Darth Wiki / Mettle And Match

"It's been a long time since any customers walked in..."

—the DM, signaling the beginning of a new loop

Mettle and Match is a Dungeons & Dragons campaign played by a group of five dorks.

It features a group of four adventures who find themselves trapped in a time loop by the whim of an extra-planar being named Bronze. To escape the loop, they must bind together and use their talents to uncover the mysteries surrounding them all.

The cast is as follows:

• Silver as the Dungeon Master
• Alexandra, the human fighter (played by Lexie)
• Karolus, the half-elf rogue (played by Thomas)
• Doljanus, the dwarven wizard (played by Lucas)
• Elliot, the high elven warlock

Together, they solve mysteries.

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Main Party

Party as a Whole

• Friendship Moment: There have been a couple of them so far. A few that stick out are:
  • Alexandra and Julie trying to help each other medically after each has been attacked by Karol, respectively.
  • Doljanus and Karol bonding as they drink together in the woods.
• The Pawn: All of the main party are currently stuck under Bronze's thumb. Try as they might to defy them, Bronze, being powerful and otherworldly, can control a lot, including the time loop placed on the party.

Alexandra

Race: Human

Class: Fighter (Protection)

Alignment: Lawful Good

"We all have our burdens to bear, but why should yours be mine, too?"

An overwhelmed human fighter, Alexandra attempts to reconcile her personal morality with the difficult situations at hand. Though she tries to be kind, she does have a cold streak. Hiding in her heart is a past that still haunts her, and she can only hope that no one uncovers it.

Before the beginning of the campaign, Alexandra served alongside Robert as the only other employee (and resident, usually) of the Not Village Inn. Currently, circumstances being as they are, she has taken up her sword in the hopes of breaking the time loop.

• Action Girl: Comes with being a fighter. She has a sword and she's only sort of afraid to use it!
• Apologetic Attacker: When she tried to knock the Deputy out in the third session. It didn't work out in her favor.
• Badass Normal: Arguably none of the main characters are normal, but Alexandra is the only human in the party and holds her own even while surrounded by magical elements and spells.
• Fish out of Water: She's a human who has literally no experience with magic, and is now finding herself constantly surrounded by it. Needless to say, it's an adjustment.
• Heroes Prefer Swords: She is the only party member to specialize in swordsmanship.
• Heroic BSoD: After Karol kills Robert, she genuinely considers killing him. Not too long later, still reeling from the event, she makes an attempt to kick everyone out of the inn and is generally colder than she has been the entire story, thus far.
• Improbable Hairstyle: Alexandra's hair is a mixture of bright orange with streaks of golden yellow, but it's never addressed or questioned.
  • And, unlike with Elliot, it can't be explained by magic.
• I Work Alone: Tries to say this in session one. It doesn't work out.
• Lawful Good: Her alignment. While she is willing to let the law slide on occasion, she does believe that it's important to follow it in order to do the right thing, and has her own personal rules regarding morality that she feels the need to live by.
• Nervous Wreck: Alexandra has a panic attack in the very first session, and is generally unable to think clearly in emergencies or otherwise urgent situations.
• Seeks Another's Resurrection: In the second session, this becomes a big goal for her after Robert's death.

Doljanus

Race: Hill Dwarf

Class: Wizard

Alignment: Neutral Good

"And I give him a barrel of ale."

• Alcohol-Induced Idiocy: Keeps drinking full barrels of ale, and waking up the next day to do things like going back to sleep while trying to smother Karol with a pillow, try to put out a fire with alcohol and pushing Karol into a (at the time unknown) interdimensional lake and causing a TPK.
• Enhanced Punch: Karol pops his head back up out of his barrel after a brawl with Doljanus, only to have Dear ol' D use magic to swing at Karol with a flaming fist.
• Good Is Not Soft: By all accounts, Doljanus is a good and kind man, but he has no qualms about resorting to violence when he feels it's necessary.
• The Idealist: Doljanus tends to be a beacon of positivity in this story. He truly has hope for the world and the people in it, and seems to believe that goodness can be inside of most everyone, which is most evident in the interactions where he starts to befriend Karol, the resident troublemaker.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Twice in session one. Look, he means well, okay?
  • When an overwhelmed Alexandra starts crying because of the fighting that's happening, Doljanus attacks Karol, who's seemingly the mains source of her distress, in an attempt to make her feel better. This only serves to make her cry harder, and the events that are directly followed by this cause her to have a panic attack.
  • In session one, he cast Rope Trick to try and stop the conflict that was occurring... only to accidentally commit a total party kill, as the spell was booby-trapped.

Elliot

Race: High Elf

Class: Warlock

Alignment: ??? Good

"I hate bronze. Specifically that metal!"

• Blessed with Suck: Elliot has some pretty nifty magical powers, but they seem to come at the price of shapeshifting into different people (or at least, one, so far), which appears to be caused by his being indebted to Bronze.
• Catchphrase: "I hate bronze. Specifically that metal!"
• Fish out of Water: Elliot is a scholar at heart. His stated goal is to find a library somewhere and take refuge there.
• Improbable Hairstyle: Elliot and Julie both have purple hair.
  • Possibly subverted. It's not confirmed that magic has anything to do with his hair, but, unlike with Alexandra, it is a possibility.
• Master Actor: Subverted. This would be expected for people who can shapeshift, but Elliot can't even pretend to be an old woman convincingly.
  • Even when he IS an old woman.
• Magic Wand: Elliot keeps his up his sleeve.
• Older Than They Look: When they're Wyatt. He even tries to tell this to Kylard, much to the other man's discomfort.
• Seen It All: He sometimes starts to feel this way when it comes to Bronze's particular brand of weirdness.
• Shapeshifting: Elliot, Julie, and everyone else they are.
• Socially Awkward Hero: Elliot is not very good at people.
• Spell Book: Elliot's doubles as a way to communicate with Bronze.
• Weirdness Magnet: Thanks to Bronze's influence.
• Transformation Causes: Elliot has one.

Karol

Race: Half-Elf

Class: Rogue (Assassin)

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

"I sneakily get out of bed, pull out a glass shard, break out of my prison cell, and shank the guard."

• The Cynic: He doesn't seem to trust anyone, and he seems to think of the world as place where everyone must fend for themselves and, as such, feels justified in stealing from people and attacking them.
• Deadpan Snarker: Definitely seems to have elements of this.
  • When Bronze is describing the object that they lost and want the party to find, Karol sarcastically asks if it's their heart.
• Distressed Dude: In the first session in particular, as he was arrested (while heavily bleeding) by the Deputy Sheriff and the others banded together in an attempt to save him.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Played for laughs in a one-liner. He asks why Robert, who has a tendency to shoot Karol on sight, is shooting at Elliot, claiming that that's "[their] special relationship."
• Heroic Comedic Sociopath: He robs, cheats, threatens, and stabs anything he comes across. Played for Laughs, until it's not.
• In-Series Nickname: His full name is Karolus, but everyone calls him Karol.
• Leeroy Jenkins: He has a tendency to run into trouble straight-on, which leads to...
• Murder Is the Best Solution: He goes for the most straightforward solution to problems.
• Token Chaotic Neutral Teammate: He's the only party member to not be explicitly Good.
• Walking Shirtless Scene: Played for laughs in the first session.
• Who Needs Enemies?: Karol has become friends with Doljanus and Elliot on multiple occasions, only to try and murder and steal from them and such.

Recurring Non-Player Characters

Bronze

Race: Not Mortal, That's For Sure

Class: Arcane Trickster

Alignment: Irridescent Ennui

"Well, you sure fucked that one up, huh? ...Try again."

An extra-planar being who causes the time loop that traps the party. They also happen to be Elliot's patron, having gifted him with a sliver of their power.

They request that the party reclaim a piece of jewelry that was stolen from them, in return for breaking the time loop.

• All-Powerful Bystander: They prefer to interact with specific mortals, rather than directly affect the world.
• Ambiguously Evil: Goes hand in hand with Blue-and-Orange Morality. Whatever they are, they certainly aren't human. And they don't feel the need to work within the bounds of human morality, either.
• Big Bad: Currently, Bronze is the main antagonist, considering they're the one causing the time loop and therefore causing the main conflict for the party.
• Eldritch Location: Their home, a personal dimension which can be entered through mirrored surfaces.
• Enigmatic Empowering Entity: They serve as a patron for Elliot, giving them magic powers in exchange for... something.
• Figure It Out Yourself: They tend to only give vague hints when asked questions, preferring to watch mortals try to solve riddles than to directly involve themselves and end the game early.
• It Amused Me: So far, Bronze's motivations seem to come from a desire to avoid boredom at all costs. They hate being bored, and find it entertaining to watch the antics of the main party as they try to get out of the time loop.
• Otherworldly and Sexually Ambiguous: Bronze has no need of and no patience for the mortal concept of gender.
• Super-Empowering
• Terms of Endangerment: Tends to call mortals they interact with by petnames, like dear or darling.
• The Trickster

The Fish Salesman

Race: Salesman

Class: Salesman

Alignment: Lawful Salesman

Robert

Race: Human

Class: Pirate Bar Owner

Alignment: Neutral Dead

Owner and proprieter of The Not Village Inn, Robert is a grumpy man with a fine eye for interior decoration, and a finer eye for scamming tourists.

Unfortunately for him, tourists are a rare site in the village. So, The Not Village Inn lies quietly, only staffed by himself and Alexandra.

Doubly unforunately, he was stabbed by Karolus in the neck. Currently, he has been removed from the time loop, by means of death.

"Get the hell out of my b'y'arr."

• Bad Boss: Mostly played with for laughs, unless it's not.
  • He stomps around the second floor when he wants to express his frustration with something Alexandra did or said, and is generally gruff and grumpy. On a more serious note, at one point he not only fired Alexandra, but kicked her out of her room at the inn as well, knowing it was the only home she had. However, he also took her in and gave her a room and a job, and is shown to be quite protective of her.
• Berserk Button: He hated Karol, due to Karol's tendency towards troublemaking and general roguishness. In a case of delicious irony, this dislike of Karol is what leads Karol to stab and kill him.
• Con Man: He created a fake backstory as a pirate captain to seem more mysterious, and outfitted the Not Village Inn to match.
  • He filled the guest rooms with novelty Ships in Bottles, but he was terrible at building them. All the Ships-in-a-Bottle in the guest rooms were purchased in a novelty store.
  • He hung a fake anchor on the walls of the inn, purely for show.
  • He just stapled the anchor to the wall.
• Hidden Depths: He seems to merely be a grumpy man with a badly faked pirate accent at first, but eventually, it's clearly that he knew more than he let on.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: While he acted unkindly, he considered Alexandra to be like a daughter to him and tried to keep her safe.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: This didn't keep him from firing Alexandra in the very first loop.
• Killed Off for Real: By Karol's hand.
  • Not anymore.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Wasn't able to discover Bronze's plot, due to his inconvenient death.
• Mysterious Past: A hidden vault revealed that Robert owned a magical mirror that seems to be connected to Bronze. An unrevealed letter addressed to Alexandra aims to explain some of this.
• Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: He had difficulty maintaining his pirate-y accent, and mostly just added "-yarr" to the end of his sentences.
  • Not Even Bothering with the Accent: He would drop the accent when patrons weren't around, or under times of stress.
• Parental Substitute: He considered Alexandra to be like a daughter to him.
• Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: He really, really hated Karol.
  • Karolus lived in a barrel outside the inn.
  • Karolus was the only person officially banned from the premises.
  • Karolus constantly stirs up trouble in the town.
  • Karolus killed Robert.
• Weirdness Censor: Subverted, in one loop; with a natural 20 perception check, Robert saw past Bronze's illusion into their realm.

The (Deputy) Sheriff

Race: Tiefling

Class: "Deputy Sheriff"

Alignment: Trying His Best

• Lawful Stupid: When his badge and zeal for the job get the best of him.

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• Accidental Misnaming: Everyone seems to have trouble pronouncing Karol's name right. Including Karol.
• Accidental Murder: Alexandra and Elliot both accidentally contribute to the death of the deputy.
• All Beer Is Ale: So far, ale seems to be the only kind of alcoholic beverage readily available in this world. The only time another type of alcohol is mentioned is when the DM describes the seemingly disgusting remedy that Elliot supplies Karol with as tasting "like fine champagne."
  • Averted, as of session four, since Kamora went to get "the good Whiskey."
• Another Dimension : Bronze's personal dimension, which the player characters enter through mirrors.
• Armor-Piercing Question: Alexandra asks Robert one in an attempt to get him to stop attacking Karol and Doljanus. "Robert, do you trust me?"
  • Subverted, though, since Robert dies before the armor piercing can take effect.
• A Wizard Did It: Almost everything unusual that happens can be explained this way, thanks to Elliot, Doljanus, and Bronze.
  • Four strangers caught in a time loop? Blame the local liminal being.
  • The book you're trying to burn abruptly vanishing? Warlocks are crafty that way.
  • An angry man's fist catching fire? Simple. He's a (mostly) friendly neighborhood wizard.
• Blue-and-Orange Morality: Bronze.
• Cardboard Prison: The town jail. Justified, as the deputy seems to have built it all by himself as an addition to his living room.
• Chekhov's Gun: The (fake, as it turns out) anchor was introduced in the first session. In the second, the Alexandra and Elliot discover that it hides a safe that reveals that Robert owned the magical mirror, which means he had some sort of connection with Bronze. It also contains a letter addressed to Alexandra.
• Dark and Troubled Past: All of the main party seem to have hints of this, though complete backstories have not yet been revealed.
• Deal with the Devil: As of right now, three out of four members of the main party have struck some sort of deal with Bronze.
• Did We Just Have Tea with Cthulhu??: When the main party was transported to the personal realm of Bronze, an intimidating deity-esque being, they had a tea party.
• Draconic Humanoid: The deputy, a tiefling.
• Dramatic Irony: In the first session, it was eventually revealed to the players that the characters are stuck in a time loop, but the characters have varying levels of how out of the loop (ha!) they are.
• Elves vs. Dwarves: Justified for Doljanus, as His kingdom was taken over by elves. Despite this, he is developing a friendship with Elliot, though he doesn't trust half-elf Karol.
• Fantastic Racism: Just before Karol tries to steal from Doljanus (which happens often), he often says, "Dwarves have money." Justified to an extent in that Doljanus began the story with more money than the others combined.
• Fetch Quest: At the moment, this is unusually the main quest. The group were required to obtain a badge The Deputy's. The group was asked to retrieve it during their first actual meeting with Bronze.
• Flirting Under Fire: Alexandra and Kamora, to some degree, in session four during the battle with the other ship.
• Flock of Wolves: To an extent, the entire main cast, though their secrets are all different.
• "Groundhog Day" Loop: The frame of the story, courtesy of Bronze.
• Half-Human Hybrid: Karol, a half-elf.
• Luck-Based Mission It's to be expected, given that the nature of dungeons is dragons is that players have to roll dice to determine how well their characters do something. No matter how skilled any of the characters are, if the luck of the roll isn't with them, they're bound to screw up now and again.
• Morphic Resonance: Elliot and Julie have light colored eyes, purple hair, and brown and lavender clothing, regardless of current form.
• My Nayme Is: Karol's name is pronounced "Carl." Unfortunately, everyone in the world seems to call him "Carol."
• Older Alter Ego: Elderly Julie to twenty-something Elliot.
• Parental Substitute: Alexandra seems to look up to Robert and think of him as a father figure, and he tries to protect her the way you'd imagine a father would a daughter.
• Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory: The characters experience various degrees of this, with Alexandra remembering almost absolutely everything right from the start, Elliot knowing around half, and Karol and Doljanus being none-the-wiser until Bronze gives them a job to do
• Rotten Food Reveal: Terrible Apple pie.
  • Commonality Connection: A bonding experience for Elliot and Doljanus, both of whom had terrible constitution checks solely for this poor pastry.
• Shapeshifter: Elliot and Julie. And others.
• Total Party Kill: Doljanus unknowingly commits one when using a booby-trapped Rope Trick. Then a second one by cause and effect causing Karol to drown, and in effect having Elliot, Alexandra and himself jumping in to save him. Finally a third one with the help of Alexandra who stabs Karol after Doljanus knocks him out to stop a fight. and Elliot as all three of them get acquainted rather than help the dying Karol, who meets his end and restarts the loop.
• Treacherous Quest Giver: Karol and Doljanus are concerned about Bronze's unrevealed motives. So it's not for sure, but perhaps.
• You All Meet in an Inn: Alexandra, Doljanus, Elliot, and Karol all meet in the inn where Alexandra works. Repeatedly.