Masked goons are storming the auction at the First National Bank. Someone has to do something! Aggie moves fast. Milo’s got the spirit. Val spears.
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Cast & Crew
- Dungeon Master, Co-Producer: Eric Silver
- Co-Host (Milo Lane), Co-Producer, Editor, Sound Designer, Composer: Brandon Grugle
- Co-Host (Val Vesuvio), Co-Producer, Editor: Julia Schifini
- Co-Host (Aggie O’Hare), Co-Producer: Amanda McLoughlin
- Multitude: multitude.productions
About Us
Join the Party is a collaborative storytelling and roleplaying podcast, powered by the rules of Dungeons and Dragons. That means a group of friends create a story together, chapter by chapter, that takes us beyond the tabletop to parts unknown. In the first campaign, we explored fantasy adventure, intrigue, magic, and drama. In the newest story, we tackle science, superpowers, a better future, and the responsibility to help others.
Every month, we sit down for the Afterparty, where we break down our game and answer your questions about how to play D&D and other roleplaying games at home. We also have segments at the beginning of each campaign to teach people how to play the game themselves. It’s a party, and you’re invited! Find out more at jointhepartypod.com.
Transcript
Amanda: Last time on Join the Party…
Eric: We meet our characters, Aggie, the caretaker of the Lake Town Historic District and the super for all of the first residents’ bungalows, Milo, a museum educator at the Futurism Museum who can talk to spirits like his ghost, cat, Tuna, and Val, five feet of Italian anger and punk spikes, who works at the oldest pizza place in LTC, Dominic's.
All three of our characters are compelled to go to the charity auction at the First National Bank downtown. As the bidding begins, the doors of the bank burst open as a crew of goons wearing mountain lobster masks scream at everyone to get back and let them do what they're doing.
What will our characters do? Do they remember how attack bonuses work? Is Tuna going to be okay? Let's get the party started.
[theme music]
[electronic action music]
Eric [as goon]: Alright. This is a stick up. We're taking all this stuff back because it's ours.
Eric: And I want all of us to roll Initiative.
[dice rolling]
Amanda: 19.
Julia: That's an 8.
Brandon: Julia, I also got 8!
Julia: Why are we twinsing?
Brandon: I don’t know!
Julia: Twins on my higher ones, please.
Eric: Alright, so these bank robbers and thugs wearing mountain lobster masks have just dropped a flashbang into the auction hall.
Amanda: What does a lobster's face look like, though?
Eric: It kind of just looks like a, you know the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company?
Amanda: Yeah.
Eric: It’s like the face of the shrimps.
Amanda: Yeah.
Eric: But it actually is just the face of it. Hundred percent. So everybody is kind of like either blinded and disoriented, or just freakin’ afraid. Everyone is kind of like crouched down in the crowd where Val and Milo are. The auctioneer is ducked behind the podium, and the stuff is just all out. Three of the thugs are in the auction area at the moment.
Aggie, you're currently outside of the bank. You can go into the main bank, and then you take like a right. And on the right side of the building is where the auction hall is. So we're gonna do our first Initiative. We're gonna do our first fight, everybody.
All: Yay!
Eric: Yay, let’s go kick some ass. But of course, because I have feelings about Initiative, we're gonna do this a little differently. Because the thugs obviously have a job to do and they are doing whatever they're doing - but they seem like they're sticking up to the bank and the people there - they know what they're doing. They are on a plan. This is like a heist for them. They are running in. They’re kicking ass.
So, for everybody else, I'm putting a 30 second timer on you figuring out what to do in order to keep things going. If you miss your turn or you go over 30 seconds, your turn is just delayed. It is pushed back after the next person who goes, and that can include the enemies of who are there and then you are stuck in that new Initiative.
For example, if Aggie, you- you go first. But if you miss it, you would get pushed back behind the enemies. Also think that I want to do, because this always bothers me in Dungeons & Dragons content - let's all say everybody's classes so we just know. I know we have an After Party and we’re going to get into it. But it's like functionally I would love to have everybody be able to talk about their classes. And then as you do stuff, your subclass might come up. Whoever wants go first.
Julia: Val is a Path of the Battle ranger barbarian.
Amanda: Aggie is a Way of Tranquility monk.
Brandon: Milo is a reskinned Circle of Spores druid.
Amanda: Mushrooms!
Eric: We’re gonna talk about what the hell was going on with Milo at another point, but it is - we combined the Circle of Spores with a different subclass to make it more about fuckin’ ghosts.
Julia: About fucking ghosts?
Amanda: Oh…
Eric: About just bangin’ ghosts.
Brandon: That does not happen.
Eric: Alright. So is everybody ready?
Amanda: Yeah.
Julia: Yeah. Let's do it.
Eric: Okay, I'm going to put 30 seconds on the clock, and Aggie go.
Amanda: I'm going to run after the robber that I disarmed into the bank and try to knock him out so that he can't participate in the heist.
Eric: Alright, cool. So do you want to trip him, or you just want to engage him again?
Amanda: Well, I’m gonna ahead and grip the end of my walking stick, and do a little like twist and pull action and the cap comes off and it's a spear.
[Eric laughs]
Amanda: So I'm gonna go ahead and stab him in the shoulder.
Julia: Hey, what?!
Brandon: Oh my god!
Amanda: Yeah.
Eric: Alright, cool. So that –
Julia: You walk around the city with a spear?
Amanda: You know, Julia, you never know when you need something very sharp to, like, cut down a tree branch that is potentially hurting people.
Julia: Sure.
Brandon: You know in electronics when you have to hit the reset button that’s very small? It's very useful.
[dice rolling]
Amanda: Alright. Got 12 + 5 for 17.
Eric: That hits.
Amanda: Excellent. That is 1d8 + 3.
[dice rolls]
Got 7 damage.
Eric: Alright.
Amanda: As a monk, I get to do an unarmed strike as a bonus action after my attacks, so I’m gonna go ahead and roll for that.
Eric: You’re…
Amanda: Just do a little shove.
[dice rolls]
Amanda: I got a 12.
Eric: 12 does not hit. So you stab him with the spear in the shoulder. He’s like,
Eric [as goon]: Hey what the hell?!
Eric: But you try to get him with your el- like an elbow up, and you are able to connect.
Amanda: Well, whatever remaining movement I have, I'm going to continue running past him, assuming that he is hopefully limping or down- to try to see what's going on inside the main auditorium.
Eric: Alright, make a Dexterity roll to see if you can avoid him without him taking the opportunity attack on you.
[dice rolling]
Amanda: 15.
Eric: [muttering] Let me roll Dexterity.
[dice rolling]
Eric: He rolled a 3! So you run on by.
Amanda: Good job.
Eric: There's like another 40 foot hallway that connects the main bank building to the auction area. So if you're running to the main bank area, you're going to take a right at that hallway. So you're in the hallway. You aren't able to make it back to everybody else yet.
Amanda: Okay. So let's use a key point to dash, which doubles my movement speed so that I can make it into the auditorium proper.
Eric: Let's go! Amanda, fucking metagaming. Alright, make a Perception check.
[dice rolling]
Amanda: 13.
Eric: Okay. As you are running down the hallway, you see that you can take a left. There's like a fork in the hallway. To the left, you can go towards the offices and the vault, and then if you go straight, you go on to the auditorium.
Amanda: I think my duty here is to make sure this event is going well, so I'm going to prioritize the safety of – [others chucking] No, I'm just saying like that – that’s what I'm concerned about right now. Not the- not the vault and hoping that bank has security. So I'm going to go for the auditorium
Brandon: You’re going to go in the auditorium like, “Who needs a refill?!”
Amanda: No! I want to protect and serve.
Eric: Is everyone having a good time?!
[Brandon laughing]
Julia: I'm having a blast personally.
Amanda: These are important artifacts!
Eric: No, I just thought that was really sweet. That was very cute. Alright. So I'm going to do the thugs. So there are three of them in there.
So these guys are wearing all black, plus the pink mountain lobster mask they have on. One of them is holding a shield that looks like it's made out of some sort of wrought metal. It seems pretty lightweight and easy to carry. And the guy holding the shield also has one of the electrified sticks. Much like what Aggie was fucking around with the other guy with.
There is another one who hits a button on his chest and a jetpack pops out of his backpack, and he flies up on the jet pack. He's not very stable on it, but he flies up on the jetpack just to get like a survey of the whole room and to see what's happening there.
Amanda: You can’t get that in New York City, now, can ya?
Eric: So he's like
Eric [as jetpack goon]: [unstable] Oh! Oh!
Eric: So like go over to the right to go over to left, just try to be stable while the guy with the shield is kind of like threatening everybody.
One of the other guys is holding a bag over his shoulder and he's looking around and he's saying,
Eric [as bag goon]: Hey!
Eric: He talks to the guy, says,
Eric [as bag goon]: Hey, where's Crawdad? Where is he? Where - there are four of us. Where is he?
Eric: And the other two are like
Eric [as goons]: Eh, I don't know.
Eric: And the one on the jetpack is like scanning the room and is like,
Eric [as jetpack goon]: Yeah I don't - I don't know where is is. I don’t see him.
Eric: He's like,
Eric [as bag goon]: I'm going to go in on the plan. Mud Bug, you get the rest of them fresh. Keeping it fresh. Keep an eye out. We're going to keep going with that plan regardless where that idiot is.
Eric: Aggie, I want you to make a Dexterity roll against each other.
[dice rolling]
Amanda: 21.
Eric: Okay, with a 21, the guy with the bag on his shoulder tries to run back towards the split in the hallway, and-
Amanda: I stick out my foot and trip him,
Eric: Alright. Make an- so you can make an Opportunity attack against him, yeah.
[dice rolling]
Amanda: 11.
Eric: That does not hit. You stick your foot out -
Amanda: Can I do my second luck point of three and reroll it?
Eric: Oh, goddamn. Yeah.
Julia: Get three a day?
Amanda: Three a day. That’s a 16
Eric: [chucking] Lucky is a good feat huh?
Amanda: Sure is.
Eric: Did you want to trip him or do you want to – you want to hurt him?
Amanda: I want to trip him nastily so that he knocks himself out.
Eric: [laughing] Okay, I'm going to give you two choices. You can do damage to him or you can knock him prone.
Amanda: Let's knock him prone so all the baddies are within our kind of sight lines.
Eric: Okay, so as – [laughing] as the guy whose holding the bag over his shoulder, you trip him and knock him on his ass.
Amanda: Yeah.
Eric: He’s like,
Eric [as goon 3]: What? What is happening? We're just trying to get. We're just trying to get in here and do our job!
Eric: The guy reaches into his bag and takes out what looks like a laser gun, shoots it at you. What is your AC?
Amanda: 15.
Eric: Well, I rolled a 9, so he takes out the laser gun and he shoots it at you and it's just like his this viscous green ooze comes out of the gun and it goes - it wings past your left shoulder. And there's just like this green nasty slime on the ground next to you.
Amanda [as Aggie]: The hell is that?!
Eric [as goon 3]: Uh, I don't know. I thought… it's supposed to hurt you!
Amanda [as Aggie]: There’s nice carpet in here. What are you doing?
Eric: And now the carpets is like bubbling under the slime.
Amanda: Ugh, gross.
Eric: It’s pretty nasty. The guy in the jetpack takes out a little laser gun and just kind of like, threatens at everybody while he's trying to be stable on the jet pack. He’s like,
Eric [as jetpack goon]: If anybody moves, I gotcha.
Eric: So he's gonna hold his action for that. And Mud Bug, the guy with the shield is gonna take out another just empty bag and start taking stuff and putting it in the bag.
Amanda: Love to see them steal an arm chair.
Brandon: How little gun?
Eric: You know [giggles] it’s just a little hand-sized gun. Little hand-sized laser gun.
Julia: It’s like the very small one from “Men in Black.”
Brandon: Yeah that’s what I was thinking.
Eric: Milo, it is now your turn.
Brandon: Okay, Milo is caught off guard. He's going to drop down to his knees so he's underneath the chairs.
Brandon [as Milo]: Shit, shit, shit, shit! Tuna! Tuna! I need you! And I'm gonna cast wild companion to summon Tuna.
Eric: Sure. Tuna pops up in front of you and be like,
Eric [as Tuna]: Hey, what's going on? I was sleeping.
Brandon [as Milo]: [frantic] Look around! I don't know exactly what's happening, but Tuna, I'm scared, and you know what happens if I'm scared so what I need from you is to eat this treat and then put a stop to this please!
Eric [as Tuna]: What am I- What am I really supposed to do? I'm a cat. Do you want me to jump on someone?! What am I supposed to do?
Brandon [as Milo]: So when I give Tuna the treat, I'm casting Shillelagh, which is a bonus action. I just.
Amanda: Yeah!
Brandon: The name Shillelagh is silly so I’m gonna do Treat for now.
Eric: Amanda, the Irish person likes it.
Amanda: My history, my heritage, Brandon.
[Brandon laughs]
Brandon: And what that does is for the duration of the spell, I get to use my spell casting ability instead of Strength or Dexterity for the attack and damage rolls. And the weapons damage becomes a d8 instead of Tuna's normal…
Julia: Cat stats.
Eric: Yeah, his cat stats.
Brandon: 1d1 slashing damage.
Eric: Oh [laughing]
Julia: Mmm 1d1.
Brandon: Milo’s like,
Brandon [as Milo]: Eat the treat. Eat the treat, You know what to do. Please help. Otherwise you know what’s gonna happen. And it happened before, except with no one else in the room so please help figure this out.
Eric [as Tuna]: Okay. Oh, a treat! Nomnomnom.
Eric: And Tuna’s gonna eat the treat.
Brandon [as Milo]: So – there’s a guy over there. Go take him down!
Eric [as Tuna]: [nonchalantly] I’ll think about it.
Eric: That’s good. This is the other guy's turn. So the one who who doesn't have the weapon, who's also running in –
Amanda: Mud Bug.
Eric: Crawdad.
Amanda: Crawdad.
Eric: Crawdad got disoriented after Aggie came and threatened him, so now he's trying to run by Aggie as well. Aggie, make a Dexterity throw to see if you can stop him.
[dice rolling]
Eric: Yeah, you catch him so you can make an Opportunity attack as he tries to run by you.
Amanda: Let’s do it. Get his other shoulder. [dice rolling] 14+ 5.
Eric: Yeah, that hits.
Amanda: Alright. I got 5+3 for 8 points of damage.
Eric: God, you are just messing up Crawdad’s day. He’s like,
Eric [as Crawdad]: Aw geez it’s the lady from before! Oh, no!
Eric: But he runs by you. And now he's gonna go in to the auction room and be like,
Eric [as Crawdad]: Oh, hey guys, sorry, I got held up this lady. There's a terrible lady outside. I do not like her.
Eric: And he's going to go help Mud Bug put stuff into a sack.
Amanda: How's he lookin’ like constitution-wise?
Eric: You have been beating them up a little bit, like he looks pretty bad.
Amanda: Okay.
Eric: Alright, it is now Val’s turn.
Julia: How far are these guys from me?
Eric: What is your speed?
Julia: 30.
Eric: If you want to, like, get up all in their biz, you can cross the room if you would like.
Julia: With 30?
Eric: Yeah.
Julia: Okay, so I'm gonna go into a rage.
Eric: Great.
Brandon: Yay!
Julia: Which for Val - Val is just frustrated as hell, like,
Julia [as Val]: I was just about to get the fucking chair!
Julia: And then starts vibrating.
Amanda: Yeah!
Julia: And just like streaks across the room and is going to…
Amanda: Smack them with a briefcase! Smack them with the briefcase!
Julia: Reckless attack.
[Eric laughing]
Julia: I actually do like the idea of just hitting them with the briefcase because it's the first thing that comes to their mind.
Eric: Alright. Who are you hitting? So there's Crawdad who doesn't have a weapon, There's Mud Bug who does have a weapon, and there's the guy flying around.
Julia: Um, let's go with Crawdad.
Eric: Alright.
Julia: Let’s just take care of one guy.
Eric: Just taking care of Crawdad! [singing] Taking care of Crawdad every day. Taking care of Crawdad and working overtime.
Julia: Okay, so it's a 19 plus I'm in a rage, so it is plus 3.
Eric: Yeah. You got ‘em. Yeah, you got ‘em.
Julia: Cool, cool, cool. You sure?
Eric: Yeah, I'm pretty sure.
Julia: What are my stats with the bag stuff? [laughing]
Eric: It does your regular damage. It doesn’t give you any penalty. Remember, the bag is also strangely heavy, so if you want to do something about that, you can-
Amanda: Maybe an extra d4 of damage or something…
Julia: Alright, so it's 1 d6 plus my strength. So it's a 1+3, plus an additional 2. So that is 5.
Eric: Wonderful. You do 5 damage. Yeah [chuckling] I just like that you smack him with the briefcase. He’s like,
Eric [as Crawdad]: Everyone hates me! I don't know why!
Julia [as Val]: I wanted to get home early!
Eric: At this point, the guy in the jetpack will be like,
Eric [as goon 2]: I told you, I told you to stay!
Eric: So they're going to attack you.
Julia: Fine. Glad I did reckless attack then.
[dice rolling]
Eric: Well, that's an 8.
Julia: Yeah, nope, not gonna hit.
Eric: No, that does not hit. So they're still very unstable on jet pack and they’re like,
Eric [as goon 2]: Whoa, whoa!
Eric: And they do a barrel roll, and their laser shot just goes ping ping ping! And shoots all over the room.
Amanda [as Aggie]: That's a nice plaster ceiling!
Eric: Aggie is now - we're back around. It is now your turn.
Amanda: Okay. I like where this spiky shouldered person's head is at taking care of the one who is almost nearly down. So I'm going to once again go ahead and try to knock with the end of the spear, Crawdad’s head.
Eric: Okay.
Amanda: And 19 + 5 for 24.
Eric: Alright, that hits.
Amanda: Got a 2 + 3 - 5 damage.
Eric: Alright.
Amanda: And I'll do my extra unarmed strike as well, giving him just a- just a have punch to the face, please.
Eric: Oh, no. What a day.
[dice rolling]
Amanda: Got another 20 for attack roll.
Eric: That hits.
Julia: Jesus, monk.
Amanda: Then d4 + 3, so 1+3, 4 damage.
Eric: Alright. Four damage. Man, you guys are just wailing on Crawdad. He's like,
Eric [as Crawdad]: Everyone else are doing crimes! Why is this just me?
Julia [as Val]: Because you're the weakest.
[Amanda laughs]
Eric: It is now Mud Bug’s turn, and the winged guy, the winged guy is going to –
Amanda: I gotta know his name.
Eric: Oh, his name is Fresh.
Amanda: Fresh. So then who has the shield and the electric stick?
Eric: Mud Bug has an electric stick. Crawdad does not have an electric stick.
Julia: Who has the shielf?
Eric: They both have shields.
Julia: Oh, okay.
Eric: While Fresh has just a jetpack.
Amanda: Okay, we're missing then a fourth guy who has a shield and electric stick.
Julia: Crawdad, Mud Bug, Fresh.
Eric: So Yabby. He's the one running –
Julia: Got it! Yabby!
Amanda: Yabby!
Eric: They are the one -they're the one running towards the vault.
Julia: Gotcha.
Eric: So they're they're pissed that you're getting at them. Mud Bug is going to swing on Val. And they have advantage because they're together. It makes it easier for them to swing. And that was non-natural 20. And that hits for… 5 piercing damange to you.
Julia: So that's halfed. Because I have rage resistance.
Amanda: Yup!
Julia: So is that a 2 or 3?
Eric: 2.
Julia: Cool.
Eric: You lucky bastard.
Julia: Thank you!
FR Hey! Nobody messes with my with my pal like that. We're mountain lobsters together!
Eric: The flying jaboke is going to fire at Aggie.
Amanda: Hope he says like, “That's fresh!” or “Fresh direct!”
FR “Fresh to death!”
Eric: And then he fires at you.
[dice rolling]
Eric: That is a 17.
Amanda: That hits.
Eric: Okay, that does 6 damage. And then you don't see Yabby, who is doing something else. Runnin’ a different way. It is now Milo’s turn.
Brandon: So Yabbie is doing something else in the other direction. Can you give me a status report on the other three?
Eric: Yeah. So the one that’s flying is just shooting down at Aggie. Crawdad, the one without a weapo, is just getting the shit kicked out of him by Val and Aggie, and Mud Bug has stopped putting stuff in a sack to swing on Val to try to help out.
Brandon: Okay. So two things to note of. I have a feature called Symbiotic Entity, which means that second level I gain the ability of channel magic into spirits that infuse me. So that's sort of what I'm doing with – when I feed Tuna the treat.
I awaken spirits rather than transform into a druid animal. When I do that, I get three temporary hit points per level, and the damage of my Halo of Spirits feature doubles, and my melee weapon attacks deal an extra 1d6 necrotic damage.
Eric: Nice. So what does this look like when you “go ghost,” to use a Danny Phantom phrase?
Julia: Oh my god.
Brandon: Yeah. I don't think I like- in terms of like metagame, I don't think at this low level I have like a visible change, but it feels like a warm bath starting from my toes and going all the way up to my head.
Eric: Nice.
Brandon: And the same thing happens to Tuna. And I think as the warmth races up from their toes, their eyes also change the same color into this like emerald green.
Amanda: Both you and Tun?
Brandon: Both me and Tun! And so that means also for Halo of Spirits, on a reaction, I get to deal now 6 necrotic damage automatically. Anyway, back to my actual movement. I'm going to say,
Eric [as Tuna]: Tuna! Tuna, alright. You. Me. You. Me. Let's go.
Brandon: And I'm going to crawl on the floor behind Tuna as Tuna tries to go towards, let's say, the jetpack guy and attack this bad guy who … I forgot their name.
Eric: This is Fresh
Brandon: Fresh. They’re not going to be so fresh after I attack ‘em huh?
Eric: Nice!
Brandon: Got ‘em. So I'm gonna use my d20 to roll a spell attack.
[dice rolling]
Brandon: 18 + 5 for 23.
Julia and Amanda: Yeah!
Amanda: We love 8s and 18s here.
Brandon: So that means I get 1d8 plus 1d6 necrotic damage.
Julia: Sick.
[dice rolling]
Brandon: Okay, so I rolled a 6 total plus 5 of my spell attack, so that's 11 damage.
Julia: Damn.
Eric: Alright. So you run over to this guy in a jetpack. And what- how do you swing your cat on him?
Brandon: I think Tuna and I have practiced this many times in front of a mirror.
Amanda: You're not getting your deposit back on your place?
Brandon: Absolutely not.
Amanda: No.
Brandon: And so I started just like, hold Tun’as butt and then fling them up.
Eric: And then he goes [meows]
Brandon: Yeah. And then they claw the jetpack itself I think.
Eric: That's very good. Yeah [laughing] Tuna has these ghostly claws that are much longer than a cat should. And just out of nowhere this cat jumps on this person's face, claws at them, and like gets in the jetpack and the jetpack starts to malfunction.
And it goes [making jetpack failure noises] woowoowoo and he just slams into the wall and slumps down.
Brandon [as Milo]: Hell you Tuna!
Eric: Alright. Yeah! You took that dude down. This is now Crawdad’s turn.
Amanda: How is Crawdad not down?!
Eric: He- you’ve hurt him a lot! He has a shield so you’ve just been hitting him so much that he's trying to hold on this shield as much as possible.
[Amanda sighs]
Eric: He uses action to disengage and he runs over and grabs- there's a sign. I want all three of you to make a Perception check.
[dice rolling]
Amanda: 11.
Julia: That’s a 2… wait sorry it’s an 18.
Brandon: 21.
Amanda: Oh.
Brandon: How did you…?
Eric: I mean, it’s fine because one of you rolled really well.
Julia: I'm so confused. It's an 18.
Eric: Alright. It's 18. So, Val and Milo, you see that Crawdad disengages, runs away and grabs the sign. And on this sign, it's like his old style sign for an ice cream store.
Amanda: Wow!
Eric: And he grabs it starts to run away with it.
[Amanda gasps]
Eric: So he's now running around trying to like run around everybody and using all of his speed to do kind of like an end run to get to the emergency exit that Aggie had used before.
Brandon: Seems efficient.
Eric: It is now Val’s turn.
Julia: Can I still hit him with my speed of 30? Can I get him?
Eric: If you run over to him, you can hit him.
Julia: So, yeah, I'm going to Reckless Attack him.
Amanda: Woo!
Julia: So I get Advantage on a melee weapon attack.
Eric: Hell yeah.
[dice rolling]
Julia: Glad I did that.
[dice rolling]
Julia: Alright. That's still not great. It is 8 + 5, which is 13 plus an additional 2 because I'm raging. 15.
Eric: Yeah. 15 hits exactly, yes.
Amanda: Hey!
Julia: Awesome.
Eric: So Crawdad…
Julia: Boom. So that is a 6 + 5. So that's 11.
Amanda: Yeah!
Julia: Then I'm going to use my Battle Rager Armor as my bonus action.
Amanda: Yeah!
Julia: Which means I now get to deal 1d4 plus my strength modifier.
Eric: Hell yeah dude.
Amanda: Fuck yeah.
Julia: Alright. That's a 1 but it’s plus 3.
Eric: How do you take him down? Crawdad’s running with this wooden sign that he’s holding.
Eric [as Crawdad]: I got it! I got it!
Julia: Val just barrels into him like a football player.
[all cheering]
Julia: Just like as they're coming down together, just brings the bag down and whacks him in the head with it.
Brandon and Amanda: Yeah!
Eric: That's amazing. I want you to make a Dexterity saving throw.
Julia: Okay, not that great at this. Hold on.
[dice rolling]
Julia: Alright. It's an 11 plus 1, so at 12.
Eric: [sighs] Oh, with a 12…Okay. The sign kind of falls over with a thud. Luckily, you did not hurt the sign.
Julia: Oh thank god.
Eric: The sign is fine. The sign is fine.
Julia: The city's not going to sue me for a bunch of money.
Eric: That’s true.
Amanda: More importantly, mom won’t send her grandsons after you.
Eric: Yeah, that would be bad. Alright. We are coming back around to Aggie. You are standing near the front. Yabbie has –
Amanda: Yabbie’s –
Eric: - Run down the hallway.
Amanda: Got it.
Eric: But Mud Bug is the one who you're scrapping with.
Amanda: Okay, so now that two of the three in this room are down, I feel okay leaving. So I am going to run down the other fork of the hallway to try to catch Yabbie.
Eric: Okay, Mud Bug’s going to make an Opportunity attack against you.
[dice rolling]
Eric: 17.
Amanda: Yeah that hits.
Eric: Okay.
[dice rolling]
Eric: That is a 6 points of damage.
Amanda: Okay.
Julia: Doing okay over there?
Amanda: That's twelve.
Julia: Oh, that's not great.
Amanda: You know me.
Eric: So you going to run down the hall, Aggie?
Amanda: Yes.
Eric: Cool. Make an Investigation check.
[dice rolling]
Amanda: 17 + 2.
Eric: Okay, 19. Yeah, you see over the vault, this is down a longer hallway, but now Yabby is set with some sort of computer with a bunch of wires plugged into the vault and is like tapping on the computer being like,
Eric [as Yabby]: Come on, come on, let's go. Come on.
Amanda: I'm going to attack the computer. I'm going to attempt to stab the computer.
Julia: Ooh!
Eric: You are too far away to do an melee attack. But if you want to throw something at the computer-
Brandon: [chanting] Throw the spear!
Julia: [joining in] Throw the spear!
Amanda: Yeah, let's do it. Throw the spear.
Eric: Alright. So just use the same stats. But now it's a ranged attack.
Amanda: Alright, so I have 10 + 5 to hit.
Eric: [sighs] with a 15… What is a computer's AC?
Brandon: Less than 15!
Amanda: Less than 15!
Eric: So the AC for 15 is bone, like something made out of bone or wood.
Amanda: A computer is less hard than a bone!
Eric: I would say that it's more – it’s definitely more damage than bone. Uh, it’s HP is 10. So you have to do 10 points of damage to break the computer.
Julia: You got this.
Amanda: [whispers] Okay.
[dice rolls]
Amanda: No, that's a 1 + 3 for 4.
Eric: I think it's definitely distracting, and Yabbie’s like,
Eric [as Yabby]: Oh- oh shit!
Eric: And hitting it. I also want you to think about what it looks like for someone to be hunched over a computer while wearing a shrimp mask.
[all giggle]
Amanda: It's very funny. And so is the spear that went clear through the screen. I think the whole right side of the screen - just can't see things there.
Eric: That’s definitely- I'll- I'll take that. I'll take that. So he'll have more trouble doing his next roll. So this is now Shield boy. The Wing boy is down. So this is now just Mud Bug by himself. I think Mud Bug is going to disengage and go over and grab the sign. And I'm gonna role for athletics, for Dash.
Amanda: Val gets an Opportunity Attack, right?
Eric: Oh, you get the Opportunity Attack against them.
[dice rolling]
Julia: It’s a 15 + 3 so 18.
Eric: Okay, that hits.
Julia: Cool. That’s a 6 + 4 so that’s a 10 and I’m gonna do Battle Armor too.
Eric: Nice.
Julia: And that’s an additional 2 plus additional 3. So it’s 15 damage.
Amanda: Hey!
Eric: [laughing] Oh my god. This guy tries to run past you, and he tries to hold his shield up and you still body check him like you're a hockey player. Yeah, you do the damage, but he still leans down, scoops up the sign and he's going to use his action to Dash and he's like at the emergency exit.
Julia: That’s fine. I’ll take that.
Amanda: As he leaves Val’s reach, do they also get an Opportunity Attack?
Eric: Uh, no. Val gets one Opportunity Attack.
Julia: That’s fine. I’ll deal with it.
Eric: Yeah. This is now Yabby’s turn, the inventor, and he is going to have a harder time to do the things he's going to try to do.
[dice rolling]
Eric: Yeah. He slams on his computer a little. He's like,
Eric [as Yabby]: [hurried] Come on, come on.
Eric: And he hits in the code. He hits enter and the wires are attached to the door. And is it just kind of goes “ca-chunk!” and thje vault door swings open and he’s like,
Eric [as Yabby]: Yus!
Eric: And he runs inside. And he is now outside of your field of vision from the outside of the vault.
Julia: Get ‘em, Aggie. Get ‘em.
Amanda: To my knowledge, there is no back exit to a vault, so hopefully I can still get him on the way out.
[all laughing]
Julia: Good point.
Eric: That is 100% true. It is now Milo’s turn.
Brandon: Okay. Milo and Tuna are doing the secret handshake they do when they have a successful um…
Eric: Just paws everywhere.
Brandon [as Milo]: Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. We are the best! Yes!
Brandon: And then from sort of the center of his body, Milo feels all the warmth, sort of like collect. And then Milo’s like,
Brandon [as Milo]: Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no. Here we go.
Brandon: And then from out of his body, you sort of see like the shadow of another person's body exit his body and then sort of dissolve. And I'm gonna cast Entangle towards Mud Bug and grasping weeds and vines sprout from the ground and a 20 foot square starting from a point within range - For the duration, these plants turn the ground into an area with difficult terrain. A creature in the area, when I cast a spell, must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be restrained by the entangling plants until the spell ends.
Eric: What am I trying to beat?
Brandon: My Spell Save DC is 13.
[dice rolling]
Eric: I rolled 8, so I done done fucked up.
Brandon: Yeah!
Eric: So what- what happens to Mud Bug?
Brandon: So Mud Bug is entangled in these like grasping thorny vines and weeds that come from the ground.
Eric [as Mud Bug]: How is this in – we’re in a bank! This doesn’t make any sense!
Brandon [as Milo]: I'm sorry! I didn’t know it was gonna - Okay. I'm sorry!
Eric [as Mud Bug]: Ugh! God!
Brandon: I don't think you - I think I'll be Okay!
Julia: He’s restrained?
Brandon: Yeah.
Eric: Alright, cool.
Amanda: Yeah!
Brandon: And you can do it - On every turn, you can use your action to make a Strength check against my spell save DC and if you succeed, you can free yourself.
Eric: Great.
[dice rolling]
Eric: I was just doing a roll to see if some other guys stood up, but they were very down at the moment. So yeah, now we're going to do Milo's feet. Milo has kind of a Wild Magic situation. We- I gave Milo +1 to one of his stats, and he also has a wild magic table. So we're going to use a house rule that - we call it Spirit Surge.
So ordinarily you would just roll a 1 on a wild magic roll. But if Brandon does not roll a 1 on this, which invokes the Spirit Surge table and then something wild happens, it's going to stack so then later it's going to be 1, 2, and then 1, 2, 3.
Amanda: I see.
Eric: Alright, so roll d20 and if you get a 1, you get a Spirit Surge.
[dice rolling]
Brandon: 13!
Eric: That is not a 1. Alright, you’re still good. Next time you're gonna roll and it's gonna be 1 or a 2. Alright. This is now Val’s turn.
Julia: So Val just watched a dude get wrapped up in vines.
Amanda: Yeah.
Julia: That they were wailing on two minutes ago, so –
Amanda: Welcome to Lake Town City, baby.
Julia: But Val is also in a rage, so Val does not care and Val is just gonna bring the heavy bag down on this dude again.
[dice rolling]
Julia: Okay, it’s a 15 + 5 so it’s a non-natural 20.
Eric: Hot damn. Yeah. You got him.
Julia: Alright. And then I'm going to also use the Battle Ranger Armor with my attack, so that’s a 3 plus 5, so that’s an 8 plus 4 plus 2, which is 6 so 14 damage.
Amanda: Dang.
Julia: 11, so not going to add the battle armor.
Eric: That one does not hit.
Julia: Okay, but he's still taking 8 points of damage.
Eric: Great. Alright. Yeah. Just hit Mud Bug with the suitcase – he’s like,
Eric [as Mud Bug]: Why is all of this happening?
Julia [as Val]: Why are you trying to steal shit?
Eric [as Mud Bug]: Oh, reasons. We all used to steal things. I have reasons. I have important reasons!
Julia [as Val]: Listen, we all steal things from time to time. But like, you know -
Eric [as Mud Bug]: No you don’t know - No, you can't - you can't relate to me. No, I don't like that at all.
Eric: Alright. Aggie, it is your turn.
Amanda: Alright, I'm going to run forward into the vault and try to take this guy down.
Eric: Alright.
Amanda: 13 + 5 to hit.
Eric: Yeah, that hits.
Amanda: And I am going to pick up my spear from where it laid in the computer, like I grab my spear on my way in and spear him again.
[Eric chuckling]
[dice rolling]
Amanda: 1 + 3 for 4 damage. Ouch. But gonna take my unarmed strike as well.
Eric [as Yabby]: No I’m bookish! Don't hurt me!
[Brandon laughs]
Eric [as Yabby]: I’m the computer guy!
Amanda: And punch him in his face.
Eric [as Yabby]: No, I'm the computer guy!
[dice rolling]
Amanda: 11 to hit.
Eric: That one does not hit. I think you were too busy trying to punch him in the face – you concentrated too much on it.
Amanda: Well, I’m gonna go ahead and use another Key Point.
Julia: Dang!
[Brandon laughing]
Amanda: 12 + 5.
Eric: That one hits.
Amanda: Great, then-
Eric [as Yabby]: No, you wouldn’t hit a guy with glasses would you?
Amanda: 3 + 3 fopr 6 points of damage additional.
Eric [as Yabby]: Ouch. Why?
Eric: Yeah, he’s looking bad. This is the bookish one. You are just hurting him so much.
Amanda: Good.
Eric: Yabby says,
Eric [as Yabby]: Hey, hey, we're in the vault. You - just take some of this stuff. Look, there's gold and cash everywhere. Just take that! You don’t have to beat me up. Just take it!
Amanda [as Aggie]: Why are you even here?
Eric [as Yabby]: Just - reasons. I have reasons!
Amanda [as Aggie]: So I have reasons for stopping you.
Eric [as Yabby]: Yeah, so just take the cash and go. Why are you stop- ? Are you the police? Are you police?
Amanda [as Aggie]: Kind of!
Eric [as Yabby]: No you’re not. You’re not police. If you had a badge, you'd be police. If you were police, and I ask you, you have to tell me or it’s entrapment. I learned that on Reddit.
Amanda [as Aggie]: Listen, in an ideal society, police are here to put to protect people. And I am here explicitly to protect this town. So, you know, my word is law.
Eric [as Yabby]: Okay. I mean, you could just - just take the… Okay, fine. But look just take the cash. You can be a dirty cop. You wanna be cop, just take the money and be a dirty cop.
Amanda [as Aggie]: What do you want it for? Can I - can I help you, what do you need?
Eric [as Yabby]: For stuff! I don’t have to tell you, you're not my mom.
Amanda [as Aggie]: People lash out when they are hurt. Can I help you?
Eric [as Yabby]: No. You hurt me! That was you doing the hurting!
[all laughing]
Julia: He got you there.
Eric: Sick. Alright. I want the two people in the auction area to make Perception checks.
Julia: I’ll make some Perpception.
[dice rolling]
Brandon: I’m gonna perceive it up. I got 14 total.
Eric: Hot damn.
Julia: That’s a 3.
Amanda: Aw!
Eric: Oh, no. Milo, you hear the revving of a motorcycle engine and it's loud.
Brandon: Is it coming towards me, or…?
Eric: It is coming – first it's low, but it's coming slowly towards you.
Brandon: Oh no.
Eric: And you hear vroooom! And clunk clunk clunk up the stairs. It takes a hard right, and it's coming right towards the auction area.
Brandon: Oh god…
Eric: And you see that there is a hunched over like a Tron-style motorbike is a figure dressed all in black with a chrome motorcycle helmet, what kind of looks like shoulder pads. And it's like they've been sanded down, so they're a little more sleek and they've been painted chrome with chrome spray paint, and holding a reflective mirror shield. Just this person leaning over this thing and just deftly maneuvering the motorcycle down this hallway. They skid by you and say,
Eric [as motorcycle figure]: Citizen, is everything okay? What seems to be the problem?
[music fades]
Amanda: Hey, it’s Amanda. I am more grateful than ever these days for the little things, especially the small beautiful stuff I use every day. A glass salt cellar next to my stove, my garage sale watering can, the old chair that’s serving as my nightstand eight months after moving to my new place. We hope Join the Party is one of those for you. So, welcome to the midroll. It’s vintage!
First, thank you to everyone who has joined our Patreon in the last week: Esai, Desmond, Nora, Phoebe, Georgia, Kathleen, Chris, Ariel, Sara, Henning, Jessica, Snape, Xavier, Mandy, and Jasmine. You’re probably hearing us say this a lot on the Multitude shows, but we are truly grateful for each and every person who supports us on Patreon. You literally make it possible for this to be our jobs, and we could not do it without you. We are so stoked about the new campaign and we have a ton of bloopers and bonus content to share, so go ahead and join us at patreon.com/jointhepartypod. For all of that bonus content, physical gifts in the mail, and of course access to our hip-hoppin patron only Discord, join today at patreon.com/jointhepartypod.
Have you seen the Lake Town City map that friend of the show Squared drew? Well, now you can have it as a wallpaper for your phone! We’re selling a phone and desktop wallpaper bundle, as well as the full Campaign 1 soundtrack and the Campaign 2 theme song, over at our merch store. Brandon wrote more than 60 pieces of music for Campaign 1, as well as over 40 sound effects and atmospheric tracks. Now you can download this DIY D&D Sound Kit for use in your own home games, or just to have in your headphones as you go about your day. It’s a truly astonishing amount of music, so whether you’re looking for the LTC map, the full Campaign 1 soundtrack, or just the mp3 of the Campaign 2 theme, head over to jointhepartypod.com/merch. That’s jointhepartypod.com/merch
We are sponsored this week by DungeonCrate, a monthly RPG subscription box designed to enhance your tabletop experience. We got a sample box last month, and we’ve been using all of the tools and items they sent in the new campaign. There are metal coins for gameplay, tabletop terrain, minis, pins and patches and buttons, dice, and of course original encounters that can be played in any campaign setting. So make sure you check out dungeoncrate.com, and claim your $5 discount on NEW subscriptions with code JOINTHEPARTYDC.
We are also sponsored by GC2B. This is the original chest binder designed by trans people for the community. GC2B is a gender and identity-affirming apparel company started in 2014 by Marli Washington, a trans man of color, whose goal was to create something safe, accessible, and comfortable for people of all shapes, sizes, and colors. Their binders are available in several styles and lengths, 5 Nude shades as well as 7 other colors, so there really is something for everyone. And they even have two shipping warehouses to try to serve the entire globe, one in the US and one in the UK which you can access at gc2b.io. From their sizing support to donating binders to people in need every year, this is truly a company that deserves your support. For 10% off your order on gc2b.co use code "jointheparty" at checkout.
Finally, we are sponsored by Hero Forge! Hero Forge offers fully customizable tabletop miniatures. with dozens of fantasy races and thousands of parts to choose from. We recently made minis for the Campaign 2 characters and it was SO fun. Val is carrying a pizza box. It is incredible. We love our minis and we know you’ll love yours as well. So visit HeroForge.com to start designing your custom miniature today, and check back often: new content is added every week. That’s heroforge.com.
And now, let’s get back to the show.
[action music begins]
Brandon [as Milo]: Um…No, everything is not okay. First of all, who are you? Second of all, there's some people trying to steal some stuff and I tried to stop them and I did stop one of them, and I think that something that’s huge and wearing some sort of spike also top one. And there was some sort of like large “ca-clunk!” over in that direction. I don't know exactly what's happening. This is not my cat. I don't know where they came from either.
Eric [as motorcycle robot]: What cat?
Brandon [as Milo]: Oh, right. Yeah. I don't know. Sorry. I don't know why I said that. That's funny. Oh, my God.
Eric [as motorcycle robot]: Alright. Who's the bad guy? Point me in the direction of the bad guy.
Brandon [as Milo]: There's one trapped in vines right there and there's one towards the vault. And there were four total. I don't know… I don't know exactly where the other ones are.
Amanda: Laying around groaning like shrimp that they are.
Julia: The dudes in the shrimp masks also.
Brandon [as Milo]: Also who are you, maybe? Maybe tell me who you are.
Eric: They speed away.
Brandon [as Milo]: Okay, bye!
Eric: And they pull out what kind of looks like a billy club. And on their motorcycle like drives through the grasping vines, and just smacks Mud Bug.
Brandon [as Milo]: Oh, wow. I didn't know you were gonna do that. Oh my god.
Eric: And they take a bunch o’ damage.
Amanda: Oh no.
Eric: Like everything is moving. It's like even when they stopped a little bit to talk to you, it still was like moving a little bit. And they were doing like rings around you to keep momentum.
Amanda: Aw.
Eric: And they sped and just something smack-smacked Mud Bug. And are like just keeping survey and riding around.
Julia: Is Mud Bug still up?
Eric: He looks pretty fucked up, but he's like,
Eric [as Mud Bug]: Why is all this happening?! Are you all police?! Why is everyone police?!
Eric: It is now Yabby’s turn. And Yabby says,
Eric [as Yabby]: Hey, I - one chance. Just let me go. I got stuff. You don't know people I know. One last chance. Let me go.
Amanda [as Aggie]: Tell me why you're here.
Eric [as Yabby]: We need the cash. We want the stuff.
Julia [as Val]: You need to use nouns that aren't “stuff.”
Eric [as Yabby]: We want the cash for our endeavors, and that's our sign. So we're taking it back.
Amanda [as Aggie]: What sign?
Eric [as Yabby]: The ice cream shop sign, that's ours.
Amanda [as Aggie]: Are you from Ma’s? I'm sorry to hear about your financial troubles.
Eric [as Yabby]: Yeah, well, what how do you know things like that?
Amanda [as Aggie]: Man, I'm just just plugged into the network, man. If you have problems, I can help you, come on!
Eric [as Yabby]: You don't know. You're not from Historic Lake Town! You don't know that stuff. You don't know us! You're just a fancy person hanging out downtown. This is our shit.
Amanda [as Aggie]: Did you not hear? I’m O’Hare, of the Lake Town O’Hares.
Eric [as Yabby]: O’Hare… Oh, the custodian? Oh, yeah. What are you been doing? You've been doing things down at the museum? You’ve been giving tours. Yeah. I see all the help you've been doing with the city government. Thanks for that.
Amanda: I make a fist and rear back.
Eric: Alright. So…
[dice rolling]
Eric: He reaches into the bag and he pulls out a jar of looks like little mechanical hornets.
Amanda: Delicious.
Eric: Just like bouncing around in there looking angry, and he throws it at your face. I'm going to make an attack roll.
Brandon: Don't eat them, that’s bad.
Eric: Okay, he misses you, but I'm going to make a roll to see if the jar explodes.
[dice rolling]
Eric: Oooo! Uh oh! Yeah, so he throws the jar of these like robotic wasps at you, and the jar breaks. And now there's just like these mechanical wasps that are angrily flying everywhere.
Amanda: Listen, we have black fly season two months a year. I'm used to this. This is fine. But can I roll either Investigation or History and see if I know this person?
Eric: Sure. What don’t you make a History check?
[dice rolling]
Amanda: 14.
Eric: Even with a 14, I would say the fact that he doesn't have a lot of stuff on him because he has been outfitted for the bank robbery, and he does have the mask on, but he already revealed to you that he is associated with Ma’s and he is from Lake Town. And he knows who you are.
Amanda: Right.
Eric: If he knows who you are enough that he has an opinion about you, that kind of narrows the pool pretty nicely.
Amanda: Okay.
Eric: All that happens that the wasps are now out and about. I’m going to roll Initiative for the wasps.
[dice rolling]
Eric: The wasps are gonna attack last.
Amanda: Aw.
Eric: Because the wasps are slow and confused. While the wasps are distracting you, he tries to shove more cash and gold into his bag. It is now Milo's turn again.
Brandon: What's the status on everyone?
Eric: Two of them are down. Mud Bug is stuck, and Val and this person on the motorcycle is on there.
Brandon: Okay, so at this point, Milo is, let's say, overwhelmed.
Eric: Sure.
Brandon: And so I think I start feeling that same feeling of the warmth in my body, sort of like congeal into one spot. And I think Tuna looks at me because they're feeling the same thing. And we close our eyes because we know it's about to happen. And we cast Thunder Wave.
Eric: Oh, no!
Brandon: Which is a wave of thunderous force sweeps out from under me. Each creature within a 50 foot cube originating must make a Constitution saving throw.
Eric: Alright. So that is going to be both Mud Bug and Val and the motorcycle person.
Julia: Great.
[dice rolling]
Julia: Oh! Nat-20!
Eric: Whoa!
Brandon: Nice.
Eric: Both the people I’m controlling take full damage.
Brandon: Okay, so if you've got a successful save, Julia, you take half damage and you aren’t pushed down.
Julia: Nice.
Brandon: Anyone who doesn't takes full damage and unsecured objects are pushed 10 feet away.
Julia: Oh sweet.
Brandon: And also an audible thunderous boom extends 300 feet.
Eric [as motorcycle robot]: Citizen, what are you doing? What is that?
[dice rolling]
Brandon: So I rolled 9 damage for everyone.
Eric: Alright.
Julia: So I take half of that, so it’s 4.
Brandon: Yeah, then Milo says
Brandon [as Milo]: Oh, my God, I'm so sorry. I did not mean to, well, I mean, like not necessarily a bad thing if that stops everyone else but like, hey, person spike jacket? You cool?
Julia: Eh.
Brandon [as Milo]: Great. Robocop –
Brandon: Is Robocop on the ground?
Eric: They had to make a roll to stay on the motorcycle. Yeah, they're good. Alright. Yeah. [laughing] So this thunder wave like reverberates from your body, and knocks all of these people backwards. Mud Bug is just- there's a lot of stuff happening to him today, but he is looking very bad. But he is not down. And the motorcycle like hops like 5 feet, but they still maneuver themselves. So they're on the bike and the bike like throws its kickstand down to like hold him down.
Brandon: Gotcha.
Eric [as motorcycle robot]: That was irresponsible.
Brandon [as Milo]: I'm sorry. I don't know.
Brandon: And if you were to listen closely at the boom, at the very tail end, you can hear a little ghostly whispers.
Eric: It goes like psspsspss. I like that you do this. It goes [whispering noises] pspspsps. Roll for your surge my man.
Amanda: It's like a thunderclap with a little secret at the end.
Julia: Don't like that.
[dice rolling]
Brandon: That's a 7.
Eric: Alright, you're fine. So that's going to go up to three next time. It is now Mud Bug’s turn. They rolled a nat-20.
Julia: Oh nice.
Eric: So they broke free of the grasping vines and they just book it. They immediately kick the emergency exit out. So they're going to run- run out the door and start running out into the street with the sign under their arm. And they take out a walkie talkie and go,
Eric [as Mud Bug]: Go! Let’s get out of here. We got it! Go, go, go, go!
Brandon [as Milo]: Um, are you seeing this, new friend?!
Julia [as Val]: I got it.
Eric: Okay, Val, it’s now your turn.
Julia [as Val]: I’m gonna chase them.
Eric: So you're just going to chase them and take them down?
Julia: Yeah. If I had to pay for my stuff, they have to pay for their stuff. So that’s a 12 + 5. 17
Eric: Yeah, that does – that’s hit.
Julia: Alright. That is 6 + 4. 10. And I’m gonna take that bonus action.
Eric: Okay, so what does it look like when you take Mud Bug- he's had a time. All of these people have had a time.
Amanda: They incited this crime. We were having an ice auction for charity.
Julia: Again, I think it's one of these things where Val is vibrating, where they just look out of focus when you look at them right. And I imagine that Mud Bug, gets all the way down the stairs to the street, and Val just launches themself off of the top step and curls into them.
Eric: [laughing] You just spear yourself?
Julia: Yeah, just spear.
Eric: Oh no.
Brandon: Is Tuna impressed by this?
Eric: Tuna’s like,
Eric [as Tuna]: I mean, best day I’ve had in a while. This is amazing. This is so much better than the dumb stuff you put on TV.
Brandon [as Milo]: Wow. Rude. You wanna do this now?
Eric [as Tuna]: We’re going to watch Star Trek again?
Brandon [as Milo]: We're gonna do this now? Here right now?
Eric [as Tuna]: I will.
[meows
Eric: And then Tuna flops in the air and exposes their belly.
Julia: Val just picks up the sign and is like,
Julia [as Val]: Hell yeah.
Eric: I got it. It is now the wasps’ turn, and the wasps are going to attack everything in the area. So they're gonna attack Aggie.
[dice rolls]
Eric: That is a 22.
Amanda: Yeah.
Eric: That's gonna be… [whispers] 44…
Julia: 44?
Eric: You get 8 points of damage from the wasps.
Amanda: Oh. Down to 4.
Julia: That’s bad.
[dice rolling]
Eric: The wasps are still hanging out. It is so overwhelming.
Amanda: Aggie is going to retreat out of the vault and then slam the door closed.
Eric: Ooh, okay.
Julia: I like that choice.
Eric: How do you want to get out of there?
Amanda: Yeah, Aggie’s going to do a back handspring.
Eric: [laughs] Yeah. Do it.
Amanda: 13 + 3 for 16.
Eric: Okay, 16, you're able to avoid the wasps and you do a back handspring out of the vault.
Amanda: One of Aggie siblings is an Olympic swimmer, so lots of time in athletic centers.
Eric: Sure, sure, sure.
Amanda: And I'm going to swing the door closed.
Eric: Yeah. Make a strength roll, or athletics roll.
Brandon: God, can you imagine the poor curator that’s gonna open this vault?
Amanda: Well that’s only a 5.
Eric: Okay.
Amanda: Okay, door won't close, but I could still punch the attacker in the face through the gap.
[everyone laughs]
Amanda: So I’m gonna use my last Key Point.
Julia: Fair and valid.
Eric: Okay.
Brandon: Doors can’t hold back fists.
Amanda: Alright, 4 + 5 does not hit probably. 3 + 5. Both don’t hit?
Eric: Geez, no.
Julia: You’re like a cat trying to like through a door.
Eric: It's because there are wasps there and the wasps are just like, hey, don't - don't mess around.
Amanda: Very well. Alright. I'm still going to stay outside the door, so if this person tries to escape, they do have to run past me.
Eric: Alright, it is the motorcycle person’s turn, and they rev up their motorcycle and are gonna go speed down towards the vault. Aggie, you see a person on a motorcycle with a chrome helmet just going full speed at you.
Amanda: So the door didn't move? The door is still open?
Eric: The door is still open, yeah.
Amanda: I put my back against the wall and stand aside.
Eric: Okay, they can't get into the vault yet, but I like the idea that you just look it up and then it's like screeeeee!
Amanda [as Aggie]: Hi there. I need some help disarming this person. You look like a good guy?
Eric [as motorcycle robot]: Citizen, where's the bad guy?
Amanda [as Aggie]: Right inside.
Eric [as motorcycle robot]: Alright. Why are there wasps in here?
Amanda [as Aggie]: Don't worry about it. Looks like you have a helmet.
Eric [as motorcycle robot]: I hate it.
Eric: Alright. Let’s see… [dice rolling]
Julia: Probably not actually a robot if they dislike wasps, that’s all I’m sayin’.
Amanda: Hmm!
Eric: Alright. Yabbie is going to do…
[dice rolling]
Julia: Who would've thought Yabbie would have been the hardest person to take down?
Amanda: Not I.
Eric: This guy’s put in a real pickle here. I think he's going to try to run. And I think that both the motorcycle person and Aggie are gonna - I don't know what else to do.
Julia: No, that makes sense.
Amanda: I got a 21 to hit.
Eric: Yeah. Do damage.
Amanda: Alright. Try to strike him with my spear. I got an 8 plus 3 for an 11.
[Eric laughs]
Amanda: Fuckin’ finally!
Julia: Got it down.
Eric: So he’s – he looks around and is like,
Eric [as Yabby]: Oh no!
Eric: With his bag of everything on his shoulder. He tries to run through, puts his hands up to block the wasps, and you just like smack him in the face with your spear.
Amanda: Just to knock him out. Just to knock him out.
Eric: Okay. All the bank robbers are down.
Brandon: Yay!
[all cheer]
Eric: You did it! So we are now out of initiative. [music stops]
So, yeah, everybody's down. All of the people around are very confused and overwhelmed by what's happening. The person on the motorcycle turns to Aggie and says,
Eric [as motorcycle robot]: Hey, great shot.
Amanda [as Aggie]: Uh, no offense, but I haven’t seen you around. Who are you?
Eric [as motorcycle robot]: Um…I am the defender of Lake Town City.
Amanda [as Aggie]: Here we go…
Eric [as motorcycle robot]: When they need me - when they need me, I'm there. I reflect what society does back onto them. It's to show that they're better than they are. I am the Knight of Mirrors.
Julia: With a K?
Eric: Yeah.
Amanda [as Aggie]: Cool.
Julia: Just checkin’
Eric: Screeeeee! And they peel out of their tron motorcycle –
Amanda [as Aggie]: Come visit me at the museum caretaker's cottage!
[Eric making motorcycle revving noises]
Eric: And the motorcycle drives – clunkclunkclunk down the stairs and peels away down the street.
Amanda [as Aggie]: Well, that was disorienting.
Amanda: And I walked toward the lobby to find some kind of police presence, hopefully.
Eric: And then the police show up. They're all going [imitates siren] bah bah bah weeooweeoo! And the police are there.
Amanda [as Aggie]: I want to make sure they can secure all the valuables. But then I do, of course, want to go back to the auditorium to check on how stuff is going.
Julia: Val’s just walking back inside with the big Ma’s sign.
Eric: Yeah, I would ask all three of you - do you want to be there when the police show up?
Julia: I just want my fucking chair.
Amanda: Yeah.
Julia: Someone take this damn bag off me, I just want my chair!
Amanda: Yeah, because you two have to finish your stuff, and I - I'm going to stick around until everything's resolved. I have to figure what happened.
Brandon: I turned to Tuna and I say,
Brandon [as Milo]: Tuna, shit's weird enough already. Go away for a little bit.
Eric [as Tuna]: Well, you know, here's the thing about being invisible is that I can kind of just like peace out.
Brandon [as Milo]: Yeah but the eyes! Look at the eyes!
Eric [as Tuna]: No, I know. They just think you have cool green eyes. Which is weird, though, is people did see a ghost come out of your body.
Brandon [as Milo]: [pained] Mmmmmm…
Eric [as Tuna]: I was hoping you would disguise that in some way, but it turns out you did not.
Brandon [as Milo]: Shit.
Eric [as Tuna]: Bye!
Eric: He jumps away
Brandon: And then I walk out from behind the rows of chairs with my hands up.
Eric: I'm gonna say make a stealth roll. I want to see how many people saw the literal ghost come out of your body.
Julia: Can I roll Perception? Because I'm pretty sure I saw it.
Eric: Aggie, make a Perception check as well to see if you saw that.
[dice rolling]
Julia: That’s a 19.
Amanda: Damn, an 8. I mean, I wasn't there, to be fair.
Julia: I love the idea of Milo raising his hands as Val’s walking back into the room and they're just like,
Julia [as Val]: Come on dude, be cool.
Brandon: Yeah, I got a 4.
Eric: Apparently everyone saw it, including Aggie.
Brandon: Wait, who's in this room, though? Because like wouldn’t people have cleared out.
Eric: I think a lot of people did get blinded by the flash bang and they are regular people. But I will say that like with a 4, people saw who you didn't want to. So I think that, like, there are some people around who are able to - because it was just they were all con saves, right? So theoretically it was a 10 if it's a 50 percent chance some people were not blinded by the flashbang.
So people did see this happen because you did not hide it at all, including Val and Aggie and the motorcycle person.
Amanda: Yeah, maybe Aggie caught the like vestiges of the swamp disappearing or something.
Brandon: Hmm…
Eric: Yeah. Maybe like as returns inside of you.
Brandon: I think, then, it's time for Milo to - to bail out. I have this thing called “Pass Without Trace,”, wear a veil of shadows and silence radiates from me, masking me and my companions from detection. Each creature within 30 feet of me has plus 10 bonus to Stealth checks and can't be tracked.
Eric: Nice, that’s a spell right?
Brandon: That’s a spell. So as Tuna makes Milo this very valid point, Milo’s like,
Brandon [as Milo]: Oh… shit.
Brandon: And then the warmth starts from his head this time and descends down just to his toes. And as it falls down, he becomes invisible.
Eric: Please make your – your surge roll for me.
[dice rolling]
Brandon: [laughs] I got a 1.
[all cheering]
Eric: Let’s go!
Amanda: Yes!
Brandon: I still gotta make a Stealth check to leave the room, too.
Eric: Okay, so make the Stealth check to leave the room then.
Brandon: Okay, that’s a 29 total.
Amanda: Ooh! Stealthiest lad in the land.
Brandon: This hasn't happened before - this exact thing, so he like assumes he can't be seen, but just in case he is like stealthily back against the wall. Just taking step by step out of the room.
[dice rolling]
[Eric laughing]
Julia: Uh oh.
Amanda: Oh, no. The worst sound in the world.
Eric: Aw shit, okay.
[dice rolling]
Eric: Make a Wisdom saving throw..
[dice rolling]
Brandon: 12 plus 5 for 17.
Eric: What is your DC?
Brandon: 13.
Eric: Alright, 13. Okay.
[suspenseful music starts]
Here’s what happens. You cast like- you then become just a shadow, right, and as you're walking - you're trying to walk out. But the center of your body where all of these spirits come out of, it's - it seems like it's unstable. You feel - you think the warmth is going through your whole body, but it stays right in your center, and you're - it's strange and uncomfortable.
Tuna comes back for a second and says,
Eric [as Tuna]: Hey, are we getting out? What do we do? Are we getting out of here?
Brandon [as Milo]: Tuna, did I forget to take my Lactaid today? Please tell me I didn’t forget to take my Lactaid today.
Eric: And then there is like a shadowy hand that reaches out from the middle, which only you and Tuna can see because you have your shadow.
Brandon [as Milo]: Oh my god. This is not good. Oh my god.
Eric: This shadowy hand reaches out and points its finger in like a gun motion at Tuna.
Brandon [as Milo]: Oh shit.
Eric: And shoots it like with a paintball. And it's like a paintball of shadow. And it explodes and envelops Tuna. Brandon [as Milo]: Tuna!
Eric: And tuna in front of your eyes, transforms into a panther.
Brandon: Oh!
Eric: And now everyone can see Tuna. And because people are running around like ahhhh! Screaming and running away from this panther, including both Aggie and Val. Tuna, or the panther that was formerly Tuna is freaking out and just bats things around, dives at people. Val, Aggie, what do you do?
Julia: I’m gonna grapple the panther.
Eric: You’re gonna grapple Tuna? Grapple the panther.
Julia: Alright, it’s an 8 + 5 so 13. Give me those panther stats.
Eric: I'm know, I’m looking up panther stats.
Amanda: I'm wearing like a pen shaped necklace. And I'm going to yank the pen out of the chain and send a little blow dart at the panther to try to sedate it.
[dice rolling]
Amanda: 17 to hit.
Eric: Alright. I rolled a 14.
Julia: Damnit!
Eric: So 14, you try to grapple the panther, so he just bucks you off is prowling around. I think you shoot it with the dart,
Amanda: 5.
Eric: With 5 damage. You assume that it was something would happen, but it just ignores it and it prowls around the room. Do you want to try to put it away?
Brandon: Yeah, I'm going to try to dash over to my new panther buddy and make them a shadow with me.
[dice rolling]
Brandon: I got 16.
Eric: [giggling] You got a 16?. I got a 17.
Brandon: Oh my god.
Eric: In all the commotion, you try to go over there and touch the panther, but the panther is overwhelmed by whatever shadow created it and avoids your touch and bounds at a –
Brandon [as Milo]: [sternly] Tuna! Get here now!
Eric: And bounds into the bank and roars at everyone and bounds away.
Julia: Val is like,
Julia [as Val]: What is happening?
Brandon: The familiar does disappear after a number of hours equal to half my Druid level. So after an hour and a half they will disappear.
Eric: Okay.
Julia [as Val]: Is this what all auctions are like?
Amanda [as Aggie]: No.
Julia [as Val]: There's not just panthers and like dudes in masks usually?
Eric [as random citizen]: Hey did everyone see that panther?
Julia [as Val]: There was a panther!
Amanda [as Aggie]: There was also a jetpack and a person on a motorcycle. And is that what they were trying to steal?
Amanda: And I point down to the sign.
Julia [as Val]: There was a dude who tried to take it out to the street. There was like two of them that wanted the sign. I don’t know what's going on.
Amanda [as Aggie]: But you got it back?
Julia [as Val]: Yes.
Amanda [as Aggie]: Thank you, citizen, for recovering this item.
Julia [as Val]: Please don't ever call me citizen again.
Amanda [as Aggie]: I’m sorry- I saw that cop on the motorcycle and it just really got into my head. I'm Aggie, by the way.
Julia [as Val]: Val.
Amanda [as Aggie]: Cool. Good to meet you.
Julia [as Val]: Cool. I'm supposed to have that chair. Can I get my chair and then go?
Amanda [as Aggie]: Oh, you had the winning bid right? Yeah, of course.
Julia [as Val]: Cool. Alright. I need to find a bank guy who can get this off me.
Julia: And then holds up the –
Eric: It’s been attached to you the whole time.
Julia [as Val]: It's really complicated.
Eric: So, Val, you can go find these- the hookup.
Julia: Please.
Eric: You can do that, and then Aggie, you can talk - the police are kind of putting the mask people away if you want to try to talk to them or something.
Amanda: I think I'm more concerned with just the well-being of other people, like checking to see if anyone's injured. I don't think I would go and talk to the criminals now that the police have them.
Eric: Alright, cool. So they're putting them away. Now, Val, you're gonna go up to the auctioneer, and he's like,
Eric [as Auctioneer]: Aw, that was a real, real wild thing. [in auctioneer voice] There was, 1 enemy 2 enemy 3 enemy 4 enemy, that person on a motorcycle.
Julia [as Val]: Please sir-
Eric [as Auctioneer]: They go thirty thirty miles or 40 miles per hour and the panther had one claw, two claws-
Julia [as Val]: I just want to go home, please.
Eric [as Auctioneer]: Oh, yeah. Alright. Well, you can come back here and we're going to deal with the – deal with the payment.
Eric: And you go over to a room off the side. I like to think it's one of those doors that are the wall, but they just like kind of back –
Julia: Sure.
Eric: Back if you walk through –
Amanda: Man, who built this bank?
Eric: Sneaky bank.
Julia: The mob.
Eric: And he goes over a desk, rummages through it and pulls out a key.
Eric [as Auctioneer]: Is that - Is that it?
Julia [as Val]: Yes.
Eric: Alright. He puts the key in the handcuff lock and unlocks you. So, you now have your hand back.
Amanda: The key is to the handcuffs and not the briefcase.
Eric: Yeah.
Julia: I also have to assume that I need to bring Dom back the rest of the money, so if you don't mind opening that and giving me my additional 250, that would be great.
Eric [as Auctioneer]: Okay, alright.
Eric: So he takes it. He goes over to the chair and he opens up –
Julia [as Val]: And a receipt of return, please.
Eric [as Auctioneer]: Yes. Absolutely. I will absolutely do that. Right. I'll write it down one time, two times, three times, four times…
Julia [as Val]: Sir, I really need to go home. It’s been a long night.
Eric: Here's a question. Do you want to look inside the bag?
Julia: I think I'm going to look when he opens it.
Eric: Okay, make an Investigation check. He is doing it surreptitiously, so I’m going to put a number in my head, which is a little higher than usual.
[dice rolling]
Brandon: 21.
Julia: No, it’s a 9.
Eric: Alright. With a 9, you do not see what's in there.
Julia: Alright.
Eric: So he takes out – it was in tens, so he takes out 25 bills and he puts a bag, and he puts a rubber band around it and he writes a note down. Yeah. You're fine. You can - you can - you have your arm back and you have your 250.
Julia [as Val]: And it's going to deliver the chair to Dom’s house?
Eric [as Auctioneer]: They’ll deliver the chair to Toretto house.
Julia: Alright.
Eric: Yeah. So you're fine.
Julia: Alright. I will go home.
Eric: What a - what a life. What a time. Aggie, the person running this whole thing comes up to you and says,
Eric [as auction director]: I - you know, this is the most fun I've had at one of these. Not saying a lot, but... you know thank – at least it was exciting. Thank you for coming. That was very nice. I know, we didn't… we'll have to postpone and we'll do this later. But you will get the money for the historic district. I know how important that is. Did you see anything that was missing? Did any - did they take anything? I know you were here the whole time.
Amanda [as Aggie]: I mean, someone attempted to rob the safe, but they didn't get away with anything. And as for all the items in here, it seems to me they're all accounted for. But I haven't done an inventory. You guys came with it, so-
Eric [as auction director]: Right, right, right.
Eric: Make an Investigation check.
[dice rolls]
Brandon: They are missing one panther.
Amanda: 8.
Eric: 8, yeah, seems to you that nothing was taken.
[Brandon bursts out laughing]
Julia: I don't like the way that was said.
Amanda: Not my job.
Eric: Not my job, not my problem. Not my job, not my problem.
Amanda: I understand why they were trying to steal the sign, but I don't see a reason to go into that level of detail.
Eric: That’s true. You get another email to your work address.
Julia: From the hot reporter.
Amanda: So I spend about half an hour wrapping everything up, give a statement to the police, and then finally, as I'm exiting and taking that breath of fresh air, finally check my phone.
Eric: Alright. You have another email and it's continued on the same chain from Tegan. Tegan says,
Eric [as Tegan]: Oh, wow. That- Pretty exciting. You know, it seems like you're more of a story than I thought. Let’s meet up tomorrow.
Amanda: And I reply, “Workin’ 9 to 5 at the museum, you know where to find me.”
[electronic music plays]
[theme music]