Part Man. Part Machine. All Cop

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We didn't touch them, but they're going to be on our Patreon for $1. Now let's hear from word from our sponsors, and then we'll get ready for a brand new episode. Don't go anywhere, guys. We'll be right back. Let's do that thing where we go around the table and introduce ourselves. I'm Chase. I'm the Dungeon Master going around the table starting with Zach. What's up? My name is Zach, and I play Pax Tron. I love it. Love it so much. Whoever the genius was on Discord that suggested that, take a victory lap. Tag us all, take a victory lap. Do it. You won the vote.

And Bre. Hi, I'm Breanna Marie, and I play Gwen Lothius, the Tathleen Steel Soul. And Rob. Hey, I'm Rob. I play Geolophane, Elf Warlock. And Kelsey. Kelsey, and I play Calypso Lovely, Half Elf Bard. And pregnant for probably the last recording. I hope. Guys, OK, if you all clap really hard and believe, she'll give birth right now during this show. I guarantee it. It is a promise. By the time this episode is posted, I'm no longer pregnant. If we reach $6,000 on Patreon-- [LAUGHTER] We'll let Jamie give birth. We'll-- [LAUGHTER] Until then, her legs remain tied. [LAUGHTER] Jamie.

Hi, I'm Jamie. I play Bolothius, the Tiefling Paladin. When we last left off, you got your party member back. Paxton's back. It's just a different-- it's just a new rapper. That's all. Like, that's cool. You-- you know, you have some things to sort out. There's going to be an adjustment period. But I've been thinking about this a lot. So for those of you out of the loop, and maybe this is your first time listening, I don't know why you'd start with episode 39 or whatever, but, you know, thank you. Welcome. So Paxton died as a human. His consciousness was put into a warforged body, his soul.

Now, this body is essentially mostly all metal. I can't imagine what that feels like. I've never had a limb replaced. I've never had anything like that. But like, even to the point now where we have technology where, you know, there are robotic limbs that are being tested and stuff like that, you can't feel anything with them, though. So just imagine having one arm that wasn't your organic arm that you were born with. And you can't judge pressure or feel tactile sensations. What's it got to be like for your whole body to just be that? Like, there's got to be a mental breaking point for people, right?

Like, there's got to be some kind of, like, almost like the body rejects you, like a bad organ, something like that. How would Paxton be dealing with this? Like, those first few minutes, like, walking around, you know, just being. There would be a lot of silence. I assume, if you're saying this is within the first minutes, we're still in the laboratory underground. So he's just walking around trying to get a feel for it. It's almost like a drunk driver. Like, with his movements, he's like taking the test almost, like taking step by step, trying to lean and balance.

But it's not registering the same way it used to with his human brain, with all the circulations and whatnot. And all the breathing, you forget how much you breathe as a human. That's all over with now. He's just moving. He's just-- it's almost like being in a different plane in your mind. You kind of control your movement with your thoughts, I assume. You know, it's more about thinking about what you're going to do and getting used to that feeling than actually feeling things with the sensations in your body. Because you lose touch as much. So you're much more conscious of what you have to do.

Like, it's not-- You're more focused in on what you can control. Like, what's in front of you, what is in the area, not so much about what's going on with your body. Because you know that's fine. You know you don't have to worry about anything going on with you. So you're more concerned about the outside world. That's where he's starting to head. He's starting to realize things around him more than his actual body. So he's going to kind of go up to people like Diolo and kind of touch them on the shoulders and kind of get a feel for another person and just kind of experiment almost childlike with basic things, like moving and touching again.

He's just-- it's really in silence. It's almost a serene kind of patience for anybody that's watching. What about everyone else? Like, what-- there's got to be kind of a moment where it's like, oh, he's back. That's great. Like, he's-- so he's speaking to you. He's cognizant. He's able to hold a conversation. And then obviously, this is-- I mean, the consequences of this, I guess? Consequences might be a tough way of putting it. But there's a lot of baggage that comes with this. We hope you like it. At least we hope you don't hate it. You weren't here to have input, so we just kind of had to make a call.

He'll kind of like stonily turn your way and kind of do his best notion as a nod and just kind of linger for a bit. Like, after he nods, he just kind of stares at you, at your direction. You don't really know. But then he just kind of turns away. Do you have a preference on what you'd like us to do with your body? And Beau's going to sort of gesture over towards Paxton's limp carcass. Probably looks awful, doesn't it? Looks a little worse for wear, a little fried. Yeah, the electricity didn't help. He's going to-- I can't smell it, huh? Yeah. A little chicken smell in there.

Kelsey, you're coming in quiet. Sorry, I was leaning back in my chair. But yeah, you can probably smell body massaged-ness. On a scale of 1 to 10, let's see how bad that is. First dice for all the night, it's a 5. It's not great. It's not great. So-- It's about what you expect. I imagine the hair would be the worst part, right? Like, burnt hairs are awful. Yeah, you can still hear the sizzle. Oh, man. It's only been a few minutes. So Fashir, by the way, is overjoyed. Like, almost like, yeah! Like, just kind of like-- Like he scored a touchdown. Oh, yeah. Right? Like, it's like, do you have any idea how difficult that is?

Like, just very-- like, he's a little hunched over guy, and just like, he's like-- like that. Like, look at that. How many people in this call have seen the third Shrek movie? I think it's the third one. Or the second one, with King Arthur and Merlin? I think I've seen it. It was a very long time ago. Fashir gives me Merlin names from the Shrek movie. Gives me Merlin vibes from the animated Disney, like the-- Sword in a Stone? Yeah. The version in Shrek is even more that. He's wearing pajamas, and he does not have his shit together. And I feel the same way about-- but like, very, very smart.

Just-- that's the vibe. Fashir would go up to Paxtron and just kind of like, do some basic tests. Like, all right, follow my finger. Ah, ah-ha. Like, just making sure you can-- Yeah. And he's going to try and kind of push you gently to make sure that you can balance yourself and-- how is that? As he's being pushed, he's just going to respond. It seems functional. Thank you for your work. Oh, my pleasure. Seriously, it's the best thing I've done in quite a while. He's like-- he's like getting down, like he's inspecting a car almost. Like, he'll lift an arm up and say, all right, all right.

And Paxton will let him do all that stuff, and he's going to say, if something were to happen to this vessel, is it guaranteed I can come back to you? Oh, well, now there's a guarantee. But if you mean fix it up, yes, I can do some augmentations. Gender, for instance, I didn't know if you had a preference for any bits and bobs. We can add and take away things if you see fit, or whatever. Oh, he has a penis. That's nice. That was in character. OK. Well, now you have to say that as the wizard. There's no gender right now, to be clear. It's just-- there's no-- Kendall, got it.

It's blank slate, like whatever. Yula Rasa, the world is your oyster. Yeah, you can just sit and ask-- If you feel like having an oyster. Fits the mood, you know. Yeah, man. Dammit, Breeze. Paxtron will just say, I care not for what I am. Just refer to me in my old image. I think I want to be called Paxtron instead, if I can. Well, yeah, sure, that's fine. I really didn't know you that well beforehand, so it's all new to me. Well, there's lots of things to get used to, and there's some things I should brief you on later. But right now, enjoy the town. Go celebrate.

Go hit a bar or something. Now, behind us, there's still like an army of unused warforged, right? There sure are, yes. Then on his way out, Paxtron will just say to him one last thing. It seems your operation was successful. I do believe we should make good use of all these other vessels one day soon. And he'll just walk away. We haven't talked about that one yet. So this is our head in the direction that I'm digging. This is interesting. I like it. Kelsey, don't we need to talk about it? Just trust the programming. Just trust the programming. Just trust the program.

One of the odds a big project like this is going to ship with bugs. I mean, really, it's... Has anyone seen iRobot? -Really? -Everyone loved the first PSP. Giolo will go up to Fishear. -Fishear. -Aah! He almost had it. Yeah, yeah. Giolo will go up to Fishear and say, "Hey, thank you again. And I meant everything I said before you did it, too. If there's anything we can do for you, I know this is -- It's not nothing, you know, to kind of take over your projects like this. You know, you didn't plan on Paxton getting that body. So I know we owe you one." Look, like I said, it's the best thing I've done in a while.

If I could make up for some of the loss, I'm happy. So just have some patience with your friend, he might say, and do some things that are a little wonky. But the bugs will work themselves out in time, I'm sure. Giolo nods at that. -Should -- -Oh, go ahead, yeah. Should he come back to see you at regular intervals to make sure everything's working right? The maintenance, I guess? Well, he should be, mechanically speaking, he should be good for, oh, probably 10,000 miles or 100 years, whichever comes first. I was making that joke. I was making it in the chat.

And what happens if he gets injured? Well, that is a problem. -Or broken? Well, I treat it like an injury. It's an extension of his body, so it's just like if you were to break an arm or a leg. It's just as important. Now, he might not be in pain, so to speak, but that could be even more dangerous because when a person like you and me break something, we stop. It's an urgency. We have to take care of it. Paxtron might just keep going, just not think about it, just plow ahead until it gets too dire. So keep an eye on him, come back in a day or so just to check in, make sure everything's fine, and then you should be on your way.

-Will Healy magic and stuff still work on him the same way, or...? -Oh, no, no, no. It's slightly different, but you're not mending bones. You can definitely fix some things, but I could put some things together to help, if that would help. It's like looking around his workbench for like... -It's probably good for him to have some stuff on hand, given our track record. -I'll put a little manual together. -I'll put it into his love box. -I'm gonna need that. -Don't void the warrant, either. Yeah, just give me a day or so, and I'll have everything you need.

In the meantime, again, just be patient. Treat him like it was any other day. -Okay, so I guess we need to have that talk now about whether to do the other thing that Fashir had proposed, and Giollo just kind of gestures to the inanimate warforged bodies. -Oh. -We should not be the ones making any sort of decision like this, first of all. -I should warn you. Slight oversight on my part, but your friend's coming back in a day or so. Anyway, I was going to brief him on the rest of this. He is mentally tied to all of these robots. -Oh, that's terrifying. -It's not -- I don't think he knows that.

It's like flexing a muscle. It would take time to train him on how to use that unless he was incredibly intelligent, but -- [ Laughter ] -Love it! -I got a scale of 1 to 20. He'd have to be more 20. [ Laughter ] -He'd have to have at least a 20. -We're talking plus-five bonus territory. -The real hinge is he has to have under a 3 and a charisma stack or something. [ Laughter ] -And is there a failsafe there, or some way to disconnect it in case -- -Well, if you -- If the worst case, if you severed the tie to the rest of the androids here, then there'd be nothing to command it with.

So you'd have to kill your friend. But this is -- -What? -This is crazy one-in-a-million-chance territory, we're talking here. -Who were you originally planning to put in that body? -Well... [ Sighs ] My original plan was if... Steven were to be cut down, that he would have a second chance. He had such a deep tie to the city. He wanted to see it grow and prosper, and honestly, I feared the worst, which I was right to do, but he... he didn't want any part. -I see. -I'm sure your friend's just as clear-headed, though. -Mmm... [ Chuckles ] -Well, if worse comes to worse, and you're truly uncomfortable with the decision, you could just take the module out of his skull.

-It... It's just... It's just a thing that you put in there and... -Well, it's a bit more complicated than that, but yes, it's in there. -Could you do that with other things, like give him more capabilities or powers or something? -Oh, he's completely modular, yes. -[ Laughs ] -Sorry, I just... Just imagine just, like, taking out, like, things out of his head and putting them in depending on the situation. -I also like that this whole conversation is happening in front of Paxton. -Yeah, I was gonna say -- -He left! -Oh, he did leave? -Oh, he did leave? -He did the robot walk out.

-Yeah! -Oh, okay, cool. -He did seven ass-swish and walked away, like he... Like, by the way, everyone out there, we rolled for Paxton's butt solid seven out of ten. -It's nice. -Good work, doc. -Very solid because it's metal. -Yeah, there was a tension paid to molding that ass back. -You could bounce a quarter off that thing. -[ Laughs ] -We learned some things about Fashir. -Yeah, you're making an R8, Stevens. -[ Grunts ] -This second chance is gonna be so much better. -[ Laughs ] -Look, I like to imagine that Stephen lacked in the ass department of life.

-Yeah, yeah, I was gonna say. -He's like, "Fashir." -He just wanted to help him out, like... -You're gonna come back. -[ Chuckles ] -Gonna get back. -That's nice. That's good. -Okay, well, all right. This is a lot to take in. I... -Maybe... -We'll be back in a day or so. -Maybe Calypso was alluding to this, but, um, are we, uh... Are we qualified to make the call on whether or not we spin these guys up anymore? -No! -Do we -- I mean, do we even -- Do we want to just turn this back over to the city and say, "You're better off making this call yourself"? -I really don't think we were qualified even before.

-I think anyone's qualified. -Yeah, there's some evidence to that effect, yes. -Who in this city do you trust? -And even if there's someone that we trust now to do it, if that power continues to be handed down eventually, like, in however many years, someone who's less than trustworthy is gonna have it, and it's... -But then, also, just counterpoint for -- To be fair, the alternative is letting the city be consumed in a crime wave. -But... -I'm just -- I'm just saying we have to -- we have to weigh -- -That is making a large assumption on a lot of things.

-Gwen's gonna raise her hand. -So is presuming that this thing's gonna go wrong. I mean, I'm not saying yes, but I'm not -- I just -- I want to give it a fair shake. -Gwen's gonna -- Like, she has her hand up, and then once everyone quiets, she'll be like, "If I were to trust anyone in the city, it would probably be Paxton." And he's connected to it. I don't know. I think maybe we should ask him. She's not gonna call him Paxton, by the way. She doesn't want to. -Yeah. -Like, that can be a whole thing if he really doesn't like it, but she's gonna keep his humanity.

-Yeah, Colossal Crash, like, squint a little bit at Gwen. I mean, he doesn't exactly have the best track record when it comes to making decisions. -But he's always tried to do the right thing. Like, every decision he's made has been well-meaning, which I can't say for most of the houses. Can you? -It kind of shrugs, and, I mean, that's true. He's a person, and he has good intentions at heart, but, I mean, I don't know if -- I certainly wouldn't want that kind of power in case I made a mistake for it to go that horribly wrong. Ugh. -Isn't it good to feel that way, though?

-Sorry. -That's good. -Fishir's gonna raise his hand. If I may. [ Clears throat ] Like I was telling Giolo before all of this, I don't think the use of these automatons should be one person's decision at all, and it was Steven's vision to train you all enough to be under your own judgment. Now, I'll be the first to admit that has not gone well thus far. -[ Chuckles ] -Two of you have died, but two of you have come back. That's better odds than most get. But haven't you all learned quite a bit in the last several weeks, if only what not to do? -That's -- I feel like we were saying that before we got Paxton killed.

-Well, I -- I, for one, think that you might be able to do some good if... the instance of you trying to shut down drug dealers, I believe it was. If you had 30 or 40 of these beings backing you up, that probably would have gone quite differently. I've got to be honest. I'm out of tricks. I got nothing to bring anyone back, so... you're all on your last strike. But you're really putting too much of a -- a grim outlook on all of this. Go! Have a drink! This is time for celebrate. I'm having a drink. -He literally can't drink anymore. -Well, you can. -Being a downer, Calypso.

-It feels a bit insensitive is all. -Then oil him. -That sounds sexual. -Yeah. -Don't -- Look, there's literally no bits or bobs. Nothing there. -Why did you make his ass look so good? -I mean, whatever gender he decides, or if any, like he needs a good ass. -That's fair. -This here's an ass man. -I feel like that was a question you just blurted, like, after, like, a quick silence. "Why'd you make his ass so big?" -'Cause it's something everyone noticed. -Yeah, everyone is thinking that means higher time. -Everyone's side-dying. It's like, "But that ass, though, right?

Like, okay." -Gwen says what other people think. That's her role in the group. -Oh, okay. -I'm with Fashir. I think we should go get a drink. -Yeah, that's -- It's been a very long period of time. -So Paxton did go somewhere when he walked out. -Yeah, and I think Bo probably would've followed him out. I don't think she wants him alone right now. -Aw. -So where did Paxton go? -Well, he simply -- He absolutely simple-minded, like, almost like a robot with one task, just straight-lined, as calmly as possible, walked to his old, disheveled apartment. That was definitely an area that got trampled, for sure.

Everything's all destroyed and whatnot. He goes in there, and he just wants to find one of his old law books that he used to read. -Oh, man. -Then he's gonna go back to the party. -Now we finally know where your uncle fucking was. -[ Chuckles ] -Could you do me a favor? Give me a -- -He might be dead. -He might -- Who knows? -I feel like Bo mumbled that under her breath as they're walking. This is where it fucking was, goddamn it. -The book is almost pristine, by the way. It was just buried under a bunch of stuff. -That's fine. I could've still read it. Just would've minted the pages with my robotic fingers, just, you know, just reprint it right there.

-Oh, man. Did anyone watch "Short Circuit"? Like, "Johnny Five," like, how he used to read really fast? I'm super old. It's fine. -[ Laughs ] -There was a white guy who played an Indian guy. Sorry. No, never mind. Sorry. Sorry. -But he's basically almost speed reading. -So he's just ripping through it. -As he's walking back, like, a weird multitask now, like, you know, only a robot could accomplish. As he's walking back. -Got that high end, man. Might as well use it. -Yeah. Bo's gonna ask Paxton as he's, like, speed reading through this book. "How are you doing, Paxton?

Are you all right? This is a big transition." -Almost, uh, seemsly, as he's flipping the pages and still walking, he's going to say, "I believe I am..." He's gonna flip the page to another term of the book, as you say, "adjusting to my current mental status." -Well, if there's anything that I can do to help with that adjustment, please let me know. -"Do you believe you can cope with my current image?" -Well, of course you're still the Paxtron now. You're still the man that I once knew. -I'm not so sure. I feel, if you can call it, feeling different, changed, I used to base decisions off a feeling that is so unfamiliar now.

It was called faith. You, out of everyone, must remember it, right? Faith. -Yes, I still have a great deal of it. I believe mine was handed in for something different, something far more individual, but I believe I am coping. -Bo is a little taken aback, just because Paxton was such a faith-driven man and hearing that Paxtron doesn't feel that anymore sort of takes her aback a bit. And she's gonna put her hand on Paxtron's -- I'll get it -- his shoulder and say, "I think coping through this is probably the only way you're going to find out who you're meant to be.

Whether it's that person from before or someone completely new, you're still you at your core." -That I believe, as well. I have ideas for the city. I can already understand. I have more time for rational thoughts and clear-minded thinking. I feel I must take advantage of every moment to help. I think I can finally help. -She's gonna give a little pat onto his shoulder. "See, that sounds like Paxton to me." Wanting to help a true visionary for Brightport and is going to give a smirk over towards him. -You unfortunately do not feel any reciprocation whatsoever.

It's almost like you're smiling at a cold dinner plate. -[ Laughs ] Okay. Not even a zoo animals one? Just like a -- -No decoration whatsoever. -No. Nothing. -White. Ceramic. -That does not deter her at all. -You know, it doesn't look like he's deterring at all. He's just blank as we're walking back. -So, you got the evening, but, like, you -- You had a rough day yesterday, so getting rest, I don't think would be looked down upon by anybody, but, like, I don't know if any of you are in a celebrating mood. I don't know if -- Basically, what's the mindset here?

-I mean, Giollo -- If people want to, like, convene and socialize and talk things out, Giollo's up for that. He, you know, he knows that we've got a big decision ahead of us if we have any input on the Warforged thing, so he's kind of just -- He's kind of, like, feeling out the party to see if anyone wants to actually, like, hang out, talk, drink, whatever, you know, pow-wow somewhere. -I think Wen would probably be down for a drink. Like, not super elated, but, like, she feels a lot better. So, like, she's down to hang out. Like, you know. -Hmm. -And Paxton will go without fuss.

-Oh, you're like the straight-edge kid in every group. I was that for a while. Then I found Mudslide. [ Laughter ] -It's called adult chocolate milk. -Yes. No, adult chalky milk. You got to say it right. Chalky milk. -I guess that leaves Calypso. Is Calypso coming? -Yeah, Calypso is coming. I mean, they're just, like, definitely not in a celebrating mood. Like, they're just -- They'll just feel, like, tired and, like, worn out. As I mean, like, yeah, like, sleep. Everyone got sleep, but, I mean, it hasn't been that long, like, since, like, the riot even. Like, it has really been, like, barely a full day since that and then all of this.

-The failed drug bust. -It's just a lot. -Yeah. No, I didn't think this was gonna be a happy drink. -Yeah, yeah. I mean, they will accompany more just so they're not, like, just brooding by themselves somewhere. They're not the kind of person to do that, but, yeah. -Okay. So, I think we probably try to find somewhere, like, semi-quiet to drink and talk about this. Like, it's kind of a, like, you know, we don't want a lot of people overhearing us, and I think, like, it's very much a, "We've been through some stuff together. Let's drink it off," not, "Let's, like, let's, like, ah, let's pretend nothing bad happened" kind of thing.

It's much more of a, like, "Hey, we --" -Look, Jason and I have those nights a lot, like... -Oh. -So, you're not heading to the Rusty Nipple, I take it. You're heading to more, like, a safe haven type thing. You just want a nice, calm drink. -Yeah. Somewhere where we would definitely not run into the Iron Knuckle boys. -Well, then... -That would suck. -That would suck. -Right? -But, yeah, yeah, yeah. We can go down by the docks, but the northern docks. Let's say -- let's roll to see how populated the place is this evening. All right. So, it's lightly crowded. It's a 6 out of 10, right?

There's still places to sit, but there might be a couple of minutes for your drink order type of thing, but they're -- it's just populated enough so that you know that people aren't listening to you. -That's really nice. -Yeah. -Yeah, I mean, it's that kind of buzz, where you don't have to shout to hear each other, but it's like, they got their own thing. They're playing darts or whatever. They're fine. Like, you know? -Like, it's like a 6 p.m. at a Friendly's. Like... -Yeah. -Not a Denny's. A Friendly's. -Yeah. Like, a lot of drunk businessmen. -All right. So, Gwen's gonna order something strong.

-How strong? -On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd say a 7. Or even an 8. She's -- here's the thing. Like, Brianna knows her limits. Gwen refuses to admit she has limits. So... -Can -- -You know what? The strongest drink someone else gets, she'd get one higher than that. That's... -How well is Gwen's past with handling liquor? Because I feel like Bo would know that. -Let's find out. I'm gonna roll a D10. She's been okay. She's -- she handles her liquor okay. I bet she just falls asleep. -Okay. -So, no sitting on the floor of a crowded convention hall, nothing like that? -Oh, no, she definitely sits on the floor.

-Okay, cool. -She definitely sits on the floor. -Oh, boy. -I still don't understand why that was such a big deal. I still -- like, I still do it today. -There's tens of thousands of people there. At the very least, you could get trampled. -I was -- I was with my friends. They wouldn't let me get trampled. -I don't want it to be my responsibility when you get trampled. -Well -- -Should've thought that before becoming friends with me. -Will Bo will still give Gwen a sidewards glance and order a house red. -Ooh, classy. -Class, yeah. -Yes, I didn't even know what that meant for a second.

I thought it was a tea drinkable. And then I realized when everyone said classy, it's like, "Oh, wine! Right, right, right." -Yeah, Jill orders something hard, but he just -- he's sipping at it. He's not just plowing him down. He just -- he wants a little something to, like, sip between conversation points. So he's -- he's paced -- it's hard, but he's paced himself. -Okay. -Do Warforged drink anything? -They can, but they don't feel anything from it. However, there are things they can do magically to alter perception. -Ooh. LSD. Let's go get -- -Yeah. -Shrooms, on the other hand, Warforged are really into shrooms.

-But maybe -- maybe that's not a night one thing. Maybe that's, like -- -For some reason, you just need a really strong magnet. You just snap it on their forehead. [ Laughter ] -Oh, no. Oh. Oh, my gosh. That got me. Scramble his hard drive. That's how they do it. [ Laughter ] -So, Pax -- Pax Strong is gonna sit there and just slam down his law book and just read and look at people at the same time. -Just back and forth. -So -- -Oh, back and forth. I was like, "Wait. Does one eye go down and the other one --" -He can do that, as well. -It's like a pimpin'. -It's jarring, but he can do it.

-Oh, does his face have, like, robot gecko eyes? Like, just -- -Oh, my gosh. That needs to be part of your design. Yeah. Like the bulbous eyes that can point in different directions. -Yeah, like a chameleon. -That would be iconic. -That would really benefit the two charisma. -I don't know about bulbous, but, like, you know, they can -- -He needs to look kind of alien. -He can. -I'm sorry. I'm totally -- I'm totally, like, workshopping Pax Strong in my head now. -[ Laughs ] -I won't stop you from getting what you want, but I just want you to know I'm taking him to a place.

-In my head. -In my head canon. -I would probably look over to the book and be like, "What are you reading?" -He is going to, without turning, say -- the complete laws and jurisdictions of Brightport. -Ah. -All of them? -Yes. It is what you call a classic. -Oh, honey. -Just keep reading. -Where did you get that from? Is that just something you carried on your -- the previous body? -Yes. This is from my previous iteration. -Ah. Well, good to know it's not a new eccentricity. That's... Good for you. -The laws are something I've always cared about. It is something personal to my identity.

-Probably kind of comforting in its own way, huh? -Yes. -Jello just kind of nods and takes another sip. -He's very curt, yes. He's very curt, sends his end very quickly. There's not much explanation going on. -Um... I think Gwen would be like, "Are you looking for something in particular or just refreshing?" -I have no need to refresh. This is the equivalent of enjoyment. -Do you have them all memorized? -I believe so. -She's gonna look, like, actually, like, really impressed. Like, "Damn." And she'll keep drinking her drink, and then, "Does it say anything about robot armies taking over the city?" Like, playfully, she's gonna look over at Calypso and, like, give a wink, like, "Uh-huh.

Funny pics." -Calypso does laugh a little at that. -He's going to answer, "That has not been partitioned in Parliament, but if you had an inquiry..." He's gonna keep going on. He's gonna prattle on about how you could partition for that to be a wall because he knows how to do that. -Good. Good. -He's gonna sing the "I'm a Bill" song for "Starthust Rock." -Well, I guess we don't -- -"On Capitol Hill." -We don't need to worry about you inspiring any more uprisings with your speeches, so that's a good thing. -He's saying he's not charismatic anymore. -Is that what you're implying?

-I mean, if anything, it's the opposite now. It's put people to sleep. It's a great anti-riot tool. -We had some drinks, and a bartender at one point -- Let me ask a question, Bree. Would Gwen look despondent in any way, like it's been a rough day or something like that? Because the way you walked in, it sounded like, "I want --" pardon the phrasing -- "I want the hardest thing you can put in me," and then you went to the bar. -Mm-hmm. You know what? Let me roll for it because I could see her going either way. -Sure. -Um... Oh, so, yeah, you can -- She's as bad at hiding her emotions as I am, and, like -- -Oh, no.

-Especially -- Especially when no one's looking, like, when she approached the bar. She'll probably look fairly despondent. She's putting on a brave face for the actual group, but, like, as she ordered, she probably looked like, "Oh, just give me the fuck." Like... And... So, okay. So... There's a guy who's working the bar here. -Uh-oh. -What is that? Oh. -[ Laughs ] -I literally just said there's a guy. Jeez. -[ Laughs ] -Sexist? -Kelsey is so afraid of getting hit. -Yes, she is. [ Laughs ] -In this room. It's like... -You're so terror-- You're making them afraid of D&D wholesale.

Like, the idea of throwing a die is... traumatizing. -So an NPC is present. Oh, shit. [ Laughter ] -We're gonna have to do exposure therapy. It's gonna be a long process. -I'm just -- You know what? Here's what we're gonna do. Next campaign, you're all puppy dogs and kittens. That's what we're doing. -Oh, no. That'll be exercise when we die. -I don't know what to do for you, Kels. I'm sure -- [ Laughter ] -So... Um... There's a guy named Greg. Uh, and Greg's gonna kind of lean over and -- and -- and look at Gwen. Oh, hell, are you okay? -She'll just, like -- What does he look like?

Like... First of all, he seems, like, concerned. He doesn't seem, like, weird. -No. Again, literally just that he's a guy. -Yeah. -No. So, just -- He -- So, he's, like, a typical bartender, like, cleaning a glass, something like that, 'cause he's trying to keep up with patrons and stuff. Um, he's got dirty blond hair that kind of comes down -- It's kind of swept over to one side. It's a little bit long. Uh, probably comes down to just below shoulder. Uh, he's wearing these, uh, these tiny glasses. Um, and you can tell he's batting back and forth between, like, using, like, his regular vision and then, like, looking through that to read something far away, so, like, his -- -Aw, I love him.

-Yeah. So -- But, like, he's -- he's more -- he -- not pity, but he's, like, he feels sorry. It's like, "Man, you've had a rough one. I thought..." -Yeah. -Yeah. -And she would say that. She's like, "It's just -- it's been a really rough day." -Well, okay. Well, I'll tell you what. First round for you on the house. What do you want? Huh? Um, hmm. What does she want? Quick question. Are you wearing your -- your -- your uniform? I think we took that off. I -- I could be wrong, but I'm fairly certain she's just in her street clothes. Okay. I don't -- just speaking for Giello, I don't think he'd want to look on the clock while we're sorting this out.

-Yeah. -That's kind of what I -- Yeah, I didn't know if that was, like -- yeah, okay. So, okay. You're all -- you're keeping it -- keeping it on the DL. Got it. I'm gonna crack open my copy of Adventurer's Guide to Theria Volume 1 Alara to see the various strengths. That's the Adventurer's Guide to Theria Volume 1 Alara, which is available now on Amazon and wherever fun RPG books can be found. Um... Don't forget about Kickstarter coming in August. I remember if there's -- is there a Volume 2? You said Volume 1, so I'm just gonna -- There is a Vol -- Jamie, you're right.

Um, I was actually gonna get it for -- for your kid, as a -- as -- as, you know, so, um... Welcome to Earth, Pierce. Try not to read about sloth fever until you're eight. You got a lot of catching up to do. Um, but yeah, there's a -- there's a Volume 2. It's coming out -- it's coming out next year, but you can back to Kickstarter on August 28th. And you can see us at, uh, DrakonCon. We'll be giving out coupons and stuff like that for the old book. It's, you know, it's -- it's really just the best time to back the project. She would probably order... a... a Skull Splitter!

Or a Herrera Cane. Okay. So you're kinda like dipping your toe -- like, you -- you want -- you want a nice stiff shot, but it's not like you're trying to kill yourself. Yeah, no, she's not gonna get, like, the murderer. Yeah, I mean, the murderer is a lot. Um... Could you do me a favor? Yes. Uh, could you give me a Perception check, please? I can. Uh, probably. Let's see, we go into Skills here, and then we roll Perception. I'm trained. Doesn't matter. Nah, no. Honestly, I think the only thing that would stand out is the top shelf liquor, like the stuff -- like the -- the most expensive, strong stuff up there.

There's, like, fancy -- you know, the really fancy bottles and stuff like that. There's different kind of, like, um, like, uh, colored glassware and stuff like that. And, like, um, these big decorative -- there's one that looks like it's blown glass that's been twisted, and, like, it's just stuff that's sittin' up there. Uh, so, yeah, he'd probably -- he'd probably set you up with a hurricane. That's a -- that's a Friday night beverage. That's a "Hey, I'm looking to have fun on the weekend." You know, that's like a... yeah. Yeah. Before she leaves, she'll be like, "I like your glasses." And then... 'Cause she does.

She thinks they're nice. Uh, he'd be -- like, it'd be like a thing where it's like, "What glass? Oh, these! Yeah!" 'Cause he's -- he tries -- like, okay, he's a little proud and he tries not to use them, but... Aww. His -- his far-sighted vision is godawful, so, like, he's got it like, "Uh, yeah, thanks. Uh, if -- if you need anything else, let me know." He'd still, like, bronad, and then... I -- like, I assume she'll probably have, like, two of these, maybe three, depending on how late we go. Um... You could always roll for it. Yeah. So... yeah, that's...

Um, so I guess, back at the -- back at the table, um, Giollo will turn his -- turn his eyes to Calypso, but talking loud enough so the whole table can hear. I, uh, I empathize with not wanting to make the call about, um, you know, the, uh -- and that he, like, makes robot motions briefly with his arms. Um... But here's the thing. If we don't make a decision, somebody's gonna, right? We -- right now, we have the chance to put the decision to our -- I don't want to say ethics, but ethics. You know? We -- we have -- if we don't make the call and make it with our input, we are giving up control over whose input the call is made with.

Do you see what I'm saying? Like, something -- Yeah, because we don't deserve to have control over a decision like this. What exactly have we done to earn any kind of responsibility or authority like that? I mean, nothing, but do you want to -- Exactly. But do you just want -- do you just want to let it go to whoever? Do you at least want to have input on -- And should the rest of the city just let it go to us, people who have done nothing but bad things to them? I don't see why we should think so much about our own decision-making, that -- thinking that our choice about this is gonna have any kind of importance over anyone else, especially someone that actually knows anything about leadership or whatever.

Do you have a suggestion? Do you -- do you have someone in mind? No, absolutely not, because that's not my place. That's not our place. We don't get to go out and fail at a bunch of things and then decide who's in charge of all of Brightport. That's -- I get that it's enormous. I get that there's a ton riding on it and we don't have a good track record. But we just step away and it goes to whoever has the will to do it. And in my experience, the will more often belongs to bad and dangerous people than good people. That's all I'm saying. I -- I'm not saying you're not making -- As long as those robots exist, someone with the will and power at some point is going to come along and make use of them, whether for good or ill.

That's just how things work. So are you suggesting we wash our hands of it? I don't know what I'm suggesting. That's -- I'm suggesting -- We either do something or we do nothing. Those are the two options. If you have an idea for what we should do, I'm all ears. Who are you directing that at? Calypso. No, I don't know. Do you have a firm idea? Who are you directing that at? And everyone. Okay. The joys of roleplaying over voice chat. Yeah. Gwen would take a sip of her drink and be like, I want to do something or else all of this means nothing. And I can't believe that all of this means nothing.

What we said before Paxton and -- We said lots of things before Paxton. Before he died. That's literally what we were saying is that we wanted to do something to make an impact because we fucked up last time. How many times are we going to keep saying that and keep getting people killed because of it? What do you think, Paxton? I assume by this point he's been all caught up on, like, the situation. Paxton is probably still reading, I'm guessing. He's absolutely flipping pages. Did anyone tell Paxton? Like, the noggin thing? I don't know if Gwen would tell him the noggin thing, but she would catch him up on the whole situation.

Maybe tell him. Because why would she hide it kind of thing? So you tell him? Yeah, I would tell him. Just kidding. It feels like big information, but also Gwen wouldn't hide it. So yeah, she'd tell him. And to be clear, the noggin thing is... You can control them with your brain. Oh, oh, that one. Oh. And you could take out and put things in your head, apparently, to do different stuff. You're modular. Right. Modular. Like the Matrix. So it's like the opposite of an Apple product. I liked it. Thank you. I thought it was funny. It's like a five out of ten. It's like a "haha." Like, it's fine.

I hope a listener at home breathed really hard out their nose. Thank you. That's all I can hope for. So Paxton was flipping pages, and Gwen asks him what he thinks, and he's going to abruptly stop, almost like a jerk. He is going to, um, he's just going to say, "Calypso, you believe we don't have any right to choose who's in charge or what happens to the war forged in the laboratory. However, I believe we are in the right because we have the knowledge. I believe knowledge itself is a privilege, and those who know must act." Then we tell other people about it.

Just because we happened to be the ones that Archmage told. I mean, that's... I understand we have failed. Failure breeds insecurity. You do not want the responsibility of the failure of Brightport upon your shoulders. That much is understandable. However, Calypso, your shoulders are strong. Not everyone else's can be as strong as yours. Maybe the burden belongs to you and all of us. Because I think Calypso actually, like, laughs at that. Like, I'm not strong. I play music and stand back out of the way and try not to get hit. Miscalculation. You are very powerful.

Power doesn't mean someone has the right to make a decision that affects an entire city. That is where we disagree, Calypso. Your power gives you the privilege of responsibility. With your strength and all of us together, we can accomplish great things. We have failed. Yes, that is true. But failure is necessary in some cases. He's actually going to keep flipping pages in the law book. He's going to say, "A lot of these laws were born from failures, from miscalculations, mistakes. That is how we have came to the conclusion of needing them. Just like these laws, you are also necessary.

So is your apprehension." You know, just keep flipping. Let's say we wanted to pick some people to have feedback on the decision. Do we talk to the houses? Do we talk to prominent citizens? Who do we think? I mean, I get what you're saying, Calypso. Maybe it's us, but not us alone. We don't even know who technically is in charge of our whatever you want to call it now, or the guard. To use a turn of phrase that I heard once in a brothel somewhere, this is a land of wolves now. This is where the strong either make decisions or they hesitate and someone else seizes the day.

So I don't know that I really put much stock in the point that we don't know who we're supposed to report to. At a certain point, somebody's got to take action when there's a gap like this, right? When there's a rift in understanding who's in charge. In those kind of moments, there's opportunity. Whoever has the will to do it is going to get it. Jamie, you were going to? Oh, yeah. Is there a chain of command where when Stephen passed, somebody did take control and we just have not been made aware? Or is there this vacuum? There's a little bit of a vacuum right now to give you a peek behind the scenes because a lot of people died in that chaos.

So the runner up, basically the one behind Stephen died as well. So now there's kind of this state of emergency who's the best person for the job. So you get a lot of people arguing about it and trying to take the reins. In the show you showed me where the teacher lady has to take over because she's the closest in line to the president. Battlestar collected. Yeah. She's the Department of Education head. She's not a teacher lady. Man, wouldn't that be great if we had someone from education? That's the sound I'm going to make whenever we bring up politics.

Well, both going to pipe up and just sort of say I signed up to be a peacekeeper of Brightport, not a politician or a vigilante. And I agree with Calypso. I don't think that this decision should fall into our laps, but I do feel a responsibility to find the correct person to bring this attention to. Perhaps we should start at City Hall. I'm not sure, but I do worry about these beings being put in the wrong hands. Even Fashir's well-being, if I'm honest. When you say the person who's supposed to, do you mean the person who is supposed to according to the law or the person who will do the right thing?

Because sometimes those can be really different people. That's very true. I'm not sure who that person might be, but I don't think that it should fall upon, you know, six people of the entire city of Brightport. We need to bring more people in on this. People who have prominence and have shown better judgment than we have. OK. I mean, if you think House Dragonkeep is among those, I've gotten in with Gratic, you know, so that's one. If you want to bring them in. Who else? Who else do we think? Start spitting names. Perhaps we bring in all of the houses as well as the prominence in the city, though there isn't anyone in particular right now.

I'm sure that there is someone willing to step forward. The more people brought in on this decision, the better off the city will be. Or it could get totally paralyzed between competing agendas. Too many cooks, too many cooks. That's what happens. But like, I'm just, I just, oh. I know the houses myself, but we do need people with connections and power. I think if we're going to do that, we should bring in someone from the merchant side of things. And she's going to realize as she says it that she kind of means their mom and look a little horrified. But she means it because she's like, you need to bring in more people.

The problem has been for a very long time that three houses who have a vested interest in keeping things the way they are have been in charge. So she's in her mind, she's like, okay, we need to bring some people in. Oh, no. I mean, so matter wise, I just want you to know what you're signing up for. That's a lot of NPCs and a very loud NPC in the same room. Mm hmm. Yeah. So question have like, I imagine like the history of Brightport, it's like the houses have pretty much been involved in like most business that goes on and merchant stuff. Right. Like that's.

Yeah, I don't want to use the term, but it's kind of trickle down. Like they're not every like. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, like they're involved in a lot of the import export, but not like someone with their like nose to the ground. Like, you know, I mean, if you want. I think it's the difference between like, let's say you're having a town hall debate. And like, it's like, this is Joanne. She's she works at the barbershop. It's like that. You know what I mean? Like you like if you want to get someone who just owns a shop and has a vested interest in generally doing good.

Cool. But it's going to be. It's going to be a. There's going to be a bit of a bias there, I think. Right. And that's, I was thinking someone who's involved enough. And the nicest way I can put this is enough of a busy body to know about everyone around her. So like she talks to people. She when I say ear to the ground, I mean, she's a gossip who knows what everyone's problems are. Like I'm sure her and a bunch of her friends who also own businesses get together. I don't know, a hair stop and just like. I mean, is there like a merchant skilled kind of thing?

Yeah, something like that. In Brightport? Not so much in Brightport because there's. Something tells me they're not allowed. No, no, no, it's not that they're not allowed. It's just they're so cutthroat that like, there's no. Yeah, so you can't really have one person sort of speaking for business in general. What about the dock workers? Do they have a guy? Like a union? No. Not a union, but like someone they look for. Oh, yeah. What you need is. No, not the Iron Knuckle boys, but like. You need Jimmy. Jimmy's their union rep for the local 152 down at the. Yeah, he works.

Yeah. No would have sufficed. I'm thinking the houses and some sort of representative from the city. And really, I mean, it's again, the dust hasn't even settled from things we probably. This doesn't need to be resolved immediately. We can kind of wait a bit and let people handle like burying the dead and dealing with more urgent aftermath things right now and then bring it up to people that are in charge. Probably it's Gwen's gonna like shake her. And as long as we're talking about it, just to put it out there, this year should probably be either involved or be picking a person on his own behalf as the creative.

Right. Yes. Yeah. Also presumably once the human Euro gets wind of it there. I mean, two knows if they'll choose to get involved or not but they won't. Brianna stop talking not Gwen she doesn't know about the geopolitical situation between bright for and when you're, I will say, um, I don't think it's going to be easy to get all of these people in one room. So as far as like we don't need to pull the trigger on this right now. I'm betting there's going to be a lot of. Okay, well someone has to go to this house so it has to go this house we have to arrange and meet up, type Yeah, we'll also figure like, like after like immediate fires are put out like there's going to be need for people to come together and talk about stuff like a replacement mayor or whatever anyways.

We can, we can do a montage for that. I'm not going to make you play through every interaction getting. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, because like, like Cal said, there's a vested interest in kind of getting things back to quote unquote normal, you know, after a quarter of the city burns. Yeah. But, and to throw yet another complicating wrench into this. It's also worth considering every day we wait is another day of unrestricted drug trafficking and trade and misery and tragedy. That's just right for it. That's literally what it's. I would, I would think though that it's worse with the vacuum of power and bright poor right now, like it's going to continue to get worse and worse until they assign some sort of new mayor, I mean it just because like the shitty city guard is kind of not a great status after that so like, it's just going to take some time to get rebuilt up again like no matter what we do.

You know it's funny you should mention that. Because I made a chart. And I was gonna ask everybody. No, I'm sorry, several charts is what I meant. Oh, that's still not the right word. Chart. Maybe something that you set stuff on like when you're having dinner. Yeah, that sounds like what it might be something you might have a table. I don't know like I see I've been trying to how many tables did you say. Look, I have been trying to change it over to chart because people don't reflect the winds when I say chart. Jason, if you change it will just get there, right.

I've made a PowerPoint presentation. I've seen it every word for it and that well apparently there's a guy got the same treatment. So like, I don't know what to do. His name is Greg. I think that's just as the last little thing. I'm just trying to make the point that any decision we make has costs, including waiting waiting has costs too. So I just let's not. Let's not pretend we have all the time to spare. You know, to let whatever processes need to pan out. Every, every day we wait is stuff happens. Unfortunately Calypso's ghost house is gonna have to wait.

Do you yellow yellow finishes his drink on that note. He's like, ambers it back. Wow. Wow. Jamie. Yes, Jason. Let's, let's, let's have some fun guys, and I think Jamie should kick us off because I just wanted to so okay, let's do this. I want to roll to see the potency of of the drug. The drug trade right now like is there something is a new hotness on the street right. Could you do me a favor. You're looking for blue meth. Gotcha. That's trademark W. Yeah, just give me a flight to 20 higher the number of the stronger the drug, obviously. Wow. That's only rates, not one has been a good thing for me.

So that we're barely at weed territory. Okay. What that means is there's nothing new right there's no like there's no special like it's called night terror, and it's, you know, I mean, like there's nothing like that. So, next, Rob, could I get a flight to 22 see the general distribution like how, how, how much is this penetrated the area right now like how many returning and perhaps new customers are there. One penetration check coming right up. 17. That's a lot of penetration extensive penetration. So, while there's nothing new on the market. drug uses up.

That's not, that's not great. So, let's, let's, Zach I'm saving you for last kills. I want to see how how emboldened drug dealers are right now because two things one, the city was literally on fire. The mayor's dead, that like everything that could be going their way has gone their way you tried to stop them directly and couldn't. I mean, they were also on fire to like it was the entire city not just. Well, okay, here's the thing. I'm talking more specifically about light and his crew right like there was definitely an explosion behind the place and like but like you came out the loser on that what I feel like, he lost like most of his like main crew and he was hurt pretty badly.

He was hurt. No one. Okay. You lost a guy and had to retreat. That's all I'm saying. They were NPCs they don't count I've been told that and you should see the other guy. Well, here's the thing. Prove me wrong then with a dice roll. The higher it is the more emboldened they are d 20. Six. Okay. So they're not, they're not branching out yet so that problem is pretty much contained to the Lower East Side of the city, right, so we got lots of drug use in the area, nothing new to report in terms of drugs and no, it doesn't look like they're going to spread out, so to speak.

Now, that could change with this next role, Bree. I need to know how much of the city goes to the docks to get their drugs are these. Does it does it stretch this the problem that the tentacles stretch, all the way to the upper districts are they going that they're just driving down to the Lower East Side discourse some and then heading back to their mansions, is it that bad, or is it just mostly the poor eating themselves. So if you can give me a D 20 please. 11, okay, 11 so I'd say a little more than half the city is is is good so this is like up to the merchant tier right around like there's, you know, I mean there's, you've got a problem it's probably a little worse than it normally is.

Zach. Yes. This last one's interesting because I want you to roll for this very bar right now that you're also. There are knuckle boys here. No, no, no, no, but like is there someone perhaps like like a low level dealer trying to score something trying to trying to sale tournament. All those glasses. So, is Greg just like a bunch of iron knuckle boys in a trench coat, we don't know. So like, could you could you give me a D 20. Oh, that's what does that mean. So, okay, it means one of us at the table is dealing drugs right now. Put that heat away. Now let's now let's play a game of clue to find out which one of us it was that's the campaign when little sack.

And yeah, yeah we should really do something about this that's that's that's 20. Thanks. Okay. And then yeah we should just come hard against the phrase Gwen's little sack. Not change that could you change the phrasing to, I don't like. Because I thought the stop that hard. Hard. Look, I can't stop you but you know like, let's just be respectful about this. Yeah, we're a family show. So, here's what we're gonna do. Last, last roll of the night, and I need a volunteer. On a scale of one to 10, I volunteer. Oh, thank you. How big is this deal. 10 being like kilos of heroin.

And, you know, like, one being like I caught you with an ounce, like you're going to prison for life, like I just know before I roll though is this is something we catch right now are you about to describe it or is it like something. Here's the thing. It's in the bar, I don't know if you see it yet. Oh, yeah, it's right there. Well, it's right there. Look if they're tossing backs, back and forth sacks of white powder then maybe, but give me a detent. Oh my god. Big money deal, big money. So, eight for this home. Yeah, this was a, this was a public, you could tell this was a public meet right so they have a table.

Well, I can't tell you where they are you didn't you didn't even spot it yet, but I can ask for a perception roll from everybody, and I'm looking for 14 or higher. Oh, that's a five. This law book hope no one's breaking any fucking laws while I'm reading this book that's a six from Bo. That's a 13 from Gio low. 20. Let's say baby. And then I went, Thank God Calypso was around, this would be the best if you knew there was a drug, a high level drug deal and you just went pooped and you all go home. That would be the best. So, Calypso. You notice. You notice.

Let's say, let's do this. Seven, you notice. Seven folks here it looks like there's three on one side for another there, there, there. It looks like they may be rivals. But they're meeting up and this is like a public place and you, you can't, they kind of caught your eye a couple of times, but it's, it's, it's more just like, well okay. Let's say Calypso reacted to them the way Kelsey did when I said there's a guy. So like you just kind of see a bunch of guys like oh like I don't you know I mean like you're on high alert. So like, every once in a while you're just like they sit down and drink for a while it's like oh they're fine I guess.

Because you get into this conversation you're having about ethics and what should be done and all that. And then you notice that one of them pulls out a satchel, basically, and just like just out of the corner of your eye. You see there are several like bundled up packages in there. And you're gonna see something that looks like, like a like a pinkish white powder. Can I get a nature check from Calypso? Nature check? You sure about that? I got a yeah. Okay. Oh! At the five that's sure is better. It was almost a 16. So, you don't, you can't identify the drug, but Calypso is pretty damn sure.

That's just based on the look of these guys like you're kind of judging a book by its cover, and like you're kind of like, you kind of put two together it's like I don't, I don't think that looks right, like this this this doesn't. You know you might want a second opinion but I leave it to your judgment. Um, Calypso's gonna kind of like probably like nudge Gwen a little bit and sort of like suddenly like, like gesture, like they just like turn their head sort of in that direction, because they trust Gwen to be stealthy about it. I'm gonna, I'm gonna do a thing.

How many of these drinks have you had? I am going to roll a d4. Oh no. Yes. And however many is how many Herrera canes. I forgot that Gwen currently is. Never forget. Four, four, four, four, four, four, two! Okay, so she's okay like she's drunk but not. I believe we have to compare the scale. Oh. Yeah, so let's see they are three each. We are quite wee. Oh, you're rocking. Oh, okay so you have a negative five to wisdom right now. Oh, man, I should have not done as well as I did on that perception check. It was actually a four. You really pounded down those two glasses.

I imagine the Herrera canes come in like a, like a giant thing. It actually has a little hurricane inside, or that's a tornado, but you know what, it's a little tornado but they call it the Herrera cane still, because you can't make a hurricane in the glass. That's cool. Um, so yeah she'll kind of sit up and be like, Oh, what. Yes, dear. She does not see it at all. Okay, yeah. And like, Oh, right, you were drinking. Um, gosh. I guess Bo is probably the best person. Dude, Paxtron. It's definitely so clear right now. Drop it creep. Yeah. And then he shoots on the penis.

Oh yes, we have that. Yeah, so, like, okay, just like trying to get both touches. Oh, clip so you got to come around to to packs drawn he's not that scary. Just, you know, just, just tell them what you know. I'm scared of him. I think the unsubtlety is the concern. The law will execute order 66. Yeah. So there's seven people, seven people total four on one there from rival gangs, you can tell like like okay like if I were to like size them up like, if you were to put a challenge rating on them. Yeah. You know what, give me give me a flat out wisdom, save 17.

I'll just say a word this carefully. If you were just kind of sizing all these, all these, these, these guys up I say guys it's it's a gender non specific term there, there are ladies in there too just. These look like grunts no no big thinkers, so these look like. Let's call them thugs. Do they look high. Um, you know what, let's see if one side sample the group the goods here. One through 10 no 11 through 20. Yes. One so they are, they are, they do sample the trucks they know that someone of a top of the chain is going to be very unhappy. Either that or they are cloistered monks.

They do not, they are straight edge to a T, they are slinging dope for Jesus. So, okay. Yeah, just the UK we have a drunk when a baby robot Paxton. Maybe this is the tune up game that you guys. You said the last time, right, I'm gonna keep saying it until I'm right. Yeah, so cool. So well, after realizing Oh right and Gwen is small and has been drinking will not bow instead. Yeah, yes. I don't know how to look now, but I think I spotted a transaction. Curring a couple tables over. What kind of transaction I mean we are in a bar that pinkish powder. Both gonna try to subtly look over.

Can I have a stealth check please. Oh boy. You'd have to okay, this would have to be comically can we can we say that that's her arvo armor penalty doesn't count because you know no no no no she's just your back in it right you're just like, like you're fine like you're yeah it's a busy bar like no, like I said you'd have to roll a flat out one for me to go, like, you did the most like don't look at them where like you're really, you know, Oh yeah, it's gonna give me the power you're fine. You're fine. You're fine. You're fine. Okay. So I see these drugs.

You do Can I get a nature check for you. Okay, oh boy so so many dices. I know I know this is asking. Oh, there we go. Oh shit. Um, so the hint about it being pinkish white powder, and then you kind of like, like taking a look at these two. They have a massive quantity of blood room. Like, we're talking intent to distribute, and this is a big problem because obviously it's illegal. But it's considered kind of a war crime by red dragon boy so if they found out the city was infested with it, they burn this place to the ground. I was going to lean back from peeking over and just say, oh shit that's blood root and it's going to finish her glass of wine.

Looking at Calypso. This was a $7 glass I'm finishing. I was pregnant for a while. That was your fantasy. She's gonna have a drink and then I think she's gonna go out and get some sushi. Something with caffeine in it. Give me some blood root. Yeah, yeah, I mean, I mean Calypso is kind of like leaving us the cave. But it was good morals and stuff. Calypso is leaving it to Beau to decide if and when we should do something about this. That is a lot of blood root. I'm saying this loud enough so that the rest of the table can can pick up but you know, not as loud that the whole bar would hear.

Yeah, at that point Gio will kind of like sneak a peek at whatever they're, they're looking at and talking about and kind of get it on his radar. I hesitate, because our last drug bust did not go well. But at the same time, I don't want to let that get into the city. And Beau is going to stand up. Oh yeah, it looked like Paxton was going to stand up without hesitation. Yeah, if if Paxton stands up with Beau, she's gonna start to walk over to the table. Oh, we standing up? Let's stand up. Yeah! Hands on the table like needing that help to get up. I guess Giolo kind of says as they're standing up it's like, should we try to take him in here or should we get him on the exit?

What do you think? Maybe, hey, if we see who takes the bundle, then we only have to fight the half that have the bundle. That's a very good point. Wait, how many are there? Seven. Three on one side, four on one. That's a very good point. I don't know that we would be cutting the head off the snake though. Do you think they sent the head of the snake to make the deal in the bar? True. I do think it's probably a bad idea to take it in here. I don't want anyone else to get hurt because of our... Let's just get the half that take the drugs and then we've got some good done.

For a moment I thought that Giolo was going to say, "We've got some drugs!" And then we've got drugs! And then we get this party started! Blood, River's not a good party drug. I mean it's essentially cocaine. That's a party drug. It's cocaine but more fighty. You make a lot of sense, Giolo. We'll wait until the transaction seems complete and then we'll intervene. And Beau will slowly sit back down, keeping an eye on this table. Oh, now we're sitting again. Okay, fine. I have one more roll for the evening that I need to ask for. Zach. Yes, sir. Can I get an intelligence save, please?

You're so smart! Absolutely. He's going to find a law in the book so it's like if you ever come upon an army before forged, it's totally cool. I was back! Oh my god! The highest possible roll! You know, it's not 20 with a plus 8 to his intelligence, everybody! Hell yeah! So I guess that just means I don't go crazy or something? Now follow it up with a charisma save. Are you ready to have some fun, Zach? You know everything. I'm already having fun, Jason. Oh, great. So after Paxtron has been made aware of this flagrant disregard for the law, a series of checks are going to go through his mind.

He's reading this law book, he's mulling it over and there's going to be almost a pop-up, like a prompt in Paxtron's brain. Disturbance evaluated. Do you require assistance? Oh my god. And I think that's a great time for us to stop. Oh my god! Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. We're going to turn on the Warforged! It's going to happen! Oh, I have so many questions. Okay, we got plenty of time. You and I need to have a talk. Absolutely. That makes it sound like Zach's in trouble. No! I've been a bad boy. No, this is fantastic. Don't do that. Don't take what we have, Bree.

I'm just glad I actually thought to have tactics this time, because I kept saying, "I'm going to be smarter about engagements. I'm going to be smarter. I'm going to be smarter." And then it finally happened. You did it! You nailed it. Thankfully, you were smarter right when I was getting dumber, so it worked out. It's great, because Paxton was going to do the Paxton thing as Paxtron and just walk up to them and say they're arrested. Oh, yeah. I saw that coming. I saw tragedy unfolding in my mind's eye. We'll be right back after these words from our sponsors.

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