I don’t have too much to say going into this episode. This is gonna be a combat episode, and knowing Griffin, this is gonna be bad. I don't have any classes, so I won't be writing this on the bus without Wi-Fi, meaning I won't have to check the rules later, but I slept in, so I'm probably not gonna finish this sooner anyway. Oh well, onto the episode.
The episode opens with the MaxFun drive ad. Just checking the MaxFun website, they are currently at 7920/16000 with two days left, so it's not looking too hot. Also, the first line of the maxfun drive info page is a 4/20 joke, so I can see why it's failing.
The episode opens with Justin talking about how he will be sad when this campaign ends, and he can no longer play Lorovith, which leads to Griffin talking about how he can never predict what any of their characters are going to do. which is funny, because no they aren't: lor's only character trait was "enjoys killing people" until he recently added "wants to be a dad", Ricktus' only trait is "family issues" and ocasonaly acts like a spoiled brat (which is likely unintentional), Hellgrammite is the most "unpredictable", but that just because he has some depth as he is incredibly nice with his friends and acts incredibly nice with those who aren't, but is willing to betray them.
Griffin, it also might help make your players more predictable if you dont have pre-planned scenes that you constantly force on your players if they dont do it right.
Quick recap: they are in a big house being attacked by zombies, and one is hiding on the ceiling of the library, and the others are being chased by a horde, and I have no idea how close they are to each other.
An entire zombie horde jumps through a window and starts trying to get to Burgerman, who just killed the spider.
Lor casts shield on himself despite not being attacked and attempts to body slam the INFECTIOUS zombie horde. He gets an 18 and hits for 11 damage with some extra damage from falling damage, then he uses his bonus action to activate large form.
The zombies attack twice, and one hits because even with shield lor's AC is 14, he takes 22 damage, and 9 necrotic for a failed con save totaling 31 damage. lor has got to be at like single digit health.
Burgerman casts grease.
Rick and Hell time
- Hell runs to Lor, which he can apparently do in one action, but chooses to stop in the kitchen.
- Rick casts Timestop, and Griffin gives him two options to cast it since he doesn't have lvl 9 spells. He can: spend 9 slots of any level to cast it, or one level 3 slot with a wisdom save to resist "side effects". rick choses to attempt the lvl 3 version.
- Ricktus fails the save and creates a small time stop bubble around himself, where he is also frozen, but Pranklin resists the time stop and pulls Rick out, preventing any consequences.
- Griffin gives Rick another action because he failed an obviously risky action and avoided all direct consequences except wasting his action. Ricktus uses Thunder Step to teleport Skorpo away from the horde because he decided to run up to stop them or somthing during the time stop.
lor time
- Lor gets away from the horde with spider climb and somehow doesn't take opportunity attacks. He then sprints over to the red symbol.
- Justin has had a running bit this episode that he is convinced the symbol is gonna give him a cape, and when he touches it, Griffin bestows upon him an invisible, intangible, and weightless cape, which is a decent ending to a fine bit. Also, the barriers blocking off the second floor vanish.
- Lor's turn is still going, so he looks in a desk and finds a potion of superior healing and uses it to fully heal the damage he took, and it gives him a quarter cape because they can't let this bit die.
- and just before the break, lor hears piano noises from the drawing room, meaning doober is in danger
ad time
- It's the usual maxfun drive ad, except Griffin highlights the fact that at the time of recording, they are behind the expected amount of donors and are desperate.
- Justin does the “you're actually supposed to be paying us” speech they always do and i always wondered if this approach actually helps them? Every other podcast i listen too treats their patreon as something extra to help support them instead of a weird delayed payment thing and most of them are doing quite well. while i may not be a master advertiser implying you're main audience are thieves for not paying for a free product cannot be more effective than asking for money.
Hellgrammit and Rick time
- Hell runs into the drawing room and casts infestation on the one zombie in there, drives it away and rescues Doober.
- Rick casts Raise Dead on one of the (actually) dead zombies in the dining room and has it distract the living zombies. and runs out of the room
- Now that we're on the second round, I can tell that Griffin is not giving the NPCs turns. Skorpo and Pranklin have just been standing around not doing anything, and Burgerman moved during Lor's turn.
- Rick and co enter the north hallway and find Hasty Jane murdering the plague doctor. She attempts to exsplain herself and runs away.
- Pranklin goes to reinforce the door as Rick and Skorpo carry the plague doctor upstairs, but the zombies break through the door and begin attacking Pranklin, and apparently, Rick's turn is still going, so he casts timestop and once again fails the save, trapping himself in a time bubble.
- A voice (who is later revealed to be death) starts roasting Ricktus, saying "these powers are beyond your control, and yet you try to make them your own, because that's the only thing your family knows how to do," which is weird since members of Ricktus' family are born with necromancy magic, so death isn't really "beyond their control".
- We also get some of Rick's thoughts and learn he sees raising the dead as a bastardization of his concept of necromancy, as it violates the respect the dead deserve. Travis, YOU JUST CAST RAISE THE DEAD .
- Death reads his mind and immediately has a change of heart and offers to help Rick if he gives up his great-great-great-grandfather's ghost, who had been helping him throughout the conclave. Rick agrees without any hesitation.
- But before we see what happens next, the episode ends.
This is the worst dming of any dnd game I have ever seen: extra actions are being given out as apology gifts, NPCs can take their turn whenever they want, players can move as far as they want, and all consequences are immediately undone despite Griffin constantly insisting those actions are incredibly risky. I don’t think you can railroad more obviously than this he isn’t following turn order or action amounts. The characters didn’t have any particularly interesting moments except for Rick’s “talk” with death, where he unintentionally revealed he is a hypocrite and killed his great-great-great-grandfather to save Pranklin, which wasn’t a good moment.