Curse of Radiance Chapter 2, Episode 2 - Attack of the Intellectual Property

Here we are, another week, another episode! In this week's outing, the three cursed heroes- Torunn, Fennec, and Ildana- are beset upon by a pack of Displacer Beasts, until an unexpected threat cuts that encounter short. Once they have a chance to rest, however, Fennec is contacted by one of the long-term denizens of the Vale of Lost Voices, who shares a troubling past and an even troubling-er future.

Wanna know something? Displacer Beasts are my favorite DnD monster, and I think it's because I first encountered them in the computer game this campaign is based on. One of the difficulties of putting them in a Pathfinder 2e campaign, however, is that there are no official stats for Displacer Beasts in Pf2e- because Displacer Beasts are one of the monsters that are specifically held under copyright by Wizards of the Coast (along with Beholders, Mind Flayers, and some other iconics). So, I had to play with a bit of homebrew this episode, and... well, you'll see how well that turned out.

I think this is a fun episode, and I hope you all do too!

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Chapter 2, Episode 2: Monsters and Visions

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Curse of Radiance is a member of the Uncharted North podcast network. For more of their shows, check them out at UnchartedNorth.ca!

Curse of Radiance Chapter 2, Episode 1 - On the Road Again

With one story arc down, the second has begun!

In this episode, the heroes Torunn, Fennec, and Ildana leave Tilverton and set out across the Dalelands to confront the next of the creators of their cursed tattoos- Dracandros the Crimson, a Red Wizard of Thay also known as Dracandros the Mad. Along the way they test out the limits of their curse, they argue about the dangers of their situation, and Torunn receives some advice from someone who lost a bet. And after all that... monsters still lurk in the shadows.

There's a lot of interesting information gained in this episode; when I started the campaign I was really excited to see how the players would take to experimenting with the tattoos and seeing just how they react to various things. So, we'll see how that progresses as the campaign goes on!

I hope you enjoy!

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Chapter 2, Episode 1: Testing and Doubting

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Curse of Radiance is a member of the Uncharted North podcast network. For more of their shows, check them out at UnchartedNorth.ca!

Curse of Radiance Chapter 1, Episode 7 - Behold, the Consequence of Our Actions

The end of the first story arc is here! One tattoo down- four more to go.

In this week's episode, the party has a moment for some downtime after the encounter with the Fire Knives. This leads to some introspection, some unnecessary subterfuge, and the righting of many wrongs (as best as some wrongs can be righted). And when all that is said and done, the road map of the campaign is laid out in front of the players- three destinations, three goals, with one big mysterious question mark at the end.

I really, really like this episode. My goal was to take a little bit of time with each of the players and resolve some part of their journey so far, and also to give them the freedom to dictate where the campaign goes from here. That's really what made me want to run this module for so many years- I had played the computer game of Curse of the Azure Bonds many times, and while that game is more "open-world" than most games were at the time, there's really only so many things the player gets to choose. I wanted to put the players in charge of the pace and the direction, and I'm really happy with the result. Also, all three players were doing some of their best work in this episode, and I think the end product is better than I could have hoped for.

So I hope you all enjoy this episode, and check back next week for the beginning of the next arc!

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Chapter 1, Episode 7: Making Amends

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Curse of Radiance is a member of the Uncharted North podcast network. For more of their shows, check them out at UnchartedNorth.ca!

Curse of Radiance Chapter 1, Episode 6 - Ninjas to the Left of Me, Ninjas to the Right

This post is going up a couple days late; I apologize. Our dog had eye surgery a few days ago, and I've been pretty preoccupied with taking care of him for the past few days so this slipped through the cracks. Sorry!

This week's episode is a big one- the party encounters the first of the creators of their cursed tattoos, Radatha of the Fire Knives. This is our first episode that's basically 100% combat- like, there's a little bit of monologuing at the start and a little twist at the end, but otherwise it's like 80 minutes of tactical, rules-heavy and dice-focused combat. I've always been worried that episodes like this won't go over well in an audio medium, but I guess time will tell. As with all of the episodes so far I've listened through to this one loads of times and I think it flows well enough (after many hours of intensive editing, of course) so hopefully you are able to coast along for the ride!

I hope you enjoy this one, and I hope your week has been pleasing and uneventful!

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Chapter 1, Episode 6: The Fire Knives

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Curse of Radiance is a member of the Uncharted North podcast network. For more of their shows, check them out at UnchartedNorth.ca!

Curse of Radiance Chapter 1, Episode 5 - Into the Assassins' Den

Another week, another episode of Curse of Radiance!

In this episode, Torunn, Fennec, and Ildana infiltrate the hideout of the Fire Knives, the notorious assassin's guild that is responsible for one of their five tattoos. While they manage to find safe passage through the complex, they discover some things they were looking for, some things they weren't looking for, and they find out that the pursuit of knowledge might be more dangerous than they thought.

So, looking back, this is the last in a series of episodes that made me realize that dungeons don't really work in an audio format. I mean, they can- I've used them thus far and will continue to use them in the future, to some degree- but when I was adapting this adventure from an old-school tabletop experience to a podcast played remotely, I was trying my best to stick to what was in the book as much as possible, including all of the dungeons. (I had the entirety of the Tilverton Sewers mapped out, for example, as well as the entirety of the Fire Knives hideout, not that the listener- or even the players- saw more than like 25% of it.) 

But dungeons don't play well with audio- unless the design is incredibly basic, it requires a LOT of work from the GM to communicate the experience to a listener, and in most cases it's going to sound like "Okay, you open the door and you're in a room with three doors. Which door do you choose? The left door? Okay, you open that door and now you're in a room with two doors. Which door do you choose? Okay, you open that door and now you're in a room with two doors..." I'm fine with how these episodes have turned out, but don't be surprised if most of the rest of the campaign after this streamlines the dungeon aspect of the game so as to keep it moving at a nice clip. Because while it can be argued that complex dungeons are an integral part of a tabletop game (I don't agree, but it can be argued), it's clear that when this particular module was written, it was not intended to be listened to in audio form on someone's daily commute.

Anywho, enough rambling. I hope you enjoy this week's episode, and are excited for the next one!

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Chapter 1, Episode 5: Secrets Best Left Hidden

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Curse of Radiance is a member of the Uncharted North podcast network. For more of their shows, check them out at UnchartedNorth.ca!

Curse of Radiance Chapter 1, Episode 4 - Another Sewer Episode

We're back! Last week simply couldn't contain all of the sewer we had on offer, so naturally we had to come back for another dose. I hope you enjoy.

In this episode, the party continues their journey through the Tilverton sewers on their way to confront the leader of the Fire Knives. But along the way, they run into some snags- an assassin guardpost, a bunch of ghouls hiding a fancy magic item- and ingratiate themselves with a god or two for good measure. And then, at the end of the episode, a dramatic hook for the next! Who could have expected?

Fun fact: this episode contains quite possibly my favorite moment in the entire campaign, and it's when Chris yells out "Yes, adventurers, to arms!" I always crack up when I think about it.

Anyway, enjoy this week's episode, and be sure to tune back in for the next!

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Chapter 1, Episode 4: Dead Man's Float

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Curse of Radiance is a member of the Uncharted North podcast network. For more of their shows, check them out at UnchartedNorth.ca!

Curse of Radiance Chapter 1, Episode 3 - Too Many Sewers

Another week, another episode of Curse of Radiance!

Despite having recorded and edited this episode over a year ago, I am amazed at my ability to micromanage and stress over every last detail until the absolute last second. But now the episode is out, and I can't change it anymore! (That's totally a lie; last week's episode had a glaring mistake that I missed before release and I had to scramble to fix it. But in service of full disclosure, I am required by law to mention that that glaring mistake happened entirely because of a last-minute edit I felt the need to do the night before release.)

Anyway....

This week's episode marks the start of the players going on the offensive, now that they've had a moment to recuperate from having been mind-controlled and forced to attempt regicide. So they have to go through everyone's favored terrain- the sewers- to find the hideout of the people responsible. This episode also has the first example of what sort of became a trend in this campaign: having an NPC join the group to potentially shore up some weaknesses in the party makeup, only for the players to find an excuse to get rid of them as soon as is humanly possible. (That's a bit of a joke, nobody was happy to see Thalia go but it was the right thing to do at the time.)

Hopefully you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it!

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Chapter 1, Episode 3: Into the Sewers

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Curse of Radiance is a member of the Uncharted North podcast network. For more of their shows, check them out at UnchartedNorth.ca!