Awful Crew

The '**Awful Crew**' (named by Chris Perkins,[1] although fan names have included the *Pancake Crew*, the *French Toast Crew*, the *Falafel Crew*, and others)[2] are the trio of clones made by the Sewn Sisters from the hair of Strix, Diath and Paultin. Their existence was revealed to the real Crew by the naga oracle Saja N'baza in episode 71. The Awful Crew started at 1st level but by now have done enough errands for the hags that they reached 3rd level (the players are actually using their original characters' 3rd level sheets to play them). Because Evelyn was a construct at the time and had no living matter to clone from, she herself did not have a copy. However in episode 99, an evil construct paladin of Shar made an appearance and recruited the Awful Crew away from the hags' service to join her in causing mayhem.

Chris first hinted at the idea of a doppleganger encounter in an interview after PAX West 2017, where after bringing up the pets episode, he said he had a similar idea for a fun event that "will give you guys a chance to play your characters in a different way".[3] Holly has said that she hates 'evil Strix', who only cares about being magically powerful and is "messed up" due to never having been shown kindness by Diath, and lacking the presence of Evelyn to "tie [their] party together in goodness".[4] However, Anna admits that playing the Awful Crew helped the cast learn more about their actual characters and how their friendships affected their personalities. Before the first appearance of 'the Stranger', Anna was asked what her doppleganger might be like, and she mused about what it meant to be dedicated to the "opposite of Lathander", perhaps exaggerating Evelyn's interest in "fancy shiny things" and love of fighting and showing off how powerful she is.[4] For fun, she and Jared planned for their evil clones to become attracted to one another, intentionally "mak[ing] them 'gross' and 'give chat what they think they have always wanted'".[5]

## Members

* **'Thigh-High Diath'** - Described by Jared as looking his age (28-29) with much fewer scars and dressed for the jungle weather (black leather half-vest that comes to half his bare chest, a shortsword and green sash around his waist hiding his daggers and gear, baggy dark pants and brown thigh-high boots). He walks around with a grimace and an attitude, cockily brushing back the hair that constantly falls across his face. He likes to show off his dexterity to impress others, or just himself. His eyes flicker everywhere searching for evildoers to stick into the bag. He gets along well with Nit and doesn't care about Strix's well-being (he only keeps her around because she's useful). He is motivated by wealth and rewards, and has shown no remorse towards capturing children. He is also attracted to Evilyn and is not shy about showing it. He dies during a confrontation with the real Crew, struck by one of Diath's throwing daggers and burnt to a cinder by Strix's fireball.
* **'feral Strix'** - Described by Holly as looking young (around 32, shorter horns than her post-Barovia self) wearing weird plant matter or things off the street as clothing, with her hair matted and slicked back, and her pointed ears and tail sticking out. Part of her face is rotting and has mold growing on it, covering one eye. She runs on all fours. To keep notes, she carves into her own flesh. She doesn't care about herself because no one else has ever been kind to her. She enjoys using her sorcerer power, setting things on fire and shouting, 'I *am* magic!'. She can cast *alter self* to turn her hands into deadly claws. She has no problem eating live rats or lizards, and also likes collecting body parts. She obeys the hags because they give her animals to eat. Holly has said that she hates this character and wants her to die (which finally happened when the real Strix incinerated her with a fireball).
* '**Nit Luap**' - Described by Nate as dressed like Strahd (black cape, white buttoned shirt under a red vest), with pale skin and long black hair but no fangs. He enjoys chaos, such as casting crown of madness on random people. He's more interested in drinking than doing the hags' bidding, and doesn't like choosing sides. He gets along well with Diath, and feels no loyalty at all towards Strix or Umpox. He is condescending and obnoxious towards others, feeling entitled to anything he desires (he will use his persuasion abilities or *eyes of charming* to assist in this). He is also not turned off by Umpox dropping an NPC's eyeball into his drink, and took sinister pleasure in taunting the victim and crushing the eye between his fingers. Although he took part in the fight with the real Crew, most of his attacks were ineffective or aimed at the monkey statues Strix had brought to life. He was therefore able to sneak away alive at the end of the battle. He reappeared on the Crew's ship and managed to toss Diath's key out of the force bomb, re-initiating the countdown. Diath quickly used a new key and kicked Nit overboard. Evelyn dove down to rescue him, mistaking him for Paultin, which gave him the chance to scoop up the magic mandolin Paultin had tossed over the side to give as tribute to Aremag. Finally realizing who she was carrying, Evelyn then tossed Nit into Aremag's mouth, with the ticking bomb being swallowed by the dragon turtle soon after. Although the bomb exploded and it is assumed Nit died, no one is 100% sure.
* **Umpox** - the hags' imp assistant (cat-sized spindly devil with pointy horns, bat wings and a scorpion tail) that reports on the Awful Crew by aiming a magical eye at them. He can turn invisible and change form depending on who he's speaking with: rat (Strix), raven (Paultin), or spider (Diath). He is the only one who cares enough to try and revive Strix when she's down. He also carries a black body bag known as a 'sack of evil' that transports evil people (living or dead) into the hags' cauldron to feed them. Chris voices him with a hillbilly accent. He was killed by Diath after they turned against the hags.
* **The Stranger, aka 'Evilyn'** (*but spelled Evelyn and pronounced 'Eh-va-lin'*)[5] - An evil paladin construct made of obsidian black metal and wood decorated with gold and shiny jewels, with fine cloth draped over one shoulder that covers her name engraved in cursive (inspired by a fan drawing). She wears the symbol of Shar on her chest (black disk with a glowing purple rim that secretes purple/black oil) and can inflict necrotic damage with her non-magical axe. Based on her remarks and ability to attack twice, fans surmised that she has taken the Oath of Conquest and is at least level 5. She admires Diath and thinks little of Nit and Strix. She convinces the others to join her quest for "glory, death and darkness" as her "bodyguards". She openly returns evil Diath's affections and is infuriated when he dies. She is then killed by a combination of Strix's fireball and Paultin's *dissonant whispers*. When asked if she thinks Evilyn will return, Anna replied, "That will be up to Chris... though I will say that there's probably at least a few someones out there who would be furious to know she had fallen".[5] The Crew, ironically, did not think to loot Evilyn's body, which would surely have included the diamonds they needed to resurrect Evelyn and Simon. Although Omin later tried to recover the body and gems from the guards, he returned empty handed. Interestingly, when the Crew briefly traveled to another dimension to rescue the street urchins from Audra Knell, they were told that there, Evelyn of Shar, a death knight named Vanrak Moonstar, and a shadow dragon named Umbraxakar, ruled Waterdeep.[6]

## References

[1] https://twitter.com/ChrisPerkinsDnD/status/980214331676573697

[2] https://www.reddit.com/r/DiceCameraAction/comments/7g9ko6/spoilers\_for\_episode\_71/

[3] Dragon+: The Wafflecrew, 9/5/17 (~42:00)

[4] Pax East 2018 - Dragonfly Theater - Wafflecrew Tea Time Q&A. Twitch.com

[5] I'm Anna, I play Evelyn. AMA! DCA Reddit.

[6] DCA episode 129