Recap / CrafD&D: The Champion's Challenge E6: The Red Trophy

CrafD&D: The Champion's Challenge Recap Index
Story Arc:
Forrnest | Volkhanom | Lordpact | Elemix | Conjuria | Hemoarloch | Undercove
Episode:
E5: The Barbarian Champion: Atlissa! | E6: The Red Trophy | E7: Fighting is the Pits

Air Date: 4/1/2022

As a reward for beating her, Atlissa takes Passione to a Volkhanom shrine that stores her mark as a Grand Champion: the titular Red Trophy. However, the visit is cut short when a group of mysterious creatures raids the shrine in hopes of stealing the trophy for themselves. It is after this battle that Calum seems to reach a breaking point...

Tropes Found in This Episode:

• Body Horror: Unlike his fellow slime creatures, Roid the Red is distinctly asymmetrical and far less streamlined. The empty chamber in his right shoulder is engorged and pulsating with a red fluid, which disfigures the rest of the arm to improve Roid's physical strength. The threat that he poses is immediately apparent, so Calum and Ophelia immediately focus their blood curses onto him to assist Atlissa, while they and the rest of the party take care of Roid's cronies.
• Chrome Champion: Calum's fight pit opponent for the next day is Bruce, a large half-orc who is clad in metal. The latter quality catches Osra's attention; she is passingly familiar with this condition, but not enough that she understands exactly how it comes to fruition.
• Crippling Overspecialization: Atlissa reveals that while she's extremely knowledgable about combat, she's studied up on almost nothing else. She mostly relies on her peers to help her with those other fields whenever necessary. However, she's very enthusiastic about learning new things—she's just very slow to do so. To wit, Calum and Ophelia spend some of their visit with Atlissa teaching her how to count to five, as she had only recently learned how to count to four.
• Despair Event Horizon: After struggling through much of the campaign so far with a string of losses, the loss of the Red Trophy to the slime creatures utterly breaks Calum. He retreats to his room in a Volkhanom inn and takes out his frustrations on anything he can find. When Ash comes into the room and consoles him, he reveals the reason why he took this loss and the others before so hard: he just received word that his father is deeply ill, and he's afraid that his father may die unhappy with him for not living up to his expectations. He calms down after his conversation with Ash, but he's still lost most of his suave merriment—he doesn't even pass a glance at Unda when she happens to be nearby.
• Early-Installment Weirdness: For his brief appearance when Cera contacts him, Karloff is voiced by Crafty. He's voiced by 8PurpleKirbies in subsequent appearances as a means to help Crafty manage the campaign.
• Mood Whiplash: After Calum's breakdown and the solemn conversation he shares with Ash, Granny Grog kicks him out of her inn due to the damage he caused. As he exits, he contemplates where he should book a stay next... and he settles for the town's equivalent for Hooters, leading to the players and Crafty joking for a good moment. Then, the mood suddenly takes a turn for the sad again as Calum passes by Unda, who he doesn't even spare a glance.
  Calum: ... Guess I'm goin' to sleep at Looters, guys!
  [Out of character, Crafty guffaws.]
  Ash: You are not sleeping at Looters, not after what we just talked about.
  Crafty OOC: *Wheeze*... He's relapsing! Stop him!
  [Blaze and Scarlet both chuckle.]
  Kayden OOC: I think he's too depressed—I want to point this out. You know how he normally, like, gives winks and nods towards Unda as he walks by her?
  Blaze OOC: Mhm.
  Crafty OOC: Yup.
  Kayden OOC: He didn't look at her at all. he didn't even acknowledge that she was there.
  Blaze OOC: Yikes...
  Scarlet OOC: Oof...
  Crafty OOC: As you pass her, she does actually raise an eyebrow at that.
  Unda: Well... Shit...
• Non Sequitur, *Thud*: Osra and Cera review what they've done throughout town today just outside of the local fight pit. Mid-way through their conversation about armor, a defeated Orc flies from the pit overhead and crashes on the ground. He makes an odd request just before he falls unconscious.
  Cera: I think I'll stick with Orcish or Dwarven craftmanship.
  Osra: The only true options that there are.
  Hiten OOC: She will hear no words to the contrary.
  [Back in-game, an Orc is tossed comically screaming into the air from the nearby fight pit, and he sails over Osra and Cera before crashing nearby.]
  Osra: ... Oh!
  Cera: Huh, speak of the devils!
  Osra: Ya all right?
  Orc: [dazed, laying up slightly] I'll have the.... Tapioca!
  [The Orc falls back down, knocked out.]
  Osra: Yeah, he's fine.
• Pintsized Powerhouse: The episode closes out with Osra and Cera signing themselves up for some rounds in the Volkhanom fight pit. Osra chooses someone named Fuffy Bearkins, who approaches Osra in order to size her up... She turns out to be a five-year-old girl with squeaky toy hammers, the sight of which causes all the players to break character and laugh hysterically. However, it turns out that Fuffy's dinky figure hides some alarming strength. While her attempt to suplex Osra after duping her into shaking her hand fails, Osra has to put forth some surprising effort to push her hand down and complete the shake. Beforehand, Osra and Cera spot a Volkhanom resident being escorted away from the pit on a stretcher, sobbing in terror and disbelief at having their ass handed to them by Fuffy.

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