SideQuests Live - TTRPG podcast - Dungeons and Dragons & Shadowrun and more · Todd Caryl

SideQuests Live - Episode 8 - Tree of Wands - "What you were made for" - with GM Brendan

·1 hr 59 min·5 clips

The Fel's wings ignite as they unleash a divine barrage on the contessa's kobold, revealing a hidden demon.

This episode follows the player characters returning to the besieged town of Aventale with a magical elixir meant to heal the dying Tree of Wands. The players are Jay as Scott Cowell, Jackie as The Fell, and Devin as John Norman, with Brendan as the Game Master. The party arrives in their newly outfitted ghostly pirate airship, manned by a skeleton crew named Ronaldo, Rolando, Orlando, and Yolanda. They find Aventale under siege by a massive army of goblins and see a flag with a golden scarab, another omen signaling the impending return of the god Kava. The group possesses a special elixir brewed by the mummy Khufu from the destroyed Idol of Kava, which is supposed to heal the Tree of Wands and prevent catastrophe. In the castle war room, they encounter Contessa Vincenza, Friar Elijah, merchant Yasmina al-Kindi, and their enemy Commander Amara, who survived the Tower of Kemet's collapse. A debate erupts over whether to use the elixir or cut down the tree for its defensive wands. John Norman dramatically tests the elixir by tasting it, taking six points of damage from its concentrated power. The Fell identifies a kobold on the Contessa's shoulder as a demon and attacks it with a enhanced Force Missile cantrip, dealing 32 damage. The kobold transforms into a large, spiky Cacofiend with glowing red eyes and a detachable jaw, whose shattering shriek breaks all glass in the room, including the party's potions. The combat begins with Scott Cowell attacking the fiend with his greatsword for 14 damage but taking three damage from its spikes. John Norman decides to dash to the courtyard to pour the elixir on the Tree of Wands, an action that will take five rounds. The Fell, a seraph whose purpose is to destroy such fiends, prepares to continue the fight with another enhanced attack. A surprising moment occurs when John Norman, attempting to prove the elixir's safety, licks it and is visibly harmed. The sudden, violent transformation of a seemingly innocuous pet kobold into a towering demon completely shifts the scene from political negotiation to a desperate boss fight. The revelation that Commander Amara survived by using an "emergency exit ladder" from the collapsing tower adds a touch of cinematic flair. The episode balances tense strategic planning, like purchasing a +1 mace or a Mace of Disruption, with absurd humor, such as debating workplace safety in the Star Wars universe. The tone is conversational and collaborative, featuring improvisational humor alongside classic fantasy adventure and tactical combat. Listeners who enjoy actual-play episodes with a mix of character-driven roleplay, sudden plot twists, and detailed combat mechanics will appreciate this session. Those preferring a purely serious narrative or minimal table talk might find the humorous tangents and shopping segments less engaging.

As heard by us

A live table turns a recap into a brutal fight and a harder problem ahead.

SideQuests Live opens with a loose run of jokes before the table finds its footing and slips back into Dreadville. Brendan keeps the pace steady while the players bounce between questions, fixes, and a fair amount of panic, which gives the room a livewire feel without losing the…

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Why you'd press play

You want a live table that snaps from banter to battle without smoothing anything over.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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