Divide

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[clink] [clink] Pickaxe. Coming to Apple TV+ on August 9th. You're the Marine? Yeah, you're the ex-con. Yeah, I did time, but you don't gotta cast aspersions at me. From the director of Mr. and Mrs. Smith and The Bourne Identity comes a new film. It's your first job? I know what I'm doing. I'm a little late for a crit change. Starring Matt Damon. Everybody in New England is after us. And Casey Affleck. Go, go, go, go, go! What are you doing? Taking notes. Taking notes on a criminal conspiracy. The Instigators, rated R. Streaming August 9th on Apple TV+. This summer, during the biggest sporting event of the year, Peacock turns to two broadcasting legends for the Olympics coverage you can't find anywhere else.

Um, I think they mean us. Oh, s***. Um... [clears throat] With an incredible duo sure to take home the comedy gold. Olympic Highlights with Kevin Hart and Kenan Thompson. New episodes Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Only on Peacock. Howdy everybody out there. Welcome to another new edition of the Dungeons & Randomness podcast. We're still marching toward our arc finale here, so our season's gonna be wrapping up pretty darn soon. Probably within the next three or four weeks. I've recorded finales for just about everyone but Firebrand, but we're really close.

For those of you who don't know, we're about to debut a new show called The Therian Tales. That'll be on Halloween, October 31st. That's gonna be in its own feed, it's its own show, and it's just going to be a storytime podcast with stories that just take place in Therian. It could be pretty much anything. Person, place or thing. And we're really kind of excited about it because it's a new way for us to tell stories. On top of that, we obviously wrapped up our Kickstarter and the Reserve Store is going to be opening, so if you still want to reserve copies before we go to print, you will have time to do that.

We're setting that up with BackerKit, and that should be up within the next couple of weeks or so. So let me get out of your way. We can hear a couple of words from our sponsor, and we can get to another brand new episode of Dungeons & Randomness. Don't go anywhere. We'll be right back. [groans] Let's do that thing! Where if you go around the table and introduce ourselves, I'm Jakes. I'm the Dungeon Master, going around the table, starting with Zach. What's up? My name is Zach, and I play Pax Tron on group Firebrand. And Rob? Hey, I'm Rob. I'm playing Geolophane, Elf Warlock.

And Bree? Hello, I'm Breanna Marie, and I play Wenlothius, the Tath'lin Steelsoul. And Kelsey? I'm Kelsey, and I play Calypso Lovelace, the Half-Elf Bard. And new mommy, Jamie. Hello, I'm Jamie. I play Bolothius, the Tiefling Paladin. I don't know what's about to happen here. We've talked about it. I legit do not know. But I do know that the last time we sat down, you guys were blown off a little bit of steam in a bar. You were basically talking about the direction you're going to be heading in. Like, where, you know, where is Firebrand going? Or what do you want to accomplish?

And in the midst of this, a drug deal went down. And Paxton saw this, and he was going to go intercept these people. And he is currently linked to every other Warforged that the Archmage had set up. So there's dozens of them. And they essentially asked if he needed assistance. And we're going to pick things up there. And before we go straight to Paxton, I'd like to kind of go around the table here and get the vibe from everybody. Because Paxton wasn't the only one who noticed. But I don't think it's a big group thing yet, right? It wasn't like everybody got up from the table to go handle this.

So let's start with like, Giola. If I remember correctly, we had said we were going to follow one of the groups out so that we didn't have as many people to handle. Right, you were talking about like, maybe splitting up, maybe following one of these people after the drug deal. It was a big thing, and then in the midst of that, Paxton got up to go over and do something about it in the bar. But the rest of the group, it wasn't like a thing that you guys were going to go take care of this way at this second. I mean, yeah, if Paxton's moving, I guess I don't want to be caught away from the action if people need help.

So yeah, I guess I'm just thinking like, "Okay, we're going to find out how this is going to go." What about Beau? Beau I think was backing up, if I'm remembering correctly, backing up the decision to wait. So the fact that Paxton is, I guess, just going to get up and sort of deal with this now. They wanted to not wreck this bar and wanted to take it outside. Because we tend to sort of wreck everything we touch as Firebrand. So I'm wondering if I want to like, silently try to clear out the bar. If I'm seeing that Paxton is going to try to go and antagonize these people and like start a fight.

I think I'll go over to some of the other patrons and politely suggest that maybe they find drinks elsewhere. Here, have some coin on me to GTFO. Can I get a Persuasion check please? Or Intimidation, it depends on how, if you're doing it more subtly though, Persuasion. But if you're like, "Get the fuck out of here!" Yeah, I'll take Persuasion. That's more Bo's style anyway. Ohhh. Well. Never mind. Look, that's not setting a tone. It's one roll. I'm sure it'll be fine. Anybody else got a plan? Calypso. Calypso is just kind of like, when Paxton gets up together, they just kind of sigh and sort of almost like, settle back in their seat a little bit.

It's just like, kind of like, "Okay, here we go." And just kind of sort of watch and see what happens. Because they have no illusions that they can stop any of this at this point. So. And Gwyn. I think Gwyn's gonna go with Paxton. And like, back him up. So you're down with this. Yeah. Okay. I've had a few drinks. If you recall. Oh, I thought you meant in real life. I was like, "When?" Oh, no. That's... I forgot that Gwyn was like, completely wasted. Not completely wasted, but not NOT wasted. This sounds a lot like the stuff you say about Bree, not just Gwyn. Well, Gwyn also turned out to be a bit of a lightweight, so...

Gee, who could have guessed? Well, then... I was really hoping her tiefling side would do some bench pressing there, but nah. So Paxton's standing there. And the guy... The guy with the money... Is going to try and leave the bar. Now if you remember, there's a bartender named Greg. Who you chatted with very briefly. And Greg's kind of like, watching all of this... Kind of warily? Like, it's like, "Oh no. Okay, what's gonna happen here?" And then the guy with the drugs is going to stand up and be not far behind. What does Paxton want to do here? I think as Paxton is...

Getting up and assuming and watching them leave, it's almost like... His non-organic brain just stops. And he just has a jitter in his mind. And that's the first contact. The party members don't know, but that's the first contact. Do you need help? Paxton being quite intelligent now, he's going to take it in quickly. And kind of assess the situation. And he's just going to come to a halt. He's going to actually send a ping back to the Warforged in the basement. And tell them to emerge. To start walking out single file as calmly as possible. If the Archmage gives them any pushback, just try to be as cordial as possible.

Just have them start to march out. Some headed towards where this altercation may be. A fourth of them headed towards this altercation. And the rest almost flanking the city. Just heading out. Is it night time per se? It was evening. You guys were out having... It wasn't a celebration drink. But I think it was a "Man, things are really screwed up" drink. Excellent. We'll take that. A little Duskfall. Now it's going to be a little creepy, but I want as soon as they leave the Archmage's house... Some of them are going to start crawling up on the walls. Just start climbing.

Just parkouring on top of buildings and just sit there and wait. But in the bar Paxton is going to target the man with the drugs. And try to follow him and try to intercept him leaving the establishment. Just the man with the drugs right now. So you're trying to get to him before he gets to the exit? Yes, just him. Another guy with the money. He's a little bit further ahead. Whatever happens to him. We'll get to that. Okay. So let's do a thing. Because we've been kind of vague about the actual number of Warforged that you guys have. Or Paxton has. Whatever you guys want.

I don't know if you want to count them as members of Team Firebrand yet? Let's see how this goes. I mean we're all a fun team here. Can I get everybody to do me a favor and roll a d20? And we're going to add that up together and that's how many Warforged you have. Oh. Oh. They're all so low. Oh man. Oh. Oh. Yes! Oh Kelsey! Come in and fucking clutch! You were the only one who was most against it too. You know what? That's actually quite hilarious. So just to read this out loud. Gwen 4, Bo 8, Paxtron 8, Jolo 9, Calypso 20. My mother played for the night. Calypso just freaking carries this entire team.

I'm going to say it. I just want you guys to know those 20 Warforged, they have a gold star. They're like little shit. They're just a little tiny more elite. Oh like they do a little flash like in city gacha games when you need to know something special. Oh yeah. Oh man maybe we can give them some kind of designation or something like a couple of S's or something. Something to really make them stand out. Oh god, Jason stop it! What? Fuck you. I had a cute little joke about how swole Calypso must be from carrying us so hard. Well that's just factual. You fucking ruined it.

I know. That's 49. Let's round it up to 50. Let's say 50. So you want a quarter of them to head toward the bar and they're going to start marching. You don't want to break it into a full blown sprint or anything yet. They're just... yeah. Don't want to alarm people but the rest I want on those walls like spiders. Now do you mean the walls surrounding the bar? No just like well... Or around the city? Around the city honestly like the with the rest of like say like the 35 that didn't go to the bar. I just want them to just scour the city just to set up for potential other crimes preemptively.

But the ones I requested to the bar they might start climbing things. We're a real climb happy group here. Like getting on top of things. So like gargoyles, like centuries. They're going to just pollinate basically throughout the city. They climb walls and they're just looking down. And Paxton can see if he chose to like see through their eyes. So he kind of has a bird's eye view. He can see everything they can see basically. And what we're going to do is... Are you trying to follow this person stealthily or are you just trying to head them off? Like you're not trying to like hide the fact.

What I want to do is... here's what I have in my mind. I want to cut off the man with the drugs non-stealthily. And I want the guy with the money to be alarmed and run away. And I want my centuries to catch where he's running to. Oh boy. Okay then let's... okay. Let's do that then. Okay. I'm really going to make a show out of catching the first guy. So... guy with drugs. He is heading toward the exit and if you and... It sounds like you and Gwen are definitely there and Giollo's like right behind. And we've got Bo trying to talk to people. It's like "Hey, shit's about to go down.

Maybe you'd like to like go away." They're just kind of like "Ahh, after I finish my drink." You know, it's a 9 persuasion wise. It's "Ahh, whatever." Like just kind of like blowing her off a little bit. And this guy's going to get up to Gwen and Paxton. Get out of my way. Move. I'm trying to get out of here. Paxton is going to put a slender robotic mechanical hand out to like try to grab his shoulder and say "Halt. It appears you have been suspected of having contraband. You will be placed under arrest for further review." He's going to try and... The first time you reach out to try and grab him, obviously he's not going to like that.

But then you're talking about placing him under arrest. He's going to try and bat your hand away. So let's do competing strength checks. Athletics. Athletics is good. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Athletics. Here we go. Fourteen. Okay. Alright. He's not really... He's not his best stat. Let's see what's happening though. Seventeen. So he's going to bat your hand away real quick. And he's going to try and get past the two of you, but you're both like there. He's not going to be able to like knock you both down and move you. But he's going to start getting a bit loud. He's kind of got this backpack kind of slung over his shoulder to get the fuck out of my way.

Move! Like he's getting riled up. He's upset. Hey, did you hear what he said? He said you're under arrest and she's going to try to grab his wrist and pull it back. Okay, at this point, I want you to do me a favor. Give me an athletics check, but I'm guessing it's being assisted. Like you guys are working together to try and grab this dude, right? I'd assume so. I'd say so, yes. Okay, so give me an athletics check with advantage, please. Oh, yeah. Yeah, he's not no matter what, even a crit won't get out of that. So like, yeah, he's he's he's grappled and he is not a fan.

So he's screaming. So he and the bar are going to start to take notice and just kind of like look around. So if Bo's been telling people, it's like, hey, things are about to go down. Now they're they're going, oh, wait, shit. Like the problem is people are standing in front of the exit and this, you know, they're going to start to kind of get alarmed. And maybe maybe call on us like, hey, what's going on? That type of thing. Because you guys aren't in uniform, right? I think we established that the last time we sat. Oh, yeah. Yeah. We don't wear uniforms around because of how we're bad at things.

On account of how they wouldn't get us any good reputation points. That's that's fair. Let me. So this guy is definitely going to see this going down. The guy with the money, right? The guy with the money is going to. Let's see how desperate he is on a scale of one to 10. Let's see how he's like a four. He's starting to get like upset because it's like, well, I'm not being targeted. But at the same time, this isn't good. And he's going to start to kind of slip toward the back of the building. And there's lots of corners and avenues to kind of get out of line of sight.

So he's going to start to try and do that. Like he's going to just break off and. Is he holding the money, he said? Yes. Yeah. He's got the money. Not like out in his hands, but like another backpack type of deal. OK, so it's like. Of what I can do, which isn't really much situation. Is so he's heading towards the back. Yes. So if you know what? How about that? Oh, yeah. We have a match that would be. Yeah. Let me let me give you a layout. Right. So like. So we've got Paxton and Gwen over here. That's right on top of each other and then a goon in front of them. And then we've got me.

You get some goon tokens. Hold on a second. Goon tokens. Thug. There we go. A couple of thugs. That's what we get. Are we still out on the street or are we in the bar? We are in the bar right now. OK, we didn't get I'm sorry. We didn't get out on the street. Not yet. No, but we are. That's what we wanted. And that didn't happen. So, yeah. So we've got I'm going to ask about Giolo in a second, but let's say let's say Calypso's still sitting in. I must put her in the bathroom. That's not that's not what we want. But let's. Yeah. That's why it wasn't very persuasive. So let's say Calypso's somewhere up here and the guys trying to motion towards like.

The back. Like he's going that way. Right. So he's heading north. Everybody else is south. Where's Giolo? Gosh, I think I was kind of following along with Paxton. So in his proximity, I mean, not like I think I was a little later to the party than Gwen, I guess. So maybe that's the way to do it. Yeah. So you're in the vicinity, your backup. Like if this guy gets violent and he might in a second. Yeah. Yeah. I was I was keeping my attention on Paxton and kind of following his lead because it looked like he was going to act. So this so he's the one that brought the drugs with him and then now has the money like they already did the transaction, right?

Exactly. Okay, cool. So I would like to cast invisibility on myself and tail him. Okay. That's practical. Yeah. Okay. And also I've also I want to use my cantrip stall message to just like whisper like, "Bo probably" because she's not right in the middle of stuff right now. Just letting her know I'm tailing the one that's slipping out the back. So like that's there's someone is aware of things that are happening. Yeah. That's what I'm going to do. Okay. So in the midst of all this, this thug is going to smash a window and leap out. Like, he's gonna try to be quiet about it, but it's a window.

Isn't that a door? So guys, if you have any spells to go after intelligence, that's the guy to use them against. There's literally a door, right? Let me just quietly smash it. That's a big window. That's what that is. That's a that's like a breakfast nook with a lovely window. That's what that is. So, smashy smash. I just think there's a door and he just didn't see it. Exactly. So he just panicked. He's like, "Oh no, smash." Up front, this thug is going to try and punch Gwyn in the face. Well, that's rude. Well, he batted away Paxton's hand and then you... One of you is made of metal.

And like, you know. Not very good for punching. Not great for punching. But I did grab his wrist and could we roll to see if I grabbed his main hand or his offhand? Because if he's punching me with his offhand, I would argue that he gets disadvantage. I think it's a punch, but okay. You scared to lose that one hit point? Yes. Okay. You know what? One through ten it's his offhand. Eleven through twenty he's a punchin' with... Okay, so you grabbed his offhand. So he's... Wait, you said he's punching with his offhand if it's one through ten. No, I didn't. I said it's his offhand.

You asked what you grabbed. Okay. So he's gonna try and swing at you and still might not hit, but let's see. I'm just saying if I edit this and you said I'm punching with my offhand, I'm going to go, "Ha ha!" If you do, then you get ten bonus hit points for the next arc. Really? That we definitely have hit points in. Oh, shoot! I want to start with an extra plot point if I'm right. I want a single extra plot point. I almost got away with that, Kels, and I... Man, I... I've been with you for months, too. So he's twenty-two. He's gonna reach over and just poof right in the cheek.

Just bam! And punch you and try to struggle and get away here. This is becoming violent. He's gonna start to try and reach for a knife or something. He's gonna try to... Yeah, this is gonna escalate quick. Can I try to trip him? Sure, yeah. Like, I have him by the wrist and we've established it's a pretty good hold. So, like, put my leg behind him and just, like, pull down on his wrist to get him to fall down. Okay, yeah. Give me an athletics. Mmm, can I argue acrobatics? Why is it acrobatics? Because I have to, like, move my body. Like, I'm not doing karate. I'm doing, like, tai chi.

Like, I'm like... It's not really acrobatics. But it's more acrobatics than athletics, I'd argue. Well, I get that you wanna argue. But I'm saying no. Yes. Alright, strength. See? Look at that! That's a crit! Again, even if he wrote a crit, he can't compete with that. So you're going to knock him down to the ground. Meanwhile, in the back, we've got dude getting out the window and Calypso's gonna follow him. Not too long after this, you're gonna hear this marching outside. Oh god. And if you were to look up, like, near the door, there's gonna be a ton of these green-eyed warforged...

It's just in a line, single file, marching, and then they're all going to, like, turn. Like, at the same time, and just stand in front of the door just outside. If I can, Jason. Next, they're going to... You said the guy we have is on the ground, right? Yes! Yeah. Yeah. They're going to circle the guy on the ground with Gwyn, and we're all just gonna say in unison, "Come Whitely." Oh god, that's nightmarish. Jesus. Okay, so they're going to start to single file "Come into the building." And surround this guy, who's shitting his pants, by the way. Like, it's like...

Obviously, this isn't going well, the two of you, but like, there's two of you. Maybe he can squirm away or get out of here. But a bunch of warforged walking in, like automatons, not like people. It's scary. Like, that's frightening. He's gonna stop. Like, he's gonna stop squirming, and just kind of lay there, like, scare turtle, right? Like, on his back, just not gonna move. Then, like, a bunch of ants working together. One warforged gently lifts Gwyn up off the person. Two more come right after. Get him by his arms, pick him up. Then, Paxtron is actually going to address the crowd to whoever is left in the bar.

And he's just... He's going to say, "The breaking of the law in Brightport is now unacceptable. There will be consequences, and you will be watched. Your actions are your own." And they're gonna take the guy, and they're gonna all single-filedly march out. And Gwyn is, like, kind of stumbling a little bit after being lifted up, and like, probably like falls onto Paxtron a little, one arm bracing her, and she's like, "Yeah! You heard him!" I'm torn on this. There's definitely a role that accompanies it, but I'm not sure if it's intimidation or persuasion.

I feel like it's persuasion, but there's a hint of a threat in there, right? It's more of a threat. Yeah, I feel like it being backed up by suddenly appearing army of robots. That's... It definitely put some English on it, that's for sure. Give me... Give me an intimidation roll. Can I have some sort of advantage with this? Because it is pretty crazy to have all these robots going. I was about to say, you got the boys coming in, so like, let's say... The fellers. Yeah, let's give you advantage on that. Oh, this is a negative four. I think people are going to have a pretty negative reaction to this specific event.

Now, they're not going to chase you guys down, because fuck that, but they are going to start to get loud in this bar when you leave. And it's a lot of murmuring. It's like, "What the hell was that? What? They can just take people away now?" Like, it's gonna... Any complaining, any bellyaching, it's like hitting a metal wall. You're complaining as someone who doesn't feel those kind of things, so it's not registering at all. They're just talking to a brick wall. Again, they're not chasing Paxton down the street or anything, but this is more like... I'm sure they're just whining openly.

It's more like very loud concern. Like, "What the hell?" That type of thing. Giolo and Bo, what would your reactions be to this? I think Bo, after helping get as many people out of the bar before this escalated, is going to see all of these different sentries come up and pick up this guy. And from afar, is just going to say to herself, "Paxton, what are you doing?" And sort of... Bo doesn't feel as though she has any power in this moment. She just is going to let it happen, but will discuss the actions later. Bo will remember this. What about Giolo? Giolo is kind of getting ready and doing a bit of an inventory of his spells and his options, but he really doesn't want to be the first one to throw this into violence because, gosh, it'd be nice if this guy comes peacefully even though he doubts it's going to happen.

So it's the kind of thing where he's like, "Uh..." He's just going to watch real carefully and kind of wait. I guess he's preparing... he just wants to be ready with Bestow Curse if he needs to... you know what? I... so... okay. I don't know how this would be rules-wise. Bestow Curse is delivered with a touch attack, but if I just walk up behind a guy who's paying attention to a dozen Warforged getting ready to manhandle him... Sure. Could I just tap him on the shoulder and deliver Bestow Curse? Yeah, I mean, this guy's subdued as fuck, right? Okay. You got him.

So if you want to do that so that if he were to try and struggle, yeah, but there's 16 Warforged here, right? Including Paxton. And there's you guys. And within seconds, this guy's lifted off the ground, he's escorted outside, the pack is removed from him. They have him. My question, I guess, is where are you marching him off to? Are you just marching him off to jail, like, right now? Ah, it depends. Does... okay, does... Paxton... I want to trust Brightport's jail system, but maybe it's time to create our own jail system. And Harshmade's basement. This is how we can finally get Calypso's house into things.

We'll just... I'll just take them all there, like, once we're all done. That's the new jail! I... well, I guess there's a few options if you're going to make your own jail. Well, here's the thing. I could take them to... yeah, this is taking them to Brightport jail for now. I'm sure there's... from what I know about it, it's not that secure and stable, but maybe that'll change. You know, with Paxton around now. I mean, it's a staffing issue, right? It's... Oh, that's not a problem. [laughter] Glad you told me that. It's kind of... it's kind of Gotham, right?

Like, if Batman didn't spend billions on gadgets and stuff, maybe, like, cops could earn a better wage and thus not be so corrupt, right? Like, it's that type of thing. So, like... Oh, I replaced all the cops with automatons. We're up, boys. An option? They're taking our jobs. Oh, god. So, you... we're going to tackle that in a second, because that's interesting. Let's tag in with Calypso, right? Well, should Yolo deliver that curse? Do you want to... Oh, yeah! Like, if you... yeah, if you want to. Okay, he... dude needs... my dude needs to make a wisdom saving throw?

Yes. Well, he's pretty wise, so... Oh, shit. 18. Wow, he blew it out. Okay, he's not cursed, and I burned a spell. Go me. Well... Ah, it happens. Life goes on. Go ahead. [laughter] I guess I'm standing... I'm so un-standing by myself. Yeah, so you're marching with them to the... to the Brightport Jail. So, okay. Let's go back to Calypso here, and you're going to follow this guy who is getting out of there too sweet. Like, after he smashes this window, he's gone, right? He's just running out into the night. And, well, you're invisible, so... [laughter] It's going to be really easy to, like, not get picked up on, so here's what I'm going to ask you to do.

I'm going to ask for one stealth check. And that is for the whole of you tracking him, and you have advantage. Okay. So unless you beef this hard, you're fine. [laughter] That's dead. That is the prime rib of beefing an advantage stealth check. [laughter] The beef was set to maximum. You guys, we're all acting surprised, but I feel like we're forgetting that this is Firebrand. That's true. It's just how it goes. Like, we're not... we have to get... Exactly. At this point, changing the color of the die wouldn't do it. We have to leave this table. We have to go set sail to a new land.

Stop playing D&D. [laughter] Yeah, that's... again... [laughter] If this decision wasn't made before, after tonight... I feel like you said that every Firebrand subject. Uh... well... You are going to make a little bit of noise, but again, invisible, so it's not like you kicked a bucket down the street, or... You know, it's going to be like you trip or something like that at some point, and he's going to look around, and just eventually kind of be satisfied that it's not beefed hard enough that you trip and fall into... But you heard that said eight noise happens.

Exactly. Like, if you were out in the country or something, it would be much more suspicious. This person is going to eventually get to this little bombed-out looking... This shitty old, like, old tavern, but it's been abandoned for a long time, right? And he's gonna look around, and the door has been pretty much boarded up, but it's kind of just like hanging on by a thread, and he's going to pull this back, and then slip inside, and it is pitch black in there. Okay, I'm not going to go inside, because that feels like a trap, whether it's intended to be or not.

I'm not going to do that. Clips, though, is going to... like I said, it's a pretty run-down place, so try and find a boarded-up window or something, where they can hear if there's anything going on there, or try and see in, or something like that. Uh, give me a perception check. That's better. Oh, uh, 20. So, you're gonna kind of like float around this building and look around, and like there's, again, stuff's boarded up, but like there's, it's an old building, and you can see like little cracks and crevices, and you're gonna see that the inside of this place has just been, like, it's a squatter's paradise, right?

It just, like, lots of broken glass, and like, it looks like, it looks very uninhabitable. But you are going to notice that there's a set of stairs leading down into, like, a basement area, and you're not going to see this guy in here, so you're going to kind of deduce that, like, okay, yeah, that, like, below deck is where they're hanging out. Okay, um, well, first I want to, like, see, so there's, like, okay, very cautiously through the door. Okay. And, like, I don't want to go down the stairs, I just want to, it's not going to go down the stairs, I just want to see if I can, like, hear anything from inside close to the stairs.

Uh, give me a perception check, please. Nope. Okay. Thirteen. Well, okay. You're gonna hear, you're gonna hear snippets of a conversation, right? Like, little, like, it sounds like, um, it sounds like a few people kind of aggressively, like, whisper yelling at each other, right? Um, and they're, they're, what you're picking up is essentially, like, things are getting way too hot in the city, and something's got to be done, like, they're, they're bringing in robots now, it's real nasty. And, um... Who could have predicted this outcome? Um, this guy's gonna mention something, and it's gonna, it's gonna kind of hit Calypso's ear wrong.

Um, and it's, they're gonna talk about why, it's like, eventually they're gonna figure out that he's not here right now. Oh. Okay, that's, that's a tasty little tidbit of information. Yeah. I need you to do me a favor. Just give me a flat d20, because I need to see, we're hoping for a high roll. Eh, so not a five. Nah, never mind. You're fine. Okay. Calypso's gonna leave. Okay, uh, can I get a stealth check, please? Yeah, I mean, they're still invisible. It lasts for an hour. Yeah, but this is about, this is about noise. So I'm just letting you know. I'm just from the steering.

Oh my gosh. [Laughter] What is with these rolls? Well, that's a ten. You are gonna make some noise heading out toward the door. So like, as Calypso's like sneaking through and stuff like that, you're gonna, you're gonna kind of like knock over, um... You're gonna knock over a couple of like crates, and it's not gonna like smash or anything, but you are, it's like... And you're gonna hear like dead silence, like, and then you're gonna hear a bunch of people start to come up. Yeah, no, Calypso's out of there. Yes, yeah, okay. Bye. Let's head over to the jail.

This should be easy. [Laughter] So, describe to me how... Well, okay. Is there a conversation on the way to the gym? Is Bo going? Yeah, Bo would definitely be going along, and probably as they're walking, um... Just sort of posing to the group. So what exactly is the plan here? We're just gonna take people off the streets and bring them where? To the bright port jail. This guy would chime in, it's like, yeah, you just gonna, like, he's gonna, like, he thinks you're on his side. But under what authority, Paxtron? We don't work for Brightport anymore. An excellent question.

Why do we even need authority? Look. And she's going to like gesture to all the robots. I'm just, I'm just imagining it just like army of like almost 50 robots surrounding one guy. Like, it's a bit much, Paxtron. It is a bit much. I feel like I'd agree. But... I think I can make it a little worse. Can I get everybody who isn't Paxton, uh, Paxtron to do me a favor, give me a perception check, please? Are people running and screaming? I'm going to voluntarily give disadvantage to myself because of the alcohol. That's fair. Didn't see much. Sorry, I'm going for...

There's my perception. Yeah, there we go. Hmm. So, Bow and Giollo, every couple of blocks, like, you're going to see a set of glowing green eyes, but up on rooftops, like at different levels. Like you're going to like, they're facing different ways, but they are going to like pan down and watch you walk by. But it takes a few, like, it probably takes a few of them to notice. It's like, holy shit. Like you're just like, you, you like probably right around that, don't you think this is a bit much line, like right in there. Mm hmm. Nice and creepy. I mean it, Paxtron.

What, what is the goal here? Like, you are one to me who respects law and order. What, what law are you abiding by right now? Who's law? Paxton is going to, he's going to look towards Bow and he's going to say, "I understand your apprehension. What I am doing is technically called a citizen's arrest. It is a perfectly capable activity you can do under the Brightport law. But when it comes to authority, Bow, it must be assumed." Assumed by who? By you? "By whomever has the power to take it." And Bow is going to sort of be taken aback hearing that, just because that is a scary notion for her to hear from a friend.

And is going to say, "And now because you have power, you can assume control over a city? That's what this looks like, Paxton. It looks like you're trying to take over." I think Gwen might interrupt at this point. And she would just like, probably like stumble towards Bow because, again, like a little drunk. Why are you upset right now? This is the first time we've actually gotten someone. Do you realize that? This is the first time. He has drugs and now we're going to jail. This is the first time this has happened. Why are you upset? I'm sorry. He has drugs.

Didn't you see the faces of the people in that tavern? They were terrified. Look around you, Gwen. And is going to sort of gesture at these creepy eyes, just like staring at them from the shadows. Is this the Brightport that you want to help create? Because this is not what I signed up for. Maybe they need to be scared every once in a while so that they don't end up fucking dead in a ditch somewhere like our cousin. We tried everything else. And yeah, they're a little fucking creepy. But they got the job done, didn't they? For the first time, the job got done.

Isn't that worth it? A little bit? Not at the cost that it seems you're willing to pay. Stop being such a bitch. You faded out there. Yeah. Very poor timing because she said, "Stop being such a bitch." I understand it has caused some fear to see the new changes around the city, but there should be nothing to worry about. If you do not break the law, no harm will come to you. It is very simple. Exactly what he said. I don't agree with any of this. Who are we to assume power over Brightport? You're right, we failed time and time again. So what gives us the responsibility of fixing a city just because now you have these things running around doing whatever bidding you'd like?

I mean, what? The city shouldn't be controlled by one person, Gwen, is what I'm saying. The houses already have control. It's too late. And they're not doing a very good job. People are dying all the time. People don't have jobs. People turn to drugs and to alcohol and they just do terrible things all the time until they die. So... Bo, you misunderstand me. I do not wish to control a city. I only wish to be a slave to law itself. And I will accomplish that means by whatever I have necessary. Yes, these warforged around the city may seem a little extreme, but I believe we are in dire straits.

I don't believe that a few warforged around the city is more terrible than crime or the selling of drugs. If you think the warforged around the city is an evil, then I believe it to be a necessary one. I'm not saying it's evil. I'm saying you can't force someone to be better, to do better. It's not going to change anything. Just because you're putting fear into the citizens of Brightport, sure, it might keep a few people off the streets doing a few bad things. But do you really think that's going to do anything for the big bad people in Brightport today?

No. They're going to rally. You're going to cause war in the streets. There already was war in the streets. And who's most tried that? When we tried that first time. That was our fault. We did that. And we're going to do it again. We are doing it again right now. If you have- I do not believe- Sorry. No, go ahead. I do not believe that is the case. While you've done things like sleep and eat, I've run calculations, theories in my head. This could work. I do believe that. You're the one who wanted to clean up this city. And I think by now we've realized that it's not going to happen without doing something like this.

We've tried everything else. No one has any better ideas. And everyone's just too scared to do it. Except for Paxton. Paxton. Yes, unfortunately, that is not an emotion I'm afforded anymore. Can I ask a question? Maybe that's better. What's Giolo think during all of this happening? Giolo kind of steps up alongside Paxton and Gwen and says, "Bo, I get where you're coming from, but the time for philosophy is over." People suffer if we do it. People suffer if we don't. It's time to put an end to these guys. We'll figure out the rest when that's done. But we gotta act.

I agree, Giolo. And do you know the difference between that kind of suffering and the one that we're implementing now? This kind of suffering, we have personal responsibility. Rather than doing nothing and watching people suffer anyway. I was gonna say this suffering's happening to murderers and drug dealers, but that too. If you want to clean up the city without feeling or empathy for its citizens, go ahead. But I won't be a part of it. I think Gwen would lower her eyes and turn them away, but she's not budging. It's been a pleasure, Bo. Come on, Paxton, let's do this.

Come on. And as they're walking away, Paxton will say to Bo, "You cannot operate on faith forever. Trust me." And before Gwen turns away, she'll say, "This was all your stupid fucking idea." And then she's going to follow Paxton and Giolo. Bo's gonna turn around and head back to whence she came. This is going great. We've already divided a family, so, you know. I'm interested to see what a soap work one is going to think of this in the morning. Right. Let's... Okay. How would Paxton rock up to the guard station, the jail itself? Well, what we do is try to make it look as "professional" as possible.

We're in lockstep, all the war forts, we have our suspect in locked arms. We come up to the guard prison and Paxton sees, if it's obvious up front, that it's a little short-staffed. Well, I mean, as of recently, definitely. There's lots of cleanup going around the city and stuff, so there'd probably only be a few people here. I will say that on your way, you've attracted a bunch of attention. And not all of it great. I'd say most of it not great. But if you walk up here, there's going to be a few guards, specifically, that are very wary. They might get ready and draw weapons.

Like, that wary. And they're going to try and stop you. What are you doing? This is a suspect that we have with the new Paxton Initiative. We'll call it. There's a motion. He's got drugs. No one knows that Paxton was revived by the Civil War Forks, right? No! A sudden robot army just appearing out of thin air approaching the prison. Just putting that in perspective. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I just need to check a couple of things on my end. Oh boy. Okay, so, okay. They will notice... Like, one of them might notice Gwen and Giolo. It's like, "Wait, aren't you with Firebrand?

Is this what Firebrand is?" Like, kind of motioning to the... It's like, "You guys got robots?" That type of thing. Hey, it's as new a development for me as it is for you. I think one of them would step forward and say, "Alright, let's see the drugs." So, one of the War Forks uniformly comes up, hands him a sack full of it. And as he's going on, Paxton's just continuing to say, "This is a new initiative to clean up the streets of Brightport. Law and order will be respected and tolerated at any cost necessary. You Guardsmen are part of that initiative doing your jobs, and you will have assistance in doing so." And, like, some of the War Forks on the flanks on the very ends are just going to leap out of line and jump next to them guarding.

And not say anything. Like, literally jump? Or like hop like a... Yeah, that's a... Holy shit. Okay. They look like soldiers, though, about to join their ranks, though. Not like attacking them. Right, no. It's... Yes. But, like, okay. So, how many? Let's see. I have about... I'd say about 16 with me now. You got 15 counting, you at 16. Right. Okay. Then, say, about, like, from this lot, about six of them will be helping with the guards' duty in the prison. Okay, so these are going to march by with the suspect to... Yes. To deliver him. So, one of them is going to ask, "Wait, wait, wait.

They're just here? They're just staying?" This position is short-handed. You need assistance, and they will be permanent assistants to you. They are programmed to follow any orders you give them. They are now your new trainee guards. They're going to be looking at each other very, like... Uh-oh. Like, what? Just kind of like a... Just generally spooked, I guess, right? Like, this is a lot. Like, as nice as it sounds... They do not require food. They do not require any assistance. They will just help you in whatever you need done. You just continue, like, whatever they're feeling, you just continue to, like, almost like a manual.

Right. Just blather on. Okay. What if we say no? When they say that, they stop with the prisoners, and they turn to the guards, and then Paxton will say, "Is this position not short-handed? Do you not need assistance?" Yeah, but... Then they just continue on again. Oh, God. Okay. They are... Oh, boy. So, they're probably going to... Two of them are probably going to break off and start to follow these warforged in, and this last guy is going to kind of, like, back up slowly away from Paxton. "All right, you folks have a good night. You can leave now." He just turns around and dies and starts walking away.

At a certain point, I imagine Calypso would catch up here. That's what I've been debating. Okay, well, okay. You tell me where Calypso's going, then. That's... Gosh. Shit, I have one more roll, actually. Could you do me a favor and roll a flat d20? No, of course that one didn't hit the table. Okay. Oh, that one was even better, so... 17. Okay, so at a certain point, I'd say like five minutes after you leave this place, the abandoned bar hideout thing, in an alley to your left, you're going to see a large individual. And it's pretty unmistakable. It looks like Blight.

Like, in this back alley, just kind of like wandering by, and he's heading toward that hideout. Oh, man. Okay. Um, okay, actually, I want to wait and see what happens now. Okay. Because, like, keeping a good enough distance, because just in case, like, but, like, because Calypso left, they were like starting to come out and look around. So part of it is just, like, on the offense, it's like, okay, so they don't know that Blight's back, and he just like walks in and they're like looking for, like, someone that apparently doesn't exist. Like, they just want to see, like, what this interaction is, and like, what is actually going on here.

It's like, is this a surprise that he's back, or like, what... that's kind of the... So if you follow him back, right, he's gonna, he's gonna have to duck down pretty low to get into this door and kind of peel it back. And there's going to be a couple of people there greeting him. And there's a silence as he kind of comes in, and then... Terry, take the fucking thing off, okay? And if Calypso's nearby enough to kind of, like, peer into the window, the guy's gonna, like, grab his wrist and twist it, and this... This disguise is gonna, like, fall away, like almost like a hologram type thing.

And it's gonna be kind of this spindly dude, and he's bruised up pretty good. Sorry, um, just kind of, like, I gotta get used to it, you know? Like, it's kind of nice, like I'm a little stronger, a little bigger. It's nice. I've hit my head like eight times tonight, though. Oh, so it's not just an inspiration, it's just... And they're gonna be talking, it's like, "Look, we heard someone up here earlier, and, like, this place might not be safe anymore, alright? So we need to get everything out of here as quickly as we can before the boss comes back, because if this gets confiscated, we're all dead." "Um, and Terry's gonna, Terry's gonna be like, 'Well, I mean, you know, I did pretty good earlier.

We gotta do some fighting or something.'" And then they're gonna hit Terry. It's like, "You fucking idiot, they almost got you. Uh, there's a monster outside, something's bassy. Uh, hold on a second." Yeah, uh, there's been a lot of screaming children all night, too. Oh, fantastic. Uh, I love it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, my favorite, yeah. And, uh, Terry's gonna kind of, like, recoil, like, "Did you see me question him, though? Like, it was pretty cool, like, I was pretty intimidating." And they're, they're just like, "You don't even fucking sound like him, just, you shouldn't have said anything.

Now, come on, let's just get all this out of here, let's start packing, come on, come on, come on, come on." And they're gonna, they're gonna run downstairs. Guys, we didn't even get our asses beat by the real blight. Yep. So it turns out we suck more than we previously did. That's not the lesson to take away here. I'm pretty sure that's the fucking lesson to take away. Yeah, yeah. I think the lesson you just taught us was, uh, Ouch, my, my ego. Wait, how do we not know that's, we, how do we not, how do we know we didn't fight the real blight? And he's just gone now.

He's just talking about, like, I did it pretty earlier, like, I was like, "Shit, you're questioning them and everything." Like, and they almost had you earlier because we did almost take him down, like, that's, like, the fake blight, not the, not the real one, not the one. Yeah. Okay. So yeah, uh, we suck. Yep, real bad. I feel like that's a very negative headspace to be in. Have you been paying attention to this fucking season? Like, have you been paying attention to Firebrand? Okay, okay. But I would say the worm has turned a bit in, in terms of odds. The worm has turned?

That's not a phrase. That is a phrase! I get- That is a phrase. No. Is it? Google it. I'm afraid to, it kind of sounds dirty. Oh, God. Even a worm will turn is an expression used to convey the message that even the meekest or most docile of creatures will retaliate to seek revenge if pushed too far. It's a phrase from 1546. Jesus Christ, Jason. That's not, okay, hold on, okay, it's still a phrase. It's spelled like a Y in shit. Okay, you know what? Now I'm tripling down. You guys are meek and you need to fucking turn. We've been turning this whole episode. This is the turn episode, you see all the Warforged on the roof?

Okay. Those Warforged are doing fucking pirouettes, that's how hard they're turning. So, Calypso's got this information. What do you want to do? I don't know. That's the thing. It's like, what do I even do with this? Because, like, okay, I bring it back so we can bring down like robo army justice on them. Like, what are the- That's a good point. I don't know what to even do with this. Like, it's just... I... Well, do you mind if I recap what you do know? You know that they're sitting on drugs. Yep. You also know that there is a big shipment coming in that you have not dealt with yet.

And if the real Blight isn't around, you could probably assume that that's what he is dealing with. So this batch of drugs is gonna be piled up with another batch of drugs. That's what you do know. There's a whole lot of drugs. Do you want to take a second? Like, grab a drink, hit the bathroom before you, you know? I just don't know what to do with this information. How about this? Okay. So we got a Bo rogue out there somewhere. Can I ask where Bo went after, after like the straw? Like, just like, what do you do? First of all, can you hear my baby in the background?

No. Not yet. Okay, good. Okay. Okay, I think Bo probably is going to take a walk through the streets of Brightport for a while, because this is a lot for her to digest. This isn't the way that she thought, you know, Firebrand was gonna go, even with all of the best intentions, you know? In a way, it almost feels like Bo is losing her city. So I think she's gonna go for a nice long walk through the city, and I'm not quite sure where she's gonna end up yet. I think Calypso is gonna go back to the bar that they were at, just to see like, how are people reacting in the aftermath and everything.

Okay, let's do a couple of things. For Bo, let's try and paint a picture here, because I've been on walks like that. And sometimes, sometimes the backdrop works with you, right? It kind of reinstills some faith, and sometimes you move to Sacramento, and the city tries to reject you like an organ every single day. So I want you to roll a flat d20. The higher the number, the more positive affirmations you're gonna see in the city. You're gonna see, you know, friends shaking hands, and you know, you're gonna think to yourself, "What a wonderful..." Sometimes you wanna go wherever the show's gonna be.

And the closer to single digits we get, well, we'll paint that picture too, so please give me a flat d20. Okay, 12. So like, you're gonna see people, you're probably gonna see people chit-chatting about like, fucking robots, guys, like that's crazy. But you're also gonna see people kind of helping each other out, you're gonna see someone with like a bum wagon wheel and like people stop to like, you know, some cargo got flipped over and they're like, "Okay, let me help you out" and stuff. You're also gonna see a couple of things that aren't amazing, but with a 12 it's not like you're gonna see people like street-shitting or something.

Like it's, you know, it's like, you're gonna see people like- You said that because we saw that yesterday while we were out. Literally saw that yesterday. But, um, I've never used this game as a way to implant things from my real life, so I'm not gonna start now. But yeah, no, the Brightport isn't so bad, like it's, you know, it's got some rough edges that need sanding down, but it's not like you're ready to just give up on the city as a whole, right? You grew up here. And that's, you know, that's Bo's entire mentality, that anything can be saved and rehabilitated.

The city included, so. To be fair, I think that's what Paxtron thinks too, they're just going about it different. In different ways. Absolutely rehabilitating right now. Oh, we're healing. Um, Paxtron Gwen, G.O.L.O. After you drop off this prisoner, what's the- it's a new night in Brightport, like were you going back to headquarters? Are you going back to- where are you going? Well, as you know, when we're walking away, um, you know, we lost a few- we lost a member, so it's a little somber, but Paxtron is actually- he's kinda overly quiet, it's almost like he's focusing on something.

You know, he's just- he's doing that jitter thing where he's in his head, or something, he's doing that a lot. Basically he's just scouring the city in his- in the Warforge, he's trying it out, I guess. Well, I think we should do the same thing for Paxtron. Let's get a flat D20, and the higher the number, the less crime there is, the lower the number, the more violations Paxtron is going to see. That's kind of perfect, that's an 8. So you're gonna see- you're gonna see some breaking of the law, right? You're gonna see, um, illegal parking, someone's got a bum wheel, and they're just parked in the middle of an intersection, that is a blatant violation.

Gotta smash that wagon. You're gonna see some actual muggings, you're gonna see, like, a few- yeah, you're gonna see common Brightport back alley fare. Normally, for the average, you know, basic human, there'd be too much, too much going on, and they'd be overwhelmed, but Paxtron's taking it all in, he's just, you know, his processor's running on high, and he's just gonna focus in, kind of like a threshold of, like, dangerous crimes he could get to in the vicinity. He's going to have, you know, some War Forge- I'm on the fence of having the War Forge climb off their perches and actually go help, I feel like that's a little, like, that'd be a little too, um, like, you know, police force, state surveillance force, like, they're gonna be, like, way too obvious, so, you know, Oh, okay, it's not that it's crossing a line, it's that you're, you're, it's too obvious.

Oh, yeah, no, it's not about how they feel, it's how they take it, you know? Okay. It's all about optics, really, how they feel, blah, blah, blah, blah, but, you know, it's all about looks, you know, if they're too afraid, then they're all gonna come for the robots, you know, and Paxton kind of, he took note of how the guards were, and guards are much less cowardly than the average citizen, so he has to take that into account, how he handles people, so it's not really how you talk to them, it's, you know, how you treat them, you know, it's just, if they think the, the, the, the warforged aren't there to hurt them, then maybe this all will work out, that's where he's trying to lead in his mind.

I feel like, while you're kind of on autopilot walking here, like, you're, like, that, if Paxton has a weakness, so to speak, it would be, like, Oh, his eyes are definitely not on his self right now, it's, like, the big thing, you know, his eyes are elsewhere. So you're not talking with Giolo and Gwen. What are Giolo and Gwen saying, like, while this is going on? Is that disconcerting? Is that, like, creepy? Is it comforting that, like, he's everywhere? I think Giolo would kind of wait for a little bit just to kind of, like, like, see if he was gonna volunteer any information, and when it became clear that he wasn't gonna, Giolo might pipe up and say, "So, what do you think we do next?

I mean, I'm ready if you've got an idea. You have eyes all over, right?" He'll kind of snap back once we address him, and he will say, "Yes, I do have eyes all over the city now. I know it may seem alarming, but I'm trying to assess situations accordingly. For what we can do in the meantime, I say we can head back to the place we call the headquarters and reassess our goals as a group." Giolo will nod at that and then kind of turn his attention to Gwen and say, "You gonna be okay, Fireball?" I think Gwen was probably, like, quiet, staring at the ground, and when Giolo asks that, she'll look up and be like, "Yeah, I'm fine.

Let's just do this, I guess, what we're doing." "You both do know you can ask me anything, and I will try to answer to the best of my ability. This is all very new to me, but I feel like I can do something, so I think I guess I am. Maybe it's selfish, and I do apologize, but I do feel like this is right in my brain, not so much in my heart." Gwen's gonna shake her head and go, "No, I trust you. I wouldn't let you do this. I'd be with Beau if I didn't trust you." Can I catch up with Calypso one last time? So you're going back to this bar, you're taking a temperature of...

Basically, it's like a survey. It's like, "Well, how do you feel about what happened? Is that it, or are you just listening in?" Just listening in, I think. Just trying to get a feel for what the vibe is. They're pretty upset in terms of how that happened. There's a little bit of an argument, like a pushback. Like, "Well, okay, if this... If this... They're breaking the law, maybe a couple of people knew that guy." And it's like, "Yeah, that guy's a piece of shit. Good, I'm glad." So there's a bit of dissent there, but the way it's executed is probably the biggest pushback, where it's like, "That's creepy.

What if someone just takes me in the middle of the night?" That type of thing. So the same conversations you guys were having before this game started is a lot of what's going on in that bar. Okay, I think I have an idea for what I'm going to do next, but... Oh boy. Well, that sounds promising. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, they would like to get an idea of the... I guess they don't see anyone from the group around or anything, so... They're gonna go to visit the Archmage. Okay. And where did Beau end up, do you think? I think Beau, probably after a very, very long sort of reflective walk, is gonna end up at home.

Oh, a nice soothing chat with Mom. That'll do it. "Where's your sister?" "Oh my God. I hear there's robots in the streets!" Oh, I can't wait. Well, with the promise of that soothing voice, that voice of reason, I think it's a good time for us to stop for the evening. And I think the next session is gonna be our last one. I have to message you something. Okay, good. I have to do it right now. Order 66, that's what we're doing? We're doing it? Oh, this was so hard. I fucking love this. Okay, I feel like the next session is gonna be our last one. Yeah. I feel like now I got it.

I know what to do. I know what's going on. I mean, if nothing else, this will establish the status quo going into the next arc, right? Yeah. Oh yeah. This is your tone setter. We'll be right back after these words from our sponsors. Please don't go anywhere. We really hope you guys enjoyed today's episode. Obviously, we'll be back next week with another brand new one. We are still changing things over behind the scenes. We're getting ready to debut a whole new thing for the show. So when we record, we'll actually be using a new table, new software, all kinds of stuff.

And it should make the show sound a bit better. It'll make things a little smoother on the recording side. There's stuff we just got used to over the years, and now we kind of have a chance to smooth that out. We're also going to be streaming the show. So every week on Twitch, when we drop a new episode, we're also going to be streaming it. And it'll just be the visual version. Like, it's going to be its own stream. It just won't be a live recording. That way we can do things that a live stream wouldn't let us do. The production value is going to be a little better.

The sound is going to be a little better. So we'll be talking about that a bit more as we get closer. But for now, you guys take care. We'll be back next week with another brand new episode. And until then, good luck with your games. Until then, good luck with your games.