Critical Role - Ages of Pain | Age of Umbra Episode 5 Part 2

Episode Date: July 8, 2025

Part 2 Past horrors call upon August and Misty in the Screaming Forest and hard decisions come to all as they approach the Amber Gate... DAGGERHEARTDaggerheart is OUT NOW! Visit https://daggerheart.com to learn more. Purchase your copy at friendly local game stores, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other bookstores, or Critical Role shops:US: https://shop.critrole.comUK: https://shop.critrole.co.ukEU: https://shop.critrole.euAU: https://shop.critrole.com.auCA: https://canada.critrole.com AGE OF UMBRASmall communities hold fast against the darkness of a dying world in Age of Umbra, a dark, survival fantasy 8-part Daggerheart mini-series with Game Master Matthew Mercer and players Ashley Johnson, Laura Bailey, Liam O’Brien, Marisha Ray, Sam Riegel, Taliesin Jaffe, and Travis Willingham. Death lurks around every corner, but five characters of the small community of Desperloch must band together to fight for hope for their community, risking it all for those they love. BEACONCurious what happens when the camera turns off after an Age of Umbra episode? Watch the Cooldown episodes with the cast discussion after each episode, exclusively on Beacon! Start your 7-day free trial today at https://beacon.tv/join and get unparalleled access to the shows you love completely ad-free! You’ll receive NEW Beacon exclusive series, instant access to VODs & podcasts, live event pre-sales, merch discounts, & a private Discord. CREDITSKey Art & Character Art by Anthony Chong Jones | @robotpencilPlayer Miniatures by Hero ForgeSpecial thanks to Solar Simon DMMain Theme Song by Omar FadelSet Design by Shaun EllisSet Fabrication and Production Design by Noxweiler Berf Due to the improv nature of RPG content on our channels, some themes and situations that occur in-game may be difficult for some to handle. If hearing discussions of certain episodes or scenes become uncomfortable, we strongly suggest taking a break or skipping that particular episode.Your health and well-being is important to us and Psycom has a great list of international mental health resources, in case it’s useful: http://bit.ly/PsycomResources

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New episodes release every Tuesday. Hey there, Matthew Mercer here and you're listening to part two of this episode of Age of Umbra, a dark tale and campaign setting from our recently released tabletop RPG Daggerheart from Darrington Press. If you haven't checked out part one yet, pause this now and head over there first. Otherwise, let's return to our adventurers striving against the darkness in part two.

And welcome back. So, as you exit the Screaming Forest and come to the scrub land between the outside, the outside from this dangerous wooded space onward to the Amber Gate itself. Well, first I realized that I gave you an updated item sheet for the weapon. So it's supposed to be a d10, not a d8.

Oh, it's a d10? It's a d10. I'd hold this, I think. Say yes. I think you like it. I think this'll sweeten the deal. Say yes to the blade. Oh, d10 plus four. Oh, this changes shit. Yes, it does. Carved from the bone of some massive creature,

the reinforced blade ends in a terrifying hook. Say less. I'm in. All right. All right, so the day grows later. The sky grows darker, climbing towards the sunset. Beyond the gray, choked clouds. What do you wish to do? You know, if you play really hard, climbing towards the sunset, beyond the gray, choked clouds.

What do you wish to do? LIAM, you know, if you play really hard, you'll have to rest an equal amount. Looking out over this field and using my Slyborn Scoundrel ability, I have advantage on rolls to find safe places to hide. Can we hole up? Are there massive edifices of stone in this field or giant bits of scrub brush?

Let's find out. So if you like to go ahead and roll for instinct with advantage. With advantage, okay. Correct. I was going to spend a whole day to speak scoundrel to him, but I don't know if I speak his scoundrel. Ooh, that's very high.

But it's with fear. 18, 23, four. 24 with fear. 24 with fear. Carving a part way between here and the gate, you see there are a number of chunks of exterior ruin. Part of this region used to be the outermost neighborhoods of Amberreach before they were trashed and washed away by the rising seas that have taken this space.

And so there are the remnants of structures, old homesteads, warehouses, who knows what these once were that have since toppled and fallen to weather and ruin. You find one that has enough of an exterior wall to possibly hide. As you rush in to check, the first thing you notice is you hit, as you turn the corner, your leg gets caught

in what is a massive, sticky web. You begin to pull away for a second as all of a sudden you expect something and a leg gets caught in what is a massive, sticky web. You begin to pull away for a second as all of a sudden you expect something to descend from the top and you see something inside this massive clustered web with as hurt as you've been and as much as you've run from things like this. The chuckle can't help from rubble up inside

as you dart back. You take a stress from the sudden fright and burst of excitement of getting to that threshold of possible once more riding the edge of death before you see this abandoned nest and a human-like body that is webbed up inside, hollowed out from the inside, the lower torso missing, and the mostly skeletal body just hung

by the now wind-torn webbing. Oh, hi there, friend. What's got you so down in the dumps? He just rests there unmoving, but this corner has enough cover that you think you could probably, hopefully, ride the evening with some measure of safety. You found a pretty doll.

And a friend. Not much of a conversation, as though. And the friend? Not much of a conversationalist, though. White powder's wearing off. That white powder. He could be a conversationalist if we were in the mood. So that we can get his last words of, ah, ah, ah, ah. At the very least, what killed him, if it lived or if it went off somewhere. Yeah. How many times? I have a very...

How often can you use that spell? It doesn't say. It might be as much as you want. You're gonna use a corpse for the moment of life to speak it, make a spell cast roll, da da da da? Yeah, you can do as many times as you want, but it's limited per corpse, and each time you roll is a chance for fear or failure.

No, it's fair. All right, well. Well, I'll think about it. Short rest? Yes. Or long rest. What's the time of day? We've been going wild.

Starting to take stress. Most of this troupe, in fact, probably all of you for the most part haven't slept in a day and a half. Oh my god, we've gotta take a long rest. Gotta take a long rest. So you can just take a short rest if you want to, but you'll start taking stress as a group based on the lack of actual sleep.

I'll forage around the surroundings and grab a mine of bits of kindling to light a fire. And I have a bunch of sleeping bags that we got. You traded up here. Oh, wow. Yeah, so I'll pass them out to you, Brixton. And to maybe Idle. I don't think you'll fit in one. I don't, I just, I sleep standing up anyway.

Kind of open the sleeping bags, making my own. Adelia may want one. Padded area for us to share. Okay. There you go. Thank you so much. Don't hurt me. I just toss it on her head.

Night rolls in here. The scrubland falls dark Just toss it on your hand. Night rolls in here. Lighting charge. The scrubland falls dark with a moonless night. The clouds somewhat part, but no stars are visible in the black expanse above. The temperature drops. You can just faintly see on each side little dancing blue lights in the distance, occasionally coming in and out of view,

blinking, vanishing behind things you can't make out of this distance. It's just the ever-present reminder that the land never sleeps. the ever-present reminder that the land never sleeps. But nevertheless, you attempt to rest this night. Can you heal me before we take a rest? No, I healed, well,

only because you're a sweet little girl and definitely not gonna do evil shit later, I will use... I'm not in your dreams or anything. You didn't have to say that. I will use life support again to spend three hope to clear a hit point on an ally within close range. It's only one. That's so much hope, though.

Huh? That's so much hope. Do you want to be healed, kid, or don't you? Thank you, I do. You build a little campfire to keep yourselves warm here in the dark chill of night. You see old drill friction method. It's starting to look kindling.

It's humble. Boy, what a day. It's not as opulent as the pyre that we're used to, but hopefully it'll. It's a but hopefully it'll be a beautiful thing. It's a beautiful comfort. Thank you. I'm glad you're still with us. Me too.

Misty. Yes? This is all done. You wanna come back and burn the pyre completely out of your temple? Come back and burn the pyre completely out of your temple. Get the hive gone. Clean it up. I will gladly help you with that. I feel light, so maybe it's time.

I feel light as well, even though I'm not. Well, we should learn more about where you came from. as well, even though I'm not. We should learn more about where you came from. And the best way to do that is to release all those poor souls. Yes. I think that would be great. A quick above-table conversation. As a reminder, we have this minor stamina potion recipe, so as a

downtime move, someone can use the bone of a sizable creature, which I think we ripped from the mother, and apparently there's one hanging on the spiderweb behind us, to make a minor stamina potion, if no one else has anything else they want to do. It takes one of your actions. Oh, because it takes one of your actions. Right, as a downtime move? Correct. Assuming it would take an action. Also, point of order, before we bed down for the night, I'm going to use my health potion.

Got one or the other, right? Correct, when you've created your characters. 1d4 plus one? 1d4. Is that in battle? If I'm gonna play tomorrow, I'm really gonna need this now. Healing potion is just one d4.

It's three. Wait, are you not? You can heal. But my armor's fucked, and my stress bar as well. I understand. So I'm unfucking myself entirely. But only.

I'm going to make one of the leave the armor. Yeah, only if you don't have anything else going on. I'm going to clear my armor, but three stress ain't freaking me out. Okay. Yeah. Does anyone wish to keep watch this evening, or leave it to fate? I could keep watch.

If you have the move to do. That's right, because you've got that fancy fancy. Well. Hold on a minute, because I. You're pretty, you were pretty beat up. I think I'm not a good person, because I did clear my HP already, and I added my armor back.

Never mind. Yep. Would somebody else? If anybody has the next move to spare, and if not, you should left the dice to set. I cleared my HP already and I added my armor back. Never mind. Would somebody else? If anybody has the next move to spare, and if not, you're just left with dice to side. I could sit and take watch. I'll give myself not a long rest.

Do I not get a long rest without taking a watch? No, you do. You get two moves you can make as a downtime move. Oh, okay, so I can still do it while I'm watching? Well, you choose one of your moves to be keeping watch, and the other is to either clear hit points, clear stress, repair armor. So it's a hard choice sometimes. You know, while you're up, I made a little bed for Violet.

Oh, thank you. Well, at least she'll get some rest. I set her on a little bit of web that I hung low, and I put her in the same position as the dead man up above. She looks so peaceful. How do you like our new friends? I like them quite a bit.

So we should keep it going. I think so, but if we're going into Amber Reach, we should definitely be careful with them. We took great pains to leave the Amber Reach. I don't want them to die. Hmm, I'm undecided, but I follow your lead as always. Okay. Get some sleep, Screef.

Night night. You look very stressed. I curl up like a dog right around you, little girl. I will fix my armor. Okay, so you're repairing your armor full for a long run? Yes, I'll sew my dress while I'm keeping watch. Okay, so that's all you're doing is fixing your armor and keeping watch?

Yeah, I'll keep my stress as is. Okay. You are repairing. I am repairing my armor, and I am tending to my wounds. All right, so heal your wounds, heal your armor. You are? I repaired all of my armor and also my wounds. All right.

Scree, you. I brought myself to full HP with that potion, so I will use my two actions to heal, fix armor, and clear the massive amount of stress I got from the white power. Brixton. I'm clearing HP and stress. August? The four of my hands are repairing my armor

and stitching it back up, while the other two are making a minor stamina potion. You got it. With the ground bones. I will clear my HP, and if no one is available to prepare with me, I guess I'll just prepare by myself. So you gain a hope? I gain a hope.

All right, and with that. Can I use my experience of they mostly come at night because I'm used to keeping guard for monsters at night? Well, for this particular role, you don't get to apply experiences to it. Well, I have to watch my rolls. SAM and MARISHA and LIAM and SAM and MARISHA and That's a one, so I gain one fear, plus the number of PCs, which is seven.

Whoa, what? Squeeze me? Jeez, thank god it was just a one. Who can ask for anything more? Seven PCs and a long rest definitely sets me up for the next day. Oh my god. So, roll a d12, and I roll a d12. You decide to keep yours, or if you want to use mine.

Rollies, this is. Hit my hand. It did hit your hand. It's a five. Do you think his would be higher or lower? I think his is higher. What'd you roll a five? That's a 50-50 split on the host. And I want whatever one's higher?

I'll go with yours. Go with mine? Mine's a four. Oh! It's okay. Five or four actually are the same. Okay. So as you rest, trying to find a semblance of recovery here in the darkness, the firelight begins to flicker

and fade like the actual chill of night consumes that source of warmth. like the actual chill of night consumes that source of warmth. And you find yourselves occasionally through the opening one eye to find nothing. Blindness, darkness, and an instinct to panic and move, but paralysis takes your body. You sit here in shadow and cold, unable to move your limbs,

to move your eyes, just still and lost and alone in darkness, until eventually the fear takes you back into shadow. I get my one fear. Aw. That's all the fear. For a full day. Do you get a prize for getting all of the fear? I win!

Yay! Fuck! You lose. It's all fear. However, the night's rest, as chilling as it is and as ominous as the times to come may be, nothing seems to disturb your slumber with violence. And then the morning comes,

heavy mists now crawling across this land and the surrounding bits of the ashen seas that have filled the marsh that has made this valley. And there, beyond the low-hanging fog, you can just barely see the shape of the outer wall of Amberreach and the gate that awaits. One by one, you all begin to awake. Cricks in your neck, your muscles and limbs soar

from the fights and travel the day before, but the once golden city awaits. Wake up, Violet. We're going home. Where did you get Violet? Home. But like, was it made for you by a relative or given from a friend?

Or stolen from a shop? Well, it was given to me by my grandfather. Oh. Where... Where is your family? Mostly gone. Although, some of them might be alive, I suppose. Why are you not with them?

Well, the bad men were killing some and said we could go with them. But... They looked very dirty. And had bad manners. So... I ran away. How old are you? I'm nine. Oh, what a good age. We've been together. Yes, I'm nine.

How long have you both known each other? Not that long, not that short. Less than a year, I think. But you've been taking care of her. We've been taking care of each other. She's very capable. She's very capable. As we saw yesterday.

Well, I'm sorry about your family. It's all right. I have Screev now, and Violet. She's very happy to be here. May I hold her? No. Oh, okay, sorry. Hello, Violet. She doesn't talk.

Oh, that's okay. Her mouth was turned shut when she was very little. Oh my goodness. It's so sad. That is so sad. It can happen. So what are we doing today, family? I think we're going into the Amber Reach,

which is a scary big place. I mean, parts of it are scary. Other parts are less scary. And you've been? I've been. I've been a bunch, because I had a girlfriend there for a while. What was her name?

Amber. That last name, Reach. SAM and MARISHA and SAM and MARISHA and SAM and I'm not. Can I tell if he's lying with my Slyborn Scoundrel ability? Same, same. Sure, if you wanna go ahead and roll an instinct roll, a new roll of presence roll, reaction roll for you. 20 with hope. 21 with hope. Oh! I will add my experience reading between the lines. Oh! Who likes experiences now?

The only time I've used it. You've got to spend a hope. Yeah, and you get a hope. You got a hope by rolling with hope, and then you can spend your hope by. Does that work? I think it's on the same roll. You have to spend the experience before you roll.

I didn't have it before yet. But this would be perfect in a scenario in which you would use that experience. Damn, your experience? Yeah, you use it before the roll. I didn't have it beforehand. But this would be perfect in a scenario in which you would use that experience. Damn, you were experienced? Yeah, you used it before the roll. Yes, I do. I mean, people lose people all the time here and there's a glimmer of seeming truth behind his words.

Why would he lie? That would be ridiculous. I believe the faun. Plus, he's easily the most deadly Fawn we will ever find. And we have to find that Blessed Branch. And you're trying to get to the Idle Hollows? Where are you trying to go? Just past Amber Reach. I'm trying to go to the Barrow of Blind Repose.

The BBR. The BBR. I think all the Amber Reach is scary, but that's what makes it so much fun. Which way are you planning to go? There's three ways to go through the town, and I will tell them the ways to go through the town. So through Amber Reach, there are three main paths. The fastest to your destination is across the Empyrean Bridge, which avoids the Drowned Sprawl and more or less goes deep into the heart of the city through the Cinnabar Corridor, then up through the Astrofoundry to the Barrow. So while it is the fastest, you are exposed on the bridge itself through a great length of the city

and whatever might see or await you on that bridge to race past or engage with. SAM and TALIESIN You said Cinnabon, right? MATT No. That's the worst of all. The not-quite-as-fast path, but the next fastest, would be to go through the Drowned Sprawl to the west, to the Ashcall Quarter, to climb up through what was once the great realm of learning here in Amberreach. The Drowned Sprawl is a neighborhood that is now mostly underwater, a series of broken rooftops and towers that barely peek through this murky, still stagnant water. Deeply haunted.

Most of the city is, but this place in particular is very much permeated with ghosts and strange entities that like to lurk in haunted spaces. Many scavengers, you know, will sometimes go there to dive into the waterlogged cityscapes to try and find anything of worth. Any weaponry, arms, money, tradables, goods. Some come back. But the Ashclawcall Quarter was once the learning place. Many great colleges and libraries, where there was the center of higher learning in Amberreach before the Apostasy. Since then, much of it has slowly fallen to marauders, beasts, and various other shadowed creatures. the one that still stands, and the only true sacred spire, or the sacred pyre that

exists in Amber Reach, is the selzium and the athenium. Reinforced what was once a massive collegiate building to now be a stronghold that has existed the entire century since the gods left. It is the core of much hard research and clerical study on what happened and how best to save the realm. A massive cityscape of over a few thousand enduring, it is rumored, to still live there and exist. Massive intended troops are sent out to gather materials and knowledge and scraps of history, as well as powerful magical relics from the past, and fight back and slaughter what bits of growing darkness and terrible monstrosities stalk the city streets. But for whatever reason, whether it be the length of time that it's existed or something hidden within that draws them to it, many terrible creatures

perpetually stalk and patrol the base of the fortress, almost like they're drawn and waiting for a moment to tear through and consume what lies inside. Beyond that, you do pass onto the Cinnabar Quarter, which is where the Damascus Queens currently hold much of their power. A roving gang of raiders under multitudes of queens that carry their own subsets.

They are raucous, dangerous, murderous entities that, whenever they capture individuals, give them the offer to join or die. Often, when great victories are gained by their body or leadership, hedonistic, bloody parties are thrown, where cries and laughter and screams echo throughout the city streets. As they now live in this quarter, which once belonged to the powerful nobility and the social elite of Amberreach, that hold themselves in after the fall of the God King, and kept the main populace out. And then over generations, locked away in their homes for protection, their money in stores dwindled.

Some may still remain, others may have joined the queens, and many others lie somewhere rotting, or on the many pikes that hold the corpses and many others, lie somewhere rotting, or on the many pikes that hold the corpses as a warning to those who had crossed them. The longest path is to the east, the Basilica Quarter. This is the grandiose realm of Emberreach where the very core of worship and faith resided. When the gods left, the Grand Ordinance themselves

carried the seat of power here to keep the peace among the land and hold the faith of hope that the gods would return. As time passed, their power waned, as did the things that dwelled in the shadows in the absence of the gods that began to take the cathedrals and temples from them. It is said that some of the ordinance still remain there, mad cults still striving to bring one

shred of their faith and glory down at whatever it takes, where other terrifying beasts and demons hope to rise and corrupt those who still try and cling to the shreds of that past belief. That will bypass the Cinnabar Corner, but it is a sprawling domain of rising cathedrals and broken places of worship. What the fuck, Matt? Did you write this thing? These are your paths to choose from. Jesus. That metal one sounds like a daisy. LIAM, laughing, and then the other one sounds like a daisy. SAM, laughing, and then the other one sounds like a daisy.

LIAM, laughing, and then the other one sounds like a daisy. SAM, laughing, and then the other one sounds like a daisy. LIAM, laughing, and then the other one sounds like a daisy. SAM, laughing, and then the other one sounds like a daisy. LIAM, laughing, and then the other one sounds like a daisy. SAM, laughing, and then the other one sounds like a daisy. LIAM, laughing, and then the other one sounds like a daisy. SAM, laughing, and then the other one sounds like a daisy.

LIAM, laughing, and then the other one sounds like a daisy. SAM, laughing, and then the other one sounds like a daisy. LIAM, laughing, and then the other one sounds like a daisy. SAM, laughing, and then the other one sounds like a daisy. LIAM, laughing, and then the other one sounds like a daisy. SAM, laughing, and then the other one sounds like a daisy. LIAM, laughing, and then the other one sounds like a daisy. SAM, laughing, and then the other one sounds like a daisy. LIAM, laughing, and then the other one sounds like a daisy. SAM, laughing, and then the other one sounds like a daisy. LIAM, laughing, and then the other one sounds like a daisy. SAM, laughing, and those might be a little dicey for Adelia and I.

For Adelia and you? Oh, yes. Because of past interactions? We both spent our pasts there, not to gather apart. We met later. But we both fled that place for different reasons. My family is with Yuri of the Emerald Queen. The Emerald Queen, she's one of the Damascus Queens? Yes, of course, I thought you've been there.

Well, I've run through it, yes. I haven't met any of the queens. With which queen? Emerald Queen. Avoiding the cinnabar would be fine, probably safer, SAM and MARISHA and SAM and SAM and MARISHA and SAM and SAM and MARISHA and SAM and Yeah. And you see, I'm clutching a small package that I've had with me the whole time, tighter than normal. I... What are you clutching?

I don't actually know, but I sort of stole it from somebody. Why don't you open it up? Oh, I don't know what it is, and I kind of don't want to know. I'll open it for you. I love packages. I could resist the temptation. Presents, please. It'll be so fun. It's not a present. It's probably something bad. The curiosity isn't killing.

Maybe it's a toy. Plus you've been risking your life. I mean, this could be a great chance to let off some steam, that would reward yourself. This is something that you're supposed to give to someone? I was supposed to deliver it, yes, but I... To who? Where? Someone across the...

In Ocrows, but... Yeah, we're not going there. If you're not going to deliver it, you should keep it for yourself. What if you're already carrying one of these branches and you don't even know it? I don't think that it's that. You think, but you don't know.

Normally, they would have me deliver bad things, like drugs or weapons or fingers of people as a warning. None of those are bad things. General contraband. Yeah. Plus, if it was magic, Delia would be able to sense it, right? Yes, of course.

Why don't you bring it over to me? All right, can you sense if there's magic in here? I don't sense anything magical. I don't sense anything magical. Well, then. Probably just a poo. Just peek in Well then, probably just a poo. Just peek in. Maybe it is just a finger.

Just a same, perfect, perfect poo. It's a poo. Barely any creases in it, just a perfect poo. I feel like if I have this and the gentleman who it belongs to finds me, maybe I could give it back as sort of a make good and they'd let me have it. That's stupid. Just give it a little peeksies.

How long have you been holding onto it? Is there a wax seal? Could you just open it and close it back up? Just wrap it in steam. I'm gonna go real quick. Oh boy. I should not have told you about this. You just clutched it through and tied it.

I mean, I... You know what? Don't do anything you don't want to do. We'll open it while you're asleep. It's got a hefty weight to it. I have an idea. It's about that long. I have an idea. Okay.

We killed the faun. We opened it. How about you have somebody else peek and look at what it is, and they don't have to tell you. Plausible deniability. There you go. Still saying good conscious that you did not open it.

In fact, we could knock you out. That you don't know what's inside. We wouldn't have to tell you. Which one of you would do that? I walk around behind some of them. I name all of us. Put you don't know what's inside. We wouldn't have to tell you. Well, which one of you would do that? I walk around behind some of them. And they all of us. I put my arm around and just start squeezing. Ah, ah, ah!

Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! I'm a saber hole! Oh! Oh! Fainting goat!

We got about 30 seconds. August, open it up! Sure. You have dainty little needles. I do. I'm gonna use, am I really doing this? I guess I am. I'm going to use Sticky Fingers, and I'm going to try and use my very careful use to open this up gently without tearing it. Make a finesse roll for me, if you don't mind.

Okay, I'm going to spend a hope to add your experience to it. I'm actually going to do some even. Where is it, I can do a fun thing. How to sleep. I can spend stress to double a. How to sleep. Your screen. Yeah, so I'm gonna mark his stress. Ah-ah-ah.

Ah-ah-ah. Ah-ah-ah. Ah-ah-ah. Ah-ah-ah. It's a, what kind of roll again? Oh, he pebbles his sleeve. Finesse, please. That's ten, and then That's 14 with fear. 14 with fear.

Okay. You go and find that. 15 with fear, excuse me. 15 with fear. 15 was the DC. Oh, well, there we go. The difficulty was 15. In the brief moment you have, you pull back this twine and unwrap this, well, there we go. So the difficulty was 15. In the brief moment you have, you pull back this twine and unwrap this

somewhat crumpled heavy burlap that's centered around it, and it's about that long. You pull it back and see it is a thin lead box that has a latch on it, that is indeed locked in with some sort of a button to it. You find where the button is locked in, you quickly get in, you flick it open, it opens, the box opens, I'm gonna spend a fear

that you just gave. I would have gotten to that point to match onto this. It opens, like a latch automatically spring opens in front of you. things you notice one a beautiful black iron Scepter with like a gold inlay It is

It is beautiful in its design about that long Also, you noticed resting next to it in the box is a black tongue that immediately leaps out and starts darting off. All right, I need you to go ahead and make a finesse roll for me. I'll spend a hope to say, I got you, you scoundrel! You pour it, get it, gotcha, you scoundrel, you gotcha! You're gonna get a hope! Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! All right, I'm gonna spend a fear

to give you disadvantage on that. Oh! So I lose the health that he gave me? Oh, you can do that? So he gave me six and you took a six. I can do all kinds of weird shit with my fear. This is as big as mine. You got this, you got this.

All right, so finesse. Pick it up, kids. And it's just a straight roll because you negated the advantage. 13, it's a 15 of hope. 15 of hope, you gain a hope, but as you reach out, the tongue is quick. Whatever strange necrotic enchantment keeps it here,

it avoids your blow and continues to pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft dart away from you. You all watch as Screeve does not manage to grasp or slash towards us, and the tongue is... Can I try to unleash Chaos on the tongue? Sure, go for it. I will spend a fear to give you disadvantage on your roll. Oh gosh, okay. So just a minus a d6? Yes. Okay. Oh no. 13 with hope, minus two. 11.

Okay, so you gain hope. However, it is an unholy speed that this weird, blackened bit of somehow still flexible flesh that has remained in this package for far too long, darts away in the direction of Amber Reach. Can I try something, or are we done? It is right now, beyond far range. If you want to try one thing, as long as it has a reach of far, you could run after it, and this will be your last chance to do something. Can anybody snipe it?

Nope. I have one sniper's ability, but do we want to kill the black tie? Yes. You get one last shot. Somebody's going to roll something and has to have a far range to even reach it at this point. Within far range, I can make a spell cast roll for Bolt Beacon. Give it a shot. All right.

Oh, what I would give for advantage, but I don't hear any help. Wait, wait, wait. Hold on. What? May I? I'm just gonna roll again. Matt's got the look on his face.

Can I do a rally die? Oh! Oh! Crit! Crit! Yes! No more bows! Okay. So go ahead and roll damage on your Bolt Beacon.

Okay, Bolt Beacon is D8 plus two. So it's max eight plus a D8, because it is, does it say you use your proficiency? It does, magic damage using my. So it'll be 16 plus two D8. Like a bottle rocket. Sweet. Five.

Five, 10. Six. 26, oof, that is. I have more constitution than my cat, I'm Six. 26. That is... I'm gonna be pissed. Wow. It becomes temporarily vulnerable and glows brightly until this condition is cleared. It does.

Or it would if it had enough hit points to survive. Right as it exits the reach, you fling this. The unholy magic that animates this entity meets the strange divinity that you somehow are the host for, and you watch in this magnificent splash of light, the tongue turns into black smoke and mist that seems to swirl and continue to travel almost in the direction it was going. Or maybe that was just an illusion as it's no longer visible. You don't know, but the tongue is destroyed.

I think I got it. Very good. You can be conscious of that. What happened? What happened? Are you okay? We found a septum. You're okay. And that's it? SAM and LAURA and SAM and SAM and is a bludery. So it was disintegrated, but something flew out of it. Well, just, you saw black mist like,

psshh, and that was it. Is there a chair in the middle of the room? Always. The scepter, though, is gorgeous. Does it say anything on the scepter or on the box or anything? No, the scepter is magical. You sense the lead-lined box.

Lead. It's magical. Can we, I don't want to touch it. I'm scared. Who wishes to touch the scepter? I'll touch the scepter. Yes. All right.

You are the bravest. Roll 1d4 for me. How many chances does she have to survive this? One and four. Four. Four. You grab the scepter and watch as the blackened coloration on it dissipates, revealing a beautiful silver. As the black coloration on it instead crawls up your arm. Oh no! And as it does, your arm goes freezing cold, the flesh seems to painfully spear

with just this sharp, sharp pain. You take four stress. Oh! And your left arm is now permanently black. Whoa! That's kinda sick! That's awesome! But you now have the Scepter of Eli black. Whoa! That's kinda sick! That's awesome! But you now have the Scepter of Elias.

Ah! Ooh, but if I get max stress, what does that mean? It turns into a hip point. Well, it means you are now, you are vulnerable until you clear a stress. Does anybody have a Stamina Potion? We just made a Stamina Potion last night. It's all fresh.

If you were your max stress, it would turn into one hip point right now. Well, if you're max stress, SAM and LAURA and SAM and MATT and SAM and MATT and SAM and MATT and SAM and MATT and MATT and SAM and MATT and SAM and MATT and SAM and

MATT and SAM and We've left our hideout. I know we really should get on that road. What does the scepter do? It says it's invigorating on a successful attack, roll a d4, on a result of four clear distress. Oh. And it is a magical item. It's a magical attack. So I could use it instead of violet.

Maybe violet could use it. Does it have a magical spell or is it just a... It's just a... Focus? It's a focus, like Violet is, basically. Cool. Might not necessarily be. Would you need this? Let me take a look really quick.

Shall we walk and talk? Yes. Yes. Which direction are we going? We still have to pick the path. If we go through the Cinnabar Quarter, probably a lot of people are gonna be very interested in. The two of you? Certainly.

There are strength in numbers now, though, and certainly we make an imposing figure. Yeah. Also, if we go the route of Basilica, that's adding more time. That's true. On an already very short mission. I suppose I could see my father from a distance.

This is not nice, I suppose. A lot of the Demass queens want me dead, but it was just me and then just the two of us, but perhaps with all of you, we'd be more than a match. So it would be like 2d6 plus three or just one d6? Okay. If we promise to look over you, which we will, we will. I very much agree with this.

I think we could cut quite a path through there. And if we had the way of the Celsian Athenium, we will be very near or potentially go by the Sacred Pire, the grandest one, and all of the idle hollows, and it could bless us with its sacred flame. Oh, it's a presence. That's got you all mulled over. Breathe deep. Oh, it's a presence. That's got you all in mind. Breathe deep.

Oh, so it's a presence. Let's do it. Yeah. Let's do that. Right, I'm excited. Which one are we doing? The wet one? The far, yeah. Going through the Ashcall Quarter,

through the Celcian Athenian. With the rooftops peeking up through the wind. Oh, I know. I just want to Prince of Persia this a little bit. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's not the Basilica one. Okay, yeah, I'm fine with that. Quick and high danger.

Okay. And after all that black tongue choked you out before, we don't want to make you go back. I don't remember that. It's okay, sweet prince. Rest in sweet prince. I'm gonna do two things. I am going to... Oh, good luck.

A prayer die. Do a little bit of music. I thought about one per day. Oh, yes. Music with my wings. Just pump us up and everybody gets a D6 as a rally die. Sweet. So you can add that to your action roll, reaction roll, damage roll, or to clear a

number of stress equal to the result. And then I also... So take your d6 rally die that you can spend from the spell. I can clear stress with this right now? Yeah. Do it. Do you roll or do you roll it? Yes, you roll a d6. And the amount that I roll, it clears it? You get rid of damage, yeah. And do it. Or you can add it to an action roll roll a d6. And the amount that I roll, it clears it? It clears it.

And do it. Or you can add it to an action roll, or a reaction roll. Oh, come on. I need it, I need help. That's lame, just roll a one. There you go, well you clear another stress. And then, from my new book of Sittle, I am going to adjust my appearance. Okay. So we can travel a little easier. I'll turn into a

black tome. SAM and TALIESIN and SAM and LAURA and SAM and LAURA and never. And I will, you'll see a beautiful young woman, early 20s, just beautiful brown hair, and I look at Adelia, and the dress looks very similar to Adelia's, because it's just sort of, I'm looking at everybody around me and sort of taking little bits and pieces, but big brown doe eyes. You look almost exactly like my auntie mommy now. I do?

Mm-hmm. Oh, and I'll do a spin. It feels nice. If I reach out and squish her wrist a little bit, what do I feel? Do you feel the hardened exterior of her stone form? Do I feel like a person? Ooh, you feel like something.

I run one of my claws lightly and you hear, Hrrr. Don't hurt her. Don't. I think she can take it. A little more than that. She actually can't. I don't know if you have been paying attention for the past 24 hours, but she actually cannot. I am your ship!

She's from the Old World. She is basically an antique. From the Temple of Cadbury. Just squishy. Squishy on the inside. These religious types are a lot. Snakes. of Cadbury. It's just squishy inside. SAM and MARISHA and LIAM laugh. LIAM and SAM and LIAM laugh. LIAM and SAM and LIAM laugh. Snake, neither Adelia or I are interested in this doodad. Do you want it back?

It's a presence attack. You got the best part. Your aesthetic change. Black arm. So cool. I can hang on to it. Sure. It's good for brighter. Yeah. If it's wearing you, I can hide it in my coat.

It's no problem. All right, let's move. So, which way? We're going through the... Ashcold. To the west. But we just have to go through the front gate to begin? Through the amber gate. Brixton turns around to what's left of the Burning Embers and goes to stamp them out and stops.

She starts to shake, a little bit of sweat pours from her brow. The flame, it's abandoned me. sweat pours from her brow. The flame, it's abandoned me. It has forsaken me because I have abandoned the flame. Is this my punishment? Is this my punishment? I'm gonna take just a handful of the embers that are left. Oh shit. And I'm just gonna smear them across my face.

It's red hot still? It's a little ashy and hot. To give myself a re-up of my ashened war paint. Across me is a black coal, dripped underneath my eyes, like the tears when my sacred pyre went out. Please forgive me for abandoning my post. I shall redeem myself.

Brixton? You all right? Idle, you look over to Brixton and when she turns to look towards you, her face is glowing gold. Like the cresting sunlight of a sunrise you've never seen. Just this halo of golden light emitting from her face in your direction.

You react and blink, and it's just her ashen smears. Every step I take is marked by the gilded flame of redemption. I rush over, I grab her face, I turn her head. Open your mouth. She opens her mouth, and for a second, her entire face just becomes a void of black. And you feel, you feel. Ah!

And as you jump back and blink once again, it's just her face. Are you? We? What did you see? Did you see darkness inside of me? Am I cursed? No.

Not cursed. Everything's fine. We should get going. The fickle finger of destiny pushes upon us. I just start walking. This grieve has a fickle finger. Cue the Evernessence. Everyone else is getting mad.

You're very weird. I like it. Coming from you, I'm not sure if that's a compliment. Let's move on. I'm bloodhounding through the grass. Indeed, and it's here in the early morning hours, the low fog still sits across the distant waters and covers much of this open pathway to the outer walls. And the scale of them is lost on you

until you truly begin to approach. And these exterior walls, when the ramparts were tall, but you could only see what the water let you. Here, the outer walls of Amber Reach are monstrous. And the gate itself, the Great Amber Gate, hangs slightly ajar. For who knows how long. You've been through this gate many a time

and been through here quickly, because there's no telling what might await you on the other side. As we approach that gate, can I just look back at the others as they're walking, haunted by what I saw with Brixton? Does anything happen when I look at their other faces as slyly as I can? No, you look across the rest of the troop and everything's normal as you'd expect.

Though you still feel that sweat drip down your brow and down the back of your neck, into your back of your armor. It's fine. As we get closer, I'm going to grab ahold of one of Screev's little rings on his arm and hold it like I'm holding his hand. Welcome home.

One step, another, another, and the rising outer wall approaches. You've never really felt so small by comparison. The gate itself stands 70 feet in the air, maybe. It's hard to gauge from this perspective. Giants of the tallest magnitude could walk through and feel dwarfed in its size, but a glimpse of how grandiose this golden city once was.

A memory you've only heard of, but here in its presence, you can imagine how great it once was and feel how terrifying it is, its presence, now that its life has long vanished. You step through the gap in the gate and immediately feel a shift in mood. What little bit of light comes through

from the cloudy skies has this bluish-purple hue. The heavy mists that you saw outside are ever thicker here, and the lip of the cobblestone, pocked and broken in places, that descends into this district immediately is met by the thick, murky waters that sit over the entirety of the Drowned Sprawl. Before you, you can see the cracked and somewhat uneven beginning of the Empyrean Bridge that rises up, 100 feet wide, side to side, lifting and rising, much of it still standing, crumbled in places. Big towers on each side with chains attached. What was once a welcome, wonderful parade route

for the armies of the God King. Some bearing the symbol on the shield that you found near the monastery. You can see for a moment and imagine the hundreds and hundreds of troops and soldiers. You're not imagining it. Faintly visible, blue-hued soldiers march silently away before the mists engulf and they're gone. Another chill runs down your spine. And as you step to the edge of the water, you can see on both sides, east and west, the barely visible tops of the neighborhood

that has since sat, swallowed, and sunken for a century. swallowed and sunken for a century. You can see the crenellated tops of small guard towers and watchpoints. You can see the brick-built and thatched roofs themselves now molded over and overgrown. You can see the partially crumbled elements of temples and arches of worship. You can see broken statues barely piercing through. The scent of the stagnant water is heinous.

It is old and rotting. You can hear the occasional buzz of insects that feed off of the clusters of bacteria that cause the discoloration. There is no walking path through this district. The bridge continues on to the core of the city, but the western path you chose towards the Ashcall, you can't even see the shape of the district you aim for

beyond the fog. You can only trust leaping from roof to roof and hope no one slips into the drink below, unless you dare, in hopes of searching for what lost secrets or treasures might still remain unfound in the lost neighborhood. What do you do?

SAM and LIAM, whispering, are always so pretty. The soldiers, the ghosts of the soldiers, do we get much detail out of them? You only caught a faint glimmer of just helmets and spears and shields. What you thought was just a part of your mind filling and the gaps became real for a moment.

You thought maybe it was just, it was your imagination, but the mist just swallowed it and you couldn't make out more detail beyond just the shape of their armored torsos disappearing into the mist. This is a sign. It means we're on the right path. their armored torsos disappearing into the mist. This is a sign. It means we're on the right path.

We're following the footsteps of the great soldiers of Yhhor. And I'm going to confidently start leaping across, leading the way. I respond to that. On the bridge or into the sprawl? We're heading west, right? Heading west, yeah. The soldiers are going up the bridge,

but you guys are choosing west. All right, well whatever. Fucking still confident. Okay. There is a papaya in this area. Yes. A sacred tree. She wants papaya.

Yes, she wants papaya. The papaya provides. You step towards this hollow and haunted monument to forgotten glory and unchecked opulence, this capital city of the Halcyon Domain. As a group, carefully leaping from roof to scrabbled edge, to shred of stone that peeks from beyond,

who is helming this initial progress of leaping through this section of the city? I guess I'll go. All right, I would like everyone to make a group action roll that you will eventually take. The choice is agility or strength here. Cool. Am I determined by the rest of them?

Or I can also pick agility or strength. Am I determined by the rest of them? Or I can also pick agility or strength. You can choose either one. And can, on the script roll, can I use one of my experiences by spending a hope to burn my chances? It's a reaction roll, but I'll allow it if you want to. All right.

Yeah, I'm gonna add Creepy Climber to my roll. 23. 23, that's a plus one. Misty? I am, I was seeing if I could, no I can't have an experience. 20 total. All right, that's a plus two. Yeah, 18.

18 is a plus four. We're in the positive for the first time? First time. Yeah, we'll fix that. 19 with hope. Plus four. I'm sorry, 10. Plus three.

26. Plus four, so you go ahead and roll strength or agility and then add plus four to your roll. You can't mess this up. I can't mess this up. May I also spend a hope to add historically inspired my experience since I've seen the soldiers?

Sure. So you said plus four. That's gonna be plus two more because of my experience, so four, five, six, and I'm gonna do plus my strength Which is gonna bring me a plus nine damn. I swear to fucking God you guys Don't eat shit where do I feed you? That's good, that's good. It was almost a crit. Okay, that's gonna be 22 is what I rolled on the dice, plus nine.

Plus nine, plus 31. Yes. With fear. With fear. With fear, okay. I mean, he's pretty stacked, so. That is definitively a success. Okay. You begin to look around and locate each leap you can,

helping out the rest of the group as you jump across, prep yourself. You find part of a fallen archway that is broken in the center. The center keystone of the arch crumbled, but you scramble from one end to the other and help the others get across. You then get enough room to run and leap a rather impressive section of open water and land upon a heavy thatched roof that cracks under your weight for a second, but you catch yourself, turn around, and using the exposed wood to brace yourself, help each other member of the team across. You begin to leapfrog from section to section. You can see the massive walls on each side of this district rising up themselves, covered in grown roots and vine that are affixed to the long, mildewed walls and stone.

Every now and then as you land, elements of loose rubble and small rocks tumble off the edge and just plop, plop, plop, plop, plosh, and the water, water tends to spill out, the ripples projecting before vanishing about. You help the rest of the troupe get across and then just out of the corner of your eye, Brixton, still holding onto the vision as you arrive, you can see what looks like just barely through the mists in the distance,

the shapes of figures on the outer walls that seem to appear and vanish. You can almost hear the sound of a child crying in the distance, and the moment you try and focus on it, it's gone, like losing a thought before you can finish it. You look down over into the waters below, and you swear you see a face look up at you from the street before its mouth opens, and you pull back while it's gone.

SAM and MARISHA and SAM and MARISHA and SAM and I don't need this. I hear Brixton start muttering a little prayer under her breath, just giving her thanks and reverence to all of those who have fallen before us. As she tries to, with her words, give them rest and peace, lead them onto the beyond. All right. Here within the streets of the drowned sprawl,

there lies much buried knowledge, should you wish to grasp for it. These spirits, these lost ruins, there are all facets as to what happened long ago and what has happened since. Mind you, to peer and seek such things could be dangerous in its own right. But there is always reward, should you peer beyond what you currently know, or just continue to press on. The choice is

yours. As all of you follow in Brixton's step, you can see the tops of windows that are just barely above the water and in you can see floating boxes out across the water. You can see old barrels that have since grown a thick green brown moss on the underside of the wood. There is much that has remained unpilfered and there are many spirits about this land that still wander. There is much that has remained unpilfered, and there are many spirits about this land that still wander. Do you press on?

You bet your ass. I think we have to press on. Do we? This is a sudden. There's so many treats in the water. This grave looks very excited, which I'm only taking as a positive. If you'd like to go fishing, be my guest.

Those poor soldiers still think they're in battle. Yes. So, as part of this, so to bring in the mechanics of Daggerheart, which is part of the fun of this. Here within the drowned sprawl of Amber Reach, it is an exploration environment. Oh.

So, within this part of the abandoned city, there are a number of features that I can call upon based on what you do and what you'd like to do. To give you an aboveboard context to what I was describing, there is a passive referred to as Buried Knowledge. The city has countless mysteries to unfold, and if anyone wants to inquire, look for information about the fallen city, what happened,

what might be around there, you can make a roll for it. And could go great, it could go poorly. Or you can just rush through the district and try and make it through the drowned city neighborhood to the Ash Call. Would we be dipping down and having to search? That's one way to do it. It's up to you.

How would you want to learn of the city? You said there were also just boxes and crates and things floating about the surface. Yeah, and they're just floating on the water again. Are any of the roofs that we're on top of, do they have holes in them? The one you're on right now, no, but there are maybe two up above, or in front of where you're going, on the left, you can see one roof that's partially collapsed. I want to look down into the building when we're on top of it.

We could look in the box, but you want to look inside, Dawn of the World? Oh, look whatever you want to. I could be fair, a house is like a big box. If there is a box that's far away, I could try to reach for it with a magical hand. Yeah, do that. Okay, so you're looking for some box that could hold something useful or information for where you are. Make a Knowledge or Instinct roll

to seek buried knowledge of the environment. Are you going to go for this? Do you want help? I would love help. This is enticing, isn't it? It is. I was, are you going to go for this? Do you want help? I would love help. Because this is enticing, isn't it? It is. But I, my, my, did you say it was instinct?

Instinct or knowledge. Instinct or knowledge are both meh. I can be clever about things if, yeah. You can? Well maybe I should assist you. I do have, I could grab it from afar. Okay, well then let's take a look at what looks interesting. I could spend three hope

and we could do something together. Look at least for a pretty box. I will look for a pretty... You know, ugly little boxes usually only have cute things. Actually, that's not a bad idea. Can we spend three hope and do this together? If you'd like to, yeah. Tag team in a box?

You can tag team an actual Let's do what we do. Tag team in a box. What's in a box? Yeah. All right. I spent three hope. Always.

All right. We're repressed. Brr, brr, brr, brr, brr, brr. I'm going to tag team. I wish someone had him in my box. I'm going to take a small rock and I'm going to tie some of my silk thread to it and I'm going to illuminate it. Then I'm going to hand it to you so you can move it out and I'm going to use that to take a look around and see what's inside some of these drowned houses to see if anything looks particularly interesting with the knowledge roll.

And you're rolling Knowledge or Instinct? I am going to roll Instinct. So both of you roll your action rolls, spend your hope. Oh, I'm spending my hope. Oh, it's your hope to do the deck. I spent three hope, yeah. All right, so spend that hope, and both of you roll, and you choose which of your die rolls to go with. Hmm.

What is it? 15 with hope. Oh, mine's 15 with fear. Well, 15 with hope. So take yours. That means, yeah. 15 with hope. As you, taking Adelia's initial instinct

towards that broken rooftop, you all one by one leap across, helping each other until you get to the edge of this, what looked to have been a multi-tiered, well-built homestead, aside from the roof that had fallen inward. Glancing down into the waters below, about five or so feet down,

you can see the murky water there, and there are floating bits of old furniture. First thing you notice are two spirits that walk through the water, and both of them look panicked. They both reach down under this bookcase, like they're putting something there. One grabs the other and picks them up,

and they flee through a wall and disappear. Bookcase, bookcase. Yeah. Yes, dear. What'd they hide? Let's go see if we can get you. Hel helps Adelia and just lowers her down into the water. Into the water? Not into the water. You're going in the house, right?

Yeah. Five feet down, the house is filled with water, yeah. Yeah, okay, yeah. And then... I'm going to tie some thread to you before we do this. Okay. Are you going down or do you want us to draw? Wait, but I can use my hand.

Oh, well, let's see if we can pull something. Do you want to go down, or do you want me to use my hand? No. Use the hand. Pull me up! Pull me up! Why didn't you go down, anyway? Oh, well, it's too late. She's in there. We play fetch.

How about we swing around for a little bit, but you can use your hand. Okay, I'll use the hand. Well, I'll go. We play fetch all the time. I swing Adelia around a little bit. Does this work? How about we swing around for a little bit, but you can use your hand. Okay, I'll use that. Well, I'll go. We play fetch all the time. I swing Adelia around a little bit. Just for fun. I cut her into the water like a fish.

Oh wait, she has a mage hand. I can still do it. Okay. All right, so sending my mage hand down. And you splash into the water anyway. I just swing around, just like, screech, splash. I jump in, so I'm just watching this hand. I swim alongside. You're just swinging around, just like, screech-splashed in. I jump in, so I'm just watching this hand.

As I swim alongside. You're swimming around, magic hand goes down, and you see there is a small, like a wooden chest is jammed into the bottom of this bookcase. Looks like it was likely buried at some point, but whatever held it in place has since floated off, or rotted with it in the waters.

As your hand pulls it back, it breaks apart. And it's like old, rotted wood pulls into pieces and you see something sit there and float in the water where it broke apart and your hand can grab it. It looks like a pristine piece of thick cloth, like a quiltistine piece of thick cloth, like a quilted cloth. And you see one of those ghostly images, those people that were standing there before,

reappears where it was. It looks up towards where it is, and it looks towards you. It looks like sad, fearful, and then it vanishes, and you sense, as you look in the eyes, there is a panic and a doom to its mood. This young girl who looks up towards you,

like an acceptance of coming. to its mood, this young girl who looks up towards you, like an acceptance of coming and... Just making eyes with her and knowing sort of I've been where she's at. Just saying I'm sorry. She nods. Yo! Oh my god! Every fucking time! It's been a minute!

You make us fall asleep! You hear this boom and a rumble, and the rest of you glance around, and you start hearing shouts echoing. Vex, pull me up, pull me up, pull me up. The spirit, the spirit looking at you, runs and vanishes through the same wall, and you pull it up and you see this is like

a very well-made piece of quilted protective material that you grab really fast and put in your arm, and the rest of you look around the space and you can see spirits appearing on the walls, spirits appearing on the roofs, spirits appearing on the streets. You hear these echoed shouts. They've left us! We're abandoned! No, keep the faith! Why should we? They did this to us! Kill them! Kill them! And you start searing, the spirits fighting. You see soldiers rising up. You see families running through, you see panic, you see ghostly flames beginning to burn across roofs. You begin to see the apostasy riots, the moments of violence that first destroyed parts of this neighborhood and this city in the wake of the leaving of the Veiled Gods. As I

spend a fear to activate the Apostasy Riots. SAM and TRAVIS and SAM and MATT and SAM and MATT and SAM and MATT and SAM and MATT and SAM and MATT and these ghosts begin to scream and reenact the fights and battles, arresting and grabbing and pulling people off into darkened shadows and through the waters to no longer be seen. You see ghostly archers gathered and clumped in the streets, some appearing onto the above water roofs, firing volleys of ghostly arrows into the distance. You see other soldiers beginning to rush and grab those that are throwing what looks like bits of furniture and heavy rocks in their direction, some being arrested, some being beaten. You see

absolute abject chaos beginning to build, and some of these ghosts take notice of you. Oh no! Ghost fight! Ghost fight! An invisible band! Busting, busting, busting! This is why I'm tools for ghosts! That's so cool looking! We need a different mini, she's changed her appearance. SAM and MARISHA and MATT and SAM and MARISHA and MATT and SAM and really cool. So you all are trying to get to the point. We were just talking about swamp water. So, what are you talking about that swamp water? Ain't no like that swamp water in your bag, man.

What were you saying about swamp ass earlier? Different. So, for your team's goal, you need to get across this part of the riot, while the ghosts take notice. I'm just going to put you off here, because the staircase is being unhappy with these slick bases and lack of weight. over on this end, what looks like a spectral captain, sees you, gives a shout, "'Ah! We have rioters! See them taken in!' raising his sword in your direction. Right as he does, you watch as a cluster of spectral archers over in the middle of this drink, floating right above the water, all of a sudden, pull out these

ghostly bows and pull back ghostly arrows to aim in your direction. While a cluster of ghostly soldiers appear. Why does he have so many of these? Stop buying Matt so many toys! We need to go where now? You're heading this direction. Just across the gauntlet. Maybe we can hop onto the giant dome? So. Undead style.

It is your go. How best do you wish to traverse this drowned neighbor? And remind us what that purple mini is over in the? That's the captain. That's the captain, okay. I will, just because it's the captain and because, I'll fire off a far bolt beacon just to try and make it vulnerable and illuminate it so we can at least be aware of what's happening, if nobody

objects. Go for it. Okay. Spell cast roll. Is that a crit? Oh, nine and a six, damn it. 16, 17, 18. 18 with hope. 18 with hope, take that hope. That is a success. So you fire this bolt beacon upon the captain on this end of the drink, blasting him. This is magic damage? It is, yes. Dealing d8 plus two magic damage. Now, it's not a proficiency upgrade, it's just the single d8 still, right? If that's what the spell says, d8 plus two. It says d8 plus two, using your proficiency?

It is using my, no, it's using my strength. Does it say on the card? No, no, no. To spend a Bolsharun dealing with a, using your proficiency, yes. Yeah, so that would be a 2d8. No, no, no, no! Eight points of magic damage.

A total of eight points? Yes, a total of eight points. Did you just roll one dice? I rolled it twice. Okay, gotcha. Yeah. Wow, really twice. It was pretty balls.

Gotcha, all right, so eight points damage, it's gonna be a single hit point to the spectral captain. As you blast it, but the captain is now glowing with divine light. And Mark D'Azim. Heretic! Oh no. All the natural light of those that left us. Kill hell.

So do you want to move, or do you want to stay put in the middle of an island in the water? Yeah, I'm going to run. Could I try and go around Misty, and can I make a leap for this roof? Yes, you may. Make a strength or agility roll for the deducer. I'll do a strength. That's good, that's almost another crit. That's 15, 16, 17, 18 with strength. I'm sorry, with hope, that's a nine. Great, take that hope.

You leap up and catch the edge, clamber up onto the roof and stand there. That's your close distance for that, but you barely get to the top. You have a much higher view here, and you can see there's a barrel, there's a top of a crushed-in roof here with some things that are floating. There's another roof on that side, and that crenellated bit goes into a long runway that buttresses against what you hope is at least the beginning of the Ashcall quarter. The mists are beginning to dissipate as the riots are beginning to show around you and all the ghosts are beginning to rise. If you can make it up the opposite side, it might be a straight sprint towards at least the end of this section of the city.

TRAVIS. Just relay everything that I just saw and say, move, now! Time to run. Still us? Mm-hmm. Yeah. Hope. But, he's also got a billion. By the way, the progress clock is also here. Oh!

Five. All right, so, that finishes your go. Technically, I was underwater when all this went down, so. Oh, that's true. What I would like to do, and I'm hearing from above, blah blah blah blah, is to swim towards what I assume is ample shadow down amongst all the stone and buildings and use the Nightwalker Shadowsteper ability

to disappear there and reappear as far away as I can in this direction. Far range. MATT and MARISHA and MATT and SAM and MARISHA and MATT and SAM and will get you into shadow as well. Would get you either under here or under here. All right, so you vanish into the underneath of this collapsed rooftop, amongst its, what would be its rafters, at least the one rafter that still holds. And as you appear and land on it, it bows under your weight for a second. The wood itself is long watered log and won't take a lot more weight than you, but you hold tight in that space.

So I mark a stress, which just means I'm silently giggling. Good. Is that all you do in your go? No, no, actually, I will rise out of the water like Apocalypse Now in front of this captain. And I will also use Trouble Maker and I will start to grin and I'm just dripping wet and my smile gets unnaturally larger. I'll make a presence roll once per rest.

On a success, I can stress this, chop out. Is this the captain? This is the captain, so this is the presence roll. Straight roll for me. Oh, I'm gonna spend a hope to use my experience. Boo, motherfucker. Ha ha ha ha to use my experience. Boo, motherfucker. SAM and MARISHA and SAM and MARISHA laugh. It's a good experience.

And here we go. That's terrible. That's a nine with fear. Oh god. Who's not going to cut it? Awful. All right, so. That is different. I'm going to give you a feedback, and that is a failure. You reach out and look towards it and give it that grin as the captain who's been shouting at you turns.

It's face stretches wide and you see the mists swirl around it and you see this ghastly image of this burning skull that was the eventual demise of this captain that transpired somewhere between this ghostly apparitions recollection and now. So this countdown, there are two ways to win this encounter. To either make it across and successfully avoid being killed. Or if you can manage to find clues or engage with the moments of the riot's history in whatever way

you feel is necessary, it'll count this down. Or, defeat them. So I guess three ways you can succeed in this. It'll count it down? Or it won't count it down, you mean, if we were able to successfully? This is a progress clock that you guys are in control of. You don't have to engage with it, but you have options at your disposal. So the blue spirits up there are rioters? Blue spirits up there are technically guardians. Guardians, okay. So we have archers down here.

Rioting archers. Rioting archers. Okay, so he's in command of... Voh? Yeah, I'm trying to figure out, are we the only riders on the... are we the only people on to... they are all... There are other spectral riders running through the streets. They all appear to be armored, which means they were probably part of the Amber Reach soldiers. One addendum. Human adaptability, when you fail a roll that utilized one of your experiences, you

can mark a stress to reroll. Go for it. Ooh. Just couldn't be burning it again. That's way better. 1920, 21. Still with fear. Still with fear. Okay, so I still get the fear back. That does succeed. As the skull draws outward, you've seen some terrible things in your time, and you just grin back at it for a minute, like the mist scatters, and the soldier looks shaken in his spectral form, his hollow sockets going darker still as he almost leans back.

And on that success, I roll two d4s, it's equal to my proficiency, which is two, and use the higher of these, that's how much stress this chap takes. Four, four stress. Four stress, that fully stresses out the captain, who is now vulnerable, period, for the remainder of this encounter.

Amazing. Okay. Rough day, buddy. Additional stress just does straight hit point damage. Cool. That's it. You wanted to do something? Sorry, thanks for taking so much time. Oh, I just wanna jumpy. Jumpy, jumpy?

Can I jumpy towards you, Matt, onto that broken church thing? Yes, you may. Didn't you get a Fearback, though? Isn't it your turn now? No, you do roll with Fear. Oh, never mind. Just a moment.

I tried, sorry. So for this, I'm going to have, here we go. Yeah. I'm gonna go ahead and spend all of them then have this here. Five Fear. Five Fear. To have all five of these spectral archers fire upon your troop. Right. Yeah, let's see here. It's a far range. We're going to drift outward. Within far range, as they glide over the water, that's gonna have all of you within range there. You're not gonna be able to see you.

Firing off, it's gonna be two at you, since you're at the top roof there. Oh, that's gonna be a 20 hit. Holy moly, yes it does. All right. Oh no, they're really good. Those arrows are thick! It's gonna be 10 points of physical damage.

Okay. I also leveled up to a tier two using my bare bones ability, so my thresholds went from nine to 19 to 11 to 24. Right. All right, attack against you. That's gonna be a seven against August. Miss. A natural 20 against Brixton.

Oh boy. If anyone can take it. You are your shield. I am my shield. It's gonna be 34 points of physical damage. Yikes! Wow! Oh my god!

You have an archer from an archer? Should we go back to the previous save point and go a different way? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. We changed our minds. Wow. I don't think you heard me. Are you dead?

I think he's an archer. No, what's the rule about doubling your severe? You said 34. My double would be 36. So it's still just three. 18 plus 18, right? Yeah, the double would be four. Correct, so it's three. Okay.

Wow. Yeah, I'll for sure burn an armor here. I'll for sure burn an armor. For sure. And take two hit points. I'll just start there. Yikes. Against you, Adelia? Me? That's going to be a 12 or 11. Sorry, 11. I have 11 as my hit.

That hits. Not the child! Not the child. 10 points of physical damage against you. Okay, I'm going to use my Rune Ward. That's right. It's been the hope to reduce that by d8. And against you, Misty, it's gonna be a 21 to hit you.

Wow. That's you, Ashley. That was a 10, you said? Correct. You'd definitely get hit, Misty. Okay, then I'm gonna use my armor. I roll a 20. I drop it down. Misty, you take eight points of physical damage.

I roll a blue card. Okay. Okay. I'm gonna use a shield to only take. An armor. I'm gonna use an armor to take it down. Shield icon. Okay.

Sounds like it's our turn, right? I don't think so. And then the captain is going to float over the water and head up to Scree. Oh no, Screeve. Oh no! Screeve? Blade drawn. And it's gonna go ahead and strike at you.

Actually, no, this one's gonna strike with a longbow. So it's gonna float out into the water. It has a longbow? And that's gonna be still only a six. Six? I just fall back in the water and it's entirely. Like the arrow hits the inside of the roof and vanishes into an ectoplastic blast. That finishes my activation.

I want to get away from you guys. I'm going to jump up to that structure towards you. Okay. With my leap feature, so no rolling required. The other one. Oh, that's right, you're going over here. Yeah.

Afar, can you leap at that? Close? Yeah, close. That'll get you right up on that top point there as you, whoop! And then can I leap again to try to get to them, to the soldiers? Correct, so it says on the leap.

It says I can leap. Just says I can leap, close range. But I guess I can't do it more than once per turn. Right. So it says you can leap, and then if you want to move again, you can make an agility roll to try and leap to the next area without that ability. So you had to leap for free on that one.

Sure. I will do an agility leap on the next. Let's go. Trust fall. Oh, terrible. That's an 11 with fear. Oh man. Oh man, oh man. You land, slip on the stone into the water below. You all watch as snakes into the murky waters. that I'm going to use that to activate one of these spectral guardians that is then going to

float down to where you are in the water. It's going to strike you with its spear. Okay. Ooh, that's a ten-ash for 19. That's going to be a 20 to hit you. Sure. All right, so you. You know what, I'm going to spend a fear. Make that a grave blade attack. So this one comes at you. Instead of the spear, it's going to strike the sword.

It's going to be six, seven, that's going to be 13 points of physical damage, and you must mark a stress. As it pulls out this ghostly blade and jams it through your abdomen, you feel this cold icicle jamming into the inside of your torso, and as it strikes inside, it looks into your eyes and goes, and you feel part of your essence pulled from your body into its mouth, and you mark that stress.

SAM and LIAM, inaudible SAM and LIAM, inaudible That finishes my go. You're up. Anyone that isn't gone, take it. Okay, I'm going to... I don't think there's anything. Can I try to jump to the roof? You can, indeed. Next to Eisel?

Yeah. Go ahead and make a strength or agility roll for me, please. Kick her in the head as she jumps. Okay. Should. Oh! Oh, that's really good. Sort of. That's 19, 21 with fear.

21 with fear, all right. You leap up onto the roof and you do catch yourself. You're about to slip and Eidol actually reaches out and grabs the scruff of your dress and holds you in place and gets you back on your feet. TRAVIS and SAM and LAURA and SAM and LAURA and MATT and SAM and MATT and SAM and LAURA and SAM and MATT and SAM and LAURA and MATT and SAM and SAM and MATT and SAM and LAURA and SAM and

MATT and SAM and MATT and SAM and MATT and SAM and MATT and SAM and MATT and SAM and MATT and

SAM and MATT and SAM and MATT and SAM and you. Out of the way, that finishes my go. It's back to you. ASHLEY. All right. Is there any way that I could go down and try to crawl in here through a window? MATT. Do you want to jump in the water? Yeah. ASHLEY. I'll do it. MATT. You are now floating inside this building. In the middle of it, as you swim around inside, you can see chunks of odd, broken,

almost like a pew or some sort of a long bench that's floating in the water still, and you can see a long-rotted body that's slumped over it, its bones dangling in the liquid. Take a bone, take some bones. I'll take some bones. As I'm in there, I'm looking for anything that would give us information near the field.

Make a knowledge or wisdom check for me. Say again? A knowledge, sorry, a knowledge or instinct. Okay. For me, please. Okay. Come on, come on, come on. Come on, come on, chameleon.

Ten with hope. Ten with hope. Unfortunately, that is aameleon. Ten with hope. Ten with hope. Unfortunately, that is a failure, but it's with hope. You start glancing through the insides here, and there's something about this partially broken building that you're just not quite gleaning its purpose or where it is within the riots. You can see some ghosts passing through the water below,

but you're not quite grasping its purpose. It's just beyond your ability to conceive. All right, could I at least try on the inside to get to the furthest window so I could sort of peek out and? You can only get partway through the building if you're moving close range. Okay, that's fine. And that's gonna end your turn. Got it. Brings it back to me.

One of these ghosts is going to glean through. It's gonna mark a stress to pass through the structure. Okay. And just ghost transitions through and rushes towards you, Brixton. And that's going to be natural 19 to hit you. That's going to hit you with its spear. It's going to be seven points physical damage. Rolled really bad on that one. Okay. I will take it. All right. That finishes my go. Do you want to or should I?

I'm going to, first off, take up, just start floating, so that's not a problem. Spread my wings. I'm going to walk up to the spirit that just attacked us, and I'm going to power push through the wall. So that's a spell cast roll. From where you're standing? From where I'm floating right in front of it, because I have to be within melee. Yeah, that's a good idea. Okay. So that's a spell cast roll against the target. That's 19 with fear. 19 with fear, that does succeed.

Go ahead and roll damage. I know, I know. Why are you the worst dagger heart? I hurt. Yeah. That's, that's 12 points of magic damage. 12 points of magic damage, that's gonna be two wounds to that one.

And they're pushed back, far range. You actually slam it into the wall, it goes through the wall and gets pushed back into the actual wall there and vanishing into the outer perimeter, massive barricade. Do you wanna keep moving? You still have a little bit of movement, if you'd like. TALIESIN. Yes, I'm going to float up, sort of so I can keep a spot on everyone. So just right above

that building so I can keep with the group a bit. MATT. All right. Just say. Right above this building here, essentially? TALIESIN. Yeah, more or less. That's about as far as you can move on that angle. All right, that finishes your go. It comes to me. I'm gonna say one of those, the captain's gonna go ahead and take a shot at you since you just fly up in the air and are a viable target.

That's gonna be an 11 to hit you. I'm gonna Mark of Stress and make that not happen. Okay. It unleashes an arrow and you just dodge whew, dodge out of the way. That's gonna finish my go. All right, I'm gonna jump up on this roof and follow after Idle. All right, you get a bunch of a run.

Go ahead and make a strength or agility roll. Strength. Give me hope. Well, it gives me a hope. 11 with hope. 11 with hope. 11 with hope. You back up and run, catch under the edge, and tumble back down, swimming in the murky depths above, keeping up as you can hear the echoing shouts of conflict and battle and screams around. You can hear the distant echoing of fire beginning to curl up. You can see the ghostly flames consuming other

rooftops and flickering up around the outer edge of that one there. MARISHA and MATT. The roof of? MATT. On the other side of that one. MARISHA. I'm seeing ghostly flames on the rooftop. Oh. Rickson goes a little cray cray. I'm going to have the ghosty fire. You can swim a little bit up to there the rest of your movement. I'll say that's your go there, as I show you.

All right, on my end, this happens to float down and come for you again, as you sit there in the water. That's gonna be a ten to hit you. Mess. It comes down to strike you with a ten to hit you. Mesh. It comes down to strike you with a spear, and you just swim out of the way. The ghost goes down and comes back up. You can see the dark socket, which are these little flickering white points in it that dart around, focusing on you. You hear the captain shouting in the distance,

Bring in the heretics! That's my go. and shawty in the distance. Bring in the heretics! That's my go. I got an idea. So I'm going to sink into underwater shadow again. Mark of Stress. And I'm going to reappear, I think in the shadows around that chimney. And as I rise up on that side,

I lock eyes with Adelia across this huge space. Playtime! And I'll run up Adelia across this huge space. LAURA and SAM and LAURA and I will creep down. Cloaked says, as long as I stay out of Captain's line of sight, I'm still cloaked, so I'm going to tippy-toe toward Captain and spend the three hope to tag team. Oh, you're spending the hope? With yep. Fabulous. With Adelia. All righty. And I'll unleash chaos at him at the same time. And that's a far range.

He is just within far range. Perfect. Let's go. So there's no advantage, right? It's just we both roll. You both roll and take the higher of the two, or the best of the two, I would say, for both of you. 18 with fear. 18 with fear.

20 with fear. Ooh, ooh. Let's imagine, take the 20 maybe? Yeah, I have fear, yes. I'll take the fear. All right, both of you guys roll damage and add it together. Okay, so I get 2d6 of sneak attack for being cloaked.

You do. Yes. Come on. This is 14. It's 12. It is 14. Oh, that's an eight. 14. 16. 16 points of damage. I'm gonna spend a stress to double one of those sevens, so that's 14, 21,

22, 23 points of damage from me. My target's 25. Whoa. Whoa. Yes. Wowzers. So that's going to be, that's going to, 25, it almost doubles as severe threshold, but it does still take two, it still takes three hit points. The captain, as you both, you blast him with this magical energy, well yours is physical, right?

Yes. Add to a roll's result after that roll is made? 12 or 13, depending if you round up or down. We'll say 13. Well, here, I'm gonna make a point here. Because your attack is physical, the ghostly forms are immune, or not immune, they're resistant to physical damage.

Oh, that's good to know. That's good to know. So instead, that's 13 onto your 23. That's still above its severe, so it still takes three hit points. But you notice at this point that ghostly entities seem to not take the full brunt of a physical assault. LIAM and SAM and LAURA and MATT and LIAM and SAM and MATT and LIAM and SAM and

LIAM and SAM and MATT and LIAM and SAM and MATT and LIAM and SAM and and MATT and LIAM and SAM and MATT and LIAM and SAM and and MATT and LIAM and SAM and MATT and LIAM and SAM and and MATT and LIAM and SAM and MATT and LIAM and SAM and and MATT and LIAM and SAM and MATT and LIAM and SAM and and MATT and LIAM and SAM and MATT and LIAM and SAM and and MATT and LIAM and SAM and MATT and LIAM and SAM and and MATT and LIAM and SAM and SAM and MATT and LIAM and SAM and

and MATT and LIAM and SAM and SAM and MATT and LIAM and SAM and and MATT and LIAM and SAM and SAM and MATT and LIAM and SAM and and MATT and LIAM and SAM and SAM and MATT and LIAM and SAM and and SAM and MATT and LIAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and MATT and LIAM and SAM and and SAM and SAM and MATT and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and SAM and it comes out of Violet's eyes. Okay. So as that energy from the doll shoots across the space and the ghost lights up, I then just start ripping my claws through this cloud.

They tear through it and as it apparates, you can see the spectral captain is flickering in space. It's taken quite a few hits, and it's looking like it's holding itself there with challenge. However, it angrily turns, and as it comes to my spotlight, this roof, this building collapses into the water. SAM and MARISHA and SAM and LAURA and SAM and LAURA and

MARISHA and SAM and LAURA and SAM and MARISHA and SAM and LAURA and If you'd like to, yeah. I'll say it as the end of your turn. Can I run and try to get back as close as I can to this roof, but I wanna be on the other side of it. Yeah, like there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Get behind the roof level. Yeah, the roof level. So my action was to collapse that.

I'm gonna roll under that fear. It's your guys' activation, your spotlight wants to go next. I kind of have a weird idea. It's your guys' activation, your spotlight, who wants to go next? I kind of have a weird idea. And I don't know if this is going, because I don't know much about the Apostles of the Orion. But I was- You can learn about them if you want to look around. I'm trying.

But I have an idea, okay. I want to go to the window on the inside as far this way as I can. So if I've gotten halfway across, can I go to the window? Yeah, you can scroll to the edge of the window. And you can see ghostly flames now burning up from the inside.

It's like someone had set the inside of this building on fire, and it's beginning to flicker. And you can see on this end, as you go to the other edge of the roof, you can see the stone is blackened. Like this roof tile is blackened. Flames did burn to a certain height here.

That may have been put out or burned out, but this building was set aflame in these riots. And you can see the ghostly fire curling up in it. What would you like to do? Okay, so I can make an illusion, and in close range, so I kind of want to shoot it out the window and have it be like around here. And last as long as I look at it.

It's no larger than me, so it could be my size of seven or eight feet, whatever I am. And I was thinking of having it be the God King Othodias. Do you know what the God King looks like? I feel like I do. Oh yeah, because you were old. You know what? Make a Knowledge Roll for me.

Okay. And I'll give you advantage on this because there is a thread of memory. Maybe it's yours, maybe it's not, but it's in there somewhere. Come on. Come on, Ashley Jenkins. Come on. Cool idea. Yeah, yeah. Oh, well, okay.

So it's nothing, okay. 20 with fear. But that is a success. Okay, okay. So you have this flash of memory of the amazing upper regions of Amber Reach, like you're looking from one of the temple upper regions of Ember Reach, like you're looking from one of the temple outskirts. There is a brilliant platform,

a walled platform that overlooks the city where you see banners rising, you see a beautiful blue sky and sunlight shines down upon some sort of celebration. You see a manner of flower petals around and you just focus on a faint image. He's too far to make up the details, but you see an older bearded gentleman

adorn an incredible golden and silver armor with a long gray and blue cloak. And you recall that image and you put it into the water over there. And this bit of image and knowledge sends this illusion into that area. You watch as the spirits over here that were getting their bows ready turn and go, the king! As they turn, I'm going to consider that a success against the riots, which will bring this

success. Fear is going to tick down one to a four. And as you do, you watch the spirit tethers that keep these ghosts present in this momentary distraction. They all shift and shimmer as the riots seem to blur and then recoalesce. Okay. That's something. However, it's my turn. And with this, those five are focused on your illusion at the moment, kind of like caught in a moment of awe. I'm gonna say the captain's gonna take a shot

at you in the sky. That's an 11, which I know you're probably gonna mark with stress and... That's what I would call it. It's all good, that's what you're built for. All right. I'm gonna hold'm holding out fear. You're go.

Can I run forward from the roof, just a full sprint, and I'm gonna leap for that barrel as far as I can, just aiming for it, and before I hit the water, can I take my bone hooked glaive and summon my divine energy into a spirit weapon, and I'm gonna take a swing at the closest ghostly entity as I approach the wall. Sure, this will be two rolls.

Yeah. One of them is, I'll say you can make the attack roll as you leap off the side and then the agility roll is to try and land on that barrel. Okay. That's a roll. I'm gonna land on that barrel, it's fucking crazy. Awesome, 14, 15, 16, 17.

17 with hope. Great, take that hope and that is a success. Roll damage. Amazing damage. Nice. This is one d10. Is it a stress or a hope to use the spiritual weapon? It is a stress after I hit to do a second target, so that's five.

Nine, 14 plus four is 18 points of magic damage. Because it's a- 18 points of magic damage, that is beyond their severe threshold. So that is, you watch as all five of these engineers. Oh! Woo! Woo!

It shattered, they all had three hit points, and that was beyond their severe threshold. As you leap in the air and unleash the Bone Hood Glaives, vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv Do a barrel roll. Uh, is that a nine? No, it's a six. Uh, 13, 14. 14, uh, with fear. 14 is the difficulty of this area. Okay, okay, okay. You land on this barrel. Kick, kick, kick, kick, kick. Oh, my god.

And you are, you're like, whoa, whoa, whoa. I'm going to find my way to the roof. Going to the roof. All right, that was with hope. It's still your guys' activation, or your spotlight. That was with fear. That was with fear, you're right. All right, well that's going to come in.

I thought you said it was hope. First one. Oh, sorry, that was with the agility, you're right. So with that, I take that fear. Over on, as you destroy the archers, the captain turns and goes, and is going ahead and leech an attack against you on that barrel. That's going to be a nine to hit you. That's my evasion.

That hits you. You take from the captain. I'm rolling the wrong dice. Ooh. 18 points of physical damage. Great, I'll burn an armor, thank you. That'll drop it down to minor. And I will burn two fear to activate two of the spectral guardians that are up here. One of them is going to float over and come after you through the middle of the air. The other is going after August. The other one is going to float

over and come after you. Actually, you appeared over here to attack me, so you'd be on this edge here. This guy floats over on this edge. Attacking you, August, it's a five. Natural two on that one. Then against you, Screeve, that's an actual 18. That'll be 21 to hit you. Oh, sorry. That's 19. 19 is into my severe damage, so I will. Sorry, no, that was 19 to hit you. I was looking at the wrong bonus. That's going to be ten physical damage against you. LIAM. Ten physical damage is major for me, so I will strike an armor off and brings it on Miner and one hit point.

MATT. All right. LIAM. All right. MATT. And now it's your go. MARISHA. Okay, Brixton is treading water a little bit and she gets a little zoned out by the flame. And she's looking at the ghostly flame, looking up the side of this building. Can I once again search for a clue to try and help us out with this timer?

Yeah, you can knowledge or instinct roll. Okay, I would like to do a knowledge roll. I would also like to use one of my order born values for dedicated, which is the future lies in the past. To roll a d20 is my hope. MATT. That is perfectly viable for this. Go for it. MARISHA. The answer lies behind us. Okay. Okay. It's all right. So I'm going to name it 18 with fear. MATT. That does click it down to a three.

But it clicks it down. It clicks it down. Clicks it down. As you glance into the flame, all of a sudden you can see fire all around. You turn about and you can see fire all throughout this district. You see fire in the sky as ancient mystical birds

that were trained to carry soldiers come tumbling out of the sky. You can't tell what burned them, but a good portion of this whole city is at war with something outside, with itself. You don't know, but there is fire all around and you just hear screams and screams. You hear the sheer volume of agony

and terror that strikes this area, and you flick out of it, and you can even tell in the soldier spirits that are here, you can feel shards of that fear in their spirits that still cling to these riots. Like these soldiers are following orders, but they're scared as well. We're all afraid.

Be not afraid! Can I move? What, if I wanted to just like, swim? Yep, you can get partway there, I'd say. About there. As you're like swimming through the water, comes back to me as you swim by. This guardian's gonna swoop down

and attempt to, I'm gonna spend a fear to have it pull out its grave blade against you. That's going to be a four to hit you. MATT and MARISHA and SAM and LAURA and MATT and MARISHA and Nice. Miss. It goes, shh, and you just dive underwater and come up. Yeah, fucking plate armor. Yeah.

Back to y'all. It goes back to us. The timer's at three. I'm going to, hmm. Because I ticked it down one? Correct. Which is good for us. No.

Yeah, this one, this is your progress clock. Like there's a consequence clock and a progress clock. I should have probably clarified that previously, but there's a progress clock as you're working towards a goal. A consequence clock is advancing towards a consequence. Where is there mystic flame out of curiosity? Like, where, like, especially on this side of it, like, is there anything particularly on fire,

or is it just that building at this point? I mean, that building is the closest thing, but there's like little bits of ghostly fire all over, like part of this building behind here is burning, some of the rooftops in the distance are burning. The core of the riots, the apostasy riots that took over a lot of this city are very much on display around here.

I want to float down to that ghost that's currently engaged with our poor friend over here. Snakes. And... Wow. and snakes, and, wow. That's it? No, I'm debating what I have to do. Okay, just as a fun experiment, I'm gonna flip around and I'm also gonna try and do,

I wanna do a magical push into ghostly fire to see if ghostly fire burns ghosts. Okay. Oh, interesting. That's ghostly fire burns ghosts. Okay. Oh, interesting. That's cool. Yeah. So. Which one are you trying to get?

The one, actually, yeah, the one I'm currently closest to, because this is a melee. And you're pushing in which direction? Where's the fire? Where's the closest fire? The closest fire is gonna be that side there. Oh. Or up here, they're both kind of equidistant.

Yeah, that's far range, right? Yeah. I'm gonna push them into that one. Okay. That's funnier. Where's my power push? Okay, that's a spell cast roll. You got this, Taliesin. Oh, now you said it. Now it's all going to go wrong.

See, you did that. That was entirely you. I'm blaming you for my dice. 16 to hit. 16 does hit. With fear. With fear. That's okay. With fear. With fear. Wah-wah. That's okay. Go ahead and roll damage. All right.

And it gets pushed into this wall here and appears in the top. The ghostly flames surround it and it screams in ghostly agony and then reshifts its focus back to you. Spectral fire does not burn a specter. Oh, well, it was a wonderful thought. But it was worth the shot.

It was worth the 12 points of magic damage. All righty. Oh, it was a thought. Thank you. Which does do two hit points to that one. It's like, god. All right. And that was with fear?

That was with fear. We only roll with fear. Well, with that, this one is going to turn angrily and rush towards you, and I believe the one you put over this way is going to spend a fear call. With that, this one is going to turn angrily and rush towards you, and when you put it this way, it's going to spend a fear to have it come after you and avenge for assault. That's going to be a natural 20, Chris, against you. Wow.

And the other is going to be a nine, which I believe misses you. Nine does miss me. Let's see. All right, so that is going to be 16, 17. Where's that thing? Can I do it? It's right here.

Oh, I do not have three hopes. I can't. 20 points of physical damage. 20 points of physical damage? I'll mark an armor and I'll take that point, so. All right, that finishes my spotlight. The last thing I saw the captain do was fire an arrow off Idle. Correct.

So I will bark at him, I'll spit at him. Officer, you are playing with me. And I will use Enrapture to make a spell cast roll on a target within close range. If I succeed, and I'm going to spend a hope to use my Under the Skin experience. Under the skin. Under the skin.

All right. The spectral skin you wish to get under. That is 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, with fear. Ah, with fear. Stop embarrassing me. Success, so on a success. Success. So, on a success, once per rest, I can Mark of Stress myself to force the Enraptured target

to Mark of Stress as well, which I believe now will inflict damage. Indeed, it goes at one hit point automatically, too. It's looking real bad. Oh, that's good. Captain turns you. Ah. Oh.

Ah. Ah. Ah. Ah. Ah. Ah. Ah. Ah. Ah. Ah. It's like mind work. Hell yeah.

And that was with fear? Yes. Yep, all right. The captain immediately is going to come back towards you because he's focused on you. He's going to spend a hope to do another. This is going to be, you know what, no, he's going to spend two fear to do unending battle. So unroll a d4 for me.

I gotcha. It's cocked, very cocked. It's a two. Two. He summons three of the spectral archers that were destroyed. No! Back up from the grave, and you watch as more ghosts begin to appear, and a sense of dread comes over you all as you begin to realize, these ghosts will keep coming under this commander's focus and employ.

This riot is filled with spirits that are looking for vengeance. That's gonna finish my go. It's yours. I'm gonna start tearing that room apart. All right. I'm gonna start tearing that room apart. All right. I'm gonna keep looking. If there, you said there was a pews,

or is there an altar? Is this a place of worship of some sort? Try and make a knowledge core instant call for you. All right, all right, all right, all right, all right. I would give you, I would try to spend hope, but I am on a barrel. You know what, I'm gonna use- You can see her through the window if you wanna try

and figure out a way to help her. I'm gonna use the rallied dice, because I haven't used the one that I- You could use that too, yeah. through the window if you want to try and figure out a way to help her. I would use the rally dice, because I haven't used the one that I... You could spend a paradise, maybe. Nice room here. On the map? All right. That's a good roll, but it is with fear. 11 plus 12 is 23, plus an extra three, which is 26, plus one because of my instinct.

Knowledge, you said? MATT and MARISHA and MATT are talking at the same time. Your progress counters down to two. You're beginning to glean aspects of this. This was a place of prayer. We're in the smaller exterior aspects of this. This was a place of prayer. One of the smaller exterior temples of the city, and as you look down to where the pew is floating, you can see down there, there are statues and what looked like, what were once painted elements

of old faith that has since been grown over with mildew and underwater moss and various other, you know, sub-water growth, this was a temple that was desecrated as part of these riots. And in that sort of image, you begin to acknowledge that the conflict of faith that brought these riots about definitely explains why there's so much tension

in these roads surrounding it. It was a temple to the god-king? Or to the veiled gods. To the veiled gods. Was that with hope? That was with fear. God damn it! We get no momentum!

On my end, I'm gonna spend two fear on that activation for the spectral captain. It's probably one good hand. Only two on that one. Two more of these archers. All right, reappear. A little more spread out. That's my activation. SAM and LIAM. Okay, can I get up and jump up to that thing that I fell in love? MATT. Yep, you can probably climb up to the top if you'd like to, past the spirits.

SAM and LIAM. I will. Oh boy. SAM and LIAM. Come on. LAURA and MARISHA. Take out the cabin. MATT. Do what you do. SAM and LIAM. I will, oh boy. Come on. Take out the cabin. Take him out. Do what you do. I don't think we can. I think we can. I'm gonna hold up the scepter of Elias and announce to all the soldiers,

it is I, Elias! No! Holy priests of the old gods, the current gods. Because we're in the old days. Yep, yep, yep. Holy priests of the current gods! Rioters! More rioters are to the east! Go find them, protect my faith! Put down the heretics! That's us. Make a presence roll. I'm actually going to spend a hope to help you with the presence roll by using some prestidigitation to just sort of make your clothing flap and give you a little bit of gentle

illumination. Let's go for it. Also going to use your rally dice. Oh. Great. So, yeah. What'd you get? So, yeah. What'd you get? Four.

Four, 20 with fear. 20 with fear. That is a success, the timer counts down to one. Okay. As you hold up the scepter and scream, you watch as all of the spirits, even the ones in the streets and nearby walls, all turn to you, and there is a moment of reverence as they bow their heads, and you see as some of the spirits, even the ones in the streets and nearby walls, all turn to you, and there is a moment of reverence as they bow their heads. You see as some of the ones in the walls begin to rush

off towards where you point, the ones nearby are momentarily confused and begin to turn in that direction, but they're also looking at each other, trying to suss out where Elias suddenly appeared from, and whether or not Elias was alive during the Apostasy Riot. Nevertheless, that comes to me. The captain is going to focus on you. It's going to be a seven to hit you. Goes wide and and shouting, imbeciles! Our liars has been dead for centuries! SAM and LAURA and LIAM laugh. SAM and LIAM laugh. That's why this is such a miracle! I have risen again! This says, drowns out any sound but me and my voice, so did the captain hear any of that?

That's true. So the captain, he's just focused on you. So you thought you heard that, but one of the soldiers says that. Off to the side, angry. The other soldier's like, what are they talking about? But instead, thank you for the reminder, the captain is just focused on you. Heritage! Can I run forward to the edge and try to hit the captain one more time with a little chaos Okay, okay Okay, oh wait, oh, this is. But still good. Yeah, still good. 69?

69! That's a crit in dagger heart. That should be something. That should be something. 18 with hope. 18 with hope. Take that hope and roll damage against the captive. All right, I'm marking a stress to get my beads back.

Okay, so this is 3d10. 10, 11, 12 points of magic damage. Yes! Violet in my hand and she's shaking and as the chaos bursts through, it's gonna pass in front of Screeve and I'm gonna smile and time's gonna slow down and it's gonna turn into this magical cotton candy

and as the captain explodes out in the colorful rainbow. Do do do do do do do do do do do do do do. His body disperses in a big ring out in the colorful rainbow. Yeah. His body disperses in a big ring, and I just see you ringed in it from afar. What? All the spirits together shout, Captain! Oh.

Oh, I thought that would help us. Wait, was that with fear? No, it was not. Captain's destroyed. Okay, I'm wearing this armor. This armor is from a great captain from the days of yore. I'm going to swim up a little bit and see if I can get purchase on this chimney box. This is a floating bookcase that is floating in the water.

You clamber onto it and it's, Hey, Brixton! Yes? Nice! Yeah! We're shredding men. I'm going to take out my blade and I'm going to clink it against the armor on my chest that I found in the vaults. I'm going to say, soldiers, I'm your captain now. We retreat. Head back to the Amber Reach!

MATT and SAM and MARISHA and SAM and MARISHA and MATT and SAM and MARISHA and MATT and SAM and MATT and MARISHA and SAM and MARISHA and SAM and

MARISHA and SAM and MARISHA and SAM and MARISHA and SAM and MARISHA and SAM and

MARISHA and SAM and MARISHA and SAM and MARISHA and SAM and MARISHA and SAM and

MARISHA and SAM and MARISHA and Make a presence roll for me, please. Presents! We are here! We are here! Okay, I am going to use my rally dice on this one, because I don't want to find myself. Come on. Oh!

Ooh! Okay, finally! Which with hope? It's going to be 22 plus five, 27. Minus one. 26, because of my presence. It's with hope! Yay! It's gonna be 22 plus, I had 27. Ooh! Minus one, 26 because of my presence. 26 with hope. 26 with hope.

As you shout this, the rest of you watch as spectral energy seems to surround Brixton. And while her voice seems to emit from her mouth, for a moment another emits. The voice of another captain. She's briefly possessed by another spirit in these riots that occupies her body, and you see a strong human woman standing, short hair, and a cloak that flaps in the spectral breeze as she shouts out, "'Let us not fight. It is the lack of faith that forces us to kill Kin. These riots, this bloodshed will be the end of us all. It is the god-king that it forsaked us, not the gods.

We must shoo! An arrow takes her in the throat, and the spirit falls out of Brixton's body. And you watch as the soldiers look back in horror. The flames, the spirits of the soldiers. The flames, the spirits of the soldiers. And the haunting fades, the district falling back to mist, Oh, and the haunting fades,

the district falling back to mist, and the riots gone. You all float in the water here. The haunting, or you keeping on your barrel. This is fucking amazing. Somebody got fucking this? This brief glimpse into the dark history of Amber Reach for the moment left to history,

as your troop, one by one, leaps or swims to the edge of this parapet, catches your breath, and looks up now through the mist that has somewhat parted at your proximity to the amazing multi-stair climb of the Ashclaw Quarter. And we'll come back to their next episode. Oh!

Nice. We'll see you all there soon enough. Thank you so much for joining us. Love you very much, and is it Thursday yet? Good night. choice. We're always looking for new critters to share our stories with and your review may help a new batch of wayward adventurers discover the show. See you next time!