Episode Transcript
[00:00:12] Speaker A: Hello, friends, and welcome to another episode of shifting gears, our wonderful little talkback show for spells and whistles. I am grace, your resident lorekeeper, small human being. And now your questions gremlin. We've got a lot of really great questions for you today, but before we jump on into things, spoilers ahead for all of our one shots and now all of spells and whistles because we just wrapped up ark three last week, we're gonna roll to see what order we answer our questions in because we like to roll dice here. And then we're gonna jump on into our first question. So if everybody can roll a d 20 for me.
[00:00:44] Speaker B: Whoa.
[00:00:45] Speaker A: And then instead of calling out question, well, I think I'm going first natural 20, starting off strong. All right? So our order is as follows. We are going to have myself, and then we are going to have the lovely Meg, and then Jay, then Ben, then Anastasia. That is our order.
We're not going to start with anything too, too crazy right now. So to jump off. To jump off. To start off, I'm gonna do this lovely question from Merrin, which is where? What does your character consider to be, quote unquote home?
I think Melan used to know the answer to this, and now she's not so sure because before that, the answer to that was very easy. It was, you know, home is where her dads are. Home is where her brothers are. Home is. Home is home.
And then all of this happened. So I think the answer for Melan right now is she doesn't know.
[00:02:00] Speaker C: Not to be a copycat, but that's a really large part of what Auden's kind of journey is, is figuring out what that looks like for her. She doesn't live where she used to anymore, so that's not home.
Teehee.
[00:02:20] Speaker B: Oh, gosh. I want to know so much more about Auden's backstory. It's killing me.
[00:02:28] Speaker D: Well, we'll get there.
[00:02:33] Speaker B: Um. Gosh, trying.
How do I say this while still making Myla sound like a semi stable human being?
[00:02:46] Speaker C: You don't.
[00:02:46] Speaker A: Is she?
[00:02:47] Speaker B: No, she's not. Cause she's not. She's not a human. Anyways, I was gonna say, actually, I think.
[00:02:58] Speaker A: Hmm.
[00:03:00] Speaker B: I think that we're seeing with the party, this is sort of changing a lot as a whole.
Myla's home had always been almost like her own mind palace, right? It's been like what she's has always been consistent with her has been like her own intelligence and thoughts and creations and hyper fixations. And, like, that's what genuinely has kept her company. Like that little, not literal voice, but like that little voice. It's like, hey, what if we did this? What if we made something new? What if we made something better?
Has sort of been the most comforting thing to her for reasons. And I think that growing up, she had a physical home. It just never really felt that way to her. It had always been sort of, like pretty solitary.
And I think that much like with everyone else now, that is, she's trying to find the balance between that being safe for her but also, like, relying on other people in a way that makes sense to her, which has been, we've seen has been a real interesting teeter totter for her.
Yeah.
[00:04:23] Speaker E: I think ID's home is more like, where does ID feel the most comfortable? And I think that has to be fighting things.
There's not really the, the only place got blowed up and collapsed in on itself. And so the next most comfortable thing is the thing that he did for his entire life before leaving. So it's like when you're an expert at something, you feel the most comfortable doing that thing.
[00:05:02] Speaker B: So what you're saying is that this party is super mentally stable and we all know exactly what's the correct way to handle things and look at ourselves and each other. Okay, cool.
[00:05:12] Speaker E: I don't, I don't think that. I don't think that I'm saying that about it. Like, not having a place that feels like home is not a good thing. But he knows what he's good at. He knows where he's comfortable and proficient.
It could just be training, sparring. Right. It doesn't have to be life or death situations.
[00:05:31] Speaker A: I have realized that I did pick a question that everyone in the cast can answer very easily, except for anastasia.
[00:05:38] Speaker D: No, it's fine. No, it's fine. I am totally okay. No, because there are going to be some questions that are for you guys and some questions that are for me, and that's fine.
[00:05:46] Speaker A: So speaking of questions for you, actually, why don't we. Because you're the last to go. Anyway, Meg has some questions for us for each of the players. So we're gonna jump into one of those, which is, you know what, Meg, why don't you read your own question?
[00:06:05] Speaker C: Yippee.
[00:06:06] Speaker B: Because you're here.
[00:06:06] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:06:07] Speaker C: Yes. I am so happy to do that. Okay. For Anastasia. I feel like every GM that I've played with has, like, a signature thing that they do and that's like their, their little, like their modus operandi or whatever. Like the little thing that every like, gm, you know, they carry across through other games and stuff. What do you feel like is your thing? I have really enjoyed the little cutscenes that you do sometimes. Is that something that you do in all your games, or what's your thing?
[00:06:43] Speaker D: I do a good number of cutscenes. I picked that up from a friend who started doing little vignettes at the end of some sessions, and that was the first long term game I had played time, and I was like, hey, this is fantasy. Cool. So I do that, but I think, like, personally, I just focus so much on, like, wanting to incorporate everyone's backstory so that everyone can see, like, how cool the other stuff everyone made was. So I tend to do this thing, and I don't know that I love it, but I do this thing where, like, every section of the story, aka, like, our arcs, have to do with, like, one or two peoplE's backstories, and then we kind of switch modes. And I do that, and I don't know if I love it a ton, but I do that.
[00:07:32] Speaker B: So I've played with a lot of.
[00:07:35] Speaker C: GM's who do it that way.
[00:07:36] Speaker D: Yeah, I mean, the core philosophy is, like, I don't want anyone to feel left out. I want everyone to feel like they matter within THe world, that their decisions have impact, you know? So that's, like, the main goal there.
[00:07:52] Speaker C: That means that Ben is up next.
I feel like this. I keep wanting to call these semesters dear goodness gracious me. This arc. I feel like ID has undergone a lot of interpersonal changes with the different.
[00:08:12] Speaker A: Members of the party.
[00:08:13] Speaker C: Id be really curious to get your perspective because obviously it and Myla have been together the longest. They know each other really well. But near the end of this arc, we got to see some, like, pretty big disagreements between the two. And I don't know, I just. I want. Tell me what you got going on.
[00:08:31] Speaker E: Um, I have been thinking about this question a lot since you sent it earlier today.
Id is starting to really think about these party members as co workers right now.
[00:08:49] Speaker A: That's so fucking sad.
[00:08:52] Speaker E: He keeps having these situations where they do what they think is right and it's probably wrong, or at the very least, it thinks it's wrong. And so he's trying to separate from the, like, emotional place of caring about these people and wanting them to do better, even when they're wrong to.
This is the result we need. We need to do better when we're wrong.
So he's just kind of. It's not that he doesn't care about them. It's that the he's going to get the result he wants no matter who the people are now. And so his connection to them is a little bit more strained because he's more focused on the goal being killing Eren ikriendriel.
I really like saying it like that.
[00:09:54] Speaker A: I joked about giving it a smack for being a butt above table. And I will make Melvin do it in game if I need to.
[00:10:05] Speaker C: She's bitch slapped her own father. This one stopped. You know, it's nothing about that, actually.
[00:10:13] Speaker E: What brought that to your mind? Grace? Was there a specific thing that happened where you were like, man, Melwin would love to slap this guy right now?
[00:10:24] Speaker D: Oh.
[00:10:24] Speaker A: It's less of a Melbourne thing and more of a grace thing, but it can become a Melwin thing.
[00:10:32] Speaker E: Was there a specific thing where Grace was like, time to slap in, yelling at Melwin? For what? Which time?
[00:10:42] Speaker B: Oh, gosh.
[00:10:45] Speaker A: The most recent one.
[00:10:47] Speaker E: Oh, for not leaving.
[00:10:49] Speaker A: For not. For not. Well, no, not for. No, he didn't yell for that. It was the heart attack.
[00:10:54] Speaker E: Oh, yes.
[00:10:56] Speaker A: Y'all haven't yelled at Melbourne for that yet. For the other thing you just mentioned yet.
[00:11:00] Speaker E: Yeah, that's true. I was.
[00:11:01] Speaker A: Mel was just like.
[00:11:02] Speaker D: I was in the.
[00:11:03] Speaker A: Right.
[00:11:05] Speaker E: Cool. Yeah. I gladly take a slap. I take three. Less damage from non magical attacks, so.
[00:11:11] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:11:11] Speaker C: What a schmuck.
[00:11:13] Speaker A: I can pump a shock and grasp into it.
[00:11:16] Speaker E: I'll just charge my shield. Bring it on.
[00:11:19] Speaker A: No, do it while you sleeping. You don't have the shield on you.
[00:11:23] Speaker E: That's her.
[00:11:26] Speaker C: Anyway, my next question is for Jay.
I have been obsessed with the little model two and Xander kind of storyline. Let me read what I wrote. I would love to hear more insight onto how the experience has shaped her. And what do you think will be different going forward with model three, if that is even the name?
[00:11:50] Speaker B: Um, it is no secret that, you know, I've shared on multiple shifting gears that Xander and model two. Well, Xander specifically, was very much like an outward sort of showcase of how Mylar really expressed her, like, internal thoughts and feelings because she hasn't really had a way to do that.
And without spoiling too much other backstory, she was never really in an environment that really fostered that. It was pretty secluded.
And so I think that, I mean, obviously, like, the loss of that was she. I mean, she sort of showed it by going a little bit knocking futz, but, like, it was devastating. Right. Like, the sort of one thing that you've grown accustomed to and to learn to love and has always been there that you've created. Right.
And so when she made model two, it was very much like, okay, well, I can't. If something happens to model two, I can't get attached to that again. I can't feel that way again. And so it's been really interesting playing with the sort of. That sort of aspect. And I honestly, I don't know what, like, a quote unquote model three is gonna look like going forward. I kind of wanna.
We have some stuff to discuss about what happens in between arcs three and four and how much time that takes and all that stuff, just like, as a group.
But I kind of.
I don't know. Depending on how long it takes and how, I guess, like, how much time Myla has to process, it might look something more akin to model two in terms of functionality, but with eyes, I guess, because id said he doesn't have eyes. And Mila's like, okay, he needs eyes.
I'm just gonna make Mike wazowski.
[00:13:42] Speaker D: Eyes, plural. Eyes, plural. Eyes.
[00:13:46] Speaker B: Mike Wazowski with two eyes. Got it.
[00:13:50] Speaker D: Can I. Sorry.
My favorite bit in the entirety of monster sync is Michael Zaski putting his contact in.
[00:13:59] Speaker A: Mm hmm.
[00:14:00] Speaker B: Mm hmm.
[00:14:01] Speaker C: One really big contact.
[00:14:06] Speaker D: It's so funny.
[00:14:07] Speaker A: Anyway, that's exactly how I put contacts in when I was wearing them.
[00:14:13] Speaker D: Cracks me up every time. But I don't know.
[00:14:16] Speaker B: We also. At this very last episode we saw Milo was sort of starting to sit with herself a little. A tiny bit more, even if it's really uncomfortable. And I think that if that's something that continues, that that's something that would be very integral into the next model of her steel defender. I don't know. I might. I've been. I've been also thinking of some other things and rattling around in my noggin that I can't speak on because I haven't talked to my gm about it. So I should probably do that before I say anything on air.
I don't know. We'll see. Teehee. Thank you. Tune into Ark four.
[00:14:57] Speaker C: And then my last question that's specific for my buds and cool. Claire's chums.
Yeah, I word vomited for Grace. I am super fascinated by Melwyn's story arc up until this point. She started out very determined to find her family, and then when she found them, she was really willing to leave them again to keep them safe. And so, like, how much of that decision. And, you know, you don't have to, like, tell all, but, you know, I'd be curious how much of that decision is, like, driven by her like lack of emotion. How much of it was driven by like loyalty for the relationships that she's built with the party and how much of it was like just kind of a change in priority. Like what kind of, if you can kind of walk me through some of the decision there.
[00:15:47] Speaker A: Yeah, no, Melon's whole kind of thought process is a little bit like, well these people need help. Sort of kind of was like, you know, she doesn't have a lot of emotions. She really just kind of going with it and then like, you know, suddenly gets her emotions back and realizes she's in way over her head and has no idea what the fuck she's doing.
And also he's expressed a little bit like she feels pretty useless most of the time which is why she doesn't really contribute to when we're like planning stuff because she's just like, I don't know, I don't know why you're asking me.
But yeah, a lot of it was driven by like Melan was just kind of going with it.
But I also like think and this hasn't come up in game, but like there's this sense of like she feels out of place kind of everywhere. You know, she's a kid in a party of functionally adults. We learned it is 1718 now, but you know, she's a kid in a weird situation with people that more or less kind of know what they're doing.
Even Auden was a mercenary before all of this. So like, you know, this is new to Melwyn. She didn't know what the fuck she's doing.
So there's that. And then like also, you know, she went home. Her parents didn't remember her and they were starting to remember a lot of that stuff as we were leaving so, but like I don't think she, I think she kind of like had the knowledge they probably wouldn't have known how to help her and like they probably also wouldn't be able to do much.
I think part of her concern is also like if she goes home now, she's not gonna, like they're not gonna let her leave ever again. And she's finding she kind of likes traveling minus all of the murdering and death and conspiracies.
[00:17:43] Speaker C: Yeah, that's fair.
[00:17:45] Speaker D: The murder death's a little bit of a downer.
[00:17:47] Speaker C: That's my least favorite part of travel personally.
[00:17:50] Speaker D: Yeah, I hate when you go to the airport and you gotta kill the TSA guy.
Whoa, go to the airport, put on.
[00:17:58] Speaker B: A TSA watch list, go to the airport and the person at the front desk starts breathing out black and purple smoke and then kills the blacksmith nearby.
[00:18:08] Speaker D: And then, yeah, man, relatable.
[00:18:11] Speaker B: What can you do? It's another Tuesday.
[00:18:14] Speaker E: This entire podcast has been Anastasia's autobiography, word for word.
[00:18:20] Speaker D: This actually happened in my real life.
[00:18:22] Speaker B: That's Anastasia's gmin niche.
[00:18:25] Speaker E: It's just that empty space between Australia and South America that they dump satellites in is actually this map. And that's where ostracia lives.
[00:18:39] Speaker D: Yeah, I do live in a liminal space. Space like the back rooms. And if you go far enough in the back rooms, you just show up in the ancient spans.
[00:18:48] Speaker A: I know we have a lot of questions for each other. I'm gonna jump to an audience member question really quickly, which means I'm gonna need everybody to roll.
[00:18:55] Speaker B: Whoa, whoa.
[00:18:58] Speaker A: I sent that flying. Goddamn.
[00:19:03] Speaker D: Oh, rollies.
[00:19:08] Speaker B: I got another 18.
[00:19:10] Speaker C: I got a three, so you'll take that one.
[00:19:12] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:19:12] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:19:13] Speaker D: Okay.
[00:19:14] Speaker A: We got.
[00:19:15] Speaker C: Sorry, I dropped.
[00:19:16] Speaker A: Our new order will be I'm gonna use initiative rules and just, like, put Jay, then Meg. So I'm gonna have Jay, then Meg, then Ben, then myself, and then Anna again.
Your spot, your solid spot right there.
[00:19:36] Speaker B: I rolled that.
[00:19:37] Speaker D: I don't know what to tell you.
[00:19:40] Speaker A: We got a really cool question from Jet, who's really just my dear friend Jet, king of cool questions. Honestly, if you entered the mind palace of your character, what would it look like? And then the examples that Jett gave were, like, a nice tavern, a dungeon puppet show, grootly drawn crayon cottage on a hill with a little smiley sun with name tags and everything and everyone, which I kind of love that as, like, an example. But, yeah, starting off with Jay on.
[00:20:11] Speaker B: That one, I would like to describe Myla's mind palace. You guys know me. I love funky, weird word pictures. I'd love to describe it as a once abandoned catholic cathedral during golden hour.
[00:20:29] Speaker A: Interesting.
[00:20:29] Speaker B: That has been transformed into, like, a secluded workshop. So, like, lots of, like, stained glass, a little, like, gold overwash, like, stone, like, on the sides, but, like, everything inside has been, like, torn out and redone. Right. So there's, like, a giant workshop. There's, like, shelves on the side, up near the front that are just, like, filled with multiple things and gadgets and gizmos and there's a desk area, and there's papers and nuts and bolts and tools and things are just everywhere and constantly moving and. Yeah, that's rad.
[00:21:05] Speaker C: That's so sick. Thank you for Auden. I feel like I know that I make everything go back to the ocean. But I really do feel like that's the most accurate description that I could give. I think surface level.
[00:21:21] Speaker A: She's a fish.
[00:21:22] Speaker C: Yeah. I think surface level would be very similar to a coral reef where there's lots of bright colors, there's lots of, like, zippin fishes. You know, it's, like, very busy, very active. And I think the more she concentrates and the more she focuses, like, when she enters her flow state, it's, like, getting deeper and deeper into the ocean. And I think, like, if she were, like, truly, like, super just in it and focused, it would be, like, deep ocean. Like, nothing but just, like, inky blackness in front of you.
I really don't think that. Not in, like, a head empty kind of way. But I think, just, like, the absence of anything stimulating is kind of, like, what her, like, deep focus would be.
[00:22:11] Speaker D: Like, really triggering my ocean fears now.
[00:22:16] Speaker C: Oh, I'm sorry.
[00:22:17] Speaker D: No, you're good. No, I'm just teasing.
[00:22:19] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:22:20] Speaker D: The ocean terrifies me in real life, I'll be honest.
[00:22:24] Speaker B: That's where all the TSA agent bodies are.
[00:22:28] Speaker C: Oh, my God.
[00:22:31] Speaker E: Dexter Corr.
[00:22:34] Speaker D: Geez Louise.
[00:22:37] Speaker A: Okay, sorry. Benjamin, why don't you, on that note.
[00:22:41] Speaker E: Okay. I looked it up because I wanted to find a very specific thing. There's a cutscene cinematic thing from Star the old Republic where there's. It's like, these two kids that end up are kind of being main characters. They're, like, doing training exercises with, like, wooden swords, and, like, the guards are, like, training against them. And one of the guards, like, takes this, like, long staff and just, like, smacks one of the kids in the face, and the other one, like, awakens force abilities and just, like, shoves them against the wall, and they're, like, super dead. Anyway, this arena that they're, like, training in is really gorgeous.
It's, like, circle of sand, and then, like, a couple small steps up to, like, white stone circle around that, and then there's, like, a short wall that is a boundary to, like, an overlooking area to where their father is, like, watching them fight. But there's also these, like, pairs of thin drapes that, like, hang from the middle of the ceiling and then, like, come down over to the sides and kind of, like, j shapes, and it's just, like, really pretty in there. And I feel like it's like, like I was saying earlier, it's like, comfort zone is in training or in combat. And I feel like the. The most he had to think was in that, like, training arena where people would be, like, instructing him on what to do. Or they would give him a different, like, scenario instruction, like, mid thing, and he'd have to change his tactics and stuff. So that kind of zone is.
Is perfect. Empty, simple, meditative, almost.
[00:24:35] Speaker A: Who's next? Oh, I'm next. I'm sorry.
Um, it's like, such a weird. We've. There's. We've. We've seen a lot of Melan's brain and how it works, but only in, like, a really specific kind of way for whatever reason. And I.
This is such a stupid point of reference, but I think Melwin's brain works a little bit. Like, I think it's called the animus from Assassin's Creed, which is this. For anybody who's not familiar with the Assassin's Creed video game series, I don't blame you. The lore gets really complicated very quickly. So I'm trying to figure out a very simple way to explain this. But there's basically this chamber that kind of works like a big VR space in a way where you can go into.
It ends up being historical areas and living through the memories of the main character's family because it's a whole thing.
Assassin's Creed is really complicated. I am not qualified to explain it in any way, shape, or form. But I think Melan's mind as a whole kind of works like that. But the space where I think she functions at her best would probably within that kind of mind palace would be something like what I described in the very first dream sequence with curiosity, where she, like, the. All of the shelves and the conspiracy boards and, like, all the questions because Melon's a very inquisitive kid.
Something like that.
I also have realized this is not really a question that Anastasia can answer. I'm very sorry.
[00:26:29] Speaker B: It's okay. Because I have something that I want to know from Anastasia's mind palace, which is in ark four. Wait. Nope. Ark three. This is ark three. Arc four is the next arc.
[00:26:41] Speaker A: Haha.
[00:26:41] Speaker B: Teehee. Okay. In ark three, you've given us many a things. You've given us many an information, many a location, many an NPC. But one thing that you very specifically gave to us that has received some mixed reviews from the party is yarn. And I want to know. Go. Like. Like, go. Wait, like, what?
What were you expecting to sort of happen with yarn? Because I feel like we sort of threw you off a little bit. But, like, what were you expecting? Like, genuinely, like, what? Like, what was going through your mind when you were like, oh, I'm gonna give them this, like, cute little guy. Like, this is how they're gonna respond. Like, it's gonna be great. Silly, goofy tiki ha.
[00:27:17] Speaker D: No, I like, honestly, no, I think it's funny that you guys hate him as characters so much. Like, that's hilarious.
[00:27:25] Speaker A: I don't hate him.
[00:27:27] Speaker D: That's all, Jimmy. Three of the four people are like, I don't think I really like you that much.
[00:27:36] Speaker B: I'll give Milo's defense.
[00:27:37] Speaker A: I love him. I'm also just willing to use him as a projectile.
[00:27:44] Speaker D: I know.
I think what threw me off is the immediate, wow, he's so useless. That's what threw me off more than anything else, because I made him specifically to be not useless. He is very useful. You just have not found ways to be creative.
You get a little busy.
[00:28:13] Speaker A: You gave us a little man's in the middle of a very tense situation.
[00:28:17] Speaker D: Yeah.
I didn't think you were going to immediately like him or even want to stay with him, because his first conversation with you was, I know who you are. I meant to come find you guys specifically, which is very unsettling. Like, that. Like, as a D and D party. That's like, absolutely not. Like, I don't like it. Somebody knows where I am, and they're trying to find us specifically, like, of course. But he found you guys, like, very intentionally, and I didn't think you were gonna like that. So that was as expected.
The, like, usefulness level is where I got really thrown up, because I personally, I think he's very useful. Maybe, like, not right this second, but I think he can be very useful, like, in situations. So.
But I think at some point, you're gonna forget that he's there or he's gonna, like, leave or something. I don't know. Like, no, maybe he'll die. I don't know.
I don't know what's gonna happen to Yaron. I love him as.
As a Dm. I'm like, he is my little guy. And I know that you guys, as people, also think that he's funny, which is good, because that's what I want.
So does that make sense? Yeah.
The reactions were as expected, which is funny.
[00:29:43] Speaker B: Gosh, that's so fair. I think, for it's specifically from Myla's point of view. It's one of those things where I should all specify me, is J. I love a little guy.
[00:29:52] Speaker D: I love a little guy so much.
[00:29:54] Speaker B: And the fact that Myla doesn't like this little guy is killing me because I really want a meta and just be like, she's okay.
[00:29:59] Speaker A: With it.
[00:29:59] Speaker B: But, like, in her brain, she's like, you said you were gonna be useful, and then you haven't really done anything. Which is fair. Which is fair, right? He's a little guy, but in her brain, she's like, you haven't done anything. Second of all, you were sent by a deity. You were sent by a God, right? And this has been going on for years and years and years, and the gods have never done anything that Milo knows of to interfere with anything at all. And, like, there were points where, like, I desperately needed something like that, and nothing ever showed up. So the fact that now that I have friends and now that we're actually looking into it, all of a sudden the gods are taking interest in it, she's like, okay, that's. That's cool, I guess. Also, we all know that mylacine has a God complex, so take that with it. Well, you will.
[00:30:48] Speaker D: That makes total sense.
[00:30:50] Speaker A: Like, mylad, deity arquend.
[00:30:54] Speaker C: I mean, we got ideas now.
[00:30:57] Speaker B: I mean, I eat purple magic, so.
[00:31:02] Speaker E: I think part of it, too, was like, yeah, being able to wild shape into a bunch of stuff is really useful. But we didn't have. I felt like we didn't have time to, like, do a little stealth mission, you know?
[00:31:16] Speaker D: That's fair. Yeah.
[00:31:18] Speaker E: The building was already on fire when we got there, so sending a plant thing, stealthing by itself into a burning building didn't really seem like an option. I think it's super gonna be an option later.
[00:31:32] Speaker A: I think that could be really funny.
[00:31:34] Speaker E: It could be really funny.
[00:31:36] Speaker C: Maybe yarn's made out of weed and we were supposed to burn him.
[00:31:39] Speaker D: Holy shit. He's an invasive species.
[00:31:42] Speaker C: The guys. No, I mean, like, marijuana style.
[00:31:46] Speaker E: Get the bad guys high, and then.
[00:31:50] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh. It's literally.
[00:31:52] Speaker D: That's the green magic.
[00:31:57] Speaker B: The green magic is marijuana.
[00:32:03] Speaker C: Wow. I love the inked.
[00:32:04] Speaker A: Expand.
[00:32:07] Speaker D: I was also gonna say, just, like, on the. On the transparency train, is that, like, yarn was not supposed to be specifically helpful for this upcoming fight. Like, I did not give it. I did not give him a feeling to you so that you could win this fight. This fight specifically. It's a, like, long term thing like, that I had in mind. If you guys got rid of him immediately.
[00:32:30] Speaker B: Sure.
[00:32:30] Speaker D: That's your choice.
I don't care.
[00:32:33] Speaker A: Give me a couple levels. I'll get Glyco, and we can do my original plan with him.
[00:32:38] Speaker D: But, you know, that was just so you know, he wasn't meant to be specifically helpful for this, like, institute fight.
[00:32:44] Speaker A: Oh, let's do this. One. This one's fun, actually. I need everybody to roll. We have a new question.
[00:32:51] Speaker B: Roll.
Oh, my gosh. I'm gonna re roll because I got a high number and I don't want to go first anymore.
[00:33:00] Speaker D: I don't think those are the rules, Jay.
I don't think. I just.
[00:33:06] Speaker B: No, I just went first. It was like a 17. I just went first.
[00:33:09] Speaker A: So I don't want to go second.
[00:33:11] Speaker D: Then I rolled a 20.
[00:33:13] Speaker B: No.
[00:33:14] Speaker A: So our order is Anastasia.
Magical turn of events right there.
And then me and then Ben and then Meg and then Jay.
Yeah, that's how numbers work. Keep going.
[00:33:32] Speaker B: Last. J.
[00:33:33] Speaker D: Are you happy?
[00:33:35] Speaker B: Yes, I am, actually.
[00:33:36] Speaker A: So this question comes from.
I looked at it and then I looked away and I lost. No, there it is. Okay. This question comes from Alec asking, do you prefer plot driven campaigns or character driven campaigns?
Especially interesting because you dm for a podcast.
[00:33:57] Speaker D: I know Dming for this is very specifically a plot driven thing.
I like plot driven things that give space for character growth, like a combo of both. It's not going to be fun if you're players don't get to, like, interact with each other at all.
But then I. But then I. I'll say this. And then I go to a different, like. Like, I play monster hearts pretty consistently, which is a different TTRPG, but that is entirely character driven. Like, there is hardly ever any actual plot line except what the characters do and how messy it gets between the characters. And I love that. So, like, I don't know. I think both can be super fun as the DM. Plot driven is a little more fun because you get to, like, have a little bit more control over it.
[00:34:54] Speaker A: But, yeah, my answer is they don't have to be mutually exclusive. Yeah, I've been talking a lot with people about, and this is.
Let's see if we need to cut this out or not because this is, like, not a hot take, but it's not a very popular conversation to have. But critical role campaign three.
Personally, not entirely my cup of tea.
I think the characters that were made are really, really fun, and obviously the cast is great, but it's a very plot driven game versus Fox, Machina and Mighty. Nein. Which were still very plot driven. They were games that were played for content. There's over 100 episodes for both, and yet there's a heart in the characters and a heart that drives the story forward that I personally don't really see as much in campaign three. It's part of the reason why I loved the balance arc of the adventure Zone and why I love the games that I was in. There's a heart to the story. There's a reason why these characters are so engaged in it, and there's, you know, still a reason why you have to find a reason why you're engaged with the plot or at least try to in a D and D game or Nett RPG. That's just kind of how it works. It's a collaborative game. If your character doesn't have a reason to be there, they shouldn't be there.
But, yeah, no, my argument is that they do not have to be mutually exclusive. And honestly, I don't think they should be. I think there is a way to find a balance.
[00:36:34] Speaker D: Yeah, that's my top character creation tip is, like, I don't care if you give me a backstory. You better have a motivation, like, period. You cannot play this game if you do not have a motivation.
[00:36:47] Speaker E: I agree they don't have to be mutually exclusive, but my preference tends to lean much more towards character. If I had to, like, find a balance, it would be like, 65% character, 35% plot.
I really like when I run games to give multiple, good, impactful options, and then the cleric. The cleric.
[00:37:20] Speaker C: Only the clean.
[00:37:21] Speaker D: That's when it's only the cleric.
[00:37:22] Speaker B: Sorry, guys.
[00:37:23] Speaker D: Yeah, exactly.
[00:37:24] Speaker B: Sorry, guys. Just for me, Cleric, main. Sorry. Sorry, guys.
[00:37:29] Speaker E: Then what the characters choose and how they go after those things is what I can then react upon. And so then it's really character driven.
Yeah, it's a balance of acting and reacting, and I prefer when I'm running games to do the reacting rather than the acting. And so therefore, the characters are what's acting, and therefore it's character driven.
[00:38:00] Speaker A: Character driven stories.
[00:38:01] Speaker C: Yeah, I was gonna say I'm strongly in the same. Same camp of, like, there should be a balance between them. My opinion is that, like, the. The person that's running the game can only do so much to make it a character driven game.
Like, there has to be the, like, willingness for the characters, like, the players to be able to allow their characters to drive the story and to contribute to the narrative.
And I feel like, in general, I mean, I think we do a good job of that. Most of the games that I've played before have done a really good job of that, but I feel like putting all of that on the GM to make it relevant to each of the characters. There has to be a collaborative. We talked about that. It's a collaborative thing where everybody needs to be invested not only in your own character, but in everybody else in the party as well. And knowing, like, I think the hardest part of having stories that are more character driven is figuring out that give and take between, like, you know, if it's more focused on, like, somebody else's arc, like, allowing them to kind of have that moment and to have that growth while still, like, staying true to your character, but, like, finding that, like, balance of, like, character driven, pc player driven also, which I think is a really fun thing to figure out in groups and games.
[00:39:25] Speaker B: Yeah, I think that we're all generally in the same boat of, like, yeah, there has to be, like, a balance. And I also agree with that. I think it's a really interesting thing because I think it's this sort of thing of, like, what came first, the chicken or the egg? Like, does the plot come and then the characters react to it or do characters act and that's where the plot comes from. Right. And I think that it's all sort of a chain reaction for me personally when I'm gming and I'm looking at things to build. I think that there's actually a third factor which is also player driven. Knowing what my players want to do in a game is also really important. So if I'm playing with a bunch of people who are like, we are going to rp every single session, I'll be like, okay, cool, let's rp every single session. But if I have people in my game who are like, I want to fight things. Okay, let's put in more combats. Let's put in more puzzles.
I think that's really important when using especially, like, safety tools and stuff like that. Something that I usually do at the start of my game is like, hey, what are you guys interested in? Like, what are some genre things? Like, what is, like some stuff? And, like, I'll have ideas for the plot and, like, sort of like these, like, grandiose, like, general things in the ether of, like, these are things that when I'm making this game, I want to focus on, like, certain time periods, certain plot things, but then allowing the characters and the players to sort of find what interests them and me being able to find in ways to take those and then plug it in. Right.
So I think, yeah, it's a little bit of everything. I think it's always gonna be a little more character driven because, I mean, speaking for myself, a lot of my games are usually just love letters to my players. And it's like, make this whatever you want it to be, to have fun and be crazy, but also be scary if you want it to be. I know that there's some players who don't prefer things like that. They prefer very plot driven. Like, please tell me where we're going because I want to hit things and I want to know where I can hit the most things. And it's like, cool. Here's the way you should go.
Yeah.
[00:41:32] Speaker D: So one of the biggest pitfalls of D and D, specifically, I think, is that it's such a mechanic based game, which is totally fine for what it.
[00:41:43] Speaker A: What it is, but it doesn't have to be. That's the thing.
[00:41:46] Speaker D: It doesn't have to be.
[00:41:47] Speaker A: That's kind of the beauty of yet.
[00:41:48] Speaker D: Which is super nice. It doesn't have to be. I think there's a lot of stuff in at least, like, core d d things that is like, it doesn't encourage figuring out the ideas that the players want to explore very much. Like, you can put a background on your character and there's some fun background things and flaws and whatever. And that might be a good jumping point, but other than that, not a whole lot of, hey, what ideas do you want to explore?
That I see other ttrpgs do sometimes? D and d is a great umbrella rpg. Don't get me wrong. I like this system. I think it's fun. Just something I've noticed.
[00:42:31] Speaker A: This is a point I like to make a lot, and this is something that comes with experience and time in playing, is that there is, technically speaking, no wrong way to play an RPG. Right. There's no TTRPG. There's no wrong way to play ttrPg. Right. There is wrong ways to play a TTRPG depending on the group and the table that you are at.
[00:42:56] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:42:57] Speaker A: Because what may be your expectation, what may be what you are hoping out of a game might not be what the DM is looking for or whatever is going on. Like, there. You can have different expectations of a game coming in and that can cause conflict, and that's where a lot of miscommunications happen, like, right at the beginning. So that is something that is like. Yes, we have, like, this argument of, like, plot driven or character driven or like this or that. Like, it really just depends on the table that you're at. Really?
[00:43:32] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:43:33] Speaker A: The end of the day.
[00:43:34] Speaker B: Yeah. And with that, like, it's not just up to the GM to do that. Right. Like, there's also a responsibility that players have to, like, we've talked about this. I feel like I've talked about this before, so I'll get off my soapbox in a second. But it's collaborative, right? Like, there's a certain not responsibility, but there's a certain, like, you know, you're all going into a game together to play together and it's collaborative for a reason, right? So players being there for other players and being there for the GM and GM being there for the players, and it's a whole round, big circle of life.
[00:44:11] Speaker A: Yay.
[00:44:13] Speaker B: Which.
[00:44:13] Speaker A: That's the most unenthusiastic yay I've ever said. I'm sorry.
[00:44:18] Speaker D: This one's from Shayna from our discord, which you should join.
It's question from Melwin or more grace. It says, how did you come up with all the different dream sequences from one of the episodes in this arc?
[00:44:34] Speaker A: Vibes, mostly.
And also, it's a really wonderfully complicated way to kind of explore a character.
I have another creator, Pokemon creator, goes by Pulse effects is playing a very similar in concept character on Starlost right now. Actually, we independently came up with the idea, but last time we were in a one shot together, I was just like, hey, we both did this thing and then both of us were just like, okay, but it's so hard to play well having a character that can't feel shit. Like, how do you react things? And so I have a notebook in front of me, as I am want to do. And I carry around notebooks everywhere, and I will always have something to write something down on via my phone, be it a notebook or whatever. And I am constantly writing and trying to explore a character anyway, especially in DTRPG, especially with. Now I'm in a lot of games, which is lovely, and I'm very, very lucky that I am able to do that. But yeah, no, coming up with dream sequences has just been like, Anna's handed me a giant list of writing prompts and I've been going one at a time, or in the case of a couple of them, like, I've intentionally cherry picked a few that I was like, I could work these into one thing together.
Like, time. When Melbourne pulled like six, I grouped it like three and three. I guess it became seven later, but you know what I mean.
But yeah, mostly just vibes. Vibes. My brain do be weird.
[00:46:17] Speaker D: Vibes. Vibes is a good answer for anything as vibes.
I like the twist question that Meg has. It's kind of fun. I'm curious to know everyone's thoughts on it.
[00:46:33] Speaker A: Yeah, let's go ahead and roll because we got a fun question from Meg. Let's roll.
Oh, this one. Die loves me jesus kiss it.
[00:46:43] Speaker C: Gently rollies.
[00:46:46] Speaker A: You and I wrote the same thing.
[00:46:48] Speaker C: I got a nine that time, right?
[00:46:51] Speaker A: I'm going second. So our order this time around is Anastasia myself.
Hold on. This is the same order. No, it's not.
[00:47:01] Speaker D: Okay, cool.
[00:47:01] Speaker A: It's Anastasia myself, Meg, Ben and Che. It's very close.
[00:47:05] Speaker C: Ben and I did a little do sa do.
[00:47:09] Speaker A: Little bo side doe.
Our dear and lovely Meg. I'm gonna. I'm gonna ask your question this time.
[00:47:15] Speaker C: Sure.
[00:47:16] Speaker A: Our dear lovely megnotmargaret has asked us the cast was what was the most unexpected twist or moment from this arc, either from a pc or from the game itself.
I'm not going first.
[00:47:30] Speaker D: No, I have to find her name. I think I remember what it is. Kylia. Kylie was the one that exploded, right?
[00:47:40] Speaker C: Yep.
[00:47:41] Speaker B: I think.
[00:47:42] Speaker E: Wow.
[00:47:42] Speaker A: That was the dust formerly known as.
[00:47:49] Speaker D: It's so funny because I accidentally did this to myself, but I think it's so. I still think it's hilarious that I'm playing an end. I'm playing an NPC that's on the side of the party who casts charm person on one of thick eyes and the other one just dies because of it.
I think that's so funny because I did it to myself on accident, but it worked. And I'm, like, proud of the fact that it worked, but not how that combat was supposed to go in any capacity. I don't know why, but it was fun. I think it was hilarious.
[00:48:24] Speaker A: It was.
[00:48:26] Speaker D: And it really, like, threw me off for that entire combat because I was like, damn, I've only got one guy now and that's two episode combat, too. Not good.
[00:48:38] Speaker A: Honestly. Probably there's a few, but the one that immediately comes to mind because I've been talking about it a lot with other people, including Anna, after last week's episode. Um, but when id, like, fucking clapped back at Melwyn, I was so fucking floored by that for a second. But we were still talking and I was just like, shit, stay in it, stay in it, stay in it, stay in it. But, like, which one of your emotions is telling you that is such a raw fucking line, Ben? Like, I've been singing your praises about that since it happened. And I was like, ah.
The whole time, like a vine, boom.
[00:49:19] Speaker D: There.
[00:49:20] Speaker C: Like, you know, straight through the heart.
[00:49:24] Speaker A: There's sometimes when we're having, like, because anytime I am rp ing with somebody in this group because y'all are just fucking amazing and I'm struggling. But, like, every time I would, like, have a one on one conversation with Melan, unfortunately for Melvin. It ends up being like, a pretty big conversation for her.
And there's always, like, one moment in every conversation. Like one on one I've had with one, any of you. This arc where I've just been like, grace needs a second, but we're still talking and I'm not absorbing anything else that's going on now. But here we are. It's like the hand shaking.
Like the.
Yeah, so that's mine.
[00:50:12] Speaker C: Um, I think that for me, um, gosh, there's, like, a couple that come to mind, but I think the biggest one was, um. Id's cardiac arrest era was really unexpected for me. Like, when he dropped and Anna was like, yeah, his heart's not beating. I was like, like, what are we supposed to do? Like, that was really stressful for me and I was not expecting it at all. I think the other one that was surprising to me was I was, um.
Let me go back through my notes and see if I can, like, pinpoint more accurately. Like, when it was.
I think it was.
Yeah. Because that was. This has been, we've done so much in this arc. We've been, we've been so many places. I think that the, like, the puppet stuff, I was really surprised that we, like, I don't say, like, clear was this arc, but, like, you know, like, it's, it's in Melwyn's hands now rather than, like, you know, having it, like, continue and stuff. So that was, like, unexpected for me. I feel like a lot of times when, like, it's a, it's a warlock patron type of situation. That's one that, like, has a lot of, like, ups and downs. And this one definitely did. But it's interesting, like, how now the ups and downs are, like, all, like, truly, like, within the palm of Melbourne's hand. Like, she's calling the shots on, like, everything with that. And so I think that was something that was really unexpected for me too.
[00:51:41] Speaker E: Lion is Yaron.
We've, we've spent two, like, almost the entirety of three arcs not having.
Did we even, like, meet? I guess we did meet at least one cleric.
[00:51:58] Speaker D: Right, but you did very briefly.
[00:52:03] Speaker E: Yeah. The church where everybody was possessed by the mind flayer. Right. There was a cleric there.
[00:52:07] Speaker A: I was gonna.
[00:52:08] Speaker D: Yes.
[00:52:09] Speaker A: When you're thinking about the one you chopped the head off, I was thinking.
[00:52:14] Speaker C: Melan's, like, healing business that she had for a little bit of the church.
[00:52:18] Speaker D: I think it was in the tavern before the puppet. You guys found a guy that had some yellow magic in his back.
[00:52:25] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:52:25] Speaker D: He was also a cleric. Yeah.
[00:52:28] Speaker B: He was, like, a cleric or a paladin or something, but. Because that was his holy clerk.
[00:52:31] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:52:32] Speaker B: Right.
[00:52:34] Speaker D: You don't really interact with him much, except. Except for Milo to be like, what's in your bag?
[00:52:40] Speaker B: It was notesy.
[00:52:41] Speaker A: We don't talk to people very much.
[00:52:45] Speaker D: Not a whole lot. Not a whole lot.
[00:52:47] Speaker E: We're so driven.
[00:52:50] Speaker A: We're really. We're a really awkward party.
[00:52:53] Speaker D: Damn.
[00:52:55] Speaker E: This. The world of the ink expanse and, like, it's creation and Anastasia pitching it to us and all of that kind of stuff, as in our intro, like, every single time we call, it's in a steampunk world. And we have leaned pretty heavily into that. And that's really fun and cool, which means that whenever God shit happens, you're like, wait, back up.
That's not a pewter.
And so yarn just literally showing up out of the blue and being like, I brought the green goddess.
I personally felt like, what?
Where did this. Where did this come from? Why is it happening right now?
And we still don't know.
[00:53:49] Speaker A: Gaze upon me. I am a gift from your God.
[00:53:53] Speaker E: Yeah. Green goddess just decided that that moment in particular was the right one, and in end, Ben, do not get it.
[00:54:01] Speaker B: We have to stop calling her green goddess because I keep thinking of the sauce.
[00:54:07] Speaker D: I just.
[00:54:08] Speaker A: I really love the fact, also that we met Yaron and he was talking to a fucking tumbleweed.
[00:54:13] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:54:14] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:54:14] Speaker D: He was also. He's falling that he was speaking wind. Like, the whole time that he would speak. That he could speak wind.
[00:54:22] Speaker A: I love him.
[00:54:23] Speaker D: Which might be my favorite.
[00:54:25] Speaker B: I love him anyway.
[00:54:27] Speaker A: All right, Jay.
[00:54:28] Speaker B: Oh, gosh. Okay. I have a few, so I'll speed through them really quickly so I don't take up a lot of time. Okay.
Me as a player was very caught off guard from, in terms of, like, my own action, was very caught off guard when Myla started, like, yelling at the school people, and she was like, you'll never know what we've done for this city. And, like, I was like, oh, my gosh, she's going through it.
That caught me off guard in game Melwin. Fireballing classrooms was really funny, and it.
[00:55:02] Speaker A: Wasn'T expecting to do that.
[00:55:03] Speaker D: And it was so good.
[00:55:05] Speaker E: You were so wiped out.
[00:55:06] Speaker A: That recording session, I hear. I mention it frequently, so it's, like, common knowledge, but it's so late for me. Every time I record. I have such a long day at work, and then, like, everybody has a long day at work, but, like, I cannot function by the time we get to when we were recording. So I'm sorry, and you're welcome, I guess.
[00:55:31] Speaker B: And I think also, just for the hell of it, not. Because it's not just arc three specific. Right?
[00:55:39] Speaker A: Sure. Yeah.
[00:55:40] Speaker B: I'm really, really, really surprised when Auden didn't just take Melwyn and left during the mind flayer fight. I legit was like, they've been together the longest. We've barely known these people. Auden's gonna leave. I was, like, fully expecting it.
[00:55:57] Speaker E: And the fact that either way, that would have been a big twist.
[00:56:01] Speaker B: Yeah.
Which. Meg, props to you for that choice. Cause, like, that was hard sitch to be in bestie.
[00:56:10] Speaker D: That was so fun. That was so fun to write. Like, I'm gonna be. That's one of my favorite, like, like, very specific moral quandary is that I wanted to put you, you in, like, if we got to that point, if you guys had killed the mind flayer before we got there, whatever. Like, sure. That was, like, one of my favorite things to write just to, like, see what would happen. I put. I put, like, my. I set up my little experiment.
[00:56:36] Speaker A: I was like, what are they gonna do?
[00:56:38] Speaker D: What are they gonna do?
[00:56:40] Speaker C: I wanna make. I don't feel the need to. The need to make this disclaimer, but I do want to say that, like, I didn't make that decision because that's what we needed to do to keep the party together.
It, like, it's one of those things where, like, it worked out really perfectly and it felt like a twist for, I'm sure, like, everyone else, but, like, for Auden, that was, like, the most, like, you know, like, yeah, okay. That's what I'll like. It was not a.
I don't want to say it wasn't a difficult decision for me, but, like, just that, like, I don't know, it's. It's so fun to play true to character and have that be unexpected for people that don't know the character all that well. So that was, like, a really fun, like, and it makes me really happy to hear that. That's, like, a cool moment for you because that makes me feel really cool.
[00:57:27] Speaker A: So thank you. It was so good. It was so good.
[00:57:30] Speaker B: It was so good.
[00:57:32] Speaker A: Jay has just messaged me and said that she has a question for Meg. So we're gonna move on to that.
[00:57:39] Speaker B: Throughout arcs two and three, but I think specifically throughout the beginning of arc three, we saw a lot of insight into sort of, Auden's brain, specifically how she perceives herself, which I think is very interesting because it was never in character. It was mainly like the, I'm gonna go buy a sandwich. Can I roll an insight check? Do they think I'm scary? And it's like little things like that of a lot of, like, sort of like, Auden's perception. I just wanted to ask if you can tell if you don't want to, that's fine.
How does Auden perceive herself and how do you think that affects how she thinks? The world and the party members also perceive her?
[00:58:18] Speaker C: Yeah, that's a good question.
I think that Auden does.
[00:58:25] Speaker D: Like.
[00:58:27] Speaker C: I'm trying to think how to articulate it because it's something that's just kind of the way that, like, Auden is in my brain. I think that, like, the way that she perceives herself is very much, like, impacted by sort of where she comes from. And I can't really get, like, super into that right now, but I think that she very much has this idea of, like, she knows what she would like to have. And if the pieces don't fall into place, then there needs to be something done about that. So her, like, sort of insight with that, like, especially the example, like, do these people think that I'm scary? If her being scary would be like a roadblock to getting what it is that she wants. She wants to mitigate that pain point, I guess.
It's not necessarily from a place of self improvement per se, but it's a more an ideal of changing.
I don't know, the idea of what's the common denominator in these situations that I found myself in time and time again. And a lot of times from her experience, the problem has been something about her or something that she has done or a feature of herself. And so that idea of, like, oh, well, if I am the problem, then I can change it. So it's not the problem anymore. So that's kind of what a lot of that has been driven by is this idea of neutralizing areas in which it's not neutral, if that makes sense.
[01:00:02] Speaker B: Slay teehee.
[01:00:04] Speaker D: Hehe.
[01:00:05] Speaker A: I don't know.
[01:00:06] Speaker B: I think that it's always really fun to see.
I love little character moments that, like, either the party doesn't get to see, but, like, we as players get to, it's always so telling and, like, it drives me a little bit bonkers nutso, because, like, I want to act on it, but I can't. Yeah, which is fine. I'll live with it.
[01:00:28] Speaker C: You're so brave.
[01:00:29] Speaker B: Thanks. I trauma best.
[01:00:34] Speaker C: I want to pick one for grace from Shayna Shayna from the discord has asked. Well, here's what Shana said. Tell us a bit more about Melvin's class change. What made you choose the new multiclass? And tell us a bit about the place planning that went into making the switch on the podcast. This is something that I am also really curious to know. Juicy details, too. So spin.
[01:01:03] Speaker A: So I. Oh, goodness. This is. I've talked about this a little bit on public platforms, but not in a lot of detail. And everybody in the party is aware of the situation that led to this. But there was a game that I was in that I am no longer in for a few reasons, and.
But part of. Part of it was I had a session where I was jumping in with a new character after something happened, and I was playing a wizard because I'd been wanting to play spellcasting and I wanted to get better at spellcasting.
Got into my first combat. It was a build that I was not super, super familiar with and had never and was super different from how I would normally build a spellcaster. I didn't really know what I was doing, and the DM got kind of grumpy at me. So it's part of the reason why Melon isn't a full wizard. Was Anastasia. And I had a talk about that, and I was just like, I'm a little bit nervous because this was the first full caster I was playing after that happened, and I was like, okay, so let's see what I can do. Here's a class I'm really comfortable playing. Here's a class I'm a little bit less comfortable playing. And it wasn't really the reason why I did both. There was also story reasons, because it makes sense that Mellon would be a wizard. That feels like the easy option, right? And Melan being a wizard, it's all she wanted to be when she was growing up.
And then there became this narrative when we were talking about Melan being a sorcerer. It was just like, oh, okay, so what if there's this sense of inherent magic, right? What if there is something that Melan could do that maybe the rest of her family couldn't? The rest of her family can't really heal. Artificers can heal a little bit. We've seen it with Myla. Myla can cascar wounds and lesseration, but, yeah, very little. Not in the way like divine soul sorcerer, celestial warlock, or clerics can.
Or even bards. Bards can be really great healers, too, actually, everybody built wizards, really, if you think about it.
But, yeah. So there's been some. There's been not really conversations happening now of, like, which way does the level split go now? So, Meowen currently has five levels in sorcerer and two levels in wizard. And with recent event, my original intent was to put more wizard levels into melwyn, and I think she might be taking more divine soul sorcery levels instead. After the last few sessions, we'll see how that plays out.
[01:03:59] Speaker D: I want to throw out into the universe that we had a lot of discussion about it, which was super great.
So much back and forth. No problem with people changing classes if it narratively makes sense and they're not having fun with that class. Like, basically what it boils down to is, like, I would rather somebody have fun playing the game than play a class that they're uncomfortable or hate, because that makes it so much less fun for everybody else, which is why I like, it's like, yeah, I think wizard is a good choice for Melwyn, but also, if you don't want to play a wizard, then don't play, like, don't do it. Don't play a wizard, then let's just figure out where her sorcerer magic comes from. That's all that I truly care about. When it was switching to sorcerer was like, let's just talk about where it comes from, and if you want to leave that up to me, great. Do that if you want to come up with it yourself.
[01:04:53] Speaker A: Alternate universe where Melwyn was almost a knowledge cleric, actually an intelligence based knowledge cleric. There's an alt universe where that almost happened, and who knows? Maybe. Maybe I'll actually play that out at some point.
[01:05:10] Speaker D: I think Cleric felt weird because you were like, well, I did just devote this entire character's life to one being, and it feels weird to jump into devoting to a different being.
So valid.
[01:05:24] Speaker A: Melan was always a character that wasn't meant to stay a warlock forever, or if she was gonna stay a warlock forever, it wasn't gonna be the same subclass necessarily. Like, the way that I wrote her backstory and the way we had talked about the plot point of her patron and having that confrontation, having that confrontation and breaking her pact was always part of the initial plan for Melwyn in her arc at some point.
[01:05:54] Speaker C: Love, love. Thank you for satiating mine and Shayna's curiosity.
[01:06:00] Speaker D: I have a Ben question. If we're just gonna do specifics.
[01:06:04] Speaker A: Hell, yeah.
[01:06:05] Speaker D: I am really curious because I think this has been known to the players, so I'm very sorry if it hasn't.
The reason you left that you were that you were, like, told to leave, right?
Have we talked about this?
[01:06:24] Speaker E: I don't think so, but let's do it.
[01:06:26] Speaker A: We don't have to.
We get back off of it.
[01:06:30] Speaker D: What?
[01:06:30] Speaker A: It has come out very, very vaguely.
[01:06:35] Speaker E: Yeah, very vaguely.
[01:06:36] Speaker B: Very vaguely.
[01:06:38] Speaker A: We. I think, extremely vague.
[01:06:39] Speaker C: I think what we, as the most.
[01:06:40] Speaker B: Players and characters know is, like, you were told to leave to learn about things.
[01:06:45] Speaker E: Yeah. That's what he said in Ark one was like, I'm out here to, like, learn about the world and experience stuff. Yeah.
[01:06:52] Speaker D: Okay, great. That's all. That's the. That's the base of what I need. That's the only thing that I need on this. So it was like, I think we talked about the. It's been forever. It was arc one episode one too.
[01:07:04] Speaker C: Yeah.
[01:07:04] Speaker D: Jesus. So it leaves to learn about the world. Like, what's his perception of the universe, considering, like, he's only been out here for, like, three months?
Is the world just, like, a garbage fire, or is it like. Like, cool things here, but, like. But, like, I'm getting caught in all these unlucky spots or something? Like, I don't know what his.
Is he, like, grateful for his time growing up in the lab now because of the world? Like, I don't know what's his. What's going on?
[01:07:37] Speaker E: That's pretty much what he's been thinking, especially recently.
Early on, I think he thought he was the naive one, but I think now he keeps thinking, if I didn't have my. My training and my guidance, I would have been dead, like, months ago.
And so it's. It's kind of both. It's kind of like, yeah, this. This fucking sucks. But also, there's. There's no way that I would be able to do anything.
He keeps. I keep having a thought of, like, him looking at Myla and being like, holy shit. Myla's so lucky to be alive right now. Like, Myla considers herself to not be a good criminal, but that was, like, her main thing was that she was connected to criminals.
And if she's not good at that, well, it knows that she's good at the artifice stuff, but I don't think that Myla is, like, I'm a great artificer. I think Milo still thinks of herself. Like, I'm a person who's got some criminal context and a robot sometimes.
And so it's like, this is a person who has, like, stumbled into this life and also stumbled into being able to do anything in this, like, version of, like, adventuring.
He kind of knows that Auden was, like, a mercenary, so that kind of works. And Melwin is a child with magic. Like, it's. It's kind of crazy to him that, first of all, everybody's alive.
Second of all, the world functions.
[01:09:25] Speaker A: I don't know how we're still alive, dude.
And also, it is so real for that.
[01:09:31] Speaker D: That's so funny.
[01:09:33] Speaker E: There was definitely a point at the end of arc one and for a portion of arc two, where it was like, the world is a dumpster fire. And I wish I grew up like a regular person. And now I think he doesn't care. I think now he's like, wow, there's no way that regular people are fine.
[01:09:57] Speaker A: Where did our favorite resident Gremlin child fit into all of that?
[01:10:01] Speaker E: Oh, man. I I think Arnon was a.
A big factor in ID thinking that the world was gonna be okay.
[01:10:15] Speaker A: Aw.
[01:10:16] Speaker E: Because Arnon came from, like, literally getting his home destroyed by capitalism to living in utopia and learning how to read. And now ID is watching places where learning happens burn and get blown up and people taking over people's minds and turning them into zombies. Like, that's the exact kind of thing that counteracts utopias with learning how to read books. So, no, Arkdong's like, I don't think he's thought about Arngn in a while because he's been thinking about trying to make sure the world doesn't end, and that makes you sad and angry.
[01:11:07] Speaker A: I will say ID also being a young person in this party, relatively speaking, he got the soul of a grandpa.
[01:11:19] Speaker E: But most of my characters do.
[01:11:23] Speaker A: Fucking war vet it out here.
[01:11:27] Speaker D: One constant of Ben's characters, you kind of expect him to have a closed off grandpa character.
[01:11:37] Speaker B: Mm hmm. There is. It's because Ben has the soul of a grandpa, and I love him for it. It's one of my favorite things about him, but he very grandpa.
[01:11:46] Speaker E: I might have to ask my mom for this, but I'm pretty sure a report card from second grade says Ben has a kind soul.
If that's not grandpa coded, I don't know what is.
[01:12:05] Speaker A: I don't even remember what my original point was. I got really sidetracked by the grandpa comment.
[01:12:09] Speaker B: That's.
[01:12:10] Speaker E: We were talking about arknight. Oh, you were saying how it is relatively young in terms of the.
[01:12:14] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, no. Like, he's. He's young, right? So, like. And, like, the fact, knowing that now, because, like, we had talked about it at one point above table, and you'd mentioned maybe changing his age because you were like, he doesn't feel like he's this. But then now, like with lived experiences, it kind of makes sense.
The fact that Id and Archnon's first interaction in ID's first instinct to this small gremlin child screaming at him was to scream back is just brilliant.
Literally like very, very like middle school, high school boy energy of just like.
[01:12:53] Speaker D: Oh, we're growing out all right. I scream back.
[01:12:55] Speaker E: And I also love the idea of there being some like, like druid mercenary who is like, when a bear roars at you, you have to make yourself big and like, like also be threatening cuz. Cuz creatures of the wild, like will react to that and be like, that's possibly a threat. I'm not gonna deal with that. And into seeing a small child being like, well, I gotta respond like, this is a threat and I myself a threat and therefore I'm yelling is really good.
[01:13:25] Speaker A: It's so good, you know, it's so good.
I need. Oh God. Have you guys seen nerdy fruits must die?
[01:13:31] Speaker B: Oh, yes.
[01:13:34] Speaker C: I just watch party.
[01:13:37] Speaker A: I just need it to be like, I need a, I need an Au of Ben playing like a Max Jaegerman character for ID. No.
[01:13:51] Speaker E: It is a jock. There's no way it's not a jock.
[01:13:55] Speaker A: Yeah, I just wanna, I just, I like part of it is also is partially selfish of grace wants to just watch Ben bro out for a bit.
[01:14:08] Speaker B: Silly as goofiest aU.
[01:14:11] Speaker A: But also like it fits in in a weird way that like, we've never seen that kind of side of him. He doesn't fucking smile, but he does shit. Like, here I'm gonna grab Myla and basically suplex her in a crowd of people. The first time I see her in.
[01:14:26] Speaker B: Two months, it's so interesting and it makes my brain do so many backflips and cartwheels.
[01:14:38] Speaker E: I have a question for everybody that's not. It's just people, not character things.
What's your favorite role playing game? Trope.
[01:14:49] Speaker C: Can you go firsthand?
[01:14:54] Speaker E: What? Grace, what did you say?
[01:14:56] Speaker A: Heroic sacrifice.
[01:14:57] Speaker E: Yeah, heroic sacrifice. I mean, it could be like, like a literary trope or whatever too, but specifically to use or to live through.
[01:15:04] Speaker A: In rpg, heroic sacrifice and a character that chooses to be kind at the end of the day after coming back.
[01:15:15] Speaker D: Yeah, I keep thinking about it, but I'm always like, I think enemies delivers is so fun. I genuinely. It's like a great time, but also same, same reason I'm thinking about it.
Like somebody living so much shorter than an elf or something. It's so sad.
Lifespan.
[01:15:40] Speaker B: Lifespan because I think about it with.
[01:15:43] Speaker A: Like, I need to watch free run.
[01:15:45] Speaker D: I think about it with my dog, like, sometimes where I'm like, damn, she's only gonna live, like, 13 years, and that's, like, so much shorter than my lifetime. And I'm sad about it, but also it's really good. But it's also. It breaks my heart every single time.
[01:16:06] Speaker B: Me, me. I have you two the other day. Who, who is she?
[01:16:27] Speaker E: That was just, like, massively. It was like 130% theater j, and I haven't seen, like, full theater j.
[01:16:36] Speaker B: In like a year your get used to her bestie.
Okay. I think I have two. One is, like, a serious one. The other one's like, teehee haha.
The first one is. I love when my characters are able to grow beyond anything they could have ever imagined.
It's so good, especially because a lot of people who know me know that my characters start, they start at the bottom. Usually they are, like, down there. Like, it is that they're down there, they're down there. And sometimes it's, like, in an edgy way, and sometimes it's like, ah, I'm gonna cover this up way. And sometimes it's, you know, like, different genres of it, but it's the same, you know, the same, same dish, different spice, you know, in the pit. So that, yeah, in the pits, it.
[01:17:31] Speaker A: Always comes back to pits.
[01:17:33] Speaker D: It spills muscles down to pits.
[01:17:35] Speaker B: But that's a really big one of just, like, seeing what my character can do if they are pushed past their limits in a way that is, growth and flourish is always really fun. That and my teeheeahahahahahahaha. One is just queer simps. I love them. I love queer simps. They're great. I will always simp for any of my friends any single chance I get.
[01:17:58] Speaker A: So they're really fun to play.
[01:18:00] Speaker B: Like, literally, like, dangle that frickin cheese and I'm in the trap, like, no questions asked. You know, my brain rats are on treadmills.
[01:18:15] Speaker C: I think for me, oh, I just love so many. I feel like talking broadly. I love any time a story gets, like, slice of lifey in something that's very much not slice of life. Like, I love, like, in general, like, anytime that anastasia talks about, just, like, the regular things that are going on in a town, but because it's in, like, a fantasy setting, it's irregular to us, but it's just the everyday, I just eat that up. I love that so much.
And I think more, like, specific.
I mean, I'm just a. I'm a sucker for a good found family.
It always gets me going. I love the idea of, like, a hodgepodge group of people. People coming together to find something that they were missing before. Like, that just delicious.
It. Yeah, always gets me going. And I think that, like, you know, just exploring the relationship dynamics that, like, come out of that is always really, really fun to play out and to observe and to watch.
[01:19:16] Speaker E: So one of my favorites is unexpected hero. The kind of thing where, like, somebody stumbles across something and it, like, launches them into the thing.
Really early on in my life, like, hearing about Arthur drawing Excalibur is, like, crazy. Like, a regular, quote unquote regular person. Like, drawing a sword and instantly becoming a king and then finding a bunch of knights to, like, gather around him and doing a whole bunch of magic shit is, like. It's so cool.
I can't think of, like, other examples of that.
[01:19:59] Speaker A: Such a guy energy is just so fun.
Such a big thing in Isekai.
[01:20:04] Speaker E: Yeah. The thing that's coming to mind right now is kung fu panda. For me, that's also unexpected here. It's true. Kung fu panda's amazing, and it's. I wish I could kung fu panda sponsor us. Jack Black.
[01:20:19] Speaker A: But, like, specifically.
[01:20:21] Speaker E: Yeah, but, like, the person you don't expect doing a lot is really, really, really good.
A smaller one, but one that I really like a lot is, like, confession as dying. Like, the whole thing of, like, as their last breath, they're like, oh, yeah, I loved you the whole time.
[01:20:49] Speaker B: I can't.
[01:20:51] Speaker E: Especially. Especially if the other person is like, what?
[01:20:56] Speaker D: Speak with dead.
[01:20:58] Speaker C: Speak with dead.
[01:21:00] Speaker A: Oh, God. In a D and D context, I feel that could easily be tragedy or comedy, depending on how you look at it.
A cleric or anybody with revivify, they could just go like, no, fuck you. You don't get to do that.
[01:21:13] Speaker D: Revivify.
[01:21:14] Speaker A: I want to see that play out where, like, yeah, they really thought that.
[01:21:19] Speaker C: They were a goner and they'd come back and they're like, I wasn't gonna think that. I deliver you.
[01:21:24] Speaker B: This is. Sorry. I'm just gonna add on to that, because that remind me of another one. I have had two characters do this.
[01:21:31] Speaker D: It's weird.
[01:21:32] Speaker B: Two nickels, you know? Two nickels.
Specifically realizing, like, recognizing what you've had and what you've lost after death and then, like, sort of, like, recognizing that and then the. Sort of, like, coming back into that and being like, what?
Like, specifically, like, in d and D settings, like, where revivals are, like, they're not easily accessible, but, like, it can happen, right?
[01:21:58] Speaker D: More than real life.
[01:21:59] Speaker B: More than in real life. So it's like.
But that whole character.
[01:22:05] Speaker A: You got him.
[01:22:06] Speaker B: That whole character conundrum is one of my favorites. And like I said, it's happened to two of my characters. It's been great both times.
[01:22:13] Speaker E: Slay, like, a psyche shift after their.
[01:22:18] Speaker B: Yeah. And the wild surprise that my two characters that have done it have, like, had two very different responses to it as well, which I think has been very interesting.
I just also, my characters just die because I think my gm's know I'm okay with it. I'm like, yeah, go ahead. We'll figure it out.
[01:22:36] Speaker D: Right?
[01:22:36] Speaker B: So, like.
[01:22:38] Speaker D: But, yeah, there's a, like, a kind of similar example that I think is one of my favorite. I watched most of one spawn a dime, which is a whole lot because it's a bad show, but there's, like, one. Sorry, spoilers for season, like, four or whatever.
[01:22:54] Speaker B: This.
[01:22:55] Speaker D: I don't even know which season this happened in for a show that's been.
[01:22:57] Speaker A: Out for how long.
[01:22:58] Speaker D: Yeah, but, like, similarly, like, kind of a psyche shift deal. But there's a point where Snow White and her husband, like Prince Charming or whatever, they're, like, real, like, real life people living in a real life town.
[01:23:11] Speaker A: No.
[01:23:12] Speaker D: Get stuck in this situation where one of them will go into this, like, death, like, sleep, and the other will be awake. And then if they kiss each other, they switch places so they can never, ever talk to each other, but they can see each other. And I'm like, sorry, I tried to back away from my mic, the shift. Anyway. It hurts my heart.
[01:23:42] Speaker A: Anyway, did we have any other questions we wanted to do? I'm really sorry.
[01:23:47] Speaker D: Yeah, we should wrap up. We're getting off the rails.
[01:23:50] Speaker E: Far enough.
[01:23:53] Speaker D: We did spiral hard enough.
[01:23:55] Speaker B: Oh, great arc three, everyone.
[01:23:58] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh. Great arc three.
[01:24:01] Speaker B: We did it.
[01:24:01] Speaker C: Thanks for being, like, question person, Grace.
[01:24:04] Speaker D: Thank you, Grace.
[01:24:05] Speaker A: We did it. I just want to point out this arc took a year. Like a full year, basically.
[01:24:12] Speaker D: Okay, this has been shifting gears, and.
[01:24:15] Speaker A: We'Ll see you in the next arc.
[01:24:16] Speaker B: Everybody say goodbye.
[01:24:17] Speaker D: Bye.
[01:24:19] Speaker B: Hello, friends. Jay here with an outro and a scheduling update for you all. Thanks so much for following us on this journey. And with arc three now at a close, we have some really exciting projects on their way. There is about to be a lot of information coming your way, so grab some worm grog and settle in. We are going to be taking a break from our main campaign over the summer to do another installment of miniseries mayhem. This is our second year in a row doing it and we are really looking forward to hopefully making this a tradition. MSM is a series of episodic one shots led by the cast and this year we are excited to share that all of our one shots will be highlighting smaller ttrpgs outside the D and D five e system and that posting schedule will look something like this. We are going to be taking a break from posting next week, but after that we will be kicking things off with a brand new edition of history. Check our lore building one shots join the main cast led by Jay, aka me, as they explore the sunken islands of the inked expanse using the epilian rpg system. This two parter one shot will be releasing May 12 and May 19. After that, Meg is going to be running a two part one shot with the mole hunt RPG system releasing on May 26 and June 2. Following mole hunt, I will be running a three part one shot of the perils and Princesses RPG system which will be posting on June 9, 16th and 23rd. After that, Ben will be running a three part one shot still yet to be announced which rpg system hes using, but that will be up June 30 as well as July 7 and 14th. And finally we will be rounding out MSM and getting back into the swing of things with a very special main game alternate universe one shot led by Anastasia. This will be one episode but it will be a little bit longer and it will release on July 21 and it is extremely exciting for us because its the first time we all got to play together in person so were super excited to have you guys along for that ride. We have a ton of special guests joining us this summer as well, so make sure to keep an eye on our socials. For even more magical announcements. You can catch us on Instagram and TikTok spellsandwhistlespot and on Twitter. Ells whistles if you want more direct announcements, a place to chat with the cast, somewhere to submit shifting gears questions, or even just somewhere to hang out and make friends, make sure to join our discord if you like the content we make and want to support us even more, we also have a patreon that you could check out. Thank you so much again for all of the love and support throughout this arc and we cant wait to catch you all in a few weeks.
