Episode 136

This is **Episode 136** of *Dice, Camera, Action*.

(ProJared) Diath - Human Rogue

(Nathan) Paultin - Human Bard

(Anna) Evelyn - Human Paladin of Lathander

This show is from PAX East 2019. Kate Welch is the DM of this session.

#### Invitation to a Funeral

It is around mid-day at the Waffle House and the mail has arrived. Strix has a letter. According to it, Rosie Beestinger has died and the funeral is today. It is from Anjolio Beestinger. He asks the group to avenge her death. It lists the prime suspects:

* Ms. Pheasant
* Rear Admiral Ketchup
* Instructor Indigo
* Priestess Prune

Diath goes over the letter, checking for clues. There is a note that says Rosie did not want to be resurrected.

#### Investigating the Murder

The group heads to the Singing Sword tavern. There are hundreds of mourners, and they all seem to be sincerely saddened. Inside, the group hears a guy named Instructor Indigo bragging that he can out-drink anyone. Paultin sighs. Paultin loses the first round, but wins the second. Indigo promises to share a secret with him once this is done. Paultin wins the third round, and he has gained a new best friend. Indigo points out a secret door in the tavern that leads to Indigo's secret lair.

Indigo says that Rosie booked passage on Rear Admiral Ketchup's vessel the day before she died.

The heroes head to the temple of Selune to talk with Priestess Prune. She has a very similar accent as Evelyn's. She asks the group to pray to Selune, preferably in the nude. Evelyn and Prune debate which deity is more important. They end up having a pray-off. Prune wins the pray-off by a single point. Evelyn loses the second round as well. On the third round, Paultin gives Evelyn bardic inspiration. Anna rolls a natural 20 and gets a total of 31. She follows up by trying to convert Prune and actually rolls another natural 20.

Prune tells Evelyn that Rosie was going to pray to Selune, but she was waylaid before she got to the temple. Rosie wasn't pious, so it's a bit unclear why she was going to the temple.

The heroes leave the temple. A tall woman, Ms. Pheasant, in the crowd of mourners spots Strix and approaches her. Pheasant tells Strix that she is beautiful. Pheasant knows about the swarm of rats and loves her pies. Pheasant wants to have a swarm of rat-off. If Pheasant wins, Strix has to go get a drink with her. Strix becomes 9 rats. Pheasant becomes 10 rats. Strix uses an ability to enhance her results and gain 2 more, winning the first round. Paultin *counterspells* the other attempts, ensuring that Strix wins.

Pheasant claims that Indigo said that the followers of Selune were werewolves. Pheasant runs a business. She sells spell scrolls. She has a scroll of *polymorph* for 1,000 gp.

Ms. Pheasant leaves. Diath tries to put all of the stories together. Strix is still dwelling on Ms. Pheasant.

The group goes into the bar again and spots Rear Admiral Ketchup, who is about 7 feet tall. Diath approaches him and is snubbed. Strix hits him in the back and tells him not to be rude. Strix tries to intimidate him and rolls a 27. Ketchup wants to play Diath in dragonchess. Paultin claims Diath can win blindfolded. Strix tears off a piece of her dress and makes sure that Diath can see through it.

Diath wins the game. Ketchup tells Diath that on the day that she died, Rosie was on her way to the temple of Selune, and she had bought a scroll of protection that backfired on her in some way. Ketchup points out that of all of Rosie's children, Strix is the most powerful, and it would be likely that Strix could take Rosie's place if she wanted.

#### The Killer Revealed

The adventurers decide to track down Ms. Pheasant in the market square. Strix awkwardly flirts with her and gets a scroll of fireball for free. Looking it over, Strix realizes tat if used, it would backfire catastrophically.

Pheasant admits that she did it. Diath signals Paultin to attack. He throws a molotov cocktail. Pheasant transforms from an elven woman into an enormous demon, a fiendish minotaur.

The heroes begin to pummel her. The goristro strikes Strix a number of times, doing over 40 points of damage. Paultin casts *banishment*, and the goristro fails its save. It returns to its home plane.

Evelyn asks the other Beestingers around to help, then Paultin drops concentration and the goristro reappears.

The goristro gets a critical hit on Paultin, doing over 80 points of damage and knocking him off a roof. Diath gets a critical on the goristro, doing over 50 points. He dissects the living creature, raining down demon body parts on Strix.

Sitting on the coffin is Rosie Beestinger, who is not dead. She thanks the group and she says that one day, the family might be run by Strix. The Beestinger family owes the Waffle crew a favor.

End of Session.