D&D Court: Alignment Issues, Strict Spell Components and a Bad Case of Trap Amnesia

I'm surprised Emily doesn't remember how devastating thunder step is especially in a crow full of commoners. Went from petty theft to mass murder real quick. Definitely deserved the Dino death.

“That’s what my character/alignment would do” is a red flag because it shuts down the conversation, rather than opening one up like “I think it’d be fun” does. It preempts any pushback as railroading, or a violation of player autonomy. I think “ah, at this table we don’t have alignment, so what do *you* want to do?” might be an off ramp, or “that’s a spicy character choice there, nice… you’ve got a backup character ready, right?”

He didn’t just steal. He killed guards with thunder step in my interpretation

Coming back to this two years later to let you know a writer I follow has two pet pigs and has had a rescue pig in his backyard for a while and he semi recently went on vacation and his pig sitters fell through so he had to order pizza and convince the delivery person to just throw it over the back fence. And then he had to get them and various other delivery people to do that like 8 more times.

Chaotic problem for the first one.

MORE SPELLCHECK PLEASE!! This could be its own bi-weekly series

Love Spellcheck 🙂

You didn't instantly recognize the reference to the famous Dr Jan Itor?? Inventor of the Knife-Wrench (For kids)???

The Old Kingdom books forever altered my brain chemistry when I read them twenty years ago

Going back to listen to this, and when Murph says, “I hate this game, but god I’m decent at it,” is so, so freaking funny. 😭

I love spell check,

Remember kids, eat carrots for darkvision

Please do more spell check thrown in the middle of DND Court

Can’t believe that one DM doubled the damage because the player got a Nat 1 on the save. That’s not a crit, and shouldn’t double the dice. Must be a house rule, but still

Spell check was great, reminded me of wait wait don't tell me but dnd spell category lol. Maybe for audio format multiple choice? Or true false questions. Could even branch out to be other things like describe a feature and guess the subclass.

Spellcheck!!! And Justice Jake ftw!

My favorite part of Spell Check is y'all figuring out justifications for the component choices

Spell Check is very fun to play along with! Would love it if you play'd it everyone so often!

I like spell check and would def listen to more of it!

There is actually a website that has Icelandic Horses respond to work emails while you’re on vacation. They trained the horses to type on a giant keyboard and they do type. Not words but they type. https://www.visiticeland.com/outhorse-your-email/

Love spell check

Made spell check as an application, for all to play: https://dndspellcheck.com

More spell check please

More spell check pleaaaaase!!!!

Chaotic Neutral is such a red flag lmao

Nobody mentioning the fact that thunderstrp deals like. 3d10 damage to everyone in an area, while in a crowd killing probably a bunch of npcs

My Grandma has 5 donkeys. They can't be trusted

My Grandma has 5 donkeys. They can't be trusted

I actually loved the Spell check game! To possibly keep it as a recurring event and because there are only so many spells with interesting and clever components, I could see the game being expanded to cover other things in the game like class features, cover mechanics, etc.

Lirael is 💯 the best Old Kingdom book. Enjoy!

In the case of the Level 4 fighter, Jan Itor, he alleges that he cast thunder step, a 3rd level spell. How did a level 4 fighter cast a a 3rd level spell, he deserved the death by Raptor he received.

I love the joke of the show needing to find a villain and be cartoonishly punitive. Just gonna ruin that for a sec. No one needs new friends. The person with the crazy backstory is probably just trying to follow Brennan Lee Mulligans advice on creating characters who care about doing things in the world and getting carried away. Having eight people I kind of know from a city I spent some time in isn't crazy in real life. Story wonks like Brennan, our illustrious bailiffs and the seasoned Jonk, whatever their name is seem to have knowledge about what is a large or small amount of characters for a given thing. If that's true that knowledge is not intuitive to everyone I'm only guessing at its existence from Context Clues like how people with Arts degrees criticized Avengers endgame in video essays back in the day. Teach this person they might actually think their DM is looking for lone wolves. Their DM might actually just be looking for lone wolves. I'm pretty sure hand waving Spell components is standard and maybe even rules is written when they are no specified price. Everyone likes smooth gameplay. A lot of us really want the smooth gameplay to not break immersion too badly so a components pouch is not understood to be a trash bag full of random crap, but a small pouch that is prepared with the things you need as you are preparing your spells. In a circumstance like this ruling that you might not have the right thing isn't that wild. If I wanted to be a stickler I would probably have only gone as far as "I'm allowing it, but you watch yourself counselor." I'd say that no heroic PC would ever prepare a spell they didn't have the ingredients for so they should at least have been allowed to retcon their spell list. Submissions are supposed to be short, I see no reason to believe there wasn't a combat for the chase or the Velociraptor guy's death. As to alignment it's not that hard guys, it's vague Notions. We can handle vague Notions. Assuming that this is a truly fantastic world and the cops are not particularly evil, I shrug at the pickpocketing but when it went awry and the player was going to use a third level damaging spell on some presumably commoner ish guards, I'd maybe point out that the player was about to go from petty theft to a public killing spree and ask if they wanted to rethink that

There has been some confusion about what railroading is in this show, well the spell components case seems like a textbook case. The GM had a "cool" resolution in mind for the problem, so they blocked/punished any attempt by the players to do their own thing and "ruin" the story.

Has anyone told Emily that Tim Curry narrates "Sabriel" and the other two books in the original trilogy??? Emily! I beg you! Listen to the audiobooks as well!

Love spell check!

Spell components are the most fun when using them heavily in your description - it really makes spellcasting even more epic

I think that there is a way to do a lot of people in your backstory, but I agree that the player in that particular case should be the one who is punished because of how he thought he was “helping” his DM. In Critical Role for example, Taliesin has had characters with a lot of people in his backstory, but it only worked for certain reasons. One, there was already a lot of trust between Matt and the players. Two, in Percy’s case his large family was mostly deceased so Matt didn’t have to be every NPC in his backstory. In Cad’s case, all of his family was found in one place. And lastly, with Ashton, we haven’t met any of his original group except Milo and who knows if we will ever meet them. So I think it can work, but only if there is a lot of trust between DM and player already in place, and clearly the player in the case was kind of arrogant in his opinion.

PLEASE DO SPELL CHECK I THINK IT SHOUKD BE ITS OWN THING

I am so proud of myself, I got both spell guesses right 🥹❤️

I just had a chance to listen and I LOVE SPELL CHECK VERY MUCH 😭 but I am not subscribed at the mixed bag level so I hope you just keep it in the D&D Court episodes hahahahaha

I love Spell Check, though I think you should add it into Court episodes not a whole episode on it's own.

I love the spell component game please please please I need it.

Pls keep the spell component game forever

I just finished "Terror on Toy Island" for D20 so all the donkey talk was even funnier for me thinking back to that episode

Spellcheck sounds pretty good for a mixed bag. Def not main feed tho

I’d definitely watch a mix bagged of this spell component game show

Without NADDPOD I would not be "ready for the clay," I love DMing!

Aggghhh I LOVE The Old Kingdom series!!! Also yes, more Spell Check!!

Play more spell check!

I truly need more of the spellcheck game in my life lol

I love the spell check! Need more of this please, for my education!!!

I just love Murph. Emily, watch out. (/s)

I'll say for spell components. The rules of 5e cover them pretty well. Any sort of spellcasting focus, replaces the need for any non priced component. Also the actual component pouch item assumes it has any needed non priced component in it. Every spellcasting class starts with one of these things, focus or pouch. So you're pretty much always covered on this unless the component has a listed price. Gathering components for your pouch *can* be a fun little bit of roleplaying, flavor for how you do magic, but you have that shit.

I'm so good at Spell Check, I got all of these.

so happy to hear the garth nix love!!!

I would listen to Spell check for days on end! Spell Check, the only game show that's a stickler for spells!

Plus 1 for SPELL CHECK!

I LOVE Spell Check game btw

Haven't listened to the council of elders list in a while. Did not disappoint this round lol

Love Spell Check!

spell check is so fun to listen to!!

Spell check belongs on ‘Um Actually’

Am I off-base or did y'all forget what a spellcasting focus is for awhile there

spell check is sweeping my nation

We definitely need more Spell Check in some capacity

I know they joked about it not being fun to listen to but I absolutely loved Spell check and I think they stumbled into the next big thing like DnD court

More Spell Check so much fun

The Cardinals of Dice Christ have gotten weak, forgiveness for such sins is an affront in RNGesus's name. I want hellfire and punishment for these abominations and transgressions.

Big fan of the spell component game!

Need more spell check content.

More Spell Check please!

I would listen to literal hours of spell check

1-2 spellchecks per episode would be a perfect amount.

[ DMG’s Chapter 10: Spellcasting ] “Material (M): Casting some spells requires particular objects, specified in parentheses in the component entry. A character can use a component pouch or a spellcasting focus (found in chapter 5, “Equipment”) in place of the components specified for a spell. But if a cost is indicated for a component, a character must have that specific component before he or she can cast the spell. If a spell states that a material component is consumed by the spell, the caster must provide this component for each casting of the spell. A spellcaster must have a hand free to access a spell’s material components — or to hold a spellcasting focus — but it can be the same hand that he or she uses to perform somatic components.”

Love spell check!

Yes to Spell Check (aka What the Spell!?!)

To be fair, a couple weeks ago I woke up and was like "Do I remember my phone passcode?" So I locked my phone and tried to open it and got it wrong so many times that I completely locked myself out and had to format my phone entirely...

OK it's really great to have Jake back!

What is it about tomb of annihilation that brings out the dumb antics in players? Every time Ive run the module, at least one of my players tries to do crimes and gets caught

Spellcheck was very cool to play/hear/guess guys. Please sprinkle some in whenever you feel like it 🥰👏

would love a spell check mixed bag!

Oh shit yeah I loved the old kingdom series. Garth Nix has a wonderful imagination.

Bring SPELL CHECK TO THE MAIN FEEEEEED

maybe spell check would be fun with some multiple choice options !

More spell check!!!! Please

I was actually lost in the courthouse earlier and found a side door entering onto the stage for Spell Check! the Gameshow

Please give me more Spell Check!

Omg people so often misunderstand spell components. If your character has a spell casting focus (a magic staff, hat, wand, etc) you dont need to use components. EXCEPT if it has a gold cost or says explicitly it consumes the material. Wither and Bloom doesn’t say either. Some occasions the character might get thrown in jail and have their focus taken from them. In that case, be a stickler, make them look in the cell for materials. A spiderweb, some sand, rat fur…Make it actually fun….

more spell check please

Ahhhh Emily read Sabriel!! I named my cat after Sabriel 😭 it's a fantastic book series.

I work in an office, and I give out stickers to people when they do a good job... Maybe I need a good-job bell 🤣😈

Spell check is sick. Having a few guests on for a Mixed bag would be great!

Can't decide if I want Murph to be forced to host or participate

Love the spell check idea!

Yes yes spell check yes

More Spell Check!!

I would also like more Spell Check

I listened to this ep while walking around New York City and I found a withered vine before they finished ruling. That wizard could definitely get one.

YES YES YES, I love spell check! Everyone downplays components but i think they’re so cool!!

Spell check is a good idea

Cannot wait for more Spell Check! Hopefully they make it weekly and replace the main campaign am I right?

Would love more Spell Check, pretty please!

I like SpellCheck, it's a fun game. Playing along at home I knew the amber and fur was going to be for something electrostatic and actually guessed lightning bolt!

More Spell Check. Yes please.

Spell check!!!!

Spell Check is actually kind of the perfect radio show because you get to think about the question on your own, then hear the reasoning of people who interpreted the question from a different angle than you. I found it really engaging!

MORE SPELL CHECK

I cannot tell you how much I relate to the case of too many NPCs. I pitched a low magic campaign to a group of players and everyone was on board. I made the rules very clear. This was a dishonored styled campaign where very limited magic was still available and the whole hook was going to be The players searching for magic items and finding ways to open up communication with the gods and ancient magic, giving them the options to open up to other classes and things in the future. As I said, I made the rules very clear on what would and would not be allowed and made sure everyone was on board before doing this experimental campaign. One player pitched that he grew up in an orphanage with a cleric that had all these different spells that he learned from them and did everything he could in his build to get access to as much magic as possible without even asking me what would be available to him in the world they lived in. I got so much pushback from this one player that I eventually scrapped the entire campaign idea and just ran a slightly modified story from the essentials kit. Planning to build up from there. This same players backstory was that he was a wizard who went to a college for adventurers so he knew every single monster and all their stats and what would be available to every player when it came to their spells and without even slightly trying to role play, he metagamed his way through every situation. Eventually, I just told him he needed to DM since he clearly wanted to set all the rules for the world and the story himself anyway, and disbanded my campaign.

More spell check please!!!

Loved Spell Checkkkkk!!

Living for Spell Check!!

LETS GO SPELL CHECK

Love Spell Check! Thinking about the components and how they relate to the "science" of the magic makes it all feel more flavorful

SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK SPELL CHECK

GEMMA! 🥹

This has probably already been said but, mechanically speaking any spell components that aren’t explicitly stated to be consumed on cast, or have a gold cost… are automatically covered via either a component pouch or a spellcasting focus…. So if the withered vine isn’t either of those things, the dm is in the wrong RAW

Awe, I lost :( well I have DMed for them so sentence served. Thank you Justices. I guess I'll start trusting Jake now. Also Spell Check is fun.

Spell check is very entertaining. I'd like to see more of it!

i looove the spell components game, do it!

spell check is a great game (and shoutout to arcane foci for making many components unnecessary)

SUCH AN AMAZING EP missed ya Jake! Very funny very insightful all around. Energy was so high! That YOUTH OF THE NATION felt extra special and loud this Episode

I think it's a fun game, and it might help with memorizing certain components for colorful descriptions of magic

I like the spell components game but it's making me hate spell components.

RAW a component pouch automatically contains all the spell components you need except those that you have a cost associated with them

I LOVE spell check and I would LOVE if spell check were featured on the $5 tier!!!

Absolutely do Spell Check!!

In solidarity with Emily, my mom got me a dehydrated piranha which I think was eaten by my dog at the time

Sabriel is one of my favorite books 🥰

"Name That Spell" newest Dropout show

i love Spell Check! it's fun to try and puzzle it out as a listener. i think it also has the energy of when you and your friends are having a discussion about something you could just factcheck on google, bc the fun of it is the discussion and hypothesizing itself rather than just getting the answer

I Love spell check

I love spell check!! It was very funny and interesting

Holy shit is Jake's kid named Gemma????

I love love love spell check

Brennan Lee Mulligan vs Matt Mercer vs Murph on Spell Check!

More Spell check!!

Big fan of Spell Check! My humble suggestion is maybe include the school of magic? This is evocation then components maybe makes it WAY easier but thought it could help narrow the options

Big fan of Spell Check!

We want more Spell Check.

LOVE Spell Check

Spell Check is a fantastic little segment

I enjoyed spell check!

absolutely would LOVE listening to more Spell Check

Unpopular opinion, Alignment is a good tool to use if you do want to restrict yourself and force yourself to rp a character with decisions you yourself wouldn't usually make. Using "it's what my character would do" in a healthy way, I mean. I.e., whereas you the player may not be opposed to torturing an evil prisoner for information, your lawful good character would be. That being said, chaotic neutral rogue isn't doing it that way and is just causing a ruckus.

I really thought Jake said, “thanks for the worm welcome”. Jake is the new worm wife.

Spellchecks pretty dope definitely would love more a that!

A withered vine would be in a spell component pouch. Jake nailed it. Only components with a gold cost matter. Everything else exists in the pouch or could be replaced by an arcane focus

Big fan of the New Hit Game Show, SPELL CHECK! Also "Guy Who Is Great At A Game He Hates With Pure Rage" feels like a Tim Robinson sketch.

Love spell check!

My favorite spell component is beans for stinking cloud

Spell check is incredibly entertaining to listen to

More spell check

I would LOVE so much more of Spell Check! I was just re-listening to the Jeopardy episode and would love the occasional game showish mixed bags

Spell Check 5e is my favorite game

More spell check !!

More spell check plz

No one knows how spell components works and it really shows when DMs are sticklers about it. Spellcasters start with an arcane focus or component pouch which replaces any spell components that don't have a cost or are used up in spellcasting like revivify. Hands down the the wizard should have been able to use wither and bloom.

Spell Check is top tier content! Definitely need more!!

Spell Check is obviously the superior name, but I can’t get Spelling Tree out of my head. The title screen would involve an anthropomorphic apple tree, only instead of apples it’s scraps of web and copper wires.

Spell Check is a silly game, more please

More spell check please! ❤️❤️❤️

Also, how would a lv 4 fighter have thunderstep? Even if they were an eldritch knight, they'd only have 1st level spells. J'accuse!

The wither and bloom one is driving me crazy. If the player had a focus, it shouldn’t have even been a problem. You don’t need the vine if you have a focus!! You only need material components that specify a monetary value or are consumed by the spell.

Do the mixed bag of components you coward

I'm loving spell check

We simply must see a picture of Lord Franklin.

Aside from the thousand other red flags w Jan Itor—describing your character as “bored” with the scene the dm’s setting up? Yikes.

The spell component question was so frustrating. A component pouch that spellcasters can start just has all those non gold components in it already. A spell casting focus like a staff or a wand or a crystal ball also replaces those non gold components. That player totally had what they needed for the spell.

Definitely here for more spell check 😆

I love Spell Check! Please bring it to the short rest! May I also suggest a fun minigame for it? You are given three random spell components and try to come up with the best original spell for it!

Can I just say that I’m so unbelievably proud of myself for guessing Unseen Servant for the spell component question but had no clue about the Darkness 😂 (only knew Unseen Servant because of ACOFAF)

The spell component question was so timely given how Emily had to find a spell component a few weeks ago in Critical Role for a good reason/high level spell which made combat a lot more interesting and had an impact on the strategy for the fight.

My fave spell component is the one for gust of wind, may I recommend it? :D detect thoughts is very cute too

Love Spell Check!

I understand alignments quite well. Case one player is Chaotic evil or borderline lawful evil if they start killing guards instead of trying to run away.

Welcome back Jim I hope Tucker's baby is doing good!

Also, Jan Itor is a Scrubs reference, right? Like, that’s the Janitor’s Doctor Persona

GOLD RIGHT OFF THE BAT “alignment is like wine: everyone is pretending that they get it”

It's been said already, but the druid/wizard would've most likely had a spellcasting focus (because it's part of both classes' starting equipment), which explicitly replaces all material components that aren't consumed by the spell and don't list a price. If the player had lost this spellcasting focus they would've had to scrounge around for materials, but in that case it would've been mentioned. Most likely everyone just forgot that that's how it works RAW.

What is a dad if not the bailiff of the family?

I just wanted to throw it out there that the arcane focus raw replaces all material components that don’t have a specific cost. Brennan and Murph are following the rules

Spell Check was super fun! Not sure if it would sustain for a full episode, but I also didn't think the Personality Quiz mixed bags would either and those ended up being incredible, so I've been wrong before. In fact, not to brag, but I'm wrong about a lot of things.

Big fan of Spell Check! I'm also torn between telling Murph to go to bed and questioning whether or not it's like, parasocially healthy to tell a man in his thirties, who I don't know, that he should go to bed .....but do go to bed, Murph

Love the game! Do more!

Spell check should deffo be a thing!!

I LOVE Spell Check!

spell check should Absolutely continue lol; the old bahumia trivia game (w/ connor and the twins lol) is a hilarious comfort relisten and honestly would love a splash of that game show energy in 2023

I LOVE SPELL CHECK!

I love this Spell Check. Contestants should be able to ask school of magic (like origin of word) Maybe spell level if they need to narrow it down further.

go to bed, murph. please just sleep

I need more Spell Check

CONGRATS ON BABY GEMMA

I love Spell Check, as someone who is playing a campaign where we use spell components it's fun to listen to and it's a nice learning experience

" I like this, it's fun!!, see it's fun!"...Murph: I'm just getting frustrated. LoLOlolol hahaha

A note on spell components - spellcasting foci, like wands and staffs, replace material components without a gold piece cost. So if the wizard had a wand, the DM was wrong.

Honestly Jan's DM going "why would you do that" and immediately demanding justification for what is a mundane action, as trying to pick picket someone, is a big red flag.

Murph is Nat Pagle! Nat Pagle is the most legendary fisherman in all of Azeroth, but canonically doesn't enjoy fishing and has almost no interest in it.

I'm so proud I actually knew the unseen servant one. I knew it from A Court Of Fey And Flowers, when Binx was giving the spell to one of her patrons. For some reason that but stuck with me, which is especially interesting cause Emily was on ACOFAF

Welcome back, Jake! We missed you lots. Also, please go to bed, Murph.

Haha, that was a surprise, seeing 500+ entries pop up in my naddpod feed- guess something happened and marked all my played short rest/mixed bags as unplayed. Anyway, can't wait to listen to the episode! Welcome back Jake!

Truly a buzzer beater lol