The Glass Cannon Podcast - Gatewalkers Episode 2 – Ladies' Night

Episode Date: September 22, 2023

Brother Ramius, Zephyr, Lucky, Talitha and Buggles enter the city of Sevenarches to begin their investigation. Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/LpYCKXCWZXg This episode was sponsored by Demiplane, Foundry VTT and Norse Foundry. Check out Demiplane's Pathfinder Nexus and character creation tools at https://bit.ly/GCNOfficialTools See why tabletop gamers everywhere have made the switch to Foundry Virtual Tabletop at https://foundryvtt.com/gcp The Glass Cannon Podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit https://betterhelp.com/gcn to get 10 percent off your first month. Visit https://nordvpn.com/gcp to receive an extra four months for free. For more podcasts and livestreams, visit glasscannonnetwork.com and for hundreds of hours of exclusive shows and benefits, make your membership official and join Glass Cannon Nation today by becoming a subscriber at jointhenaish.com. Watch new episodes when they premiere every Thursday at 8PM ET on youtube.com/theglasscannon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You are listening to the Glass Cannon Network, the premier source for role-playing game entertainment. Last week on the Glass Cannon Podcast. For the Ramius, Buggles, Lucky, Talitha, and Zephyr, amazing names, Crest of the Hill with Dr. Riddleson. Many are called. But on the night of the missing moment, all over the world, an ancient network of magical portals called Ayudhara came alive and beguiled all those nearby

into stepping through. Few are chosen. And he looks at each of you and smiles fondly. He says, I have no doubt you can handle this investigation yourselves. Of all my field researchers, I believe you show the greatest promise for uncovering the secrets of this hidden world. For the mission that lies ahead. She says, this is an aura recorder.

I would like you to go to the town center and then use this to read the aura of one of the gates there. Will require cunning. What are each of your skills? You'll be fine. And a leap of faith. I mean, is it safe for our friends? There seems to be some question.

If you do not wish to go, none of us will look down on you. It is a great risk. The adventure continues. Are we going to Seven Arches? Woo! No. 🎵 Thank you. Hello everybody and welcome back to the Glass Cannon Podcast. We got the episode one fanfare and jitters out of the way

and now we can just go back to limping subpar content out of the gate. It's our goal. Yeah, we just, we don't there's so much hype about episode one. Now let's just go back to basics and really just do an episode where you shop. Yes. Just shopping. Just shopping. I'd like to do

some healing. For character reasons, I started my character with half her HP. Oh, that's fun. That's fun. So I need to just give her something to work against. For character reasons? For character reasons. We were going to do gear as part of character creation, but then we said, why don't we do

it in an episode at a shop? So fun. Yeah. And we can debate with the shopkeeper what the prices are. And we all need to go to different shops. I want to spend party gold on healing materials and then start running around healing random NPCs.

It's very funny. In a lot of these adventures, very early on it'll be like, give the PCs time to shop. I'm like, they have not earned any gold. With what? What player doesn't spend every single cent they have at character creation maybe they could we could go role play a barter scenario like i'd be happy to wash your dishes if

you allow me to have that buckler i think it's to incentivize stealing i would just steal please allow your party time to steal from the local shop. Does anyone else look at profession skills like that are where you're rolling die to earn money and think like, I will never do that. No, I've never once ever. No. Well, we never have any downtime. Yeah. Right. Never have like time for a job.

Who doesn't believe in downtime in real life and in Pathfinder? Also, usually your downtime is because you're traveling overland you're not like near or you're like you're getting surgery done to you for all like the horrible things that have happened to your organs yeah it's not an opportunity to pick up a temp gig in the middle of the wilderness trying to burrow out the necrotic disease that's eating your body yeah you don't have time to i mean if we were doing an urban campaign i might you know what could work if like your character like supported a subscription service so like they had birds that would just like come to them and then like deliver to like their subscribers and it would be like a batch of are you describing like an influencer npc i'm just trying to think

of what would work and are you trying to get one of us to start a sub stack? I'm just saying maybe it would work and we can just like leaf collection or like we can make different types of oils based on wherever we are and the ingredients we have. And it's a subscription box and it delivers once a month. That's not a bad idea. That idea costs you all money that I gave you. See, I knew this was going to end in Kate asking us for money. All you guys have to do is contribute $200 each

and I'll start something and then find a couple friends to contribute money to you. I'll take 5% of everything y'all make. I bet you would. This sounds like a great pyramid. Guys, hear me out. I think she's on to something. I think we should all invest. So give me $500.

Yeah, the profession skill, I think it's used more in like society play sure sure from time to time do they even have the is it a does it work the same way in second edition i don't even know every time i get to that page of the rule book i'm like and skip that page it isn't it does come in time at certain times though the the adventure will be like if someone has a profession blacksmith let them roll it to find out if that sword is a weapon i mean i take it for role-playing reasons yeah if it's like if it fits in with my character's like theme or backstory like i would take it but then i would never consider using it to find a job because it's like your job is to go on the adventure it's just like there's always a

real sense of urgency to all the adventures we play. There's never just like, well, you know, you have a couple of months until the next world-threatening incident, probably. So just hang out for a bit. I have to get a part-time job, a couple of months. Smoke them if you got them.

The whole point of adventuring is to not have a job. I was like, I don't come to fantasy role-playing to find employment. Clock's the best part. I don't come to fantasy role-playing to find employment. Exactly. I would love to help out with this major adventure, but I've got a nine to five. Yeah.

You're going to have to find another hero. I'm covering for this other waiter. I've got to go in there. I just love that heroes are defined as the people that quit their jobs and leave their family. Those are the real heroes. Those are the real heroes. Those are the real heroes. Those are the real heroes. Those are the real heroes. Those are the real heroes. Those are the real heroes. Those are the real heroes. Those are the real heroes. Those are the real heroes. Those are the real heroes. Those are the real heroes. Those are the real heroes. Those are the real heroes. Those are the real heroes. Those are the real heroes. Those are the real heroes. Those are the real heroes. Those are the real heroes. Those are the real heroes. Those are the real heroes. Those are the real heroes. Those are the real heroes. Those are the real heroes. Those are the real heroes. Those are the real heroes. Those are the real heroes. Those are the real heroes. Those are the real heroes. Those are the real heroes. Those are the real heroes. Those are the real heroes. Those are the real heroes. Those are the real heroes. Those are the real heroes. Those are the real heroes. Those are the real heroes. Those are the real heroes their jobs and leave their family. Those are the real heroes. Seek gold in foreign cities.

Yeah. Real heroes. Let me ask you, I got a Bant topic idea here. It sounds very icebreakery, but if there was a day that you could relive in your life, what would it be? What was your, do you have like a favorite day that you've ever had? And you're like, man, if I could reliveive that day i would immediately go back to this day every day playing role-playing games with you troy stop it you don't mean that we got matthew's answer uh it's there's got to be i mean i imagine there's probably like i've got a bunch of days so it doesn't have to i'm not gonna hold

such a trap question you can't you know i i thought of one of me i've had multiple children you know what i mean i have to get married i can't like pick these days pick your favorite child or your wife how hard is that you know there's an answer yeah you know there's an answer just go ahead and spit it out something came as soon as he said it and you're afraid you got got one. What do you got? Yeah, and it's weird because it doesn't, if I were to really sit down, I think I would have the same issue.

I'd be like, so many wonderful things have happened. Why am I picking this? But I just thought of it. It's when I went to Japan with my older sister, just us,

and we like backpacked from Tokyo to Hiroshima and like took the train and stopped at different cities and slept in hostels and Airbnbs and stuff. And that all happened on one single day. That was a hell of a day.

On the trip itself, I could think of a few days that just felt like Can you pick one of those? You were in Kyoto. Pick your favorite child. But we went to the Ghibli Museum. We woke up, we got egg sandwiches

from a 7-Eeleven in the morning and our coffees it's popular there it's not weird where was this japan they have eggs in japan dogs of all the things in that sentence that you could have gotten hung up on i gotta go to japan they have eggs? They have eggs? I should go. And we just had a great day. We went to the Ghibli Museum.

And I think we went to a bar later that night and got ramen or something. And it was just, if I could redo that day, it was so fun. And I wasn't thinking about anything else. I wasn't thinking about work when I come back home from the trip. I was just having a great day with my sister. You were there. You were present. That is a perfect day. She lives far from me now. So it's like when I think about that, I'm like, I come back home from the trip. You know, I was just having a great day with my sister. You were there. You were present. That is a perfect day.

She lives far from me now. So it's like when I think about that, I'm like, I want to hang out with her. I would love to do that again. See, that's the thing. It's like, obviously, birth of a child, marriage, those are days you're never going to forget. But sometimes the days you want to relive are days like that, which, you know, otherwise mundane but special. Yeah. Matthew, you must have one i mean i was trying i'm trying to think

the the the hard part for me is that the thing i would want to change is the being in the moment in this right like it was like always be able to go back never goes away day of like the birth of a child or when i got married and not be thinking about the next thing yeah if we just uh i hate to like shit on your band topic it's a great topic but like the more i think about it and i have a day the more i think about it i'm like it would ruin the day like if i went back and tried to do it again i'd be like and then i did this and it was so fun and unexpected and it would just be like god how it all feels manufactured well i think you're thinking way too hard about it i know i know i know you can relive it exactly

it's overthinking it's really just picking your favorite day. Totally, 100%. I know. You don't go back with the knowledge from the future. I'm in hell. I'm in hell. I'm trapped in my favorite day and everything sucks. I know everything that's going to happen and it keeps happening over and over again.

I groundhog dayed my favorite day and I fucked it up and it's bad. Only you could ruin your favorite day. Matthew, was yours when the pediatrician said, he's finally in the first percentile for height. He's made it. He's made it. He's ready to go to high school.

It was when they told me I was allergic to penicillin, and I was like, oh, no. Oh, no. I'm going to die. I did think that for a minute. Wait, you were allergic to penicillin too? Hey,

don't ever give us penicillin. All cillins. Yeah, all cillins, same. Caused me to die. Though recently, when I recently had,

oh, that's why, oh, yeah. Oh, that makes sense. I recently had surgery and they kept asking me like,

are you, every single person that came at the, and like, there's like the rotating cast of people that come in and ask you about everything and like what are you allergic to i said penicillin all cilins and they all looked at me very funny and they were like what happens if you take penicillin and i was like i don't know i haven't taken it in 25 years yeah and they were like okay it was i was like should i be concerned oh this happens all the time they're like come on you're like, I'm really allergic to it. They're like, ah.

I think you're lying. Every time the doctor's like, are you allergic to penicillin? I'm like, no. It's ridiculous. Here's something fun. I don't know anyone that's allergic to penicillin. It's a fake thing. There's two people right here.

Yeah, right here. I know. I'm just saying. Surrounded by people allergic to penicillin. I don't believe you. Here's something fun you can do. You can do it at restaurants. I do it all the time when they say, any allergies at the table?

You can say penicillin. No, because Matthew already has a fun one to say. I do it all the time when they say, any allergies at the table? You can say penicillin. Matthew already has a fun one to say. We were at a sushi restaurant and Matthew, what did you say your allergy was? I don't know if you can even be allergic. I have some sort of intolerance allergy to quinoa,

which is the most the worst possible thing you can say. And then Q server spitting in your food immediately after. I'm allergic to quinoa. Anyone who would even know that deserves to have their food spitted. I never volunteer

but if they ask I'm always like I guess I need to tell them and I always try to apologize for being an asshole. They're dunking their hands in quinoa before preparing the sushi and just like washing it and then. Would you like to hear the specials we have a penicillin quinoa it's quite delightful it would be rude not to order it uh kate favorite day or like a day the top five day you'd want to go back i got it i i knew it the second you said it um the third day of electric forest it's a four-day festival so the third day

is nice because it's like you're settled in and you've got one more day so you're not worried about packing up or it being the last day um so you're all comfy i remember like i showered that morning and like my hair dried really nice and i wore my really big, like, pastel, colorful bear kigurumi. So I was comfy as hell all day. We remembered our flag. We forgot our flag to, like, so we could all find each other. So many questions, but I want you to just keep going. Yeah.

Just keep going. It's a onesie. No idea what's happening. It's a onesie. It's a onesie. Dylan Francis was the headliner that we saw that night. And I partied so hard that I fell asleep during Big Gigantic. So many questions.

And I roped around the forest in my little bear thing with Michael. We had a little date day. It was great. It sounds great. I don't want to even ask. I don't want any more definition. You're going to ruin her perfect day. Yeah, I don't want to ruin her perfect day.

How? What country was the flag? I don't want to know. No, so our group is called Our group is called Whatever It Takes. And it was the last... Still no idea what's going on. What's the name of the group? Our group. What's the name? It's called Whatever It Takes. This is amazing. What's the name of the group?

It's like an alien landed at our table. I'm sorry. Trying to explain their culture to us. Anyway, our flag says Whatever It Takes on it. And remember that... You know that sun from Rick and Morty that just screams our flag says whatever it takes on it you know that um sun from working morty that just screams yeah it has that on it okay um and that's how we find each other in the crowds and it was the last big hurrah before it wasn't the teddy bear outfit you were wearing that didn't stand out in the crowd well no because it was also like neon day so like my our friend has like a uh like merch sort of line where it's just like laser clothes.

So like a lot of people were wearing only Sydney knows what's going on here. Did you say laser clothes? Yeah, like LED or like colorful. Oh, I have to have those Google electric for you guys have never been to a rave and it shows. Have you guys ever been to a

four day rave? No, no, you've never been to like anyway, like third day is the best day. I've never felt more square in my entire life. I don't know about electric anything. We're not even talking about drugs. She's just talking about the festival. I didn't even mention the drugs. But yeah, so it was the last hurrah before a bunch of our friends

decided to settle down and have kids and stuff. So it was like the last time. It sounds amazing. Sounds like a great day took an rv to uh michigan because that's where the where the festival was and yeah third day was the best day that sounds like so so much fun it was i love it i love it it's good what's your favorite rave what's your favorite four-day forest don't make me choose. I feel like Joe trying to pick one of his favorite children. And were you wearing your favorite laser clothes out there?

I only wear laser clothes. What flag were you bearing? Andorra. No, I mean, I imagine you've got a day that, like, you're going to go deep. The first day of Operation Desert Shield. Nothing to do with the operation. Just a coincidence. Pretty good day.

It happened to be a good day. And I remembered it because it was the first day. I was like, wow, this is funny. I'm having such a good day on the first day of Operation Desert Shield. I kept saying to myself. I have to see what day. I remember this. If this ever comes up.

That was August 2nd 1990 yep you were having a really good day yeah it was like it was right before

school started uh I was I watched the Cubs on WGN Ghost was number one at the box office uh

yep that was uh that was I actually I worked that night uh I tore tickets for Ghost

um I watched a one of the falcon movies uh during the day it was great great day sounds pretty fantastic joe can you top hard to get hard to compete with day one of desert shield uh yeah i've got this day that always stood out to me. I'm like, God, this was such a great day. It was actually Nick Lowe's bachelor weekend. So he had a bachelor party weekend in Vermont. And I had just torn my knee up and had surgery. And all the guys were going whitewater rafting, and I couldn't go because I was still healing. So I was like, yeah, I'll just stay back in the house. And so they were going for like eight or nine hours this one day and they left you know for seeing the morning so this is like a vrbo in in vermont it was extremely remote in this huge beautiful house and i woke up in this like ski cabin but it was like summer and i was alone in the house and it was like dirty from the night before poker chips and you know drinks everywhere coke and. And I spent, yeah, just like all over. It's just like mountains of leftover. There's one person in the world who needs Coke.

Oh my God. Can you imagine what a nightmare he would be? And it was just a fantastic day. I just, I, so I spent the morning just cleaning and it was actually awesome. Like I played music. I was alone in the house and I just cleaned up. And then when it was nice, I went outside, I had a guitar,

and there was no houses around. And I played outside and sung outside, which I've never done before or since. Because you're always in a place where there's somebody there to listen, and I didn't want to expose anybody to that. And I played music. And then I went on hike a hike around the house by myself i had a camera and i was like taking like nature pictures and shit it was amazing and then everybody came back like mid-afternoon and we just started uh you know five like made a big bonfire and then like cooked and played horseshoes and shit and like and went all night long it was just a great great day it's an awesome day i'm glad it ended that way because for a minute there i was just thinking so joe's perfect day is when he was out with his friends and all of his friends left him yeah when i was completely alone but that was the

yeah so that is what made it so great it's like i had all that alone time and it built back to like and then i was ready to hang with everybody and then we it it was just awesome. It was a great, a great day. It does sound like a great day. What about you, Troy? You know, six, I was, I was trying to think while you guys were talking,

but I was so engaged in your stories. I couldn't think of a day. And then I got sad that I couldn't remember a day. We don't need to do you. Yeah. Let's just get to the game. It's fine. Let's just take a quick break. We'll be back after this.

He doesn't remember his days. The Glass Cannon Podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Do you ever have trouble getting to sleep? I certainly do. And I usually find that the reason is that my brain will not stop racing. It's hard to just shut down to a point where you can go to sleep. These thoughts just keep racing, racing, racing. And one way to get rid of those racing thoughts is to talk them through. And if you go to therapy, that is a place to do that. You can stop these spirals

that keep happening. It's a way to kind of talk yourself out of that maze. I've talked about my experience with therapy quite a bit. It has made a huge difference in my life. And it's helpful with just sort of sorting your emotions, setting boundaries, with just sort of sorting your emotions, setting boundaries, coping skills, all that stuff. It's great. And if you're thinking of starting therapy, you should give BetterHelp a try. It is 100% online, designed to be convenient,

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They are a huge part of what we're doing here with Campaign 2, as you will see in the episode to follow. As much as I like to think that we treat this game with the respect it deserves, we will be starting our session today with each of you putting on funny disguises to go drink espresso martinis at a bar named Patsy's because it's ladies night. Because it's ladies night. Do we determine a baby? A six is a Tuesday or whatever. You're leaving out one key detail.

We're bringing our priest with us. And you're bringing your priest. As a chaperone. Chaperone. Obviously, episode one was a long one. We covered a lot of ground. We got to see a little bit of each person's past, some recent past, some a little more distant past. And then we jumped right in to the adventure where we see our five heroes, as it were.

Professionless heroes. Brother Ramius of Latria, Talitha Breakwater, Zephyr, Velos, Lucky, and Buggles. They are all gatewalkers. They are people who happen to be near an Ayudhara, an elf gate, somewhere in the world on the night that has now come to be known as the missing moment. And all these Ayudhara, some that had remained dormant for thousands, millions of years perhaps, all came alive all around the world. And people who were nearby saw something on the other side of the gate that enticed them to walk through. Some people never came back. saw something on the other side of the gate that enticed them to walk through. Some people never came back.

All those who did came back with no memory of what happened on the other side of the gate and also came back with new powers, a brand, usually on their neck, sometimes on their stomach in the case of Lucky. It could be anywhere on their body, all sharing the same tattoo-like brand. It could be anywhere on their body, all sharing the same tattoo-like brand. And at a certain point, a man named Dr. Edward Riddleson started gathering all of these gatewalkers together. He was a gatewalker himself to try and figure out what happened. People, scholars the world over are trying to figure out what happened on the night of the missing moment. Well, it's much more personal for Dr. Riddleson and all of you. And so you rallied to his cause, went to his home in Lepestat in Ustalav and began studying

with him and all these other gatewalkers. And now you are being brought to the city of Seven Arches as his most prized pupils, in a way, to investigate a very promising lead. The city of Seven Arches used to belong to the elves long, long, long ago. And then the elves, as we all know, if you know Galarian lore, left. And over time, the city was resettled by a group of druids known as the oak stewards and turned into a you know semi-bustling metropolis oak town oak town as they call it there's no one calls it but now we will um and they have this situation where they have active uh gates active iodara one of the few cities in the world that still have active Iodara. And you

need a key, usually, to activate this. And the Oak Stewards have this key, one would assume, because they had active gates. No elf is allowed in the city, because up until the Night of the Missing Moment, any elf that even came close to the arches suffered from this horrible curse, known as the Obnubulate Curse, where they would just wither away and turn to ash eventually. But something happened on the night of the missing moment where evidently that curse has been lifted.

Although they're still not allowing elves in because they're not sure. They don't want to be responsible if some elf comes in. Let me see if this curse, oh God, turned into a pile of ash. Your contact, Dr. Riddleson, has hooked you up with an elf, a wood elf, by the name of Fionara Calestri, I think, or Carolestri?

Carolestri. Carolestri, Fionara Carolestri, this little caravanserai a couple miles outside of the city. And she can help you, but she needs some help first. And so you meet with her and she tells you that she thinks the arches, the gateway that are being protected in the city of seven arches aren't real. And she wants you to test them. She's afraid to go in. Of course, one of you is a half-elf, Zephyr. And so she suggests that you disguise yourself because you wouldn't be allowed in. And of course, there's the whole other problem that you may die if the curse is still real. How fast does the turn to ash thing happen? Seems like it happens pretty quickly.

And it also seems irreversible. Like people who get sick, like you don't have to. No amount of healing. No amount of healing can stop. Very slow, gradual effect. Takes place over hundreds of years. You won't know until long after. First wrinkles start appearing on your face.

You won't know you had it until long after you were dead. But you're given a disguise kit and you talk to another elf who claims to have gone with a bunch of her friends on the night she turned 21, went to a bar named Patsy's, had a couple of drinks. Let's go check out the arches. Who cares if we die? And she claims to have gone to the arches, suffered no ill effects and says that they're, you know, they're guarded. The Oak stewards are out because there's all these attacks by these creatures known as Gorgas. You know, this is the River Kingdoms.

There's fey everywhere, and there's been an uptick in Gorga attacks. So they're locking down on the security. It's not like you can walk right up to the arches, but she says she went there, didn't suffer any ill effects. So you have disguise kits, and you're headed to Ladies' Night at Patsy's. I'm going to reveal a map to y'all. Just the map here that I have of the city of seven arches. Nice. There you go.

You can see that they're on foundry and there are a number of different locations there. I wouldn't overthink the locations. I don't see Patsy's labeled. Patsy's is not labeled. But oddly enough, see that little circle where Silver and Cold is? It's located just north of the river there. You may remember, I told you, the city is built in the middle of the confluence of two rivers that then continue off and connect to the Ceylon. That little canal that connects the two rivers to the West.

That's a man-made canal. So the arch Plaza is kind of like on a little Island there in the center of the city. But yeah, there are other locations there again. Don't, don't assume that there's an encounter in each of those locations. They're just giving you the lay of the land.

But if you have questions, like first we will kill the monsters in vine hall and then head to honey brush cabaret. And then we'll hit Patsy's. Patsy's doesn't get hop until after. Bar hopping. Yeah. So like I said,

you're a few, few miles away from seven arches. Getting there is easy. Let's assume you start walking there. You get there and you see four regular looking citizens at the border to the city itself. Up ahead, let's say they've stopped like a merchant cart with about six people in tow. Some are on the cart, some are walking beside it. And one of the men standing at the gates comes to the back of the cart and lifts up the flap to look inside, gives a thumbs up.

I'm sure they did that back then. Thumbs up. A little thumbs up. That's where it started. It started right here. That was the first thumbs up ever given in Glade. And the guy was like, what does that mean? It means it's okay.

The guy was like. And then they tapped the side of the cart, wave them through, and the cart rolls past the border gate. What do you do? They're not oak stewards. These are just normal citizens? Yeah, they look like just regular... Merchants? No, the people guarding the gate

are just regular citizens. They don't appear to be oak stewards. Just walk through. We're not doing anything. Ladies' night! Did we disguise ourselves already? Oh, yeah, we painted... I'm going to have to. Oh, yeah. We painted.

I'm going to have to. Oh, wait. I painted my fur. So that's what I did to disguise myself. Right. You're orange now. I'm orange. I'm like a tabby orange cat.

And then what did you do? So we're disguising ourselves, like for me, not just to not look like a half elf, but to look not like ourselves. I think we broke out the makeup disguise. I think we just got really enthusiastic. I think we're a little bit overeager to begin our career as investigators. Right. Like, you're the only one that needed to disguise yourself, but since I offered multiple disguise kits, I think Buggles has a funny nose.

Yeah, Buggles. I feel like I just fixed my ears and I'm looking at you all like, no, I'm good. I'm going to wear my laser clothes. Oh, shit. Why didn't I think of that? That'll really, you'll blend in. And Joe, since he takes the game seriously, is not disguised. That is correct.

A little bit of the pain is like rubbing off his lucky box. Well, he also is, remember, he's like a hooded monk. Right. You know what I mean? So, like, you're not going to just spot his face unless you're right up in his grill. So, he's kind of just like keeping a low profile, but it is hard. I mean, he's carried a bunch of books. He stands out.

A random guy whose hood is covering his face will never look suspicious. But, you know, if you're not a wanted criminal or you don't have some sort of rep here in Seven Archers, there's really no need to hide yourself unless you don't want to be seen leaving because of something you may do there. Otherwise, nobody knows who you are. See, there is a method to our methods. Right. Until I brought that up, though. I don't want to be seen leaving because of something you may do there. Otherwise, nobody knows who you are. See, there is a method to our medals. Right. Until I brought that up, though.

I don't think so. I can either confirm or deny. All right. You start to roll up. Zephyr, you had said your ears aren't super pointy, but obviously they look a little different than your friend's ears, except for Buggles. What is your deception skill? Mine?

Ooh, let me see on this character sheet that I'm using for the first time in Demiplane. I got a plus zero because I didn't put any points in charisma because I'm a monk. I have a plus four. Okay, I have a plus five. All right, I'm mostly interested in Zephry here, as you are not trying to disguise your features, Talitha and Lucky. We could have been the ones who did her ear makeup. Yeah, maybe they're assisting me.

Ah, interesting. All right, I'll give you a plus two then to your roll, we'll say. But I'm going to roll it so you won't know when you pass. Secret roll? Yeah, secret rolls. This is fun. Okay, so you start to roll up to the gate here. Okay, secret rolls. This is fun. Okay, so you start to roll up to the gate here, and one of the guards' eyes sort of lingers on you for a moment, looking at you, and he smiles.

They welcome you in to Seven Arches. Lucky gives two sideways thumbs up. She's new to it. And the guy's like... The guy who invented the thumbs up is like, it's like this. Why are you covered in orange paint? You absolute weirdo.

Like a fur activist. I'm not fucking with you. Fur is murder! Why is it orange? We're in a bucket. Fur is murder. No, it said it was. Why is it orange? We had a party. I walk away. It said it was supposed to blend in.

It didn't blend in at all. It looks so bad. Talitha, it looks bad. We had a party. Talitha's really leaning in. Really in character. Yeah, we had a party. All right.

Ladies night. Calm down. Thumbs up all around. Isn't it like 10 in the morning? Ladies night. I would say, you know, because you wanted to speak to the elf as well. You were hanging out there getting information from Fionara. You came at midday. Now it's like

4 o'clock. 5 o'clock. Okay. Pre-game at the end. 5 o'clock somewhere, as I always say. That's right. Right now, actually, says one of the cards. It's 5 o'clock right now. Do you point me to Patsy's?

Patsy's. Yeah, it's right there. Ladies' night. She points in the direction of that little circle that I showed you. Oh, it's a woman? See you there. You know where Patsy's is. You know, part of the whole disguise thing is to not make yourself the focus of attention.

I don't know. They are now going to clearly remember the ladies night ladies. Oh, Joe, you ignorant slut. You forget the plan. We are trying to draw attention to the fact that we are at Patsy's so that someone can slip away. Yeah, that was the whole point. We were going to play the drunk girls at the bar. At Patsy's.

Yeah. Yeah. Well, you got to draw them to Patsy's. Exactly. That's what we're doing. It's five o'clock. Patsy's. It's time to party.

Party. It's clearly a bacheloretteatsy! It's time to party. Party! It's clearly a bachelorette party with a goblin and a priest. Yeah. The goblin's getting married! Why am I here? You roll into town. Logic is not consistent. You start to check out the lay of the land,

and you know that long ago the elves called this land their home. And you can immediately see that the entire city has been built on top of elven ruins. Because if you look at the base of most of the structures that you see, you can see old architecture. You can tell from elven times, but it's been all built over. And since this is a town that's run by druids, there's like climbing vines and leaves covering the new structures. But in a careful eye, you'll notice that like

they've kind of built on a graveyard, essentially, of the civilization that once was. There's trees and shrubs lining the streets. There's public parks with all sorts of flora. And it seems like the residents here just sort of build around nature rather than tear nature down and risk offending their druidic overlords.

So wait, this is not a town of druids. There's all kinds of people here All kinds of people The druids just are in charge They're like the council of the whole That runs the town Right Governs the town

I wish to speak to the Grand Hierophant He's unavailable at this time What do you want to do though? Do you want to go straight to Patsy's? I want to go straight to the archers What? I want to go straight to the Arches. What's the case to join? Yeah, like we're sightseeing. From a distance, like walk past and take in what the whole surrounding area there looks like.

Also, I want to see the Arches. Like, I've never, Lucky's never been there. Yeah. All right, well then. And also Brother Ramius is keeping a very close eye on Zephyr. He's nervously as we walk. Yeah, Buggles is going to try to hold her hand

as we get close. Oh, okay. That's cool, guys. I also have long hair. That's not what we're really

worried about, Zephyr. Oh, the ashes. We're worried about you turning to ash. exploding into oil. I feel like it would've

happened by then. Your hair looks great, by the way. Thanks. Well, maybe you just stay between us as we walk towards the arches. Okay. Let's go check out the arches. Why don't we go right to the map? Wow, okay.

That made me nervous. Oh, a map. Whoa, a real map. Oh, a pond. It's a map. Oh my gosh, look at our tokens. What? Oh, a pond. Oh my gosh, look at our tokens.

What? Seven stone archways stand in a neat circle in this central town plaza. Each arch is 20 feet tall, 10 feet wide, and there's multicolored lights of unknown provenance warping and weaving their way across the arch's stone faces. Surrounding the arches' stone faces. Surrounding the arches is a circle of dwarf oak trees, each about 10, 11, 12 feet high.

And there's a hempen rope, a single hempen rope, tied around the tree trunks to form a barricade with only one little gap there to the south. And then to the southeast, which we'll say is where you're coming from, you see a small podium rising about five feet high. Maybe this is where the head oak steward gives speeches or preachers might come and do some wacky preacher stuff. oak steward guards one standing right at the the opening there in the barricade and then one in the back is sort of patrolling the area

could I use an ability that I have that I didn't think I was going to get to use because it seemed like it would drive you insane but actually seems perfect for this moment go on I would like to pursue a lead you're going to be pursuing a lot of leads, I think. Leads.

The first of leads. I can choose a location, a small location. I would like to choose this arch area. And what I'm hoping for is because it gives me bonuses to perception. If I observe it now, I might be able to later on when it becomes important. What are the parameters

of this ability? What does it do? You spend one minute to later on when it becomes important. What are the parameters of this ability? What does it do? You spend one minute examining the details of one potential clue, designating the subject related to that clue as the target of your active investigation. If that happens, you can then, when you attempt a perception check, perception or skill check to investigate that designated subject, you get a plus one circumstance bonus to the check. It then also has a benefit if you're going to devise a strategy,

but that probably won't apply here. It's a location, not a person. Fifty seconds in to you pursuing a lead, a comet lands and kills the entire party. Well, it was a good run. Had a good jump, but... Call Dr. Riddleson. Send Team B.

Report the deaths. Report the deaths of his mentees. Senddle Send team B Report the deaths Report the deaths Of his mentees Send the gold team Was it the Obnubular curse No it was a comet A comet

That struck precisely Where the entire party Was standing Here's what the Oak stewards look like They look friendly Yeah Oh

Bright green John Oh no Is that a hat It's kind of like An antler hat An antler hat Yeah It's an ant a hat? It's kind of like an antler hat. An antler hat. Yeah, it's an antler hat. This guy's kind of smiling.

He's made out of wood. Yeah, he looks very friendly. It's clearly the same. He also has a topknot, John, going. That's all right. Yeah, a little topknot. Former samurai turned oak steward. Yeah.

Cool. Well, do I get my minute? Sorry. Yes, you do get your minute. I make a sketch of the, I make a slight sketch of the area, and maybe I'm noting, is this Oak Stewart guarding the entrance? Yes, so the one is patrolling all around, and one stands right at that entrance. Observing the guard routines and routes and that kind of thing. And yeah, if you hang out there for a little bit, the guard comes down to where the guy is at the front,

and then loops and meanders all the way around the top, coming back down to the entrance. So it seems like that's the pattern right now. And they're just watching. People might walk by. Hello, Oak Stewart. Guy gives a thumbs up. The Oak Stewart? He thinks he's the first one to have ever done it.

No, there's no thumbs up. Scary as magical. They seem relatively friendly. They're not like the British guards, you know. They wave, but maybe it's Kurt. People come up, take pictures of the guards. I don't know what they do. Take quick sketches.

I'd like to get a snow cone from the cart that's nearby. Snow cones, get your snow cones. What flavor, sir? Oh, man? Hmm. Oh, man, interesting. Yeah. I think Brother Amias is like, I'm going to talk to him. Oh.

He just looks at all of you for a moment. Go alone? Come if you like. It'll be less intimidating if we're all there. I'm going to speak with him. Party! Don't have to do it. Don't have to do it right now. Sorry, I've never been to a party.

And Ramius is just going to walk up toward the gates. Toward that central guard that seems to yeah, that seems to be blocking the one opening where the gates begin to open up So like, yeah, there's seven gates

They're all right next to each other with a gap in the south So he'll walk up to that southern opening to the guard there Guy nods as you're approaching Uh, hello, stranger Good evening It is quite a cold night Yes I've never been to the arches Good evening. It is quite a cold night. Yes.

I've never been to the arches. Ah, yes. First. One never forgets their first sight of the seven arches. The eponymous seven arches. Are they actually glowing right now? Are they like glowing and there's like portals and stuff like that? You can see it on Foundry. There is like a glow on all of them.

Lights dancing. Oh, it's moving on the map, actually. That is... Oh my gosh, that is so cool. That is cool. I am so immersed. Congratulations, Foundry. You've immersed Kate.

That's no easy feat. It's notoriously hard to immerse. No, it's pretty easy, I think. I don't need a lot. We should get you business cards. Notoriously difficult to immerse. Immersion resistance. What brings you to town, stranger?

I was studying the Ayudhara gates. And, you know, he'll see, like, all the books on his back. He just generally looks kind of like a scholarly type. Also religious. And, you know, he'll see, like, all the, you know, the books on his back. He just generally looks kind of like a scholarly type. Also religious in nature, you know. So he's just going to say it's part of a project that I'm participating in for my abbey. We are researching the Ayodhara. And this is the equivalent of Mecca. I don't know what to say

in this world but yeah he's like I don't understand I've I finally made it and I'm very excited this is like a Mecca yeah exactly

what does it make any sense I've just arrived in town and I was eager to come and see them yes there has been a lot more interest

in the Ayodhara as of late you know ours one of the few functional ones left in the world until that fateful night. Indeed. Do you, the key, what is it, the gatekeeper? Who has the key? Are you the gatekeeper?

Are you the key master? I'm the key master. Is it the key master? What are they called? No, like usually there's a key to activate these, the few remaining gates that are active in the world. There's a key. But don't they, you had a name for like, isn't it a key holder or like there's somebody who's

like holds the keys. I don't know. Anyway. The key guy. The key guy. I'll look it up. The janitor. Keys.

Oak Stewart? No. No, that's not. In the novelization. Key bearer. Key bearer. See? Yes. I'm sure the key bearer. Coy coyote peter coyote's character's name was keys

got it is that what you're asking that's your question don't answer my question it was either i swear you were asking about the novelization of et and this is actually like the second time in the podcast history that you brought that particular factoid up. Just like talking about it. I don't know if it was fine or not, Dr. Riddle-san referred to them as the key bearer, but I don't think there's any reason to think that that's what it's called. It's just the person with the key. Gotcha.

A nice way of saying it, though. Do you use them regularly, the active gates? No, no. Certainly not someone of my station, but it's possible my superiors. The town leadership, the oak stewards, they use them on occasion? Yes. Do they travel places? Is that where they go? I don't know. That's above my pay grade, as it were.

Interesting. Is there anyone I could talk to in town? Is there a local expert or someone who could give me more information on the gates? No, no. It's something that we don't really open to the public, as it were. I'm sure that the library would have some books on it, though I can't imagine it would have anything different from the library at your abbey. Abbey, yes, Weimar Abbey. Weimar Abbey. The gates themselves, they are operational.

We've got a lot of questions about gates. I'm just curious. I'm very excited. I apologize. I'm being unnecessarily hostile. Roll for initiative. What are you, some sort of gate walker? Sorry, what was your question?

When did the gods change shift? Do a list of your weaknesses. I feel casual. What's your mother's maiden name? What is your AC? Paper color. Have you ever had surgery? I should know about that.

How long do they make you stand here? How long is a shift? Well, they don't make me. It is my job as protector of Seven Arches. We have many jobs, but I'm on patrol here. We switch my partner and I every eight hours. Ah, interesting. Yes.

And always on your feet? Yes, I don't mind it. It's good to be grounded to nature. I'm a druid. I love it. I like this guy. I love it, yeah. I like him too.

Have fun. Yeah. Thank you for your time. I'm going to hit up this library you discussed. I love it. Yeah, I like him too. Have fun. Yeah. Thank you for your time. I'm going to hit up this library you discussed. Where is it? Oh, it's right there. Right there. It just points down the street.

So close. Yeah, miss it. Right down Library Way. It's at the end. It's at the end of Library Way. Huge sign in the square. Library Way. Right next to the prison

Convenient The prison is also a library way So I won't have to travel far It's a free library way And he'll see himself away Good luck in your studies I didn't catch your name Brother Ramius

Brother Ramius What's his name? What's your name? What's your name? Al Michael. Al Michaels? Al Michaels? Al Michaels? Did you just stub your toe?

He said, Al Michael. You have an incredible voice. Al Michaels. Al Michaels. Al Michaels. Al Michaels. Al Michaels. The Oaks do.

Ah, Michael. Al Michaels. Al Michaels. Ah, Michael. I'm sorry. I just got bit by a mosquito. No, no. Just call me Michaels. Okay, Michaels. Oaks do it, Michaels. Ah! Michaels. I'm sorry, I just got bit by a mosquito. No, no, just call me Michaels.

Okay, Michaels. Oak Stewart Michaels. And, uh, yeah, so he'll head back and he's very friendly. What was his name? Al Michaels. What? So Aletha writes it down. Can't be right.

Pursue a lead on Al Michaels. Darrow. I can pursue two leads at once. Lucky would like to buy an apple from the cart. Ah, we're all out. I'm so sorry. Do you fancy a pear? Yeah, okay, I guess.

That one's rotten. That was my last pear! All other fruit. Do you have... I'll just go to another cart. Apples here! Good trip! Can I have one?

Sure. Shines it on his shirt and throws it to you. $25. $25? There's an apple shortage, you know, don't you know? Spit it out. $25. Toss him two copper or whatever.

All right. Crazy. Deal. Thanks for the tip. She munches on the apple and she goes, well, what's the deal with these gates? That's the gates that the city is named after. You ever been through them? Oh, no, I'm just a simple fruit salesman.

Not allowed to walk through the arches? I've never even seen anyone walk through them. Really? Yeah, no. If they do, they do it under the cover of night. Oh. I thought it was like a whole thing here, that everybody traveled through the arches and... No, no, it's not.

It's not for the public. It's for the Oak stewards, and I don't even think they use them. It's more of a tourist attraction. When you come to Seven Arches, make sure you see the Seven Arches. That's why I set up my cart here. You know how many apples I sell? To all the tourists that come to look, they get hungry. Walking all the way here.

Damn it, we went to the tourist shop. You know, I know. That's why it's $25. He's going to sell me a $25 brochure next. I have a map here to some of the local Oak Stewart's homes. No need. I do have a... It's unfortunate that they put this rope around it, though. You can't even get close. You can't even look at it.

Well, yeah, they don't want people just trying to mess around and ruining them, defacing them. They're teenagers. They just drink, and they would be marking them up with their graffiti and whatnot. But, I mean, don't you want to get close? You've never seen anybody. I mean, how much could you pay to get him past the rope? I mean. Pay the oak stewards? You're talking about bribing the oak stewards?

No, no, no, no, no. I'm just. Are you talking about bribing the oak stewards? No, no, no. Oh, God. I'm talking about a healthy donation to upkeep the area, because it is quite nice, but I would love to just see the arches up close. You know, I've always been interested in myself, but it's not for me.

And the Oak Stewards are a noble group. I don't think they would take a donation to pass that rope, as it were. Though I do. She leans in closer. Are you saying that you have a way to get in? He leans in. No, I just want money. She leans in further.

Oh, I was confused. I'm going to go. All right. What was your name? My name is Jasper Dandierdorf. Thanks, Jasper. Jasper Dandierdorf. Thank you.

Jasper Dandierdorf. Jasper Dandierdorf. Thank you for the apple, Jasper. Jasper Dandierdorf. It's ladies' night at Patty's if you want to. You mean Patsy's. Patty's closed down a long time ago Paddy's was the pizza joint

On the corner of Library Way And Pizza Way Right next to the prison And Pizza Place She walks back to the group It's not productive No it's not Could Talitha now do a perception check on the area I'm looking for maybe a way we could sneak in Fox back to the group. It's not productive. No, it's not.

Could Talitha now do a perception check on the area? I'm looking for maybe a way we could sneak in, what would be the best strategies, an opening in the rope, et cetera. Yeah, are you trained in perception? I am indeed. You're an investigator. I'm an investigator.

I'm an expert in perception. Okay, what is your perception skill? Plus six. Okay, what is your perception skill? Plus six. Okay. And I got a bonus because my pursuit leads, so plus seven. Okay. Nice. Nice.

You've spent some time watching while your friends were having conversations, just studying, seeing if anything looks out of place. And at one point, you see a bird floating around, a little sparrow. And it goes and it lands on the rope. And when it lands on the rope, there's like this almost like a human scream. And you see the oak steward who's patrolling like over with his staff.

And so it seems that there may be some sort of trap around the rope like an alarm. An alarm? An alarm. Okay. Is it

like a rope? A single rope line? It's like a rope A single rope line It's like a single rope And that scream lasts for like a minute It's like It was only a minute It's like a car alarm going off But there is an opening where the guard is standing

Yeah there is an opening where the guard is standing And the guy isn't like beating at the He's a druid Like killing a fly Like stamping on a sparrow opening where the guard is standing. And the guy isn't, like, beating at the... He's a druid. Like, killing a fly. Like, stamping on a sparrow. Oh, no, no, no! Over and over again. Oh, no!

I don't teach you! Get off of that rope! Typical druid. Had a tough day! Was it only when the bird landed on the rope, or was it when it flew over, like... Crossed over into the... Threshold.

It's hard to tell. Like, obviously, both the touching of the rope and there was a crossover. It wasn't exactly parallel to the rope. Could I do an Arcana check on the rope? Yeah, sure. That's a good idea. I'll do the same. Oh, 10. 19.

19. I mean, you think that it would be possible to maybe dispel the magic and maybe carefully moving the rope, there would be a way to sort of bypass the trap. But, you know, that's dangerous. Now, the way thievery works in Pathfinder 2nd Edition, you usually don't set it off

unless you have a critical failure. So, I mean, it's like, you know, if you mess it up, you might not set off the alarm, but you also won't be able to make progress through if it is tied to like a barrier let's gather and talk about our strategy here. Should we go to Patsy's or do you want to stay here? Let's go to Patsy's yeah

he sounded like it was a real place let's go to Patsy's what stops us? Let's go to Patsy's do we need a reservation? I think we should just walk in. Maybe we'll just sit at the bar. All right, let's just go. See if there's seats at the bar.

We'll just sit at the bar. I'd like some jalapeno poppins. All right, let's take a quick break. When we come back, we're going to Patsy's. Poppers. What is up, Nash? I am here to once again sing the praises of my favorite VPN app, NordVPN. It is my go-to app for privacy and security when I'm using public Wi-Fi, which I do a lot, especially when we're on the road for Glass Cannon Live.

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where the rates for that subscription are cheaper. It is fast, it's easy, and it'll cost you no more than a cup of coffee a month. And if you check it out now and use our unique link in the podcast description, you can receive four months free when you sign up for a two-year plan. To get this huge Naish discount off your NordVPN plan, go to nordvpn.com slash GCP. With every purchase of the two-year plan you will receive four bonus months for free and there's no risk with nord's 30-day money-back guarantee once again you can find that link in the episode description all right so you take a a little stroll down Patsy's Way. Oh yeah.

Patsy's Way runs perpendicular to libraries. We'll never get lost. Right near Prison Boulevard. Pizza place. You get down, you see the blacksmith shop there, Silver and Cold. Isn't that fun?

Silver and Cold. Silver and Cold. And yeah, there's like, if you look at the window you see a It's like a jacked woman Just Working on various Cold iron weapons And then you get to

Patsy's and sure enough there's an A-frame Outside that says Two for one ladies ladies night. Ladies night! Ladies night! Now's the time that we really lean into it. Great. Can I give a thumbs up to Zephyr who definitely has no idea what ladies night is. Okay. You don't have to drink. You can pretend. Okay. Okay. You don't have to drink.

You can pretend. Okay. Okay. Okay. Remember that immersion you were so excited about? I'm unimmersed. Yeah, so maybe we'll make a show of going in and yell ladies a couple times and get a booth in the back. Yeah. And then we'll get some drinks and then we'll confer.

And zephyr's never drank, right? Because they're a monk. Yeah, I don't think so. Okay. Yeah. So you all saw the alarm that went off when the bird landed. Yes. The rope.

Yeah. Really weird alarm. I didn't know it set it off. It was a bird, was it? It was a bird. So I think whatever we're going to have to do to get in, we're going to have to either disable or work around the trap.

I think I may have a way to defeat the rope. What would that way be? Advise the stratagem. Okay. Go on. I think I can use my skills as a burglar to disable it temporarily

and we can sneak in at the far end. I could assist if you need it. That would be great. We also are guards. We need to do something about the guards. We need to be distracted in some way. Well that, luckily we have a plan already in place for that, Brother Ramius.

And we'll say it on the count of three. One, two, three. Lions. Ladies' Night! Well, if you guys are doing Ladies' Night, I can help with the thieving, the burglaring. Also, I have some tools.

I will say, Talitha, we've really just been repeating the words Ladies' Night, and we haven't actually talked about the plan. Are we going to have a brawl? You want to fight me? No, I don't want to hurt you. We were having a conversation before we went on the air

about the relative hype to the rest of us and Lucky. You are four foot eight. Oh, yeah. Yes. So I imagined I imagined her so tall in my mind, like a slender slender.

From your phenomenal character art. Six foot, but then I didn't realize I was doing the research into cat folk in Pathfinder and like they are not tall creatures. Who cares? I know. I could say who cares are you saying who cares the height doesn't matter what they tell you that you don't have to do it we're sitting here at a table with each other i was literally playing make believe i know i was just shocked

do whatever you want i was shocked because for a female cat folk it was like base height four foot five and i was like what but maybe actual cats. Yeah, like a literal cat standing on its hind legs. Like it just stood up. Yeah, there's a cat on its hind legs. As cute as that is, to me I was thinking monster hunter, like it's a sidekick and I was like she's not a sidekick. She is a tall, slender cat folk

woman so I'm going to go back. 6'2". I'm going to retcon. She's six foot. Wow. Sorry, any cat over five feet needs GM approval. So does this mean any cat folk we meet now need to adhere to this new standard?

She's an outlier. I sent you an email. She has a genetic disorder. She's the tallest cat in the world. She's the minute bowl. She could even be crazy. Why not? After her

gate experience, she, you know, everybody has their special gate walkers traits. She grew two feet? She got longer? Her trait is bone spurs. Her bones have literally mutated. I like this. And I think

her spine elongated and she came out. So she is like lanky now. She is like a tall, slender cat folk. So yeah, I'm retconning it. I know first episode I was like, she's four foot eight. Not anymore. You were maybe in the flashback. Yeah. Yes. But now

your gait experience when we saw you looking at yourself, you've elongated. Your bones got longer, and that's why they broke through. Oh, I like that. That's cool. Drank the entdraft. Thank you, Joe. Because I said originally she was tall, and you're like, why is she so short?

I love that she's tall. Okay, so anyway. So I don't actually need to fight you. Talitha's now looking up at you since you're six feet tall. I don't actually need to fight you. Tilly is now looking up at you since you're six feet tall. I don't actually need to fight you, but perhaps we could stage some sort of scuffle. Oh, a brawl. Brawl. Something to at least get the guards away from you guys, right?

Perhaps. Oh, here's an idea. Perhaps we could also be standing by to set off the trap if we need to. Oh, that's clever. Just set it off in a different area. Like maybe stumble? Stumble into the rope. Hmm.

And then we'll be on, like, the other side. Unless that would, unless that draws too much attention. I don't know, I feel like that, yeah, maybe that draws too much attention. Maybe we'll do it by the entrance. You and I will drunkenly stumble forward, and then...

Well, maybe that's a plan B, because if you guys were to stumble into the rope a bit, that would set off the alarm so that we don't need to disarm it. We can just go over it, and they think that it's being set by you guys. And you're hidden. And we're hidden.

Within it. Yeah. And then we walk away drunk, back to Patsy's. Do you're hidden. And we're hidden. Within it. Yeah. And then we walk away, drunk, back to Patsy's. Do you see the vision? I see the vision. Do you see it, Brother Amius? Brother, what do you think of the plan? It sounds interesting to me.

I don't know what I'm doing. What am I doing? You did your part. You talked to the druid. Who's gonna use the tool? Maybe you could come and escort us away until we're embarrassing ourselves. Our chaperone. Our chaperone.

They can pretend to mug you. And push you. Who said that? That's actually pretty good. I kind of really love that. Wait, I'm not here. A little gnome comes up. Or they can pretend to mug this guy.

I should do it. And what's your name? Rodney Thimble Dick. I was wondering. Jesus. We're bringing Rodney with us. Pleasure to meet you. What's the plan?

You're in the party. All right. Welcome to the team. What are we doing? So then, guys. I'll be back in this adventure. I'll be back. You'll remember the name Rodney Thimble Dick.

I don't think we actually want to mug Brother Ramius because they could then actually try to arrest us. Not if you get away. Give me those books, nerd! And just run away. Steal his books and run. Yeah, stab him in the stomach. Why did you do that?

It is not a bad plan. I have given my name. They know who I am. They know why I'm here. They've seen me. They might like you a bit. They may believe that I am unable to defend myself as a scholar. They know who I am. I could be drawn to

helping a defenseless man. I could possibly work, and it doesn't require me to do any sort of acting, which makes me nervous. You'd have to convince them you were being robbed by your nervous. You'd have to convince them you were being robbed by your friends.

You'd have to act the whole time. Just give us a taste. It'd be easy. Yes, what would you say? What would you say? In here? Yes. Quietly, it asks.

Whenever you're ready. Start whenever you're good. And he does like, like Meg Ryan in the cafe when Harry lets out. He's like, oh, stop, please. I have no money. I have no money. Okay.

I'm not sure. I don't know. It's a bit much. Why don't we just stick to the scuffle that way? It's innocent, drunken revels. And you. And he's like out of breath. And you just come and get us.

Okay. Are you gonna try to trip the rope? If we need to, we'll keep an eye on what you're doing. So we'll try to disarm and then do you want to use the aura recorder? Or should I to measure the

gate? Buggles, I think you'd be perfect for it you could be small enough to be even unseen while using it i can't do it i'm still just a bit concerned for zephyr though to get too close because so far she's been all right but just worried i feel like something would have happened by now and and i, I don't think it's based on our proximity to the gates. And I am doing nothing. Prior to breaking them up, I'll simply keep an eye on her and

do my best to use the healing magics I can if she falls ill. All right, I'll use the thing. Perhaps you three go ahead to stake it out, and we make a scene at the bar, known drunkards, and then we'll mosey over and meet you.

Buggles, are you stealthy? I am. Yeah. Look. Oh, where did you go? Exactly. He hid under the table. Yes.

I know. He just went under the table. I know. So we all watched him go under the table. I didn't mean to frighten you. Oh, boy. All right. All right, let's do it. You and I will make a show of buying shots and not drinking them.

Yes. And then we'll stumble out. We should give the shots away to people to make friends. Oh, I have to go to the bathroom. Buggles, would you like to come with me? Yes. That was really good acting. We wait for nightfall, by the way.

I think Zephyr should do the scene. Yeah, I mean, at this point, the sun's already set, so you can just wait until late, late, 11, 12, or even later. And we order drinks. We don't consume them, but we order them and then... We get trashed. I'm going to say, I'm gonna go now. I'll just

keep an eye on the area. You do what you need in here. And he'll leave the bar and walk out into the streets toward the gates, but keeping a farther distance. And he just wants

to stake it out. He just wants to find a place to observe and see if there's any comings and goings at the actual gates besides just people walking by. Like if there's actually like an oak steward that like walks up and uses a gate or something, like, you know, at nine o'clock. Well, you know, he just wants to surveil the area. All right, let's go back to that map then now at night.

Oh, come on! Oh, cool. Amazing. It's black. Whoa. It's black, but I can see the gates just glowing in the distance. Do you think there'd be lights in the center of the square or something? I, Mike, and Jalitha has darkvision.

Ah, okay. So you should see everything in black and white, but you're not there yet. It would just be Brother Ramius, and so... Oh, that's why I can see. I see black and white, but you're not there yet. It would just be Brother Ramius. Oh, that's why I can see. I see black and white, too, because I have darkvision. Oh, that is so cool. That's cool. Oh, there we go.

It's all preset in Foundry. Oh, I just see black. Yeah, you don't have glowing. Interestingly enough, the Ayudara are not in black and white. Yeah, that is neat. That's really cool. Brother Ramius, do you want to add some type of light source to yourself? There's lights in the windows of the building

that I haven't included here, so there's a little more light, but are you just standing in the darkness watching? Yeah, I'm going to stand in the darkness watching and just see if I can catch anything by the light that is thrown by the Ayudara themselves, see if he sees anybody passing into or close to those and and then just listening right yeah to the guards see if they're speaking to anyone that kind of thing it's eerily quiet it's late at night um maybe

you see a couple people not unlike your uh allies stumbling uh home from a late night at the bar. But that's all happening kind of on the periphery. Shops have all closed. The apple carts are gone. And there's just two oak stewards. It's hard to tell in the darkness if they're even the same ones. You don't recognize the one standing

at the gate, but you think to yourself, did I get a good look at the other guy? Maybe they switched. But you do see from time to time the unmistakable wooden antlers pass behind a gate in the back as a

single oak steward is patrolling and one stands at the entrance. Okay. I'll just stay there and see if anything changes before they come into the scene. From time to time,

maybe they come closer and they... It seems like they're just passing time. Just passing time. Taking their job seriously. Okay. I'll roll a perception just in the event

that there's something... I'll do a seek. In fact, I might have an ability that's useful here. Add it. That's really, really rude. So mean. Can you let me be excited? Even a moment.

Just wait five minutes before shitting on my dreams. Yeah, so I've got this ability. Oh, it's a focus spell that's what it is so his deity grahastha gives him he is granted this ability a scholarly recollection but it can be used as a uh when you're doing a seek action. So if you attempt a perception to seek, you can speak a short prayer as you gather your thoughts and you're taking in the scene, and you can roll twice and take the better result. Oh, wow.

Oh, cool. Cool? So he will roll twice and take the better. Let's see. Oh, buddy. That's a 26. Oh! Perception.

26. Perception. Anything out of the ordinary happens. I don't even know what the ordinary is, but so far, from what I've seen, guards just patrolling, talking, yeah. Um, yeah, I mean, a 26, I want to be able to give you something but what i will give you is that nothing out of the ordinary happens it seems to be business as usual okay and that's good yeah he's happy with that um and then 10 minutes or more passes okay so as that time passes he will

refocus he kind of regains that ability if he needs to use it again or something like that. But he's just surveilling and waiting for the drunk people to start coming in. We cut back to them. So the four of you are walking together, or have you split up? We split up, I think. Yeah, I think we split up. Okay, talk me through the plan here. I think loudly, you know, at the bar, Lucky announces,

I gotta take a piss. I gotta take a piss. I'm gonna win you. Come with me. Ladies night. Come with me. Yes. Come with me.

One more. And she just like bumps into somebody and walks out. And we make sure they see us leaving. Leaving. Yeah. We'll be sure they see us leaving. Leaving. Yeah. We'll be back, don't worry. Don't take our seats. We're saving the spot.

Yeah, and you definitely notice there are a couple people sitting by themselves with a single drink just kind of looking at you walking out of the bar under the brim of their hat. I don't like that. Can I? I don't like that at all. Anybody recognize? Roll a perception. All right. I don't like that. Can I... I don't like that at all. Anybody recognize? Roll a perception.

All right. I'm going to roll a perception. How about that? 23. That's better than Sydney. Yeah, sorry. 22. I would say, lucky,

you might not even notice this, but you, ever alert, notice that people are watching you. But you did just make a big scene on your way out. All right. But they were not friendly eyes. I'll keep an eye behind us

as we stumble down the road in case we're being followed. Yeah, watch our six. Watch our six. Buggles, what are you doing? I think Zephyr and I are going to go to the opposite side of the perimeter that they're going to do their distraction in,

and we're going to try to breach to breach use thievery to breach the rope barrier. So you're basically going to try and lift it and Zephyr's going to slide under. Zephyr. They fall into the shadows while they're doing their thing. The only one with elf blood. Awesome. What can go wrong? And Buggles really is

like, he's super concerned about Zephyr. Like he feels like, it seems safe so far, but he's just really paranoid that once she gets through, gets closer than the barrier, that something terrible might happen. Zephyr's pumped to be close to elf stuff. Oh. Honestly. All right. So we...

So we stumble out into the area Stumble into the square Into the square I want to make it a little less dark here Just so Oh, so cool Actually see and Slightly less

Risk a little more light Should we go down somewhere like the southeastern edge A little away from the gate So we can pull The guard to us maybe Yeah, maybe we go Come look at this! What?

Oh my god, you gotta see it! What? I go... Yeah, we go... Matthew, you clearly have an extremely low opinion of ladies' night. What women do when they drink.

Talitha has never in her life been to a ladies' night. Yeah, I think Lucky Whisper is like, you can tone it down a little bit. What'd you say to me? That's good, that's good. She goes, you're pushing me. Stop pushing me.

I'm not pushing you. You're always pushing me. You just gotta let go. You don't have to push me. I'm trying to show you something cool. Every five seconds, look at this, look at at this I don't want to look every time You say something Well I see cool stuff

The oak steward that's patrolling on that side Says well what seems to be the problem over here She's being an asshole Not being an asshole You're just annoying me I'm sorry officer Not an officer. I'm just an oak steward.

She thinks she's better than me. I literally never said that. You think it. All right. I just had to go to bathroom. All right, now it's late. We can't have you yelling in the town square. There are residents.

I'm so sorry. Sorry. I'm so sorry. Sorry. You know, she's my friend, but she's being a jerk. I'm so sorry. Sorry? I'm so sorry. Sorry. I just, you know, she's my friend, but she's being a jerk. I'm sorry. I'm going to... You always do this!

I'm going to be sick. I'm going to be sick. Wait, wait, wait. She leans, like, towards the oak steward. No, no, no. And maybe the oak steward likes this. Maybe I can help. And then she turns toward the rope and leans on the rope to throw up over the rope.

You lean on it, and the guy's like, no, no, no, no, no. And then she... Sounds like a squirrel screaming. She... This is a horrible scene. That sound and her vomiting. Flashback in the bar. You see lights going up.

She licked herself a ton. And now she rose up. You're vomiting a hairball over the barrier. I'm doing that like that. And the guy's like, this is bad. This is so bad. You've watched this. I'm sure you've told your friends that this alarm lasts for a minute.

You think that there's no time like now to perhaps do this. What do you do? Let's head over to the opposite side and try to go over it. We hustle over to the hidden part of the rope. All right, so you sneak over to the back, away from where the guard is here. Alright, let's do a little stealth. What is your stealth there, Zephyr?

It is a plus seven. I'm trained in it. Okay, and what is yours? Plus five. Plus five, okay. You guys are alright. Yeah. This is good. Alright, so I got those rolls. You guys are sneaking to the back there. The first time ever, characters are doing what they're supposed to be doing based on their skill set. Amazing.

All right, so you get to the back there. You hear, ah, ah, ah, ah. And obviously. You see a six-foot cat coughing up a hairball. The other Oak Stewart is not leaving his post, but he's kind of like, Tom, everything all right over there? And you guys are in the back. Let's do a thievery check here. I'm going to have you roll it to see if you're able to temporarily disable.

And I'll assist. Okay. All right. So what is the role to assist? You just roll the check, and if you succeed. No, it's DC 20 unless the GM wants to adjust it. Okay. It always seems super high. That seems very high. Yeah, DC 20 unless the GM wants to adjust it. Okay. It always seems super high, though.

That seems very high. Yeah, DC 20 is very high. The alarm is already going off. I'm going to set it in my head because there is a bit of a distraction here. The alarm is off, but you don't know what happens when two points of entry. Because I will tell you this, and you notice this as well, that alarm is localized to where you're holding it. It was a different scream. You said it was a squirrel as opposed to a human.

I'm just flavoring it up. You touched the squirrel rope? You're supposed to touch the bird rope. I think he's making this up as he goes. It's like the... It seems like... He's making it up. It sounds like...

Segment seven is a frog. It sounds like a human scream in a squirrel's body. Do I have to explain anything else? No, it's so clear in my mind. All right, give me your thievery roll. Let's see. Assist. To assist.

So that's 17. 17. That's pretty good. Okay. Might even be a bonus there. Okay. Let's see what you roll. What do you got there?

Eight. Buggles! Buggles. All right. Might even be a bonus there Let's see what you roll, what do you got there? Eight Buggles! You do have a bottle cap that was given to you at the beginning of the game Now, obviously the bottle cap economy is a little bit different here Is this something you would like to use? Yes Okay Oh, I got it!

Oh, wow I swallowed it Okay, that is a That was a nice time. No, we didn't. It's on the ground. But it is gone. I swallowed it. Okay. That is a 17. Oh. Myself. 17, yourself, perhaps with some assistance, Buggles comes up, gingerly grabs the rope,

and lifts it above his head, and no sound goes off. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's go. Oh, my God. And she's like, I'm, yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's go. Oh my God. And she's like, I'm going to hold back your hair. It's old hair. I made it first.

I'd say maybe 30 seconds have elapsed since the alarm started off. Zephyr, walk me through it. What do you do? As soon as it is lifted up and there's no sound, slip right under there with the, what is it called? Aura reader? The aura reader. The aura recorder.

The aura recorder. I'm so nervous. And yeah, approach. I used to hold it. I'm like. Like maybe stay close. I know there's like bushes around near the gate. So stay close to the bush just in case.

Those are like dwarf trees. So they're tall. They just look like bushes here from the bird's eye view. But buggles can certainly have done it near one of the trees to hide up against near the trees. You slide in, take the aura recorder.

Which gate do you go to? I guess... Oh my god. The one directly opposite of where they all are, so if we start at the... not the one on top there. I see the one directly opposite of where they all are so if we start at the not the one on top there i see the one yeah right across okay great all right so you slide up there let's get your uh let's get your pawn right there we're all friends here let me hold on all right buggles i can see buggles holding the rope yeah oh my god oh god i don't

know where i put myself oh come on, come on. I see you. I'm having a hard time. There you go. It's too dark. Oh my gosh. Do we go under the trees? Oh, whoa. Oh, that's so cool. That is so freaking cool. Foundry. Foundry.

Foundry. You extend the aura recorder, and you stick it through that gate. I think Fine Hour said it takes 6 to 18 seconds. Really? You hold it there, and you know that that time of the alarm is going to run out. Buckles, oh, maybe it's getting weak.

The rope is so heavy. I'm a weak little goblin. You hold it there. Six seconds pass. Nothing. Twelve seconds pass. Nothing. Eighteen seconds pass. Nothing. Twelve seconds pass. Nothing. Eighteen seconds pass.

And suddenly, the bulb at the end kind of looks like a mace head lights up like a torch. Several different lights, predominantly purple, though a few other of the bulbs start to glow faintly. All right, I think these might be real. few other of the bulbs start to glow faintly. Alright, I think these might be real. Well, I don't say that, because I see it happen, and now let's go. Let's go. I got the measurement. And we'll see you next week.

Oh! I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Do we do it? The alarm's still going off. The ball is still getting hacked up. So we make it out safely. Got it.

Got to do three days later. Next episode, we start the caravanserai. All right. Good one. Good one. It's time to make your membership official. Become an official member of the N.A.S.H. today at jointhenash.com. official. Become an official member of the Niche today at jointheniche.com. That's jointheniche.com where you'll get access to exclusive podcasts and live streams you can't find anywhere else.

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