CrafD&D: The Champion's Challenge Recap Index
Story Arc:
Forrnest | Volkhanom | Lordpact | Elemix | Conjuria | Hemoarloch | Undercove
Episode:
E12: Under a Rock and a Hard Place | E13: The Golden Genius; Henshin! | E14: Trickster Trios and Treacherous Turtles
E15: Overthinking Origins | E16: Dinner and Dishonor | E17: The Mistress of the Maelstrom
Story Arc:
Forrnest | Volkhanom | Lordpact | Elemix | Conjuria | Hemoarloch | Undercove
Episode:
E12: Under a Rock and a Hard Place | E13: The Golden Genius; Henshin! | E14: Trickster Trios and Treacherous Turtles
E15: Overthinking Origins | E16: Dinner and Dishonor | E17: The Mistress of the Maelstrom
Air Date: 6/24/2022
A surprise attack from Karloff and the other residents of Fraygle Coast leads to Passione discovering Cera's unsettling origins. The party then moves on to Elemix, where they acquaint themselves with the local champions and Ophelia catches up with her old teammate-turned wealthy, world-renowned philanthropist, Congiorno.
Tropes Found in This Episode:
- Despair Event Horizon: Mondo finally relays some of the details behind his Tiefling curse to Osra, particularly why he had been so evasive about the subject. Back when the curse was still fresh, he was fully prepared to take on Don Matriarchy for his own benefit. One night, he was about to set out and do just that, when a young Osra, having been startled awake by a nightmare, came into his bedroom to ask if she can sleep with him. One look at the horns suddenly sprouting from her head told Mondo that he had passed down the curse to his daughter; devastated, he gave up the pursuit then and there, and despite lingering wishes to set things right, he never entertained the idea ever again. In response to this story, Osra becomes rather distraught, but she still asserts her determination to take down Matriarchy and undo the curse, especially since Mondo is bearing the brunt of its effects.
- Divine Intervention: Some of the party's gods involve themselves with their interactions with Karloff:
- Surrounded by Troglodytes, Ophelia calls upon the Dawn Queen to shield her. For a brief moment, the Queen's arm flickers into view as it wraps itself in front of Ophelia... but she's not the only one providing protection. The dark, bloody hand of Lord Damniel also appears, implying that he is some kind of god, just not necessarily the kind he wanted to become.Ophelia: ... You son of a bitch...
- The party becomes incensed at Karloff's insensitivity towards Cera, who he couldn't be assed to feel any familial attachment to due to his concerns about her connections to Merrshaulk. The resulting argument eventually culminates in Mystrief pitching in, calling out Karloff for his coldness and defiantly declaring that she shall be the parental figure Cera needs. Notably, this is the first time in which a Grandure deity addresses a group of people in the series, and Crafty describes the intense effects of Mystrief's voice as she speaks.
- Surrounded by Troglodytes, Ophelia calls upon the Dawn Queen to shield her. For a brief moment, the Queen's arm flickers into view as it wraps itself in front of Ophelia... but she's not the only one providing protection. The dark, bloody hand of Lord Damniel also appears, implying that he is some kind of god, just not necessarily the kind he wanted to become.
- Establishing Character Moment: This episode is the first time in which Passione collectively meets Congiorno in person, with his exhuberant showmanship being all that it takes to attract Elemix's townsfolk to his newly established shop. And when the party finally gets to see him up close, they catch him developing a prosthetic arm for a young boy in seconds, expecting no reward from the boy's immensely thankful mother for doing so.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: When Ash and Calum run into Fergus again in a fancy diner, they try to pay him back for his polymorph prank in the last session. None of their attempts are successful—a failed dickpunch from Calum and a failed "Grovel" command from Ash, the former getting the bouncers' attention—so Fergus makes the mistake of taunting the two in return each time. Calum's mounting frustration eventually causes him to throw all caution to the wind, pounce on Fergus, and absolutely whale on him. Fergus is so taken aback that he can't even form a response! This gets Calum banned from the diner, but he has no regrets.
- Oh, Crap!: Ophelia gets her chance to catch up with Congiorno and finally reveal her vampirism to him, of which her secrecy about had been a major reason behind her departure from their original party. His reaction is nothing short of concerned terror; he immediately puts two and two together and concludes aloud that the Black Fang must be still alive as he conducts some tests on his old friend.
- Secret Test of Character: Karloff's ambush on Osra, Calum, Ash, and Ophelia—but not Cera—was not sinisterly motivated. After he calls off his forces, he explains that it was a test to see how Passione would fare against Merrshaulk's cultists, as they will inevitably run into each other on their travels. Thus, he commanded various residents of Fraygle Coast to emulate the roles—including one monster that played Cera. She's Karloff's biggest concern; the possibility of the cult and their powers forcibly turning Cera against her friends is very real, seeing that she was created to be Merrshaulk's bodily vessel. The only reason he withheld this information in the first place was to guarantee that Passione wouldn't hold back, giving him an accurate study of their capabilities. The whole stunt does nothing to endear Karloff to the party, but he's more focused on the cautionary tale that his test provides.
