HEY, there might be some SPOILERS under the thing 0:15 A very special episode of the Nordiverse 6:55 Laura’s merch corner 8:25 Intro cinematic 10:15 EPISODE STARTS 12:25 Recap Ends 17:15 The whole plan is just body checking this guy real hard 19:35 Fearne is actually bad at lying 20:35 Now the plan is to form a polycule 22:05 Imogen doesn’t like being the entourage 22:35 The other carriage must be coming up with great plans 26:05 Owlbearman 29:45 Chetney looks inside FCG 31:25 FCG swallow’s Chetney’s chisel 34:25 Human skin mask 37:05 I can’t carry it for you, Mr.Dorian 46:25 The bull is on parade 49:15 Dorian’s title 54:05 The sound system is great 56:35 Laura is still mad about the mask 58:15 I want Matt to describe all the hors d’oeuvres 1:01:00 It’s been awhile 1:01:50 Ashley’s mystery dice 1:08:30 Looking for a dance circle 1:12:15 Who wore it better? 1:15:20 Two introverts meet at a party 1:17:45 Passing notes to Travis 1:18:50 C.C.Pop 1:24:35 A weird dream 1:27:20 Preston Drodelon 1:28:20 Copernicus and Maude 1:30:05 Lord of the Quadroads (In C1, Grog accidentally gave this guy a Wish spell) 1:36:25 Whisper sponsors 1:41:30 Gavis’s speech 1:46:15 Imogen is “the service” 1:47:20 Laudna is very undead 1:54:00 Aaron and Emoth 1:55:30 Driving FCG to drink 1:57:40 Bah bah bah Bronte 1:58:40 Imogen is really struggling 2:04:05 Bored now (Imogen is totally in character) 2:10:15 BREAK STARTS 2:18:55 Art Montage 2:20:55 BREAK ENDS 2:22:45 Laudna has a very intimidating smile 2:24:25 Chetney and Cyrus 2:28:05 Laura Bailey: Fly Hunter 2:29:00 Matt calls on Laura 2:30:00 Laura toots 2:32:00 Coordinating the dance 2:34:45 Getting intense about the dance plan 2:38:50 Preston and Fearne 2:44:10 Chetney is jealous of Emoth 2:52:25 This number is unavailable 2:53:55 The Grab 2:55:55 The Replacement 2:58:25 The Shuffle 3:01:35 Hail Mary 3:03:35 Dorian proposes 3:05:15 Laudna was just having fun at the dance 3:09:20 Savage 3:11:50 The Landing 3:14:00 Pray to Imogen 3:16:10 Chetney’s stealth mission 2:20:25 Orym looks inside FCG 3:23:00 Totally incognito 3:24:55 That was all 5 minutes 3:27:45 Chetney in Entrapment 3:33:30 Suite life 3:35:30 Slowly makin my way 3:36:50 Crop dust the guards 3:38:10 A strong 7 3:39:40 Backup mask 3:46:20 Emoth had a hard time in the bathroom 3:52:25 Chetney goes again 3:56:15 What Chetney finds 4:00:45 Episode Ends The in-game start date for the episode was in the year 843. Sam’s gas can says “Smiley Human Day to You!” and has a human skin mask. I guess you could say the real ‘Matt Mercer Effect’ was the friends we made along the way. Any moments I missed? Feel free to post them here. Is it Thursday yet?
Step 1: Plan for an hour, come up with multiple strategies. Step 2: Panic in the moment Step 3: Do none of the plans you discussed Step 4: Clown Fiesta Step 5: Pull it off anyway by some miracle. And we love them for it!
I was really hoping when Esteross was leaning on his cane while they were being checked for weapons said “You would not part an old man from his walking stick?”
i was hoping Matt punishes them for doing the very numero uno goal they had = protect Eshtaross. And i want him to live, but he could still get stabbed or kidnapped and they should pay the price. But maybe starting the campaign with guilt of losing yet another precious person because they lose eyes on them would develop this team a better way
Every campaign my favourite character was of Taliesins making. Every time. :) Not saying the other characters are bad by any means, but it just so happens that every time my favourite is the one Taliesin is playing.
I'm reminded of a scene in early campaign 2, where a lot of stuff is going down around a party. Sam says, "Everyone thinks that Matt is managing three storylines right now, but there's actually a fourth that we don't even know about." The whole episode just feels like something is happening that the gang missed and we'll all learn about 8 months from now.
3:06:56 Well already I feel like they're not nearly worried enough about a follower of the Raven Queen knowing that Laudna is Undead lol. That's a P R O B L E M. Plus 12 other storylines that I'm sure we won't find out about for a year. I know there was a lot going on but they completely ignored that the Lumas matriarch was at the party as well with the Anger, and I feel like she was probably the key to something. Maybe not, but she could have introduced them to some powerful people (Maybe Quorum members) and she is already sort of their ally.
@@mayaenglish5424 I haven't watched 3x14 yet so idk if it becomes relevant, but I got an impression that the Anger and the matriarch had somethin somethin' going on.
@@blueashke Hmm, maybe, I didn't pick up on that but I'm not discounting it. The vibe I got from The Anger was deep loyalty and guilt mixed with potentially maybe friendship.
Travis literally hiding himself under the table in order to escape being collateral damage when Laura destroyed Robbie was amazing. He saw her face after Robbie called her Maude and just noped out. He married that face and he knows what that look means.
Same here. During the Maude and Ring scene, my eyes are on Travis and Laura's face. Travis was like "nope, i know that face. You better take that back."
i looked up the meaning of the name maude, and it means mighty in battle, which is just hilarious because i'm sure they didn't know that and she hated the name, but it's a name meaning she's a badass don't mess with her lol
Such a sweet nod, my god. It was amazing to see how Matt was THRILLED to do this back and forth narrative that would be most DMs' (including me) nightmare.
@@LukeLenn0nthe trick is to switch scenes when you run out of ideas and constantly be thinking about a different scene while doing the current scene…… 🥲
@@frickzillafrik9573 as someone who started out on the fence about Chetney (I legitimately stopped watching for a few episodes because I thought the concept was so stipid), I can't disagree more. He certainly could stand to be a little more deep but he's an integral part of the group dynamic especially in the comedy aspect.
@@frickzillafrik9573 Kinda funny, Chetney is the main reason I keep watching. He's HILARIOUS and has legitimately good ideas for tactics, it offsets Imogen's very bad ideas pretty well.
I so want to see in the future the party taking a peak on Lord E. with scrying at night and they just see him jumping from roof to roof with a cape on lmao
It would be amazing if after all these ads are done NordVPN comes out and says they are all critters who decided to start a company that Critical Role would accept as a sponsor, just because they knew that Sam would use the Sponsorship to come up with some amazing story. It just so happens that the company they made to have Sam tell a story also happened to become successful and make them money lol. Just imagine the next Live Show they do, after its over the entire audience takes of their jackets to show their NordVPN uniforms, some people come out dressed in super expensive looking cosplay of the character's Sam made for his ads, and give Sam tons of money to help them make a full show for this story, or maybe a movie series, or a video game.
@@Gamerjoyjoy That just means they are from the future, they invented a time machine and then went back in time far enough to make sure they had a business big enough to be a sponsor worthy of Sam.
In fairness, he's not wrong. They couldn't care less about the real ring. All Dorian needed to do was look like he'd found the ring and gave it back. Anyone else in the party could have picked up the real ring during or after Dorian and given back the tracker ring.
@@bryanwoods3373 The purpose of him picking up the ring is two fold. 1: So that noone else can find the ring/Armond can't accidentally find it later and realize he's been duped. 2: To make it more believable when he says he's found the ring. Bonus: Maybe they get a cool new magical ring
not to mention if he had just picked up the ring, it would have been ULTRA suspicious. People don't seem to recognize that even though it would have accomplished the goal of getting the ring in their possession, the important thing was getting the DECOY ring on dude's finger with as natural and not suspicious a manner as possible. The way things worked out made it all seem completely legit and natural. There would be no reason at all for the lord to question the duplicate. Remember all, getting the ring was NOT the goal. Replacing it was :).
@@FalsePositiveMinecraft frustratingly simple it could have been with him just picking up the ring and giving him the fake one... to everybody else it just looks like you gave the dudes ring back. Done and done.
I know this goes without saying for every episode, but holy shit Matt put on a masterclass of DMing this episode. Simultaneously running so many NPCs and having so many balls in the air at once, and it all went off without a hitch.
@@Jusixo That's the great thing about roleplaying: even if the dice fuck you over, you still end up building a story. Even though Team EXU dropped the proverbial ball _hard,_ we got an entertaining scene of two beautiful idiots tossing a ring in the air to one another, while a third one furiously pretends to look for the same ring on the ground. Travis rolling balls gave Chetney an exciting and tense stealth segment. Marisha failing her perception roll allowed a potential future villain to escape and cause more problems down the line. And Taliesin just set up the combat encounter for the next episode.
The slow realization of the cast figuring out the person they were talking to was the Grog-made Lord of the Crossroads in Vasselheim was absolutely hilarious and cute.
@@koteantadze4200 The others definitely had a slow realisation lmao, especially Marisha and Sam getting it from Travis' reaction, and then him texting Laura about it and her reacting. It was awesome! I couldn't even hear what they were talking about 'cause I was just staring at everyone's faces lmao.
Trust me that... Sometimes you just are not, or you want to work IT out quickly So you do worst possible things you can, just because you want to fix it, And more you want to fix it more mistakes you make😁
At some point most probably, but not the seelie or unseelie. Generally it's only people who aren't from the feywild that use the terms seelie and unseelie. Native fey don't say that. Theyre terms used more to differentiate trustworthy from non trustworthy fey, not actual courts or councils that fey belong to, or become members of, or like a banner that you serve under etc. Edit: basically it's a category people on the material plane use to help judge a fey's character. If you actually asked 10 fey which court they belong to, they would all say "neither".
@@noone3216 Maybe we could get Jay Leno to do a video where he randomly interviews 10 different fey wandering through the streets of LA so we can find out.
The entire dance sequence was the most stressed I have ever felt about something that a.) has nothing to do with me and b.) happened _literally_ a year and a half ago. Damnit this show is incredible.
I knew Matt was a great DM but this episode really proves it. The fact that he can keep track of 8 players at different places interacting with multiple different NPCs during a ball scene while still coming up with creative and interesting interaction and reactions is incredible. I didn't think of it until he forgot that FCG picked up the ring and I realized that, up until then, he hadn't made a single noticable mistake. Meanwhile I can't run 5 monsters at the same time without accidentaly skipping turns, forgetting rules, ignoring NPCs, rolling the wrong dice, etc.
When Ashton is basically walking to his death sentence and FCG goes "I can be your second" is such a good discreet thing and the fact that he is ready to push himself hard with sympathetic binding for him is just perfect
Ashton: I need a Coat Rack to hold all this Fabric. FCG: I'll be your second! Death Sentence? A Hand to Hand fight for a Barbarian (Takes half Damage) is only slightly dangerous if your opponent happens to be a Monk, or certain Rogue builds... any other class would just be a free win, unless there is a MASSIVE level difference.
@@lokithecat7225 How could a Rogue be dangerous unarmed? Their main source of damage is Sneak Attack, which requires a finesse or ranged weapon (and therefore cannot be performed when unarmed).
@@lokithecat7225 However, if Ratanish has Unarmed Fighting, the Grappler feat or any Battle Maneuvers, it becomes a lot dicier. And since he turned up with four guards and has a direct line to at least Vali and probably Armand, this is unlikely to be a level fight.
@@Zombiewithabowtie Bad examples of dangers... I was leaning towards a Rogue (Sneak attack) build as the worst case, with Monks Stun being next... Grappler, best case he gets disadvantage, and uses Reckless to negate it. UF (Style?) halved damage (Rage) is massively less damage than Ashton's wonky Chaos Rage, plus Barb = HP kings. Not sure which Maneuver would be dangerous, but they're pretty limited in a 1v1. Unless there is a massive Level gap, which is entirely possible, he should be fine.
Seeing Travis, Marisha and Sam lose their minds about the 'self made man' 'lord of the quadroads' was brilliant. I KNEW he would come up some day (he's a reference to campaign one deck of many things shinanigans).
Watching Travis's head perk up as soon as Matt mentioned the Quadroads, Marisha pick up on something, the furious back and forth between them, then Sam joining in, and then it hits Taliesin, and finally Laura, all as Matt tries to stay in character and stop his smirk from showing...
The moment he realized was awesome and then when he texted I assume everyone and Laura read the text was so amazing to see. Matt Mercer is a storyline god.
Holding on to the drunkard that Grog gave 3 Wishes to, only to introduce him as a semi-relevant NPC to dump exposition after FIVE years and 2 campaigns is peak Matt Mercer. Also, Travis' instant recognition and the subsequent text chain that begins after hearing "Lord of the Quadroads" at 1:30:09 is fantastic.
It was actually pretty smart to introduce 'Maude' as a servant. A noble crawling on their hands and knees? It would have been noticed and remarked on. A servant looking for something dropped on the floor? No one cared.
Exactly, which is why I still think Orym was the better choice to dive for it as the diligent servant and make the switch. He has max DEX and can't crit fail so he was the best choice for a sleight of hand.
There's an old military axiom: "No plan ever survives initial contact." Multiple variations of it exist, and some are much more humorous. Most heist films share a similar idea, "No matter how many contingencies you have, you're going to have to wing it eventually." More than once as a Game Master in various game systems I've shifted my whole plan for the night based on insane dice rolls, or the players going off on an unprepped tangent. I remember Matt Mercer himself in a Q&A to a new DM: Never over prepare. They will almost always find a way to go in a completely random direction. My method is to have a list of encounters I want the party to experience, like an outline, and overdo that. If they don't follow up on this bread trail in one session, there's always another. They /usually/ eventually get a hint at the bigger picture. They take too long, that's when a mentor figure comes in and asks why things are getting worse, when they're in the vicinity of various actions, etc. Meanwhile, in the background I've moved various NPCs closer to their goals. Keep thing squishy enough. If the players are *%^&ing around, hit them with the loss of a safe place, or a substantial degrading of same. If they're not, have an attack on their safe place occur when they're running in circles. A lot of PC groups are afraid to ask for help from NPCs that are on their side, but the players feel are 'against them' because they're NPCs. Goes to the idea of DMs being antagonists for PCs from WAY back in the 1970s. Not true. DMs don't want to go through you creating an interesting new PC any more than you do. Challenge? Yes. Killing for the sake of drama? Way too much work.
How Matt explained the Mango dream was actually plausible for an eye opening dream.. The bit where they were getting eaten but they were just like "yeah, this is life" was so genuine, like yeah.. that is the life of a mango. XD
"If you would like anyone to suddenly become punched...." 😄 I love how Taliesin comes up with turns of phrase like this just on the fly and they work so well
2:28:06 *Height of the event, the dance begins *heavy discussions about what to do, what's the plan Laura and Liam: *tracking a fly in the room like 2 cats with the most sibling energy I've ever seen
I know Matt is a voice actor and also Lord Eshteross is here for a long time already, but it just struck me again how well Matt voices him. His pronunciation seems to come from the bottom of his jaw and just the slow, pronounced, kinda heavy way he speaks works so wonderful to make him come to live as this Orcish warrior. I'm just in awe of this guys talent
They are all Highly skilled voice actors, and Matt has voiced many deep voiced people and monsters in his time, this is the kinda voice he is best at, that and older voices, imo.
Smart dming, too. He railroaded the party, and ended up subtly introducing every single chain of events immediately afterwards, while ALSO LORE DUMPING a little bit, without making it too entirely obvious or spontaneous that he was doing a lil bit of railroading. I like the way he made Gryz connect with Ariks
@@croatiancowboy I think of it less as Railroading, and more he created a Lazy River that the party just floats down, trusting the journey and destination to be a enjoyable one. The word Railroad has a bad reputation in terms of D&D.
@@croatiancowboy I think railroading isn't what's happening here, and stuff like this terrified me when I was a new DM. Railroading is when you remove agency from the players, and that's the DM sin you should avoid. This wasn't that, the party here chose to talk to everyone they did, and at no point did Matt say no to their own ideas or force them to play it his way. It's impossible to run a game without giving the players guidance or providing your own structure. For any new DM's looking to learn from this episode, THIS IS FINE! It's a waste to throw your players in a room with a bunch of important people and NOT have their conversations be some potential story hook, or reveal something about the world. Check out Matt Colville's video on railroading for a way better discussion of this stuff than I could ever come up with.
I more-or-less assume the age to be relative to humans instead of literal. e.g. That goblin would appear as aged as a halfling "in his fifties", despite the very different lifespans.
should i skip school for youtube video making? i making good stuff but i need much time to making. maybe replace school with making videos. i have two girlfriends. thanks for your opinion dear cha
Matt Mercer always playing the long game. Isn't always of dire importance, but Travis' reaction to THAT guy makes it a long game worth playing. What a callback!
Low-key hoping it results in another love interest scenario, I think it'd be cute with how social but easily flustered Dorian/Bronte is and how anti social but somehow confident and easily jealous Imogen gets sometimes
@@evelynnsophia7631 From the moment that Laura discovered it was possible, she really has been into that. And she plays it so well and authentically. I was rooting for Imodna from the second we met them together, but almost anyone in the group with Imogen works for me.
The secret is that Ashley is already like Fearne IRL, but she couldn't be on CR all the time (for something super lame like her acting career, idk) so now she's there 'full-time', she can unleash her truest nature for our viewing pleasure
I got some heavy rogue vibes from Ashton at the start, like, Taliesin made the backstory for a rogue, but went barbarian for some reason. But the more we learn about him, the more I dig the what if a street thug/bandit type character was actually a PC. Also, I love how everyone went as wild as they could for campaign 3, Travis playing a werewolf, Marisha is doing an undead, Ashley is a fae creature, Sam is a robot etc. and then there's Liam who's just going "I'm a halfling with a sword that jumps around a lot, lol".
It’s interesting that Liam played some of the most complex characters in previous campaigns, and now he’s playing a character that currently has no discernible flaws or interesting character traits. He’s like a normal dude. However, it almost doesn’t matter that Orym is so “normal” because Liam’s role play is still intriguing. It’s almost refreshing to just see Liam be jovial and unburdened by a dark persona.
Omg when Robbie tried to hand their mark the fake ring while the guy was actively chasing down the real one on the floor I could feel Laura’s pain *face palm* lmao
A part or me is a little sadden that it destroys the "Bertrand is the Lord of the Quadroads theory" that I found so fun. But it's was cool to see the cast slowly realizing who that guy was. Plus, I'm excited to find out if he still has his second wish.
I know right!? That reveal was awesome! whenever Matt does something like this it really makes it feel like the 3 Campaigns are connected and are all part of the same big world. (Plus its really fun and the expressions on the players are priceless)
This is one of the best "Let Chaos Reign" moments of Campaign 3 so far. I'm sure there'll be more to come. Also, please let Sam do a Nordverse One Shot.
I like how Matt finds a way to explain unusually high roles that fit with the character like "you're normally good at perception, but are in an unfamiliar space" or "despite your lack of social skills, this is a situation you've seen before" its a lot better than "well god just shat in your dinner so you go mysteriously blind for a second"
Idk if the Critical Role crew reads these, but this is just a suggestion. Plz no hate. I really like the mini’s and the art and work Matt puts into the encounters. Could maybe at intermission or as initiative is rolled , get pictures or stills of the mini’s or battle maps on the screen? Maybe how they have mini character sheets pop up, but with the mini’s and monsters. I watch on my phone at work sometimes, and I’m sure others do as well and seeing the work he does can be difficult. Much love from a random critter!
The battle map cam could definitely use some more zoom. Mix full map pics with zooms on individual characters and panning around the map, etc. would be cool.
In the future, the party better use scrying on Lord E one night and just see him jumping from roof to roof with a cape on lmao... Owlbear man does exist
I legitimately believe this is one of the strongest critical role episodes ever. The tension, the references, the implied setup. It’s wonderful to see Matt flex his dm skills so hard here.
I literally can not fathom how Matt kept track of ALL the bullshittery that was going on, and how he did it PERFECTLY. Genuinely so many characters and scenarios and rolls and stakes and wah! Brilliant. This is why I love him and Critical Role.
@@bdletoast09 As much as some players would appreciate having as intense a game as this, I imagine most players wouldn't be able to handle it. The reason Critical Role works like it does is because of how much Trust the group has in Matt as their DM, the years they have been playing games together as super close friends. Aside from his voices, everything he does is possible for any Dm willing to put in the work (he is just a highly skilled voice actor, that can take over a decade of training to get as good as him), its not like he is some DM God or something, he is just a DM trying to create a story with his friends. Every DM has stuff they are good at, and it takes a insane amount of practice before you can be the "Master" part of Dungeon Master, but all things require work, same with being a good Player. I have been in many games in my time with this system, and the groups that I disliked the most were the ones trying to be like Critical Role, the DM tried way to hard to be like Matt Mercer, and the players tried way to hard to act like the members of critical role, weaving super complex backstories full of NPCs they hoped the DM would thread into the story, even copying character arcs and personalities (the amount of people I saw trying to be Percy, Grog, or Vex is insane). People don't seem to understand that what we see on the show is a Decade's worth of friendship and trust, more time then that in some cases, these guys have been playing together for a LONG time, they didn't start out like this. They are all very Skilled Actors/Voice Actors, many years spent perfecting their craft even before they started playing. Nobody can expect their DM or Players to be this skilled, and nobody should feel like they need to be in order to have fun with this game. While I sometimes do voices for my characters, im not to good at it unless im playing a elf or something, my voice is a little to high pitched to try and make it deep for my beefier characters, but if you have a group you work well with, voices don't matter, even in my streamed game where I play a half orc Barbarian (I do try and do a deeper voice sometimes but most of the time I cant sustain it) I usually just talk in my normal voice and nobody complains at all, even if we are trying to be more professional for the viewers. Skill level doesn't matter as long as your having fun. All you need to do is talk with your players and ask them the kind of game they would think is most fun, take notes, and try your best to make a story they will think is engaging, and will also allow you to have fun as well.
"Nobody crimes well" is a god damn understatement. It's like everyone's brains leaked out of their ears as soon as the formal dance started. Not to mention they were told lodging would be provided. They could've just planted invisible Chetney in Armond's room with some sleep powder or something, and the job would be done.
Ah yes, Owlbear Man. I really love the villains in his stories. There's that devilish trickster: The Jester, and her partner who has green skin and uses the power of nature: Captain Ivy
I live for those moments when Marisha makes a connection and you can see her face go through a combination of delight, astonishment, and her mind exploding.
Little nugget of improv mastery by Matt and Marisha at 3:07:43 - The quick back and forth - Marisha (presumably using her knowledge from Campaign 1) with a quick, almost poetic line. Seemingly cuts off something Matt is about to say but then.. - Matt picks up on the 'life and death' theme and throws a beautiful parallel back at her - a pair of on-character acknowledgements - let's quit while we are ahead with the cymbal crash
I love how no one is talking about Fearne passing the ornamental saber off to Ashton before the confrontation with Ratanish. Seriously I love their dynamic
1:25:00 Matt describing how it feels being a mango is so amazing... But Taliesin stopping him to ask... ABOUT being a mango, and the following conversation, is the stuff of legends...
Gods I love Ashton. He KNOWS how people walk and talk in this city. He knows how to talk to criminal elements, knows when to call and when to fold, and oddly enough he doesn't take thing super personally. "It's just business, it's just how it is here" sort of attitude.
I really love how layered and intense this campaign is already. The stakes feel so high, and I know it’s only layer one of this big ole onion of a campaign
this feels like the whole JRPG feel of the final bit of campaign 2 but switched to 11. this is the most JRPG critical role has ever felt and I love it. just waiting for them to finally get an airship or something
I'm literally just stopping by to say, this is probably one of the best episodes of CR if you're caught up on Campaign 3. Not only is Matt killing it, while keeping track of multiple NPCs, but there's a great synergy between the cast. Every decision feels natural and will have you teetering at the edge of your seat. Just when you hope for something to go right, it won't and they have to scramble to fix it. It never feels forced, and Matt's ability to bring his NPCs to life lead to some fluid interactions between the cast that are just as tense as a bad role or a critical role. Shout out to everyone this episode including the production team that makes this all possible!
I love at 1:30:05 when Matt says the Lord was the one created by Grogs Wish spell out of the Deck of Many Things how Travis instantly recognizes it and tell Marisha and Sam and the Travis texts Laura and Sam texts Liam.
it's unrelated but that's why I am struggling so much with Ashton. The brash "just don't", "Fuck off", swears all the time persona disappears anytime an authority figure or person where there may be a cost to the group if he behaves the way he does to them or his peers is around. It came to a head in this episode with the final confrontation - instead of him swearing we get "sir! Sir!" instead. It's a low charisma of convenience
As someone who has played the bassoon for over 7 years I really appreciate all the background music during the ball. It’s just nice to hear the distinctive sound that is a bassoon.
Critical Role planning process: 1. Spend 45 minutes talking and make a plan 2. Spend 30 minutes making another plan 3. Forget both plans and just do something else 4. Succeed with crazy rolls and luck
@@karencollins1356 that's actually all it is, too. You can improv the stuff going on during the party, but remember they signaled their plans last game? This is the usefulness behind the occasional "total downtime" or "recap" episode, too. Your players are better at building traps for themselves than you are.
2:02:30 Props to how Robbie changes the entire tone of the conversation by asking the host what their favorite part of the evening is. It really feels like he _is_ his character, a charismatic noble who understands the social graces of court. I have to constantly remind myself that he is "only" a voice actor and not actually familiar with royal galas.
I know I’m late but I’m just catching up and YES Robbie is always so on it with the improv and plays the noble role perfectly, managing to be super charming
This is the first campaign I watch (and ExU). I didn't understand what happened.... I'm familiar with names and basic characteristics of characters from past campaign, but can someone please explain what happened here? 🙏🏼
@@AnaMahsati Travis/Grog had a deck of many things and, I believe, got a guy to pick a card out of the deck, who drew a card that gave him wishes. He used one of the wishes to become a lord and then went off and no one knew what happened to him afterwards. It was near the end of the campaign so there's wasn't much chance for those characters to run across him down the line.
@@AnaMahsati Travis' character in C1 had a Deck of Many Things and in one episode found a drunkard in an alley of the Quad Roads in Vasselheim. He convinced the drunkard to draw from the deck, and they drew the Moon card, which allowed them to cast Wish 1d3 times (twice). His first (and only Wish we know of so far) was to become a powerful lord of the Quadroads. This is also why Ashley asked, in character as Faerne, "Do you ever wish for more?" as sort of a double-entendre.
Man, 1:30:00, Travis' face is a JOURNEY. Watching the reaction spread around the table is so great! But Travis knew instantly. Matt with the loooooong game!
@@brendanhart517 Campaign 1 Spoiler: If it's who I think it is, it's the drunken guy that Grog gave the card which contained wishes. He wished to be a powerful lord of the quadroads.
the fact that the players feel like a lot was happening and laura pointing it out to matt "you handled a ball" shows to me how on another level matt is with his dm'n
just a reminder to everyone in the comments that the players getting frustrated and stuff really isn't that serious. the cast themselves were making jokes about it all on twitter as the episode was airing
This. And even so, who cares if they are frustrated in a moment? That's not bad, and nor is it an automatic judgement of their fellow player(s). Shit happens even with the best dynamics when a snap decision or comment is made, or the decision differs from what they think should have been done. If people assume no frustration or tension happens at a table, even with your closest friends, is kidding themselves. I say that generally and not directed at anyone. Just...something I've seen with d&d tables all over the internet and irl, where you have to agree with everyone or they secretly hate the other players. It's an impossible expectation to maintain and you push people away in the end. And as a viewer, you set yourself up for disappointment. If the cast can brush it off and have a laugh immediately or with time, then great. The CR cast? they're adults, and if they have a problem or concern, we can assume they discuss it together of camera. The minute we start pointing it out and coming to our own conclusions/saying what should be done is a slipper slope that, in my opinion, will never end well.
@@Shorkshire oh, just some people digging WAY too deep into the feelings of the cast towards each other in regards to the execution of the ring swap! Luckily it seems to have died now that the comments have evened out with time, but you know 🤷♀️
@Nat just finished watching the ring thing and it seems like Dorian's brain was overloaded by so much info from the complicated dancing sequence, the pressure of making the switch to begin with since it was foisted onto him, the poor rolls he had, and Imogen constantly in his ear/brain. Glad to hear they're cool about it after. Or at least appear to be.
Laura clearly needs some downtime after this episode bless her. First as the least submissive member of the crew she has to rp the servant woman. (Which I thought was hilarious) but then she had to bail out the rest of the crew when things went from bad to worse, to worser, to worse x 10000. Gotta love the chaos of it all.
I also thought Imogen did great, but she could’ve easily telekinetically grabbed the ring with mage hand and swapped it. Since she has telekinetic, mage hand wouldn’t visibly appear. I got frustrated when she wasn’t using it.
@@AFestiveDude Technically she shouldn't be able to use Mage Hand to do stuff like pickpocketing, etc because it's outside the purview of the spell. The only characters who can use Mage Hand to do that stuff are Arcane Tricksters because they have a feature that lets them (Mage Hand Legerdemain). EDIT: She could have definitely used it to pick the ring up from the floor afterwards though, if that's what you mean.
Robbie: I'm going to try to throw the ring to Fearne Laura and Taliesin: *literal face-palm* But the best reaction Marisha: *clenching and lifting to psychically carry the ring from Dorian to Fearne*
HEY, there might be some SPOILERS under the thing
0:15 A very special episode of the Nordiverse
6:55 Laura’s merch corner
8:25 Intro cinematic
10:15 EPISODE STARTS
12:25 Recap Ends
17:15 The whole plan is just body checking this guy real hard
19:35 Fearne is actually bad at lying
20:35 Now the plan is to form a polycule
22:05 Imogen doesn’t like being the entourage
22:35 The other carriage must be coming up with great plans
26:05 Owlbearman
29:45 Chetney looks inside FCG
31:25 FCG swallow’s Chetney’s chisel
34:25 Human skin mask
37:05 I can’t carry it for you, Mr.Dorian
46:25 The bull is on parade
49:15 Dorian’s title
54:05 The sound system is great
56:35 Laura is still mad about the mask
58:15 I want Matt to describe all the hors d’oeuvres
1:01:00 It’s been awhile
1:01:50 Ashley’s mystery dice
1:08:30 Looking for a dance circle
1:12:15 Who wore it better?
1:15:20 Two introverts meet at a party
1:17:45 Passing notes to Travis
1:18:50 C.C.Pop
1:24:35 A weird dream
1:27:20 Preston Drodelon
1:28:20 Copernicus and Maude
1:30:05 Lord of the Quadroads (In C1, Grog accidentally gave this guy a Wish spell)
1:36:25 Whisper sponsors
1:41:30 Gavis’s speech
1:46:15 Imogen is “the service”
1:47:20 Laudna is very undead
1:54:00 Aaron and Emoth
1:55:30 Driving FCG to drink
1:57:40 Bah bah bah Bronte
1:58:40 Imogen is really struggling
2:04:05 Bored now (Imogen is totally in character)
2:10:15 BREAK STARTS
2:18:55 Art Montage
2:20:55 BREAK ENDS
2:22:45 Laudna has a very intimidating smile
2:24:25 Chetney and Cyrus
2:28:05 Laura Bailey: Fly Hunter
2:29:00 Matt calls on Laura
2:30:00 Laura toots
2:32:00 Coordinating the dance
2:34:45 Getting intense about the dance plan
2:38:50 Preston and Fearne
2:44:10 Chetney is jealous of Emoth
2:52:25 This number is unavailable
2:53:55 The Grab
2:55:55 The Replacement
2:58:25 The Shuffle
3:01:35 Hail Mary
3:03:35 Dorian proposes
3:05:15 Laudna was just having fun at the dance
3:09:20 Savage
3:11:50 The Landing
3:14:00 Pray to Imogen
3:16:10 Chetney’s stealth mission
2:20:25 Orym looks inside FCG
3:23:00 Totally incognito
3:24:55 That was all 5 minutes
3:27:45 Chetney in Entrapment
3:33:30 Suite life
3:35:30 Slowly makin my way
3:36:50 Crop dust the guards
3:38:10 A strong 7
3:39:40 Backup mask
3:46:20 Emoth had a hard time in the bathroom
3:52:25 Chetney goes again
3:56:15 What Chetney finds
4:00:45 Episode Ends
The in-game start date for the episode was in the year 843. Sam’s gas can says “Smiley Human Day to You!” and has a human skin mask.
I guess you could say the real ‘Matt Mercer Effect’ was the friends we made along the way.
Any moments I missed? Feel free to post them here. Is it Thursday yet?
He is speed!
What the actual-
Really? 5 Seconds? Damn you fast
How is he so quick!!!
you never cease to amaze me
Step 1: Plan for an hour, come up with multiple strategies.
Step 2: Panic in the moment
Step 3: Do none of the plans you discussed
Step 4: Clown Fiesta
Step 5: Pull it off anyway by some miracle.
And we love them for it!
Its not DnD if one of the players doesn't feel like murdering another mid session lol
"Trust me" - Dorian Storm, 843 P.D.
You have summarized dungeons and dragons
This is a common thing for most dnd games!
Step 6: Profit
Imogen:
Dorian, an empath: I sense that you’re mad because you’re angry
I‘m dying over this comment 😭😭😂😂
@@FeyzaOnay same 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Laura was sooo mad haha and then like schaudenfraude when none of Robbie’s rolls were good
sweet boy.
At what time did this happen?
I was really hoping when Esteross was leaning on his cane while they were being checked for weapons said “You would not part an old man from his walking stick?”
Same!!!
i was hoping Matt punishes them for doing the very numero uno goal they had = protect Eshtaross. And i want him to live, but he could still get stabbed or kidnapped and they should pay the price. But maybe starting the campaign with guilt of losing yet another precious person because they lose eyes on them would develop this team a better way
"So how does a mango perceive time at that point?"
Yep, Ashton is now my favorite character
babe wake up new dunamis lore dropped
@@tomisabum i’m dying over this comment lmaooo
As soon as he said it I was like "shades of Caduceus still lingering"...
Travis McElroy's mango cult makes an appearance in an episode of Critical Role.
Every campaign my favourite character was of Taliesins making. Every time. :)
Not saying the other characters are bad by any means, but it just so happens that every time my favourite is the one Taliesin is playing.
I'm reminded of a scene in early campaign 2, where a lot of stuff is going down around a party. Sam says, "Everyone thinks that Matt is managing three storylines right now, but there's actually a fourth that we don't even know about." The whole episode just feels like something is happening that the gang missed and we'll all learn about 8 months from now.
Yh that was when they were breaking into the manor house to plant evidence during the party... Then the tower incident happened
@@a.garcha199 Yeah, we're all scared of the results of everyone consistently rolling low perception checks, mostly thanks to that disaster.
3:06:56 Well already I feel like they're not nearly worried enough about a follower of the Raven Queen knowing that Laudna is Undead lol. That's a P R O B L E M. Plus 12 other storylines that I'm sure we won't find out about for a year.
I know there was a lot going on but they completely ignored that the Lumas matriarch was at the party as well with the Anger, and I feel like she was probably the key to something. Maybe not, but she could have introduced them to some powerful people (Maybe Quorum members) and she is already sort of their ally.
@@mayaenglish5424 I haven't watched 3x14 yet so idk if it becomes relevant, but I got an impression that the Anger and the matriarch had somethin somethin' going on.
@@blueashke Hmm, maybe, I didn't pick up on that but I'm not discounting it. The vibe I got from The Anger was deep loyalty and guilt mixed with potentially maybe friendship.
Travis literally hiding himself under the table in order to escape being collateral damage when Laura destroyed Robbie was amazing. He saw her face after Robbie called her Maude and just noped out. He married that face and he knows what that look means.
Same here. During the Maude and Ring scene, my eyes are on Travis and Laura's face. Travis was like "nope, i know that face. You better take that back."
i looked up the meaning of the name maude, and it means mighty in battle, which is just hilarious because i'm sure they didn't know that and she hated the name, but it's a name meaning she's a badass don't mess with her lol
Timestamp?
@@downtomarsbeth this happened at 1:28:15
What's the significance of the name Maude? Why did she hate it and why did everyone else think it was so funny?
“We’re gonna pause in the middle of all this for my dumb a*s conversation?!”
Matt: *tiny, delighted nod*
Timestamp? Might've missed this-
3:05:30
@@Strandinator243 thank you
Such a sweet nod, my god. It was amazing to see how Matt was THRILLED to do this back and forth narrative that would be most DMs' (including me) nightmare.
@@LukeLenn0nthe trick is to switch scenes when you run out of ideas and constantly be thinking about a different scene while doing the current scene…… 🥲
Talisen: "I'm totally hidden and covered."
Everyone else: "Yeah.. with the Nightmare King mask."
Travis: "OHHHH SHIT HAHAHAH"
Hands down best reveal that was already revealed 😂😂
@@soup8900 I had completely forgotten by that point as well haha
What #
@@violetteofthegarden6919 3:22:50
@@markmyers8491 I mean, Matt clearly said he's looking at the mask :D
They should do a series called "What the Whisper" and have it go back and explain what the whispers were when it happened
this needs to be boosted ^^
yes
yesssss
HELL YESS!!!! or even- like viewers can hear the whisper but the cast cant!
Or they could have a whisper mic so we can actually hear it!
Travis's Chetney scuttling noise cracks me up every single time.
Having a kid has probably gotten him really good at imitating the sound of SCAMPER.
thats the only thing that does... he's getting so unbearable
@@frickzillafrik9573 as someone who started out on the fence about Chetney (I legitimately stopped watching for a few episodes because I thought the concept was so stipid), I can't disagree more. He certainly could stand to be a little more deep but he's an integral part of the group dynamic especially in the comedy aspect.
@@frickzillafrik9573 Kinda funny, Chetney is the main reason I keep watching. He's HILARIOUS and has legitimately good ideas for tactics, it offsets Imogen's very bad ideas pretty well.
Tktktktktktk
Preston: "I'm amazed that luck keeps bringing us together."
Fearne: "Well, I don't know if it's luck as much as you cutting in line."
Best damn line of the episode 🤣🤣🤣
It was good to see Preston again.
Anyone else he is the King of the crossroads. Reference to Grog and the deck of many things?
@@Questfinder1 yes that’s the drunkard grog gave the wishes to
*literally walks up to Fearne* "what crazy luck!"
“Owlbear-Man does not exist” -definitely not Owlbear-Man’s alter ego
I so want to see in the future the party taking a peak on Lord E. with scrying at night and they just see him jumping from roof to roof with a cape on lmao
Owlbear-Man may not exist, but The Owlbear certainly does!
I thought the same thing. He totally is bruce wayne
They go to one of his closets, and there for the world to see
The owlbear-cave
Thats their fursona.. Leave them alone
At this point I'm convinced that NordVPN doesn't care about their sales, they just want to see where the story is going.
It would be amazing if after all these ads are done NordVPN comes out and says they are all critters who decided to start a company that Critical Role would accept as a sponsor, just because they knew that Sam would use the Sponsorship to come up with some amazing story. It just so happens that the company they made to have Sam tell a story also happened to become successful and make them money lol.
Just imagine the next Live Show they do, after its over the entire audience takes of their jackets to show their NordVPN uniforms, some people come out dressed in super expensive looking cosplay of the character's Sam made for his ads, and give Sam tons of money to help them make a full show for this story, or maybe a movie series, or a video game.
At this point I'm also convinced Sam also doesn't care about how much NordVpn pays them. He started this and he's going to finish it lol
@@EldritchRolls The problem with that is Nord VPN started a few years before Critical Role
@@Gamerjoyjoy That just means they are from the future, they invented a time machine and then went back in time far enough to make sure they had a business big enough to be a sponsor worthy of Sam.
Strong Agree
Ashley's dice: "This side has a didgeridoo, and the other has the US bill of rights."
Don't forget the lowercase a
And both of them look the same.
I *really* want to see that dice now
@@efadfa3 either *those dice* or *that die*
@@DraconyForce you didn't have to be *this* pretentious about it but thanks.
As soon as I heard Fearne acknowledge that her sleight of hand isn't very good I *knew* she would end up doing sleight of hand.
The entire party: just pick up the ring!
Dorian: Sure, right, yeah, that's definitely one way to do it... but watch this.
In fairness, he's not wrong. They couldn't care less about the real ring. All Dorian needed to do was look like he'd found the ring and gave it back. Anyone else in the party could have picked up the real ring during or after Dorian and given back the tracker ring.
@@bryanwoods3373 The purpose of him picking up the ring is two fold. 1: So that noone else can find the ring/Armond can't accidentally find it later and realize he's been duped. 2: To make it more believable when he says he's found the ring. Bonus: Maybe they get a cool new magical ring
not to mention if he had just picked up the ring, it would have been ULTRA suspicious. People don't seem to recognize that even though it would have accomplished the goal of getting the ring in their possession, the important thing was getting the DECOY ring on dude's finger with as natural and not suspicious a manner as possible.
The way things worked out made it all seem completely legit and natural. There would be no reason at all for the lord to question the duplicate.
Remember all, getting the ring was NOT the goal. Replacing it was :).
@@FalsePositiveMinecraft frustratingly simple it could have been with him just picking up the ring and giving him the fake one... to everybody else it just looks like you gave the dudes ring back. Done and done.
Man, that was just so stupid, it could have been a lot easier if he just took the ring from the floor and switched it. A real facepalm moment
I know this goes without saying for every episode, but holy shit Matt put on a masterclass of DMing this episode. Simultaneously running so many NPCs and having so many balls in the air at once, and it all went off without a hitch.
*for Matt* - for the players their dice ensured a dumpster fire haha
@@Jusixo That's the great thing about roleplaying: even if the dice fuck you over, you still end up building a story. Even though Team EXU dropped the proverbial ball _hard,_ we got an entertaining scene of two beautiful idiots tossing a ring in the air to one another, while a third one furiously pretends to look for the same ring on the ground. Travis rolling balls gave Chetney an exciting and tense stealth segment. Marisha failing her perception roll allowed a potential future villain to escape and cause more problems down the line. And Taliesin just set up the combat encounter for the next episode.
I mean, there were some hitches if you ask me
I would've definitely forgot half the ongoing threads of events in his situation, it was really impressive.
@@pedroscoponi4905 Even just watching it was confusing. Honestly half the time i wasn't even sure which NPC the players were interacting with...
The slow realization of the cast figuring out the person they were talking to was the Grog-made Lord of the Crossroads in Vasselheim was absolutely hilarious and cute.
I just love that he came back.
dunno, based on their reactions, Travis clocked who he was immediately and then just let other in on it
That's what I thought!
@@koteantadze4200 The others definitely had a slow realisation lmao, especially Marisha and Sam getting it from Travis' reaction, and then him texting Laura about it and her reacting. It was awesome! I couldn't even hear what they were talking about 'cause I was just staring at everyone's faces lmao.
I love how they react to anything even remotely related to campaign one, is so endearing and honestly, same
Either Cyrus has the self-preservation instinct of a lemming or his Wisdom Score is -20.
Both? Both!
I legit screamed when Orym told Dorian he saw him. I can't believe this guy. How clueless can one be about his own situation?
I'm pretty sure it's both
@@bdletoast09 This is the kind of escort mission that makes Ashley from Resident Evil 4 look bearable.
Trust me that... Sometimes you just are not, or you want to work IT out quickly So you do worst possible things you can, just because you want to fix it, And more you want to fix it more mistakes you make😁
Campaing 1: Idiots that became heroes
Campaing 2: Heroes that are idiots
Campaign 3:Idiots
@Nott the Traveler Yeah, that's me luv.
@Nott the Traveler Well. You see, I am an accomplished level 20 Warlock. It seems normal ain't it?
Seeing this comment while seeing the faces during the ring scrambled almost killed me. Hat’s off sir
Also Campaign 3: *pure chaos*
Facts
"It's been a while since I've been in court" The implication that Fearne has been at the seelie (Or unseelie??) court at some point is just exciting.
I took it more like a court of justice, like Ace Attorney. xD
@@arlaxazure486 I mean with her she's probably been to both.
Definitely Seelie. The Nightmare King would be Unseelie.
At some point most probably, but not the seelie or unseelie. Generally it's only people who aren't from the feywild that use the terms seelie and unseelie. Native fey don't say that. Theyre terms used more to differentiate trustworthy from non trustworthy fey, not actual courts or councils that fey belong to, or become members of, or like a banner that you serve under etc.
Edit: basically it's a category people on the material plane use to help judge a fey's character. If you actually asked 10 fey which court they belong to, they would all say "neither".
@@noone3216 Maybe we could get Jay Leno to do a video where he randomly interviews 10 different fey wandering through the streets of LA so we can find out.
when panicked, this group has 2 failsafe defaults: ghost hauntings and polyamory
Ah yes, the Scooby Doo tactic
The only valid gender roles, really...
I’m a massive fan of the polyamory failsafe, personally.
If the second option is a tactical one, is it technically polyarmory?
I want in on that polycule
Love Matt's "Yes" when Travis whispers "That's the guy that got the wish" Matt fucking Mercer
Time stamp?
I missed that
1:30:14
@@stevenmoon2169 thanks!
I kinda wish it was Bertrand tho.
The entire dance sequence was the most stressed I have ever felt about something that a.) has nothing to do with me and b.) happened _literally_ a year and a half ago. Damnit this show is incredible.
I watched it just now and went through the same emotions. The way Matt does it is incredible!
same here i was so stressed everything went so wrong but somehow worked??
This. Dorian was the MVP for the first episodes, however he dropped the ball in this one (Laura's plan was so much better)
The Ultimate DND Guide to Winning All Encounters:
Step 1: make the plan
Step 2: disregard the plan
Step 3: ???
Step 4: profit
Yeah, no idea why he didn't just pick up the ring. @@flaviomonteiro1414
I knew Matt was a great DM but this episode really proves it.
The fact that he can keep track of 8 players at different places interacting with multiple different NPCs during a ball scene while still coming up with creative and interesting interaction and reactions is incredible.
I didn't think of it until he forgot that FCG picked up the ring and I realized that, up until then, he hadn't made a single noticable mistake. Meanwhile I can't run 5 monsters at the same time without accidentaly skipping turns, forgetting rules, ignoring NPCs, rolling the wrong dice, etc.
Well, he *has* been doing this for like 10 years straight.
Don't forget the callback NPC of Preston Drodelon
@@TheDangerNoodle He’s been playing dnd since he was young. His mom was a big dnd player too
More than that, he keeps track of 3 or 4 NPCs
Travis: missed Ajit Dayal, missed Cyrus, and missed the Stone connection in C2
But also Travis: recognised the Lord of the Quadroads immediately
That's one probably haunting him at night though.
We only remember those of which we are most proud or most regret
Wait did they mention the Stones in this episode? I must have missed it. What timestamp is that?
@@yashc1137 1:30:00 :D
@@NoticeMS they didn't Mention the stones their????
That bit with the ring was more tense than any battle in this campaign so far, and that is 100% a compliment
When Ashton is basically walking to his death sentence and FCG goes "I can be your second" is such a good discreet thing and the fact that he is ready to push himself hard with sympathetic binding for him is just perfect
Ashton: I need a Coat Rack to hold all this Fabric.
FCG: I'll be your second!
Death Sentence? A Hand to Hand fight for a Barbarian (Takes half Damage) is only slightly dangerous if your opponent happens to be a Monk, or certain Rogue builds... any other class would just be a free win, unless there is a MASSIVE level difference.
@@lokithecat7225 How could a Rogue be dangerous unarmed? Their main source of damage is Sneak Attack, which requires a finesse or ranged weapon (and therefore cannot be performed when unarmed).
@@lokithecat7225 However, if Ratanish has Unarmed Fighting, the Grappler feat or any Battle Maneuvers, it becomes a lot dicier. And since he turned up with four guards and has a direct line to at least Vali and probably Armand, this is unlikely to be a level fight.
As a combo hes the perfect thing for a barbarian. Cuz hes gonna be raging and taking half damage meaning fcg takes half that.
@@Zombiewithabowtie Bad examples of dangers... I was leaning towards a Rogue (Sneak attack) build as the worst case, with Monks Stun being next...
Grappler, best case he gets disadvantage, and uses Reckless to negate it.
UF (Style?) halved damage (Rage) is massively less damage than Ashton's wonky Chaos Rage, plus Barb = HP kings.
Not sure which Maneuver would be dangerous, but they're pretty limited in a 1v1.
Unless there is a massive Level gap, which is entirely possible, he should be fine.
Matt: "You count 8 chandeliers."
Ashley: *starts counting* :D
Preston asking “are you and the blue boy a thing?” My immediate response: yes plus our halfling partner
The ritual of yelling "It's Thursday night!" On a Monday morning
me on my lunch at work: IT’S MONDAY AFTERNOOOOOOOOON
It's Monday...Monday...Monday....Monday...MONDAY!
When it's time, our household asks if we're ready to "Thursday yet?" Or to "Monday yet?"
This comment cracked me. 😂
Monday night for me lmaoo
I like to imagine the weird mango dream is a dream that Matt in fact had, and is using this medium to vent about it.
Matt, waking up at 3 am.. Drenched in sweat, whispering:....mango
@@yuki97kira Marissa, startled awake by another of Matt's random mutterings: What's wrong, honey?
Matt: Oh, nothing. I'll tell you later in a session.
@@ADiceySituation "Let's talk about it next session." Thing you hear in DnD and at the therapist.
Seeing Travis, Marisha and Sam lose their minds about the 'self made man' 'lord of the quadroads' was brilliant. I KNEW he would come up some day (he's a reference to campaign one deck of many things shinanigans).
Thanks for explaining it! I wasn't sure if that was the reference. I hope Grog is well
Also the fact that it was pretty much ONLY Travis, fittingly Grog, who immediately realised.
Watching Travis's head perk up as soon as Matt mentioned the Quadroads, Marisha pick up on something, the furious back and forth between them, then Sam joining in, and then it hits Taliesin, and finally Laura, all as Matt tries to stay in character and stop his smirk from showing...
The moment he realized was awesome and then when he texted I assume everyone and Laura read the text was so amazing to see. Matt Mercer is a storyline god.
Travis’ face was the best
Orym: Give me the ring, I'm a halfling
Yes, Frodo.
Holding on to the drunkard that Grog gave 3 Wishes to, only to introduce him as a semi-relevant NPC to dump exposition after FIVE years and 2 campaigns is peak Matt Mercer.
Also, Travis' instant recognition and the subsequent text chain that begins after hearing "Lord of the Quadroads" at 1:30:09 is fantastic.
Was looking for this comment, wasn't sure what I had missed. What a deep cut.
It was two wishes though IIRC
@@slywolfe yes, he got 2 from 1d3 wishes
I wonder if he's still holding onto that last wish
I wonder if Matt had prepared him ahead of time or if he came up with him on the spot.
"You're confident in their capabilities?"
*Ashton immediately shakes their head.*
It was actually pretty smart to introduce 'Maude' as a servant. A noble crawling on their hands and knees? It would have been noticed and remarked on. A servant looking for something dropped on the floor? No one cared.
Plus, she's totally not mad about it! Totally!
@@DragonSouled79 Imogen is gone now. There is only Maude.
Exactly, which is why I still think Orym was the better choice to dive for it as the diligent servant and make the switch. He has max DEX and can't crit fail so he was the best choice for a sleight of hand.
@@Ailieorz He has to be _really_ unlucky to crit fail, but it can still happen
@@DragonSouled79 Bruh you could see Travis instantly recognized the stare of doom and anger and died laughing. Fucking killed me.
This is the true spirit of DnD. Having a plan, throwing out any semblance of a plan, and somehow still come out having an amazing time
That's me every session.
My Character: "Don't worry, I have a plan!"
Party: "What is it?"
Me: "Don't worry. I'll let you know when I figure it out."
There's an old military axiom: "No plan ever survives initial contact." Multiple variations of it exist, and some are much more humorous. Most heist films share a similar idea, "No matter how many contingencies you have, you're going to have to wing it eventually." More than once as a Game Master in various game systems I've shifted my whole plan for the night based on insane dice rolls, or the players going off on an unprepped tangent. I remember Matt Mercer himself in a Q&A to a new DM: Never over prepare. They will almost always find a way to go in a completely random direction. My method is to have a list of encounters I want the party to experience, like an outline, and overdo that. If they don't follow up on this bread trail in one session, there's always another. They /usually/ eventually get a hint at the bigger picture. They take too long, that's when a mentor figure comes in and asks why things are getting worse, when they're in the vicinity of various actions, etc. Meanwhile, in the background I've moved various NPCs closer to their goals. Keep thing squishy enough. If the players are *%^&ing around, hit them with the loss of a safe place, or a substantial degrading of same. If they're not, have an attack on their safe place occur when they're running in circles. A lot of PC groups are afraid to ask for help from NPCs that are on their side, but the players feel are 'against them' because they're NPCs. Goes to the idea of DMs being antagonists for PCs from WAY back in the 1970s. Not true. DMs don't want to go through you creating an interesting new PC any more than you do. Challenge? Yes. Killing for the sake of drama? Way too much work.
In the immortal words of Leonard Snart:
Make the plan
Execute the plan
Expect the plan to go off the rails
Throw away the plan
@@ESHADOW111 Great minds think alike lol
@@ESHADOW111 I was looking for this comment and wasn’t disappointed thank you
How Matt explained the Mango dream was actually plausible for an eye opening dream.. The bit where they were getting eaten but they were just like "yeah, this is life" was so genuine, like yeah.. that is the life of a mango. XD
“Our lives are in your hands, and you’ve got butterfingers?” is so fucking good I wanna use that at some point
It's a quote from Jurassic park
@@wreckitremy if I remember correctly, it was also a pun on the character the quote is directed toward was also eating the candy called butterfingers
"If you would like anyone to suddenly become punched...."
😄
I love how Taliesin comes up with turns of phrase like this just on the fly and they work so well
"Oh, 'There' it is! We went 'There'" was my favorite this episode
@@rickyzeitler7169 "Life needs things to live" will always be a hallmark of his genius.
Honestly “Help, it’s again!” And “We’re running, it’s bad” have to be some of my favourite line from anything ever
"Do you like rocks?"
2:28:06
*Height of the event, the dance begins
*heavy discussions about what to do, what's the plan
Laura and Liam: *tracking a fly in the room like 2 cats with the most sibling energy I've ever seen
Twinnergy as I like to call it
Some things never change. 🥹
I know Matt is a voice actor and also Lord Eshteross is here for a long time already, but it just struck me again how well Matt voices him. His pronunciation seems to come from the bottom of his jaw and just the slow, pronounced, kinda heavy way he speaks works so wonderful to make him come to live as this Orcish warrior. I'm just in awe of this guys talent
They are all Highly skilled voice actors, and Matt has voiced many deep voiced people and monsters in his time, this is the kinda voice he is best at, that and older voices, imo.
I completely agree with you Fred! Matt somehow actually sounds like he's talking through the tusks that would be protruding from Eshteros' maw.
@@rossoneri43V3R OK, but why does your comment just _sound_ like sports commentary
Yeah. It's Matt doing Sean Connery but without the accent.
@@danielcastillo591 "And back to you Fred!"
I like how Matt introduce Gryz “Here is the plot Goblin, the Goblin with all the plot, have fun!”
Smart dming, too. He railroaded the party, and ended up subtly introducing every single chain of events immediately afterwards, while ALSO LORE DUMPING a little bit, without making it too entirely obvious or spontaneous that he was doing a lil bit of railroading. I like the way he made Gryz connect with Ariks
@@croatiancowboy I think of it less as Railroading, and more he created a Lazy River that the party just floats down, trusting the journey and destination to be a enjoyable one. The word Railroad has a bad reputation in terms of D&D.
I'm the big giant cranium rat that makes all the lore!
@@croatiancowboy I think railroading isn't what's happening here, and stuff like this terrified me when I was a new DM. Railroading is when you remove agency from the players, and that's the DM sin you should avoid. This wasn't that, the party here chose to talk to everyone they did, and at no point did Matt say no to their own ideas or force them to play it his way. It's impossible to run a game without giving the players guidance or providing your own structure.
For any new DM's looking to learn from this episode, THIS IS FINE! It's a waste to throw your players in a room with a bunch of important people and NOT have their conversations be some potential story hook, or reveal something about the world. Check out Matt Colville's video on railroading for a way better discussion of this stuff than I could ever come up with.
"A goblin in his fifties" Holy hell that's ancient for a goblin.
I more-or-less assume the age to be relative to humans instead of literal. e.g. That goblin would appear as aged as a halfling "in his fifties", despite the very different lifespans.
I want Travis to call Blackwillow69 the "Only man he's ever loved."
Dude same, that’s all that I was thinking of when his “ghost” showed up
should i skip school for youtube video making? i making good stuff but i need much time to making. maybe replace school with making videos. i have two girlfriends. thanks for your opinion dear cha
I was honestly waiting for that
@@AxxLAfriku I don't think so, at least not until your youtube channel gives you enough income to rely on instead of an average job.
@@araccoonstolemyradiator just wanted to let you know that account is a notorious spammer and that was not a legitimate question
Matt Mercer always playing the long game. Isn't always of dire importance, but Travis' reaction to THAT guy makes it a long game worth playing. What a callback!
The long slow clap of victory
So epic!!!
Love that spoiler free teasing comment, can’t wait to see it!
The whole table lost their shit, and Matt is just sitting there like "Nothing is going on here. Move along."
The slow wave of whispers and realizations across the table was magical to watch.
I wonder if FCG can swallow a bag of holding and effectively become a living healing suitcase for the group?
....I wonder how it would react to his insides?
Thats absolutely genius
casual observation: Robbie likes them all, but he fuckin LOVES Travis
I swear to God that they have to be IRL BFFs. If they aren't, I'd be completely surprised.
I feel like they have some big bro/little bro energy, and it's amazing
aren't they twin bros?
Percy: this is LADY Vex'ahlia
Laura: what!?
Dorian: this is my servant Maude
Laura: ...
I kinda want a side by side video shot of this, given the great but DRASTICALLY DIFFERENT Laura faces we get.
Low-key hoping it results in another love interest scenario, I think it'd be cute with how social but easily flustered Dorian/Bronte is and how anti social but somehow confident and easily jealous Imogen gets sometimes
@@evelynnsophia7631 Oof, I'm dying for Imogen/Laudna and Dorian/Orym, but we shall see.
@@blueashke I just feel Imogen will date someone at some point lol honestly no matter who it is it'll probably be cute
@@evelynnsophia7631 From the moment that Laura discovered it was possible, she really has been into that. And she plays it so well and authentically. I was rooting for Imodna from the second we met them together, but almost anyone in the group with Imogen works for me.
I love when Travis kicks off the crowd murmurs for Matt.
Yeeeees, I was looking for this comment
I haven't seen any character development as in depth as Ashley slowly becoming Fearne irl.
The secret is that Ashley is already like Fearne IRL, but she couldn't be on CR all the time (for something super lame like her acting career, idk) so now she's there 'full-time', she can unleash her truest nature for our viewing pleasure
I'm pretty sure that Ashley has always been Fearne all along, and I absolutely adore that she's able to release her inner chaos gremlin this campaign.
If Jester was a manifestation of Laura's Id in the last campaign, then Fearne is just Ashley's... everything.
I got some heavy rogue vibes from Ashton at the start, like, Taliesin made the backstory for a rogue, but went barbarian for some reason.
But the more we learn about him, the more I dig the what if a street thug/bandit type character was actually a PC.
Also, I love how everyone went as wild as they could for campaign 3, Travis playing a werewolf, Marisha is doing an undead, Ashley is a fae creature, Sam is a robot etc. and then there's Liam who's just going "I'm a halfling with a sword that jumps around a lot, lol".
Every group needs at least one person to play the straight man 🤣 But this is hands down my favourite set of characters out of all 3 campaigns.
I’m just saying you act as if he’s a just a halfling no he’s Yoda
It’s interesting that Liam played some of the most complex characters in previous campaigns, and now he’s playing a character that currently has no discernible flaws or interesting character traits. He’s like a normal dude.
However, it almost doesn’t matter that Orym is so “normal” because Liam’s role play is still intriguing. It’s almost refreshing to just see Liam be jovial and unburdened by a dark persona.
I mean, Rogue kind of fits, but his character is a loud, crass punk who likes to fight, Barbarian fits perfectly.
Orym reminds me of a lost boy from a Peter pan Universe like "Hook"
Omg when Robbie tried to hand their mark the fake ring while the guy was actively chasing down the real one on the floor I could feel Laura’s pain *face palm* lmao
He was so far off with that terrible idea 😂
She was so mad, haha. Getting heated on the dance floor.
Although I do wonder if it was a character choice or Robbie not thinking things all the way through
You could tell Laura was maaaaad 😂
@@mattsmith5704 that was NOT a character choice lol
Can't believe matt's being holding onto grogs lord of the quad roads for about 4 years
Matt's the Lord of The Long Game.
A part or me is a little sadden that it destroys the "Bertrand is the Lord of the Quadroads theory" that I found so fun. But it's was cool to see the cast slowly realizing who that guy was.
Plus, I'm excited to find out if he still has his second wish.
I know right!? That reveal was awesome! whenever Matt does something like this it really makes it feel like the 3 Campaigns are connected and are all part of the same big world. (Plus its really fun and the expressions on the players are priceless)
i missed this, at what time?
@@37220jack 1:30:05
This is one of the best "Let Chaos Reign" moments of Campaign 3 so far. I'm sure there'll be more to come. Also, please let Sam do a Nordverse One Shot.
9 out of 10 on the Jester scale.
Shadowrun nordverse one-shot!
All artificers/rogue multiclass one shot
I’d pay for a shadowrun nordverse oneshot.
I like how Matt finds a way to explain unusually high roles that fit with the character like "you're normally good at perception, but are in an unfamiliar space" or "despite your lack of social skills, this is a situation you've seen before" its a lot better than "well god just shat in your dinner so you go mysteriously blind for a second"
I love how Robbie interacts with Matt's NPCs. "That's a long laugh" is something that I rewatched about 10 times now
timestamp?
Edit: around 1:30:45
Idk if the Critical Role crew reads these, but this is just a suggestion. Plz no hate. I really like the mini’s and the art and work Matt puts into the encounters. Could maybe at intermission or as initiative is rolled , get pictures or stills of the mini’s or battle maps on the screen? Maybe how they have mini character sheets pop up, but with the mini’s and monsters. I watch on my phone at work sometimes, and I’m sure others do as well and seeing the work he does can be difficult. Much love from a random critter!
HUGE agree!!!!
I prefer the old classic hand drawn maps, was so easy to tell what was going on
The battle map cam could definitely use some more zoom. Mix full map pics with zooms on individual characters and panning around the map, etc. would be cool.
Absolutely idk if you've ever watched dimension 20 but I love how they produce the show really showcasing the map and minis
They did something similar for Undeadwood and it was amazing! Hope they read this
In the future, the party better use scrying on Lord E one night and just see him jumping from roof to roof with a cape on lmao... Owlbear man does exist
"Only Maude remains" omfg Robbie, that was perfection 😂🤣
I legitimately believe this is one of the strongest critical role episodes ever. The tension, the references, the implied setup. It’s wonderful to see Matt flex his dm skills so hard here.
I wish I had the skill to have my players at the edge of their seats during a ball.
For real! No dungeons or dragons and it was still one of my favorites.
The first main political setup episode this is very similar to midnight espionage.
I literally can not fathom how Matt kept track of ALL the bullshittery that was going on, and how he did it PERFECTLY. Genuinely so many characters and scenarios and rolls and stakes and wah! Brilliant. This is why I love him and Critical Role.
@@bdletoast09 As much as some players would appreciate having as intense a game as this, I imagine most players wouldn't be able to handle it. The reason Critical Role works like it does is because of how much Trust the group has in Matt as their DM, the years they have been playing games together as super close friends. Aside from his voices, everything he does is possible for any Dm willing to put in the work (he is just a highly skilled voice actor, that can take over a decade of training to get as good as him), its not like he is some DM God or something, he is just a DM trying to create a story with his friends. Every DM has stuff they are good at, and it takes a insane amount of practice before you can be the "Master" part of Dungeon Master, but all things require work, same with being a good Player.
I have been in many games in my time with this system, and the groups that I disliked the most were the ones trying to be like Critical Role, the DM tried way to hard to be like Matt Mercer, and the players tried way to hard to act like the members of critical role, weaving super complex backstories full of NPCs they hoped the DM would thread into the story, even copying character arcs and personalities (the amount of people I saw trying to be Percy, Grog, or Vex is insane). People don't seem to understand that what we see on the show is a Decade's worth of friendship and trust, more time then that in some cases, these guys have been playing together for a LONG time, they didn't start out like this. They are all very Skilled Actors/Voice Actors, many years spent perfecting their craft even before they started playing. Nobody can expect their DM or Players to be this skilled, and nobody should feel like they need to be in order to have fun with this game. While I sometimes do voices for my characters, im not to good at it unless im playing a elf or something, my voice is a little to high pitched to try and make it deep for my beefier characters, but if you have a group you work well with, voices don't matter, even in my streamed game where I play a half orc Barbarian (I do try and do a deeper voice sometimes but most of the time I cant sustain it) I usually just talk in my normal voice and nobody complains at all, even if we are trying to be more professional for the viewers.
Skill level doesn't matter as long as your having fun. All you need to do is talk with your players and ask them the kind of game they would think is most fun, take notes, and try your best to make a story they will think is engaging, and will also allow you to have fun as well.
"Nobody crimes well" is a god damn understatement. It's like everyone's brains leaked out of their ears as soon as the formal dance started. Not to mention they were told lodging would be provided. They could've just planted invisible Chetney in Armond's room with some sleep powder or something, and the job would be done.
assuming armand took advantage of the rooms...and that rooms were pre-assigned rather than simply reserved, and assigned as people needed them.
Ah yes, Owlbear Man. I really love the villains in his stories. There's that devilish trickster: The Jester, and her partner who has green skin and uses the power of nature: Captain Ivy
Captain Ivy is killing me right now, that's a great name
Along with their occasional ally the equation
Stop.
This deserves more likes
I love how he is immediately sure he doesn’t exist.
I live for those moments when Marisha makes a connection and you can see her face go through a combination of delight, astonishment, and her mind exploding.
My favorite was the last minute discussion of the plan, and she's basically dying trying not to laugh.
Little nugget of improv mastery by Matt and Marisha at 3:07:43
- The quick back and forth
- Marisha (presumably using her knowledge from Campaign 1) with a quick, almost poetic line. Seemingly cuts off something Matt is about to say but then..
- Matt picks up on the 'life and death' theme and throws a beautiful parallel back at her
- a pair of on-character acknowledgements
- let's quit while we are ahead with the cymbal crash
I love how no one is talking about Fearne passing the ornamental saber off to Ashton before the confrontation with Ratanish. Seriously I love their dynamic
Eshteross: “You’re confident in their capabilities?
Taliesin (/Ashton): *shakes head*
What do you mean? That's Aaron
@@matthewletexier oh, you’re absolutely right, my bad
@@Nerdgirl9820 "No one crimes well."
I can't remember when that question was asked. Was it when they were in the separate carriage rides?
@@artloveranimation Yes, I think it was somewhere around 22 minutes?? I can find the time stamp if that would help
On today’s episode of Critical Role: testing Laura’s patience as much and in as many ways as possible
1:25:00
Matt describing how it feels being a mango is so amazing... But Taliesin stopping him to ask... ABOUT being a mango, and the following conversation, is the stuff of legends...
When stressing out, be the mango you'd like to eat.
Dude! As Matt was describing it, I was envisioning me being the Mango. It was so vivid in my head.
My heart goes out to this headmaster who hates the whole affair and doesn't mind who knows it. :D
Gods I love Ashton. He KNOWS how people walk and talk in this city. He knows how to talk to criminal elements, knows when to call and when to fold, and oddly enough he doesn't take thing super personally. "It's just business, it's just how it is here" sort of attitude.
It mimics how a lot of seasoned inner-city resident respond to the kinds of shenanigans that happen when you have high population density.
Got to know when to hold ‘em know when to fold em know when to walk away know when to run.
I really love how layered and intense this campaign is already. The stakes feel so high, and I know it’s only layer one of this big ole onion of a campaign
But enough about the NordVPN Nordiverse, how do you feel about their DnD characters?
@@davidfountain6110 😂😂😂
@@davidfountain6110 Gold
this feels like the whole JRPG feel of the final bit of campaign 2 but switched to 11. this is the most JRPG critical role has ever felt and I love it. just waiting for them to finally get an airship or something
@@ectofrost oooo I sure hope so. I feel like really big things are possible in this campaign since they’re already off to such a big start!
I'm literally just stopping by to say, this is probably one of the best episodes of CR if you're caught up on Campaign 3. Not only is Matt killing it, while keeping track of multiple NPCs, but there's a great synergy between the cast. Every decision feels natural and will have you teetering at the edge of your seat. Just when you hope for something to go right, it won't and they have to scramble to fix it. It never feels forced, and Matt's ability to bring his NPCs to life lead to some fluid interactions between the cast that are just as tense as a bad role or a critical role. Shout out to everyone this episode including the production team that makes this all possible!
The chaos that Ashley brings to this campaign is so endearing and incredible to witness.
I love at 1:30:05 when Matt says the Lord was the one created by Grogs Wish spell out of the Deck of Many Things how Travis instantly recognizes it and tell Marisha and Sam and the Travis texts Laura and Sam texts Liam.
It was so funny watching it spread through the group like that. I also love how excited Travis got :D
Yeah!! Travis got it so quickly!!! I'm sure part of him always wondered what happened to that guy XD
@@neisovo8177 as was I 😆
Is this a campaign one thing? I did like watching it spread
What shocked me was Travis twigging straight away. Guess he was paying attention for a change :)
The very second Lord Preston says he was the Lord of the Quadroads, you can see Travis immediately go "No...bro" love it
Lord Eshteross: Owlbear man does not exist.
Me: that's what owlbear man would say if they were real
1:33:20 -- "Do you ever wish for anything more?" -- Ashley Johnson with the half court shot. Swish.
Love the near spittake from Taliesin there
Ashley metagaming for a free wish LOL
not a fan of metagaming for gain, but this was a beautiful knife twist to Travis...loved this callback
@@JDOTczar Agreed. Metagaming for advantage, bad. Metagaming for reference humour, top tier comedy.
it's unrelated but that's why I am struggling so much with Ashton. The brash "just don't", "Fuck off", swears all the time persona disappears anytime an authority figure or person where there may be a cost to the group if he behaves the way he does to them or his peers is around. It came to a head in this episode with the final confrontation - instead of him swearing we get "sir! Sir!" instead. It's a low charisma of convenience
As someone who has played the bassoon for over 7 years I really appreciate all the background music during the ball. It’s just nice to hear the distinctive sound that is a bassoon.
High five, fellow bassoonist! Double reed gang!
Travis' face when Matt says "Lord of the Quadroads" and their faces as realization dawned one by one was fantastic
1. Make the Plan
2. Execute the Plan
3. Expect the Plan to go off the rails
4. Throw away the Plan
The Captain Cold 4 Step Process to Planning is the best method of planning
Snart?
@@whatinthek7931 Lenard Snart aka Captain Cold from Legends of Tomorrow
As mike Tyson said, “everybody has a plan till they get punched in the face “.
Critical Role planning process:
1. Spend 45 minutes talking and make a plan
2. Spend 30 minutes making another plan
3. Forget both plans and just do something else
4. Succeed with crazy rolls and luck
Marisha was DYING like she wanted to call on the similarities between Lady Emoth and Laudna
The mango part might just be my favorite scene in this entire series.
This episode was an emotional rollercoaster, it was brilliant. I couldn’t look away
I don't know how Matt kept track of all the madness in this episode but kudos to him!
i felt like taking notes just watching it !
I kinda thought it might have been done as a modified chase sequence of sorts with initiative.
@@karencollins1356 that's actually all it is, too. You can improv the stuff going on during the party, but remember they signaled their plans last game? This is the usefulness behind the occasional "total downtime" or "recap" episode, too. Your players are better at building traps for themselves than you are.
The improv comes after a solid prep foundation.
Luckily for him he got absolutely everything out of the way before this event so he only needed to prepare for this and nothing else.
2:02:30 Props to how Robbie changes the entire tone of the conversation by asking the host what their favorite part of the evening is. It really feels like he _is_ his character, a charismatic noble who understands the social graces of court. I have to constantly remind myself that he is "only" a voice actor and not actually familiar with royal galas.
I know I’m late but I’m just catching up and YES Robbie is always so on it with the improv and plays the noble role perfectly, managing to be super charming
C2: let's limit the amount of references qe have to campaign 1
C3: ALL THE REFERENCES
Travis face when the Lord of Quadros introduces himself. Glorious.
instantaneous in his recognition.
*Quadroads
This is the first campaign I watch (and ExU). I didn't understand what happened.... I'm familiar with names and basic characteristics of characters from past campaign, but can someone please explain what happened here? 🙏🏼
@@AnaMahsati Travis/Grog had a deck of many things and, I believe, got a guy to pick a card out of the deck, who drew a card that gave him wishes. He used one of the wishes to become a lord and then went off and no one knew what happened to him afterwards. It was near the end of the campaign so there's wasn't much chance for those characters to run across him down the line.
@@AnaMahsati Travis' character in C1 had a Deck of Many Things and in one episode found a drunkard in an alley of the Quad Roads in Vasselheim. He convinced the drunkard to draw from the deck, and they drew the Moon card, which allowed them to cast Wish 1d3 times (twice). His first (and only Wish we know of so far) was to become a powerful lord of the Quadroads.
This is also why Ashley asked, in character as Faerne, "Do you ever wish for more?" as sort of a double-entendre.
Marisha's instant visceral reaction to Preston as he talked to Fearne killed me.
the way Travis laughs at Laura being called Maude... i want that kind of marriage :D
i’ve always imagined the crew using their voices around their homes
Man, 1:30:00, Travis' face is a JOURNEY. Watching the reaction spread around the table is so great! But Travis knew instantly. Matt with the loooooong game!
Sam's face had me over the moon. Such a funny moment
Who is he?
@@brendanhart517 Campaign 1 Spoiler: If it's who I think it is, it's the drunken guy that Grog gave the card which contained wishes. He wished to be a powerful lord of the quadroads.
the fact that the players feel like a lot was happening and laura pointing it out to matt "you handled a ball" shows to me how on another level matt is with his dm'n
just a reminder to everyone in the comments that the players getting frustrated and stuff really isn't that serious. the cast themselves were making jokes about it all on twitter as the episode was airing
This.
And even so, who cares if they are frustrated in a moment? That's not bad, and nor is it an automatic judgement of their fellow player(s). Shit happens even with the best dynamics when a snap decision or comment is made, or the decision differs from what they think should have been done.
If people assume no frustration or tension happens at a table, even with your closest friends, is kidding themselves. I say that generally and not directed at anyone. Just...something I've seen with d&d tables all over the internet and irl, where you have to agree with everyone or they secretly hate the other players. It's an impossible expectation to maintain and you push people away in the end. And as a viewer, you set yourself up for disappointment.
If the cast can brush it off and have a laugh immediately or with time, then great. The CR cast? they're adults, and if they have a problem or concern, we can assume they discuss it together of camera. The minute we start pointing it out and coming to our own conclusions/saying what should be done is a slipper slope that, in my opinion, will never end well.
What are you even referencing? I'm confused
@@aurifulgore What are you even referencing? I'm confused
@@Shorkshire oh, just some people digging WAY too deep into the feelings of the cast towards each other in regards to the execution of the ring swap! Luckily it seems to have died now that the comments have evened out with time, but you know 🤷♀️
@Nat just finished watching the ring thing and it seems like Dorian's brain was overloaded by so much info from the complicated dancing sequence, the pressure of making the switch to begin with since it was foisted onto him, the poor rolls he had, and Imogen constantly in his ear/brain. Glad to hear they're cool about it after. Or at least appear to be.
After C2 and "The chair", Matt just said fuck it and made furniture the key factor of C3.
This is an absolute masterclass in DMing. Balancing this many separate interactions in such a fluent way is wickedly impressive
Taliesin saying "you don't... HAVE to act it out" in such a voice got me.
The whole team owes Imogen a proper ball after that whole mess, poor girl was this close to having a heart attack.
Oh, you mean Maude...
@@mexicanfenix4855 There is no Imogen, there is only Maude…
Laura clearly needs some downtime after this episode bless her. First as the least submissive member of the crew she has to rp the servant woman. (Which I thought was hilarious) but then she had to bail out the rest of the crew when things went from bad to worse, to worser, to worse x 10000. Gotta love the chaos of it all.
I also thought Imogen did great, but she could’ve easily telekinetically grabbed the ring with mage hand and swapped it.
Since she has telekinetic, mage hand wouldn’t visibly appear. I got frustrated when she wasn’t using it.
@@AFestiveDude Technically she shouldn't be able to use Mage Hand to do stuff like pickpocketing, etc because it's outside the purview of the spell. The only characters who can use Mage Hand to do that stuff are Arcane Tricksters because they have a feature that lets them (Mage Hand Legerdemain). EDIT: She could have definitely used it to pick the ring up from the floor afterwards though, if that's what you mean.
Robbie: I'm going to try to throw the ring to Fearne
Laura and Taliesin: *literal face-palm*
But the best reaction
Marisha: *clenching and lifting to psychically carry the ring from Dorian to Fearne*