D&D Court: Bonus Cases - Garage Rangers, Table Exes, and Minority Resquirt

if a person wouldnt leave my house after the function, with demands, they're never coming back ever again lmao

I was just about to type a possible solution to the devil case as Murph said it lol Man these D&D cases make me feel like a normal well rounded person lol. Be grateful someone DMs for you, be flexible with others and at the end of the day be humble and kind.

I dunno fellow Naddpoles, I feel like in the Ranger case the player was mostly in the wrong. I mean yes, that class does get an animal companion, but to me (as a former DM) the DM's answer read as she was going to give him a wolf as they moved along the road. This is what I did for the beastmaster ranger in my old party to establish the animal's personality and paint a scene to make everyone attached to him. To say "Either give me my wolf right now or I'm leaving" is a huge escalation. The go stand in the garage but is a bit too far, but given the DM let them stay a half hour past the rest of the group just so they could be the same level as everyone I don't think this was a truly abusive move, if the DM was just a dick they would have said you're SOL bud, stay level 3 and wolfless and leave my house.

Also I fucking love Minority Report independently of NADDPOD and to be catching up on the back catalog and hear more Minority Report references than I’ve ever heard is making me so happy

As a 1998 baby I approve

I disagree with our honored justices about the beastmaster especially after the reveal that the DM was abusive. #RangerGate

There are several different kinds of boba, and one of them does indeed burst with juice! But the most popular type is tapioca boba, which is the kind Emily and Murph are thinking of. Everyone wins hehe

Why the fuck did they *let* him stand in the garage for an hour? That's insane. That is insane behavior. You can play off awkward interactions, you can spin stuff, and instead they just like..... encountered an awkward moment and fully leaned in and let it take over the entire session. No heros, I say

The best song on Collision Control is Points Of Authority/99 Poblems/ One Step Closer. I paused the episode to listen to the split lol

The fucking Chuck E. Cheese shoebox bit at the end had be literally crying, and I’m at work lol

Wait- why not "The Minority Resort"??

there is a plot of Five Nights at Freddy's where a sentient robot replaces a wife/mom after death- so not far off

That confession was incredible, truly inspired. Emily is wrong though, physical dice are not going to help if the game is online and no one can see what you're rolling. Because the temptation has nothing to do with respecting the thing giving you a result and everything to do with the fact that you are the only one who is seeing the result. I know, because I used to do this all the time. I've been working on it after hearing people like Emily and Sam Riegel talk about how much fun they get out of bad rolls, and I haven't done it in a long time, but I absolutely still think about it. Maybe that will stop if I ever get a failed roll that leads to something really cool or interesting happening ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯ Most of the time the failures aren't fun for me.

I wonder if the wolf guy was not neurotypical. To go stand in the garage is such a literal interpretation of what the DM said. Either incredibly spiteful, or someone who literally heard the DM say that if they wanted a wolf they'd have to go to the garage and they said "Ok".

For the first one, my DM has done private moments when offering deals with unsavory entities by doing it during session. So, we all knew something was going on above board but we werent sure what it was as we werent allowed in the same space. Granted, that was done online but even critical role does that- send people out of the room. I would say you could maybe go so far to do little moments with everyone to tempt them and play on how much the party trusts each other afterwards. The player already wants to do something without them knowing so she should have no issue lying to them.

Have one-on-one sessions been established as a thing that can happen, or has everything, even individual asides, happened at the table? If the former then he'll yeah make a deal with the devil. If the later then this betrayal breaks not only trust but the assumed rules, conventions and assumptions your players have been operating under and it becomes not only a PC-on-PC betrayal but a player-on-player and DM-on-player betrayal, which could break your table. You have to start establishing one-on-ones that have an effect on the main campaign, run one to two with each player then come back to this in a few months. Then this becomes an awesome moment instead of something that breaks trust between actual humans.

Even without the added context of the DM apparently being cruel, I would side 100% with the ranger. Having a companion is kind of the Beastmaster's whole thing. The fact they didn't have one already meant either they just leveled up (which I doubt since that would mean they leveled up twice in one session), they didn't fully comprehend the rules when they did level up last (which would be on the DM if they're a new player), or they were waiting for the perfect animal, in which case they found it. It feels to me like the DM had a story idea for them getting their companion and wanted to railroad them into it. Which I think is really unfair. You can't delay a major aspect of a subclass for your perfect story moment. And if they really did want to avoid just magically summoning another wolf (which is allowed) or just immediately finding another one in the woods (which should also be fine), there were a bunch of ways they could have woven it into the narrative. Maybe the cries from the dying enemy wolf attracted a nearby pack. Maybe the bandits had another wolf that they weren't taking good care of that was still locked up in their cart. Maybe the enemy wolf was pregnant and they find a wolf puppy after, Jon Snow-style. It should have been an easy fix to give them what is basically the only reason anyone would choose to play as a Beastmaster.

I've only went to Fredrick's once, it's been a while since they've been a while

Definitely on the beastmasters side, that's their like entire subclass feature and I could only imagine how hurt I'd feel if someone told me to "go to the garage" that's insane

Enjoy the yearn that's happening now

“No wolves, no maidens, no mascots” goes impossibly hard lol

Murph with his hackles raised whispering “What the FUCK?” is my spirit animal

I feel like the beastmaster was completely in the right, rules written he gets a beast companion did any of the other players need a story reason for their new abilities and upgraded powers? Seems a bit unfair to have one player singled out needing a story reason to get their level.

Okay, but, "Dinner, Deals, & Dice" sounds like it'd be an awesome TTRPG based around a dinner party, even make it a LARP

I 100% side with the beast master, and he needs new friends. Rules say he gets a wolf so just give him a wolf, its not game breaking for a wolf to be in the woods. Not one friend stopped playing the game to check on him. BAD FRIENDS!!

Some of the confessions lately have been absolute garbage, either people just bragging about cheating or like in this one, someone auditioning to be the fifth member of the podcast.

Sounds like the beast master was just upset they didn't get the magically summoned animal companion their subclass is entitled to, so they figured they'd go into the garage and the DM would budge.

D'you guys feel like if Emily has altered the hemp milk song to say "gimme THAT hemp! Milk!" Instead of "gimme A hemp!" It might have been able to still keep it's flow while making a bit more sense as a call and response song?

We absolutely had Fredrick’s of Hollywood in St Louis malls.

the beast master ranger decision has me questioning the validity of this court.

What is this the bonus case for? There was a calling for cases, no main feed, then this?

Opening with a discussion of collision course and having numb trickle into the conversation throughout had me in stitches

Minority Resort!

Re: Devils - I would simply contact each player individually via text, and describe a dream sequence they have where the devil appears to each of them individually. Set aside the one on one irl table session part, and instead each player will know they had a dream where the devil appeared to them to make the offer one more time. It can even mention that it was aware each of them might have had different desires than they were willing to say in front of their friends. Then the dm might even get more than one of them on the hook with a deal, potentially creating conflicting deals or cross purposes

I disagree with Caldwells take on private sessions, I use them quite frequently to help my players with specific asks that don't fit into a main session, and it does make tension but at our table we really like that. Also we don't have a lot of in persons sessions as well, idc this isn't a judgment I can get behind, I ask that the ruling be appealed

u have to dip Chucky

Thank u

Me and my sister actually did discover an affair (not with Chuck E. Cheese unfortunately) in an old photo album recently. Not in a garage. In a cupboard. It was kinda wild.

18:50 Subtle 😏

Jake, Emily, Caldwell, and Murph: thank you so much for your sweet words. I wrote that submission as my creative outlet after a long few days in the corporate world, just hoping to give Jake a chuckle. Your responses made my whole week ♥️

The nature of the garage makes SUCH a difference in how crazy that was. Garages range from tiny, musty hoarder holes to 3-car converted play-rooms and beyond. (Context in the comments makes it clear the DM was at fault, but I'm still curious where they "half-jokingly" sent the guy and didn't go retrieve him for an hour.)

Witness Protection Milk Park is a beautiful phrase.

First time I’ve felt compelled to appeal the high court, but I think this beast master was royally shafted. Upon second listen, I think the DM is more experienced than the players. Which makes the situation as follows, a beast master requested a wolf as they leveled up and as an added bonus they made it part of the described narrative (a fight with wolves). The DM refused with a flimsy claim that there were no wolves in the forest (despite the precious fight). Even more depressingly, they sent the player physically away in a bizarre abuse of power. Help me understand why we are praising this DM’s behavior?

Being a beastmaster ranger and not getting an animal is kind of a bummer.

The Grey Album does exist! It’s Jay Z’s black album and the Beatles white album by Danger Mouse

Not to agree with the wolf guys behavior, but rules as written they are absolutely entitled to one, it clearly states that you gain an animal companion upon level up. In fact if you use the Tasha's beastmaster ranger you can straight up summon your animal companion magically whenever you so please

They definitely came around to the right answer on the deal with the devil - have your secret meetings, but at a regular session where the devil is tempting all of them, so everyone gets to play that scene as their character.

I did in fact have to stop the episode to listen to Numb/Encore thanks

I see your LINKIN PARK/Jay-Z collab EP and raise you Big Grams, the seven deadly sins-themed Phantogram/Big Boi collab EP

Garage behavior is crazy but the DM insisting on depriving the ranger of their entire subclass makes me want everyone to be punished

Is it just me or was this episode strangely erotic? (In a way that made me snort laugh)

and individual session would be fun IF everyone got one, then next session with them all together one/two of them are gone from their beds and the other(s) have to try and stop them

"Looking at old family photos and discovering an affair" is basically what happens in the Fabelmans

I grew up in the 90s/00s in Southern California and I remember seeing Fredrick’s of Hollywood in malls. Never went in one but I would also avert my eyes

Going to the garage is weird as hell but the dm was definitely wrong in the ranger case. Beast master “magically summons a primal beast… you determine the kind of animal the beast is”

Collision Course EP unironically still in the rotation

Paused and started listening to Encore/Numb... That was six songs ago.

i’m a SPED teacher on summer break, listening to 8-10 hrs of naddpod a day walking around portland doing nothing, sense of humor BROKEN minority resquirt

Linkin Park/Jigga is a must in case anyone didn’t take them seriously in the beginning.

Murph said he wouldn't use a timer but I've heard him apply time pressure to the party multiple times!

@ Myles: your writing is absolutely incredible, holy shit! Do you have a creative writing/English degree? I had to listen to your submission twice. WOW.

I feel so honored to have my case be judged in the High Crit. 1 minute for each of us would have been so much better than a minute total and I’ve always felt the blame was mostly on the first player more than the DM, he knew the stakes and chose not to act. To add a little more context we were inside a Magnificent Mansion spell and we had the map out we all knew where to go - but on his turn he was asking about what he could see out the window, to which the answer was “nothing… the astral sea… the void…” and then he started joking about what would happen if he used Misty Step to go out there and things of that nature. So when the timer went off nobody had done moved even a single square on the map. We focused on escaping the fight and that’s how we managed to survive it, becaus thankfully he didn’t chase us out of the Tower/Mansion.

As a Sufi, I always appreciate when Emily brings up Sufi poetry! I would recommend Rumi, Hafiz, and Kabir to anyone who hasn’t read any.

Sometimes I feel like Frederick’s was a fever dream (that definitely doesn’t exist anymore) but I still definitely own one of their robes and one of their corsets. At the time, the quality was shittier than Victoria’s Secret too I’m pretty sure. EDIT: huh! very surprised to hear it still exists (online), much less surprised to hear that the founder invented edible panties.

Regarding secret sessions, there is a pathfinder actual play called Burnt CookBook Party that I can’t recommend enough where they do this and, as an audience member at least, it’s dope as hell. Their party DOES have a slightly more tense/antagonistic vibe than most but if it works for you then it works

You guys should make a website to get ordained as a dice christ clergymen

Garanger was right there!

My friend dated someone last year who genuinely had a chuck e cheese obsession and has a full set of the animatronics in her garage ☠️ someone has definitely found their dads mouse smooching photos

There was a full re-release of Hybrid Theory with each song remixed by a different rapper that was incredible. Reanimation is definitely worth a look into if you liked Collision Course.

Legit stopped listening while working out to go listen to the Linkin Park/Jay Z album. Still slaps

Not even kidding, I guessed 1946 for when did it come out.

The Garage ranger case is so weird to me. It’s the rangers class ability to get an animal companion and it’s just a wolf. Withholding it is just so strange to me.

Thank you for reading my case! I think the reason it's hard to just say the barbarian doesn't like it is because I've been letting it ride for six months now and it feels like the window to say something in a normal way has closed, and I'm not sure how to reopen it. My involvement in the breakup was just advising and comforting/listening to venting both and serving as an intermediary in the leadup and in the aftermath. I was also physically present when it happened because they broke up while at a cabin the three of us were renting for a weekend. So I kind of don't want to go on another trip with them, chlorox milk park or not

The Tapioca classic Boba Pearls are gummy but they also have the gusher-esq. juice filled boba bubbles too

20 years old and don’t know how to regulate your emotions… 360 no scoped me murph, ouch!

Chuck E Cheese in the Garage, the much anticipated prequel to The Woman in the Wall

Minority Resquirt, the waterpark area of the Minority Resort

BRB have to go listen to Numb/Encore real quick

We need an encode, sure we want more...

just roll the dice and say what you got, that's the game. if you want to just make stuff up go do improv.

God garage ranger case bugs me, everyone deserves to be sentenced for lack of communication. It's a bad move to go and hang out in the garage for an hour because you don't get what you want, but it's also bad dming to *let* someone sit in the garage for an hour because you don't have an above-the-table talk about expectations at the table.

collision course mention, lets goooo

Truly a TRAVESTY that we missed the opportunity to ask "when did the Collision Course EP" come out?

"Go into the garage" HAS to be the new fuck off

TRYYYIIIINNNGGHH TO BENDD THE TRUUUUUTH

Collision Course is a fantastic album.

With players like the ranger I take the ZachTheBold approach of slapping a dunce hat on them and shooting them with a confetti cannon

Been listening to your podcast while snorkeling, greetings from Greece :D

“we can celebrate things along the way” - emily’s immense wisdom 🫶🏽

I actually had to pause and listen to that EP— thanks for reminding me that exists gang

I don’t see the main feed dnd court episode! Just bonus cases for us blessed folk omg

Paused to listen to numb/encore

Splash into the beast

Shello justices!