Perpetua 52: At the Threshold 04
Friends at the Table
On a small isle in the southwestern reach of the Valte Archipelego, the crew of the Little Snail sits in frustration. Their ultimate destination has been made clear to them: A continent to the south, separated not only by distance, but by a seemingly unbreachable power. How will they breach such a barrier, and more, what might it mean that their cyclical predecessors often faced a similarly fatal obstacle on the path to their great destinies…? This week on Perpetua: At the Threshold 04 Perpetua Guide [In Progress v.061] Some Feedback [Page 77 of 78] Alukard83 So, does anyone know how to...
info_outline
Perpetua 51: At the Threshold 03
Friends at the Table
Aloft above the sea, the Adventure Beckons and the staff of the Little Snail head towards a small island in the Valte archipelago. There, they seek information on the White Lectern from the members of the Luminaries—a group which Nicky, Elena, and Veile have found themselves newly oathed. What answers will they find in such a place? And will they meet a new ally… or someone altogether more troubling? This week on Perpetua: At the Threshold 03 Perpetua Guide [In Progress v.061] Some Feedback [Page 76 of 76] FriendofNei It’s rare that I do anything like this but I’m curious… what do...
info_outline
Perpetua 50: At the Threshold 02
Friends at the Table
With the Adventure Beckons resting just outside of town, Nicky, Elena, and Veile have traveled into town to complete two important tasks: Recovering a gem sold by mistake and reconnecting with Thelonious, member of the Luminaries, to find direction on where to go next. With new connections forged, they return to their ship (and its captain), and set off into the skies, where dark clouds gather on the horizon… This week on Perpetua: At the Threshold 02 Perpetua Guide [In Progress v.061] Random Encounters - [PPRE] Sky Encounters Once you’ve got yourself the Adventure Beckons, you’re able...
info_outline
Perpetua 49: At the Threshold 01
Friends at the Table
For hours, unto days, unto weeks, the crew of the LIttle Snail delved the Castle Eschatonica with their new allies, the Source Rot Investigators from the Elevana League. In the heart of the void, these adventurers escaped the wrath of dragons, met a fallen god, recovered lost, living gems… and found not only a route out, but a whole new method of travel entirely. Jonathan named his new airship ‘The Adventures Beckons,’ and so, it does: But before it can be attended to in earnest—before he, Elena, Nicky, Veile, Flegbot, and their coterie of gems—can find and reach the White...
info_outline
Perpetua 48: Escape from the Rumbling Castle! 08
Friends at the Table
All aboard the Adventure Beckons! Drawn back together after a disastrous time apart, a reunited team of Eschatonica explorers must fight their way to escape. But the Creed of Oracle’s most determined soldiers haven’t given up on taking Jonathan’s new airship back yet… This week on Perpetua: Escape the Rumbling Castle! 08 Perpetua Guide [In Progress v.06] Some Feedback [Page 69 of 71] FriendofNei So what was everyone’s favorite part of Eschatonica? For me, it was getting to mix up the two parties and see how their abilities worked together. Antistrophe, Nicky, and Jonathan are a real...
info_outline
Perpetua 47: Escape from the Rumbling Castle! 07
Friends at the Table
With a single step, a world shattered and the stars faltered. Those who witnessed the destruction must face the future and pick up the pieces, but first they must escape the Dragon Path and return home—or at least near it. To do that, though, they’ll need to capture Jonathan’s airship, the Adventure Beckons, from the Creed of Oracles… This week on Perpetua: Escape the Rumbling Castle! 07 Perpetua Guide [In Progress v.06] NPCs & Monsters [PNMS] Creed of Oracles Infantry [NMCOIN] Typical Traits: Gritty, Grim Type: Humanoid Hunter Level: 10 Rank: Soldier Stats: DEX 10, INS 8, MIG 10,...
info_outline
Perpetua 46: Escape the Rumbling Castle! 06
Friends at the Table
Confrontations with Villains need not be catastrophic. Some hostile encounters, including those against enemy bosses, can be de-escalated through conversation or completed through clever use of Objective action. Parties specializing in tools of foresight can leverage their navigational upperhand to outmaneuver potentially deadly encounters all together. Some clashes—especially those with reality-shaking stakes—seem written into the fabric of Perpetua itself. But even these, despite the long odds, have many possible resolutions. This week on Perpetua: Escape the Rumbling Castle! 06...
info_outline
Perpetua 45: Escape the Rumbling Castle! 05
Friends at the Table
Conflict and complication at the edge of Eschatonica! In the Creed of Oracles’ fortress courtyard, Antistrophe, Nicky, and Jonathan find out just how far the protocols of war go. And for those on the other side of the vast castle, progress will come only with mastery of another world’s language and ritual… This week on Perpetua: Escape the Rumbling Castle! 05 Perpetua Guide [In Progress v.06] Spoiler-free Ten Hint Puzzle Guide This new section is inspired by the community addendum that xXzelgadyskXx did for the Alteros masquerade puzzle. As always, I want to try to preserve some...
info_outline
Perpetua 44: Escape the Rumbling Castle! 04
Friends at the Table
As the crew of the Little Snail and the Sourcerot investigators continue to delve the depths of the Castle Eschatonica, new voices are heard in the air. For those in the western half of the castle, the voices are brusque and severe, shaped to fit the prepared phrases necessary for a most hospitable war. But in the east, the voices lilt and shine, like dewy petals in a breeze. Is such a sound an invitation or something more nefarious… This week on perpetua: Escape the Rumbling Castle! 04 Perpetua Guide [In Progress v.06] Some Feedback [Page 66 of 68] TheUnforgivenIII So uhhhh does anyone have...
info_outline
Marielda 10th Anniversary Soundtrack Vinyl Available to Pre-Order Now!
Friends at the Table
For Semiotician Uklan Tel, the discovery of the object in the vaults of the New Archives was a gift he could scarcely have hoped for. The Holy City, walled and impenetrable, had fascinated him for so long. He'd pored over the Marieldan documents and artifacts that the Archives had collected over the years so many times that his name repeated in the access cards like a prayer . But here was something new - misfiled, overlooked - that had evaded his eye all this time. He was starting to take notes for a book. We could not be more excited to unveil the Marielda 10th Anniversary Vinyl Soundtrack...
info_outlineThis episode carries content warnings for imprisonment, withholding medical care, civilian deaths, medical experiments, blood, description of injury, and death,
“What sort of shape is it though?”
“It is empire.”
“Yes, no, I get that, but... Is empire a square? Is it circle? It helps to know the shape of a thing if you’re hoping to break it.”
“Yes. I understand. You tell me, then. What shape do you think empire takes? Perhaps you can see it in a way I cannot, because you first apprehended it from outside.”
“Well, I can’t tell you about all empires, but this one? It wants to be fractal. Each stel tries to make everything inside of it a repetition of itself.”
“Yes. Yes, I see. Stel Apostolos shapes itself as a spear, and so it extends downward in echoing cacophony. Its military bases, its schools, its students, its children—all spears.“
“Yeah, something like that. The trouble is, a fractal is really strong. All those shapes, repeated inwards forever. They flex, like a tree’s branches bending in the wind.”
“Yes, but that is it. The Principality is not an abstract fractal, repeating forever. It is a tree. And a tree repeats only for so long.”
“And when a strong enough wind blows…”
“It can be uprooted.”
This week on PALISADE: Honesty and Integrity Pt. 2
I grieve in stereo, the stereo sounds strange / You know that if it hides, it doesn't go away
Dossier
People
Routine Rennari (he/him): Half-Apostolsian, scion of a minor Kesh noble house, and the Blue Channel's heavy.
Partial Palisade (he/him): A man who was once a Divine, now living in the shell of a being quite unlike what he once was.
Eclectic Opposition (he/him): A delegate and member of the Cause who left Palisade to spend time working under Exeter Leap before returning to his home planet to investigate the strange factories being built by the Frontier Syndicate.
Gallica (she/her): Elect of the Divine Present. Gallica spent years as Chief Emissary of Stel Nideo, Verse (missionary) in the Holy Church of Received Asterism, but in fact was a signatory to the Pact of Necessary Venture, and when the war spilled beyond Kesh and Apostolos, Gallica betrayed her home Stel to join Apostolos and Nideo. Currently, she leads high level intelligence and espionage operations for the Pact of Free States.
The Glorious Princept, Dahlia (they/them): The second pretender to the title of Princept. Born to house Kesh, Dahlia was once kidnapped by a rebelious Sovereign Immunity known as the Farmer. After being rescued and raised by the then Apokine of Stel Apostolos, they integrated into Apostolosian culture. Though they were not part of the Pact of Necessary Venture at its founding, they welcomed the group’s support, though focused their efforts on the war with the Branched instead of the ongoing civil conflict.
Cas’alear Rizah (cas/cas’, they/them): Leader of the Swordbreakers, an elite unit of Apostolosian-trained pilots who have since sworn service to Millenium Break. Cas holds a reputation for beauty and bravery among allies, but is seen as unflinching and unpredictable by cas’ foes..
Factions
The Frontier Syndicate: A powerful conglomerate with a broad purview, including technology, heavy industry, entertainment, telecommunications, and transportation. Led by Exenceaster March (he/him), the Syndicate betrayed the Pact of Free States and joined the Bilats in order to be part of their colonization efforts on Palisade.
The Pact of Free States: One of the two factions vying for leadership of the Principality, a joint operation by Stels Columnar and Apostolos. Led in name by the Glorious Princept, Dahlia (they/them), but operated in day-to-day matters by members of the original Pact of Necessary Venture, including Rye (he/him) and Gallica (she/her). Though they are reformist in some ways, their primary goal is greater autonomy for each Stel, freedom from the legal restraints, taxes, and oversights demanded by the Principality, with additional deregulation to follow downstream.
STEREOMA: Pact truebeliver Cor'rina Corrine (cor/cors, they/them) and cor rival Misericorde (he/they) have begun building a surgical, anti-Bilat hit squad on Paliade.
Places
Diadem Gravtrain: While the vast trench-city on Palisade's equator lays abandoned, Kesh has reactivated its railway via an operations center in Carmathen.
Divines
The Divine Motion (she/her): One of the founding members of the Pact, the necromantic Apostolosian divine once led its infamous retinue, the Black Century, on Partizan. They were defeated and dispersed, turned into part of Kalmeria, during Operation Shackled Sun.
Present (it/its): On first blush, Present might be confused for a small, if luxurious frigate. And sometimes, it is just that: Its oval structure houses living quarters, a humble armory, enough cargo space to hold a single hollow, and even a fully stocked bar. But at a snap of its elect’s fingers, it transforms into a humanoid war machine that serves its elect loyally, outclasses any Altar currently in operation, and is capable of holding its own against many other Divines in combat.
The Divine Commitment (it/its): A malleable divine made of inky black metal. Has historically required two pilots (both in a condition of ego death) in order to be operated, its current Elect is the Dahlia, the Glorious Princept, who operates it with the aid of the Divine Integrity.
The Divine Integrity (it/its): Sometimes appearing as an articulated staff or a metallic spine, Integrity integrates itself into its chosen user. Once the two are connected, Integrity becomes a powerful exoskeleton, and supports its user in matters of military and morale. Currently, Dahlia, the Glorious Princept, is the elect of Integrity.
Objects
Ekpyrosis: Flagship of the Pact’s fleet, a transforming, beautiful monstrosity able to casually destroy worlds while simultaneously supporting life in a vacuum.
Mysteries
Perennial (she/her): The Principality's so-called 'adversary,' who lives at the center of the galaxy and whose chaotic whims spread through her "Perennial Wave," an ever-present nanoparticle that has recently bonded with Kalmeria.
Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker)
Featuring Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart) Sylvi Bullet (@sylvibullet), Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Art Martinez-Tebbel (@atebbel), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), Keith J Carberry (@keithjcarberry) and Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000)
Produced by Ali Acampora
Music by Jack de Quidt (available on bandcamp)
Text by Austin Walker
Cover Art by by aurahack (aurahack.jp)
With thanks to Arthur B., chocoube, DB, deepFlaw, Edwin Adelsberger, Emrys, Greg Cobb, huw, Ian O'Dea, Ian Urbina, Irina A., Jack Shirai, K. Morris, Katie Diekhaus, Konisforce, Kristina Harris Esq, L Tantivy, Lawson Coleman, Mike & Ruby, Nich Maragos, Olive Perry, Patrick Murray, Robert Lasica, Shawn Hall, TeganEden, Thomas Whitney, viviridian, and Voi for their support
We are playing Armour Astir: Advent with additional playbooks from Strangers in the Night and 106th Astir Squadron. If you enjoy the show, consider supporting the TTRPG.
This episode was made with support from listeners like you! To support us, you can go to friendsatthetable.cash.