Speaker 1: Hey is Nathan from gridgogn Prass and you are listening
to Tale of the Mantacore.
Speaker 2: 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 crossbreeding 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 Manticore is barbed with cruel iron spikes. There
will be much pain in the days ahead. Last time
on Tail of the Mantigor, in the last chapter ten,
Tyr goes off on his own, ostensibly to fetch a
torch for fair Wind, but it doesn't take long for
his natural curiosity to sideline the mission in favor of
something more exciting. He decides to explore parts of the
crypt not yet visit it. So at the intersection where
the party encountered the headless ghost, of Learhane. Instead of
turning right, ten Tier goes left. He follows the new
passage until it ends as stairwell that has been fully collapsed. Strangely,
the cavan seems to be localized only in the stairwell.
Ten Tyre doesn't think much of it and turns back.
He chooses yet another unexplored hallway. When he returns to
the intersection, this time remembering this beer trap the party
passed by earlier, he's more cautious and slows his After
a while, he comes to a single chamber that features
two suits of armour, one sized for an adult and
one for an adolescent. Both are completely rusted and useless.
To the right is a stanchion flank's shelf holding ceramic jars.
To the left is an iron bound chest with no lock.
While looking at the chest, a supernatural breeze passes through
the room, and when Tantyir looks back, the sword in
the gautleted hands of the smaller suit of armour has
become shining and new. Clearly, some magic has transpired. Ten
Tire continues to exercise caution and first examines the ceramic jars.
Discovering oil, He lights one of the standing lamps. Now
in good light, he examines the sword more closely and
finally dares to take it. He knows he should leave,
but his curiosity is still strong. Perhaps it would not
hurt to look inside the chest before he goes. I
revealed that the end of the previous episode that the
chest is the trigger for an awful trap. If opened,
it will cause the ceiling just outside the armor room
to collapse, essentially entombing ten Tier in the chamber. I
came up with this nasty trap after rolling the event
meaning stop prison in the last episode. This reminds me
that I need a new one. Might as well do
it now. Rolling D one hundred twice, I've got sixty
two and one hundred. That's inspect information feels a bit vague. Well,
I suppose I'll figure something out. But let's tuck that
result away for now and come back to the situation
at hand. What's really exciting about it, beyond the obvious,
is that what happens next is not up to me,
nor is it up to the dice. It's up to Kevin,
who has control of ten Tier right now. In my
last exchange with Kevin, I tried to tend to him
a little. Don't get me wrong, I don't want ten
Tier to spring the trap. I just want to be fair.
So I reminded him about the chest and asked if
there was anything else ten Tier wanted to do before
reach joining his companions, ending the minigame. Here's what Kevin
wrote back.
Speaker 1: Let's let that be for now.
Speaker 2: Tender doesn't want to push it too much. I think
he'll go back and tell the others about the room
and the chest, and maybe they can all come investigate together.
Chapter twenty three, Part one, Day sixteen, early evening, mythic
event meaning inspect information, Party status Achillea nine out of
nine hit points, Cord eight out of fourteen, de Renni
nine out of nine, fair Wind ten out of eighteen.
Spells available Cord can cast, entangle, locate plants and animals,
and slope. Achillia and the others were not idle, while
ten Tier was gone Fairwind. Once de Rennie was satisfied
that his bandage was secured properly, dropped to his knees
and began to mutter a litany of prayers. He spoke
the words under his breath so the others could not
make out exactly what he was saying. A little ways off,
Cord and Achillea held a private conference. The construct was
showing Achillea the thing he had taken from the slab
opposite the Queen's on the far side of the room.
Speaker 3: God, is this what I think it is?
Speaker 2: Cord leaned from side to side in his way of shrugging,
but it seemed fairly clear that the object gripped by
his dowell fingers was the wizarding stick the fairies had
spoken of. Looking like a thin black icicle, it was
about ten inches long and close to the size of
Chord's thumb at the base. The tip was rounded and
was perhaps the circumference of Achillee's pinky. It was made
of a single piece of some glossy lacquer like material,
and had asymmetrical regions and nodules along its length. Although
it looked black, given that her dark vision showed everything
in greyscale, Achilia couldn't say for sure. It might have
been dark brown or any other color. Laurel, she asked.
Holding at her hand, Cord creaked forward a little and
put the strange thing into her palm. Achilia let out
a little gasp, followed by another deeper one. At first touch,
the atom had felt cool, and that it surprised her.
It wasn't cold like ice. It was more like the
temperature of the bottom of a stone. Her second gasp
was caused by a much stronger feeling, but this one
was felt in her heart, not in her hand. A
frantic little thrill had warmed its way up her arm
and into her center, like an electrical current. Within a moment,
it had attached itself somehow to her soul. She could
feel it happened, and it was not an unpleasant feeling.
There was a sensation like being reunited with something that
had been missing and then found after a long time gone.
She had never felt that her soul was incomplete, but
in that moment she thought that if she were to
be separated with this treasure, she would feel its absence forever.
There was no doubt in her mind anymore. This was
a magical wand, a treasure sought after by all wizards. Moreover,
he was now her magical wand. I've known that this
item would be here ever since the encounter with the fairies,
but I hadn't thought about what this wand could do
until well, I'm just now trying to decide to begin.
I don't think that Cord's taking the Wand or Achilles
bonding with it will awaken the angry spirit of its
former owner. As cool as an undead mage would be
to put in the game, I don't think another battle
is what's called for right now. The queen was defeated fairly,
and so I'm considering all of her servants to be
neutralized too. This wand is the reward for winning that battle.
Let's figure out what this thing can do. Check the
BX rules and see what it has to say about wands.
Hang on, be right back. Hmm, okay, interesting, the basic
rules list only three kinds of wands. I'm sure there's
more in the expert rules, and certainly the advanced rules
have about twenty different kinds. But you know, I'm already
thinking of doing something different. How about putting aside these
spell effect style wands and instead go with something that
amplifies what a wielder can already do. Let's make it simple.
This wand will allow the prison holding it to cast
spells as though they were one level higher. For example,
without the wand, if Achillia casts the spell shrink, she
could reduce a target by thirty percent insize. Because she
is level three, this wand would allow her to achieve
a forty percent reduction as though she were fourth level.
I like this idea because it's easy to keep track of,
and even better, it will level nicely with the PCs
and no point would this become just another inventory item
even if Achillia lives to achieve a very high level.
There we go, done and dusted. While Fairwind prayed and
Achillie and Kord fussed over something or other, de Rennie fretted.
He was unhappy that Kord had taken something from one
of the graves, and it made him nervous that Tintyr,
who had been gone for at least ten minutes, might
also allow his curiosity to overbear his good judgment. He
wondered if he should go after him. He very much
wanted to, but he also knew he should not. Doing
that would be an insult to his brother's competence and trust. Still,
with every passing minute, he grew more and more nervous.
Der Rennie had started biting his fingernails when Fairwind, having
concluded his prayer, stood up and put a hand on
the ELF's shoulder. He flinched in surprise and spun around,
causing Faerwin to step back, raising his empty hands and
saying something that sounded like an apology, forgive me. When
Dorenni showed a blank face of incomprehension, the cleric tried again,
Win Margan, he said, looking, I'm sure de Renni's eyebrows
came together in confusion.
Speaker 3: He means Win Morgam. He's trying to say thank you,
de Renni, supplied.
Speaker 2: Achillia, who had noticed the exchange.
Speaker 3: Fairwind, you should say as cary Kaska in this case.
Speaker 1: Es Cary Cosca.
Speaker 2: Oh, you welcome, managed Derennie, using his limited knowledge of
the common tongue. By now, Achillie had taught him no
more than three dozen words in phrases, but this happened
to be one of them. Fairwind smiled and asked Achillie
to translate, as he had something he wished to say
to all of them. Achillee agreed, and fair Wind began.
Speaker 1: I have realized why thus far I have failed. No, no,
please listen, this is no false modesty. I have failed
in several ways.
Speaker 2: Here. His voice trained a little as he recalled the
death of Harlowe.
Speaker 1: When I came here, I told myself that I was
doing so in service tost Hall, But that was not
really true. Asking the four of you to help me
lift the curse of moroc I knew I was putting
you at tremendous risk, but I justified it by telling
myself once again that it was all in the service
to the Lord of Light. He shifted his feet once again.
I was not being honest with myself. You see. In
my pride, I had cast myself as the hero. I
imagine myself being the one to lift the curse and
restore peace to this place. But no, I'm no hero.
Speaker 3: You were going to sacrifice yourself to the Queen's spirit,
won't you to save us?
Speaker 1: For once, I will be honest with myself, Aquilia, I
do not think I could have gone through with it
if you hadn't taken the choice away from me. You've
all faced terrible danger on my behalf. But Achillee, now
I see you were not sent here to help me.
A cleric of Siddall is meant to serve others.
Speaker 2: As he spoke, the little glow began to form in
the clerics medallion. Sherwin didn't seem to notice.
Speaker 1: It is my destiny to help you, not the other
way around.
Speaker 2: The medallion grew brighter still Cherwyin did not see it.
Speaker 1: Cord, please step forward.
Speaker 2: And give me your hands. Erwin groped in the air
in front of him blindly, until Chord stepped forward and
took the cleric's hands in his own wooden ones.
Speaker 1: Ah, there you are, may said, All's grace be upon you,
brave man of wood.
Speaker 2: The light from the medallion pulsed, and then a second
glow appeared in the constructs torso across the breadth of
the wound Mombi had given him. The new light pulsed
in time of the medallions like a twin heartbeat. Although
Chord's hurt had already started to heal, Achillie and do
Renny were amazed to see the wood grow back together
before their eyes. When the healing was done, two more
green shoots poked forth from the new growth.
Speaker 1: Thank said all, said Fawind, I have seen the light.
Speaker 2: Fairwind has just cast his first ever miracle. It is
the spell care light wounds, and it will heal Chord
for one D six plus one hit points. I'll make
the roll now I got a four, So that's five
hit points of healing, bringing Chord up to thirteen of
a possible fourteen. When Fairwin said the word light, an
actual one became visible from the cordor outside, accompanied by
the sound of footfalls. Tensie breathed de Renni in relief.
A few moments later, while Chord was still touching his
heeled wound and underment, the younger Elf walked through the archway,
holding a standing lamp in one hand and a long
wrapped bundle in the other. Do Renni stepped forward and
embraced him heart and stepped back. Taking in the objects
in his brother's hands, He quickly surmised where he had been.
Speaker 1: You did go off exploring alone.
Speaker 3: If I were not so glad to see you, I
would smack you tantyr.
Speaker 2: He didn't say any more, as his relief overruled his disapproval.
While Fairwin squinted against the light and Court continued to
touch his men to chests, ten Tier told Achillia and
Dorenni everything that had happened. Akilia translated as he went.
They heard about the oddly collapsed stairway, the suits of armor,
the vision of Prince Learhan and the reflection of the
magically transformed sword and the chest he had left unopened.
When Tender suggested they go back together and open it,
the others, as he had suspected, were not so keen
on the idea. I need to make a call here,
as both d and player. I have to decide if
the companions will elect to investigate the trapped chest. If
they did and they set it off, the results would
be absolutely devastating a TBK given the nature of the trap. Now,
I could roll for it, but I really dislike using
dice to see what player characters will do. I could
also email all the actors involved and ask them what
they thought was best. But at the end of the day,
this is a solo play podcast. I'm just going to
say that de Renni is still of a mind to
touch nothing, Achillie is smart enough to understand that the
collapsed stairwell was likely a sprung trap, and Ferwind would
argue that even if there was treasure to be found,
what safer place could there be to store it than
right here after they've left and replaced the ceiling tile.
It would be completely hidden, and it's not like they
want to carry a king's treasure all the way north
and back. It would be better to leave it here
and pick it up on the return trip. Faced with
this wall of sound judgment, I don't think Tantyer could
put out much of a counter argument. He knew when
he left that chest unopened that the others wouldn't be
eager to mess around with it. He knew, and he
left it alone anyway. In the end, this is my
justification for sparing the party. Ten tires been tested, and
his pass, His and his companion's safety is the reward.
Chapter twenty three, Part two, day sixteen, late evening mythic
even meaning Inspect information, Party status. The CHILLIEA nine of
nine hit points, Chord thirteen of fourteen, de Renni nine
of nine, ten Tier ten of ten, fair Wind ten
of eighteen. Spells available, Cord can cast and tangle, locate
plants and animals, and slow poison. An hour later, the
companions found themselves back in Fairwind's home, having put out
a small camp fire, climbed out of the crypt and
replaced the tile that had the entrance. By now the
rain outside had stopped and the fire in the hearth
had gone out, but the place still smelled wonderfully of
cooked duck and rendered fat. Fairwin sat on the floor,
naked from the waist up and wearing his robe half off,
with the arms tied around his waist. His bandage already
needed changing, but Deranni said that they should wait until
tomorrow to wash it out in the river before redressing
the wound. Despite the grievous hurt, the cleric seemed somehow
more vital than ever. His face was alight with interest
as he examined the sword tent Here had found. He
had carefully unwrapped it and was holding it in his lap,
apparently unafraid of any risk in touching it. Indeed, it
appeared safe to do so. As he ran his finger
tips over the two markings on the blade, his eyes
flicked up and he sucked his teeth, as though we
were trying to remember something, sair Wind, said Achillie. The
other snapped out of his reverie and smiled at the
half elf.
Speaker 3: Do you think that the curse has been lifted on
this place?
Speaker 2: Will you stay here? Continue to rebuild? This episode sure
has a lot of tough decisions to make. Does fair
Wind know anything about the marks on the blade? Does
he know if the curse on these lands has been lifted. Finally,
what will he do next? Let's tackle them in order.
A few episodes back, I mentioned that Fairwind would forego
an extra language in favor of having some deep knowledge
about Camertonian history. It's high time I actually used that skill.
Fairwind has an intelligence of thirteen, so he needs to
roll that or under to recognize the markings on the blade,
and the lower his role, the more information he'll have.
Here we go sixteen. I think he was racking his
brains when Achille asked the question, but sadly he just
cannot recall having seen these symbols before. They remain a mystery. Next,
the skill check to see if he thinks the curse
is being lifted. Here's the role A three. That's a
spread of ten given his target of thirteen, and I
think it means he is certain that it has not been.
These questions satisfy my current event, meaning inspect information. So
I suppose I need a new one. A pair of
D one hundreds gives me seventy three and ninety one.
That's propose weapons. Okay, m you know I do have
an idea for this, and it has nothing to do
with ten to his new sword, but it's a half
baked idea. I'll need to work on it a bit.
This brings us to the final question, and it cannot
be answered by a die roll. Will Fairwin stay here
or return to Zasha or will he offer to join
Achillia on her quest. That is a question only Dave Cooper,
the actor who voices him, can answer. I'd love to
have Fairwe join the PC's long term, but it's a
big ask for a voice actor, so I don't know.
I hope, So hang on while I send an email
to ask Dave if he's down to join the party. Okay,
I've got Dave's answer. In fact, he wrote me back
right away.
Speaker 1: I do not recognize these mockings from what you've told me.
I would tend to believe that this sword was not
enchanted until you found it and felt the spirit of
Leirhane pass by. I cannot say for certain tent tier,
but here take the sword. It was clearly meant for you.
Speaker 2: A chillier translated as Fairwe spoke and tend to receive
the sword in his hands with something akin to reverence
when he gripped the hilt despite the straight bladed design
that was so unlike the curved edge of his own weapon,
it felt good in his hands, It felt right.
Speaker 1: As to your question, Achillie, No, no, I do not
think the curse has been lifted. I realize now that
it was prideful and foolish to have ever thought that
I could be the one to do that. No, no,
I am neither worthy nor.
Speaker 2: Ready a Chillia nodded at Fairwind, but she still wanted
to know.
Speaker 3: Then, what do you intend to do now?
Speaker 2: Fairwind looked wistfully around his poor little dwelling, and then
laughed under his breath, as if finally understanding a joke
long after having heard it.
Speaker 1: Ah, I know now that I am not the hero
of some great story. My proper purpose is to serve,
and I was hoping that I could be of service
well to you. Would you allow me to join you
on your quest and accept whatever aid I can offer?
Speaker 2: The Killia was touched and also surprised, but she smiled
broadly as she translated the cleric's proposal to the others.
After each of them had spoke in their opinion, she
turned back to Fairwind and.
Speaker 3: Said, it would be our to have you along, brother
sail Wind, thanks very much for listening to Tale of
the mandicor stick around after these credits for a special announcement.
Speaker 2: Now, if you would like to help the support Tale
of the Manticore, there are lots of ways to do so.
You could 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,
for example the brand new ninety nine cent one Shot
in the Dark Expansion Module with a free Expansion Module
maker kit. You can also buy a Tale of the
Manticore t shirt at www Dot bar art stus store. Finally,
you can rate or review the show on your podcast
or a choice. I am ever grateful for all of
your supportion this time for a change, I'd like to
share a couple of reviews from the original core rules
for One Shot in the Dark. John Wrights five stars
brilliantly fine and easy to play if you're looking for
a fun little dungeon crawler with fun combat by this
and Brent Wrights five stars, absolutely amazing. I started playing
D and D when Moldvey had just come out, and
this brings back those vibes, John and Brent, thank you
very much for those kind reviews and for helping make
Unshot in the Dark the success. For those curious to
learn a bit more about Tale of the Mantagor, I
keep it blog where I post all kinds of show
and RBG related stuff like art, maps, tables, crafts, and
show notes. You can find it at Tale of Themanticore
dot blogspot dot com. To get in touch with me,
I'm at Manticore, Tale on x, Tale of Theemanticor dot
Bluesky dot Social, Tale of the Mandicre podcast on Instagram,
or Tale of Themanticre at gmail dot com. So get
in touch. I would love to hear from you. The
adventure will continue on the next episode of Tale of
the Manticor the story where well wait a minute, I'm
not quite done. Hey, thanks for sticking around this long.
I'm glad you did because I have some fun news
to share. So I wanted to do something special to
celebrate Tale of the Manticre's fifth year podcast diversary, and
so I created an official expansion to my rules ultra
light game one Shot in the Dark. Since its release,
a number of people have contacted me with their own
expansions and ideas, and I always thought these are really cool.
One day I'll make one too. I even knew what
the Angle would be, an all dwarf game that picks
up the Cursed Dwarf and Hold storyline from season one.
In this module, you use the one Shot in the
Dark rules to lead an expedition to find out what
happened there, and ultimately face off against Barock iron Skin,
the accursed Usurper. Of course, you don't need to know
anything about that plot line or season to play the
expansion and is more. In making the expansion module, I
realized there was a kind of puzzle like element to
the game designed itself, and thought, hmm, one day I
should make a guide that shows people how they can
create their own expansion. Of course, one day became actually
right now, and result both products are now complete and
available to download on drive through RPG at a buck fifty.
The original game is priced to be accessible to everyone,
the module is cheaper still, and the maker kit is free.
Why not give it a go and see what it's
all about. If you do, I hope you enjoy it. Okay,
let me try this part again. The adventure will continue
on the next episode of Tale of the Manticor. It's
the story where chaos rolls.