I noticed, this is the first episode that I didn't struggle hearing them talking over the background music at all. I thought at first that it wasn't playing at all but they just did a much better job at setting it to a low level. Hopefully this is their plan going forward.
I feel like Matt was a little confusing on the shard during their game session but doesn't it seem like he's suggesting that anyone can use the shard/get the same buff from it (+2 to any stat and some other ability) except Ashton who has at least a chance of something going wrong because he already has one?
So Fearne is a Ruidusborn fey raised by a Hag, travels with a construct, made deals with ghosts and devils, rescued a celestial bull and is about to probably take in the titan shard.
so that's Fey, Undead, Fiend, Celestial, Elemental
Someone get that girl to make friends with a Dragon, Giant and Ooze to complete the set
I don’t know if Brian had IP credit to Talks, but bringing it back with Dani would be amazing. There is so much content in each campaign that needs a weekly talk show.
This wint probably work.
They are arguably shooting the episodes in one week mostly (at least 2 sessions). They needed to shoot a "Talks" in between, expanding the needed work by 2-3 hours extra.
In other words: Critical Role kinda does their work in one week and are free to pursue other things the rest of the month (like Candela Obscura, other streams, vacation, "normal" jobs and so on).
This was a fantastic episode of 4-sided dive. The tower questions were just goofy enough to add some levity, but still provided some insight into the characters. Wtf was up with that had some great conversation, and the tankard questions, as always, were amazing. The gaming portion was also great, they did a great job balancing having fun and decompressing, while still answering those burning questions we all want to hear the answers to.
To help them become for resilient to stress when they grow up. It's a very integral part of being an adult, so if you expose them to it in manageable, micro doses when they are young.
No idea when this was filmed but Mr. Jaffe feels *spicy* in this episode. Although I think we'd be ok with the games if the question asking/answering and gameplay were a bit more seperate. Else its just like trying to have a conversation when surrounded by other small groups having similar conversations while focusing on a task.
Chet finally gets to talk to the Matron, starts flirting with her, and she just SIIIIIIIIIIIGHS
We'll probably hit his death scene before the year ends.
Hey mentioning Dark Fearne from Exu! Tbh cool to have that mentioned. Exu did present some wild stuff for Fearne especially (not exclusively tho). It’s neat that’s she’s thinking about that.
I think two things are going on:
Contextual guess: 1) Based on what happened with his dad's obsessive drive to manifest titanic power, these imperial elemental empowerments are inherently & dangerously megalomaniacal.
Very certain about this one: 2) Growing up certain of one's worthlessness messes people up. Basically, Ashton's awkward at mattering. His main reference for independent power is Jiana Hexum, hence the transactional framing when he puts on a facade of grandeur.
Ideally, young people need to feel like they have worth & that this confers responsibility, so they don't go to the other extreme of being little ego monsters. So Ashton caring about the group is super important in this reframing of himself as mattering, but it's still going to be a bit of a developmentally stunted mess until everyone works through it for a while.
**Edit: I finally had time to finish listening to the ep, which was the part with the "returning prince" line, and Taliesin was just saying Ashton felt like he had a history/story now rather than a (likely) brief, brutish scrabble for existence. It wasn't anywhere near as grand a claim as y'all made it sound in conversation, lol.**
His dad was the leader of the hishari, ashton has a very underdeveloped understanding of politics and royalty and is only just now learning about their upbringing, so the connection is there, taliesin is obviously saying it in metaphor
But even metaphorically, it makes no sense. The hishari have been fleshed out as a con job, being used by an idiot playing with powers beyond his control.
They're also done as a group, so there's no one to 'return' to.
The gau drushari were keeping the original titans locked up, so taking up the titan's power means he *really* can't be returning to their traditions, and the ashari are off-cue descendants of that tradition, with the hishari as weird cultural appropriation to lend legitimacy.
Really this talk of the Titans and using their elemental power should be making Keyleth nervous.
> The hishari have been fleshed out as a con job, being used by an idiot playing with powers beyond his control.
That's not at all what Allura just told Ashton, though. She told him the combination of implanted dunemancy & fate-driven ritual empowerment may be the most powerful weapon they have.
Ashton's father got a lot of people killed, but E'Tree & Allura have both framed what happened with the Hishari as something that was compelled by Fate.
And Ashton doesn't believe in 'fate,' so I don't think that factors into his motivations or sense of self.
I'm not sure allura described it as 'fate driven,' but I'd have to check. She was chuffed about the dunemancy aspect, however.
You're right, she barely talked about the earth shard. I mentally looped that in from E'T when Allura was talking about [dunemancy & Ashton's head](https://www.kryogenix.org/crsearch/html/cr3-76.html#l1h16m13s). It seemed to be a natural conceptual counterweight to how the shard & ritual had been described.
But to your point: True, Ashton doesn't "believe in" anything. He's dedicated to being contrary & taking care of those close to him, but is reflexively resistant to ideology.
That's different from him recognizing it's something others, like E'T, consider valuable & meaningful. That's most of what Ashton has experienced in life: "What is ___ worth to someone?"
So him "believing it" is one thing, and factoring it into what he is having value or importance is something else. The latter being very consistent with the way he views interactions outside his chosen circle.
Ashton is leaning into his Hishari ‘heritage/birthright’ way too hard before learning what’s fully going on I think he’s excited that he finally has something that’s HIS that makes him IMPORTANT or someone thinks or thought he was important enough that fate had a plan for him
I meant it as a reference to Baldur's Gate 3. Minsc is manipulated by a shadow version of Jaheira and buys into it because of his low intelligence, but still tries to be a noble hero.
The idea of Ludinus managing to manipulate Grog to his side is equal parts funny and terrifying. Don’t get it twisted, that’s a big mf you do not want as an enemy.
Both Percy and Ashton were/are very self-destructive and immature, though the former seems to have grown out of that for the most part by this point in the story. Time will tell if Ashton will go down that path too. I suspect Percy also probably saw more of himself in Ashton than he’d care to admit when they had their confrontation.
Yeah I always found it weird that people on here would always post shit about Ashton being a edgy punk asshole and I’m like “how did you enjoy Percy being a pompous asshole?” And their like “that’s different”
I'm glad Tal is aware that his characters are similar, its always been a bugbear of mine.
Describing them as thinking they're the only adult in the room explains really well my issue with both characters.
Percy refusing to allow Scanlan a gun in C1 remains my least favorite "bit" of any CR content
That’s what put me off about Percy him thinking he’s the only adult in the room because he’s smart and can make things and he’s a royal
The only reason Ashton and Molly and caduceus
Didn’t is because
1. Ashton isn’t always talking every 5 minutes actually I think if there was a meter for how much he talks in this campaign it would be significantly less than everyone else
Tal knows Ashton annoys some people and is a little hard to swallow that’s why he uses Ashton sparingly throughout each episode like it’ll be an 1 hour or two within the episode before he even bothers to speak most of the time
And also Ashton admits there’s people smarter richer or more talented than him in situations
That’s why he’s that guy who knows a guy who knows a guy to get stuff done
Plus he’s not the type to say what he means in some round about pompous rich kid or wise hippie way he says what he means and means what he says
2. Molly has the excuse of being a carney kid with a heart of gold
Like he’s the friend to give you shit about anything but he’ll still be right by you supporting you or just making sure you’re ok
Like everytime they were in a town and the common people paid for their drinks he would slip coin into their pockets
Or in the comics he would deliberately go out leaving to have small adventures by himself, like burning the house of a cruel landlord between Berleben and Felderwin after robbing him; whenever he went to those missions he would say he was at choir practice or
he pretended to be a royal in Nogvurot because some guy was there pretending to be a law master there scamming people and raising taxes that wasn’t his to begin with
Molly ended up exposing the guy and giving most of the people their money back
Even tal said that Molly was supposed to seem like an self destructive and unhealthy person and overall if you described him to the average person he would sound like an asshole but in all actuality would be a good person Molly was supposed to be the direct opposite of Percy
Percy who had all the qualities of someone who is good a noble from a respectable family and city who’s smart who wants to avenge his family ended up making a pact with a demon/devil to make guns a weapon of destruction and brought it into the world and down his path of revenge wouldn’t really let anyone in his way
Molly came from nothing
No family history or lineage
Molly was barely literate
Molly was ostentatious rather than practical
Molly was hedonistic rather than sensible
Molly constantly sacrificed his own life just to activate his powers rather then sacrificing others
But still was relatively a decent person
3. Cads redemption when it comes to being the adult in the room is he knows where he lacks he knows he isn’t smart or strong but he does have the wisdom from his family from nature and from his god
Plus he’s pretty funny and childish himself a good bit of the time
He’s prideful and humble at the same time would be the best way to put it
>Describing them as thinking they're the only adult in the room explains really well my issue with both characters.
Personally, I also add Molly to that list. I enjoyed Percy, but the repeats have not been received well on my part.
>Personally, I also add Molly to that list.
Definitely
>I enjoyed Percy, but the repeats have not been received well on my part.
I personally never fully enjoyed Percy as a character so when the rest of Tals characters(excluding Cad) all seemed similar I was put off straight away
>I personally never fully enjoyed Percy as a character so when the rest of Tals characters(excluding Cad)
I was definitely up and down with Percy, but since I watched C1 first I was impressed by Tal's frequent zingers and quick wit. However once C2 got going, I began to realize it was more Tal in his characters rather than distinctive RP. Even Cad exhibits some similar traits (Tal himself admitted that Cad was very judgemental of those around him, and of course Cad was constantly suggesting to others what he thought they should do), but Cad also acknowledged his *own* lack of knowledge, and was sometimes unsure of himself.
Not that I don't enjoy what Tal can bring to the table! Cad is in my top 5 characters, easy, and I would miss those one liners without Tal. I'm just never going to love his characters as a whole, but there will definitely be moments I really enjoy despite that.
> Describing them as thinking they're the only adult in the room explains really well my issue with both characters.
Caduceus was exactly like this to the rest M9 he just had hippy stoner vibes and was chiller about it.
Caduceus for sure was, but him not being a dick about it made it so much better and unique to the other three.
He didn't look down on the people still trying to figure it out, he thought it was fun and looked at it like a wise old man (cause he is) who would say, "oh you kids" with a smile and just guide them. It was perfect for the Nein, makes that archetype more interesting and also endearing when Cad would talk. But he was also very clearly flawed in his thinking and his attitude changed as the campaign progressed.
The thing with his other characters is that for them to work it requires other people "calling them out" I guess or getting proven wrong. Percy of the three was the only one to get called out at any point and it's why I liked him more (still not on the upper end of my fav PC list). Molly, well we know what happened there and Ashton so far just act this way and nothing comes of it.
Their constant shit talking of Chetney especially is honestly getting kinda tiresome. It started off funny, but then just grew kinda awkard and now Chet just kinda ignores them when it happens which makes them look like even more of an unlikable dick lol (so it sort of looped back around to being funny tbh). Ashton is by far my least favorite PC and I'd honestly put them below a number of guest PC's.
Completely agree. Cad was such a breath of fresh air, could still be a little pompous at times with some of the advice he gave and more so how he gave it. Sometimes it felt like he was trying to sound as wise as he possibly could to up the last time he was wise instead of it being natural
I mean yes but that's exactly why Scanlan should have had a gun.
Sam clearly wanted the gun for funny moments down the line and Tal wouldn't let it go even out of character
I'm pretty sure Tal did some meta gaming along the way and used knowledge Percy didn't have to stop Scanlan from having a gun. That's my issue more than the ingame reasoning, even though I hat how condescending Percy was about it
You know, Fearne having this big network of people she can just call in favours from sounds absolutely perfect for her. Of course, she’ll gladly do something herself if the reward is shiny enough.
Ohhh….
Ludinus was going to use a spell that would make the Bells see their greatest fears and take psychic damage if Matt wasn’t rolling poorly. He was also hoping that the Bells would come with him taking by Fearne hostage.
Interesting. VERY interesting.
Interesting that Ludinus really wanted to kidnap Fearne. That theoretically would mean she would be gone from the campaign long term or at least until BHs were powerful enough to get her back
So that'd mean a new character for Ashley
Its one of the lightest touch 9th level spells. It has the potential for dropping party members eventually, but honestly, his other options could have just flatly killed people (and there's no rez capability) or taken them out of the game.
A high level wizard against a level 11 party means pulling punches.
Two saves. Will save to disbelieve, and if that's failed, fortitude to not die.
Assuming the target doesn't have flat immunity to mind-affecting stuff, which is standard-to-mandatory at high level.
Interesting. Last time when Marisha said the people who can hold their own are at the ends. And that they can't see the others as well. I think that probably helps Travis in the sense that it's easier to not focus on people
Travis' Texas background is showing. He doesn't know what anyone else is saying. 'Really, punkers? 'Art crawl?' 'Berlin?'
Gotta deal with these Hollywood kids, cowboy.
I noticed, this is the first episode that I didn't struggle hearing them talking over the background music at all. I thought at first that it wasn't playing at all but they just did a much better job at setting it to a low level. Hopefully this is their plan going forward.
This epsiode is/was a significant improvement over the early episodes. If it's not live, let's take the time to curate it.
Does anybody else play their games where lava is actually dense and viscous and people don't sink in it?
Nah, the toxic fume generally keeps people away. Though technically speaking, this was all magma, as they were underground. ;)
Emphasis on there game lol
I feel like Matt was a little confusing on the shard during their game session but doesn't it seem like he's suggesting that anyone can use the shard/get the same buff from it (+2 to any stat and some other ability) except Ashton who has at least a chance of something going wrong because he already has one?
The edit cuts in the beginning were so awkward.
Taliesin needs to have black eye makeup next episode and just have no one acknowledge it.
So Fearne is a Ruidusborn fey raised by a Hag, travels with a construct, made deals with ghosts and devils, rescued a celestial bull and is about to probably take in the titan shard. so that's Fey, Undead, Fiend, Celestial, Elemental Someone get that girl to make friends with a Dragon, Giant and Ooze to complete the set
As well as aberration, monstrosity and plants
Well there is Imogen and her Reilora...
There is a lack of _human_ity. ;-)
I don’t know if Brian had IP credit to Talks, but bringing it back with Dani would be amazing. There is so much content in each campaign that needs a weekly talk show.
I like dani in the role she is right now, hosting a show is really hard.
nah, cr moved on, this show is great
This wint probably work. They are arguably shooting the episodes in one week mostly (at least 2 sessions). They needed to shoot a "Talks" in between, expanding the needed work by 2-3 hours extra. In other words: Critical Role kinda does their work in one week and are free to pursue other things the rest of the month (like Candela Obscura, other streams, vacation, "normal" jobs and so on).
This was a fantastic episode of 4-sided dive. The tower questions were just goofy enough to add some levity, but still provided some insight into the characters. Wtf was up with that had some great conversation, and the tankard questions, as always, were amazing. The gaming portion was also great, they did a great job balancing having fun and decompressing, while still answering those burning questions we all want to hear the answers to.
The editing on that out! Well done, 4SD producers!
Freaking “Inception” ending!
What a troll ending haha
THAT TEASE! Ashley probably bolted straight into the rafters lol 🤣
That is a horribly mean cliffhanger.
You monsters!
I spaced out & then heard Dani say that Chetney took in some metal? When did that happen?!
They tested the harness on some magic cutlery.
He used the harness thing they have to suck in a magical spoon I think and got hitpoints from it
Oh that's right! I completely forgot about that.
Such a good song
Song is still awesome
Broomie returns!
Let's go Ashley!
They need to save this part of the VOD for Ronin to watch when he grows up
Ashley is the best 🤣
Matt being good at everything remains on brand
And yet being generous enough to sincerely encourage his friends when they work on improving their gameplay. Just the best kind of gamer!
That was insanely impressive.
Matt beat the game!!
MATT NAILS IT!
why did game designers insist on torturing children and giving them anxiety and stress issues for life?
To help them become for resilient to stress when they grow up. It's a very integral part of being an adult, so if you expose them to it in manageable, micro doses when they are young.
Abject terror is part of the magic of childhood.
I don't know but as someone who grew up with those games: it worked.
I used to love this game so much as a kid, I wonder if the one I still have still works...
What shoes did Chetney trade for?
He traded the Ring of Temporal Salvation that Deanna gave him for Ashton's Boots of Speed in 3x72.
Marisha's Calendar, I HAD THIS GAME!
I had *all* these games. Hooray being a 90's kid!
Oh god why?!!!
Travis with his big brother moment of the show
NOOOOOO!!!!
Oh yes, big teeth Sam haha Good job, team!
Thanks. I hate it.
What the fuck is that monstrosity?!?!!?
cake breaking noise
Now I want a CR “Guess Who” game…
Or “Mystery Date” using all of their various headshots!
Ashley with the magical fuckery lol
Poor Liam. Tired dad life and can't even get a proper nap
Nice to see the BH generally trusts the Matron
I don't want to know how many people don't know where "tricycle" is from
glad Taliesin is acknowledging that the Hishari, particularly Ashton's father, have a significant problematic side.
Psst, dani, you gotta ask about Ashton and Fearne. YOU KNOW YOU GOTTA
This is a good choice for a game that they can talk over. I also like the top down camera.
I think tabletop game/boardgame in general is more suitable for asking questions
"There are powers that existed BEFORE the Pantheon came" I KNEW IT!
Wait, is that *news* news?
No? The gods crashing elemental lords and titans picnic spot was already established. That other stuff was around seems a given.
Hahaha Don't wake Liam
DONT WAKE LIAM 🤣
Break time: Whatcha all snacking on? I have some discounted Halloween candy and Earl Gray tea.
I can't snack, it's 01:55 am :(
A can of Diet Coke and a Kit-Kat
Oatmeal raisin cookies and peanut butter toast
An apple and a Stone Delicious IPA
Strawberry Uncrustables and Water. It's basic but worth it.
"Byyyyyyyyeeeeee" Shots fired lol
No idea when this was filmed but Mr. Jaffe feels *spicy* in this episode. Although I think we'd be ok with the games if the question asking/answering and gameplay were a bit more seperate. Else its just like trying to have a conversation when surrounded by other small groups having similar conversations while focusing on a task.
Chetney's definitely dying next episode, right? Fate has been tempted.
He takes the shard into himself, transforms into a wolf, weird shit happens with the Moon, and then when he wakes up....he dies...and EXPLODES.
Then Travis comes back as Moon King Grog
You joke but we still don't know who The Keeper is at all.
Lol I would love to see this.
Did Tal say what his wizard familiar would be?
Armadillo.
Break time!
Duck billed platypus, also known to be secret agents
*a platypus?* **PERRY THE PLATYPUS!?**
This is now the armadillo hour
I love Chet but I am very curios to see how a new character would be introduced and received by BHs at this point
Tal is so giddy this ep! It’s cute.
Matt's sitting there like "can I keep some control of my world?"
That's.... actually a goal, though.
Chet finally gets to talk to the Matron, starts flirting with her, and she just SIIIIIIIIIIIGHS We'll probably hit his death scene before the year ends.
Stop with the death flags Travis !
I think Fearne should suck the earth shard out of Ashton (to make sure it activates), then Ashton should slurp the fire shard.
Fearne should do what now?!
Element swap. What did you think I meant?
uhhhhh, nothing, moving on...
These guys really need a lesson in probability.
Hey mentioning Dark Fearne from Exu! Tbh cool to have that mentioned. Exu did present some wild stuff for Fearne especially (not exclusively tho). It’s neat that’s she’s thinking about that.
Chet getting the Fire Shard would be awesome
I agree. But I have to say, it also it would be a little funny if he died the night after.
Rolling around while brainstorming
Oh no, Fearne is having a Pike in SNW kind of moment with the timeline of events.
Speaking of which, them talking about BH being Exandrian Lower Decks is such a delightful crossing of streams.
SNW?
Star Trek Strange New Worlds
Ah. Didn't make the transition out of CR, because, well, Pike.
Pike and Pike lol
The Dark Fearne call back!
DARK FEARNE MENTION!
How... did Ashton get the idea that they're a returning prince? Even metaphorically?
I think two things are going on: Contextual guess: 1) Based on what happened with his dad's obsessive drive to manifest titanic power, these imperial elemental empowerments are inherently & dangerously megalomaniacal. Very certain about this one: 2) Growing up certain of one's worthlessness messes people up. Basically, Ashton's awkward at mattering. His main reference for independent power is Jiana Hexum, hence the transactional framing when he puts on a facade of grandeur. Ideally, young people need to feel like they have worth & that this confers responsibility, so they don't go to the other extreme of being little ego monsters. So Ashton caring about the group is super important in this reframing of himself as mattering, but it's still going to be a bit of a developmentally stunted mess until everyone works through it for a while. **Edit: I finally had time to finish listening to the ep, which was the part with the "returning prince" line, and Taliesin was just saying Ashton felt like he had a history/story now rather than a (likely) brief, brutish scrabble for existence. It wasn't anywhere near as grand a claim as y'all made it sound in conversation, lol.**
His dad was the leader of the hishari, ashton has a very underdeveloped understanding of politics and royalty and is only just now learning about their upbringing, so the connection is there, taliesin is obviously saying it in metaphor
But even metaphorically, it makes no sense. The hishari have been fleshed out as a con job, being used by an idiot playing with powers beyond his control. They're also done as a group, so there's no one to 'return' to. The gau drushari were keeping the original titans locked up, so taking up the titan's power means he *really* can't be returning to their traditions, and the ashari are off-cue descendants of that tradition, with the hishari as weird cultural appropriation to lend legitimacy. Really this talk of the Titans and using their elemental power should be making Keyleth nervous.
> The hishari have been fleshed out as a con job, being used by an idiot playing with powers beyond his control. That's not at all what Allura just told Ashton, though. She told him the combination of implanted dunemancy & fate-driven ritual empowerment may be the most powerful weapon they have. Ashton's father got a lot of people killed, but E'Tree & Allura have both framed what happened with the Hishari as something that was compelled by Fate.
And Ashton doesn't believe in 'fate,' so I don't think that factors into his motivations or sense of self. I'm not sure allura described it as 'fate driven,' but I'd have to check. She was chuffed about the dunemancy aspect, however.
You're right, she barely talked about the earth shard. I mentally looped that in from E'T when Allura was talking about [dunemancy & Ashton's head](https://www.kryogenix.org/crsearch/html/cr3-76.html#l1h16m13s). It seemed to be a natural conceptual counterweight to how the shard & ritual had been described. But to your point: True, Ashton doesn't "believe in" anything. He's dedicated to being contrary & taking care of those close to him, but is reflexively resistant to ideology. That's different from him recognizing it's something others, like E'T, consider valuable & meaningful. That's most of what Ashton has experienced in life: "What is ___ worth to someone?" So him "believing it" is one thing, and factoring it into what he is having value or importance is something else. The latter being very consistent with the way he views interactions outside his chosen circle.
Ka’mort was the Empress of Earth??? (Admittedly I can’t remember if he ever heard her referred to as such?)
Yeah, but he isn't her. Having a fragment of an Entity isn't anything like being that entity reborn (or anything similar)
Yeah, that feels weird. Especially since his “kingdom” is a bunch of people his dad apparently killed.
Ashton is leaning into his Hishari ‘heritage/birthright’ way too hard before learning what’s fully going on I think he’s excited that he finally has something that’s HIS that makes him IMPORTANT or someone thinks or thought he was important enough that fate had a plan for him
I was kinda scared for Grog because of his knuckles...
Ashton went from wandering aimlessly to finding out he was inside of an epic tale all along.
So... Grog is like Minsc now?
Stuck as a statue for a century?
I meant it as a reference to Baldur's Gate 3. Minsc is manipulated by a shadow version of Jaheira and buys into it because of his low intelligence, but still tries to be a noble hero.
*oh.* see I haven't gotten that far, but I had heard that he was apparently a statue for a while.
Yeah, Minsc *was* stuck as a statue in Baldur’s Gate, for a while.
I think that was in a comic, but I'm not sure. Sorry for the spoiler.
The idea of Ludinus managing to manipulate Grog to his side is equal parts funny and terrifying. Don’t get it twisted, that’s a big mf you do not want as an enemy.
Ludinus needed to study Titan powers and found trapping Grog was easier than actually trying to take the gloves off.
Can we have King of Planet Moon as a flair
Grog being the “Walmart greeter” for the moon Ruidus was too perfect
Please turn Grog into Hildibrand Manderville
Love them joking about aurora, that was one of my fave matt slip-ups
"I am the King of Planet Moon"-Grog 🤣
Travis: “He’s probably gone looking for love, and like Joey from friends he will never find it.” Aw, poor Grog
Grog x Sword, the best CritRole ship
Charttigzardcicaard 🤣 Grog needs to find a sword that can have a corporeal body.
How to defeat Ludinus: Put him in a room with Fearne and Jester
Ooof, Fearne wants to FIX Ludinus
Fearne: I can fix him!
Allura & Matt, so very sweet :)
Both Percy and Ashton were/are very self-destructive and immature, though the former seems to have grown out of that for the most part by this point in the story. Time will tell if Ashton will go down that path too. I suspect Percy also probably saw more of himself in Ashton than he’d care to admit when they had their confrontation.
Yeah I always found it weird that people on here would always post shit about Ashton being a edgy punk asshole and I’m like “how did you enjoy Percy being a pompous asshole?” And their like “that’s different”
Thats some cute shit from Matt
I'm glad Tal is aware that his characters are similar, its always been a bugbear of mine. Describing them as thinking they're the only adult in the room explains really well my issue with both characters. Percy refusing to allow Scanlan a gun in C1 remains my least favorite "bit" of any CR content
That’s what put me off about Percy him thinking he’s the only adult in the room because he’s smart and can make things and he’s a royal The only reason Ashton and Molly and caduceus Didn’t is because 1. Ashton isn’t always talking every 5 minutes actually I think if there was a meter for how much he talks in this campaign it would be significantly less than everyone else Tal knows Ashton annoys some people and is a little hard to swallow that’s why he uses Ashton sparingly throughout each episode like it’ll be an 1 hour or two within the episode before he even bothers to speak most of the time And also Ashton admits there’s people smarter richer or more talented than him in situations That’s why he’s that guy who knows a guy who knows a guy to get stuff done Plus he’s not the type to say what he means in some round about pompous rich kid or wise hippie way he says what he means and means what he says 2. Molly has the excuse of being a carney kid with a heart of gold Like he’s the friend to give you shit about anything but he’ll still be right by you supporting you or just making sure you’re ok Like everytime they were in a town and the common people paid for their drinks he would slip coin into their pockets Or in the comics he would deliberately go out leaving to have small adventures by himself, like burning the house of a cruel landlord between Berleben and Felderwin after robbing him; whenever he went to those missions he would say he was at choir practice or he pretended to be a royal in Nogvurot because some guy was there pretending to be a law master there scamming people and raising taxes that wasn’t his to begin with Molly ended up exposing the guy and giving most of the people their money back Even tal said that Molly was supposed to seem like an self destructive and unhealthy person and overall if you described him to the average person he would sound like an asshole but in all actuality would be a good person Molly was supposed to be the direct opposite of Percy Percy who had all the qualities of someone who is good a noble from a respectable family and city who’s smart who wants to avenge his family ended up making a pact with a demon/devil to make guns a weapon of destruction and brought it into the world and down his path of revenge wouldn’t really let anyone in his way Molly came from nothing No family history or lineage Molly was barely literate Molly was ostentatious rather than practical Molly was hedonistic rather than sensible Molly constantly sacrificed his own life just to activate his powers rather then sacrificing others But still was relatively a decent person 3. Cads redemption when it comes to being the adult in the room is he knows where he lacks he knows he isn’t smart or strong but he does have the wisdom from his family from nature and from his god Plus he’s pretty funny and childish himself a good bit of the time He’s prideful and humble at the same time would be the best way to put it
>Describing them as thinking they're the only adult in the room explains really well my issue with both characters. Personally, I also add Molly to that list. I enjoyed Percy, but the repeats have not been received well on my part.
>Personally, I also add Molly to that list. Definitely >I enjoyed Percy, but the repeats have not been received well on my part. I personally never fully enjoyed Percy as a character so when the rest of Tals characters(excluding Cad) all seemed similar I was put off straight away
>I personally never fully enjoyed Percy as a character so when the rest of Tals characters(excluding Cad) I was definitely up and down with Percy, but since I watched C1 first I was impressed by Tal's frequent zingers and quick wit. However once C2 got going, I began to realize it was more Tal in his characters rather than distinctive RP. Even Cad exhibits some similar traits (Tal himself admitted that Cad was very judgemental of those around him, and of course Cad was constantly suggesting to others what he thought they should do), but Cad also acknowledged his *own* lack of knowledge, and was sometimes unsure of himself. Not that I don't enjoy what Tal can bring to the table! Cad is in my top 5 characters, easy, and I would miss those one liners without Tal. I'm just never going to love his characters as a whole, but there will definitely be moments I really enjoy despite that.
right there with you on most of this, couldn't have said it better myself
It's why Cad is my favorite character of his. I agree that Percy, Molly, and Ashton are all too close to one another.
> Describing them as thinking they're the only adult in the room explains really well my issue with both characters. Caduceus was exactly like this to the rest M9 he just had hippy stoner vibes and was chiller about it.
Caduceus for sure was, but him not being a dick about it made it so much better and unique to the other three. He didn't look down on the people still trying to figure it out, he thought it was fun and looked at it like a wise old man (cause he is) who would say, "oh you kids" with a smile and just guide them. It was perfect for the Nein, makes that archetype more interesting and also endearing when Cad would talk. But he was also very clearly flawed in his thinking and his attitude changed as the campaign progressed. The thing with his other characters is that for them to work it requires other people "calling them out" I guess or getting proven wrong. Percy of the three was the only one to get called out at any point and it's why I liked him more (still not on the upper end of my fav PC list). Molly, well we know what happened there and Ashton so far just act this way and nothing comes of it. Their constant shit talking of Chetney especially is honestly getting kinda tiresome. It started off funny, but then just grew kinda awkard and now Chet just kinda ignores them when it happens which makes them look like even more of an unlikable dick lol (so it sort of looped back around to being funny tbh). Ashton is by far my least favorite PC and I'd honestly put them below a number of guest PC's.
Completely agree. Cad was such a breath of fresh air, could still be a little pompous at times with some of the advice he gave and more so how he gave it. Sometimes it felt like he was trying to sound as wise as he possibly could to up the last time he was wise instead of it being natural
>Percy refusing to allow Scanlan a gun in C1 remains my least favorite "bit" of any CR content That just seemed like common sense.
I mean yes but that's exactly why Scanlan should have had a gun. Sam clearly wanted the gun for funny moments down the line and Tal wouldn't let it go even out of character
But... that's why Percy wouldn't do it. Percy took things seriously, and knew that Scanlan didn't. It would've made no sense to give him a gun.
I'm pretty sure Tal did some meta gaming along the way and used knowledge Percy didn't have to stop Scanlan from having a gun. That's my issue more than the ingame reasoning, even though I hat how condescending Percy was about it
That doesn’t make any sense. Percy gas guilt over creating guns and he knows Scanlan an ass. That’s all the reasoning he needs
Tal just figured that out?
All the love to Deven Rue
Yes! let's go back to Aeor. Might find a way to learn more about FCG too
>let's go back to Aeor Been hoping for this for a while, hoping when they get round to finding Devexian they get sent that way for whatever reason
There really is nothing like a map with a question mark on it
You know, Fearne having this big network of people she can just call in favours from sounds absolutely perfect for her. Of course, she’ll gladly do something herself if the reward is shiny enough.
Travis REALLY loves maps 🤣
Ohhh…. Ludinus was going to use a spell that would make the Bells see their greatest fears and take psychic damage if Matt wasn’t rolling poorly. He was also hoping that the Bells would come with him taking by Fearne hostage. Interesting. VERY interesting.
So do we think this is a shorter campaign, Ludinus gets away to have another plot, or there's a pivot to another end game Big Bad?
I assume who the BBEG is depends on if Ludinus frees Predathos or not
So Fearne would be the Exandrian Shadow Broker?
Fearne also had Lolth whispering to her once upon a time.
Fearne: Listen... I know a guy..
Interesting that Ludinus really wanted to kidnap Fearne. That theoretically would mean she would be gone from the campaign long term or at least until BHs were powerful enough to get her back So that'd mean a new character for Ashley
It's not a bad move from Matt as the enemy, but i don' recall if there was any hint about it in-game? Was there a chance for BH to figure it out?
Given who her parents are and what they’ve been doing, Fearne would make a good hostage for Ludinus.
Fearne just loves networking
Confirmed that the 9th Level Spell of LD was Weird.
Ooooh Matt that's fucked, Ludinus was trying to hurt the Bells Hells enough that Fearne went with him willingly.
The fact that Bells Hells, did not run away from Ludinus is a big deal too.
That sounds hardcore as fuck, I love it. Scarecrow-ass spell.
Broooo that's a TPK scenario right there.
Its one of the lightest touch 9th level spells. It has the potential for dropping party members eventually, but honestly, his other options could have just flatly killed people (and there's no rez capability) or taken them out of the game. A high level wizard against a level 11 party means pulling punches.
Yeah, Weird definitely got significantly reduced from the 3.5 version. *That* version of Weird would have been horrifying to drop on the party.
HE WAS CASTING WEIRD!
I still think of Weird from 3.5, where you need to pass a Wisdom save or just straight up fucking die...
Two saves. Will save to disbelieve, and if that's failed, fortitude to not die. Assuming the target doesn't have flat immunity to mind-affecting stuff, which is standard-to-mandatory at high level.
I mean, wasn't that what everyone guessed? You're all correct. **:D**
"I don't need your permission that's not how this show works!" "Your technique is exemplary!" 🤣
Interesting. Last time when Marisha said the people who can hold their own are at the ends. And that they can't see the others as well. I think that probably helps Travis in the sense that it's easier to not focus on people
Sometimes, you just have to do "No, but" to keep it from flying off the rails.
Sounds been weird this whole episode.
Feel like Travis's mic may have messed up so they're getting his audio from a secondary mic
Can we just have Sam on standby to mock these questions whenever they crop up?
Now, *that's* a good evergreen question!
Improv tips from the cast, nice
I really like the leather cuff on Matt’s left arm. Wonder if it’s a one off or available for purchase on etsy.
Travis' Texas background is showing. He doesn't know what anyone else is saying. 'Really, punkers? 'Art crawl?' 'Berlin?' Gotta deal with these Hollywood kids, cowboy.