Episode 231 - High Rollers

## Intro

**Episode description:**
n/a

**Opening Quote:**
\*sound of soda can opening\*
Kyle: Oh yeah, that's a Baja Blast baby.

**Player introduction:**
Lauren: Hello and welcome to another episode of the tabletop champions! I'm Lauren your dungeon master and with me tonight we have Ben who plays Throden...

Ben: Hello.

Lauren: Matt who plays Fanel...

Matt: Uh, why don't you make like a tree and leave? I mean, help me -

Lauren: I thought you used that one last week.

Matt: Well, it's gonna be Fanel's thing now, but instead of, like, making you leave, he wants you to help make trees.

Ben: What?

Lauren: We'll workshop it.

Matt: Yeah.

Lauren: Kyle who plays Irpaks...

Kyle: Ahoy-hoy.

Lauren: Sean who plays Abutton...

Sean: Ah... Abutton's here!

Lauren: ...over Kyle, dammit.

Matt: This cabin fever's killing me.

Lauren: Ohh my god, and Stephanie who plays Raquel.

Stephanie (in Irpaks' voice): Ah, hit it with a stick.

Lauren: So much just happened within 30 seconds and I'm not sure how I feel about it.

Matt: Uh, cabin fever guys.

Stephanie: I guess I thwack it.

Lauren: That's valid.

Kyle: I will say, I think a lot of the times our intro really sets the tone for what's gonna happen in the next bit of the episode.

## Episode Summary

The party is greeted by the undead **wife of Throden** and her kobold companions. The kobolds are unnerved by Throden's small zombie kobold army, so he sends them into a corner of the glade. Throden's wife says she was sent by the **Raven Queen**. She seems to have stopped decomposing. He introduces her to the group as Throden, and explains that she was Throden before he was, and that all druids of their type are named Throden. Irpaks is very confused.

Throden's wife (Throden 1) says she was sent to protect the artifact until the party arrived. She knows how to get to it, but they have to wait until nightfall. In response to Kri'zakth, the gods have combined their powers into an artifact, which will grant the group powers and enable them to defeat Kri'zakth and his army. As Throden 1 explains this, Abutton chugs Raquel's bottle and immediately vomits, never having drunk before. He communicates to Raquel via *Thieves' Cant* that he's worried about Fanel's safety on this mission. Given his experience with Grifto, he doesn't trust gods. Irpaks also saw the conversation, so he and Raquel have a quick aside and decide not to tell the Throdens or Fanel, but to be cautious. Throden 2 says they should wait here for nightfall, and Abutton tries to carve up a zombie kobold for dinner. Throden 1 sends her kobolds back to camp and tells them to prepare, and Throden 2 redirects Abutton to the chieftain he didn't raise.

Raquel gets the heebie jeebies for about five minutes, but doesn't see anything when she looks around. Abutton assembles a mushroom dinner for Fanel. Fanel communes with nature and senses one of the mushroom creatures running around. He tries to make friends, but scares it off. He tries meditating, and a bunch of mushroom people climb all over him. He emits some Ki power, and the mushrooms absorb it. One of them starts glowing yellow and punches its friend off Fanel, earning a reprimand from Fanel.

Throden talks to his wife. She says the reason their tribe was killed was because their enemies thought the artifact was in a cave, and they were in the way. It wasn't there, but the **Raven Queen** saw Throden 1's rage and vengeance and brought her back to serve this purpose. Once she guides the party to the artifact, she will likely return to death.

Fanel spots mushroom people in his soup and passes out. Abutton settles next to him and Irpaks-snores.

Throden 1 writes runes and chants in *Druidic*. A wind picks up, blowing burning leaves onto the party. She throws her hands up, summoning lightning, and the top of the tree snaps off in flames. In the middle of the tree is a portal. The party goes through and finds a wooden stairway leading down into an earthen tunnel.

They come to a room with five pillars. Each pillar has an indentation and color matching a gem each of them have: blue for Irpaks, black for Raquel, yellow for Abutton, green for Throden, white for Fanel. The party put their gems in the corresponding pillars. Light of the same colors shine beautifully, and then blindingly for a moment. When the party looks again vials of clear liquid have appeared in place of the gems. Abutton drinks his, his eyes go white, and he collapses. The rest of the party figure out that the vials are full of power. Raquel, Throden, and Fanel drink theirs and collapse as well. After considering for a few minutes, Irpaks lies down and drinks his, then falls unconscious as well.

## Memorable Quotes

Lauren: Markus just kind of dropped y'all off in a weird-ass spot in the Centaur Forest -
Kyle: And then he just fuckin - *bounced*.
Sean: Because he's behind this shit.

Throden: My last name was Sauriv.
Raquel: Oh I do kind of recall that, somewhat.
Irpaks: What is it now?
Throden: Throden.
Irpaks: Oh, wait. Oh. Alright. I'm gonna go.

Lauren: I've always wanted to play in a fungi-filled forest with weird shit, so. This is happiness.

Sean: They're Qi batteries. Fuckin mushroom forest vore, that's an oddly specific fetish.

## Trivia

* Lauren said they could use whatever checks they wanted to investigate the vials, so Stephanie rolled a Persuasion check.
* The party had to roll constitution saving throws when they drank the vials, and all failed.

New Abutton Phrases:

* Yes!