Tales from the Dorms: The Questors of Wey-Talleigh

The Questors of Wey-Talleigh ----Saturday, October 15th

--Erica von Abendritter

*eyes bug out* The Saturday morning breakfast sounds like a true test of cooking skills, logistical skills, and endurance for the cooking staff. Just how much weight and strain can those tables take!?! With a triple stack of pancakes, Chessa Barnes sure has an appetite.

"Let's see. To achieve critical mass and implosion to a sheer black hole of batter and maple syrup, it would 's stomach. So, three more trips to the pancake line."

"" Chessa probably rolled her eyes, but it was hard to tell when the irises matched the sclera so well. "I don't eat that much. There are plenty of kids here who--"

"Who're named Tanya, Morgana, or who have code names that describe just what energies they fart," Erica countered. "We're in the wrong place to play the normal card."

Bwahaha, sibling teasing taken to another level using science.

Everyone acting weird because they won a big fight, well some things never change. *hits head on desk* Why do people try to set up friends just because they learn one of them is gay/lesbian/bi, why? Shipping Cally with three different girls, Chessa needs a hobby that takes up more of her time. Black currant syrup, Cally has good taste, I would love to try that on some pancakes.

Ooo, character sheet files, this is going to be fun.

"Yeah!" Chessa's file opened to show a rough sketch of a lady in fantasy travel robes and a broad-brimmed hat. "The name's Emi. Emi Mojit. She's , yanno, this is my first new character " Now the green eyes were downcast and dimmed. "Since, yanno, "

I wonder what her character is. Roleplaying as the type of person you'd like to be, I understand her motivation all too well.

~~Where Emi Came From~~

That is a very well thought out background, I was drawn into the tale and wish to learn more about Emi. This is the kind of character you know was built with love.

~~Back at Whateley~~

Whoa, now that is a name that will stick with you just for how unique it is. And Gazebo's setting is sounding more and more interesting with each detail learned.

~~The Finding of Petrille~~

Now this one brought tears to my eyes, such a lovely story for a character's background. [Note: I'm only commenting on my reactions to each individual character's story for the RPG characters, don't want to spoil anything and people really need to read them themselves for full impact.]

~~Back at Whateley~~

An oread with a defensive build, Cally has made a tank even if Petrille isn't a fighter.

"Um, not really?" She would blush if she could. "I was focused more on mechanics and enabling silly stuff than, yanno, justifying it or optimizing it. Here, Wolpheen the bard-priestess, diva of Zitaori, blending songs and blessings and whatnot." The important details were on her character sheet in her neatest scribble.

Songs and blessings mixed together are always interesting if done right. Such a great group of friends, even a debate on how to help Erica with Zitaori's background.

"Just enjoying the lively debate," Erica told her. "But remember: she's a bard as well as a devotee to a goddess who likes big, crazy stories. Would you trust her to tell her own backstory right?"

Oh god, if her character told her own backstory it might come out crazier and harder to follow than Donna Troy's.

~~Wolpheen's Many Stories~~

Okay, that , all those tales and trying to sort out the truth, is crazier and harder to follow than Donna Troy's background. Certainly, someone who likes to hide their real history.

~~Back at Whateley~~

Chessa, Erica, and Cally came up with all that together, I would hate to go up against them in mad libs. Ouch, Pat's power shifting the odds in his favor to make him look cool would take some of the fun out of it.

"Gotcha. It takes all kinds. Like musical aasimars of uncertain celestial ancestry." She replaced her character sheet in its folder and checked the time on the big clock above the dining area.

Boy, none of their characters are even close to a stereotype, all so unique.

A carryout bag of those treats, now that is bringing snacks for the GM to another level. Looking out for grue in the tunnel, classic. *eyes blink in awe* Gazebo goes all out for his gaming room, talk about atmosphere. Even a wizard's hat and robes to fit the look, nice. Balanced gestalt multi-classing, Gazebo found a solution that works, I thought it wasn't possible.

Image projectors to fake distance, he is like a master level GM in set-up and atmosphere.

"You know how it is. Smart kid, smarter mutation, cleared most of his high school requirements over the summer. Pretty common for the tech track, and most would double down on the science courses." The grin widened. "But, said I, this is a school with a frickin' Magic Studies Department. You better believe I was signing up for every Intro to Thaumaturgy course they could offer for Muggles, and lo, by the end of sophomore year I was adding WIZ-1 to my MID ratings. Score!" he crowed.

Dang, now that is some determination right there to learn what he loves.

Two more are showing up for the game, an old friend of Gazebo's and a freshman. Saumer is here, uh oh, I hope Erica can continue keeping her big secret from him.

"Hello, ladies," said the older student with Saumer. "Jacob Parelli, code name Epulotic. Good fight last weekend."

Hhm, with that codename does he have some form of healing or regeneration power?

"Right on, my man." Jacob had his own sheet out and on the table. "Here's my dude, Calburi the knight on a mission from god. He's not sure which one as yet, but he's a cavalier who's slowly developing paladin powers. Just to make things interesting," he chuckled.

And another character who is interesting, these kids know how to come up with characters.

~~The Tale of Calburi~~

Now that is definitely a great background for a cavalier developing paladin powers, certainly stands out as far from normal. So far with all these characters' great backgrounds Gazebo is going to be blessed with an abundance of potential plot hooks for adventures.

~~Back at Whateley~~

Strategic planning skill is a must-have for at least one member of a party, plus having a group who doesn't have their characters just rush in at the first sign of trouble.

"Yes, actually," said the freshman boy. "But not today. Inspired , egged on by Jacob, I went with something a little more out there. Get myself out of the comfort zone, yanno?"

No paladin, this group is going to be fun to watch how they deal with various problems.

~~The Story of Kanä~~

*blinks multiple times* I didn't expect that, such a culture and character, when Saumer talked about stepping out of his comfort zone I never saw this coming. A character with a lot of potential.

~~Back at Whateley~~

A monk with a blood-bending subtype of hydrokinesis and a drinking problem was well outside her expectations.

I wonder if Saumer watched any of Avatar: The Last Airbender and incorporated the blood-bending from that.

"Loved the announcer stuff!" Chessa told him. "You and your friends did a great job."

"I was there, too," Jacob huffed.

"Really?"

"On the sidelines with the other healers," the sophomore informed them. "I manifest healing bandages. Your purple friend needed a fair amount of patching up."

And now his codename makes sense, a good one that most people won't get.

Jacob had the short notes from Gazebo for each character, and his eyebrows remained high on his forehead as his eyes scrolled down. "A bard crossed with a , keeps a hymnal as a spellbook? An oread 's a hybrid of a hybrid! " he asked in an aside to Gazebo. His finger poked one line from the description of Cally's stony protagonist. "Never seen this one before."

"Oh, that? I'm play-testing some stuff for a friend at Paizo. That one's from a book that should be out next year. Interesting, huh?"

"It can't use Channel Energy. And the warpriest side can only do it with a shield up. That', gone!"

"We do have more than two clerics," Chessa reminded him.

"Right. Your lady, who is " Jacob's face was now stuck firmly in the confused position. "A tiefling witch-child worshipping a reformed rakshasa?"

"Yup. Hariti, demi-goddess of children and childbirth, otherwise known as Big Mama Above," Chessa confirmed. "Well, metaphysically speaking, at least. Hey, bunny boy's monk thinks he's a reincarnated monkey. Can we accept that we're all a little weird and get on with it? My dice need to roll!"

Bwahaha, this just got a lot more fun to read just from those details.

The boys placed marker chips on the table to represent their characters. No one was surprised when miniature models of those characters appeared upon them, or that the markers then moved across the table on their own.

I want that! I see Gazebo likes to start off his adventures with a bang, having one of the characters in trouble. Always fun getting them out of it.

[Note: Going to limit comments on the RPG sections, I want people to fully read them themselves like the character's background. This is great stuff and needs to be read in full to appreciate it.]

~~Emi Mojit's Not So Good Day~~

Even in a fantasy world you can't escape the bigots who think they have to burn witches or base if you are good or evil based on your appearance.

"We do not suffer the presence of the Corrupt in this city!" Elder Hugot declared.

*hits head on desk* Her nature as a tiefling, the nature of her birth and no choice of her own, and yet they call her Corrupt for it. The roleplaying of Wolpheen and Petrille is excellent, I can hear their voices in my mind. And Gazebo is great acting out Elder Hugot and his zealotry.

~~Back at Whateley~~

Ouch, a guy like Hugot is designed to resist things based on Will.

"Oh, could we?" The all-green field of the dragon girl's eyes glittered with enthusiasm. "I mean, yeah, Emi's a strong, determined lady who could probably save herself from this predicament, but that doesn't mean she wouldn't appreciate a strong, handsome guy coming to her " Coppery eyelashes fluttered at Jacob.

For a moment, Erica feared that the sophomore had failed his saving throw versus the obvious. As it was, Jacob only succeeded on the bonus count. "Oh! Yeah, ahem, Calburi doesn't know what's going on when he walks into the plaza, but if he sees a young lady in danger, he'll surely save the day."

"My hero!" Chessa exclaimed happily.

Ouch, my sides hurt, this is just too good.

~~Here Comes Calburi~~

A flying tackle, grapple, and tickling, oh god, Kanä is the coolest monk ever. The townspeople coming to Emi's defense, even if a little hesitantly, is just perfect. Ouch, stop it, my sides can't take much more. Emi's response about leaving town and what Elder Hugot wants to do, she either knows what she said or is that innocent. What spell did Petrille just cast to do that? Hehe, I like Kana, he's my kind of monk.

~~Back at Whateley~~

Is there actual magic weaved into the image projector's images? I didn't think anyone had figured out how to blend magic and tech to that degree yet.

You can if you have ki powers and a deal with the game master," the freshman boy replied. "Blurring the lines between the two abilities and all. Traded away some of the flashier Kineticist stuff to get it, but I was really gunning for the subtle applications here. Speaking of " The boy turned to Erica. "How about you? That was, what, Channel Energy blended with Fascinating Performance?"

"More or " At the controls to her tongue, a fight was on between the urges to talk nerd shop or to shut the hell up before Saumer got suspicious. Nerd-talk won. "Sacrifice a little functionality on one side, gain some on the other. Great for crowd control, though. " The quip sprang forth without enough thought behind it. "You can't spell 'aasimar' without ASMR, right?"

Gazebo is a great GM to allow all of this so they can make the characters they envision. An adventure starting in a tavern, oh no, I hope it is at least not in the usual way.

~~How All Good Adventures Begin~~

A tiny charm, a miniature pomegranate in bronze, dangled from the lapdog's collar. A moment later it was unclipped and in Emi's hand as she quickly mumbled a witchy hex over their drinks. A sweet smell rose up to greet the nose as tankards were raised.

Misdirection on the real divine focus on her magic, clever and cool.

"First time with the Hammer Inquisition," Petrille noted.

"Nobody ever expects them." Emi sighed into her drink.

Monty Python reference in a way, excellent. Emi seems so quick to fall for cute guys who seem nice at first glance, poor kid. Friends having to keep their one friend from going off and doing something they might regret while drunk, I hope Emi doesn't drink too often.

~~A Round on the House~~

A simple board on the wall near his lodgings, where people could make simple requests for help and assistance.

And it can send the request to Calburi magically. How to have an MMORPG feature without it seeming convoluted, nice job Jacob and Gazebo. Kelso is the kind of bureaucrat I can't stand. And Kanä shows why I don't hang out at bars, yikes.

~~Back at Whateley~~

Gazebo didn't disappoint, no mysterious stranger or someone dying staggering into the bar to pass on a message for the quest to start, a good thing. The way the bar fight is shown on the table, now that I would love a miniature for.

"It wouldn't be a Gazebo game if the quest-giver did not have some ulterior motive, or if half the intel resources didn't contradict each other," said the sophomore. "But Calburi's stocking up on the holy water and religious icons, just in case."

The unreliable quest-giver trope, now that is one I like, makes games fun.

"It doesn't matter what exactly he believes," said Jacob. "What's important is that the undead we meet believe." The young man was scribbling down his shopping list. "And I hate to be the guy who tries to use a crucifix to ward off a Jewish vampire when with a little forethought I could have a Shield of David on hand as well."

Heh, can't fault him for that, old argument, is it the faith of the wielder or the belief of the undead in the warding object that matters?

Erica winced at the word. She had never been a fan of the kill-them-all school of gaming. It was true that most encounters turned out that way, but half the fun lay in figuring out how to get what you wanted without wholesale slaughter. Not all the folks Eric had played with back in the old days had gotten that.

I'm with Erica on this, some of our best encounters in a game I play in have been solved with roleplaying and some good Intimidation or Persuasion rolls. Aww, Chessa blushing from in-game flirting between their characters and Saumer having Kana leave them alone to let it happen.

~~Watcher at the Gate~~

That is a very interesting ability, the power to talk to gates and passageways. The answers she got seemed obvious to me, there are boundaries there that should not be crossed, Kana awoke a guardian by doing so before Petrille could negotiate with the Gate.

~~Back at Whateley~~

"It , but neither is it a true elemental. It is a Spirit of Impasse, summoned and set to ensure that none pass, in or out. , per affermere l', it is obviously angered."

Did Gazebo come up with the creature on his own or is that an actual Pathfinder monster? Ouch, I know the pain of roll initiative rolls all too well. Just hope this Spirit isn't smart enough to go after the faster opponents.

~~Kanä Is Given the Finger~~

I really want to know what spells or magic items Petrille is using, those are awesome. She is almost like a door and gate-themed Green Lantern, except silver and gold. Nice teamwork so far and great abilities, so fun to read them using them. Smart move, get the opponent off balance then run for it! Never continue fighting when you don't have to.

~~Back at Whateley~~

You got through past the guardian and it isn't chasing you, sometimes it is better to not question your good fortune. Bathroom door hidden behind the fake bushes, priceless. Oh boy, Chessa has a crush on Jacob for real, I hope he isn't above dating younger girls.

"Got a girlfriend?"

"What? No, 't. Why?"

"Got a boyfriend?"

""

"Would you ever be interested in having one of either?"

Consternation knit its way across the boy's forehead. ""

Chessa bounced her way to her full height and shook his hand. "Thank you for taking our survey this afternoon! Your response is very important to us and we may be asking follow-up questions in the future. Like right now." Chessa hooked an elbow around his and steered him towards the door. "Would you happen to know where that convenience store is? You do? Then could you show " The conversation continued out the door and into the corridors of Under-Whateley.

When Chessa wants something she definitely goes for it, I hope Jacod doesn't think she is pushy now.

Ouch, to get the Under-Whateley's store they had to pass through that tunnel, poor Cally. Nukemburgers, that wouldn't be a stealth reference to a particular series of movies set in high school, would it? Now that is a cola I would like to try. Oh boy, Saumer could figure out who Erica is when her grandparents show up for Parent's Day. Good, Erica stopped a panic attack and knows what to do later.

"Seriously." Chessa eyed the known portion of the map. "There's the statue of Old Man Whateley, all dressed up! How much of this is just our campus?"

"Enough to seem familiar," Gazebo told them. "And lull you into a false sense of security for when it's suddenly not the same at all. Assume at your own peril." With that said, he continued with a bite of his burger. "Let's get this party started."

Eep, those are the worst kind of locations in games, have to keep on your toes.

~~Scent of Wonder~~

One rule as an adventurer, if there is no signs of life in an area then you are dealing with a dangerous monster. Interesting way to perceive children, even teens, I wonder how often it is useful. Calburi, just because they are goblins doesn't mean you automatically go for your sword. Calburi just screwed up and made Emi go full mama bear, scary.

~~Back at Whateley~~

Real-world fighting between Jacob and Chessa over this, oh boy. Asking for a random encounter just to prevent Emi and Calburi from coming to blows, dang, bold choice by Chessa and Jacob.

~~Bringing It~~

Calling of the Door, a spell of defense, seeing her use that spell and the silver wall barrier earlier it is no wonder she is tough. Don't tell me this thing is a corrupted goblin, if so it is definitely scary.

Back at Whateley~~

+18 to Perception, what level are they and how did Erica min-max to get it that high?

~~Getting It~~

All those details read from body language, a nice way for Wolpheen to show her skills. The clang of metal on the creature's knees, don't tell me, either being hit by metal causes it to grow, being struck in its knees does it, or just any form of kinetic energy will cause it to grow? Brutal opponent to face if any of those are true. Dang it, each hit makes it grow, so not just the knees and most likely any kinetic or possibly any form of damage makes it grow.

The knight picked up on it as well. "Dreamborn Corruption. Fearborn, rather. I've heard the tales, but never of one so large."

"Ugh!" Emi slapped her forehead. "A bogeyman. An oversized fear-eater. Of course! Why didn't I think of that? The number of times I've had to exorcise a linen "

I should have seen that myself, a fear-based entity that grows the more fear it feeds on, it wasn't the attacks making it grow, it was each time an attack failed to harm it the kids fear grew. Big men put them in sacks and dumped them here, this is starting to sound more and more like a set-up to get rid of Calburi and Emi by the council.

~~Back at Whateley~~

Bwahaha, Erica's grandmother taught her German cusswords. Chessa is so cute when she is embarrassed. Jacob is that dense about girls flirting with him, oh brother, no wonder he had to ask if Chessa is flirting with him to know for sure. Jacob is at the stage of questioning. not sure if wants a relationship right now, understandable.

"I think the word you want is 'asexual'." It was a heck of a way to announce a return from the powder room, but Chessa handled it with grace. "Or maybe it's aromantic? One of the two? maybe both? Eh, whatever. It's a thing. Pat's got the literature if you want to read up on it."

The rest of the table had shied away in surprise at the dragon girl's sudden appearance, only to settle back nervously. "Ah, is that " said Jacob. "I'"

"And I guess I should mention I'm technically asexual -- or ace, if that sounds better, yanno? -- but for different reasons," Chessa continued. She wasn't looking at anyone as she spoke, unless her dice were somehow sapient. "Not that I don't think about it sometime, but it's all theoretical. I'm not, like, equipped properly."

Okay, that changes the whole dynamic of everything. Glad to know that about Chessa.

"So, in the interest of over-sharing," Chessa continued. "I was born without proper girl-parts. It's a thing; it happens. There's this big scientific word for it that I hate to remember. But the thing is, my BIT's working to fix all that. It's already done the big stuff on the outside, so now I'm a teenage version of a half-dragonborn fighter with high dexterity and charisma -- if I so say so myself! -- but eventually it'll all take and I'll be a real girl all the way through. That's gonna take a while, so until then I'm fine with someone who isn't interested in the physical side of a relationship, but I still want some romance, goshdarnit!"

Ah, a BIT that is still changing her, but it will be a while before it is finished, like Mega-Girl with her shell in Gen-1. Glad she can be so open with her friends about it.

Saumer's mouth and brain conspired against him, having a crush on Erica, I wonder how many guys do at Whateley by now. Climbing over the wall to get out, hope the guardian doesn't move from the Gate to intercept them.

~~Another Brick in the Wall~~

Only one way in or out, climbing the wall is useless, whoever built this place was either paranoid or an evil genius.

"Gobbos have a pretty good sense of maps and geometry. Even figures into their religion, so I've heard."

This is the kind of world-building I love to see. Kana giving the little goblin girl a name is so sweet.

~~Back at Whateley~~

Good lord, Erica had to deal with the infamous killer GM. I can't believe Chessa jinxing Gazebo actually worked to get their horses and donkey back.

"'s a messed-up piece of real estate as it is. Stick that through a filter of D&D, or Pathfinder, or Das Schwarze Auge, 't know, Blue Rose? I can't imagine a single system or setting where this school isn't ground zero for all things weird, bizarre, and/or unspeakable."

Gazebo's self-satisfied smirk said all the words left unspoken. The game master's only vocal response was, "Did you pull toilet duty at Hawthorne?"

"No. Comment." Erica wiped a hand flat down her face as she tried to blot the memory. "What was I ! Okay, we're stuck here, we know it's only going to get weirder, and we've got dependents. First order of business?" She looked expectantly at Jacob.

Toilet duty at Hawthorne, Erica needs to see one of the counselors after that. Erica has a plan, this is going to be good.

~~The Great Singalong~~

Singing to cause foes hiding and waiting to ambush to reveal themselves and leave themselves vulnerable to attack, that is some song and some sacred chord. Details like this bring a character to life for me.

~~Back at Whateley~~

Edited video to his guy at Paizo, so they really do play differently than they did before manifesting.

"Thank you for thinking to use it to track someone," replied Gazebo. "But that's kind of my point. I know there are exceptions on all sides, but the Whateley kids I run stuff for, they pick a power concept and do everything they can contrive to make it work -- and I'm usually nice enough to help them with optional systems, splatbooks, and the Elephant In The Room abridgements to rules and requirements. And then I watch them take these ridiculous builds with highly specific powersets and absolutely murder my adventures. Like now." With a flick of a finger he halted the replay. "Pre-emptively ambushing an ambush with a bardic performance. Granted, I kind of set myself up for that when I okayed that ASMR stuff, but you're the one though to do it. A whole different play philosophy from regular kids of close to your age, from being so used to powers, power-sets, and how they work in real fights. Last weekend wasn't your first, was it?" he said to Erica.

Having to deal with all that in the real world helps them in games to figure out strategies most people wouldn't think of. Aw, don't put yourself down, Jacob. Most people would just play a paladin and call it a cavalier, you went the extra mile and that says something.

~~Quiet and Stable~~

Epontia, a goddess of horses with that name, nice reference to the Celtic Horse goddess and Legend of Zelda's famous horse. Marquus is a rude old priest of the goddess, talking to them like that just because they aren't horses or the chosen of his goddess. Having to talk to his horse Perdita to be let into a stable, Gazebo has a sense of humor.

~~Back at Whateley~~

Gazebo does this every week trying to have Jacob make Calburi a proper paladin to a god or goddess, good grief.

Oh, right. It was her turn to participate in the lore and world-building. "Ahem. Epontia, goddess of horses, mistress of the high fields of heaven, and chronic non-joiner in the petty squabbles of the divine. Hey, that's what it says!" she protested as Jacob gave her a funny look. "She's, like, True Neutral, goes her own way, and really only cares about horses. Domains are Freedom, Resolve, Animals, "

Shoot, I would have a paladin follow her. Personal plot-based stuff is always fun to end a session on, no big cliffhanger to worry about.

~~A Different Hue of Horseman~~

Now that is a tale I shall not repeat a word of here, it is too epic to do so. I can't find the words to properly describe the feeling it gave me, especially that ending.

~~Back at Whateley~~

Someone in the 80s played a 24-hour session and got them prohibited, now that is someone I wish to know about.

Chessa was giggling over the script of the scene they'd just concluded, where Gazebo had allowed her to play the part of Epontia, goddess of horses, based on a few quick notes and important points. "I don't really talk like this, do I?" the dragon girl asked.

"I did install a filter," Gazebo admitted. "To pretty it up and remove excessive hemming and hawing. No one at this table is given to dropping f-bombs, but if you did, the program would convert them to fantasy trope cussing as well."

That is one way to make game session records more fantasy-like. Halloween planning meeting by the Barnes family, this one will be one to remember just from the entertainment, I hope. And Erica has another friend she can count on in Saumer.

Gazebo is very observant, I hope he doesn't figure out Erica's secret any time soon.

"Ah, " The Italian's smile was a waning crescent under the corridor lights. "I needed this, I think. To , with friends and new peoples both. Even, even boys." There was a pained burr to her voice that left more ice down Erica's spine. ", I will try to be more outgoing, " Calliope leaned against her roommate's shoulder as they walked along. "First I shall work on the going-out."

I was just happy to see Cally chatting with boys in a friendly environment and not being scared because of what happened. Best friends forever, anyone who tries to ruin that between Erica and Cally will have many to answer to.

This was a great story, I loved all the chatting they did with each other, the roleplaying of their characters was something many only dreams of having in an RPG session, and the tech and probably magic used, the set-up Gazebo has, that would have most gamers trying to figure out how they could afford it themselves.

Seeing Cally out and about was great, she might not have talked as much as the others but she spoke volumes when she did. Living her life and recovering from trauma as she has experienced is never easy, I'm so glad she has Erica and other friends there to help her along the way.

Erica's interactions with Saumer, the worry of being found out, having to plan for Parents' Day, I'm just glad they can be friends again even if Saumer doesn't know who she used to be. And the interactions between Chessa and Jacob, very well done, it is great to see a probably ace and/or aromatic, they need more representation.

I can't wait to see their next roleplaying session, this one was fun, so much so I limited my comments on their character's backgrounds and the roleplaying parts. I think people will enjoy those more if they read them themselves as all stories should be. Plus when it comes to roleplaying I have a harder time describing things without going into a lot of detail.

First, I want to say how nice it was to read a story with no bad guys in the story, barring the RPG villans.

no cafeteria furniture was ever destroyed by accident

Is any cafeteria furnature ever destoryed deliberately?

Her brothers and sisters all hated her for being an only child.

Of course all the brothers and sisters of an only child hate her. How selfish can you be?

looking out for grue

I don't remember how many times I was eaten by a grue, but it was a lot.

Perhaps now, as she maintained an open, innocent face

Is "now" a typo for "not"?

You can't spell 'aasimar' without ASMR, right?

Unfortunately, even after googling aasimar, I have no idea what this means. The last D&D I played came in three little books. I know that explaining a joke normally kills it, but I would like an explanation of what ASMR is.

Not to mention those supplies still in our saddlebags," added Petrille.

Oops.

She wasn't looking at anyone as she spoke, unless her dice were somehow sapient.

Of course dice are sapient. And they have a malicious sense of humor. Occasionally they will roll well for you, but that is so that they can laugh at someone else.

wavering between an ex- and a com- on his -plaining

This line was wonderful!

No, that line dates back to the 80s

I'm surprised it took so long. Would have expected late '70s.