Ep. 94 Eberron Reviewed 15

## Listen

Ep. 94 Eberron Reviewed 15

—Philip

This time on Eberron Reviewed, Randy joins the gang to discuss the last arch. Everyone is shocked at how well the plan went in Wroat, and Philip shares some of the more emotional sides of playing Beric.

## Keeper of the Flame

Many moons ago, there was a paladin of Dol Arrah, Tira Miron. She sacrificed herself to the Flame to imprison a demon lord, Bel Shalor. Her voice emanates from the Flame and one person can always hear it, and they're the Keeper of the Flame. They're sort of the symbolic leader of the church, as sometimes things like a nine-year-old girl becoming the Keeper will happen. It's fairly random who gets selected, though.

## Playing Crast

It was a daunting task to pick up the character Eric had created and Randy was feeling bad that day, so he latched onto the biggest thing we know about Crast: he *really* hates the Swords of Liberty. He didn't think he really did the character justice and he didn't really want to play him, but he thought why not?

## Lost Stories

There was a lot more that was going to happen with the false king. That's why Drakir asked so many questions about the circumstances of the trial; Philip didn't want Eric to conveniently change anything. Drakir wasn't even going to tell Thorin or Crast what he was doing; he was just going to do it.

## Listener Questions

***Q: What did Beric think was a trap? - Laura***

It's about a fifteen-minute walk from the Cathedral of the Silver Flame to the ship. So Beric's was thinking, fifteen minutes ago he told the Raven to shove it, and then all of a sudden Paulo, who the Raven wouldn't let out of death fifteen minutes ago, shows up and tells Beric he needs to do the thing the Raven wanted him to do: collect the pacts. It will make his family stronger and free them! And not only that, it was his *mom* that wanted him to.

Philip didn't think it was a trap, but Beric doesn't trust the situation even a tiny bit. Beric just had the astonished thought of, even this you're going to use against me?

"*Philip, how are* you *doing?*"
—Jeff
***Q: Were y’all as surprised as we were that your plan worked? - Irene***

Yes. Everyone was.

They put a good plan together, and either Eric was going to reward them for that or screw them really hard. Philip assumed they'd have to fight their way out. They didn't have to roll for much, even when they, in character, had a shocked reaction to Cassalanter telling them he was the one providing the wine. Eric wanted the arch to have a more pulpy feel, and stumbling across just the things they need is a trope that seemed right.

Q: ***What was your backup plan if the fake king didn’t drink the wine? - Irene***

Jeff says they'd let the procession continue until it got to the Swords, but Drakir's plan was to grab Bala and swim away on the shark, leaving them to deal with the fallout.

***Q: Is it canonically clear to everyone that the “king” was a changeling impostor? - Irene***

About fifty or sixty people were there to witness it. So there are going to be people who deny it happened and say it's a cover-up and the real king is dead, but important people like Ruken ir'Clarn and Three were there. They might not 100% believe Boranel, but they know for sure this person wasn't the king.

***Q: Thorin was assigned to Wroat to beef up security, so was he shirking his duties this whole arch? - Laura***

It was an afternoon, and he had the day off. The Dark Lanterns have a great union; PTO, sick leave, paternity leave, which is more than some places.

***Q: Did Drakir enjoy Gram's life story? - Laura***

Drakir is from a highly tribal society and therefore has a lot of respect for the elderly, so he probably sat there listening very politely.

***Q: I thought the Silver Flame was against resurrection so why are they trying to bring people back? And why did Jaela not ask the Flame what was going on before the party got there? - Laura***

Ideologically they aren't huge on resurrection, but there are practical standpoints that they would attempt it. If your battle compatriots falls, it would be great to get them back up. Likewise, Beric is in principle opposed to resurrection, but when it's Paulo, Beric's not thinking about the contradiction.

Regarding Jaela; she did ask. But the Flame is confusing.

***Q: Half knowledge check question-half Eberron reviewed: Eric, I have a similar everything is happening at once session (EP.93) planned for one of my groups if I can ever get them to meet again. What goes into the execution of bringing so many threads back together in one session? - Glen***

It's a matter of keeping the focus contained so everything *can* come together. If you have too much going on in terms of action but you're trying to bring all the story threads together that can really muddle things.

***Q: Philip and Jeff (and Randy if he's there!), What's the experience of having so many mixed emotions all at once and if what, if any, major sore points are there? - Glen***

Jeff tries to have Dex not have many mixed emotions. Whatever his primary feeling is at that point guides him, whether it's anger, sadness, or anything else.

The challenge of playing Beric is that by the time Philip has worked out his emotional state *another* thing hits him. Beric comes back from the dead, and then finds out his government is falling. He works that out, and finds out they've killed a butler. Work through that, Beric dies again. Paulo is dead, and then she's alive again! Beric is never allowed to finish having an emotion.

For Booyah, Randy tries remembering where he's come from and what he's been through what with the loss of his son. He's trying to become a better person and learn compassion. He feels the things that Beric is going through and tries to help him.

***Q: Even if it was clear that the now dead king was fake, are there going to be repercussions on the wine merchant for giving him poisoned wine? How can Drakir be sure no one will discover the real wine inspectors body in the dumpster when there are crowds and hordes of people all over that area? - Calli***

Drakir doesn't care. He feels no regret for killing the wine inspector. He didn't dislike him; he was simply in the way. He hasn't thought about him since, and he doesn't plan on returning to Wroat. He's dropping off Bala and going home.

As Drakir has traveled on the surface, he's learned that the more bizarrely he does things the less likely he is to get caught. If there had been a witness who said they saw someone kill the man, dump him in a dumpster, and ride off on a shark, that would be fine. The body is behind the home of the man who gave the king the wine. If anything, he wants Crast to find a way to pin it on the Swords of Liberty, because this arch has been about Drakir trying to make other people happy.

***Q: When can we expect the Gram and Drakir Variety Hour spin off podcast? - Calli***

Can you imagine an hour of Gram's voice?

***Q: What is Beric's relationship like with Vor? Do they have any areas of conflict? - Darrin***

"*I don't get…this Discord's…fascination…*"
—Jeff
Beric and Vor grew up in the same household, and therefore probably had areas of conflict, but not in a big sense. They have an amicable relationship. As adults, they haven't talked a lot.

## Trivia

* They decided to do the mission in Wroat as a mini-arch the day of recording.