S2E129 – Season 2 Special – The Playa Rose Summer Release! – Episode 7: Dreams and Nightmares

Here at D&SD Over the Summer on Wednesdays we will be releasing some of our cool side campaign episodes! This series is called “The Playa Rose” is a western campaign DM’d by our Very own Andrew Kornblatt.  Serpentine Visions and Restless Sleep After collecting their thoughts and taking shelter for the night, the party experiences a disturbing development. During the deep hours before dawn, Marshal and Morgan are afflicted by strange, unsettling dreams that leave them with restless, broken sleep. Both of their unique nightmares end with the same terrifying image: a snake-like figure with piercing yellow eyes. The next morning finds them gathered around a table in Mona's saloon, sharing their troubling visions and debating their next course of action. The dreams seem connected to their investigation, suggesting supernatural forces are taking an active interest in their activities. They must decide whether to seek out the mysterious "table witch" mentioned by the gravedigger, investigate the Dragonborn tribe that Floyd had been studying, or pursue another lead entirely. From Floyd's journals, Morgan and Consuela learn more about his relationship with the local Dragonborn tribe and his growing concerns about Laurentine's mining operations. The scientist's notes reveal his frustration with the Dragonborn's initial coldness and distrust, their treatment by eastern settlers, and his gradual friendship with a tribal member named Krish. That’s the end of our Playa Rose Summer Release. Want to hear the rest? You will be able to find it on our Patreon:  Please support Dugongs & Sea Dragons on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/DugongsAndSeadragons  

Here at D&SD Over the Summer on Wednesdays we will be releasing some of our cool side campaign episodes! This series is called “The Playa Rose” is a western campaign DM’d by our Very own Andrew Kornblatt.  Sharing Secrets and Digging Graves The party reunites in Liberty Bluff to compare their discoveries and plan their next moves. Over drinks at a traveling medicine show, they piece together the growing conspiracy: the bizarre blight affecting the land, the mysterious musical mercenaries, Laurentine's machinations, Floyd Davis's murder, and the identity of the mysterious "Her" pursuing Floyd's spirit. Emboldened by their alleged medicine (which may have been a bit stronger than advertised), the group decides that answers lie with Floyd's body itself. Under cover of darkness, they sneak into the cemetery to exhume his grave, hoping Morgan's necromantic abilities can extract the truth directly from the deceased. However, their midnight grave-robbing reveals an shocking discovery: instead of Floyd's corpse, they find only a strange scarecrow stuffed with straw. Investigating the coffin further, they discover a large desert lizard scale - oddly oversized and out of place. Their investigation is interrupted by the arrival of a surly, grizzled gravedigger and caretaker who alludes to these strange occurrences of missing bodies being the work of a "table witch." When Marshal asks for clarification about which table - dining room? picnic? - the gravedigger's cryptic warnings only deepen the mystery. Please support Dugongs & Sea Dragons on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/DugongsAndSeadragons  

Here at D&SD Over the Summer on Wednesdays we will be releasing some of our cool side campaign episodes! This series is called “The Playa Rose” is a western campaign DM’d by our Very own Andrew Kornblatt.  Meanwhile, in Liberty Bluff... While chaos unfolds at the homestead, Consuela and Morgan investigate the mysterious death of Floyd Davis in Liberty Bluff. Their search for his widow leads them to the sheriff's office, where they find Sheriff Scelop - a rotund, incompetent iguana-man - snoring face-down at his desk beside an empty whiskey bottle. After convincing the flustered sheriff they represent financial interests regarding Floyd, they're directed to the Davis-Bluff house with a request to tell the widow to stop "rabble rousing." The Victorian-style house with its curated native plant garden seems larger inside than out, unnaturally cool and dark despite the desert heat. They meet the surly but welcoming housemaid Miss Margery, who leads them to Dalia Blundell – an exotic, eerie figure who immediately sets Consuela on edge with vampire suspicions, while Morgan finds herself oddly enthralled. Realizing their interests align in seeking justice for Floyd, Dalia takes them to her late husband's study. In Floyd's study, they discover two of his three precious journals, plus a surveyor's chain and compass -but the third journal remains missing. As they search, Consuela experiments with a sample of arcanite, triggering a magical flash that causes her eyes to glow blue and grants her supernatural perception. In this enhanced state, Consuela witnesses the terrified specter of Floyd Davis emerging from the wall, desperately seeking Dalia before being dragged back into shadow by smoke-black arms with long claws, his final scream echoing her name. Please support Dugongs & Sea Dragons on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/DugongsAndSeadragons  

Here at D&SD Over the Summer on Wednesdays we will be releasing some of our cool side campaign episodes! This series is called “The Playa Rose” is a western campaign DM’d by our Very own Andrew Kornblatt.   Hyenas, Mariachis, and Pyrrhic Victory   The defense of Trail's homestead unfolds in multiple harrowing phases. As afternoon heat reaches itszenith, the terrifying whooping of hyenas breaks the silence - impossible creatures this far east, led by agiant specimen that sniffs the air with an almost humanoid smile before turning toward the defenders.   A fast-paced musical duel accompanies the battle as serpentine guitar melodies coil around each otherwhile a trumpet rises to take the lead. The party fights desperately against the pack, with the creatures'unnatural presence confirming the supernatural nature of their enemies.   As the last hyena dies in a pool of dark blood, the music shifts to haunting words in an unknown tongue.Four mysterious musicians fade into existence: Vargus (the black-suited leader with grey skin and bone-white guitar), Song of the Lonesome Howl (a spotted Tabaxi with brass instrument and pistol), Gerar (ayellow dragonborn guitarist with gila monster features), and Solis (a red-skinned tiefling with horn-shaped shoulder pads).   The battle is fierce and costly. Though our heroes' preparation and determination prove superior to thesupernatural mariachi band, their victory comes at a terrible price. The homestead burns above them asthey flee through Mac D's tunnel system, while Vargus screams "Consuela!" into the night, revealing apersonal connection to their enigmatic halfling companion.   Please support Dugongs & Sea Dragons on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/DugongsAndSeadragons  

Here at D&SD Over the Summer on Wednesdays we will be releasing some of our cool side campaign episodes! This series is called “The Playa Rose” is a western campaign DM’d by our Very own Andrew Kornblatt. Tunnels, Traps, and Musical Nightmares With the party split, we follow the defenders at Trail's homestead as they prepare for the Pusheen Brothers' promised return. The trio hatches an elaborate three-part defense plan: Ol' Mac D will dig an escape tunnel system to the bottom of the gorge (complete with traps and dead ends), they'll create pit traps spiked with hallucinogenic cactus needles, and manufacture crude flash-bang grenades. Mac D's tunnel-digging reveals an existing underground passage system, adding mystery to their defensive preparations. As they take a midday siesta on the porch during the blazing heat, Marshal hears haunting music approaching. When he investigates, he finds four musicians playing an eerie tune that raises his hackles - but when he turns to warn the others, both the music and the musicians have vanished. The psychological warfare begins as the music returns, audible to all. Those who speak Abyssal understand the sinister lyrics. For a full hour, the otherworldly melodies assault their minds, requiring periodic Charisma checks to resist the supernatural influence. The music creates an atmosphere of dread and anticipation, setting the stage for the coming battle. Please support Dugongs & Sea Dragons on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/DugongsAndSeadragons  

Here at D&SD Over the Summer on Wednesdays we will be releasing some of our cool side campaign episodes! This series is called “The Playa Rose” is a western campaign DM’d by our Very own Andrew Kornblatt. Hospitality, Heartbreak, and the Pusheen Brothers On the road to the mine, the party encounters Trail in the Grass, a tuxedo-furred Tabaxi homesteader speaking ill of the mine owner. They decide to join him at his small homestead, where he shares a meal and his tragic story - the loss of his mate, the festering of his land and animals, and the growing pressure from Laurentine, the powerful mine owner who's been buying up land along the gorge through increasingly aggressive means. The party is moved to help, offering comfort through song, helping clean his modest shack, and... well, in Mac D's case, shapeshifting into a goat to eat some of the grass. Their evening of frontier hospitality is interrupted when Mac D, wild-shaped into a local bird, spots the Pusheen Brothers - those calico Tabaxi troublemakers - approaching the homestead. In a classic Western standoff, Consuela and Morgan intercept the brothers while Marshal and Trail take defensive positions. The Alley Cat gang members, surprised by the protection and presence of capable, dangerous women, exchange heated words before departing with a warning: Trail has four days to vacate his property, or they'll return with "overwhelming influence." Faced with this threat, the party splits up - Marshal and Mac D staying to help fortify Trail's homestead, while Consuela and Morgan return to Liberty Bluff to investigate the widow of a geologist who died while investigating the mines. Please support Dugongs & Sea Dragons on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/DugongsAndSeadragons  

A Corpse, A Snake-Man, and Uncomfortable Questions The adventure kicks off proper-like in Mona Stanley's saloon, where Marshal Marshal runs into Morganthe necromancer over some heated words. Their attention turns to Consuela, a enigmatic halfling playing haunting music in a dark corner, before Ol' Mac D - aged and sun-addled - joins their growing circle. The evening takes a deadly turn when a man bursts through the saloon's swinging doors and collapses,dead from an apparent gunshot wound. Moments later, a snake-man gunslinger saunters in casual asyou please. When a local lawyer accuses the serpentine stranger of lawlessness, our heroes get mixed upin the confrontation, and the snake-man leaves with threats hanging in the air. Morgan, thinking quick, drags the corpse to a back room and animates it for questioning. The dead manreveals he was in the mine to the north and saw something he shouldn't have. Marshal Marshal sendsword to the local magistrate for a warrant to search the mine and arrest its owner, while the crew decidesto escort their magically silenced undead witness on the multi-day journey northward.  

Here at D&SD Over the Summer on Wednesdays we will be releasing some of our cool side campaign episodes! This series is called “The Playa Rose” is a western campaign DM’d by our Very own Andrew Kornblatt.  Welcome to Liberty Bluff, a small frontier town where the plains meet the desert at the edge of Deadwind Gorge. Our unlikely heroes find themselves in this hub on the great trade road, where folks come seeking freedom, fortune, or a fresh start. The air tastes of industry and something fouler - the town's lifeblood flows from the booming arcanite mine to the north, producing rare gems, coal, and the mysterious mineral that powers their world. But all ain't well in Liberty Bluff. Drought withers the farms, strange tales drift in from the western deserts of mutated creatures and bizarre plagues, and bandits prey on the trade routes. Soldiers from a northern fort bustle about, building fortifications as if preparing for siege. In this powder keg of a frontier town, four strangers are about to find their fates intertwined. Please support Dugongs & Sea Dragons on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/DugongsAndSeadragons  

The crew talk to Trevor and head off to a city with an unpronounceable name.  Please support Dugongs & Sea Dragons on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/DugongsAndSeadragons  

D&SD is Taking a break to do a short adventure in the Doctors and Daleks Universe with DM Chris Parsons. Renegade Time Lord the Corsair and his sontaran companion Dyrall Viddae have rescued Captain Stede Bonnet, but can they escape their pursuers? Please support Dugongs & Sea Dragons on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/DugongsAndSeadragons