The dragons referring to themselves as the "Chroma Conclave" implies, to me, that they had a meeting to decide this name. Where they all sat around eating snacks and throwing out bad suggestions until one said, "Chroma Conclave," and they all looked at each other in excitement. I wonder if they have jackets.
they got all giddy and were giggling while one said it was stupid and the others agreed but then concluded it worked. They got friendship bracelets and everything. Their hideout has walkie-talkies and pillow forts galore
I can just imagine Matt with a whole stack of paper labelled "The Chroma Conclave", and a separate secret stack of paper labelled "if they wish the dragons away".
SPOILERS KIND OF (About the skull) We were THIS close to an alternate reality in which a hijacked Grog body with a Githyanki pirate in it being chased by Githzerai was roaming around and Vox Machina would have to get his body back and release Grog's trapped spirit in the skull back into his body. THIS CLOSE! And also Dragons... Because I don't think it would have fixed the Dragons, just been extra bad. th-cam.com/video/JWQOZq6Ux7k/w-d-xo.html 17:56
@@caffeinedelusions No problem, anyone who says that spoilers have an expiration date, particularly with something as epic in scale as Critical Role, is just being lazy and rude. I was pretty zealous about avoiding spoilers while catching up but I caught a big one about C2 and it was _The Worst!_ 🙄 So I totally get it. 😊
Corey5268 The sheer amount of emotional gut punches the players and audience suffer through this episode staggers me. In particular, I began crying when Keyleth found the remains of the Fire Ashari. I had to pause it and compose myself. I don’t know how any of them lived this moment and didn’t need the same.
The Chroma Conclave attack happens like two days after Gilmore gives them the heroes feast. Remember they went on a "pub crawl" one night, found Gilmore, and had the feast. The next morning, they went to Krieg's old home. After all that craziness at Krieg's place they went home and slept for the night. THEN, the Chroma Conclave attacked. So two days (a day in a half at the least) after the feast, and the Heroes feast only last for like... 24 hours i think.
Nope, the worms and the dragons happened on the same day. Pub crawl - heroes' feast - Dranzel tells them about the house - sleep - they investigate the house in the morning/around noon - come back home to have seeker Asum tell them about the invitation to Uriel's speech - dragons attack. Same day. e: I stand corrected, I was wrong
I honestly hated that statement. I felt that came from Liam because his character was always a dick to grog and Scanlan along with his weird attitude towards the ladies, then people started turning on him in character and made him no longer the most important character for three sessions. It just seems like he was being pouty
@@jean-marctrebuchon4206 He talks about his feelings for Keylith, in which he confessed in one of the previous episodes, but she did not reciprocate. Vax also loves his sister very much and knows how much she cherishes her bear, so it is not surprising that he makes every effort to ensure that nothing bad happens to him. You, sir, are talking bs right now.
@@Anddrew914 Setting up an arc for himself and maybe even Vox Machina. What exactly is Vox Machina's purpose, what is Vax's purpose? Are they just running from random errand to random errand or are they working towards something greater?
Percy never acted like a aristocrat before and it dosnt make any sense for him to suddenly act like one as he was the third born, was never raised to be ruler, or diplomat, or any real part of the ruling class, and had no interest in it either, and was busy with his study... but somehow he suddenly knows all about it... now that it suits tal he changes his personality so he can act self important, completely ignoring what would makes sense. And percy wouldnt recognise a bad deal if it came in smoke form and smack him in the face with a gun...
@@Darksnakemrniceguy Right, Percy /wouldn't/ recognise a bad deal. Which is WHY it's such a big deal that he rejected THIS one. And that's what Taliesin said.
Pretty much explains why Grog didn't want her there. Also describes Marishas playstyle with Keyleth. After awhile it just comes off as contrarian rather than actually having a good thought and standing behind it
@@Yamato12345666 stop with the Marisha bullying. Yall don't like Keyleth cause she's the group's conscience. The way you guys treated Marisha was shameful. She sure showed all of you though. Just disgusting.
@@tiph3802 Dude that is so not why, Marisha is fine. But Keyleth is frequently annoying. Not because she's the groups conscience but because she is whiny, wastes high level spells frequently, and has multiple times almost gotten a lot of people killed. Like whatever, it's not that big a deal but out of the whole cast I am most frequently annoyed by Keyleth, followed by vax and vex. Obviously no one should send death threats and shit on Marisha all the time. But it is totally fair to complain about a character I find annoying.
It gets really fucking obnoxious when literally every joke comment like this has replies saying "(character name), not (player name)". Yes, we know, but it's the player who chooses what the character does, and also it's a fucking joke
Can we talk about how skillfully Matt redirected Pike's misuse of Planar Ally? Instead of telling her she was wrong or letting her waste her 6th level spell, he took her intent and gently redirected it into the spell's actual effects, granting the spell's benefit, explaining what it's usually used for, *and* not making her feel stupid in the process. That's good DM'ing right there.
Actually she was right in how to use it to an extent, for the spell to work you call upon a God, Primordial, Demon prince, or other cosmic power. And the payment can also be aid to a temple so the fact that Pike brought up her building the temple makes sense. So she didn’t really misuse it in any sense.
@@kentlewis2715 he can only do so much when someone completely and entirely misunderstands and misuses a spell because they didn't read it properly. In Pike's case it still generally followed the rules of the actual spell, whereas Keyleth fucked up and completely went against her intentions because what she wanted just wasn't the spells ability. He digressed in the end since it has a 1 minute cast time anyway and let her disable it by will, but it's not the DMs fault if people misread their spells.
With Ashley's Skype sound quality, it did actually SOUND like Pike was yelling at Grog from the other side of a door while that was what was actually happening, ngl ^^
Okay, as tense and drama-filled as the whole skull situation was, watching Taliesin and Travis try to out-plan and out-manipulate each other was incredibly entertaining. They're probably the two best strategists in the group, and it was a pleasure to watch them match wits, especially since Grog doesn't get to do that sort of thing very often.
But also, what if Travis had succeeded in shattering the thing and Evil Skull Guy proofed the dragons out of existence? Would we have started the good vs. evil gods arc 50 eps. early?? SO MANY QUESTIONS
@@ShapCast Given that the creature granting the wish was probably evil, I suspect it would have found a creative interpretation to Grog's wish so the dragons might have simply attacked a different city instead of Emon and then allied itself with them.
Yeah, Ashley seems to *really* be into this campaign - she even wanted to continue playing in an earlier episode when it was 4 AM in New York and she about to get picked up to act in Blind Spot in about 2,5 hours !
Ashley is always asking if they can play longer whenever there is any sort of cliff hanger lol I mean they all ask it at times, but Ashley's so cute how she always asks if with such pleading
When Vax told Vex to never leave his side, that being out of earshot was too far - that stung, it hurt. But then Vex asked out loud if this was what their mother saw before she died and Laura teared up? That delivered the final blow. An exceptional show of compassion and care for and from the the twins, played by the ever wonderful Liam and Laura. This is the first time in 40 episodes I'm leaving such a comment, such was I touched by this. A joy to behold; thank you so much for supporting early Critical Role, Geek&Sundry!
Critical Role with Scanlan: - "I shit in a jar." - "I turn everyone into cows as we chase a giant Roc through the sky to help some farmers" - "I blast lightning out of my dick" Critical Role without Scanlan: - Dragons kill everyone - Players cry IRL - The party turns on each other while trying to strike a deal with an evil artifact
Travis is one of the best role-players in this group. I mean, have you EVER seen him metagame? He always goes exactly with what his character knows, and behaves as his character would. It's truly beautiful to watch.
Sam and Talisan are both really good about it too. All three of them have, from a meta perspective, screwed themselves over because it's what the character would have done.
CrownRock1 Yeah man especially Travis because he needs to play to his character's intelligence which, I imagine, can be frustrating as all hell sometimes.
VM: "We check for survivors in the city." DM: "There are no survivors." VM: "Ok, we contact Whitestone." DM: "They're all dead." VM: "We scry the Fire Nation." DM: "Errbody dead." VM: "We send a message to Kraghammer." DM: "They're all extremely dead." VM: "We look out the window of our keep." DM: "Everything is dragons."
This is the absolute most heartbreaking episode I've yet seen. Between Laura's dead eyed stare of "Do you think this is what mother saw?" and Marisha's breakdown over losing the Fire Ashari and Ashley's voice asking if they could play longer, I don't think I'll be able to emotionally recover. They're all such brilliant players and actors.
I've been looking for Laura's line here, absolutely amazing, along with the twins look at each other when Matt was giving Allura's speech about the ruin Thordak brought... Both are gut-wrenching moments...
@@andytaylor2429 if I’m not mistaken one of the cities Mentioned is the city their mother was from which mean that’s the dragon that killed their mother ( 2:38:34 )and during the scrying thing when vax and vex where sitting next to each other waiting they had a little moment where essentially vax wants revenge no matter what ( 2:51:06 )....... this is my first time through and I know this is years old but it got me right in the heart 😔 💔
When Liam took Laura's hand as she was "crying" that's what made me cry. When I've had panic attacks just having someone there to hold my hand and keep it away from my face makes all the difference.
I really love watching how Travis is fueling the conflict. It seems in character for Grog and an extremely interesting dynamic since the party is usually in agreement on what to do. It also looks like everyone is into it, Taliesen seems delighted when Percy gets attacked by Grog, Laura looks excited too. So rather than it being an argument between the players, it looks like a genuine moment of clashing interests and approaches between the characters.
That's right. I especially like Grogs approach to bypass lengthy discussions and make something interesting happen. Every DnD party needs to take action more. God knows I have been discussing plans to death before any action was taken, so Grog making things happen is a delight to see.
Yeah, I feel like such an situation could‘ve easily gotten personal. I know how it got personal in my campaign of DnD First Timers, can‘t imagine how that skull situation would mess us up lol Love the show!
What makes this so amazing is what I see as a DM. By this episode, Matt has each character tied up in the story or a personal character arc. 1. When they realized what the four colored orbs were in the portal purple worm room two years ago, they could have possibly prevented this. Motivates all of them, and draws them in. 2. Vex and Vax find out who destroyed their home. Draws them into the main story arc, plus Vex hunts dragons well. 3. Keyleth is training to keep the elemental planes entryway into the world in tact and sealed. Now, not only did the fire ashari all die but the job she is training for is already failing. Motivates Keyleth for the main story arc. 4. Percy just finished a whole story arc about his family and getting rid of his demon. Now the home he just restored is in danger. 5. Grog is on a personal story arc with Craven Edge. 6. Scanlan is on a personal story arc with his daughter.
Hard to have something for Pike when she has been relatively hit-and-miss from her work schedule. Im glad Ashley is having success outside of Crit Role, but one side effect is that it makes it difficult to craft a specific Arc for her character.
Pike, I would say, is serving as a kind of -- Patron Saint of Serenrae. She maybe has a slightly less personal stake than the others, but her heart needs more than anyone. She wants to save anyone she can, heal everyone she can. That matters
@@CERap22 Yep, i would say Pike isnt getting a personal arc, but has taken some important moments. Back in the underdark she failed Sharenrae with her decisions and nearly broke her medallion. But latter, not only she has achive forgivness, but increase in her relation with her goddess, and achive some badass moments thanks to that, like her connection and jumping in the fight in Whitestone, and retourning peoples faith in the temple while everyone is despair due to the dragons atack.
I mean to be fair, prior to this dragon attack they had a party of seven level 12 characters, and they had to fight a SINGLE GUY in that jail cell of the thieves guild. It was 7 vs 1, and they are level 12. Normally characters level 12 are fighting celestial level threats, not a single mortal fighter.
@@trapical as a DM, i'd say matt understands the value of an easy fight. Letting your characters feel like badasses taking out the trash every once in a while is a good thing.
@@trapical not to mention they have a ton of resources at their back and did work hard not to have to fight the entire guild to get to him they are smart players and dont run headlong into things they cant handle which is shown well this episode one ancient dragon fine 4 and its time to go even tho like with the beholder it seems like they do they tried to get so much info and assistance to face it even tho it turned on them they accomplished their goal and ran
@@trapical Specifically in regards to that fight, I think the ease had MUCH more to do with the previous very high social rolls in addition to a hefty bribe. I suspect that one wrong move would have meant fighting the entire guild, rather than one dude.
Let me say that I love the way that Travis is playing Grog during this whole scene in Percy's workshop. I can fully believe that Grog is doing what he thinks is best during this situation.
Possibly, or he has been charmed somehow like Gollum and the ring, although I am only watching this for the first time. Either he genuinely thinks it is their ticket of safety or its got a hold of him. I am looking forward to find out.
Wookie_oo7 Yeah, I'm sure that part of his intentions are from outside influences, but still, I can see Grog's character going along with it regardless. Good luck with catching up on the episodes! I'm doing the same. :)
RPG Tour Guide Cheers mate, although I am not a big fan of drama for the sake of drama so I am worried that if Vax doesnt sort his crap out I may loose interest in the show.
I think Matt summed it up pretty well when he said "[Grog] is coming from a place that a simple mind is looking for a simple solution to a complex problem." And Travis' "on fire/burned" reaction was pretty funny as well. :)
The fact that Grog rolled a natural 1 on breaking the skull (2:18:50) was unbelievable - mythic even. Like when Kailee nearly killed Scanlan, it's almost as if fate itself didn't want him to make the wrong decision.
+Wet Willy One thing you learn after hours and hours of dice rolling for a tabletop game, the one truth about the dice that the sooner every players comes to accept, the better off everyone will be. The dice knows. The dice ALWAYS knows.
kristof valtori he currently has a +8 to initiative. I caught him saying “natural 20” and then proceeding to say 28. This coup could’ve changed though. I don’t know what his proficiency is right now without googling the chart.
@@tiril6681 I think this was around the time that the adding of proficiency to initiative was introduced. During the Briarwood arc he rolled several natural twenties on initiative which brought it to 28. Towards the end he switched out the head band of initiative (+2) and, a few episodes later, rolled a low enough on initiative to get an 8 (2+6 most likely). At this point dex + proficiency gives him a +10 (6+4) bonus to initiative.
@@michaelfingers7726 I know you probably meant that in a good way but maybe you didn't and so, I would like to say that he's doing that because he knows (and 'cause he is, Grog) that that's what Grog would after hearing the temptations of the skull and seeing the dragons that destroyed the whole freaking city. He isn't thinking this through and he is being a big 'ol complication to the group's planning but in the *best* way. They do this show 'cause of the dramatic moments and roleplay the characters pretty heavily and this, this is pretty awesome. So I'm sure none of them are annoyed or anything like that, like for instance, look at Taliesin, he is enjoying this and he's giddy with excitement the second Grog takes the offense.
This is travis's general approach to dnd and it's incredibly tiresome. That said, i love that he's called out for it and when he serves as some kind of third-rate minor internal side villain that the rest of the party can smack down
The 'reveal' (implicit as it is) that this is the dragon that killed the twins' mother is EXCELLENTLY handled. When their old home is mentioned, you can immediately see a shift in both of their demeanours - Vex covers her face as though preventing a sob, while Vax's expression goes from 'distressed but attentive' to 'utterly distraught' - and after that moment, they repeatedly glance to each other as if for strength and/or reassurance. But at the same time, it's /subtle/. Allura just keeps talking (because Matt's a goddamn professional, respect dude). There's no 'Wait, did you say [place name]?' moment. No 'Hey, are the twins okay?' moment from any of the others (like there was when Percy first heard about the Briarwoods again). The twins don't bring attention to themselves, they just keep quiet as the situation gains a whole other level for the two of them. Even when they talk privately afterwards, there's no verbal confirmation of what they've learned - just a quiet check that they're on the same page. Also - the fact that they agree is good, in my opinion, but slightly surprising. Vax always seems to think with his heart, and is known to act recklessly. But for Vex, usually so pragmatic, to agree? For her to prioritise vengeance over survival? It's not typical for her - which I think clearly demonstrates the scale of her grief, even after all these years.
@@xavierestelles9327 Right? ...y'know, vengeance seems to tie a lot of Vox Machina together. 1. It's the core of Percy's story arc (his last words to Ripley still make me weep). 2. It's what makes Kill Box such a *sick* episode. 3. Vex and Vax have *this.* 4. Scanlan can be hella petty and the results are both hilarious and, later on in the story, heartbreaking. 5. Her death at the hands of a devil/demon made *Pike Trickfoot* angry enough leave the group to train into the powerhouse she now is. 6. The hunger for vengeance is even enough to make the emotional yet borderline-pacifistic Keyleth throw caution to the window and go "Babe, you and me. Let's throw hands with an ANCIENT DRAGON."
Me too friend, me too. I'm still proud that my last canpaing included 4 out of the 5 chromatics throughout and that, in a series of gauntlets leading to the final boss, at one point there were TWO dragons at the same time
The argument over the skull is one of my favorite little party conflicts throughout the series. The fact that it comes during such a desperate moment, offering a simple solution they aren't sure that they can trust, and the way it builds off of Grog and Percival's contact with cursed weaponry as well as their personal interpretations on how that contact has turned out for them. With Percy as the pragmatist weighing the pros and cons of another Faustian deal, and Grog trying to rush ahead to take a dangerous risk for the sake of the power it might grant them. It's such a good character driven moment.
I loved it. Am only a little dissapointed in small metagaming knoweledge from the cast (except Percy and Grog). Things like only asking Grog if he is himself while percy charged at her first, Keylith desperatly going after Grog & Pike wanting to see craven edge while there is no good reason for it. But still love them and I don't expect all of them to be perfect.
@@BrotherHood-xh9sg I don't really see the meta-gaming. Percy did tell them to keep an eye on Grog when Craven Edge was introduced. Grog said he had "darkness around him" AND he's been talking to his sword. Vax called him on it. Percy charged her to push her out of the way of Grog, so it's a bit different of a reaction. Grog's weird behavior started after he got the sword. They just watched Percy be possessed. OBVIOUSLY they'd want to see his sword. Ashley had also said she wanted Pike to get a look at it several times before this, too
@@alexhuettl1716 I suppose so and I heard those things too. But in my opinion, this felt more like they have a small clue of something and they filled the puzzle with out of game knowledge. I mean I get that it is hard to have 100% no meta knowledge, but my personal instinct as a DM and a Player that despises meta gaming was signaling alarm bells. But unlike you I am unable to state facts that they acted in that manner.
The thing that just fascinates me about this episode is this; they are rarely distrustful of each other, and when they are, they give the person the benefit of the doubt. In this episode, the whole party's trust just fell asunder within what, an hour? That's how seriously bad this is. This situation is so nightmarishly terrifying that this group of people who have referred to each other as family on multiple occasions becomes so full of anxiety that they start attacking each other. To summarize... Dragons... are freaking terrifying.
It's also very good roleplaying on everyone's part, especially Grog, Percy and Vax none of them started as good alignment characters. They all have different ways of dealing with problems and Grog is under the influence of Craven Edge. This was wonderful in character roleplaying.
@@jlokison What are you talking about? Percy started as Neutral Good, Vax started as Chaotic Good, and they stayed that way too as far as I know. No alignment changes on them. Grog is the only one who started in a Neutral alignment, Chaotic Neutral specifically. Literally everyone else is some form of Good.
I think another aspect to it is that Percy, Grog, and Vax are probably the least trustworthy members of the party overall (at the time). Percy has a proclivity for keeping secrets from the party and has previously been under the influence of an evil entity; Grog is presently under the undeterminable sway of Craven's Edge; and Vax frequently splits off of the party to have little sulky moments and has stated just an episode before that he is only still with the party because of Vex. If anyone else in the party was involved in the conversation, there would be far less tension and "subterfuge".
Also impressive how this has actually been building for a few episodes. The confrontation between Grog and Percy, while it played out differently and over a different subject, felt almost inevitable the second Percy gave him Craven Edge
Ancient green is nearly twice the challenge rating of a Beholder. And also the advantage on saving throws from Percy's WIP homebrew class made a huge difference on how that fight played out.
for people complaining about travis saving trinket.. let me say to you.. your wife happyness is more important than stay true to character in an D&D game
lucas maglio I think people are complaining more that he shouldn't have to do it as Trinket can sometimes get in the way in combat. Though Grog saving Trinket sounds in character anyways.
I don't know how far you are, but as much as I think Vox Machina are kind of murder hobo-y, I have to disagree with you. Grog is obviously a violent individual, but he still truly loves the group and everyone in it. That being said, he's reckless and brash. Violence isn't just "fun" to him, I think (though it's loads of that), but a way of life. "Getting fucked up" isn't this horrible thing that happens to people, it's as common as getting groceries. I think it's more of a different mindset that's alien to us than him not caring for his allies and family.
i think you're right in this point of the story.. present grog would have save trinket. but it doesn't matter because he would do it again not for grog but for laura
Grog couldn't really reach the dragon with his melee so I think trying to save the bear wasn't totally out of character. Also I think it was very sweet of Travis. Also ale. Sorry, couldn't stop myself.
Can we just appreciate that Ashley shows up when she can via Skype or in person? like she's was out there making a TV show and still shows up when she can. Also i can only imagine it's hard to hear what is going on, you can see her delay in hearing when people are talking over each other and you can see her hold her head phones to try and hear what is going on. DEDICATION! plus pike is much needed in some of these episodes lol! so it's always nice when she can be there.
Are you kidding me? "Appreciate that she shows up when she can?" She misses more than 50% of episodes and is almost never there in person. She should just leave the show that she obviously doesn't care about instead of making it awkward for everyone by having Matt try to play a phantom PC. And at this point it'd been, what, 3 years since they started playing pathfinder/D&D and she *still* only barely knows how to play the game. Plus she rarely contributes anything useful; she just casts heals and does arcana checks. She's easily the most useless member of the party, and that's saying something with Keyleth making things worse every time she casts something.
Are you kidding me? "Appreciate that she shows up when she can?" She misses more than 50% of episodes and is almost never there in person. She should just leave the show that she obviously doesn't care about instead of making it awkward for everyone by having Matt try to play a phantom PC. And at this point it'd been, what, 3 years since they started playing pathfinder/D&D and she *still* only barely knows how to play the game. Plus she rarely contributes anything useful; she just casts heals and does arcana checks. She's easily the most useless member of the party, and that's saying something with Keyleth making things worse every time she casts something.
Roflmao, you do realize she was working full-time in NYC, right? We're talking about her career. A lot of the players sometimes miss episodes or come in partway through because of work... because they're grown-ass adults with intensive careers that require a lot of time and travel. They are all friends and were playing /long/ before they became Critical Role. While it's a game they are very passionate about and put a lot of time into, it's still a game and a hobby. At best, a secondary job (especially with what CR has become.) If she really didn't give a shit, she wouldn't even bother playing. There is a 3-hour time difference, so Ashley was starting late into the evening, around 10pm for her, and they would easily go until 2-3am EST. An earlier episode indicated quite clearly that the next day, she has a 5am pick-up for her job. Meaning she is becoming severely sleep-deprived for a job that actually, you know, PAYS her and gives her a friggin roof over her head and food, in order to play with her friends and contribute as best as she can... literally thousands of miles away. And if you /actually/ think casting heals is worthless, you obviously have no indication of how important and game-changing a healer often is, especially with the hard fights they are frequently going in. Even if she is /just/ casting healing spells, she is very clearly helping. That's the whole point of a support character. You support the team... via heals, buffs, and debuffs of enemies. Just last night, I played a session in one of my D&D campaigns where two of us, the druids, ended up dealing very little damage and spent nearly the whole time healing because the players were soaking up /that/ much damage. We were level 9-10 fighting a CR 25 fucking Archmage who was using shit like Time-Stop, psychic scream, and other crazy shit, like a sword that literally sucked the youth and life out of players. If it wasn't for our double-mass cure wounds and use of other healing spells, we would have almost certainly suffered a TPK (a few of us already nearly died and had one more failed saving throw before death). Our DM pretty much confirmed it by telling us the next spell the ridiculously overpowered boss was going to use, which would have fucked us all. I became the primary healer for the group after the death of the last, but I wasn't enough. We required a whole-ass other player "stuck on healing duty." It may not be exactly exciting and we aren't damaging the bad guys, but we're keeping the team afloat and alive to fight another day. That's what Pike does. Let's also not forget that if not for her, they could have easily failed Percy's shit; a cleric was absolutely 100% the fucking game-changer and saved the team's asses. Seriously, people criticizing a group of friends playing a game who bothered to go online... >_>
Travis is a man’s man. When his wife’s imaginary pet bear is frozen in ice and could possibly die, he charges in and saves that bear to make his wife happy
The Beast Master subclass for Ranger needed an upgrade so badly, in 5e. It was so very nerfed, originally, to the point of being useless for an Archtype. It's why Laura started dipping into rogue. The updated beast master isn't so horrible anymore.
@@WolvesHart79 it’s because they were playing pathfinder originally and in that animal companions are so much stronger, when they started streaming they switched to DND and the animal companions are so much weaker. So it’s hard for her, because he was a bit of a machine and now he is a bit useless.
He is such a chill and filtratious character but people forget that he is the moral compass of the two siblings. If Pike and Kiki didn't exist to nag them to stop being murderhobos, Vax would probably take up the role of nagger
"without hesitation" well not really, he asked if there were still people in the distance heading to the keep as he wasn't going to open the gates if there were too many people coming.
I absolutely love how in game they can be crying and arguing and about to break into a down right free-for-all and as soon as it ends, everyone is instantly back to joking and laughing and making jabs at Matt. I love these people
And in this episode Matt learned that on balance it's better on his players mental health if he gives the parties animals A LOT of leeway on survivability and thus a virtually invunerable weasel was born.
I remember him saying in Talks once that it's not fun for anyone to have pet death be a worry in the game, specifically referencing Laura. I wonder if that was a realization he had here and considered the possibility of Trinket being killed until now, or if he's always let Trinket slip by. Either way, I do appreciate what he said. Personally I'm not that attached to in-game pets, but I have players at my table whose fun would be completely ruined if anything happened to them, so it's good to hear him take different players' needs into consideration.
The fact my dog is in remission from a cancer that will shorten his life when it returns makes me hyper sensitive to pet loss. I'd be *devastated* if anything happened to an imaginary pet bonded to my character just because it would make me think of what's to come.
@@mburton9253 my DM allowed me to buy a Mastiff in one of our earlier games and he suggested I named it after my own dog. I didn't, because I wouldn't have dealt with it very well if it ever died... Hope your dog is doing better ♡
"I think I used that heal on Vax two days ago and we rested at the keep." Ashley is such a dedicated player. Most can't get players to manage their spells on their own. Meanwhile Ashley is managing spells that other people used for Pike while she wasn't even playing! Just so good! Love her!
She keeps track of her spells well but cannot remember core mechanics including the details of some of her spells. Each of them have room to improve in different areas
Well, it wasn't entirely correct as Matt used mass cure wounds at lvl6 last session when she wasn't there so she wouldn't have been able to cast planar ally, but whatever, it's rough to account for stuff when she isn't there - he should've noted it for her exactly what was used and what was left. Same with the exact HP.
Allura's history with Thordak and her old adventuring party is super in-depth. I wonder if Allura's party are PCs from a campaign Matt ran in the past, I know a lot of DMs like to turn retired PCs into NPCs.
Matt has said that Allura was the character that has the most of him in, so even if its not former npcs its probably the one character that a DM of matts caliber put the most effort into
I'm a PC in a homebrew world right now and the DM literally had two old players who's PCs became bar owners and in our session zero, their perception was so high compared to level 3's sleight of hands that they literally intimidated the crap out of a pickpocketing player XD
@@dull_demon4717 sure, but there's no reason for grog to care that much about saving trinket, especially in light of whats happening. it's an ooc decision that is obviously happening bc travis knows laura is upset. it's very sweet and kind and i love that he does that!
This episode shows why ranger beast master needs serious overhaul, after level 5 they become a liability. Unless you can evolve/upgrade your pets and the pet/beast gets either more attack/action per turn or an independent turn they become a crutch for not only the player but the team.
I assume you know about it now, but there is an overhaul available in the UA (Unearthed Arcana). Basically, UA is a testing stage for ideas that may or may not become official. I run the UA beastmaster in my campaign and it is great.
@@shadowscall7758 it is so sad when dms just assume "all UA is stupid op" and won't even try to address the ranger, especially beast master. Ruins a major fantasy for tons of people.
Alex Jobe I mean, I use revised ranger for my games, and to be fair, Primeval awareness is incredibly overpowered. “Yes, I’d like to know the approximate position and race of all humanoids within five miles. No, I don’t have a limit on how often I can do this”
@@MissFeatherstone That is literally the only thing they have though. With the exception of some spells with decent rolls, they perform at least 4 levels below their comrades at all times after a certain point. Plus, Wizards have similar info gathering spells. It is one thing to be able to gain info, it is another to have the means to act on it. Even a lvl 20 Ranger would typically have trouble dealing with threats a lvl 15 ranged class could easily deal with.
It really just comes down to trying to homebrew with your DM. Like, maybe you can micromanage your beast. Spend a bonus action to command it and say something to micromanage it. The class features UA definitely was more of a focus on trying to improve Ranger, but it does feel like there are still some things that could be changed. I recently made a subclass for Ranger based upon the whole rune mechanic from Rune Knight, and to me at least, it makes Ranger a much more valuable unit. Giving Ranger utility outside of combat, but also still being able to hold their own as a supportive unit who can still deal damage.
@@TheKyleMark A bit late to the party perhaps, but you may want to google BOK! Attack of the Giant Chicken. Farmer Hershel attempts to magically enlarge his prize chicken, Hershel Junior, to win a contest of some sort. Hilarity ensues as it grows to the size of a T-Rex, with the corresponding stat block. "...To make things worse, Hershel Junior thinks everyone looks like an insect-and chickens eat insects!"
Just - just the imagery in my head of the exhausted, blood-stained and irritated, end-of-her-patience Pike shoving at the cracked door and yelling, "Grog! Let me in!" There's a muffled yell from inside and she balls her fists and bangs on the door again with an indignant shout, "I've been waiting five minutes!" It cracks me up because I can't help picture Vax and Keyleth flinching back because Pike doesn't usually use that tone of voice with her friends. Like, a shiver runs down Scanlan's spine as he hurries up the stairs, unsure if he likes it but determined to see what's pissed off his future wife. 2:05:44
This is the most fantastically DMed D&D i've ever seen. The way Matt has set up this tension and conflict between players is absolutely sublime and feel natural, and the overall feeling is perfect.
The campaign is masterfully done all around. 90% of this is matt and the players, but the music does help a lot in setting mood and tension. He always seems to have the right music for every situation.
I started with campaign 2 and only now I understand Liam's meticulousness and attention to the specific details of every new spell he casts. This guys learned the hard way that you *must* read your spells before casting them
Also why Marisha took a break from spellcasting in CR2. As a new player who plays a cleric and druid, I completely understand her difficulty keeping track of everything. The druid spell list is so long and I'm only half the level Keyleth is at here. Plus the descriptions are endlessly long. It's rare I get the time to actually entirely check what spells do before needing them to be prepared after a long rest. It's also a lot of pressure because druids (and clerics) are looked to as tools to solve every problem. I get you Marisha. Absolutely why I'm playing a fighter next 😂
Not to try and tell anyone how to play their characters or classes, but I found it's quite handy if you pick out half to two thirds of your artificers/clerics/druids/paladins spells as dedicated picks, and only change a couple of spells each day depending on what you're likely to face. For example, you'll almost always use Guiding Bolt as a Cleric, so you won't need to worry about changing that out of your spell list.
@@Zombiewithabowtie For sure agree! I've figured that out with time and experience tho, and these people playing live w/ a new edition don't have the opportunity to learn that in their own time. I think druids are harder to do that for than clerics etc tho, bc their spells are so circumstantial in their efficiency... I've known we're planning to go into Underdark caves, for example, and the variety of possible challenges can be hard to prepare for. Charm beast/animal/monster/person? Which one's it gonna be? Do you want to bet on that? Is elemental, piercing or bludgeoning damage gonna be useful? I thought I could bank on Call Lightning as a go-to damage spell but I've almost never been able to use it. Tidal Wave is where I've landed for default damage spells other than cantrips. The ones that I prep no matter what are heals, restorations and buffs. But druids can do massive damage... Just depends on if what you've prepared will have any effect. If you do have tips in that regard I'd be happy to hear them! It's such a long spell list it's hard to familiarize myself.
@@tiril6681 Honestly, there's a lot of factors that play into it, so I'd split it down to being 30% mechanical utility, 20% character playstyle, 20% party composition, and 10% personal preferences. For example, my Spore Druid I have is built primarily as a melee build, with debuff and necrotic support, basically running up and smacking stuff with their Shillelagh while buffed with Symbiotic Entity. Since he's going to be in close, I take Earth Tremor to help do AoE damage if he gets surrounded, Earthbind to make sure fliers are within hitting distance, and Pass Without Trace to help a poor DEX stat. If his party lacks other healers, Cure Wounds is a good option, if there are Fighters or Barbarians then Elemental Weapon would be appreciated to give their attacks a boost - and while Guardian of Nature is less than perfect, as depending on which option I pick I either forfeit advantage on STR attacks or the temporary hit points, but am I going to take it regardless because I like the theme of turning into a superhuman mushroom man? Absolutely!
@@Zombiewithabowtie I just finished a lower level campaign with a spore Druid and tried to run a more melee based build like you did, but I found that with my low ass scores (wis was only a +2) and being the only full spell caster in a party of 4/5 I definitely stretched myself way to thin. Although that was just my circumstance really love the idea and subclass and I definitely tanked hundreds of damage for my party, while only ending at lvl 5.
"Do you think this is what mom saw before she died?" I was in the middle of getting a mixing pot from the top shelf and almost fell down a chair with that line. Damn you beautiful, tragic sneaky twins, making me feel and stuff.
"Do not go far from me." Holy shit I love the twins. Laura and Liam are the absolute best. It really seems like they are actual siblings. They way their voices cracked when they were talking to each other broke my heart.
WannaComment2 I wonder if Watson could be a good dungeon master. Probably not even on the same league as Matt, but maybe good enough to make a fun game for human players?
I think this would have happened even if Sam was present. Sam may have just diffused the situation more quickly by teleporting away with the skull. I don't think Sam necessarily holds the team together. Just makes the team more interesting.
It always makes me sad when they can't all be together. This episode would have been super sad regardless but it's was sorely missing his comic relief.
They have an amazing job. Iam looking forward to the next season of vox macnina and the M9 and the movie deals they have in works. I would love to meet this group of people.
For my own convenience 07:46 - Game starts with a recap 10:56 - Part 1 begins 37:55 - Sadness Crits Laura 43:50 - Laura cares and that's why we love her 1:10:25 - Marisha's Storm Freeze 1:13:19 - The Pecking Order 1:25:43 - An Ally is Summoned 1:31:15 - Frightened Twins 1:38:15 - Part 1 ends 1:47:41 - Break Ends 1:59:05 - A Tal'Dorei Standoff 2:08:20 - Fracture 2:15:15 - Pike Insights Grog 2:18:00 - Grog & The Skull 2:26:20 - Help Arrives 2:36:05 - More Information 2:38:30 - Revelation 2:51:25 - Keyleth Checks in on Her Fire Family 2:55:30 - Wow... Marisha is full-out crying. 2:56:10 - A Sigh of Releif 2:57:06 - Daww... Poor Ashley :( 2:57:37 - Taliesin vs Travis
Looking at how Matt apparently planned that back when they killed General Krieg keeping in mind other hints he gave with the fire dimension and stuff : i ask how many things am i never going to see that matt envisioned this might very well be the best thought through campaing i've ever seen
Depends how on rails or sandboxy Matt considers this campaign to be. This could either be a grand orchestra with him as the conductor or it could just be the consequences of their actions in a semi living world with a bit of imagination sprinkled in.
@@NovaStalker I always wonder how rails it is...I remember someone commenting on an earlier episode about how things might have turned out in the underdark if they hadn't chanced upon Clarota and my first thought was that there WAS no chance...no guarantee that they would utilize him the way that they did after finding him, but I firmly believe they could have tried fifteen different ways to leave that cavern and all of them would have somehow wound up back at Clarota.
@@UrbanJackal I think that particular encounter was supposed to be just a show of what Mind Flayer can do outside the swarm. Matt just adapted to the circumstance, I read his comment on it somewhere. But I would be really interested to see what he set up.
@@UrbanJackal And you think that he didnt plan for them just killing a mind flayer? I mean, as players they know that those are evil creatures, so i wouldnt put beyond them to be a bit trigger happy seeing one.
Several episodes ago: *party roles several natural 20s in a row* Matt: " I'm going to kill all of you." This episode: *Matt throws 4 ancient chromatic dragons at a lvl 12 party.* I guess he meant it.
Is that what she said? I didn't hear because I've been reduced to chanting "shut up shut up shut up" over and over every time she opens her mouth. It's just too painful to listen to her constantly butt in with useless flavor and idiotic sermonizing.
Mostly taken from littlecajunlady's Tumblr, recap by me 7:45 - Recap 11:00 - Game starts (They start letting people into their keep, the white dragon, Vorugal, shows up) 26:35 - Taliesin’s nat 20, Percy shoots the dragon’s wing 38:15 - Trinket gets frozen, Laura is very upset 45:20 - Grog starts pushing frozen Trinket to safety 48:35 - Pike heals Trinket (Keyleth summons a giant eagle to claw dragon’s eyes, Pike gets bit and suffers 55 points of damage) 1:13:20 - Red dragon shows up and drags Vorugal away 1:20:54 - Grog tries to convince Percy to use the skull 1:25:45 - Pike asks Sarenrae for help 1:31:14 - Vax to Vex “Do not go far from me” (Grog gets Vax & head towards Percy’s workshop, Vex hunter’s marks Grog) 1:38:15 - Break starts 1:48:40 - Break Ends (Grog, Percy, & Vax talk about the skull, then the women start to join them) 1:59:05 - Grog closes the door with Vex & Percy in the room & demands to be given the skull 2:08:20 - Grog rushes Vex, who is holding the skull 2:14:42 - Pike insight checks Grog 2:18:40 - After stealing the skull from Vex, Grog attempts to spike it and rolls a nat 1 (Keyleth tries hold person but it only works on Percy, she demands to know what’s going on) 2:23:55 - Pike questions Grog 2:26:20 - Allura arrives, they tell her about the dragons, she tells them the skull is evil 2:36:18 - Allura tells them about Thordak and how he was banished to the fire plane 2:44:24 - Vax tells Allura they killed Krieg, who was a blue dragon 2:51:00 - Vax tells Vex he wants to kill Thordak/Keyleth Checks in on Fire Ashari 2:52:25 - There is nothing left of the Fire Ashari, Allura talks Keyleth down 2:56:20 - Game ends
Yeah, but it's Percy's now, so it's a secondary (hell, tertiary even) weapon in a mainly ranged player's hand. Grog traded it to him for Craven Edge, since it's a one-handed sword. More than that, Vex has an arrow of dragon slaying, but it's only one and it's single use. Could be a nice trump card (especially if she remembers how her Conjure Barrage uses whatever ammunition she used for the cone effect), but wont save than against 4 ancient dragons.
Vax, to Vex: If we are out of earshot from one another, we are too far apart. Do not go far from me. Me: sobs uncontrollably because the sibling love adds literal years to my lifespan
I'm still in the first 30 minutes of this episode and absolutely horrified. Matt does an amazing job and emphasizing the scale and urgency of this attack with the airship coming down and the people piling up at the gate and just everything. It feels cinematic even though it's just them sitting at a table this is so wild
He does a great job of portraying an apocalyptic event. Everything they’ve done up u til now only involved small pockets of the world or organizations. A quest here a quest there... but this is where they have to handle world-threatening entities on a scope that anyone other than a true legendary hero would crumble under the weight of. Fucking epic. Matt should write for the elder scrolls series.
I have no idea if this is incidental or not, maybe he's used these before, but I also like that we got an actual landscape battlemap and a mini set of the keep rather than his old drawings. It's a small thing but it helped enhance the scenario, too.
Mercer’s the reason I got into Critical Role. My brother got me to multi with him on Baldur’s Gate 3, so I checked out a few of the celebrity D&D sessions he DM’d, and the man is phenomenal at what he does. “This is wild” is exactly what I thought when I saw him do his thing. Thanks to Mercer and BG3, I went out and got a Player’s Handbook and read everything but the spells (I read what pertained to my class and character). Now I’m a Critical Role fan, I’m playing my first bit of D&D-anything and I’m looking forward to tabletopping someday when I have the time.
Yeah ancient dragons are literally like campaign final bosses, the second one much less 4 showed up i was basically saying "nope time to run, this city is lost"
@@SomeTH-camTraveler Admittedly, she didn't know where to teleport to, and at least 3 people at the table kept whispering "the keep" to her, so in the spur of the moment she chose the keep.
This is my first time watching this, so I don’t know how this will turn out, but the introduction of the dragons made me so mad. Maybe I’m a bad player, but I would’ve had to step away from the table for a minute. This seems so hopeless
The most impressive part of this to me as how all the players are still friendly despite the high emotion in the scenes. And yeah, someone will inevitably say “Duh, they’re all actors.” But newer role players (hell, even some experienced ones) might watch this and not understand how hard it is for some players to separate their character’s emotions from their own, causing massive friction. I’ve been apart of groups that split apart over much less intense scenarios.
Yeah, I had most of these moments as DMs when players took stuff happening to their characters as a personal attack and I admit, it happened to me a few times as a player. You just get so invested in them, that it hurts, so the same thing that makes you a good player in terms of RPing (in my opinion at least, actually caring for your char is a large part of it) makes it difficult to be aware that you ARE NOT the character and no one has it out for you, if they have it out for your character... Well, unless they are a bunch of dicks.
Much of the cast certainly cares about their characters quite a lot. After watching C2 there were many moments when the cast was genuinely upset about things that happened to their characters. Laura has as Vex and Sam when it came to Kaylee. Laura clearly cares about Trinket. I think it certainly affects them to some degree and they can be mad at each other about what happens between their characters, but they keep themselves in check. They're too close as friends to make it personal. They can handle so much friction in the game cause they trust each other not to make it personal and have to hold themselves to that.
Right? As someone who is a very intense role player and typically embodies my characters, when tension rises, i can get intense as well. Which is why i always break character after i'm done talking to let my friends know that *I'm* not mad, X is, and just do a silly little dance or grin and thumbs up. And then afterwards, at the end of the session, i do a check in with said friend to let them know it was all an act and to make sure we're still good. Because, unfortunately... i HAVE split from a group where we couldn't seperate players from characters, and when tensions got high, we - the players - took it personally and started fighting. It was a huge blow up, and some friendships didn't make it out of it, even though it truly wasn't personal.
The dragons referring to themselves as the "Chroma Conclave" implies, to me, that they had a meeting to decide this name. Where they all sat around eating snacks and throwing out bad suggestions until one said, "Chroma Conclave," and they all looked at each other in excitement.
I wonder if they have jackets.
Stephanie Salsgiver yes god
Jackets with all the chromatic colors over them
They took so long to get around to conquering the world specifically because they were deciding on the design and then having them made online.
they got all giddy and were giggling while one said it was stupid and the others agreed but then concluded it worked.
They got friendship bracelets and everything.
Their hideout has walkie-talkies and pillow forts galore
Well, Sending Stones plundered from their enemies and pillow forts made of said enemies, but basically
when Matt shops for minis, I imagine him doing an evil laugh, and with a deep gutteral voice, saying "yess... yesss"
"Imagine" aka "I have a shit scying potion and know that Matt, like every DM, is an evil bastard"
"I got a sweet deal on a bulk order of massive dragon minis, I guess Vox Machina is gonna die now."
Matt: *evil chuckle* bawahah..mmm..yes these are some nasty beasts *slides them into his own bag of holding while Tom the cat evil laughter mememing*
And the guy that works the counter and sees him, “Oh, they’re fucked.”
I believe that the dragon minis were Critmas gifts from fans... the fans brought this upon the party
One fateful Critmas, Matt received 4 dragon minis... The rest is history.
NarfSideOfLife to be honest I would have done it
Not exactly MINI, as they are frikkin HUGE, but ok. I'll let that one slide because it's technically true.
Four dragon Not-So-Minis.
Four dragon Maxis
They are mini compared to the true size.
I can just imagine Matt with a whole stack of paper labelled "The Chroma Conclave", and a separate secret stack of paper labelled "if they wish the dragons away".
It is a DM's job to have multiple plans in place. You can't take everything into account, but you can think of alot
Yeep.. and sometimes you gotta roll with it lol
SPOILERS KIND OF (About the skull)
We were THIS close to an alternate reality in which a hijacked Grog body with a Githyanki pirate in it being chased by Githzerai was roaming around and Vox Machina would have to get his body back and release Grog's trapped spirit in the skull back into his body. THIS CLOSE! And also Dragons... Because I don't think it would have fixed the Dragons, just been extra bad.
th-cam.com/video/JWQOZq6Ux7k/w-d-xo.html 17:56
@@mayaenglish5424 Thank you for labeling your spoilers.
Sincerely, someone going through the campaign for the first time.
@@caffeinedelusions No problem, anyone who says that spoilers have an expiration date, particularly with something as epic in scale as Critical Role, is just being lazy and rude. I was pretty zealous about avoiding spoilers while catching up but I caught a big one about C2 and it was _The Worst!_ 🙄
So I totally get it. 😊
"Do you think this is what mother saw before she died?" I'm not crying, you are.
Corey5268 The sheer amount of emotional gut punches the players and audience suffer through this episode staggers me.
In particular, I began crying when Keyleth found the remains of the Fire Ashari. I had to pause it and compose myself. I don’t know how any of them lived this moment and didn’t need the same.
Straight up ugly crying. God. Pretty much the whole episode is just fucking heart-wrenching. ;__;
It's allergies!
Time stamp?
@@JA-jk9uf it's @1:31:20. Bit late, but in case anyone else wants it
gilmore gives the party a free heros feast, nobody realises this is the checkpoint before a boss battle
The Chroma Conclave attack happens like two days after Gilmore gives them the heroes feast. Remember they went on a "pub crawl" one night, found Gilmore, and had the feast. The next morning, they went to Krieg's old home. After all that craziness at Krieg's place they went home and slept for the night. THEN, the Chroma Conclave attacked. So two days (a day in a half at the least) after the feast, and the Heroes feast only last for like... 24 hours i think.
Nope, the worms and the dragons happened on the same day. Pub crawl - heroes' feast - Dranzel tells them about the house - sleep - they investigate the house in the morning/around noon - come back home to have seeker Asum tell them about the invitation to Uriel's speech - dragons attack. Same day.
e: I stand corrected, I was wrong
After going back and watching the video, I see that you are indeed correct.
Neffarious Panda i think heroe's feast is until a long rest not 24 hours
whoa...
Laura: This is the last episode you guys
Me: *Squints eyes at the playlist, 43/141*
Imagine this live at the time though, i bet everybody really did think it was the last episode
@@Trevbot789 Bruh Ive watched through this before and thought Vorugal was gonna smoke em lol
Simon Lorenzo nope not even close
thats it thats the best comment
And that's just the first campaign
Liam: "this is all bullshit, nothing we do has meaning anymore"
Matt: 😐 "I'll give this mother f***** meaning"
I honestly hated that statement. I felt that came from Liam because his character was always a dick to grog and Scanlan along with his weird attitude towards the ladies, then people started turning on him in character and made him no longer the most important character for three sessions. It just seems like he was being pouty
@@wintersal7274 I actually just finished the vox machina campaign, I think he's just trying to set up a bit of a character arc.
@@jean-marctrebuchon4206 He talks about his feelings for Keylith, in which he confessed in one of the previous episodes, but she did not reciprocate.
Vax also loves his sister very much and knows how much she cherishes her bear, so it is not surprising that he makes every effort to ensure that nothing bad happens to him.
You, sir, are talking bs right now.
@@jean-marctrebuchon4206 Being friendly does not mean attraction. He was referring to Vax and Keyleth.
@@Anddrew914 Setting up an arc for himself and maybe even Vox Machina. What exactly is Vox Machina's purpose, what is Vax's purpose? Are they just running from random errand to random errand or are they working towards something greater?
*Percy To The Skull*
"Okay talk,you have my attention"
*The skulls speaks back*
"Hello everybody, welcome to this week's no survivors..."
that got me good lol
I thought well shit this may be the last episode after all
I thought this was a joke, and then it actually happened
That was great timing
Technical glitch that for a moment I thought was a bit Sam was doing.
"I don't have enough dice to roll this." The moment those words leave any DM's mouth, is the moment the entire party wets their pants in fear.
Shifting2Wolf underrated
Shifting2Wolf it’s even worse when you know your DM is a dice hoard!
You can always just roll one die 14 times
The moment every goldfish goes splat
"What a shame, I seem to have soiled myself."
'It was such a bad deal, [even Percy] said no.'
- Taliesin Jaffe, who REALLY really understands his character
"This has been the worst devil deal in the history of devil deals, maybe ever." - Percival von Aristocratface de Rolo the Third
@@danksterdan1682 that is the most hilarious version of his name I've read
Dankster Dan of whitestone
Percy never acted like a aristocrat before and it dosnt make any sense for him to suddenly act like one as he was the third born, was never raised to be ruler, or diplomat, or any real part of the ruling class, and had no interest in it either, and was busy with his study... but somehow he suddenly knows all about it...
now that it suits tal he changes his personality so he can act self important, completely ignoring what would makes sense.
And percy wouldnt recognise a bad deal if it came in smoke form and smack him in the face with a gun...
@@Darksnakemrniceguy Right, Percy /wouldn't/ recognise a bad deal.
Which is WHY it's such a big deal that he rejected THIS one. And that's what Taliesin said.
Keyleth: "WE NEED TO FUCKING COMMUNICATE!"
Percy: "Mmhpmmhmmhpm"
Keyleth: SHUT UP PERCY!!
I found Keyleth incredibly annoying and whiny this episode.
@@tristinyaeger9222 She always is....
Pretty much explains why Grog didn't want her there. Also describes Marishas playstyle with Keyleth. After awhile it just comes off as contrarian rather than actually having a good thought and standing behind it
@@Yamato12345666 stop with the Marisha bullying. Yall don't like Keyleth cause she's the group's conscience. The way you guys treated Marisha was shameful. She sure showed all of you though. Just disgusting.
@@tiph3802 Dude that is so not why, Marisha is fine. But Keyleth is frequently annoying. Not because she's the groups conscience but because she is whiny, wastes high level spells frequently, and has multiple times almost gotten a lot of people killed. Like whatever, it's not that big a deal but out of the whole cast I am most frequently annoyed by Keyleth, followed by vax and vex.
Obviously no one should send death threats and shit on Marisha all the time. But it is totally fair to complain about a character I find annoying.
This is where Matt Mercer formally introduced The Shits to the Fan
Shits, this is fan, say hello. *HELLO* Fan, these are the shits, say hello *HELLO OH GOD WHAT ARE YOU DOING STOP AAAAAGGHH!!!*
fantastic comment
@@Sad-N3rd thank you
The Shits hit the fan, but only on an attack roll of 20 or higher
Lmao!
travis: ignores the huge dragon and saves his wifes imaginary bear
also travis: attacks his wife over an evil skull
The duality of man lol
Never come between a goliath and his evil skull
He slept in the garage. I bet you
Grog, not travis
It gets really fucking obnoxious when literally every joke comment like this has replies saying "(character name), not (player name)". Yes, we know, but it's the player who chooses what the character does, and also it's a fucking joke
Can we talk about how skillfully Matt redirected Pike's misuse of Planar Ally? Instead of telling her she was wrong or letting her waste her 6th level spell, he took her intent and gently redirected it into the spell's actual effects, granting the spell's benefit, explaining what it's usually used for, *and* not making her feel stupid in the process. That's good DM'ing right there.
nice. well put. thanks for pointing that out I will look for that as I'm watching it again. :)
Actually she was right in how to use it to an extent, for the spell to work you call upon a God, Primordial, Demon prince, or other cosmic power.
And the payment can also be aid to a temple so the fact that Pike brought up her building the temple makes sense. So she didn’t really misuse it in any sense.
Where was that for Keyleths 6th level moving cloud/gas spell last episode lol
I'm voting for Matt Mercer as "Dungeon Grand Master"!
@@kentlewis2715 he can only do so much when someone completely and entirely misunderstands and misuses a spell because they didn't read it properly. In Pike's case it still generally followed the rules of the actual spell, whereas Keyleth fucked up and completely went against her intentions because what she wanted just wasn't the spells ability. He digressed in the end since it has a 1 minute cast time anyway and let her disable it by will, but it's not the DMs fault if people misread their spells.
With Ashley's Skype sound quality, it did actually SOUND like Pike was yelling at Grog from the other side of a door while that was what was actually happening, ngl ^^
I've been waiting for 5 minutes!! She's so damn cute 🤣🥰
Okay, as tense and drama-filled as the whole skull situation was, watching Taliesin and Travis try to out-plan and out-manipulate each other was incredibly entertaining. They're probably the two best strategists in the group, and it was a pleasure to watch them match wits, especially since Grog doesn't get to do that sort of thing very often.
But also, what if Travis had succeeded in shattering the thing and Evil Skull Guy proofed the dragons out of existence? Would we have started the good vs. evil gods arc 50 eps. early?? SO MANY QUESTIONS
Carolyn Walters Matt probably had an arc planned in the event where Grog wished for the dragon attack to not happen.
Yeah that was awesome! It's to bad Laura had to uber meta game.
@@dmlyons1130 She does it constantly. Some players are just like that. It happens.
@@ShapCast Given that the creature granting the wish was probably evil, I suspect it would have found a creative interpretation to Grog's wish so the dragons might have simply attacked a different city instead of Emon and then allied itself with them.
She cast conjure woodland beings and I immediately pictured a tidal wave of squirrels mobbing the dragon
That would've been... unbeatable.
I pictured south park's woodland creatures all, uh, having their way with the dragon.
A RaptureRaven - fuzzy woodland creatures to serve as breath weapon fodder...
The last words of the dragon. "AHHHHHHHH THEY'RE RAPING MEEEEEE!!!"
Truly, there is not a more chilling sight than an ancient dragon getting violated in every sense of the word by the Little Woodland Critters.
Ashley: "Can we play longer?"
Super adorable!
Especially considering that she's in NYC and so it's even later for her than it is for them! But sleep is secondary to epic plots :)
Yeah, Ashley seems to *really* be into this campaign - she even wanted to continue playing in an earlier episode when it was 4 AM in New York and she about to get picked up to act in Blind Spot in about 2,5 hours !
Ashley is always asking if they can play longer whenever there is any sort of cliff hanger lol I mean they all ask it at times, but Ashley's so cute how she always asks if with such pleading
When Vax told Vex to never leave his side, that being out of earshot was too far - that stung, it hurt. But then Vex asked out loud if this was what their mother saw before she died and Laura teared up? That delivered the final blow. An exceptional show of compassion and care for and from the the twins, played by the ever wonderful Liam and Laura. This is the first time in 40 episodes I'm leaving such a comment, such was I touched by this. A joy to behold; thank you so much for supporting early Critical Role, Geek&Sundry!
the emotion they both put into that and the delivery actually brought tears to my eyes
1:31:13 - in case anyone wants to get their heart torn to shreds a second time!
“If I am gone for 5 minutes come find me. Because I will need you.”
Their acting is incredible is absolutely part of what makes CR such a joy to watch
Critical Role with Scanlan:
- "I shit in a jar."
- "I turn everyone into cows as we chase a giant Roc through the sky to help some farmers"
- "I blast lightning out of my dick"
Critical Role without Scanlan:
- Dragons kill everyone
- Players cry IRL
- The party turns on each other while trying to strike a deal with an evil artifact
Scanlan makes everything better.
"How to play a bard 101"
How to play a Gnome 101
Let's be honest, guys... "How to be Sam Riegel 101"
Scanlan makes you feel good. Scanlan makes you feel real good.
Travis is one of the best role-players in this group. I mean, have you EVER seen him metagame? He always goes exactly with what his character knows, and behaves as his character would. It's truly beautiful to watch.
"I bumrush Vex"
Agreed, Travis and Sam.
Sam and Talisan are both really good about it too. All three of them have, from a meta perspective, screwed themselves over because it's what the character would have done.
CrownRock1 Yeah man especially Travis because he needs to play to his character's intelligence which, I imagine, can be frustrating as all hell sometimes.
It always makes me happy when I see Sam taking a turn and when somebody tells him to do something he says "I don't know that" because Scanlan doesn't.
Friends at school: "What are you doing tonight?"
Me: "Worrying about Dragons..."
LMAO!!!!
Aren't we all
I have an IBD shit 6 times watching this!!!! Thank God I didn't see it live might had a heart attack!
Taleisin: How dumb am I?
Matt: That's up to you, buddy.
VM: "We check for survivors in the city."
DM: "There are no survivors."
VM: "Ok, we contact Whitestone."
DM: "They're all dead."
VM: "We scry the Fire Nation."
DM: "Errbody dead."
VM: "We send a message to Kraghammer."
DM: "They're all extremely dead."
VM: "We look out the window of our keep."
DM: "Everything is dragons."
I know right, basically how next episode is going to start.
+Liesmith lmfao
+Liesmith They are all dead, vox
when was this said???
+Kiero Vance™ (Kyrobolt) never, we are just contemplating how it will go in later episodes.
This is the absolute most heartbreaking episode I've yet seen. Between Laura's dead eyed stare of "Do you think this is what mother saw?" and Marisha's breakdown over losing the Fire Ashari and Ashley's voice asking if they could play longer, I don't think I'll be able to emotionally recover. They're all such brilliant players and actors.
I've been looking for Laura's line here, absolutely amazing, along with the twins look at each other when Matt was giving Allura's speech about the ruin Thordak brought... Both are gut-wrenching moments...
@@andytaylor2429 if I’m not mistaken one of the cities Mentioned is the city their mother was from which mean that’s the dragon that killed their mother ( 2:38:34 )and during the scrying thing when vax and vex where sitting next to each other waiting they had a little moment where essentially vax wants revenge no matter what ( 2:51:06 )....... this is my first time through and I know this is years old but it got me right in the heart 😔 💔
@@rangerraber2416 I saw Laura cover her mouth, but I didn't know the name of the city, so I didn't understand the connection.
SPOILERS. JESUS.
TH-cam SHOWS THE TOP COMMENT
“do not go far from me”: easily one of the most memorable and touching lines of the campaign. I miss the twins so much...
That made me cry. A lot.
Liam is a wordsmith.
When Liam took Laura's hand as she was "crying" that's what made me cry. When I've had panic attacks just having someone there to hold my hand and keep it away from my face makes all the difference.
I really love watching how Travis is fueling the conflict. It seems in character for Grog and an extremely interesting dynamic since the party is usually in agreement on what to do. It also looks like everyone is into it, Taliesen seems delighted when Percy gets attacked by Grog, Laura looks excited too. So rather than it being an argument between the players, it looks like a genuine moment of clashing interests and approaches between the characters.
I scrolled through the comments for this 💪
That's right. I especially like Grogs approach to bypass lengthy discussions and make something interesting happen. Every DnD party needs to take action more. God knows I have been discussing plans to death before any action was taken, so Grog making things happen is a delight to see.
Yeah, I feel like such an situation could‘ve easily gotten personal. I know how it got personal in my campaign of DnD First Timers, can‘t imagine how that skull situation would mess us up lol
Love the show!
lol yeah the sheer excitement on both Travis and Taliesin's face when Grog shuts the door was very fun to see
This is in character conflict done perfectly
"Man Matt's been going so easy on his group"
Matt Mercer steeples his fingers and chuckles lowly below his breath.
What makes this so amazing is what I see as a DM. By this episode, Matt has each character tied up in the story or a personal character arc.
1. When they realized what the four colored orbs were in the portal purple worm room two years ago, they could have possibly prevented this. Motivates all of them, and draws them in.
2. Vex and Vax find out who destroyed their home. Draws them into the main story arc, plus Vex hunts dragons well.
3. Keyleth is training to keep the elemental planes entryway into the world in tact and sealed. Now, not only did the fire ashari all die but the job she is training for is already failing. Motivates Keyleth for the main story arc.
4. Percy just finished a whole story arc about his family and getting rid of his demon. Now the home he just restored is in danger.
5. Grog is on a personal story arc with Craven Edge.
6. Scanlan is on a personal story arc with his daughter.
That puts it all pretty succinctly
Yeah, makes me wish Pike had something.
Hard to have something for Pike when she has been relatively hit-and-miss from her work schedule. Im glad Ashley is having success outside of Crit Role, but one side effect is that it makes it difficult to craft a specific Arc for her character.
Pike, I would say, is serving as a kind of -- Patron Saint of Serenrae. She maybe has a slightly less personal stake than the others, but her heart needs more than anyone. She wants to save anyone she can, heal everyone she can.
That matters
@@CERap22 Yep, i would say Pike isnt getting a personal arc, but has taken some important moments. Back in the underdark she failed Sharenrae with her decisions and nearly broke her medallion. But latter, not only she has achive forgivness, but increase in her relation with her goddess, and achive some badass moments thanks to that, like her connection and jumping in the fight in Whitestone, and retourning peoples faith in the temple while everyone is despair due to the dragons atack.
To the guy during critmas two episodes back who said Matt was taking it easy on his players: this is all your fault.
I mean to be fair, prior to this dragon attack they had a party of seven level 12 characters, and they had to fight a SINGLE GUY in that jail cell of the thieves guild. It was 7 vs 1, and they are level 12. Normally characters level 12 are fighting celestial level threats, not a single mortal fighter.
@@trapical as a DM, i'd say matt understands the value of an easy fight. Letting your characters feel like badasses taking out the trash every once in a while is a good thing.
@@trapical not to mention they have a ton of resources at their back and did work hard not to have to fight the entire guild to get to him they are smart players and dont run headlong into things they cant handle which is shown well this episode one ancient dragon fine 4 and its time to go even tho like with the beholder it seems like they do they tried to get so much info and assistance to face it even tho it turned on them they accomplished their goal and ran
@@trapical Specifically in regards to that fight, I think the ease had MUCH more to do with the previous very high social rolls in addition to a hefty bribe. I suspect that one wrong move would have meant fighting the entire guild, rather than one dude.
@@trapical Except that the fight prior to this was vs. the Purple + Frost worm which was a good healthy challenge for their ilk.
Matt to Percy: Grog tackles you and you go slamming into the wall
Percy: *eating chicken wing intensifies*
The way he ate that with such intensity killed me!
I love him so much!
I love how Grog is basically attacking Percy and Tal is just cheering him on.
Let me say that I love the way that Travis is playing Grog during this whole scene in Percy's workshop. I can fully believe that Grog is doing what he thinks is best during this situation.
Possibly, or he has been charmed somehow like Gollum and the ring, although I am only watching this for the first time. Either he genuinely thinks it is their ticket of safety or its got a hold of him. I am looking forward to find out.
Wookie_oo7 Yeah, I'm sure that part of his intentions are from outside influences, but still, I can see Grog's character going along with it regardless. Good luck with catching up on the episodes! I'm doing the same. :)
RPG Tour Guide
Cheers mate, although I am not a big fan of drama for the sake of drama so I am worried that if Vax doesnt sort his crap out I may loose interest in the show.
I think Matt summed it up pretty well when he said "[Grog] is coming from a place that a simple mind is looking for a simple solution to a complex problem." And Travis' "on fire/burned" reaction was pretty funny as well. :)
I loved it, it seems to me like they're playing a chess match but grog is being influenced, as he isn't smart enough to play alone.
I still cannot get over the fates literally intervening when Grog tries to break the skull and rolls a natural 1
So pleased he did, that skull was a very very very bad thing
The fact that Grog rolled a natural 1 on breaking the skull (2:18:50) was unbelievable - mythic even. Like when Kailee nearly killed Scanlan, it's almost as if fate itself didn't want him to make the wrong decision.
that was the dice gods speaking!
+Wet Willy ...or a convenient plot device.
+cade110794 ... a _wheaton ex machina_ so to speak
+Wet Willy
One thing you learn after hours and hours of dice rolling for a tabletop game, the one truth about the dice that the sooner every players comes to accept, the better off everyone will be.
The dice knows. The dice ALWAYS knows.
I wouldn't say wrong decision. I support Grog. Hail our new Githyanki Overlord
Liam: "what was [the white dragon's] name again?"
Little did Liam know he would one day be voicing Vorugal.
Wait, really? Liam is voicing that dragon?
@@Aredel yup!
Grog: Venerial?
Just for that I want Liam to voice Larkin too
@@phoenixdzk YES
Taliesin: "28 on initiative."
Travis: "Oh Jesus Christ- *TWENTY-EIGHT?"*
Gunslingers add their profecincy bonus to intitiave, also if Percy has alert feat he probably has either a +9 or +14 to intitiave
kristof valtori he currently has a +8 to initiative. I caught him saying “natural 20” and then proceeding to say 28. This coup could’ve changed though. I don’t know what his proficiency is right now without googling the chart.
Yeah, I remember him saying it dropped from +10 to +8 a few episodes ago when he gave a magic item that adds +2 to... Vex, I think.
@@tiril6681 I think this was around the time that the adding of proficiency to initiative was introduced. During the Briarwood arc he rolled several natural twenties on initiative which brought it to 28. Towards the end he switched out the head band of initiative (+2) and, a few episodes later, rolled a low enough on initiative to get an 8 (2+6 most likely). At this point dex + proficiency gives him a +10 (6+4) bonus to initiative.
@@aeoscampaignsetting8489so it would be his prof bonus plus his dex (+6) that’s enough for 28 right there
"A simple man looking for a simple solution to a complex problem" OOF.
He's absolutely right. Grog is being the biggest fucktard of the group right now, BAR NONE.
@@michaelfingers7726 I know you probably meant that in a good way but maybe you didn't and so, I would like to say that he's doing that because he knows (and 'cause he is, Grog) that that's what Grog would after hearing the temptations of the skull and seeing the dragons that destroyed the whole freaking city. He isn't thinking this through and he is being a big 'ol complication to the group's planning but in the *best* way. They do this show 'cause of the dramatic moments and roleplay the characters pretty heavily and this, this is pretty awesome. So I'm sure none of them are annoyed or anything like that, like for instance, look at Taliesin, he is enjoying this and he's giddy with excitement the second Grog takes the offense.
Send Travis the Aloe.
This is travis's general approach to dnd and it's incredibly tiresome. That said, i love that he's called out for it and when he serves as some kind of third-rate minor internal side villain that the rest of the party can smack down
@@SocialistSadako is it travis or grog?
The 'reveal' (implicit as it is) that this is the dragon that killed the twins' mother is EXCELLENTLY handled. When their old home is mentioned, you can immediately see a shift in both of their demeanours - Vex covers her face as though preventing a sob, while Vax's expression goes from 'distressed but attentive' to 'utterly distraught' - and after that moment, they repeatedly glance to each other as if for strength and/or reassurance.
But at the same time, it's /subtle/. Allura just keeps talking (because Matt's a goddamn professional, respect dude). There's no 'Wait, did you say [place name]?' moment. No 'Hey, are the twins okay?' moment from any of the others (like there was when Percy first heard about the Briarwoods again). The twins don't bring attention to themselves, they just keep quiet as the situation gains a whole other level for the two of them. Even when they talk privately afterwards, there's no verbal confirmation of what they've learned - just a quiet check that they're on the same page.
Also - the fact that they agree is good, in my opinion, but slightly surprising. Vax always seems to think with his heart, and is known to act recklessly. But for Vex, usually so pragmatic, to agree? For her to prioritise vengeance over survival? It's not typical for her - which I think clearly demonstrates the scale of her grief, even after all these years.
She is roleplaying expertly how a favoured enemy should be roleplayed. Rangers, man.
@@xavierestelles9327 Right?
...y'know, vengeance seems to tie a lot of Vox Machina together.
1. It's the core of Percy's story arc (his last words to Ripley still make me weep).
2. It's what makes Kill Box such a *sick* episode.
3. Vex and Vax have *this.*
4. Scanlan can be hella petty and the results are both hilarious and, later on in the story, heartbreaking.
5. Her death at the hands of a devil/demon made *Pike Trickfoot* angry enough leave the group to train into the powerhouse she now is.
6. The hunger for vengeance is even enough to make the emotional yet borderline-pacifistic Keyleth throw caution to the window and go "Babe, you and me. Let's throw hands with an ANCIENT DRAGON."
Thank you for explaining this. Understanding the full gravity requires a lot of details from pre stream games
2:38:29
@@edgardelibojr.4450 ty
Call me old fashioned but I just get all giddy when an actual dragon shows up in Dungeons & Dragons
Me too friend, me too. I'm still proud that my last canpaing included 4 out of the 5 chromatics throughout and that, in a series of gauntlets leading to the final boss, at one point there were TWO dragons at the same time
The Chroma Conclave arc is my favorite for this reason! A whole slew of dragons?! With lair fights? Heck yeah buddy!
Me too. I'm always like YESSS THAT THE REAL DEAL
The argument over the skull is one of my favorite little party conflicts throughout the series. The fact that it comes during such a desperate moment, offering a simple solution they aren't sure that they can trust, and the way it builds off of Grog and Percival's contact with cursed weaponry as well as their personal interpretations on how that contact has turned out for them.
With Percy as the pragmatist weighing the pros and cons of another Faustian deal, and Grog trying to rush ahead to take a dangerous risk for the sake of the power it might grant them. It's such a good character driven moment.
Its freaking Brilliant
I loved it. Am only a little dissapointed in small metagaming knoweledge from the cast (except Percy and Grog). Things like only asking Grog if he is himself while percy charged at her first, Keylith desperatly going after Grog & Pike wanting to see craven edge while there is no good reason for it. But still love them and I don't expect all of them to be perfect.
If Sam was there it would have ended a lot different
@@BrotherHood-xh9sg I don't really see the meta-gaming. Percy did tell them to keep an eye on Grog when Craven Edge was introduced. Grog said he had "darkness around him" AND he's been talking to his sword. Vax called him on it. Percy charged her to push her out of the way of Grog, so it's a bit different of a reaction. Grog's weird behavior started after he got the sword. They just watched Percy be possessed. OBVIOUSLY they'd want to see his sword. Ashley had also said she wanted Pike to get a look at it several times before this, too
@@alexhuettl1716 I suppose so and I heard those things too. But in my opinion, this felt more like they have a small clue of something and they filled the puzzle with out of game knowledge. I mean I get that it is hard to have 100% no meta knowledge, but my personal instinct as a DM and a Player that despises meta gaming was signaling alarm bells. But unlike you I am unable to state facts that they acted in that manner.
The thing that just fascinates me about this episode is this; they are rarely distrustful of each other, and when they are, they give the person the benefit of the doubt. In this episode, the whole party's trust just fell asunder within what, an hour? That's how seriously bad this is. This situation is so nightmarishly terrifying that this group of people who have referred to each other as family on multiple occasions becomes so full of anxiety that they start attacking each other.
To summarize... Dragons... are freaking terrifying.
Wow, great point!!
It's also very good roleplaying on everyone's part, especially Grog, Percy and Vax none of them started as good alignment characters. They all have different ways of dealing with problems and Grog is under the influence of Craven Edge. This was wonderful in character roleplaying.
@@jlokison What are you talking about? Percy started as Neutral Good, Vax started as Chaotic Good, and they stayed that way too as far as I know. No alignment changes on them. Grog is the only one who started in a Neutral alignment, Chaotic Neutral specifically. Literally everyone else is some form of Good.
I think another aspect to it is that Percy, Grog, and Vax are probably the least trustworthy members of the party overall (at the time). Percy has a proclivity for keeping secrets from the party and has previously been under the influence of an evil entity; Grog is presently under the undeterminable sway of Craven's Edge; and Vax frequently splits off of the party to have little sulky moments and has stated just an episode before that he is only still with the party because of Vex. If anyone else in the party was involved in the conversation, there would be far less tension and "subterfuge".
Also impressive how this has actually been building for a few episodes. The confrontation between Grog and Percy, while it played out differently and over a different subject, felt almost inevitable the second Percy gave him Craven Edge
Beating that Beholder seems so easy now.
cake walk in comparison.
Ancient green is nearly twice the challenge rating of a Beholder. And also the advantage on saving throws from Percy's WIP homebrew class made a huge difference on how that fight played out.
Sam, knowing Matt won’t kill off his character while he’s not there: “Oh, something suddenly came up…”
Oh, Scanlan is DEFINETLY not surviving this, I better not be there next week
I mean, Raishan did kill Scanlan in episode 83 and Sam wasn't present for that so...
@@Jokemeb Please delete this comment. FIRST time viewer over here.... I hope you're just trollin' and not spoiling things for the fan community.
@@Jokemeb dude, go f*ck yourself. There's people watching this series for the first time.
@@Jokemeb really man, if you're not gonna delete yhe comment, at least put a spoiler warning
for people complaining about travis saving trinket.. let me say to you.. your wife happyness is more important than stay true to character in an D&D game
lucas maglio
I think people are complaining more that he shouldn't have to do it as Trinket can sometimes get in the way in combat.
Though Grog saving Trinket sounds in character anyways.
I don't know how far you are, but as much as I think Vox Machina are kind of murder hobo-y, I have to disagree with you. Grog is obviously a violent individual, but he still truly loves the group and everyone in it. That being said, he's reckless and brash. Violence isn't just "fun" to him, I think (though it's loads of that), but a way of life. "Getting fucked up" isn't this horrible thing that happens to people, it's as common as getting groceries.
I think it's more of a different mindset that's alien to us than him not caring for his allies and family.
i think you're right in this point of the story.. present grog would have save trinket. but it doesn't matter because he would do it again not for grog but for laura
lucas maglio yeah man...I couldn't have sat there & pretended my wife wasn't crying for long. I'm still human....
Grog couldn't really reach the dragon with his melee so I think trying to save the bear wasn't totally out of character. Also I think it was very sweet of Travis. Also ale. Sorry, couldn't stop myself.
Can we just appreciate that Ashley shows up when she can via Skype or in person? like she's was out there making a TV show and still shows up when she can. Also i can only imagine it's hard to hear what is going on, you can see her delay in hearing when people are talking over each other and you can see her hold her head phones to try and hear what is going on. DEDICATION! plus pike is much needed in some of these episodes lol! so it's always nice when she can be there.
Are you kidding me? "Appreciate that she shows up when she can?" She misses more than 50% of episodes and is almost never there in person. She should just leave the show that she obviously doesn't care about instead of making it awkward for everyone by having Matt try to play a phantom PC. And at this point it'd been, what, 3 years since they started playing pathfinder/D&D and she *still* only barely knows how to play the game. Plus she rarely contributes anything useful; she just casts heals and does arcana checks. She's easily the most useless member of the party, and that's saying something with Keyleth making things worse every time she casts something.
Are you kidding me? "Appreciate that she shows up when she can?" She misses more than 50% of episodes and is almost never there in person. She should just leave the show that she obviously doesn't care about instead of making it awkward for everyone by having Matt try to play a phantom PC. And at this point it'd been, what, 3 years since they started playing pathfinder/D&D and she *still* only barely knows how to play the game. Plus she rarely contributes anything useful; she just casts heals and does arcana checks. She's easily the most useless member of the party, and that's saying something with Keyleth making things worse every time she casts something.
Frustrating as it may be, friends do what they can for each other. That's why they do what they can to make this enjoyable for everyone.
@@frother Oh look, it's another one of these. You should go watch another show where you don't hate everyone in it, if such a thing exists.
Roflmao, you do realize she was working full-time in NYC, right? We're talking about her career. A lot of the players sometimes miss episodes or come in partway through because of work... because they're grown-ass adults with intensive careers that require a lot of time and travel. They are all friends and were playing /long/ before they became Critical Role. While it's a game they are very passionate about and put a lot of time into, it's still a game and a hobby. At best, a secondary job (especially with what CR has become.) If she really didn't give a shit, she wouldn't even bother playing. There is a 3-hour time difference, so Ashley was starting late into the evening, around 10pm for her, and they would easily go until 2-3am EST. An earlier episode indicated quite clearly that the next day, she has a 5am pick-up for her job. Meaning she is becoming severely sleep-deprived for a job that actually, you know, PAYS her and gives her a friggin roof over her head and food, in order to play with her friends and contribute as best as she can... literally thousands of miles away.
And if you /actually/ think casting heals is worthless, you obviously have no indication of how important and game-changing a healer often is, especially with the hard fights they are frequently going in. Even if she is /just/ casting healing spells, she is very clearly helping. That's the whole point of a support character. You support the team... via heals, buffs, and debuffs of enemies. Just last night, I played a session in one of my D&D campaigns where two of us, the druids, ended up dealing very little damage and spent nearly the whole time healing because the players were soaking up /that/ much damage. We were level 9-10 fighting a CR 25 fucking Archmage who was using shit like Time-Stop, psychic scream, and other crazy shit, like a sword that literally sucked the youth and life out of players. If it wasn't for our double-mass cure wounds and use of other healing spells, we would have almost certainly suffered a TPK (a few of us already nearly died and had one more failed saving throw before death). Our DM pretty much confirmed it by telling us the next spell the ridiculously overpowered boss was going to use, which would have fucked us all. I became the primary healer for the group after the death of the last, but I wasn't enough. We required a whole-ass other player "stuck on healing duty." It may not be exactly exciting and we aren't damaging the bad guys, but we're keeping the team afloat and alive to fight another day. That's what Pike does. Let's also not forget that if not for her, they could have easily failed Percy's shit; a cleric was absolutely 100% the fucking game-changer and saved the team's asses.
Seriously, people criticizing a group of friends playing a game who bothered to go online... >_>
Travis is a man’s man. When his wife’s imaginary pet bear is frozen in ice and could possibly die, he charges in and saves that bear to make his wife happy
Two player's turns and a level 4 spell slot wasted on this boat anchor of a bear.
The Beast Master subclass for Ranger needed an upgrade so badly, in 5e. It was so very nerfed, originally, to the point of being useless for an Archtype. It's why Laura started dipping into rogue.
The updated beast master isn't so horrible anymore.
I can't stand trinket, she insists on taking him everywhere making things harder, and never attacks with it. Its just a waste of time.
That damn bear has been so useless and a hiderance to the party...really starting to dislike Laura's character because of it.
@@WolvesHart79 it’s because they were playing pathfinder originally and in that animal companions are so much stronger, when they started streaming they switched to DND and the animal companions are so much weaker. So it’s hard for her, because he was a bit of a machine and now he is a bit useless.
I just love that Vax, without hesitation, tries to save as many people as possible by letting them into the keep. Gods, I love Liam and his character!
He is such a chill and filtratious character but people forget that he is the moral compass of the two siblings. If Pike and Kiki didn't exist to nag them to stop being murderhobos, Vax would probably take up the role of nagger
"without hesitation" well not really, he asked if there were still people in the distance heading to the keep as he wasn't going to open the gates if there were too many people coming.
@@0saintclark0 except he specifically says he wants to wait for the stragglers to come in, so he's hoping to help as many as possible.
That’s a common theme in the other campaigns as well. Liam is a legend at role play
"I'm gonna go find a corner to rock back and forth in."
I'm with her.
And damn, does she metagame.
+Nicholas Fuchs What? Why is that metagaming!?
What a wise 22 wisdom druid
Liam has this unique ability to look like the incarnation of what it means to be worried
He's just a good actor.
He shares some features and qualities with Martin Freeman, I think. He at least reminds me of him a lot.
The worrior class. "I cast self-doubt, giving me advantage on insight checks against myself."
This is one of the most accurate statements I have ever read.
I absolutely love how in game they can be crying and arguing and about to break into a down right free-for-all and as soon as it ends, everyone is instantly back to joking and laughing and making jabs at Matt. I love these people
the blessing of being trained actors.
It’s called ‘loving the game but remembering it’s a game’. Some people just can’t do that or see that, unfortunately.
It's amazing! Sometimes I actually think they're mad or sad! Specially Vax!
And in this episode Matt learned that on balance it's better on his players mental health if he gives the parties animals A LOT of leeway on survivability and thus a virtually invunerable weasel was born.
Much to its own horror.
I remember him saying in Talks once that it's not fun for anyone to have pet death be a worry in the game, specifically referencing Laura. I wonder if that was a realization he had here and considered the possibility of Trinket being killed until now, or if he's always let Trinket slip by. Either way, I do appreciate what he said. Personally I'm not that attached to in-game pets, but I have players at my table whose fun would be completely ruined if anything happened to them, so it's good to hear him take different players' needs into consideration.
The fact my dog is in remission from a cancer that will shorten his life when it returns makes me hyper sensitive to pet loss. I'd be *devastated* if anything happened to an imaginary pet bonded to my character just because it would make me think of what's to come.
@@Zombiewithabowtie this comment should get more love, made me laugh out loud
@@mburton9253 my DM allowed me to buy a Mastiff in one of our earlier games and he suggested I named it after my own dog. I didn't, because I wouldn't have dealt with it very well if it ever died...
Hope your dog is doing better ♡
"I think I used that heal on Vax two days ago and we rested at the keep." Ashley is such a dedicated player. Most can't get players to manage their spells on their own. Meanwhile Ashley is managing spells that other people used for Pike while she wasn't even playing! Just so good! Love her!
She keeps track of her spells well but cannot remember core mechanics including the details of some of her spells. Each of them have room to improve in different areas
Throwback to tiberius using a thousand sorcerer's points and multiple 6th level spells every encounter
Well, it wasn't entirely correct as Matt used mass cure wounds at lvl6 last session when she wasn't there so she wouldn't have been able to cast planar ally, but whatever, it's rough to account for stuff when she isn't there - he should've noted it for her exactly what was used and what was left. Same with the exact HP.
@@yiklongtay6029 that makes sense seeing as she is in like 20% of the sessions lmao
Allura's history with Thordak and her old adventuring party is super in-depth. I wonder if Allura's party are PCs from a campaign Matt ran in the past, I know a lot of DMs like to turn retired PCs into NPCs.
omg I love this
She does have that feel about her.
Matt has said that Allura was the character that has the most of him in, so even if its not former npcs its probably the one character that a DM of matts caliber put the most effort into
I'm a PC in a homebrew world right now and the DM literally had two old players who's PCs became bar owners and in our session zero, their perception was so high compared to level 3's sleight of hands that they literally intimidated the crap out of a pickpocketing player XD
I love that Vox Machina is trying to survive and save people, and Travis is trying to save his marriage over an imaginary bear. I love these people.
When's that?
@@horatiussonofrome812 when Trinket was frozen i think hahahaha
I saw that too and I was dying 😂 bless him honestly. Laura was so upset though!!
grog is not travis just cause travis plays grog
@@dull_demon4717 sure, but there's no reason for grog to care that much about saving trinket, especially in light of whats happening. it's an ooc decision that is obviously happening bc travis knows laura is upset. it's very sweet and kind and i love that he does that!
2:15:30
Matt: You see that Grogs simple mind is looking for a simple solution to a complex problem.
*Grog wakes up in hospital from burn wounds*
💀
This episode shows why ranger beast master needs serious overhaul, after level 5 they become a liability. Unless you can evolve/upgrade your pets and the pet/beast gets either more attack/action per turn or an independent turn they become a crutch for not only the player but the team.
I assume you know about it now, but there is an overhaul available in the UA (Unearthed Arcana). Basically, UA is a testing stage for ideas that may or may not become official. I run the UA beastmaster in my campaign and it is great.
@@shadowscall7758 it is so sad when dms just assume "all UA is stupid op" and won't even try to address the ranger, especially beast master. Ruins a major fantasy for tons of people.
Alex Jobe I mean, I use revised ranger for my games, and to be fair, Primeval awareness is incredibly overpowered. “Yes, I’d like to know the approximate position and race of all humanoids within five miles. No, I don’t have a limit on how often I can do this”
@@MissFeatherstone
That is literally the only thing they have though. With the exception of some spells with decent rolls, they perform at least 4 levels below their comrades at all times after a certain point. Plus, Wizards have similar info gathering spells. It is one thing to be able to gain info, it is another to have the means to act on it. Even a lvl 20 Ranger would typically have trouble dealing with threats a lvl 15 ranged class could easily deal with.
It really just comes down to trying to homebrew with your DM. Like, maybe you can micromanage your beast. Spend a bonus action to command it and say something to micromanage it. The class features UA definitely was more of a focus on trying to improve Ranger, but it does feel like there are still some things that could be changed. I recently made a subclass for Ranger based upon the whole rune mechanic from Rune Knight, and to me at least, it makes Ranger a much more valuable unit. Giving Ranger utility outside of combat, but also still being able to hold their own as a supportive unit who can still deal damage.
That White Dragon mini is so big, I first thought Matt put an actual chicken on the table.
Your comment had me in tears lmao
As you walk into the keep, a giant 30 foot tall chicken appears, showing his T O O T H Y M A W.
Well, I know what I’m running for my players next.
a bloody Chicken of Death xD
@@TheKyleMark A bit late to the party perhaps, but you may want to google BOK! Attack of the Giant Chicken. Farmer Hershel attempts to magically enlarge his prize chicken, Hershel Junior, to win a contest of some sort. Hilarity ensues as it grows to the size of a T-Rex, with the corresponding stat block. "...To make things worse, Hershel Junior thinks everyone looks like an insect-and chickens eat insects!"
Travis playing dumb and trying to fall for obvious DM trap is great. I love players who see that something is clearly a trap and fall into it antwat
One of the few “it’s what my character would do” moments, that is amazing
Just - just the imagery in my head of the exhausted, blood-stained and irritated, end-of-her-patience Pike shoving at the cracked door and yelling, "Grog! Let me in!" There's a muffled yell from inside and she balls her fists and bangs on the door again with an indignant shout, "I've been waiting five minutes!"
It cracks me up because I can't help picture Vax and Keyleth flinching back because Pike doesn't usually use that tone of voice with her friends. Like, a shiver runs down Scanlan's spine as he hurries up the stairs, unsure if he likes it but determined to see what's pissed off his future wife.
2:05:44
Scanlan almost certainly gotten a stiffy from that XD he'd total be into being dommed
This is the most fantastically DMed D&D i've ever seen. The way Matt has set up this tension and conflict between players is absolutely sublime and feel natural, and the overall feeling is perfect.
To be fair the players have done a lot of tension and relationship building themselves.
The campaign is masterfully done all around. 90% of this is matt and the players, but the music does help a lot in setting mood and tension. He always seems to have the right music for every situation.
Yeah, this episode was a masterpiece in dming, acting, storytelling, everything.
I started with campaign 2 and only now I understand Liam's meticulousness and attention to the specific details of every new spell he casts. This guys learned the hard way that you *must* read your spells before casting them
Also why Marisha took a break from spellcasting in CR2. As a new player who plays a cleric and druid, I completely understand her difficulty keeping track of everything. The druid spell list is so long and I'm only half the level Keyleth is at here. Plus the descriptions are endlessly long. It's rare I get the time to actually entirely check what spells do before needing them to be prepared after a long rest. It's also a lot of pressure because druids (and clerics) are looked to as tools to solve every problem.
I get you Marisha. Absolutely why I'm playing a fighter next 😂
Not to try and tell anyone how to play their characters or classes, but I found it's quite handy if you pick out half to two thirds of your artificers/clerics/druids/paladins spells as dedicated picks, and only change a couple of spells each day depending on what you're likely to face. For example, you'll almost always use Guiding Bolt as a Cleric, so you won't need to worry about changing that out of your spell list.
@@Zombiewithabowtie For sure agree! I've figured that out with time and experience tho, and these people playing live w/ a new edition don't have the opportunity to learn that in their own time.
I think druids are harder to do that for than clerics etc tho, bc their spells are so circumstantial in their efficiency... I've known we're planning to go into Underdark caves, for example, and the variety of possible challenges can be hard to prepare for. Charm beast/animal/monster/person? Which one's it gonna be? Do you want to bet on that? Is elemental, piercing or bludgeoning damage gonna be useful?
I thought I could bank on Call Lightning as a go-to damage spell but I've almost never been able to use it. Tidal Wave is where I've landed for default damage spells other than cantrips. The ones that I prep no matter what are heals, restorations and buffs. But druids can do massive damage... Just depends on if what you've prepared will have any effect.
If you do have tips in that regard I'd be happy to hear them! It's such a long spell list it's hard to familiarize myself.
@@tiril6681 Honestly, there's a lot of factors that play into it, so I'd split it down to being 30% mechanical utility, 20% character playstyle, 20% party composition, and 10% personal preferences. For example, my Spore Druid I have is built primarily as a melee build, with debuff and necrotic support, basically running up and smacking stuff with their Shillelagh while buffed with Symbiotic Entity. Since he's going to be in close, I take Earth Tremor to help do AoE damage if he gets surrounded, Earthbind to make sure fliers are within hitting distance, and Pass Without Trace to help a poor DEX stat. If his party lacks other healers, Cure Wounds is a good option, if there are Fighters or Barbarians then Elemental Weapon would be appreciated to give their attacks a boost - and while Guardian of Nature is less than perfect, as depending on which option I pick I either forfeit advantage on STR attacks or the temporary hit points, but am I going to take it regardless because I like the theme of turning into a superhuman mushroom man? Absolutely!
@@Zombiewithabowtie I just finished a lower level campaign with a spore Druid and tried to run a more melee based build like you did, but I found that with my low ass scores (wis was only a +2) and being the only full spell caster in a party of 4/5 I definitely stretched myself way to thin. Although that was just my circumstance really love the idea and subclass and I definitely tanked hundreds of damage for my party, while only ending at lvl 5.
Grog and Percy's role-playing in this was TOP tier
"Do you think this is what mom saw before she died?"
I was in the middle of getting a mixing pot from the top shelf and almost fell down a chair with that line. Damn you beautiful, tragic sneaky twins, making me feel and stuff.
And then finding out that it's the same dragon... 😭
It’s 2020, and I’m 40 episodes in guys. Marathon. One of these days, I’ll be up to date.
I believe in you.
Utilize playback speed if need be.
Well maybe you’ll have more time during the lockdown? That’s what I’m doing
Saaaaaame. See you at the top of the mountain fellow adventurer!
same. started during quarantine and have been binging a lot.
I'm following in your foot steps
"19!!!!! I don't know why i'm so excited right now, everything's dead."
I'm loving the conflict between he characters!
"Do not go far from me." Holy shit I love the twins. Laura and Liam are the absolute best. It really seems like they are actual siblings. They way their voices cracked when they were talking to each other broke my heart.
I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't they born on the same day?
@@Cassian2506 Coreect
@@Cassian2506 Same day, different years, but yes, they share a birthday.
The day someone can create a convincing Matthew Mercer Dungeon Master AI is the day we break videogames forever.
WannaComment2 I wonder if Watson could be a good dungeon master. Probably not even on the same league as Matt, but maybe good enough to make a fun game for human players?
Break, or fix?
Dont Misunderstand this is the same question I asked when bringing my dog to the vet for the first time
You can certainly try.
Roll for Machine Learning
Huge credit to Matt that the cast is so invested in his story. He gets literal tears from some of the characters every few episodes.
One episode without scanlan and they are falling to pieces
Sam is the superglue that holds vox machina together
I think this would have happened even if Sam was present. Sam may have just diffused the situation more quickly by teleporting away with the skull.
I don't think Sam necessarily holds the team together. Just makes the team more interesting.
It always makes me sad when they can't all be together. This episode would have been super sad regardless but it's was sorely missing his comic relief.
I don't miss him, the dick and fart joke are getting old and are super childish.
Darren Kalkwarf that’s the best part
Matt: "This is our 40th episode, that's so crazy!"
Me: *laughs in C3*
hahahahaha same.
Cute, isn't it?
And now the EXU shows expanding the world even more.
They have an amazing job. Iam looking forward to the next season of vox macnina and the M9 and the movie deals they have in works. I would love to meet this group of people.
I didn't know C3 was a Language 😂
1:16:10
Mercer "a new age is upon you."
Brain "a dragon age?"
Hope they track this dragon age to its origins and dispatch an inquisition.
@@EnDSchultz1 Well played sir and or ma''am. Well played indeed
Mastadon hah! I had forgotten about this. Glad you enjoyed the wise crack, and thanks for the memory.
@@EnDSchultz1 2 instead of "to" and it would have been 11/10
"You don't want to see the sword"
What a line.
Oh god that change on Talisin's face as mat starts whispering. From a smug grin to almost terror in seconds
Percy, ex-demonic attorney at law to tell you when not to take a deal.
For my own convenience
07:46 - Game starts with a recap
10:56 - Part 1 begins
37:55 - Sadness Crits Laura
43:50 - Laura cares and that's why we love her
1:10:25 - Marisha's Storm Freeze
1:13:19 - The Pecking Order
1:25:43 - An Ally is Summoned
1:31:15 - Frightened Twins
1:38:15 - Part 1 ends
1:47:41 - Break Ends
1:59:05 - A Tal'Dorei Standoff
2:08:20 - Fracture
2:15:15 - Pike Insights Grog
2:18:00 - Grog & The Skull
2:26:20 - Help Arrives
2:36:05 - More Information
2:38:30 - Revelation
2:51:25 - Keyleth Checks in on Her Fire Family
2:55:30 - Wow... Marisha is full-out crying.
2:56:10 - A Sigh of Releif
2:57:06 - Daww... Poor Ashley :(
2:57:37 - Taliesin vs Travis
Boost
Boost
Boost
Your times are off
Boost
Little did they know that the fusion between Critical Role and Bed Bath & Beyond would eventually result in our beloved DnD Beyond.
Do do do do do do do do...
BnB Beyond!
A Sam-level comment
Underrated comment
"It lands?"
*It lands.*
You could see that devilish grin spread across Travis' face.
Oi would loik to *R A Y G E*
1:31:35 "Do you think this is what Mother saw before she died?"
…Oh.
That's why her favoured enemy is dragons…
did you not listen to the backstories in the early episodes?
@@dull_demon4717 I did only during the first two, then I started to skip it, with the exception of "prequel recap" during the break, two episodes ago.
@@psychodrummer1567 100% same, though I picked up on the favored enemy thing a few episodes back.
Moments like this are the reason why the twins have become my favorite characters in the group.
I'm still curious as to why her other Favored Enemy is Demons.
I appreciate Matt absolutely ruining them emotionally but when they wrap up they're glowing about how great the story is
Looking at how Matt apparently planned that back when they killed General Krieg
keeping in mind other hints he gave with the fire dimension and stuff : i ask how many things am i never going to see that matt envisioned
this might very well be the best thought through campaing i've ever seen
Depends how on rails or sandboxy Matt considers this campaign to be. This could either be a grand orchestra with him as the conductor or it could just be the consequences of their actions in a semi living world with a bit of imagination sprinkled in.
@@NovaStalker I always wonder how rails it is...I remember someone commenting on an earlier episode about how things might have turned out in the underdark if they hadn't chanced upon Clarota and my first thought was that there WAS no chance...no guarantee that they would utilize him the way that they did after finding him, but I firmly believe they could have tried fifteen different ways to leave that cavern and all of them would have somehow wound up back at Clarota.
@@UrbanJackal I'm pretty sure it was just one of the many chance encounters Matt set up.
@@UrbanJackal I think that particular encounter was supposed to be just a show of what Mind Flayer can do outside the swarm. Matt just adapted to the circumstance, I read his comment on it somewhere. But I would be really interested to see what he set up.
@@UrbanJackal And you think that he didnt plan for them just killing a mind flayer? I mean, as players they know that those are evil creatures, so i wouldnt put beyond them to be a bit trigger happy seeing one.
But everything changed when the Fire Nation was attacked.
Oohhhhhh a brilliant comment!!!!!
Best comment
True!
Replace Fire Nation with the dragons and I'm sold!!! XD
NOOOOOOOOOOOO 😆😆nooooo
Several episodes ago:
*party roles several natural 20s in a row*
Matt: " I'm going to kill all of you."
This episode:
*Matt throws 4 ancient chromatic dragons at a lvl 12 party.*
I guess he meant it.
I think only the green and red ones were confirmed to be ancient
@@EggieBoi1284 The white dragon was confirmed to be ancient as well. I'd assume the black one to be the same.
@@EggieBoi1284 Correction the Red was confirmed to be too big to be Ancient. That's a Great Wyrm
@@drizzt102 dunno if Great Wyrms were a thing back then but it's definitely a Beeg Wyrm
@@RidikisGreat Wyrms have been a thing since earlier editions, so the concept was around when Matt plotted this
The possible destruction of Gilmores Glorious Goods is brought to you by Gilmores Glorious Goods!
4 episodes after trading The Clasp a blue crystal that can cut into planes and the Cinder King shows up...
+Josh Diffey Good call.
I didn't think about that one.
Now we know why Matt evil laughed in that episode
Marisha saying “I need a cigarette, and i don’t smoke” is the story of my life
Is that what she said? I didn't hear because I've been reduced to chanting "shut up shut up shut up" over and over every time she opens her mouth. It's just too painful to listen to her constantly butt in with useless flavor and idiotic sermonizing.
frother ahh much like every other person who says the same thing, you are a useless douche for targeting a member of the cast :D
I feel this so hard lol
thorn-covered boy nope. Didn't see any of that. You guys are just a bunch of pansies who don't know how to roleplay lmfao
@@Ziaotic this is starting to piss me off... like... you and everyone like you, you're the parasites that plague the internet...
Trinket's favorite attack is "Go Unconcious"
He always crits on it too
Hes so good at it he can go unconscious as a bonus action
And in today's episode of Useless Bear Being Useless
@@polkadotalien1 Vex took an extra feat so I'm pretty sure he can do it as a reaction too.
oof
Mostly taken from littlecajunlady's Tumblr, recap by me
7:45 - Recap
11:00 - Game starts
(They start letting people into their keep, the white dragon, Vorugal, shows up)
26:35 - Taliesin’s nat 20, Percy shoots the dragon’s wing
38:15 - Trinket gets frozen, Laura is very upset
45:20 - Grog starts pushing frozen Trinket to safety
48:35 - Pike heals Trinket
(Keyleth summons a giant eagle to claw dragon’s eyes, Pike gets bit and suffers 55 points of damage)
1:13:20 - Red dragon shows up and drags Vorugal away
1:20:54 - Grog tries to convince Percy to use the skull
1:25:45 - Pike asks Sarenrae for help
1:31:14 - Vax to Vex “Do not go far from me”
(Grog gets Vax & head towards Percy’s workshop, Vex hunter’s marks Grog)
1:38:15 - Break starts
1:48:40 - Break Ends
(Grog, Percy, & Vax talk about the skull, then the women start to join them)
1:59:05 - Grog closes the door with Vex & Percy in the room & demands to be given the skull
2:08:20 - Grog rushes Vex, who is holding the skull
2:14:42 - Pike insight checks Grog
2:18:40 - After stealing the skull from Vex, Grog attempts to spike it and rolls a nat 1
(Keyleth tries hold person but it only works on Percy, she demands to know what’s going on)
2:23:55 - Pike questions Grog
2:26:20 - Allura arrives, they tell her about the dragons, she tells them the skull is evil
2:36:18 - Allura tells them about Thordak and how he was banished to the fire plane
2:44:24 - Vax tells Allura they killed Krieg, who was a blue dragon
2:51:00 - Vax tells Vex he wants to kill Thordak/Keyleth Checks in on Fire Ashari
2:52:25 - There is nothing left of the Fire Ashari, Allura talks Keyleth down
2:56:20 - Game ends
Bumpity bump
bumpity bump bump
Talesin is mr nat 20, when it comes to clutch moments
BUMP
This should be at The top
Ha, that last line, "I need a cigarette. And I don't smoke!" Perfectly sums up this episode for me.
Now's a good time for someone to attune that Dragon Slayer Sword.
Jed Barber I was begging for that to happen the entire time
Yeah, but it's Percy's now, so it's a secondary (hell, tertiary even) weapon in a mainly ranged player's hand. Grog traded it to him for Craven Edge, since it's a one-handed sword. More than that, Vex has an arrow of dragon slaying, but it's only one and it's single use. Could be a nice trump card (especially if she remembers how her Conjure Barrage uses whatever ammunition she used for the cone effect), but wont save than against 4 ancient dragons.
@@HenriqueErzinger Tertiary? Nah; rocks he picks up from the floor comes before melee combat.
Prediction from reading this comment before watching episode - they won't even remember they have it.
@@scottshaw8864 bump lol
Vax, to Vex: If we are out of earshot from one another, we are too far apart. Do not go far from me.
Me: sobs uncontrollably because the sibling love adds literal years to my lifespan
Vax ten minutes later: I'm going with Grog right quick, ttyl
@@11cmgrah Downstairs, more or less within earshot. Told her to go down in five minutes.
I'm still in the first 30 minutes of this episode and absolutely horrified. Matt does an amazing job and emphasizing the scale and urgency of this attack with the airship coming down and the people piling up at the gate and just everything. It feels cinematic even though it's just them sitting at a table this is so wild
He does a great job of portraying an apocalyptic event. Everything they’ve done up u til now only involved small pockets of the world or organizations. A quest here a quest there... but this is where they have to handle world-threatening entities on a scope that anyone other than a true legendary hero would crumble under the weight of. Fucking epic. Matt should write for the elder scrolls series.
I have no idea if this is incidental or not, maybe he's used these before, but I also like that we got an actual landscape battlemap and a mini set of the keep rather than his old drawings. It's a small thing but it helped enhance the scenario, too.
I get some serious "first 10 minutes of Skyrim" vibes for sure
@@paulchavez3039yes this in fact anybody else should write for Bethesda their game play is top notch their story telling bottom rung.
Mercer’s the reason I got into Critical Role. My brother got me to multi with him on Baldur’s Gate 3, so I checked out a few of the celebrity D&D sessions he DM’d, and the man is phenomenal at what he does. “This is wild” is exactly what I thought when I saw him do his thing. Thanks to Mercer and BG3, I went out and got a Player’s Handbook and read everything but the spells (I read what pertained to my class and character). Now I’m a Critical Role fan, I’m playing my first bit of D&D-anything and I’m looking forward to tabletopping someday when I have the time.
Yeah ancient dragons are literally like campaign final bosses, the second one much less 4 showed up i was basically saying "nope time to run, this city is lost"
And then Marisha teleports them back to the keep.
ARRRRGGGGHHHH
@@SomeTH-camTraveler Admittedly, she didn't know where to teleport to, and at least 3 people at the table kept whispering "the keep" to her, so in the spur of the moment she chose the keep.
"fly you fools" was my reaction
@@SomeTH-camTraveler They literally told her too.
This is my first time watching this, so I don’t know how this will turn out, but the introduction of the dragons made me so mad. Maybe I’m a bad player, but I would’ve had to step away from the table for a minute. This seems so hopeless
Did grog after being hunters mark literally pull the classic "must have been the wind"
And here I thought the Briarwoods arc was intense. Holy crap Matt, I'm both excited and nervous to see what you do this Thursday.
Right??? I was wondering how he could top an arc like them and then this comes out of left field. I'm so excited for what's to come!
The most impressive part of this to me as how all the players are still friendly despite the high emotion in the scenes. And yeah, someone will inevitably say “Duh, they’re all actors.” But newer role players (hell, even some experienced ones) might watch this and not understand how hard it is for some players to separate their character’s emotions from their own, causing massive friction. I’ve been apart of groups that split apart over much less intense scenarios.
There have been moments where I genuinely wondered how they could still be Matt's friends.
Yeah, I had most of these moments as DMs when players took stuff happening to their characters as a personal attack and I admit, it happened to me a few times as a player. You just get so invested in them, that it hurts, so the same thing that makes you a good player in terms of RPing (in my opinion at least, actually caring for your char is a large part of it) makes it difficult to be aware that you ARE NOT the character and no one has it out for you, if they have it out for your character...
Well, unless they are a bunch of dicks.
@Gi Gi Things are way more flexible and light-hearted now.
Much of the cast certainly cares about their characters quite a lot. After watching C2 there were many moments when the cast was genuinely upset about things that happened to their characters. Laura has as Vex and Sam when it came to Kaylee. Laura clearly cares about Trinket. I think it certainly affects them to some degree and they can be mad at each other about what happens between their characters, but they keep themselves in check. They're too close as friends to make it personal. They can handle so much friction in the game cause they trust each other not to make it personal and have to hold themselves to that.
Right? As someone who is a very intense role player and typically embodies my characters, when tension rises, i can get intense as well. Which is why i always break character after i'm done talking to let my friends know that *I'm* not mad, X is, and just do a silly little dance or grin and thumbs up.
And then afterwards, at the end of the session, i do a check in with said friend to let them know it was all an act and to make sure we're still good. Because, unfortunately... i HAVE split from a group where we couldn't seperate players from characters, and when tensions got high, we - the players - took it personally and started fighting. It was a huge blow up, and some friendships didn't make it out of it, even though it truly wasn't personal.
"Fght on, my murder hobos."
- Matt Mercer
No dislikes to this commentd
@@eddvultures40 I was gonna like it, but then I saw your reply and now I feel compelled to dislike
I straight up snort-laughed at that. I love Matt Mercer.
I want this on a tshirt.
I love the conversation i the basement 😂
Pike: "I'VE ALLREADY BEEN WAITING 5 MINUTES!"
It helps that Pike sounded like she was behind a door since Ashley was on Skype
"THIS WEEK ON NO SURVIVORS" YOU DAMN RIGHT NO SURVIVORS
I freaking love, now knowing what that skull actually was, how a natural 1 COMPLETELY shifted what would have been an entire separate storyline XD
gaaaAAAQHHHHHHH ANTICIPATIOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNN these comments are killing me!
The look on Tallison's face when Travis says "You don't want to see the sword" was so perfect and mischievous.