Shadow of the Demon Lord (RPGES episode)

"Shadow of the Demon Lord" is the twenty-seventh episode of RPG Exploration Society. The episode aired live on July 29, 2019 on the Saving Throw Twitch channel, and is archived on the YouTube channel.

Summary
The Society plays the Shadow of the Demon Lord RPG.

Guest GM Mark Morrison leads the team through an adventure in a world that has already begun to fall to dark forces, where all the actual heroes are dead and regular folk like the player characters are passing time until the apocalypse.

Full Synopsis
Crowds are gathering after a day of work in the Welcome Inn of Bucken when a horrifying explosion of spoiled sprouts explodes into the common area of the tavern.

The owner is furious with the hapless teen who bought the sprouts, Gus, and sends him off to have them replaced or refunded. Taking pity on him, regular patrons and employees of the tavern go with Gus to make sure he isn't killed by bandits on the road to the town he bought them in, Granthem.

They arrive and learn that the family who sold Gus the bad produce did so against the town's communal decision that they couldn't sell this year, as the crop was spoiled by causes unknown.

Investigating further, the group discover a local family recently died in a fire - but that the door had been boarded shut from the outside when it burned down, leaving only the family dog surviving.

When they are confronted with the evidence, the townsfolk admit with shame that they killed the family at the encouragement of witch hunter John Dartmoor, who assured them that the daughter Arabelle was a witch. They are even further broken when the group suggests Dartmoor may be in league with demons and Arabelle entirely innocent.

Gunther shares that his son Wilfred has disappeared into the forest, as he was sweet on Arabelle and hated them all for her murder. The group go to find Wilfred and offer him the chance to hunt down Dartmoor with them, but discover him leaving a trail of tokens for Dark Fae to target and take revenge on the village. When they catch up to him he is irrational with anger and fear, but warns them to stay inside tonight. When they suggest removing his tokens, Wilfred says "it" will turn on him instead, and Licko knifes him from behind, killing him instantly.

They break out into argument about whether this was the right thing to do, but all agree they need to protect Granthem from the immediate threat, and return to report Wilfred's actions, his death, and to prepare for "it" to arrive.

A huge horrifying boggart arrives in the night and is eventually defeated by the group, who leave Gus a changed man finding work in Granthem, and set out to hunt down John Dartmoor.

Cut to weeks later, and the group, still followed by Arabelle's dog, finally catches up to him on the road. Dartmoor assures them that he had proof of Arabelle's witchcraft but refuses to share it, and admits the things he has done were terrible, but necessary. A fight breaks out and they kill Dartmoor - and immediately Arabelle's dog thanks them, explains it is a demon and offers them a boon for avenging the witch Arabelle's death.

Locations

 * Bucken, a town in the Northern Reach
 * The Welcome Arms Inn in Bucken
 * Granthem, a town in the Northern Reach known for its sprout farming
 * Basket of Plenty Tavern in Granthem
 * The Haunted Forest

GM

 * Mark Morrison from Campaign Coins

Main Cast

 * Aabria Iyengar playing Amaka, a tall African American woman with long dreds pulled into a high ponytail, with very worn armour. Big cigar in her mouth.
 * Steven Pope playing Copper, 8 foot tall mechanical man with a painted on face, the town Constable
 * Jameson McDaniel playing Licko, a goblin with a long nose, big tusks, and a penchant for theft
 * Tom Lommel playing Orum, a well groomed dwarf with an impressive pot belly, wearing a tabard that was once a lot finer than it now is

NPCs

 * Gus - a loveable but incompetent teenage tavern assistant
 * Derek and Barbara - Owners of the Welcome Arms inn
 * Charlotte, Enid and Missy - the Burgher of Granthem, her wife and baby daughter
 * Abigail and Michael Farrow - Farmers that sold Gus their produce
 * Gunther, Benson and Wilfred - the blacksmith of Granthem and his two sons. Benson is enthusiastic but Wilfred is sullen
 * Arnold - An older human man who sculpts small clay figures
 * Harold, Margaret and Arabelle Tanner - a family from Granthem that recently died in a fire
 * John Dartmoor - A witch hunter