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Level 5 - Episode 5

Alliance of the Fey

Two Fey Courts team up to investigate the Great Disturbance, which threatens to destroy the Fey Wilds.  But will this fragile union last?

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Level 5 - Episode 4

The Unseelie Court

The party are searching for their Drow Warlock Hector, who skipped gleefully away with the fey.  Their search takes them to the heart of Queen Lilliope's court, where the wild things play!

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Level 5 - Episode 3

The Fey Wilds

They party escape from the clutches of a Lich and an army of hobgoblins, but are they truly better off in the magical forest beyond?

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DM Notes #9

In the Roleplays you have played, what Player Characters stood out? Which ones are still memorable and why? By a stand-out character I mean player characters that were unique, and memorable in some way. 

For my second choice, I pick Sir Rengar. For the campaign Jungles of Nocturnal Madness, the DMs allowed us to choose our own PC, but they had to be from specific books available in Unearthed Arcana, which is an area of D&D designed to create custom character and creatures not available in the Players Handbook or Monster Manual, in my case I was given Eberron, Waterborne and That Old Black Magic. As a race of creature, I chose a Krynn (Sea-faring race of Minotaur) and was asked to select 3 types of classes. From those, the DM selected paladin. I was excited!

For a visual idea, see this brilliant picture by brianvadell.

Sir Rengar Gutlub is a fearsome agent of order and took the Oath of the Crown, dedicating himself to society and the just laws that hold it together. In appearance he is a very resplendent bull of legend created to inspire allies and terrify agents of chaos. In his owns words, he had a privileged background but never forgot that his mother did not. He treads the line between the honest working folk and the pillars of society. In truth, he can be a bit of a hypocrite; he believes in upholding moral standards of society, but is immensely proud of his noble birth and can be arrogant and let praise go to his head.

In the first two instalments of Jungles of Nocturnal Madness, the PCs encountered each other in a sea battle between crusaders and pirates during a devastating storm. The survivors ended up on an unknown island. Sir Rengar’s mettle was tested in a jungle full of terrifying creatures (especially at night!). He battled with the need to work together with piratical chaos-agents for the greater good and survival. Without the glue that society brings, he had to refocus and found moments of chivalry and aid kept him in check. When they found a corrupt city with segregated layers of society based on wealth and status, his goal became clear – to purge the city of corruption! I’m looking forward to the next part of this saga.

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DM Notes #8

In the Roleplays you have played, what Player Characters stood out? Which ones are still memorable and why?

This is the question I asked myself recently when thinking when creating new characters for my D&D modules.  I think it’s important to mention that by a stand-out character I do not mean that one character should dominate the game to the detriment of the other players, but that the player characters can certainly be unique, eccentric, dogged or their journey more poignant somehow.    For each player or viewer, they will have their own favourites and certain memories will stay with them that differ from the other players.  For example, Critical Role’s Vox Machina’s player characters are all very unique and distinctive and each had their moments to shine over the course of the campaign.

For my first choice, I am going to select a PC that I once played.  My favourite and certainly most memorable has to be Lupa.  I joined a sandbox game (a game with a very open plot based on what the characters chose to do) after the first session so I took over an NPC that they players met.  The Co-Dungeon Masters had to customise her special abilities to match her NPC background.  She was found in a glacier and could control and manipulate ice and hard rocks.  Like a Monk using Ki points in D&D 5e, the co-DMs gave her power points that she could spend each day on her abilities. It was so much fun trying to make larger objects move in this tundra-like wilderness such as throwing boulders into battle.  She was very useful in combat, but the point-based system prevented her being too overpowered.

For visual reference, I imagine her to look similar to this stunning image drawn by Anndr.

Her story didn’t go how I expected at all.  The party met a lot of refugees in the wastelands that they were unable to help. Then two of the party saw a giant rock cow marching across the landscape.  Lupa attempted to control and befriend the cow.  To all our surprise, it worked (natural 20)!  Suddenly we had a cow so big it had trees and grass growing on its back. We steered the cow back to the refugees and picked them up.  From that moment on, my mission became clear.  I was still interested in helping out the party but my priority was to look after these refugees and secure their future.  By the end of the roleplay, I had found them a home and created my own civilisation!

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Level 5 - Episode 2

The Wolf’s Head Regiment

The party are in search of an ancient gong that they hope will open a portal to the Fey Wilds.  Having already dispensed with their Hobgoblin guide each room is a mystery and delving deeper into the Hobgoblin stronghold of the Wolf's Head Regiment reveals that everything is not quite as it seems.  Especially  when it comes to inventories...

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Level 5 - Episode 1

Looting

After defeating Vijo - the magical servant of Graz’zt - the party has an uneasy rest ahead of them as they start to hear whispering voices in the Underdark. 

A Lich expects them to deliver living beings to him, whilst their travelling companion Ntay wishes to find an ancient lake.  Will the party stay united or heed the voices?

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Level 4 - Episode 13

Lardolas and the Lamia

The exciting finale of Series 4.  As the party track down Vijo, they become the hunted ones...

Future podcasts The plan is to work on future podcasts in slower time and publish the audio only.  For more info, see online: Agora-Core.com or @Agoracore. 

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Level 4 - Episode 12

Alcohol

It isn't just for drinking, despite Hector's protests!

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Level 4 - Episode 11

Karma

What do you get if you cross a lion, a dragon and a lot of spikes?  One answer would be an evil predator capable of impaling its prey from great distances. Another answer would be karma.

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Level 4 - Episode 10

Pudding’s Bane

And so, the party have reluctantly followed the orders of the Lich master Hayyaes to the lair of a creature the ancient mage perceives as a threat.  Unfortunately, Vijo, a powerful Lamia has escaped the party's clutches by diving into a mysterious pool.  Do they dare follow?

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Non-Player Character Profile

N’tay

Location: The desert city of Karmal Race: Human Episodes: Series 4, Episodes 6 onwards Appearance:  N’tay appears to be in traveler garbs and a 3 cornered- hat.  Her appearance gives little away except that she is not as defenseless as her academic colleague, Jar.

Personality:  She appeared shy at first and not ready to communicate information.  She could occasionally be seen nudging Jar and keep their information vague.  She truly comes to life in battle, however, and seems to prefer physical activity to diplomacy.

Background:  N’tay is from a place she calls ‘Freedom Island’.  The party know little else about this location but do know where she and Jar intend to go; they are on a mission to discover a fabled lake underneath the Da that is said to have existed when this land was a vibrant Elven kingdom called Chandanis.   What Happened during the Roleplay:  After the party won enough town credit to buy camels they asked Jar and N’tay to accompany them North as this was the direction both of their lake and of a mysterious power the party were searching for.  Together they discovered a magically hidden bandit camp and attempted to sneak in.  This resulted in a fight in which N’tay proved extremely deadly cutting down many magical camels and bandits.  Unfortunately she was not able to save her companion, Jar.

Chance of recurring in future episodes:  Very high.  She seems determined to carry out their mission and that means continuing the trail into the bandit camp to discover the magical secrets therein and hopefully a way to the underground lake.

Character Portraits used: 60 Terrible Character Portraits for Creative Commons Release by ‘A Terrible Idea’

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Level 4, Episode 9

Vijo

Doing the bidding of a Lich lord, Hayyaes, the party are on the hunt for a creature the lich believes is a threat.  This leads them to a hidden camp in the Da desert... a Vijo’s cave.

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Non-Player Character Profile

Jar

Location: The desert city of Karmal Race: Human Episodes: Series 4, Episodes 6-8 Appearance:  Jar is bespectacled and scholarly in appearance, but a little unprepared.  Hey has lots of possessions and yet his clothes are in need of repair and he did not have a way of travelling from Karmal to the lake.  

Personality:  Jar was friendly and interested upon meeting the party and wasn’t afraid to talk about the mission that he and Ntay were on.  Sometimes his comments became wayward or vague, but it was unclear whether this was as a result of his meandering thoughts or perhaps that he was concealing some information.  The reason for the mission to find the Lake of Aston was put down to ‘archeological interest’. Background:  No background is known except that Ntay is from the a place she calls ‘Freedom Island’.  They are on a mission to discover a fabled Aston Lake underneath the Da that is said to have existed when this land was a vibrant Elven kingdom.   What Happened during the Roleplay:  Contains spoilers – if you haven’t watched/listened to Episode 8… The party won enough credit to buy camels. They then asked Jar and Ntay to accompany them North as this was the direction both of their lake and of a mysterious power the party were searching for.  Together they discovered a magically hidden bandit camp and attempted to sneak in.  This resulted in a fight with bandits and a mysterious and magical race of camels.

Chance of recurring in future episodes:  None.  Jar was killed in the fight at the hidden bandit camp.

Character Portraits used: 60 Terrible Character Portraits for Creative Commons Release by ‘A Terrible Idea’

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Level 4, Episode 8

What Lies Beyond

Somewhere in the Da lurks a creature with enough power to worry an ancient lich.  The party venture into the unknown in search of the creature and to return with new servants for the Lich Lord, Hayyaes.

This episode combines over 2 sessions of online D&D roleplaying.

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Non-Player Character Profile

Disciples of GMESH

Location: The desert city of Karmal Race: Demonic, specifics unknown Episodes: Series 4, Episode 5, Brawl in the Boiler Appearance:  Upon entering Karmel, the party make enquiries in the Boiler tavern and are accosted by two tall, mysterious, cloaked figures seeking a cleric of Pelor.

Personality:  They demonstrated no personality, but that may be because they were trying poorly to blend in. Background:  No background is known.  Leigheas is keen to learn more about them though in case they return. What Happened during the Roleplay:  Rather than reveal their cleric, Leigheas, to the demons, Hector pretended to be a masseur and insisted on giving one of them a rub-down, before plunging his blade into its back.  He, Leigheas and Pevel then killed one before the other managed to disaparate.

Chance of recurring in future episodes:  According to magical lady Irisha, the disciples of GMESH are known to take right-of-passage contracts out on Godly followers, so they can expect a more determined attempt as this demonic disciple seeks to finish what he started.

Character Portraits used: Based on 60 Terrible Character Portraits for Creative Commons Release by ‘A Terrible Idea’

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Level 4, Episode 7

Tales of the Liakhara

With favour to spend in Karmal, the party are able to plot their mission for Lichlord Hayyaes.  But should they journey into the unknown or towards a great, magical power? The journey starts with the result of the Camel Race, which will surely go to one of the group.  But what follows takes a ‘bazaar’ turn and reveals some magical secrets.