And we’re back!

After a two week break, we’ve got another NADDPOD Listen Along with everyone’s favorite elderly warriors, the HexBuds.

This 12th listen along also marks the very first to be published while the site is officially live, so thanks to all of you who have taken the time to check out what we’re doing here!

See also: 

• NADDPOD Listen Along: Introduction
• NADDPOD Listen Along: Eldermourne Episode 9, Hexblood
• NADDPOD Listen Along: Eldermourne Episode 10, The Would Be King
• NADDPOD Listen Along: Eldermourne Episode 11, Killshot
• NADDPOD Listen Along: Eldermourne Episode 12, The Prophet Gideon
• NADDPOD Listen Along: Eldermourne Episode 13, Cindersworn

I’ll be trying my best to keep these recap and commentary articles coming on the Friday following the Thursday podcast drop. Keep an eye on our Facebook and Instagram pages to be alerted whenever new articles are published.

Let’s goooo.

Recap

The HexBuds are still in Glada’s cottage within the Trickster’s grove, and have decided to spend the night to get their strength back, as every five hours there is just one back in the Material Plane.

Glada says that the sprites near Pearl Hill have told her that Gideon is hunting down Wymer’s fleeing army, but that he is far ahead of both the cavalry and the toads — the latter of which the Hexbuds are clearly concerned about.

Before tucking in for the night, Jabari asks Corbeau if he is mad at him. Corbeau answers “It’s the senseless killing. It’s the killing that doesn’t need to happen that makes me upset,” referencing the guard that Jabari had assassinated on the way into Wymer’s camp. “I want it to be strategic. I want it to mean something.” Jabari agrees, especially given that more people dead means more zombies for Maxorra’s army.

The two wrestle to clear the air, with Jabari rolling a nat 20.

Glada is clearly worried in the morning as she hasn’t been able to contact the sprites of Pearl Hill. She thinks that some powerful evil is killing the sprites there. The whole crew heads to the forest gate, where they find Stallios suffering from some severe wounds.

Tarragon heals the centaur, who tells the HexBuds that Gideon had popped into the grove, killed some of his scouting party, turned them, and then popped out.

The HexBuds head out of the gate, and immediately see fire and screaming coming from the town of Pearl Hill. It looks as though some of Wymer’s forces stuck around to confront Gideon, who is cutting through soldiers and townfolks alike alongside a growing number of zombies.

The Hexbuds link up with the Royal army’s cavalry, who are under orders to follow Gideon, but also see that he is leading the undead and killing innocent townsfolk. Sir Raynard Wendell is arguing with the knights of the cavalry, which stalls them just in time for Corbeau to arrive and smack one of the knights.

Corbeau addresses the cavalry: “Listen to yourselves and you’ll know your new orders. There’s dead fighting the living, alright. You don’t need orders from the king to know what’s right to do here.”

Corbeau manages to roll a higher persuasion than Gideon’s Intimidation, and the knights (and the dry, dry toads!) join with the Hexbloods.

The whole army marches on Pearl Hill.

The Hexbloods try to sneak up on Gideon, who they see in the centre of town killing and turning Wymer’s soldiers, but his high perception means that they don’t succeed on securing a surprise round.

The fight comes to blows while the undead and living battle all around them, with Murph implementing that new battle mechanic he had been expecting to use last session. The combo of Hex and Stunning Strike manages to stun the Prophet, but not before Gideon cuts Tarragon down, forcing her into death saves.

Jabari and Corbeau pile damage into the ex-Guardian, and though Tarragon is brought back by Corbeau, she is again downed by the hordes of zombies that encircle the fight.

Corbeau manages to land the final blow on Gideon (well, technically Lake did), though the Hexbloods still need to help the Royal army from being overcome by the growing number of undead. Tarragon gets revived (again), and together the super soldiers work with the not-so-super soldiers to eliminate the threat.

Tarragon tells the remaining royal soldiers that “You’re all Hexblood Centurions now!” which brings tears to Jabari’s eyes: “Jabari is openly weeping at the idea that there are now more Hexbloods. It is truly an emotional moment.”

Just as the army and remaining townsfolks begin to celebrate, Murph says “the dented, deanimated armor of Prophet Gideon begins to twitch, and you see blue light coming from where his head used to be. And that’s where we’ll end our episode.”

Commentary

Gotta love a crunchy combat ep.

Like I’ve said before, NADDPOD always does a great job of keeping D&D combat exciting and cinematic, which is crucial given that it can honestly be one of the most boring and drawn out parts of a session. The stellar editing to remove all the calculations do wonders to help with that as well.

This combat encounter was made more exciting by Murph finally getting to use his new large-scale battle mechanics. While it was clear that the HexBuds were going to focus on Gideon instead of actually helping with the chaos that was going on around them, the lair actions added to the feel of a chaotic battlefield, and the upwards of a dozen additional attacks made on the trio definitely raised the stakes.

As a DM, I feel like throwing those additional threats into a fight with a Big Boss is super important as they, along with Legendary Actions, take away a party’s inherent action economy advantage. I was seriously worried that the Buds (and the Royal army, for that matter) could be overwhelmed by the zombies even after Gideon was downed.

Rewinding a bit, I also loved Corbeau and Jabari’s emotional (and physical) grappling with killing, and how Tarragon has found herself as sort of the middle ground between the two ideologies.

Gideon being a threat to Glada’s grove was also a shock — I figured that maybe that one had been hidden from him, but I guess it turns out that if you’ve been invited to one you’ve been invited to them all? I’m glad to hear that there are some significant centaur defences, though, and that the Prophets would need an army to take them on.

Speaking of armies… so the Hebloods just have their very own army now, or what???? That bit about Tarragon saying that they’re all Hexbloods now and it hitting Jabari just so hard was amazing, because he clearly misses glory days when he was with his friends.

It reminded me of that one soldier at the start of the very first episode, who got mad at Jabari for working out so early, and calling him an old man. It’s really tragic, in a way, that these 100+ old super soldiers have nearly managed to outlive their own infamy. The troubles of growing old, I suppose.

I’m hoping that Gideon has been dealt with for good ( though I’m not holding my breath about it) and I’m glad that once a zombie is re-killed, it’s gone for good. Makes me wonder if the living are going to start burning their dead, a la Game of Thrones.

This also makes me wonder when, exactly, the podcast will switch back over to the Choo Choo Crew. This episode felt like quite the climactic victory that would make for a reasonably place to pause on, but at the same time it feels like the HexBuds have a lot more work ahead of them.

I know that Caldwell had returned for a recent Mixed Bag one month into his paternity leave, but I don’t know if that means his official return will be any time soon.

Honestly, I’m happy with seeing whatever it is that Corbeau, Tarragon, and Jabari do from here, but I do worry that their already higher levels will make it difficult for Zirk, Fia, and Henry to catch up to them — especially if the Hexbloods start levelling up as well.

I really do miss those misfits, though.

Roses:

• Tarragon telling the royal army’s soldiers that they’re Hexbloods now
• Lake getting the final blow
• The dry toads bit kills me every time
• Murph’s mechanics made things feel like a messy battle, with threats all over the place
• The deep, meaningful, sleepover conversations

Thorns:

• I just feel like it’s tragic that some of the centaurs got turned. I hope that doesn’t happen to any current allies (Glada, Bathilda, Syb) but I also know Murph can be a cruel god indeed, so who knows.

Buds:

• The. PCs. Have. An. Army.

That’s it for this ep! Find other NADDPOD Listen Alongs here and share your takes, predictions, roses, and thorns in the comments below.

Eldermourne Episode 11, Killshot | Episode 13, Cindersworn