Part 3: The Ancient Price | Starter Kit: Phoenix Dawn Command

Summary

---

Podcast Summary: Part 3: The Ancient Price | Starter Kit: Phoenix Dawn Command

Podcast: Critical Role & Sagas of Sundry
Host: geekandsundry
Game Master: Keith Baker
Players: Pele, Pyre, Cass, Cronus
Date: February 9, 2026
Current Season: Ten Candles: Eclipse

---

Episode Overview

In this intense episode, the adventurers navigate the aftermath of a harrowing battle near a mysterious cloud spire and delve into the chilling depths below it. As survivors reel from trauma, the group must balance diplomacy with the urgency of a growing supernatural threat. Investigations uncover haunting whispers, frozen corpses, and a powerful arcane device that tests the party’s resolve and ultimately results in a dramatic sacrifice.

---

Key Discussion Points & Story Beats

1. Calming Survivors and Party Diplomacy

• [01:22–08:48] The episode picks up as the party interacts with traumatized survivors.
• Pele, using her “observation” specialty and “smartest person in the room” trait, manages to calm the scattered group and opens a dialogue.
  • “I’m observing them. I’m looking at them, I’m reading their energy.” (Pele, 05:31)
• Survivors are introduced: Adria (leader), Tibben (scholar), Tyrrha (demolitions), Nemo (healer), and Cass (child).
• Adria’s military background is evident, and suspicion lingers about the adventurers’ motives.
• The group learns Eudocia, the main scholar, has died, heightening the survivors’ sense of loss and disarray.

2. Secrets of the Child & the Whispers

• [12:38–13:55] Pele befriends the child, Cass, who reveals she’s hearing mysterious voices pleading for help.
  • “I hear the voices and they’re asking for help.” (Cass, 13:10; Game Master paraphrasing)
• Pele discovers the voices are present but in an unknown language—a persistent supernatural call for assistance.

3. Investigation & Decisions: What Lurks Below

• [19:18–21:32] The party debates how best to protect the survivors and whether it’s safer to send them back to the Eyrie. Cronus offers comforting leadership.
  • “If I can at least guide you to where you need to go, know that we are going to look into it and we’ll make sure that whatever is coming out of here, we will take care of it.” (Cronus, 20:40)
• Survivors, frightened and overwhelmed, are convinced to seek refuge in the Eyrie. The party prepares to descend below the spire.

4. The Descent and Chilling Discoveries

• [22:15–29:05] The group ventures down into a frost-covered tunnel illuminated by Pyre’s flames.
• Pele’s “observation” and Cronus’s “warlock” specialty reveal:
  • The ice, two feet thick, is magical and unnatural.
  • Corpses lie frozen within, with evidence of an ancient battle.
  • The whispers grow louder and are not connected with the malevolent forces animating the dead.

5. Confrontation with the Arcane Sphere

• [30:38–41:36] The group encounters a hovering metallic sphere embedded with violet energy, connected via tendrils to the ice and the embedded corpses.
  • “It’s a sphere of silvery metal crisscrossed with veins of violet energy. It’s about 2ft across, and it’s floating above the ground… you see it charging up these bodies.” (Game Master, 30:58)
• Cass attempts to disrupt it with a chakram, but a force field repels the attack.
• Pele’s lore check reveals it is likely a very old device, unaware of the party, and singularly focused on activating the dead.

6. Desperate Strategies—and Sacrifice

• [37:06–41:30] Cronus tries to disable the threat by electrocuting the corpses encased in ice, but the sphere only intensifies its energy output.
• Pyre decides to make a direct assault, supported by Cass’s “absolute conviction” trait.
  • “If anything inanimate had any sort of just trace of a soul at one point, its soul would be shaking.” (Pyre, 40:12)
• In an epic moment, Pyre presses through the sphere’s force and delivers a mighty axe strike:
  • “Is that what you want to do?” — “That’s what I want to do.” (Game Master/Pyre, 41:30–41:31)
  • The sphere shatters in a blinding flash, unleashing a surge that vaporizes Pyre but spares others by his final act of shielding Pele.
  • Cass and Cronus defend themselves from the backlash (with Cass burning “sparks” to survive), but the cost is great.
• The assault stops the device and the unnatural energy, leaving only ash and silence.

7. Aftermath and Cliffhanger

• [43:42–44:37] The party survives, battered and haunted by Pyre’s sacrifice.
  • "You still, in your mind, see Pyre as he was standing there, silhouetted against the energy that consumed him. And that's where we're going to stop." (Game Master, 44:33)
• A brief next-episode tease promises Pyre’s return, phoenix-like—hints at resurrection and unresolved mysteries.

---

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Traits and Roleplaying:
  “Smartest person in the room makes her better at skill spreads. But… you just are the smartest person in the room.”
  — Keith Baker (Game Master), 07:05

• Child’s Haunting Confession:
  “I hear the voices and they’re asking for help.”
  — Cass (as paraphrased by Game Master), 13:10

• Descent into the Unknown:
  “There are people or bodies just buried, that the ice is almost two feet deep and there's people who are just frozen within it… the voices are definitely tied to the location, like this is a giant antenna.”
  — Keith Baker (Game Master), 27:32–28:15

• On the Sphere’s Power:
  “You can feel power just coming off of this thing… if you strike hard enough, you can shatter this thing. Is that what you want to do?”
  — Keith Baker (Game Master), 41:03, 41:30

• Pyre’s Final Stand:
  “The axe strikes the crystal, and the sphere just shatters. There’s a blinding flash of light… you see him just silhouetted against it, and then it just vaporizes him.”
  — Keith Baker (Game Master), 41:36–41:42

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |------------------------------------------------|-------------------| | Survivor diplomacy & trauma | 01:22–08:48 | | Cass & the haunting whispers | 12:38–13:55 | | Survivor leadership and guiding to safety | 19:18–21:32 | | Exploring icy tunnels, supernatural findings | 22:15–29:05 | | First contact with the sphere | 30:38–33:24 | | Party’s failed attempts to disrupt sphere | 37:06–41:30 | | Pyre’s sacrifice and aftermath | 41:31–44:37 | | Next episode tease | 44:37–44:57 |

---

Tone & Style

The episode is a mix of grim horror, camaraderie, and witty table banter. The players shift fluidly from strategic game mechanics to immersive character moments, with the Game Master fostering mystery and dread. Emotional stakes are heightened by humor and genuine acts of courage, culminating in a selfless sacrifice worthy of the Phoenix Dawn.

---

Conclusion

Part 3: The Ancient Price is a memorable, tension-filled entry in the series, blending suspenseful investigation, strong roleplaying, and dramatic consequences. With Pyre’s phoenix-like fate uncertain, the party stands on the threshold of more revelations—scarred but determined to confront the ancient price demanded by the spire below.

---

For more gripping episodes or to watch the series, visit geekandsundry.com.

Transcript

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Greetings adventurers. And more specifically, greetings gamers. Now, if you've been waiting for the perfect time to give your setup the ultimate boost, wait no more. I have great news. Alienware is having their annual Tech Days event. And that means you can score some pretty crazy deals right about now. Save big on new Alienware PCs like Aurora laptops and the Area 51, their most powerful desktop. They both take performance to the next level with Intel Core Ultra processors. There's also some pretty serious deals on Alienware displays, accessories and more. Check it all [e-mail] deals. The whole reason for this annual Tech Days event is to celebrate you. Yes, you there. So I'd take a good look at these prices and exclusive benefits before it all ends. And it's easy. Easy to save. Just visit alienware.comdeals and snag yourself some great gear at very upgrade friendly prices.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

We heard you.

[Podcast Host Joey Taranto]

Nine years of bring back the snack wrap and you've won. But maybe you should have asked for more. Say hello to the hot honey snack wrap.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Now you've really won. Go to McDonald's and get it while you can.

[Player - Pyre]

Last time on starter Kit.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

You just tumbled right in the middle of this.

[Player - Pyre]

I'm grabbing that explosive barrel.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

You have made them vulnerable. You realize their weakness. Tendrils of energy just dig into your flesh. Welcome back to your starter kit. Hi, I'm Keith Baker, the creator of Phoenix Dawn Command. Phoenix Dawn Command is at its heart a war story. But there's more to war than just combat. Skills and diplomacy are as critical to success as skill with weapons. So we just finished that battle and as you recall, the survivors, which we have five people who are fine and a number who are seriously injured or dead. They're panicked and it's the middle of the night. They're huddled together. If you want to try and talk to them or get any useful information, someone's going to have to sort of calm them down. I mean, they're basically in shock. So who would like to step up and try and talk to them?

[Player - Pele]

I certainly can if you want to do it.

[Player - Cronus]

Please can we do it together?

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Sort of. And we'll come back to that. Someone has to be the primary person. So is it going to be you?

[Player - Pele]

Yes. Very timidly I adjust my glasses and begin to approach.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Now here we're to do a skill spread. And basically what you're trying to do is calm them down, get them to talk to you. You have your hand of cards in front of you, so that's good. This is what you have to work with.

[Player - Cass]

Great.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

When you do a skill spread, the first thing you do is say what you want to do. So just overall, what are you trying to convey? Are you more about calming them? Are you trying to present yourself authoritatively? What is it that you're doing exactly?

[Player - Pele]

Well, I do have very specific skill specialties, so I would want to use potentially my ability of observation or lore to calm them down.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Observation, to me, makes sense as saying I'm trying to be very aware of their current state and do what I can. Lore is slightly odder and would be like, I'm gonna approach them as fellow researchers and say, fascinating these details about the cloud spire, isn't it?

[Player - Pele]

Yes.

[Player - Cass]

How interesting that your husband is dead.

[Player - Pele]

I'm going for observation.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

All right, now you say what you want to do, then I pick the dominant suit. And this is definitely grace, because grace is about sort of interaction, social grace, as well as dexterity. So you're going to be doing a grace spread. However, anything that has to do with one of your talents, this is on your skill specialty card. You can use intellect cards for it.

[Player - Pele]

Oh, good.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

So you can use any of your cards for this. You get to play up to three cards, and you get to add the traits. As we said before. If they apply, you generally want to hit at least 10 is just like. That's just accomplishing a task. And then every five up from that improves things. So 10 is okay. 15 is good. 20 is amazing. Above 20 is super amazing. Okay, now, how could we possibly do that? I only have these small cards. This is where traits come in.

[Player - Pele]

Yeah.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

If you can tell me how a trait, just the descriptive term, how that adjective really applies, it might be worth up to five points. And you're also gaining an extra five because it's a skill specialty. So starting with that observation means you have five. And now you can play up to three intellect cards.

[Player - Pele]

Okay, so I.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Or grace cards. Excuse me.

[Player - Pele]

I think I know what I'm going to do that's here. So I'm going to play these two.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

That puts you up to 10, which.

[Player - Pele]

Puts me up to 10. But then I want to use my smallest person in the room trait to bring it to 15. All right, I'm just gonna walk forward. I'm observing them. I'm looking at them, I'm reading their energy. And then I think to myself, you're smarter than every researcher here, so they need somebody to guide them.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

That absolutely works. And so you're up to 15 now. Yes, now, because smartest person in the room is a trait. It's basically a freebie. So you could add another card in if you wanted to push it even further. Do you want to go with 15 which is good but not amazing. You want to go for 20?

[Player - Pele]

I'm going to remove my grace and use this intellect to reverse it instead.

[Podcast Host Ellen Marsh]

Okay.

[Player - Pele]

So that way I save a little bit of my grace.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Just talking about what you can do if you wanted to push it further, in addition to playing a card, you could also burn sparks. Every spark you burn adds one. So with this, 15 is probably good. But if it was really important, if you had to do this, this is where you could burn sparks to push to that next tier of success. Now I said before that you could help. And then I talk about how one person has to do the main spread. Anyone else can help if they have traits that could apply. So going back to before where you had absolute conviction, that's free. That is the power of that trait is just that you can add it and give someone a plus three. But any trait, if you were charming, you could say and I'm just backing her up and being really sort of helping lighten the mood. If you had terrifying, if you wanted to, you could say, and I'm gonna get those people into line by standing. I'm gonna be the bad cop, the suff.

[Player - Cass]

Yeah, good idea.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

I didn't say it would be a good idea. But basically, if you have a trait that seems to apply to the situation, you can always add it on to what the other person is doing. Does anyone have a trait they want to add or do you want to stick with her? 15.

[Player - Cass]

I feel good about the 15.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Yes, I. Alright, so we're going to wrap that up so you can set the cards aside. One thing about traits, now that we're talking about them is every trait has a special power. So smartest person in the room makes her better at skill spreads. At the same time, in something, especially non combat situations, the main power of the trait is also the adjective itself. You just are the smartest person in the room. So if at some point something's going on and you want to say, well wait a second, I'm the smartest person in the room. Doesn't that help here say that I see. I feel absolute conviction would really help me here. Call that out, even if it has nothing to do with the secondary ability of the card. Okay. But moving on. So do you want to approach. You see someone who's probably the leader of the group. You see the medic who's sort of Huddled. Trying to help.

[Player - Pele]

Approach. I approach the leader.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Okay. So she has the sort of bearing of a soldier, even though she's not wearing armor as such. You're from Elona. You recognize that she's got some background in the Imperial military. How are you presenting yourself? Are you saying you're a Phoenix from Don Command or are you just sort of. We're here to help. What's your general approach?

[Player - Pele]

So I approach her and I say. Excuse me.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Who are you?

[Player - Pele]

Please, please relax. Take a deep breath. I am myself a researcher, if you cannot tell.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Are you trying to steal our find?

[Player - Pele]

No, we're not trying to steal your find. We heard commotion.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have.

[Player - Pele]

We were navigating these lands and we're trying to come across things metal in nature. We were just looking for ways to mine metal.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

I don't know what you're talking about.

[Player - Pele]

All I'm saying is there's no conflict of interest. We're here to protect and take care of.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

I appreciate that. She starts checking with the others. Where's Udokia? And the doctor sort of looks up and is like. He's like, what? But. And meanwhile, there's someone who Pyre landed on, but you know, they haven't quite figured out. Again, it was very fast. It was dark.

[Player - Pele]

I just like, stand to like, make it so they can't see through the line of eyesight, the body.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

So they quickly take quick order. And there's a few people who are covering. But we have. Adria is the leader of the expedition, and she's not really a scholar, as you gather. She's just. She's the person who was making all of this happen. Their main scholar was a woman named Eudocia, and she didn't make it. But they do have the man you saw, whose name is Tibben. And he actually is from Farmance, where you had your library. He's a little while after your time, but you definitely feel a little bit of. You see a bit of yourself in him. Tyrrha is their demolitions expert, who is cursing because someone blew up one of her barrel and she tried. Now we only have one barrel left. Nemo is the healer, who is older, and he's going and checking everyone and very unhappy about it. Then we have Cass, the child. You said that Cass was here with one of her parents. Who is Cass with?

[Player - Cass]

I would say the demolitions expert.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Okay. Cause kids and bombs, two great things that go together. They're still shocked. Tibbon is talking about there's still the energy here that Eudokia was talking about. It's still building. Something's going on. Do you want to try and sort of push yourself into their conversation a little? I mean, you've calmed them down, and so they're willing to talk.

[Player - Pele]

I kind of lean to you and pull you in, and I say, could you get them to tell us some things? Because I feel like they have answers and they're not talking to me.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Hmm. Step in.

[Player - Pyre]

Sure.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Okay, you step in. Who are you approaching?

[Player - Pyre]

I approach the demolitions expert.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Okay, you approach the demolitions expert. And she just. Look, I don't know how to say this, but you're on fire, man. What is wrong?

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Spiritual.

[Player - Pyre]

See, you're fine.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

What are you?

[Player - Pyre]

I'm. A little bit of this and a.

[Player - Pele]

Little bit of that.

[Player - Pyre]

Look, listen, what were you blowing up here? I know you blew a hole in the bottom of this thing, but what else is happening? I mean, there's these bone creatures come out of the hole. I mean, I'm sorry I had to throw one of your bombs in there, but I took out four of them. I mean, what. You know, what did you expect me to do?

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

She, by the way, is. She's late 20s. She has burns down her left side. Clearly she's had a few accidents in the past. I can't argue with results. I gotta say, if that was you, that's good work. I know. And meanwhile, the others of them are still sort of talking about logistics and. Oh, my goodness. And trying to take stock of things. I just do a job here. I just blow things up. That's what I do. It's nice to have an opportunity to blow things up. You know what I'm saying? I don't really get all of this myself. I mean, you see that thing, right? This spire thing? They managed to figure out that there was this facility, and we blew a hole, and there it is. There was, like, a gate buried a little bit, and there's these tunnels down there. And all I know is a couple guys were down there and one of those things attacked them. Wasn't that big a deal. People were creeped out by it, but it was just sort of falling apart. We were like, okay, let's go back upstairs. Let's approach this whole thing in the morning. And then you saw what happened. There was, like, eight of them. I don't know if we're gonna see even more of them next time. I don't know what the situation is here. If you want to try and find out, be my guest. But I only got one more barrel of the dragon's fire. So don't go wasting it.

[Player - Pyre]

All right? If I were you guys, I'd probably get out of here.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

I agree with you, frankly. Morning comes, I'm good for getting that wagon getting on the way. But I'm not the boss.

[Player - Pele]

So while you guys are talking, can I pull the child aside? Yeah. Okay. I pull the child aside. Kind of off to the corner. Where you guys kind of are nearby and can overhear too. And I lean down towards the child and I say, I can tell you're very scared. Your eyes are quite wide.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Is she very scared?

[Player - Cass]

Yeah, but trying to act tough.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Okay, I'm not scared.

[Player - Pele]

No. But do you know what my favorite thing to do when I'm not?

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

What?

[Player - Pele]

Is make up stories and tell stories of things I've seen.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

What about things you hear?

[Player - Pele]

Oh, I like that too, very much.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Because I hear the voices and they're asking for help.

[Player - Pele]

Have you told anybody of this in your party?

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

No one asked.

[Player - Pele]

No one asks. Where do you hear the voices?

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

I don't like hearing stories most of the time.

[Player - Pele]

Oh, I love them. As I take out my book and.

[Podcast Host Ellen Marsh]

Get down, my pen in my heads.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Yeah, with the heads. But not. Not the ear is just like there. If you just listen really hard. Now that you listen really hard. Cause you were hearing voices too, you realize she is right. The thing is, you're not sure what language it is. But that whispering you heard before, it is. You can't quite put it together. But you definitely have the sense that it is a call for assistance, that help is needed.

[Advertiser]

Okay.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

And you don't really know where it's coming from. It's just. It is in the back of your mind.

[Player - Cronus]

Okay.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Now something else. You used psychometry. At the end of our last episode, you touched one of these things. And that tells you secrets. What you got very much was that the body was very, very old. It was sort of too long gone for you really to learn. You feel like it was a soldier, but you don't really know who they were fighting or why. But the energy within it was definitely recent. It was something had charge that energy. And you feel almost like it was just programmed. Like it wasn't really fully sentient. It was just go out there and eliminate anyone you encounter.

[Player - Pele]

I kind of finish my story with the kid and send her along back to her mother. Are we gonna be okay? Yes, you will be fine. I promise you that.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Okay.

[Player - Pele]

I'll take it out of you.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Greetings, adventurers. Let me ask you a question. Has this ever happened to you? Have you ever walked out of your house in the same old clothes you've worn but you didn't invest in them? You know, you kind of cheaped out on your clothing. You really just didn't care about the quality. And as soon as you step out the door, a strong gust of wind comes along, all your clothes disintegrate and or fly off just as a bus full of everyone you went to middle school with and bullied you in high school drives past Nail Point and laughter. Has that ever happened to you?

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Yeah.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Yeah. Yeah, me either. That's because I have a well built wardrobe. And a well built wardrobe is about pieces that work together and hold up over time. And that's what Quint's does best. Premium materials, thoughtful design and everyday staples that feel easy to wear and easy to rely on even as the weather shifts. Quince has the everyday essentials I love with quality that lasts. Organic cotton sweaters, polos for every occasion, lighter jackets that keep you warm in the changing seasons. The list goes on and on. And Quince works directly with top factories so they cut out the middlemen. So you're not paying per brand markup just for quality clothing. And everything is built to hold up to daily wear and still look good season after season. Plus they only partner with factories that meet rigorous standards for craftsmanship and ethical production. So an example is I have a piece that I love from them. I picked up a Mongolian cashmere polo sweater and it's great because sometimes where I live it is freezing cold at one point of the day and boiling hot the other. But I need to look good and appropriate in everything I do. And this is soft, luxurious and it makes me look fly as heck no matter where I go. So highly recommend picking one up. Now you can refresh your wardrobe with quints. Go to quints.com criticalrole for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. Wahoo. That's quint's.com criticalrole free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com criticalrole greetings adventurers. Let me ask you something. Is your bank, say maybe just a hole that you dug in your backyard where you then meticulously put all of your money wrapped in plastic and paper bags? Is it all maybe stuffed Wilhelm Nilhelm beneath your mattress? Or is it trapped inside the prison that is an old school bank that seems more intent on charging you overdraft fees than making your money work for you. Well, if so, I've got a solution. Chime Chime is changing the way that people bank it is fee free Smarter banking built for you, not the 1% chime isn't just another banking app. They unlock smarter banking for everyday people with products like MyPay giving you access to up to $500 of your paycheck anytime and get paid up to 2 days early with direct deposit. And some old banks still don't do this, so you can forget overdraft fees, minimum balance fees and monthly fees. Chime makes your everyday spending work harder by delivering real rewards and financial progress. You can bank fee free overdraft coverage you can count on. It helps you build your credit history without the stress. You can get paid when you say up to $500, earn up to 3% APY on savings, which by the way seven times higher than a traditional bank and it's rated five stars by USA Today for customer service. That means you can talk to a real human 24. 7. And there's a new thing called the Chime card that lets you build credit history with your own money and get rewarded every single day. No annual fees, no interest, no strings attached. And when you get qualifying direct deposits, you get 1.5% cash back on eligible Chime card purchases. Now Chime is pretty impressive. It's something my younger self would have benefited from greatly. You can switch in just a few minutes and honestly it's the easiest move you can make because you won't just switch banks. You're going to upgrade to a smarter fee free way of managing your money. Now Chime is not just smarter banking. It's the most rewarding way to bank period. Join the millions who are already banking fee free today. It takes just a few minutes to sign up. Head to chime.com that's chime.com criticalrole Chime.

[Podcast Host Ellen Marsh]

Is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services a secured Chime Visa credit card and my pay line of credit provided by the Bancor Bank NA or Stride Bank NA. MyPay eligibility requirements apply and credit limit ranges $20 to $500. Optional services and products may have fees or charges. See chime.com feesinfo advertised annual percentage yield with Chime+status only. Otherwise 1.00% APY applies. No min balance required. Chime card on time payment history may have a positive impact on your credit score. Results may vary. See chime.com for details and applicable terms.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

All right, so we have that information. They're still working through their Trauma and just trying to get their camp in order. So they're a little focused on that. What do you guys want to do? Sounds like there's trouble.

[Player - Pele]

I tell you guys everything I've heard.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Yeah.

[Player - Pyre]

So I share what I learned as well.

[Player - Cass]

Well, from the sounds of it, it sounds like these creatures are coming from down.

[Player - Cronus]

I think we need to go explore down there.

[Player - Pyre]

I think we should strongly suggest these people to leave. We can't stop them from staying.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

But I.

[Player - Pele]

Do you think that they're safe?

[Player - Pyre]

I don't think they're safe, but we.

[Player - Cass]

Don'T know if this danger is other places in the land. We could just be sending them to another area where there's just as much danger, but we're not there to.

[Player - Pyre]

What if they went back with the elder and stayed in the Eyrie? I mean, at least there's shelter there.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Those are both very legitimate points. So you are absolutely right. The dread is everywhere. So just wandering off into the darkness in the middle of the night is not a great plan. On the other hand, you're right. Aery's right up there. You could send them up there if you want. What I would say to that. And you guys have gone. I'll put it to Alexis here. Of course, Pele, if you wanted to try to convince them to get back up into the aerie, you know, just till the morning. You're a healer.

[Player - Pele]

Yes.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

So I could see this again, as it's a similar sort of thing of if you're just trying to calm them, it would be safe. If you have a particular direction you'd.

[Player - Cronus]

Want to take to tell them that I've been in their shoes before, and I understand that, you know, that things might be scary and you want to stay where you are, but I feel like if I can at least guide you to where you need to go, know that we are going to look into it and we'll make sure that whatever is coming out of here, we will take care of it.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

All right. They are still definitely puzzled because they're still like, who are you people? And that guy's on fire, and you're not on fire. And so they haven't really parsed this. Are you researchers who are also on fire? But frankly, they're scared. It's dark. You're comforting. That's enough. So they will go and return to the aerie, so they are at least immediately out of harm's way. Nice. And are you going to venture down the passage?

[Player - Cass]

Yes, yes.

[Player - Pele]

I'll go last.

[Player - Cronus]

All right.

[Podcast Host Joey Taranto]

Get behind me.

[Player - Cass]

Are you sure you don't want me to go last? In case something sticks out?

[Player - Pele]

I'll go third to last. There you go.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Now, it is dark down there, but you happen to have a burning guy with a burning axe right in front. And if you want to make a ball of fire or something like that.

[Player - Cronus]

I want to take care of chapter. I don't want to be lighting things.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

She's like, all right.

[Player - Cass]

Do you know about her fire thing?

[Player - Cronus]

Well, she mentioned it earlier.

[Player - Pele]

I reacted quite negatively.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Yeah.

[Advertiser]

She didn't like fire thing.

[Podcast Host Ellen Marsh]

Oh, yeah.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

I think you've worked together for a week. You probably had some.

[Player - Pele]

There's a dialogue, there's an understanding, and I just keep semi distance from you. We communicate through grunts and hand motions. Oh, fun.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

All right, so a short shaft down through rock and earth leads to what might have once been some kind of big metal hatch. But it has been blown up by Tira and now you're secondary. You really scorched this thing. As you descend, you do notice a couple of things. Those voices you heard, they're just getting a little louder and clearer, and you just feel it as a call for help. And even the rest of you just start feeling this slight whispering. You can't quite make sense of it as much, but you're feeling it. You also notice a sharp decrease in temperature. There's frost on the stone and earth around you. You come to the end and it is a drop down into a hatch. There are ropes that have been spiked. They have descended down here before. Gonna jump in, gonna shimmy down the ropes. What are you gonna do?

[Player - Pele]

I do have a question.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Yes.

[Player - Pele]

After we use our cards in a skill set, do we get to replenish or do we wait?

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Yes. If you're not in combat, which you're not, you replenish immediately. So any of you who are below your normal cards, that's five for everyone, six for chapter, draw back up.

[Player - Cass]

And if we are out of cards, we just shuffle back up the disc.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

That is exactly correct.

[Player - Cronus]

Nice.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

You're up in the front pyro. Are you going to drop down?

[Player - Pyre]

Well, there's ropes now, so I'm going to take advantage. Instead of just dropping down like a stone, I'm actually going to lower myself.

[Player - Cass]

Down on the rope before we get down here. Is anybody else hearing those whispers? I'm not.

[Player - Pele]

Yes. Don't be worried. I hear them much more distinctly. They are whispers of help.

[Player - Cass]

Wait, what are they saying?

[Player - Pele]

They're in a lot of pain and they're looking for some sort of Assistance. Don't be afraid of them. Just they might get louder as we go down.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

We'll figure it out. I will say one gut feeling you definitely have, it is not the same as whatever was animating those corpses is that you're like, from having touched that directly, you're like, that is something different. But there is a clear sense of more of an alien flavor to that. So you drop. When you slide down the rope, it's about a 15 foot drop.

[Player - Pyre]

Okay.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

You're in a massive tunnel that is just snaking down, you think probably just around the base of this spire. It's about 15ft in all directions. A big sort of tube. But the thing you immediately destroy, discover is that every surface is covered with ice. And as you sort of land, you almost slip a little. It's hard to tell just with this light how thick it is.

[Player - Pele]

Does he emit a little bit of light? So we can see on the ground as well?

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

And what I would say is anybody who would like to. This would be a point to make a intellect spread. For those of you who use intellect to sort of see if you notice.

[Player - Pyre]

I don't have any.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

See if you notice detail. Now here is the thing. Even if you don't have intellect is just your default looking around and learning things. If you happen to have a specialty, one of your skill specialties that seemed to apply, which I don't think any of you particularly do, but if somehow this was a war situation, then those of you with war could say, oh, I'm studying this for tactical information. And that would let you make that spread even though you don't use intellect.

[Player - Pele]

Okay, I do have observations.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Observation is absolutely relevant here. So yes, if you want to go ahead and do that or if the Lexus, if you have something.

[Player - Cronus]

No, I mean, I have enough intellect for it. I know for my skill set though, it's just fire, destruction and healing. If someone falls, I got you.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

So you could just do a straight intellect spread if you would like. And using a trade is optional if the trait seems like something you'd rather keep.

[Player - Cronus]

I was thinking about it since it's a warlock and I feel like it could be used for something, especially if somebody falls or gets hurt. Also adding with my healing. I mean, there's rope, but you never know.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

So warlocks are. It's a kind of mystical tradition. So in some ways this could be with the voices. Sure is. In fact, you could be trying to use your knowledge as a warlock to figure out how that relates to things. So I will go Ahead and give you five points for warlock. And in fact, since that's the direction you're going to, I will say that your arcane specialty applies. What you're sort of saying is, there's magic here. What's going on? That also adds five. So you're up to 10.

[Player - Pele]

Great.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

And you can still play three intellect cards.

[Player - Cronus]

Okay, so then that would be if.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

You can get to 15 or 20. Those are the numbers you're looking for.

[Player - Cronus]

And what are we at? We're at 10. 10. Okay, so then I can do 4.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

And then 14, 3, 17. You can still play one more card.

[Player - Cronus]

Okay, then I'll do one more intellect.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

All right, so 21 is very good. And you do now discard those and draw all the way back up. And this is where technically one or the rest of you, if you were the smartest person in the room, you could say, can I add a detail? 21 is just fine. You don't need to put any more into this right now. So a couple of things here. First of all, you do just studying the place, the ice, definitely. This is a small thing, but you're an elemental. You feel things. It is definitely not natural.

[Player - Pele]

Right.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

There is some magical force that is manipulating the temperature here. Okay. And it feels definitely familiar, but you can't quite identify it. But it is. Someone is using magic to alter the temperature here.

[Player - Cronus]

Got it.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

You notice that the surface of the ground isn't even. There's strange bumps and disruptions. And as you look close, you realize one of the them is a hand that's sort of reaching up out of the ice. And you realize that there are people or bodies just buried, that the ice is almost two feet deep and there's people who are just frozen within it. The other thing that you think is that the voices are definitely tied to the location, that it's almost like this is a giant antenna, and that this is some sort of spirit perhaps bound to this place that may not even be reaching out to you directly. Just sort of trying to speak to anyone who can hear.

[Player - Pele]

Right.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Beyond that, as you all take a closer look, it's hard to make out details on the bodies, but it does. You have the general sense that there was a fight here. Some of them you can see a severed limb or something. You don't really have a sense of who was fighting who or anything like that.

[Player - Pyre]

Does it look like they were frozen in mid combat?

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Sort of. Not instant flash. It looks more of them like they are collapsed on the ground and then the ice came over them.

[Player - Pyre]

Okay.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

So from what you can tell, you're at the top of a shaft that just continues down. You don't see any other forks in the passage. So it seems like you've only got one direction to go, and that is down. Are you going to.

[Player - Pyre]

Yes, we have to go down.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

All right. Are you continuing with pyre again in the front, Cronus bringing up the rear. The two of you between?

[Player - Cronus]

Yep.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

It's again, a wide hallway. It's a little treacherous footing.

[Player - Pyre]

It's a manageable slope down.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Now, again, it's a little tricky because as you're going, you actually sort of stumble over a foot that, you know, is sort of projecting out the more you get used to it. And the light is dim and flickering from your flames, and you do just sort of see, again, a bit of a skull projecting up from the ground.

[Player - Cass]

Are these hard or are they kind of crystallized? Whereas if we're kicking them or stepping on them, they're shattering.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

When they're projecting out of the ice, they shatter again. You hit that skull, it just breaks where it's fallen. The ice has preserved them, but where they're out of the ice, they're very fragile.

[Player - Pele]

Besides, is there any other noise? It's very quiet down here.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

You do hear something, almost like a pop or a fizzle, but it's distant.

[Player - Pele]

Hey, so I don't know if you guys heard that pop.

[Player - Pyre]

Oh, boy. There's not ice cracking.

[Player - Cronus]

That was going to be my first take on that.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

So, you know, there's something. Are you then just going to advance carefully? Cautiously, Cautiously and carefully. You go as quietly as you can. As you go, the passage twists. You don't have a very long straight view because it's curving around the shaft. But as you go a little further, you do see a sort of purplish light flickering down in the distance. And you hear that popping again a little more clearly.

[Player - Pyre]

Guys, we got purple. Got more purple stuff coming right at us.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

It's still. The sound is still very faint. It doesn't really sound like motion. It's just a.

[Player - Cronus]

Should definitely be careful, though.

[Player - Cass]

Keep going.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Are you sticking together, or are you going to go a little ahead of them?

[Player - Pyre]

I'll step a few paces ahead.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

All right. You peer around, and you see something up ahead. It's the source of the light. It's a sphere of silvery metal crisscrossed with veins of violet energy. It's about 2ft across, and it's floating above the ground. There's tendrils of purple energy flowing from it into the Ice. And you can see that it's arcing through the walls and the floors, illuminating the corpses within the frozen surface. The ice around them is slowly melting. And that's the sound that you're hearing, but it's definitely slow. You can see it charging up these bodies. You see at least 12, but it's just hovering above them. With this energy flowing into these things, you have no idea if it's noticed you or if it can notice you. It doesn't have anything like eyes.

[Player - Cass]

Can I try to throw my chakram at it to disable the connection it has with the ground?

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Now, if this was, you know, sort of a thing, this would be like an attack. But it's not really aware of you as you seem. So you step by, you fling your chakram. It gets close to it and then rebounds this sort of a flare of violet energy, and it bounces right back. You threw it reasonably hard, and if there was a chance that you could overcome this, I'd have you make a skill spread to see how hard you could throw it. But what you realize is it just bounced it right off. So there's some sort of field surrounding it that becomes visible when you strike it.

[Player - Cass]

Well, that's gonna be a problem.

[Player - Pyre]

Is it close enough to where I could try to hit it with my axe, too?

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

It's not close enough right now, but you could run up to it if you want. But, I mean, it is.

[Player - Cronus]

You were melting. I don't think that's a good idea.

[Player - Pele]

Before you guys go, let me see if I can figure out maybe what this is. In my research that I have.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Go ahead and give me lore.

[Player - Pele]

Great. So that'll be five for this.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

You could use any of your cards. So we're at 11, so.

[Player - Pele]

Yes. And then I think if I can.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Flip that 15, does your trait apply?

[Player - Pele]

No, that's small and quick.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

No, that's not really gonna help you here. Okay, so you have a 15. It's not great. You know, basically, you can't figure out where this is from or what it is, but you definitely feel two things. Well, three things I'll give you. It's something old. You don't think it's aware of you. You know, you don't think it is like a sort of creature as much as it's just doing a job. Its job is to activate things. You do think you could probably approach it, but you also get the sense it's holding a lot of power.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Greetings, adventurers. Now, I think I speak for all of us when I say I would commit a variety of crimes for my pet. I know, I know. Sometimes maybe my dog is acting a little crazy. Maybe she's barking a little bit too much, people walking by her window. But that's just to defend us. She did no wrong. She's a sweet, innocent baby angel, and I will hear no slander to the contrary. And I talk about my pet because we have a quick message from today's sponsor, the ASPCA Pet Health Insurance Program. Now, you know, as I mentioned, you're pet part of the family. You do pretty much anything for them, right? But those vet bills, I mean, God, they add up quicker than you'd think. That's why it's worth checking out ASPCA Pet Health Insurance. Pet insurance can help manage the vet bills so you can focus on what really matters, making sure your pet gets the care they need when they need it. Oh, and here's a little bonus. There's a perk for enrolling. When you enroll in an ASPCA pet health insurance plan, you could get a $25Amazon gift card. It's a little treat for you while you're doing something great for your pet. The program offers customizable accident and illness plans, making it easier to get your pet the care they may need. And they've been around for almost 20 years and have covered nearly 1 million pets in that time. That's a lot of pets. So to Explore coverage, visit aspcapetinsurance.com CriticalRole that's aspcapetinsurance.Com CriticalRole Eligibility restrictions apply. Visit aspcapetinsurance.COM for more info. This is a paid advertisement. Insurance is underwritten by either Independence American Insurance Company or United States Fire Insurance Company and produced by PTZ Insurance Agency Ltd. The ASPCA is not an insurer and is not engaged in the business of insurance.

[Advertiser]

Yes, online shopping is quite literally at our fingertips, but that doesn't mean it's always simple to buy. Whether it's trying to remember one of a million different logins so you can actually place your order, or getting almost all the way through checkout before realizing your card is nowhere near you, there are many hiccups that can get between you and placing that order, which is why it's such a relief when you see that purple pay button that has all of your information saved, making checkout as simple as a tap of your screen. That iconic purple shop pay button is why Shopify has the best converting checkout on the planet, meaning less carts going abandoned and More sales going to you. Shopify is the commerce platform behind millions of businesses around the world and 10% of all e commerce in the US from household names like Thrive Cosmetics, Gymshark and Allbirds to brands just getting started. And they're not just great at converting sales. If people haven't heard about your brand yet, Shopify can help you find your customers with easy to run email and social media campaigns. And they have world class expertise in everything from managing inventory to international shipping to processing returns and beyond. Tackle all of those important tasks from one place, making your life easier and your business operations smoother. See less carts go abandoned and more sales go with Shopify and their Shop Pay button. Sign up for your $1 per month trial today at shopify.com realm go to shopify.com realm that's shopify.com realm.

[Player - Pele]

Try dismantling any bodies you see that it could charge. I have a feeling that this thing is going to do something with a lot of these bodies.

[Player - Cass]

If we try to attack the bodies in the ice, we might just be freeing them rather than causing damage to them.

[Player - Cronus]

I have a trait that's just called lightning and I can probably touch the ice and maybe use that, especially since it's melting. There's water also involved in that.

[Player - Cass]

I like that idea. Let's not be on the ice when that happens.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

That's a good idea.

[Player - Pele]

Our enemy doesn't know it's here, whatever this thing is. So let's dismantle it as best we can.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Okay. Which do you want to go with there? Do you want to try and use the lightning on dismantling the sphere or do you want to use it on the corpses in the ice?

[Player - Cass]

I'm worried if we use it on the item, we might just be helping charge its power source.

[Player - Cronus]

Well, yes, I'd rather just use it on the corpses since they're already submerged in water in the first place.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

So, talking about this quickly, one plan is you'll have to get reasonably close, but you could do that. Who is thinking about a approaching the sphere? So we've got the. We've got the.

[Player - Pyre]

I think we're okay with that.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

You're leaving that alone for now. All right, go ahead and use that trait and just set that aside and that's fine. So describe that.

[Player - Cronus]

I come to the part of where the ice and the water are and I just kind of submerge. I don't know if I should submerge my hands into the water or if I should just keep it above the.

[Player - Cass]

Ice and then charge the thing you're electrocuting.

[Player - Cronus]

Yeah, but I can also heal myself. Gets to that point, too.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

She can sort of absorb the energy.

[Player - Cronus]

It's not going to affect her.

[Player - Pele]

It's yours. Put down a cloth for everyone. Chews, just in case they have settled on you.

[Player - Cass]

Oh, just like Deep Blue Sea.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Is that what happened? So it flows through and it does char. A lot of these corpses are relatively weak. The sphere just sort of floats down the hallway another 10ft, and now the energy comes out even brighter and stronger than before. There's more corpses spread throughout this place. And you think it's going even faster than it was. Like it's trying to make up for having lost time.

[Player - Cronus]

I tried.

[Player - Cass]

It was a good try. Yeah, it was a good idea.

[Player - Pyre]

You know what?

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

What?

[Player - Pyre]

I'm gonna charge it.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

All right.

[Player - Pyre]

You tried throwing something at it, but we didn't try to hit it with our own energy.

[Player - Cass]

You look like you have very strong arms.

[Player - Pele]

We're behind you. Whatever you do.

[Player - Pyre]

I charge the sphere.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

All right.

[Player - Pyre]

And I hit it with my axe.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

So you charge in there. As you approach it, you feel this sort of force holding you at bay, but you're pressing forward through it. Go ahead. And what I would like to see here for the whole thing, you're pressing in, you're swinging your axe. I'd like to see an athletic spread. Because it's athletics, that means you can use either grace or strength. It's one of your specialties. You have a base of five. You can play any three cards, plus traits.

[Player - Pyre]

Great.

[Player - Cass]

I'm also gonna use my absolute conviction.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

You know, he can do this.

[Player - Cass]

This does say you will not be turned aside from your goals and the strength of your convictions inspires your allies. So seeing me just go hard with the chakram against this inspired you?

[Player - Pele]

Still full of blood.

[Player - Cronus]

Yeah.

[Player - Cass]

I'm sorry to go even harder.

[Player - Pyre]

Yeah. You never wipe that blood off your face, did you?

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

All right, so she's giving you 3, 6, 10, 15, 16. Terrifying. Doesn't really seem. Unless. Are you being terrifying in a destructive way?

[Player - Pyre]

I am. I'm just yelling and screaming and just, you know.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

All right.

[Player - Pyre]

If anything inanimate had any sort of just trace of a soul at one point, its soul would be shaking.

[Player - Pele]

I'm terrified.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

16. You can add one more card because the trait was free. So do you want to get it to 18?

[Player - Pyre]

Yeah, let's get it to 18.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

So here's the thing. 18's okay, but you need 20. Are you willing to put two sparks into this?

[Player - Pyre]

Absolutely. I've got Sparks to spare.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

You press through, and again you feel it's like pushing through water. You get there, you see this thing, and you see that it's actually sort of looks like lots of tiny pieces of metal held around this glowing purple energy. How far away are the rest of you?

[Player - Pele]

I would probably have been about 20ft.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

20Ft?

[Player - Cass]

I probably would have moved up. I'm probably the closest because I probably would have been like, yeah, all right.

[Player - Cronus]

I was still by the water, so I don't really know how far that is.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

So you can feel power just coming off of this thing. And also, you still have that purple energy inside. And now that's surging as you get closer. In fact, you take a wound. Don't worry about the card at this point, okay. But you can feel it being drawn through you. But you also have that strength in your limbs. You know, if you strike hard enough, you can shatter this thing. Is that what you want to do?

[Player - Pyre]

That's what I want to do.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

As you go for the strike, you feel there's a lot of power in here. You sure?

[Player - Pyre]

Yes.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

All right. The axe strikes the crystal, and the sphere just shatters. There's a blinding flash of light, and these shards of metal go flying everywhere. You were already, of course, almost close to death. It basically incinerates you. However, you are able to absorb most of that force. So the energy just flows out for a moment. You see him just silhouetted against it, and then it just vaporizes him. Now, Pyre, you have one moment. Pele is very close to you where she was doing things. And Cronos is not far. You could try and shield one of them. Which is it gonna be?

[Player - Pyre]

It's gonna be Pele. Cause I know Cronus can handle herself.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

That's right. Pele, you still take a wound from the energy that flows out. Cronus, you're close enough that you're gonna be caught in this. And that is gonna be actually, to both of you, an attack with a value of 12. So go ahead and give me a defense spread. Cronos. Draw a card. That's what you do. You defend with up to three grace cards.

[Player - Pele]

Yes, I can actually do four.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Well, okay, three.

[Player - Pele]

And then I have this special one which gives me five.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

You're good. Okay, so you are able to. You are sort of far back, and you roll back away from it, and you're out of the way. Now, kronos attack of 12. And this is a powerful surge of energy, so it might be more damaging than a normal attack. You can use any two cards to block against this.

[Player - Cass]

All right, what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna use my number four strength card, my number three strength card, for a total of seven. And then I'm gonna use my one strength card, which is also a trait called Survivor. When you use this card in defense spread, you may burn two sparks to reduce the damage you take by the attack by one wound.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

All right, so that's four points getting through. It's a very powerful attack. So this is going to be two wounds right now. You can burn two sparks to reduce that to one.

[Player - Cass]

I'll do that.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

All right.

[Player - Pele]

What happens when you're out of sparks? You die.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

You die. Energy washes over all of you. Chapter you manage to duck out of the way. Pele, you're still caught in it, but Pyre saves you from too much harm. Kronos, you endure it again. There's this after image in your mind of Pyre there. Then he collapses to ash and is gone. The shards of metal strike all around you, hitting the walls and then fall to the ground. And it's silent. And now there's no purple. There's nothing coming out of the ice. All is done. So the three of you are standing in the tunnel. You still, in your mind, see Pyre as he was standing there, silhouetted against the energy that consumed him. And that's where we're going to stop. And we'll find out what happens in the next episode of Starter Kit.

[Player - Pyre]

Next time on Starter Kit.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Pyre emerges from the hearth.

[Player - Cass]

You look good.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

Are you a phoenix? What happened down there?

[Player - Cronus]

I would like to not go through this crap again.

[Player - Pele]

Maybe we should run.

[Game Master/Keith Baker]

You can run. You go away if that's what you want to do.

[Player - Pyre]

They're. They're done.

[Advertiser]

Ah, the Regency era. You might know it as the time when Bridgerton takes place or the time when Jane Austen wrote her books. But the Regency era was also an explosive time of social change, sex scandals, and maybe the worst king in British history. And on the Vulgar History podcast, we're going to be looking at the balls, the gowns, and all the scandal of the Regency era. Vulgar History is a women's history podcast, and our Regency Era series will be focusing on the most rebellious women of this time. That includes Jane Austen herself, who is maybe more radical than you might have thought. We'll also be talking about queer icons like Anne Lister, scientists like Mary Anning and Ada Lovelace, as well as other scandalous actresses, royal mistresses, rebellious princesses, and other lesser known figures who made history happen in England in the Regency era. Listen to vulgar history wherever you get podcasts.

[Podcast Host Joey Taranto]

The war is over and both sides lost. Kingdoms were reduced to cinders and armies scattered like bones in the dust. Now the survivors claw to what's left of a broken world, praying the darkness chooses someone else tonight. But in the shadow dark, the darkness always wins. This is old school adventuring at its most cruel. Your torch ticks down in real time, and when that flame dies, something else rises to finish the job. This is a brutal rules light nightmare with a storm that emerges organically based on the decisions that the characters make. This is what it felt like to play RPGs in the 80s. And man, it is so good to be back. Join the Glass Cannon podcast as we plunge into the Shadowdark every Thursday night at 8pm Eastern on YouTube.com theglasscannon with the podcast version dropping the next day. See what everybody's talking about and join us in the dark.

[Podcast Host Ellen Marsh]

Oh please, not that music. That music gives me nightmares from my childhood.

[Podcast Host Joey Taranto]

Could we get something a little bit lighter? Some lighter music here?

[Podcast Host Ellen Marsh]

Are you a fan of true crime TV shows?

[Podcast Host Joey Taranto]

And what about Unsolved Mysteries, the show that jump started all of our love of true crime?

[Podcast Host Ellen Marsh]

I'm Ellen Marsh.

[Podcast Host Joey Taranto]

And I'm Joey Taranto and we host.

[Podcast Host Ellen Marsh]

I Think Not, a true crime comedy podcast covering some of the wildest stories from your favorite true crime campy TV shows all the way to Unsolved Mysteries.

[Podcast Host Joey Taranto]

Baby. You will laugh, you will cry. You'll think about true crime in a whole new way. And you'll also ask yourself, who gave these people mics?

[Podcast Host Ellen Marsh]

New episodes of I Think not are released every Wednesday, with bonus episodes out every Thursday on Patreon.

[Podcast Host Joey Taranto]

And every Monday you can listen to our True Crime rundown where we go over the top true crime headlines of the week.

[Podcast Host Ellen Marsh]

So come and join us wherever you listen to your podcasts.