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Creating Characters Matt Wants to Kill | Age of Umbra | Session Zero — Transcript

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0:00MATT: Hello, everybody. (laughter)
0:01MATT: Welcome to our Session Zero
0:04for the upcoming Age of Umbra
0:07Daggerheart mini-series. MARISHA: (whispers) Age of Umbra.
0:08TRAVIS: (deeply) Age of-- TRAVIS and SAM: Umbra.
0:10MATT: Very excited about this. ASHLEY: Age of Umbra.
0:11TALIESIN: Umbra.
0:12MATT: This is one of the numerous campaign frames
0:15in the base Daggerheart game
0:16that Sam is holding right there.
0:18TRAVIS: It's so pretty!
0:19Ribbon! Foil! SAM: It's smells nice, too.
0:21TRAVIS: Beautiful art. MARISHA: Mm, it does!
0:23Smells like fresh book. MATT: It's verified.
0:24TRAVIS: A crazy stack on the back. MARISHA: Fresh glue.
0:25MATT: Hell yeah. SAM: Very nice.
0:27MATT: But this campaign frame in particular
0:29is one that I wrote for the book.
0:31It draws a lot of inspiration
0:32from a lot of things that I love.
0:33ASHLEY: It's so good.
0:36SAM: Oh, there's a typo. MARISHA: Shut up. Don't.
0:38SAM: I'm kidding. (laughs) TRAVIS: That literally can't happen.
0:40MARISHA: Yeah. (laughs)
0:41MATT: Take that book away from him.
0:42TRAVIS: I can guarantee that's not true.
0:44(laughter)
0:48MATT: Yeah, this is inspired by many different forms of media
0:51that I love very much.
0:51Very "Soulsborne," "Kingdom Death Monster,"
0:54"Blasphemous," "Berserk,"
0:57that kind of dark,
0:59really horror, fantasy, survival.
1:04All these different things
1:05that are heavy moods in these projects,
1:07I tried to bring into Daggerheart
1:10through this campaign frame,
1:11and I'm excited to explore it with you all.
1:13So today we're making first level characters
1:15within this Age of Umbra campaign
1:19to give you a little bit of a setting, a brief setting.
1:22I'll read here
1:23the essence of the first paragraph.
1:25SAM: Ooh, ooh! MATT: To get you guys into this.
1:27There's a deeper breakdown in the overview
1:29that you guys can study before we actually play.
1:30But a quick little overview.
1:35"A century has passed since the God-King Othedias
1:39"betrayed the Pantheon,
1:40"referred to as the Veiled Gods,
1:42"provoking divine punishment and abandonment by these gods
1:47"who then left the realm
1:48"that was and is known as the Halcyon Domain
1:52"shattered, desolate, and eternally cursed.
1:55"Throughout this shadow-choked land of decaying fortresses
2:00"and dreadful monstrosities,
2:02"surviving communities cling to hope
2:04"in the face of lightless oblivion.
2:07"In an Age of Umbra campaign,
2:09"you'll play as heroic survivors
2:10"who protect their community
2:12"from the terrors beyond their walls,
2:14"venture out into the unknown to hunt the nightmares
2:17"that twist and grow with each fallen soul,
2:20"seek answers to the curses that corrupt this world,
2:23"and perhaps even discover a way to change its fate,
2:27"should you survive." SAM: Oh.
2:29MATT: And I'm pretty sure not all of you
2:32are going to make it to the end.
2:33TRAVIS: Oh, goody!
2:34SAM: Matt, which one of us is going to die?
2:36TALIESIN: On a long enough timeline...
2:39MATT: You, Sam. (laughter)
2:41MATT: It's always you. (laughter)
2:44MATT: But yeah, it is meant to be a dark, ominous tone.
2:49A lot of, you know, epic moments,
2:51but also a lot of grim and ominous moods and settings.
2:54but also a lot of grim and ominous moods and settings.
2:56Terrifying, it's tragic.
2:59It's, you know, the immediacy of surviving in the moment
3:03with the backdrop of ancient forgotten lore and promise
3:06and a landscape that grows ever darker and colorless
3:10as the Umbra itself continues to expand,
3:13an amorphous, dark cloud-like entity
3:18that sweeps like a storm
3:20with an unknowable intelligence.
3:23You can almost hear it wailing in the distance
3:25at any given point in time,
3:27uncertain of where it may exist.
3:28When it draws near,
3:30everyone tries to find the nearest Sacred Pyre
3:34and hunker down until it passes.
3:36As those are the only real places of safety
3:39in the Age of Umbra are the Sacred Pyres.
3:40They are massive bonfires that burn
3:4410, 20, or higher feet into the air
3:48and are these burning little beacons of hope
3:51and safety throughout the landscape.
3:54There are--
3:55Usually a community builds itself around one of these Pyres.
3:57It's the only way that it can maintain itself
3:59in this shadow-choked landscape.
4:02Individuals have to keep kindling
4:04the fire as it progresses.
4:06There are rumors or historical record of relics
4:08There are rumors or historical record of relics
4:11of the ancient age referred to
4:12as Blessed Branches that are used
4:14to either rekindle a Sacred Pyre that has burned out
4:18or to create a new one to maintain its kindling.
4:21That's how new settlements are born and expand.
4:24But they are rare, if anything, mythological
4:27to some of the youngest of the settlers
4:29that try and survive throughout the Halcyon Domain.
4:34But within this space,
4:36a couple cool things to go over
4:37that are specific about this.
4:40Among that mood, you know,
4:42I'll go through some of the distinctions of this campaign.
4:43So this is kind of the fun bits
4:44to give you the heads up of what this is about.
4:47Things like eternal gloom and volatile weather.
4:50TRAVIS: (laughs) That's amazing.
4:52MATT: So it says, "Since the Veiled Gods abandoned the world
4:54"an endless gloom has engulfed the skies
4:56"leaving the nights black as pitch
4:57"and even the zenith of day a dreary haze.
5:00"Somber grays of the mist and sky
5:02"are occasionally broken by heavy rains
5:04"or strange erratic weather events,
5:06"while the more cursed regions
5:07"are home to never ending storms of vibrant hues.
5:11"Some say even underground, cavernous spaces
5:13"are occasionally host to strange weather phenomena."
5:16ASHLEY: Cool. MATT: "The gloom
5:17"only ever breaks over hallowed ground
5:19"or on mysterious, unpredictable days
5:21"revealing golden sunbeams or gossamer moonlight
5:24"that grants esoteric boons or curses to those present.
5:27"There are beliefs among the Enduring
5:28"that the highest mountain peaks can pierce the gloom
5:31"and offer new homelands free of turmoil.
5:33"But those are so far off from these lands
5:37"that they themselves are still just myth.
5:40"Also, death becomes a curse.
5:43"Places not protected by the Sacred Pyres
5:44"are vulnerable to the Umbra,
5:46"the flow of malevolent, unholy spirits
5:48"that cling to lightless places.
5:51"The amorphous necrotic energy courses
5:52"through the Halcyon Domain like a dark wind,
5:54"transient with unknowable intelligence
5:56"as it calls to the souls of the dead
5:57"like a mother to its children
5:59"and draws them into its shape.
6:01"The Umbra is a terrifying force of malice and corruption.
6:04"Swirling, wailing black mist, invoking delirium and despair
6:07"at its threshold while physically corrupting
6:09"and transforming the bodies of those that surrender to it.
6:12"Many of the horrifying monsters that are prowling
6:14"these lands have been changed by the Umbra,
6:17"leaving part of its ever-expanding mass within them,
6:20"like a foul seed mutating the host
6:23"and perpetuating its own cancerous expansion
6:25"through wanton destruction and death."
6:28So.
6:30The land has some bad stuff going on throughout it.
6:33SAM: Bad land. MATT: Yeah, yeah.
6:35ASHLEY: Better pack an umbrella!
6:37(laughter)
6:38TRAVIS: Save it, save it, save it.
6:40SAM: Maybe that's your character! ASHLEY: I'll save it for the game.
6:41I'll save it for the game. SAM: Maybe you're
6:42the umbrella salesman.
6:43MARISHA: Ooh! MATT: Could be.
6:44MARISHA: Age of Umbrella!
6:45(laughter)
6:47TRAVIS: Get your umbrella! 'Brella, 'brella.
6:49ASHLEY: I kind of like this idea.
6:50MATT: There you go.
6:51MARISHA: Oh, you're writing it down. (laughs)
6:53ASHLEY: Listen, ideas are brewing.
6:55MATT: Other fun distinctions for this campaign.
6:58The Shadow of Society.
6:59"The Old World was one of grandiose castle fortresses,
7:01"sprawling cityscapes, and imposing temples
7:04"towering over the lush lands that surrounded them.
7:06"However, the wrath of the Veiled Gods
7:08"toppled much of that extravagance to ruin,
7:10"the kingdoms and cabals that basked in opulence
7:12"shattered and forgotten.
7:14"What remains is a ghost of what it once was.
7:16"Surviving remnants of the old ways
7:18"struggle to reclaim a forgotten glory
7:20"while most survivors lead grueling lives
7:21"across the splintered communities
7:22"of this broken realm.
7:24"This tattered tapestry of heritage and history
7:26"is fading with the light,
7:27"yet the Enduring forge new culture through hardship,
7:29"determination, and ambition,
7:31"picking through the debris of what was
7:33"in hopes of building what will be."
7:34So that's where the dark of the past
7:37and the light of hope for the future
7:39exist through the Enduring,
7:41the people that survive and what they hope to find,
7:43uncover, and rebuild in the midst of this shadow.
7:46Also, magic is suspicious here.
7:49"In ancient times, the practice of Aetherweaving--"
7:52SAM: Aetherweaving.
7:53MATT: "-- was paramount to the Halcyon Domain's
7:54"construction and prosperity.
7:56"Yet, while rune-marked arms and enchanted relics
7:58"of the Old World are considered boons
8:00"by the surviving people of the Halcyon Domain,
8:02"the Aetherweave is believed to be responsible
8:04"for the wrath of the Veiled Gods
8:06"and thus the Age of Umbra.
8:07"Much of the world is now suffused in dark magic
8:09"that saturates the wilds, chaotic and corrupting,
8:13"wielded by those who worship the gloom
8:15"of the new age, or yield to it entirely.
8:18"The superstitious disdain for spellcraft
8:21"is pervasive within many communities,
8:23"with tales of Aetherweaver hubris
8:25"taught as fables to youth
8:27"to dissuade them from such temptation.
8:29"Places that harbor lingering fonts of magic
8:31"are instinctively shunned and avoided by many.
8:34"While Aetherweaving can be used to protect and preserve,
8:36"it is deeply mistrusted in many social circles
8:38"leading to confrontation or exile if care is not taken."
8:42So magic definitely exists in this world,
8:43and you can be a magic user,
8:45but you just might need to be a little careful
8:48in how you use it and in front of whom.
8:52TRAVIS: Got it. SAM: Cool.
8:53MARISHA: Cool. MATT: So those are just
8:54some of the distinctions for the campaign.
8:56There are some campaign mechanics for this
8:59that might be interesting for you guys to know about.
9:00SAM: Okay.
9:03MATT: Which is kind of fun.
9:05One of them is called the Strength of Hate.
9:07MARISHA: Strength of Hate?
9:08TRAVIS: Hate. MATT: Hate.
9:09MARISHA: Okay. MATT: Which is "The Umbra
9:10"has seeped into all manner of beings,
9:13"twisting them into a malformed mockery
9:15"of their former selves
9:16"instilled with preternatural strength."
9:19Essentially, there are enemies
9:20that you will come across possibly
9:22that are called Umbra-Touched.
9:24I use that as a mechanic as a GM.
9:26But an Umbra-Touched creature
9:28crits you on a 19 or 20. TRAVIS: Oh shit.
9:29MATT: So it has twice the chance to crit.
9:32But also you as PCs,
9:33whenever you fall to zero hit points
9:36and you choose one of the death options to go unconscious,
9:40you take a scar, which permanently
9:42marks off one of your Hope.
9:44Because you are touched by the Umbra,
9:46the soul blight that exists in every living Enduring
9:49kind of clings to that,
9:50you do more damage based on more scars you have.
9:52SAM: Oh. MATT: So the more--
9:54The closer you are to reaching the end of your journey,
9:57the more damage you deal.
9:59ASHLEY: Whoa, that's cool. TALIESIN: Ooh.
10:00MATT: But when you mark off your last scar,
10:04you immediately run screaming
10:07into the darkness to join the Umbra itself.
10:09TRAVIS: Oh! (laughs) MARISHA: Cool.
10:12TRAVIS: It's like "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark."
10:14MATT: Kind of, yeah. ASHLEY: Mm-hmm.
10:15MARISHA: Yeah. MATT: I mentioned
10:16the fiery beacons, the Sacred Pyres within society.
10:19Those exist out there as places of safety.
10:22Also, in this campaign--
10:24Well, unlike normal Daggerheart in which you,
10:27when you have downtime, a short rest, long rest,
10:29and you have your downtime actions
10:30and such throughout that,
10:32there is always danger lurking
10:34in the darkness of this realm.
10:37This Lurking Darkness rule
10:38represents the ever present danger of the Umbra.
10:41So whenever the party finishes a short or long rest,
10:43while not in the vicinity of a Sacred Pyre,
10:46so if you're ever traveling out
10:48and not directly near a Sacred Pyre,
10:51I get to roll a d12 for the Lurking Darkness
10:54and consult a table.
10:56It can have all sorts of fun little things
11:00that might happen as the darkness
11:02slowly creeps in on you
11:04as you try and take a bit of respite.
11:07SAM: So taking rests has dangers and threats to it.
11:11MATT: Correct. ASHLEY: If you're not near
11:12one of the Sacred Pyres. MATT: Correct.
11:14Now mind you,
11:17there is a new downtime activity
11:19throughout this campaign called keeping watch.
11:22You actually, as opposed to,
11:23you know, repairing your armor,
11:25or healing hit points,
11:28someone can keep watch in which they describe
11:30how they stay vigilant against what lurks beyond the camp.
11:34Then when I make this roll at the end of the downtime,
11:37this player rolls their Hope die,
11:39and chooses whether to replace
11:40what I rolled with their Hope die or not.
11:42SAM: Mm. TRAVIS: Oh shit.
11:43MATT: As long as somebody spends a downtime action,
11:45which is one less chance to heal
11:47or repair or get a Hope or anything,
11:50it means you might get a better chance
11:52on that Lurking Darkness roll.
11:54MARISHA: On this table, is it random?
11:56Or is the higher numbers generally are more positive
12:00and lower our numbers worse?
12:02MATT: Well, put it this way. On a one to two,
12:05I describe how something monstrous
12:06found you in the dark
12:08and an adversary immediately ambushes you.
12:11MARISHA: Great. MATT: So you could just be
12:12attacked at the end of your rest.
12:15On a three to five,
12:17I gain two Fear.
12:19Just at the end of the rest for free.
12:21On a six to nine, I gain one Fear.
12:23SAM: 69. MARISHA: Nice.
12:24MATT: Heyo.
12:25On a 10 to 11, nothing happens necessarily.
12:28On a 12, you all gain a Hope.
12:30SAM: Oh! MATT: So the higher roll
12:31actually can be a benefit.
12:32MARISHA: Okay. SAM: Okay, okay.
12:33MATT: But it's a one in 12 chance to get a benefit and a--
12:37TRAVIS: Because everything sucks here.
12:37MATT: -- 60-ish percent chance-- MARISHA: Because everything sucks.
12:39TRAVIS: 69% chance. MATT: -- something bad's going to happen.
12:41MARISHA: Nice. MATT: There you go.
12:42TALIESIN: Okay. MATT: So yeah.
12:44That's kind of a--
12:47SAM: Fellatio. MATT: A very qui--
12:48(laughter)
12:51TRAVIS: Hand job. MARISHA: (laughs)
12:53ASHLEY: (laughs)
12:55MATT: This is heavy stuff. TRAVIS: Dry humping.
12:56(laughter)
12:58MATT: It's a very serious campaign. TRAVIS: Yeah.
12:59SAM: It is. TRAVIS: This is session zero.
13:01We got to get it all out. MATT: Of course.
13:02SAM: We're getting it all out. MATT: You got to.
13:02MARISHA: We're being serious. SAM: Getting it out now.
13:03MATT: I know, I know. It's just fun to say. ASHLEY: We got to get it out.
13:06MATT: So to that point,
13:07let's jump into character creation for this
13:11and start building out what your Enduring are,
13:14and then decide through that process
13:16where they exist in the world, what their history is,
13:18how young, how old, how experienced,
13:20how fraught they are. SAM: Druid?
13:25ASHLEY: I have a question. MATT: What's your question?
13:26ASHLEY: How-- TRAVIS: Shut up.
13:28(laughter)
13:30ASHLEY: Where are-- (laughs)
13:33How many Sacred Pyres are there? Do we know?
13:37MATT: You don't know. ASHLEY: And are they--
13:39MATT: You can see some and we can discuss that
13:42based on where you're starting.
13:44We'll build at the end of this
13:45one or more settlements that exist out here
13:48that some of you are at or from.
13:52There is one called Okros,
13:53which is the brightest Pyre in the Halcyon Domain.
13:59It's visible from most places in the entire region.
14:02ASHLEY: I see here. Okay.
14:03MATT: It's the brightest and largest Sacred Pyre
14:06and is used like a North Star
14:08when it comes to traversing the domain.
14:10But there are many Pyres,
14:12but many are much smaller and harder to see.
14:15Some are obscured by topography,
14:17some exist underground,
14:19you know, some are obscured by mists and shadow.
14:24Some are obscured by magic.
14:25ASHLEY: Are these circles the Pyres?
14:27MATT: Those are visible Pyres-- ASHLEY: Visible Pyres. Okay.
14:29MATT: -- that are known in the landscape. Yes.
14:34MARISHA: Another question. MATT: Yes.
14:35MARISHA: This Halcyon Domain that fell,
14:40how long ago was that?
14:41Does it make any sense
14:42that there might be older people who still remember?
14:45MATT: It was a century ago. MARISHA: A century ago.
14:47MATT: So if anyone remembers it,
14:48they are very, very old. MARISHA: Very, very old.
14:51Okay.
14:52MATT: And most folks don't survive
14:54that long here. MARISHA: That long here.
14:55MATT: So anyone that, I'll put it this way.
14:57In your settlements where you're at,
15:00unless any of you are beginning
15:01in a very well protected place of higher learning and care,
15:08hard pressed to know anybody over the age of 60--
15:10TRAVIS: Yeah. MATT: -- that has
15:11survived this long. MARISHA: Okay.
15:12MATT: Most people live to 30s to 50s, I'll say.
15:16Even then, many are taken at a younger age
15:19by things beyond the walls.
15:21MARISHA: When that happened,
15:22when the walls and everything fell,
15:26was there also a pretty massive population
15:29wipe as well?
15:30Did we go from like, oh, you know,
15:36out of every three people, one died.
15:38Was it something like that?
15:40MATT: Could have been. MARISHA: Oh! TALIESIN: Okay.
15:42MATT: There are tales of cataclysm,
15:44but much of the true history is honestly lost
15:49except to those who have access
15:51to the few remaining libraries
15:53and places of higher learning from the old age.
15:58So what most is known in the scattered settlements
16:03is oral history with scraps of the occasional written tome
16:06is oral history with scraps of the occasional written tome
16:08that's probably tattered and molded over time
16:11that is kept under very careful watch
16:14as contraband and fragments of memory
16:17that is all these people hold onto
16:21to recall mistakes of the past.
16:24But it's largely an oral history
16:25that's passed from settlement to settlement.
16:29TRAVIS: Nice. MARISHA: Okay. Okay.
16:32ASHLEY: I have another question on the Pyres.
16:34MATT: Of course. ASHLEY: So they have been
16:36burning for the last century?
16:38MATT: Some of them have been.
16:41There are some that have been around
16:42for the better part of a century
16:44and just maybe only two that have kept up that long.
16:48ASHLEY: And they constantly have to be fed?
16:49MATT: Correct. ASHLEY: That's really cool.
16:51MATT: There are people who are specifically assigned
16:53and probably family lines that their sacred purpose
16:57is to continue to kindle the Pyre.
17:00ASHLEY: Cool.
17:01MATT: Because if it burns out,
17:03there's no way to restart it
17:03unless you find another Blessed Branch,
17:05and those are--
17:06ASHLEY: So they're started from the Blessed Branch?
17:08MATT: Correct. ASHLEY: That's so cool. Okay.
17:11TALIESIN: I think I know what I'm taking.
17:13ASHLEY: You do?
17:14TALIESIN: I'm waiting for other people because I'm--
17:16You know me, I like to be,
17:17I like to let other people--
17:18TRAVIS: I think I'm going to do seraph.
17:20MATT: You're going seraph? TRAVIS: I think so.
17:21ASHLEY: Damn! MATT: Okay.
17:22TALIESIN: I'm feeling wizard. TRAVIS: Yeah, a good story.
17:24MARISHA: You're going wizard. Okay, okay.
17:25ASHLEY: That's a terrible choice.
17:26(laughter) MARISHA: Ooh.
17:29TRAVIS: No terrible choices. TALIESIN: I'm so proud of you.
17:31MARISHA: That's so Travis of you.
17:32TRAVIS: No terrible choices, only terrible players.
17:34(laughter)
17:37MARISHA: I'm somewhere between guardian and warrior,
17:39I think.
17:41TALIESIN: I've played guardian, they're fun.
17:43MARISHA: I've never just been buff and swung a sword.
17:46SAM: Except in real life.
17:48MARISHA: Well. MATT and SAM: (laugh)
17:49MARISHA: This is make-believe.
17:50SAM: (laughs)
17:51I was thinking ranger.
17:53MATT: Yeah? SAM: But--
17:54ASHLEY: Interesting.
17:55SAM: We'll get into it.
17:56We can be both be rangers.
17:58ASHLEY: No, no, no.
17:59We all picked different things.
18:00SAM: Oh, what were you picking?
18:02ASHLEY: Wait, did you pick yet?
18:03TALIESIN: Yeah, wizard. SAM: He's wizard.
18:04What are you? ASHLEY: Oh yes.
18:05Well, I kind of have an idea.
18:08MATT: Okay. ASHLEY: I feel like,
18:11honestly, it could--
18:13I'm focusing more on a vibe.
18:18MATT: Yeah. Yeah. ASHLEY: And I feel like--
18:19SAM: An aesthetic.
18:20ASHLEY: Kind of an aesthetic. MATT and ASHLEY: (chuckle)
18:23ASHLEY: I feel like I'm my niece right now.
18:25It's an aesthetic. Slay!
18:27(laughter)
18:29ASHLEY: Looks great.
18:33And I'm thinking rogue or bard.
18:35I know I always dance towards rogue.
18:37TALIESIN: Ooh! MATT: Both are fun.
18:38ASHLEY: But I also think there could be a cool idea
18:40within bard for this.
18:43MARISHA: You've always danced towards rogue.
18:45ASHLEY: Between the two of those.
18:46But I've always danced toward rogue.
18:47MARISHA: Never gone-- SAM: You've never done bard.
18:48MARISHA: -- full rogue.
18:49ASHLEY: I've never done full rogue.
18:50MARISHA: Or bard. SAM: Or rogue. Yeah.
18:52MATT: Fearne pushed pretty heavy into rogue
18:53towards the end, too. ASHLEY: I did.
18:55Yeah, I did. That's true.
18:56MARISHA: Bunnie was a rogue and it was very fun.
18:58Or sorry, bard. ASHLEY: Bard.
19:00MARISHA: Yeah, Bunnie was a bard.
19:01ASHLEY: Oh, that's right! TALIESIN: Yeah.
19:02SAM: Oh. MARISHA: She was very fun.
19:05SAM: Hmm.
19:07ASHLEY: Okay. MARISHA: Very different.
19:08MATT: What are you feeling? MARISHA: She was a very
19:09performance-based bard.
19:09There's variation. ASHLEY: Well, I think
19:12I'll want to talk it out once we get
19:13to talk it out with you guys
19:15and see how you feel about it,
19:16and you feel like ones like-- SAM: Is this now?
19:17What do we do now?
19:18MATT: Yeah, we're choosing classes now.
19:19SAM: Okay. Okay.
19:20MATT: So you are picking ranger.
19:22SAM: Yeah, so here's my only idea.
19:25TRAVIS: Boring. MATT: Yeah?
19:26(laughter)
19:28TALIESIN: Good shot!
19:29Well done.
19:30SAM: I was reading in this book,
19:32"Daggerheart," available now at bookstores everywhere.
19:34TRAVIS: Yes! MATT: (laughs)
19:36Yes, Sam?
19:37SAM: That, you know, there's these pockets
19:39of civilization or whatever
19:40and then there's vast badlands between them
19:44that are treacherous and stuff.
19:45I thought maybe I could be fast.
19:48Like a messenger,
19:50like a courier,
19:51someone who just has a gift
19:53for getting across these wastelands
19:55without getting killed.
19:56MATT: A very important role for the survival
19:58of these disparate societies.
20:00SAM: Is ranger okay for that? That seems like
20:02a ranger thing, right? MATT: Ranger is phenomenal
20:03for that. Yeah. TRAVIS: Yeah.
20:04MATT: There are many classes that can fill that role.
20:05Ranger's definitely one of them.
20:06SAM: Yeah, maybe not super strong but fast
20:08and able to--
20:10MATT: Knows how to traverse the land
20:11to use it at his disposal. SAM: -- dart between things.
20:12Yeah. MATT: That's great.
20:13Yeah, ranger's a great choice. MARISHA: Wait, you're talking
20:14about being like a runner? Is that what you
20:15were just saying? SAM: Kind of, yeah.
20:15MARISHA: That's cool. SAM: Like The Flash.
20:17MARISHA: That's cool. SAM: (laughs)
20:18Or, well, not the Flash,
20:19but just fast enough to survive.
20:21MATT: Yeah, that's great!
20:22I love that! Awesome!
20:23Marisha, you're going with guardian you said?
20:24Or warrior you said? MARISHA: I'm in between
20:25guardian or warrior.
20:27MATT: Guardian's tanky, protective,
20:30but still good with a weapon.
20:31Warrior's, you know, still pretty tanky,
20:33but not quite as defensive as the guardian,
20:36not quite as apt to protect the people around it,
20:39but in itself is a great
20:41upfront combat weapon specialist.
20:44Yeah. Do you want to lean more aggressive or more defensive,
20:47is where it fits. SAM: Is guardian Ashton
20:50and warrior's Orym?
20:51Is that the distinction?
20:53MATT: Sure. SAM: Okay.
20:55MARISHA: (laughs)
20:56I think I'll do guardian.
20:57I want to be like valor and honor!
21:01SAM: Oh! Oh, that kind.
21:02MARISHA: Defensive. TRAVIS: Oh, oh. Yeah, yeah.
21:02MARISHA: One of those type of-- SAM: Oh!
21:03MATT: Sure.
21:04TRAVIS: Beast Master handshake.
21:06Yes! (laughter)
21:08MARISHA: Did I do it right?
21:09TRAVIS: Yeah, you did. MARISHA: Okay.
21:09TRAVIS: It was good. (laughter)
21:10MATT: You have to get real close and go, "Brother."
21:12(laughter) TRAVIS: Strength and honor!
21:15MATT: Great! Awesome!
21:15MARISHA: Okay, yeah. I'll do guardian.
21:16MATT: All right, so we have a ranger,
21:17we have a guardian.
21:19Travis? TRAVIS: Seraph.
21:19MATT: Going seraph. Awesome.
21:21Some fun bits I'll tell you in a second
21:23about different magic-centric classes.
21:26ASHLEY: I'm still decid-- MATT: Still deciding.
21:27ASHLEY: Can I say-- MATT: We got a wizard.
21:29ASHLEY: Yeah, yeah, yeah. We'll go--
21:29Okay. MATT: All righty.
21:31TALIESIN: I'm building a whole thing over here.
21:32I got thoughts. MATT: Okay, cool!
21:33SAM: Are you having trouble making a decision?
21:36ASHLEY: Who? Me?
21:37Yes. (laughter)
21:39MATT: Well, let's move on to heritage.
21:40ASHLEY: When I'm given so many options.
21:41TRAVIS: Heritage! ASHLEY: I don't know what to do!
21:42MARISHA: Heritage. Heritage.
21:43MATT: Well, this is a fun thing to consider, actually,
21:44for you folks here.
21:47So the Splendor domain,
21:48which we have access to.
21:50ASHLEY: (laughs)
21:52MATT: As here in the campaign frame.
21:54It says, "Since the gods' abandonment
21:57"in the fall of the Grand Ordinants,
21:59"the great clerics of old,
22:00"access to divine powers and healing rituals
22:02"are a fading art.
22:04"Many fear the very essence of such magic
22:06"is dying with the light.
22:07"So it is not uncommon for some to foist sudden worship
22:11"and expectation onto those
22:13"who display such gifts.
22:15"However, while some see hope,
22:17"others see those with these abilities
22:18"as an opportunity to express their hate
22:20"for the absent gods.
22:21"Seraphs and wizards,
22:23"since both of you guys have access to this,
22:25"who display their Splendor domain abilities or spells
22:27"might make a profound impact
22:29"or draw unwanted attention,
22:31"depending on their current company.
22:33"So players who create seraphs or wizards
22:35"should consider how open or guarded
22:36"their character would be with their abilities."
22:38Something to keep in mind.
22:39MARISHA: That's so cool! SAM: Okay.
22:40MATT: And for bards, druids, rogues, rangers,
22:43sorcerers, and wizards, of course;
22:45"the forces of spellcraft and magic,
22:46"especially dark magic,
22:48"that flow unseen through the world
22:49"are referred to as the Aetherweave.
22:51"And those uncommon few that can manipulate it
22:53"are known collectively as Aetherweavers."
22:55So term might be used or thrown around,
22:59referred to if anyone knows of your abilities there.
23:02You might refer to it yourself as that as,
23:03"I'm an Aetherweaver."
23:05"The art is difficult to teach to mortals
23:08"and they rarely wield it instinctively.
23:10"With many of these secrets lost to the previous age,
23:12"the presence of an Aetherweaver is remarkable
23:14"and often met with awe, fear,
23:15"and sometimes mistrust as well.
23:17"So players who create Aetherweavers should consider
23:18"the responsibility they carry with these gifts
23:20"and determine how brazenly they use
23:21"their mystical abilities as well."
23:23So you're doubling up on being an attention drawer.
23:27Be careful. (laughs)
23:28TRAVIS: Yeah. TALIESIN: Oh,
23:29I'm going to be a vibe. SAM: Just like Taliesin.
23:30TRAVIS: I like the idea of an unwanted gift,
23:33realizing that having divine power
23:36would bring that sort of unwanted attention.
23:37And for whatever reason, even with the gods absent,
23:40this character has some semblances,
23:44small flashes of divine power, and hates it.
23:46MARISHA: That's cool. MATT: That's fun.
23:47MARISHA: A little self-loathing there.
23:48TRAVIS: Has to hide it. Yeah.
23:49MARISHA: That's cool. TRAVIS: Doesn't deserve it,
23:50wasn't seeking it,
23:51doesn't know why he's got it.
23:52MATT: Is there any distinction or relationship to the gods
23:55within the knowledge of divine power?
23:57Do you hate what they've done
23:59and despise that this gift has found you,
24:00or are you trying to understand it better?
24:02TRAVIS: I think trying to understand it better,
24:03but previously had disdain for the gods.
24:06MATT: Okay, cool. TRAVIS: Or just
24:06the semblance of them.
24:07And whenever this stuff starts to happen,
24:09it's like, "Fuck!
24:10"What?"
24:11MATT: Cool. Cool!
24:12All right.
24:13So for ancestries, you want to decide on that
24:16while you're still thinking your class there.
24:17ASHLEY: I think I know-- TALIESIN: I already know--
24:18MATT: You think you know? SAM: Oh, she's got something.
24:19MARISHA: Huh? Huh? MATT: What you got?
24:20ASHLEY: Well, I'll let you do your thing.
24:22(laughter)
24:24TALIESIN: I already know what I want.
24:26MATT: What do you want? TALIESIN: To be a faerie.
24:27(laughter) ASHLEY: I know!
24:29TRAVIS: Spotlight!
24:29We need a spotlight. MATT: There we go.
24:30TRAVIS: We need a big four gauge. TALIESIN: I got my shit.
24:31MATT: Y'all can--
24:32ASHLEY: I have a few ideas
24:35and I feel like all of them could be fun.
24:37SAM: Talk them out and maybe they'll sound better or worse
24:41coming out of your mouth. ASHLEY: Well, sure. Sure.
24:43One of them, I have really wanted,
24:45because some of the artwork in "Daggerheart,"
24:48there's always been that really hot orc woman.
24:50MARISHA: Oh yeah! TALIESIN: Yeah!
24:51ASHLEY: And I'm like, "God,
24:52"I feel like a hot orc woman."
24:54We haven't had one of those.
24:56MARISHA: Yeah.
24:57ASHLEY: But that's purely based on looks,
24:59and I don't know if-- SAM: Sure.
25:00TRAVIS: Hey, inspiration
25:01can come from anything. MATT: Fit your vibe.
25:02ASHLEY: It can come from anything!
25:03But I feel like I want to play a clank.
25:06MATT: Okay. MARISHA: Oh!
25:08ASHLEY: Because I have another little idea, a-brewing.
25:12When I was reading through
25:13some of these materials. SAM: (robotic) Do you have
25:14a voice in mind?
25:16ASHLEY: (robotic) It is going to sound
25:17like this the whole time. (laughter)
25:19ASHLEY: Is this going to bother anyone?
25:20TALIESIN: Full "Flight of the Conchords" here.
25:22Okay. (laughter)
25:22ASHLEY: No, I have an idea, though, but--
25:24TALIESIN: (robotic) It is the year 2000.
25:26SAM: (laughs)
25:26TRAVIS: (shaky) I would like you to turn left.
25:28(laughter)
25:30MATT: (robotic) The humans are dead.
25:31MARISHA: (laughs)
25:33ASHLEY: I think I'm going to go with clank, though.
25:35MATT: You're going to go with the clank?
25:36Okay. You want to give the clank card? ASHLEY: Because I have a way--
25:38I think I have some ideas to make it a little creepy.
25:40MATT: A couple things to note here.
25:42There are ancestry specifics
25:44to this campaign frame to note for some of them.
25:48For faeries-- TALIESIN: Mm-hmm.
25:49MATT: It is noted that faeries are more sensitive
25:51to the Soul Blight
25:52that exists in the Halcyon Domain than other ancestries,
25:55which causes your physical appearance
25:56to develop in jagged and monstrous ways.
25:58TRAVIS: Ooh!
25:59MATT: So the faeries in this realm
26:00are generally affected by
26:03the land's corruption. MARISHA: So you're
26:04going to be monstrous? MATT: So keep that in mind.
26:06TALIESIN: Oh, I'm there. ASHLEY: Very cool!
26:07MATT: Okay, I figured you would be.
26:08As far as clanks are concerned in the Age of Umbra,
26:11clanks are often carved from stone and iron,
26:14and were originally developed as vessels
26:16for holy spirits and messengers.
26:18So many stopped functioning
26:20when we came into the Age of Umbra,
26:22and became statues when the gods left
26:23the house that they made. ASHLEY: Yes!
26:24When I read that last night, I was like,
26:26"That's really cool!" SAM: Wait, wait.
26:27Oh shit, I was reading the card!
26:29What did you just say?
26:30What became a statue?
26:31MATT: Well, the clanks in the Age of Umbra
26:33used to be constructed vessels of stone and iron
26:36and wood for holy spirits to come in through
26:39and speak from the gods. SAM: Cool, cool, cool.
26:40MATT: Then when they and the Age of Umbra began,
26:42they all went inert and became statues.
26:45SAM: Gotcha, gotcha, gotcha.
26:46MATT: So for clanks to start coming to life again--
26:49SAM: Cool. MATT: -- within this space,
26:50consider what purpose you've come through,
26:53what spirit has found you,
26:56what purpose are you seeking?
26:58You know, these are all things to keep in mind
26:59for your clank.
27:00Because you were once a constructed holy vessel,
27:03more or less,
27:04that has probably been inert for a number of decades.
27:07Or not! ASHLEY: Kind of just--
27:08Maybe it's been around this whole time.
27:09You get to tell me.
27:10MARISHA: Are there any other fun ones in there
27:13when it comes to ancestries?
27:15MATT: Two other ancestries that have specifics here
27:17that are different than what you normally
27:18see across Daggerheart.
27:21Ribbets in the Age of Umbra
27:23are actually large, often six to eight feet tall,
27:27and prefer to skulk on all fours
27:29when not leaping or standing still.
27:30So larger, swollen frogs
27:32as opposed to-- TRAVIS: Badass.
27:33MATT: -- cute, little ribbits. TRAVIS: Like a bull frog?
27:34MATT: Yeah. TRAVIS: Yeah.
27:35MATT: They're a little more (deep croaking)
27:37TRAVIS: Yes!
27:39MATT: Then the drakona
27:41in here and in the Halcyon Domain,
27:43drakona are taller and more reptilian
27:45in both physicality and proportions.
27:47They lean forward as they move,
27:48using their tails to balance their weight.
27:50So they're a little more dinosaur drakona
27:54than perhaps the proud dragonborn we're used to.
27:58TRAVIS: Dope!
27:59MATT: So you get to think of that lean
28:01into that reptilian monstrous aesthetic.
28:04SAM: Cool!
28:05MARISHA: Maybe, Ashley, if you're okay with it,
28:10maybe I'll be the hot orc lady.
28:12ASHLEY: Yes! MARISHA: Okay.
28:13ASHLEY: Give us a hot orc. MARISHA: Unless you want to do
28:16something like that down the road? ASHLEY: No, we just need
28:17a hot orc lady on the table.
28:18MARISHA: Okay. TALIESIN: I agree.
28:19MARISHA: Maybe I'll be a hot orc lady. SAM: That's a necessity.
28:21It says it in the book.
28:22ASHLEY: And I will flirt with her and
28:23I will make her my girlfriend. SAM: Ever table have to have
28:24a hot orc lady. (laughter)
28:27MARISHA: Let's go! Round two, baby!
28:28TALIESIN: Are are we speaking the unspoken part now?
28:30Okay. (laughter)
28:31TALIESIN: All right.
28:33MATT: And so-- TALIESIN: No, I'm good.
28:34MATT: So he's still choosing his ancestry.
28:37TALIESIN: You want the deck or you good?
28:39Oh, you got the deck.
28:40SAM: He passed on those.
28:41TALIESIN: Okay. SAM: Did you have a deck
28:42over there? Are you good? TALIESIN: I'm done.
28:43I pulled mine first.
28:44SAM: Okay, great.
28:45MATT: Awesome. TALIESIN: I know my aesthetic.
28:47MATT: (laughs)
28:48SAM: You always do!
28:49TALIESIN: Yes.
28:50Start from the aesthetic, work your way down.
28:51MARISHA: Are you going to be a faerie?
28:52TALIESIN: Yeah.
28:53ASHLEY: Yes! Yes! MARISHA: (laughs)
28:54A faerie wizard? TALIESIN: Yeah.
28:56MARISHA: Just you're the biggest problem.
28:58TALIESIN: Weirdly, no.
28:59I've got an idea.
29:00MARISHA: You've got a vibe?
29:02You've got thoughts?
29:02TALIESIN: I got thoughts.
29:03MARISHA: (laughs) MATT: What are you going with?
29:04TRAVIS: Human. MATT: Human. Hell yeah!
29:06MARISHA: Nice! Nice! TALIESIN: I'm not going
29:08to be pretty. MATT: Humans have
29:09some fun abilities. ASHLEY: Wait, what did
29:10you guys choose? TALIESIN: Well I'm--
29:11There's a fetish for everything.
29:11TRAVIS: I was infernis. I went human instead.
29:13TALIESIN: I'm going to find a pretty--
29:14ASHLEY: Interesting!
29:16Do you want to say what you are?
29:17SAM: Yes, of course.
29:18I think that's the purpose of this event
29:20is to say what we're doing. MATT: For you guys to figure out
29:21what you're doing. Yeah. SAM: Yeah.
29:23I chose faun.
29:24MARISHA and ASHLEY: (gasp) TALIESIN: Ooh!
29:26SAM: Because I thought, if I'm speedy,
29:29I could-- (laughter)
29:31TRAVIS: Like a caribou!
29:31SAM: Leap over stuff.
29:33I could be a little-- TRAVIS: Antelope!
29:35SAM: A little deer, a little fucked up deer.
29:37(laughter)
29:38SAM: Or an antelope or something.
29:39MARISHA: That's cool! MATT: That's pretty fun!
29:40SAM: Yeah. MARISHA: Centaur Scanlan
29:41really awoke something in you.
29:42TRAVIS: Then a cheetah katari breaks out of the trees and
29:45starts fucking chasing you. SAM: Oh no! Oh no!
29:46Oh no! (laughter)
29:47I act dead! I act dead! TRAVIS: You shit and piss
29:48all over yourself as you run!
29:50(laughter)
29:50MATT: Do you know how the legs work
29:52yet? SAM: Yeah.
29:54All the joints are backwards.
29:56TRAVIS: Reverse knees. ASHLEY: Leg backwards.
29:57MARISHA: (laughs) SAM: Yeah.
29:58MATT: Cool. Okay.
29:59SAM: And there's hooves. TRAVIS: "Cool."
30:01(laughs)
30:02SAM: With horseshoes.
30:03MATT: You got it. You got it.
30:04MARISHA: Wait, you could be almost like what I was doing
30:06for the Christmas show,
30:08where you can be creepy deer-like--
30:11SAM: Creepy deer.
30:12MARISHA: You can be, you know?
30:14SAM: Sure. MARISHA: Yeah.
30:15MATT: Yeah. ASHLEY: Krampus-y?
30:16MARISHA: Yeah.
30:17The Leshy was my inspiration
30:20for the Christmas show. SAM: There's deer,
30:21there's elk, there's moose?
30:22I don't want to be a moose.
30:23They're not fast. (laughter)
30:25MATT: You could also lean in the more human side
30:26and have the lesser faun feature,
30:28or you can lean more into the animalistic side,
30:30lesser human features. There's a whole spectrum there--
30:31TRAVIS: Mr. Tumnus. MATT: -- you can decide on.
30:33SAM: Okay. ASHLEY: Mr. Tumnus.
30:34MATT: Awesome! So we have a faun.
30:36SAM: Faun ranger.
30:37MATT: We have orc-- MARISHA: Orc guardian.
30:38MATT: -- we have human. ASHLEY: Cool.
30:40MATT: We have a clank and we have faerie.
30:43TALIESIN: I will sprinkle you
30:44with pixie dust. MATT: Awesome!
30:45Now we're going to move on to the communities here.
30:47So for instance,
30:49like I said, the materials I gave for you guys,
30:50for the communities,
30:51but highborne and slyborne,
30:54generally are part of,
30:56or at least grew up near
30:58and within communities that are remnants of the Old World.
31:03So the capital cities of this region,
31:07a lot of them still stand,
31:08though the structures themselves are abandoned
31:10or crumbling into ruin.
31:12There are pockets and settlements that still exist
31:14in these spaces and have fortified them.
31:17So you can come from a highborne community.
31:21There are places where these exist in there,
31:23they're just rare and often a little falling apart
31:27from the inside.
31:28Slyborne, of course, there is definitely a lot
31:30of communities that are a little less into the idea
31:35of, "Let us all work together and survive,"
31:37and more like, "We'll take from you
31:39"what's helped you survive,
31:40"and then that'll help us survive."
31:43Loreborne and orderborne,
31:45there are temples and there are libraries and
31:49grand athenaeums that exist throughout this landscape
31:52that themselves have become strongholds.
31:55You know, the last remnants of research and history
31:59and lore are being kept as best as they can be
32:03by these orders from the age before
32:05that have passed it down from generation to generation.
32:07So you could've come from or been part of
32:09some of these older societies and
32:12that could be the settlement we're beginning with,
32:15or it could be you've come from that
32:16and that was destroyed
32:17and you fled from it and have come to this settlement.
32:20Those are things you can consider.
32:21But we're going to ahead and pass around
32:22these communities for you to consider.
32:26MARISHA: Do you know what? TALIESIN: Underborne.
32:27MARISHA: You're going to go underborne. Okay.
32:28SAM: Underborne. TALIESIN: Yep.
32:30SAM: That's Underworld-y seedy stuff?
32:33Let's see here. TALIESIN: Cave.
32:35SAM: Oh, cave people! MATT: Yeah, subterranean
32:36TALIESIN: Cave people. SAM: Cave people.
32:37ASHLEY: Cool.
32:39SAM: Are we all going to be part of the same group,
32:43or area?
32:45MARISHA: Are we coming together? ASHLEY: Are we meeting in a tavern?
32:47MATT: That's up to you guys.
32:48I mean, you all can be part of the same settlement,
32:51all collected from other scattered settlements,
32:53some that may have fallen
32:55or you may have come here as part of a means
32:59of inter-community trade,
33:01and then decided you like it here better and stayed.
33:04It could be that some of you are from one community
33:07and some of you from another,
33:08and our game begins as you arrive
33:10as messengers or traders
33:14from another community.
33:16These are the things we can talk about
33:17and figure out as we progress throughout
33:19TRAVIS: Traders or traitors?
33:20MATT: This could represent the community that you have now
33:22or it can represent a community that you have
33:24spent a lot of time with,
33:26but might no longer be a part of.
33:28SAM: Gotcha.
33:29TALIESIN: I can go any way.
33:30If we want to all be in the same place to start with,
33:32or if we want to have two or otherwise.
33:34SAM: Mm-hmm.
33:35MARISHA: You said there were Pyrekeepers.
33:39MARISHA: You said there were Pyre Keepers.
33:41MATT: Mm-hmm.
33:44MARISHA: If my hot orc girl--
33:47TRAVIS: (laughs)
33:48MARISHA: -- was a Pyrekeeper and then branched out,
33:50would that be an orderborne type of situation?
33:53MATT: That could be. MARISHA: Or is that more of
33:55like, is that considered a high status role
33:59or more of like a peons
34:01that are just shoveling coal into the--
34:04MATT: Usually it's considered fairly reverent.
34:09You are considered one of the people
34:11that keeps the settlement alive.
34:13ASHLEY: Good throw!
34:14MATT: So it comes with station,
34:15it comes with respect.
34:17It also comes with the responsibility
34:18of never leaving the Pyre.
34:21So if you were to be a Pyrekeeper in some degree,
34:26consider why you would leave that station.
34:29MARISHA: Hmm. Mm.
34:30SAM: Keep burning my fucking hands.
34:31TRAVIS: Here you go. MARISHA: (laughs)
34:32(hisses)
34:33MATT: I mean that could very well be a viable thing.
34:35SAM: (laughs)
34:36MARISHA: Here's ridgeborne, if anyone wants ridgeborne.
34:37MATT: Yeah, because often Pyrekeepers
34:39don't lead the settlement.
34:40In fact, a lot of people love the position of Pyrekeeper,
34:44and vie to become a Pyrekeeper within a community
34:49because it means they're always provided for
34:52and they're always safe.
34:53SAM: Mm. MARISHA: Hmm.
34:54MATT: But it also means they don't go anywhere.
34:56MARISHA: Hmm.
34:57TRAVIS: Going underborne.
35:00MARISHA: And you're doing underborne?
35:01TRAVIS: Yep. ASHLEY: What if like--
35:03TALIESIN: Yeah, it's not just--
35:04MARISHA: Is anyone with sly--
35:05Are you looking at slyborne?
35:06TALIESIN: I'll give you the rundown of it.
35:08SAM: That's the underworld, scoundrel-y.
35:11TRAVIS: And we're at least 100 years into this Age of Umbra?
35:14MATT: Correct. TRAVIS: Yeah, okay.
35:15Yeah, definitely underborne.
35:18MARISHA: Yeah, that's a vibe. TRAVIS: Born into a family
35:20or a group of peoples that definitely
35:22took to caverns or underground dwellings
35:24as a presumed natural advantage
35:27against what was happening out in the wilds.
35:29Except, as we all know,
35:32shit lies in the deep.
35:33ASHLEY: Okay. We'll think on it. MATT: Oh yeah.
35:34Very much so. TALIESIN: We'll talk.
35:35But yeah, there's a lot of different--
35:37MATT: So you're underborne? TALIESIN: There's some options.
35:38TRAVIS: Underborne. Human underborne.
35:39MATT: So you both you and Taliesin
35:40chose underborne, so you both could consider some,
35:43if you want to,
35:44some point in which you both either came
35:47from the same community or--
35:49TALIESIN: How much of a Cronenberg nightmare
35:50are you willing to have come from?
35:52ASHLEY: (laughs)
35:53TRAVIS: What the fuck does that mean?
35:55(laughter)
35:56TALIESIN: I feel like I couldn't have been clearer.
35:58(laughter)
36:00MATT: We can get into that later, but--
36:01TALIESIN: We can get into that later.
36:02MATT: But things to consider.
36:03TALIESIN: I have a home village in mind.
36:06I don't have to be there.
36:07There's lots of options.
36:08But the place I come from is a horror show.
36:11TRAVIS: Oh great.
36:12No. Yeah. TALIESIN: Just saying,
36:13it will probably-- yeah.
36:14It may, specifically, even gross you out.
36:17(laughter) TALIESIN: Excited.
36:18MATT: Okay!
36:21All right, so you got ridgeborne, you're thinking?
36:23SAM: I'm going ridgeborne,
36:24and now I'm thinking my faun is maybe
36:27more like a mountain goat sort of vibe.
36:29MATT: (laughs) (bouncing)
36:31SAM: Yeah.
36:32But human mountain goat.
36:33ASHLEY: Little billy goat?
36:34SAM: Yeah, little human Billy.
36:36MATT: Every now and then you turn around
36:37and you're just up on the wall
36:38on this tiny little ledge.
36:39SAM: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. MATT: It doesn't look
36:40like it should be working. SAM: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
36:42TRAVIS: Just posted up. Defying physics.
36:43MATT: I'm good.
36:44ASHLEY: -- and then we'll talk. SAM: Exactly.
36:45MATT: Great! I love it!
36:47TALIESIN: Yeah, I'll give you--
36:48and I'm happy to bend to things
36:50that you think would be fun.
36:51ASHLEY: Oh, same.
36:51TALIESIN: I've literally only--
36:53This is only eight minutes of work so far.
36:54MARISHA: Somewhere between. ASHLEY: Yeah, same.
36:55TALIESIN: I'm feeling good about it. ASHLEY: Yeah, yeah, yeah
36:56MARISHA: Orderborne and wanderborne.
36:58SAM, MARISHA and TALIESIN: ♪ Wanderborne ♪
37:00(laughter)
37:02MARISHA: I know!
37:03TALIESIN: (laughs) TRAVIS: I'll do that.
37:04I'll do slyborne instead of underborne,
37:06that way there's a little difference.
37:07That's cool. MATT: Yeah.
37:08TRAVIS: That works, too.
37:09Great. ASHLEY: (grunts)
37:11MARISHA: Hmm.
37:12SAM: And those two things.
37:14I was out for some of our last Daggerheart-y
37:19MATT: Yeah, handling a few things.
37:20SAM: Those two things become my Heritage, right?
37:22MATT: Correct. SAM: Ridgeborne faun.
37:25MATT: You are correct.
37:26SAM: Okay.
37:28MATT: So when you're done writing down your Heritage
37:30on your character sheet--
37:33MARISHA: Yeah, I'm going to go all in.
37:34I'm going to go all in on orderborne.
37:36ASHLEY: All right. MATT: There you go.
37:37ASHLEY: I want to talk some things out.
37:39MATT: Yeah. What you got?
37:40ASHLEY: I'm going to talk some things out. MATT: Let's do it!
37:41SAM: (mumbles) You're an orderborne orc?
37:42MARISHA: (laughs)
37:43ASHLEY: So with a clank-- SAM: (mumbles) You're an orderborne orc.
37:45MATT: (mumbles) A guardian orderborne orc.
37:47SAM: (mumbles) An orderborne orc!
37:48MARISHA: (mumbles) A guardian orderborne orc.
37:49TALIESIN: Nyork, nyork, nyork.
37:51MATT: Sorry, Ashley wants to talk some things out.
37:52SAM: Sorry. ASHLEY: No, you're fine.
37:53You're fine.
37:54MATT: What's up, Ashley?
37:55ASHLEY: Okay, so I'm--
37:56TRAVIS: (snores)
37:57(laughter)
37:58ASHLEY: I know! It takes me a minute.
38:00MATT: It's okay!
38:01ASHLEY: So-- SAM: So I'm thinking bard.
38:02ASHLEY: (laughs)
38:04Well, okay. So--
38:06I have this idea, which I feel like could be cool
38:09with a bard, but it's more of like,
38:11I don't really know how to play it in a game.
38:14MATT: Okay. ASHLEY: But there's
38:15a part of me that's like, if I was a clank,
38:18and then we're out in the woods
38:20and my bard ability is a music box,
38:23and thinking of how creepy that would sound in the woods
38:25of cranking it up. MARISHA: Mm!
38:27ASHLEY: ♪ (music box) ♪
38:28I don't know.
38:29Maybe I was a highborne kids' toy.
38:32TRAVIS: That sounds horrifying!
38:33MARISHA: That sounds fucking awesome!
38:35ASHLEY: So that's why I was like,
38:36I feel like I like that creepy--
38:40Yeah, they're creepy.
38:41MATT: Well, think like,
38:44music boxes are a really, really cool thing
38:46you can toy with, keeping it's a creepy sound.
38:49The winding mechanic lends its own--
38:51that means you have a clockwork interior,
38:53which is its own fun vibe.
38:55And that could be an interesting element.
38:57If you want to keep leaning into the music aspect
38:59of the bard, you know,
39:00if you want to be leaning
39:01into more of the holy vessel element,
39:02there could be almost
39:05flute-like holes within the body
39:07that give off different discordant sounds
39:09as wind passes through them.
39:11ASHLEY: Whoa!
39:12MATT: Almost like you can summon
39:13odd, holy-sounding discord from your body.
39:15TRAVIS: Aztec whistles.
39:16MATT: Yeah.
39:17ASHLEY: Yeah. MATT: That sort of vibe.
39:20If you're worried about music stuff for any reason,
39:23bards can also be, orators,
39:24they could just speak or be good with words
39:28to give inspiration to those around them.
39:32But yeah, there are different ways
39:33you can play the bard, definitely.
39:34But music box sounds like a really, really cool way
39:37that you could go if you want to lean
39:38into that clockwork clank
39:42who had a purpose as a vessel of the holy spirit,
39:45and as that vessel,
39:48music was its way of exemplifying the message
39:53as it was received in translation.
39:55ASHLEY: I think I'm going to go with that.
39:56I think I'm going to go with that.
39:57I feel like it makes sense for what I'm thinking.
40:00MATT: Okay. ASHLEY: So now I don't know
40:01whether I would be highborne or orderborne.
40:06MATT: Highborne means that you would likely have come
40:10from a more established community that fell.
40:14from a more established community that fell.
40:16The highborne communities fell the hardest
40:18when the gods punished the realm.
40:22ASHLEY: Okay.
40:24MATT: So you likely were amongst the affluence
40:28of the great age before,
40:32and was lost to time until, eventually,
40:35you found yourself for whatever
40:36your renewed purpose may be,
40:38whatever spirit or soul has found you since
40:41and claims your body for its use.
40:43ASHLEY: I kind of want to go highborne.
40:44MARISHA: Yeah. ASHLEY: Because I like
40:46that really big fall.
40:48MATT: Okay.
40:48Let's go.
40:49ASHLEY: Yeah. MARISHA: And that works, too,
40:51if you had a divine purpose.
40:54ASHLEY: Yeah! MARISHA: You know?
40:55ASHLEY: Yeah. MARISHA: That's cool.
40:56That's really cool.
40:57SAM: And the Umbra, Matt,
40:59the Umbra is out there.
41:02Is it in the distance?
41:04Can we see it?
41:05Is it everywhere?
41:06Is it just in the shadows?
41:08What-- MATT: So the corruption
41:10of the Umbra lingers everywhere.
41:12like a soot, if you will.
41:16But the actual entity that is the Umbra is always out there.
41:21You just don't know where.
41:23Sometimes you can hear the distant echoing
41:25of the horrible wailing,
41:27like a wind in the distance.
41:30And if it's getting louder--
41:32ASHLEY: What you got?
41:33MATT: It's about to get real bad.
41:35SAM: Okay.
41:36Okay. TALIESIN: Oh yeah.
41:36SAM: So it's like a storm that can gather at any moment?
41:39MATT: It's a force of nature
41:40that is perpetually meandering,
41:41sometimes slowly, sometimes fiercely.
41:43SAM: Okay. Cool.
41:47Spooky.
41:48MATT: All right, so we've all chosen Heritages?
41:50TRAVIS: Mm-hmm.
41:51MATT: Great! SAM: Heriti?
41:53MATT: Now we will assign character traits to your characters.
41:56So you have your attributes to distribute,
41:59a negative one, two zeros,
42:02two plus ones, and a plus two.
42:05Wherever you desire them to be amongst your attributes.
42:08Why not?
42:09While we're here, since we're in the base,
42:10let's choose your subclasses
42:12that you want to choose for your various classes.
42:14TALIESIN: -- for a subclass.
42:15MATT: So for the bard,
42:20there you can choose either troubadour or wordsmith.
42:22If you want to pass those along.
42:26SAM: Stats.
42:27MATT: For the guardian,
42:28you can either choose stalwart or vengeance guardian.
42:33MARISHA: Vengeance!
42:36MATT: For the ranger, you can do beastbound or wayfinder.
42:39SAM: That's right!
42:42MARISHA: Two stress. Where's that other one?
42:44MATT: For the seraph-- MARISHA: Oh, that's crazy!
42:46MATT: -- you could be divine wielder or winged sentinel.
42:52And then for the wizard,
42:54you have the school of knowledge
42:56or the school of war.
42:57TRAVIS: Hello, Jaime Lannister. TALIESIN: Awesome!
42:58MARISHA: Mm-hmm.
42:59SAM: Ooh! MARISHA: Yes, totally!
43:01TRAVIS: Yeah, I've always called him Jaime Lannister.
43:04ASHLEY: Yes. Yes.
43:07TRAVIS: Do I know--
43:08ASHLEY: Jeremy Lannister. TRAVIS: Jeremy Lannister.
43:10MATT: Jeremy Lannister! (laughter)
43:12TRAVIS: Jeremy Ren-Lannister.
43:14MARISHA: Hmm.
43:17SAM: Hmm!
43:19MARISHA: Man!
43:20An additional armor slot. ASHLEY: (laughs)
43:22TRAVIS: (mumbled reading)
43:24TALIESIN: I sent you two. ASHLEY: (laughs)
43:25TALIESIN: I don't know if you've ever seen that.
43:26That's for later. ASHLEY: I've never seen
43:27either of these. TALIESIN: You're going
43:28to really enjoy it.
43:28ASHLEY: I'm very excited.
43:29SAM: I think I'm going to go--
43:30TALIESIN: Just felt the need to--
43:31SAM: -- wayfinder because that would help me.
43:35MATT: It definitely feels in the bailiwick
43:37of the character you're building.
43:38SAM: Yeah! Yeah.
43:39I can find quick paths to places
43:42and I have a little extra bonus when attacking.
43:48MATT: All right. Travis, you went with the divine wielder?
43:50TRAVIS: Divine wielder.
43:52MATT: Awesome.
43:53TALIESIN: Oh!
43:54TRAVIS: Fly is very attractive,
43:55but that seems to be really, really obvious.
43:59MATT: It definitely draws attention!
44:01TRAVIS: Yeah, it draws a lot of attention.
44:03MATT: (laughs) You're not wrong.
44:04TRAVIS: I'll help you!
44:06(rumbles)
44:07MARISHA: For stalwart-- TRAVIS: (high-pitched) Is he flying?
44:08MATT: Yes?
44:09MARISHA: Iron Will. MATT: Mm-hmm.
44:11MARISHA: "When you take physical damage,
44:12"you can mark an additional armor slot
44:14"to reduce the severity."
44:16MATT: Correct. MARISHA: Is that because, normally,
44:17you can only do that once?
44:19MATT: Correct.
44:20So you could mark two armor slots
44:22from a single point of damage
44:24and reduce it by two points, if you wanted to.
44:25MARISHA: Wow! MATT: So when
44:26they hit you with severe,
44:27you could spend two slots and reduce it to minor.
44:30MARISHA: Let's do that.
44:31TALIESIN: Firstly, remind myself that this man--
44:33SAM: This Ruthless Predator feature,
44:36when I make a damage roll,
44:37I can mark a stress to gain a plus one bonus
44:40to my proficiency?
44:41MATT: Correct.
44:42SAM: Proficiency--
44:43MATT: Is the number of dice you roll for damage.
44:45SAM: That's right! MATT: Your weapon.
44:46SAM: Okay, so I can hit harder.
44:47MATT: Yeah, you can mark a stress
44:49to roll an additional dice of damage
44:50with your weapon. SAM: Cool.
44:51I love it.
44:52MATT: And you went with school of--
44:55All right.
44:56School of knowledge.
44:57TALIESIN: School of knowledge.
44:58ASHLEY: We have four Hope to start with, did you say?
45:00TALIESIN: Two Hope. ASHLEY: Two Hope.
45:02We have all of it, the Hope,
45:03to start with? MATT: Yeah. 17 Hope.
45:05TRAVIS: (laughs)
45:06TALIESIN: Got it. MATT: (laughs)
45:06TALIESIN: It's all downhill from here.
45:09MATT: And we have five players,
45:10so I start with five Fear.
45:12SAM: Ooh! MATT: Which is fun.
45:14I'll note that when it comes time.
45:16MARISHA: It smells so good!
45:18ASHLEY: I can't smell it. SAM: The book?
45:19MARISHA: It's good book smell. TRAVIS: Yeah, it is.
45:21MATT: So now that we have class stuff,
45:22Heritage stuff figured out, Traits,
45:24and your Evasion and Hope.
45:25Now we can do starting equipment.
45:26There should be some equipment sheets on the table.
45:29SAM: There are.
45:30MATT: Take a look at those.
45:31And you can figure out your starting equipment there.
45:34MARISHA: (laughs)
45:36TALIESIN: Let us see.
45:37SAM: Oh, and I can cast,
45:42I can do magic?
45:44TRAVIS: Question mark. MATT: Yes.
45:46We'll get to that with your domain cards,
45:48which will be after this.
45:49SAM: But I can pick a magical primary weapon?
45:54MATT: Yeah, if you want to. SAM: Okay. Okay.
45:55MATT: It's your choice if you want to use a physical weapon
45:59or a magical weapon,
46:00based on the type of damage.
46:03MARISHA: Going to try for greatsword.
46:05That's what I'm going to do.
46:06MATT: Go for it.
46:09SAM: Oh man!
46:12I can't choose!
46:14TALIESIN: I'm--
46:16SAM: I can't choose!
46:18TALIESIN: I'm going to be weird.
46:19I think that's good.
46:20SAM: What I really want is a boomerang,
46:23(laughs)
46:24but that's not on the list.
46:26MARISHA: You want a boomerang?
46:27SAM: (laughs)
46:28MATT: You can take something and spin it as a boomerang,
46:31if you want to. MARISHA: Yeah.
46:35ASHLEY: Man, that Returning Blade is kind of cool.
46:38TALIESIN: Okay it's two-handed,
46:39so yeah, you don't get a--
46:42MATT: Depends on what you're vibing with.
46:43TRAVIS: Going Halberd.
46:44ASHLEY: When this weapon is thrown--
46:45MATT: Yeah!
46:46Go polearms, baby.
46:47TRAVIS: Yeah, buddy!
46:49I've not done a polearm ever.
46:53Have to figure out a cool-looking
46:58warhead for that.
46:59ASHLEY: What can I do for Returning Blade?
47:01MARISHA: Okay.
47:02TRAVIS: Halberd.
47:04SAM: Trait, Agility.
47:06MARISHA: I never do characters like this.
47:08This is going to be fun.
47:10SAM: And then I get a secondary weapon?
47:11Oh my god!
47:12MATT: If you want to.
47:13You don't have to. SAM: Oh my god!
47:16And it has to be agility based?
47:19MATT: It doesn't have to be,
47:20that's just letting you know--
47:21SAM: If I want to use it well.
47:22MATT: It could also be another one of sets.
47:24It's just one less than that.
47:25SAM: Okay. Okay.
47:26MATT: Up to you.
47:29SAM: Okay. MATT: So you chose
47:30the Glowing Rings as a boomerang?
47:31SAM: Yeah, the Glowing Boomer-rings
47:33MATT: Glowing Boomer-rings.
47:34(laughter)
47:35MATT: Is that two-handed?
47:37MARISHA: (laughs)
47:39SAM: It is.
47:40So that's it, for me.
47:41MATT: So that would be your--
47:42I mean, you could have a secondary weapon, if you want to--
47:44SAM: But it wouldn't have equipped.
47:45MATT: But you have to spend a stamina,
47:48or sorry, a stress to switch.
47:50SAM: Gotcha.
47:51So I'll just have something in my inventory.
47:54MATT: If you want to. SAM: Okay.
47:56MARISHA: My evasion is currently sitting at six.
47:59MATT: Great!
48:00MARISHA: Because I'm taking a greatsword, which is heavy.
48:03MATT: Mm-hmm. MARISHA: Which gives me
48:04minus one to evasion.
48:05But I get to roll two damage die
48:07and I get to take the highest.
48:09MATT: Great!
48:10MARISHA: Or discard the lowest,
48:10however you want to phrase it.
48:12And then, I'm taking full plate armor,
48:16which is very heavy,
48:17so it gives me minus two to evasion
48:19and minus one two agility.
48:21MATT: Okay. Yeah. Yeah.
48:22You are the definition of a tank, really.
48:26(laughs)
48:30SAM: Okay.
48:33MATT: You got your armor chosen?
48:34SAM: Oh!
48:36I got starting armor.
48:38Starting armor-harmor.
48:39MARISHA: Hardy-harmor. MATT: (laughs)
48:40TALIESIN: Harden-harmor.
48:42Mark it.
48:43ASHLEY: Oh, that's also whip.
48:46TALIESIN: Melee range.
48:47ASHLEY: Mark a stress to crack the whip.
48:49TRAVIS: Whip Wheaton.
48:50(laughter)
48:56TALIESIN: Oh no!
48:57ASHLEY: Plus one armor.
48:58SAM: Gambeson Armor?
49:01What does "gambeson" mean?
49:02MATT: Gambeson is like a heavy padded cloth kind of.
49:06It's usually worn underneath heavier armor.
49:08SAM: Oh! Yeah, yeah, yeah. MATT: It's a quilted,
49:10thick, cloth armor. MARISHA: What fencers and stuff--
49:11MATT: Yeah. MARISHA: Basically wear.
49:13SAM: I'm going to go with that.
49:15I like the name of it.
49:16MATT: There you go. ASHLEY: Oh, you're picking
49:17your armor as well.
49:18Okay.
49:19SAM: Base threshold's five 11.
49:22Feature: plus one to evasion.
49:25Yes!
49:27I'm so evasive!
49:29ASHLEY: Yeah, I'm going to go gambeson as well.
49:33TRAVIS: Gambeson. ASHLEY: For clank?
49:35I mean-- MATT: Sure. Yeah.
49:37MARISHA: Did you guys know Omar was here?
49:39SAM: (gasps) Hi Omar!
49:39ASHLEY: Yes. MATT: He's been chilling.
49:41MARISHA: He's just been napping.
49:42MATT: It wouldn't be a session zero if he wasn't
49:43just chilling nearby. MARISHA: Exactly.
49:44He's our Daggerheart mascot.
49:47He's happy to be here. MATT: Hey, buddy!
49:48You've been so patient.
49:49MARISHA: Hi, you. ASHLEY: Hi, baby boy!
49:51MARISHA: Hi.
49:52MATT: (laughs)
49:54MARISHA: Hi.
49:56ASHLEY: Hey, sweet boy.
49:58MARISHA: (laughs)
50:01You're funny.
50:03MATT: Have you chosen your equipment, Taliesin?
50:04TALIESIN: Yep. MATT: Awesome.
50:05TALIESIN: I got myself a wand.
50:07MATT: A wand?
50:07TALIESIN: A wand.
50:08MATT: What kind of armor did you get?
50:09TALIESIN: I got the gambeson.
50:13MATT: Okay. TALIESIN: Yeah.
50:14MATT: Anything offhand as well, or for your--
50:16TALIESIN: Yeah, I'm taking a grappler.
50:17MATT: Grappler. Okay. Very cool.
50:19TALIESIN: So it's going to be fun.
50:22I can pull people close to me. It'll be great.
50:23ASHLEY: ♪ It's going to be fun ♪
50:24MATT: Greatsword.
50:25TALIESIN: Come on in.
50:26MATT: Heavy plate armor.
50:27TALIESIN: Come on in. TRAVIS: That's a stretch!
50:30♪ It's going to be fun ♪
50:31MATT: Glowing Boomer-ring.
50:33SAM: Boomer-rings. MATT: (laughs)
50:34SAM: And I have a secondary.
50:35I have a crossbow, just in case there's a moment
50:37where I need to (shooting). MATT: Got to switch it up.
50:39Okay. SAM: Snipe somebody.
50:40MATT: You got that.
50:41You have greatsword?
50:42MARISHA: Yes. MATT: All right.
50:43And you, I'm sorry, we just said that.
50:44And then you have--
50:45TRAVIS: I have the halberd. MATT: Halberd.
50:46TRAVIS: With the divine wielder,
50:47so I could (whooshes)
50:49throw the fucking--
50:51MATT: (impact) That's cool!
50:53And what kind of armor?
50:55TRAVIS: Leather.
50:56Just plain leather armor. MATT: Leather armor.
50:57Cool beans.
50:59And Ashley?
51:00ASHLEY: I have the Returning Blade.
51:01MATT: Returning Blade. Great.
51:02ASHLEY: And then the gambeson armor.
51:04MATT: Cool.
51:05ASHLEY: So the base threshold's five.
51:07What does that mean?
51:09Oh, five 11?
51:10TALIESIN: It's where the-- yeah.
51:10SAM: Minor, major, and severe.
51:12ASHLEY: Oh, that's right! TALIESIN: Yeah.
51:13ASHLEY: That's right, that's right.
51:14TALIESIN: It makes that happen.
51:16ASHLEY: So, okay.
51:19The base score is three.
51:20So the base score three, that's my armor?
51:23MATT: Base? Yeah.
51:25ASHLEY: Which would be three.
51:27SAM: Bloop, bloop.
51:29ASHLEY: So gambeson armor.
51:32MATT: Correct. That's three.
51:33ASHLEY: So I added the plus one Evasion.
51:34MATT: So you have three different slots
51:35that you can use to reduce it.
51:37ASHLEY: Got it. Okay.
51:37TRAVIS: You can reduce it one threshold, right?
51:38MATT: Yeah. Only one threshold, though.
51:40ASHLEY: And then these are the--
51:42MATT: Threshold there. ASHLEY: Five and 11.
51:43MATT: So it's five and 11.
51:44Correct. ASHLEY: Got it. Okay.
51:44MATT: You also add your current level
51:45to your damage threshold.
51:46So for everyone who's putting in your armor,
51:49make sure to add your level,
51:50which is one to each of them.
51:52SAM: Oh!
51:52ASHLEY: So we go to six and 12?
51:54MATT: You would be six and 12. SAM: Oh!
51:55TALIESIN: Okay, and base armor to four.
51:58SAM: No. TALIESIN: No.
51:59Base score is still three.
52:01TRAVIS: Your threshold should go up. TALIESIN: That's right.
52:02MATT: That's right. Yeah.
52:03Your armor score stays.
52:04The thresholds change on your levels.
52:05Every time you level up, your thresholds get better.
52:07SAM: Add your current--
52:08It says it right there on the sheet.
52:09It says, "Add your current level
52:10"to the damage thresholds."
52:11MATT: Yep.
52:12TALIESIN: I should read.
52:13SAM: So well thought out.
52:15MATT: (laughs) You guys.
52:16SAM: I'm selling you on this Matt.
52:18By the end of this,
52:19you're going to be convinced that this is a good game.
52:21MATT: (laughs)
52:25All righty.
52:25Everyone have their equipment chosen?
52:27SAM: Mm-hmm.
52:28ASHLEY: Mm-hmm. MARISHA: Yes.
52:29MATT: Next up, we can create some character Experiences.
52:31SAM: Okay. MATT: For this point in this.
52:33So you can-- MARISHA: Oh yeah!
52:34Character Experiences. MATT: So you all get to decide
52:36on two of your character Experiences.
52:37ASHLEY: I love this!
52:38MATT: And set them both at a plus two modifier.
52:40TALIESIN: Oh yeah.
52:41Two.
52:42SAM: You said two Experiences?
52:44MATT: Correct. Two starting Experiences.
52:47SAM: Okay.
52:47MATT: So consider a bit of where you've come from,
52:49what your skill sets are,
52:51things that might be applicable.
52:52that you can spend a Hope to add this bonus
52:54to a roll you're making that, you know, leans into it.
52:58SAM: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
53:00I'm already so nimble and agile,
53:03so being moreso won't be great.
53:07Won't be as-- MATT: It's up to you.
53:08You could be really good at things
53:10that involve that.
53:10SAM: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. MATT: And try and ensure its success,
53:12if it's really important to you.
53:14Or you could lean towards things
53:15that round you out a little more.
53:17SAM: Yeah.
53:18Ja, ja, ja. MATT: Both extremely viable.
53:21ASHLEY: I'm going to look in the book for Experience
53:27examples.
53:28MATT: Sure. TALIESIN: Mm.
53:29SAM: That's very wise!
53:31What about something
53:34Well-Traveled if I've been a messenger
53:37and gone to different places?
53:38Maybe I've picked up little bits of culture.
53:40MATT: Well-Traveled is awesome.
53:42SAM: Yeah? MATT: Yeah.
53:43SAM: Okay.
53:44MARISHA: My first one, still thinking about my second,
53:47but I did Historically Inspired,
53:51like emboldened by the great warriors of the past.
53:55SAM: Hmm.
53:56MARISHA: Or interested in the Old Times.
53:59MATT: Okay, yeah, that can be fun.
54:00MARISHA: Make sense, a little bit more,
54:04you know, yeah.
54:06(laughter)
54:08MATT: Do you see that being an application
54:10when researching,
54:12an application when dealing in a conflict
54:14that has ties to historical value?
54:17MARISHA: Yeah.
54:18MATT: Okay.
54:20Yeah, that could be very helpful.
54:23SAM: History buff? No.
54:25MARISHA: History buff.
54:26Is that a better way of saying it
54:28than Historically Inspired?
54:30I feel like that emulation of previous warriors.
54:33TALIESIN: Antiquarian.
54:34MATT: Yeah, because history buff
54:35means means you know-- MARISHA: Antiquarian.
54:37MATT: -- a lot of history. SAM: Yeah.
54:38MATT: It depends on do you want to be a person
54:40that's very into history
54:42and has a little extra historical knowledge
54:44and instances where you might
54:45recognize things from antiquity?
54:48Or are you thinking more of like you want to be--
54:51You say inspired by warriors of old,
54:53is that an adage that you're keeping
54:55to try and keep yourself?
54:57MARISHA: Yeah, they're try and uphold the old ways
55:02MARISHA: Yeah, they're try and uphold the old ways
55:03before things, like the glory days of knights and--
55:08SAM: Like chivalry?
55:09MARISHA: Yeah.
55:10MATT: That's kind of cool.
55:11So what I would task you with is,
55:13before we start the game, think of a code,
55:17like an old order of knights,
55:19some sort of historical order may have kept
55:21that you've heard about, you've learned about it.
55:23Because you definitely didn't live under this order.
55:26You weren't born yet. MARISHA: Right.
55:28MATT: But somehow you've heard stories about it growing up
55:31or you came upon a piece of text
55:33or were told of this order's history
55:37and its honorable adages
55:40and perhaps even a mantra that you keep to yourself
55:43to keep your will strong
55:46and that could be a fun thing that would incorporate that.
55:49MARISHA: Does Historically Inspired
55:50still makes sense for that,
55:51or just like chivalrous--
55:53MATT: It's up to you. MARISHA: Make more sense?
55:54MATT: I mean, you know
55:55the context in which it'll be useful.
55:58MARISHA: Yeah, like history above all.
56:00Some fun code you could make.
56:02MATT: Yeah.
56:04Yeah, think on that.
56:06SAM: For one of your Experiences,
56:07can you also pick Hoarder just so you can be
56:10a hoarder orderborne?
56:12(laughter)
56:14ASHLEY: Hoarder orderborne. MARISHA: That's pretty good.
56:16It's very tempting. MATT: Pretty great.
56:17Not going to lie.
56:19ASHLEY: You're also just a hoarder on the side.
56:21MARISHA: Yeah. ASHLEY: It's kind of funny.
56:23MATT: A whore hoarderborne or-or-or-orderborne?
56:26ASHLEY: A whore hoarderborne.
56:28Whore hoarder orderborne.
56:30MATT: What other experiences-- SAM: Experiahnces.
56:33MATT: -- are people pulling down?
56:33TALIESIN: I've only got one so far.
56:35MATT: What do you got?
56:35TALIESIN: I've got More Hands Make Less Work.
56:38MATT: Okay. TALIESIN: Which is--
56:39SAM: You have extra hands? TALIESIN: I do.
56:43SAM: But not where you expect them. MARISHA: "I do."
56:45TALIESIN: But not on a technical level.
56:47This is how I'm going to make my hands technical.
56:49ASHLEY: Think about widgets.
56:51TALIESIN: And they're, yeah, they're just so.
56:53MATT: That's fun. TRAVIS: It's headed there.
56:55TALIESIN: I obviously can't wield
56:56nine weapons or anything.
56:57I'm not going to try any of that bullshit.
56:58MATT: Yeah, is this a,
57:03an application of nimble dexterity scenario?
57:06TALIESIN: Yes. One of the things I want my character
57:09to do is be good at, I want them to be
57:12good at very delicate crafting.
57:16They're a seamstress, they can, things like that.
57:19MATT: Okay, cool, I dig that.
57:20TALIESIN: A little bit of just
57:23fixing things and a little bit of a tinker.
57:25MATT: I like that. TALIESIN: Just a hair.
57:26MATT: Awesome.
57:28TALIESIN: It'll be fun.
57:30MATT: Ashley, do you have an Experience of interest?
57:31ASHLEY: Well, I just-- I'm trying to think
57:34of backstory that will--
57:35TRAVIS: The answer's no. ASHLEY: You know, no.
57:38(chuckling) ASHLEY: Here.
57:41(grunting) SAM: (mocking grunting)
57:45TRAVIS: Yeah, I've got Reading Between the Lines,
57:50as a overly-perceptive,
57:53observant sort of an Experience.
57:55MATT: That's cool.
57:56TRAVIS: Or sort of discerning truth from--
57:59MATT: Falsehood, yeah, yeah.
58:00TRAVIS: Then also Helping Hand
58:02just because he's been given this thing
58:04that can heal, can help.
58:06It was never something he was looking for
58:08and I think he is used to knowing that he can help
58:11and then jumping in and helping someone
58:14and then trying to get the hell out of there
58:15before someone realizes how that help was given.
58:19MATT: Okay, so Lending Aid Unnoticed.
58:21TRAVIS: Yes. Yeah, that's a better way to put it.
58:23MATT: Interesting, okay, cool, cool.
58:33SAM: The first Experience is always the easy one.
58:36Then the second one is like--
58:40MARISHA: I know. SAM: -- could go anywhere.
58:41MATT: Yeah. MARISHA: Well, it's tough to--
58:42MATT: It can also be a--
58:45Think into your community as well.
58:47What are some of the things that you offered
58:49to your community and you were trained to
58:53more or less hold a position of within your community?
58:58MARISHA: How about
59:01Calloused Hands?
59:04Like manual labor from tending to fire and flame.
59:09Like manual labor from tending to fire and flame.
59:11MATT: Yeah, that could be fun.
59:13So you would apply that to things
59:15that involve having strong grip.
59:20MARISHA: Yeah.
59:22MATT: The ability to endure things
59:23that would often force others to release their grip.
59:28MARISHA: Yeah, you know how head chefs get
59:33weird boners about how they're like,
59:35"I can hold a hot iron skillet with no
59:40"gloves." Kind of like that.
59:42MATT: Gotcha, cool. Yeah, that's awesome.
59:44TALIESIN: Negative one to manicures.
59:46(laughs) MARISHA: Yeah.
59:48TALIESIN: I give up.
59:50MARISHA: There we go.
59:54Cool.
1:00:00SAM: Hmm.
1:00:02MARISHA: Okay.
1:00:04Okay!
1:00:05ASHLEY: Did you pick your Experiences yet?
1:00:07SAM: I have one, but I don't know what I would use it for.
1:00:12I was thinking maybe he's very superstitious.
1:00:15MARISHA: Hmm? Oh, that's fun, though.
1:00:17SAM: Like has different good luck charms
1:00:20or believes in certain superstitions.
1:00:23I don't know how that would help me, though.
1:00:25It's just an interesting characteristic.
1:00:28MATT: It could be--
1:00:33SAM: Can't really do it.
1:00:34MATT: I was going to say in tune with superstition.
1:00:38MATT: I was going to say in tune with superstition.
1:00:39SAM: Mm-hmm.
1:00:41MATT: Meaning like, because superstition often is based
1:00:43in some semblance of--
1:00:44SAM: Sure. MATT: -- reality in a realm
1:00:48as magic and twisted as this.
1:00:49SAM: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
1:00:56(scratching)
1:01:00MATT: It's like esoteric interests.
1:01:02SAM: Mm-hmm.
1:01:03MATT: Anything in that realm could be interest,
1:01:06could fall into that space if you wanted.
1:01:07MARISHA: Occultist?
1:01:09SAM: Ooh.
1:01:12That's dark and twisted.
1:01:14MARISHA: Mm-hmm.
1:01:16TRAVIS: Weird eyeballs.
1:01:17SAM: Weird eyeballs.
1:01:19(laughter)
1:01:19SAM: Square eyeballs. ASHLEY: Square eyeballs.
1:01:21MARISHA: Oh, you can have, please have square eyeballs.
1:01:23SAM: Sure, of course I'm going to have square eyeballs.
1:01:24TRAVIS: (baas) MARISHA: That's so cool.
1:01:26SAM: Didn't Fearne?
1:01:28ASHLEY: Well, they were more like octagonal shape.
1:01:32SAM: Get into the octagon. ASHLEY and MARISHA: (laugh)
1:01:38ASHLEY: So question.
1:01:40MATT: Yes. ASHLEY: So,
1:01:43if I was a clank that was created for,
1:01:50you know, way back when,
1:01:52for when there were the,
1:01:54the Veiled Gods were still--
1:01:56MATT: Present, yeah. ASHLEY: -- present.
1:02:04Is that something now that I wouldn't be,
1:02:07I would have to keep those types of things under wraps?
1:02:11Like the--
1:02:15What am I trying to say?
1:02:18Like the
1:02:21worship songs or things like that for--
1:02:24MATT: Depending on where you are, maybe.
1:02:25ASHLEY: Depending on where you are.
1:02:26MATT: Yeah, there are still places of faithful out there
1:02:29that hope that gods might return,
1:02:31or you know, hold faith to whatever other entities
1:02:35or you know, hold faith to whatever other entities
1:02:36might exist out there to grant them salvation
1:02:40in their absence.
1:02:42There are also those out there that
1:02:44wouldn't even recognize them.
1:02:47You know, that's the thing, a lot of these holy songs
1:02:51of that era often haven't been heard
1:02:55by many ears in a long time.
1:02:58ASHLEY: So I wonder if there's an Experience
1:03:00then that's just like psalms
1:03:04or something where it's just a song
1:03:08that can provide hope.
1:03:10You know, even if they don't have meaning
1:03:12anymore for people.
1:03:14It's just a--
1:03:18I don't know. MARISHA: Bardic Inspiration.
1:03:20ASHLEY: Yeah, I guess that's Bardic Inspiration.
1:03:21MARISHA: (laughs)
1:03:22ASHLEY: I keep thinking of stuff, and I'm like,
1:03:23Well, that's probably a spell
1:03:25or something that's going to be--
1:03:27MATT: Well, consider here.
1:03:28If you want to create something that's like a
1:03:35soothing melody,
1:03:37and that could be a bonus that you add to scenarios
1:03:41where you have the opportunity to calm a group
1:03:43of angry individuals with the music
1:03:45and you're trying to, I don't know,
1:03:48roll a presence roll to get them to not charge
1:03:53over a dangerous threshold
1:03:56and then you'd be able to add the bonus to that
1:03:57by playing that music as part of it,
1:04:00or to try and calm an entity, like a corrupted creature
1:04:04that's rampaging through a space
1:04:06to try and use the music to calm them.
1:04:09That's just adding a small bonus
1:04:11to an existing roll to try and do so
1:04:12and that's where it could be helpful there
1:04:14if that's what you're trying to do.
1:04:15ASHLEY: Yeah, like a soothing balm.
1:04:16MATT: Yeah.
1:04:17ASHLEY: Just music of some sort.
1:04:19which I'm sure, yeah, okay,
1:04:21I'll put that in there for the moment.
1:04:22MATT: Yeah, totally.
1:04:23MARISHA: Can we pick our abilities?
1:04:26MATT: Yeah, you can always think more on your Experience
1:04:29when we come to the end, too, if you want to.
1:04:30SAM and ASHLEY: Yeah. MATT: All right, so now
1:04:31let's pick some domain cards
1:04:33and see where the inspiration takes you from that point forward.
1:04:35SAM: Woo!
1:04:36MATT: All right, so. MARISHA: Let's go.
1:04:38MATT: We'll start over on this side.
1:04:39ASHLEY: Yeah. MATT: You have--
1:04:40MARISHA: Pipe, pipe, pipe, pipe, pipe, pipe, pipe, pipe.
1:04:43SAM: Pipe? MARISHA: Pipe.
1:04:44SAM: Pipe?
1:04:45ASHLEY: Peep. MARISHA: (laughs)
1:04:46MATT: Arcana for you. TALIESIN: Bless.
1:04:48MATT: And Splendor, which you both share.
1:04:51TRAVIS: Nice.
1:04:52MATT: Then you both share Valor, I believe.
1:04:56MARISHA: Me and Travis share Valor, I think.
1:04:59MATT: All right, there's your Valor.
1:05:00MARISHA: Then I think I share Blade with you.
1:05:02Wait, do you-- TALIESIN: Just ones for now.
1:05:04SAM: I got Bone and Sage.
1:05:05MARISHA: Bone and Sage. MATT: Indeed, you do.
1:05:08TALIESIN: There's nothing but level one.
1:05:09SAM: Which is a great craft beer that I love.
1:05:12MATT: So you're just choosing level ones
1:05:14of those elements you get to pick.
1:05:17Of these cards here,
1:05:20you could choose two cards of level one
1:05:22of either of the domains that are at your disposal.
1:05:24ASHLEY: I'm Grace and Codex. MARISHA: Can you hand me--
1:05:25MATT: Yes, you are. MARISHA: And can you hand me Blade?
1:05:27TALIESIN: Oh, I have--
1:05:28MATT: So you share Codex with--
1:05:30TALIESIN: Me.
1:05:31MATT: -- the wizard there, so have Codex and Grace there.
1:05:33TALIESIN: And I'm waiting on Grace.
1:05:34MARISHA: Blade. MATT: And Blade.
1:05:35TALIESIN: I'm waiting on Splendor.
1:05:36TRAVIS: You want to see some Splendors?
1:05:38TALIESIN: Yeah, just a couple of level one Splendors
1:05:39would be great.
1:05:40TRAVIS: ♪ There's some Splendors ♪
1:05:42Here there's only two level one Splendors.
1:05:43MARISHA: We just pick one of these, right?
1:05:45MATT: You pick two from either domain.
1:05:48MARISHA: Two level ones. MATT: You can pick one from each.
1:05:50MARISHA: Okay.
1:05:51MATT: Or you can pick two from one or two from the other.
1:05:54MARISHA: Okay. TALIESIN: No.
1:05:56ASHLEY: Oh, look at all these cards, though.
1:05:59I don't want to do this.
1:06:03TALIESIN: This is fun. Maybe that.
1:06:05Oh, and--
1:06:06TRAVIS: Let me know which one you don't take.
1:06:08I don't mind splitting. TALIESIN: Oh.
1:06:11MARISHA: You use Valor as well, right?
1:06:13TALIESIN: And I'm missing-- What am I looking for?
1:06:16SAM: For two cards total.
1:06:19So we just get two?
1:06:21MARISHA: You get two. SAM: Okay.
1:06:27TALIESIN: Don't know why I did that.
1:06:30SAM: Cool.
1:06:34TALIESIN: I'm having one of those wonderful ADHD moments
1:06:36of like, "Where did I put my character cards?"
1:06:37MARISHA: These are fun.
1:06:39TALIESIN: They couldn't possibly have gotten far.
1:06:41SAM: Cool.
1:06:42MARISHA: (speaking faintly)
1:06:44MATT: What are you looking for, Tal?
1:06:45TALIESIN: My character cards.
1:06:45This is very silly.
1:06:47They were right in front of me.
1:06:48(paper crinkling)
1:06:49TALIESIN: But no. MARISHA: -- two.
1:06:50MATT: Did you shuffle them accidentally into the Codex?
1:06:52TALIESIN: Ah, there they are!
1:06:53No, I covered when I moved that piece of paper.
1:06:55All right, I'm going to put them over here.
1:06:57TRAVIS: Oh.
1:06:58ASHLEY: Did you go through the Codex already?
1:07:00TALIESIN: Not quite. One second.
1:07:01ASHLEY: Okay, sorry.
1:07:02TALIESIN: No, no worries.
1:07:03Actually, here, I'll read one at a time
1:07:07and I'll put the ones I'm not reading right there.
1:07:17MARISHA: Hmm.
1:07:24SAM: (mumbling)
1:07:28TRAVIS: So on this Valor level one Bare Bones ability,
1:07:33TRAVIS: So on this Valor level one Bare Bones ability,
1:07:34"When you choose not to equip armor,
1:07:37"you have a base score of three plus your strength
1:07:41"and you can use the following
1:07:42"as your base damage thresholds."
1:07:44It says tier one, tier two, tier three, tier four.
1:07:46Tier one, its starts at nine and 19, which is pretty sick.
1:07:49MATT: Yeah. TRAVIS: But you would
1:07:50go up tier one, tier two, tier three, tier four
1:07:52each time you raise a level?
1:07:55MATT: There's certain level tiers.
1:07:56So tier two is when you get level two.
1:07:58TRAVIS: Got it.
1:07:59MATT: And that's two through four.
1:08:01Then once you have level five-- TRAVIS: Oh, so it's a minute
1:08:02to get to three.
1:08:02MATT: Correct. Tier three is--
1:08:04SAM: They're listed on this sheet.
1:08:05MATT: At the back of the class--
1:08:07TRAVIS: Got it. MATT: -- secondary sheet.
1:08:08TRAVIS: I'm going to do that.
1:08:09TALIESIN: Does School of Mullet Knowledge
1:08:11mean I take three cards?
1:08:12SAM: School of Mullet? TALIESIN: Mullet. Yeah.
1:08:14SAM: Cool. TALIESIN: Mullet.
1:08:16MATT: Correct. You get an additional domain one.
1:08:17Yeah, so because you are a School of Knowledge,
1:08:20you get an additional domain. TALIESIN: It's a party in the back.
1:08:22SAM: Mullet is a pretty good Experience.
1:08:23TRAVIS: That's fucking rad. So Matt,
1:08:25I'm going to do the Bare Bones ability--
1:08:28MATT: Okay. TRAVIS: -- under Valor.
1:08:29MATT: So you're going to get rid of your leather armor?
1:08:30TRAVIS: Yeah, so I'll have it, but I won't equip it.
1:08:32MATT: Gotcha. TRAVIS: Then that makes it
1:08:35three plus my strength, which is five,
1:08:36so my armor is now five. MATT: Hell yeah.
1:08:38TRAVIS: My damage thresholds are nine and 19
1:08:40instead of seven and 14.
1:08:41MATT: That's with the plus one for your level?
1:08:43TRAVIS: To each one of those?
1:08:44I guess I would add it to the tier one, nine and 19,
1:08:46so 10 and 20. MATT: Correct.
1:08:49TRAVIS: Damn!
1:08:50MATT: Bare Bones is pretty good.
1:08:52MARISHA: Okay. TRAVIS: That's a dope card.
1:08:57That's awesome.
1:08:59MARISHA: Yeah. SAM: Get it now
1:09:00before they discontinue it because it's too OP.
1:09:04(laughter)
1:09:06MARISHA: Okay, I am taking one from Valor.
1:09:11MARISHA: Okay, I am taking one from Valor.
1:09:12I Am Your Shield.
1:09:14TALIESIN: Going to take one of these.
1:09:14SAM: That's a classic.
1:09:16MARISHA: Classic, classic valorous move.
1:09:19TALIESIN: A little bit. Doesn't matter.
1:09:20MARISHA: "When an ally within very close range of you
1:09:22"would take damage, I can mark a stress
1:09:24"to stand in the way and make myself the target
1:09:27"of the attack instead."
1:09:29And then Whirlwind.
1:09:33"Make an attack against a target
1:09:34"within very close range. On a success,
1:09:36"I can spend Hope to use the
1:09:37"attack against all other targets
1:09:39"within very close range," so big sweeping,
1:09:41feels fitting if I have a massive fucking greatsword.
1:09:45MATT: Hell yeah. I love it.
1:09:47SAM: I'm going to choose
1:09:52from one of them.
1:09:55MATT: Sage? SAM: Sage.
1:09:56MATT: (laughs)
1:09:58SAM: I'm going to choose the spell Vicious Entangle.
1:10:03"On success, roots and vines reach out from the ground
1:10:06"and entangle my target."
1:10:08MATT: Hell yeah.
1:10:10MARISHA: (laughs)
1:10:11SAM: "I can spend a Hope to restrain them."
1:10:14And from the Bone deck.
1:10:18TRAVIS: Perfect.
1:10:18SAM: Which is also what I call--
1:10:21MARISHA: Don't. Nope.
1:10:22SAM: -- part of my body. MARISHA: Nope!
1:10:23(laughter)
1:10:24TRAVIS: "Part of my body."
1:10:26TALIESIN: Is that your other Experience?
1:10:28MATT: Pull from my bone deck.
1:10:30SAM: I'm going to choose Deft Maneuvers.
1:10:32"Once per rest,
1:10:33"mark a stress to sprint anywhere within far range."
1:10:37What is far range?
1:10:39MATT: So far range is considered pretty much beyond
1:10:43the length of a pencil other than the range of a paper.
1:10:48Actually, like anywhere,
1:10:49like on a battlefield, it's like here.
1:10:50So it'd say about-- SAM: That's far.
1:10:51MATT: About 50, 60 feet. SAM: 60 feet.
1:10:53ASHLEY: Get three? SAM: That's great.
1:10:54MATT: So you could, in theory,
1:10:57like if a person tries to run further than close range,
1:11:00they have to make an agility roll,
1:11:01and if they fail, fuck them up,
1:11:04you don't have to take that at all.
1:11:05You can do it for free, essentially.
1:11:06SAM: And at the end of my maneuver--
1:11:08TALIESIN: Those are levels that better--
1:11:10SAM: Shh.
1:11:10(laughter)
1:11:12SAM: At the end of my maneuver, I can hit somebody.
1:11:15MATT: Which is pretty great. SAM: Yeah.
1:11:17Okay, cool. TALIESIN: This is fun.
1:11:19MATT: Awesome.
1:11:23Travis, what did you pick?
1:11:25Got Bare Bones, and then what was the other one?
1:11:27TRAVIS: Bolt Beacon.
1:11:28MATT: Bolt Beacon. TRAVIS: From Splendor.
1:11:29MATT: Awesome. Got it.
1:11:32What you got, Ashley?
1:11:33ASHLEY: I picked Enrapture,
1:11:36which I feel like Bunnie had.
1:11:38MARISHA: Yes, that's one where you're like--
1:11:39ASHLEY: It's a very cool-- MARISHA: Look at me.
1:11:41ASHLEY: Yes. MARISHA: Looky here.
1:11:43ASHLEY: I think with the music thing,
1:11:45it can be cool to like--
1:11:48♪ Do do do do ♪
1:11:49Like try to enrapture somebody.
1:11:51MARISHA: Yeah.
1:11:52ASHLEY: I did that one from Grace.
1:11:54(Australian) And from Codex-- MATT: Awesome.
1:11:56ASHLEY: -- I did Book of Tyfar.
1:11:59MATT: All right.
1:12:01ASHLEY: I've got Wild Flame,
1:12:03Magic Hand, and Mysterious Mist. TRAVIS: Hold this accent.
1:12:05Make it stick. SAM: (Australian) Jennifer Lopez.
1:12:07ASHLEY: Jennifer Lopez,
1:12:08I'm just practicing, maybe I'll do this.
1:12:11MATT: (laughs)
1:12:12TRAVIS: Ooh.
1:12:13ASHLEY: I won't. MARISHA: (laughs)
1:12:14SAM: Ooh.
1:12:16ASHLEY: I mean, I will, but I don't know
1:12:17if that's the vibe we want.
1:12:18TRAVIS: If it gets you killed faster.
1:12:20MATT: That's true.
1:12:21ASHLEY: Yeah.
1:12:22MATT: That's what you have to do.
1:12:23TALIESIN: I picked the Book of Ava,
1:12:26which lets you watch very esoteric anime.
1:12:29MATT: (laughs)
1:12:30TALIESIN: Yeah, it gives me a power push so I can throw,
1:12:33I can make people back off, I can,
1:12:36Tava's Armor, which I can
1:12:41give somebody a plus one bonus to their armor score
1:12:45for Hope, and Ice Spike, which I will think
1:12:48something of which I can summon ice spikes
1:12:52far away from me.
1:12:53ASHLEY: Summon Ice Spice?
1:12:54TALIESIN: Yeah, summon ice spikes.
1:12:56Then I have the Book of Illiat,
1:12:59which is I can make people fall asleep
1:13:01with Slumber. ASHLEY: That's so cool.
1:13:02TALIESIN: I have Arcane Barrage,
1:13:03which means I can basically shoot
1:13:06magic projectiles at people.
1:13:08MATT: Awesome. TALIESIN: And some telepathy.
1:13:10MARISHA: So you just went full Codex?
1:13:12TALIESIN: Well, I technically get three cards
1:13:14because of my subclass,
1:13:16so I also took Mending Touch
1:13:18so I can do a little bit of healing just in case,
1:13:21just even out,
1:13:22because for some reason no one ever likes it.
1:13:25ASHLEY: Interesting.
1:13:26TALIESIN: Support class never happens.
1:13:27There we go. MATT: (laughs)
1:13:28Someone's got it.
1:13:29TALIESIN: (mocking) Yeah, I want to be a support.
1:13:31MATT: Any support class is awesome.
1:13:32Fantastic. TALIESIN: Somebody got to heal.
1:13:33MATT: All right, so we have domain cards chosen.
1:13:36If there are any inspirations to hit for the Experiences,
1:13:38feel free to go for that.
1:13:39You can hand me back the decks that you have unused.
1:13:44TALIESIN: I came up with my second Experience is
1:13:45Nothing Up My Sleeves. SAM: You can take my Bone deck.
1:13:47MATT: Thanks, buddy.
1:13:48MARISHA: (laughs)
1:13:50TALIESIN: Oh wait, oh, I'm giving you
1:13:51the wrong ones, aren't I? Nope, never mind.
1:13:52I already gave them.
1:13:54Or you did.
1:13:54TRAVIS: My Bone deck. ASHLEY: I put--
1:13:56TALIESIN: Yeah. ASHLEY: -- those back up there.
1:13:57TALIESIN: Thanks.
1:13:59MATT: All righty.
1:14:00SAM: I'm narrowing down for Experience
1:14:02either Expert Tracker
1:14:06or a Spineless Coward.
1:14:09I don't know how I would use that either,
1:14:11but I kind of want to be a coward.
1:14:12MATT: It's good defensively.
1:14:13MARISHA: Well, what's your--
1:14:15Don't you have something that's kind of expert?
1:14:17Like Wayfinder is kind of expert trackery.
1:14:18SAM: Oh, you're right, you're right.
1:14:23When I've traveled to a place before,
1:14:27I can identify the path to it, so yes.
1:14:30So maybe my experience is being a Spineless Weakling.
1:14:33(laughter)
1:14:35SAM: I don't know how that will work.
1:14:36MARISHA: Well, it could be good for hiding or running
1:14:40or being a coward.
1:14:42SAM: Yep. (laughter)
1:14:44SAM: Being a coward could help when I'm being a coward.
1:14:46MATT: Trying to convince that somebody else is in trouble
1:14:49instead of you.
1:14:49SAM: Yeah, okay, okay, okay.
1:14:50MATT: Take the fall. SAM: That's good. That's good.
1:14:53All right. I'll try that one.
1:14:53MATT: -- creative with helping a coward can be helpful.
1:14:55(laughter)
1:14:57MATT: Awesome.
1:14:58ASHLEY: With the clank.
1:14:59MARISHA: ♪ She coming near the Pyre ♪
1:15:01SAM: ♪ It wasn't me ♪
1:15:02TALIESIN: We definitely didn't start that Pyre.
1:15:04(laughter)
1:15:06ASHLEY: ♪ We didn't start the Pyre ♪
1:15:08TALIESIN: Just getting it out now.
1:15:09ASHLEY: With the clank, Purposeful Design.
1:15:12At character creation,
1:15:13choose one of your Experiences that best aligns
1:15:15with this purpose and gain a permanent plus one.
1:15:17MATT: Yes, you can choose one of your Experiences
1:15:19earns a plus three.
1:15:20ASHLEY: So far I just have
1:15:20Soothing Music, so I'm going to add,
1:15:24I'm going to elaborate on that a little bit more.
1:15:26MATT: Yeah, no worries.
1:15:28TALIESIN: I'm going with my second one.
1:15:29I'm going with Nothing Up My Sleeve
1:15:31to make it a little bit better to maybe hide objects
1:15:34or perform up-close magic.
1:15:36MATT: Right, right. Cool.
1:15:39TALIESIN: Just little ways of making a spider work.
1:15:43MATT: Fun. I dig that. TALIESIN: Good.
1:15:45MARISHA: That song was always so ridiculous
1:15:46because it's like if she caught you eight times--
1:15:49TRAVIS: (laughs)
1:15:50MARISHA: -- your defense couldn't be, "It wasn't me."
1:15:52SAM: It wasn't me.
1:15:53MARISHA: That's insane.
1:15:54TRAVIS: We're debating the merit of the Shaggy song.
1:15:56MATT: I know. I know.
1:15:58TRAVIS: 24 years later. TALIESIN: Zoinks.
1:16:00(laughter)
1:16:02MATT: All righty, with all the domain cards chosen--
1:16:05TRAVIS: Shaggy! MATT: Let's go ahead and--
1:16:07(laughter)
1:16:10MATT: All right, boombastic.
1:16:12Let's create some connections here.
1:16:13SAM: Connections.
1:16:14MARISHA: Connections. ASHLEY: ♪ Connections ♪
1:16:17TALIESIN: ♪ Conjunction Junction ♪
1:16:21Oh yeah. We also have our item lists for later.
1:16:23MATT: So some fun things to mention to you guys,
1:16:27some questions to begin with to kick it off.
1:16:32If any of you hail from different communities,
1:16:36as we've said, it's a possibility,
1:16:37consider why you've left
1:16:40and what called you to this particular settlement.
1:16:43So I guess for now: Who is from this community
1:16:46that we're starting in, and who is a visitor, if any?
1:16:51MARISHA: Where are we starting again?
1:16:52Did you say this? SAM: We don't know.
1:16:53It's up to us. MARISHA: We don't know.
1:16:54MATT: No, we get to create the settlement.
1:16:55MARISHA: Oh shit.
1:16:56TALIESIN: I think we're both visitors.
1:16:57Are we doing this thing, or do you want to do nothing?
1:17:00ASHLEY: I'm into it. TALIESIN: All right.
1:17:01TALIESIN: We're both from the same
1:17:03village which we've left.
1:17:05SAM: Which you've left.
1:17:05MATT: So you've left a settlement.
1:17:06TALIESIN: Yeah, we've left a settlement.
1:17:07MATT: Why have you left it?
1:17:09TALIESIN: Do you want to start or should I?
1:17:11ASHLEY: I feel like you should
1:17:12because you have a little bit more than I do,
1:17:14but I found my way there prior to--
1:17:18TALIESIN: Yeah. ASHLEY: Us meeting.
1:17:19TALIESIN: Yeah, and then
1:17:23I was on the edge of leaving for many, many years
1:17:26and I just needed a push.
1:17:29MATT: What was the push?
1:17:30TALIESIN: That was Ashley's character leaving.
1:17:32I felt that it would've been
1:17:34A. inappropriate for you to travel alone,
1:17:37and B. I was worried I was
1:17:39going to get blamed for you leaving,
1:17:41so I just went, and once I was out,
1:17:44I realized life was much better without those people
1:17:47because they're terrible.
1:17:48ASHLEY: Interesting. MATT: Okay.
1:17:50So think and iterate on the settlement or community
1:17:53that you left from, name and culture,
1:17:56and give me some notes or ideas on that.
1:17:58TALIESIN: Oh yeah.
1:17:59MATT: Okay.
1:18:00What about the rest of you? ASHLEY: Great.
1:18:01TRAVIS: Also a visitor, but I think
1:18:06this guy left where he previously was
1:18:09because it was overrun by some sort of dark phenomenon,
1:18:12had to jet.
1:18:14He was previously with just his mother,
1:18:16raised by his mother, and she believed in the stories
1:18:21that were at the edges of everyone's minds
1:18:23of the divine are still there.
1:18:25There are these little things that are popping up there.
1:18:28There's chance to find the spark
1:18:30to fight against the dark and all that sort of stuff
1:18:32and he thought that was stupid.
1:18:34Then after she died,
1:18:36he started getting a little bit of this power,
1:18:39and so in fleeing this village,
1:18:40now it's his personal mission to try
1:18:42and find where those sparks might be
1:18:44since he has a little bit of it, but he's--
1:18:46MATT: Right. TRAVIS: -- found his way here
1:18:47and is trying to stay low
1:18:50and I think he's just barely making it by.
1:18:52He's slyborne, so he might steal a little bit
1:18:56when necessary, maybe if for no other reason
1:18:59than just to tease or test if doing dubious things
1:19:03hurts the small gifts that he has.
1:19:05MATT: Right.
1:19:06TRAVIS: But also he finds time to help people in this place
1:19:09and it's finding worth in that.
1:19:10MATT: He's done what he needs to survive.
1:19:11TRAVIS: Yeah. MATT: And has likely wandered
1:19:13through some communities or cultures
1:19:15that exist on the Halcyon Domain
1:19:17that live by that sentiment.
1:19:19TRAVIS: Yeah. MATT: Okay.
1:19:23So we have, so the three people that have come
1:19:25to the settlement, have you been here for a while then?
1:19:26Have you become acclimated with this?
1:19:28Do you call this home now?
1:19:31TRAVIS: I think if this area has any stores of knowledge
1:19:35that he could've tried to read through or visit,
1:19:38then maybe he's been here for a bit trying to do that,
1:19:41but also stay off radars.
1:19:42Not a fresh visitor, not super new.
1:19:45MATT: Okay, yeah, so you've been here for a little bit.
1:19:46TALIESIN: The same, if we could blend in,
1:19:48because we're not very blendy.
1:19:50Anywhere where we would could blend in, that would be great.
1:19:54ASHLEY: I feel like-- where would be an area
1:19:57where the highborne were really at their height?
1:20:01Would that be Amber Reach area?
1:20:03MATT: Amber Reach definitely-- ASHLEY: Okay.
1:20:04MATT: -- would be within the--
1:20:07(laughs)
1:20:09The core ruins of that whole area
1:20:12is the previous capital.
1:20:15ASHLEY: Would it make sense-- MATT: -- of the entire kingdom
1:20:16under the God-King.
1:20:17ASHLEY: That I was from there at one point?
1:20:19MATT: Sure.
1:20:20ASHLEY: Because I'm thinking
1:20:21maybe I was there-- TRAVIS: Smells really good.
1:20:23ASHLEY: -- with a family,
1:20:25or was made as a--
1:20:28MARISHA: (laughs)
1:20:30ASHLEY: -- clank for the gods and then--
1:20:32SAM: Go for some of that.
1:20:34ASHLEY: -- maybe a specific family
1:20:36for their private temple.
1:20:38I'm just thinking out loud.
1:20:39MATT: Yeah. ASHLEY: If none of this works,
1:20:40it doesn't work.
1:20:44As the highborne were getting sort of shunned
1:20:47and moved out.
1:20:48This feels very like,
1:20:53what am I saying?
1:20:54What am I? Whatever.
1:20:55TALIESIN: I'm following you.
1:20:57ASHLEY: Maybe they ran to parts of, as they fled,
1:21:06they landed sort of in the area that you're at,
1:21:09and then somehow--
1:21:11Wait, where were you?
1:21:12You're in the under?
1:21:13TALIESIN: Yeah, so the city that I'm trying to flesh out
1:21:17is basically an underground cave,
1:21:20cave city similar to,
1:21:22the less lush version of the
1:21:26kids from "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome,"
1:21:28where we just,
1:21:29it is a cult that lives in a mountain, in a hill,
1:21:33in a forest that no one goes to because it's bad.
1:21:36SAM: That's where you came from,
1:21:38or that's where we are now?
1:21:39TALIESIN: That's where I came from.
1:21:41ASHLEY: That's where he came from.
1:21:43We met, so maybe the highborne feels like
1:21:45French Revolution or Versailles when people are,
1:21:47like the highborne leaving--
1:21:49MATT: Right. ASHLEY: Getting shunned
1:21:50out of their homes.
1:21:51MATT: So are you saying that they were at the height
1:21:55before the Age of Umbra, like 100 years ago?
1:21:59Or is this one of the remnant societies
1:22:02that's barely holding on, then recently got--
1:22:05ASHLEY: Not yours. TALIESIN: No.
1:22:06ASHLEY: I think where I was from,
1:22:09would it make sense that I was alive during the time
1:22:13that they were at the height of--
1:22:15MATT: If you want to be. ASHLEY: Okay.
1:22:16MATT: Because, in my mind, in this region,
1:22:19there are clanks who might have memories from that era,
1:22:24and there are some, because remember,
1:22:25they were just vessels for holy spirits previously,
1:22:27so those that would have consciousness now
1:22:30and have come through could be lingering spirits
1:22:33that came into them and now use it as a new body
1:22:36and are trying to discover their purpose,
1:22:37or they could be lingering spirits
1:22:39that are now left moorless
1:22:41in a time past where their holy purpose
1:22:43is now detached and wandering,
1:22:47so if you want to go more that route,
1:22:49then you would likely have memory from the previous age
1:22:53and the people that were involved in that time
1:22:55and then likely went dormant for a while
1:22:57before the spirit reemerged
1:22:59and retook your physical
1:23:04stone and metal body. ASHLEY: Okay.
1:23:06I will think on that then. MATT: Okay.
1:23:08ASHLEY: And somehow came from that area and then ended up.
1:23:12TALIESIN: Yeah, I've got a pitch for you for that
1:23:14when you're going to say it,
1:23:15but we'll talk about that later.
1:23:16MATT: Okay. ASHLEY: Okay.
1:23:17MATT: So you guys can think on that.
1:23:18ASHLEY: But, all in all, where we end up--
1:23:20TALIESIN: Yeah.
1:23:21ASHLEY: Wherever we meet, we're new here.
1:23:25MATT: Cool. Awesome.
1:23:26MARISHA: I feel like then I would be from the settlement.
1:23:30SAM: Yeah, man, I'm with you. MARISHA: We'd be like here.
1:23:32SAM: Yeah. MARISHA: We're like,
1:23:33"This is our home turf."
1:23:36I want to like--
1:23:38Would there be a Pyre in this settlement?
1:23:39There would be, right?
1:23:40MATT: Oh yeah. MARISHA: Okay.
1:23:41MATT: There would have to be for it to have existed.
1:23:43SAM: Did the Pyres have names, or are they just like--
1:23:47MATT: They're likely named of the settlement's name.
1:23:49Which to that point-- MARISHA: Pyre Kevin.
1:23:51MATT: What is the name of this settlement
1:23:53and where on the map do you want it to be?
1:23:54SAM: Oh sorry. MARISHA: (laughs)
1:23:57What's the name?
1:23:58SAM: It could be,
1:24:01its name is David Duchovny.
1:24:04We could be-- MARISHA: Well, it's funny.
1:24:07TALIESIN: We're fighting funny.
1:24:08MARISHA: The Shaw Chasm.
1:24:09SAM: The Shaw Chasm.
1:24:11Ugh. MARISHA: Ugh.
1:24:12(laughs)
1:24:14TALIESIN: Not the vibe, not the vibe, children.
1:24:17SAM: No.
1:24:20TALIESIN: That was last game.
1:24:20MATT: Please don't name your settlement "David Duchovny."
1:24:23(laughter)
1:24:26MARISHA: No, we were being Shawcastic.
1:24:28(laughter)
1:24:29TRAVIS: David Duchovny.
1:24:31SAM: I don't know, we could be--
1:24:32TALIESIN: What's the city like?
1:24:33SAM: Well, you guys are from the Amber Reach, what was the?
1:24:35ASHLEY: No, no, no. TALIESIN: No, no,
1:24:36we're from our around-- SAM: Very complicated.
1:24:37Where are you guys from?
1:24:38ASHLEY: Well, I originally,
1:24:40when I was, because I'm a clank,
1:24:43and whether or not I remember this,
1:24:45I'm going to figure all of this out,
1:24:47but I think that maybe my clank had spent some time
1:24:51with a highborne family in the Amber Reach
1:24:54in the time prior to the Age of Umbra.
1:24:57MARISHA: I mean, it feels like you're maybe on the outskirts
1:24:59or somewhere-- Yeah.
1:25:01Near the Amber Reach is kind of cool.
1:25:03SAM: Yeah, maybe on the mountains behind--
1:25:04MARISHA: Mountains. SAM: Behind the Amber Reach.
1:25:07TALIESIN: Why would the city be there?
1:25:09SAM: Are we in a city? TALIESIN: Or a town?
1:25:10SAM: Are we in a city?
1:25:11Are we in a city?
1:25:13MATT: You're in a settlement.
1:25:13TALIESIN: That's just the Pyre, yeah.
1:25:15MATT: It could be a sizable one.
1:25:17It could be a small remote one.
1:25:18What feels honest to the rest of you?
1:25:21How many people do you think live in this settlement?
1:25:22MARISHA: Well, it feels like we've got an underlying theme
1:25:26of people maybe looking for history.
1:25:30So it feels like having something that's maybe
1:25:34ancient but a little forgotten,
1:25:37but there is knowledge there.
1:25:39Because I want my, I'm thinking the vibe
1:25:42for my orc girl.
1:25:45So maybe she has a little bit of a "Don Quixote"
1:25:49thing going on where she's like--
1:25:50TALIESIN: Love it.
1:25:52MARISHA: Once she's got this high station
1:25:56position of tending to the Pyre,
1:25:59but it's like, "I can do more.
1:26:01"I want to be even more defensive."
1:26:03It doesn't matter if anyone tells her like,
1:26:06"You are doing one of the best things
1:26:09"that you can do." MATT: Great.
1:26:10MARISHA: That she's still like, "Nah."
1:26:11So a little "Don Quixote" vibes.
1:26:14MATT: Okay.
1:26:15MARISHA: But like I said, since I'm inspired by
1:26:19the knights of yore and whatnot.
1:26:22MATT: Okay. MARISHA: So maybe it's,
1:26:25maybe there's some history wherever we are.
1:26:28TALIESIN: Ooh. I like it.
1:26:29MATT: Great. MARISHA: Yeah.
1:26:30TALIESIN: Like a dig site, something like that?
1:26:32MARISHA: That's kind of cool.
1:26:33SAM: Or a university or no,
1:26:35we don't have those in this world.
1:26:36TALIESIN: Well, I mean, like a--
1:26:37MATT: There are elements of old universities that exist,
1:26:40the Celsian Athenaeum is specifically
1:26:44over on the western side of the Amber Reach
1:26:47is the remnants of a massive library and place of learning.
1:26:50TALIESIN: I was going to say, yeah.
1:26:51ASHLEY: But isn't it also overtaken by--
1:26:53MATT: Yeah. ASHLEY: Monsters and things.
1:26:54MATT: But most everything is to a certain degree.
1:26:56TALIESIN: Yeah, I was going to say that it could be
1:26:58a Dead Sea Scrolls vibe
1:27:00because they were found in a cave.
1:27:02MARISHA: Yeah. SAM: Oh.
1:27:03TALIESIN: Where they uncovered slowly-decaying ancient library,
1:27:07so there's just, but not a huge one.
1:27:09It's just we found a bunch of crazy stuff
1:27:11and people would go in and try and pull things out
1:27:14and then it's just a little--
1:27:17MARISHA: Yeah. TALIESIN: Commerce place for--
1:27:18MARISHA: I think that's cool, a little like--
1:27:20TALIESIN: Yeah. MARISHA: You know.
1:27:22TALIESIN: Panning for books rather than panning for gold,
1:27:24or panning for--
1:27:25ASHLEY: Panning for history.
1:27:26TALIESIN: Panning for history.
1:27:27MARISHA: Yeah. It could be fun.
1:27:29MATT: Sure. TALIESIN: Tiny town.
1:27:30MATT: All right. Where would you like to place it?
1:27:31MARISHA: Sort of like the burying out the cities
1:27:33from Mount Vesuvius kind of a vibe.
1:27:36MATT: Okay. TALIESIN: I like that.
1:27:37MARISHA: Little Pompeii-tastic.
1:27:38SAM: All right, we're in Pompeii.
1:27:40MARISHA: We're in Pompeii.
1:27:41MATT: Where would you like it to be?
1:27:42Would you like it to be closer to the core
1:27:43of the Amber Reach?
1:27:45Or near the central of the previous civilization
1:27:48that still has civilization within,
1:27:50broken and separated
1:27:52by its own disparate communities
1:27:53and different interests and goals.
1:27:57Or are you more in the outskirts of the area?
1:28:00Are you deep in the Idle Hollow mountain ranges
1:28:02and that's where you found these excavation places?
1:28:06MARISHA: This is calling to me.
1:28:08MARISHA and SAM: The Griefcleft Mountains.
1:28:10MATT: Okay, so maybe on the--
1:28:10MARISHA: Or somewhere over there.
1:28:13MATT: On the outskirts of the Jungles of Aveidoora?
1:28:16MARISHA: Yeah!
1:28:17That. SAM: Oh wow.
1:28:19We're far over there.
1:28:21MATT: If you look-- MARISHA: Cool.
1:28:22MATT: If you look, there is a Pyre on the map there
1:28:24that is unmarked. MARISHA: Right down here?
1:28:25MATT: Do you want that one? MARISHA: This one.
1:28:26MATT: Do you want that to be taken?
1:28:27MARISHA: Yeah, we'll take it.
1:28:28MATT: All right, what are you calling your settlement?
1:28:30MARISHA: What are we calling our settlement?
1:28:31SAM: Hey, shut up so we can pick our name.
1:28:33MATT: (laughs) ASHLEY: Okay, sorry, sorry, sorry.
1:28:34SAM: What are you even talking about?
1:28:35(laughter)
1:28:37ASHLEY: Okay, where are you? What's happening?
1:28:39MARISHA: We're going to be at this, there's this Pyre
1:28:41that's at the bottom right-hand corner near the jungles.
1:28:43ASHLEY: This over here?
1:28:44MARISHA: Yes. ASHLEY: Okay.
1:28:45MARISHA: That's going to be where we're going to be.
1:28:47ASHLEY: All right.
1:28:48Near the Jungles of Aveidoora.
1:28:51SAM: Correct. MARISHA: Yeah.
1:28:52ASHLEY: Okay. SAM: We need a name,
1:28:53and it can't be Duchovny.
1:28:55(laughter)
1:28:57TRAVIS: The Sky Fyre Pyre.
1:28:59SAM: What? ASHLEY: The Unbroken Spire.
1:29:01MARISHA: So I can be an orderborne orc
1:29:03at the Sky Fyre Pyre?
1:29:05SAM: Oh boy. TALIESIN: No.
1:29:06God, people. SAM: It could be Mordor.
1:29:09MARISHA: Mork.
1:29:11(laughter) MARISHA: A Mordor--
1:29:13SAM: An orderborne orc from Mordor.
1:29:15ASHLEY: We could have it be M-O-R-E-D-O-O-R.
1:29:18(laughter)
1:29:21SAM: No, what's a cool name? MARISHA: Just Moredoors?
1:29:22ASHLEY: Moredoors. SAM: What's a cool name?
1:29:25TALIESIN: I'm thinking about how you would describe--
1:29:26ASHLEY: I mean, there's such cool ones here.
1:29:27TALIESIN: How would you describe a place like that.
1:29:28ASHLEY: The Unbroken Spire. TRAVIS: The Desperloch.
1:29:30ASHLEY: The Valley of Penance. MARISHA: Desperloch?
1:29:32That's cool. SAM: Oh, there's suggested names.
1:29:35MARISHA: Oh, there are? SAM: Desperloch is cool.
1:29:37MARISHA: I like Desperloch. MATT: Desperloch?
1:29:39TRAVIS: Well, there's the the sea below it, right?
1:29:40So there'd be little isles-- MARISHA: Yeah, there'd be a loch.
1:29:42ASHLEY: Desperloch?
1:29:44MARISHA: Desperloch. Done. SAM: Sure. Sounds fun.
1:29:46ASHLEY: D-E-S-P-E-R-- MATT: Desperloch, let's go.
1:29:48MARISHA: Sounds tragic.
1:29:49TRAVIS: Better than fucking Duchovny.
1:29:51(laughter) MARISHA: Or Mordor.
1:29:53SAM: If you're watching, by the way, David--
1:29:55TRAVIS: Big fan. SAM: -- big fan.
1:29:57ASHLEY: Very big fan.
1:29:58(laughter)
1:29:59ASHLEY: Mulder-- TALIESIN: How do you spell loch?
1:30:01TRAVIS: Forever-- ASHLEY: Forever Mulder.
1:30:02TRAVIS: Truth is out there. TALIESIN: Is it L-O-C-H
1:30:03or L-O-C-K? SAM: "Red Shoe Diaries."
1:30:04MARISHA: Okay. (laughter)
1:30:06ASHLEY: Yeah. Wait, loch is spelled
1:30:08L-O-C-H-E? O-C-H? SAM: L-O-C-H.
1:30:10TALIESIN: Loch, okay. ASHLEY: Desperloch.
1:30:11MARISHA: Desper-- So D-E-S-P--
1:30:12MATT: The settlement of Desperloch.
1:30:14D-E-S-P-E-R-L-O-C-H. ASHLEY: That's really cool.
1:30:17TRAVIS: That is cool. TALIESIN: That is pretty good.
1:30:18MARISHA: L-O-C-H.
1:30:19MATT: On the outskirts of the jungles of Aveidoora,
1:30:21which means you probably exist
1:30:23right on the edge of where the tree line
1:30:25meets the mountains. SAM: Cool.
1:30:26ASHLEY: Did you just think of that, Travis?
1:30:27TRAVIS: Yeah.
1:30:28ASHLEY: Damn.
1:30:29TRAVIS: I know. It happens once every 10 years.
1:30:32(laughter)
1:30:33MATT: Which is interesting because
1:30:35you're over a mountain range
1:30:36from the standing outer walls
1:30:40and boundaries of the Amber Reach
1:30:41and the previous capital city of the elder age.
1:30:45Which also is a source of possible promise
1:30:49of ancient knowledge. Much lost,
1:30:53some still hidden within,
1:30:57and rumors of safeguarded strongholds
1:31:01and possible, possible alliances with survivors
1:31:06throughout reaches far beyond.
1:31:08There are all these swamps in the realm beyond,
1:31:11and of course, the Ashen Seas themselves,
1:31:13who knows what islands might exist beyond that as well?
1:31:15So there's a lot of opportunities here
1:31:17to create amongst the space beyond what resides here.
1:31:22So now that we have the settlement,
1:31:23let's go around the table and have you all
1:31:25add something to this map-- SAM: Oh boy.
1:31:26MATT: -- that could be an interesting thing
1:31:28to refer to-- TRAVIS: I did mine.
1:31:30MARISHA: You did. (laughs) MATT: -- or even possibly explore.
1:31:32TRAVIS: Desperloch.
1:31:35MARISHA: Okay.
1:31:37Okay.
1:31:39You can go first. SAM: Ah! What?
1:31:40MATT and MARISHA: (laugh)
1:31:42SAM: Oh my god.
1:31:43MATT: You can take inspiration from the list of names
1:31:44that are there, or you can craft something wholly unique.
1:31:46TRAVIS: Find a spot for the Anal Cleft Cavern.
1:31:49(giggling)
1:31:53MATT: That's the upper right, I think, right?
1:31:54TRAVIS: (laughs) Yeah.
1:31:56SAM: Let's say--
1:31:58MARISHA: Let's go to Power Thesaurus.
1:32:01MATT: (laughs)
1:32:03ASHLEY: Power Thesaurus? MARISHA: It's great.
1:32:05It's my favorite
1:32:09thesaurus app.
1:32:11TRAVIS: Oh? MARISHA: Mm-hmm.
1:32:13SAM: Better than-- MARISHA: And it's an org.
1:32:14It's a dot org. Shout out Power Thesaurus.
1:32:19SAM: Let's say that--
1:32:24Boy, I don't know.
1:32:28Let's say that there's an area over here
1:32:33called the--
1:32:36I don't have Travis' gift.
1:32:38TRAVIS: I can do one, if you want more time.
1:32:42SAM: It's a series of sinkholes,
1:32:43ever-moving sinkholes.
1:32:45MATT: Ever-moving sinkholes.
1:32:46SAM: Let's just say Ever-Moving Sinkholes.
1:32:49MATT: That's fun. SAM: I lost someone there.
1:32:55I had a partner, and we used to go on runs together.
1:32:59He-- She was lost there.
1:33:03MATT: All righty. SAM: Great.
1:33:03TALIESIN: Do you have a name for it? TRAVIS: Got to close to the--
1:33:05MATT: You have a name for these sinkholes?
1:33:06SAM: The Ever-Moving Sinkholes. TALIESIN: All right.
1:33:08SAM: The Ever-Shifting Sinkholes? I don't know.
1:33:10TALIESIN: Just call it the-- TRAVIS: The Cereal Shits?
1:33:13TALIESIN: The Pits.
1:33:14SAM: The Pits? No.
1:33:16Here, I'll just use one of your names.
1:33:18TALIESIN: Toss them in the Pits. SAM: The Sinkholes--
1:33:22TRAVIS: The Barbecue Regrets?
1:33:24(laughter)
1:33:29SAM: I don't got it. (laughs)
1:33:31TRAVIS: (wheezes)
1:33:32MATT: Call it the-- TRAVIS: Chasing the Dragon.
1:33:34SAM: The Duchovny-- (laughter)
1:33:38(laughter)
1:33:42TALIESIN: You think of a word
1:33:44that describes what happens there
1:33:45or why you shouldn't go.
1:33:47SAM: Yeah, the Ever-Shifting Sinkholes.
1:33:48There you go, done. MATT: There you go.
1:33:54SAM: Done.
1:33:56MATT: All righty, pass that down.
1:33:58TRAVIS: I'll do one. I'm going to put--
1:34:00Is there any kind of a temple ruin
1:34:04in this map, the Celsian Athenaeum or the--
1:34:08MATT: There could be. Do you want to add one?
1:34:09TRAVIS: Yeah, I want to add one. MATT: Add one.
1:34:10Pick a place, put it in. TRAVIS: Okay, cool.
1:34:12Then I'm going to put it down by the water,
1:34:16out in the street.
1:34:18Okay, I'm going to do it, yeah, more in town.
1:34:22TALIESIN: What you shooting for? TRAVIS: You know what?
1:34:23ASHLEY: I don't know.
1:34:24TALIESIN: What do you want to build?
1:34:26TRAVIS: It should be hard to get to. Fuck it, why not?
1:34:29I don't know what this structure is,
1:34:30but I'm going to do it.
1:34:31It's out in the middle of an island
1:34:32in the middle of the water.
1:34:33I'm going to make it the--
1:34:35I love "Severance."
1:34:36I'm going to make it the Lumon Ruins.
1:34:39MARISHA: Yes! MATT: All right,
1:34:40the Lumon Ruins. TALIESIN: You want to make a--
1:34:42SAM: I haven't started season two yet.
1:34:44TRAVIS: Oh man. TALIESIN: I keep thinking about the--
1:34:44MARISHA: It's good. It's good. SAM: Yeah?
1:34:45TALIESIN: -- pirate treasure on the island--
1:34:47TRAVIS: Yeah, it had a little freakout moment,
1:34:48and they got it back on the rails.
1:34:49MARISHA: Yeah.
1:34:50TRAVIS: About to pull a fucking ripcord
1:34:52like "Hannibal" season three. MARISHA: I agree. I got one.
1:34:54TALIESIN: It's a real-- SAM: They're busy.
1:34:56We'll get to them later. TALIESIN: I don't know.
1:34:57No, we're discussing where it's going.
1:35:02MARISHA: Okay, we're going to go,
1:35:03so being on-- TALIESIN: It can be a ruin.
1:35:07TRAVIS: Sorry.
1:35:09MARISHA: Being a tender to this Pyre, being up high,
1:35:14had a view of the mountains for some time,
1:35:18and there's one that is particularly high,
1:35:22off in the distance, and it is going to be
1:35:24the Firmament's Harrow.
1:35:26ALL: Ooh. TALIESIN: Good name.
1:35:28SAM: What does that mean? TRAVIS: Power Thesaurus.
1:35:29MARISHA: It's going to be-- (laughter)
1:35:32SAM: What are those words synonyms of
1:35:34that we would understand? MARISHA: Firmament is
1:35:38deep sky.
1:35:39SAM: Okay. Okay. MARISHA: Heaven.
1:35:40And then Harrow being a wound.
1:35:45SAM: Ooh.
1:35:46MARISHA: A scar.
1:35:47MATT: To be harrowed by something.
1:35:48MARISHA: Yeah. MATT: That's what it's based on.
1:35:49SAM: Sky scar. MARISHA: Sky scar.
1:35:51SAM: Great.
1:35:53TRAVIS: Basically, Starscream.
1:35:55(laughter)
1:35:58SAM: Megatron! MATT: I mean, good choice!
1:36:01TRAVIS: Dude, the kid's watching it.
1:36:02He's like, "Dad, do your Starscream!"
1:36:03I'm like, "I can't.
1:36:06(bad Starscream voice) Megatron!
1:36:07He's like, "That's terrible."
1:36:10MATT: Dad, you disappointed me.
1:36:11TRAVIS: I should call Sam. You should come over.
1:36:14SAM: Yeah. MATT: Do it.
1:36:15SAM: I could do it. MATT: All right.
1:36:17MARISHA: Firmament's Harrow. MATT: Pass that over,
1:36:18other side of the table.
1:36:21What you got?
1:36:25ASHLEY: I feel like I want to make something
1:36:27that's like "The Descent,"
1:36:30where it's just a hole that no one has been to the bottom--
1:36:34Can't. MARISHA: Just a big-ass sinkhole.
1:36:35TRAVIS: You mean like the Ever-Moving Sinkholes?
1:36:36ASHLEY: But I know that's kind of, I know.
1:36:38But with sinkholes you can find the bottom.
1:36:40SAM: Go for it, Ashley. ASHLEY: More of a cave.
1:36:41SAM: That's fine. That's just fine.
1:36:43(laughter)
1:36:45SAM: You lose a friend there? ASHLEY: Okay, wait.
1:36:47(laughter)
1:36:49TRAVIS: What was the other one?
1:36:49What was the temple that mimicked people's voices
1:36:52and drew you within it?
1:36:53Do you remember that other movie?
1:36:55It was an Aztec temple and it had vines that grew over it,
1:36:59and as you got closer it sounded like it
1:37:00mimicked human voices-- MATT: Oh, what was that called?
1:37:02TRAVIS: -- to get you inside so that it could eat you.
1:37:03ASHLEY: What? MARISHA: That's cool.
1:37:05TRAVIS: They salted the earth around the temple.
1:37:07TALIESIN: Some of us haven't gone yet, Travis.
1:37:11ASHLEY: Do you want to do the whole map?
1:37:13Because-- TALIESIN: Yeah, man.
1:37:15TRAVIS: Not my idea.
1:37:16ASHLEY: Wait, I do like-- TRAVIS: What was that called?
1:37:17MATT: Yeah, I'm trying to remember. I remember--
1:37:19ASHLEY: That sounds very cool. MATT: That was 2010-ish.
1:37:22TRAVIS: Yeah. ASHLEY: You know what?
1:37:23I'm going to choose one of the things on here,
1:37:25because I really like this name.
1:37:26The Astrofoundry.
1:37:28MATT: The Astrofoundry. All right.
1:37:30ASHLEY: I feel like that could be, you know,
1:37:33a place where people look at--
1:37:35TRAVIS: "The Ruins." ASHLEY: -- stars.
1:37:37MARISHA: Oh, it's just called "The Ruins?"
1:37:38TRAVIS: Yeah. ASHLEY: All right,
1:37:39let's put that--
1:37:41MATT: Would that be-- TRAVIS: 2008.
1:37:42MATT: -- along the Griefcleft?
1:37:44Within the various
1:37:47inner or outer walls of the Amber Reach?
1:37:49Would it be beyond, to the north?
1:37:54ASHLEY: I mean, I was thinking up here.
1:37:57MATT: Yeah, if you want to place it there.
1:37:57ASHLEY: Does that make sense? MATT: Sure.
1:37:59ASHLEY: Okay. MATT: Go for it.
1:38:10ASHLEY: That's just a cool title.
1:38:13MATT: Taliesin, what you got?
1:38:15TALIESIN: Well, I'm going to come back around
1:38:16to my old city. I want to get something
1:38:19odd on there first.
1:38:23MATT: You guys can add other things
1:38:24based on your backstories, which we can develop
1:38:26until we actually run the first session.
1:38:28TALIESIN: This is just something fun
1:38:29I want to put together.
1:38:37My family does not actually come from
1:38:40the town that we were living in.
1:38:43There is a haunted chunk of forest
1:38:49which is called the--
1:38:55It's called the Screaming Forest.
1:38:58MATT: Okay, Screaming Forest. ASHLEY: Sounds pleasant.
1:38:59TALIESIN: It's called the Screaming Forest--
1:39:00MATT: Awesome.
1:39:02TALIESIN: -- because there is no sound there.
1:39:04It is quiet. It is absolutely quiet.
1:39:08There are no leaves on the trees.
1:39:11There's just wind, and for some reason,
1:39:14the trees there have grown to look almost like people--
1:39:18TRAVIS: Sweet. TALIESIN: -- frozen in place,
1:39:20with their mouths wide open and their eyes open in terror,
1:39:23and when the wind picks up,
1:39:26they start to make noise like flutes.
1:39:29MARISHA: Cool. TALIESIN: Of just terrible
1:39:30moans and-- MATT: That's fun.
1:39:33TALIESIN: And there are a whole bunch of rules.
1:39:35You don't wander off the trail.
1:39:36You try not to look up,
1:39:38because people die in there mysteriously
1:39:40and never come out all the time.
1:39:42MATT: Cool.
1:39:43TALIESIN: That's where my faerie people come from.
1:39:45MATT: Delightful.
1:39:46TALIESIN: That's the Screaming Forest.
1:39:47ASHLEY: Lumon Ruins? MATT: Where would you like
1:39:48that Screaming Forest to be on the map?
1:39:51TALIESIN: Let's put it--
1:39:53Where's a place you have to walk through
1:39:54every now and then
1:39:55if you want to get somewhere quickly?
1:39:58You know, we've got the ruins there.
1:40:02Where are the sinkholes again?
1:40:05Where are the Ever-Moving Sinkholes?
1:40:06MATT: They are towards the middle bottom.
1:40:08TALIESIN: There we go.
1:40:12Let's actually, even better--
1:40:15I'm just trying to find something that
1:40:17fucks everybody up.
1:40:18Let's make them slightly
1:40:23to the east of Okras
1:40:28so that if you have to move out of the Idle Hallows
1:40:32and get to Okras, you have to walk through this terrible
1:40:36Screaming Forest. MATT: Very cool. Let's do it.
1:40:44TALIESIN: Filled with spider fae. They're fun.
1:40:46MATT: Fantastic. MARISHA: Filled. I hate it.
1:40:48MATT: So with some of these map aspects
1:40:50and a bit of the world expanded upon
1:40:52to give you some anchors,
1:40:54some places of history, either that you've heard of
1:40:56or might've been through, been to.
1:41:00Let's finish up here
1:41:02with some character connections.
1:41:03MARISHA: Okay.
1:41:04TALIESIN: We'll do
1:41:05the town together. ASHLEY: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
1:41:07TALIESIN: It'll be fun.
1:41:10MARISHA: Okay. TALIESIN: Where's the--
1:41:12MATT: Do we have any character names, by the way?
1:41:14MARISHA: No. TALIESIN: Working on it.
1:41:15MARISHA: Got to think about it.
1:41:16SAM: Duchovny. MARISHA: Let us think about it.
1:41:17Oh my god. MATT: (laughs)
1:41:19SAM: I need to add one more thing.
1:41:20I'm going to add, just off the coast where we are,
1:41:22there's a Floating Orchard.
1:41:24MARISHA: That's cool. TALIESIN: Ooh!
1:41:25You like things that move.
1:41:26I'm into it. SAM: You're right.
1:41:28It's a bunch of seaweed and kelp
1:41:30that's floating off the coast,
1:41:33and it's got delicious berries in it if you can get to it
1:41:37through all the sea creatures and awful
1:41:40creatures around it. MATT: That's fun.
1:41:41I love that. Hell yeah.
1:41:52MARISHA: So you're starting at Desperloch with me.
1:41:58SAM: I'm a Desperlochian.
1:42:00MARISHA: You're Desperlochian.
1:42:01So what lie have you told me about yourself
1:42:04that I absolutely believe?
1:42:06SAM: Oh boy. MARISHA: You spineless coward.
1:42:11SAM: What lie have I told you that you believe?
1:42:12MARISHA: Yeah, and I'm like, "Tracks."
1:42:16SAM: Jesus.
1:42:18MARISHA: (chuckles)
1:42:19SAM: I don't even know our relationship.
1:42:20Why would I tell you a lie?
1:42:22MARISHA: I don't know, small-- SAM: I told you that--
1:42:32I told you that I have a girlfriend.
1:42:33(laughter)
1:42:36TRAVIS: The one that fell into the Ever-Moving Sinkholes?
1:42:40MARISHA: Is that what it is? She fell into the sinkholes?
1:42:42SAM: No, no--
1:42:43TALIESIN: You actually just lost your wallet there,
1:42:45and upgraded-- SAM: No.
1:42:46(laughter)
1:42:47SAM: That was not a romantic partner.
1:42:50We would go on runs together.
1:42:54Yeah, no, I told you that I have a girlfriend.
1:42:58MARISHA: Okay.
1:42:59SAM: And that she definitely exists.
1:43:01MARISHA: So she's still alive.
1:43:02Does she live in another settlement?
1:43:03SAM: She doesn't exist. That's the lie.
1:43:05MARISHA: But what if you told me-- SAM: Oh, oh, oh.
1:43:07TALIESIN: She's north of the Idol Hollows.
1:43:08MARISHA: Yeah, is she?
1:43:09SAM: Yes, yes. TALIESIN: You've never been there.
1:43:11SAM: I see her in another town that I go to visit.
1:43:16I see her.
1:43:17She's in the Amber Reach. MARISHA: Okay.
1:43:19SAM: She's a brilliant researcher.
1:43:22ASHLEY: Wait, but does anybody live in the Amber Reach?
1:43:24MATT: Many people live in the Amber Reach.
1:43:24ASHLEY: Oh, okay, okay, okay.
1:43:26MATT: There are all manner of pocket societies there.
1:43:28ASHLEY: There are. SAM: The smartest researcher
1:43:32in the Amber Reach, she's a brilliant--
1:43:34MARISHA: I love that. SAM: Everyone comes for miles
1:43:36to hear her philosophy and wisdom.
1:43:38MARISHA: Okay, that's great.
1:43:41MATT: Awesome. MARISHA: That will
1:43:42100% come up. SAM: Okay, good.
1:43:44MARISHA: If we can just get to Amber in the Amber Reach.
1:43:48SAM: Shit, I should've come up with a better name!
1:43:51MATT: Are any of your characters
1:43:53burdened with burgeoning oracle sight?
1:43:57SAM: What the fuck does that mean?
1:44:01TALIESIN: I'm in. MARISHA: Sounds like some you shit.
1:44:02MATT: Slight, tiny threads of visions
1:44:05within your dreams or in your waking day.
1:44:09Flashes of something that is
1:44:13sight beyond what a normal
1:44:15person's perception allows. SAM: That feels like you.
1:44:16TALIESIN: Yeah, one of you two.
1:44:18I'm weird enough already.
1:44:20ASHLEY: Maybe? TRAVIS: It'd probably be me.
1:44:22MATT: All right, if so,
1:44:25what visions have begun to creep into your sleep, Travis?
1:44:29TRAVIS: Pictures of my mother, who's no longer around,
1:44:32but then also a shining light,
1:44:36almost like a doorway or a cave opening,
1:44:39that cracks and fills out the entrance or portal itself,
1:44:45and then spreads through the land.
1:44:47But it's also connected by water.
1:44:50There's also water around it in the vision,
1:44:52which is why I've been drawn to the Idol Hollows,
1:44:56because of the Lumon temple,
1:44:58the Lumon Ruins that I know are here,
1:44:59and that seems to be a good starting point, but who knows?
1:45:03It's just a dream, right?
1:45:04MATT: Yeah. Okay, cool.
1:45:06Somebody else want to ask a connection question?
1:45:09SAM: Oh, Ashley? ASHLEY: Hmm?
1:45:15MATT: You can make one up, if you want.
1:45:17SAM: Sure. MATT: You can read off the sheet.
1:45:18SAM: I'm going off the sheet.
1:45:20What threat have you asked me to watch out for,
1:45:22and why are you so worried about it?
1:45:26What are you scared of?
1:45:29ASHLEY: Hmm.
1:45:32MATT: He is one that travels away from the settlement often
1:45:36as part of his messenger runner experience,
1:45:39so there are many things that he could--
1:45:40ASHLEY: Oh, he's mad.
1:45:42SAM: Omar's a-growling. OMAR: (barks)
1:45:44SAM: Oh! MATT: Oh.
1:45:45MARISHA: What are you mad about? OMAR: (barks)
1:45:47ASHLEY: I have never been-- OMAR: (barks)
1:45:49ASHLEY: -- in the forests. OMAR: (barks)
1:45:52SAM: This is good audio. ASHLEY: It is.
1:45:55OMAR: (growls)
1:45:56MARISHA: It's just Steve.
1:45:58Oh no, he's okay.
1:46:00ASHLEY: I'm afraid of the creatures.
1:46:01I'm afraid of the dark in the forests,
1:46:03of what creatures--
1:46:06MARISHA: Weirdo.
1:46:07SAM: Is there a specific creature?
1:46:10ASHLEY: Yes, it's the one that--
1:46:14There's a specific creature that I have heard of
1:46:18that has taken in
1:46:22whoever it kills,
1:46:25you become a part of it,
1:46:27and it's like this massive creature
1:46:31of all of the people that it has killed.
1:46:35MARISHA: An amalgamation. SAM: Yeah.
1:46:37ASHLEY: It's an abomination. SAM: Okay.
1:46:40You've seen this thing?
1:46:41ASHLEY: I've heard of it. SAM: You've heard of it.
1:46:42ASHLEY: I've never seen it. SAM: Okay.
1:46:44ASHLEY: But I'm terrified of it.
1:46:45But maybe you've told me you've seen it.
1:46:48In your travels?
1:46:50SAM: Maybe. Maybe I've heard of it, too.
1:46:53But I'll look out for it for you.
1:46:55ASHLEY: Yeah, I don't want to deal with that.
1:46:59So let's avoid it.
1:47:01MARISHA: I don't have time
1:47:02to deal with that. ASHLEY: I don't have time to
1:47:03deal with this, please.
1:47:06MATT: Okay, if you want to think of a nickname,
1:47:10you don't have to do it right now,
1:47:11but think of a nickname for that entity
1:47:13that you've heard referred to.
1:47:15TRAVIS: Big bit.
1:47:17TALIESIN: Travis. TRAVIS: Hmm?
1:47:19TALIESIN: What weird hobby or strange
1:47:21fascination do we both share?
1:47:23TRAVIS: (laughs)
1:47:25TALIESIN: And our characters, too.
1:47:26MARISHA: (laughs)
1:47:27TRAVIS: That's a good question.
1:47:29That's a good question.
1:47:31TALIESIN: We're both a little magicky.
1:47:33TRAVIS: Do we have--
1:47:37Do we collect little trinkets or totems
1:47:40or little charms
1:47:44on our wrists?
1:47:50Little icons that bring luck and meaning
1:47:53from different parts of--
1:47:54TALIESIN: I feel like I'd be cheating
1:47:55having all these places to put them,
1:47:58but yeah, I definitely love the idea of--
1:47:59MARISHA: Oh, on all your hands.
1:48:01TALIESIN: I love the idea of, I'm happy to--
1:48:03TRAVIS: We collect little things from everywhere we go.
1:48:05TALIESIN: Trade them on occasion.
1:48:07TRAVIS: Yeah, every little
1:48:08journey outside of the city or little trip
1:48:11or little quest that we come back and don't die from,
1:48:15there's one little thing that we add to our--
1:48:17TALIESIN: I like them, yeah,
1:48:17we can fight about whose is better.
1:48:21TRAVIS: Yeah.
1:48:22TALIESIN: And definitely show off
1:48:23things and be irritated. TRAVIS: And we split,
1:48:26yeah, we'll split things. TALIESIN: Yeah, yeah.
1:48:28TALIESIN: Cool. MARISHA: Pogs.
1:48:29MATT: (laughs)
1:48:30TRAVIS: Marisha.
1:48:31MARISHA: Yeah.
1:48:32TRAVIS: You've told me to protect one member of our party
1:48:36above all others, even yourself.
1:48:39Who are they and why?
1:48:45MARISHA: It would probably be Ashley.
1:48:49TRAVIS: This bitch?
1:48:50MARISHA: This bitch. ASHLEY: This bitch?
1:48:52MARISHA: Because she is an ancient relic
1:48:57of our history, of our past.
1:49:02There aren't many of her left.
1:49:04She is a walking artifact,
1:49:09and if we lose her,
1:49:12we lose an even further connection,
1:49:15or we lose a piece of that connection
1:49:19to the golden era before now.
1:49:22She's important.
1:49:23TRAVIS: Got it. Yeah, she is FernGully.
1:49:26MARISHA: Yeah, yeah.
1:49:29MATT: I'm going to do a quick round
1:49:29at the table here with you all.
1:49:31SAM: Yes, please.
1:49:32MATT: What do your characters see when they stare
1:49:35into the inky void of night too long?
1:49:43TRAVIS: Kind of like when you stare into a neon sign
1:49:45and then look away.
1:49:47MATT: Mm-hmm.
1:49:48TRAVIS: Like a little impression, but--
1:49:49MARISHA: Yeah. TRAVIS: I think for me
1:49:51it's glyphs or runes or symbology
1:49:55that don't make any sense
1:49:56and are probably just a trick of the eye,
1:49:57those little things you see
1:49:58swimming around in your vision.
1:49:59MATT: Right, some sort of either
1:50:02your eye caught some sort of an odd burning image
1:50:04near the Pyre and it's probably just floating
1:50:06on the periphery there.
1:50:07TRAVIS: Every once in a while, the past few months,
1:50:11I feel like I've seen a few of them a couple times.
1:50:14MATT: Okay.
1:50:18ASHLEY: I think for me, it's almost more of a feeling.
1:50:21It just feels like
1:50:24looking in it, it's just fear and despair and death.
1:50:29looking in it, it's just fear and despair and death.
1:50:31MATT: Does it overwhelm you,
1:50:32or do you rally against it internally?
1:50:36ASHLEY: I think it overwhelms a little bit.
1:50:37MATT: Okay.
1:50:40Okay.
1:50:40ASHLEY: Yeah, I think they don't like looking in it
1:50:42because it's--
1:50:46It can't be defined and that's scary.
1:50:49Like when you're a kid and you put all your clothes
1:50:51on a chair and then at night you're like:
1:50:52That's for sure a person sitting in it.
1:50:54TRAVIS: Poltergeist. MATT: Right.
1:50:55MARISHA: Yeah. ASHLEY: It is like a shape.
1:50:57You're like: I can't tell what it is,
1:50:59but there's something there. MATT: Okay.
1:51:01TRAVIS: That boy was stupid.
1:51:02He should never have had that clown in his bedroom.
1:51:04ASHLEY: Never. You don't put a clown under your bed.
1:51:07TRAVIS: What were you thinking?
1:51:08SAM: I feel like my guy is so used to running and hiding and
1:51:13SAM: I feel like my guy is so used to running and hiding and
1:51:17escaping and averting danger, that maybe
1:51:24the fear of the unknown and seeing that,
1:51:28imagining that things are out there waiting is almost like,
1:51:32it's not like a high, but it fuels, it fuels him.
1:51:37There reaches a level of cowardice,
1:51:41of fright where it's like he goes into overdrive
1:51:45and he's like: I got to go, I can get through this.
1:51:49And it gives him a boost of adrenaline
1:51:52to get through it.
1:51:54So it's almost like the unknown
1:51:56inky void is like a drug.
1:51:59MATT: It's enticing, there's something about--
1:52:03Is it like Ashley's character
1:52:05where that threshold of oblivion is exciting?
1:52:09Or is it because there's something there looking back
1:52:12that makes you, kind of triggers the adrenaline?
1:52:16What is it you're vibing on that?
1:52:16SAM: I think that's it, there's eyes in the darkness
1:52:19and there's something there that
1:52:23I think maybe I'm chasing or I'm intrigued by.
1:52:28MATT: Okay, okay.
1:52:29You feel as if you were being watched by something beyond.
1:52:32SAM: Mm-hmm. MATT: Cool.
1:52:36TALIESIN: I see home and I see the woman who ran home,
1:52:42the home I came to, and I'm terrified
1:52:45that they're looking for me
1:52:46and that they're going to find me
1:52:48because I know what they will do and it is awful.
1:52:53MATT: Okay.
1:52:56TRAVIS: Hmm. Hmm.
1:52:59MARISHA: I think I've spent years, decades even,
1:53:05staring into fire, sacred fire,
1:53:10and now when I look into the darkness,
1:53:14it starts to form black tendrils of flame
1:53:19it starts to form black tendrils of flame
1:53:22and it gives me a sense of
1:53:26shame
1:53:29or unease.
1:53:30Is it because I've abandoned my post
1:53:33on some sort of selfish,
1:53:38self-fulfilling journey of honor?
1:53:42Or is it because
1:53:45the flame is just all-consuming
1:53:47and eats everything it touches?
1:53:52Or maybe the flame isn't as sacred
1:53:55as we've made it out to be,
1:54:00and we've just built it up in our heads.
1:54:02Maybe the flame was a lie.
1:54:04SAM: The flame is inside of us?
1:54:06TRAVIS: The cake is a lie. MARISHA: Maybe the flame,
1:54:07the cake is a lie.
1:54:07Maybe the flame is inside of us.
1:54:09TALIESIN: The flame is the cake.
1:54:09MARISHA: I think it's like-- TRAVIS: The flame is the cake.
1:54:11The cake is inside of us.
1:54:12MARISHA: (laughs)
1:54:13SAM: You ate the cake?
1:54:16MATT: (clears throat)
1:54:17(laughter)
1:54:19MATT: Okay, okay, very cool.
1:54:21MARISHA: Ravaging flame.
1:54:24MATT: I dig it. Works for a Pyrekeeper.
1:54:27MARISHA: Yeah.
1:54:29MATT: Any other connections anyone wants to ask?
1:54:32TALIESIN: Yeah.
1:54:35Actually, would like to get a couple.
1:54:43I want to get all three.
1:54:45Marisha.
1:54:45MARISHA: Huh?
1:54:49TALIESIN: What favor have I asked of you
1:54:51that only you could help me with?
1:54:55MARISHA: Oh.
1:54:56Fully smuggling you
1:54:58TRAVIS: (chuckles)
1:54:59MARISHA: -- into underneath the settlement,
1:55:04because I know all the ins and outs.
1:55:07TALIESIN: And I love, I mean, I'm here to learn, so yeah.
1:55:10MARISHA: And so I think probably if there is
1:55:13some sort of archeological dig or something,
1:55:16I think I would probably be going
1:55:19a little bit against code in that way,
1:55:22but it's also because I have that strong volition
1:55:26towards the pursuit of knowledge.
1:55:27TALIESIN: And I would owe you, so that's fair.
1:55:29MARISHA: Yeah, so I would
1:55:30totally smuggle you out of sight
1:55:34to whatever knowledge we're seeking.
1:55:37TALIESIN: Mm-hmm. MATT: Cool.
1:55:39TALIESIN: I'm happy to be
1:55:39sharing that whatever knowledge
1:55:41we can be looking for it together,
1:55:42I think it's a fun idea. MARISHA: Yeah.
1:55:45TALIESIN: Mm-hmm.
1:55:50MATT: All right. TRAVIS: Taliesin.
1:55:51SAM: Oh!
1:55:52TALIESIN: Jesus Christ.
1:55:54TRAVIS: What promise did you make me agree to
1:55:58should you die on the battlefield?
1:56:06TALIESIN: I made you promise
1:56:07to give a letter to my family
1:56:08if you ever find them.
1:56:10TRAVIS: Nice.
1:56:11TALIESIN: Or at least to my parents.
1:56:16Yeah, it would be my parents or grandparents,
1:56:18any of my family you find.
1:56:21TRAVIS: Got it.
1:56:25ASHLEY: Taliesin. TALIESIN: Oh god, yeah.
1:56:27MARISHA: (chuckles)
1:56:28ASHLEY: Why do you grab my hand at night?
1:56:31TALIESIN: Oh. MARISHA: I love this one.
1:56:37ASHLEY: Or do you? TALIESIN: I do.
1:56:40I think it's because if they find me,
1:56:45I actually believe that you would be the reason
1:56:47why I survive.
1:56:50TRAVIS: No pressure.
1:56:53ASHLEY: I will protect you.
1:56:54TALIESIN: I think they fear you.
1:56:58SAM: Marisha. MARISHA: (startled noise)
1:57:00TALIESIN: Okay. ASHLEY: Okay.
1:57:02TALIESIN: I think they fear you.
1:57:04TRAVIS: Leave.
1:57:05(laughter)
1:57:06TALIESIN: I wouldn't have left.
1:57:08SAM: What friendly competition do we have?
1:57:12You know how we're buds. MARISHA: Yeah.
1:57:15Just lying to me and shit.
1:57:17SAM: Just about the girl.
1:57:19(laughter)
1:57:21SAM: I want to impress you.
1:57:23You're strong. MARISHA: You impress me.
1:57:25SAM: You're strong and I'm weak.
1:57:27MARISHA: You're just a little goat man.
1:57:28SAM: I'm a little goat man.
1:57:30MARISHA: (giggles)
1:57:31What friendly competition do we have?
1:57:40Oh my god. What friendly competition do we have?
1:57:46SAM: I'm going to answer my own question.
1:57:47MARISHA: Yeah. MATT: (chuckles)
1:57:48MARISHA: Give me a suggestion.
1:57:49SAM: You're big, right?
1:57:50MARISHA: Yeah.
1:57:52SAM: Maybe I,
1:57:55I feel like I'm small and very skinny.
1:57:58MARISHA: Okay.
1:57:59SAM: But I can eat so much food.
1:58:04MARISHA: Ooh.
1:58:04SAM: And never seem to gain any weight,
1:58:08and so we have like--
1:58:09MARISHA: Like eating competitions.
1:58:10SAM: Yeah, like how many grapes
1:58:12can you fit in your mouth--
1:58:13TRAVIS: Grapes. SAM: (laughs)
1:58:14MARISHA: Yeah, that's good.
1:58:15MATT: I will say, too, a fun bit of this--
1:58:17MARISHA: That's fun. MATT: Any sort
1:58:18of eating competition that you both have,
1:58:20you have to keep secret
1:58:21because rations are thin
1:58:24in these settlements. MARISHA: Even better!
1:58:25MATT: So you guys are stealing food more or less to compete,
1:58:30which is awesome. TRAVIS: Mom, I'm hungry.
1:58:32MATT: That's fucked up. MARISHA: Yeah.
1:58:34(laughter)
1:58:37MATT: "Our rice stores are two weeks behind, what's going?"
1:58:40MARISHA: And that can come into foraging or scavenging,
1:58:43like what did you all find today?
1:58:45SAM: Ooh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
1:58:46MARISHA: What did you squirrel away?
1:58:47SAM: I can squirrel us away stuff
1:58:49and we don't show anybody else.
1:58:51MARISHA: Sure, that's fun. TRAVIS: Are you sure the game
1:58:51isn't she tries to see if she can startle you
1:58:54so that you fucking faint? MARISHA: Yeah.
1:58:56(laughter)
1:58:57SAM: I like that, too. I like that, too.
1:59:00TRAVIS: (bleats)
1:59:02(laughter)
1:59:03SAM: Do they do that?
1:59:04ASHLEY: Fainting goats. MARISHA: Fainting goats.
1:59:05MATT: Oh yeah. SAM: Maybe I do that!
1:59:07(laughter)
1:59:09SAM: I love it.
1:59:09MARISHA: You've seen fainting goats.
1:59:11SAM: I have. I have. MARISHA: This is so good.
1:59:13TRAVIS: (bleats)
1:59:14MARISHA: Okay, yeah, we have a little eating competition.
1:59:18TALIESIN: Sam. SAM: (yells)
1:59:19TALIESIN: Feels good, doesn't it?
1:59:21What about me irritates you?
1:59:24My character. Shit.
1:59:26(laughter)
1:59:27SAM: You're what kind of wizard?
1:59:28What do you look like?
1:59:29TALIESIN: I'm a humanoid spider.
1:59:32SAM: Oh god.
1:59:34TALIESIN: But charming.
1:59:35(laughter)
1:59:36SAM: Charming humanoid spider. TALIESIN: I'm cute for a spider.
1:59:39TRAVIS: Maybe a little jumpy.
1:59:40TALIESIN: Actually, it's slightly different build,
1:59:42but yeah. I can do the little parachute thing.
1:59:44TRAVIS: Funnel wolf.
1:59:47SAM: What about you annoys me?
1:59:49TALIESIN: Yeah.
1:59:51It doesn't have to be a big thing
1:59:52and you know, we could have a discussion about it.
1:59:55TRAVIS: (laughs) He's already qualifying it.
1:59:57MARISHA: Yeah. (laughs)
1:59:58TALIESIN: I'm trying to-- MARISHA: Not a big deal.
2:00:00TRAVIS: It could be small. TALIESIN: I'm trying to just
2:00:01throw you something, you know.
2:00:03SAM: I'm trying to think if I want it
2:00:05to be a big deal or a little deal.
2:00:06TRAVIS: It's a fucking giant spider.
2:00:08MARISHA: Yeah. SAM: I know.
2:00:09(laughter)
2:00:12SAM: You know what, I've never said this to you.
2:00:14TRAVIS: (wheezes)
2:00:15SAM: You have this smell.
2:00:19MARISHA: Oh yeah. SAM: You smell real weird.
2:00:21TALIESIN: I eat a lot of raw meat.
2:00:23SAM: Yeah, yeah. MARISHA: Mm.
2:00:25ASHLEY: There it is. TRAVIS: You melt your own food.
2:00:26TALIESIN: And I also don't chew with my mouth closed
2:00:28because I'm a spider.
2:00:29SAM: I'm intrigued by you.
2:00:30I'm intrigued by-- TALIESIN: Probably smell like--
2:00:32SAM: Do we know about your magic?
2:00:33We know about your magic.
2:00:34Your Aetherweaving? TALIESIN: How close are we?
2:00:37SAM: I don't know. TALIESIN: I don't fucking know.
2:00:38SAM: What are we together, to each other?
2:00:40TALIESIN: I think if I've used your services,
2:00:43I think at this point, I would definitely have friends
2:00:46who would know.
2:00:47MATT: Yeah, you're not an adventuring troop,
2:00:49but you all know each other to a certain degree.
2:00:54I mean, both of you are outliers in the settlements.
2:00:58We'll talk more about where your place is in this.
2:01:01You said you were smuggled through
2:01:02and probably hidden from some of the more jumpy folks
2:01:05since you resemble some of the things that people
2:01:07are afraid of on the outside of the walls.
2:01:11MARISHA: It's a big pursuit of knowledge.
2:01:13TALIESIN: I'll also say I changed one of my Experiences
2:01:18TALIESIN: I'll also say I changed one of my Experiences
2:01:19that I thought it was a little too to
2:01:20Absolutely Supposed to be Here.
2:01:23MATT: Okay.
2:01:23TALIESIN: So I can just-- I'm fine.
2:01:25I'm with her.
2:01:26MATT: (laughs) That's fun. That's fun.
2:01:28TALIESIN: Have to do a lot of that.
2:01:28MARISHA: Have you ever had, you know, like--
2:01:30TALIESIN: Like wearing a suit at Comic-Con.
2:01:31MATT: Right. MARISHA: In the fall
2:01:32when all the ladybugs start coming inside
2:01:35and then they'll gather in the corner
2:01:37and then when a lot of ladybugs gather
2:01:39in the corner of your window
2:01:41and they smell weird.
2:01:44Do you know that smell, ladybug smell?
2:01:47SAM: I don't.
2:01:48MARISHA: Is this a--
2:01:49SAM: I don't.
2:01:50TRAVIS: Oh no, no, I'm familiar.
2:01:52That's a southeastern part-- MARISHA: Is this a southern thing?
2:01:54Is this a Kentucky-ass thing?
2:01:55TALIESIN: I was going to go with a--
2:01:57MARISHA: Yeah, and they'll come in.
2:01:58TALIESIN: With the meat plant. SAM: Is that question
2:01:59on your sheet?
2:02:01(laughter)
2:02:01MARISHA: Yeah.
2:02:02ASHLEY, SAM, and MARISHA: "Do you know ladybug smell?"
2:02:05TALIESIN: I assume I would smell like
2:02:06rotted meat a little bit.
2:02:07ASHLEY: Weird.
2:02:08MARISHA: Yeah, they're cute when they're one at a time,
2:02:11but then they get, and they'll gather and--
2:02:14ASHLEY: A little aggressive?
2:02:15TRAVIS: If you yawn, they
2:02:15fucking fly in your mouth. (gagging)
2:02:18TALIESIN: There's so many awful insects.
2:02:20MARISHA: I once woke up and brushed my teeth
2:02:22and one had crawled onto my toothbrush
2:02:24in the middle of the night
2:02:25and there was this weird like--
2:02:26ASHLEY: No. MARISHA: -- acrid acid taste
2:02:28and I spit it out and it was a ladybug
2:02:29that had crawled on my toothbrush.
2:02:31ASHLEY: Ew.
2:02:31MARISHA: Because you know when you stumble
2:02:32in the bathroom and like--
2:02:33TRAVIS: It's good luck.
2:02:34ASHLEY: Yeah.
2:02:35MATT: (laughs) MARISHA: Anyway.
2:02:37SAM: Taliesin, I'll also say that another thing
2:02:39that annoys you about me, me about you--
2:02:42TALIESIN: Yeah. SAM: You about, whatever.
2:02:44MATT: No, you had it, the second one you got it right.
2:02:46SAM: Is that you ask me to get you things.
2:02:48TALIESIN: All the time.
2:02:49SAM: But they seem to me
2:02:52like they're useless and cumbersome.
2:02:54It just doesn't feel like, why would you need this?
2:02:58TALIESIN: I love it.
2:02:59SAM: Why would I have to risk my life
2:03:00to get this for you?
2:03:02TALIESIN: I love it.
2:03:03MATT: This is fun.
2:03:05TALIESIN: Smell. MATT: I think we got
2:03:06some solid connections here.
2:03:07This is a continued conversation
2:03:09until we start our first session, of course,
2:03:10so we can keep developing this and asking questions,
2:03:12but I think this is a good jumping off point.
2:03:14My last question for all of you--
2:03:16MARISHA: Ooh. MATT: Is how deadly
2:03:18do you want this campaign to be?
2:03:20TRAVIS: Very. MARISHA: Let's go!
2:03:21TRAVIS: Well done steak.
2:03:22Level 10.
2:03:23TALIESIN: Really spicy or only from the home country spicy?
2:03:27TRAVIS: Punishment for--
2:03:28the first person that dies. ASHLEY: I want to see what a super spicy--
2:03:30TALIESIN: Only from the home country.
2:03:30ASHLEY: Yeah. MATT: Okay, let's go.
2:03:31ASHLEY: Full spice.
2:03:33MARISHA: Video game menu challenge rating
2:03:35expert, god mode.
2:03:37TRAVIS: Skull next to it.
2:03:38SAM: Do we know how many of these we're doing?
2:03:40TALIESIN: It depends on how quickly we die. MARISHA: Eight.
2:03:42SAM: So there's not really time to come back
2:03:45as another character. TRAVIS: Sure there is.
2:03:47TALIESIN: Yep. TRAVIS: Sure there is.
2:03:48TALIESIN: There ain't no getting--
2:03:49TRAVIS: Oh yeah.
2:03:50MARISHA: Or you just die. MATT: We'll talk about it.
2:03:51TRAVIS: Or if she dies, something fucked up might happen.
2:03:54MARISHA: We also, if you notice--
2:03:55TALIESIN: I had to make Caduceus in a week;
2:03:56you'll be fine. MARISHA: We have two people
2:03:57missing at this table.
2:03:58SAM: I actually hadn't noticed.
2:04:00MARISHA: Yeah. (laughs)
2:04:01TRAVIS: We should actually make a pool
2:04:02about who's going to die first and the first person out
2:04:04has to buy everybody, I don't know, Porto's.
2:04:08MARISHA and SAM: Ooh.
2:04:09MATT: We'll figure something out.
2:04:10I think there's some fun options.
2:04:11TRAVIS: Okay.
2:04:12MATT: But I think we have enough to jump off of here.
2:04:14We'll develop things together
2:04:16until we actually get to this first session here,
2:04:19and Desperloch, one of the few remaining settlements
2:04:23gathered around one of the burning Sacred Pyres here
2:04:27in the Age of Umbra.
2:04:28We'll see you all soon enough for the first session--
2:04:31TRAVIS: Oh shit! MATT: -- of this campaign
2:04:33in Daggerheart.
2:04:34Super excited for you all to join us for this.
2:04:35We'll see you soon.
2:04:37(cackling)

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