Beyond The Cherry Tree - Fizzz

We are back with episode three of A Tale of Two Kobolds!

We’re picking up with Fizzz and her new friend Twig as they set out on their journey to reunite with Bang. Fizzz learns that the forest she’s traveling through is enchanted and full of magic…and danger. Quick thinking saves Fizzz and Twig from mysterious creatures that seem to be made of living vines and thorny teeth! Fizzz also finds a new connection to the forest and the magic that lives there, especially when she discovers another willow tree inhabited by a dryad that tells Fizzz a little about the potential that exists in all things and the potential for grand magic that resides in Fizzz herself.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello everyone. Okay, so if you listen to the first episode, let me just do a quick little uh recap about what you missed um or what you heard. Wait. Okay, so I woke up. Wait, wait, wait. I'm gonna back up even more than that. Um, I got separated from my party of tall people and my best friend Bang because I got swept away into a river when we got attacked by bandits. Remember that part? Okay, so when I woke up, I was tied up and locked up in a cage on a pirate ship. And I met a a couple of goblins and one of them was grumpy, but one of them was nice, and he sort of um uh turned like I guess well, he didn't really help me escape, but he was nice. Um but he said he wouldn't tell anybody if I escaped. Uh and so I started chewing on the rope, and then I remembered that I could wild shift and turn into a rat. So I did that and I got off the ship and then um I found a place to sleep um on the side of the river under a willow tree. And then when I woke up the next morning, I met Twig, um, who looks just like a Twig, but that they have um uh willow leaves for wings. Anyway they they're called a weepling. Um, and now uh me and Twig are traveling together because Twig was like the bravest of all the weeplings and wanted to go beyond the cherry tree. Uh and so Twig is coming with me as I go and try to find Bang. So that's where we're at now.

SPEAKER_01 1:52

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:55

Welcome to episode three of A Tale of Two Kobolds.

SPEAKER_03 1:58

Yay!

SPEAKER_02 1:59

We are back um with Hid's me uh as a GM, and we're gonna pick up and find out what's what Fizz has been up to. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:09

I'm excited. I am too.

SPEAKER_02 2:12

I am too.

SPEAKER_00 2:13

After that um riveting recap, I hope you guys remember what's going on.

SPEAKER_02 2:19

That was a good recap.

SPEAKER_03 2:20

I enjoyed it. It was better than the one I had. So you're good. In character recaps. I like it.

SPEAKER_00 2:26

I think that's that's gonna be what we do. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 2:30

Fun. It's I love that this is just kind of growing and uh becoming what it will be in the future. Yeah. As we go along. So Fizz and Twig, you are continuing upriver. Um, and like you're walking sort of close to the shore, the river's to your left, and the this forest kind of just stretches into the to the right of you. And sometimes you have to go a little bit into the forest to get as the trees kind of creep close to the river bank or and even hang over it. So to continue your path, you have to kind of go a little bit deeper into the forest. Yeah, that's cool. Um, as you're walking along, Fizz, kind of what is what is kind of going through your head? Twig is just kind of nervously resting on your shoulder. This is the farthest they've ever been from home.

SPEAKER_00 3:22

Um, I think Fizz, well, she's probably still a little bit sore from being battered by the river and then I guess asleep in a cage for two days. And Fizz is very ADHD, so I'm sure like travel is going a little slower than she would like. But she doesn't even realize that, like, oh, you know, stopping and and looking at that pretty flower, that cool shiny bug, um, actually takes time out of her travel. Uh so yeah, I think um she is like she is keeping her goal in mind. She's not like so ADHD that she's gonna be like, oh, right, yeah, I'm supposed to be getting back to my friends. Like she definitely has that goal in mind. Um, but she's very easily distracted.

SPEAKER_02 4:18

I don't know anything about that at all.

SPEAKER_00 4:21

Um and I think she's also fascinated by Twig. She would definitely be asking Twig about like weeplings. What's it like to be a weepling? You know, things like that. Tell me about like your whole species and all of the history of all your species and everything.

SPEAKER_02 4:40

Uh I gotta remember Twig has this oh Twig voice. I can hit my Twig voice.

SPEAKER_01 4:45

Um it's a high pitch, it's way up here, right? I think it's way up here. Okay. Um well I I don't know. We're just we just come from the willow tree and and magic. Because the forest is magic.

SPEAKER_00 5:08

The whole forest is magic?

SPEAKER_01 5:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:10

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 5:12

Did he didn't you know that?

SPEAKER_00 5:13

No.

SPEAKER_01 5:14

Oh yeah. It just kind of seems like a regular forest. Well, you haven't gone really far into it, but well, I haven't either, but I just know it's magic because that's how that's how I'm here.

unknown 5:25

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 5:26

She kind of turns toward the forest like, well, now I want to go. Oh, but I should probably follow the river.

SPEAKER_01 5:36

Yeah, we'll we'll find your friend.

SPEAKER_00 5:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:39

And then we'll go in a forest.

SPEAKER_00 5:41

Oh, that's a good plan. Yeah, well maybe.

SPEAKER_01 5:46

Yeah, I'm a little nervous too.

SPEAKER_00 5:48

Yeah. Oh, are there scary things in the forest too?

SPEAKER_01 5:50

I don't know. I've just I've never been. Oh. I just always I'm a little nervous like right now, too. Aww. Don't be nervous. Well, you're here and you're bigger than me. Um so that's okay.

SPEAKER_00 6:09

Yeah, we'll be fine. It's okay.

SPEAKER_01 6:11

Do you do do you do magic?

SPEAKER_00 6:14

I know some magic, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:16

What kind of magic do you know?

SPEAKER_00 6:18

Um, I know uh like nature-y stuff. Like tree stuff? Like tree stuff, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:27

Tree stuff's fun.

SPEAKER_00 6:28

Yeah. Um I I can make vines grow up out of the ground.

SPEAKER_01 6:33

Oh, that's fun.

SPEAKER_00 6:35

And um I can I can I can make berries.

SPEAKER_01 6:45

What are oh berries, like berries? There were a berry bush by the the the willow tree.

SPEAKER_00 6:51

Yeah, those like um people eat berries. I don't know what weeplings eat.

SPEAKER_01 6:56

I don't either.

unknown 6:59

Hmm.

SPEAKER_01 7:01

Uh sunlight and yeah, they they photosynthesize. I like the sun.

SPEAKER_00 7:09

I can also make like a big thunder boom sound and and that kind of blows people away from me. It's really cool. It's like a defensive spell though.

SPEAKER_04 7:18

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:19

That's when like you get in uh trouble and need to like defend yourself. You could do that.

SPEAKER_01 7:25

I just go hide in the willow tree.

SPEAKER_00 7:27

Yeah, sometimes sometimes hiding is is a good a good plan, but sometimes you can't hide. You though, you're a tiny little weepling, you can hide anywhere.

SPEAKER_01 7:38

I I gotta hide in your in your coat.

SPEAKER_02 7:40

Yeah. And they like they like wiggle down in the fold. They're kind of riding on your shoulder this whole time, and they kind of wiggle down into the folds of your cloak and like just poke the poke the little top of their head twig out.

SPEAKER_00 7:54

Uh uh. That's you're really good at hiding.

SPEAKER_01 7:57

I'm really good. Sometimes birds come and take sticks away from the willow tree, and we have to be really careful they don't take us.

SPEAKER_00 8:06

Oh yeah. But you could go live in a bird's nest, that might be kind of cool.

SPEAKER_01 8:14

Watch little baby birds hatch. That could be fun. Yeah. One time a little baby bird was in the willow tree and it fell out and it was on the ground, and I thought I'll I'll play with it for a little bit before his mama bird came back in to get back up and get left.

SPEAKER_00 8:30

I thought that story was gonna have a much sadder ending. I'm glad the mama bird came and got it.

SPEAKER_01 8:38

Yeah, that's what they do, they watch out for their little babies. Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02 8:45

Oh man. As you're walking and having this little conversation with Twig, and uh it's you know, the day is passing, and occasionally, like you said, little little patches of wildflowers kind of catch your interest, and you stop and check them out. And Twig is also very interested. Like they've they only have know their willow tree and the cherry tree that they went went to the one time. So this is all kind of new, but also like they're part of the forest. So like they're not they're not like super freaked out about everything, but they are kind of fascinated along with you of the different things they're seeing, because they've never really seen stuff like that before. As you travel along, you've been walking now for a couple hours. Um give me a um give me a perception check.

SPEAKER_00 9:43

Okay. I gotta get to my character sheet.

SPEAKER_02 9:50

What? 21. 21, very well done. Um, you as you're walking and talking with Twig, you kind of sort of notice that everything here, you're a little bit deeper in the forest, you've had to move away from the from the river. Um, everything is very green, very lush. Um, it's a little bit harder to actually kind of find a path as like the the bushes here are growing very thick. Everything is very heavy with the scent of these kind of um pink and pink and green, pink and and yellow flowers that are kind of hanging from some of the bushes. And it's a little bit darker here. The the tree canopy above you is very thick and um just kind of everything seems very vibrant and alive. And as that kind of um settles on you and you start to take note of this, I need you to make a dexterity saving throw. Oh, great. Um, and I'm gonna let you do this with advantage because your perception check was very high. 12. 12, okay. As you're looking around and noticing the the thick canopy above you, um a bunch of vines kind of just reaches out and slashes at you. And you did a 12 on your six or six. Okay, it is gonna hit you a little bit. Not as bad as it could have. A group of vines? Uh just this cluster of vines. You're gonna take three points of bludgeoning damage from this. Oh, and then as you kind of uh attempt to get away and you kind of roll under a bush and look up, you can see this large it looked like part of the tree at first, but now you can see that it's kind of a form um of plant. It's got its body is like just a cluster of vines and and branches that are kind of woven together, and it's got leaves kind of all growing along like where it where you could guess like would be its back. And it looked like it just blended, looked like just part of the tree. Well, but now it is like kind of moving down slowly and and reaching out for you. What would you like? Twig is buried in the in your cloak.

SPEAKER_00 12:20

Uh I'm not food. Um I think uh I'm gonna I mean I'd rather not fight it.

SPEAKER_02 12:29

Um how close is it? It's probably it's kind of coming down from the canopy, kind of like down the uh trunk of the nearest tree. It's like almost kind of I don't want to say oozing, but creeping. It's like you can see it like push push some of the vines out and pull itself along kind of in a smooth, like almost serpentine way. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 12:51

Um can I run?

SPEAKER_02 12:56

You absolutely can run.

SPEAKER_00 12:58

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 12:59

Okay, I'll do that. You uh run, you jump out from under the bush where you'd rolled and take off running, and it is going to attempt to lash out at you again. Okay. Um that is Ooh, that's an 18. Yeah, that hits. Okay. Um sorry, I've lost my my character. I keep I keep scrolling back and forth. I'm like, oh wait. Um, so that is going to be two, as I'm rolling really low for this thing. Two more points of of bludgeoning damage as it swipes at you as you as you run. Um If it's chasing me. Which, yeah, like as you come out, which kind of would you have just darted in any direction or would you have like maybe toward the river? Toward the river, okay.

SPEAKER_00 13:51

If it's it Yeah. Okay. I mean, there's no trees along the river, right?

SPEAKER_02 13:58

No, yeah, no, where you are, you actually had to come back. This is one of those areas where the the trees were like pushing right up to the riverbank. You've had to move a little bit deeper into the forest. Yeah. Um, through this deep lush growth.

SPEAKER_00 14:12

Um So I wouldn't I definitely wouldn't run away from the river. So I think just run in the direction that I'm going. Okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 14:21

Um, you you take off running and you kind of hear like a scraping sound that you realize is this like a a noise of frustration that came from this thing. And then as you continue to run, um you notice that more of these things are kind of moving in the in the canopy above you.

SPEAKER_00 14:47

Oh, dang.

SPEAKER_02 14:49

Um, and another one kind of lashes out at you, but you dart under a bush and kind of keep moving away from it. And you hear that kind of scraping screech sound of frustration as it does that. Um go ahead and give me an athletics check. Oh boy.

SPEAKER_00 15:12

Oh, that's a that's a crit fail. That's a one.

SPEAKER_03 15:15

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 15:16

Um I have a plus zero to athletics, by the way.

SPEAKER_03 15:19

So here it is a one.

SPEAKER_02 15:22

Um you you dart under this bush and kind of move through because you're small and you can kind of dart through this like thick undergrowth a little bit. But then as you're kind of going, you your foot catches on some roots and you tumble to the ground. Um, and as you kind of start to push yourself up, you are kind of looking almost eye to eye with a smaller version of that initial thing that you saw kind of creeping down, and it's coming down a tree and it's looking right at you. And like when you see this the face of this thing, it's not really a face, but it's almost just like vines and branches have kind of come woven together to create uh mostly mouth with kind of thorns for teeth, and it is coming towards you now. Can I cast Thunderwave? You can if you would like to do that.

SPEAKER_00 16:26

Are we gonna do initiative or just see how this pans out? Let's see how this pans out. Okay, okay, okay, okay. Uh con saving throw, please.

SPEAKER_02 16:35

Con saving throw. Does Thunder Wave have anything against like organic matter? I can't if that's no, I'm thinking of shattering. Yeah. Nope. Okay. Con. Um, well, it's a 19 on the die.

SPEAKER_00 16:50

Well, that passes. It's still gonna take half damage, though. It just won't get pushed back. Um, what is what am I rolling? 2d8.

SPEAKER_02 17:01

I rolled five, so half of that. Okay. And we roll round down for halves, right? I don't know. How do you normally roll it when you DM? I think I I think I round down. Sorry, I set my notebook aside, which was stupid of me. So And now I have a cat in my lap. Two points of thunder damage. Two points of thunder damage. And he does not get pushed back. All right. It is yeah, let's go ahead and roll initiative for us then. Twig, you okay?

unknown 17:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:40

Hold on.

SPEAKER_02 17:42

What'd you get?

SPEAKER_00 17:44

14.

SPEAKER_02 17:44

He got a 15. So he's going to get to go first. All right. He is going to lash out at you again with one of his little viny arms. Um, that is going to be an eleven. That's a miss. Okay. All right, yeah. So this this branch, it it kind of your thunder like booms through the forest, and kind of you can see a few twigs kind of shudder and and snap on this thing, and then it it reaches out with this uh viny sinuous arm and lashes out at you, but it just misses and kind of hits the branches over your head. Okay. Um and it starts moving a little closer to you.

unknown 18:34

Huh.

SPEAKER_00 18:36

Okay, I'm gonna do pins and needles. It's a cantrip, and I've never actually read the description of the spell before. Okay. So here it goes. You momentarily shut down a small part of the nervous system of a creature you can see within range. Do plants have nervous systems?

SPEAKER_02 18:53

Um I'm gonna say yes.

SPEAKER_00 18:54

It says before over overstimulating it and causing crippling pain. The creature must succeed on a constitution saving throw or take blah blah blah blah blah. Um or take blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. If it fails at saving throw by five or more, it has disadvantage on the next attack roll it makes before the end of its next turn.

SPEAKER_02 19:13

Okay. Um, so that's a con saving throw? Yep. All right. Oh my goodness, they got a one.

SPEAKER_00 19:20

Oh, cool. So that's gonna be uh all the things, all the things happen. All right, so uh three psychic damage.

SPEAKER_02 19:30

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 19:31

And it has disadvantage on its next attack.

SPEAKER_02 19:35

Okay, so you um you cast this cantrip really quickly, and you see this thing as it's kind of creeping towards you, pulling itself along with its vines. It it uh like almost kind of stutters a moment, and you see all the everything kind of stiffen up and the leaves that are on it just like shudder as as your cantrip kind of takes effect on it. Um and I think it like tilts a little bit, like tilts the the vines that are, I'm gonna call it its head, tilts its head a little bit like it's unsure what just happened. Um, and it is going to uh make a swipe at you. Um or did you have anything else to do on your turn? No. Okay. Is going to make a swipe at you with one of its vines at disadvantage. Uh oh, that's a that's an eight, which I don't think hits you. So yeah, so it it does like kind of lash out again, but it it's a very like almost like halting lash out, like just a defensive type thing more than a damage. So it kind of just slams onto the ground next to you. Um, and then it's gonna shake its head again and uh kind of start pulling itself towards you again.

SPEAKER_00 20:52

Okay, I'm gonna try Thunder Wave again. Okay. Con save. That's a 14. Oh man, that passes. Six points was full, so three. Dang it. Okay. God, stop wasting my good spells.

SPEAKER_02 21:13

Damage is damage. Yeah, I know. Um, okay, he is gonna pull himself closer. He is just a few feet away from you now, and like you can see this mouth kind of He wasn't in melee range before? He was yeah, he was he's got reach. He's got pretty decent reach. So Okay.

SPEAKER_00 21:33

Did you wanna No, I just like if I would have ran if I was not if I had been able to, I don't know. Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_02 21:41

You could have attempted like you're in his melee, he's not gonna be able to get away. Yeah, so he would have still had the opportunity to attack. Yeah, he still would have gotten that. Um but if you want to try to run, you definitely can. I'm not gonna Um not yet. Okay. All right. He's he's close now, definitely within your your melee range, and he has got you can see these. Teeth kind of um these thorns for teeth, kind of the mouth opening and reaching towards you as he is gonna reach out and he's going to try to grab you with his vines this time. Um so you I like to do just contested checks for a grapple rather than uh so he's gonna attempt to to hit you, and then you get to do um either athletics or acrobatics to escape, to attempt the escape. Okay. Um that is a 14 to hit. Can't do math. That just hit, yeah. Okay. And then what did you what did you roll? An eleven. An eleven. Okay. So um, yeah, so I think he lashes out and some of these vines kind of wrap around you as you're maybe trying to start backing away from him. And so you are uh your grappled right now. Okay. He's gonna start pulling you slowly towards his mouth.

SPEAKER_00 22:58

Okay. I'm going to use my action to wild shape. Okay. Into something smaller. Uh let's see, I don't have a I can't do fly speed yet. Um I'll do like a a little squirrel or something. Okay. Like I'm trying to think of like a forest animal that that Fizz would definitely like be familiar with.

SPEAKER_02 23:26

Okay. Oh, and as a quick note, we're using the old wild shape rules where it's something that you have seen. The new one, the 2024 version, you do have to like pick a certain certain wild shapes that you know. I I feel like that's very limiting, but yeah, we're using the older rules where it is a thing that you have seen. Um so yeah, a squirrel.

SPEAKER_00 23:49

Are we doing the new when you assume a wild shape form, you gain plus two temp HP? That's weird. I I have not read up on the new wild shape.

SPEAKER_03 23:59

Yeah, yeah, I don't know. Let's just I don't know. Let's just run with the Okay, so I am now a squirrel, so I need to find squirrel stats.

SPEAKER_02 24:07

Um so you wild shape into a squirrel, and in wild shape, like uh the the rules are the what you are carrying and wearing kind of molds melds into that shape, um, so you don't lose all your items by or you're not a squirrel with a cloak or whatever. Um but twig is a different being, so they don't meld into you, but they yeah, they kind of squeak a little bit and um they grab hold of your fur on your back. Okay. So they're kind of holding on. They I mean she would kind of terrified, right?

SPEAKER_00 24:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:37

This is nothing they've ever experienced.

SPEAKER_00 24:38

I think Fizz might have like called out a warning or something to Twig because she would know that like Twig would not shift with her.

SPEAKER_02 24:46

Yeah, yeah. Okay. So they're yeah, they're ready when you shift and they grab your fur. Um, and as you shrink down into this smaller size, um oh yeah, they can't. The this creature or this thing, this plant thing is like you can feel the branches trying to scramble and hold on to you, um, but you can actually kind of scoot away or dart away.

SPEAKER_00 25:10

In that case, I'm going to use my movement. It's 30 feet as a squirrel.

SPEAKER_02 25:14

Okay. Okay, yeah, you can get out of this thing's range then and run. Um roll a, do you have a percentile or a D100?

SPEAKER_00 25:24

I can, yes. Okay, and roll that.

SPEAKER_02 25:27

You find uh 22. 22, okay. You take off running in a random direction, and you can hear this thing like kind of do that weird, screechy, scrapey sound again. Um, but you manage to get away out of its reach and you've moved into an area where there's less um undergrowth and right now nothing is is threatening you. What would you like to do?

SPEAKER_00 25:57

Take a break. I want to catch my breath. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 26:01

You can hear, you can still hear movement behind you. Like it's it is you're only five. Well, then I'm still gonna run. Okay, you keep running. All right. So yeah, you we'll let you just keep running and kind of darting uh between bushes and and everything. Are you staying on the ground? Are you going up trees to branches, or how are you?

SPEAKER_00 26:19

Um I think yeah, I would go up trees, but not if I see any vines on them at all.

SPEAKER_02 26:27

Okay, give me a quick perception check as you are running. Okay. 17. 17. Okay. Yeah, you when you first dart away from this thing, you just take off in a random direction and start running, and you get a little distance between you, and you kind of start checking the trees around, and you notice that like all that lush, verdant, thick growth that you were in before has has gone is behind you. Um, you're you feel like you're more like, oh, okay, this is normal forest growth. Um, and you dart up a tree and down some branches and get you put some distance between, and you can hear like growing fainter that frustrating scraping, screeching sound, and then the forest kind of falls silent. Um, and now you're up on the branch of a tree um some distance away. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 27:23

Can I continue to travel by tree, like hopping, hopping, jumping from one tree to the next? Yeah, while you're up here, give me a perception check. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 27:37

23. 23. You realize that in your uh attempt to get away, you kind of have lost track of where the river is.

SPEAKER_00 27:48

Oh man.

SPEAKER_02 27:49

Um, you can see that that denser growth behind you now, but it's a little bit more difficult to see as you're up in these, up in the tree canopy. But yeah, you you're kind of unsure which way the river is.

SPEAKER_00 28:05

Okay. Um squirrels have advantage on all perception checks related to their sense of smell. So can I smell for like damp water rivery smells? Yes. I get I'll get as high up in the tree as I can and just start smelling.

SPEAKER_02 28:27

Okay, yeah. Go ahead and roll it.

SPEAKER_00 28:28

Roll sniffing. Roll a perception check. Well, with advantage, that was worse than my last perception check. I got a 16. 16.

SPEAKER_02 28:37

Um, you're high up in this tree, and it is like sniffing and you're kind of looking around. Um, it is just kind of hard to tell. You get a little bit of scent of dampness, but hard to tell if it's from, you know, maybe it rained recently in this area, or maybe it's um maybe the water, maybe the river, unsure kind of really which direction to tell it's that that this damp area scent is coming from. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 29:12

I will go down to the forest floor and come out of wild shape.

SPEAKER_02 29:18

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 29:22

And uh uh twig?

SPEAKER_01 29:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:26

Are you okay?

SPEAKER_01 29:28

Yeah. Um, I didn't like those things, but it it was fun riding a squirrel. I knew I had never been on a squirrel bag before.

SPEAKER_00 29:39

Well, um, maybe when we're not running from things trying to kill us, I can I can turn into a squirrel again and we can travel that way. But um right now I don't really know where the river is. Uh-oh. Yeah. But I have an idea.

SPEAKER_01 29:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 29:59

Can you help me look for an animal?

SPEAKER_01 30:02

Like any any kind of animal. Um, okay. Yeah. Well okay.

SPEAKER_00 30:12

Why? Because I can talk to them and I think they would know where the river is.

SPEAKER_01 30:17

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 30:18

Yeah. So I think I'll um yeah, Fizz will just kind of start walking in a random direction and hope it's the right one.

SPEAKER_04 30:29

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 30:29

Like, to the best of her reasoning, she will try to walk in the right direction. Okay. But I'm not, I'm not entirely sure how like she doesn't have a compass. She might have a map, but like without a compass, uh, you know. Yeah. Um, and I think like I'm not sure how good her navigational skills are. She does have a plus five to survival.

SPEAKER_02 31:00

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 31:02

Okay. Actually, you know what?

SPEAKER_02 31:04

So I think that makes a decision. She might um give me a s give me a survival check.

SPEAKER_00 31:08

Okay. I think she would look for the forest growth around her and see if it's like thicker somewhere else. Like not no vines. Right, right. Just yeah, more fertile, I guess. Um, well, that's only a nine. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 31:27

That actually that works. Um, so you're you start walking kind of pick around direction, start walking slowly and really looking around at at the forest around you. Um cat was in the box.

SPEAKER_00 31:44

Oh my gosh, she's got zoomies. It's so rare to see Shen with zoomies, but I love it. She was playing with that little mouse toy. How wonderful. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 31:52

Um, so there, as you're kind of walking, some of the things you notice that um the trees here seem older than the the ones closer to the bank where you were were walking, you know, and before the excitement that just happened. Um and there's a lot of like there's less like twigs and bushes and stuff undergrowth, but these trees are very big and very uh old looking. Okay. My brain just turned off on adjectives there. Um yeah, they're like they're old and like the forest floor, instead of like being full of leaves and and everything, is like mossy and green. And one thing I think you do notice, especially being kind of you know, in tune to nature as as Fizz is trying to learn her druidic ways, um there is definitely you're picking up on that feeling of of the magic of this forest.

SPEAKER_04 32:59

Oh.

SPEAKER_02 33:01

So there is kind of you can almost feel um like as you're walking, you can almost feel a little maybe like a vibration as you walk. Like that just kind of moves through the trees, through the ground beneath your feet. And it's not like a it's not like a no one else would be really able to feel it. You don't really feel it, it's just something you kind of sense in the air and in the the land and trees around you.

SPEAKER_01 33:32

Hey Twig, do you feel that? I feel what? There's like it's I can feel magic. Oh like the forest. Yeah. It's the it's the way the forest feels. How can you not feel that before?

SPEAKER_00 33:56

I well not really. I mean I I get my magic from from nature, but I've never felt it like this before.

SPEAKER_01 34:08

It's um I d I don't know all the magic. I know when I was by the tree, by by my willow tree, you could kind of feel um we we we called it the the tree song like songs, like tree music. Trees have music? Yeah. That's really cool. Yeah, it they just make it's like you can't hear it, but you'd know it. Wow. I don't know how to really talk and describe it though, but it's just like it's just always there. I think it's uh magic that makes us makes me. Huh.

SPEAKER_00 34:55

I think um Fizz would like stop walking for a second and like close her eyes and ground a little bit. Like really try to like I don't know, feel it.

SPEAKER_02 35:10

Okay. Um as you kind of stop and take this moment, what what does this look like for Fizz? Is she like she like just close her eyes? How does she how is she?

SPEAKER_00 35:20

I think she yeah, she has stopped, she closed her eyes, and I think she's just like taking deep breaths and like her head's like tilted up a little bit. And yeah, she's she's listening, she's noticing any sort of sensation. She's forest bathing.

SPEAKER_02 35:41

Forest bathing. I love it. A little sylvo therapy there. Yeah. Um okay, so Fizz Fizz pauses and she's just sort of going silent in her thoughts and and just kind of focusing on the air and and the feeling around her. And as you do this, you feel almost like for a moment you feel your feet kind of sink into the moss where you're standing, and you almost feel you almost feel rooted, like actually you feel like this energy kind of flowing out from you into the ground, but you also feel energy flowing from the ground into you. And you become aware of the there's like moisture in the moss around you, and you could feel like you can kind of become aware of these individual little droplets of moisture that's kind of on a on a little piece of moss or and sinking into the soil, and you hear a little rustling, and you realize it's not rustling in the trees around you or in the in the uh you know, the undergrowth of the branches. It's it's the sound of an ant moving, kind of walking through the moss, you know, nearby, and then you hear almost a soft whistling sound and realize that's just the the breath of air that's kind of breathing, breathing through this area that you're in, and you feel the warmth of the sun kind of dappling through the trees and just on your on your scales and everything, you can feel those little spots, and you just become really aware and very kind of aware on a almost microscopic level of the life and the magic that kind of flows through this forest in this in this area. That's cool. I think that is going to kind of awaken something inside you, and we're gonna let that be what pushes you to level three. Hey. So typically in D you you do like a long rest to do your level up and that sort of thing. I'm not gonna like sit through that. Um, but if you want to sit with Twig right now, or if you want to sit with Fizz right now and kind of look over her sheet, I don't know how far you've prepared this.

SPEAKER_00 38:24

I have not.

SPEAKER_03 38:25

I have no idea what she's gonna do at level three. Okay. So yeah, I let's take a let's take a little break here. And do are we at a good place to do the middle bit? Uh uh Yeah, we've been recording for about 40 minutes.

SPEAKER_02 38:39

So let's take a little break here. We'll do we'll do the middle bit. You can do some leveling up, and then we'll move forward in Fizz's little journey.

SPEAKER_00 38:48

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 38:53

All right. Time for the middle bit. Are you having fun with Fifth of Adventure so far? I oh so much fun.

SPEAKER_00 39:02

So much fun.

SPEAKER_02 39:06

Trying to keep the continuity in the middle of the middle.

SPEAKER_00 39:08

Yeah. Um, we're actually recording this before we're even recording the rest of the episode. So, yes, I'm gonna say that I am having fun. I think you will be having a blast. I I think so too. I'm not worried about it. Um, before we get started with the little tips and stuff that we have today, um, here's where you can find us. If you want to support the show, we would absolutely love it, and that would be so awesome. You can find us at patreon.com slash Jess and Hids. We have an active Discord server. Uh, we have public channels in there for free, as well as patron only channels. And patrons help us craft the world of fizz and bang. And we're having a lot of fun with that. So much fun. Yeah. Uh you can find the link to our Discord server on our Patreon page as well as our website, jessandhids.com. Take over whenever you want to. I kind of skipped around a little bit.

SPEAKER_02 40:10

Uh so we also play, um, we have a rotating schedule of TTRPGs that we play with our patrons, and that is for the Spark tier and higher. Uh so like for six bucks a month, you can play uh pretty much as many games as you'd like to sign up for. We have uh several campaigns that are running currently. We do a lot of one-shots with the DD, also other D6-based games. One of my favorites is Badge Quest.

SPEAKER_00 40:36

Oh, it's so fun.

SPEAKER_02 40:37

Which is kind of spooky, paranormal, alien men in black with scouts.

SPEAKER_00 40:44

Weird things happen, but you're scouts selling cookies. You're blossom scouts, not girl scouts. Oh, yeah, right.

SPEAKER_02 40:49

Oops, sorry. Blossom scouts selling cookies, and it's just so much fun.

SPEAKER_03 40:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 40:55

Um, we have a lot of fun with that one. So if you want to play games with us, play games with us, you can visit patreon.com slash jess and hids and join at the Spark Tier for six bucks a month.

SPEAKER_01 41:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:08

We would love you because you would be supporting us and we would welcome you into our community and enjoy playing games.

SPEAKER_00 41:15

Yes. Even if you don't want to play games, we would all we would love having you in our community. Just come hang out. We post like art stuff in there. We have a channel to share your pets. We have a channel for like feel good war members is what we call them. And um channels for all kinds of things, recipes.

SPEAKER_02 41:36

If you are a writer or of the writing type, uh we are doing a summer writing challenge.

SPEAKER_00 41:42

We're doing a summer writing challenge that kicks off the day this episode gets released. June 1st. It's running June and July, and you set your own goal to just continuously like the goal is just to write. Write. And yeah, you're if your goal is one paragraph to complete over those two months, that's awesome. So yeah, it's uh it's gonna be fun. I don't know what I'm gonna do yet.

SPEAKER_03 42:11

I haven't I have an idea and I'll toss it out to you later.

SPEAKER_00 42:15

Oh, okay. Is this a joint thing?

SPEAKER_02 42:17

Yeah, well, you you mentioned it a couple weeks ago, and then I was I was kind of like, oh yeah, that would be fun. But now I'm like really thinking about it, and I think we should do it. Okay. So do I'll just tell you right now. Or we can do the middle bit. Should we? I'm gonna tell you. So this is my energy of the day. Like I'm so out there all over the place. All over the place. Um, so you mentioned like writing prompts and finding a writing prompt and writing stuff. Cause like I should tell people like our writing, we do a lot of writing together. We co-write our different things.

SPEAKER_00 42:51

I would say we do most of our writing.

SPEAKER_02 42:52

I mean, 99% of our writing is is co-writing.

SPEAKER_00 42:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 42:56

But um, we talked about each of us using the same prompt and writing a short story just off that prompt just by ourselves. Yeah. Which is like mildly terrifying because I don't know, I'm a codependent writer, I guess. I know. I think I'm a very bad writer. I am alone alone. But I do want to do that because I think it would be good for for us. I think so. And I think it would also be fun to just see the different uh takes on the same thing. Yeah. So that's what I want to do uh during this our little writing challenge.

SPEAKER_00 43:25

Yes. I would say to pop over to our Discord and give us suggestions for writing prompts, but by the time this episode airs, it'll be the first, and hopefully we'll have it by then. Maybe. But I don't know. If we don't feel free to do so, yeah, pop over to our Discord and be like, hey, do you have a writing prompt yet? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 43:43

Because we do like this is gonna be a couple months, and we could possibly do multiple things if we're just doing little short stories off of it.

SPEAKER_00 43:50

So yeah.

SPEAKER_02 43:51

We'd love to hear from you. Yes, we would. That's a good idea. We should do it. Okay, let's do that. But first, let's do this one. And I want to kick this off with like as I as we were making the notes for this middle bit and as I was prepping the notes for the physics session I was like imposter syndrome just hit hard oh boy yeah and um and that's just something like that I deal with daily and and you deal with and but because I'm like why are we telling people like giving tips we're we're we're like why who who are we to tell people how to play the game who are we to put out this actual play podcast when there are so many better actual play podcasts out there but like but also we just gotta tell those voices to shut up shush shut up quiet you hush hush shh hush now don't you cry shh shut up oh man anyway so yeah so what go ahead we're gonna we're gonna stomp those little voices in the ground we're gonna tell you like this is how we role play and how we do our all the different tips are kind of from our point of view and from our playstyle yeah which is a very story driven playstyle. Oh yeah like we care more about and we talked about this multiple times we care more about the story than the the character sheet yeah stats.

SPEAKER_00 45:18

The stats for sure yeah and like not everybody like we we know that not everybody has our same play style a lot of people are like all gung ho for the stats and like min-maxers and stuff like that and that's fine too um so like if these like tips don't jive with you then like skip for like 10 or 15 minutes and get back into the podcast. Like yeah like we don't want to hear about it. Not I would not that we have we have not had any negative feedback at all. No thank you. Yes we're so sensitive. But like we do acknowledge that like this these are tips that are kind of tailored to our same play style. So if you have a similar playstyle as we do or if you're wondering about getting into the game and this is something that is kind of motivating you to learn more about how to play then that's great. Maybe like if this speaks to you then try it. Yeah try DD and if you have any RPG.

SPEAKER_02 46:20

If you've always played MinMac style and want to try something else you know hey we'll we'll give you some tips on that.

SPEAKER_01 46:26

Yeah I guess I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 46:28

We also love teaching people how to play over in our community. Yes. So if if uh if you want to do that join us.

SPEAKER_02 46:37

Come play games with us. Yeah we think we're fun we have uh I mean a lot of people play games with us so they must enjoy it. Everybody cried everybody cried in last night's session so I must be doing something right but let's okay sorry I'm gonna I I will keep going on tangents and this is just supposed to be a short uh middle yeah anyway imposter syndrome hits um all the time but we're we're stomping those voices down it down so what are we today talking about we're gonna talk about like some tips for for um newbies or whatever we're gonna talk about role play how to roleplay yeah uh a few things to make role play a little bit easier if you're kind of unsure or nervous or nervous or just don't know anything about it and you're like I don't want to pretend to be someone else play three sessions and you will. Oh yeah you'll get you'll figure it out it'll be great yeah um but like so the first thing like think about like your character you should what should you know about your character when you create it and obviously if you've never played before you're just looking at this character sheet and being like I it's a lot of numbers it's a lot of numbers it's a lot of stuff to decide on yeah yeah but once once you have that and hopefully if you if this is your first time playing hopefully you have a DM that walks you through how to build your character sheet and makes it easy to understand.

SPEAKER_00 48:17

So like stats aside getting into role play is about thinking about your character and who you had envisioned in your mind when you created them and that I mean you can sort of align that with your character sheet but it doesn't have to be like all in the character sheet either. Yeah. Like if you're not playing a rogue but you want to know how to pick locks you can do that without bumping your you know stat or without giving yourself proficiency in sleight of hand or without I mean you should maybe have some thieves tools but that that's up to the DM too. Yeah. But like if this is knowledge that your character would have great you don't have to put it in your character sheet. If your character can cook that's awesome you don't have to put it on your character sheet.

SPEAKER_02 49:11

You don't have to be a barred class to play a musical instrument. Oh yeah that's just something like if you if your character is artistic or musical but they're a fighter like I love that kind of vibe where you have this guy who's gonna go out and fight and he's you know muscles and weapons and then you know when he's sitting in his downtime he's you know knitting or or over there painting little you know animal cute fuzzy animals or something in a sketchbook. And like I love that kind of uh juxtaposition of yeah you know personality and and like you know what they're your character sheet is your profession.

SPEAKER_00 49:50

You're allowed to have whatever hobbies you want. Yeah. Um but so breaking away from the character sheet uh it really helps to know your character and uh some things that uh might be helpful to know about your character to make roleplay easier is figure out what motivates them. Are they in this for money? Are they doing it because they have this deep sense of honor and when I say like doing it meaning going out on adventures and generally helping people that's usually the the vibe of any DD game you are the good guys the heroes um and if anyway I won't go off on that tandem of like evil characters and all that I yeah it it helps to figure out what motivates you.

SPEAKER_02 50:46

Yeah why did you leave home? And like there yeah you know there's the trope of everybody has the tragic backstory and um you know you you hear the quote well happy people don't leave their homes to go adventuring and risk dying you know that quote was what Marisha Ray she said it way better but yeah she's like happy people don't leave home to risk death yeah and it's like okay so yeah you you can have a tragic backstory but you can also just be like you know you grew up in a big city or a small town and you want to see more and adventuring is a way to see more and kind of like explore the world and go in places you wouldn't go to in your day to day and you know with a little bit of maybe you've always led a really safe and sheltered life and you want a little risk so you're like well I'm gonna join this adventuring party and yeah you know maybe it's your midlife crisis. Yeah you might have a midlife crisis or you know any number of things. So just find picking something that motivates your character and why did they leave home? You know like it can be tragic it can be simple it could be just whatever you want to be. Yeah. But knowing that will help you like learn more about them as you go through whatever adventure that you have.

SPEAKER_00 51:59

I think you'll it'll be easier to react in some situations if you know the like the why of why your character is doing what they're doing.

SPEAKER_02 52:10

Like if they're motivated by money like they're probably going to be looking around for opportunities to find things that they can either you know have as fine gold or sell or yeah you know steal and hide or what you know just like that will kind of color their perception and what they do in a in any given situation.

SPEAKER_00 52:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 52:33

And also like if somebody's like well I need this done and I don't have a lot of money you might be like well I can go over here and get paid more. You know so that's kind of something to to think about too.

SPEAKER_00 52:43

Yeah. Another thing to think about and this is kind of optional but like think about if your character has any secrets. We are big on character backstory and you're not gonna like session one you meet up with this random group of people and get thrown into this adventure together whether by choice or literally just thrown in you're not gonna dump your entire life story on these random people right at the beginning. So like what things would be like the first things that these other people would get to know about you and what things would your character keep to themselves. So like I'm not think I'm not saying like deep dark secrets that your character's keeping hidden I'm just like what I I just mean like things that people who get to know you more will eventually find out.

SPEAKER_02 53:42

Like for instance let's go back to my little uh fighter guy like he's you've got this guy who's bristling with weapons and he's the fighter and he's the first to jump into any fray and that's all you know and then like five sessions six sessions down the road he's sitting in the corner in the tavern and he's got his sketchbook out and you're like what I know you sketched yeah you know and that's just something you like kept in your back pocket. That's their little that's how he processes or how he just down you know relaxes or whatever. So just something like that. And like like Jess said we're big on personally the two of us are big on like knowing our characters when we go in but we also allow for change as they go forward.

SPEAKER_00 54:27

Yeah it's totally okay not to know your character's whole backstory and have them completely nailed down right from the beginning.

SPEAKER_02 54:33

Can you figure that out we won't unless you spend five years writing all that down and then you're like well now I'm ready to play them at level one and you're like oh this is no fun.

SPEAKER_03 54:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 54:43

But like backstory is absolutely something that you can figure out as you go. Like both of us have experienced uh having a character after months of playing a game and a situation happens in the game and we're like oh I just feel like my character would react this certain way to this very specific situation because of something that they just told me happened in their past.

SPEAKER_02 55:10

Yeah like the characters will speak to you it's crazy it is it is really weird like just like you'll be like ready you're going in and and if you've played in like if you've played DD a lot you get to recognize the the kind of um I can't think of the word like the hits like you know when your DM describes a thing you're like ah I I know I need to go this way or or you oh yeah it's like in in video games when you see like a weird patch of walls you're like I need to go there. Yeah and you start to pick up on that stuff but like if you're an experience if your character is experienced dungeon caller or whatever they're gonna be like aha but if they're brand new to this they might totally like be like oh oh no I want to go over here I saw this shiny rock over here and your DM's gonna be like okay fine go look at the shiny rock you know and but and that's but that's fun that's like just letting your character be who they are yeah and and and like as I'm saying this I'm like if you're new to this you're probably going like no you lost me it's already too much just be open to letting all this happen and it like it will as you play. Yeah like you don't have to come in like what motivates you why did you leave home to go adventure is there something secretive like that you don't tell everybody that you first I would even say that that's optional too that's something that can come later I think motivation is the big thing and maybe a reason to stay with the group yeah that you like if you don't know the people you're adventuring with if you meet everybody you know in a tavern which is the trope like when you meet in a tavern and and you know why why would you stay with these people? You know why are you now like okay you you got hired to do this job you went and did it and that led to another job are you gonna be like I like them enough to stay with them you know would your character do that?

SPEAKER_00 57:16

And that's just kind of And now that we're talking about that even that is something that could come later. Just find your character's motivation.

SPEAKER_02 57:24

Yeah yeah it's like that whole acting trope what's my character's motivation yeah it's you know similar your character's motivation right now is to walk from this room to that room oh okay why because well that's the only way otherwise you're gonna stay in that room forever to move the plot forward that's why exactly and then like I have in our notes my next thing is but I'm nervous so back to role playing back to role playing and no yeah like it's okay to be nervous oh you're not a paid professional you're not uh you know you're not a professional voice actor you're not a professional actor you're not this you're just a person who wants to play DD improv artist you know and but you might be so use those tools yeah if you are freaking play DD DD you'll have so much fun yeah um but like it's totally okay to be nervous and the because if you're playing with experienced people and they're great people they're gonna welcome you in and make you feel comfortable. Yeah and if they're all new you're all nervous you're all new it's okay yeah you're all in the same boat and so just and like you might not know how to talk in a character voice or how to like role play in that way like okay this happens you your the GM says a thing and you're like well I think that my character would say this but I don't know how to say that so just tell your GM that like yeah just say exactly that like my character would react in this way and like another thing to keep in mind is that nobody has a poker face 100% of the time.

SPEAKER_00 59:08

So there are things that could happen in game that you would have very obvious like visible reactions to you can narrate that to the rest of your players um I recently had a character who doesn't like going underground and in this campaign we are going into a mine an abandoned mine and I I was just like I as an aside out of character I said you could you guys can all tell that May is like super nervous to go underground and nobody really reacted in the moment they were just like okay that's whatever um but it actually led to some role play later on so yeah little things like that feel free to just sprinkle in whenever you whenever you can like it it's not it it's low pressure you don't have to say it in a character voice and you don't have to like describe it in any sort of like you know dramatic dramatic way.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:10

Yeah you don't have to use you know purple prose yeah you could just like literally say oh when that happens my character got mad when that happened my character looked really happy you know I'm really nervous and just standing next to the wall here like oh my gosh I don't know what's happening like you can just say that like yeah just just describe it you don't have to be like don't worry about being in the whole descriptive thing just just say it just say exactly like in plain talk just say I feel really nervous or my character is really nervous you know and and like it might be a moment where everybody else is nervous too or everybody else might just be like charging straight on ahead but like you did with May like a several minutes into the game like someone came back and was like hey you you said you your character looks really nervous is is there a reason for that because the character the species you're playing is a cave dwelling yeah it's your found in caves yeah so they were everybody was like wait you're nervous about this you know but in your backstory there's a there's a reason to be nervous yeah so I like that is just like just voice it out of character or just talking it like it's just yeah let it happen and let it just kind of let let people know what you're feeling and without worrying about you know writing a novel about it or whatever.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:37

And like not only can you do that with like emotions and expressions that your character might have like visibly you can also do that with things that your character might say like if you don't want to speak in character that's totally fine. You could just say my character would say something along the lines of this like you don't have to be eloquent and any of that if you're not comfortable with it. You might get there you might not and that's totally fine like it it really doesn't have to be this big grand thing and yeah no no pressure.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:14

Everyone is not profound every moment of their life like so don't feel like you have to be like oh I can't say the thing because it should be this said this way and I can't find the words don't worry about it. You're just you don't say profound things every day. No just in general you know in general conversation yeah you definitely don't no and I think like um kind of building off of that you early in the game you don't know your character really well and then later on as you got get to know them better you realize oh I did a thing that was like out of character earlier. That's don't worry about it. Like everybody else has probably forgotten it. Yeah um and if you're like worried about that in the beginning well I don't know my character well enough to make it to be able to react right now. That's just react. Yeah just just let it happen and if something changes in the character like they wouldn't have done that in that moment they did and that's fine. They have grown you know as they've gone through their adventure and now they wouldn't make the same choice or they might make you know they might make the same choice or differently or whatever you know it's like that's okay. That's just growth. Yeah. But don't let not knowing who your character is like hold you back from doing things. Yeah I think that's we all tend to get like stuck in our head and want to be like I don't want to make any mistakes I don't want to play my character wrong but like there's no real wrong way I guess there really isn't especially starting off you you don't know you especially as a new player you don't know the game yeah you don't know your character and all that so just just kind of react to what's happening around you and have fun with it and then you'll get to know your character as you continue onward.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:03

Yeah another thing allow character growth to happen like nobody no character is going to be one dimensional unless that's how you want to play them that's totally fine. I kind of think that that that's a little boring for me. I always like to leave room in all of my characters for growth and learning and like more so than just leveling up on the character sheet you know things will happen in a game that will shape and influence your character it's okay to change the the way your character thinks about certain things as the game progresses because that's how people work.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:46

It's okay to change your opinions on things it's okay to change your beliefs uh especially if you're going on a big grand epic adventure things are going to happen that might shake your character up yeah especially like if you come you know your character grew up in a small town or in a small like area of a city or whatever and they kind of only knew one thing and now this the whole world is out around them that's gonna kind of shake up kind of the bubble you grew up in. And um this is so funny because we just literally were having this conversation at work about actual real life like you know go travel and enjoy like expand your bubble expand your horizon experience different cultures and stuff and it does change you like as a person so you can do that in game too with your character as they get to see things they've never seen before allow them to kind of let that kind of influence and and kind of bring out their personality. Yeah um and like we we've talked about like just away from role playing back to character sheet sometimes like we've we've all played with players who like oh I know what level what I'm gonna take at each level up already And I'm like, that's fine. That's totally fine. But also, like, something might happen in game that changes that. And like I had the one, the ranger. I was like, I want to play from level one to level 20. I want to have a level 20 ranger. I've never played a level 20 ranger. And at level five, like the game was just kicking my character in the face so many times, and just like she was getting angrier and angrier and angrier. And she actually multiclassed into barbarian because the she was just so much was happening that was just making her mad. Yeah. Um, and I was like, well, I get, you know, here we are. Like, yeah, and like I didn't have to multiclass into barbarian. Like I could have stayed ranger, but with her path and the direction and everything that was happening, it just made sense. Yeah. And so like she, you know, it was just a change in that that I allowed to happen, even though even to this day I still have not played a ranger to level 20. Like I've only ever gotten my rangers to level 10. Um, so yeah, it's it's okay to kind of step away from the sheet, step away from maybe your your plan that you had for your character. Yeah. Um, based on what happens in game.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:16

Yeah. Allow your character to make friends with the other characters. Even if you're kind of playing a lone wolf type, we have like that's kind of a trope. A lot of people come in with lone wolf type characters, and that's fine. But D D is a collaborative game. You usually play with people. I know, like in our podcast, we we don't, but um that's just a logistics thing. Yeah, in a in a normal game, you are playing with more than one person, and it wouldn't really make sense for your character to continue to be the lone wolf type because why are they sticking around with this random group of people? So, like, yeah, allow your character to make friends with people. Um, on the flip side of that, nobody's going to be immediate friends the very first day. Well, I won't say nobody because people click, that's fine. But also people clash until they get to know each other better, and that's okay too. Um, I do want to say if characters in the game don't get along at first, step out of character a bit and ask the other uh player if everything's cool. Yeah. Like there there doesn't need to be like real feelings hurt or anything. Like and like I've I've played with people, I don't know if my characters have ever really, really disliked any other characters, but it's happened between two other players in games that I've played in before, and they both they're they're able to like step out and be like, Oh, hey, we are we cool? We're cool, right? And they're like, Oh yeah, this is fun, this is awesome. This is like I'm loving this, my character, not so much. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:07

Yet the play by post I run on our Discord, the like two characters were really like kind of going back and forth. And I'm I'm like, I message on the side, I'm like, your guys are good. And they're they're both like, yeah, no, totally, like, this is just in character, our characters are just clashing, and they would because one was like totally flippant and the other one was very serious, serious, and so they clashed a little bit, but like they also worked through that clash in character, yeah. And you know, they're kind of like now working together better, so and like out of character check-ins throughout the whole process, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:46

Yeah, it's it's important to do that. It's also like I think it adds to the story if you have characters that clash at least every once in a while. Yeah, you can totally disagree on stuff. It's fine, you don't have to be like six people all single goal, one-minded sort of thing.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:04

And 'cause you're not gonna be that way.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:07

I mean, like my best friends I've clashed with you. I've clashed with my best friend who I've known since she was four. Like you know, like you clash and you you but if you have that that goal in mind, you know, of like we have to finish this adventure, or if you're you know, we're friends and we've been through so much and we had this disagreement, and then you just kind of work it out and come back to it.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:29

So I think that adds to the story. It does it does. I like and it also, you know, it allows for character growth and getting to know your character as well. So yeah, it's it's totally fine for your character to clash with another character or multiple characters.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:45

Um but do step out and check out, check in with your players, the actual living people, and say, Hey, this is all just in character, right? Or like I know my character is being really aggressive to you right now. It's not you, it's it's the game. And you know, just check in and make sure everybody's cool because you can get super invested in your characters, and you don't want to like disrupt real life over that. Yeah, you know, it's it's just a game. Have fun with it, yeah. But don't don't hurt each other's feelings outside of the game.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:20

Don't get carried away with it either. One of the things I hate the most is players who are just they have absolutely selfish characters, yeah, and they're just like, well, it's what my character would do. And they just continue to act super selfishly against the against the party, and they blame it on the fact that it's what their character would do.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:45

Like there is there is a line that can be crossed.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:48

And don't do that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:50

And it's it is just like maybe you're playing a trickster rogue or a mischievous whatever, and you would do little pranks and stuff. Like, make sure that everyone else is kind of in on that.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:04

And if it becomes too much, just kind of step away. Because, like, if you're doing that in real life, you will lose friends. Yeah. And they will not take you on their vacations and that sort of thing. So, in in a game, like if you're constantly causing disruptions among the party members, they don't want you to continue on the adventure. Like, it's not, you're not gonna be a cohesive group.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:28

So just kind of like definitely play play to your character, but like also keep in mind that it is a collaborative thing. Yeah. I think that's like the biggest thing is it's it's a collaboration, it's collaborative storytelling, and you all need to work together, you know, to to survive and to get through to the end. So don't be overly disruptive in that aspect of things.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:53

Yeah. That falls under more uh player etiquette, I think.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:57

Yeah. But yeah, we can't. If you're gonna play a mischievous character, just keep, you know, just keep that in mind that they not go overboard with it, I think.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:09

Yeah. I mean, you can totally be a mischievous character who has decided not to play any pranks on their friends. And that's that's fine. Yeah, play pranks on their MPs all day long. Fair games. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:20

You know, it's fun. Yeah. But yeah. So yeah, I think that's kind of the biggest thing, is just I think don't be nervous and be willing to let your character kind of develop and grow. Yeah. From from what you and if you're like I have no imagination and don't know anything like building a character off of the book. D D Beyond, like when you're rolling your character, they'll have like character flaws and ideals, and you can't.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:52

I don't think they have that anymore. I think they got rid of that within.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:02

I yeah, I always skip it too, but I have used it a few times when I wasn't sure about things because like it'll be like flaws and ideals and stuff, and sometimes I might see something that kind of like, oh, you know, I kind of like the way like one of the things is like I always have a plan, but then I always forget the plan. Yeah, you know, and like I did that with one of my characters, and they start they're just like, okay, we got a plan, cool. Uh oh, I'm gonna go do this instead, and they just you know go do something else.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:33

It's like because things change or whatever, but and it can even be something as like my character values action over thought. So yeah, they'll they'll always go just all in, they rush in. Yeah. Agnes rushes in. Um but yeah, so like if that's not on DD Beyond anymore, you can probably, I'm sure there are other resources. You could just Google like personality traits for a DD character or whatever, and get some good ideas going there. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:01

And it or talk to your DM or your other players that you know you're gonna be playing with, like be like, I I'm lost, I don't know what to do.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:08

Like, or a lot uh uh something that a lot of our players do in our community is they base their characters off of like pop culture people. We've got a lot of that. We've got a lot of pop culture-based characters, and we've done pop culture-based characters a lot as well.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:25

And that just kind of gives you a personality to start with, but like you don't have to be like, oh, in the movie that I'm playing, they did this, this, and this, and so I'm gonna do that, that, and that. And it's like you don't have to, you're like, you're just kind of using that kind of shell of that personality, yeah, and then making it your own as the game progresses, which is a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:47

I think that's all we have. Yeah. I mean, I think it just boils down to having fun.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:52

Yeah. Have fun. Don't be nervous about role play.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:55

And if you are, come play games with us, we'll we'll help you not be nervous. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:01

So let's uh again. You can find us at patreon.com slash Jess and Hids or JessinHids.com. Both of those sites have our Discord um server link on it. Yep.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:16

And you can join and come hang out with us and then uh support us on Patreon. If we get enough Patreon supporters, we don't have to worry about advertising ever. Like, you know, getting ads that run and disrupt the flow of the podcast.

SPEAKER_03 1:16:30

Oh, yeah. Yeah, there's that. That would be great. Uh okay, let's get back to Fizz. Back to the adventure. Okay. Thanks for listening. Okay, we're back.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:48

As Fizz is kind of in this moment and feeling like her energy kind of reach out. And it's not a draining effect, it's a it's just kind of an awareness, a growing awareness of of the world, the natural world around her, and the energy and the magic that is flowing, especially in this kind of enchanted forest that she's in, that that Twig has told her about. This this feeling kind of flows over you and kind of fills you as well. Um, and like we talked about, this was going to lead to your level up. As you wake up, or not wake up, you're not asleep. As you kind of um kind of sit in this moment for a little bit and then open your eyes, um, there is like around you in the moss, there are these tiny little flowers that have started to bloom and grow kind of where you stand and around you. And there's this little breeze of of wind that kind of bursts through and um kind of shakes the the trees and the flowers around you, and this little swirl of petals kind of flows around you and then dances like off into the forest on the wind. And yeah, you feel this uh kind of uh growth, energy growth within you, and this this deeper attunement to the nature around you. And you've always been Fizz has always been kind of nature, yeah, nature band. Like she loves she loves nature and everything about it. So this kind of coming in tune in this magical forest is kind of um kind of awakening the depth of her magic, kind of increasing and building on that. So in to pull out of character now in D D when you do your level ups in at level three for a druid, they get to choose their circle. So do you want to talk a little bit about this level up? Without we're not gonna go into the whole, you know, mechanics and everything, but just a little bit about the the direction that Fizz is kind of leaning with her growth.

SPEAKER_00 1:19:01

Yeah. So the the circle I chose is actually from a uh source book called Obo Jima. And we actually backed this uh creator back when they first uh launched on Kickstarter, Backer Kit, whatever. And I I love it, and I haven't really been able to do anything with the the stuff yet, but I love it because it's all like studio Ghibli inspired. Uh the circle I chose is from that source book, and it's called Circle of Petals. And I think that fit with Fizz because she's like trying to learn about plants and things, and I think she she would really like love to just be surrounded by flowers at all times. I mean same. Yeah. And um yeah, this it's a really she can basically like summon this like swarm of petals to surround her whenever she whenever she wants, right? Is that what I think?

SPEAKER_02 1:20:06

I think it uses um does it use your wild shape? I have a character I play this with um with this same thing. Yeah, I can't remember.

SPEAKER_00 1:20:19

Call on that power and conjure a resilient cloud of petals that functions as an extension of your own being. And that lasts for an hour. And increases my AC, which is great. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:31

I just love now I have this little little vision of this little kobold walking through the forest just surrounded by this swirl of petals.

SPEAKER_00 1:20:40

Yeah. So like these these petals can do a couple of things in combat. Uh, and it I mean, I said we weren't gonna we said we weren't gonna get into the mechanics, but I do want to say that like I can like send it out and it like the little petals get razor sharp and you can use it to attack, or you can use it to um reduce damage that's dealt to someone else. Like if if you see someone nearby getting attacked by bad guys, you could send the petals out and it like reduces the damage and stuff. It's cool. So it's got like two parts to it, one that does damage and one that protects. And I think that Fizz would kind of lean toward the the protection.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:23

The protection one, yeah. Um, I think that's really cool. And I love this Obajima book. And you can purchase the content on DD Beyond um as well.

SPEAKER_00 1:21:34

Yeah, and they they are still releasing new content too. They have some adventures out that they actually have some free stuff on their website, so you should definitely check it out. Definitely check them out.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:44

It's it's all beautiful artwork as well. If you if you love that uh Studio Ghibli style, it's absolutely beautiful.

SPEAKER_00 1:21:51

I would love to run a campaign that's entirely based in this world.

SPEAKER_03 1:21:54

Well we have we have the brain power to get in there.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:58

Yeah. Um, I actually might pull some elements from that into we haven't fully fledged out this world, so we can it can still be whatever we want it to be.

SPEAKER_00 1:22:11

They have like magic items and potions, and I just open to a random page and there's a guitar.

SPEAKER_03 1:22:16

A keytar.

SPEAKER_00 1:22:18

It's magical. Yeah, it's it's kind of fun. I mean, it's a lot of fun. It's a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_02 1:22:24

Yeah. Um, I think you're gonna like this circle as you level up too. It's got some fun. It's got some fun stuff. This little feather, this little feather petal cloud gets to do some fun things.

SPEAKER_00 1:22:34

Yeah, I'm gonna have to dive into it. I only just skimmed it and it was like, oh yeah, this seems cool.

SPEAKER_02 1:22:38

Yeah, I it does feel very, it does feel very fizz.

SPEAKER_00 1:22:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:22:43

Okay, so fizz, um you get you you feel this kind of magic and you feel like you have these new abilities and stuff. Um and twig is kind of like when the petals kind of swirl around you, they're they're like, oh, that's pretty.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:02

It reminds me of uh of spring in the in the after the snows when all the flowers come back out. Um I didn't know that I was doing that. I oh, I thought you did that. I like I thought you were like, oh, I like petals and make them make them dance around. That's really cool.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:22

I do like petals. Let me see if I can let me see if I could do that again. And then I'll do it again. I have my own flavor for this actually. I was thinking about it. So like this looks like Fizz is from a tropical island. And so I think the sort of petals that she would conjure are plumeria. Oh yeah, it's gonna be like the like gold that sort of fades out to white. Sort of like how I described the lotus and bigs episode. Like it's like it's got that deep gold color, like at the center of the flower, and then they it fades out, yeah. It fades out to white. And I think that's that's kind of her vibe. I love plumeria. I love plumeria flowers. So I know.

SPEAKER_02 1:24:04

I love them too. I love that, and I think I actually think like there I'm gonna add that there's like a little scent, the faint scent of plumeria when this happens. Um, and this is something Twig has never like they've seen the flowers that grow near their willow tree, but these these are these are new flowers, and this new scent that's filling the air is um, I think they're just really in awe of fizz right now. Like um, yeah, they're just a little like, whoo. So I love I love that flavor for Fizz of the plumeria and and just a little scent that kind of surrounds her. Um so this lasts for an hour. So as you're kind of oh yeah, as you do you wanna does Fizz want to take another like a longer break, or do you want to keep moving forward? How do you what do you want to do? What time of day is it? Um I'll say we'll say it's like midday. Cats. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_00 1:25:10

Okay. I've just got forcefully cuddled by a cat.

SPEAKER_02 1:25:16

We'll say it's we'll say it's about midday. You left you left the cherry tree in the the willow and then kind of wandered for a while um along the riverbanks, and now you've you're deeper into this enchanted forest now after your adventure with the vine creature, twig creature things that you don't have a name for.

SPEAKER_00 1:25:38

She's so determined. So I'm just like she's forcing me to cuddle with her. And I have audacity running on my computer. I've got dice in front of me. I'm like, no, I don't want to cuddle right now. Uh but it's fine. She's fine where she is right now. Yeah. Can you believe it? She didn't want to cuddle with me. Can you believe it? Okay. So I'm thinking.

SPEAKER_02 1:26:03

We'll say it's like midday, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:26:05

Um I think uh how long has she been sitting here?

SPEAKER_02 1:26:09

Did you already say that? It's it felt just like a few moments, but I think like it's been some time as you've kind of like we'll say my maybe 15 or 20 minutes or so, you've just kind of been like in tune with nature. It just felt brief to Fizz, but like when when she kind of wakes up and has these conversations and stuff, I think like you can tell that that time has passed.

SPEAKER_00 1:26:32

Okay. I think I uh she's gonna keep walking and sort of uh she'll start, I think she'll start walking and then be like, oh right, I need to find the river again. I forgot about that. So like then she'll remember, oh, we were gonna look for an animal and I was gonna ask the animal. Okay, back on track. Gonna do that. Taking some time to swarm of petals is around her, and she's just fascinated by this new ability that she has.

SPEAKER_03 1:27:03

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:27:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:27:05

And I think like as you kind of walk, and I and this is a little, a little flavor that just kind of popped in my head, as as Twig is or as Twig, as Fizz is walking, and little different things kind of while she has these petals around her, you know, something catches her attention on on the side of the path where she's walking or whatever. And I think the petals kind of flow out and then kind of circle by it. They don't reach far out from you at any point, um, because that's something you have to like physically do as part of the spell. Direct them to do. Um, but I think like when her attention is is kind of directed towards something like another little flower or maybe a shiny rock or a f an interesting patch of moss, I think the petals kind of sweep out and almost kind of brush over that area and come back in come back into it.

SPEAKER_00 1:27:54

So you I think when Fizz notices that she might try to actually send them out now and see like Well, what can I do with these with these petals? Okay, I like this. Yeah. Yeah. She'll just she'll start just by like purposefully sending them out in a direction and then like see how far she can send them out and kind of learn the the ins and outs of what she can get her pedals to do.

SPEAKER_02 1:28:20

Okay, yeah. Um so yeah, as you kind of take notice of of this activity that these pedals are doing. The cat's on your lap. She always comes and like bashes her head into the microphone. Yeah. Um so as as you're kind of realizing that these petals kind of sweep out away from you and you start to kind of attempt to direct them, it's a little, a little difficult at first, but then you kind of get into the flow and instead of like um instead of like pushing them away, you just kind of direct your attention to a thing and almost I'll say you almost encourage them to kind of to flow out away from you. And that that actually works better, where it's more of, hey, look over there, isn't that cool? Rather than go that way. Like it's not really an order, it's like a it's just kind of a flow. And you get these petals to kind of reach out, um, and you realize that when they get, you know, like around 30 feet or so away from you, they start to kind of dissipate and the the flap the petals at the edge kind of dissolve, but then oh come back. It comes back and and then they kind of reform around you again. So that just kind of plays you, you realize you can get about 30 feet away from you. Um and you feel like maybe if you needed them to, uh, they might be able to to do other things, but you're not really sure just yet.

SPEAKER_00 1:29:56

Like maybe Yeah, I flavor-wise, she's not gonna know that it does damage combat things, and like that's something she'd learn out of necessity.

SPEAKER_02 1:30:05

Yeah, yeah, I like that. I like that. So yeah, as you um continue walking along and you're kind of experimenting with your with your new petals, this new cloud of petals. Um after about an hour of walking, kind of playing around with this, they they just kind of fade away and you feel just a little bit of um just kind of that like a little a sm a slight drain of your magic. Like that was like, okay, that's the kind of the extent of them. Um you do feel like you could do it again, maybe I don't know how many wild shapes you have currently, but you do feel like with some with a little energy and and focus you would be able to to do that again.

SPEAKER_03 1:30:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:30:45

Um, but maybe not like continuously keep that, keep that thing going.

SPEAKER_00 1:30:49

Oh no, that was it. Oh, that was it. Okay. Yeah, because I used one for the squirrel. So yeah, I'm done. I'm done with wild shapes for the day.

SPEAKER_02 1:30:56

Okay. So yeah, you there is that little bit of tiredness, and you're like, I I need a nap, maybe before I do that again, which is which is fine. Um you're walking and trying to kind of um find your way back to the river, uh, but it is difficult to really tell. There's a lot of you're you're small and the trees are very big and thick, and um it's hard to tell like kind of a a real direction here. Um go ahead and roll uh roll a survival check for me.

SPEAKER_03 1:31:34

21. 21. Good job.

SPEAKER_02 1:31:38

So thank you. Um as you're walking and trying to decide kind of your directions and stuff, um you remember something you learned when you were younger, and you and and Bang would go adventuring, you know, just around the area where you grew up. And you learned that um sometimes looking at where certain plants grow or the way they grow can sometimes kind of point you in the right direction. And so you start looking for little things like that. Um and you are able to, as you kind of notice a few different different things, like moss is only growing on one side of the tree, or or like the lichens and stuff are growing on one side of the tree. You are kind of you're not really sure if you're heading back towards the river or maybe moving kind of parallel in the direction that you that you ultimately want to go. Um but the the land is starting to be not just um flatter, but you're starting to climb up some little rises and down into some little dips in the forest. Um, it's just becoming a little more um a little less level land and more kind of maybe as if you're getting into uh closer to the foothills of the mountains and stuff, which you knew you were you were in that general area, but you don't really know the extent of that entire mountain range. Um but you do feel like you're you're not moving further away from the right direction you want to go, but you're not really sure how much closer you're getting to your final to your final destination, your the destination you wish to be at right now. Um as you kind of crest one of these little ridges, and there the the it opens into a little like a valley, but not like a deep long valley, just kind of a little depression. And in the center of that depression is this large plant. Um, and it's got these big broad leaves that kind of spread over the ground and some roots, so you can see the root system kind of creeping through the ground and and deeping digging into the soil. Um and it has these big giant yellow and orange flowers. Um and it's very pretty, but there's also uh an odd scent in the air as you kind of as you kind of stop and and take in this this scene below. Um the trees do not grow in this little depression area, and it's probably like maybe I don't know, maybe a hundred feet or so across. It's just kind of this low area in the woods. Um, and the trees are kind of ring around it. Um, and then this plant is just in open, open sunlight. There's no other growth or anything in this little depression with this plant.

SPEAKER_00 1:34:46

Well, I wonder what's up with that plant. I mean, would Fizz know enough about like the natural world to know that this plant is probably maybe toxic in some way? Um, let's see. Uh let's do a nature check.

SPEAKER_02 1:35:03

I don't know that she's ever seen anything like it, but she does like to learn about things. So I think the fact that this is the only thing growing in this area when you've been in this very kind of lush forest, um, and that the trees are not growing here, and it's pretty much by itself in this in this patch of sunlight. And there's a weird smell. And there is a kind of a as you're kind of sitting there thinking about this and trying to think of what you've learned, there is a kind of a sickly sweet smell in the air that's like maybe if you just smelled it a quick thing, it wouldn't be a terrible smell, but the longer you're sitting here, it's not a great. It's not a great smell.

SPEAKER_00 1:35:57

Hmm. I would like to avoid the area. Can I go around it?

SPEAKER_02 1:36:04

You can, you can go around it.

SPEAKER_00 1:36:06

Um I'm trying that like a at first I was thinking like, oh, maybe I should have her go try to like collect stuff to, you know, if to I don't know. Like she fizz would not think any other DD character might be like, oh, I could potentially turn that plant into some kind of poison to use in combat. But like Fizz isn't there. She yeah, she that's not where her mind would go. So I think right now she's like, leave nature alone.

SPEAKER_02 1:36:34

Yeah, just kind of enjoy nature, leave only footprints, right? Um take only memories, leave only footprints. I like that. Yeah, so you you can kind of see like the the little ridge, the little hillside that you've climbed up, it kind of tapers around this, like um, this little depression, and you can you can follow it um and kind of skirt around this plant. And and as you kind of go down the hill, and just by if you stay like on the edge of this, you do get a little bit closer. Um, and the smell here is not as sweet, it is more sickly, and you do um notice like the vines and the roots around as you walk along the edge of this area, uh, they almost kind of twitch a little bit. Uh-oh. And give me a perception check. Hmm. Eight. Eight. Okay. Uh yeah, they do kind of twitch a little bit. They're not really like it's not like the other creatures where they're like lashing out at you, but they're almost like kind of twitching and like moving, like like they're feeling the ground. Um and and as you continue to kind of skirt this area to try to get back onto your the direction that you were originally going, um, you notice under one of these broad leaves, like these leaves are are huge. They're probably like um like 10 feet, you know, long and five feet across. They're just laid out on the ground. Um, as you kind of move around this area, you notice um under one of the leaves, you see like it's kind of hard to tell, but it might be like uh a piece of bone. Oh, maybe like some little bits of bone or something that's just kind of in the shadow of of one of these big leaves that's kind of laid out on the ground.

SPEAKER_00 1:38:44

Oh wow. I think that that plant might be really really uh dangerous. It's pretty. Doesn't smell good. No, it doesn't. I don't I don't like it. I like that you went around it. Yeah, I I'm thinking I made the right choice.

SPEAKER_01 1:39:07

I I think so too.

SPEAKER_02 1:39:13

You keep moving um and you are able to like get around this kind of depression area where this plant is growing. And um, as you move further away from it, you get the scent fades and you start to you know get back into this mossy green forest and this vibrant, you know. And I think like you be kind of become aware that you didn't notice it at first when you came upon this area, but as you are now getting back deeper away from this plant, you start to feel like that was kind of a an empty space in the magic of the forest, like a dead space. I'll you know, like you weren't fully aware of it, but now that you're back into the forest and feeling the this magic and this nature around you, you realize like, oh, there was there was a moment where that was not I was not feeling that. Like it was just kind of a a lifeless dead spot in that in that section.

SPEAKER_00 1:40:22

Well that's weird.

SPEAKER_02 1:40:24

Um did that spot feel dead to you, Twig They they kind of think for a minute and they're and they're just sitting on your shoulder like through this through this whole thing, and they they just kind of think for a minute and they're like it's it felt weird.

SPEAKER_01 1:40:47

Like no magic. Yeah, like um like like when uh like when the flowers die in the winter and then and they don't and then the ones that don't come back and then you have new flowers in this in the spring, which is nice, but there are different flowers. But it yeah, it was just like not like it was not good. It was it felt sad.

SPEAKER_00 1:41:13

Yeah. I hope there aren't many spots like that in this forest.

SPEAKER_01 1:41:18

I hope so too. That I don't I didn't like it. But now we uh we know w what to avoid, I guess. Bad smells. Bad smells. It smelled good at first. Yeah. I was like, oh, that was pretty, let's go see that flower. But then it didn't.

SPEAKER_00 1:41:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:41:36

Huh. I bet it's I bet that's why it has a smell. Like it's a good thing, and it kind of makes you want to go there.

SPEAKER_00 1:41:44

Yeah, and it's pretty too, so it makes you want to like go touch it.

SPEAKER_01 1:41:49

But I don't think it would have been good for us. No. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:41:57

I love little twig. Um okay, you continue on and it is starting to get into evening and starting to get a little bit darker and a little a little chillier, a little chillier than it was the night before, um, as you're kind of moving deeper into the forest and into this little area of of hills. What would you what would Fizz like to do?

SPEAKER_00 1:42:26

I think if it's getting darker, she might start looking for a safe place to camp. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:42:36

Um yeah, I think while you're walking and kind of looking around, um, there's a couple like different options kind of uh you start to notice. Um there are some just like quiet areas under trees, and then you could find uh maybe some older trees that have similar root systems, like like the original willow, where you could kind of maybe hollow out an area um under them. And as you're kind of looking up some of the hills around you, you can see kind of um maybe some dark spots that maybe look like opening to caves. Hmm.

SPEAKER_00 1:43:15

I think she would go for she would choose trees over caves, but if she can't find anything that's secluded, then she would go look at the caves.

SPEAKER_02 1:43:27

Okay. Um there are like these older trees do have kind of these exposed root systems and stuff. So yeah, it would totally depend on on how she felt, you know, being on the ground and kind of burrowing under one of these root systems or or just setting up, I don't know, does this does this have a little tent with her? I didn't even think about that.

SPEAKER_00 1:43:48

What she has I don't know. Um when they traveled with their tall people, would they have had would they have had their own tents or sleep under the stars? Like I don't know. Hmm. I guess that might be a personality thing that we have to decide.

SPEAKER_02 1:44:07

Would they would cobalds I think they would be comfortable either way and it would just be kind of a a choice.

SPEAKER_00 1:44:17

But it also depends on like if they've experienced harsh weather when traveling with their tall people, then they would have tents.

SPEAKER_02 1:44:26

Yeah. Yeah, I will say that there's a little a small and like you know, it's easy to carry it in in her pack, a little small, like kind of very simple tent. Yeah. That um that she could have in there. Okay. So yeah, it's totally up to you.

SPEAKER_00 1:44:41

Could she okay, I think she's going to take the canvas of her tent and sort of see if she can affix it over some exposed roots and maybe cover it up with like leaves and stuff. So like um a little bit of camouflage. Yeah, a little bit of camouflage. That's the word that I could not think of.

SPEAKER_03 1:45:07

Okay, yeah. Um camel, camelets, camouflage.

SPEAKER_02 1:45:14

Um yeah, you know what? Let's not overcomplicate this. I think Yeah, thank you. Um I think you can easily find a place that's small enough for you to kind of get under, or that's open enough for you to get under. And you could put your um you could put your canvas kind of over a section of roots and pull some twigs and and leaves and stuff to kind of blend it in. And I I picture like little twig is kind of fluttering around once they realize what you're doing. They they flutter around and find little random leaves that they're here's a leaf and they're putting, you know, they're just they're helping. It doesn't really make a difference because they're just the little twig. But it does. Every leaf helps. Every leaf helps. They love that. So they're they're helping. And and yeah, you can have this little kind of um almost like a little a little hut here in the under these roots, and you could kind of dig out a little area for you to to sleep in. And um it do you I don't know if you if Fizz would have a fire. Does she want a little fire, a little campfire?

SPEAKER_00 1:46:19

Or um well, that depends on what food she has with her.

SPEAKER_02 1:46:25

Not a lot, actually. Um definitely I think you you have uh I think you have good berry. Yeah. Um and yeah, there's you could probably we could do a little foraging if you want to do some survival checks.

SPEAKER_00 1:46:38

She would definitely be more of a forager than a hunter.

SPEAKER_02 1:46:41

Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:46:42

Um cobold, though, I think she would eat meat.

SPEAKER_02 1:46:45

She's not not not vegetarian. Not vegetarian.

SPEAKER_00 1:46:48

Yeah. But just since she's on her own, she's not gonna attempt to hunt down and kill an animal. Yeah. Uh survival, you say?

SPEAKER_03 1:46:58

Yes, roll survival. 21. 21.

SPEAKER_02 1:47:03

Okay. Do you know, um, totally just popped in my head. Did we ever like say what time of year this little adventure is taking place? I don't think we ever did. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:47:14

Do we want to um Should we decide that right now? Yeah. So you said it was getting a little bit chilly at night at night.

SPEAKER_02 1:47:20

So it's moving into the mountains a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 1:47:23

Yeah. It might be end of summer, getting in sort of getting into fall, because Twig just talked about how, like, oh, it reminds me of spring. So it's like not maybe not spring right now. Spring right now.

SPEAKER_02 1:47:36

Okay. Okay, like the end of summer. Okay, cool, cool, cool. Um, so yeah, I think, Fizz, you can kind of um you've you've spent some time setting up your little tent area for the night, and now you're now you're really hungry because you've been walking all day and you've been like working hard. This is a little bit of a little bit more than just kind of you know standing around. So you um kind of make a note of what tree you're by and start kind of branching out, you know, making a little circuit around and looking for uh something to eat. And I think you can find um you find a few bushes that have uh some late blueberries. Trying to think of time zones. Yeah, early blueberries, maybe. Um don't don't at me with my nature thing. It's a magical forest.

SPEAKER_00 1:48:28

I don't think people care. It's nobody's gonna be like, actually, blueberries only grow in this part. Like nobody's gonna do that. I think you're the only one concerned about. I am.

SPEAKER_02 1:48:38

I I can't help it. It's my brain. I like to get things right. Um, so you find some blueberries, and I think you find um maybe just a small kind of by itself a wild uh apple tree. Um, and there are a few a few apples on it that that you could find that look tasty. Definitely gonna get those. So yeah, apples and blueberries, and what did you roll? 21. 21. Um we'll say, yeah, magical forest. I don't care what it is. You we'll say that you can find no, we're not in the tropics. I could I'm not gonna throw bananas in the magical forest. Um we'll say that you can find um an almond tree. So you get some little, some little dried, uh, some maybe some almonds have kind of fallen uh around on the ground and you can find um some protein there.

SPEAKER_01 1:49:34

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:49:35

Some nice little nuts and fruits for for dinner. Yum. And uh twigs just kind of they've been absorbing sunlight all day. They're good. Uh you can also find a small stream to get some fresh water. We'll I'll give you that. That was a good roll.

SPEAKER_03 1:49:53

Cool.

SPEAKER_00 1:49:53

Then I will fill up whatever water receptacle that I have also.

SPEAKER_02 1:49:57

Okay, yeah, you definitely travel with the water ski. So we can fill that up and get some fresh water in there and settle in for the night. Um, how do you want to spend spend the night? Twig, I think, is gonna because they are a plant, they're gonna kind of just settle in and and they just kind of drift off into it's a little sleepy, a little plant sleepy time.

SPEAKER_00 1:50:21

Yeah. So I think um Fizz will take some time to go over uh her equipment and just all of all of her things, you know, the the usual maintenance that is assumed is done over a long rest.

SPEAKER_04 1:50:37

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:50:38

And I think she uh she'll get out that little uh plant book that she had been showing Twig in the last episode and just kind of read that for a little bit. And I think she before she sleeps, or maybe like as she is like laying down and closing her eyes, she kind of tries to focus on that feeling of magic from the forest again. Um, and she's so she's like all bundled up in, you know, cloak, blanket, whatever she has, and is just like to help her fall asleep, she's like, I don't know, trying to just focus on it's kind of like the equivalent of a little bit of meditation or a breathing exercise before bed. She's just trying to focus on that feeling and and bring it back.

SPEAKER_02 1:51:29

Okay. Okay, yeah. I think, and as you kind of as you kind of drift into sleep, um, and and sleep comes pretty quickly because you've had a long day. Um, you've had a little adventure with the the creatures, and then you've done some hiking and stuff and and building your little shelter for the night, uh, sleep comes pretty quickly, but there is this kind of heightened awareness of of the land around you, of the land you're like laying on and this the tree roots that are protecting you through the night. Um I think you fall asleep with this kind of feeling of it's not attachment, um, connection. This feeling of connection that that you are a part of of something bigger around you. And it is the world that you are, you know, that you live in, that you've kind of just passed through in your life and and made aware of nice, pretty things that um, you know, caught your attention or whatever, and and that you focused on learning with your different plants and stuff. But now you are really kind of starting to build this this deeper connection kind of with with who you are internally and the natural world around you. And instead of feeling like you're just kind of passing through it, um, there's definit a definite feeling of being a part of it.

SPEAKER_00 1:52:55

And I think one of the last thoughts you might have before falling asleep is that like Bang is also somewhere on this world. So I think it it's like a comfort for her that she feels so connected to um I don't want to say the earth, because technically earth is where we are, but you know, the world, the world, the land, and bang's out there somewhere, also traveling wherever on the land. I don't know. I think like that. Yeah, she might it might um like that thought might come if she's thinking about like she could hear this tiny little ant walking through moss earlier. And normally that's something that she would not be able to hear. So, like maybe if she was a powerful enough druid, she could sort of extend her senses out through the ground and find her people again. I love that.

SPEAKER_02 1:53:56

I'm making a note about that.

SPEAKER_00 1:53:58

Um this is not a thing that one does in DD. No, not at all. It's but hey, you know what?

SPEAKER_02 1:54:04

Oh I I touched the cat and she ran away. She's like, done. Um, you know, this is our little cozy world. We can we can have some fun with with the with the magic system too. Um so fizz, you are able to like the the forest kind of falls quiet around you. There's there's the night sounds you hear like some different little birds, maybe an owl, um, you know, as you drift off to sleep, and you get a good night's rest and you get a nice long rest and all your magic. Like you wake up feeling um kind of refreshed and uh ready to ready to face your day. What is what does morning look like for fizz? Like mechanically, I know like that's how druids can reset their spells and kind of commune with nature. Um, but what did what does this look like for fizz?

SPEAKER_00 1:54:58

I think for fizz, it looks like uh yeah, sure, why not? I'm gonna go with um like yoga. Okay. She does some morning yoga. She goes out and probably packs up all of her stuff first, just so it's like there and ready to go. And then like part of her commune with nature thing that druids do is like she'll she'll sit for a little bit and and breathe. And maybe that's when she's like, you know, switching, switching her spells. Yeah, you know, whatever happens mechanically, and then she'll like do a bit of like morning stretches, and then she'll eat.

SPEAKER_02 1:55:51

Okay. I think um Twig is watching you, and they've they've kind of climbed out, like as as you've kind of cleaned up, um, they've been like putting little leaves back on the forest ground, but they've found a little sunny spot on the roots, and they're just kind of there. They've got their little leaf wings spread out, um, and they're kind of just absorbing the sunshine of the morning, and they're watching you, um, and they see you do these little, the weird little stretchy poses. And I think like they after a little bit, they attempt to mimic a few of them, like like holding their arms way up and and moving their legs and just kind of trying to, they're not as bendy because they are kind of like I picture them being like twiggy and segmented more than just like flowing and bending. Yeah, but they do attempt to do a few and they they kind of giggle a little bit as they're doing this.

SPEAKER_00 1:56:46

Um I think fizz would uh encourage twig for sure. Like, yeah, yeah, yeah. And then you put your leg up there and open your arms real wide.

SPEAKER_02 1:56:57

Yeah, and and they they do, they they make all the attempts to kind of kind of do the little different little poses that that fizz is going in. But um they're always staying in this little patch of sunlight. And yeah, I think when when you when you're done, um you do feel like this kind of this surge of magic and nature kind of fill you um as you kind of finish your meditations and finish your your preparations for the day. Um, and you have your some nuts and some fruit left that you can kind of have for breakfast um and get ready to move on your way.

SPEAKER_00 1:57:39

I think I would, well, no, I'll save the Goodberry spell. Let's see, I was gonna say I would I would do that for breakfast, but I'm not going to.

unknown 1:57:51

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:57:52

That would give me one hit point. Oh, actually, I don't even know if it's like temp HP, so that would kind of be useless. Um, restores one hit point. So yeah.

unknown 1:58:03

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:58:03

All right.

SPEAKER_00 1:58:05

All right. Um, I oh, also, I think she would find the tallest tree she can and try to see if she can see the river again. Like she knows she's getting in into the mountains, like you said, so she's going the right way, but I think she would feel better if she at least knew where the river was, if she was still near it or okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:58:30

Yeah. Um, yeah, you you take a minute and kind of walk a walk away from your campsite a little bit and start looking at the trees. And you see one. Um, and actually Twig sees this one first. They kind of uh point excitedly. It's um it's a willow tree that is growing here. And it's it's odd because you've been mostly seeing like oaks and ape maples, apples. Aples. Oaks and oh my gosh, I can't say apples.

SPEAKER_03 1:59:04

I was gonna say moaks and apples, but um oh, kid in this back.

SPEAKER_02 1:59:10

Please just settle in. Okay. Um it's mostly been like oak trees and maple trees, and kind of you're not really haven't really seen these uh willows since you left the river. Um, but there's this willow tree that's kind of there. Uh it's you didn't see it last night because uh it was darker in the forest as you were setting up camp. Um, and it was it's a little bit away from where you camped. And it's kind of growing there, and the the branches are kind of blowing in a soft breeze. Um, and Fizz is uh Fizz, oh my gosh. Tweed gets really excited um as they and they're like, oh, oh, a willow, a willow, look, look, look, look.

SPEAKER_01 1:59:52

Yeah, let's go that way.

SPEAKER_02 1:59:53

Okay. You you wander over to it, and it's not like the tallest tree, obviously, um, but it is a very, it's a very tall and very thick-trunked willow. Um, and as you approach it, it it kind of shifts and moves, and you feel um kind of uh a little vibration in in the ground around you. And it it kind of turns. And the willow tree turns out the willow tree kind of turns and um look looks at you with eyes? With with eyes, yeah. As you're kind of looking at it high up in the in the upper branches, you realize they do kind of form a a face of sorts. And like there's the the thicker branches at the top were kind of flowing down, and now that you're looking at this, um, it definitely has a a face and and a form to it. Oh, uh hello there's kind of a uh a soft breezy voice that I don't know if I could can manage, but I'll try. Um and it kind of echoes through the forest here a little bit around you.

SPEAKER_00 2:01:31

Um I've never met a living tree before.

SPEAKER_01 2:01:37

I've never met you. I'm a kobold. A kobold. Oh, the small dragon.

SPEAKER_02 2:01:48

The small dragon. Yes. And uh this tree kind of leans down a little bit, and again, it's it's awkward like like Twig wasn't really flexible, but this tree kind of bends and leans down a little bit. And and it it's towering over you still, but but there's nothing like intimidating about it, it's more of a curious and softness.

SPEAKER_00 2:02:17

You know that feeling that I imagine it's never happened to me before, but I imagine being in the ocean with a whale. You know, the whale does not mean you harm, but it's just so big. It could that you're gonna just move a flipper and send you flying. Yeah. So like I think it's like it's not really fear, but it's like, wow, that like it's like fizzes like oh okay, the situation that I don't know, I've yeah, I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 2:02:46

Okay, and I think I think the tree um you kind of almost unconsciously take a step back. Yeah, and the tree stops moving.

SPEAKER_01 2:03:00

I I don't wish to harm you I that's good.

SPEAKER_00 2:03:08

I think I I know that. Um you're just you're really big and I'm really small. I okay. Um this is just really cool.

SPEAKER_02 2:03:26

Oh I am I am quite large. A moment and this tree kind of um it kind of for a moment kind of freezes, and there is just this willow tree, and then you see the bark kind of shift and and move, and then at the base of the tree, uh a portion of that bark almost kind of opens, and this figure steps out. And um, it's it's the the texture of its skin for a lack of a it it's very it's like it looks like really fine wood grain.

SPEAKER_00 2:04:13

Um is this a humanoid figure?

SPEAKER_02 2:04:15

It's a humanoid figure, yeah. Okay, and they um yeah, uh like human-sized a shorter stature human, not like very tall, but maybe about four feet tall, kind of steps out. Um, and their their skin is this wood grain, uh their features are very kind of narrow. Um and uh they have these bright, bright green eyes. And from the top of their head, what would be hair is kind of these really fine like willow branches that kind of cascade down their back. And um their arms are very long and slender, and their fingers are very long and slender, and they uh step out of this willow tree, which is now just looks like an a willow tree there. Um and they they come forward and oh that's much better.

SPEAKER_00 2:05:10

Not that okay, I really love the willow tree. It was just kind of um overwhelming to have a conversation with one.

SPEAKER_02 2:05:20

Um there's this laughter and it's kind of a light, airy laughter um as as this being kind of approaches you, and and they actually sit down on the ground in next to you. And it's a little um it's not quite as awkward. They do, despite looking like wood, they are rather flexible. Um, and they they sit down uh and and kind of look at you. And um sometimes I do forget when I when I am in the the willow.

SPEAKER_01 2:05:55

Uh oh my name's Fizz. Fizz, that's a that's a lovely name.

SPEAKER_02 2:06:02

I am actually was looking for someone and they they kind of hold out one of their long willowy arms uh and with long fingers and they they hold it out towards Twig. Um and Twig just kind of steps into their palm. You know Twig? I I know all all the I almost did Twig's voice there. Um I know all the weeplings.

SPEAKER_04 2:06:33

Oh.

SPEAKER_02 2:06:35

Um But did you make them? Oh no, no. I am not I am magical, I'm not that magical. I don't create life beyond my own. The weepling was missing from from their home tree.

SPEAKER_03 2:06:53

And uh I twig is is traveling with me.

SPEAKER_01 2:06:57

Twig. That's a that's a lovely that's a lovely name.

SPEAKER_00 2:07:03

Because I thought they were a twig at first.

SPEAKER_02 2:07:06

They they kind of giggle, and again it's this kind of like almost like a giggly sound, like a bubbling brook of a s of a sound, and um they uh that is fitting. You uh far from home, I think.

SPEAKER_00 2:07:28

Yeah. I came from an island.

unknown 2:07:33

An island.

SPEAKER_00 2:07:35

I was I was traveling with um some adventurers, and it's me and my friend Bang, also a cobalt. We grew up together, we're best friends, um, but we got separated.

SPEAKER_03 2:07:49

Oh, I'm I'm sorry. So I'm far from home and far from my friends.

SPEAKER_00 2:07:56

And you think your friends are in this area or they're um well we got separated in Grizzly Pass, and they were going um to find something that's in Grizzly Peaks. Nope, that's not what what it's called. What's that map?

SPEAKER_02 2:08:15

The Orso Mountain Range Like None of these words are registered, like the the names of it. Um, and I think it's just like I think Fizz would realize that that's those are the the names given to these areas that by by the people who made the maps or whatever or who live there.

SPEAKER_00 2:08:35

When she realizes that she will switch it up and say, um, my the tall people, they were going up high into the mountains, and we got separated where the rivers sort of converge. Isn't that what we decided? Yeah. Okay. Um so they're they're going that way, and I got swept away in the river, and so now I'm trying to find I'm trying to find them again.

SPEAKER_02 2:09:07

A kind of um like there was confusion on her face, but then like I a little a little sadness comes in like as she's uh or as they're kind of listening to your to your story. Um and uh I lost my note about okay. Um as as they're kind of listening to your story and they're they're thinking of of things and you seem very small to to travel on your own, but you and they they look at Twig in their hands um and they they kind of set them back on on your shoulder. It is it is good to have a traveling companion. I c if Twig wishes to remain with you, I will not take them back to their tree.

SPEAKER_00 2:10:05

I think Fizz would look at Twig and be like, what what do you think?

SPEAKER_02 2:10:14

I think Twig this whole time has just been in awe of this being. Um excited for the for the willow tree, which felt like home, um, even though they they knew it wasn't their their willow tree. But uh and they've just been kind of quiet now, but I think I think they kind of look at you and they kind of look at at this being and kind of settle into the the the little fold in your cloak that they've kind of made their own little spot now.

SPEAKER_01 2:10:44

I I want to stay with you, Fitz. I want to find your friend. Aw. That makes me really happy. It's been I was really scared to go past the cherry tree, and then those things tried to get us, but but you saved us, and I think it's just been the fun and and learning, and then you have petals now, and it's very pretty. I do have petals.

SPEAKER_02 2:11:14

And and when when that happens, um this being kind of looks at you and and they tilt their head, um, and they they reach a hand out like almost like they're gonna touch you, but then like they hesitate a moment, and they just kind of hold their hand like near you, and you feel like this warmth and energy kind of flow over you and then kind of surround you, and a few a few of your petals almost kind of start to materialize without you even like willing it or attempting it or anything. And and they're kind of just studying you for a moment, and and then they settle back down and And just smile at you and they're like you have What did you do?

SPEAKER_00 2:12:08

What what was that? It was it felt nice.

SPEAKER_01 2:12:13

It's it is a a nice thing to see the the you have a great depth of magic that you you do.

SPEAKER_02 2:12:28

You let's call it potential. The like this and and they kind of reach into the ground around them and they pull up a little a little seed.

SPEAKER_03 2:12:42

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 2:12:44

I I I I've always been intending this. This is uh something that we've kind of pulled into our world creation and I love it.

SPEAKER_00 2:12:50

Um something that I came up with.

SPEAKER_02 2:12:52

I know, I love I love it. Um so they pull out this little seed and and you can see it kind of resting in the in the palm of their hand. And um this seed it could become a a full plant. It could become a tree, perhaps. Depending on on the type of seed that it is. And that is the potential that it has, the potential that lives within it. If it is cared for and nurtured by by the world around it, by the soil that it lives in, by the air around it and the moisture from the rain, it it grows. And and that is that is what you are. You are uh a seed.

SPEAKER_00 2:13:40

I'm a seed.

SPEAKER_02 2:13:42

Well, similar. The magic that you carry within you has much potential. And by caring for that magic and feeling it around you and working with it, it can grow and become something great and wonderful.

SPEAKER_00 2:14:04

You really think I could be a really powerful druid?

SPEAKER_02 2:14:14

I do. I sense that within you there is a love and a a feeling of of connection and positivity that I think you can influence the creatures around you, the world around you, the people that you come into contact with through that love and that that positivity that you carry within you.

SPEAKER_00 2:14:52

Oh, that's a lot.

SPEAKER_02 2:14:56

It's it's a very it's a future thing. Where you are now simply beginning. You're you're like this seed, and and when you look at the seed now in in the palm of their hand, there's like the tiniest little speck of a green bud kind of starting to grow out of it. And they they show it to you, and this is this is where you are now, just beginning to grow into what you can become. And then and then as you watch, um, as she's talking, you're you'll start to see this uh this green bud kind of grow and form a little small leaf. And um they say, as you continue to grow and learn and experience the world around you, you start to grow like this. And the the little bud grows and more leaves start to form around this little green stem. But be careful too much at once can be damaging and not enough. The way this too much sun and not enough moisture can destroy a seed, too much negativity in your own life, lack of openness, a lack of hope, a lack of patience can turn negative. And this is like, oops. I think and you see the the the like the little sprout kind of starts to grow and like more and more leaves come out, but then it it almost fades and and shrivels a little bit. But she says, or they say, take your time and learn and walk with care, walk with with carefulness and respect for the world around you, and you will grow as intended, and the and the leaves just start to grow, just a few of them start to grow, and and a small little tiny bud appears, and then she kind of hands you that puts it in in your palm.

SPEAKER_00 2:17:16

Yeah, fizz will take it and just kind of stare at it, and she's got druid craft, so she might actually make it grow a little bit more. A little more, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:17:27

So yeah, you kind of pour a little bit, just a little bit of your magic, and as you kind of direct that bit of magic into this, um, you've had this little, I think the druid craft is like a cantrip. You you've had this ability to kind of encourage plant growth. But as you focus on this seed and encouraging it right now, like you you feel like there's this moment where you can almost kind of see what this seed will become in time. Um, and you see this plant kind of grow. And initially it's just this small little twig with these little buds and little flowers, and then you see it growing and growing, and it actually becomes um a tree. And you can see it like growing into this sturdy, sturdy tree and kind of spreading its branches and providing shade and and um a home for birds and different uh I'm gonna call it an almond tree. So little these bright pink blossoms kind of come over it, and then those fade away, and you see little squirrels and other little animals coming in and eating the nuts and everything. Um, and you all of this like it just kind of like flash images as you kind of pour this little bit of magic into this seed. Um and and that little the little growth that was there um kind of increases a little bit, and you get this little little a few more little little leaves and kind of almost branches start to form. So this is uh just a couple inches, little little couple inches tall sapling that you have. Um but yeah, you've never really experienced that kind of imagery um when you've used this this little cantrip before. That was wild. And I I think that they they kind of smile and nod. Um that is the potential of all things. Every seed can grow, every seed can become something more than what it is in that moment. And and I think you are aware of of that now.

SPEAKER_00 2:19:52

Yeah. I'm excited to see what I'm gonna grow to be.

SPEAKER_02 2:19:59

I am as well and you kind of get the feeling um when they say that. Give me um hmm. Give me an insight check. Okay. Seventeen. Seventeen, yeah. I think you get you get the feeling that like when when this being kind of like held their hand over you, like you that they saw what you could become. But as you were kind of as you kind of watching them in this moment, and they said like they're interested to see what you could become, I think you felt like there were two paths, like a good path and a bad path, which you could grow along. Um and I think you see them kind of, there's like that moment where they're like wondering, you know, how how you will travel and and hoping that you, you know, obviously hoping you go for the good path. But um, yeah, and it I think there's a little bit of curiosity with you like wondering, you know, kind of what your own future could look like. Yeah. And in a way that maybe Fizz hasn't thought about before. Um I think because Fizz is very kind of in the moment and in ADHD, you don't really next year will happen when it gets in. Um, but I think like in this moment, maybe Fizz has a little uh uh introspection of of what the future actually may actually hold for her. Yeah. So I think um this uh this being kind of uh looks back at their tree and and stands and um says, You are on the right path towards the river. Oh good. And they kind of um point kind of in the direction we're going, and then like a little bit, you know, you were kind of heading more towards up the mountain, and they kind of direct you to go like follow the range instead of climbing the range, I guess. Um and yeah, I think I need to return to my tree. I don't spend much time out of it anymore. Why not? As I age and the tree ages, we support each other and I don't like to be away. I don't like to be out as much as I used to. Oh.

SPEAKER_01 2:22:47

But I think perhaps is we'll see each other again in the future. I hope so.

SPEAKER_00 2:22:56

If I remember how to get here, I'll try to I'll try to come back.

SPEAKER_02 2:23:02

If and they kind of look around and uh as they they kind of take a step back to their tree and and put their hand kind of on the bark of it. I may not be exactly here. But I will be here around. And they they kind of hold up their their fingers to their to their lips. Is that a secret? And they smile. We'll find each other again, Fifth. Okay, and then they kind of step back into their tree and and you see the bark kind of close around them, um, and the tree doesn't really move or anything, but it does seem like as you're kind of watching this like transformation take place, the the tree actually seems alive again. Like, and it it wasn't dead, it just looked like a normal tree, but now it looks like you feel like if you saw a lot of willow trees, you could pick this one out. Like it has just a a different feel um to it. And whether that's something like that is an effect of your magic that's kind of growing or or the magic of this being and this tree, you're unsure, but there is a a moment where you like I would know that tree again if I saw it. Like, even if you were if it wasn't here in this area. Okay. And then it, yeah, and it just kind of falls silent, you know, the little breeze is kind of there um in this area. And and willow uh willow, it's a willow tree. Twig is um just kind of sitting on your shoulder, just in awe.

SPEAKER_00 2:24:54

Have you ever met them before? Your willow tree doesn't talk, does it?

SPEAKER_01 2:25:01

Not like that. I mean, I Matt. No, my willow tree doesn't talk. We just it's just that the tree kind of tree song I told you about. Yeah. You just feel the tree, but not like that. That was crazy. That that was really neat what they did with the old the little seed.

SPEAKER_00 2:25:24

Yeah. So Fizz looks down at the the little sprout that she still has. We should probably find a place to plant this, maybe.

SPEAKER_02 2:25:37

They start kind of looking around.

SPEAKER_00 2:25:40

Um yeah, I get I guess. I don't know how long it'll stay alive in my hand.

SPEAKER_02 2:25:50

Faith just walks around for the rest of her life with this tree in her hand.

SPEAKER_00 2:25:55

Uh it's an almond tree. It's gonna be really big. I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 2:26:00

Um it's totally up to you here. Like if you have a little container and want to carry it with you for a bit, you can. Or if you want to find a place.

SPEAKER_00 2:26:10

Like she doesn't want to, I don't know how root systems of almond trees work, but I think she would find like a knot right next to a tree. Another tree. So yeah, I think for now she will just take um a container of some kind and put some soil in it and put the little the little sprout in that.

SPEAKER_02 2:26:29

Okay, yeah. You probably have like a little jar that maybe held something at some point. Like maybe I don't like some roots or one of your spell components or something for for story. And yeah, you could put it in that with some soil and yeah, kind of maybe wrap it and hang it on your pack in the way, protect it. I think Twig is just like they're fascinated with this little little sapling. So they're they're for a little bit, I think they almost like if you strap this on your pack, they kind of sit on the edge of the jar and are just kind of kind of watching it. Um I don't think they've ever really watched this part of nature. Like they've they are themselves and they're kind of aware that they're this little magical creature, but like much like Fizz, they're starting to see more outside of of their own world. Yeah. Um, so yeah, I think they kind of sit on the edge of this jar and are just like watching and maybe like do something. You know, waiting for it to kind of okay, waiting for it to kind of uh, you know, grow some more, but obviously it's not gonna do anything right now. Yeah. Um, but yeah, I think they they kind of have the this little fascination with this tiny little sapling that you have.

SPEAKER_00 2:27:50

Uh I was gonna, hmm. Maybe I can find oh gosh, cat.

SPEAKER_03 2:27:57

She's obsessed with you.

SPEAKER_00 2:27:58

Maybe I can find a way. What I need her to not do is step on my computer while it's recording. That'd be great. Um, hey, don't um find a way to sort of attach the jar to the staff, but then I'm like, that seems like a weird, that's a cumbersome thing to do. So yeah, I think she would just let it hang from her her pack, just like the side of her pack. So like she can glance back and and check on it, I guess. And I think not like she's not sealing the jar. Yeah. So she doesn't want it jostled around too much.

SPEAKER_02 2:28:35

Yeah. And I think like your pack is made kind of like with some straps and stuff to kind of attach things and stuff. So you can yeah, maybe it's got one of those little side pockets and you can just kind of water bottle pump. Yeah, water bottle. They're perfect. Uh, and you could just take a little bit of of twine or rope or even vine and kind of secure it there. Yeah. Um, it'll it'll be safe for the time being, I think. Cool. I kind of want to stop here.

SPEAKER_03 2:29:03

Oh yeah, we can. It's a good place to stop. It's a good place to stop. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 2:29:09

So yeah, I think I think right now, um, as you kind of set out on the path that the the being uh dryad, I couldn't think of the word for it earlier. Um, but I think you would recognize the a dryad. So you the they kind of pointed you in the direction towards the river, and you can set out in that area um in that direction, and then we'll kind of come back to that in our next episode. Okay. Our next fizz episode. I think we're we'll get back to banging on our maybe.

SPEAKER_00 2:29:42

I don't know. We we could put up another poll. Yeah, we could put it up with for the patrons. Or or just keep flip-flopping. I don't know. We could do every other.

SPEAKER_02 2:29:51

Yeah. We haven't gotten in into anything that's so deep that we need to like pick back up right here and move on. Yeah, kind of little bubbles happening right now. Um But yeah, I think I think Fizz has some little stuff to think about while she walks. Yeah. And uh yeah. Well, potentially cool.

SPEAKER_03 2:30:16

Yeah, that was that was that was fun.

SPEAKER_02 2:30:18

I like I I want to speak on that for a minute. You that was in one of our random side character writings things.

SPEAKER_00 2:30:26

Yeah, it was um I I had oh gosh, she just dug her claws into my knee. All right, yeah, I had a character who was teaching someone else how to do nature magic. And one of the things this character did a lot was take seeds like flower seeds and bloom them into flowers and then like hand them out to people. That was just like a thing that she did. And we called it Druid Craft just to make it fit with the character sheet. But um yeah, I I was writing this scene between these two characters and was like, what I was like, you know, what's the best way to talk about like nature magic? Like you draw on the power of nature to do cool things. And so like the idea of potential popped in my head, probably from a bug's life. The the seed is a rock, you know, the that whole thing. Um and I I just went with it. Like you you have this seed, and if you sit with it for a while, you can start to like anyone with magic can start to sort of channel their magic into it, but like too much and you'll burn the seed out and kill it, and too little and nothing will happen. But like uh there was this whole scene with like you actually like focus your attention in and feel this potential of the seed. And I think the character that she she taught, like the seed kind of took on a personality for them and was like, wow, this this seed wants to grow. And like I envisioned it like petals, blossoms covering my hand, and they were surprised when they opened their eyes and it was still just a seed with a tiny, tiny, tiny little sprout coming out of it. So, like sensing the potential in something kind of became like a thing throughout that whole that whole story.

SPEAKER_02 2:32:27

I loved it. We should put that scene, like we should go in there and put it up on Patreon. Oh, that would be fun. As a little snippet scene. Yeah. That was one of my when I read that, like we do like we do a lot of writing together. And when I read that scene, I I think I was had been at work or asleep. I don't know when you wrote it, but I came back and I was just like, oh, this is beautiful and I love it. Um and like we're like, that's just gonna be kind of our magic vibe. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:32:50

It was fun to write, and then we pulled that whole concept into like some other DD games that we ran for our patrons, and it it's a favorite now. It is. I really love it.

SPEAKER_02 2:33:01

Like we should, I think we should put that up on our Patreon for our patrons to Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:33:05

If you want that little that little scene, if you want to read what I'm talking about, uh join our Patreon.

SPEAKER_02 2:33:12

You explained it way better than than my dryad did, but it worked in the moment, I think. Um so yeah, we can wrap this up and we will be back in a month on uh July 1st.

SPEAKER_03 2:33:24

July 1st. Probably with bang. With bang, yeah. Oh, good. I'm excited.

SPEAKER_02 2:33:29

Yay! I'm excited to see what bang's up to. Me too. All right, thank you guys for listening, and we will see you in a month. Yeah. Bye.