Nature Check

The Nature Check crew find themselves in the burgeoning port town of New Sechester on the southwestern coast of the wild continent of Arda. Though there is initially some pursuit of individual needs, all of the adventurers eventually find themselves in the tavern of The Marked Bird. Inside the tavern, events quickly unravel as a pair of ruffians attack the tavern owner over a poor-quality fish dinner. The adventurers are also engaged in conversation by Casper Reid, the head cartographer for the Royal Academy of Explorers from Tainibria. The conversation with Casper sparked a deep out-of-character conversation among the players about the problematic nature of colonization and the colonizer attitude/mindset, especially as it pertains to scientific research. We welcome audience perspectives on this topic, as it's an idea that will be central to our journey through Arda.   REFERENCE SECTION Follow us on Twitter: Nature Check: @CheckNature Sheryl/DM: @RvingNaturalist Joe/Lucanus: @Stylopidae Nancy/Kae: @SciBugs Peter/Cedric: @petercoffey Rebecca/Artemis: @Phytoseiid Ryan/Fletcher: @Entemnein Music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Special thanks to our chat mod: Trevor/Hypertesseract Channel art by Sheryl/The Roving Naturalist   The Arda Campaign is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.

The PCs decide to send Lucanus into the brothel to talk to the girl Cedric met in Episode 1. After he gathers some information, the group sets off in a quest to meet an apothecary and find a magical herb.   REFERENCE SECTION Follow us on Twitter: Nature Check: @CheckNature Sheryl/DM: @RvingNaturalist Joe/Lucanus: @Stylopidae Nancy/Kae: @SciBugs Peter/Cedric: @petercoffey Rebecca/Artemis: @Phytoseiid Ryan/Fletcher: @Entemnein Music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Special thanks to our chat mod: Trevor/Hypertesseract Channel art by Sheryl/The Roving Naturalist   The Arda Campaign is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.

WARNING: So sorry about the clipping audio, we're still working out some technical difficulties. But please don't have your volume up too loud when you start the episode! The adventurers find themselves facing off against a pair of strangely amphibious or fishy-looking humanoids in the seagrass bed. Battle ensues, after which the PCs gather some loot and some gilldeweed in two different species or varieties. They make their way back into New Sechester to show their foraging spoils to Elsa, and after that make their way back to the brothel where Karissa is waiting. Lucanus manages to convince Wurgent to let him take Karissa on a date, which they have no intention of returning from. The group brings Karissa to a section of the beach and tries out the gilldeweed. After doing their good deed, Lucanus and Cedric go to the Market district to sell some extra weapons. Artemis begins to overhear a conversation in The Marked Bird.   REFERENCE SECTION Follow us on Twitter: Nature Check: @CheckNature Sheryl/DM: @RvingNaturalist Joe/Lucanus: @Stylopidae Nancy/Kae: @SciBugs Peter/Cedric: @petercoffey Rebecca/Artemis: @Phytoseiid Ryan/Fletcher: @Entemnein Music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Special thanks to our chat mod: Trevor/Hypertesseract Channel art by Sheryl/The Roving Naturalist   The Arda Campaign is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.

Joe and Sheryl do a recap of Episode 1 of Nature Check, then speak with cast member Nancy Miorelli (@SciBugs on Twitter) about herself and her experiences working as an entomologist in Ecuador. Joe and Nancy also pay tribute to their amazing mentor, Dr. Marianne Shockley, who was tragically killed less than a month prior to recording. Have questions for the cast about the Nature Check game, or just science in general? Leave them in the comments, or tweet us at @CheckNature and we'll do our best to answer them!

NSFW warning/Trigger warning: sex work Joe and Sheryl do a recap of Episode 2 of Nature Check, then speak with cast member Peter Coffey (@petercoffey on Twitter) his character Cedric and his feelings about campaign events so far. The group also talks about the idea of fair employment and the issues surrounding sex work (as it relates to events in the campaign). Peter also shares a little about his job as an entomologist working in agricultural extension. Have questions for the cast about the Nature Check game, or just science in general? Leave them in the comments, or tweet us at @CheckNature and we'll do our best to answer them!