#abaddina

[marvelousbelladonna]

Successful scry on Chetney and Team Wildemount

[numbfandom]

I want all the wacky old women of Campaign 3 to hang out together. Jirana, Morri, Abaddina, etc

[somewhatsentientspellbook]

I FUCKING CALLED IT

Abaddina still has the remnants of her Hishari beliefs underlying her worldview - she still hasn't unlearned the teachings of her cult

[annemarieyeretzian]

laudna leaning in to abaddina and saying “be careful not to become what you despise.”

[somewhatsentientspellbook]

First of all, pretty much everything here is exactly my thoughts. I wanted to double down on the interesting ways Abaddina has behaved since her appearance.

Naturally, she has a very negative view of the gods. She sees them as oppressive, corrupt, and parasitic and seems fully on board with whatever plan Ludinus has been cooking. Abaddina frames the retaking of the village as a good thing for the community. Still, part of me couldn't help but notice how Matt described her immediately after the Dawnfather's temple was dismantled. He made sure to mention how the spirits and Abaddina were both emboldened by Hearthdell's victory.

Abaddina (as a druid tied to these elemental spirits) has much to gain from the downfall of Exandrian religions. If she gains strength alongside those spirits, it could lead to a subconscious desire to help them by any means necessary, even if it means hurting other magic wielders.

If that interpretation is accurate, it would be a fascinating look into how even the more positively viewed spellcasting classes can fall victim to the commonly seen 'magical superiority complex.' We usually associate this with the evangelical divine casters and the academic arcane casters, though not the overlooked nature-based casters.

What I'm trying to say is I think Abaddina may be prioritising the source of her own magic for a reason (whether that be knowingly or not). I wonder if there will be any other mentions of the potential underlying reasons for why Abaddina would want the gods to fall.

someone's gonna have to explain the reasoning behind "Prime Deities Bad" to me like i haven't spent an inordinate amount of time projecting western religious trauma onto this fantasy setting

[undead-knick-knack]

Not another person getting lost in the Ludinus sauce ffs

[dent-de-leon]

"Do you know what elemental power they pulled?" "The power of the elemental titans, I imagine."

Abaddina was interested in Ashton and their elemental connection...she was part of the Hishari. Their leader thought he could use some newfound power of the titans to resurrect the primordials. Ashton wasn't always a genasi. So then--was Ashton just transformed by the aftermath of what their father wrought? Or...was Ashton himself the remnant of the titans' power he tried to manipulate--

[askthepassengers]

"There is nothing a poison could do to you that would that is worse than what you've already been through."

- Matthew Mercer, Critical Role

[scriptmyworld]

abaddina is a milf. perhaps even a gilf.

[utilitycaster]

I think another massive flaw in some Ludinus' arguments is ... he has been free to roam the world for how many centuries now enacting his plans and justifying his means? He has been preaching to people all over Exandria with his magic megaphone and swaying plenty of people to his cause, freely. Looks to me like the Divine Gate solution works pretty well, no?

TRULY like we know for a fact the gods can just. Cast a 9th level spell every turn when they are physically present even when bound partially by mortal form, and Ludinus knows this too. If the gods were actually controlling everyone's every move why didn't they kill him. Why didn't they destroy the Dwendalian throne for banning half the prime deities, or kill Delilah when she was off fucking around with trying to create a new Betrayer god. The story of Aeor being destroyed by the gods is on the historical record and has been for at least 7 years and they haven't shut it down. Why didn't Pelor just blast Abaddina to bits the second she started talking. Why does Lolth have to wait for a teenage girl to put a hat on before she can act through her. How come Keyleth is out there having been furious at the gods for 3 decades and none of them have taken her off the board. Ludinus keeps being like "we are FORCED to worship them" you literally aren't, Chetney's out here pushing 400 and he's like "I can barely keep the names of the gods straight and have not thought about them for more than 30 seconds at a time until joining Bells Hells", there's entire "godless lands" in parts of Issylra, countless people in Exandria simply aren't religious and truly, no one gives a shit on a large scale. Keyleth and Allura and Percy are all on good terms with Vasselheim; Bertrand was from the Quad Roads and I do not think he had the Lawbearer's blessing if you know what I mean. Ludinus is mad about the Calamity (valid) but he's ultimately just as mad that his mommy and daddy still worshiped the Arch Heart or the Moon Weaver or whoever instead of simmering in rage for the remainder of his life. He and frankly most of the Vanguard sound like that guy who became a violent men's rights activist because his mother made him take an anti-diarrheal when he was a kid.

[vvitchllng]

HISHARI LORE DROP TIME!!!

Ashton most like is from a village called Tumilo, a village close to the Utesspire mountains. Eftarin was a charismatic traveler who was working towards reawakening primordials. He changed the name of the town and its people to the Hishari, and Abaddina was a survivor of the Hishari disaster (and does not seem to have given up on the cults beliefs)

They were attempting to channel an elemental force through a powerful artifact that they lost control of, something related to the elemental titans, and the ruins of the village are now considered cursed

[marvelousbelladonna]

Ashton talks to Abaddina a little bit about their past

[biorust-art]

... And miles to go before I sleep.

--

Orym’s really going through it huh. Thanks to @czpeterp for aiding with the background! life saver for real. The first line is from Robert Frost’s poem: Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. I just think the last stanza fits Orym very well.

[Image Description. Digital painting of Orym of the Air Ashari from Critical Role. Orym sits in a tree, arm leaning on one leg while holding his sword. He looks up to the sky, hair longer, face scarred, and eyes filled with ears while looking up to the moon. His chest plate as a puncture in the middle where his heart would be and seedling has vines wrapped around his arm and the blade. Beyond Orym is the Elder Abaddina’s House, the village of Hearthdale, the glowing mountains and the sparkling laylines. End ID] 

[yashley]

from exu prime to aimee’s appearance now, she really is just beaming as such a force. aimee speaking about her having gained confidence playing since her beginning and it’s just. so good… everytime this joke* character named deni$e turns completely serious, asks such intuitive questions, even just affirming once more to abaddina that she is going to honor their deal. chills. seeing her confidently take charge of situations is just. so fucking great.

[ariadne-mouse]

Deni$e, instincts honed for people backing out of their goddamn deals and leaving other people with the bag, not giving elder Abaddina a single inch about the promise of the scry spell... checks out

[wardensantoineandevka]

It is really interesting that Keyleth is repeatedly emphatic that, even with the acknowledgment that the gods destroyed the Primordials, at this moment, the gods and the spirits of nature (the remnants of the Primordials) coexist, and that the gods tend to nature as much as she does and are an important part of the balance of Exandria now.

It's very different from what Abaddina believes and told (or implied? suggested? I can't remember specifics right now, I can't remember how concretely she spoke) Team Issylra, which makes sense as Abaddina of the Hishari and Keyleth of the Ashari have very different perspectives and philosophies.