#C4:CR

[cptn-bluebeard]

My main concern is the timeline for finishing up campaign 3: we have only have Bell’ Hells once this month and then they’re not back until the new year since the Daggerheart live show is broadcasting on the 19th. I’m torn between them getting through the Predathos fight next week or stalling enough that the “finale” is in the new year. I think if they have the Predathos fight next week, then the fallout/end of campaign is going to feel disconnected, but I feel like a “filler” episode/ “fight to the hallowed cage” type episode won’t be as satisfying? Idk, I’m sure they have an idea of how this is going to work.

This also brings up another point of Bell’s Hells ending so soon. A shorter campaign than both VM and MN paired with the fact that it hasn’t been Bell’s Hells the entirety of the campaign, what with the EXU cast and Downfall and the other PC groups, it’s honestly a shame we don’t get to see more of these characters and I think that’s going to be a strike towards Bell’s Hells at the end of all this (like they’re aren’t already at the bottom of a lot of people’s lists, but I absolutely ADORE Bell’s Hells). Also, the lack of certainty about the end for them also sets them apart from the other groups in the sense of the first two had a clear goal of “defeat the bad guy” while Bell’s Hells has a lot more complexity and nuance to their decision they still need to figure out at the literal last minute. I’m intrigued and excited to see where we go but also a little saddened that they aren’t sharing the same gravitas overall.

[criticalbeauregard]

closest we've ever gotten to poly party the prophecy is nearly complete

[thescrabblesmcjellyfish]

I wonder if Otohan managed to kill FCG would that have exalted Fearne? Like maybe as soon as she found out Fearne was ruidus born why not do it again?

She was waaaay too intrigued when she sensed it in her

[pinkestpurple]

I actually didnt used to like Sam, bc i didnt watch Vox Machina and for the things that people said Scanlan looked like those characters that make rape jokes and that kind of bullshit. But then i watched TLOVM and Scanlan was okay and of course i watched C3 and realized what a kind player Sam is, he makes choices so other people can shine, he really loves this game and his friends, idk i just love Sam as a player, and cant wait to see what he does nexts

[yoursdearlyeve]

r/fansofcriticalrole is so bitter about Daggerheart and Candela as if Darrington Press crew personally shits in their breakfast

[undead-knick-knack]

Just making a custom coffee mug for Relvin Temult 😊

[staticrevelations]

becoming more and more convinced that Predathos has corrupted or made some kind of pact with Ludinus the way Vespin did with Asmodeus and that Predathos corrupts those connected to Ruidus like Lilliana and we're effectively heading towards a potential second mini-Calamity

[sw5w]

Naboo Soldiers Move In

STAR WARS EPISODE I: The Phantom Menace 01:47:13

[utilitycaster]

Given this campaign’s ups and downs and the current slate of CR programming, I’m curious what your outlook is on CR’s overall creative direction, especially going into a big anniversary? I mainly ask because you don’t seem to get bogged down in weird conspiracy theories about CR as a company nor do you act like CR producing other side projects is the root of campaign 3’s issues (like many disgruntled fans seem to - mostly reddit bros obsessed with viewership proving their points). You also seem to know your shit when it comes to creative direction in TTRPG content and have well founded critiques and complaints. 

I personally think a lot of what they've been doing is interesting, but I do sometimes wonder if I’m just prone to wanting to like what CR does because I'm a fan and want them to do well.

Hi anon!

First, thank you so much. I do not in fact know my shit re: creative direction and while I don't want to put them on the spot, several of my mutuals DO have considerably more knowledge of creative direction and production considerations than I do. They are just also better at keeping quiet and hedging their bets than I am. Anything I say that is correct re creative direction comes from a combination of avid reader who likes to analyze fiction/project management experience/common sense.

Honestly? I don't know if they'll do a campaign after this one (and it's possible they'll wrap up C3 before the 10th anniversary) but I think that the reason C3 is like this is because of the demands of a campaign that incorporates EXU Prime and past campaigns and the moon plot. I think Matt needed to run this the way Brennan runs D20 seasons and the cast was also expecting a campaign with the more open plotting of C1 or C2, and no one realized this until pretty far into the campaign. It is not too late to stick the landing of a messy campaign, though it's also not too late to totally fuck it up; but I think (and, to be fair, hope, because I'm also a fan and want them to do well) that the issues of Campaign 3 are contained within Campaign 3.

Part of why I think that is because the "side projects" have for the most part been successful! TLOVM looks great as does what little we've seen of the animated Nein series, the Daggerheart one-shots have been fun, I've loved Candela Obscura, Calamity and Downfall have been incredible, and while they're a lot more hands off with Midst what the cast has been involved with has been stellar. I do not think they are creatively tapped or exhausted and indeed had any of the above not been as strong I'd probably be easier on C3 since I would think it was a case of overextension. But as for C3, I think they just underprepped for a campaign that needed much more prep and awkwardly got stuck in it.

If they wrap up C3 a few months before the 10th anniversary and plan to do a fourth campaign, I'd say that would be a great time to announce it (though I'd recommend taking at least 3 months off if not more, as they have in the past). If it's still going or has just wrapped up, or if they don't plan to do a C4, I'd use that to announce an EXU or maybe some Nein show news and save that announcement for later.

[boatemlag]

Ren build guide!

OK, confession. I picked up Ren on release in 3.3, and kind of fell off building him. But when I was pulling for Pix's signature on his release, I lost the 50/50 to Ren's weapon, and I've been building him. He is SO much fun to play. Ren is a 5* cryo catalyst DPS who takes Hermitopia materials, so make sure you have Hermitopia fully unlocked.

PROS: Does HUGE damage with the right team, lax rotations, is a catalyst (yes this is a pro ok)

CONS: Huge investment time to make him viable for endgame content, best team is basically all limited characters, is cryo

Here's my guide on how to build him and what an ideal rotation would look like on his best modern team!

✦✦✦ Explaining the kit ✦✦✦

◇ Basic Attack: Ancient Art

Shoots a ranged homing ice-bolt 4 times. I've found that the homing AI on this thing is pretty accurate, even for overworld puzzles. Charged attack does an AoE.

◇ (E) Skill: Telltale Heart

Does a small amount of AoE cryo DMG and buffs Ren's charged attack. The buff can stack up to 3 times, and the skill has a short cooldown.

◇ (Q) Burst: Winter is Coming

Big AoE cryo DMG, different effects depending on how many stacks of Creeping (his skill buff) he has.

One stack: Significantly decreases Ren's stamina consumption

Two stacks: Significantly increases charged ATK DMG

Three stacks: Decreases the CD for the burst by half and increases the effective time

◇ Passives

Color of Despair: When releasing a charged ATK, releases 4 homing shots that additionally hit nearby enemies.

Blood of Angry Men: When Ren's burst buff is active and the burst is activated again, triples the buffs instead of doubling them

Luck Be With Ye: Has a chance to double talent book production and reduces the cost of crafting them

✦✦✦ Constellations ✦✦✦

C1: Decreases Ren's general stamina consumption (running, climbing, gliding, swimming, etc) when skill buff is active

C2: Charged ATKs ignore a percentage of enemies DEF

C4: Increases the DMG of the homing shots in Ren's 1st ascension passive

C6: For every 1% of Ren's CDMG above 100%, buffs his overall DMG by 5%, capping at 750% (250 CDMG)

Obviously C6 is insane, but C2 is also a good value. C6 > C2 > C1 > C4

✦✦✦ Ascension & Talent Materials ✦✦✦

◇ Drops: Ghasts

These spawn all over the world, but can be found in large clusters in the northern parts of Ention, especially close to the Grumbot Containment Site. You will need:

Sad sliver x18

Smoldering droplets x30

Ghastly tears x36

◇ Deepfrost Fragment

Dropped by the Hermitopia boss Primordial Warden. You'll need x46.

◇ Glowberries

Exclusive to Hermitopia.

◇ Community Talent Books

Mon/Thurs/Sun talent domain in Hermitopia.

◇ Poppy of Remembrance from The Iron Titan weekly boss

If you haven't done Tango's story quest, you should be able to quick access from the handbook.

✦✦✦ Artifacts & Stats ✦✦✦

4pc Lorefinder is his signature set for a good reason. A good interim set if you have the pieces is 2pc Lorefinder, 2pc Moonbase. If you're running 4pc Lorefinder, go for a CDMG circlet instead of a CR one, since the Lorefinder stacks will more than compensate for about 6-7 good CR substat rolls.

Sands: ATK%

Goblet: Cryo DMG bonus

Circlet: CR=CDMG

Substat priority: CR=CDMG > ATK% >>> EM (if running on a reverse melt team) > everything else

ER goal: 150% (120% if running with another cryo that generates particles or with Divine Rights)

He's a pretty traditional crit DPS. The suck thing about getting his artifacts is that Lorefinder is in a domain with the Ambivalence set, which is incredibly useless unless you are specifically building a character like Stress or Joey.

✦✦✦ Weapons ✦✦✦

Ok, I'm biased, but Ren's signature weapon is by far his best option. Gives charged ATK bonus, has a CDMG main stat, gives a CR bonus, and increases his DMG significantly after using his burst. Other than that, there aren't a lot of really good cryo specific catalyst weapons. R5 Destroya (3* gacha) might actually be his best comparable weapon. A lot of the catalysts we have right now are really EM reliant, and Ren is not.

✦✦✦ Talent Priority ✦✦✦

Basic ATK > Burst > Skill

9/7/7 or 9/7/8 is a fine option since his skill scaling doesn't really matter at 8 or 9. It leaps a huge amount between 9 and 10, but if you're not planning on triple crowning him, 9/7/7 works just fine.

✦✦✦ Team Comps ✦✦✦

Ren Premium DPS - Ren as the on field DPS, Grian as the off field pyro applicator and support, Scott for the cryo battery and support, and Martyn as sub-dps/sustain/swirl. This is Ren's current best team

Ren f2p DPS - Ren, Katherine, Jimmy, and a flex sustain like Netty or Cryo False. Jimmy works well as a sub-dps here since he won't steal melts from Ren but still do good DMG and buffing, and the resonance make's Katherine better and buffs Ren's DMG. False doesn't do a lot of particle generation, but the resonance is nice for Ren and she does fine as a sustain.

Ren Superconduct/phys - OK this is a stupid team, but on the new catalyst Force of Personality, Ren can do some really funny physical dmg. Run him on 2 or 4pc Reactor, swap around his goblet, have Cleo or Xisuma (or both) to enable superconduct, bring a healer that can proc FoP's passive, and watch Ren do really funny phys numbers. I ran abyss with this recently and I died badly but it was so so funny to watch him bitchslap enemies.

◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆

Hope you enjoyed the guide and give your puppy another chance! His story quest is coming soon so it's a great time to pick him up again. Thanks for reading and let me know if you try him with FoP!

[mayapapaya33]

Is anyone else kind of annoyed that apparently Gilmore being a Runechild isn't a secret anymore with zero explanation. Idk if Aabria just thought it was cool and didn't care about the implications or what, but I'm still a little salty about it. Gilmore told VM that Rune children were hunted in C1. That's kind of a big deal. Is he established enough and powerful enough that he feels safe being open about it now? Are we ever going to explore that?

I'm a little behind in CR, currently on C3 ep 65 at the present moment, so if this does for some reason come into play, please don't spoil it lol, I would LOVE it if Gilmore came into C3 to kick ass and take names with his boyfriend/partner, I want to meet him! I want to see Matt play Gilmore and his boyfriend together and explore the Runechildren being hunted thing! That's all I ask! Maybe in C4 Gilmore gets kidnapped by the bad guys in order to exploit his runechild status and our new heroes have to save him! Ok now I'm just writing fanfiction I'll stop.

I haven't read the campaign books yet so if there's something about that in there, feel free to let me know so I can stop being mad about it lol.

(Please no Aabria hate, EXU/ her particular style isn't to my taste but that's not an excuse to be a dick ok? Media critiques only! Thanks!)

[foldbaron]

No new C3 episode tonight as we speed towards it's end, but don't forget: A Daggerheart Critmas Story airs tonight. It was completely unhinged and I can't believe I got to witness it in person. And if you're a Beacon member - you can watch the VIP pre-show, the CR cooldown, and their Live Show Experience (which ditches the full table view for more closeups).

Thanks to everyone for following. Didn't expect to start running a CR tumblr this year, but here we are and I hope it's a worthwhile resource for some of you. I hope the wait for C4 isn't too long.

Merry Critmas.

[pippastrelle]

I'm so determined not to be a hater on C4 😂 I love the variety of CR and the worst part of C3 has been all the people complaining that it's doing something different to C2.

[postsofbabel]

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[colealexart]

If CR were to commission you for one of the following, which would you want: a) the official character portraits of a later campaign (say for C4, which we'd see ALL THE TIME), b) a portrait of the cast of a PREVIOUS campaign (NOT C3), or c) a custom piece celebrating Matt as GM to celebrate the 10th anniversary of CR?

oh gosh. these are all such cool ideas! i'm not confident in my ability to do the official campaign art, but man that'd be a neat gig. i think, honestly, i'd reply "YES" to anything that critical role wanted to hire me for. i would literally draw a quick 10 second doodle of a bee for them if they asked.

[laurasbailey]

that was a wonderful response. and if the other anon is around, i'd also like to add another perspective.

usually (not always, but usually) the first cr campaign that folks watch ends up being their favorite campaign and any other campaign they watch ends up being subconsciously compared to that first one.

the reason i say this is because c2 wasn't universally loved either when it was airing. there were folks who started with c1 who *hated* the meandering, character driven story and thought it was objectively worse.

the reason why the hate for c3 seems the loudest, is because *a lot* of folks got into cr during c2, genuinely. and they fell in love with the sandbox-y, narrative and character driven story.

so when c3 started and it became obvious it was the complete opposite of c2, complaints started cropping up. the things that c2 was heavily criticized for before are beloved now and yearned for in c3.

is c3 perfect? no. are there legitimate flaws and criticisms? yes. but that doesn't mean c3 is objectively worse. art is subjective and each campaign is completely different from the last.

someday in the future, c3 will be beloved by all and folks will be hating on c4. that's the fandom cycle unfortunately. don't let it ruin this perfectly good campaign for ya.

(sorry for the long ask)

that's an interesting perspective!! i wasn't around when c2 started so i missed a lot of the early responses to it. but i agree that the first campaign people watch tends to be their favourite, it'd be nice if people were more open minded about others but alas! i will always be a c1 girlie at heart but i couldn't imagine not having c2 and c3.