The Adventure Zone: Ethersea - Episode 8
September 9, 2021 1:59 PM - Subscribe
The Infinite Clam: Part Two. The Coriolis is visited by an inscrutable little guy whose name definitely does not appear on the manifest. They reach their destination in the Phytal Flats, and then things go very south, very quickly.
I loved how deep in the shit the team got itself, but then Griffin bailed them out at the last moment.
posted by ursus_comiter at 7:26 PM on September 9, 2021
posted by ursus_comiter at 7:26 PM on September 9, 2021
Oh, I did not interpret the ending as in any way a bailing out. I thought it meant everything had just gotten much, much worse.
posted by meese at 8:50 PM on September 9, 2021
posted by meese at 8:50 PM on September 9, 2021
Yeah, if the Coriolis survives the fall into the clam shell (a big if), the crew is now stuck in there with no obvious way out.
posted by Cash4Lead at 7:35 AM on September 10, 2021
posted by Cash4Lead at 7:35 AM on September 10, 2021
I've been trying to figure out what the "correct" way to address this problem would be, and I guess it would involve being more cautious about approaching the clam, making a bunch of (good) investigation rolls, and figuring a way to get in and out of the clam safely?
Actually, anchoring the Coriolis (yes, submarines have anchors) and sending the bathysphere alone down into the clam once they figure out there is an inside to the clam would have been a good option. I wonder if there's comms between sphere and mothership, I wonder if the Bathysphere can be reeled in from either end, and I wonder if there's room in there for all three of them.
They would have been smart to at least take a minute to agree on a plan for what to do if the clam eats one of them, since "the clam ate him" seems like a safe bet for what happened to their missing person. Then again, being careful doesn't make for good radio, and sometimes you just gotta get off the boat and trust that you'll find a way out because "you're now permanently stuck in a clam" also doesn't make good radio.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 11:19 AM on September 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
Actually, anchoring the Coriolis (yes, submarines have anchors) and sending the bathysphere alone down into the clam once they figure out there is an inside to the clam would have been a good option. I wonder if there's comms between sphere and mothership, I wonder if the Bathysphere can be reeled in from either end, and I wonder if there's room in there for all three of them.
They would have been smart to at least take a minute to agree on a plan for what to do if the clam eats one of them, since "the clam ate him" seems like a safe bet for what happened to their missing person. Then again, being careful doesn't make for good radio, and sometimes you just gotta get off the boat and trust that you'll find a way out because "you're now permanently stuck in a clam" also doesn't make good radio.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 11:19 AM on September 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
"I'm getting out of the boat, without life gear... oh yeah, I can't swim either." Not the best play.
I'm half expecting the clam will be a mini-dungeon because it's going to be weird for a clam to be only partially full of water and containing predatory fish, and because the current quest's title is "The Infinite Clam". And yes the clam was already weird just by being giant and sentient, but some weirds are weirder than other weirds.
posted by ardgedee at 2:12 PM on September 10, 2021 [2 favorites]
I'm half expecting the clam will be a mini-dungeon because it's going to be weird for a clam to be only partially full of water and containing predatory fish, and because the current quest's title is "The Infinite Clam". And yes the clam was already weird just by being giant and sentient, but some weirds are weirder than other weirds.
posted by ardgedee at 2:12 PM on September 10, 2021 [2 favorites]
clam will be a mini-dungeon
This makes tons of sense and I'm a little embarrassed I didn't think of it. I was trying to parse wtf was going on with water being sucked into the clam but if it's like its own little world in there, it works.
I'm guessing getting sucked in was always the play but there was a sore lack of investigation rolls on the seabed around the big clam.
posted by supercres at 3:19 PM on September 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
This makes tons of sense and I'm a little embarrassed I didn't think of it. I was trying to parse wtf was going on with water being sucked into the clam but if it's like its own little world in there, it works.
I'm guessing getting sucked in was always the play but there was a sore lack of investigation rolls on the seabed around the big clam.
posted by supercres at 3:19 PM on September 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
I think the "bigger on the inside" reference griffin made was him accidentally giving a spoiler for what they're going to find. Not a TARDIS, but just something expansive and complex.
posted by meese at 5:29 PM on September 10, 2021
posted by meese at 5:29 PM on September 10, 2021
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posted by meese at 6:51 PM on September 9, 2021 [1 favorite]