Tales from the Stinky Dragon

Episode C03-25: "From On Hyra – Sea Drinker? I Hardly Know Her!"

Release Date: September 3, 2025
Host/DM: Gustavo Sorola
Players: Barbara Dunkelman (Doug), Blaine Gibson (Tolv), John (Natty Wonder), Chris Demarais (Gunther)

Episode Overview

In this level-up-focused adventure, the party reflects on their recent skills and personal growth after surviving a cataclysmic event at sea. Each character shares their unique advancements, deepening the players’ backstories and relationships. The group then regains consciousness scattered along a mysterious shoreline, where hilarious survival antics lead them to an emotional reunion with an empowered Sea Drinker deity. The main plot advances with new artifacts, godly politics, and hints at coming quests involving lost siblings, epic inventions, and the pursuit of truths hidden among deities.

Key Discussion Points & Story Progression

1. Level-Up Roundtable

[05:05 – 35:17]

• Host Gus invites each player to explain their new level 6 powers and how their characters developed.

• The exchange is lighthearted, with ribbing, mechanics talk, and in-character banter about what the characters did to improve themselves.

  Doug (Barbara)

  • New Artificer Infusions: Learned two—one is a spell-refueling ring for Natty, the other is resistant armor.
  • “I made this thing. It's a ring. A spell refueling ring... I thought this would come in handy. No pun intended.” (Barbara/Doug, 09:30)
  • Spent downtime trying to be more supportive to the group; emphasis on friendship.

  Tolv (Blaine)

  • Storm Soul Power: Gains resistance to lightning, can breathe and speak underwater, and has swimming speed.
  • Narrative touch: Meditated underwater to process trauma and hone power.
  • “If he can’t breathe or doesn’t need to breathe, he’d go underwater, and that would be the only place that he could just have true quiet.” (Blaine/Tolv, 15:17)

  Natty Wonder (John)

  • Genie Warlock Enhancements: Gains thunder resistance and limited flight (via "elemental gift").
  • Meta-joke: John always plays flying characters.
  • “I can fly. I can fly if I want to. Sometimes during the day—not very far, not very long, but a little bit.” (John/Natty, 22:52)
  • Role-play: Receives these upgrades in a dream from his “old wife.”

  Gunther (Chris)

  • Fey Touched Feat: Wisdom buff, gains Misty Step and Hunter’s Mark.

  • Backstory flavor: Spent time meditating in a pit full of rotting fish and enemies’ corpses.

  • “I have stayed under that hole for a very long time. It was stinky... And when I emerged, I had been fey touched.” (Chris/Gunther, 29:07)

  • Host Gus confirms a rules clarification: Doug's Steel Defender deploys for free and acts after his turn (11:58).

2. Castaways on the Shore

[35:17 – 1:15:40]

• Following a flashback, each character wakes up alone in a comedic survival vignette:

  Natty wakes entangled in shipwreck rigging, hair perfect but parched. Gigi, his bat-puppy companion, is now a one-creature invasive species, having decimated the beach fauna (“What a sweet little eco-terrorist he is.” – John/Natty, 43:02). After clumsy but eventual self-rescue, rejoins Gigi.

  Tolv is buried up to the neck, threatened by a three-clawed crab, sunburned, and calls for aid.

  • Natty and Gigi help, with Gigi heroically digging Tolv free.

  Gunther wakes naked atop a cliff, coughs out saltwater, retrieves gear, and eludes a crab.

  Doug finds himself literally cradled like a baby by a now-gigantic Sea Drinker (Njorda), being serenaded on the water:

  • “No, this is not a dream.” (Sea Drinker, 1:01:29)

  • The group, after several survival comedy beats and animal hijinks, reunites on the shore.

3. Audience with the Sea Drinker (Njorda)

[1:15:40 – 1:52:40]

• Now restored and immense, Njorda thanks the party:

  • Returns Gunther’s decanter, offers an “Octopot of Obscura” (tracks hidden things).
    • “It is the octopot of obscura. ... You can use this to find things that are hidden.” (Sea Drinker, 1:20:45)
  • Reveals lore: Was imprisoned for seeking the Fire Eater (her lover) by Udarian agents; introduces mechanics of “true names”—knowing a deity’s true name gives dangerous power.
    • “If we all have a weakness, it is our true name.” (Sea Drinker, 1:31:31)

• Njorda gifts Natty a secret necklace to contact her, warning to keep her true name secret.

• Party discusses the undarian plot:

  • Several gods (including the Fire Eater) are being pursued; the Udarians seek “the Pathfinder” to find the “Gates of Hyra.”
  • Doug learns more about his connection to the Veiled Eye—the god of inventors and seers—hinting at a quest to make a unique invention as proof of worth.

4. Quest Hooks and Side Quests Initiated

[1:52:40 – 2:13:15]

• Rumors of Siblings: Tolv and NPC sister Elva must split up to investigate reports of other Thaumatech siblings—one in the nearby Boiling Bluffs, one at far-off Tropicairn Island.

• Njorda departs on a mission, requesting assistance with a future heist/rescue; leaves with scoundrel Laskil, surfing off dramatically.

  • “Laskil would wade into the water and the Sea Drinker would transform into a wave again. ...surfing away from the beach.” (Gus, 1:56:20)

• The party heads back to civilization (High Three tavern) and receives gossip, odd side quests:

  • Songwriter wanted poster for "Troop Troop."
  • "Build Yer Best" contest (inventors using non-wood materials, tie-in for Doug).
  • Players plan to send off entries by raven (in-world mail).

• Classic boisterous NPC encounter: drunken orc Orman buys a round of octopus drinks, infamously disgusting.

5. Forge Showdown Cliffhanger

[2:13:15 – End]

• Party visits the “Untamed Flame Forge” to retrieve items ordered by departed party member Bjorn and Gunther’s aunt.

  • “The door slowly opens, revealing thickly built, youthful looking toad... she is clad in obsidian, like a combination of obsidian and iron...” (Gus, 2:15:45)

• Gunther’s Aunt Shannon declares “En garde!” and attacks, ending the episode on a comic family-duel cliffhanger.

  • “What is this, like a family tradition or something? Or should we help?” (Party, 2:16:30)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “That’s the most selfless thing our group has ever done!” (Party after Doug’s infusion for Natty, 12:25)
• “All drag queens can fly. They just don’t do it in front of the straights.” (John/Natty, 23:35)
• “I had been fey touched...I borrowed a deep, deep hole, and in it I placed rotting fish and some corpse of my enemy...” (Chris/Gunther, 29:07)
• “What a sweet little eco-terrorist he is.” (John/Natty, 43:02)
• “If we all have a weakness, it is our true name.” (Sea Drinker, 1:31:31)
• “I sense something within you, Doug. Something you’re not proud of. I know what that feeling is like.” (Sea Drinker, to Doug, 1:58:05)
• Epic callback: “Coconut!” (1:41:07) — players recall their agreed code word to award the DM an Inspiration die.

Key Timestamps

| Time | Segment | |-----------|--------------------------------------------------------| | 05:05 | Level-up roundtable, rules clarification | | 15:17 | Tolv’s storm soul & aquatic role-play | | 22:52 | Natty’s flying warlock, drag-queen flights | | 29:07 | Gunther’s fey touch & fish pit meditation | | 35:17 | Shipwrecked party member vignettes begin | | 43:02 | Gigi as an eco-terrorist; slapstick rescue | | 1:01:29 | Doug cradled by Sea Drinker, lullaby scene | | 1:15:40 | Party reunites; meeting with Sea Drinker | | 1:31:31 | Lore dump: True names, godly politics | | 1:58:05 | Sea Drinker’s secret to Doug; Veiled Eye quest | | 1:41:07 | “Coconut!”—player-given DM inspiration | | 2:07:12 | Side quests: Songwriting contest and Build Yer Best | | 2:15:45 | At the Untamed Flame Forge; Gunther’s aunt appears | | 2:16:30 | Aunt shouts “En garde!”—episode cliffhanger |

Episode Tone & Style

• Comedic, irreverent, and filled with puns and meta-jokes.

• Example: “I got a NAT20, thank you very much. … Just the highs and lows of Natty Wonder.” (John, 57:45)

• Fluid mix of in-game mechanics and role-play.

• Jokes about D&D tropes, meta-references (“We’re breaking new ground—crab intimidation checks!”), and affectionate roasting among players.

• Heartfelt moments (with Njorda, Sea Drinker; reflections on purpose and family) balance the goofs.

For New Listeners

This episode is perfect if you love:

• Outlandish D&D improv and rules-savvy jokes
• Strongly-voiced, diverse characters (including a magical drag queen and a bugbear artificer)
• Mythic worldbuilding with recurring deities and magical artifacts
• Jokes about “eco-terrorist” tiny pets, sentient crabs, and being cradled like a baby by a sea goddess

You don’t need deep lore knowledge to enjoy—players recap as they go, and the narrative is character-driven, emotional, and reliably side-tracked by shenanigans.

What’s Set Up For Next Episode

• Gunther’s duel with his aunt
• Doug’s entry to the inventor’s contest
• Natty’s (and possibly Troop Troop’s) songwriting quest
• Tolv’s and Elva’s splitting leads on lost metallic siblings
• Promises of more deific intrigue and secret name drama

End of Summary