Speaker 1: Hello, this is the Old Gig and you are listening
to Tale of the Manticore. 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 Manticre
is barbed with cruel iron spikes. There will be much
pain in the days ahead. Last time on Tale of
the Mantigor. In the last chapter, Fairwind concludes the story
of moroc and talks about why he fled Camertine. He's
come here, he says, on a holy mission to lift
the ancient curse of the cay Ors. He further explains
how the restless dead walked the ruins at night, but
seemed to avoid the church he now calls home. Achillie
shows him the skull she and the others found back
in the Ogre's cave and tells him about the strange
dreams she's been having. Fairwind takes it all as divine
providence to him. Achillia and her companions were sent by
Sadal to aid his mission. Together, they decided to investigate
the area nearby where the throne Room would once have been,
since the spirit in Achillie's vision was searching for something there. Next,
in a flashback, we get a deeper perspective into tent
Tears character. It seems that the young Elf is unhappy
with the strict confines of his racist code of behavior.
Elvin culture frowns upon individualism, but he wants to be
something special. When we return to the present, we rejoined
Fairwind in the PCs, who have found their way to
the site of Moroc's former throne room. Here, Achillea discovers something,
but it has nothing to do with the cursed King
or the prince at all. Fair Wind casually mentions the
name Odoak and is surprised by the strong reaction to Alyssus.
When Achillea shows him the sketch book, he confirms that
the artist is indeed the same person as the famous historian.
He has been referring to Chapter eighteen, Part one day
sixteen afternoon mythic event meaning open success party status. Achillea
out of seven hit points, Cord five of eleven, de
Renni nine of nine, ten Tier ten of ten supplies.
The companions have five portions of food and twenty one
of water. Spells available. Achillea has memorized message times two
Chord can cast, entangle and locate plants and animals. Achillea
stared into the cleric's eyes.
Speaker 2: Fairwind, you must tell me everything you know about this man, everything.
Speaker 1: Fairwint could not understand why Achille's tone had shifted so dramatically.
Speaker 3: I, Achillea, I'm not sure what you want to know.
Odo Zygog is the most prolific and most knowledgeable historian
on Marath.
Speaker 1: He is widely known.
Speaker 3: Even among those who do not consider themselves academics, and
to those who do he is he is famous.
Speaker 1: Fairwind held his free hand open in a gesture of helplessness.
Speaker 3: You know where he lives, of course not, was the
simple reply, no one does you have one of his
sketch books. I admit I have never seen its like before.
But what is so important about it? And why do
you need to know where he is? Zygog is a recluse,
and he goes to great pains to ensure he cannot
be found.
Speaker 1: But I must find him, said Achilia, exasperated.
Speaker 2: And you must help me.
Speaker 3: I I am sorry, Achilia, I don't.
Speaker 1: Think I can court dur. Any intent here had cut
up by now, and while the constructs could understand their words,
the brothers could not. All the same. They could tell
just by looking at the open sketch book and hearing
the conversation's tone a little bit about what are concerned?
Achilia felt her face go hot. How could she come
so close only to loose the thread again?
Speaker 2: Think, fair Wind, anything you can remember about the person
could be helpful. I need to find this.
Speaker 1: Man, she considered, adding that the quest to find Odok
was what had brought her party to these ruins, but
decided it would only confuse things. Please, she added. Cord
was now clearing away bits of bramble and nettle from
the floor of the old throne room, searching for anything
out of the ordinary. Well, said Fairwind, scratching his cheek.
Speaker 3: In thought, I have heard a few things about Zygog,
but they amount to rumor. No more.
Speaker 2: I will hear what you have to.
Speaker 1: Say, replied Achilia, her tone serious and low. Very well,
the cleric began.
Speaker 3: He is said never to have taken a wife, and
to have left society to live in the wilds. Some
say he went west into the Cameranthian wilderness. However, other
accounts place him Insation, where he lives under a false
name as part of the Magistocras.
Speaker 1: Tantyr looked askance at de Renni, who listened intently as
Achillee spoke with a human, but did not interrupt or
asked questions. He burned with curiosity at what they might
be saying, But the only words he caught were names
Odok and Zaisha. It wasn't enough to really follow their conversation.
If Derenny had not been there, he would have pushed
his way in and asked Achillee to translate. But since
de Renni said nothing, he said nothing. He had gotten
himself into enough trouble as it was by refusing to
show proper deference to his elders, and he was trying
to change. Of course, with de Renni. It was easier
simply because Tantyr genuinely respected him between the lines. Back
in episode eleven, I did it between the line section
in which I introduced my approach to Elves and Orcs.
In it, I mentioned that Elvin culture is chaotic and
wild and its expressions of art and archetycture. Since then,
through a series of dramatic persona sections, I've discovered that
other aspects of their societies are very regimented in orderly
value and conformity and strict systems of right behavior. It's
kind of shaping up that external things are left to
be wild while internal things are rigidly structured. I'm really
just making this stuff up as I go, and as
Dorani in Tenttir reveal their characters to me. But I
think it's time to pull back and take a look
at the bigger cultural picture. How does this yin and
yang of order and chaos manifest. While some examples of
strict regulation would include norms concerning respect and age with
all Elves of Merith is a core value, youth show
deference to any age above it, we can see this
Intenteir's attitude towards de Reni, or between Derni and Barn
the trouble following Tener's outburst to Elmir illustrates the point
as well. Law and chaos existing in harmony is not
a self contradiction. It makes sense for this society that
lives in very close quarters with one another to have
evolved into a complex system, and I like the complexity
of it. It makes me excited to explore Elvin culture
more fully. I think that Achillia would too, not only
in an academic sense, but in practice. Actually, I can't
think of a person who'd be more motivated to learn
the nuances and how to navigate them. I wonder what
else we can determine about Elvin culture using the little
bid we have learned so far. In Season one, we
heard about a tribe of elves that lived in the woods,
but Derni's tribe lives in the Ceteavy Marsh. What would
such a settlement look like. I think they'd have dwellings
that were elevated, either treehouse style like barren sentry platform
or far more likely and practical houses on stilts. Speaking
of practicality as much as a community based in a
swamp might sound quite unlikely, A quick Google search shows
me that many such cultures have existed throughout history, and
there's even pictures of the kinds of homes they had.
As one would expect, these are structures of wood fully
or partially raised up on stilts. I don't imagine waterways
and boats as part of this particular geography or way
of life. The Setevii Marsh is a patchwork of solid
earth and soggy swamp, with the occasional pond and pool,
but no rivers or lakes nearby. Some of the drawbacks
of living in a marsh could have a positive side
for the cidevi elves. The community would be very hard
to invade, especially with a large force. Conversely, it would
be easy to defend. All of the hazards would double
as layers of protection, and a culture that had become
accustomed to them would enjoy a huge advantage in a fight. Furthermore,
a swamp village would be all but immune to forest fires,
which would certainly pose a threat to forest dwelling peoples,
especially in summer. Finally, there would be abundant food and water.
One has to acknowledge certain downsides. However, there'd be a
scarcity of metal and textiles, husbandry and food storage would
be much more of a challenge than in a dry place.
I think that a secure trading partner would be a
requirement during any INTENTUS chain mail shirts and their swords
could not realistically have been made by any member of
their tribe, despite the existence of things like bog iron.
Now my impression of elves as a xenophobic race won't
really work. We learned a few episodes ago that the
first rule of the Stevy Marsh tribe is that no
strangers may enter their lands. Therefore, we have to assume
that some of their number are sent out to bring
supplies back. Of course, Durrenni is one such outlander. He
is a hunter whose job it is to bring in supplies.
I could imagine other elves whose roles include diplomacy in
trade so that the tribe can get the things that
they cannot make for themselves. Chapter eighteen, Part two, Day
sixteen afternoon mythic event meaning open success party status. The
party's status is unchanged. The Chillia and Fairwind seem to
be in the middle of some kind of serious exchange
when a shrill peep from Robin drew everyone's attention. The
stuffed bird was perched on top of Kord's shoulder, right
where the split in the construct's torsa was healing with
new wood. Cort had just cleared away some brush and
was staring down at something. The wooden face with the
painted on expression looked up slowly. Then Cort pointed to
his ear listen said tin tear, filling with excitement. Perhaps
if they hadn't been talking so much and so loudly,
they would have discovered it earlier. It was the distinct
sound of water, as if it were being poured from
the spout and into a pole or a bucket, though
it was somewhat quiet and muffled.
Speaker 2: There's a hollow under us.
Speaker 1: Breathed Achilia excitedly. She abandoned her conversation with Fairwood and
came round to the ruined dais to where Court stood,
parting some crabgrass. She found what she was looking for.
Speaker 2: Did a floor tile here? One corner has broken off.
That's how the water is getting in. I think, Court,
give me a head. I think we can lift this
tile up.
Speaker 1: What Fairwind seemed as confused by this as he had
with the other business about the historian.
Speaker 2: There is a tile that can be removed.
Speaker 1: Explained Achilia. Come and help me. The third pair of
hands was not necessary. It turned out Corda and Achillee
already had the tile up and off to one side
by the time Fairwind and the eleven brothers came over.
Now they all looked down into the square of darkness
revealed by the tile. The ring continued to fall all
around them and into the hole. Ten Tears squatted next
to a Chillia and squinted into the darkness below. I
see no way down, no stairs or ladder. I think
I can make out the shape of the floor. He
got on his hands and knees and stuck his head
into the hole.
Speaker 3: I think I can see the floor.
Speaker 1: It must be about thirty feet below. I can't make
out any walls. We must be directly above.
Speaker 3: A room on the ceiling, if you take my meaning.
Speaker 1: He was searched in the wrong place, muttered A Killia,
come again. Tentyer looked up, confused.
Speaker 2: The ghost in my dream, Prince Leirhen he must have
been looking in the wrong place. I think this is
what he was looking for. He said he just wanted
to go home to sleep. I wonder what he meant
by that.
Speaker 1: Tintyer pushed his wet hair away from his eyes. Ask
the human if he has a lantern we could lower
down on to Rennie's rope, the Kilia asked, but Fairwind
had no such luxury as his a lantern. He could
get some brands from his fireplace, but he didn't think
they'd stay lit for long in the rain, even if
they made an effort to cover them, and they would
go out if they were dropped into the hole. After
some discussion in some translation, it was decided that the
best course of action would be for one of the
elves to be lowered in using to Renney's rope. With
their infra vision, they could look around and report back
to the people above. Ten Tier volunteered immediately, but Durni
over ruled him, and so it was the elder brother, who,
with one foot in a loop at the end of
his rope, was lowered by the others into the Watching
him go down this way reminded to Kilia of descending
from Baron's centry platform, and she got a little thrill
in her stomach. Be careful, brother, said Ta Tyr. He
was trying to sound casual, but the set of his
job belied his concern. Derretti had his stored out and
held in his right hand while his left gripped the
rope to keep himself steady. He said nothing, it replied
to Tatyr, but simply smiled and nodded, signaling his confidence
as he was lowered down. One of the questions I
get most often is how does the actual story get made?
Does it come from random generators or do I just
make it up? The answer is a bit complicated because
it changes depending on where I am in the game.
At the beginning, I'm using generators and making stuff up,
lots of stuff. But as I entered the midgame, and
I'd say that now I'm in the early midgame of
season three, there's enough detail and the story's wake that
decisions going forward often become surprisingly easy, almost to the
point where the plot seems to write itself. Characters, motivations,
and personalities clarify over time, so their actions and reactions
become easier to handle the longer that character has been around. Likewise,
places and situations can be determined by what has come before. Interestingly,
I'm currently in a position to explain this with an example,
what is this space below the Throne room while it's
the Royal crypt This much is fairly obvious. Since the
Dream of leir Hain, I've known that the ghost was
trying to get back to its grave. The fact of
the prince's skull being removed from the tomb at some
point necessitates tomb robbers. This in turn means that there
has to be a viable way in and out. In
the past. I also mentioned that the sprites knew what
was in the crypt, and importantly that they do not lie,
so there has to be some way for them to
have gotten in and out too. Put it all together
and you get a removable ceiling tile with the corner
broken off. That's how the tom robbers got in, and
that's how the fairies got in even after the too
robbers had escaped, replace the tile and left. The placement
of the tile on the wrong side of the dais
is also not random, but another detail determined by story past.
Its location explains that the ghost of Leirhan was looking
in the wrong place. This makes sense to me. In life,
Prince Leirhan, who never grew beyond childhood, would not necessarily
have known the exact location of the family crypt, but
perhaps a ghost could sense that it was nearby. Going forward,
several things must be a certain way to maintain continuity.
The sprite said that there was a wizarding stick in
the ruins. If the sprites were in this crypt, then
there can be nothing blocking the path, no closed doors,
for example, between this wizarding stick and the broken tile opening.
Does that make sense? But I'm still of a mind
to let chaos roll. What will this crypt look like?
How big will it be? Can I add elements of
randomness and danger? I have a somewhat weird idea in mind.
It's an idea I had but ended up deciding not
to use at the end of season two when I
needed to generate a dungeon. It was to take my
Ultra Light Game one Shot in the Dark and use
one of its map generators to procedurally determine the dungeon layout.
For certain reasons, it wasn't the right move back then,
but I think it might just be perfect for this
kme or tomb. Here's why the third level is specifically
for creating a crypt. Also, some of the entries are
eerily strong matches for what I need. In addition to
catacombs and other room types you might expect to find,
there's an entry for a weird wizard's study. Well, if
I change the word study to crypt, I have a
spot for that wizarding stick. There's even an entry for
a ghost encounter, complete with a mechanic to determine how
it would react to the party's presence. It's almost perfect. Now,
I can't use one shot in the Dark word for word,
but I think I can use the spirit of it
pun intended at the very least. I'll be sure to
run things so you don't need to know anything about
the game to follow along. But if you do own
a copy and you're curious, I'm going to use the
Nine of Heart's entry twenty foot by twenty foot vault
as the starting point. Now, I've already described this room
as fairly spacious, so I'll change it to forty foot
by forty foot According to the table in the rules booklet,
it has only one exit. As the pieces move through
the dungeon, I'll draw more cards and use this same table.
I'm pulling the used nine and also the King and
Ace out of the deck because those last two won't
work well for this dungeon. The target card will be
the Ten of Hearts thirty by sixty foot catacombs that
will serve in this story as the family crypt. I'll
say that I need to pull a minimum of three
cards before the pieces can reach it. So whether this
is a very small dungeon or a rather large one
is up to fate. Well that's about it. Will this
idea even work? There's only one way to find out,
Win Morgan, said ten Tyr, taking the rope from fair
Wind and slipping the toe of his boot into the loop.
At the end, Bendyikuilia asked him in Elvish. Ten two
said that he was and the others lowered him down
to the floor. Here he joined Dorennie, who gave him
a quick nod to communicate that there was no immediate danger.
Fairwind was said to go down next, but there was
still the problem that he could not see in the dark.
Achillie briefly tried talking the cleric into remaining above while
the demi humans, who had the advantage of dark vision, investigated. Fairwind, however,
would have none of it and insisted that everyone wait
while he retrieved kindling, firewood and a hinder box from
the chapel. There was no point in trying to bring
a flaming brand across the court yard with the rain
coming down, but he declared that he had sufficient wit
to keep a few split logs dry in transit. While
Fairwind was away, Durrani in tentire did a cursory examination
of their surroundings. They communicated to those up top that
there were no immediate threats and that there was only
one exit. Though it defied logic, being in a tomb
gave the brothers a feeling that they should remain quiet,
and so they did not shout their findings up to
Achillia and Cord, but instead used hand signals. Presently, fair
Wind returned with his cargo and was lowered into the hall.
When he reached the crypt floor, he let go of
the rope and moved off to one side. Here, away
from the trickle of rain water coming from above, he
began building up a flame using his kindling and tinderbox.
By the time Achille had joined them, he had a
modest fire going. It threw the companion's shadows around the
tomb in a way that made them look as though
they were surrounded by tall, dark spirits. Good news, I've
got a level up to conduct this episode, and I
had better get to it before the pieces run into
danger or I run out of time. I bet you
know who's up for a promotion. Of course, it's court.
The construct reaches level three today, druids get a D
six as there hit die. So that's what I'll roll
for new hitdpoints. Here we go. Oh well, I got
it two that gets minned out at three. Gordon now
has a max of fourteen, which is still pretty good
looking at the advanced OS players. Ton I see that
he'll acquire some new abilities. Druids pick up some language skills,
adding one type of creature at each level above two.
The rules say the language is for Sylvan forest creatures,
but it makes sense to me that Chord can henceforth
understand Robin, even if he cannot actually speak to the bird.
What else, he can travel through natural environments without leaving
any tracks, and he can move through overgrown areas without penalty.
As Coord has no stats, we'll skip rolls for any
increases there. But we aren't quite done, because Chord will
get a new Druid spell this one of second level.
Like the others, I'll roll at random and he'll automatically
select it. Every day, I'm rolling a D eight to
see which spell he will get the seven. It isn't
cure light wounds. Unfortunately, it's hmm, slow poison. Let's see
what that's all about. According to these rules, the spell
has a duration of one hour per level. It slows
poisoned so that only one hit point per turn is
actually suffered by the recipient. Once the subject reaches their
last hit point, they stay there until the bell's duration ends,
or they die, or else the poisonous somehow neutralized. This
is interesting. Characters killed by poison can be revived by
the spell if death has occurred within one turn per
castor level. Despite this revival aspect of the spell, I
still question if it has much of a use at all.
If you don't have an antidote, what good is delaying
the inevitable? But now that I really consider it, that's
short sighted thinking delaying poison might allow someone to stay
in a fight long enough to help allies survive, for example.
But as they read through the full spell description, there's more.
The rules say that if a subject was poisoned by
a natural plant or animal, the cast has a ten
percent chance per level of knowing a herbal antidote that
will fully neutralize the poison. Oc is very good at
answering the questions that immediately come to mind in the wilderness.
Gathering the herbs for the antidote takes one turn in
a settlement. They may be available for purchase from a herbalist.
So actually, if the dice are kind after they are cruel,
this spell could be a literal life saver. Now, just
before we returned to the narrative, I need to pull
a card from my deck of hearts. I've removed the
nine King and ace your recall, so we can see
what lies beyond that archway. Well, all right, The others
had not noticed Chord's new sprout. Their attention was fixed
on the archway to the north. There was no sign
of any danger beyond, but Durani drew his sword all
the same as he took a few careful steps towards it.
Ten Tire did likewise. I'm right behind you, brother, he said.
Achillia patted Cord on the shoulder and smiled. Then her
face grew serious. Where's Robin, she asked. Cord pointed a
dowel finger up at the square of daylight above them.
Speaker 2: That's probably for the best.
Speaker 1: Said Achillie. Cord bowed in agreement, and then the two
of them followed Durni and tent here. As they approached
the archway to the north, Fairwin came behind them, carrying
a flaming brand from a small fire in his free hand.
Ahead the two elven brothers passed under the crumbly archway
and entered a straight corridor. If it hadn't been for
the human's torch, they would have been able to see
to the end, but as it was, their vision extended
a mere thirty feet before the fire light was swallowed
up by gloom. It was cool down here, and the
stone walls echoed in a way the ten tyer fan disquieting.
Although he tried to be brave, he couldn't ignore how
the small hairs on his arms stood up, and how
his heart beat was beginning to bound. Most Elves believed
in spirits and the undead, even if they had never
seen them. There were enough accounts of uncanny encounters with
the supernatural in their histories that, unlike fanciful creatures such
as high elves, living dead was not considered a thing
of childish fear and fantasy. A few more steps into
the corridor showed that it terminated in a tea junction.
All was silent. Tender thought it was unnaturally so, how
he admired Dranny's courage. His older brother was just ahead
of him and walked forward bravely, sword in hand. Ten
Tyre wished he could be more like that, but he
could not deny that. In his heart, he only wished
to turn tail and bolt back the way they had come.
He had a bad feeling, a really bad feeling, about
what they were going to find in these tunnels, or
perhaps he thought what would find them. Der Annie slowed
and stopped fifteen feet before the tunnel branched off east
and west. Which way Tenteer, he asked, without looking over
his shoulder. He spoke in a whisper, but his voice
was steady and calm as a breeze. Tender wanted to reply,
but which way should they go? Left? Right? He didn't know,
he had no wish to go in either direction. When
he opened his mouth to answer, no sound came out.
His voice was stuck in his throat. Doranny must have
felt ten to his fear, for he slowly turned around,
licked his brother in the face, and put his free
hand on the younger ELF's shoulder. Tinder was ashamed to
be afraid and dropped his gaze to the floor. Doranni's
hand now left his shoulder and touched him under the chin.
He felt his face gently lifted, so the brothers once
again looked into each other's eyes. Courage, little mouse, he said,
using a nickname Tenier at not being called for many years.
You are your mother's son. Remember that it was exactly
what Tendire needed. He nodded slightly, then swallowed and said,
let's go left. Thank you for listening to Tale of
the Manticor if you're enjoying the show and would like
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I'm very grateful for all of your support. Speaking of
listener support, I just found out that Pendulum, a World
building tool, has achieved Gold bestseller status, so extra special
thanks to everyone who picked that up. At this point,
I'd like to share a brief review, and I do
mean brief. Goblin six eighty five writes just so good
on Apple Podcasts. Thanks very much, Goblin six eighty five.
I tremendously appreciated the review and you might be my
first from Sweden. That's pretty exciting. This episode features the
voices of three actors playing ten Tier Is Kevin Barringer,
de Rennie is voiced by Kyleen, and David Cooper is
back as fair Wind. Thanks to Kevin, Kyleen, and David
for their generous contributions to the show. For those curious
to learn a bit more about Tale of the Manticore,
I keep a blog where I post all kinds of
show and RPG related stuff like art, maps, tables, crafts,
and show ups. You can find it a Tale of
the Manticore dark blogspot dot com. To get in touch
with me, I am at Manticore Tale on X, Tale
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Manticore at gmail dot com. Oh yeah, I've also finally
joined a Blue Sky, so get in touch. I'd love
to hear from you. The adventure will continue on the
next episode of Tale of the manticor it's the story
where chaos rolls.