Speaker 1: Hello, This is Juel or John from Brazil and you
are listening to Tale of the Manticar. 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 Laura, the Tale of
a Manticre is barbed with cruel iron spikes. There will
be much pain in the days ahead. Last time on
Tail of the Manticor, in the previous chapter, ten two
discovers something among the bodies at the site of the
Orchish battle. About half of the Orcs have red paint
on the bottom of their boots, marking them as members
of the blood Foot tribe. The others bear black smudge
like tattooes on their forearms, and this symbol is not
When anyone present can recognize. For lack of a better name,
the companions begin to refer to this other group of
Orcs as the Black Cloud tribe. Achille discovers something else
among the bodies. At first, she takes the glint that
catches her eye for gold, but it turns out to
be the brass fittings of a small but heavy chest.
Inside the pieces find a large sum of coins along
with the mushroom. The two elves know to denote a
bribe or tribute. But who is paying, whom and for
what no one is certain, but it seems a good
guess that the treasure was the cause of the battle.
On the following day, the companions begin to move through
what they now realize is Black Cloud territory. There's evidence
of Orcish activity found along the way that leaves little
room for doubt. At the end of the day's travel,
they see a woods and decide to spend the night
there and take advantage of the concealment of the trees.
But before they can reach it, they spot and are
spotted by three more Orcs. Surprisingly, instead of rushing into battle,
the Orcs turn and flee. The companions give chase, but
they lose their quarry almost right away. Will the escape
orcs raise the alarm? And will the companions soon become
the haunted? Chapter twelve, Part one day twelve night mythic
event meaning move stale eight party status Achillea seven out
of seven hit points, Cord ten of eleven, de Renny
six of six ten Tier five of six supplies. The
companions have eleven portions of food and six of water.
Spells available. Achillia has memorized shrink and message. Cord can
cast and tangle and locate plants and animals. The companions
spent a few minutes retracing their steps and trying to
rediscover the direction of the orc's passage. Here it is
called ten Tier, just a little ways off from the
rest of the group. By now the woods had grown
dark and they were all relying on night vision, he
continued as they joined him.
Speaker 2: See these trifled ferns.
Speaker 1: They went that way, he pointed, off to the northwest.
Speaker 3: I wonder why they turned so abruptly. Those orcs were
moving to the northeast and then suddenly cut to their left. Well,
there's no catching them now. We will go straight on
and with luck we can avoid.
Speaker 1: Them, said do Rennie. Pointing off in a direction perpendicular
to the path of the orc's flight.
Speaker 2: Them and their tribes meets.
Speaker 1: Said Tintyr, nodding hmm, agreed to Rennie.
Speaker 3: We'll need to find a place to make camp, though
we cannot keep going through the night.
Speaker 1: He was right. They were already exhausted, having pushed themselves
in order to reach the woods in the first place,
and then chasing the Orcs had drained the last of
their energy.
Speaker 3: A good hiding spot is what we need.
Speaker 1: He said, pulling at his chin and looking worried.
Speaker 3: But we should go at least another mile or two
away from here, try not to leave any tracks.
Speaker 1: He led the way, walking by his younger brother and
into the deep gloom of the forest. Tenttyr followed in.
Then Achilie, unsure how she was sppoke to travel without
leaving any signs for a passage, fell in behind, with
Cord and Robin at her back. Did the Orcs cut
left to throw off their pursuers or is there a
different reason. If it was an evasive measure, it worked,
But I think there's a chance they are actually avoiding
this part of the woods deliberately in order to keep
things nice and chaotic. I'm going to randomize it, and
since I have the action paused anyway, I think I'll
just make all the roles for the day right now.
For the weather twenty. I was not expecting that what
kind of weather would be really helpful right now? More fog,
I think, since the party's main goal is to stay
out of sight, stumble upon a seventeen a high roll,
but it doesn't produce any result. Only a one or
a twenty matters for that role. Next up is for
wandering encounters. We're back in the woods, meaning that if
ford to on a D six is a positive result. However,
I think that foggy weather should have some real in
game benefit, so I'll knock it back to a five
or six on a D six. I mean, twenties are
rare and they should make a difference. Here's the role
A five. Oh brother, these guys just can't seem to
pass more than a single day without running into trouble.
As I've done before, I'm going to roll a high
low to determine what they encounter. Low will mean yet
more orcs. This is black Cloud territory, after all, HI
will trigger a set piece encounter. I have in mind
on a d twenty fifteen. Okay, then they first noticed
the crows about an hour after they'd lost the trail
of the escaped orcs and turned to the northeast. Navigating
the woods was slow going, but not because it was
difficult to see. Their infra vision was almost as acute
as their day vision. Furthermore, during any intent here traveled
the forested night regularly, and even Core and Achillea had
some experience doing so. The reason their travel was so
slow was a combination of fatigue and from keeping up
an effort to move quietly. At first, they thought it
was working, since losing the orcs there had been no
sign of any alarm raised. De Rennie was even beginning
to allow that Achillea might have been right about which
tribe the escaped Rocks belonged to until they encountered the
first group of crows. There must have been several hundred
of the scavenger birds, and when the party came across them,
the feathered host threw up such a chorus of squawking
as to completely ruin the companion's attempt to keep quiet.
This is no good, complained to Rennie over the den
and quickly led the others away from the legion of birds,
But very strangely, after the party passed, the crows alighted
from their perches among the branches in a great cloud
of dark wings, and followed them, cawing all the while.
Robin peeped timidly, shifting bed on Achillee's head to show
her discomfort. The crows overtook the party and then settled
into the trees a little further ahead, as if to
block their progress. Dorenni was happy to keep his distance.
Speaker 3: Come, we should get away from all this noise.
Speaker 1: He said, and cut to the right, moving east into
the woods, where the land began to dip. For a while,
the birds left them malone, But just twenty minutes later
the party ran into another large group of crows. Or possibly,
are they following? Yes, Dornnie asked, somewhat rhetorically.
Speaker 4: I thought that crows roosted by night.
Speaker 1: Replied Achillia, disquieted by the phenomenon. Yes, they do, came
the ELF's flat response.
Speaker 3: This is not natural.
Speaker 1: By now, Achillie was so tired that she felt her
eyes might shut on their own. Her steps were leaden,
and she was feeling a bit dizzy. The others felt similarly,
with the exception of Cord and Robin, who had no
need of sleep. It was ten Tire who found a
good spot to stop for the night, a wayward pine
with thick, low branches, sticky with sap, and so fragrant
that the mill might have been inhibited sleep if the
companions had not been so tired. They set Cord and
Robin on watch, and then Achillie and the brothers passed
out on a bed of springy pine needles without even
bothering to unfurl their bed rolls. They were awoken just
three hours later, but not by their sentries. It was
the hoarse cawing of crows that dragged them out of
their slumber once again. Hundreds of the birds were squawking
madly nearby. Churchard's braid kursed Tantire, unconsciously emulating his older brother.
Speaker 2: We get no peace at all.
Speaker 1: The maddening din continued, completely preventing a return to sleep,
while at the same time threatening to draw and wanted attention.
We are leaving, said Dryne. Grabbing his things, he crawled
out from under the low pine branches and once again
led the others even deeper into the woods behind them.
The riotous cacophony continued unabated. After a time, the companions
found themselves overlooking a valley shrouded by night mist. Now there,
said tan Tyre, pointing.
Speaker 2: The mist will mask our movements and hide us from
the enemy.
Speaker 1: This boon could not have come at a better time,
for as soon as the companions entered the fog, they
heard a horn sound in the distance, back the way
they had come.
Speaker 3: They're looking for us.
Speaker 1: Said Dornnie, caustically. Lack of sleep had made him irritable.
Speaker 3: Still think those were blood foots, Achillia.
Speaker 1: Achilie disregarded the accusation in Dornnie's tone and changed the subject.
Speaker 4: This might sound mad, but I think those crows were
following us.
Speaker 3: That and more.
Speaker 1: Dernni replied, the acid no longer in his voice.
Speaker 3: Hopefully we can lose them in these mists.
Speaker 1: I'm still so tired, complained Achillia.
Speaker 4: I don't know how long I'll last.
Speaker 3: You'll have to last at least a little while longer.
We need to put as much distance as we can
between us and those orcs. They'll search for us all night.
What we really need is a better hiding spot.
Speaker 1: The misty valley began to constrict, funneling the companions into
a narrow gorge. After they'd gone a half a mile
or so. Luckily, there was no more noise from crows,
and the war horn did not sound again.
Speaker 4: De Renny, what did you mean earlier when you said
that and more?
Speaker 1: What more?
Speaker 3: Earlier?
Speaker 4: I said, I thought the crows were following us, And
you said that and more? What did you mean by that?
Speaker 3: I only meant that it seems like look.
Speaker 1: Said Tantyr, pointing into the swirling mists. Through the vapors.
About a hundred yards ahead, they could make out the
shape of a cave. It was both large and of
unusual shape. The mouth was wide enough to fit a
wagon train eighty feet long or more, but the height
was out of proportion. A huge, long stone slab jetted
it from the side of the gorge, like an awning
over a hollow space below. In the fog and in
the dark, it was impossible to say how deep the
cut went. This could be a good place to hide, suggested.
Speaker 4: It had better be. I can barely keep up right,
and my eyes keep trying to close on their own.
Speaker 1: Said Achilia. She felt cord pat her on the shoulder
with a wooden hand, and she turned around to offer
him a warm, sleepy smile.
Speaker 3: I don't well, we will have to risk.
Speaker 1: It, said dore Rennie, clearly he was not thrilled with
this choice of hiding place. He unshouldered his bow and
drew an arrow from his quiver before proceeding.
Speaker 3: We should go and take a closer look.
Speaker 2: It's better than sleeping out in the open.
Speaker 1: Said Tantyr, imitating his brother and readying his own arrow.
Speaker 2: And it looks empty.
Speaker 1: The cave did seem empty, at least they couldn't see
anything moving inside. Dorennie took the lead and started toward
the cave, with the mists wrapping around his slight frame
and closing in behind him. I mentioned before that I
had a set piece encounter prepared, and here we are.
The party members don't know it, but this cave is
the layer of a dangerous creature named Mamby. Mamby occasionally
accepts bribes from the arcs, either to fight for them
or simply to leave them alone. The money box of
the companions currently carry was meant as such a payment
by the Black Cloud tribe. In return, Mamby would have
helped them drive off the intruding blood foots. Of course,
the payment was intercepted. There's a certain tasty irony in
the bribe being delivered to its intended destination, but not
by the intended couriers anyway. At the moment, even though
it's night and Mamby is nocturnal, he's currently asleep on
a better furs and can't be seen by the party members,
at least not yet. He can't be seen. But the
companions slowly and silently approached the cave, and the mists
swirled around their frames as though trying to pull them
into their gauzy embrace. Once again, they were in single file.
The narrow gorge would not permit any different arrangement. Beyond
the wide and shadowy stone mouth, the gorge began to
incline sharply. Of course, at this point, the piece's intention
was to use the cave as a shelter and hide
out for the night, and then continue their journey in
the morning. Quietly, quietly they approached. They were so quiet,
in fact, that when the sound came it almost scared
Achillia out of her skin, A ripping, sputtering sound like
the bark being torn off the side of a tree
sounded from somewhere inside the cave. Then there was silence again,
followed by a second, low, wet, snorting sound. The companions
had frozen in their tracks at the first noise. The
second made them stiffen, and when the sounds returned in
a steady, rasping snore, they realized that something large was
sleeping nearby, not fifty yards away. Tender turned around and whispered, there,
something big. Dur Any whispered back, do we go back?
Speaker 3: I don't want to go back. We still need to
find somewhere to stop for the night, and there is
nothing back the way we came. Maybe we can sneak
by it.
Speaker 1: Looking past the cave entrance, they could see that to
keep going in this direction would be a risk. The
slope of the gorge had made for a treacherous descend
to get down here, but it was a sheer wall,
impossible to climb for the next hundred yards on either side,
so the only choices were forward or back. I think
we should go back, said Tentere. Looking shaken. Derenni turned
to Achilia.
Speaker 3: Break the tie. What do you think we should do?
Speaker 1: Achillia scanned the area around the cave entrance, moss covered
roots hung limply down over it, and seeing these, she
remembered Kord's trick back at the Dogwood. She regarded her
wooden friend.
Speaker 4: Could you command those roots if something came out of
the cave, she asked.
Speaker 1: Cord nodded.
Speaker 4: Let's try to sneak by, then, she said.
Speaker 1: Ten Tier winced, but de Renni nodded his approval.
Speaker 3: I'll take the lead.
Speaker 1: He said, creeping past ten.
Speaker 3: Tire follow close, but not too close.
Speaker 1: This is the most dangerous situation the pieces effaced in
this story so far. Momby is a four hit die ogre,
and although he's currently asleep and deeply so, it would
only take one misplaced step to wake him as the
characters attempt to sneak by. Since none of my characters
are of the thief class, none of them have any
real skill in moving silently, But that doesn't mean they
can't try, and it also doesn't mean they can't succeed.
It'll just be tougher for them now. To be fair,
Dornni and Tentier are hunters, so I think they might
be a little better than average at moving without making noise.
But I wonder what kind of chance would they have
of getting past Mamby without waking him up if a
thief were here. I'd give antage on this role to
reflect the overall favorable conditions. While on the one hand,
leading a group would be harder than going it alone,
on the other, Momby is some distance away, and even
more he's deeply asleep. Here's my ruling. I'll allow the
pieces to roll a check as a group, but I'm
taking back the advantage to reflect the extra difficulty, also
partly because of the distance, and mostly because Momby is asleep,
I'll be generous and roll as if the whole group
was a first level thief. Despite that generosity, the rule
book tells me that the chance to succeed is only
twenty percent. The role A thirteen. Huh, what do you know?
I really did not expect them to succeed at this
The party is able to reach the valley floor by
the cave mouth. From here they can see the sleeping
form of some hulking thing. At first, it looks like
a boulder, but then it shifts, snoring loudly as it
adjusts its position, and then falls back into slumber. It's
difficult to tell what exactly. The creature is bigger than
a man, but humanoid. It's covered in patches of dark
hair that at first look like moss. It's heavily muscled,
with tree trunk legs, broad shoulders, and bulging thews like
coils of rope. Each of the companions has their heart
in their throats as they begin to creep past, so
slowly and so carefully, watching every step lest they should
tread on a dry branch or loose rock. Theresendia must
have been watching, because by some miracle, they managed to
pass by the cave mouth without waking the sleeping Monster. Then,
just as they began to allow themselves to feel relief,
the fog parts one of the trees ahead is so
full of crows that it is black with them, and
its branches droop under their weight. Dorani has time to
mutter under his breath before the crows erupt in a
chorus of brassy cawing to the left. The sleeping Monster
snorts awake and sits up, looking around in a daze
and jury combat. I admit that I knew all along
that the crows would ruin Piece's attempt to sneak past Bomby,
But I honestly did not expect them to make that
sneak check, and so now I feel they deserve some
kind of reward for it. I'm giving them a surprise.
It makes sense the Ogre was startled out of sleep
by the crows, and realistically it would take a few
moments before it knew it was going on. What will
the companions do with their precious few seconds? I think
de Rennie looks at the terrain in front of them,
and in an instant he understands that the incline they'd
be forced to navigate to get out of the ravine
would make flight unwise. For that reason, he fits his
arrow to his bowstring, pulls it back to his ear,
and in one swift motion, let's loose. Tantire can and
will do the same. While Achillie can throw one of
her knives, Cord can ready his spell of entangle. I'll
allow him to hold the action so that even though
he'll technically be using it in round two, he'll be
able to cast it before initiative gets ruled. Let's set
the scene for a moment before we bring out the dice.
The characters are about two dozen feet away from the
mouth of this cave, which is on the side of
a ravine wall and near the bottom. Mombi is not
very far inside the cave, only about fifteen feet, so
that puts about forty feet between him and the pieces.
With their missile fire, the PCs will be shooting up,
but not by enough to make any mechanical difference. As
the cave mouth is only a few feet above the
ravine floor. Melee will be very awkward in this narrow space,
so after firing, the companions will move up so they
have a bit more room to maneuver. As Deranni noticed,
if they should need to flee, the way ahead is
a poor choice since the ravine wall ascends sharply. Going
back the way they came is a better choice, but
still not a good one because of the cramped conditions
and the eventual incline of the terrain. This is why
Deurnni has chosen to make a stand, hoping to get
off an arrow or two before they meet the enemy
outside the cave's opening. I hope that's enough info to
picture the layout of this scene. Let's talk about Mambi
for a minute now. Ogres have an armor class of
fourteen due to their thick hide and they get four
plus one hit dice. I'll roll his hit points now
nineteen hit points, which is over the halfway minute of seventeen.
Momby wields a club that does one to ten points
of damage on a hit. Oddly, the rules say nothing
about adding a strength bonus, so I guess that damage
roll is not modified by anything. As a four hitde monster,
it will attack with a plus two. However, once again,
the rules do not award any two hit bonus for
the ogre's incredible strength. Perhaps it's offset by the creature's slowness.
I don't know anyway, That's really about it. For stats,
ogres are more or less just a big bag of
hit points and muscles overall. Hopefully he won't connect with
that club, as it could easily mean a one shot
kill for most of the PCs. Now, when Momby is
woken up by the noise of the crows, he sits
bolt upright in his better furs, and almost immediately there
are two arrows and a dagger speeding his way. Let's
go ahead and make those surprise round attack rolls. Now
Derani's arrow needs a thirteen to hit the roll eighteen.
We're off to a good start. Damage will be just
one point. The arrow grazes Momby's flank ten tuos shot.
He also needs a thirteen to hit. Hah, A fifteen
that's a hit for woe six points of damage. Ten tears.
Arrow buries itself into Momby's flank, and the Ogre's face
turns into a mask of lividity, surprise, and pain. It
bellows out a series of Orcish curse words that Achilles
flung dagger seeks its mark. Can we get a hat trick?
A seven is a miss, so no, she's not used
to the weight of the new Orcish dagger and it
falls short. That's it for round one. But as Momby
brushes out of the cave, club in hand, cord casts
entangle on the roots that dangle over the entrance. The
spell listing in the Old School Essentials Advance Fantasy Player's
Tome does not say anything about how big an entangled
creature can be, or the creature's strength should modify the role.
I think Gavin Norman probably left it open specifically to
encourage rulings based on circumstance, So that's what I'm going
to do. There are strong roots present, but Momby has
the equivalent of an eighteen in strength, So my ruling
is that he'll save with advantage, and even if he fails,
he'll only be entangled for one round. The target number
to beat for his saving throw is fourteen. Here comes
the rolls using two D twenty. I've got a nine
and a nineteen. So he does save, and even as
the roots drop, looping around his neck and over his shoulders,
the roots simply yanks them free of their rocky moorings
and cast them aside, continuing to curse in orchish. We
can now begin round two initiative the party one Momby six.
Not only is the ogre charging forward, but he's also
on home turf. The PCs had already passed by him
when the crows raised the alarm, so it's quite easy
for Momby to box them in and cut off their retreat.
As for his attack, I'll pick a target at random.
It's Cord. He's the biggest of the group, so that
makes sense. Cord has an ace of fourteen, and Mambi
needs to roll a twelve or better to hit. The
roll at twelve on the die is just enough. Mombi's
club comes whistling, towards the construct with tremendous force. Wood
connects with wood, doing ooh nine points of damage. There
is a deafening bang accompanied by a crack as the
club strikes Cord and splits his torso. Cord is almost
rent in two pieces and now has just one hit
point remaining. I will allow that in a few seconds
it took Momby to rip off the entangling roots that
all characters were able to draw their melee weapons. Duranni
will strike with his sword. This time. He'll need it
fourteen to hit a twelve misses. The target number is
the same for ten tier. Rolling to hit a six
is no good. I have to decide does Cords stand
and fight or fall back. There's really nowhere to go,
so I think he'll attack fifteen hits and his new
Orchish battle axe is christened with Momby's blood. Damage will
be five points. Momby is now at seven of his
original nineteen before the round ends. I think Achille will
do what she can to help and cast shrink on hmm,
not Mamby, but his club. This choice means there's no
saving throw to make the club shrinks by twenty percent,
and so any future damage it deals will be at
minus two. Momby barely notices the transformation in his weapon,
but he does notice that he's bleeding everywhere. A morale
check is in order. Ogres have a morale score of ten,
so it's unlikely he'll stop attacking, but it's worth a role.
On two D six an eight is close, but not
close enough. Momby stays spitting at a great doll up
of blood. He surges forward in his rage. His target
will once again be determined at random before means it's
cord again. This could be bad the piece he s
had better win the initiative or we might be able
to lose our first character. Round three initiative the party
three Momby two. That's good. With some luck, the party
will cut this monster down. This round. Dere Any stabs
up and into the ogre's thigh, but within eleven the
blade fails to pierce the tough skin. Ten Tier dives
into a roll, coming up just behind the monster. He
attempts to spear his blade into the Ogre's back. That
ten is no good. He miscalculates and cuts nothing but
empty air. Achillia will slash out with her remaining knife.
A fifteen hits but for just one point of damage.
Cord is practically falling apart, bisected from shoulder to waist,
but all the same. He chops down with a double
handed swing, aiming for the ogre's head, but with a
two he misses. Wow, that round was not a good
one for the PC's and it might get worse. Call
me superstitious, but I have a bad habit of killing
axe wielding fighters early on in my game. I hope
this won't be the third season in a row to
see that happen. Momby swings his still mighty club at court,
needing a twelve to hit an eleven. He hikes, that
was way too close. Let's hope that the PCs can
do better. In round four. Initiative the party a two,
Momby a one. Okay, then I feel this round will
be the last. Let's find it if my instincts are
any good. De Rennie tries to gash the ogre's thigh
once again on the backstroke at nineteen. Yes, way to
go to Rennie. This time, the ELFs blade cuts through
the Ogre's tough skin, drawing a red line along the
inside of one thigh. A D six for damage five
points it's a deep cut. Blood immediately starts to run
from the wound, and Momby stumbles. Ten Tier takes advantage
of the momentary weakness and aims another blow. This time,
he is determined not to miss the role A three.
Momby stumbles, drunkenly, moving in a way ten Deer does
not expect. The ELF's short sword fails to connect. Achillee
slashes out with her dagger again, but a six doesn't
even come close. It's up to Court to finish this monster.
He needs a fourteen to hit with his battle axe.
He aims for the head once again, and with a seventeen,
brings the heavy blade right down on top of Momby's skull.
Any role but a one will finish this fight. Here goes,
I've got a three. The blade embeds itself right in
the center of the Ogre's forehead between its beady black eyes.
Blood oozes from the wound, painting a crimson stripe down
the primitive face before the monster falls down dead. Thanks
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joke incoming. That's on me, seriously, though, I am very
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thanks as always to you both for your generous contributions.
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the Manticor It's the story We're Chaos Gross