The Rampart and Beyond | Age of Umbra Episode 4 Part 2

Summary

Critical Role: The Rampart and Beyond | Age of Umbra Episode 4 Part 2

Release Date: July 1, 2025
Host/Author: Critical Role

---

Summary:

Age of Umbra continues its dark and immersive journey in Part 2 of Episode 4, titled "The Rampart and Beyond." This episode delves deeper into the harrowing adventures of our adventurers as they navigate treacherous terrains, engage with enigmatic characters, and confront formidable foes in their quest to reach the Barrow of Blind Repose—the tomb of the heretic Saint Evalyar.

---

1. Setting the Scene

The episode picks up with the party taking a short rest on the outskirts of Hokoro. Each member utilizes their downtime actions to recover and prepare for the challenges ahead.

• [02:28] Liam O'Brien decides to stand sentry despite the presence of guards and clears his hit points.
• [03:02] Laura Bailey also clears her stress, enhancing her readiness for the journey.

Quote:
[03:08] Travis Willingham: "I thought, yeah, we could do, like..."

---

2. Encounter with Keegan

Post-rest, the adventurers are approached by Keegan, a heavyset orc in his thirties. He introduces himself as a trade representative seeking information and aid for his settlement, Desperlock.

• Keegan requests provisions and soldiers to assist them until his community can retrieve a blessed branch and present it alongside a holy war scythe from their vaults.

Notable Interaction:
[07:03] Sam Riegel: "Mainly we are interested in information and aid and maybe any small provisions to help us on our journey..."

[07:43] Matthew Mercer: "As you're saying this right now, it's like, honestly, we're strapped for materials and most of what we have has to stay in..."

---

3. Gathering Resources

The party discusses Keegan's request, evaluating their limited resources. They agree to provide the necessary aid, symbolized by the presentation of the ancient war scythe.

Quote:
[08:16] Matthew Mercer: "If you have any information from the scholars on what may lay ahead of us on this journey and at our final destination..."

---

4. Transaction with the Fisherman

Shortly after, a fisherman named Mike approaches the group, offering fish in exchange for coin. Through this interaction, the party acquires two valuable items:

1. Whistle of Communication: Crafted from yellow bone, it emits an unearthly sound that can alert troops or spirits over a distance.
2. Heart Curdle Venom: A purplish substance stored in a cracked glass vial, potentially useful for crafting stamina potions.

Notable Moments:
[10:24] Marisha Ray: "Yeah."
[11:26] Sam Riegel: "Heart curdle venom."
[11:53] Marisha Ray: "Is it a whistle?"

---

5. Journey into the Screaming Forest

The adventurers set their path towards the Barrow of Blind Repose, traversing the ominous Screaming Forest. The forest is depicted as a haunting expanse with gnarled, leafless trees and a spongy, moss-covered ground.

• The environment is filled with multicolored fungi and ethereal mists, creating an eerie and foreboding atmosphere.
• The party notices spirits lingering near the shore, adding to the supernatural tension.

Quote:
[26:23] Liam O'Brien: "I would say so that we don't go off in a squiggly line amongst all these trees."

---

6. First Combat Encounter: Fungal Entities and Rotlord

As the party delves deeper into the forest, they are ambushed by fungal creatures and a formidable entity known as the Rotlord. The ensuing battle is intense, showcasing the party's strategic combat maneuvers and teamwork.

• Initial Assault: Three fungus entities initiate an attack, overwhelming the party with their speed and numbers.

  [38:28] Liam O'Brien: "Hello, friend."

• Rotlord's Emergence: The Rotlord, a grotesque amalgamation of humanoid corpses and fungal growths, joins the fray, adding a significant threat to the battle.

Notable Combat Dialogue:
[40:05] Laura Bailey: "You are too."
[40:38] Liam O'Brien: "A bunch of fun girls."

Quote:
[40:52] Matthew Mercer: "So you take six points of physical damage."

---

7. Escalation with Hive Collectors

The combat intensifies as Hive Collectors, large hornet-like humanoid creatures, join the battle. Their swift and lethal attacks pose a severe threat, forcing the party to adapt their strategies on the fly.

• Ashley Johnson leverages her Runeward ability to mitigate damage, reducing her hit points taken during attacks.
• Sam Riegel and Travis Willingham execute coordinated attacks, utilizing abilities like Whirlwind and Arcane Barrage to maximize damage output against the Rotlord.

Notable Quotes:
[65:10] Sam Riegel: "He's still losing overslam."
[77:46] Matthew Mercer: "He is in no way being defeated."

[80:14] Taliesin Jaffe: "That's your move."

---

8. Climax of the Battle

The relentless combat results in significant damage to both the Rotlord and the Hive Collectors. Through a combination of magical prowess, physical assaults, and tactical retreats, the party manages to inflict severe wounds on their adversaries.

• Laura Bailey's strategic use of her Chaos ability delivers a critical blow, significantly weakening the Rotlord.
• The party's perseverance pays off as they push back the final Hive Collectors, though not without sustaining their own injuries.

Quote:
[84:10] Taliesin Jaffe: "That's major damage. I'll mark off another armor making it a minor. A minor."

---

9. Conclusion and Next Steps

With the immediate threats subdued, the party acknowledges their victory but also the toll it has taken on them. They decide to continue their journey northward, aware that the dangers of the Screaming Forest may persist.

• Matthew Mercer narrates the aftermath, setting the stage for future challenges as the adventurers press onward.

Final Words:
[89:05] Ashley Johnson: "Steve."
[89:05] Matthew Mercer: "Yes. Fantastic, Steve."

---

Key Highlights and Insights

• Teamwork Under Pressure: The episode showcases the importance of collaboration, with players effectively using their unique abilities to support one another during intense combat scenarios.

• Strategic Resource Management: The party's decision to allocate their limited resources towards aiding Keegan highlights their commitment to aiding oppressed communities, despite the personal risks involved.

• Immersive World-Building: Critical Role continues to excel in creating a richly detailed and hauntingly beautiful world, making each encounter both thrilling and memorable.

Notable Quotes:

• [05:54] Matthew Mercer: "You are passing over a holy relic from the old world."

• [16:33] Matthew Mercer: "The grand ordinance were the most holy of priests and cardinals and faith-based leaders of Ember Reach..."

• [40:23] Laura Bailey: "Uh oh."

• [77:15] Matthew Mercer: "So this is bad."

---

Conclusion:

Episode 4 Part 2 of Age of Umbra delivers a gripping continuation of the adventurers' perilous journey. From resource negotiations and strategic planning to intense combat with otherworldly foes, the episode encapsulates the essence of Critical Role—a blend of narrative depth, character development, and exhilarating gameplay. As the party advances toward the tomb of Saint Evalyar, listeners are left eager for the unfolding of future episodes and the ever-evolving story of their beloved characters.

---

If you enjoyed this adventure, consider subscribing and leaving a review on your favorite podcast platform. Join the community of critters and support the ongoing tales of courage and camaraderie.

Transcript

[Laura Bailey]

Hey there Critter Podcast listeners. We have a special new membership service at Beacon TV where you get early access to all new podcast episodes, including Critical Role. For the first time ever, Beacon members also get things like live event pre sales merch discounts, access to a private community discord, and new exclusive series like Critical Role Cooldown. Think of it as our digital Critical Role land. Head on over to Beacon TV to check it out for yourself and start a seven day free trial. Thank you so much for your support for being a podcast listener and for being part of our community.

[Ashley Johnson]

Hey there critters. This is Ashley Johnson and Telus and Jeffe and we're popping in here to talk about our new podcast on Beacon, Weird Kids.

[Travis Willingham]

In this series, we're diving into our lives as former child actors. From unraveling our eccentric upbringings to embracing all the delightfully odd interests we still have today.

[Ashley Johnson]

We're covering so many topics like antique toys, taxidermy, Japanese pop culture, and honestly, anything else we come up with.

[Travis Willingham]

Weird Kids is available exclusively on Beacon. But good news, we're offering a one month free trial on Beacon TV so you can take a look before you become a member. Just use the code weirdosacon TV to start the trial.

[Ashley Johnson]

You can also find fellow weirdos by following the series on our heirdkids pod Instagram and using the hashtag weirdkids.

[Travis Willingham]

So to all the misfits, outcasts and weirdos out there, come take a seat at our table and celebrate all things unconventional, nostalgic and wonderfully weird. Welcome to Weird Kids.

[Ashley Johnson]

New episodes release every Tuesday.

[Matthew Mercer]

Hey there, Matthew Mercer here and you're listening to part two of this episode of Age of Umbra, a dark tale and campaign setting from our recently released tabletop RPG Daggerheart from Darrington Press. If you haven't checked out part one yet, pause this now and head over there first. Otherwise, let's return to our adventurers striving against the darkness in part two. And welcome back. So here as you rest on the outskirts of Hokoro, we take a short rest. So you have two of your downtime actions for your short rest. Everyone's going with what? We'll go around the table here quickly.

[Liam O'Brien]

I will stay sentry watch even though we have the guards above us. And I will clear my hit points.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay.

[Ashley Johnson]

I decided to clear my hit points and I was wanting to add armor but I can't so I because I had so much stress. So I got rid of my stress as well since I get a long rest correct with my stuff Is this.

[Matthew Mercer]

Long rest or short rest?

[Ashley Johnson]

This is a short rest.

[Travis Willingham]

Except for her.

[Matthew Mercer]

I mean, if you want to take a long rest, you can.

[Sam Riegel]

No, not on time.

[Matthew Mercer]

No time. Cool. We cool? All right.

[Laura Bailey]

I cleared my stress.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right.

[Laura Bailey]

And does anyone else want to prepare?

[Travis Willingham]

I thought, yeah, we could do, like.

[Laura Bailey]

A. I would love to learn a little from you. Yes.

[Travis Willingham]

Well, what I do is I start.

[Marisha Ray]

To pull a little bit of thread.

[Travis Willingham]

Out of my mouth.

[Matthew Mercer]

Go. As it goes.

[Travis Willingham]

I tie it off and I start wrapping it around my fingers.

[Laura Bailey]

Do you have any extra thread?

[Liam O'Brien]

Jacob's life.

[Travis Willingham]

It's a cat's cradle, is what it is.

[Ashley Johnson]

A cat's cradle.

[Travis Willingham]

So I bring it over. Thought you might like something to play with.

[Matthew Mercer]

Now flip it through.

[Travis Willingham]

Put your finger through the third one. Both sides. Both sides. And pull apart.

[Ashley Johnson]

Cool.

[Laura Bailey]

I can't. It's stuck.

[Travis Willingham]

Okay, I'm gonna have to cut that one. I don't know how you did that.

[Matthew Mercer]

Both of you take two hopes.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yeah.

[Matthew Mercer]

Awesome. Oh, boy. Screeve.

[Marisha Ray]

Well, I got seriously fucked up. So I'm going to fix my armor and my hit points.

[Matthew Mercer]

It's 1D. Four plus one is your tier one.

[Marisha Ray]

So here we go for hit points. It's four.

[Sam Riegel]

That's good.

[Marisha Ray]

So I'm back to four. Here we go. Armor, it's five, which.

[Travis Willingham]

So I'm topped off great bricks.

[Marisha Ray]

Then borrow some of August's.

[Sam Riegel]

I repaired my armor and cleared my one hit point damage.

[Matthew Mercer]

You got it. And you prepared and what else?

[Travis Willingham]

The other thing I did was I fixed my armor.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right. There you go.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I'm going to clear some stress. I did. And I'll prepare one hope as well.

[Matthew Mercer]

You got to see it again. Well, I mean, you can prepare with multiple members of the party.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

If they haven't. Oh, oh. With you.

[Matthew Mercer]

Just prepare with one or more members of the party, you may each take two hopes. Okay.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I will prepare with you. And I will. I don't know if I have. I never understand anatomy. Do I have hooves for hands?

[Travis Willingham]

How do you throw a boomerang with.

[Sam Riegel]

So in the weeds on this?

[Marisha Ray]

You've been making fantasy for a decade.

[Sam Riegel]

I don't.

[Matthew Mercer]

Just to note, you rest on the outskirts of Volkoru, not within the walls or within the heat and safe comfort of their sacred pyre, which is far atop the tower. So unless any of you wants to try and keep watch.

[Liam O'Brien]

I said I would.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yep. All right. All right. I made my roll. You can roll and decide to choose. Yours or mine?

[Liam O'Brien]

1D12.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yep.

[Liam O'Brien]

I'll take yours.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right. Mine's a four.

[Liam O'Brien]

I had a two.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh, that would have. Yeah, I would have got to pull this guy out. As you all prepare and you rest and there's a brief moment where you wonder if no representative will come. You glance up and see a few soldiers get a bit twitchy, looking over aggressively in your direction. One of them gnaws on a piece of old wood and they all seem to be staring at this stone angel. Some dark memory, some moment of mistrust. In that time period, you feel that your presence here is likely to be safe, short lived. I gained 2 fear. Then as we get to go rest, I roll a 1e4 to gain that much fear as well, which is one not great, but you know, it all helps. During this period of time, a trade representative comes up. You see a kind of heavyset orc Fella in his 30s or so, receding hair pulled into a long, long ponytail out back, kind of a scullet. A Scully tail, I don't know what you call it. Wearing some leathers. And he has a small, looks like a leather bound booklet to take note. Hello, friends. I'm Keegan. I'm supposed to be helping you get what you need before you head off. Whatcha looking for?

[Sam Riegel]

Keegan?

[Matthew Mercer]

Aye. Aye.

[Sam Riegel]

I'm Brixton, Pyre keeper. Brixton.

[Matthew Mercer]

Piratekeeper Brixton? Aye.

[Sam Riegel]

Mainly we are interested in information and aid and maybe any small provisions to help us on our journey. We are attempting to make our way to the Barrow of Blind Repose, to the tomb of the heretic Saint Evalyar.

[Liam O'Brien]

Evelar.

[Sam Riegel]

Evelar Eveliar y aar. I say it with confidence and correctly.

[Matthew Mercer]

Of course, Pirate Keeper. Go.

[Sam Riegel]

If you have any information from the scholars on what may lay ahead of us on this journey and at our final destination, that would be greatly appreciated.

[Matthew Mercer]

I will check.

[Sam Riegel]

In addition, our settlement is in deep need of aid. If you could send your finest soldiers, even if it's just a handful, in any type of wares or protection or food and water. They just need to make it for a handful of more weeks until we can come back with a blessed branch. And then I'm going to pull out the war scythe, the holy war scythe from the vaults and present it with revelry.

[Matthew Mercer]

As you're saying this right now, it's like, honestly, we're strapped for materials and most of what we have has to stay in to perhaps the.

[Sam Riegel]

This may sway your judgment.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's Old World meek.

[Sam Riegel]

Yes.

[Matthew Mercer]

Where'd you find this?

[Sam Riegel]

We found it at the entrance to the monastery, it was sitting at the base of the old God of a statue of the old God Aratu.

[Matthew Mercer]

What monastery?

[Liam O'Brien]

Permanence harrow.

[Sam Riegel]

Lose all vaults, lose all monastery.

[Matthew Mercer]

Good, good. I'll take this back. I'll take calls for materials we can have to spare. And I'll be right back. Closes his book and darts back off into the tower. Around this time, a short time later, a fisherman comes up with a couple fish at his side. Saunters up next to you. Scrivener is like, hi Mike. Yeah, I got you some fish. Yeah? Yeah. What you got?

[Marisha Ray]

What have I got?

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah. So you got a coin? I have.

[Marisha Ray]

We start this game with a handful of coin, don't we? I give him some of a handful.

[Matthew Mercer]

You give him one or two handfuls.

[Marisha Ray]

I give him a handful of coin. If you've got toys.

[Matthew Mercer]

He reaches over and takes a fish off the hook. Glances over at the guards and holds a pouch under one fish and hands it to you as he receives one handful. This contains no toys yet, but it does contain two uses of snap powder. Which? Snap powder. It's a consumable. You can heal one hit point by marking a stress.

[Marisha Ray]

Yeah.

[Laura Bailey]

That'S exciting.

[Marisha Ray]

For your other handful, I can give you the other fish. Better be a very good fish. I think you like it. Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

Takes the other fish off the hook and then a larger pouch curled underneath. It's barely hidden by the fish. And he's like hands it over to you and you take it and he gives you a nod and darts off back into the woods.

[Marisha Ray]

You better hope I like it.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

It's like Keith Richards talking to Jack Sparrow.

[Matthew Mercer]

Within there are two things. One is a whistle carved and crafted from yellow bone that's about that, that long. And then the other is a small glass vial that looks like it was cracked and repaired. And within it is a somewhat thick purplish substance that you've probably seen used by some of folks in your past known as heart curdle venom.

[Sam Riegel]

Heart curdle venom.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yes.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

That sounds good.

[Liam O'Brien]

Heart curdle like venom that makes your blood the kirtle.

[Sam Riegel]

That's great.

[Marisha Ray]

I walk over to Adelia and hold out my hands. Which one? Which one?

[Laura Bailey]

That one.

[Marisha Ray]

Oh, you guessed right. That's the one I imagined it was in.

[Laura Bailey]

Is it a whistle?

[Marisha Ray]

It is a whistle.

[Laura Bailey]

I love whistles.

[Matthew Mercer]

You blow it and the sound is unearthly. It's like a two tone trill that shifts. You ever have two tones that are just slightly off at the same time and they seem to warp into each other? It's like two separate whistles that seem to shift into just a slightly off wave. And all of the soldiers all go and look over. In fact, many people in the city all glance over from far up on multiple levels that can be heard from quite some distance. It's good to know.

[Ashley Johnson]

We could find you if we needed to find you.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh, that's true.

[Laura Bailey]

Yes.

[Ashley Johnson]

A sound in the darkness.

[Sam Riegel]

Every monster.

[Laura Bailey]

I'm going to take your strings.

[Ashley Johnson]

It's true.

[Laura Bailey]

And tie it on the whistle and put it around my neck.

[Matthew Mercer]

Thank you. Scream Eventually, Keegan returns. Thank you for this fine offer. We can supply you with food for the rest of your journey. As well as something that might help you along this as well. And hands you a note that he scribbles on and passes it over to you. This is a. You are passing over a holy relic from the old world. And you in trade get information and a.

[Sam Riegel]

It's a recipe for a minor stamina potion.

[Matthew Mercer]

Whoa.

[Sam Riegel]

As a downtime move you can use the bone of a sizable creature to craft a minor stamina potion. That's awesome.

[Marisha Ray]

And paprika.

[Sam Riegel]

That's awesome. As a downtime move. So short rest or long rest?

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah. You just use a move. You just have to have a bone to do it. Sriracha bone to craft a stamina potion with msg.

[Sam Riegel]

I would like to keep my bones inside of me. You are a different story.

[Matthew Mercer]

And the other sheet that is prepared along with some food supplies are handed over a number of water skins with fresh water in them. More or less like a a fair amount of stuff to at least you don't have to worry about scrounging for food on the journey there. The journey back.

[Laura Bailey]

Gulp. Gup. Gup.

[Matthew Mercer]

Gulp. Gup.

[Laura Bailey]

Gulp. Eat.

[Matthew Mercer]

Eat. Eat.

[Sam Riegel]

Eat.

[Matthew Mercer]

Eat the other scrap you get. And based on your request we went to one of our faithful who looked up on what you had and this is what they said to deliver. And hands you another note that he tears out of his book. This says. In the years after the apostasy Elviar rose as a holy warrior without sight but instead supposed vision of the path the gods took when they left. It was said her smile gave a golden glow. And her face it says in quotes. Her face is the threshold to salvation. A following began to gather around her in the wake of the gods absence and her promise of following the gods to their heavenly realms. Beyond this domain the following began to grow to where the grand ordinance that remained behind didn't like them drawing the flock from their faith. Thus she was branded A heretic by the remaining ordinance. And executed. Her eyes and face removed and her body sealed within the tomb you speak of. The branch was laid with her in hopes of keeping her corrupt spirit bound away. Okay, so she was a rough end to that one.

[Liam O'Brien]

Don't look in her eyes.

[Sam Riegel]

And a golden glow to her smile.

[Marisha Ray]

Scavenger hunt doesn't mean anything to me.

[Sam Riegel]

I'm just thinking of the glowing rock that we found in the skull.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Oh, the valor stone.

[Sam Riegel]

The valor stone.

[Ashley Johnson]

What was she named a heretic for?

[Sam Riegel]

Because she was gathering a following after.

[Liam O'Brien]

The old gods departed.

[Matthew Mercer]

The grand ordinance were the most holy of priests and cardinals and faith based leaders of Ember Reach who were part of the God King Orthedius council and court. And to have a young woman step from obscurity and in the midst of this chaos offer a path of divinity and draw their flock from them. That was not allowed.

[Sam Riegel]

It's the Romans executing Jesus Christ. Kind of a vibe.

[Matthew Mercer]

Don't know who that is.

[Sam Riegel]

Well, I'm Mauritius. Biblically accurate angels.

[Matthew Mercer]

Fair enough. Fair enough.

[Marisha Ray]

John d' Arc.

[Sam Riegel]

Okay. Laid to rest with a blessed branch to keep her soul bound. Basically.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Okay, cool.

[Matthew Mercer]

Got it.

[Sam Riegel]

Great. And then any word of them sending aid or soldiers to Desperlock?

[Matthew Mercer]

You already see about 10 soldiers who are currently armoring up. And Tegan Deed says it with this. And takes the warglaive or the scythe. The war scythe from you. This is a mighty gift. And for that aid will be sent a number of parcels and some soldiers to support to Desperlock. No promise of how long. And should things begin to downturn for their safety, they will return. However, with good faith. May us enduring be at each other's sight. Gives a nod and backs up and heads back inside. Clutching this incredible ancient weapon. Wraps it over with some cloth, binds it and hands it over to a couple other soldiers. And they all enter through the gate which then closes behind them. The soldiers turn back and wait expectantly for you to leave.

[Laura Bailey]

He was very nice once you gave him something. You should have given the baron something. Maybe if you showed the baron the water.

[Sam Riegel]

Well, they didn't give us the time of day, did they?

[Laura Bailey]

No. They're not nice.

[Sam Riegel]

They are not nice.

[Matthew Mercer]

You're correct.

[Sam Riegel]

Are we sure we want to keep traveling with this child?

[Laura Bailey]

Yes, please.

[Travis Willingham]

I'd rather keep them then send them off and have them describe us and tell every passing person what we look like and what we're doing.

[Laura Bailey]

Are you heretics? Should we cut off your face?

[Travis Willingham]

I mean, I suppose it would depend on who? You asked if we were heretics or not.

[Sam Riegel]

An idol. You're all right with this?

[Liam O'Brien]

More the merrier. Strength in numbers. Some other cliche?

[Ashley Johnson]

Yes. We all know how our last adventure went when we involved a child.

[Sam Riegel]

That's my worry. But.

[Ashley Johnson]

We can't leave her here.

[Sam Riegel]

I guess. Very quick introductions as we walk and talk.

[Matthew Mercer]

Mm.

[Sam Riegel]

I'm Brixton.

[Marisha Ray]

Hello, Brixton.

[Ashley Johnson]

Hi.

[Marisha Ray]

Scree.

[Sam Riegel]

I've. I've heard. Yes. Nice to meet you, Scree.

[Laura Bailey]

I'm Adelia Pruitt. So nice to meet you. This is Violet.

[Ashley Johnson]

Cr. You're the last name?

[Matthew Mercer]

Yes.

[Sam Riegel]

Those are rare.

[Matthew Mercer]

Is it?

[Sam Riegel]

I don't have a last name.

[Marisha Ray]

You had a title.

[Sam Riegel]

I do have a title.

[Marisha Ray]

Fancy.

[Liam O'Brien]

I'm Idol. This is Misty.

[Laura Bailey]

Hello. I like that. You're made of stone. I think that's very cool.

[Ashley Johnson]

I like your doll.

[Laura Bailey]

Thank you.

[Marisha Ray]

And you come from where again?

[Ashley Johnson]

I. I come from. I. I found my way to this form. I was a floating spirit for sure.

[Marisha Ray]

You said you were something before. Do you remember what that was?

[Ashley Johnson]

I do not.

[Laura Bailey]

Like one of the floating spirits around the water.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yes. And then I found my way here. Pulled down into this. My friend August here woke this stone. And I somehow slipped into it. But I have many memories of it.

[Laura Bailey]

Were you a moaning spirit? Did you moan a lot?

[Ashley Johnson]

I don't feel like I did. I don't feel like I did. Maybe I did.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh.

[Marisha Ray]

Trying.

[Ashley Johnson]

I don't know. I don't think I did.

[Sam Riegel]

She makes beautiful music, though. She is a relic in herself.

[Ashley Johnson]

I do. I make music.

[Marisha Ray]

What kind of music?

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh, it sounds. I've never really heard anything like it.

[Marisha Ray]

Do you play an instrument?

[Ashley Johnson]

Well, the wings are my instrument. And I also have many boops. Many boops.

[Marisha Ray]

And play as a ditty.

[Ashley Johnson]

All right, I'll play a ditty.

[Liam O'Brien]

I'll play as a titty.

[Ashley Johnson]

I'll play as a titty. You know what I'll use?

[Matthew Mercer]

But it's dumb, right?

[Liam O'Brien]

Four wings.

[Ashley Johnson]

You know what I'm gonna do? I am gonna do. I'm gonna do a rally song. So you just hear. She fully spreads her wings out. And as her wings bristle in the wind, it almost sounds like wind chimes. But also almost like when you play on a keyboard and it's the synth pad that. It's like all the angels sing four of them to a key. It just sounds sort of otherworldly but beautiful and relaxing. And you all gain a D6 to add to an action roll, a reaction roll, a damage roll, or to clear a number of strikes. Stress equal to the dice.

[Matthew Mercer]

Result. Scream.

[Marisha Ray]

Just stares at you and then rolls around somersaulting. And then stands up and stares at you. And then rolls around some more and then stares at you. Fascinating.

[Matthew Mercer]

Thank you.

[Ashley Johnson]

You are too.

[Matthew Mercer]

Thank you.

[Marisha Ray]

Need more wings. What about you? You're awfully quiet.

[Liam O'Brien]

Just my mind on the journey ahead.

[Marisha Ray]

Oh, yes. Known each other for a long time, have you?

[Liam O'Brien]

A few months.

[Marisha Ray]

Thickest thieves. Friends. Partners? Family. How'd you categorize it?

[Liam O'Brien]

Traveling companions, Survivors.

[Laura Bailey]

We know what that's like.

[Marisha Ray]

Very well.

[Sam Riegel]

And then, as Misty said. This is August.

[Matthew Mercer]

We've met.

[Marisha Ray]

And Barry. Dashing with that hat.

[Sam Riegel]

That is the.

[Matthew Mercer]

Thank you.

[Sam Riegel]

The Valiant. Snix.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I mean, thank you for that. Yeah, I'm Snyx. I'm not Valiant.

[Liam O'Brien]

He's the deadliest among us.

[Sam Riegel]

So brave.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I can run really fast, but we're gonna need to because we're heading into the Screaming Forest and it's bad.

[Marisha Ray]

Show me. Run to that tree.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay.

[Marisha Ray]

30 yards.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I run to that tree pretty quickly.

[Laura Bailey]

How did you break your horn?

[Taliesin Jaffe]

How did I break my horn? Oh, well, it's dangerous out there in the Wastes.

[Marisha Ray]

Come back from the tree.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Oh.

[Matthew Mercer]

New Year.

[Marisha Ray]

I was.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Attacked. Sorry, I just gotta catch my breath.

[Liam O'Brien]

Goats drink.

[Matthew Mercer]

I don't know how animals work.

[Liam O'Brien]

Hamster decay. A little drip, bottle drip.

[Laura Bailey]

The little ball.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

It's dangerous, that's all. I'll say. It's dangerous out there. I don't know if you've spent much time out there, but it's.

[Ashley Johnson]

But he has felled many beasts.

[Travis Willingham]

So many.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Many by accident, if I'm being honest.

[Matthew Mercer]

I mean, I was just.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I was just trying to get away and they just kind of died.

[Marisha Ray]

Felled or felt?

[Matthew Mercer]

Deadly kick.

[Ashley Johnson]

Felled. Killed.

[Marisha Ray]

Felt or felled?

[Ashley Johnson]

Felled.

[Matthew Mercer]

Felled.

[Marisha Ray]

I can't tell the difference. What did you say?

[Laura Bailey]

Felled.

[Marisha Ray]

Did you touch.

[Laura Bailey]

No. Tea.

[Sam Riegel]

We move on.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right. Trekking through the dense forest. Forward. What path do you take? The Screaming Forest. You watch as the foliage begins to fade. The. The leaves begin to die away. And instead, a landscape of tall, gnarled, twisted trees of extended, leafless branches, like ever reaching clawed hands reaching towards a heaven that will never come before them. It is still and it is silent. And the ground itself is spongy with. With moss and multicolored fungus. Along the coast, to the right, there is the water where much of the sunken outskirts of the old Amber Reach sits beneath the water. What do you do?

[Liam O'Brien]

I would say so that we don't go off in a squiggly line amongst all these trees. If we can keep the shoreline to our right as we move north, we'll at least know we're making the right headway towards the reach.

[Laura Bailey]

Yes, and that way the spirits can keep us company.

[Liam O'Brien]

The what?

[Laura Bailey]

There's lots of spirits in the water.

[Liam O'Brien]

In the water?

[Ashley Johnson]

Are they hanging out?

[Matthew Mercer]

Yes.

[Laura Bailey]

I hear them moaning all the time.

[Ashley Johnson]

Really?

[Matthew Mercer]

Yes.

[Ashley Johnson]

I wonder if I was ever in there. Moaning?

[Laura Bailey]

How long have you been in your stone?

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh, maybe six months or so.

[Travis Willingham]

I've been awake for about six months.

[Laura Bailey]

Yes, it might have been you. I might have heard you.

[Ashley Johnson]

You probably heard me before.

[Matthew Mercer]

Wow.

[Ashley Johnson]

That's very neat.

[Laura Bailey]

If you want to go into the forest, the trees talk to us.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh.

[Liam O'Brien]

You too specific.

[Laura Bailey]

Well, no, everyone, you'll hear it too.

[Marisha Ray]

Where have you been all this time that you're so anxious?

[Travis Willingham]

There are worse things in the Screaming Forest.

[Ashley Johnson]

August, is that true? The trees speak to you?

[Travis Willingham]

I was not allowed out.

[Matthew Mercer]

When we.

[Travis Willingham]

Were in the hive. The only time I've actually ever been in the forest was when we were running.

[Matthew Mercer]

What was it?

[Travis Willingham]

We're from the Screaming Forest. Or more specifically, from beneath it. So not a good place. Not at all.

[Sam Riegel]

Well then even further. Want to stick to the eastern shore?

[Ashley Johnson]

Yes. I would suggest we avoid it.

[Sam Riegel]

We had the shoreline.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay. You deviate from the forest thick and instead head towards the shore. This now the midday mid afternoon light. As you break from the thickest parts of the Screaming Forest, you can see the glass. Like water as it sits. That's not the water. It's the mist that hangs. The waves still pushing in and out. But you can only hear them, not see them. The thick mist hangs over the water. And the way the light hits it, it leaves this pale, ghostly blue glow that just floats across the surface. The closer you get to the shore, it almost seems like the sunlight chokes. In proximity you can see the tops of ancient rocks, buildings, crumbled towers and strange shapes moving. Dozens, hundreds of tiny little wisps. Flickers. Light blue shapes. Moving. Ghosts. This is a haunted bay. And you watch as they drift through the mist.

[Marisha Ray]

Pretty. Pretty.

[Matthew Mercer]

Do you wish to move stealthily or quickly?

[Liam O'Brien]

Bay is haunted.

[Laura Bailey]

Are these the spirits that you speak of?

[Marisha Ray]

Always worse.

[Laura Bailey]

Yes. Poor spirits. Poor lonely houses underneath the water.

[Travis Willingham]

Whatever doesn't cause a ruckus would be better.

[Matthew Mercer]

Stealthfully then who is helming the stealth for this group?

[Laura Bailey]

Screeve is very sneaky.

[Marisha Ray]

Very sneaky.

[Matthew Mercer]

Feel free. All right, Screev, before you roll, I would like everybody else here to roll finesse for me. This Is a reaction roll. So no hope or fear. Gained snakes. 7 minus 1.

[Sam Riegel]

No hope or fear.

[Travis Willingham]

August 14.

[Matthew Mercer]

14 minus 2. Whoa.

[Sam Riegel]

Wow.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's fine. 15 is average.

[Sam Riegel]

17.

[Matthew Mercer]

17 minus 1. 5 minus 2. 8 minus 3.

[Laura Bailey]

16.

[Matthew Mercer]

16. So whatever you rolled. Minus 2.

[Marisha Ray]

Well, it's a 4 and a 4. So I guess it's a 2 and a 2.

[Matthew Mercer]

Dang.

[Laura Bailey]

That'S a lot of crits.

[Matthew Mercer]

You guys have been critting a lot. It happens. We're crit heads.

[Liam O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Matthew Mercer]

Keep low and quiet and push along the outskirts. The ghosts wander near the shore. A few coast beyond the mist itself. But the mist rides with them and pours onto the outskirts of the forest. You find yourself pushed against the treeline as you stay low amongst the moss and fungus. And you get glances of some of these spirits. Sallow looking wayfish civilians. Women's eyes white. Their hair drifting like underwater. Their mouths agape and stretched hands reaching for any semblance of warmth. You see children drifting, turning. Their expressions stretching before they into mist as well. You look beneath the water as you get close for just a moment. And you can see what looks like hands skeletal, reaching through the water. Or is it just kelp? Plant life? It's hard to tell. The mist causes it all to shed, shift and stretch. But the ghosts don't take notice. You push ahead. The day has grown long for some who have not rested and others who have been exposed since a short rest and a long rest was taken at Bokoru. I need you all to mark a stress as you're starting to grow tired without a night's sleep. However, the screaming forest. You are not in the dense center. Instead you are keeping to the far outskirts along the side. Now it seems the water seems to push into what was the dried core of it is now just a thick marsh. You can see the water of the bay spills into small streams of brackish water where that low mist gently flows through. As you do, you hear a sound. A sound that you took in the past to mean the trees were talking. It sounds like a low hum.

[Laura Bailey]

Do you hear it?

[Matthew Mercer]

That's.

[Liam O'Brien]

That's the talking you mentioned.

[Matthew Mercer]

Singing.

[Laura Bailey]

Can you hear it?

[Travis Willingham]

Trying to look above. I am looking.

[Matthew Mercer]

Make an instinct. Roll for me, please.

[Liam O'Brien]

Yeah, I've heard that sound before.

[Ashley Johnson]

I don't think those are the trees.

[Liam O'Brien]

August usually does that when he flies.

[Travis Willingham]

That's a 10 with hope.

[Sam Riegel]

Something, something. The hive. Something, something.

[Matthew Mercer]

You gain a hope. But you don't see anything in the vicinity. And you hear it again. A second source. Not when we do.

[Sam Riegel]

August.

[Matthew Mercer]

They're going to tear from the sky and kill anything that comes at us. We don't see anything. But you are on the cusp of the waters here with the ghost still pondering out, what do you do?

[Sam Riegel]

Do we run or do we hide? Tell us.

[Travis Willingham]

Hide.

[Sam Riegel]

Hide.

[Matthew Mercer]

I don't duck.

[Liam O'Brien]

Now, can I use also my Slyborn to have advantage on finding a safe place for us to hide? Usually in the fort, like the trees or the terrain or maybe the underbrush.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah, if you'd like to go ahead and roll a finesse roll for me with advantage to see if you can find some safe place for you all to pat him down.

[Liam O'Brien]

11, 17, minus 1, 16. With.

[Matthew Mercer]

Fear. With fear. Okay.

[Laura Bailey]

Look at all that fear. He's gone.

[Matthew Mercer]

It's even worse. Gathering the rest of the troop and taking a quick cue from Idol, you pull them aside. Right now, the brush is thin near the water, but it gets a bit thicker just a ways into it. You pull away from the haunted edge to not draw the attention from the spirits that stalk and haunt the edge. In doing so, you push fairly, ever so gently deeper into the forest. But here there is dense undergrowth beneath the trees. And amongst where this murky water pours, there are raised hills and little pressing areas where you can hide in alcoves amongst the multicolored yellow and orange moss. And you all push into there and the buzz gets quiet.

[Marisha Ray]

Scree is rocking in his crouch and tugging the ring in his chest.

[Matthew Mercer]

As you're sitting there, hold breathing as slowly and carefully as you can. You hear.

[Sam Riegel]

It sounds cute.

[Matthew Mercer]

You glance over into the moss to your left, that yellow and orange moss. A little dark eye opens up and it peeks through to you and you see a little mushroom crest, maybe about a foot and a half across, and a little dark eye and another that opens up and it pulls forward, looking to you with a cocked head.

[Liam O'Brien]

Hello, friend. Oh.

[Matthew Mercer]

Withdraws slightly back into the alcove and stares at you.

[Liam O'Brien]

We didn't mean to disturb. We're just keeping our heads down for a minute.

[Laura Bailey]

Hold on.

[Liam O'Brien]

Does anyone speak? Big mushroom.

[Laura Bailey]

Hello.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh, boy.

[Laura Bailey]

Do you want to play?

[Matthew Mercer]

What's your name?

[Laura Bailey]

Try to pet it.

[Matthew Mercer]

Reach and scratch its head a little bit. And it's kind of spongy and soft and it kind of leans a little into it. One of its little black beady eyes kind of blinks a little bit, scratching its brain. And you hear and you see from the nearby moss a few others. No.

[Ashley Johnson]

Miners. Miners.

[Matthew Mercer]

Blink, blink. Kind of communicating a bit.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I'm Going to stand behind Brixton. Just sort of using. She is my shield.

[Sam Riegel]

Yes, I am. You should puff up more.

[Matthew Mercer]

You see the three of them kind of step out of the moss and kind of like move there. You can now see like arms kind of legs. And they're about three and a half feet tall. A little taller than you even as they kind of like. And the one that you were kind of scritching steps forward a little closer.

[Laura Bailey]

I don't trust it as much anymore.

[Matthew Mercer]

It reaches for your doll. I am.

[Laura Bailey]

Don't reach for Violet. Violet is very shy.

[Ashley Johnson]

Could we give it something else?

[Matthew Mercer]

And it charges you. I need to put a map down.

[Liam O'Brien]

My peck just seized up. I was looking your way.

[Laura Bailey]

Hello, Creepy forest fun.

[Matthew Mercer]

So while you are all keeping under this alcove on the side here.

[Liam O'Brien]

Cool. Got it.

[Sam Riegel]

This one with like the sponge.

[Ashley Johnson]

I love it.

[Liam O'Brien]

I bet those.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah. The trees.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Little mushroom dudes.

[Matthew Mercer]

Another come around.

[Marisha Ray]

It's coming to hug you.

[Laura Bailey]

So cute.

[Sam Riegel]

We fighting a bunch of fun girls.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh well. They're so cute. They're not that far real. Please. So with my beginning to this combat based on the fear that you had rolled to hide here. The mushroom right there activates and lunges towards you.

[Laura Bailey]

Oh no.

[Liam O'Brien]

Activates fun guy.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's cute. Actually, I'm going to spend a fear and I'm going to use the group attack. Oh. And so all three of these are going to move into there. Into there.

[Laura Bailey]

Uh oh.

[Matthew Mercer]

Into there. And all of them kind of like with an unnatural speed dart towards you. And all three of them make a group attack against Adelion.

[Laura Bailey]

Uh oh.

[Matthew Mercer]

That is going to be a 12 11. Oh, that does hit you. Okay. So you take six points of physical damage.

[Laura Bailey]

Okay. That's. I'm. Okay. I'm going to activate my runeward. I'm going to spend a hope.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay.

[Laura Bailey]

To diminish that damage.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay. By how much?

[Laura Bailey]

By 1D8.

[Matthew Mercer]

Go ahead and roll. 1D8.

[Ashley Johnson]

Did you use?

[Laura Bailey]

Oh, I haven't used it. I was going to mark them, but I have not. So one d eight.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right.

[Laura Bailey]

Seven. So I don't take any damage.

[Matthew Mercer]

Indeed. All right. I'm going to spend another fear.

[Laura Bailey]

Thank you, grandfather.

[Matthew Mercer]

As you watch, the hill above you seems to shake as the moss that's hanging over this overhang hangs slightly. And as all those three fungus figures after they withdraw from the strike, the magic pushing them back from your runeward. And you hear.

[Sam Riegel]

Is it Daddy?

[Matthew Mercer]

No.

[Sam Riegel]

Is it Mommy?

[Matthew Mercer]

No.

[Liam O'Brien]

What is that sound? Why are you able to do that?

[Matthew Mercer]

As the Very alcove you were hiding under. Seems to shift and come to life as it maneuvers and invaders.

[Laura Bailey]

That's so cool.

[Matthew Mercer]

Is going to.

[Sam Riegel]

That's so cool.

[Matthew Mercer]

I'm going to spend many a fear for the.

[Liam O'Brien]

That ain't a mini.

[Matthew Mercer]

You know what? I'm going to spend a fear to do funky backups.

[Liam O'Brien]

Funky backup.

[Matthew Mercer]

It's going to conjure two more fungus.

[Marisha Ray]

They all pull out bases.

[Matthew Mercer]

Both of these fungus immediately are summoned. And activate. One's coming at you, Screeve. And one's coming at you, Misty. One against you, Screeve. That's only gonna be a seven.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh, no.

[Marisha Ray]

That doesn't work.

[Matthew Mercer]

And against you, Misty. That's gonna be a 13.

[Ashley Johnson]

That hits.

[Matthew Mercer]

That hits. You take two points of physical damage. Those are the bores. Oh, and I forgot to mention, you reduced the damage. But they did strike you. You both mark an armor slot as their touch is caustic and begins to burn through your armor.

[Liam O'Brien]

Oh, if they touch you at all.

[Matthew Mercer]

They touch you at all.

[Ashley Johnson]

So I can't use my armor then?

[Matthew Mercer]

You can use. If you have additional one, you can, but you just lose a slot.

[Ashley Johnson]

Because I only have one armor, which I was gonna use to.

[Liam O'Brien]

To decrease.

[Matthew Mercer]

It's gone before you can use it.

[Ashley Johnson]

Got it.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay, so you take a hit point.

[Ashley Johnson]

So I take a hit point. That's okay.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Do you only ever have one armor slot?

[Ashley Johnson]

No, I have three. But I decided to get rid of stress. And clear.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's gonna end my activation. What do you want to do?

[Marisha Ray]

I leap at the first one that was attacking Adelia Cl and I will just try to land on its chest with my weight and roll it into the bog.

[Matthew Mercer]

You got it.

[Marisha Ray]

You didn't say the rules of the game. That is a 12 with hope.

[Matthew Mercer]

12 with hope. That definitely just hits. So you gain a hope and go ahead and roll damage.

[Marisha Ray]

Okay. Okay. Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay.

[Marisha Ray]

Where's my eight plus three? That is six points.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's six points.

[Marisha Ray]

Dimash.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right. You go ahead and completely bisect that fungus. It gets wrecked and scattered. The other fungus.

[Marisha Ray]

I hold up muck cover claws.

[Matthew Mercer]

You all right? Who else wants to go?

[Liam O'Brien]

I will roll unnecessarily in between the big guy and one of the little ones just to get on the other side of him. Like, behind him if I can.

[Matthew Mercer]

You can get there?

[Liam O'Brien]

Yep. And I will swing my halberd above my head and you'll see it glow with divine energy. And I'll cast spirit weapon. And I'll mark his stress to be able to start swinging it building up the momentum. And then it'll swing along the ground and aim at the legs of both the little guy and the big.

[Matthew Mercer]

You got it. Rolling attack. Sweet. Here we go.

[Liam O'Brien]

That is a 15, 16, 17. To hit hope or fear with hope.

[Matthew Mercer]

Hope. Take that hope. And that is a success. Go ahead and roll damage.

[Liam O'Brien]

Beautiful. That'll hit both of them. 4d10 plus 2. 6, 7, 8. 8. Physical damage.

[Matthew Mercer]

Where's the halberd? Slices through the halberd cut completely destroys the recently conjured fungus and then sticks into the large rotlord. And it barely carves through its body before returning to your hand. And where you cut spores just out. You watch. The spores are filling the air around. No immediate effect. But this air does smell a little strange.

[Liam O'Brien]

I'll take two steps back as the spores fell out just out of like. Oh, God.

[Matthew Mercer]

Got it.

[Liam O'Brien]

Last time that happened, a girl died.

[Matthew Mercer]

That finishes your goat. Who's up next?

[Sam Riegel]

I will follow in idol's tumble. And I will tumble and kind of get between this fungus dude and the rotlord.

[Matthew Mercer]

Sweet roll. You got it.

[Sam Riegel]

Thanks, man. Do I go unstoppable here?

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh, unstoppable.

[Liam O'Brien]

Unstoppable.

[Sam Riegel]

I'll wait. I'll wait. That might be a bad idea, but I'll wait for now. And I'm going to attack.

[Matthew Mercer]

Little one.

[Sam Riegel]

Or the big one first? The big one. Yep. That's good. That's gonna be 17 with Hope.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

That'll hit nice.

[Sam Riegel]

And what I wanna do is I want to take. I wanna spin of hope to do whirlwind. And I want to hit everything else that is within very close range.

[Matthew Mercer]

Very close range. That would be this one here as well.

[Sam Riegel]

That one doesn't reach the other one.

[Matthew Mercer]

You are unfortunately just out of range.

[Sam Riegel]

Are you sure?

[Liam O'Brien]

Are you sure?

[Matthew Mercer]

I will measure the hell out of this. It was just under.

[Sam Riegel]

Okay. Is 11 damage to the big boy.

[Matthew Mercer]

11 damage to the big guy.

[Sam Riegel]

And then the other guy takes half damage.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay. He is.

[Sam Riegel]

Oh, nice.

[Matthew Mercer]

Scatter. You are tearing through these fungus.

[Sam Riegel]

And then can I also step back just a little bit? Maybe kind of next to screeve?

[Matthew Mercer]

You got it. All righty. So that finishes your go.

[Sam Riegel]

Yes.

[Matthew Mercer]

Who wants to activate next?

[Travis Willingham]

Did you hit the one that was attacking Adelia?

[Matthew Mercer]

Did you want to go sneak?

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Seeing that my shield is now gone and I'm exposed, I will leap up onto the top of the thing. Get away. Then once up there, I will do a barrel roll.

[Liam O'Brien]

Yeah, Barrel roll. Three in a row.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

But not move.

[Matthew Mercer]

Just perfect.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

And then I feel like we should Try to keep it in place. So I'm going to cast vicious entangled.

[Liam O'Brien]

Yes, yes, yes.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

On the thing. I will cast a spell on the Rotlord. On the rotlord. And I'm gonna use your D6 to add to this.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yes. Don't forget you have a D6 to add to things.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

17, but with fear.

[Sam Riegel]

That's okay. We had a pretty good run. Had a pretty good run.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right, so you go ahead and restrain him. Go ahead and roll damage for the tangle.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Ooh, I rolled an 8, so that's 9 damage. Plus I will mark a stress to mark it with my ranger focus.

[Matthew Mercer]

You got it. All right. That's it. All right. As it comes back to me first, I will spend the fear.

[Liam O'Brien]

You don't have to.

[Sam Riegel]

Yeah.

[Matthew Mercer]

Come on.

[Liam O'Brien]

No, the commotion. The commotion.

[Sam Riegel]

Just the hive.

[Matthew Mercer]

A distant sound of the trees talking. Seems to be way louder. Activating the rotlord here. First I'm going to spend a fear to get rid of its restrain. Or let me see. Actually, it doesn't need to because you're in melee. So it's gonna go ahead and instead attempt to envelop you.

[Laura Bailey]

Put your fear back, Matt. Cause you pushed it over. Sorry, I'm just letting you know.

[Matthew Mercer]

No, I appreciate that. All right, so seconds to you. That is going to be 17 to hit you.

[Travis Willingham]

17 to hit. Yeah. Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay. The Rot Lord reaches out with its massive arms. As you look now, the clusters of fungus around it have discoloration of all types and sorts. But things hang and shift and move as it does. And you notice that parts of its body are comprised of other bodies. There are at least four other humanoid corpses that arms and legs dangle from its limbs or partially or slowly being consumed and sent back to the nature around it from within of which it grabs August and pulls you into its form. You immediately. Marcus dress.

[Travis Willingham]

Yeah.

[Liam O'Brien]

Does the arm that grabs August look like caduceus clay?

[Travis Willingham]

Oh, that's not nice.

[Matthew Mercer]

While you're enveloped, you must mark an additional stress every time you make an action roll.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Oh, no.

[Matthew Mercer]

You're only freed when it takes severe damage. So that's a scenario there. It's gonna use a reaction fear spores when a creature within close range. Actually, no, sorry, that doesn't come in yet. Nevermind.

[Sam Riegel]

Fear spores.

[Matthew Mercer]

That'll be later.

[Liam O'Brien]

Spores.

[Matthew Mercer]

That'll be later.

[Ashley Johnson]

May I? I'm upset.

[Matthew Mercer]

So that is going to be that. I'm gonna burn another fear to activate the other two fungus that are present and burn a fear to do their group action.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh no.

[Matthew Mercer]

They're both Going to boost her up and swarm onto close movement.

[Liam O'Brien]

In on you, Idealia.

[Matthew Mercer]

Again, Idealia.

[Liam O'Brien]

Give him Violet.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's gonna be a 15 to hit.

[Liam O'Brien]

Sacrifice ladonna.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's gonna to be four points of physical damage to you.

[Laura Bailey]

Four points.

[Liam O'Brien]

Well, I'll sleep better.

[Laura Bailey]

I'm going to spend a hope to use my runeward again.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay, go for it.

[Sam Riegel]

It's a pretty good ability.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yes, it is.

[Laura Bailey]

8. I don't take any damage.

[Matthew Mercer]

Don't take any damage. You do burn an armor slot from its cost of cherry Special child.

[Sam Riegel]

That's pretty great.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's my activation.

[Ashley Johnson]

All right. I am going to Wildflame on Rotlord and two of the other creatures.

[Matthew Mercer]

Sorry. This is the timer on the approaching sound. Place it up there for you guys to see. It's on a three.

[Ashley Johnson]

I'm also going to use my rally die.

[Sam Riegel]

So if we maybe negate this quickly, we could still continue hiding. Is that the vibe?

[Matthew Mercer]

Maybe.

[Ashley Johnson]

Should we do a group thing?

[Sam Riegel]

Tag teaming tag team might be a bad idea.

[Travis Willingham]

To the big guy.

[Sam Riegel]

To the big boy. We also need to do a severe damage in order to get him out.

[Ashley Johnson]

So yes, please let me try to do a.

[Sam Riegel]

Who are you tag teaming with?

[Matthew Mercer]

Are you tag teaming or are you trying something?

[Ashley Johnson]

I was gonna do Wildflame and tried it. Cause I can get two people but that's only two D6 so I don't know if that would end up being severe for Rotlord. So we should team up.

[Sam Riegel]

Well, I think you can still do Wildflame and maybe team up. I'll do a tag team with you.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yeah.

[Sam Riegel]

Yeah. Do you want to spend your hope or mine?

[Ashley Johnson]

I'll spend my hope.

[Sam Riegel]

All right. So maybe we can. Yeah.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right. So what are you both doing?

[Ashley Johnson]

All right. I was thinking of Wildflame which is.

[Matthew Mercer]

A melee attack against the Rotlord.

[Ashley Johnson]

It is. Yes. So I will have to move up. Thank you.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah, you can get there. Okay, so you leap over this fungus and land here next to it. Brixton, you come in close. Both of you tangling up toe to toe with the Rotlord.

[Sam Riegel]

As I see Misty start to conjure the flame, my focus starts to get a little enraptured as I start to see the flame of the pyre and start thinking about everything that happens. And then I start repeating my orderborn value. The strongest steel must first be tempered by the flame. Strong as the temples burn. Just first be to the five frame. I'm going to take my great sword and run it. Or technically my falchion and run it. Through your flame sick two.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay.

[Sam Riegel]

And then I'm going to use my orderborn value to roll a D20 as my hope die.

[Marisha Ray]

Whoa.

[Ashley Johnson]

So I put one over. I put my flame hand over first.

[Matthew Mercer]

You both charge in. Go ahead and roll your attacks. Ah.

[Laura Bailey]

Ooh.

[Sam Riegel]

Are you fucking serious?

[Travis Willingham]

No, look, look, look.

[Ashley Johnson]

And I rolled it when I touched it. Look.

[Travis Willingham]

Oh, no, no. I thought that was. Never mind that.

[Matthew Mercer]

Mine. I was blind. Shit. Could have been worse. Why are you rerolling? Oh, you also somehow your dice always.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yeah. It wasn't what I wanted it to be, so I rerolled it.

[Sam Riegel]

Do you have a good roll?

[Matthew Mercer]

No.

[Sam Riegel]

Can I add my D6 from her?

[Matthew Mercer]

What do you mean?

[Sam Riegel]

That you gave me her empower rally.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah, that's what it's there for.

[Sam Riegel]

Okay, that's much better. Okay. 16.

[Ashley Johnson]

11.

[Matthew Mercer]

With Hope.

[Sam Riegel]

With hope.

[Matthew Mercer]

With hope. That is a success. So you both gain a hope from that.

[Ashley Johnson]

I rolled with.

[Laura Bailey]

It doesn't matter.

[Matthew Mercer]

No, you both take her roll.

[Sam Riegel]

Take my rolls.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay. So both gonna help in success. And both you roll damage.

[Ashley Johnson]

I know. I shouldn't have. I shouldn't have. I haven't done. We haven't done the team up yet.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay.

[Sam Riegel]

Okay. 12 damage.

[Ashley Johnson]

Six damage to three creatures. Can I pump them all into the Rotlord?

[Matthew Mercer]

Well, three creatures in melee with you.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

If you look at what it says. So you can only. Only one of them is in melee to hit the Rotlord. Unfortunately.

[Ashley Johnson]

Melee range.

[Matthew Mercer]

Correct. Which is right next to you.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

Which currently, to get to help out with this, to hit the Rotlord, you have to get out of range of the other two mushrooms. So you can only hit the Rotlord with this.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay, that's fine. Great.

[Matthew Mercer]

So it's a total of six damage.

[Ashley Johnson]

It's a total of six damage.

[Sam Riegel]

Plus 12.

[Matthew Mercer]

Plus 12. That's 18 points of damage, which is its damage threshold for severe.

[Sam Riegel]

Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

So it takes three hit points. And you watch as August gets spilled out onto the ground.

[Sam Riegel]

Lordy, that was tight.

[Ashley Johnson]

Can I grab him and push him behind me?

[Matthew Mercer]

Sure. He's where he stands now. So you pull him off to the side and he's right there. Scree.

[Laura Bailey]

Look at the hole it left.

[Matthew Mercer]

Let's play.

[Marisha Ray]

Should we make it bigger?

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah.

[Marisha Ray]

I sink into the water. It's dark.

[Matthew Mercer]

I assume it's murky.

[Marisha Ray]

I'm gonna. Okay. No, it's not. Okay, then I'll.

[Matthew Mercer]

This is between shadow and water. I'm just making sure that we're working with balance. Okay.

[Marisha Ray]

Okay, then I will just charge. I'll set you up and we're gonna tag team. I'm gonna spend three hope on my end.

[Matthew Mercer]

Jose, if you want to try and hide within the water to do this.

[Marisha Ray]

Yes, I do.

[Matthew Mercer]

I'll allow you. I'll roll a finesse roll to see if you can effectively hide in it.

[Marisha Ray]

Do I does.

[Matthew Mercer]

Hmm.

[Marisha Ray]

Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

Cause it's murky, but it's not impossible to see.

[Marisha Ray]

Finesse roll. It is a 16 with fear.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay. So you do manage to hide and slink beneath the water.

[Marisha Ray]

Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

But it does come to me when you do that. Great. There's the challenge.

[Laura Bailey]

We can't do our thing. Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

Not in the moment.

[Laura Bailey]

Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

So this is how the.

[Marisha Ray]

So I disappeared.

[Matthew Mercer]

So you disappear. And you are now hidden. Or in this instance, cloaked with between worlds.

[Marisha Ray]

Yep.

[Matthew Mercer]

Shifting into shadow, preparing for it. But in that moment, the Rot Lord, from a moment of inspiration and anger, of losing its current meal, begins to charge. I'm going to go ahead and. Let's see. Okay. I'm going to go ahead and have it attempt to envelop you.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay. Not going to be a very good snack.

[Matthew Mercer]

It's going to certainly try. That is going to be 11.

[Ashley Johnson]

That just hits.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay. I can't believe I ate the whole thing. You are enveloped by the rock Lord within its throat. Oh, a rock.

[Laura Bailey]

A day.

[Matthew Mercer]

Within Marcus dress. And you are within its form. I'm also going to burn a fear. Oh, this counts down to a two. And the two other fungus are going to activate. And they're going to both make a group attack against you.

[Marisha Ray]

Aren't I gone?

[Laura Bailey]

Is he hiding?

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh, no. Yeah, you're banished from this actually. Instead. Yay. Instead it's going to be against. Yeah, you. Because you're right there.

[Laura Bailey]

Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

Everyone else went away.

[Laura Bailey]

My dress is all hooked up. Holy. Now.

[Matthew Mercer]

The five.

[Laura Bailey]

I duck and roll. They don't hit me. I do a somersault. Do a barrel roll barrel.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's my activation barrel ride. Who would like to go?

[Marisha Ray]

Well, they were saying now that you venture fear.

[Matthew Mercer]

Now you can take it.

[Marisha Ray]

I fly up out of the water under its grundle and start clawing my way up and tearing away with my little claws.

[Liam O'Brien]

Have you noticed the tree?

[Marisha Ray]

I start the brundle and I move up its belly and I go. And I can see stone girl now. And I do a barrel roll into the water.

[Sam Riegel]

Do a barrel roll.

[Ashley Johnson]

Barrel ride on.

[Matthew Mercer]

This is the tag team.

[Laura Bailey]

Yeah, this is our tag team.

[Matthew Mercer]

Are you tag teaming?

[Marisha Ray]

This is me opening up its underbelly so that.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right.

[Laura Bailey]

Unleash chaos into its Belly, let's go. I make Violet do a barrel roll and then I send magic.

[Sam Riegel]

Oh my God.

[Matthew Mercer]

Let's go. Roll your attacks, please.

[Marisha Ray]

Oh, we both roll and then we take the better roll.

[Laura Bailey]

I'm gonna add the D6 that she gave me as well.

[Marisha Ray]

I have a 17 with hope. Oh, good.

[Laura Bailey]

I got 17 with hope as well, but I added a one.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's 18 with hope. But both you go ahead and roll your damage.

[Marisha Ray]

All right. And I'm coming from cloaked now, so I'm stressed.

[Laura Bailey]

I'm going to.

[Marisha Ray]

Yes, yes.

[Laura Bailey]

Unleash Kaos. So that's. I've got some. No.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh no.

[Laura Bailey]

I can just unleash my chaos.

[Marisha Ray]

Okay. Plus the sneak 11 from me.

[Sam Riegel]

Oh, good, good, good, good, good.

[Laura Bailey]

Well, and then I'm going to mark a stress to double the damage of my eight here. So that's six. 16 plus four. That's 20 damage.

[Matthew Mercer]

That is a severe wound.

[Marisha Ray]

31.

[Laura Bailey]

31 points of damage.

[Matthew Mercer]

31 together. Together doesn't double its severe, but it's close. So that is three hit point wounds on it onto the rotlord, which spits out your friend there. Oh goodness. I'm not getting to use my engulfing ability. That makes me sad for now. All right, that finishes your activation more. Cuz back in the day, they succeeded. So it's up to you. Let's do it.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

We're going to also do a tag team.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah. Burn all your hope against a very important enemy.

[Sam Riegel]

Why are you saying it like that?

[Matthew Mercer]

Look at his head. He's huge.

[Liam O'Brien]

Got corpses for limbs.

[Laura Bailey]

There's spores in the air.

[Ashley Johnson]

Wait, I have a question. Do you each get spend three hope.

[Sam Riegel]

To do the tags?

[Matthew Mercer]

Just three pushing for one of you.

[Laura Bailey]

Okay.

[Sam Riegel]

And you got one back, right?

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh, and you get one back if.

[Sam Riegel]

You succeeded with both roll with hope.

[Marisha Ray]

So we. Nice.

[Laura Bailey]

Oh, yeah.

[Travis Willingham]

Oh, he's still in tight.

[Liam O'Brien]

Are you also attacking the grundle?

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I'm also attacking the grundle.

[Matthew Mercer]

After you.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I'll do a quick barrel roll.

[Matthew Mercer]

It kind of hurt.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

This time I will rear back with my boomerang and instead of throwing it at the beast, I will throw it at August.

[Marisha Ray]

Ooh. Proper.

[Travis Willingham]

I take my needle, I fire the thread and I grab it and I start to swing it in a long arc and then reel it in at just double the speed as this thing normally moves.

[Matthew Mercer]

Hell yeah.

[Travis Willingham]

Right in there. Awesome.

[Matthew Mercer]

Go ahead and roll your attacks. Centrifugal.

[Liam O'Brien]

Centrifugal.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Mine's 17 with hoe.

[Travis Willingham]

And mine's 17. Mine's 19 with fear. So 17 with hope is probably better.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

To go 17 with hope.

[Sam Riegel]

I agree.

[Matthew Mercer]

17 with hope.

[Sam Riegel]

That's what I would do.

[Matthew Mercer]

I think so. Okay, that succeeds.

[Sam Riegel]

You hit with like a 16, so.

[Travis Willingham]

And I'm gonna use your die to add to my damage.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I am also going to mark a stress to double my damage.

[Laura Bailey]

So you don't have to say ahead of time that you're adding the D6. You can do it after you roll.

[Sam Riegel]

I think there's your bardic ability.

[Matthew Mercer]

Right.

[Sam Riegel]

You can.

[Marisha Ray]

And we all have that interactively.

[Matthew Mercer]

What's it say for the rally die?

[Taliesin Jaffe]

What's it say for the rally die?

[Ashley Johnson]

A PC can spend their rally die to roll it, adding the result to their action roll, reaction roll, damage roll. Or to clear a number of stress equal to the result at the end of each session, clear all unspent rally dice.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay. So I mean, for the purposes of this, I'd say you can apply it to a roll beforehand.

[Laura Bailey]

Beforehand. Okay.

[Sam Riegel]

I feel like I remember with money, we could do it retroactively.

[Matthew Mercer]

We were in beta 7, but also everyone gets it. It's pretty.

[Travis Willingham]

So that's 22.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

22 total points of damage.

[Matthew Mercer]

22 points of damage, yes. How do you both want to do this?

[Travis Willingham]

The boomerang.

[Matthew Mercer]

Three tag teams in a row is.

[Travis Willingham]

Circles several times and then at some point, it goes back to your hand and we both pull to slice.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay.

[Marisha Ray]

Goat and spider, undefeated.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I pull with my cloven hoof hands.

[Travis Willingham]

And then I barrel roll.

[Matthew Mercer]

As you carve through it, the spores spill out and it falls and sinks into the swamp. The brackish water beginning to slowly let it dissolve as it returns to the land from whence it came.

[Sam Riegel]

Hide. Hide.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Toss me that.

[Matthew Mercer]

There still are two fungus up.

[Sam Riegel]

Oh, it doesn't go with them.

[Marisha Ray]

Maybe they'll hide with us.

[Matthew Mercer]

No.

[Ashley Johnson]

I'm going to shoot out a returning blade.

[Matthew Mercer]

Go for it.

[Ashley Johnson]

I haven't used this yet.

[Matthew Mercer]

Let's use it. Roll an attack. Oh, I got hope.

[Ashley Johnson]

All right. That's not a lot. Am I adding? I'm not adding presents or anything like this. Oh, proficiency. I'm adding my proficiency. Nope, that's something else. Finesse plus 110 with hope.

[Matthew Mercer]

That misses, unfortunately. Okay, that's okay. Gain a hope.

[Laura Bailey]

I'm going to turn and hit the little guy.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh, because she failed, it returns to you.

[Laura Bailey]

Oh, shit.

[Ashley Johnson]

But I rolled with hope. Yeah, but I still failed. So you're good.

[Matthew Mercer]

I don't gain a fear for it, but it still returns to me. I get turns here, too, guys. So as it returns to me. I'm going to first activate one of these fungi. Who's going to dart forward on this end and attack you. Who just struck out at your friends? That's going to be 13 to hit.

[Sam Riegel]

I am your shield.

[Matthew Mercer]

Now.

[Laura Bailey]

Your armor.

[Sam Riegel]

I am your shield.

[Matthew Mercer]

How close you are? Yeah. You're within. You're within. Very close.

[Sam Riegel]

And a thing that I.

[Matthew Mercer]

So you take two points of physical damage. Huh? You take two points of physical damage.

[Sam Riegel]

I will remove it.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right. And you also burn an armor slot on top of that because of the caustic fungus.

[Laura Bailey]

What happens if your armor is like all your slots are gone? It just means you can't.

[Matthew Mercer]

It just means you just take the damage as it is.

[Laura Bailey]

Okay. Okay. Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

I'm gonna spend my last fear at that point to call once more on this landscapes funky backup. And two more fungus arrives.

[Travis Willingham]

We could run from there.

[Sam Riegel]

Maybe we should run at this point.

[Travis Willingham]

I think we should run also.

[Matthew Mercer]

We're down to the count of one. Because of your failure on that one.

[Liam O'Brien]

Your failure.

[Ashley Johnson]

That feels terrible.

[Matthew Mercer]

Sorry. Sorry. I didn't mean it that way. I didn't mean it that way.

[Ashley Johnson]

That is my nightmare.

[Matthew Mercer]

It's all your fault.

[Liam O'Brien]

You didn't study for the.

[Matthew Mercer]

No.

[Liam O'Brien]

I have to go to the bathroom.

[Sam Riegel]

Why are my pants on?

[Ashley Johnson]

Why am I lagging?

[Matthew Mercer]

Those two immediately activate and they're going to come after you. That is gonna be a natural one. Now roll away. There you go. Perfect. And the other one's gonna come once again for you. That's gonna be a 12.

[Laura Bailey]

That hits. My stupid dress is all destroyed.

[Matthew Mercer]

Two points of physical damage.

[Liam O'Brien]

I'll use a prayer die to reduce the damage. No damage.

[Matthew Mercer]

He still is an overslime.

[Marisha Ray]

Real Obi Land.

[Sam Riegel]

He's still losing overslam.

[Matthew Mercer]

But no dangerous damage to you.

[Laura Bailey]

Thank you.

[Marisha Ray]

Do you barrel roll to her?

[Matthew Mercer]

That finishes my activation. And I'm out of fear.

[Sam Riegel]

You're out of fear.

[Matthew Mercer]

Who's going?

[Laura Bailey]

I turn around and I hit the thing that tried to hit me with Violet. I'm just going to smack it with Violet.

[Matthew Mercer]

Go for it. Roll for an attack.

[Liam O'Brien]

Violet filled with lead.

[Matthew Mercer]

Bears. Second quarters.

[Laura Bailey]

That's 14 with the 14 with three.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's does hit.

[Laura Bailey]

Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

Go ahead and roll. Damage.

[Sam Riegel]

Oh.

[Matthew Mercer]

Five.

[Laura Bailey]

Five points of damage.

[Matthew Mercer]

Five points of damage. This. As long as it gets blasted away.

[Liam O'Brien]

I feel like each time you get.

[Matthew Mercer]

Through you counting down. Cackle.

[Sam Riegel]

Here we go.

[Ashley Johnson]

Here we go.

[Sam Riegel]

Oh.

[Laura Bailey]

Dad.

[Matthew Mercer]

The heavy buzz gets louder and louder. You begin to panic as you see two shapes flying overhead. Two large sets of wings. As you see these odd hornet like creatures coasting overhead, the shadow is there. At first you're like, oh, they're like large bees or hornets. But you see legs dangling and arms and long pointed proboscis faces as they. You know these to be hive collectors. And they've taken note of your presence as they arrive on the field. It's your activation.

[Sam Riegel]

Some Carboniferous shit.

[Laura Bailey]

No, I rolled with fear.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh, that's right, you did.

[Laura Bailey]

Yeah.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh, well, no, on my turn.

[Laura Bailey]

You brought them.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

You brought them in.

[Matthew Mercer]

You brought them in. That was my action on that one. And I'm gonna hold on to that fear.

[Laura Bailey]

Okay.

[Travis Willingham]

Oh boy.

[Sam Riegel]

What do we do? Do we run or do we fight them?

[Matthew Mercer]

They're very fast.

[Liam O'Brien]

We fight.

[Sam Riegel]

All right.

[Travis Willingham]

I suppose my first thing I'm going to do is. Where am I? I'm going to try and get some cover in the corner. I'm going to sit near you. I'm going to run past you. I'm going to give you some armor. I'm going to give you a temporary armor point.

[Laura Bailey]

You can do that?

[Travis Willingham]

I can. I'm adding this to my little move. It's called. Where'd it go? I'm going to cast Tava's armor really quickly and just take some thread and just fix your dress a little bit as I run by. You have one temporary armor point.

[Laura Bailey]

Thank you.

[Travis Willingham]

I'm going to back up and I'm going to hit the one up top.

[Matthew Mercer]

With a backup spike. Here?

[Travis Willingham]

No, the other direction.

[Matthew Mercer]

This way?

[Travis Willingham]

Yeah. Like not quite that far, but almost there. And then I'm going to hit the one up top with an ice bar.

[Matthew Mercer]

Fungus or the Collector. The Collector. Okay, let's go.

[Travis Willingham]

Hopping it straight up. That is ice spike. That's a. Oh, please don't fuck this up. That's 13 with hope.

[Matthew Mercer]

That unfortunately misses.

[Sam Riegel]

It does.

[Matthew Mercer]

You gain a hope. But your ice spike in the panic as you release the spell. You instinctually know the arcana to release this manipulation of the Aetherweave. But just seeing the Collector in front of you, you release it a little too soon and it shatters against the stone right beneath it. Immediately it. And it gives you a turn of a look, almost like. I recognize you. Fuck. Shit. That's going to come to my activation. The Hive Collector is going to down to you.

[Liam O'Brien]

Down gets down.

[Matthew Mercer]

I'm going to spend a fear. No, you know what? Actually I'm going to have it mark a stress and it's going to attempt to throw a tangle net on you.

[Laura Bailey]

Oh, no.

[Matthew Mercer]

It pulls from Its back. There's like, a closer look. You can see it is definitely a humanoid hornet type entity, but it has straps and small collections in its side. And it pulls from it this small bound collection of what looks like tangled rope before it unfurls it and throws it your direction. That's going to be 14 to hit.

[Sam Riegel]

Yes.

[Travis Willingham]

Yep, Yep. I'm holding off.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh, wait, no, I'm sorry. This is on your end. I don't know if this. This is. You need to make an agility reaction roll for.

[Travis Willingham]

I need to make an agility reaction.

[Matthew Mercer]

Correct. Okay.

[Ashley Johnson]

Can I spend a hope to help.

[Matthew Mercer]

The reaction roll in this instance? I'm gonna say probably no. Okay.

[Sam Riegel]

To the fungus dudes. Look afraid of these hive collectors or are they just like men? Do the fungus people look afraid of the hive collectors or are they, like.

[Matthew Mercer]

Meh, another day in the box to note its presence at all, Actually, practically.

[Travis Willingham]

All right.

[Matthew Mercer]

Ooh.

[Travis Willingham]

Okay. That's pretty good. That's 22 with hope.

[Matthew Mercer]

22 is a success. The net goes wide and you manage to duck out of the way and it kind of pulls the rope. Thank you. And it doesn't seem to have much of an effect. I'm going to spend a fear to activate this one over here. Who's going to rush and fly up at this point above the O. And it's going to attempt to. It's going to mark a stress as well. And it's going to throw its tangle net down at you. I need you to make an agility reaction, please.

[Liam O'Brien]

No problem.

[Travis Willingham]

Heads up.

[Liam O'Brien]

Idol 10, 11, 12. 12 with hope.

[Matthew Mercer]

14, 12 with hope. I mean, it's a reaction roll, so it is reactionary. That's okay. But that does not succeed. The net falls and wraps you. You are restrained and vulnerable until you succeed to escape the net as an action roll on your turn. Okay. That's my activation.

[Liam O'Brien]

It smells weird in here.

[Sam Riegel]

Real quick. I am going to go unstoppable. Now it's time. And I'm going to real quickly do a barrel roll in between these two fungus guys. Yep. Right there is great. I'll kind of get next to screeve.

[Matthew Mercer]

You got it.

[Sam Riegel]

And then I'm going to attack one of the fungus guys and probably do a whirlwind. But let's see if I hit. That's good. That's gonna be eighteen with hope.

[Matthew Mercer]

Eighteen with hope succeeds.

[Sam Riegel]

And I will do whirlwind. So I'll spin a hope, gain a hope, and do a whirlwind to hit both of them.

[Matthew Mercer]

You got It.

[Sam Riegel]

And that is going to be. That's good. That is going to be 13 damage.

[Matthew Mercer]

13 damage. Yeah. That succeeds. You carve through both of those fungus clearing the battlefield. Both of you see it almost like.

[Sam Riegel]

As I carve through with my blade and it almost goes slow motion for a second as the spores sparkle cool in the air. Have as an anime moment. And then I'm going to. I don't want to get too far. I'm going to shift a little bit towards Misty.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay.

[Sam Riegel]

A little split the difference. I'll be on the front side of her. And also not too far from idle either.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right. There you go. All right, that finishes your girl. Who wants to activate?

[Ashley Johnson]

May I turn over to the Hornet? That's near August. And I'm just wings out and start to bristle in the wind again. And I'm going to cast Epic Song and I have to get up to close range or while I. Is that okay?

[Matthew Mercer]

You are within. Within the target.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yeah, because I'm gonna go to this one.

[Matthew Mercer]

You are. Yeah. You're just barely in close range of your target.

[Ashley Johnson]

All right, so I am going to do Epic Song and that will be temporarily vulnerable.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay. So for that, this hive collector has become vulnerable.

[Liam O'Brien]

Ooh.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay.

[Liam O'Brien]

Nice.

[Laura Bailey]

Okay, nice.

[Matthew Mercer]

Anything else you want to do in your turn? So that just happens automatically as part of the turn.

[Ashley Johnson]

That just happens automatically.

[Laura Bailey]

What is meaning what does it mean.

[Matthew Mercer]

When they're vulnerable attacks or action rolls against them. Have advantage. Oh, great.

[Liam O'Brien]

Add that D6.

[Matthew Mercer]

Naturally.

[Travis Willingham]

Since we're sitting here and I just saw that happen. I'm going to. Going to cast arcane barrage again and wind my needle with some thread and cast it out at that.

[Matthew Mercer]

The one in front of you at the one. How much hope you want to spend for this?

[Travis Willingham]

I'm going to expend 1, 2, 3, 4. I'm going to spend four hosts. Big spender. So that's. That's 19 points of damage.

[Matthew Mercer]

Whoa, 19 points of damage. That is definitely a severe. And three hit points marked on the hive collector.

[Travis Willingham]

And then I'm going to back up quite a bit.

[Sam Riegel]

I'm gonna barrel back.

[Matthew Mercer]

I'm.

[Travis Willingham]

Yeah, I'm gonna back up to.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah, yeah.

[Travis Willingham]

To there.

[Matthew Mercer]

You got it. All right, so that finishes your go. Do you have a follow up now?

[Ashley Johnson]

Do I have a follow up?

[Liam O'Brien]

Do you.

[Matthew Mercer]

I was asking what you wanted to do while he was taking his turn, but if you're good, somebody else can go while you're.

[Liam O'Brien]

For you Screeve is.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah.

[Marisha Ray]

Roll over to Idol. Idol hour. There under the net and say, listen, I can get you out of here, but if I do, you can owe me a favor.

[Liam O'Brien]

Okay. Favor sounds good. Favor sounds good.

[Marisha Ray]

Start slicing away at the net with my claws. So I'm attacking the net to get. Get idol out.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right? So in this instance, to pull the net off it is a strength or agility action roll. Cut him free. So in theory, you're attacking it, but you're rolling the strength or agility action roll to try and do so.

[Marisha Ray]

Yes.

[Liam O'Brien]

Can I give him hope?

[Matthew Mercer]

If you want to spend a hope to aid your friend, yes.

[Liam O'Brien]

I will give you the most awesome favor.

[Marisha Ray]

Friend might be pushing it.

[Matthew Mercer]

Well, you know.

[Marisha Ray]

Ooh, I'm going. Oh, you gave me hope.

[Liam O'Brien]

Yep. D6.

[Marisha Ray]

That's a D6.

[Matthew Mercer]

Well, just to clarify, you don't give someone hope. You spend hope to help your friends. Yes.

[Marisha Ray]

You spent hope.

[Matthew Mercer]

Correct. Right.

[Marisha Ray]

And I rolled a six.

[Matthew Mercer]

Just because we want to make sure. Everyone.

[Marisha Ray]

Thank you. So it's with fear, but it's two. Nine plus ten. Sixteen because I have L. Plus 16 is a success.

[Matthew Mercer]

The met is carved off.

[Liam O'Brien]

They're so moldy.

[Matthew Mercer]

Idol is three in trait.

[Liam O'Brien]

Well, I guess.

[Matthew Mercer]

God.

[Marisha Ray]

I grab you by the side of the head, and I twist your ears a little bit. I'll tell you later. And I might have drawn a little bit of blood with the cloth.

[Liam O'Brien]

These piercings, they hurt.

[Matthew Mercer]

On my activation, this hive collector is going to fly down and attempt to strike you with its sleeping sting.

[Sam Riegel]

Sleeping sting.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's going to be a 16 to hit.

[Marisha Ray]

Yeah.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right. You take nine points of physical damage.

[Marisha Ray]

Nine points. Okay. That's major damage. I'll let my armor.

[Liam O'Brien]

If I reduce it to two, will it help you at all?

[Marisha Ray]

Nine. It depends on how much you reduce it.

[Liam O'Brien]

Only two?

[Marisha Ray]

It's an O2. No.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay.

[Marisha Ray]

All right. So I sacrifice an armor. I take one hit.

[Matthew Mercer]

I take one hit point, and I need you to make an instinct reaction roll.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Come on.

[Marisha Ray]

Instinct, you say?

[Matthew Mercer]

Yes. 18 with a 18 with a hope. Oh, good. As the proboscis stabs into you from above, you shrug off the wound, and your armor took some of it, but the puncture wound's still there, and you feel something into your body, but you've been poked and prodded and filled with all manner of nasty caustic things, and you just shrug off its effect.

[Marisha Ray]

That's what I'm talking about.

[Matthew Mercer]

As it picks back up and dives back into the. And it keeps us there. I'm going to spend the other fear to activate the other one. That is vulnerable. It's going to fly up to here, and it's going to take a dive strike with you. With its sleep on me, sting on you.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

But I'm just hanging out. I'm just up here just hanging out.

[Marisha Ray]

Barrel rolling.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's going to be another 16 to hit. But it hits. Yep. You. You take. That's gonna be six. No, sorry. Five plus three. Eight points of physical damage.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

That's major damage. I will mark off an armor. Sacrificing an armor, and I'll take one point.

[Matthew Mercer]

And I need you to make an instinct reaction.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Instinct, reaction.

[Laura Bailey]

Roll.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

14.

[Matthew Mercer]

14. That's a success. You manage to resist. Resist whatever its proboscis is trying to affect you with, and then it flies back up into the air.

[Ashley Johnson]

Man.

[Sam Riegel]

Get to him.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's my go.

[Laura Bailey]

I look up at them flying, and I'm going to see them as the most beautiful fairies that I read in my storybooks.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

That's your move.

[Laura Bailey]

And I'm going to use my experience. I'm gonna spend a hope to use my experience. Pure imagination.

[Matthew Mercer]

Love it.

[Ashley Johnson]

What is that?

[Laura Bailey]

It's the skill of disassociating.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah. Wow. Familiar with that?

[Ashley Johnson]

You're good at it.

[Laura Bailey]

And then I'm gonna unleash some chaos on the one in front of me.

[Marisha Ray]

It's 20.

[Matthew Mercer]

24.

[Laura Bailey]

The one that's vulnerable. So if I can use it.

[Matthew Mercer]

Do you still have your chaos?

[Laura Bailey]

Yeah, I spent a stress.

[Matthew Mercer]

Stress to refill it. You got it. Let's go.

[Laura Bailey]

Actually, I can't. I don't think that's out of range. So I'll. I'll do the one that's.

[Travis Willingham]

Is it a map?

[Laura Bailey]

Is it.

[Ashley Johnson]

How far can it go?

[Matthew Mercer]

How far can it go? Far, far. For you? Yeah, I'll say. Yeah. From you there, it's within risk.

[Laura Bailey]

Okay, great. Then I will hit. I'll go for that one.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay. So rolling the hit, you do have advantage against it because it is vulnerable.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yes.

[Laura Bailey]

Okay, great.

[Matthew Mercer]

Let's go.

[Laura Bailey]

Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

Ooh.

[Laura Bailey]

Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

16.

[Laura Bailey]

And then I add my instinct. 18. With hope.

[Matthew Mercer]

With hope. You take a hope, and that is a success. Go ahead and roll your damage for your.

[Laura Bailey]

Oh. And 19. Cause I got my experience point on there, too.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's true.

[Laura Bailey]

All right. And so I'm going to try to hit it with both of my chaos points.

[Matthew Mercer]

Let's go.

[Laura Bailey]

Oh, that's. Oh, that's a 10. I can't use that. Oh, wait. They both did 10. Oh, that was a 9.

[Ashley Johnson]

A 9 and an 8.

[Laura Bailey]

That's 17.

[Matthew Mercer]

17. 17. That's above its severe threshold. That's three hit points on that collector. It's looking like it's having a rough go. It glances back at the other one and glances back at it, and they both nod. That finishes your activation. It's still on your guys go.

[Laura Bailey]

Ooh, wait. No, I'm gonna mark another stress. Fuck it.

[Ashley Johnson]

I'm gonna mark another stress.

[Matthew Mercer]

To refill it?

[Ashley Johnson]

No, to double one of my damage dice.

[Travis Willingham]

Ooh, that'll be enough to.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

It's already here.

[Travis Willingham]

I don't know if.

[Laura Bailey]

Oh, it won't do anything. Cause it. It won't double that.

[Sam Riegel]

You probably won't push it apart.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay, then fuck it.

[Laura Bailey]

I'm not gonna do that.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh, okay. Fair. Who else wants to go?

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I'm right next to this spore guy who's just sort of been. He hasn't noticed me. He's hanging out.

[Sam Riegel]

Yeah.

[Matthew Mercer]

The destruction of the Rotlord makes it kind of like, wait, can I hit.

[Laura Bailey]

An additional target with one of my stress points? I can do that.

[Matthew Mercer]

I. Let me see. What does it say on there specifically?

[Laura Bailey]

I could spend a stress point to hit an additional target.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah, it says after making the attack, I just want to make sure. You had to choose before or after. So. Yeah, you can totally do that. Go for it.

[Laura Bailey]

Okay, I'm gonna mark a stress, and I'm gonna hit the other one.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay, you've already made the attack, so it hits. It doesn't damage.

[Laura Bailey]

Yeah, so I do the dam.

[Ashley Johnson]

It does the same damage.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah. Oh, wow.

[Travis Willingham]

I love that.

[Ashley Johnson]

That is crazy. Such a cool move.

[Matthew Mercer]

So the other one takes a heavy hit as well. Popping in after you.

[Travis Willingham]

Popping in after.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right, now, if you'd like to.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Activate, I'm going to try to boomerang off his head. And I will slash.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh, no.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

18 with fear.

[Matthew Mercer]

Sorry. That's okay. That is a success.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Okay, I'm going to try to lop off his head with. With my boomerang and then put his mushroom cap on my head so that from above. Maybe he thinks I'm just a little mushroom guy.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right, so.

[Travis Willingham]

Yeah. Are you being a snake?

[Matthew Mercer]

You sever the head and then throw it onto your head to try and hide it. Go ahead and make a presence action roll to see if you can try and quickly plast yourself off as one of the.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

13 with Hope. But I had already rolled a fear before that.

[Matthew Mercer]

I know, but just the scenario there. All right, so as far as you know, you're hiding. Well, with a fungus on your head.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

They'Ll never suspect me.

[Matthew Mercer]

A13. This dives down to strike you again. Unfortunately, it wasn't high enough to quite convince it.

[Sam Riegel]

It's gonna.

[Matthew Mercer]

Because I've got a big mushroom cap on. It's going to dive down.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I'm safe as can be.

[Matthew Mercer]

A high evasion. Does a 13 hit?

[Taliesin Jaffe]

A 13 is my evasion.

[Matthew Mercer]

It hits. That hits you. That's going to be eight points of physical damage to you.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

That's major. I'll mark off another armor making it a minor. A minor.

[Matthew Mercer]

And you, I need you to make an instinct reaction real quick.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Instinct reaction as it pulls back. 17.

[Matthew Mercer]

17. Man, you guys are rolling real good on here.

[Sam Riegel]

Just get to him.

[Travis Willingham]

Let me.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh, God. And everyone dies. There we go. Thank you. I'll do this right. This one's gonna fly back over this way a little bit. That's fine. I keep yelling when I do it. Does it? I had a fear every time.

[Laura Bailey]

Stop yelling.

[Matthew Mercer]

Now Spend the fear to activate this one. Stop. He's going to swoop down to strike.

[Travis Willingham]

Yep, yep.

[Matthew Mercer]

Natural 16. That's gonna be an 18 to hit. And it's gonna do like a flyby.

[Travis Willingham]

Okay.

[Sam Riegel]

God damn it.

[Matthew Mercer]

So you take.

[Travis Willingham]

Yep, yep.

[Matthew Mercer]

Roll the five again. Eight points physical damage. And I need you to make an instinct roll for me.

[Travis Willingham]

All right, that's one. And then an instinct roll. Where's my kids? Come on. Don't fuck around. Ooh, that's good. That's 20.

[Matthew Mercer]

You resisted as well. Sorry. I'm having a rough go this time. Sorry, Matt. Why are you apologizing? You guys are rolling great.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Let's let him have one.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah. Trust me, you don't want me to. But nevertheless, it's your guys. Go. I'm gonna.

[Travis Willingham]

How far away are we from the one that seems to be flying away?

[Matthew Mercer]

You are currently. He's just under far range.

[Travis Willingham]

Just under far range. Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

A little bit of far range. Let's see. Let's.

[Travis Willingham]

I'm. I think I can summon an ice spike above him and drop it. Do I need a ground to summon an ice spike or no?

[Matthew Mercer]

Does it stay within far range?

[Travis Willingham]

Far range?

[Matthew Mercer]

No, you just summon it in the air and throw it at him.

[Travis Willingham]

Okay. I'm just going to hop up. I'm going to fly up just enough to try and drop a Pick a little tear and try and drop a nice bite down on that.

[Matthew Mercer]

Go for it. Roll for the attack.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I should have used my spineless coward experience to hide better.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's.

[Travis Willingham]

Well, that's 16 with fear.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's a success.

[Travis Willingham]

And so that is. Ice spike's got A Fun1. That's D6.

[Matthew Mercer]

I think I dropped it.

[Travis Willingham]

Not great.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's actually the vulnerable one, too. I think the vulnerability tag came off of it. So that definitely. Okay. It doesn't do anything, but you just would have hit.

[Travis Willingham]

Okay.

[Marisha Ray]

Yeah.

[Travis Willingham]

Honestly, I only did three points of damage.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay, so that marks a hit point.

[Travis Willingham]

Is he still up or.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah.

[Ashley Johnson]

Whack.

[Matthew Mercer]

Barely. That finishes your go. Does shit for mine. This one's gonna activate and.

[Laura Bailey]

Oh, no.

[Matthew Mercer]

It flew off the battlefield of the full far run. And it's been my last fear to have this one.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh, no.

[Laura Bailey]

We won.

[Matthew Mercer]

And take off. We really need to hide in that way. This is bad.

[Travis Willingham]

This is very, very bad.

[Matthew Mercer]

Silence settles in for a minute, and the buzzing of their wings tapers off to the familiar quiet of the screaming forest until the wind picks up slightly. As it does, the trees shift and rattle into what sounds like the mingling of whispers as the branches scrape and turn on the. Like a cricket's legs create this awful, unsettling sound surrounding you. But whatever is going to happen next, you know you have to move because something knows you're here. So we run fast, fast run, charging northward as hard as you can in hopes that you can traverse the length of this forest before something else dangerous finds you. We'll pick up there. Oh, Laura, Liam, welcome to the age of umbra. This is so fun. So cool.

[Marisha Ray]

It was a lot of fun. Your name was Steve, right?

[Ashley Johnson]

Steve.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yes. Fantastic, Steve. But thank you so much for joining us. We love you very much. And is it Thursday? Oh, man. And we finished up this episode. Thanks for coming along on this wild journey with us. If you like the adventure, consider leaving a review on your podcast platform of choice. We're always looking for new critters to share our stories with, and your review may help a new batch of wayward adventurers discover the show. See you next time.