Speaker 1: Hi, this is Childclips and you are listening to Tale
of the Manticor. The following podcast is intended for a
mature audience. Listener discretion is advised. Welcome back to Tale
of the Manticor Season three. Like the creature from which
it takes its name, Tale of the Manticor is a mashup,
a cross breeding between two different species of storytelling. Here
you will find the unpredictability of old school paper and
dice games with the story craft of a dark fantasy novel.
No character is sacred, and none will be spared if
the dice decide their fate is at hand. According to lore,
the Tale of a Manticor is barbed with cruel iron spikes.
There will be much pain in the days ahead. Last
time on Tale of the Manticor, Chapter ten begins with
their second level up of the game, and when the
story continues, it does so with the flashback showing a
younger Achillea that she fills her spell book with magic
she doesn't understand. Reaching level two unlocks one of the
spells that has always eluded her. When we return to
the present, we learn the result of an earlier wandering encounter.
Roll four orcs have survived a vicious battle among their
own kind, and they are eluding the bodies of the
dead when the Companions happen upon them. Once aware of
the party's presence, they attack. The combat that ensues goes
well for the PCs, who escape with only minor injuries
and manage to kill all four of the enemy Orcs.
During the fight, Chord casts the spell in Tangle for
the first time, surprising himself and everyone else with his
ability to command nature. Once the battle is over, the
companion spends some time looking for items of value among
the dead. After a while, ten Tier calls out it
seems he has found something interesting. Chapter eleven, Part one
Day eleven night mythic event meaning abandoned suffering party status
Achillea seven of seven hit points, Court nine of eleven,
de Renni six of six, ten Tier four of six supplies.
The Companions have fourteen portions of food and nine of water.
Spells available. Achillea has memorized shrink Cord can cast locate
plants and animals.
Speaker 2: To Rennie, come over here and look at this.
Speaker 1: Ten Tier was crouching down in front of a pile
of Orc bodies. He unceremoniously lifted one of the corpse's
legs as his brother approached to show him the bottom
of a heavy boot.
Speaker 3: Are there others like this?
Speaker 1: Dear any wanted to know?
Speaker 2: It seems like every other one?
Speaker 1: Came the reply, What does that mean? Asked ta Kilia.
She could see that the bottom of the orc's boot
had been painted rusty red, but she didn't understand the implication.
When Tentyer had called out, she had been hunting for
a dagger to replace her lost one. The blade in
her hand was the fifth she had inspected, but only
the first to meet with her approval. Orcish weapons were
crude and poorly made. For the most part.
Speaker 2: Half of these dead belonged to the blood Foot tribe.
Their home is miles to the south and east, close
enough to the Setevy Marsh that they are known to.
Speaker 4: Us, explained Who are the other hath?
Speaker 2: Then?
Speaker 3: De Rennie shrugged, I have no idea. There are no
markings on their weapons or armor.
Speaker 1: As she had rifled through their belongings, Achilie had noticed
that some of the Orcs bore tattoos on their forearms.
She pointed this out to the two brothers while Court
stood patiently near by. Listening to but unable to follow
their conversation.
Speaker 3: Yes, these do seem to be tribal markings.
Speaker 1: Said do Rennie, inspecting several of them.
Speaker 3: But I have not seen their like before.
Speaker 1: The tattoos were like the weapons and armor Gridly made.
They didn't resemble much of anything beyond black smears. Perhaps
that's why de Renni hadn't noticed them before.
Speaker 3: What do you make of fees.
Speaker 1: He asked ten Tyr. The other elf examined the tattoos
in the low light and shrugged helplessly. After Achilia explained
their conversation to court and asked his opinion, the wooden
construct scratched a dowel finger against his chin and then
pointed at the sky.
Speaker 4: Clouds. Asked Akilia, black clouds.
Speaker 1: Kord nodded in his way. He was not wrong, she thought,
cocking her head to one side. They did somewhat resemble clouds.
She stood up, tucking the new dagger into her belt
along with the old one.
Speaker 4: Had you ever heard of a black cloud tribe?
Speaker 1: She asked the brothers. They frowned and shook their heads.
Speaker 2: We should discuss it.
Speaker 1: Later, suggested Tantire.
Speaker 2: For now, let's get clear of this place, find somewhere
to make camp.
Speaker 1: He looked around, peering into the gloaming.
Speaker 2: There might be more of them.
Speaker 1: He had a point. There were a lot of bodies
on the ground, perhaps more than two dozen, but not
enough to constitute a whole tribe, let alone too. If
what Altra had taught her was correct, good idea, Achilia said.
Speaker 4: Let's get go. Wait a minute, what's that?
Speaker 1: She interrupted herself when something among the dead caught her eye.
It was a flash of gold between the lines. The
elves and the orcs of Merith. For the past four years,
I've shied away from writing about elves and orcs. Aside
from a single brief encounter with an elf in season one,
both races have been absent from Tale of the Manticor,
and not for no reason. Elves and orcs are hard
to write about, But I'm embracing what I feel is
a tough challenge this season, in part because the Dice
have led me to it, but also because I think
I'm more up to the task this time around, at
least I hope I am. So what's so tough about
using elves and orcs? A lot? Actually, old school d
and d elves are a tolkienesque Mary Sue race. They
are good at everything and have all kinds of advantages
over the other races. I've already talked about that in
an earlier episode, so I won't rehash my concerns on
that front. In Tale of the Manticor. I'm taking them
down a few pegs, separating race and class, so they
aren't all spellcasters. I'm reimagining them as something one might
call wild elves or wood elves. Dur Any and Tentior
are not the tall, silvery haired angel like beings of
Middle Earth, but are closer to the characters of the
Elf Quest comic if you happen to remember that series.
They live in smaller communities that are integrated into the
natural environment in a way that humans would find very
chaotic and distressingly asymmetrical. Their culture, like songs and art
and poetry, as well as the things they produce, such
as weapons and armor and other mondaane items, would be
made over very long periods of time, and their quality
would reflect that. However, Elvin life spans won't last a
thousand years Untail of the Manticor. The character Valkein, for example,
is two hundred and thirty years old three hundred would
be considered ancient. Elvinkind will also be shorter in stature
than seems cannon in D and D. They'll measure four
to four and a half feet tall and will have
physical strength that my which is their size and weight.
That's enough about elves for now, but let's talk about
their ancestral enemies for a bit. Orks are in many
ways the anti elf opposite in body and mind. They
make things quickly, poorly, and with speed of production valued
over durability. The life of an orc is short, even
by human standards, as very few survive the commonplace violence
of their society and habits long enough to become old. Now,
if elves of gaming and literature tend towards two perfect
orcs are well, they kind of seem to have an
identity crisis. Are they the British beast men of Tolkien's world?
Are they the green skinned noble savages found in Blizzard's
World of Warcraft series. I'm tending towards the former, using
an old trope of Orcs having por signed faces and pale,
pinkish gray skin tail of the Mantigre. Orcs are tribal
and nomadic. They all mark themselves with some sign or other,
as we've seen with the Blood Foot tribe and the
Black Clouds. Orkish leaders would be their warlords or shamans
in cases where they're being led by their own kind
and not some other type of more powerful being. I
wanted to mention that when I realized I'd be getting
into the world of Orcs in some depth. My research
brought me to the Monster Man podcast hosted by James Halloway.
His episode on them was fascinating. Apparently the word orc
doesn't come from Tolkien, as I'd assumed, but from a
combination of Old English and Etruscan mythologies, where they're called orknea.
I might be mispronouncing that, by the way, which means
evil spirit or monster that devours. It's a pretty broad description,
but I'd say it solves the can Orcs be good debate.
The verdict is in they cannot. Orcs are evil to
the core. It's right in the name. If it had
been one hour later, or if the moon had been
less bright, she might have missed it. A little flash
of gold peeking out from under a blood soaked cloak
worn by one of the bigger Orc corpses. She reached
down and hefted a wooden chest the size of a
loaf of bread. It was heavy, and she could hear
the distinct sound of coins, lots of them, sliding around
within The flesh she had taken for gold turned out
to be a clasp made of brass. Oh minute, said Tentyre,
his eyes wide. He had got the sound too.
Speaker 4: Maybe we should leave this place before.
Speaker 1: We do that, Kilia replied, suddenly feeling exposed and looking
around into the encroaching shadows of the night. Cord was
not really paying them any attention. He too had seen
something of interest, and on the same corpse that carried
the chest. Bending down, he retrieved a battle axe with
a squared off blade on one side and a spike
on the other. Derennie walked over to inspect the constructs.
Speaker 3: Find that's not of Orc manufacture, he said, Most likely
it was made by men.
Speaker 4: Are there men in this part of the world, asked Akilia.
Speaker 1: She hadn't mentioned do to dur Renni or his brother,
and didn't intend to. The elf shrugged.
Speaker 3: Honestly, I have no idea, but I like your idea
of putting some distance between us and displace more and
more Achila, One last.
Speaker 1: Thing, said ten Tyr. Croching by the dead ork's feet,
he lifted a heavy boot and inspected the bottom. Bloodfoot,
asked der Rennie. Ten Tyrs shook his head.
Speaker 2: Must be from the other tribe. Should we strip his
armor and check his forearms for markings?
Speaker 1: Waste of time, opined de Rennie.
Speaker 3: He must be one of the black clouds, or whenever
you wish to call them, there will have only been
the two tribes here.
Speaker 1: Come on, let's go, said Achilia, impatient to leave. The
crows were starting to return, and they made her nervous
for some reason. As there was nothing else to do
at the sight of the York's battle, everyone agreed and
headed for the nearest tree, as the silvery half moon
shone above them. I wonder why it is that these
two tribes are fighting. It's probably a territorial dispute. But
what pushed one tribe into the path of the other
to begin with? The simplest answer can be supplied by
my event meaning abandoned suffering. I interpret this as one tribe,
the Bloodfoot tribe, having been driven out of their lands
by something that caused them terrible hardship. So what kind
of suffering did they abandon? It could be anything from
a big predator to war, to disease, or something else entirely,
but I don't need to figure that out just yet.
It's enough to say that the Bloodfoot tribe has come
into Black Cloud territory and the Black Clouds aren't keen
to share now, despite there being lots of orcs in
the vicinity. I'll say that the pieces will not face
any more danger tonight, so that means I'm free to
make some rolls for day twelve. For weather a seventeen
that's favorable, I'll say there's a light fog that helps
the companions travel unseen, at least in the morning hours.
Stumble upon a ten no result. Forging a six on
D six is a failure. These lands are getting hillier
and rockier. Food is scarce, No wonder the Black Cloud
tribe can afford to share their land. Now, for a
more important wandering encounter, roll a five or six on
a D six will indicate that there is one A five, Wow,
this is a dangerous area. This time, I won't roll
on a table. A simple high low will do Low
means more orcs. High will trigger a special set piece encounter.
I have in mind the roll lo more orcs. It
will be at this point. I'm going to roll my
D six one more time and subtract one. That'll be
the number of orcs encountered. So that's zero to five
my roll. Okay, and one more role for a day
or a night encounter day. That's enough for now. Any
other roles I'll make off mic as they become necessary.
It's time to get back to the story. Chapter eleven,
Part two, Day twelve afternoon MYSIC event meaning move stalemate.
Huh how interesting. Party status Achillea seven out of seven
hit points, Court ten out of eleven, having healed one
hit point overnight, de Renni six of six ten Tier
five of six, having healed one hit point overnight. Supplies.
The companions have eleven portions of food and six of
water spells available. Achillia has memori shrink and message cord
can cast and tangle and locate plants and animals. The
previous evening, Achillia and Dorenni had opened the orc's small
chest and discovered one hundred coins inside, fifty of silver
and fifty of gold. There had also been a dried
mushroom cream colored with lavender speckles included in the contents.
Achillia knew what it was, an infinity milk cap, frequently
used in alchemy. If consumed, he could separate the eater
from their sanity in a matter of minutes, with the
effect lasting hours. Ten Tier and Durani knew of the
plant's properties too, but more importantly, they knew what its
inclusion with the treasures signified. This money was intended as
a tribute or bribe. It was common practice among Orcs
to recruit mercenaries or buy safe passage, and the infinity
milk cap was often given as a symbolic gift. The
brothers found something confusing, however, The jest had been in
possession of a Black Cloud tribe ORC, not a Blood
Foot ORC, which was the tribe that needed safe passage.
Speaker 3: My guess is the Black Cloud double crossed the blood
Foot after payment was given. Orcs are not the most
honorable of creatures.
Speaker 1: After all, they were traveling in single file once again.
It was afternoon, and the orange ball of the sun
had long ago burned away the cloaking mists that had
allowed them to travel without fear of being seen. There
were few trees here. The land they crossed was open,
and the companions felt exposed. Most train that spread out
before them to the north was hill and rock. Some
hills were bare, others were tufted in tall grass, and
the diminutive elves tried to keep to these when possible.
One consolation, the same conditions that made them easily visible
also permitted them to see far distances. Ten Tier was
in the late so it was he whose spot it
at first, Up ahead the remnants of a camp fire
on the lee side of an arrant boulder. The companions
decided to investigate, and even after a cursory examination, it
was clear.
Speaker 2: Orcs made camp here, three or four of them yesterday.
Speaker 1: Ten Deer scowled as he spoke.
Speaker 2: I fear we are headed directly into the heart of
Black Cloud territory. We'll need to be very careful for
the next day. At least.
Speaker 1: Robin, sitting atop Achillie's head as was for wont, peeped
as though in agreement, while the others nodded, sharing expressions
of concern among themselves. The feeling of tension and hypervigilance
accompanied them as they pushed forward, going over or around hillocks.
As they put some distance between themselves and the Orcish campsite.
At one point, a kaleidoscope of curious butterflies with wings
of sapphire, red, and gold followed them, but even these
colorful creatures could not lift their spirits. By the time
the sun was beginning to dip, the members of the party,
traveling once again in single file, had discovered several other
signs of Orcish presence in the area, a bootprint in
dried mud, a rusted spearhead, and on four occasions, little
piles of stones stacked into roughly pyramidical shapes. Durni explained
to Achilia that there were something to do with the
Orc's religion. He'd only seen a few of them in
his entire life and had always been solitary. He was
somehow disturbing to see so many here. A collective feeling
of relief came over the group when Tantyr pointed ahead
and quietly declared.
Speaker 2: Woods ahead, I can just make out the tree line.
If we hurry, we'll make it there before dark.
Speaker 1: Despite their fatigue, each of them was happy to put
in the effort to regain the cover of trees, so
they ignored the ache and their feet and pushed themselves ten.
Teir's estimate turned out to be correct, and the party
came within a hundred yards of a thick wall of maple,
oak and juniper with just a half hour of daylight rene.
The sky was now clustered with puffy clouds, their undersides
lit with pink, orange, and magenta. But the companion's attention
was not on them for long because ahead, and just
a bow shots distance away, out of the woods, strode
three large figures orcs. As soon as the companion saw them,
they knew they too had been seen. Strangely, instead of
waving their weapons menacingly and calling out in challenge, the
three orcs exchanged a few brief words between them and
then retreated back into the trees. I don't always do it,
but earlier, when I rolled up this wandering encounter, I
decided to determine distance at random, So off Mike, I
rolled four D six times ten and got an encounter
distance of one hundred yards. I also rolled for surprise
and learned that neither side would be in the spirit
of the truly random hex crawl. I even made a
reaction roll, thinking that although three orcs wouldn't be threatened,
by a group of four obviously smaller and apparently weaker beings.
They might not attack immediately. That I surprised me. The
Orcs would not attack. Instead, they would try to leave.
I wonder now, how would the PCs react to this
turn of events. Their various personalities, I think would make
for a mix of opinions. Cheuchin's breed swore to Rennie,
and then he wheeled on Cord, glaring at him.
Speaker 3: He was your magic.
Speaker 1: But Kord did not understand a word. And besides, it
was too late. The Orcs were already gone from sight.
Achillie did not care for Dorenny's tone and had a
different view of the situation.
Speaker 4: Those might have been bloodfoot arcs. We should let them go.
Speaker 1: The older l forrolled his eyes.
Speaker 3: And if you're wrong, what then They'll raised the alarm
and soon will have every damned Orc from every damned
cave upon us.
Speaker 1: He started after them, and ten Teer, perhaps because elved
and culture gave power to the most senior of the group, followed,
unslinging his bow as he went. Achilia felt her face
turn hot, but she swallowed her anchor and turned to court.
Come on, She too, ran for the trees, in pursuit
of the fleeing Orcs, while a startled Robin flew from
her head court in confusion. Came last. We find ourselves
in yet another chase scene, but this time the script
hads flipped and to PC's are the ones doing the chasing.
Let's get some dice and see how it'll play out.
I'm giving the Orcs a big bonus to account for
their heads start and for the fact that the forest
will quickly break line of sight. A plus two to
their role feels about right. Actually I give even more,
but I have to justify the orc's decision to run.
One of them is probably wounded, otherwise they would have
rushed into battle. Of course, there might be something else
going on here, like an ambush. I suppose the dice
will let us know in due course. Let's get into
this pursuit. Round one the Orcs one plus two is
three interesting the party, but four the Orcs leave a
clear path of broken foliage, and their direction into the
forest is easy to see even in twilight. When ten
two discovers it and points it out to the others,
they redouble their efforts. The party will now gain a
plus one to their role. Round two. The Orcs A
six plus two is eight. The party four plus one
is five. The path the Orcs have taken is too
obvious for Durni's liking one into the woods and the
shadows close around them. He suddenly suspects a trap. He slows,
and the hesitation costs him. The Orcs will get an
additional plus one to their roll. Each side now has
one success of the three needed to prevail. Round three,
the Orcs four plus three is seven. The Party six
plus one is seven. It's a tie. Ambush or not.
Duranty pulls his sword and uses it to point along
the broken trail of ferns and bushes that way.
Speaker 3: He cries, don't let them escape.
Speaker 1: My pursuit rule says that a modifier must be added
every round, even a tie round. I think the Orcs
still have the advantage, so I'm increasing their bonus to
plus four. Round four, the Orcs three plus four is seven.
The party the two plus one is three. Tentier now
in the lead crashes through the bush, bow in one
hand and an arrow in the other. It's dark now,
as the thick canopy is cut off. Almost all of
the light supplied by the half moon overhead. With the
light so low, ten Tyre's intra vision is beginning to
compete with his day vision, and the result is that
he cannot see well with either. In fact, he has
lost the trail. The Orcs have now won two pursuit
rounds and only need one more. I'm increasing their lead
to a plus five, which all but ensures that they
will escape at the next round. But let's see what
the dice have to say. Round five. The Orcs four
plus five is nine. The party three plus one is four. Ten.
Tire has no choice. He has to give up. The
Orcs might have gone in any direction, and blundering around
these unfamiliar woods in the gloom is foolhardy. He stops,
breathing hard and waiting for the others to catch up,
which a few seconds later they do. Which way?
Speaker 3: Ten tier, which way?
Speaker 1: Rasped Dernni between hard breaths. Tendu just shook his head
Chiu Chin's braid, Chris Dorrenni again, swatting a nearby tree
trunk with his sword and frustration. Then, in a final effort,
he closed his eyes and listened for any sounds the
escaping Orcs might be making. But there was nothing, no
sign of them all. Reluctantly, he gave up, drawing his
free hand down over his face in defeat. Thanks for
listening to Tale of the Manticor. If you're enjoying the
show and I would like to help the support it,
there are lots of ways to do so. You can
recommend the show online or to friends. You can like
and repost episode announcements on social media. You can pick
up one of my offerings on drive through RPG. You
can purchase a Tale of the mant Gore t shirt
at www Dot bear Arts dot store, and finally, you
can rate or review the show on your podcast troupe choice.
I am grateful for all of your support. Here's another
kind listener review. This one was left by win More
Games on Apple podcasts win More Games Rights. This is
my favorite podcast. I thought I would take this momentous
occasion to review Tale of the Manticor. There's so much
to love about this story, but for now, I'll just
say I am so excited that we have another elf
in this story. Wait to hear what happens next. Thanks
very much, win More Games. The elf count is climbing.
I truly appreciate your taking the time to leave that review,
and of course I am delighted that you're enjoying the
new season. By way of saying thanks, I'm going to
write your name into Tale of the Manticor lore and
say that Win Morgem will be Elvish for thank you,
So Win Morgem very much, Win more games. This episode
features the voices of regulars Kyellen and Kevin Barringer, playing
Durnny and Tentire, respectively. Thanks as always for your contributions, guys.
It wouldn't be the same without you. For listeners who
are curious to learn a bit more about Tale of
the Mantacre, I keep a blog where I post all
kinds of show and RPG related stuff like art, maps, tables, crafts,
and show notes. You can find it at tale of
Themanticore dot blogsbog dot com. To get in touch with me,
I'm at Mansacore tale on X, Tale of the Manticor
podcast on Instagram, or Tale of Themanticre at gmail dot com.
I would be delighted to hear from you. The adventure
will continue on the next episode of Tale of the Manticorn.
It's the story where chaos rolls