Daniel Andrlik (00:00:30): Welcome to Explorers Wanted. We are a weekly Numenera Actual Play podcast. I will be your humble GM, Daniel Andrlik. With me today is Stace Babcock. Stace Babcock (00:00:41): Second episode of the night. I am now drinking 32 ounces of water and I have taken to Aleve. We are on the road to recovery, folks. Daniel Andrlik (00:00:49): Alex Finn. Alex Finn (00:00:50): I don't know what's happening anymore. I had maybe one twelfth of a can of Mike's Hard and two sips of tequila and I am just gone. Stace Babcock (00:01:02): That two sips of tequila, man. Alex Finn (00:01:04): Well, it was like that margarita mix, and I'm just, like, damn. Stace Babcock (00:01:09): Can't trust margarita mix. Gets you every time. Alex Finn (00:01:11): No. Daniel Andrlik (00:01:12): By sips, Alex means eight ounce glasses. Alex Finn (00:01:16): If only, if only. I have a fucking glass left. Daniel Andrlik (00:01:19): And Sampson Davis. Sampson Davis (00:01:21): I'm on my second glass of Wild Turkey 101, so I think all of you guys need to step up. Fridays are for hangovers. A wise woman once said that. Stace Babcock (00:01:31): Fridays are for hangovers. Hangovers are going to happen regardless of how much of this fucking water I drink. Sampson Davis (00:01:37): Oh, okay, I see. It's not water, quote, quote. Daniel Andrlik (00:01:40): She says water but she's holding up a Mike's Hard Lemonade. Yeah. Stace Babcock (00:01:43): I said it was the road to recovery, not recovery. Daniel Andrlik (00:01:46): Who remembers what happened last time? I'm going to pick on Alex. Alex Finn (00:01:51): Okay. Last episode, we started finding out that Dili was super awesome at murder, but surprise, it wasn't Dili. It was Astor. Astor's super awesome at murder, so if you need a murder, call Astor, and then, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, tentacles can tunnel, not that important, so we went to go talk to the one surviving tentacle monster, and they were just like, "Hey, whoa. I'm just doing this weird experiment with this severed head. Don't mind me. I'm leaving. I'm out," and we couldn't communicate with them because they have no mouth and their written language is not the one we understand, and so we just started stalking this guy and he was going down a dark hallway so Dili could see what was happening and three of his bodies were waiting around the corner all West Side Story like, and then Dili made it brighter so we could see that, hey, maybe we're walking into an ambush and they were just, like, "Whoa. You've ruined the mood lighting," and we were like, "Hey, no big," but [Race 00:03:04] was just like, "I'm sorry. I'm the trigger happy rookie that always gets everyone killed in alien movies," so he threw a grenade. Nix, being a vamp, just tried to swat it out of the air, but you can't do that with grenades, so it exploded and Nix and ChaCha took a little damage, but again, Astor, being an amazing murder monster helped Dili dodge that explosion. He was about to discipline this guy for throwing a grenade and doing some friendly fire, but Dili was just, like, "No, this is my body," and so then we started combat and for some reason, drunk Alex was just like, "You know, this was a misunderstanding." I feel like ChaCha would be like, "Whoa, whoa. Let's try and talk this down a little," and it worked, but then, again, trigger happy rookie was just, like, "No. I'm going to keep fighting." Also, Nix clothes lined everybody, and I was just like, what? Stace Babcock (00:04:12): It was technically just one person but I want everybody to be canon. Alex Finn (00:04:16): Yeah. We'll just go with that. Stace Babcock (00:04:18): Yes. That's what happened. Alex Finn (00:04:22): In the end, the tentacle monsters burrowed into the ground, created a light shield and Race got his ass chewed out by Vlad, and we were all just trying not to stare and be obvious that we were listening to him get his ass chewed out, and so we looted the bodies and Nix got some new clothes because she no longer wants to be a Willie Nelson cover art, and so, then, there was some mild team building with Race to kind of say, "Hey, we pick on you because we don't hate you, but fuck Vlad," and then we went walking down the hallway after Vlad was all like, "Look how amazing I am. I'm going to destroy the light shield by myself while y'all being pansies doing grab ass." He actually said something similar to that, so I'm not just being all hyperbolic. That's the word. We started going down the path. Nix went off to the right, and while we were trying to bullshit around, trying to figure out how we're going to mark the wall, Bastion showed up, told us there was this secret lab, and was like, "Yeah. Nix is going the right way," and then, spoiler alert ... Is it a spoiler since it happened in the past? Stace Babcock (00:05:46): No. Alex Finn (00:05:47): Okay. Astor can see the horrors but he can't force Dili to see them. Daniel Andrlik (00:05:53): Mm-hmm (affirmative), or at least he detects them. Yeah, so, Dili, you have just seen, in your vision, it highlight a space in front of ChaCha and say, "Anomaly detected." Sampson Davis (00:06:04): Dili will look at ChaCha and then point directly at the anomaly and say, like, "Is something right there?" Daniel Andrlik (00:06:15): Dili is definitely pointing right at Bastion. Alex Finn (00:06:17): Yeah. It's Bastion. It's rude to point. Sampson Davis (00:06:21): Oh, sorry. Daniel Andrlik (00:06:23): Bastion kind of looks at Dili, and even though he knows Dili will be able to hear him, he says, "Yeah. Monkeys point." Alex Finn (00:06:30): I think ChaCha just go, "Oh, snap." Sampson Davis (00:06:32): Wait, what'd they say? What happened? Alex Finn (00:06:36): He just said, "Monkeys point." Sampson Davis (00:06:38): What's a monkey? Do we know what monkeys are? Alex Finn (00:06:41): Maybe. Daniel Andrlik (00:06:42): The Ninth World equivalent of the monkey which is a primate, still, with eight arms and two legs. Sampson Davis (00:06:49): Well, friend's a little sassy. Alex Finn (00:06:52): I mean, it's better than losing an arm. Sampson Davis (00:06:54): Yes. Yes. Alex Finn (00:06:56): Perspective. Sampson Davis (00:06:57): Oh, you mean I could've taken his arm? Alex Finn (00:06:59): No, because there's something inside him that would probably figure out how to stop you. Sampson Davis (00:07:05): Oh. Oh, well, that's not fun. Alex Finn (00:07:07): I know, but it's one of those ... Sampson Davis (00:07:09): Is the rest of him interesting? Is he worth playing with? Alex Finn (00:07:13): No. Not yet. You got to wait. We're trying to get the interesting part out of him, but he's really more of my friend than playing. Sampson Davis (00:07:21): All right. All right. Alex Finn (00:07:22): We should be able to play in the lab, right, and, oh, the tentacles tunnel, so you might be able to find some more if you go down. Sampson Davis (00:07:32): Oh, yeah. These things, yeah. I heard of them before. Alex Finn (00:07:36): Oh, you know them? Sampson Davis (00:07:37): Yeah. I mean, they're not from around here. They're from a different dimension, I guess, is the right word. Our mutual friend refers to it as [Reval 00:07:49]. That's where they come from, but yeah, these things, they're constantly showing up places and experimenting on any organics they find. Alex Finn (00:07:58): Oh, so they're not a good thing? Sampson Davis (00:08:02): Not usually. Don't get me wrong. They're super clever. They do some pretty amazing stuff, but, yeah. When you meet one of them in one of their fake human suits, it's not so much an individual as a collective making its best imitation of one. Alex Finn (00:08:24): Oh. Okay. Okay, then, we can just ... We have to catch up with Nix because I have some moral questions for her. Sampson Davis (00:08:33): Oh, yeah. She's trucking ahead. Alex Finn (00:08:36): Yeah. We should probably catch up. Sampson Davis (00:08:37): Do you know that she smells like a snake? Alex Finn (00:08:41): Oh, yeah. Sampson Davis (00:08:41): You know that? Alex Finn (00:08:42): Yeah, yeah, yeah. She's definitely part snake. Sampson Davis (00:08:45): Okay. Good to know. Good to know, but she's your friend, right? Alex Finn (00:08:48): Yeah. She's not, like, the dick kind of snake. Sampson Davis (00:08:51): Oh. Yeah. Alex Finn (00:08:53): She's the good kind of snake who could probably help us kill all other snakes and then she can be queen of the snakes, and then, it'd be pretty cool, right? Sampson Davis (00:09:02): Yeah. Yeah. Maybe. Daniel Andrlik (00:09:03): He licks his lips and then says, "All right, well, it's this way," and he starts heading off in the direction of Nix. Alex Finn (00:09:11): ChaCha follows. Stace Babcock (00:09:12): Not loving Bastion right now, but Nix don't know, so she just walking. Daniel Andrlik (00:09:18): Okay. There is a door on the left and the right and the hallway continues straight ahead. Bastion starts going through the left hand door. Stace Babcock (00:09:29): Oh. Nix can't see him, though, right? Daniel Andrlik (00:09:31): Yeah. Nix doesn't see him. Stace Babcock (00:09:33): She's going to open the right hand door. Alex Finn (00:09:35): But, Nix, we're going left. Stace Babcock (00:09:38): ChaCha, this is our thing. We go right. Alex Finn (00:09:43): Yeah, but Bastion's here and he knows where the lab is. Sampson Davis (00:09:47): Peek in real quick, Nix. Just peek in, because we are exploring, still. Stace Babcock (00:09:51): All right. All right. Nix'll open the door to the left. Daniel Andrlik (00:09:55): Okay. You see there is a metal pole in the center of this room. There are two doors leading directly forward, spaced apart in this room. The pole has a glass container at the top which seems to contain little gobs of darting, glowing, maybe it's goo or something else. Maybe it's solid and just kind of looks almost like goo moving through water, sort of a blue-white ice color, darting back and forth, and you can also see just above that glass container, almost like a holographic image of an eye, which sort of blinks and look side to side before fading away. Stace Babcock (00:10:42): I mean, Nix'll kind of skirt to the side to let the experts do the thinking. Sampson Davis (00:10:49): Dili is going to create an image of himself and have that image walk towards, you said there was a pole in the center? Daniel Andrlik (00:10:58): Mm-hmm (affirmative). The eye flicks back into existence and zeroes in on the illusion, watching it as it approaches the pole. Sampson Davis (00:11:08): Dili will have that illusion approach the pole and then, quote, touch it. Daniel Andrlik (00:11:14): Okay. The eye watches it reach out and there is a moment where, in this holographic image of the eye, it's almost like all the blood vessels that you see in the white of the eye burst, and the eyes fill red and then it disappears, and there is a sudden flash of light in the room, and Dili, your illusion disappears. It's not that you constantly stopped it. It's just that particular illusion has been filtered out by the room itself. Sampson Davis (00:11:47): Like it was erased? Is that the vibe Dili's getting? Daniel Andrlik (00:11:50): I would say it's unclear without an understanding Numenera roll. Sampson Davis (00:11:56): May I make an understanding Numenera roll? Daniel Andrlik (00:11:57): Yes. It is going to be a 12 understanding Numenera. Sampson Davis (00:12:03): [inaudible 00:12:03] effort brings it to a 9. Dili gets 4, anyway. Daniel Andrlik (00:12:06): You have no idea whether it's been erased or just filtered out. Sampson Davis (00:12:09): Dili will create another one, have it do the same thing just to see if the same thing happens. Daniel Andrlik (00:12:14): The same illusion or something different? Sampson Davis (00:12:16): The same illusion. Daniel Andrlik (00:12:17): You don't see anything. Sampson Davis (00:12:18): As in, Dili can't create an image of himself? Daniel Andrlik (00:12:22): I mean, you feel yourself doing it but you don't see anything happen in there. There's nothing visible, and the eye does not appear. Sampson Davis (00:12:29): Okay. I'm just guessing, but I feel like this pole that, maybe specifically the eye, if you touch the pole, you turn invisible, I think, and Dili's going to go back to the hallway and then try to create that same image of himself in the hallway outside of the room. Daniel Andrlik (00:12:47): Yeah, so, you create this illusion in the hallway. It appears. Sampson Davis (00:12:51): Okay. Daniel Andrlik (00:12:52): It looks like you, maybe slightly more flattering than it should be. Sampson Davis (00:12:59): Well, Dili hasn't seen a mirror in a while, so, who's to say? Daniel Andrlik (00:13:02): One thing I will say, that Dili perceives this illusion. ChaCha and Nix do not perceive this, but Dili, one of your eyes is its normal dark green color. The other one is bright red. Sampson Davis (00:13:21): Dili's going to try to quickly modify that to the normal dark green. Daniel Andrlik (00:13:27): There is a static shuffle but it still looks red. Sampson Davis (00:13:31): Fucking, god damn. All right, and then what happens when Dili has that illusion of himself walking back into the room? Daniel Andrlik (00:13:39): As soon as it crosses the threshold of the room, it disappears. Sampson Davis (00:13:44): But Dili still feels it there? Daniel Andrlik (00:13:46): Yeah. As far as Dili knows, he's still generating it. Sampson Davis (00:13:49): Okay. Yeah, so, I think the pole makes things invisible. I don't know if it's only in this room or if that's just a weird quirk of me using the illusions to do the same thing. Just a guess. I'm not sure, though, unless someone actually wants to touch it. Alex Finn (00:14:06): I could be easily persuaded to touch it. Just saying. Sampson Davis (00:14:10): ChaCha, I'd rather you not touch another load bearing column. Actually, was this load bearing or was it coming out of the floor? Daniel Andrlik (00:14:16): It was coming out of the floor, does not seem to touch the surface. Alex Finn (00:14:23): [inaudible 00:14:23], fair. Stace Babcock (00:14:24): You need someone to touch the column, Dili? Sampson Davis (00:14:28): Yeah. ChaCha, I just really don't want to persuade you to do that. That just seems ... Because, I might be wrong. I'm just guessing. Stace Babcock (00:14:36): Have you tried to understand it yet, Dili? Sampson Davis (00:14:40): No, no, no. I'm just saying, I don't know, unless somebody touches it and maybe they turn invisible or maybe they just get vaporized. Alex Finn (00:14:49): Have we tried throwing inanimate objects at it? Sampson Davis (00:14:52): I've tried it. I've tried understanding. I haven't thrown anything at it. Good point, ChaCha. I've tried understanding it, and just, best guess. This is my best guess. Stace Babcock (00:15:00): Hang on. Let me think about it. Nix puts on her thinking cap. Sampson Davis (00:15:08): Everyone pack up. Give her some space. Stace Babcock (00:15:11): What was the difficulty on understanding this thing? Daniel Andrlik (00:15:13): It was a 12, I think. Stace Babcock (00:15:15): So for 15 for Nix. Nix is going to be confident, so she's going to eliminate her inability. Alex Finn (00:15:22): Can ChaCha help? Stace Babcock (00:15:23): She's from a 12 to a 12. Sampson Davis (00:15:25): Can Dili help with his general guess of what it may be? Stace Babcock (00:15:31): Then, double assists? Daniel Andrlik (00:15:36): Okay. Stace Babcock (00:15:37): I feel like Yugioh, like I'm holding up my card between my fingers, but it's a D20. Daniel Andrlik (00:15:42): It seems to be some sort of lookout, like, it's a security system. Presumably, it has some sort of defense associated with it. Stace Babcock (00:15:51): Oh, this shit's got defenses, and Nix'll look for the defenses. Alex Finn (00:15:56): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Daniel Andrlik (00:15:57): You can't see the obvious defenses there. You just know that this type of Numenera isn't normally associated with that. Stace Babcock (00:16:04): Yep. This is some dangerous shit. Alex Finn (00:16:05): Yeah, so, do we throw a rock at it? Stace Babcock (00:16:09): No, ChaCha. Yo, Race, come up here. Be a part of the fucking team. Like, look at this shit. Daniel Andrlik (00:16:16): Yeah? Alex Finn (00:16:17): You know the technology. Stace Babcock (00:16:20): [inaudible 00:16:20]. Alex Finn (00:16:20): Yes. Daniel Andrlik (00:16:22): You just want me to look at it? Stace Babcock (00:16:23): We're looking for ... Like, is this shit dangerous? That's our whole thing. Daniel Andrlik (00:16:29): Oh, you want me to scan it? Stace Babcock (00:16:30): Yeah. Fuck, yeah. Shit, yeah. Scan. Daniel Andrlik (00:16:34): All right. He kind of takes a deep breath and he looks across and his eyes become very contemplative, and he stares, and then, you start to notice the slightest drip of blood coming from his left nostril, and then he falls to the ground, seizing, like a full on seizure on the ground, and you hear Vlad cry out from behind, in a sort of a grumpy voice, "Not again," and Vlad is running forward with his stick to try to jam between Race's teeth so he doesn't bite his tongue. Alex Finn (00:17:14): You're not supposed to do that anymore, actually. Stace Babcock (00:17:15): Yeah, yeah. That can lead to choking, Vlad. You're just supposed to move ... Nix is doing this as she says so, move everything away from him and maybe try to cushion his head. You just got to let it run its course. Daniel Andrlik (00:17:30): He's like, "All right. All right. Fine." Race will seize for another two minutes before he finally stops and falls unconscious. Alex Finn (00:17:38): Can ChaCha just do a healing check while that's happening? Like, during that two minutes. Daniel Andrlik (00:17:44): That'll be a 9, and that'll be a 6 for you. Alex Finn (00:17:48): 16. Daniel Andrlik (00:17:50): Yeah. Race is having a seizure. It's not clear what's causing it. You would guess it is some sort of overexertion of him using his esotery, not really anything to immediately stop it. It's one of those things where you have to wait it out. After those two minutes, he does kind of fall unconscious and he could be woken up, but he's definitely been through something as a response of his exertions. Sampson Davis (00:18:20): Quick question. Does Race have any obvious implants or cosmetic Numenera stuff? Daniel Andrlik (00:18:27): No, he does not. He looks relatively vanilla human. Sampson Davis (00:18:31): Gotcha. Alex Finn (00:18:32): I want to do another healing check to see if there's anything we could do to help decrease the frequencies of these attacks. Daniel Andrlik (00:18:41): I would say, with your existing healing past roll, there's nothing you can do there. Alex Finn (00:18:45): Damn. Daniel Andrlik (00:18:46): This is the result of something that's some sort of deep, physical, possibly also emotional trauma. It's not the kind of thing that you can ... Like, there's nothing you could do in the short term to help with it. Alex Finn (00:19:00): Mm-hmm (affirmative). That's fair. Okay. I guess ChaCha should tell everybody, so, we should probably stop asking him to scan so much because he's getting stress seizures. Team throw something at the pillar is back, requesting to be put into the field. Sampson Davis (00:19:00): Yeah. Nix, did you learn anything from ... No, yeah. That's a security thing, right? Stace Babcock (00:19:27): Yeah. It's just got some security defenses. Honestly, maybe, just note that and leave it. I don't know. I feel like last week I would've been all about throwing some shit at it, but this week, we got Vlad here. Alex Finn (00:19:42): Oh, yeah. Sampson Davis (00:19:43): And we're trying to impress him and show him that ... Stace Babcock (00:19:46): We are not trying to impress him, Dili. Sampson Davis (00:19:48): We're trying to show him that we are very well-learned, remember? That we know what we're doing. Alex Finn (00:19:54): I thought we were just going to make him try and look at the column. Stace Babcock (00:19:58): No, we're just trying to shake him off as soon as possible, so, yeah. Same thing, I guess. Alex Finn (00:20:03): He can probably hear us, too. Stace Babcock (00:20:05): Yeah. I don't give a fuck. Daniel Andrlik (00:20:08): Yeah. You guys are adorable. Stace Babcock (00:20:09): I mean, honesty is a virtue, right? Daniel Andrlik (00:20:15): I suppose so. Sampson Davis (00:20:18): ChaCha, we were following Bastion. Daniel Andrlik (00:20:20): Honestly, from what I know, I don't know if the [inaudible 00:20:23] would be impressed right now. Alex Finn (00:20:26): We haven't killed that many people yet. Stace Babcock (00:20:29): Yeah, and I appreciate you're trying to motivate. Like, I see what you're doing, Vlad, and, legit. Like, it's your job. I get it, but you missed the mark there, Bud. I just got to tell you, man. Daniel Andrlik (00:20:41): He just looks at you, Nix, and says, "Okay." Sampson Davis (00:20:44): Well, this is fun. ChaCha, where did Bastion go? Alex Finn (00:20:50): Oh. Daniel Andrlik (00:20:50): Oh, it's this a way. He's across the room and pointing at the door to the right. It's a forward door but it's the right hand side door. Alex Finn (00:21:00): The door on the right is the way we go but we got to cross the column. Sampson Davis (00:21:07): Well, I can try putting a ball around the holographic eye, see if someone can cross with that up. Stace Babcock (00:21:13): Oh, yeah, Dili. If you'll do it, I'll try it. Hell yeah. Sampson Davis (00:21:16): All right. Dili puts a opaque ball around where he holographic eye would be, because it only activates when you get near it, right? Daniel Andrlik (00:21:26): Correct. Sampson Davis (00:21:27): Dili puts a opaque illusion around that eye, then. Daniel Andrlik (00:21:31): Okay. Vlad will assist you in that, and he lifts up a hand and your illusion appears thicker and denser than any you've made before. It almost looks like, even to your trained eyes, Dili, real. Sampson Davis (00:21:52): Holy shit. Thank you, Vlad. Mr. Icarus, I don't remember. Anyway, Nix, you want to try it? Stace Babcock (00:22:00): Nix will try to move through, but she will move through at the fastest pace the slowest person can make, so I don't know if that's Dili or if that's Race. Daniel Andrlik (00:22:09): Probably Race. Stace Babcock (00:22:10): Okay, so, Race's fastest capability. Daniel Andrlik (00:22:14): Okay. You get all the way across the room. Stace Babcock (00:22:16): Oh. Nix turns and does thumbs up. Alex Finn (00:22:19): I guess ChaCha's going next. Daniel Andrlik (00:22:20): Okay. Get across. Sampson Davis (00:22:23): Dili, I guess, will go next, still concentrating on the orb. Daniel Andrlik (00:22:27): Dili makes it all the way across. Vlad motions at Race. Race tries to make his way across. It's a little faster than he should. He's getting a little nervous halfway through, but he gets nervous and scuttles over but he makes it all the way across, and then Vlad comes and makes it all the way across. Sampson Davis (00:22:45): Dili dismisses the illusion. Daniel Andrlik (00:22:47): Before or after you open the door and go into the next room? Sampson Davis (00:22:50): Oh. Alex Finn (00:22:51): I would vote for after as Alex. Sampson Davis (00:22:54): I think Dili would not even think about that. He would think, oh, we're all across to the other side. Alex Finn (00:22:59): Boop. Sampson Davis (00:23:00): He's not even thinking about the other door. Daniel Andrlik (00:23:02): Okay, so, then, the eye winks into appearance and stares at you guys directly, and a portal opens and a creature steps through that looks like a 9 foot tall humanoid, almost goat-like creature but without any skin, just all muscle and viscera with oozing blood on its exterior. Alex Finn (00:23:30): So sexy. Daniel Andrlik (00:23:30): It steps through and then another one steps through before the gate closes. Two of these things face you, and these things are coming at you, so it's going to be initiative. Alex Finn (00:23:47): God damn it. Stace Babcock (00:23:47): 19. Sampson Davis (00:23:47): Shit. 11. Alex Finn (00:23:50): 14. Daniel Andrlik (00:23:51): These things go first. First one charges at Nix and swings. Nix, please make a 21 speed defense roll. Stace Babcock (00:24:01): Fuck. Alex Finn (00:24:03): Shit. Stace Babcock (00:24:03): 21, so that's a 15. I'll spend an effort. Oh, 15. Daniel Andrlik (00:24:09): Okay, so, you manage to dodge as it swings this staff at you and you notice that as it swings, the staff has light that emits from the top and extends forward, almost making the shape of ax heads on either side of it. They're sort of a glowing blue as they swing, but you dodge it. The other one is going to attack Dili. Dili, please make a 21 speed defense roll. Sampson Davis (00:24:35): Oh, boy. All right. Dili is going to put one level of effort into that. 18. Daniel Andrlik (00:24:44): Nice. You manage to dodge as it swings this staff at you, also appearing as this bladed weapon. Next up is Nix. Stace Babcock (00:24:55): Yeah. She's going to attack the closest one. Daniel Andrlik (00:25:00): Okay. Stace Babcock (00:25:01): She might actually, unless it's impossible, attack the one that attacked Dili, actually. Daniel Andrlik (00:25:06): Attack the one that attacked Dili. Okay. Because this is so big, it will be a 15 might roll to attack. Stace Babcock (00:25:15): Okay, so that is a ... I will spend my free level, which [inaudible 00:25:19] 12. Trained in unarmed attack, so 9. 17. Daniel Andrlik (00:25:24): Okay. That's plus 1 damage, so that's 8 damage, right? Stace Babcock (00:25:27): Fuck, yeah, it is. Kidney shot. Alex Finn (00:25:30): Hell yeah. Daniel Andrlik (00:25:32): Okay. It lets out this bellow. It's as if a goat and an elephant call was mixed with some distortion at the same time. Stace Babcock (00:25:45): Freaky. Daniel Andrlik (00:25:47): Then we go to Vlad. No, actually we go to ChaCha. Alex Finn (00:25:53): Alex the person is just like, should we just try and go through the door and just be like ... Sampson Davis (00:25:58): You don't want to fight some skinless bahamuts? Alex Finn (00:26:02): I mean, they're just too cute for us, but ChaCha's all ready for the murder, you know? Daniel Andrlik (00:26:10): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Alex Finn (00:26:11): I guess, ChaCha's going to try and shoot one of them with a pew pew. Stace Babcock (00:26:15): Fuck yeah. Daniel Andrlik (00:26:16): Okay. Alex Finn (00:26:17): Alex the person is just like, why aren't we just going through the door? Daniel Andrlik (00:26:24): The one that's already been hit, or the other one? Alex Finn (00:26:24): The one that's already been hit. Daniel Andrlik (00:26:26): Okay, so that will be a 15. Alex Finn (00:26:29): I got a 16. Daniel Andrlik (00:26:31): Okay. You hit it for four damage [inaudible 00:26:34]. Next up is Vlad. Vlad will shoot the one that's already wounded with a dart thrower and does some damage. Next up is Dili. Sampson Davis (00:26:48): Dili will use major illusion to put two black balls around both of their heads that reek of ammonia. Alex Finn (00:26:56): Oh, cat pee. Stace Babcock (00:26:59): Like a brewery. Sampson Davis (00:26:59): Okay. I like that. Stace Babcock (00:27:01): Oh, yeah. That, too. Daniel Andrlik (00:27:03): Yeah. Give me a 21 intellect roll if you're trained in illusion. Sampson Davis (00:27:09): Yes. Daniel Andrlik (00:27:10): That's a 15. Sampson Davis (00:27:12): Shouldn't that be an 18, or are you including the free level of effort that I have? Daniel Andrlik (00:27:16): I was assuming you were going to do the free level of effort. Sampson Davis (00:27:18): I was. Dili will pour on two additional levels of effort. Daniel Andrlik (00:27:24): Okay, so that's a 9. Sampson Davis (00:27:27): 5. Daniel Andrlik (00:27:29): Okay. You create these illusions but they dodge out of the way and you can't keep up with their head motions. Stace Babcock (00:27:36): Nice. Daniel Andrlik (00:27:37): It's almost like they're too quick to think about where their heads are going to be. They sort of dodge. In fact, they're almost doing sort of a dance, that almost seems to be designed to confuse their opponents about where they will be at any given time. Alex Finn (00:27:51): Like most dances. Daniel Andrlik (00:27:55): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Next up is Race. Race will try to send onslaught at one of these things and totally miss. He's totally perplexed by the wave that they move. Stace Babcock (00:28:04): Poor guy. Daniel Andrlik (00:28:05): Then, it will go to these creatures. One of them will attack Nix. It's a 21. Stace Babcock (00:28:13): It's speed defense, right, so a 15? Daniel Andrlik (00:28:16): 15 for you. Stace Babcock (00:28:17): 14. Daniel Andrlik (00:28:18): Okay. You will take 8 points of might damage. Stace Babcock (00:28:21): Armor? Daniel Andrlik (00:28:22): Armor will help. Stace Babcock (00:28:24): Good. Alex Finn (00:28:25): Please, armor. Daniel Andrlik (00:28:25): The other one is also going to strike at Nix. 21, so 15 for you. Stace Babcock (00:28:25): 17. Alex Finn (00:28:32): [inaudible 00:28:32] Daniel Andrlik (00:28:33): Okay, so, you manage to dodge its strike. Next up is Nix. Stace Babcock (00:28:38): First, I would like to spend this ... I should have did this a while ago, three speed points for moving like water. You spin and move so that your defense and attacks are aided by your fluid motion. For one minute, all of your attacks and speed defense cast gain an asset. Daniel Andrlik (00:28:51): Is that an action to activate? Stace Babcock (00:28:54): It says enabler. Daniel Andrlik (00:28:55): Oh. That's all the time. Stace Babcock (00:28:56): But it has a cost, so I think I have to spend the points to activate it. Daniel Andrlik (00:29:01): It's an enabler, but does it have an action to activate? Stace Babcock (00:29:04): It doesn't say that. Daniel Andrlik (00:29:05): What is it called again? Stace Babcock (00:29:06): Moving like water. Sometimes I truncate for the purposes of my character sheet, so let me look it up. Alex Finn (00:29:12): Budget. Daniel Andrlik (00:29:12): Moving like water. You spin and move so your defense and attacks, for one minute, all your attacks and speed defense gains an asset. Stace Babcock (00:29:20): Yes. Alex Finn (00:29:21): Oh, that'll be nice. Stace Babcock (00:29:23): It doesn't say action to activate, though, so I think you just have to spend the points. Daniel Andrlik (00:29:26): Yeah. I think you just have to spend the points. Stace Babcock (00:29:29): Okay. Well, I'm glad you found that. For some reason, it was alluding me, so she'll do that, and then try advantage to disadvantage. Attack an armed foe, damaging, disarming weapon in hand or 10 feet away, hindered. Daniel Andrlik (00:29:44): Okay. Stace Babcock (00:29:44): That negates the moving like water. Daniel Andrlik (00:29:47): Yep. Stace Babcock (00:29:48): What is it to hit? Daniel Andrlik (00:29:49): 15. Stace Babcock (00:29:50): I'll take my free level plus two more. Daniel Andrlik (00:29:53): Okay. That brings it down to 6. Stace Babcock (00:29:56): Unarmed. Daniel Andrlik (00:29:57): 3. Stace Babcock (00:29:58): All right. Don't let me down, Bessie. 12. Daniel Andrlik (00:30:03): Okay. You hit this figure for how much? Stace Babcock (00:30:05): 7 damage. Daniel Andrlik (00:30:08): You're doing advantage to disadvantage. Stace Babcock (00:30:10): But it damages and disarms, so I can either choose to have the staff 10 feet away on the ground or Nix has it. Is it a heavy weapon? Daniel Andrlik (00:30:20): It's a medium weapon. Stace Babcock (00:30:22): Nix'll take it away, so she'll take it. Daniel Andrlik (00:30:25): Okay, so, Nix has it. Okay. Next up is ChaCha. Alex Finn (00:30:29): I guess we just keep shooting the most injured one. Daniel Andrlik (00:30:33): Okay, so, that'll be, since it's a light weapon, it's a 12 to hit. Alex Finn (00:30:38): 13. Daniel Andrlik (00:30:41): Okay, so, it does 4 damage. [inaudible 00:30:41]. He looks in very bad shape. Next up is Vlad. He will shoot a dart thrower at it. He misses. Next up is Dili. Sampson Davis (00:30:52): All right. Seeing that his stinky balls are not working ... Alex Finn (00:30:59): [inaudible 00:30:59]. Sampson Davis (00:30:59): I don't know if this is going to work at all. Dili's going to pull out the data balls, point it at the least injured of the skinless bahamuts, activate it, and try to manifest the hard light in the same space as the other skinless bahamut. Daniel Andrlik (00:31:22): Oh, that's very good. Evens or odds, Sampson? Sampson Davis (00:31:26): Shit. Evens. Daniel Andrlik (00:31:28): Stace, roll a die. Tell me if you're even or odd. Stace Babcock (00:31:30): Odd. Sampson Davis (00:31:32): Damn it. Daniel Andrlik (00:31:33): You do this and it definitely hurts the creature. You'd have to guess. It was, like, 10 might points of damage. You strike it. Alex Finn (00:31:41): Nice. Stace Babcock (00:31:43): I feel like that's a win. Sampson Davis (00:31:47): But it's not a kill. Alex Finn (00:31:47): Maybe we should do this more often. Daniel Andrlik (00:31:48): You feel like, if only you had been a little bit luckier you might've done twice as much as that. Stace Babcock (00:31:56): I rolled a 1 on that. Sampson Davis (00:32:00): Damn. Stace Babcock (00:32:00): We'll try to work that out of our system. Daniel Andrlik (00:32:05): Okay. Next up is Race, who is going to fire an onslaught at these creatures and utterly miss, so, next up are the creatures. One of them is going to swing at Nix. Stace Babcock (00:32:18): Is it the unarmed one? Daniel Andrlik (00:32:20): Yes. It'll be only be a 12. Stace Babcock (00:32:26): 6 for Nix. 14. Daniel Andrlik (00:32:27): Okay. You dodge handily out of the way. The other one is going to swing at Dili because Dili hurt it and made it feel bad, so, Dili, it is a 21 speed defense. Sampson Davis (00:32:38): All right. Going to spend 1 level of effort of my speed to lower that to something manageable. 15. Stace Babcock (00:32:48): Nix is there, because it's a new round, so Nix will take that attack. Daniel Andrlik (00:32:52): Nix'll take it. Nix, it'll be 8 points of might damage. Stace Babcock (00:32:56): Feels good. 7, because Nix has 1 armor. Alex Finn (00:33:00): Nice. Daniel Andrlik (00:33:01): Okay. Now, it's Nix's turn. Stace Babcock (00:33:03): It is not. Nix took her action. Alex Finn (00:33:05): Oh, yeah. Daniel Andrlik (00:33:06): Right, so, now it is ChaCha's turn. Alex Finn (00:33:09): I guess we should shoot again. Daniel Andrlik (00:33:11): Okay. Which one are you shooting at? Alex Finn (00:33:12): Most injured, always most injured. Daniel Andrlik (00:33:15): Okay, so, that'll be a 12 since this is a light weapon. Alex Finn (00:33:18): No. I got a 7. Daniel Andrlik (00:33:21): Okay, so, your blast goes wide and just barely misses it. It's like, your shot was dead on but it manages to dodge out of the way. Alex Finn (00:33:31): With the Matrix dance moves, I know. Too sexy for us. Daniel Andrlik (00:33:36): Next up is Vlad. He shoots his dart thrower again. Stace, roll a die. Tell me if you're even or odd. Stace Babcock (00:33:45): Even. Daniel Andrlik (00:33:46): Okay. He misses. Stace Babcock (00:33:46): Fuck. Daniel Andrlik (00:33:48): Next up is Dili. Sampson Davis (00:33:51): I think Dili is going to bring his stinky ball illusions together and just have it focus on the one that just attacked Nix. Daniel Andrlik (00:34:00): Okay. 21. Sampson Davis (00:34:02): Oof. All right. 3 levels of effort including the free one, and I'm trained in my illusions. Not 113, just the 13. Sticks. Daniel Andrlik (00:34:13): Okay, it manages to dodge out of the way of your ball of carefulness again. Sampson Davis (00:34:20): No one can resist my Schweddy balls. What the fuck? Daniel Andrlik (00:34:27): Wow. Alex Finn (00:34:27): Take 2 intelligence points damage for that. Sampson Davis (00:34:31): Hey, that's the best SNL skit of all time. Alex Finn (00:34:34): [inaudible 00:34:34] all my intelligence points. Daniel Andrlik (00:34:38): Next up is Race, who is utterly going to miss again. Alex Finn (00:34:41): No. Sampson Davis (00:34:43): Come on, Race. Alex Finn (00:34:44): I would like him to be more effective, Daniel. Come on. Daniel Andrlik (00:34:47): He just had a seizure. He's just barely recovering. Next up are the critters. One is going to attack Nix for 21. Stace Babcock (00:34:57): That fucking sucks. 15, effort. Daniel Andrlik (00:34:57): Okay. Stace Babcock (00:35:01): 15. Daniel Andrlik (00:35:03): Nice. You manage to dodge as it swings its fist at you. The other one is going to attack Dili again. Dili, 21 speed defense. Stace Babcock (00:35:12): Tough nuts, Dili. Sampson Davis (00:35:13): I can't spend anymore speed, so I'm just going to roll to see if I get a 20. I don't. Daniel Andrlik (00:35:19): 8 might damage. Sampson Davis (00:35:21): Ow. Daniel Andrlik (00:35:22): Next up is Nix. Stace Babcock (00:35:25): There's one that's unarmed and looks pretty bad compared to the other one, right? Daniel Andrlik (00:35:29): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Yep. Stace Babcock (00:35:30): This is the one Nix's going to go after. She's going to punch the fuck out of it. Maybe [crosstalk 00:35:35]. Sampson Davis (00:35:35): Genius. Stace Babcock (00:35:36): Something. Sampson Davis (00:35:36): Brilliant. Stace Babcock (00:35:38): Yeah, yeah. It's a what, Daniel? Daniel Andrlik (00:35:40): It would be a 15. Stace Babcock (00:35:42): Unarmed, 12. Free effort, 9. Daniel Andrlik (00:35:46): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Stace Babcock (00:35:47): 2 effort. Oh my god. It's fine. Daniel Andrlik (00:35:53): Brings it down to a 3, and you have might left to burn for that? Stace Babcock (00:35:55): Yeah, this time. Daniel Andrlik (00:35:58): Okay. Stace Babcock (00:36:00): 15. Daniel Andrlik (00:36:00): Okay. How much damage is it again? Stace Babcock (00:36:02): 7. Daniel Andrlik (00:36:03): What does it look like when you kill this skinless goat person? Stace Babcock (00:36:07): Nice. Nix had ripped its staff away from it but she doesn't hit it with the staff. She hits it with her bow, with her elbow, just straight in the fucking throat, collapsing its airway until it suffocates to death. It's doing that on the floor when Nix pulls back her arm again and lets fly at the next one using successive attack, attack second foe as part of the same action upon killing an enemy. Daniel Andrlik (00:36:37): Okay, so, it'll be a 15 to hit. Stace Babcock (00:36:38): Okay. Effort, down to a 12. Actually, as is a melee fighter's prerogative, I'm going to use speed and spend 3 levels of effort, because I definitely thought there was something I could do. 14. Daniel Andrlik (00:36:52): Okay, so, you hit them for ... You're attacking the wounded one again, right? No, you already killed the wounded one. Stace Babcock (00:37:00): Yeah, yeah. This is 7 to the other one. Daniel Andrlik (00:37:03): Okay. It does not like that. It bellows. Stace Babcock (00:37:08): Fuck yeah, it does. Daniel Andrlik (00:37:09): Next up is ChaCha. Alex Finn (00:37:11): I guess we're going after the last remaining guy. Daniel Andrlik (00:37:16): Okay. It is a 15 to hit. If you're using your pew pew, it's a 12. Alex Finn (00:37:20): I'm using pew pew and I got a 15. I'm just sitting here just, like, I really just want to make a break for the door, but that's really not in ChaCha's character, and I was like, "Why can't we go through the door, guys?" Alex is screaming. Daniel Andrlik (00:37:36): You hit it, and then do me a favor, Alex. Roll a D20 twice for me for depletion. Alex Finn (00:37:42): I was going to mention this last one, if I should rather roll for depletion now. How often do I need to roll for depletion? Stace Babcock (00:37:48): Every time you use it. Daniel Andrlik (00:37:49): Every time you use the weapon, technically. Alex Finn (00:37:51): Okay. I got a 14 and an 8. I'll just start doing my double rolls every time I shoot. Daniel Andrlik (00:37:58): Next up there's Vlad. He tries to attack the creature. Alex, roll a die. Tell me if you're evens or odds. Alex Finn (00:37:58): Odd. Daniel Andrlik (00:38:07): Okay, so you miss, or Vlad misses, rather. Next up is Dili. Sampson Davis (00:38:13): Dili, slightly shaking from all the fucking damage he's taken, is going to pull out his own pew pew gun and aim it at damaged bahamut. Daniel Andrlik (00:38:26): Okay. That's 12 to hit. Sampson Davis (00:38:26): Yeah, all right. 15 but it rolled off the ... No, it was a 15. It stayed on the table. Daniel Andrlik (00:38:29): Okay, so, you hit them for four damage. They do not look good. Next up is Race. Race misses again. He's really panicked about ... He's really low level, guys. It's not his fault. Alex Finn (00:38:43): It's okay. He's trying. Daniel Andrlik (00:38:45): [crosstalk 00:38:45] where it is. Alex Finn (00:38:46): He just needs to try harder. Daniel Andrlik (00:38:48): Race is at his best when he can use a Cypher to help him. Sampson Davis (00:38:50): Well, he shouldn't have fucking wasted it. Daniel Andrlik (00:38:53): It's this critter's turn again and they are going to swing at Nix. They've identified Nix. They've identified Nix as the bigger threat, so, Nix, it's a 21. Stace Babcock (00:39:05): 15 for Nix? Daniel Andrlik (00:39:07): Yeah. Stace Babcock (00:39:08): I will go ahead and spend 2 levels of speed effort. 7? That seems bad. That sounds low. Daniel Andrlik (00:39:18): Yeah. That won't do it, so you'll take 8 points of might damage. Stace Babcock (00:39:22): Love it. Nix is impaired. Alex Finn (00:39:25): Nice. Daniel Andrlik (00:39:26): It's Nix's turn. Stace Babcock (00:39:28): To hit, it is a 15 right, base? Unarmed, 12. Daniel Andrlik (00:39:32): Yep. Stace Babcock (00:39:34): 1 speed ever. Daniel Andrlik (00:39:35): Okay, that brings it down to a 9. Stace Babcock (00:39:39): Okay. I'm going to say, that's actually, yeah, and 1 more speed effort for damage. Feeling ... Daniel Andrlik (00:39:46): Confident. Stace Babcock (00:39:47): Confident. Sampson Davis (00:39:48): Spicy. Stace Babcock (00:39:49): 15. Daniel Andrlik (00:39:50): Okay. It is 10 damage, then, right? Stace Babcock (00:39:57): Yep. I'm sure it is, Daniel. Can you do the math on this one? Daniel Andrlik (00:40:03): Because it's plus 3 damage on top of your usual 7. Stace Babcock (00:40:05): Yep. Daniel Andrlik (00:40:06): What does it look like when you kill this last skinless goat humanoid creature? Sampson Davis (00:40:10): Yes. DPS. Alex Finn (00:40:13): Nice. Stace Babcock (00:40:13): I want to just say, on that last hit she took something to the chin, like something pretty hard. Her lip is split, she's bleeding, but she just uses the momentum, lets her head fling back and then headbutts the shit out of this guy. Just absolutely breaks his nose, tangles up his face. We can say bone splinters enter his brain. Whatever we got to do to make this scene work, and, yeah, he dead. Daniel Andrlik (00:40:41): I think you headbutt him, and from Nix's point of view, it's basically what you described. From Dili and ChaCha's point of view, you see Nix get hit in the chin by this goat creature and then you see her open her mouth wide, showing her fangs, and then she swings her head forward to headbutt this creature and their skull explodes and brains go splattering across the other side of the room. Sampson Davis (00:41:13): Fatality. Stace Babcock (00:41:14): Holy shit. Finish him. Sampson Davis (00:41:20): Oh, man. Stace Babcock (00:41:22): Anyone going to eat that? Alex Finn (00:41:24): Maybe save one for Bastion. Stace Babcock (00:41:26): All right. Yeah, yeah. Sampson Davis (00:41:27): Maybe we take it into the next room. Stace Babcock (00:41:30): Guys, I need ... Yeah, all right. Nix'll drag as best ... She's weak. She's at 0-1-9, guys. Nix is so weak. Sampson Davis (00:41:40): I feel that. Dili's at 1-1-13. Daniel Andrlik (00:41:43): Do you guys just want to open the next door or do you want to stop and rest? Sampson Davis (00:41:47): What's that holographic eye doing? Stace Babcock (00:41:49): We want to get the fuck out of there. Yeah. Yeah. We don't need that holographic eye summoning more critters. Sampson Davis (00:41:54): Yeah. What's digital Sauron doing? Daniel Andrlik (00:41:56): It's still there. Sampson Davis (00:41:57): All right. Alex Finn (00:41:57): Yeah, we should probably go in the next room. Sampson Davis (00:42:00): Weakly, Dili will put up a black orb around the eye. Daniel Andrlik (00:42:03): Okay. Vlad helps you again. Bastion looks at ChaCha and says, "That was weird. Why didn't you guys just go through the door? There's nothing on the other side, here." Alex Finn (00:42:14): Really? Really? See, I thought everybody was just like, "No, we got to defend ..." You know, hey guys. We could have gone through the door this whole time because there's nothing on the other side. We didn't need to do that. Stace Babcock (00:42:30): ChaCha, like ... Daniel Andrlik (00:42:31): Yeah. There was a constraining field around it. Those things couldn't have left the room, anyway. Stace Babcock (00:42:37): ChaCha, I buy the time, you open the door, all right? You get what I'm saying? Someone should open that door. My job is to ... Alex Finn (00:42:47): I thought I was supposed to back ... Okay, so, next time we do this, you buy time, I open doors, because that's my destiny to save the world. Got it. Stace Babcock (00:42:57): Yeah, but, keep apprised of the situation because sometimes we are just going to have to finish a fight, ChaCha, but in this case, yeah, explore options to get away. Those things were tough as fuck. I'm so hungry. Alex Finn (00:43:10): Why don't we just, like, you have a snack and then we go to the other room? Stace Babcock (00:43:14): Yeah, yeah. Sampson Davis (00:43:16): We should go to the other room first, because we shouldn't have this eye looking at us the whole time. Stace Babcock (00:43:22): Nix is limply trying to drag this thing. Daniel Andrlik (00:43:25): Okay. You drag it into this next room. This room is roughly circular in shape, maybe 20 meters in diameter. There is a door to the right, there's a door to the left. Along the center of this room are some shelves with racks of devices that glow with a green light. Sampson Davis (00:43:47): Those fucking jade eggs. Daniel Andrlik (00:43:49): There is a small, other sort of box or containment system next to the right hand door that's roughly two feet tall and two feet wide, roughly a square. Stace Babcock (00:44:06): Nix searches her body for anything inedible. Daniel Andrlik (00:44:11): Not really. There's nothing much on there. They had their staff, but other than that, they're just skinless goat humanoid. Stace Babcock (00:44:21): She going to eat it. Daniel Andrlik (00:44:24): Okay. You start reaching out to eat it and your mouth opens wide and the rest of you watch as Nix shoves this entire 9 foot tall humanoid down her mouth and falls asleep. Stace Babcock (00:44:41): Yeah. There. Sampson Davis (00:44:41): Dili, nearly being exhausted, is just going to kind of stare at it, not really reacting and just, like, "Okay," and then check the room to see if any of the devices or the box are dangerous or immediately dangerous, at least. Daniel Andrlik (00:44:56): The devices seem to be fitted into slots. They can be removed and they have their own activation sequence, like a switch and a power button. Sampson Davis (00:45:05): Cool, and seeing no immediate danger, Dili is just going to go to a wall nearby everybody and make a few recovery rolls. Daniel Andrlik (00:45:12): Okay. Nix'll be asleep for an hour and a half. Sampson Davis (00:45:16): Dope. Dili's going to make the first 3. Stace Babcock (00:45:17): What does Vlad think? I have to know. Daniel Andrlik (00:45:20): Vlad is a little perplexed by Nix and he goes over and grabs Dili by the shoulder and says, "I knew how ChaCha, but what the fuck did I just see next do?" Alex Finn (00:45:40): Nix nix. Sampson Davis (00:45:41): Yeah. Nix picked up some sort of snake thing a couple of days after we got back from our first job, I think. Yeah, she can poison people with some fangs that come out. The eating people is relatively new, but she's in control of it. She gets hungry, you know? Daniel Andrlik (00:46:02): Okay. She just ate an entire humanoid. Sampson Davis (00:46:05): You say it like it's weird, and logically I know it's weird, but it's just kind of ... It feels pretty normal nowadays. Daniel Andrlik (00:46:13): ChaCha, you notice that Bastion is standing over by Nix's sleeping form and he's kind of kneeled down next to her. Alex Finn (00:46:21): Bastion, did you eat your giant goat thing? Nix isn't food. Daniel Andrlik (00:46:28): She reminds me so much of the imps. Alex Finn (00:46:31): Yeah, but, she's nice, unlike them. Daniel Andrlik (00:46:34): I'm so hungry, ChaCha. Alex Finn (00:46:36): Do I need to get a rolled up newspaper? Daniel Andrlik (00:46:41): That's kind of rude. I thought we're friends. Alex Finn (00:46:43): We are, but you're trying to eat my other friend. Daniel Andrlik (00:46:48): I'm not going to eat her. I'm just saying, she looks tasty. Alex Finn (00:46:49): What about the other dead bodies? Daniel Andrlik (00:46:52): Yeah. Those are not quite the same, and you see him wander over to the other goat creature that Nix did not eat, and you see him reach out a hand, and his hand turns into claws, and everybody else, you see, suddenly, this corpse rent open, and this blood spatters, but ChaCha, you see Bastion reach down into the shape and pluck out this pulse of glowing purple red, almost bruise color energy that he pops into his mouth and swallows. He says, "That's better." Alex Finn (00:47:42): See? It's not as bad. Daniel Andrlik (00:47:42): Yeah. Not as tasty, but it'll do in a pinch. Alex Finn (00:47:45): Right, and then we're probably going to get more of the tentacle guys clearing this place out. Daniel Andrlik (00:47:50): All right. Dili was checking on the devices, right? Sampson Davis (00:47:55): He was just looking, not touching anything before taking his own nap. Daniel Andrlik (00:48:00): Okay, so it looks like the devices could be unslotted from their position if you wanted, and you know how you could turn them on if you wanted. Anything else will require a roll. Sampson Davis (00:48:10): Okay. Dili's going to save that till after his own hour and a half nap. Daniel Andrlik (00:48:15): Okay. Bastion has just consumed this energy that he plucked from one of these goat creatures and if we're saying that time has passed to an hour and a half, Nix wakes up. Nix, all your pools are full. Stace Babcock (00:48:30): Yes. Sampson Davis (00:48:31): Bullshit. Stace Babcock (00:48:32): We're making sure it's Carlyle's body disposal service. Daniel Andrlik (00:48:40): You provide the bedroll. We provide the removal. Stace Babcock (00:48:45): 90 minutes tops. Sampson Davis (00:48:49): Dili's recovery rolls only require hour and 10, so I think he's been at least walking around for a little bit, but now that the muscle is up and ready. Daniel Andrlik (00:48:59): Are you just investigating the racks or are you also investigating the other containment system? Sampson Davis (00:49:04): I think he's just looking around, walking, so not really a full investigation, but, yeah. Anything that, visually, he could see, I guess he's investigating. Daniel Andrlik (00:49:12): Okay, then give me a perception role of 12. Sampson Davis (00:49:17): 3 levels intellect. Natural 20. Daniel Andrlik (00:49:20): You definitely notice on the containment device, a depression at the seam at the top that seems to match a square Synth you guys recovered from one of the other bodies. What would you propose as a major effect? Sampson Davis (00:49:39): Major effect for perception. I want to do something with Astor, again. As Dili has had another near death experience and is now just kind of looking around, just kind of quietly observing everything, I think, unconsciously, one of the some sort of mental block or gate kind of falls away as Dili's healing from the most recent trauma, and I want Astor's sight. I want Dili to have access to what Astor can see as a major effect. Daniel Andrlik (00:50:16): Astor, as you're looking around, you notice this sort of augmented reality view, where once again you see the threat assessment for all of your companions, but then you also see the racks of devices there and you see a highlight over them that says, "Gravity compensation," and then there are a number of glyphs that you don't recognize, and then you look at the other containers say, "Organic containment unit," and then it highlights a entrance key sequence and then, also, there's an image of the calculate predetermined key, which looks a lot like one of the devices that was pulled off of that first tentacle creature that you guys encountered. Sampson Davis (00:51:06): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Sorry, gravity compensation and then what was over the containment? Daniel Andrlik (00:51:12): Organic containment. Sampson Davis (00:51:12): Organic containment. Gravity compensation was over the green devices on the shelves? Daniel Andrlik (00:51:18): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Sampson Davis (00:51:18): Okay. As this comes over Dili's eyes, Dili's going to talk to Astor, like, "What are you doing? What are you putting over my eyes?" Daniel Andrlik (00:51:26): Just sharing my sight with you, giving you some more insight. Sampson Davis (00:51:30): Well, ask next time, but thank you, but ask. Daniel Andrlik (00:51:34): [inaudible 00:51:34]. Sampson Davis (00:51:35): When Dili sees that Nix is awake, he goes to the group and informs them what he sees of the devices and the containment thing. Yeah. These green things are doing some sort of gravity compensation, I don't know quite what, but that thing ... Dili points to the box next to the door. That's some sort of organic containment, and that has the key hole to fit the little cube that you found, Nix, on the, quote, guide that we had for, like, 5 minutes. Stace Babcock (00:52:09): Sick. Want to use it, Dili? Sampson Davis (00:52:12): I don't know, because I don't know what it's containing. Organic's kind of a broad term, and I'm still kind of sore. Stace Babcock (00:52:19): Yo, ChaCha, can your friend tell? Alex Finn (00:52:27): Bastion, you want in? Daniel Andrlik (00:52:29): He goes over and shoves his face through the Synth surface of the box. [inaudible 00:52:35] like, "Huh, that's kind of cute." Alex Finn (00:52:37): He says it's cute, so let's open the box. Sampson Davis (00:52:40): Well, hold on. What's his definition of cute? Alex Finn (00:52:43): I think, usually, the everybody's definition of cute. Stace Babcock (00:52:48): All right, but I'm ready to fight it, ChaCha. Alex Finn (00:52:52): But, if it's cute ... Stace Babcock (00:52:53): You're cute, ChaCha, and you are very dangerous. Sampson Davis (00:52:57): That's true. Alex Finn (00:52:58): True. True. Maybe it's less dangerous. Sampson Davis (00:53:03): All right. I'm just going to stand back here while you guys open that. Stace Babcock (00:53:07): Yeah. Nix'll look around, make sure everyone's ready, including Vlad and Race, and put the little square thingy in the keyhole, or whatever. Daniel Andrlik (00:53:18): Okay, so, you put the square thingy in the keyhole. It lights up and lights appear along the seam with this box, and it opens, and inside, you see what appears to be a furry sphere with large, dark eyes, looking up at you, almost wide, like they're almost, for a minute, startled by you, and they kind of shake themselves into a corner of it and make this squeaking noise of [inaudible 00:53:52]. Sampson Davis (00:53:52): What were those Star Trek creatures? Truffles? Stace Babcock (00:53:55): Tribbles. Sampson Davis (00:53:56): Tribbles. Stace Babcock (00:53:56): Trouble with Tribbles. Daniel Andrlik (00:53:58): This is more spherical than a Tribble, but the fur does look almost as soft, and it has eyes, like puppy dog eyes that look up at you. Alex Finn (00:54:07): This is our new love. Stace Babcock (00:54:10): Yeah, I got to agree with you, ChaCha. Definitely our new love. Yeah. Sampson Davis (00:54:15): How much teeth does it have, Dili calls from halfway across the room. Stace Babcock (00:54:19): Nix will hold out a hand, open palmed toward the creature. Daniel Andrlik (00:54:23): For a moment it pauses and then it bounces across the container and hops into your hand. Its fur is incredibly soft. It's like rabbit fur. Stace Babcock (00:54:34): Nix is well fed at this moment. Daniel Andrlik (00:54:38): Mm-hmm (affirmative), and it hops into your hand and it makes this trilling sound, like a high pitched version of a purr. Stace Babcock (00:54:45): Oh, no. Nix scratches it behind the ears, question mark? Ear hole? Daniel Andrlik (00:54:52): It doesn't have ears. It's sort of a sphere. Stace Babcock (00:54:53): Behind the sphere. Daniel Andrlik (00:54:55): Yeah, if you're guessing based off of its eye placement, the trilling sound gets even louder, and then there's a deeper tone that matches it. Stace Babcock (00:55:04): Oh my god, ChaCha. This thing is fucking cute. Alex Finn (00:55:08): This was worth every minute of annoyance. Sampson Davis (00:55:11): What's the verdict? Stace Babcock (00:55:12): Cute, Dili. It's just fucking cute. Like, look at it, and Nix'll, not sudden motions or anything, but turn her hand. Daniel Andrlik (00:55:20): It closes its eyes and starts nuzzling into your [crosstalk 00:55:23]. Stace Babcock (00:55:25): It's mine, Dili. Sampson Davis (00:55:27): Okay. Alex Finn (00:55:28): But we have visitation rights. Sampson Davis (00:55:30): It's going to have to earn my trust. Is it eating you? Is it taking over your mind? Stace Babcock (00:55:34): No. It's, like, snuggling me, Dili. Sampson Davis (00:55:38): Burrowing into your skin? Daniel Andrlik (00:55:40): ChaCha, at this moment, you suddenly feel Hubert start frantically scribbling in your pocket, trying to find a way out and away, and that's where we'll end this episode. Stace Babcock (00:55:40): No, Daniel. No. Sampson Davis (00:55:56): You bear nose, what's up? Stace Babcock (00:55:57): Do not give us a Tribble and then make it bad, or do, whatever. Daniel Andrlik (00:56:03): Sampson, something about this episode. Sampson Davis (00:56:05): I like that we stayed and fought the skinless bahamuts, even though we could have tried running, but that's no fun. Stace Babcock (00:56:14): I like how we're consciously all too in character to be like, yeah, let's leave. Sampson Davis (00:56:20): I also like that. Against Dili's will, but, I'm very much enjoying it that Dili is growing closer to Astor in ways that he does not want to do, consciously. Enjoying. Daniel Andrlik (00:56:33): Honestly, Sampson, when you used Astor as one of your major effects, I was so fucking excited, so, that was an awesome choice. Sampson Davis (00:56:42): Oh, yeah. Thank you. I had a fun time. Also, again, Nix just eating one of them and full fucking [inaudible 00:56:49] back. I'm jealous. I'm genuinely jealous. Daniel Andrlik (00:56:54): Yeah. It's a pretty cool ability. Alex Finn (00:56:55): Mm-hmm (affirmative). Stace Babcock (00:56:56): It is. Daniel Andrlik (00:56:56): I mean, admittedly, she has to sleep for an hour and a half afterwards. Stace Babcock (00:56:59): I feel like I have to say, I have no idea what Daniel's going to throw at me in terms of Nix's mutation, so this shit is just fucking cool. Daniel, I'm loving it. Daniel Andrlik (00:57:08): Awesome. I'm glad to hear that. We have a segment that we do each week called player intrusions. That's where we offer you, the listener in XP to check out something that we think you would really dig. This week it is Alex's turn. Alex, what would you offer our listeners in XP to check out? Alex Finn (00:57:24): I'm actively looking at Twitter so I don't fuck this up. Now that we're starting to get out of this Panera Bread and everyone's going to see people again, I would like ... Stace Babcock (00:57:36): Did you mean this Pandemi Lovato? Alex Finn (00:57:39): Yeah. This Pizza Hut. Sampson Davis (00:57:46): Oh, shit. Alex Finn (00:57:48): I would like to recommend 2 to 3 YouTube channels, but they can be classified under the umbrella of the Welsh Twins, James and Robert Welsh. They are YouTubers. James does skin care and Robert does makeup. They each have their own individual channels, and they also have a podcast, The Double Cleanse, and they also have a joint channel called The Welsh Twins where they prove weekly that they are not the same person, because they are, I believe, identical twins. One just has a scar in their eyebrow. Daniel Andrlik (00:58:25): Okay. Alex Finn (00:58:25): Yeah, I really enjoy their content because they give honest reviews of the makeup products and skin care and they kind of explain, like, if you're looking for skin care suggestions, I would highly recommend looking into James Welsh's channel and just general knowledge. It is amazing. Daniel Andrlik (00:58:46): Okay, so it's James Welsh, and, who's the other Welsh? Alex Finn (00:58:50): Robert Welsh. Daniel Andrlik (00:58:52): Okay. Alex Finn (00:58:52): It's also fun to go watch them on Twitter because they talk so much shit to each other. It's amazing. Daniel Andrlik (00:58:58): Okay. Very cool. Stace Babcock (00:59:00): I love a good makeup or skin care channel, honestly. Like, when it's done well, it's amazing. Daniel Andrlik (00:59:06): Very cool. If people wanted to tell us what they think about the Welsh Twins or their favorite hit from the Welsh Twins or, even more radically, what they think about the podcast, how would they do that, Sampson? Sampson Davis (00:59:18): An excellent place to begin would be by going to explorerswanted.fm. From there they can access all our socials, all the places we have planted our flag on the internet. On Twitter, for example, we are @explorerswanted. On Instagram and Facebook we are @explorerswantedpodcast. If these hypothetical listeners would like to interact with us directly, we are very active on our Discord which they can find at explorerswanted.fm/discord. That'll bring them to the link that'll bring them to the Discord. Additionally, if they have an overwhelming feeling to give us money and is within their means, you can support us at patreon.com/explorerswanted. Daniel Andrlik (00:59:59): Yes. Please do. If you can't, honestly, the best thing that you could do for us is to tell your friends and tell them why they should listen to the show and why you love it. The second best thing you could do is to leave us a five star review in a podcast directory, specifically Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher. If I'm being honest, the thing that makes the most difference for us Apple Podcasts. That really influences people finding us. Podchaser is a close second there. If you didn't like the podcast, or if you just thought it was meh, well, you should know, there is a creature that lives their life backwards. They violate the traffic laws of time, and each morning, take one step farther into the past. I don't know how long they've been walking. They aren't human, at least I don't believe so, but in dim light, they can pass well enough. At seven feet tall, they easily loom over most people they encounter. Their eyes are dark, almost a solid indigo, with no whites to be seen, and their skin is a dark gray. They keep their hair short and uneven, like they cut it with a kitchen knife as opposed to shears. This may sound familiar, and it should. You know them, or you will know them. You see, they visited me last night, catching me by surprise as I was taking my recycling to the curb. As always, there was a thrum to the air like radio static that you could feel but not hear. They leaned down to me, parting their lips and, misjudging the angle, I kissed their long teeth. Their mouth tasted of sweat, warm breath, and something sweet I couldn't identify. When I asked what that faint flavor was, they said it was you. If you want to reach out to us individually on social media, you can. You can find me on Twitter @andrlik, A-N-D-R-L-I-K. Stace Babcock (01:02:05): Daniel, I go to bed after we record, but anyway, people can find me on Twitter @stacewindu. Sampson Davis (01:02:14): I'm very confused because I think Dan just described my dad. I'm @slampotato. Alex Finn (01:02:20): I thought that was a romantic story for, like, 70% of it. You can agree with me or not, @realteaunicorn and teawithaunicorn on Twitch. Daniel Andrlik (01:02:34): That's it for us. Hope you enjoyed the show. Have a good day, night, weekend, or whenever you're listening to this, and, bye. Alex Finn (01:02:34): Bye. Stace Babcock (01:02:34): Bye. Sampson Davis (01:02:34): Bye. Stace Babcock (01:03:17): I said it was the road to recovery, not recovery. Sampson Davis (01:03:20): Is that a fucking Tupperware? Daniel Andrlik (01:03:21): I couldn't tell if it was that or the large size jumbo soup to go container from a Chinese restaurant. Stace Babcock (01:03:35): It's a 32 ounce Tupperware cup, yes. Sampson Davis (01:03:42): Beautiful. I love it. Stace Babcock (01:03:46): I'm going to say that again once I stop coughing. Yes, this is a 32 ounce Tupperware cup. Alex Finn (01:03:55): DLO, if anyone [crosstalk 01:03:55] ... Stace Babcock (01:03:55): Is it actually a cup? Sampson Davis (01:03:58): It's a cup now. Daniel Andrlik (01:03:59): Wow. Bravo. Alex Finn (01:04:03): It looks like those curry containers I have when I'm done with them. Stace Babcock (01:04:06): I drink one of these every Friday morning, guys. Alex Finn (01:04:10): Wow. Sampson Davis (01:04:11): I didn't know it was out of a Tupperware. Stace Babcock (01:04:14): Yeah. Shit. It comes with a lid, I just don't use it. Sampson Davis (01:04:20): Biggest fucking sippy cup. Stace Babcock (01:04:21): It is a sippy cup. Daniel Andrlik (01:04:25): None of this is making it to the final episode. Sampson Davis (01:04:27): Oh, damn it. Stace Babcock (01:04:29): Fuck. That was quality fucking content, Daniel. Sampson Davis (01:04:31): Yeah. Stace Babcock (01:04:32): Shit, you think I drink out of fucking Tupperware cups for my fucking health? Actually, that's exactly why I drink out of Tupperware cups. Sampson Davis (01:04:39): Yeah. Daniel Andrlik (01:04:40): Yeah. Some of it will make it there but most of it will go to an outtake. Stace Babcock (01:04:43): Very well. Sampson Davis (01:04:45): Apologies, future Dan, for whatever this episode is going to be. Stace Babcock (01:04:48): Live it in, future Dan. This is gold, future Dan. Daniel Andrlik (01:04:52): Yeah. Everything'll just be smooth after the 5 minute, 19 second [crosstalk 01:04:56]. Stace Babcock (01:04:57): No. Sampson Davis (01:04:57): I'm just worried you're going to cut this down to, like, 20 minutes, and that's the best episode you can get. Stace Babcock (01:05:03): I'm not going to agree to any ... Yeah. 20 minute episode. Daniel Andrlik (01:05:06): We'll see. Yeah. I cut at least 30 minutes per recording. Sampson Davis (01:05:12): Oh, god. Alex Finn (01:05:14): Again, Astor, being an amazing murder monster helped Dili dodge that explosion and was about to solve the Race issue, but ... That sounded different than I intended. His name's Race. Oh no. He was about to discipline this guy for ... Stace Babcock (01:05:44): I think it might be almost over, but I know that it's a lie. Daniel Andrlik (01:05:50): Stace, are you saying right now that you are officially white girl drunk? Stace Babcock (01:05:55): Me? Daniel Andrlik (01:05:56): Yeah. Stace Babcock (01:05:57): I only get white girl drunk. Daniel Andrlik (01:05:57): Bye. Sampson Davis (01:05:57): Bye. Alex Finn (01:05:57): Bye. Stace Babcock (01:06:03): Bye. Alex Finn (01:06:05): I seriously thought the end was, like, a weird, romantic story, like, you've met the love of your life taking out your recycling and you had this cute kiss, and they're just like, "Oh, yeah. It's you," but then it got a little kinky when they said that, and I was like, "Oh."