Hello, reader! Wait, this is a Substack video, but also a podcast?! But also a blog post?! Substack, what are you trying to be?!
The Parasitic Protean Hotel is the title of a Dungeons and Dragons game that I’m running at Now Boarding Cafe, Bangalore.
I was inspired to make a video about it after looking at the beautiful session notes made by one of the players in the test run of the game. I enjoyed making the video so much that I want to do more. Hence, I’m going to try and run games in this setting and flesh it out, and make videos about it.
What is Dungeons and Dragons?
It’s a collaborative storytelling game played with pencil, paper, and dice. A group of people sit at a table together and share a bedtime story, but crucially, they play the magical heroes in the story. We roll dice whenever a decision needs to be made.
Of course, it’s a lot more complex than that, but there’s no point explaining it in a blog post because it’s not relevant to you. If you’d like to play Dungeons and Dragons, either in this story or in a custom story for you and your friends, drop me a DM on Instagram @thoroughandunkempt.
The Parasitic Protean Hotel, Episode 1 Summary
Within the story itself, we discovered the following:
Our story takes place within a premiere hotel called The Protean.
The hotel casino, The Sea Nimbus Lounge, is run by a vampire, Lazlo Marisian.
Ringil Slateslide is a crew member of Lazlo and runs the Baccalette table at the casino.
Désirée Baptiste is a rich, eloquent, and well-built lady who knows some of the players.
Player characters:
Tommy AKA T is a fresh-out-of-luck Djinnling who is deeply indebted to The Sea Nimbus lounge. T has caused a stir by vanishing in the middle of the casino, and has gained a strange new ring and home, possibly from a djinn ancestor?
Mia is an author, former thief, and vampire. Her sister Aimé, who worked for Lazlo, recently died under mysterious circumstances.
Vanessa Esmeralda is a rich heiress sent to the hotel party to meet suitors, even though she’s not particularly interested. Lazlo is one of her suitors.
Mia and Vanessa noticed bite marks on Lazlo’s neck, which makes no sense if he’s the leader of his vampiric coven.
Niko Sinclair is a former protege of Lazlo and currently runs his own establishment, The Sinclair. He wants to do something about the vampiric coven.
Niko, Gustavo (the owner of the Protean) and Asta (a young Draconid skilled at counting cards) are still finding a line of action.
Gustavo has had a poor confrontation with T in the presence of Vanessa.
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