DodoBorne: A Daggerheart Actual Play Podcast

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Well hello there again friends and otherwise! We’ve returned to our story about a few small-town heroes venturing into the great big world of Althea. With a new team and a fresh start, our dodos are ready to tackle the day. But little do they know the day is ready to tackle them back! Find out what awaits our dodos (old and new) in this thrilling premiere!

This episode is sponsored by our friends at Demiplane. Check out their digital tools for Daggerheart and other tabletop RPGs at Demiplane.com

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Music in this episode created by:
  • Daniel Bukin
  • Isaac Allen Burns
  • Raine B
Listen to the music from this episode and other Dodotunes HERE

"Daggerheart (Main Theme Soundtrack)" by Taylor Ash & Lindsay Dills

Powered by the Daggerheart TTRPG, DodoBorne blends character-driven storytelling, collaborative roleplaying, heartfelt moments, and plenty of laughs around the table.
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What is DodoBorne: A Daggerheart Actual Play Podcast ?

DodoBorne is an improvised comedy storytelling podcast where five friends dive into Daggerheart, the tabletop roleplaying game from Darrington Press.

Whether you're looking for adventure, romance, mystery, or nonsense, DodoBorne offers a welcoming mix of humor, heart, and collaborative storytelling that we hope will keep you coming back for more.

With Season 3 serving as a fresh starting point for new viewers, there's never been a better time to join the flock!

New episodes air every other Tuesday.

Speaker 1:

If you're a Dodo.

Speaker 2:

There it is. Well, hello, everybody. Hey, What's this? A studio? That's right.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to season three of DodoBorne. It's me, your GM, your best friend, your MC, and your center shot, Isaac Allen Burns. And I'm joined here with four lovely other people, and I wanna introduce them to you right now. To my left is one, Holly Baker.

Speaker 3:

You did it. That's me.

Speaker 2:

And to Holly's left, I have one Jody Amity. Hey. And to Joe's left, I have one Rowan Collins.

Speaker 1:

Am I

Speaker 4:

on the left? I think I'm on the left. I am on the left.

Speaker 2:

And sitting just directly right behind Rowan is one Rachel Baker. Mhmm.

Speaker 3:

They she.

Speaker 2:

That's right. And I'm Isaac Allen Burns. He this is season three, our first video season for Dodo Born. Thank you for joining with us here on this beautiful sunshiny day. It is definitely not 09:00 at night.

Speaker 2:

Now for those of you who don't know, DodoBorne is an actual play podcast where we play a little game of Daggerheart. We follow the adventures of a handful of people as they grow, as they change, as they fight against the forces that belay their success, shall we say. Now if this is your first episode, incredible, but that's okay because something we like to do here is teach you how to play Daggerheart as well. So every so often, there'll be little interstitials with just little old me telling you how to play a Dis here game, in case you don't know, in case you're trying to find out. So I don't really have much more to say.

Speaker 2:

So without further ado, gang, are we ready?

Speaker 3:

We are I

Speaker 2:

think someone should start the music. Hey, gang. Future Isaac here to take a quick break from this episode to talk to you about today's sponsor. This episode is brought to you in part by Demiplane. Demiplane's Daggerheart Nexus is the official digital companion to Daggerheart.

Speaker 2:

It has robust character creation tools to help you get your character ready to go on time for the session. As a compendium that's tool tipped and quick linked so that you can quickly on the fly look up exactly what you're looking for and not lose a single step during session. And in fact, if you like, you can print out your character sheet or you can have it on your mobile, your tablet, your laptop, whatever else that you have at the table. And now with recent performance updates, it is faster than ever. So shout out to Demiplane.

Speaker 2:

We use it here at the table. We love it so much. On with the show. Well, gang. We find ourselves once again in the sky.

Speaker 2:

We are looking over the beautiful land of Valtea. Oh my goodness. We've been up here only a few times, but each time we get up here, it's just as sweet and wonderful because we have the sun at our backs, the clouds all around us, and

Speaker 4:

this beautiful ground that we're not hurdling towards. Just all around that we get

Speaker 2:

to look at. To the north, we see beautiful mountains and verdant forests. To the South, we see less verdant forests and, you know, a lot of islands and maybe one big island and all kinds of stuff. And right in the middle, see a beautiful lake where a beautiful capital sits at that lake. And we're not going to any of those places because we're going just a little north of that big old lake up the Proud River towards Algenabai.

Speaker 2:

Algenabai, the provincial capital of the province of Al Genubai, is a nice little place where you could kind of find anything you want. There are ports and docks for ships to come and go. There are farmlands just outside the edges of town where people are just a sowing and a reaping to their heart's content. And right smack dab close to the center of town, we have an adventuring guild. An adventuring guild where we find a few adventurers far away from the tensions that surround them.

Speaker 2:

For you see, this world is not as easygoing as I've led you to believe so far. In fact, some could say that war is approaching. It's not quite here yet. It's on the horizon. Maybe you can see it if you squint hard enough.

Speaker 2:

It's not quite here yet, but trembling's approach. You see, our adventurers, just a month ago, stopped what was going to be a potential attack on another country, a country called Chastain. This attempt was brutal, and in fact, much was lost. But they succeeded in not causing a war between two big old countries.

Speaker 1:

That's right.

Speaker 2:

However, due to the sudden death of the president of Armada, captain Rosalyn Ironshaw, currently, there are three factions of Armada that are causing a ruckus. They're go they're running them up. To the south, you've got triple g. You've got captain Gertrude causing problems in the southern continent of Polaris, a magical continent. You see that she's just sieging the place.

Speaker 2:

She's shooting airships out of the sky. They are flummoxed because somehow captain Gertrude got her hands on some kind of artifact that is causing problems for good old Polaris. Known for their dominance of the sky, they are struggling to find their way now that this ship captain can shoot him out of the sky.

Speaker 4:

Uh-oh.

Speaker 2:

And just a little towards the west on Southern Voldani shores, we have captain Featherbeak, a brutal pirate, a fun girl with a parrot sticking out of his head. This individual is currently sieging the southern border of Vol'Dayne, the province of Rasilis, the second largest province in fact. Causing problems there, the Vol'Dayne navy is having to get involved. It's crazy. And then the third faction led by Captain Weber, also in close cahoots with a mercenary guild called the Azure Reavers, they're hanging out in the Northern Sea.

Speaker 2:

Who knows what they're doing, but they're up there. And as far as we can tell, they're just kinda hanging out. But those problems are so far away because we have problems of today, gang. You have problems with yourselves in Algenabot because the four of you are currently sitting in the guild, and there are two individuals in front of you. One of them is a small goblin woman, grays at her temple, belay her true age.

Speaker 2:

Stress could be there, but she seems to be holding it together. This is Michelle, the Adventuring Guild admin. She stands behind a desk and is looking at the four of you, and she says, well, thank you for coming in early, you four. I know there's a lot of missions that you're getting done. I know that the four of you are getting reacquainted with each other.

Speaker 2:

You're going on some first missions. Mhmm. I know I asked you to get here at 5AM in the morning. Mhmm. But that's just because there is new guidance from the capital.

Speaker 2:

The the guild located in the capital, which is sort of above everybody here in Vol'Dayne, has this new thing they're doing where after big recommendation receiving missions and for new people who are joining the Avenger Guild, you have to go through a psychological evaluation with a therapist.

Speaker 3:

Can I see the papers I signed?

Speaker 2:

Yeah. I can get those for you later. But look, this just doesn't have to be painful. It doesn't have to be painful. Just this therapist, and she points at the man next to her.

Speaker 2:

And I want all four of us to give this man a detail. So starting to my right, Rachel, what's one what does this person look like? Give me one detail about what they look like.

Speaker 3:

The clothes that he's wearing are just a little bit patchy. Like, he has patches on his elbows.

Speaker 2:

Okay. Okay. Clothes are patchy. Rowan?

Speaker 1:

He just has a big Jimmy Neutron swirl of hair.

Speaker 2:

Okay. Neutron swirl. Joe?

Speaker 5:

He has glasses that are taped on several points.

Speaker 2:

Oh my god. And finally, Holly, take us

Speaker 6:

home. He's got a goatee.

Speaker 2:

Goatee? Goatee. Very good. Okay. Great.

Speaker 1:

How none of us set an ancestry

Speaker 3:

at all. We don't need one.

Speaker 2:

This halfling man

Speaker 1:

Okay. There we go.

Speaker 2:

With a Jimmy Neutron swirl ahead as big as the old animated man himself and a body just as diminutive. He stands there looking like a nerd, and he's got a bunch he's got, like, a big old book. He's got the MSRM five or whatever. And he just sort of waves a little bit. Michelle looks at the four of you and says, you're all gonna go one at a time.

Speaker 2:

You're gonna talk to him. Just answer his questions. You know, for Cappy and Pistachio, you this is I know this is your first time having to do this. This is for the mission you did back a month ago. Oh, Are we in trouble?

Speaker 2:

You're not in trouble. Oh, trouble. I promise you're not in trouble. Uh-huh. This is just something that all of us have to deal with, and then you don't have to do it until you do something right about this.

Speaker 2:

Can I

Speaker 3:

go to bed until they're done?

Speaker 2:

No. You have to stay here too. Michelle, as your favorite.

Speaker 5:

Yeah. Do I have to do it?

Speaker 2:

Oh. You especially have to do it, unfortunately,

Speaker 4:

Oh, okay.

Speaker 6:

Michelle. Especially?

Speaker 5:

I think, yeah. Is it because we have the new ones and I have to set an example and I

Speaker 4:

mean, typically, as the boss, you have to set an example for everybody, Cappy. But I do have a question for the therapist.

Speaker 2:

You see the therapist currently writing notes, looks up and says, yes.

Speaker 4:

Oh, yes. Mister therapist, sir, do you play theremin?

Speaker 2:

Why, yes, I do. It's on

Speaker 4:

my See. Okay. Great. I I thought we didn't have one of those here. So okay.

Speaker 4:

I'm I'm all that's all my questions. You're completely qualified in my opinion.

Speaker 2:

You see Michelle sighs really heavily because alright. So let's get started with one at a time, and we flash cut to one of y'all sitting in the office. Mhmm. I'm gonna start with my old people here. Go ahead, both of you, roll a dice for me.

Speaker 4:

What dice are we rolling?

Speaker 2:

Any dice you want. Just

Speaker 4:

roll a dice.

Speaker 2:

Any dice you want. Six. Eight. Very good. Eight goes first.

Speaker 1:

Okay. Pistachio's, like, lined up ready for to go in first as they they they they're just, like, eager beverly

Speaker 2:

Oh, man.

Speaker 4:

Ready to go

Speaker 1:

into the therapist.

Speaker 2:

So, Pistachio, you enter into this makeshift office of this therapist, and tell us what this individual sees. Tell us about Pistachio.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. So Pistachio Droop is an ordered born fawn druid of renewal with curly red hair and big old spectacles. Pistachio is currently in some interesting looking outfit. I think it's like a jumpsuit with like a fashionette thing on top of it. So it looks like very much something they did not put together themselves.

Speaker 1:

There there you have slight coal under their eye and has, like, glasses and their hair is, like, put up in a weird way. They clearly did not do this themselves.

Speaker 2:

Now there's a detail I just wanna make sure Yeah. That I that I understand, which is the fishnets are on top of the jumpsuit? Yes. Yep. Okay.

Speaker 2:

Yep. Okay. Yep. You step into this office and you see that this individual, this doctor has just pretty much kinda taken the place over as much as this individual can. There are books seemingly everywhere.

Speaker 2:

And he's actually undoing a case, and he's pulling out a theremin because just in case music will be needed for this session.

Speaker 4:

Oh, I've never seen one in person before. This actually looks really, really cool.

Speaker 2:

Ah, I guess I would love to place them for you after we go through our first round of evaluation.

Speaker 4:

Wait. Wait. Wait. Can I can I touch it?

Speaker 2:

Oh, no. You certainly shouldn't touch it. But if you put your hand very close to these metal pieces here, you'll find quite a thing.

Speaker 4:

They'll reach out their little hands towards the metal. Oh.

Speaker 2:

Oh, this is a little sound, isn't

Speaker 4:

I've always heard about it there, but I'd love to

Speaker 2:

press this. Yeah. It's very exciting. So, Pistachio.

Speaker 4:

Oh, yes.

Speaker 2:

It's very good to meet you. My name is doctor Myers Briggs Gallop.

Speaker 4:

Okay. Myers Briggs Gallop.

Speaker 2:

You can call me doctor Gallop.

Speaker 4:

Doctor Gallop. Okay. Yes. Thank you. Hello, doctor Gallop.

Speaker 4:

I am here to be therapized.

Speaker 2:

Of course. Of course. And how are you doing today?

Speaker 4:

I'm okay. It's seven, 05:00 in the morning. You know, I came over here as soon as I was told by Michelle that I should be here. So bright eyed and bushy tailed, they, like, turn around and, like, waggle their tail and sit back

Speaker 2:

down. Yep. Well, that's very exciting to hear. You know, when I was looking at some of the reports you've been writing, I happened to do just a little bit of math. Uh-huh.

Speaker 2:

And you and you and your fellow adventurer, Cappy, you are averaging about three missions a day.

Speaker 4:

Yeah. Yep. That sounds about right.

Speaker 2:

Yep. And you've been an adventurer for a little less than two months.

Speaker 4:

Yep. That is correct. Yep.

Speaker 2:

And you've already received a recommendation, and you have completed a job that has you marked for a recommendation.

Speaker 4:

Yep. That is correct.

Speaker 2:

And do you realize this is an incredibly high output?

Speaker 4:

Yeah. I mean, you know, we are just really good at our job, I guess. You know, there's nothing else to do around here besides just working and doing all the things we can. Right?

Speaker 2:

Right. And is being good at your job, doing good at it, is that fulfilling to you?

Speaker 4:

I mean, yeah. I I suppose so. Right? It certainly it keeps me busy. Yeah.

Speaker 4:

There's nothing like I said, there's nothing else that I'd rather be doing than just pouring myself into every single waking moment of this job, and just being around happy the whole time. Really like my boss, he's really nice. Of my Just favorite

Speaker 2:

taking notes. I see, I see. There's nothing else you'd rather be doing. You have any other individuals in your life that you would spend time with? Like family, perhaps?

Speaker 4:

No. I I'm not currently seeing any of my family right now. They're they're in Hound, you know. But, no, I haven't I haven't seen them in a while.

Speaker 2:

So You're not seeing your family?

Speaker 4:

No. Not currently. Nope.

Speaker 2:

Oh, that's very curious because in the report that I was reading about this most recent job that you did about a month ago, it names your brother was at the scene. Mhmm. Have you when when was the last time you've spoken to him?

Speaker 4:

Oh, about month ago. Yep. Paperwork's been busy, so I've just been I've just been somewhere else. Yep.

Speaker 2:

Somewhere else? Okay. Are are you are you staying somewhere else? Are you with someone?

Speaker 4:

Well, I've I've find my way. I'm surfing, you know, in between places right now. The Adventurers Guild has places when we're late, and, you know, I just find other places I can stay if I need it.

Speaker 2:

I see. You write some notes and says

Speaker 4:

It's not that's not uncommon. Right? I I have

Speaker 2:

No. Not at all. Not at all.

Speaker 4:

Right. I mean, like uncommon? I have friends.

Speaker 2:

Right.

Speaker 4:

Right. If I have people who'll let me stay places why are you looking at me like that?

Speaker 2:

Oh, I apologize. I'm simply observing.

Speaker 4:

Oh, okay. Why are you observing me like that? I didn't say anything weird. Look. Okay.

Speaker 4:

What I do in my spare time is between me and and if Cappy is somewhere else, then I just find somewhere else to be. Right? So, like, if Cappy is there, I'll stay at the Adventurers Guild and I just find somewhere else to stay if I need it. And I have friends with, like, big places and big beds and sometimes they let me sleep in them and it's fine. It's fine.

Speaker 2:

Of course. Yes. Very good.

Speaker 4:

Uh-huh. There's nothing to be weird about. Nothing weird about it at all. We're just sleeping. Okay?

Speaker 4:

Just sleeping. Okay. Don't look at me like that. It's just sleeping.

Speaker 2:

We cut to speaking of speaking of Cappy. Cappy, Yes? You are in the office with doctor Myers Briggs Gallop. And I'm curious, what does doctor Myers Briggs Gallop see as he looks at you? Tell us a little bit about Cappy.

Speaker 5:

Yeah. So Cappy is a level three Slyborn Furbolg rogue of He the Nightwalker is blue and six two and he has dark, almost purple hair. But the way that you'll always know it's Cappy is because he has always his Adventure Guild jacket on. It's green and tan two tone, and there's a big a on the left pocket, sort of like a Letterman.

Speaker 2:

I see. Doctor Gallup, is kind of looking at you and says, yes. Kappy, good to meet you. Good to meet you. I've read many reports about you.

Speaker 5:

I hate this already. Well And does that hate

Speaker 2:

you already. Is there a particular reason that you hate this at all?

Speaker 5:

Or Yeah. I just don't like being told what to do, really. I, you know, do things to help people. This seems to be taking me away from helping people. Really, every minute that I'm sitting here is another minute that the Luvenhurst gang is probably running around, setting things on fire, stealing things, hurting people.

Speaker 5:

And here I am talking to some, I don't know, guy that got into the wrong profession judging by how you can't get a new pair of glasses.

Speaker 2:

Well, you know, pay isn't all that great for therapists, but that's okay. No. You don't like being told what to do. Is that why you typically take leadership position in the group? Most of the reports here sort of list that you're the one taking charge.

Speaker 2:

You know, I like

Speaker 5:

to think that leadership is thrust upon me. It's a lot to bear, really. Luckily, I have really strong shoulders.

Speaker 2:

Yes. Yes.

Speaker 5:

Yes. And I carry the weight that others put on me. I see.

Speaker 2:

I see. And you've done a lot of missions. Looking at your output the last few months has been very high. You know? And sometimes as leaders, when big jobs occur such as the one that you were a part of about a month ago, you know, you did unfortunately lose a member.

Speaker 2:

Do you find that that's causing any self doubt or causing you to second guess yourself at all? Or

Speaker 5:

Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope.

Speaker 5:

Self doubt. Let me think. What it does make is, I think, a new purpose for me. See, I'm going to kill a wizard.

Speaker 2:

Oh, he writes down more and says, do tell me about that.

Speaker 5:

Yeah. Wizard stole my friend. I kill wizard. I get friend back.

Speaker 2:

Very interesting. Very interesting. Do you know the location of this wizard per chance? Or

Speaker 5:

Nope. But I have my guesses.

Speaker 2:

I see. Now and I have to ask this. This is a part of the job that I unfortunately have to ask due to my contract with the Adventuring Guild, but this individual that you have expressed intent to kill would not happen to be in any form of elected position or government. Right? Because the Adventuring Guild specifically says that you cannot kill someone if they are part of a nation's government or ruling body unless there is probable cause for harm to civilians.

Speaker 5:

Holy shit. I almost fell asleep during that.

Speaker 2:

But no. I see. Very good. He writes some more notes, he says. Now, you know, it's interesting because in reading the report, it seems that one of the deceased individuals who was seen at the crime, a Richard Appler people, this individual you were familiar with, you have familiarity with.

Speaker 2:

Are there any feelings there? Want him to die. Okay. I never said that you did.

Speaker 5:

Yeah. Well, okay. Alright. K. I didn't yeah.

Speaker 5:

He was a dick.

Speaker 2:

I didn't want him to die. Right. You were. And you were acquainted with his daughter as well. Right?

Speaker 2:

Have you spoken to her since the incident? Cut to. Cut to! There it is. It's just

Speaker 5:

it's just four in the morning. Cappy's been at the casino drinking, and he's he's just outside the mansion, the Zestan Mansion, where Cappy he's just pacing back and forth the window with the bottle. He's like, Scarlet.

Speaker 6:

Scarlet. Just careless whispers playing.

Speaker 2:

You see the window opens up.

Speaker 5:

Right as I throw a rock. It's like a pebble.

Speaker 2:

Like a roll an attack roll for me. Oh, no. A attack roll? Yeah. Just see if hit the window.

Speaker 2:

And for those who don't know, in Daggerheart, whenever you ask for a general roll, you'll make a duality dice roll. That's right. Start the music. Hey, gang. It's me, your GM Isaac Allen Burns.

Speaker 2:

Here to tell you about rolling in Daggerheart. You see, Daggerheart is a two d 12 system. So rather than rolling one dice, you'll take one d 12 and then another d 12 of a different color, Set one of them as your hope dice, one of them as your fear dice, then you'll roll them both. Add up the total and keep in mind which of those dice was higher. After you add those up, you'll add any modifiers from any traits that you might have or abilities, and you'll say the total and whether it was with hope or fear depending on which of the two dice was higher.

Speaker 2:

So in this case, Cappy, why don't you roll?

Speaker 5:

A 15 with fear.

Speaker 2:

Oh, no. But that tells me you know, the success was to hit the window. Right? So I think on 15, it's like dead shot towards the window. Mhmm.

Speaker 2:

And as it opens up, you see a face kind of stick out, and then you hear a thunk as the rock hits them. And you hear an, ow, shit. And then slam. The window slams. Scarlet.

Speaker 2:

We back. We come back to the therapist, and he says, yes. Have you spoken to have you Oh.

Speaker 5:

Contact? Not not not really.

Speaker 2:

Not really?

Speaker 5:

No. She's getting married. Oh, I see. Yeah. You know, so that's not important.

Speaker 5:

No. Probably. Right?

Speaker 2:

Anyways Is that you feel like it's

Speaker 5:

not important? What does it matter what I feel? Aren't you the therapist? Just tell me what I'm feeling or thinking or doing, and then we can move on.

Speaker 2:

Unfortunately, that's not how this works. I'm not here to tell you how you feel. I'm simply here to help you figure out

Speaker 5:

how Maybe if you could tell me how I feel and what I'm thinking or what I'm doing, you could make more money at this.

Speaker 2:

Well, you know, I find that sometimes when patients don't know how to feel about something, I find a little bit of music helps. I have this therapy too.

Speaker 5:

Start playing music. Please don't play music. I bet Pistachio loved that thing. Did they try to touch it?

Speaker 2:

We cut two. Can I have one of my two nude people? Go ahead and roll a dice. Let's find out who you are first.

Speaker 3:

What do we got? 8. 5.

Speaker 2:

Oh, an eight. Rachel.

Speaker 3:

Yeah. 8 wins again.

Speaker 2:

Rachel, you are sitting with doctor Myers Briggs Gallop. Mhmm. Tell us a little bit about who doctor Myers Briggs Gallop sees. Tell us a little bit about this person.

Speaker 3:

Argus is a red simia. He's a seaborne ranger, a wayfinder. He stands about six three with really nice hair and a navy blue coat that he wears all the time. This is a new adventurer to the adventuring guild as of, like, couple weeks ago.

Speaker 2:

You sit in this office, and you see that doctor Gallipy's writing something right now.

Speaker 3:

I have a couple of questions for you. Oh, do you? Yes.

Speaker 2:

Of course. Well, I'm all ears.

Speaker 3:

Were you brought in to take care of the the other the two that are not new? Oh, Cappy and Pistachio? Yes. That was their names.

Speaker 2:

Well, we're gonna have a completely different conversation than I had with those other two.

Speaker 3:

Oh, okay. I do have to stay. Yes. I have another question.

Speaker 2:

Okay. Yes. I'm all in.

Speaker 3:

Who do I talk to to get an Adventuring Guild jacket? Like the one the blue guy has. Well I didn't know there was merchandise.

Speaker 2:

You you you've unfortunately, you've stumped me. I actually don't know. But I'm sure if you ask that kind goblin woman out at the front

Speaker 3:

that she would be able to tell you. She's usually pretty helpful. Okay. Well, can we hurry?

Speaker 2:

Yes. Yes. Wanna go back to bed. I hear that you're all very busy. So firstly, the basic principle here, the guild operates beyond countries and borders, and adventurer seeks to keep safety and peace for every citizen, no matter their country, ancestry, heritage, or creed.

Speaker 3:

Yep. That yep. That's why I'm here.

Speaker 2:

How does that speak to you?

Speaker 3:

I I signed. Yes. Yes. So it it speaks to me just fine.

Speaker 2:

Are you originally from here in Voldan?

Speaker 3:

No.

Speaker 2:

I see. Do you have any strong ties to where you came from? Any do you think that if you were to see an individual in danger who is from your home country, do you think that you'd be able to leap into action without any doubt or self doubt?

Speaker 3:

One individual? Yes.

Speaker 2:

Okay. Okay. So if there were two individuals, how would that how would that stand?

Speaker 3:

Yes.

Speaker 2:

Would you say there's a number with which it would no longer be true?

Speaker 3:

Yes.

Speaker 2:

He starts writing down a few things. And we cut to our final new person. Holly, would you tell us a little bit about your character?

Speaker 6:

Yeah. So Willow is a highborn giant warrior, Call of the Slayer. She sits in a heavy frame wheelchair because she is a double amputee. She doesn't have legs, but seated, she is about six feet tall. She's got pink hair and has tan skin and is wearing a yellow sun dress.

Speaker 2:

Ah, yes. Well, pleasure to meet you. Yellow. Very good. You know, reading the reports, it's it says here on the paperwork that you originally came from Justane.

Speaker 2:

I did. Yeah. Very nice. How are you liking it here in Volding?

Speaker 6:

It's lovely. Been really good. I mean, this has been it's been a really good week or two. It's I was really excited to visit. I've wanted to come here for a while.

Speaker 2:

Very great. Very good. Well, I'm very happy you had a chance to.

Speaker 6:

Yeah. Me too.

Speaker 2:

Now we're going to discuss a few of the 10 Okay. And we already talked about the first one earlier in this conversation. Mhmm. And so the other two are sort of related. So first, the duty to the people.

Speaker 2:

In the event of imperilment of citizens, an adventurer's sworn duty is to intervene and ensure the safety of that individual. Yeah. And finally, non involvement in military or political matters. Mhmm. Adventurers will recognize the sovereignty of a country and may not interfere with nor arrest any person of national, military, or political standing.

Speaker 2:

Cool. Now, because you are from Justeyn, I simply must ask, do you feel a certain pull towards your country given the sort of tension that is with Voldain here?

Speaker 6:

I mean, I'm I grew up in Justeyn. I I feel very proud of my country, but I also feel like there is a lot to learn about the other nations of the world. And I'm really excited to get to see places that I'm not familiar with. So I'm just excited to be here.

Speaker 2:

Very good. Very good. Yeah. And, you know, the four individuals that were here this morning, you've sort of become a team.

Speaker 6:

A little bit. Yeah.

Speaker 2:

And you've already gone on your first mission. I wanna discuss how that went.

Speaker 6:

I mean, I think we're still getting to know one another. We're still figuring it out.

Speaker 2:

Really now? We cut to the first mission that the four of you went on together. Two brand new recruits, two perhaps worn cynical maybe? Not quite yet.

Speaker 5:

Question mark,

Speaker 2:

I friends. You're on a mission. And you're on this mission, let me tell you. And we're gonna start we don't have time to go through the whole mission. That's not what we're here for.

Speaker 2:

So we're gonna start right at the climax of it. Oh. And so can I have everybody roll me a 12? Okay. Three.

Speaker 3:

We're all blue one. 1.

Speaker 2:

3. 1. 12. 4. 124.

Speaker 2:

Perfect. 13412. Look how beautiful that is. Rachel. Yeah.

Speaker 2:

Question for you. Tell us about the setting of this adventure. You are at the climax of whatever this mission was, the first mission with your three new compatriots here. Where was it at?

Speaker 3:

It was in the sewers.

Speaker 2:

Sewers? No.

Speaker 3:

Yes. There's no way you can try and duck the sewers all

Speaker 2:

you want. Oh my gosh. Sewers. It's going to happen. No.

Speaker 2:

Late spring, early summer sewers. Yes. Yep. And you know what's funny is that we haven't actually seen the sewers yet. No.

Speaker 2:

We missed our chance at season two. Check it out. Season two where you get your fuck ass. The sewers are a bit of a mystery to us. So tell us, what are we looking at in these sewers?

Speaker 3:

The sewers have been renovated a lot over the many, many ages that have existed here.

Speaker 2:

Mhmm.

Speaker 3:

So in the city, they're big. They're big pipes. But as you get out further, they're much, much smaller. So in the city, you can use them to get around if you don't care how you smell. Yeah.

Speaker 3:

Outside of the city or on the outskirts, not

Speaker 2:

at all. I love that. Yeah. I love that. Argus is currently in the sewers.

Speaker 2:

Aw. Large enough that you can definitely maneuver in. Mhmm. And the next detail I wanna know is what are y'all doing there? Rowan, what are y'all doing down there in the sewers at the climax of the mission?

Speaker 1:

There is a rogue magician who has been stealing small animals to use for props, and we have found his outpost in the middle of the sewers. No.

Speaker 5:

A rogue? Super villain of the week. Yeah. A rogue magician.

Speaker 2:

Yes. That's right. It is I.

Speaker 1:

He has a twisty mustache.

Speaker 2:

I have a twisty mustache, and it is I. And Joe, what's this person's name? Caldwell. Caldwell. It is I, Wizard Caldwell, and my nefarious plot to steal all the small critters of the whole town to create my magic show.

Speaker 2:

That's right. They'll be shocked and amazed when I split the critters in half, and then suddenly they're right back to how they were. And that's the trick. It's a different critter. And so this seems pretty cut and dry.

Speaker 2:

It seems pretty buttoned up, but Holly Yeah. How did it how did it go askew? How did it go awry? How did things go cattywampus?

Speaker 6:

We underestimated the amount of rodents that Caldwell has accumulated at this point in his career.

Speaker 2:

A giant.

Speaker 6:

Gerbils, chinchillas, rabbits, rats, You

Speaker 2:

see that the wizard, wizard Caldwell, holds up his hands in a magical manner and says, now my critters, join me now. We will become the critter king. And all these little critters, like, shuffle up to him. No. No.

Speaker 2:

No. And he Megazords himself into a giant critter thing whose head almost scrapes the top of it, and he lashes out at one of you. Let's find out who he lashes out.

Speaker 3:

Argus is gonna hop on the back of the wheelchair.

Speaker 5:

As I'm pulling out my wharf sight, I'm like, Pistachio, are these kind of getting weirder?

Speaker 4:

They're they're definitely getting weirder.

Speaker 2:

You see two flying squirrels carry what looks like a rat bomb, is which just a bunch of rats together. And then drop it on. I rolled unfortunately, I rolled a seven, which is the discretization of who would get hit. And so in this case, unfortunately, this is poor Holly's character, Willow. You're getting attacked by a rat bomb.

Speaker 2:

Does Eleven beat your evasion?

Speaker 6:

It does.

Speaker 2:

Oh, why? Do

Speaker 6:

you wanna talk about evasion?

Speaker 2:

I would love to talk about evasion. Thank you so much. So as you know to say, it's me, your GM, Isaac Allen Burns. Play the music. It's me to tell you about evasion.

Speaker 2:

So combat. We're not gonna have a full combat if it's not clear because that would be way too long. But this rat king just tried to attack one of the PCs. The PCs have a score, an evasion score. This dictates how easily they are able to avoid attacks.

Speaker 2:

You, the GM, whenever you attack, you don't roll two d twelves. You roll a d 20. It's familiar. It's warm. You love it.

Speaker 2:

If you roll higher or equal to their evasion, you hit them, and then you get to roll damage. In this case, I rolled three d six for 15 damage. Excellent. But that's not just 15 damage. It's a 15.

Speaker 2:

Think of it as a representation of how powerful the strike was. So instead of taking 15 HP, Willow is gonna look at their HP thresholds, and you're gonna see if that beats one of the thresholds.

Speaker 6:

It falls into major damage because my thresholds are fourteen and twenty seven.

Speaker 2:

Major damage is two HP. So in this case, Willow is going to take two HP of damage.

Speaker 6:

I'll actually take one as an armor slot instead.

Speaker 2:

That's right. You're learning all the rules in this one little interaction.

Speaker 4:

Yeah. Let's

Speaker 2:

go. Everybody who's wearing armor and then some has armor score that they can use to diminish the damage. You can use one point per attack. If you choose to do so, you will decrease the threshold by one. So you don't lose an HP, you just lose an armor slot.

Speaker 2:

So as this rat bomb comes down on you, think you're able to get one of your shields up just in time. Block part of

Speaker 6:

it. Yeah.

Speaker 2:

The rest of them kinda scratch at you a

Speaker 4:

little bit.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. The wizard yells at all of you and says, You can't do anything. You're not gonna stop me. What are y'all gonna do about it?

Speaker 4:

Quackers, go. And getting Quackers, who

Speaker 1:

was disguised as a, like, little creature that he had taken, just leap out and, like, stoop.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. One of the chinchillas, you see its eyes get real big and it explodes. And Quackers is there, and it quacks really loud and attacks the lizard inside.

Speaker 3:

What is that?

Speaker 4:

Oh, that's Quackers.

Speaker 3:

That doesn't explain anything.

Speaker 4:

Oh, that's my pet my quackers.

Speaker 2:

The wizard is screaming. No. Tucks. My greatest fear. The platonic opposite of small rodents is nasty birds.

Speaker 2:

We cut back to the therapist, and we're back with Argus. And he says, yeah. So that was a very successful mission. It seemed as though the report of help me find my missing pet rat turned into a lot more than you were expecting.

Speaker 3:

I I guess I was just expecting a little bit more. Well and

Speaker 2:

that's a good thing about the adventuring guild is they'll take on things large and small. Some days, you'll just be looking for a lost cat, and then next thing you know, you'll be stopping a full on invasion of a warring force.

Speaker 3:

I'm I'm from the coast, and there there is a lot of violent violence Ah. On the coast at the moment.

Speaker 2:

I see.

Speaker 3:

And it's a little jarring to go from that to therapy and rats.

Speaker 2:

I see. I I just Would you consider yourself a violent person or something? No. No.

Speaker 3:

That's not what I we really aren't understand you do understand me when I speak. Right? Yes. Of course. I'm still learning.

Speaker 2:

Yes. Of course. I understand. I feel that's my that's my job to help understand each other. Would you like me to play the theremin?

Speaker 6:

Yes. Yes. Can you do that for the

Speaker 3:

rest of the session?

Speaker 2:

Of course, I can.

Speaker 6:

Okay. Great.

Speaker 2:

And with the sound of the theremin, that fades away, and we're once again sitting back at Michelle. And she she's looking at the four of you. It says, thank you for doing that. I know that wasn't easy.

Speaker 4:

Yeah. That was a lot less enjoyable than I thought it was, but I did like the theremin music. Did he play theremin music for any of you guys?

Speaker 2:

He sure did for half an hour. Oh, wow.

Speaker 5:

I'm pretty sure I won therapy.

Speaker 6:

Oh, he won therapy. I think he was trying to get me to comment on politics, which I I just didn't wanna do.

Speaker 4:

That's a

Speaker 3:

Excuse me, Michelle.

Speaker 2:

Yes. Yes.

Speaker 3:

Where can I get a cool jacket with a letter a on it?

Speaker 5:

Woah. What's what's on the docket for

Speaker 2:

you guys? Yeah. Well, okay. Yeah. We have a couple jobs, but I think I need you to do this one specific one because he's at it again.

Speaker 2:

And then we cut to a storefront. You see a classic scene. It's a market. This market, it's a little bustling. There are people going to and fro.

Speaker 2:

People are selling things. If you are lucky enough, you have a store that is brick and mortar. You have a solid location. And boy, oh boy, it would be a real shame if anything happened to that location, which is what's happening right now. Now.

Speaker 2:

Because as the four of you walk up, you see that there is a kid about 14 years old currently on the roof just kinda yelling and throwing rocks through windows. And on the ground, you see that the merchant of said location is standing there. It looks like kind of a long, slender rat with brownish yellowish fur.

Speaker 3:

More rats.

Speaker 2:

Got a kind of some claws and it's got some wings folded behind him. And he's like, hey, kid. Hey, you gotta get down. You gotta stop doing this. You can't do this again.

Speaker 2:

You gotta stop doing this to my establishment.

Speaker 3:

Hey, kid.

Speaker 2:

What? You see this kid turns around. He does not have a bone mass this time, but he does have a young, churlish face of a little dwarven boy, maybe 14 years old. Mhmm. A beard not quite grown in yet, but an attitude that you wish he didn't have.

Speaker 2:

He turns around and says, hey, cap and stache.

Speaker 5:

Anthony, what are you doing?

Speaker 3:

Well, you know him by name.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. This is Yeah. We're friends.

Speaker 5:

I wouldn't go that far, kid.

Speaker 2:

I was just I was I wanted to go out. You wanna yeah. Why are

Speaker 5:

you going out always involve you terrorizing shop merchants?

Speaker 2:

Yeah. But then, like,

Speaker 5:

you know have money. You have things. You don't need to

Speaker 3:

do your dad or your mom?

Speaker 5:

That's a bit touchy of sudden.

Speaker 2:

Jail right now. My dad's in jail right now. Oh. Yeah. Because my dad, he did some fucked up stuff, and then he's now he's in freaking jail.

Speaker 2:

Aw. And then I have to and then my brother's always busy, and so then I have nothing to do. And then all the servants got fired. So I just kinda come out here, and then then I just break stuff, and then they make me fix it. So then I get to do all kinds of cool stuff.

Speaker 2:

Last week, I broke a window, and then I had to fix it. I got to use, like, a hammer and nails.

Speaker 3:

Oh my god.

Speaker 2:

That was freaking sick.

Speaker 6:

Do you need a job?

Speaker 2:

What? Ew. No. Gross. Job?

Speaker 2:

I don't need a job.

Speaker 3:

You're making yourself

Speaker 2:

a job. Losers have jobs.

Speaker 5:

Argus, we we we tried. You you have to trick him into it.

Speaker 3:

You have to trick him into it.

Speaker 2:

You have to trick him into what? Trick me to nothing

Speaker 3:

on his want a knot job?

Speaker 2:

What's a knot job? Is that tying knots? Yes. It is. That's exactly what is.

Speaker 2:

Learned how to tie knots yet. Is that something what do I need to break for them make

Speaker 5:

me tie knots to

Speaker 3:

fix knot there is

Speaker 2:

to tie. Oh, really? Show me one right now. Okay.

Speaker 3:

He's gonna whip something out and tie it in a knot.

Speaker 2:

Make it

Speaker 6:

Specifically a soft of rope.

Speaker 4:

Specifically a

Speaker 2:

soft rope.

Speaker 3:

Yeah. He does have a soft of rope.

Speaker 2:

You pull out a full soft of rope, which as we all know is 50 feet. Yep. Go ahead and roll me a finesse check.

Speaker 3:

A finesse check?

Speaker 6:

Oh, shit.

Speaker 2:

And this is not to be able to tie the knot. This is to be able to do so in an impressive way. Will impress a 15 year old. Kinda like that, but, like, with your hands.

Speaker 3:

Great. Okay. So that's a 12. With? With hope.

Speaker 2:

Oh, 12 with hope. Very good. Gain of hope. One important thing about roles, gang, is that if you roll with hope, you, a PC, gain a resource called a hope. Whereas if you roll with fear, me, the GM, gains one fear that I am choosing to represent by these poker chips because it's what I had in my bag.

Speaker 2:

So a 12 is less is less impressive, but it still does beat the d the difficulty I had in mind for it, which was a 12. So great job. Nice. You just barely did it. His eyes at one point got wide at first, and then you just kinda made, like, a figure eight knot.

Speaker 2:

And he was like, oh, okay.

Speaker 3:

I can teach you other ones. This is just the first one you learn.

Speaker 2:

Okay. Do they get, like, cooler and

Speaker 3:

more complicated? Yes. They do.

Speaker 2:

Can I make one look like a middle finger, like flipping people off?

Speaker 3:

Yeah. You can.

Speaker 2:

Yes. Aw,

Speaker 5:

sick. So here's the problem, Argus, is every time Anthony here does this, we have to capture him and then we have to take him back home.

Speaker 2:

You don't have to capture me anymore. I just don't wanna go home.

Speaker 3:

Why not? My

Speaker 2:

dad came by just yesterday. He got something called, like, a reprieve so that they let him out of jail.

Speaker 5:

They let him out of jail?

Speaker 2:

Yeah. Just for, like, the day to, like, go home and, handle business or whatever.

Speaker 6:

What's your

Speaker 3:

dad's name?

Speaker 2:

Edmond Zechtan. Oh. You've probably saw him in the papers. He's real famous now because he did some bad stuff. Oh, I'm sorry, kid.

Speaker 2:

He used to just be known as the uncle of the Viscount, but nowadays, now he's in jail. That's a real problem. Now my brother has to do anything, and he has no more time to, like, do anything else. Really fucking sucks.

Speaker 3:

That does suck.

Speaker 2:

So now it's just me and the one cook just in the house because everyone else got let go. Woah. You wanna come learn to tie some knots?

Speaker 5:

Yeah. If that's okay. Ugh. Alright. Come on.

Speaker 5:

Leave the shop merchant alone.

Speaker 3:

This is not what I thought I would be doing with my time. No.

Speaker 6:

It is pretty fantastical though.

Speaker 4:

Well, hey, you know, we finished this in a quarter of the day, which means I bet you we've still got one more thing that we could do before we go

Speaker 2:

to bed. What are we doing with the kid though?

Speaker 4:

Oh, well, he's gonna come on with us on this next adventure because that's

Speaker 2:

what he always does. Yeah. I tag along. Sometimes the crazy things happen.

Speaker 4:

Anyway, let's go get a milkshake on the way.

Speaker 2:

I would love a milkshake

Speaker 4:

on way. Yeah. Know. We'll stop by the morning pages. I gotta go get another book.

Speaker 2:

You go off to get a milkshake. But on the way there, I'm curious. Argus or Willow, can I have one of you? I'll let you pick which one of you. Make an instinct check for me.

Speaker 6:

How's your instinct? A zero. Mine too. I'll roll.

Speaker 2:

Oh.

Speaker 6:

Oh, that was not bad. It says 17, and it's a regular duality roll?

Speaker 2:

It is. Yes.

Speaker 1:

So go ahead

Speaker 2:

and take a beer.

Speaker 3:

Oh. Oh, great.

Speaker 2:

Very exciting. You are just kinda looking around. The city is somewhat new to you still. Mhmm. You see that there are cobblestone streets.

Speaker 2:

See that there are sort of flat, slanted roofs of this place. The buildings are still sort of close enough in this area that people can be leaping along the roofs if they want to. There are thin alleyways. The markets are a bustling. It's late spring.

Speaker 2:

El Genibi is sort of the breadbasket of Voldain as it is. So lot of, like, big farmers markets, like, all over the place. If you want some kind of fresh fruit, vegetable, or otherwise, you can find it. Like, they're they're they're pasta out of our ears here in Voldain. You know what I mean?

Speaker 2:

Yep. And as you're going through the markets, though, something odd catches your eye. And I'm curious. What is it in the shadow of one of the alleyways that you notice that strikes you as odd.

Speaker 6:

There's a there's a spot in shadow that looks like twice as dark as what it should or time of day it is. Oh. It's just really like the Vanta Black, like, just sucking light in. It's just so dark.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. You see almost like a blob, almost like a humanoid blob shape of just, like, darkness. And

Speaker 6:

Not again. Not again.

Speaker 2:

You see it move. See, it's kinda it's kinda stand it's almost, like, standing there for

Speaker 4:

a little

Speaker 2:

bit, and it seems like you noticing it makes it go deeper into the alleyway. Oh. You notice that? As you look into this alleyway with a strange blob, I think that's about time. My timer didn't start.

Speaker 2:

So I'm gonna say that's where we're gonna end this first episode. Alright. Of DodoBorne season three, a nice little opening. We had some therapy. We met some old friends.

Speaker 2:

Perhaps a new mystery awaits us down the alleyway. Stay tuned to find out. Thank you so much for watching this episode of DodoBorne. We appreciate you. We love you so much.

Speaker 2:

If you like this, go ahead. Go into your favorite podcast app. Rate us five stars. Comment below and, you know, like, comment, subscribe. Hit that bell.

Speaker 2:

Very good. Squawk on three. One, two, three. Wow. What an awesome episode that was, gang.

Speaker 2:

And now it's time for us to shout out our bag of gold tier members. At the end of this episode, we like to shout out some of our biggest supporters. If you go to our Patreon right now, we have a $5 tier where you can get a lot of behind the scenes stuff. We got some squawk backs where we talk about the episodes. And if you're at the $10 tier or higher, we shout you out at the end of the episodes.

Speaker 2:

Thank you to Ash of the Mountain, Calum Tee, Reichie Loves You, Emma, World of Gariva, Condor Blue, Niklas W, Tales by Daggerlight, Darcy R, Joshus seven zero eight, MinorThoughts, Kola Cago, Maria W, Z to the o to the r a k, thirty bird, tabletop optimist, baddie bright, muskulls dynamite, and BDS at dork master. Shout out to all of you. Thank you so much, and, see you next time. Squawk you later. Squawk you to the stars.

Speaker 2:

Quack me lately.