Meganacle Pride

Meganacle Pride — Ch 3.6

Enrolled at the church’s own academy to hunt for the missing, the party discovers a school where the missionaries are trained to punch, the librarian throws prophecy at you like a Magic 8-Ball, and the professor’s “gift of foresight” first makes you fight the worst version of yourself. When the home team gets poisoned an hour before the biggest game of the year, four first-years with no idea of the rules are shoved onto the field — and the only thing standing between them and glory is a rival school that has never, ever lost. It all comes down to one arena, one impossible cup, and how much a wizard is willing to shrink for a little Meganacle pride.

Chapter / Episode	3.6 — Meganacle Pride
Arc	Trinity (New Old)
GM	Jesse
Date / Duration	2025-09-11 · ~4h12m (gameplay from 00:02:16)
Party	Xeros (Dave), Nortle (Steve), TBD (Chris), Basil (Brin)
Setting	The School of ITYS — exams Thursday, disappearances to solve
Ends on	the party hoisting the Aether Glass Chalice — and Xeros’s horn crackling between two poles

Synopsis

Fresh out of their first lecture at the School of ITYS — where the honor code bans facial hair, tattoos, and (to Xeros’s genuine confusion) apparently not pants — the party heads to the campus library to prep for Thursday’s exam and dig into the disappearances that brought them here. The intent-driven library rewards their nat-20s with the story of The Bound Folk: an exodus, a prophetess who raised a protective dome much like the one over the city, a “destroying darkness” that took the firstborn, and a prophecy that the darkness will rise again — to be turned back by Selûne and a band of unlikely heroes. They also learn the Church’s history of Old Man Jenkins reads as pure propaganda (a “lunatic,” a coup, an unsourced skinwalker smear), and that a list of highlighted missing names — including the scrambled, three-named man from the Commons now identified as Perrin Goodbarrel, plus the vanished Nereza and Thalen — all trace back to a doomed expedition into the Swollen Wastes.

Then the electives begin, and each college is its own gauntlet. At the Meganacle — the School of Combat’s coliseum — the party meets its head, Nico, a five-foot elf who “heals” by beating you senseless: her sacred style, the Throwing On of Hands, restores the HP she just took, and Basil is instantly, hopelessly smitten. Nortle out-wrestles the reformed eight-legged Amla (converted way back by Foulclaw, and now a missionary-in-training who has learned to speak), two rounds of turtle-time and mud-diving out of three. TBD and Xeros learn the school trains missionaries — the Oathsworn Legion, punch-preachers sent worldwide. Over at the School of Sorcery, the tenured Sogman senses Xeros is fit for divination and opens the Hall of Hidden Things — where, to be “worthy,” Xeros must first fight his own Xeros’s Sins made flesh. Deceit wears his mother’s face, Pride is a glittering gold-haloed version of himself, and Lust is an old flame; their stats are monstrous, and Xeros — questioning the very conversion that lifted him last chapter, humming R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion” — goes down hard and is spat back out the door.

He barely lands before the real emergency hits: the ITYS team for the Sky Rush Showdown has been poisoned, they’ll forfeit to their eternal rivals the School of Magus unless four players step in right now — and the school’s whole pride (not to mention the coveted Aether Glass Chalice) is on the line. Four clueless first-years suit up: Basil the Blitzer, Nortle the Glimmer, TBD the Watcher, Xeros the heckling Snatcher. Against a stacked Magus squad of a Minotaur, a Drow, an Undead, and a fire-shy Dragonborn captain — the “Wooties cereal” cover models — the party plays dirty, funny, and brilliant. When the Chalice finally materializes at center court, Xeros grapple-blinds the Dragonborn to sow chaos, Nortle hurls the cup downfield, and TBD shrinks himself, tucks the Chalice between his legs, and rides it into the goal for the first ITYS victory in the history of the game. They carry the impossible cup back to the dorms — and when a curious Basil grabs the knocked-out Xeros’s horn, it arcs with electricity, flickering between two charges no one can explain.

🎵 Song Recap (rhyming — drop into an AI song generator)

Scheme: AABB verses + chorus. Suggested vibe: shonen sports-anime gospel-rock, choir swelling on the final goal.

(Verse 1) No shorts, no cargo, no ink on your arm, Just study the darkness before it does harm; The library spins you a prophecy tale — A dome and a dawn and a Bound Folk jail.

(Chorus) Praise the Meganacle! — where the healing’s a hit, Where the missionaries punch and the preachers get lit; They poisoned the team, so we’re four in the game — One cup, one goal, and a whole lot of shame-to-fame!

(Verse 2) A monk who heals with a slap and a bow, A spider gone holy who’s learned to speak now; But foresight’s a mirror, and Xeros must brawl His Pride and his lies and his mother and all.

(Verse 3) Magus is stacked and they’ve never once lost, The Chalice is glory at terrible cost; So a Goliath goes tiny and rides the cup in — First win in forever, let the whole stadium sing!

(Outro) Meganacle pride… on a hoverboard high — They came for the missing; they conquered the sky.

📋 Point-by-point breakdown (player catch-up — everything that happened)

1. 00:02:16 · 🎭 RP — Post-lecture recap: the party is enrolled at the School of ITYS under an honor code (no facial hair, no tattoos, no alcohol, curfew) that seems written to spite everyone except Nortle the reptile — while Xeros insists his cutoff robe technically permits no pants.
2. 00:06:47 · 📖 Lore — Objectives restated: pass the exam by Thursday to reach the temple, and investigate the campus disappearances. Xeros & TBD are House of Sorcery; Nortle & Basil are House of Combat (the Meganacle).
3. 00:11:08 · 🎲 Mechanic — The intent-driven library returns knowledge on a straight roll; TBD nat-20s, Basil nat-1s and shrinks (the conversion-shrink from ch3.3 still live).
4. 00:14:00 · 📖 Lore — The library tells the Bound Folk exodus: a prophetess raises a protective dome (like the one over the city), a “destroying darkness” kills the firstborn, and a prophecy foretells the darkness rising again — turned back by Selûne and unlikely heroes.
5. 00:21:00 · 📖 Lore — The Church’s history of Old Man Jenkins is propaganda: a “lunatic,” a coup attempt, and an unsourced accusation that he was a skinwalker (“skin jogger”).
6. 00:31:00 · 📖 Lore — Xeros’s list of the missing comes back highlighted: Father ITYS, Jenkins, Jock Bjorn, Levitas, the vanished Nereza & Thalen, and the scrambled three-named Commons man now pinned as Perrin Goodbarrel — a survivor dragged back from the Swollen Wastes expedition.
7. 00:40:55 · 🧭 Travel — Rocky-montage to the School of Combat; wooden training weapons only, though Basil keeps her gauntlets.
8. 00:46:40 · 📖 Lore — Nortle’s nat-20 Insight: the students aren’t learning fighting styles, they’re drilling in military formation — the church’s missionaries.
9. 00:47:16 · 🎭 RP — The head of Combat, Nico (the healer from the Commons), greets them by throwing Nortle into the wall — and healing the damage on the next hit.
10. 00:54:51 · 🎲 Mechanic — Nico teaches the Throwing On of Hands (heal by striking, rolling for a 10 to balance force and gentleness); Basil gets three attempts, loses one of Xeros’s teeth, and lands a C+.
11. 01:00:05 · 🎲 Mechanic — Basil rolls a conversion and gets a “spiritual high” watching the beatings; she declares Nico the only one who could ever convert her.
12. 01:11:09 · ⚔️ Combat — In the mud pits, Nortle wrestles the eight-legged Amla (converted by Foulclaw at the Battle of the Bands, now a missionary who’s learned to talk): turtle-time, a mud submarine, best two of three.
13. 01:29:49 · 📖 Lore — The Oathsworn Legion explained: after the Forgotten Hour the faithful swore off violence, so when the kobolds came they sent their un-sworn children to fight — the church’s “children’s crusade.”
14. 01:33:06 · 🎭 RP — In the administration hall the portraits reveal the college heads: Nico, the gnome Sogman (Sorcery), and Mutatio — “Muchacho Mutatio,” now head of the School of Alchemy, who still hides the party’s gear inside his own painting.
15. 01:42:06 · 📖 Lore — Sogman senses Xeros is fit for divination; his eyes glow at the moon and he opens the Hall of Hidden Things (a Room-of-Requirement look-alike).
16. 01:51:33 · ⚔️ Combat — To be “worthy,” Xeros must fight his personified Xeros’s Sins — Deceit (his mother/father), Pride (a gold-haloed self), Lust (an old flame). Their stats are brutal.
17. 02:15:37 · 🎭 RP — Losing, Xeros begs the Hall for a drink from The Forbidden Fruits Orchard (one of the Seven Deadly Sips, restoring spell slots) rather than flee.
18. 02:20:34 · 🎲 Mechanic — The father-faced sin lands the finishing blow on Xeros; the Hall expels him — foresight unearned, for now.
19. 02:23:47 · 🎭 RP — Eavesdropping students reveal the Sky Rush Showdown vs the School of Magus is imminent — and the ITYS team’s been poisoned.
20. 02:27:16 · 📖 Lore — The prize: the Aether Glass Chalice (cloud-giant tears, the wind god’s voice), which grants rapid attunement/mastery — Magus wins it every year.
21. 02:29:23 · 🎭 RP — Recruited to fill in, Basil tries to “heal” the poisoned captain and instead punches him unconscious; the grateful co-captain drafts them anyway.
22. 02:35:22 · 🎲 Mechanic — Rules of Sky Rush: Veil Stone hoverboards, a glimmer ball, four positions (Blitzer/Glimmer/Watcher/Snatcher), first to score the wandering Chalice wins outright.
23. 02:50:35 · ⚔️ Combat — Game on against Magus’s Minotaur, Drow, Undead, and Dragonborn captain; the party opens with an 8-fear “hope” advantage and never lets go.
24. 04:00:22 · 🎲 Mechanic — The Aether Glass Chalice appears dead center; Xeros grapple-blinds the Dragonborn and feeds Nortle misdirection.
25. 04:03:15 · ⚔️ Combat — Nortle hurls the Chalice to TBD, who shrinks and rides it into the goal — the first ITYS win over Magus in Sky Rush history.
26. 04:09:14 · 🎭 RP — Carrying the KO’d Xeros home, a curious Basil grabs his horn; it arcs with electricity, flickering between positive and negative charges no one understands.

Player Characters

Character	Player	Race	Class	Note
Xeros	Dave	Tiefling	Bard	Learns divination the hard way — loses to his own Sins, hums “Losing My Religion,” then heckles Magus to a win as Snatcher. His horn sparks at the buzzer
Nortle	Steve	Tortle	Monk	Out-wrestles [[amla
TBD	Chris	Goliath	Wizard	Nat-20 library scholar; Watcher/goalie; shrinks and rides the [[aether-glass-chalice
Basil	Brin	Harengon	Fighter	Learns the [[throwing-on-of-hands

NPCs

NPC	Role	Note
Nico	Head of the School of Combat	Five-foot elf monk; heals by beating you; “death does not wait for you to be ready”; the only one who could convert Basil
Amla	Missionary-in-training	The eight-legged wrestler converted by Foulclaw (ch1); has learned to speak; bows to Nortle with three of eight arms
Sogman	Head of the School of Sorcery	Tenured, over it; moon-touched eyes; opens the Hall of Hidden Things for Xeros
Mutatio	Head of the School of Alchemy	”Muchacho Mutatio”; hides the party’s confiscated gear inside his own portrait; still wants his stolen tome
Perrin Goodbarrel	Scrambled Commons survivor	Gave three names (Kaela Sunveil, Zareth) when asked his own; a returnee from the Swollen Wastes expedition
Nereza	Missing Lashïngs informant	On the highlighted list of the vanished; Nortle’s claimed old flame
Thalen	Missing Lashïngs agent	Vanished investigating the disappearances; still gone
Morty	Nervous guide	Escorted them to orientation; refuses to set foot in the Meganacle’s crowds

Factions

Faction	Note
School of ITYS	The church’s academy — Houses of Sorcery, Combat, Alchemy & Exploration; exams gate the temple
School of Magus	The rival academy; undefeated Sky Rush champions; “Wooties cereal” billboard stars
Church of ITYS	Militarizing in plain sight — its combat college drills missionaries in formation
The Seven Shards	The church’s seven apostle-figures; one Shard watches the match from the booth
The Lashïngs	Lashara’s network; two of its informants (Nereza, Thalen) are the missing the party is tracing
Children’s Crusade	The “Oathsworn Legion” — un-sworn youth sent to fight when the faithful renounced violence

👹 Monsters

Creature	Encounter	Note
Xeros’s Sins	Boss fight (mental)	Deceit, Pride, and Lust made flesh in the Hall of Hidden Things; monstrous stats; Xeros loses this first attempt
Magus Sky Rush team	Sport / skirmish	A Minotaur, a Drow, an Undead goalkeeper, and the fire-shy Dragonborn captain — real damage flew (snot-rockets, crossbows, dragon breath)
Amla	Sparring match	The party’s own reformed ally, wrestled (not slain) across three mud-pit rounds

🎙️ Notable Moments

00:05:39 — The honor code bans a lot of things; Xeros has found the loophole.

GM (Jesse): No facial hair, no tattoos, no alcohol, no cohabitation, curfew at nightfall, no shorts or cargo pants. Xeros: It doesn’t say anything about pants. It just says no cargo pants. GM (Jesse): …you kind of look like a never-nude student. Xeros: Guys — look at how hot my legs look.

00:23:29 — TBD compares the church and city histories of Old Man Jenkins.

TBD: The church thought he was a big lunatic. New Old thought he was just a small lunatic. Xeros: So — lunatic nonetheless. Just differing degrees of lunacy. GM (Jesse): Isn’t that one of your albums? Degrees of Lunacy? Xeros: Yeah, it did. Also known as Looney Tunes.

00:59:07 — Nico "teaches" the Throwing On of Hands by pummeling TBD, who to his own surprise feels great.

Nortle: I don’t know — I’m actually feeling better than I’ve felt in a long time. Xeros: Is there any way I can file a complaint with the school? You’re just beating up kids who don’t fight! GM (Nico): Death does not wait for you to be ready. Xeros: Let’s go to the School of Sorcery, and I’m gonna come back and whoop her ass.

01:17:02 — Nortle escapes Amla's pin by retracting into his shell and rearranging his limbs.

Nortle: He thinks he’s got me by the upper body, but I go into my shell and my limbs all switch spots. Xeros: So your head came out of your ass? Nortle: Yeah — that’s what it looks like. GM (Jesse): Quick — seal the holes! Seal the holes!

01:44:04 — Beaten and hungry at the School of Sorcery, Xeros feels the conversion he took last chapter slipping.

TBD: Did the charm wear off? What happened? You were all for this Selûne stuff. Xeros: I’ve got this song stuck in my head — that’s me in the corner, that’s me in the spotlight… Xeros: …and since I got the crap beat out of me, I’m losing my religion.

02:07:44 — In the Hall of Hidden Things, TBD's Pride goes to smite Xeros — and needs anything but a 1.

Nortle: As long as you don’t roll a one, it’ll hit. TBD: Don’t roll a one, here we go — it’s a one. GM (Jesse): Oh my gosh! What is going on this side of the table? TBD (Pride): …his hand is just so distracting and beautiful, I’m totally mesmerized. Enamored — by myself.

02:20:23 — Deceit, wearing his father's face, backs Xeros into a corner with nowhere left to run.

Deceit (Nortle): Why can’t you just face the consequences like a man? Xeros: Yeah — just beat me again. That’s facing it like a man, isn’t it? Deceit (Nortle): Well, if you’d only learn your lessons. Twenty-six psychic damage. Xeros: I’m down. I’m dead. (the Hall throws him back out the door)

02:33:23 — The stacked Magus team struts past, and the party recognizes them from the cereal aisle.

GM (Jesse): They’re pretty famous. Nortle: I think I ate that one cereal — the Wooties. Breakfast of most champions. Xeros: Most champions in Magus. Nortle: And it was only, like, 30% sawdust. I remember that.

02:34:22 — The Minotaur spits at Basil's feet. Basil answers with the least intimidating threat imaginable.

Basil: I’m going to scoop it up and lick it. GM (Jesse): …roll for intimidation. You start throwing up a little bit too — just once. TBD: But deep down inside, that minotaur is feeling pretty hurt. Am I that disgusting?

04:04:25 — Chalice in hand, one move from history, TBD ends the game the only way a Goliath wizard can.

GM (Jesse): Can you shrink and put yourself in the chalice? Ride it into the goal? TBD: I fell backwards, did a little somersault, got it between my legs, and rode it in like a pony. TBD: And then I turn around and say — is this what I was supposed to do? GM (Jesse): In the entire history of Sky Rush, they have never beaten Magus. The place goes crazy.

🗺️ Locations

Location	Mentioned / Traveled	Note
School of ITYS	Traveled	The church academy — the whole episode plays out across its Houses (Sorcery, Combat, Alchemy)
Meganacle	Traveled	The School of Combat’s coliseum; venue of the Sky Rush Showdown; “kick the crap out of everyone” is the motto
Hall of Hidden Things	Traveled	The Sorcery vault of hidden history & lost items; Xeros must best his Sins here to earn divination
New Old Library	Traveled	The intent-driven library where the party studies the Bound Folk and the missing
New Old	Traveled	The Trinity capital that hosts the academy
Magus	Mentioned	The rival city of seven-ring magic; Xeros claims to have “stolen” its mass-produced chalices
Commons	Mentioned	Where the party first met the scrambled Perrin Goodbarrel
Swollen Wastes	Mentioned	The expedition region that swallowed the now-returned missing

🎒 Items

Item	Used / Introduced	Note
Aether Glass Chalice	Won	Cloud-giant tears + the wind god’s voice; grants rapid attunement/mastery; the party’s first-ever Magus prize
Throwing On of Hands	Learned	Nico’s sacred style — heal a creature by hitting it, balancing force and gentleness (roll for a 10)
Ghost Step Tattoo	Used	Xeros goes incorporeal to dodge his own Sins and to carry the ball untouchable in Sky Rush
Veil Stone	Used	The floating “hoverboards” every Sky Rush player rides
Seven Deadly Sips	Used	A Forbidden Fruits Orchard brew Xeros summons mid-fight to restore spell slots
Silvery Barbs	Used	Xeros’s ever-present reroll spell — and his Sins’ “whisper with forked tongue” reaction

⛩️ Pantheon & Religion

Power	Mentioned / Seen	Note
Selûne	Seen	The moon goddess behind the Bound Folk prophecy, the conversion “spiritual high,” and Nico’s healing style
Father ITYS	Mentioned	The faith the whole academy is built to serve; the Hall’s echoing voice even barks “you ITYS!”
The Bound Folk	Lore revealed	The exodus scripture: a protective dome, a firstborn-killing darkness, and a prophecy of its return
Children’s Crusade	Lore revealed	The Oathsworn Legion — youth sent to fight after the faithful renounced violence

Cliffhanger

Four first-years who didn’t even know the rules just did what the School of Magus never let anyone do: they won the Aether Glass Chalice. They carry the impossible cup back to the dorms — the very artifact that could let Xeros return to the Hall of Hidden Things and finally beat his Xeros’s Sins, and master every unfinished feat before Thursday’s exam. But as a curious Basil grabs the unconscious Xeros’s horn, it crackles with electricity and flickers between two charges — positive and negative, over and over — and no one has any idea what it means.

Transcript

Full cleaned transcript: 250911-ch3.6-meganacle-pride-transcript · bundle on the tedit scratch SSD (250911-ch3.6).

Related

Echoes of ITYS · 250816-ch3.5-tuition-costs-how-much · 251009-ch3.7-defecto-lunia · School of ITYS · Meganacle · Sky Rush Showdown · Aether Glass Chalice · Nico · Amla · Hall of Hidden Things · The Bound Folk