before. So what they've gathered is they've got four bodies that have this harpy tattoo that you saw. Two of them are ripped apart entirely. The other two look like they've died of stab wounds. They've got three bodies that have that symbol that you knew to be the rivers, the one that you spotted on the wall over there on their elbows. One of them is also torn apart.

[Player Character - Leona]

Are they torn apart? They're the same way that we saw the ligature marks the thing came out of.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Not that way, not like exploded open, but like the ligature marks that now igneous has across his face and Neck. They had those arms off. You saw that on the arm? So that's. It looks like claw marks, maybe some teeth that could be mandibles. And certainly those tentacle burns across all these bodies that are torn apart. The tentacle burns have definitely torn them apart. You also see on them, you see one of them with the harpy symbol has lock. They pointed those out. The City Watch is laid out there like lock, pick, roll. And then there's a bag that was laying next to one of the people with the harpy tattoo that is full of essentially, loots, a couple of gold candlesticks, a bunch of jewelry, some gold coins that the City Watch tells you they think was taken from the master bedroom.

[Player Character - Igneous]

Right?

[Narrator - Scott Sigler]

Yeah.

[Player Character - Igneous]

You knew these people. Do you recognize any of this stuff?

[Player Character - Leona]

Do I?

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Yeah. You can roll an intelligence check to see. Let's see if you remember. Just roll an intelligence roll and roll a D20 and add your intelligence to it.

[Player Character - Leona]

17 plus 2. 19.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Yeah, 19. You actually have a really good memory about this. In fact, one of the necklaces that's in the bag, you know that Madam Flagstaff, when you were here for the ball that you were guarding, was wearing this pretty impressive diamond choker. And that's definitely here in the bag. Okay, so why she wouldn't have taken it with her? Maybe she's got nicer jewelry to go to her daughter's wedding. But there's definitely some things you can't.

[Player Character - Leona]

Wear the same necklace to. Two.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

That's my bad. I would totally agree with Garden. You're right. The engagement party and the wedding, that would have been so gross.

[Player Character - Leona]

I was just gonna say this so it's clear that they were here to rob the place.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

It looks like somebody was here to rob the place. Or these guys with the harpy on the elbow probably were here to rob the place.

[Player Character - Leona]

Is any of their stuff worth taking? Could we take the lockpicks?

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

The lockpicks? I don't think any of you are proficient in lockpicks. I mean, the City Watch will gather up anything that's valuable. That's usually what happens here. You guys are all pretty well equipped for what you need. So the City Watch will take care of that piece of it. But that's sort of the evidence that they find here is these. Three rivers and four harpies, you know, some of them torn apart, some of them stabbed.

[Player Character - Leona]

Aside from the brutal murders, it might appear that two gangs worked together to rob a place. Or perhaps that two rival gangs both ran into each other trying to rob a place. But then this this creature, what's it called?

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

The carrion crawler.

[Player Character - Leona]

The carrion crawler seems to.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

So as you guys make your way back to the precinct. Oh, sorry.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

I have a question because we have fought this thing before. Now after looking through the rooms and everything, can we tell how many carrion crawlers there might have been?

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

The only markings that you see that are like a carrion crawler, you can take the time to do some looking around. Those markings that you saw on the wall that look like dots, it looks like maybe the same kind of footprints that you saw when you were tracking. They're the claw marks of this carrion crawler along the wall. Just tracking blood along the wall, that's the only real evidence of the carrion crawler you see here apart from the mangled bodies.

[Player Character - Shywin]

Now do we know whether or not that could have happened with it just coming out of the kid's mouth a little bit or it looks like the.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Full on creature, the same creature that you saw before.

[Player Character - Shywin]

But could it have been the same creature though? Because it just ripped the kid apart.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

It has the exact same footprints trail that you saw before, so there should be at least two.

[Player Character - Leona]

Mean it.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

You guys talk about all this stuff kind of as you make your way back to the precinct. You bring your evidence in, kind of gather the things together, start writing stuff down and bouncing theories off of each other. And as the sun comes up in the morning, you are talking about the nature of this creature, where it might have come from, who it might have been. These dead bodies, the four harpies and the three rivers, you see some of them are ripped apart and stabbed. Were they working together as you said? Were they fighting each other? You're not really sure. But as the sun comes up in the morning, Smiles comes out of her office and she walks over to the board that you've drawn on and nods a little bit and looks at each of you and says, it looks like. Looks like you've gotten a good start here. Very impressive. Very impressive. I have many questions for you, maybe a few suggestions, but my shift is over and I'm going to go home and get some sleep. Congratulations on catching a case. I expect you'll keep working on it and I'll go home and get a little sleep and I'll see you in a few hours. And she just turns and walks out the door. And you look at each other. Looks like it's going to be a long morning for you.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

Oh my gosh.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

And if you want to find out what happens in their investigation, you can join us. Next time on Starter Kit.

[Player Character - Narlak]

Next time on Starter Kit.

[Player Character - Shywin]

I think we might have to head to the thieves quarter.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

You want to talk to the head of the harpies in disguise. The word is you're a fearsome fighter.

[Player Character - Eraviel]

How the hell did you know that?

[Player Character - Shywin]

Tell her more.

[Player Character - Leona]

You're gonna tell me everything you know.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Are you trying to intimidate him?

[Game Trailer Narrator]

I am.

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Okay, cool. Limu Emu and Doug. Here we have the Limu emu in its natural habitat, helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug.

[Game Trailer Narrator]

Uh, Limu is that guy with the binoculars watching us?

[Dungeon Master - David Nett]

Cut the camera. They see us.

[Game Trailer Narrator]

Only pay for what you [e-mail] Liberty Liberty Liberty. Liberty Savings Ferry unwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and affiliates excludes Massachusetts.

[Podcast Host]

Save over $200 when you book weekly stays with VRBO this winter. If you need to work, why not work from a chalet? If you haven't seen your college besties since, well, college you need a week to fully catch up in a snowy cabin. And if you have to stay in a remote place with your in laws, you should save over $200 a week. That's the least we can do. So you might as well start digging out the long johns because saving over $200 on a week long snowcation rental is in the cards book [e-mail] when.

[Narrator - Scott Sigler]

They were young, the five members of an elite commando group nicknamed the Stone Wolves raged against the oppressive rule of the Kratarakian Empire, which occupies and dominates most of the galaxy's inhabited planets. The Wolves fought for freedom, but they failed, leaving countless corpses in their wake. Defeated and disillusioned, they hung up their guns and went their separate ways, all hoping to find some small bit of peace amidst a universe thick with violence and oppression. Four decades after their heyday, they each try to stay alive and eke out a living. But a friend from the past won't let them move on. And neither will their bitterest enemy. The Stone wolves is season 11 of the Galactic Football League science fiction series by author Scott Sigler. Enjoy it as a standalone story or listen to the entire GFL series, beginning with season one. The Rookie Search for Scott Sigler S I G L E R Wherever you get your podcasts.