I've been pointing out new episodes of the D&D/Penny Arcade/PvP/Me podcast on Twitter, but since the third series draws to a close today, I thought I'd catch up, and then share some thoughts on the final episode.
My last post took us up to episode three, so…
In this episode, the battle continues in full against Thazin Stormbellow, guardian of the Ambershard mausoleum. That sleeping boar? No longer sleeping…
In this episode, the members of Acquisitions Incorporated learn about the death and dying rules… but does it concern them, the boar, or the dwarf? They also learn that intimidating a bloodied enemy may force that enemy to surrender… may. And finally, they learn the might of a solo monster—essentially, four monsters wrapped in one.
Acquisitions Incorporated prepares for their ultimate fight against Leer of the Ambershard Dwarves. As they approach the upper chambers, will they simply bust in and take the guards out? Or quietly bar the other doors, and take a sneakier approach?
What's left, but for Aeofel to throw his dagger at the fleeing Leer… and he's thankful he did, despite missing. For the dagger hangs in midair, as if suspended in something… unseen.
"At least you're not in the acid pit…."
All caught up? If you're ready, follow me past the jump, where it's SPOILER-TASTIC!
Well, then. A picture being worth a thousand words:
So. Um. That didn't work out very well for Aeofel, did it? I can already hear the cries from other members of the gaming tribe: "Never split the party you dumbass!"
Normally, I'd agree completely, but here is where actual roleplaying sort of lead to . . . unforseen consequences. Allow me to explain: Aeofel is an Isolating Avenger. He is, in normal language, a zealot. Where a Paladin brings comfort to the afflicted, the Avenger brings great vengeance and furious anger to those who caused the affliction.
So, if I'd been metagaming, if I'd mixed player knowledge with character knowledge, Aeofel never would have chased after Leer. If I'd adhered to the second rule of RPGs (the first being, "never pick up a duck in a dungeon") I wouldn't have split the party. But Aeofel had sworn an Oath of Enmity on Leer. He had Leer on the run. Leer was bloodied and had offended Melora. That alone was enough to get Aeofel to go after him, but if there was any doubt, Aeofel had been implored by Binwin to "get him." Binwin was the only Dwarf in the 'verse who Aeofel actually liked, the only Dwarf in the 'verse who could actually be a friend to Aeofel, and Aeofel was intensely loyal to those who were close to him. Aeofel knew that Leer was part of a clan who made Binwin's father stop drinking! So when you add all that up, Aeofel had no choice but to chase Leer down, and end up in that acid pit. (And, to be honest, there were two damn awesome bits in there, before tragedy struck: the way Aeofel found the gelatinous cube and the way Leer activated the traps was really cool.)
I haven't had a character die in . . . I'm not exactly sure how long. Not since I was a teenager, and even then, characters weren't dead dead, because we all kept locks of our hair in special jars marked "In case of death, break glass and resurrect, y'all." But Aeofel is really, truly, I'm-totally-serious-about-this dead. He may find a way to come back as a revenant, but if he does, he will be changed by the experience. If it's at all possible, Aeofel will be even more serious and overly-dramatic.
Regrets? Well, obviously. My fuckin' character is dead, but he died doing what he loved, and while it would have been nice to make some kind of heroic sacrifice, I'm happy that I stayed true to Aeofel's beliefs and played him the way I wrote him.
When we finished the session, Chris Perkins drove me back to my hotel Aeofel's blood dripping from his evil hands, where I met up with Anne, who got to spend the next two hours listening to me explain, in excruciating detail, how Aeofel died and exactly what character death means to a gamer geek like me. To her credit, she didn't mock me, but since she is a normal person, she wasn't able to totally grok why I was so upset.
So I grabbed my Blackberry, and I texted the following to Scott:
His…name…was…Aeo…fel.
A few minutes later, he replied:
We will not rest until we retrieve your soul.
"What are you doing?" Anne asked me.
"I'm sharing nerd-grief with Scott," I said. "It'll just be a minute."
For the next fifteen minutes or so, this is the conversation we had (transcribed by Scott, because his Jesusphone kept the messages that my Blackberry deleted – thank you, Scott!)
Wil: Anne says I should have a candlelight vigil. I can't believe he's gone. Do you think Aeofel went to live on a farm where he can play with them goddamn rabbits? Tell me about the rabbits, George.
Scott: He's with the Raven Queen now.
W: [Wipes a single, solitary tear.] He's in a buh-buh-better place.
S: His torpedo coffin soft landed on the genesis planet. We're gonna totally search for Spock him.
W: He has been, and always shall be…your friend.
S: You dwarven bastard, you…KILLED….my SON.
W: Of all the Eladrin souls I've encountered in my travels….his was the most….Huh-HUMAN!
S: *Scotty playing bagpipes*
W: This is the best nerd catharsis ever. You are a true friend, Scott.
S: The doors slide open with a swish. Uhura lets out a gasp. Binwin holds Aeofel's corpse.
S: "He stayed at his post…when the trainee's ran."
W: The way to grieve a loss of a D&D character seems to be by quoting wrath of Khan.
S: Indeed, captain.
W: We are SO going to get all KHAAAAAN on that dwarf's ass.
S: He vexxes us. He vexxes us and we will have him.
W: Aeofel comes back as a Revenant, unites with Binwin and spends the rest of his life hunting and killing every last Ambershard dwarf for great justice.
S: Ha! I thought you were going to say he tries to KILL Binwin.
W: …..
W: Oh, they probably have some stuff to work out first…
S: Gulp!
I'm sure it seems silly, probably because it is, but I really did feel a sense of loss when Chris said that Aeofel wasn't coming back (and death by acid pit is super duper extra permanent in D&D, guys) and I really did need to talk about it with someone who could understand why. I'm grateful that Scott was there, and as I told him this morning, I withdraw my oath of enmity and instead swear an oath of eternal friendship. Because while it's a lot of fun to blame him for killing Aeofel, we all know that it wasn't actually his fault. Also, Scott is one of the few people in the world I can quote Trek with, and it isn't weird.
In fact, Scott told me this morning,
Reading this chat log again, I leave you with this….the one WOK thing we didn't touch on.
Omin Dran enters the lobby and sees the pit of acid. He gaps and runs towards it. Jim and Binwin grab him, holding him back.
Binwin: Omin, NO!
Omin: He'll die!
Scotty: He's DEAD already.
Giggle. WIN.
I hope we'll be doing another series of podcasts soon, not only because they're incredibly fun for me to listen to (it's so weird to have it on my iPod, hear Scott say something funny, and then laugh at it along with myself exactly the same way I did four months ago) but because it's so incredibly fun for me to play with all of them. Even though Chris killed Aeofel, he's a great DM who did some of the best NPC roleplaying ever. As evidence, I present: "Jim Winks." "How are your death scenes?" and "…who are you?" And all the fun we're obviously having on the podcasts? Well, we're not making that up; if I could play with these guys every week, I would do it in a heartbeat.
So if there's another series of podcasts, and if I'm invited back, I'll certainly play, either as zombie Aeofel, or as a new character . . . maybe a Barbarian who tears off the heads of anyone who calls him "Al."
Namárië, Aeofel. Ná Melora veria le, ná elenath dín síla erin rád o chuil lín.
My Star Wars RPG character died a fiery, heroic death in the last battle of our last gaming session. And even though we were retiring the characters, her death left me in a funk for days. So I’m glad I’m not the only one who mourns the loss of one’s character.
Ah. Sweet, sweet closure. The way the episode cuts Chris off in mid-sentence did not help. I’ve actually had an indefinable sense of unease since I listened to the episode last night.
I, for one, seriously hope there is a fourth series – and I expect you to be there.
As I said on Twitter:
-pours some fine Eladrin wine on the ground- We will never forget Aeofel.
Oh god, Episode 8.
Seriously. Epic. I laughed out loud so many times.
Smiling widely as I write this.
“Choke on your t-shirts Scott Kurtz.”
Classic.
Rest in peace, Aeofel.
So Wil, how old are you now? Do you think that you will be doing this type thing (D/D) for the rest of your life, since you have been doing it most of it now. Just had to ask? As an old D/D player WAY old it is nice to see that the war is still going on. From one pocket protector to another.
That was such a great podcast, and I can. not. wait for the next one, and to see what character you roll for it.
I really like the idea of a revenant Aeofel and Binwin becoming crazy, obsessed Ambershard hunters.
It was really awesome to listen to you guys, keep it up
Aeofel Elhromane, Melora’s holy Avenger, we hardly knew ye…
but you can at least take comfort that others will know of the awesomeness of him thru the podcast and since he’s also an example character in WOTC’s character builder software.
I guessed last week (at that horrible cliffhanger) that good old Aeofel was not long for this world, but I’d hoped that it’d be pulled off anyway. Someone on the Wizards boards said it best that this was like the Empire Strikes Back of the D&D podcasts. Aeofel is dead, Binwin doesn’t get his vengeance on the Ambershards, and Acquisitions Incorporated has only narrowly avoided total destruction and complete failure. Now we need a rousing return (sans small furry bipeds)in the next podcast to claim victory and vengeance.
You did the right thing. Always choose RP over metagaming…always!
Re the nerd-grief: Wow, awesome nerdiness. I less than three you both.
(Seriously, I’m sorry about Aeofel. The podcasts are great and he did go out doing what he loved. We’ll never forget him and, in honor of the fallen, I won’t call him “Al” anymore. I swear.)
Fantastic podcast, as always. I laughed until it hurt, took damage, and laughed some more.
As a side note, my first character death happened in the Tomb of Horrors. I was disintegrated by a door…kind of anticlimactic.
After laughing so hard at the episode (Scott mentioning that Binwin can’t die because of the merch, was HILARIOUS) I was waiting to hear what was all was “planned” in the dungeon, but the podcast was cut off just as Chris started explaining… Can you fill me in?
Dude, thats FANTASTIC. Because when I was listening and he died, I totally got the mental image of the funeral from Kahn. Omin was playing the bagpipes, Jim was mage-handing the coffin away, and Binwin was saying “Of all the Elvin souls I have encountered in my travels….his was the most…Dwar….Dwarvin…”
…frakking Tomb of Horrors.
RIP, Aeofel Elhromanë. Peace be with you.
http://www.livingwithanerd.com
I think it went something like this: Point anywhere at the map. Now, say “that would kill you.” Repeat that, oh, 500 times.
That’s why I compared it to Tomb of Horrors. I mean, *damn*.
Tonight, the stars seem dim;
Aeofel has past.
Tonight, we are all a touch sad;
Aeofel has fallen.
Tonight, Melora sheds a tear;
Aeofel has died.
Tomorrow, we shall rejoice;
Aeofel shall live again!
I hear they’re redoing it for 4e.
…I kind of want to do it.
After listening to episode eight, it really should be his name was Aeofel (great name BTW). I once had a character die in an acid pit outside a particularly nasty sepulchre. Thelbrumm of Darkambl. An elf. Sucky way to go. BTW, my party also retrieved magic items, the bstds.
So sorry Wil — hearing the update today was a big downer. Part of us died along with you. 🙁
I sortof want to get on the “Blame Binwin Bandwagon” for all of this, but I can’t help feeling that if you hadn’t forgotten to repulse twice, that you would be doing fine. You were doing great on HP and then got slammed down past bloodied before you ran down after Leer.
“Remember kids. When you buy new armor, write it down on a sticky note and keep it in front of you.”
If you’d repulsed those robots, you would have had more than enough hitpoints to survive at least one more turn (if not two turns) in the acid pit until Omin could come help you out.
Really sucked that you couldn’t phase step out of the acid — I guess that’s because you didn’t see the balcony to phase step to it? 🙁
Thanks so much for participating in these podcasts — it honestly brightens up my week to listen to your guys’ adventures, and I really really want to hear the next series. I hope you’re in it! Thanks for putting so much into it — it was great to participate in this along with you — definitely an uplifting blessing for me each week.
I’ll be handing these out to my gaming friends:
http://www.elluria.com/RIPAeofel.png
RIP Aeofel, you will be missed.
I haven’t watched WOK in years, and now I have to.
My kingdom for The Wrath of Khan on DVD!
I’d love the see an Epic Return of Aeofel story arc. Add a 5th person with a PHB3 Class, have the Acquisitions Inc crew travel to the Shadowfell to retrieve Aeofel, then hard work begins as they have to get back from the Shadowfell intact.
That is fantastic. Excellent color choice, also.
I had a character die just a couple months ago. I had the option of drinking a healing potion or pouring it down the gullet of a comrade. Couple minutes later, a massive fireball wipes me out, but the guy I revived was able to evade all damage and survive.
After the party killed the opponent the party’s thief honest-to-god looted my body. I had to sit there while my ‘ally’ rummaged through my pockets and robbed my corpse.
I love listening to them. I got my hubby to listen, and now we’re both itching to play some pen & paper RPGs. We’re trying to get a couple of friends to commit to an Aftermath! group. Being a grown-up sometimes sucks when you’ve got things like kids and a job that interfere with fun time. Oh well, at least I can live vicariously through the podcasts.
Also, Wil, your roleplaying was perfect. It would have been extraordinarily lame if you WOULDN’T have gone after the boss Dwarf. It makes sense that the fervor with which Aeofel pursued his quarry led him to his unfortunate death. Well played. I would have been screaming at the podcast if you had metagamed.
This of course, reminds me of my Star Wars death, where my character, trying to sneak off the Smugglers ship (Which was a PC), angered the other PC, and so he shot me… and rolled max damage… and vaporized me.
I was upset… but it was just so funny.
I was laughing pretty hard, because back in Episode 5 you were talking about how much you disliked the idea of splitting the party. I guess sometimes Righteous Vengance just calls.
hah — that’s great, Jeff. If you actually want a real one, for $8.99 it can be yours…
I had two characters die just three weeks ago, in fact, our whole party wiped. We had only been playing them for two weeks though so it wasn’t so bad but still, Irontooth only had 8 health left! Our new party is much, much better, we took down Irontooth with relative ease.
So tempted to make that into a pin for PAX.
With Wil’s permission, I may be bringing a bunch of them to PAX East. 🙂
*Spills a 40 oz. beer wrapped in a paper bag on the sidewalk* Rest in Peace, my homey Aeofel! I’ma gonna bust a cap in the fool who killed you’s ass!
What? I’m from PHILLY, people! That’s just how it’s done around here! And the fact that I just snort laughed while I was writing Aeofel’s eulogy completely just totally took away all traces of my street cred…
Thanks for the story. I’ve so been there. It can be hard sometimes to make the RP choice but I’ve always felt strongly about making the RP choice.
Thanks Wil, I was curious to hear you thoughts on this. It was awesomely funny and a completely surprising ending. I heard a spoiler at PAX that someone would die, I honestly thought Chris had it out for Jim Darkmagic.
A most memorable podcast, I hope for another soon!
Aeofel NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Actually I was just taking a look at the Wizards Forum and a few there are questioning if you really were at your bloodied value, or did they have one more round to try and save you…
http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/20974261/Penny_ArcadePvP_Ep8?num=10&pg=2
Frakking Irontooth! That guy is *hard* for first level characters, especially depending on the order the PCs go through KotS.
I don’t think it’s my permission to grant, because I don’t own the characters, but I seriously doubt anyone would get up in your business if you just gave them away.
(Save one for me, okay?)
Your terrifying death wrenched my soul. Haven’t played D&D since 1st edition but this podcast brings back so many memories.
Aeofel… Never forget.
I really enjoyed reading this entry Wil, it really gives some insight into how much you love playing D&D with these guys (and who can blame you).
I really hope you do some more, I’d love to see how/where Scott takes Aeofel’s death with Binwin.
Wil, there is no way your Bloodied value was 13 HP. This might be just my denial over his death, but you should have had one more turn. I think you confused Bloodied with Healing Surge value.
Love the podcast and can’t wait for the next one. I want you to play a spell caster and really outshine Jim.
I’m curious, are your feelings about losing this character similar to what you feel when you’re done playing a character in a TV show?
I’m sure there are differences… this was entirely for fun, and is a character you created from scratch rather than one written by someone else, so you have more emotional investment.
I feel compelled to comment.
It’s not silly to feel a real loss when a character dies. People who take part in this hobby very often put a part of themselves into their characters. Of course their death will affect you in some way. It’s a sign of a great roleplayer to connect with your character.
Sorry for your loss.
Hurm. Maybe you’re right. I was, in my defense, a little freaked out to be writhing in a PIT OF ACID AT THE TIME.
I see someone (you?) mentioned that at the wotc forum, and someone else asked if I was a bad sport. I just wanted to clarify something: of *course* I was upset about it, but I wasn’t a bad sport about it. I accepted my fate, and then tried to have as much fun with the tragedy as I possibly could.
Dang. Reading that made me want to go out and game right this damn minute.
You know how I feel right now, Bones? Young. *sigh* I feel young.
Are Aeofel and Belruel together now in Elvish/Eladrin heaven?
I know ya’ll will be auctioning off the dice for Child’s Play, but if you wanted to make some serious money, auction off a chance to play D&D with you four.