Dr. Emily Friedman@luiscarazo.bsky.social PUTS A FLASHBACK (to his father's face) IN THE FLASHBACK -- my dude!
Mulligan putting dragons into the D&D game.
(well, wyverns, but still counts)
This cold open was designed to introduce the NPC whose fate we will find out tonight...
and we cut to Announcement Playhouse, including Riegel in full Holmes rig & an accent from... somewhere.
As shenanigans (& faux deaths) ensue in support of Hit Point Press, here's the chapters tonight:
- "The Mask"
- "Thimble sees Thjazi"
- "The Candescent Creed"
- "The Coffin"
- "House Royce"
- "Kattigan's Woods"
- "The Brethern Hall"
- "The Penteveral"
- "Back at Hal's"
- "Crow Keepers"
- "Promotion"
62K on YT, 10K on Twitch, 9735 on Discord C4 channel. So far, YT is the dynamic platform in terms of adding on more viewers over broadcast.
CR remains Very Professional in their ad reads.
Almost to the dot, we return at 20 minute mark, and...
"That's right, I'm opening with the butt-kicker in the table"
Matt, Marisha, & Liam face Taliesin, Ashley, & Aabria -- we are in "present day" at the moments that closed the prior episode. Brennan reminds us of these PCs.
Aabria rolls a NAT1 CON save as she touches a fragment...
"curse curse curse die die die"
Brennan sets a "really important precedent about touchin' stuff"
Thaisha loses consciousness (but only 1 HP loss)
Hal fails to catch her ("we all saw the 10!")
Hal says "Stay" reverberating as he casts Healing Word.
Thaisha's eyes and sclera are a "roiling cool mist"
("maybe you should give her mouth to mouth"
"I think we should give Vaelus whatever she wants")
Their daughter rushed upstairs with Bolaire, while Julien holds back El, cautious.
"Obsidia" in Celesial -- an archaic terms for the Tenebral Reaches
We get lore around the myth/legend of the underworld. Obsidia was the term for the veil. Post Shaper's War, a curtain expanded slightly. Were those realms of rest destroyed? Others believe something else.
The box is not itself ancient, just ancient vibes and materials.
It's not a box -- it's a halfling-sized coffin.
Thaisha's 25 Perception means she hears a distant birdsong of a bird she knows is not native to this region: a distant nightingale.
"Nightsong..." she whispers.
Bolaire knows he's missing some pieces of info, but also knows he knows where to find that info. His stomach turns. He asks for someone to close the box without touching it.
Nonchalant, Murray closes the box with a Mage Hand. The room slowly warms.
Shadia is angry at her mother in this moment -- a familiar set of lines in her 25 year old face, lines of disappointment and frustration with her adventurer mother.
Hal checks Bolaire, Murray, and Vaelus as threats to his family -- 24 v 17 means Hal can read B well, and Brennan cues Tal to describe his fascination, anger "at her"
Murray thinks she's a legend.
Vaelus is undecided.
Bolaire touched the mask on his face "many years ago" and it stuck ever since. Many at the museum have suffered from such curiosity. DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING DUMMIES.
This is a world with a lot more consequences, friction, y'all. Them stats ain't gonna help 'em much.
Murray compliments Hal on the funeral, and she & Bolaire leave, but not before M tells Vaelus she might be able to help, & not to hurt this family. "no unnecessary murder" V agrees.
("What about necessary murder?" asks Shadia)
Liam breaks his chair from excitement in the midst of this.
Murray and Bolaire head across the river, to The Archenade in Marud. It's... curt.
Julien and Aranessa also head out, though they will not be far, at the Davinos Estate ("Safer spaces"). Aranessa confirms M was right: Thjazi would have loved all this crazy shit.
A asks J about his father, which makes his face darken. A tense rest of the ride.
Scene shift, time moves to end of the funeral, and Vaelus, Hal, and Thaisha and those NPCs (mostly the troupe) who would stay to clean up.
Hal calls Hero over. "Do you have your lyre?"
She does, grabs it.
Meanwhile, Thaisha tries to push cranberry rolls on Elodie before they leaves.
Hal grabs his own lyre, and the two play "Broken Wing" (hi episode title) -- a song familiar for anyone present for the Falconer's Rebellion. A song of hope. Hal harmonizes around his youngest daughter's leading the melody.
We get Mulligan noting that after the death of the gods, within generations had replaced with new tyranny.
Brennan notes the meaning of the song, at the start, end, and now.
Hal uses Thaumaturgy to dim all the lights save ones near them.
Brennan calls in Alex, Laura, Luis, Robbie to hear this.
(also Travis -- 8 at table)
Brennan reminds us of what this group was up to, what they found.
Brennan tells Laura Thimble will be the last guest to arrive at Thjazi's funeral.
They hear two lyres playing.
Occtis Insight 8 = unable to read the cause of the shift that happens now, as the others react to the song, all veterans of the Rebellion.
(This is the longest chapter per Beacon, "Thimble sees Thjazi")
She flies and lands on his chest.
"You stupid fuck... I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I ruined it."
Her hand on his chin.
"What am I gonna do without you?"
She looks up and sees Vaelus.
"Was this you? Did you do this? Did you bring those people?"
She did not.
"You came for that. You came for your stupid stone"
They explain to Vaelus that the stone is gone, ransacked.
Insight checks are tricky with this many folks.
(No one has learned the lesson of legible dice)
Thaisha still hears the nightingale, knowing its only in her mind.
Hal notices Thjazi's wedding ring on a necklace among the many bits, flashes back to a tower, the wedding, Aranessa hands over her eyes ("I don't know how it works I've never been married") & offers a flower that opens.
Thimble appeared in that moment.
Ethical debate ensues.
Thimble is a warrior fairy of the house. To marry into the Royce family is to be protected by the Fey.
Thjazi and Thimble hit it off immediately.
"everything about this is ill-advised"
As Hal remembers that first little moment, as Thjazi made sure Thimble was dressed to suit her own taste.
Occtis walks over.
"You grew up" says Thimble.
"So did you ... well, you didn't get bigger."
Quietly, Thaisha asks the new arrivals, especially Azune, about the plan.
Azune checks the fake glyph -- a well-constructed forgery. Magically careful, but physically crude.
Occtis confirms it was meant to fool Azune.
And there were only two members of the plot who didn't show up: Cyd and Casimir.
Azune believes it was a Crow Keeper conspiracy -- and Casimir is a member. The feathers are sus.
Meanwhile Thaisha looks at Kattigan's Wolfric -- a front paw has a magical prosthetic.
Aabria casts Speak with Animals for fun. Religion/Nature NAT20 = a potent magical bond means Consequences if she tries this.
"Are you good?"
Wolfric keeps his own counsel.
Theor hasn't seen his brother in years, and asks about how long he has been part of this plot.
The group exchanges notes about the two suspects, their roles in the plan.
At a certain point Vaelus inserts herself to try to get up to speed, focused wholly on the Stone of Nightsong -- which may mean she is looking for the same suspects the others are.
She will not say how she tracked down Thjazi.
Thimble is asked what Thjazi wanted with it.
She holds up the letter.
Brennan uses his go-to NPC Loza to remind the table their goals are fairly aligned at present, then indicates it's time to call it a night.
Occtis sends Pin up the stairs after Vaelus as she speaks to Thimble. V tries to convey that she is not the cause of Thjazi's death. "I'm not the bad guy here."
We have Laura and Ashley in split screen.
V notes that Bolaire led her here.
She winks at Pin.
"Shit" says Occtis.
Thimble confronts V, when V suggests Thimble didn't have free will & thus wasn't responsible for her part in the theft.
But Thimble says "you're an elf, you know our history -- better than I do!"
But he was great -- he was her partner, they were equals, "Can you believe that? equals!"
{THIS IS THE SHIT YOU CAN DO WHEN A TABLE TALKS TOGETHER BEFORE A CAMPAIGN}
We get extended Pin description, calculated to send a zillion Critters demanding a plushie, as indeed they are in Beacon chat.
(not for the first time, I ponder the contractual IP terms of the expanded cast RE: merch)
Thaisha and the Ancients ain't no joke -- a fascinating slice of what it means culturally to have some number of ArchDruids with lifespans to match.
Brennan laces so many exchanges with backstory and lore it's keeping @omenarchive.com and the Wikis hopping.
Teor's moment is being given half of the torn banner -- if anyone would know when the time would come for it to fly again, it would be him.
Loza is relatable in retirement: "I think I'm gonna go fuckin' crazy. But my knees hurt."
Cranberry roll bit continues and builds. Vaelus is sugar-free which... aren't you immortal?
Hal hands them over with a threat.
Vaelus sits outside in trance for the night, like a gargoyle, cranberry rolls beside her.
(could have lived without the cheap shot about religion, Liam)
Speaking of cheap shots about religion, Sam and Whitney are called to table.
(this is me being overly cynical)
The set brightens, and they face Teor.
We are now in the section "The Candescent Creed" and Mulligan asks Sam to describe the family home.
White stone -- or off-white stone -- tall, prismatic glass, symbol of CC, security on perimeter, but not heavily armed, serene with teal robes, not scary.
In a long Versailles-like hall is Tyranny, feeling good overall about the proceedings, sweating from the solar heat.
Her towering sister Enmity & other sister Cruelty (hot as hell) check in.
They yell for Agony (the small sister, bespectacled, monk-ish, bright blue skin, yelling in, you know, agony as she faceplants)
Tyranny knows Wic is the only one who believes, and she doesn't want to touch it.
"We're here to help" she says -- and her sister's "guys" are more suited than Wic for what needs to be done.
"Help WHO, Tyranny?"
Their job is to "help the family... and get them where they need to be."
"Remember where you're from, and what you are"
"Yeah and BTW I made a friend Thaisha and she's in love"
Agony perks up
"Oh yeah we'll be able to use them to our ends, right?"
(she is dragged away)
Tyranny meets Teor & welcomes him to the "Candy Creed"
Wic's got his mantle on backwards as he welcomes them into his office. He's barely slept -- not used to that many people mad at him.