Volume 1: In the Blood Ep. 27 - Cassandra, The Prophetess
TRANSCRIPT - In the Blood Ep. 27 - Cassandra, The Prophetess
Tau
A product of the Whisperforge.
[SFX: Whisperforge Chime]
Sound and Story — Brought to Life.
Tau
You’re listening to a parody that is not affiliated with or endorsed by Supergiant Games in any way, we’re just big ol’ nerds making improv fanfiction.
ROGUE RUNNERS is...rated R, for pretty much everything you can find in Greek Mythology: violence, assault, self-harm, offensive language, insensitive humor, and intense themes. We encourage everyone to check out our show notes and transcripts on our website at Whisperforge.org. Are you ready to run? Then welcome to Volume 1: In the Blood.
[SFX: Intro music.]
Tau
Cassandra lifts her hands up into the air like a little yoga Mountain Pose...
[SFX: Ominous music builds.]
Tau
....and you see this constellation of stars appearing in her hand and then she throws it down onto the ground...
[SFX: Shyoom!]
Tau
....and in a wide circle all around you there is just this like starry air, like you just see the lights and constellations floating around and she's at the center of it and there's this like globe of stars in the middle of it...
Giancarlo (Rolf)
Uh oh.
Tau
...that seems to be getting bigger and bigger. Arete it is your turn.
Michael (Arete)
"Bringing a sun into it at that that just seems like putting a hat on a hat, Cassandra." Arete is not going to attack but instead going to check on the other Olympiad. So he's going to run over to his star crossed lover.
Tau
Okay, make a medecine check.
Michael (Arete)
Eight.
Tau
You get the sense that he is unconscious.
Michael (Arete)
I am going to disengage and whisper out to the heavens as I lean over my hopefully lover's body and go "Hermes aid my AC!" and his air conditioner rises by five.
[SFX: Boon chime.]
Players
(laugh)
Tau
It's Alexander's turn.
Nicholas (Alexander)
Alexander will use holy bulwark to bolster his AC plus four...
[SFX: The ding of metal.]
Nicholas (Alexander)
...and then as a bonus action you shield the faith for another plus two to AC.
[SFX: A shhhhink of power.]
Tau
Everybody's just just shield it up, all right, okay. (chuckles)
Giancarlo (Rolf)
(serious) "We need not battle here. Please see reason," and Rolf is going to dash over to Palestrae and try and do a medicine check to see if he can wake her up.
Tau
Okay, make a medicine check
Giancarlo (Rolf)
21.
Tau
Okay, you get the sense that Palestrae is not unconscious but also there is like a magical effect that is like keeping her unconscious. Like for example even if you were to like restore hitpoints to her she wouldn't like spring back to her feet. Like this is like this is Athene- this is a Athena's wrath that has essentially just smote them.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"Cassandra, you need not do this. None of us will gain anything from quarrel here."
Tau
Make a persuasion check with disadvantage.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
Eight.
Tau
She scoffs at you and says (grand, echoing voice) "You servants of the gods are so twisted and manipulative. I will never believe a word that comes out of your mouths." Annie, it is your turn.
Amanda (Annie)
"Miss Cassandra ma'am, we're not necessarily trying to help the gods, we're just trying to survive and get out of here, you know? Probably just like you, right?" And Annie's kind of like hiding behind Alex in a way as she's talking. Annie would like to be near Alex for this.
Nicholas (Alexander)
So you're behind my horse's ass I guess?
Giancarlo (Rolf)
(fart noise)
Amanda (Annie)
A little bit, just a little bit.
Tau
Okay, make a persuasion check with disadvantage.
Amanda (Annie)
Dang, 15.
Tau
"I have already foreseen what you will try to bring about here. I will never trust you."
Amanda (Annie)
Oh, well. In that case, Annie is going to disengage as a bonus action just to boost that AC.
[SFX: The woosh of AC rising.]
Tau
Okay.
Amanda (Annie)
Thank you!
Tau
Alright, it is now Cassandra's turn, she says "I will not suffer liars in my presence." And then her eyes turned purple and she levitates and she unleashes this awful scream and this scream is not a scream that hurts you in your ears. It is a scream that hurts you in your mind.
[SFX: A scream, terrible in all its layers PIERCES the air.]
Players
(gasp)
Tau
Everybody everybody's making intelligent saving throw.
Amanda (Annie)
Oh no!
Nicholas (Alexander)
Who's next to me?
Amanda (Annie)
I am! I'm next to Alex.
Nicholas (Alexander)
Plus four to you.
Amanda (Annie)
(gasp) Thank goodness.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
(sarcastic) Great!
Tau
Who rolled above a 17?
Michael (Arete)
I did.
Tau
So you're only gonna take half the damage. So first off everybody who fails takes 84 psychic damage.
Players
(sounds of shock and surprised laughter)
Tau
You're also stunned.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
Yes I am.
Amanda (Annie)
My MIND is on FIRE!
Nicholas (Alexander)
Does my horse have to make a throw?
Tau
Bucephalus is affected because if you look at the spell find steed, if your steed has an intelligence of five or less, its intelligence becomes six and it gains the ability to understand what language of your choice that you speak. So you summoned an intelligent steed.
Amanda (Annie)
(dramatic sigh) Dammit, Alex!.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
We're hearing the scream in our brains and see that Bucephalus is about to kick the bucket. Rolf just looks him dead in the eye and goes, "Existence is pain, Bucephalus."
Tau & Players
(laugh)
Nicholas (Alexander)
So it would be a minus three?
Tau
Yeah, so I guess you have to roll exactly a 20 to save.
Nicholas (Alexander)
Yeah, I got a 18.
Tau
So he fails. So he takes 84 psychic damage.
Nicholas (Alexander)
So, uh, (wheezing laugh) he vanishes.
Tau
Oh wait, what about, what about what about your plus four?
Nicholas (Alexander)
Whose plus four?
Tau
Don't you add plus four to Bucephalus?
Nicholas (Alexander)
Oh, so he only takes half damage?
Tau
Yeah, so, he only takes half damage. So.
Nicholas (Alexander)
Oh, well he still disappears (laughs).
[SFX: Bloody SPLATTER.]
Tau
Here's where it gets really freaky. So Palestrae, Pandaie, and Adonis's heads explode.
[SFX: Bloody SPLATTER!]
Players
(gasp!)
Tau
(laughs) That's literally the description.
Amanda (Annie)
Nooo!
Tau
If a target is killed by this damage, its head explodes assuming it has a head.
Players
(sounds of shock)
Tau
So their heads explode, they are immediately drawn into the blood. Yes?
Giancarlo (Rolf)
Is the 84 including minus three from Athena?
Tau
Yes. Oh no, it is not including minus three. So...
Giancarlo (Rolf)
(triumphant laugh)
Tau
...you take 81 if you fail.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
Haha!
Tau
Okay, so people who succeed only take 42 psychic damage. Also it is very clear that she front loaded this, like this is her most powerful thing so it doesn't it doesn't seem like she's gonna be doing this every turn.
Amanda (Annie)
(relieved laugh)
Nicholas (Alexander)
Okay, thank god.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
How long are we stunned for?
Tau
A stunned target can make an intelligence saving throw at the end of each of its turns. On a successful save, the stunning effect ends. So what that means is that this can go on infinitely if you can't save. Now it is... Arete's turn. Um, the sun gets a little bit bigger.
[SFX: Ethereal tone vibrates.]
Michael (Arete)
Okay, so Arete having just watched Adonis's head explode, melt into the grass. Arete kind of like grasps the blades of grass in his hands and pulls it out of the ground and just weeps a bit. (weeps)
Tau
(laughing) You're just covered in Adonis's blood.
Michael (Arete)
And then, Arete will go over to Rolf and move him closer...
[SFX: Scrape of moving Rolf.]
Michael (Arete)
...to Alexander so that way he will get a bonus for his saving throws.
Nicholas (Alexander)
Nah, I don't think he will.
Michael (Arete)
Okay, so you're planning on moving away from our two incapacitated teammates? Great.
Nicholas (Alexander)
I-I gotta try something.
Tau
Okay. At the end of your turn, Cassandra waves a fan of cards in front of her...
[SFX: The flick of card against card as a sparkling tone of magic sounds.]
Tau
...and they spin around her and she draws five cards.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
Ah, the Five of Fuck You. Roll tries a thank you and goes (unintelligible) "Tha-tha-tha-tha."
Tau & Players
(laugh)
Tau
Alright, Alexander, it is your turn. Also, I don't know how much this matters, she doesn't look nearly as like beefy as Pelops.
Tau & Players
Uh huh.
Tau
She's just a woman in robes.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
Hey, what are you trying to say about women in robes?
Amanda (Annie)
She's just a woman in robes.
Michael (Arete)
Yeah!
Tau
(sly) Maybe what I'm saying is that looks can be deceiving.
Nicholas (Alexander)
I'm gonna charge at Cassandra and try to attack her.
Tau
Okay.
Tau
(mock urgency) No!
Nicholas (Alexander)
Does a 14 land?
Tau
So you think that it would and then what ends up happening is that one of the cards moves in the way and you slash through it and you see a nine on the card...
[SFX: Cards shuffle and a chime sounds.]
Tau
...as if your result was changed to a nine. And that card is gone.
Nicholas (Alexander)
Ohhhh.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
Interesting.
Nicholas (Alexander)
All right. I attack again, it's a 10.
Tau
Okay, a 10 does not hit so it just misses.
[SFX: The sword WHIFFS it.]
Nicholas (Alexander)
Damn. And then one more attack from Daedelus.
Tau
Nice.
Nicholas (Alexander)
23.
Tau
Okay, so again, you are moving into strike. You stab in at her and you stabbed through a card instead that another nine appears on as if your result was changed to it.
[SFX: Cards flip and the chime sounds.]
Tau
Does that conclude your turn?
Nicholas (Alexander)
That will be it, yeah.
Tau
Okay, Rolf, it is your turn.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
I guess I'll roll a save to see if I can become unstunned. That's a natural 20 for a total of 23.
Tau
Excellent. Yeah. So you save, you are no longer stunned.
Amanda (Annie)
Annie's also going to roll, just trying to save. That's a six!
Tau
You remain stunned and this there's just these like awful, futuristic visions burning through your mind. And you get the sense that like, maybe this is like what Cassandra sees all the time.
Amanda (Annie)
And Annie's just like smacking at her head.
Tau
It is Cassandra's turn, she is going to look at you, Alexander. You see these lights glowing where her eye sockets would be behind her blindfold.
[SFX: A tone grows and grows, undulating painfully.]
Tau
And then she pulls off the blindfold and you see these green laser beams shoot out of it straight at you into your mind.
[SFX: The lazers BURST out, like a zing of electricity.]
Tau
Make an intelligence saving throw.
Nicholas (Alexander)
Oh, critical fail.
Amanda (Annie)
(sighs)
Giancarlo (Rolf)
We going home. (singing) I'm going home.
Tau
This is a spell called feeble mind. You blast the mind of a creature that you can see within range attempting to shatter its intellect and personality.
Nicholas (Alexander)
Oh, I should've used my inspiration.
Tau
Use your inspiration.
Nicholas (Alexander)
To try and save it?
Tau
Yeah, this would be the time.
[SFX: Inspiration DING.]
Nicholas (Alexander)
A dirty 20?
Tau
Okay, what's your intelligence modifier?
Nicholas (Alexander)
It's plus six.
Tau
Okay, well then you save and are fine. So she draws two more cards to join the five...
[SFX: Chime and shuffle of cards.]
Tau
... spinning around her. Then you see the star getting a little bit bigger.
[SFX: That ethereal undulation.]
Tau
Okay, all right. Arete, it is your turn.
Michael (Arete)
I still don't think violence is the right way to go here. But I don't know what to do. Because my character is geared towards violence.
Amanda (Annie)
"(with effort) Arete. Arete."
Michael (Arete)
"What, Annie?"
Amanda (Annie)
"Bobby di bip."
Michael (Arete)
"You're you're right Annie, I understand exactly what you're saying." And Arete turns around and faces Cassandra and it goes "This is a little lullaby my mother would sing to- or adoptive mother would sing to me. (singing) Baby mine. Don't you cry."
Amanda (Annie)
"(unintelligibe noises)"
Michael (Arete)
"Baby mine, dry your eyes."
Amanda (Annie)
"(makes noises and cries)"
Michael (Arete)
"You're so strong, look at yourself. I'm making up words on the spot."
Tau
Okay.
Amanda (Annie)
(crying) "Arete...stooo."
Tau
Is that your turn?
Giancarlo (Rolf)
(laughs)
Michael (Arete)
That is my action to try to soothe Cassandra's tormented soul with a song.
Tau
Okay, make a performance check with disadvantage.
Michael (Arete)
With disadvantages is a six.
Tau
Is that your turn?
Michael (Arete)
As my bonus action, I will disengage. I would like put my hands up and go "I-I'm not trying to fight you here."
Tau
Alexander. It's your turn.
Nicholas (Alexander)
I'm gonna cast... aura of vitality.
Tau
Oh, what level is that?
Nicholas (Alexander)
That's a third level.
Tau
Okay. Cassandra lifts her hand and she waves it and the spell is counterspelled.
[SFX: A magical tone followed by the sound of cards on cards.]
Nicholas (Alexander)
And there's my bonus action, I dash her again?
[SFX: The wave WOOSHES.]
Tau
Make an attack roll but don't roll damage.
Nicholas (Alexander)
I got a dirty 20.
Tau
One of the cards shatters...
[SFX: Chime followed by shuffling cards.]
Tau
...another one that has a nine on it and your wave just rides past her.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
Rolf begins waking up from his stupor and he says "Cassandra, you have foreseen violence? I can grant it to you but we need not see--"
Tau
"I woke up and chose violence."
Giancarlo (Rolf)
(whisper) Damn it.
Amanda (Annie)
Hehehehe.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"We need not see this through to its conclusion!" And he is going to infuse a blood crystal as he casts Firebolt upon her and expend two sorcery points to do it as a bonus action.
Tau
Okay.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
So with the blood crystal, that is a 31 to hit.
Tau
Yeah, that does hit because yeah, she's out of good rolls there.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
And then he's going to say "Ares, empower this strike."
[SFX: The Ares boon boom chimes.]
Giancarlo (Rolf)
And that is 30 fire damage...
[SFX: FWOOM.]
Giancarlo (Rolf)
...as well as one hangover.
Tau
Sorry. So when that goes off the star that she's concentrating on explodes...
Giancarlo (Rolf)
Aw shit.
[SFX: EXPLOSION followed by undulating tones.]
Tau
...so you see, like all of these galaxies and cool shit all around. So as the sun explodes, everybody takes 58 radiant damage.
Amanda (Annie)
Mmm.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
You hear a glass thing break as the Hephaestus auto injector goes off on Rolf.
Tau
Nice.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
He comes back with 40 HP, invisible, and gets to take a second turn.
Tau
Yeah.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
Immediately.
Tau
Yeah. That's right.
Michael (Arete)
Arete, using his tactics of evasion that he has studied as a grave marker many a year, only takes half damage even when I fail with the dex saving throw.
Tau
Nice.
Michael (Arete)
So he will instead take 27.
Tau
So Rolf, what HP are you at now? And Annie, what HP are you at now?
Giancarlo (Rolf)
40.
Amanda (Annie)
Yeah, Annie is also at 40.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
With that you see, well you don't see. But Rolf is summoning a second blood crystal and he is going to cast polymorph...
Tau
Nice.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
... on Cassandra.
Tau
Okay.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
And I'm going to turn her into a butterfly.
Tau
Okay, what's the save DC?
Giancarlo (Rolf)
A 24 wisdom save or higher.
Tau
Okay, so immediately one of the cards flips over...
[SFX: Card shuffle and chime.]
Tau
...it has a 20 on it and then that shatters and she is fine.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
I'm going to expend two more sorcery points now that it is my turn again. And I'm going to cast Melf's minute meteors at level three.
Tau
Okay.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
I'm going to pick up my blood crystal that I'm assuming bounced off that card.
Tau
Yeah.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
With searing return and then she needs to make a dexterity saving throw as I hurl two meteors at her.
[SFX: FWOOMF.]
Tau
What's the save DC on that?
Giancarlo (Rolf)
That is a 22.
Tau
Another card comes to her it flips over it has a 19 on it...
[SFX: Card shuffle and chime.]
Tau
...It shatters and she saves. So how much damage does she take on a save?
Giancarlo (Rolf)
Eight fire damage as one explodes and then she should roll a second save as the second one flies towards her.
Tau
Okay, she does not save versus that so she takes the full amount here.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
She's going to take 25 damage...
[SFX: A fiery FWOOMF!]
Giancarlo (Rolf)
...as well as another stack of hangover...
[SFX: An echoey bottle pops.]
Giancarlo (Rolf)
...as this meteor crashes into her. I'm going to go ahead and as that bonus action and cast firebolt.
Tau
Which is basically a meteor at this point.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
A 24 to hit.
Tau
One of the cards shatters...
[SFX: Card shuffle and chime.]
Tau
...it has a two on it and she is fine, that misses. So she has one card left.
Amanda (Annie)
Annie would like to cast mass cure wounds on her Olympiad.
[SFX: The viol plucks low notes.]
Nicholas (Alexander)
Woah.
Tau
Okay.
Amanda (Annie)
24, all four of us.
Nicholas (Alexander)
Wow.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
God bless.
Tau
A card comes up...
[SFX: Card shuffle and chime.]
Tau
...it shatters, it has a three on it...
Nicholas (Alexander)
(disappointed) Oh.
Tau
Everybody heals for three.
Amanda (Annie)
Wha?
Tau
All her cards are gone. It is Cassandra's turn, she is going to cast a spell on herself and an immobile faintly shimmering barrier springs into existence...
[SFX: A shimmering tone emanates as cards swirl and scrape around her.]
Tau
... in a 10 foot radius around her and remains for the duration. Arete it is your turn.
Michael (Arete)
Arete draws La Voix...
[SFX: The sword scrapes against its scabbard.]
Michael (Arete)
... and places it on the ground stands between Annie and...
Amanda (Annie)
(gasp)
Michael (Arete)
... Cassandra and goes "Hey, take it I'm right here."
Tau
You can also like make an rcana check to see what the globe does.
Michael (Arete)
That's a nine so probably not much.
Tau
Okay. So that does not pick up on what the glove does. Okay, so at the end of your turn Arete, she is going to send a sleeve of cards at you so a whole bunch of cards just fire at you rapid fire. Does a 27 hit?
Michael (Arete)
Yes.
Tau
You take 20 slashing damage as these cards fly through you.
[SX: The cards WOOSH through the air, penetraing Arete.]
Michael (Arete)
"(cries out in pain)"
Nicholas (Alexander)
"Arete!" And that's gonna swing at Cassandra
Tau
Okay.
Nicholas (Alexander)
11.
Tau
That does not hit.
Nicholas (Alexander)
He'll try again.
Tau
Okay.
Nicholas (Alexander)
A natural 20.
Tau
That's a critical so that definitely hits.
Nicholas (Alexander)
Woo!
Tau
This would be the time to smite.
Nicholas (Alexander)
(smiling) Yeah, I'm gonna do that.
Tau
(chuckling) Okay.
Nicholas (Alexander)
(singing) Let th-- (gasps) three ones??? (sighing) Oh my god.
Amanda (Annie)
(gasp)
Nicholas (Alexander)
(sighs) I got 28 with everything so doubling that is 56.
[SFX: The blade whips through the air, landing with a bloody thump.]
Tau
Does that conclude your turn Alexander?
Nicholas (Alexander)
No, I use Daedalus for one more attack.
Tau
Okay.
Nicholas (Alexander)
It is a 19.
Tau
That does hit.
Nicholas (Alexander)
Okay, he's gonna divine smite this one too, 30 damage
[FX: A wet, bloody strike.]
Tau
She's looking pretty bad
Nicholas (Alexander)
Halfway bad?
Tau
More than halfway bad.
Players
(gasp in delight)
Nicholas (Alexander)
Bonus action the dash, get the AC just in case.
[SFX: Wave WOOSHES.]
Tau
All right, where are you dashing?
Nicholas (Alexander)
Into her.
Tau
Okay, so make an attack roll.
Nicholas (Alexander)
23.
Tau
Yeah, she's she's shoved back 10 feet and takes a damage. So she puts her blindfold back on. And then she holds her finger to her forehead and she kind of whips her hand out from her forehead and you see this lash glass of psychic energy just fly out...
[SFX: It BURSTS out, like glass SHATTERING from a projectile.]
Tau
...and when it hits the ground, it explodes like a firecracker.
[SFX: POW!]
Tau
Everybody needs to make a... an intelligent saving throw.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
Eight.
Amanda (Annie)
17.
Michael (Arete)
Six.
Nicholas (Alexander)
10.
Tau
So who got a 17?
Amanda (Annie)
Annie did.
Tau
Okay, so you only take half of this.
Amanda (Annie)
Ohoho.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
Shit.
Tau
Everybody who fails takes 25 psychic damage. Everybody who succeeds takes 12 psychic damage. After a failed save, the target has muddled thoughts for one minute, during that time it rolls a d6 and subtracts that number rolled from all of the attack rolls and ability checks as well as constitution saving throws to maintain concentration.
Amanda (Annie)
(sighs, big oof)
Tau
The target can make an intelligence saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. Rolf it is your turn.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
Is that barrier still around her?
Tau
It is.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
I would like to roll arcana as I begin hurling the meteors at her.
Tau
Okay, so make your arcana check.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
That is, t-- god dammit, it's 12.
Tau
With a 12, you are not able to totally figure out what it does. You know that it is a globe that protects her from something.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
All right, I'm gonna use my last fourth level spell slot to try and cast polymorph one more time.
Tau
Okay. You cast polymorph and nothing happens.
[SFX: Trumpet sounding bwa wa waaaa.]
Tau
But now you do see that the globe is definitely what stopped that. Okay, Annie, it is your turn.
Amanda (Annie)
Annie is gonna cast Bardic inspiration...
[SFX: The viol plays some jaunty notes.]
Amanda (Annie)
...and give that to Alexander.
Tau
Cassandra is, on her turn, going to summon five cards to spin around her.
[SFX: A tone pulsates as the cards whip around her.]
Michael (Arete)
(sarcastic) Heyyy. Welcome back. We missed you
Tau
Arete, it is your turn.
Nicholas (Alexander)
"Arete. Please! Clear the cards. I need to see him."
Amanda (Annie)
"Awww. Arete."
Michael (Arete)
"I'm sorry, Alexander. I can't do it. I won't do it."
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"If you cannot strike your enemy, I do not see you faring well in our plan to destroy the entirety of the Underworld."
Tau
Do you say that out loud?
Giancarlo (Rolf)
Yep.
Amanda (Annie)
Yeah, does Cassandra react to that?
Tau
She has like a knit brow under her blindfold. But she doesn't say anything immediately to that.
Michael (Arete)
"Are you being compelled to do this, Cassandra? Because if you're enemies of the gods, then and I mean, yeah, we're, yeah, we've had, we've picked up some boons. But we've been doing a lot of self discovery lately, and I'm not so sure I want to pick up any more boons, personally."
Tau
"I have nothing to say to a servant of Apollo," make an intelligent saving throw, Arete.
Michael (Arete)
"I would like to say 'ex-servant',"and then I will make the intelligence check.
Tau
Okay.
Michael (Arete)
17.
Tau
Okay. So you take nine psychic damage.
[SFX: Again, the burst of psychic energy, like glass shattered by a projectile.]
Tau
You can't take a reaction until the end of your next turn.
Michael (Arete)
Okay.
Tau
Moreover, on your next turn, you must choose whether you move, take an action, or a bonus action. You only get one of the three.
Michael (Arete)
Okay.
Tau
So this is as she rebukes you and you feel that you have been like whipped, but like in your mind, it's like a mind whip...
Michael (Arete)
Mmmm.
Tau
...as she retorts. With that, Alexander it is your turn.
Nicholas (Alexander)
Yeah, I'm just gonna strike at her.
Tau
Okay.
Nicholas (Alexander)
So I get an 18.
Tau
One of the cards appears...
[SFX: Chime and shuffle.]
Tau
...and it turns into a five as the card shatters.
Nicholas (Alexander)
Next one is a seven.
Tau
That does not hit.
[SFX: The sword WHIFFS it.]
Nicholas (Alexander)
And now with Daedalus' help. A 13 would land, right?
Tau
A 13 would land. A card shatters as a four appears on it...
[SFX: Chime and shuffle.]
Tau
...and that attack misses.
Nicholas (Alexander)
Yeah, and then I will dash into her.
[SFX: The wave wooshes.]
Nicholas (Alexander)
A nine.
Tau
That does not hit.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
I'm going to cast firebolt upon her with a blood crystal.
Tau
Okay.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
That is a natural 20.
Tau
You fire it at the globe and nothing happens.
[SFX: The fwoomf of the firebolt disperses.]
Giancarlo (Rolf)
Okay, I'm going to expend two sorcery points for that to be the bonus action because I was going to do it twice. But then instead of doing that, I'm going to run up to her and fire a bolt at her.
Tau
Of what?
Giancarlo (Rolf)
My crossbow.
Tau
Oh, got it. Okay, I didn't know. Okay. You said you cast firebolt and then you're firing a bolt.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
Yeah.
Nicholas (Alexander)
Firing A Bolt.
Tau
(laughing) So I hope you can understand my confusion.
Amanda (Annie)
Yeah.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
14.
[SFX: The bolt slices through the air but misses.]
Tau
It shoots into a card which has a one on it and it shatters.
[SFX: Chime and shuffle.]
Giancarlo (Rolf)
I do another cartwheel and I say "(silly noise)"
Tau
Okay, Annie it's your turn.
Amanda (Annie)
Thank you so much. Annie would like to cast song of apathy, which forces Cassandra to have to make a wisdom saving throw.
[SFX: The dice clatters.]
Tau
What is the DC?
Amanda (Annie)
A 16.
Tau
Another card shatters that has a 14 on it.
[SFX: Chime and shuffle.]
Tau
And she saves.
Amanda (Annie)
"Damn, that was my only song of apathy and I really was excited to use it and now I can't use it so I--"
Tau
"Oh, poor girl. Do the fates frustrate you?"
Amanda (Annie)
"Hey now, we've both been wronged and duped by Apollo. And I'm not trying to downplay what you've been going through, because that is just as sucky so I am extremely sorry."
Tau
(mocking Annie) "Oh you've been so wronged by Apollo, you will carry out the whims of all Olympus."
Amanda (Annie)
"Hey, now not true. Hey, now Hey, now. (overlapping with following line) This is NOT what dreams are made of."
Amanda (Annie)
(growing more upset) "No, it is NOT what dreams are made of, this is NOT what dreams are made of."
Tau
This is what dreams are made of.
Tau
At end of your turn, she fires a sleeve of cards at you that slash away at you.
[SFX: The cards woosh forward.]
Amanda (Annie)
"No!"
Tau
Her fifth card shatters...
[SFX: Chime and shuffle.]
Tau
...it has a 14 on it. Does a 23 hit you?
Amanda (Annie)
Yeah, it hits.
Tau
Okay. You take 20 slashing damage. So now it is Cassandra's turn, I have to roll concentration.
[SFX: The dice rolls.]
Tau
I have to get at least a ten. Ooh. Okay. She gets a seven. She has no cards. So the globe drops.
Amanda (Annie)
(gasps)
Tau
She is going to draw five cards again.
[SFX: Cards shuffle.]
Tau
Four of them gather up and then she just swipes her hand through them. And those four cards explode...
[SFX: Small explosion.]
Tau
...and she is just glowing with energy.
[SFX: That magical tone emanates from her.]
Tau
So what is actually happening is that she is trading in the value of those rolls to get spell slots back.
Amanda (Annie)
Ohhh.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
I see.
Tau
And you suspect that she is brimming with enough power like you saw when she first like absolutely merkt Ajax.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
Mm hmm.
Tau
So she still has one card spinning around her and she is fully ready to fuck shit up again. So... Arete, it is your turn.
Michael (Arete)
(desperate) "I didn't try hard enough with Pelops but I won't stop trying for you," and Arete runs over and gives Cassandra a hug.
[SFX: A soft thump as his arms wrap around the woman in robes.]
Nicholas (Alexander)
(indignant) To grapple her at least???
Players
(laugh)
Tau
You get inspiration...
[SFX: DING.]
Tau
...but does that conclude your turn?
Michael (Arete)
Yes.
Tau
She casts a spell and 10 cards fly around her.
[SFX: Cards whip by each other, a sparkling magic surrounds her.]
Tau
They're kind of like the cards that she was using to attack but there are 10 of them and they will hurt a lot. Alexander it's your turn.
Nicholas (Alexander)
Does a 25 land?
Tau
Her last of her five cards shatters...
[SFX: Chime and shuffle.]
Tau
...and replaces that roll with a seven.
Nicholas (Alexander)
He attacks again... a 16 will land, correct?
Tau
That does hit.
Nicholas (Alexander)
And that's 41 damage.
[SFX: Alexander's sword SLASHES, landing his blow.]
Tau
A single damage point might kill her off but...
Nicholas (Alexander)
Okay, I have one more attack.
Tau
Okay.
Nicholas (Alexander)
Daedelus...
Amanda (Annie)
(on the edge of her seat) Oh my gosh.
Tau
Once you strike her, the 10 cards crash down.
[SFX: The cards all flutter, bumping against each other as they fall.]
Nicholas (Alexander)
"Iris!"
[SFX: Glimmering chime of Iris' boon.]
Tau
That makes your AC functionally 30?
Nicholas (Alexander)
30.
Tau
None of these can hit on a 30. So you see these 10 cards go BAM BAM BAM BAM!
[SFX: The chime sounds as the cards WHIP OUT, SPRAYING towards Alex, magic CRACKLING.]
Tau
And there's bolts of rainbow light just goin' everywhere and none of them hit you.
Nicholas (Alexander)
I have another attack.
Tau
All right, go for it.
Nicholas (Alexander)
That's a dirty 20.
Tau
Alexander, finish her.
Nicholas (Alexander)
Alexander is going to swing counterclockwise chop at Cassandra's head.
[SFX: The sword lands with a bloody THUNK.]
Nicholas (Alexander)
He buries the sword into her neck but it doesn't finish the cut so he spins back the other way in reverse...
[SFX: He WHIPS around.]
Nicholas (Alexander)
...to behead Cassandra and takes out his jar.
Tau
What's your spell save DC?
Nicholas (Alexander)
16.
Tau
She does not go in the jar.
Nicholas (Alexander)
Okay. Then I cut her head off.
Tau
What is your alignment right now?
Nicholas (Alexander)
True neutral.
Tau
Okay, your alignment is now lawful evil. The jar feels hot in your hand. Just before you chop her head off, she says (softly) "How is this possible? Am I finally free of the cur--" and then you cut, cut her head off.
[SFX: A bloody slice and a wet thump.]
Nicholas (Alexander)
"That's right, lady luck. You're free."
Tau
And now it's like a veil is lifted and you see like the hundreds of shades all around you clapping, cheering, you see confetti falling.
[SFX: The crowd fades in, a MASSIVE group of shades in celebration.]
Tau
You see Koalemos like float down like on a harness, and he goes "It looks like we have a new Olympiad in the UFC!"
[SFX: The crowd grows louder.]
Tau
Everyone uproariously cheers.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
(muttering) "Couldn't give us any boons people?"
Nicholas (Alexander)
(laughs)
Tau
You get a nectar.
[SFX: A glimmering chime.]
Amanda (Annie)
Aww.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
Sweet.
Tau
You have every boon there is. And for the first time you see all those like woven banners like all around and they actually show your faces on them.
Amanda (Annie)
"Whoa."
Nicholas (Alexander)
"I don't understand why Arete's is there?"
Tau
Yeah? That, that's a fair point, but it is. (chuckles)
Michael (Arete)
"Oh my, I completely agree. I don't want to be there."
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"Arete."
[SFX: An echoing tone fades in, unsettling.]
Michael (Arete)
(agitated) "The fact that this was all like a game for you people, a game for you people? This woman was DEEPLY suffering."
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"You make a fair point, but it seems our interests have fallen out of alignment. Is this going to be an issue?"
Tau
Speaking of alignment...
Michael (Arete)
"Very well might be."
Nicholas (Alexander)
While Arete's yelling back at the crowd, Alexander will come behind him and stab Arete.
Michael (Arete)
(gasps)
Amanda (Annie)
WHAT.
Michael (Arete)
(softly) Okay.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
Ohohoho.
Nicholas (Alexander)
A 24 would land right?
Michael (Arete)
Absolutely, yeah.
Nicholas (Alexander)
I'm sure you're dead but... 36... would kill him, right?
Michael (Arete)
Yeah.
[SFX: A bloody shhhlick of the blade going in. Hollow glass noise as a jar opens.]
Nicholas (Alexander)
Alexander just takes out the jar and tries to stuff Arete in it.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
Okay, Rolf cast level five witch bolt on Alex.
Amanda (Annie)
And Annie casts cure wounds on Arete.
Michael (Arete)
Do I need to roll for the jar, Tau?
Tau
It's not gonna happen because you're being healed at the exact same time.
Amanda (Annie)
That's a 21.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
Rolf gets a 33 on his witch bolt.
Nicholas (Alexander)
Yeah, that hits.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
(soberly accepting) Okay. That's 39 damage.
[SFX: The FWOOMF of the spell.]
Giancarlo (Rolf)
Does that kill you?
Nicholas (Alexander)
It does not kill me, no.
Tau
Alexander, you do notice that another gate appears at the end of the colosseum and you have a strong sense that the person you're looking for is there.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
As the lightning comes down on Alexander, you see Rolf has his jar in hand.
Nicholas (Alexander)
Well, I'm not dead. But.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
He begins to charge up a second spell and he looks at you and he says, (intensely) "Try to hurt the Olympiad again, and I WILL deliver you to her myself."
Nicholas (Alexander)
(urgently) I dash at the gate.
[SFX: WOOSH.]
Nicholas (Alexander)
I slam the thing.
[SFX: The gentle tinkle of glass breaking.]
Nicholas (Alexander)
And I go inside.
Tau
It has the skull and crossbones on it.
Nicholas (Alexander)
Yeah.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
(raging after Alex) "We are a TEAM! YOU GOD DAMN NUMSKULL. WE'RE ALL WE HAVE!"
Nicholas (Alexander)
Ignoring this, I go in.
[SFX: Portal SWOOSH.]
Tau
Alexander is in the gate.
Amanda (Annie)
Annie's gonna go to Arete--
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"Arete, are you all right?"
Amanda (Annie)
Yeah, and just ask that question.
Michael (Arete)
"I appreciate both of you. I'm actually one point healthier than I was before the whole ordeal. So yeah, I'm doing pretty good. Thanks."
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"Do we need to kill him?"
Amanda (Annie)
"Oh, no."
Michael (Arete)
"Nooo."
Amanda (Annie)
"No, no, that's not the answer, either."
Michael (Arete)
"I don't want anybody to die anymore. I'm so over it."
Amanda (Annie)
"Okay, timeout timeout."
Giancarlo (Rolf)
(still fuming) "You deserve to be in that jar as much as he does. But if he's going to SABOTAGE our attempts for no reason whatsoever, then we need to deal with it."
Amanda (Annie)
(placating) "Okay. Alex is obviously not in the right headspace. I know that's not an excuse."
Michael (Arete)
"He wants to see the most important person in his life."
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"He CHOSE his fate."
Amanda (Annie)
(calming) "Okay. Okay."
Giancarlo (Rolf)
(still not calm) "He does not get to decide ours for us!"
Amanda (Annie)
"Arete, I understand what you're choosing here, to not engage. And I can respect that, especially with someone like Cassandra. It was very brave of you. But I can't believe I'm the person saying this, but we've come really far..."
Michael (Arete)
"We're probably not going to make it out of here. Not to bring down the mood, I kept trying. But you know, there comes a certain point when you've been toyed with so many times that, yeah, I think I agree with the other Olympiad. Just let the chaos flow. Why not?"
Amanda (Annie)
"You're okay with chaos flowing, you're just not okay with you, the one kind of bringing it on? Correct?"
Michael (Arete)
"I've brought enough chaos to people's lives."
Tau
(amused) You have no idea how true that statement is.
Giancarlo (Rolf)
"I do not care what you've done to the others. Once upon a time I might have. The only people here that matter to me are this Olympiad. You took Annie's life from her. What matters is atoning. You let her get out of there, and you give her a chance to live the life she should have. You ought to punish yourself after that, that's fine. But your actions are no longer your own. They are all of ours. Same goes for Alex. If it is what needs to be done. I'll kill him. I'll kill you. I'll kill myself. I will kill anyone who gets in our way. If we know that all there is is battle then just fucking do it and do it well! Embrace it. How much longer can we live in pity for ourselves? What does it get you? Pain, suffering, more? No! TURN IT BACK ON THEM! Take control. I'm sick of this." And he goes through the portal.
[SFX: Portal swoosh.]
Michael (Arete)
"(sighs) My friend. I'm not sure that that's how we actually do take back control," Arete sighs and picks up La Loix where he had placed it on the ground, brushes it off, sheaths his weapon and goes through the portal.
[SFX: Portal swoosh.]
Amanda (Annie)
"Aw, geez," with nothing left, Annie will go through... the portal.
[SFX: Portal swoosh. Followed by Outro music.]
ROGUE RUNNERS Volume 1: In the Blood, stars our players Nicholas Benetatos as Alexander the Great, Amanda Facosta as Anastasia Pantazis, Giancarlo Herrera as Rolf Yannik, and Michael Pisani as Arete Laskaris. Dungeon Mastering and NPC voices are by me, Tau Zaman. Cover art by Chandler Candela. Audio editing by Roshan Singh Sambhi. Sound design and editing by Giancarlo Herrera. Title music by Sage G.C., with vocals by Jessica Dahlgren and Sage G.C. Character theme music by Giorgio Volpe. Additional music by Epidemic Sound. Transcription by Eli Barraza.
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