Queen of Shadows - Episode 29

Queen of Shadows - Episode 30

Previously: In our previous episode, as the companions make camp around the peaceful iron pillar infused with golden mystical ight, Eilwen, during her watch activates her magic and calls the shadows to try to unlock the secrets of the pillar. One of the two-dimensional beings made of shadow stuff tries to lead her astray through a shadowy twisting door. But she resists and binds the shadows to her will. She then uses the sapphire amulet to interact with the iron pillar. She sees a vision of the past. Her mother, Arwed, a beautiful young woman, with blue eyes and blond hair, with the sunset for a backdrop is only a few years older than Eilwen, and stands at the pillar as she is engaged by three trained warriors in dark leather armor and gray cloaks who bear the heraldry of three arrow shafts on a black field upon their brooches. They demand that Arwed give them the crown.  She says nothing. Merely gives a grim smile. They attack her with bows and arrows and Arwed defends herself by drawing power from the iron pillar in the form of an energy shield that consumes their projectiles upon contact. The men try to flee, but Arwed uses the shadow magic to drown them in the dark pitch-like pools that surround and overcome the terrified men as they flee. The shadows take their lives without mercy, without remorse, and without leaving any wounds. After the battle, Eilwen feels sickened and disturbed to see that her mother stands over the bodies with a self-satisfied smile as she strips off everything of value. Eilwen returns to the present and yields her watch to Aron as she slips into a disturbed sleep. Promotions: I invite you to check out The Alchemists’ Monster [https://fullboongames.itch.io/the-alchemists-monster] a Dragonbane Foundry VTT module written by one of our fans, available at fullboongames.itch.io [https://fullboongames.itch.io/]. I had a chance to playtest it earlier this year, and I enjoyed it. It's well written and the VTT module is visually pleasing as well! Websites: * https://rollponderandplay.podbean.com/ [https://rollponderandplay.podbean.com/] * https://patreon.com/rollponderandplay [https://patreon.com/rollponderandplay] * www.youtube.com/@RollPonderAndPlay [http://www.youtube.com/@RollPonderAndPlay] Attributions: - 'The Long Dark' by Scott Buckley (www.scottbuckley.com.au [https://www.scottbuckley.com.au/]) released under CC-BY 4.0. - 'Emergent' by Scott Buckley (www.scottbuckley.com.au [https://www.scottbuckley.com.au/]) released under CC-BY 4.0. -'Ice Cream' by Scott Buckley (www.scottbuckley.com.au [https://www.scottbuckley.com.au/]) released under CC-BY-4.0. - Various tracks by Tabletop Audio ( https://tabletopaudio.com [https://tabletopaudio.com/]) - released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0. Minor modifications (fading/splitting) made to support this podcast format with written permission from the creator. - Deeply Emotional Orchestral Violin - L'Unico Che Amo [https://pixabay.com/music/nostalgia-deeply-emotional-orchestral-violin-lx27unico-che-amo-270824/] (Pixabay.com [https://pixabay.com/]) - Sound Effects from Pixabay (Pixabay.com [https://pixabay.com/]).

Queen of Shadows - Episode 29

Roll, Ponder, and Play is now on YouTube! Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/@RollPonderAndPlay [https://www.youtube.com/@RollPonderAndPlay] Websites: * https://rollponderandplay.podbean.com/ [https://rollponderandplay.podbean.com/] * https://patreon.com/rollponderandplay [https://patreon.com/rollponderandplay] Ways to Show Support: * Join my patreon for free at https://patreon.com/rollponderandplay [https://patreon.com/rollponderandplay] or as a paid subscriber and get additional content * Give the show a positive review * Share the show with others * Reach out to me and say hello Previously:  View Previous Episode [https://www.patreon.com/posts/144179526] In our previous episode, Eilwen, Aron, Seith and their small wyvern companion, Scratch, leave Greenhome, the ruined palace where Eilwen found a connection to her family's past in the form of a mystical and ornately decorated sapphire pendant. They travel south along the road moving most of the day without incident. In the late afternoon, under the beauty of a scintillating waterfall, as they rest and refill waterskins, they hear the piercing howls of a pack of varou that had caught their scent. Thinking quickly, Eilwen throws bits of meat down the road and then the party gather their things and hide behind the waterfall. The deception fools the varou who continue their chase, racing down the road, and the companions decide to move cross country parallel to the road to avoid running into the varou. Hours later, lower in elevation amidst whispering warm grasses, they find another iron pillar on a low hill, the sun bathing it in golden light. Drawing near to the pillar, Eilwen hears music in her head, a clear piercing note that reminds her of a lullaby. She feels drawn to the pillar and upon touching its warm surface someone seems to whisper the word 'Daughter'. The sun sets, but even so, the runes on the pillar glow a golden color. In its peaceful light, they make camp by the pillar. Eilwen feels certain that her mother, Arwed, must've been here and touched this very pillar at some time. She also notices one of the runes of power, the familiar skaed rune on the pillar, the very one that lets your control the shadows and activate the pendant. That night Eilwen and Aron talk about Arwed. Aron reveals how he believes that Eilwen was favored by their mother, and Eilwen detects an undercurrent of resentment from him. As we begin this episode, Eilwen's stats are Edge 2, Heart 1, Iron 1, Shadow 3, Wits 2 Current Assets: Archer (initial box), Cutthroat (initial box), Shadow-walk (initial box)] Current Statuses: Supply 3/5, Spirit 3/5, Health 5/5, Momentum 9/10 Current Debilities: None Failure Track: 5/24 Current Unspent XP: 3 Attributions: - 'The Long Dark' by Scott Buckley (www.scottbuckley.com.au [https://www.scottbuckley.com.au]) released under CC-BY 4.0. - 'Emergent' by Scott Buckley (www.scottbuckley.com.au [https://www.scottbuckley.com.au]) released under CC-BY 4.0. - Various tracks by Tabletop Audio ( https://tabletopaudio.com [https://tabletopaudio.com]) - released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0. Minor modifications (fading/splitting) made to support this podcast format with written permission from the creator. - Sound Effects from Pixabay (Pixabay.com [https://Pixabay.com]).

Shadow of the Demon (D&D 5e) - Episode 7

Previously: The party, enroute to fulfill a mission for the king of Craewen, rests and supplies at the royal palace in the new capital of Southmarch. They are attacked by a malevolent force consisting of part physical and part shadow substance. The larger spider-like demon creatures are also accompanied by smaller shadow spiders. We learn that the party’s assailants are sent from the chaos realm by the Demon itself when it momentarily broke free from the puzzle box that bound it fast. This is the same puzzle box that the party was sent to find for the elf mage, Zelfaria, in their first adventure together. We rejoin the party now and return where we left off, with Renchant in a precarious situation. While still invisible, he is covered in shadowy webbing that has both ensnared him and partially revealed his position to the shadow demons even as one of the larger creatures bears down upon him, mandibles clacking in eager anticipation of a kill. Attributions: - 'Emergent' and 'Eyes in the Void' by Scott Buckley (www.scottbuckley.com.au [https://www.scottbuckley.com.au]) released under CC-BY 4.0. - Various tracks by Tabletop Audio ( https://tabletopaudio.com [https://tabletopaudio.com]) - released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0. Minor modifications (fading/splitting) made to support this podcast format with written permission from the creator. - Sound effects by Pixabay (Pixabay.com [https://Pixabay.com]) - All oracle queries were done using the awesome solo tools available on rpgsolo.com [https://rpgsolo.com].

Shadow of the Demon (D&D 5e) - Episode 6

Previously: In our previous episode, the party arrives at the palace in Southmarch, the new capital to the Kingdom of Craewen. They ride up the winding icy streets to the kingdom’s palace atop a large hill in the center of Southmarch and witness the Craewan military in full mobilization. At the palace, they are met by the palace steward, a man named Paron, who with the authority and backing of the crown, gives them a suite of connected rooms on the corner of the third floor of the palace to rest, recover, and resupply before their next leg of their journey. Futhermore, Paron pays them from the royal treasury 100 platinum pieces, the promised half of their agreed upon price to perform this mission for king and country. The servant staff sees to the party’s needs and brings in a royal spread of food and drink. While Raena makes plans, and Dosaken, Garvis, and Kendrock eat and drink and gamble long into the night, Renchant continues training Tatyana. We find that she is indeed talented in magic, and she casts her first spells that night under Renchant’s tutelage. In one of these, she detects the magical wards at work in the palace defenses, but to her horror, she sees those defenses wink out one by one as a roiling cloud of darkness rises from the streets below. We return to the party as the palace is beset by some dark force. And now onto Episode 6 of Shadow of the Demon. Attributions: - 'Emergent' and 'The Old Ones' by Scott Buckley (www.scottbuckley.com.au [https://www.scottbuckley.com.au]) released under CC-BY 4.0. - Various tracks by Tabletop Audio ( https://tabletopaudio.com [https://tabletopaudio.com]) - released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0. Minor modifications (fading/splitting) made to support this podcast format with written permission from the creator. - Sound effects by Pixabay (Pixabay.com [https://Pixabay.com]) - All oracle queries were done using the awesome solo tools available on rpgsolo.com [https://rpgsolo.com].

Shadow of the Demon (D&D 5e) - Episode 5

Previously: In our previous episode, Renchant and Tatyana attend their signing ceremony and become officially engaged (or betrothed). There is much feasting and celebrating their potential union. Some in the party, Raena foremost among them, have misgivings about Renchant’s motives, but after confronting him, she eventually becomes convinced that Renchant is sincere in his affection towards Tatyana. The next day the party leaves Inolulan and they travel south for three days through mountainous terrain upon the kings road, a well-traveled mostly north-south highway that runs the length of the kingdom of Craewen. Out of the mountains, the well-patrolled road turns muddy. During one of their rests, they see signs of war on the horizon as they witness a mobilization of Craewen’s forces. Entire regiments begin marching through the countryside towards the kingdom’s border with Kadolan. The party continues their journey, and after ten more days they finally arrive in Southmarch, the country’s current capital. Gaining entrance to the city, they proceed toward the palace, its white-washed walls atop a large hill in the center of the city catching the dying winter’s sun. Attributions: - 'Emergent' and 'Incantation' by Scott Buckley (www.scottbuckley.com.au [https://www.scottbuckley.com.au/]) released under CC-BY 4.0. - Various tracks by Tabletop Audio ( https://tabletopaudio.com [https://tabletopaudio.com/]) - released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0. Minor modifications (fading/splitting) made to support this podcast format with written permission from the creator. - Sound effects by Pixabay (Pixabay.com [https://pixabay.com/])