The Thick of It | DesiQuest Episode 4
Ойын-сауық
Will our DesiQuest crew survive a perilous trek through the living Moribani forest?! 🌳☠️🦌www.desiquest.com
THANK YOU to our episode sponsor, Misty Mountain Gaming! www.desiquest.com/misty
In this fourth episode of the South Asian mythology inspired TTRPG actual play, DesiQuest starring our DM (Jasmine Bhullar), and Sitara (Anjali Bhimani), Laddoo Auntie (Rekha Shankar), Murkha (Omar Najam), and Ash (Sandeep Parikh), we follow our adventurers in the aftermath of hijacking an airship & crash-landing into a jungle inhabited by powerful divine entities ✨🐍. Separated from her friends, Sitara faces death as she’s met by a mysterious force who offers to bring her to her parents - for a price. What will she choose?
AAAAAND we’re introduced to the most glamorous speaker-to-the-dead we've ever seen: Iman (our special guest star Persephone Valentine!), who embarks upon a secret mission. 🤫
Wanna play D&D with the cast? Buy a seat at the table here: www.desiquest/playwiththepros
Get your DesiQuest merch: www.desiquest.com/merch
Become a Vehaari Citizen here: www.patreon.com/desiquest
SUBSCRIBE TO EFFIN FUNNY FOR MORE EPISODES!
kzread.info?su...
Our Artists:
DM: Jasmine Bhullar @thatbronzegirl
Sitara: Anjali Bhimani @sweeetanj
Laddoo Auntie: Rekha Shankar @rekhashankar
Murkha: Omar Najam @omarnajamfilm
Ash: Sandeep Parikh @sandeepparikh
Iman: Persephone Valentine @persephiroth
Music: Aalok Mehta (@aaloksmehta) and John Piscitello (www.jpcomposer.com)
Character Art & Illustrations: @voodoo.val
Map Illustration: Alika Gupta (www.alikagupta.com)
#ttrpg #dimension20 #criticalrole #desi #actualplay #desigamers #desicomedy
Chapters
00:00 - Misty Mountain Gaming Pre-Roll Ad
01:17 - Episode 3 Recap in the Tea Kettle with Persephone Valentine
03:56 - Opening Credits
05:05 - Sitara is alone in the Morbani Forest
06:53 - Tulvay tells Sitara about her parents
09:50 - "To Where you belong..."
12:59 - Sitara uses her boon and calls for Nooryn's help
16:07 - Nooryn's flight to safety
19:26 - "How would you spend your time differently?"
22:50 - The Adventurers navigate the abandoned Crooked Sun Fort
26:48 - The Adventurers realize Sitara is no longer with them
28:20 - "...this whole quest to go the mountain is my fault..."
30:35 - A magical moth hypnotizes Ash & Murkha and draws them deeper into the Fort
32:26 - Laddoo Auntie looks for a way out, but finds a ghost?
35:01 - Persephone Valentine joins the table as Iman and brings Sitara back with them
37:28 - What happened? Where have you been?
39:05 - Meet NPC Natasha
41:24 - Meet Iman
44:19 - Sitara tells the Adventurers about her journey and how she came back
47:50 - Ash & Murkha are lost deep in the fort led by the moth and find their way to the study
50:27 - Something weird is going on with Baccha
53:55 - Murkha rips the cockroaches off his cloak and wakes Ash out of the moth's spell
55:50 - Natasha breaks out a crystallized encode thought spell (i.e. smartphone)
1:00:00 - Ash & Murkha take damage...from books?
1:03:20 - Ash picks up the quill and starts writing against his will
1:05:27 - Murkha finds a diary that explains the spirits of the Crooked Sun Fort & Morbani Forest
1:07:39 - Natasha & Iman lead Sitara & Laddoo Auntie to the dad in the dungeon
1:10:12 - The Adventurers are reunited but Ash stabs Murkha in the Domain of Dread
1:13:02 - What is a "Domain of Dread"?
1:15:33 - Laddoo Auntie finds her courage
1:18:47 - Natasha helps out The Adventurers find a way out of the Fort
1:23:03 - Ash shares what he learned about the Feywild
1:25:16 - Intermission
1:25:26 - Misty Mountain Gaming Mid-Roll Ad
1:27:45 - The Adventurers resolve to get out of the Fort
1:31:10 - Sitara has doubts about Iman
1:33:00 - "Its time for you to go..." - Laddoo Auntie leads the way out through the cellar
1:34:39 - Baccha is overtaken by magic
1:38:33 - Murkha and Baccha reconnect and The Adventurers continue through the cellar (
1:41:36 - A way out of the fort presents itself, if they can climb out (
1:45:28 - Natasha tries to protect Iman from themself
1:46:50 - Iman activates Words of Terror on Sitara
1:49:25 - Iman casts Crown of Madness on Laddoo Auntie
1:51:35 - Ash takes the first action in battle to create a safe space
1:54:20 - Sitara brings the fury to Iman when she casts heat metal
1:57:57 - Murkha readies his action against Iman but tries to talk sense first
1:59:36 - Iman directs Laddoo Auntie to attack Sitara
2:04:54 - On Natasha's turn, she steps up to protect Sitara and casts Word of Radiance on Iman
2:06:51 - Iman goes on the attack as she wants Laddoo Auntie to become a ghost
2:09:29 - Laddoo Auntie gets her mind back but Iman keep up the attack
2:12:02 - Ash channels divinity to stop Iman
2:14:16 - Sitara rolls for heat damage on Iman
2:16:06 - Murkha tries one last time to break through to Iman
2:18:35 - The Adventurers climb up the rope as they leave in peace
2:20:24 - Next Time on DesiQuest
Пікірлер: 110
thank you all for your support of the show! what has been your favorite moment so far? mine is probably the first time the tea kettle was used
@SvenTSexgore
6 ай бұрын
All Baccha all the time
@williemorris5383
6 ай бұрын
Laddoo auntie and this beautiful talented cast!
@cheekydamunky
6 ай бұрын
Baccha is pretty great but i think any time Ash talks about Bretzels, and bretzel trees, i laugh till i ache.
@kristyl933
6 ай бұрын
Enjoying this exquisite fantasy show as a vehicle to learn about cultures half a world away! Auntie's moment of existential introspection in this episode was lovely.
@nandik.327
6 ай бұрын
Ladoo Auntie whenever she shades another person, which is most new people she meets 💜
"Chhotu!" "Where did you put him last?" "Shut up! CHHOTU!" *audible gasps* "....okay, ONCE."
@luckysocks6988
5 ай бұрын
Truly shows how much she loves sitara
I love how the titles keep changing to show the players who appear in later episodes where there *the whole time*!
Omar's capacity to throw out good dialogue and verbose fantasy jargon off the top of his head is rivaled by very few in the tabletop sphere.
Persephone heel turn was the highlight of the episode, when the guest star you bring in to help your PC against the BBEG turns on the group that's when you know the fun begins 😜
Jasmine makes some of the toppest tier NPCs and Natasha does not disappoint 💁♀️
"Glitch hurts papa....." Oh man, I teared up 😭😭 baccha is so pureeeeeee
“You’re our GUEST!” Was the best line.
The visible joy in Rekha and Sephie's eyes during the Crown of Madness scenario, so much fun to watch actors have fun with a moment. Rekha's acting chops in this were off the charts!
this show is such a comfort , its so bloody nice seeing brown culture on screen. do you know how loud i gasped when sitara was called auntie emotional damage right there and the GRANDMAAA daaaaaamn . also this is very specific but rekha is so good at laddu auntie so so on point. the uses of tamil elevate it all (its nice seeing my language in a show like this its not very often you hear it around)
There's nothing better than a fully unexpected heel turn, well done everyone
I love this show so much. And now with bonus Sephie? WE KEEP WINNING
"Okay , once. ☝️" ladoo auntie 💁♀️. 38:08
“I don’t need them to help me. I want to help them.” *screaming, crying, taking notes for my mental health*
I'm happy anytime I get to raptor shriek
“Now, they hijacked the airship which was supposed to go in a different direction” Seph: Like you do Hold up, hold the fricken heck up, ya fricks - Didn’t The Seven hijack an airship?! ha…awesome
Everything about this show is so aesthetically beautiful! Im so excited to see where the story is going to go!
@YousaJoke
6 ай бұрын
Ok, i just finished the episode, and the second half is so spicy! Super great watch!
That ancient way of cooling the Indian forts is so cool to me because that’s very similar to Roman frigigidarium and other European bath houses. I wonder if one influenced the other because of trade or if it’s a case of different cultures developing similar architecture like Egyptian and Aztec pyramids
I love the atmosphere and storytelling of this! I have no personal contact with Indian culture (funnily I'm German xD), but I love the insights into parts of the culture, even if it's through the fantasy lense. Everyone has been fantastic so far, really fun and heartwarming
Every episode of DesiQuest has been awesome! Also, I'm glad I can watch the live stream of it today.
I audibly gasped when i saw Sephie, she's so prettttyyyyyyy
These episodes just keep getting better and better, amazing! with special thank you Persephone Valentine for brilliant choices here! that "get out" got me
The premier is just going to taunt me for the next 35 hours.
Yesss I loved persephone on d20. So excited to see more of her skills
Natasha is freaking hilarious 😂 I love that character
My daughter & my husband play DnD and my daughter has been nagging me for years to listen to Crit Role and I’m just not able to get into it. I wanted to give this a shot because I enjoy Omar and Sandeep’s podcast so much and I’m so excited by how enthralling I’ve found it! Thank you for making a DnD play that is accessible and fun for me to listen to
@effinfunny
6 ай бұрын
OMG thank you so much!!! So thrilled you love the show
@vee_tinymoose
6 ай бұрын
@@effinfunny you’re very welcome! I can’t wait for the next episode, every time
@vee_tinymoose
6 ай бұрын
@@effinfunny who made the DM screen and player cards please?
Everything about this show is such a breath of fresh air! Loved seeing Persephone guest 💕
I'll say it again, I'm glad this is my first DND quest experience ❤❤❤
So hype for the show to continue! I'll catch it tomorrow night after the Livestream but enjoy everyone! ❤
I thought for a second Natasha would have a transformation sequence like a magical girl and I was shook; so relieved that was not where it was going 😂
"Being lonely is not the same as being alone." Damn, that line got me.
This episode is even better than the cool moth contained within!
Omg poor baby Baccha😭
As much as i love Anjali, i need to say that guidance only affect skill checks and not saving throws. Also as a side note, as a DM i would probably rule it that she cannot use it as a reaction when a Jas ask for a check. It needs to be prepared prior. Just me being nitpicky to what is otherwise an amazing actual play with fun cast!
@claclarolo1
6 ай бұрын
critroles effect on guidance 😂
This is the best episode thus far, the show keeps increasing with merit and quality each episode
1:38:30 So great audio editing and such a great monologue. Taulvy better leave our beloved robot boy alone
Yay so glad for the episode tonight! Need the pick-me-up from this incredible crew!🎉🎉🎉
Great job Persephone! You really dug into the character! :D :D :D
Lots of tears in the latter half from me haha
Baccha crimes! Baccha crimes!
Making a ritual to eat Indian food watching these episodes lol love this campaign!
Everyone is so good, but I am especially loving Rekha this campaign! She is hilarious!
Looking forward to next episode! Iman was so cool ❤
Persephone's here!!! how exciting!
Such a banger of an episode! I cant wait for the next
the twists this sessions, the spice! the emotional turmoil! YYYESSSSSSS
So greatful for you all putting this together. I hope there is more and more DesiQuest content to come ❤
Love the series and the set is so beautiful, it strikes me every episode✨
Every episode just keeps getting better and better. I love it!
Man, that moth was super cool
What a ride! The surprise betrayal took me out at the knees and kind of broke my heart... Amazing episode as always, can't wait for the next one!
This show rules!
Can't wait till next week!
Excited for this episode. Definitely worth the wait. Now it feels like 2024 is officially beginning 🎉
Omg persephone! Loving this!
Truly loving this series 💖
i have been chomping at the BIT for this episode, i'm so excited!!!
Whew.. this episode is a wild ride. 👏👏😄
I love watching you all. ❤ rhanks for making such a great show 😊
@effinfunny
6 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoy it!
episode 4? already? say it aint so! we need more!
I think it's just got episode 4ed
Here we go!
Whoo hoo! Just made it!
So fun!
another great episode, well done to the whole cast and crew! (the sound mixing on the video is a bit quiet tho)
I absolutely adore this show and the story telling being done is gorgeous.
@ParasiticSun
6 ай бұрын
There was so much heart put into this production and it shows!!!
@ParasiticSun
6 ай бұрын
Also need to say that Anjali is absolutely incredible expressing the kindness and the firmness of her character.
Such a good episode, Natasha is the most NPC
Yet another brilliant episode and it looks like the top tier guests continue with Erika next time.
this is very cool
1!!!!!! 🤩
gah love natasha!!!
Aww now I miss adventures league
Did anyone catch where the character pads are from?
@effinfunny
6 ай бұрын
They are from Dog Might, but unfortunately they recently closed their store: www.dogmight.com/
Still partway through and "shaitan" isn't just someone deceptive. It's the Muslim word for "Satan". In this context, Natasha did just do an exorcism, though the string is very Hindu.
Is this a wukong analogy?
Spoilers for late in the episode That Crown of Madness ended up being a lot more effective (and interesting) than the standard spell. It was basically like a Dominate Person (5th), at least with the way Rekha chose to RP it. Crown of madness does Charm the target, so they do see the caster as a friend, but that doesn't imply they see their previous friends as enemies. The "default" way to RP it or Charm Person would be that your new friend is having a fight with your other friends, and you probably just want them all to get along. And that you have uncontrollable urges to attack people, but you still know you don't *want* to hurt them. Crown says they have to use their action to make "a melee attack" (implying just one attack) *before* moving, so Auntie wouldn't have been able to get to Sitara on the first turn of the effect. So "The target can act normally on its turn if you choose no creature or if none are within its reach." Reach in this case means melee weapon range, like 5 ft reach for most weapons, 10 ft reach for some polearms or a whip. (Or some monsters have melee attacks with more reach.) Anyway, not walking range. It doesn't say characters have to use class abilities like rage either, although it's also not stated that they would use a melee weapon if they had one instead of just punching. So you could go either way on this; it would be pretty reasonable to use a melee weapon but not rage. But given the way you guys played the spell, with Auntie thinking the attacks were a good idea, not just an uncontrollable impulse she didn't agree with, yes, raging and making 2 attacks is consistent. However, raging makes her resistant to the physical part of a rapier attack, so the 1d8+dex part of that damage should have been rolled separately. I don't think she's totem of the bear, so the radiant or necrotic isn't halved, nor is the psychic. Rules-as-written, Crown of Madness is a pretty weak or situational spell especially for being 2nd level. Especially since the caster does have to keep using their action every turn to maintain the effect. Allies of the target can just move away from them, and the target can choose how they use their movement so can avoid moving near their friends they don't want to hurt. It can cause a lot of chaos if you use it on someone and there are guards around, though, since those guards will run up and try to subdue them, putting them in range for followup attacks. And it's a Charm effect that (unlike Charm Person) doesn't give the target advantage on the saving throw if you're already fighting them. --- Other rules nerd notes: * Spirit Guardians is centered around the caster, not an area they pick * Guidance works on *ability checks* only, and isn't a reaction. It's 1 action, touch range, duration 1 minute concentration. (Unless you're already using the OneD&D playtest version where it is a reaction, making the in-game narrative match how it's often played at the table, where people never bother to ask for guidance before doing something.) But regardless, it's only checks not saves. Also, you don't have to spend guidance. If your roll is really low and you're about to try another ability check, you might just save it so the caster doesn't have to cast it again. (If you want to narratively play it in a way that matches the mechanics, where it has to be cast ahead of time.) * 1 level of exhaustion is disadvantage on all checks, but not saves. (IIRC that was mostly how it got played this game, but I think at least once the question was raised for saves and I think Jasmine didn't get around to answering it while dealing with other players, and the first roll was low anyway.) 5e has 3 different kinds of d20 roll. ability checks, saving throws, and attack rolls. Those are key-words to look for when reading rules. Certain abilities like Bless (attacks and saves) or Guidance (checks) are designed to only help with one or two kinds, not all three. So 1 level of exhaustion doesn't hurt you in combat which is mostly checks and saves, other than grappling and a few spells. * Wildfire Spirit has a Fiery Teleportation ability that can move multiple people up to 15 feet and damage anyone that's left in the area. You can use it every round instead of flame seed, e.g. while the party's running down a hallway. Really hoping to see that get used effectively. I thought Sitara might send some people part way up the rope with it, although if they weren't expecting it they might just fall. Or to move people away from Iman / Auntie and potentially damage both of them. * Turn Undead breaks on damage. * Heat Metal is optional: you can choose not to use your bonus action to do the damage again, so Sitara didn't have to break the Turn Undead that Ash just used. But since she did, yes she might as well use her action to do more damage. * Heat Metal gives disadvantage on attacks and checks if the creature chooses not to drop the metal object. (If they fail the Con save they have to drop it, succeeding means they have the option of keeping their weapon or whatever but still having disadvantage.) Apparently some people read the second sentence as still being part of the on-failed-save clause of the first, partly because the phrasing seems to require that they immediately drop the object to avoid disadvantage (even though it's not their turn and the spell doesn't say they can take a reaction to do so). Crawford tweeted in 2014 that if you're wearing the heated item, you have disadvantage, so that's what he thinks the actual wording means, for whatever that's worth. So Iman should (with that reading of the spell) have had disadvantage on her two attacks on Auntie. But nobody told her about that part of the spell or that removing her choker could remove the penalty. Some tables / DMs prefer a reading of the spell where disadvantage only happens on a failed Con save; Heat Metal is still pretty good with that interpretation. * Scorching Ray is (level + 1) rays, each hitting for 2d6 damage. Maybe Anjali was thinking that upcasting to third level buffs the damage of each ray, instead of the number, and that's where the extra d6 came from? (If they're 6th level, wildfire druid Enhanced Bond would add 1d8 to the first hit for 2d6+1d8, so that doesn't explain it.) * Commanding your wildfire spirit to attack costs a bonus action, which Sitara already used on Heat Metal. As someone who does know the rules well, I find it distracting when something doesn't go the way I "know it should". I realize that's my problem, and doesn't mean your fun is wrong. Also that it's not practical to stop and look up every rule all the time, that would kill the pace of the game, and most of the time doesn't actually matter for the outcome of events and the story. So I write these comments not from a negative perspective, but partly just to get it out of my system. And for anyone that's trying learn D&D rules better, hopefully that helps. (I assume shooting is already done for this season, but maybe next season some people will have a clearer understanding of Guidance being only checks, not saves or attacks.) Overall I'm enjoying this series. I write about rules because I find game rules interesting, like how they fit together to make a balanced game that's fun to play and enables a variety of interesting characters to do cool things with interesting limits to work within or work around. Not because I think following the rules is the most important thing especially for an actual-play series. (Although I personally would enjoy it if everything else stays the same except that everyone knew all the rules, and when to intentionally bend them for rule-of-cool reasons. I know that's not realistic and don't try to hold anyone to that standard. Rules fumbling generally doesn't hurt my enjoyment of people's RP and character choices, and I've often enjoyed seeing what newer players do, like Rekha in Escape from the Bloodkeep and later D20 shows.) When a rules question comes up that you do take the time to think about, Jasmine almost always gets the right answer, e.g. at 2:10:20 that expending a bardic inspiration die for psychic blades doesn't cost a bonus action because it's a different way to spend a die than giving bardic inspiration. (With Sephie also being correct that Psychic Blades is limited to 1/turn, unlike Divine Smite. Not sure why she has a second attack as a bonus action at all, though, unless she's dual wielding and I missed it.) And Jasmine spotting that not spending your action to maintain Crown of Madness causes it to end. I didn't notice that bit when I paused to quickly read the spell description. So there certainly are moments in the show that make my rules-nerd brain happy, and also players finding creative and fun uses for their class abilities. (Omar's artificer RP has been great, for example, weaving the mechanics and flavourful narrative descriptions of them together in and out of combat.) Along with the great story, the setting, the characters, the production quality, and the fun. (I guess I feel like I need to apologize for posting about rules because people have so often done so in negative way. That's not my intent, which I hope comes across.)
@effinfunny
4 ай бұрын
I love this post bc as a player I am curious if we’re close or not to the rules, and i just loved your whole attitude about giving the info in a positive way without being demeaning or seeing past the rule of cool that we were playing with to prio the RP above all. But it really helps me as a relative newb to DnD 5e, Thanks for this!
@Peter_Cordes
4 ай бұрын
@@effinfunny - Awesome, glad to hear that the tone came across as intended and that at least one of the players found my rules debrief useful! And for sure, I have no problem with rule-of-cool, but I like it when it's called out, like "this normally wouldn't quite work, but this is cool", or "I love this, we're going to allow it". Otherwise my brain starts churning trying to figure out if they know they're bending the rules or not, just because that's how I'm wired.
IT the clown?
Great GMing and great roll playing much pleasure to watch
The fact yhat we're getting Sephie on this is EPIC 😍🥹