#and campaign 3 pike as played by ashley

[morathor]

Pike and Scanlan getting married: I'm not into this but it's the end of the campaign. It's easy enough to let it go and move on. Pike indicating she and Scanlan are amicably divorced: The knowledge that it didn't work out adds a bittersweet angle to the marriage that actually makes me like it more now. Whatever the fuck Pike and Scanlan have going on now: This is a glorious disaster and I want like a million episodes of this.

[drthrvn]

some random thoughts after watching roughly 1/3 of the first Critical Role campaign (as someone who watched TLoVM before)

i'm not sure if watching from the very beginning was that crucial - the Kraghammer story arc doesn't seem that important in hindsight and i'm not sure what was more annoying, Orion or technical issues. that being said, i feel proud that i haven't simply skipped those episodes lol

Taliesin is so damn good at playing a smart-ass, he's super creative and his one-liners are awesome

i'm honestly surprised that Vaxleth did the deed so early on ??? but i imagine there is still much angst ahead

i get now why people were so angry about Kash's death - him and Zahra are first guest characters that i'm actually really enjoying

i'm honestly in awe with all the NPCs that Matt has created. he plays them so well that sometimes i forget that they're all played at the same person, if that even makes sense

sometimes i (partially) skip the combat 🤷🏻‍♀️ sorry not sorry, combat is super fun while playing but not as fun while watching imo

it's kinda crazy to me how well Ripley's VA in TLoVM copied Matt's speech pattern while playing her ????

i wish Ashley had been there more often, cause Pike really does feel like a guest character most of a time

my crush on Liam is getting worse (all the gifsets and photos of him that i reblog is me crying for help. why is this man so fine. why is he tormenting me with that cute smile and perfect arms)

[wandering-trader-joes]

So idk if this is a hot take or not, but I liked the end of TLOVM Season 3.

(More under the cut? Is that what they say?)

TL;DR: this version of Bard’s Lament fixed a problem I had with the original campaign, I think all the wrap up at the end was probably done as well as it could’ve been, and the way it ends with a tenuous semi-resolution is in-keeping with the way that it played out in game, albeit in a more condensed format.

———

The main thing I’ve seen people talking about is the lack of Bard’s Lament (kinda), and I was upset about that idea at first too. But honestly, I think this change does a lot of justice specifically to the relationship between Scanlan and Pike.

A lot of what happened in Bard’s Lament was due to the fact that nobody noticed that Scanlan was struggling, and that’s all well and good except for the fact that Pike absolutely would have.

The only reason she didn’t was because Ashley Johnson herself wasn’t able to be there. Idk about anyone else, but that narrative gap due to “meta interference” has always bothered me. I kind of love that they were able to rectify that in the show, and give us the way that Bard’s Lament likely would have gone if real life didn’t get in the way.

We finally get to see how it would have went down if Pike didn’t have such a Blind Spot, and I love that for her.

———

I’ve also seen people talking about how the ending felt lackluster, and I can see where they’re coming from, but I personally disagree.

I was a little anxious at the start of episode 10 when they started to split up to do a bunch of the previously group-based activities, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that, aside from not getting the group kill on Ripley, it didn’t bother me that much (and we still got the “one arrow in her heart and another in her mouth while she screams”, which makes me happy).

Especially because it gave time to see more of the twins on their own (which I will always take more of) and let Keyleth do her Earth Ashari stuff, which we didn’t even get in the original show as it happened pre-stream (but would’ve felt weird to leave out here given that they haven’t established that). And we finally got EarthElemental!Keyleth. It’s Key-teor time!

It also put her Aramente into more of a focus in her life, which needed to happen at some point anyway. And they still got to be together (kinda) for the final showdown against Raishan, so the conclusion was still there.

———

In the campaign, they had this weird kind of limbo period (the part with Tary) before the year-long gap where they were sort of just tying up loose ends. That felt fine as a game, but would’ve been super clunky on TV. So I’m glad that they found other ways to get the group to the point where it felt like going their own ways for a while was okay and also necessary (though I do wish we had gotten more of the twins struggling with the idea of being away from each other). I just really needed Vax to get his year in Zephrah!

All that being said, I am a little sad that we probably won’t get Tary in the show.

———

The vibe that I always got with the Vecna arc was that the group was pretty much ready to settle into their non-adventuring lives before they had to stop the end of the world again (aside from Scanlan stuff, but I already talked about that). In order for that to be the case, they need to have a period of time where it kind of feels like everything is wrapped up and happy. In my opinion, they were quite successful in this regard, which is impressive given how they were able to get there in only 3 episodes.

Idk I’ve just been wondering for a while about how the were going to navigate this part of the campaign, and I’m quite pleased with how they managed it. That’s not to say it’s perfect, but I feel as content with it as I do with all the other changes they’ve made whilst adapting to a different medium.

———

… also I’ve been wanting to gush over one tiny detail. I love the way that Vax’s interaction with Orthax went. Not only because of how it finally established him and Percy as brothers, but it’s also a cool way to loop in his multi-classing. Orthax specifically talks about Vax giving in to vengeance, and in the campaign he becomes a VENGEANCE Paladin! I thought it was a really fun way to kind of hint at that shift without needing to get into the dnd of it all :)

[utilitycaster]

I think something important to remember in actual play is that character backstory is neither an itinerary for the GM to follow nor a to-do list for the player to check off, but rather a means to provide context for the character's motivations, how they got to where they are now, and how they will respond to whatever comes up. It's not a scripted work, so you can't just make a character follow a specific arc.

It's an extension of something I've said before, that creating characters outside the context of a specific D&D game has never really made sense to me because the GM's direction should be integral to your character creation. At best you can have a very loose concept that you drastically expand upon to fit a particular game. If you're about to play Curse of Strahd, for example, you aren't going to be exploring a complex personal history in Candlekeep. You can certainly be informed by a complex personal history in Candlekeep, and quite honestly should be informed by some kind of complex personal history somewhere! But in the game, you're going to be going into Barovia and dealing with Strahd. And you made a character based in Candlekeep because your GM said "we're playing in the Forgotten Realms". Your character is in that context as well: someone who'd have reason to go to Barovia, from the world in which Barovia exists.

Unsurprisingly, I'm talking about this because of Critical Role Campaign 3, and look, if I am wrong about what I say in this paragraph please feel free to bring up this post and say "you were wrong" but I just do not think this campaign is ever going to not be about the moon and the gods. I think there's ways it could have been about those things and still have had room for more downtime or personal excursions. I think that "pulpier and deadlier" wasn't wrong, but perhaps the cast could have benefited from more guidance in the same way that "this campaign is going to be spookier and deadlier" would not necessarily be a good way to tell your players that they're going to be playing Curse of Strahd, but it is what it is. That doesn't mean character backstories won't be explored (and honestly, I think they've all had at least a moment in the sun) but it isn't the focus, it's never really been the focus, and speaking only for myself that's been apparent for, at minimum, nearly 18 months.

It also doesn't mean you have to like it, nor that you can't complain. But there's always been hanging threads or unexplored elements. There's the obvious limitations of Pike's story given that Ashley was unable to be at the table much of the time, but we never really went deep into Scanlan's parents - and we didn't have to, because the purpose of Scanlan's mother being killed by goblins wasn't "we're going to avenge her"; it was to explain why he'd become a wandering bard and to inform how Sam played him. The Robert Sharpe plot for Jester never got much play because really, it was mostly as an establishing character moment and the reason why she left Nicodranas, not something that needed an extensive arc (nor something Laura seemed terribly interested in pursuing). We've never met Sabian or Tori; the twins never went back to Byroden during the campaign; Keyleth didn't find Vilya herself; Percy ended the campaign still with a lot of damage.

Which brings me to the final point which is that as anyone who's played a character-centric, GM-ed, longform advancement-style TTRPG should hopefully know, if there is a disconnect with what you as a player want to explore and with what your GM wants to play, and it's not in conflict with what was made clear from the start (ie, you didn't show up to the game the GM said would be Curse of Strahd and get mad that it was Curse of Strahd) it is the responsibility of the player to signal both in and out of game that this is something they want. If they don't, the GM will not know. But also, if you're wishing your favorite C3 character's backstory was explored in more depth, that character exists within the context of the moon plot. That is a part of who they are; they've grown around that plot and extricating them from it would necessarily destroy parts of them. You can tell a butterfly effect story, certainly, in which things were different, but that's ultimately fanfiction and neither a theory nor what should have happened nor is it an injustice to the character that it didn't happen. It's just what you wanted to have happened.

[bananathebookworm]

TLOVM Season 3 Eps 1-3 Ramblings

Ep. 1

Vax showing off his new powers, fuck yeah!

Raishan... such an interesting villain and I love that we're getting to see these flashbacks and cut aways we didn't get to see in the campaign

I love angry Kiki always. I really hope we get the "Call me child one more fucking time." bit.

Vax'leth has my heart... fuck this is going to hurt

Jesus these visions are really going for the kill goddamn...

And Perc'ahlia also has my heart

Trinket is the best little guard-bear. So protective of his mama.

I love how well they've translated the natural group dynamics onto the screen. Moments that happened organically still feel natural even though they're scripted just because of how the cast play off of each other.

I know the use of CGI for the dragons is disliked by many, but I personally love it. For me it makes them feel other-worldly.

New Setting! Ank'Harel. I love seeing all of these places brought to life. It's especially great when a setting or character matches so well with what I imagined.

Ripley... it just occurred to me that we're likely going to get the "How do you, Vox Machina, want to do this?" moment and it's going to break me

Scanlan Solo Adventures! Spice?

I love when part of the music is just Sam doing random vocalizations over the music

As always, you can tell just how much fun this is for all of them and how much love has gone into creating this series

Ep. 2

Again, I love the villains in Critical Role so much and I love that we're getting a more in-depth look at them now that we can explore things away from the party

I love hearing the cast pop up as the other random NPCs

I forgot how much I loved the Twins' dynamic

"A Taste of Tal-Dorei" chalice... hell yeah

Grog being good with children is everything. Also the fact that it's Ronin Willingham voicing the little boy is great.

Ugh... Scanlan trying to be a good dad and lacking confidence for the first time ever is killing me. This spiral is going to fucking hurt... Calling it now that this season ends with his departure... my heart is not ready.

The Phoenix Wright reference... well done.

ZERXUS ILEREZ!? That was not a name I was expecting to hear.

Matt needs to sing more. That is all.

Ep. 3

Dragons being Dragons. I love their different designs so much.

Kima will always be my favourite.

Cassandra already being so over Percy's lovestruck dumbassery is everything

Vax. Shut the fuck up and let yourself be happy. You made Keyleth cry you asshole.

It took way longer than it should've for me to realize Dohla is a direct stand-in for Tiberius

In addition to Villain backstory we're also getting some great Ally backstory and I love every fucking second of it

Shield-tobogganing away from a dragon is peak D&D

General

I love seeing the different setting and NPCs come to life and them being exactly as I imagined they would be

I love the lowkey "what could've been" moments with Pike being here for the whole story. I always wonder how things could've been different if Ashley didn't have to be away so much for campaigns 1 and 2.

This season is going to fucking hurt. Between the different realationship dynamics, Scanlan and his downward spiral, Percy and Ripley... I'm not ready

[nochi-quinn]

legend of vox machina season 3 episode 4: hell to pay OR go fish

are you there sarenrae, etc etc

"we're gonna need all kinds of miracles" trailer line

I am rotating animated!pike trickfoot in my head like a rotisserie chicken; her relationship with sarenrae being Like That and how much of it is what Ashley originally wanted to do and how much of it was built in the in-between time with her playing two other main campaign characters & their points of view

now they can sell more toys

SDCC exclusive Demon Bunny Grog

just pulling every accent out of the bag

"the fuck?" you knew what you were getting into

I would love some concept art for Dis, there's So Much Going On it's hard to appreciate everything as much as I want to

wait he named his big demon castle the Brass Skull

you overemotional nerd

vax don't say the q word

"I could have made it cool" nothing you do is cool

fuck yes allura

oh pike

thanks I hate it

we're gonna hafta juuuuuump

lots of Aaah! Real Monsters! looking-ass designs in hell

this asshole

mala: they made him hot! me: what were they gonna do, not make him hot?

none of this narration is reliable

fucking cut-rate raphael

and I'm not even that impressed by raphael

would you like to form a contract

"such pure blood" hey what the fuck does that mean

godborn pike??

(please read edda-earth)

the lighting!!!

what happens if they deal out and there's no black skull

"are they within ten feet of me"

NONE OF THIS NARRATION IS RELIABLE

can we stop giving grog a quip every time they cut back to the rest of the team, you're killing me (and the tension)

the truth is vicious and you owe it something

the stained glass!!

the portraits!!

I'm gonna cry!!

OKAY I HAVE OPINIONS

everything that happened to zerxus was His Own Fucking Fault, he was a Lawful Stupid paladin who was so convinced he could redeem THE DEVIL, FROM THE BIBLE, that he entered a pact he was never going to come out the winner on.

ALSO (per yelling in chat with mala) avalir was always going to fall. the calamity was always going to happen. the situation simply wasn't sustainable. laerryn just happened to be the one that hit the button. big "kirkwall was always going to explode, anders just lit the fuse" energy.

...spoilers for DA2, ig

fucking reddit atheist

"we all have blind spots" boooooo

"thank you for losing graciously" give it time

"we are his blood"

"what are the chances that isn't for us"

the tradition of "if you can't get cast as a big stompy monster make your own" continues (matt was yenk)

[retrokid616]

so as promised here's my quick thoughts so far on this seasons vox machina episodes 1-6 (yes im a week late)

episode one great opener and a fitting tribute for lance reddick

episodes 2 and three great set ups a preplaning for the rest of this season as for episode 3

gods damn was it as advertised from the actual play

so on to this weeks episodes holly shit i was not ready for zerxus or anything from calmity this soon but CR did say they changed a few things form the actual play since the start of this series and is always cool that pike is getting more time than i think ashley could do in the original campaign

as for the rest of actual play that got in this week yeah scanlans chateau i thought was another oc moment for the show but damn if i was wrong

we even got a tease for the FISH scene for keylith (gods help you there marisha) and even the BATH WAS IN!

so yeah no full scores just yet i'll leave that for the full review this weekened so until thank you all for reading this update and enjoy this season critters and untill i make these episode breakdowns a thing later on this season (or not idk yet) is it thursday yet?

[flurry-of-beaus-pop-pop]

Now that I finally finished Campaign 1, here are my final thoughts:

Character Rankings By Player:

Liam: 1. Orym 2. Caleb 3. Vax

Laura: 1. Jester 2. Vex 3. Imogen

Travis: 1. Chetney 2. Grog 3. Fjord

Ashley: 1. Fearne 1. Yasha 1. Pike (they're all one because I love them all and couldn't choose)

Sam: 1. Scanlan 2. FCG 3. Nott

Taliesin: 1. Caduceus 2. Molly 3. Ashton 4. Percy

Marisha: 1. Beau 2. Keyleth 3. Laudna

Campaign 1 Thoughts:

Personally, wasn't that big of a fan of the Raven Queen storyliine - had I watched Campaign 1 before I watched the other 2 campaigns, I may have thought differently, but it was just the same "Liam's character is depressing" storyline and it didn't really seem to be all that much of a point/benefit to his sacrifice.

Grog and Pike's friendship is literally the best. I love the goofiness that comes out of Ashley and Travis's friendship

Vax and Keyleth and Vex and Percy genuinely had zero chemistry for me. I think that Keyleth should have ended up with Kashaw or nobody, Vax with Gilmore, Vex with Zahra, and Percy with nobody and/or some unknown NPC

Absolutely adored Scanlan/Pike's relationship and the path it took. Yes, Scanlan did some not appropriate things at the beginning, but he truly was the best version of himself when he was trying to be the best for Pike

Kima and Allura are amazing and it really adds to their appearances in C2/C3

Keyleth, at least in this campaign (she is different in campaigns where she's piloted by Matt) is definitely not leader material. She struggles so much with making decisions, and often makes not great ones

Percy spent the entire campaign trying to get sympathy for the fact that he felt guilty for making the guns, yet never stopped using them and even continued to make them for other people. Even if you wanted to make that argument that that was his class, so it would be weird if he stopped, he didn't even really play a major role with them in the final battles because they weren't magic

Percy was genuinely Taliesin's most annoying character and every character he's played since is just Percy in a different shade, in my opinion.

Grog with the Deck of Many Things was amazing

I genuinely loved all the different guests that were a part of this campaign, especially Will and Maryann

Not necessarily about C1, but I find it a tad strange that with how important Vox Machina was with literally saving the world, that they're barely mentioned by name in subsequent campaigns

Sam's devastation over having to use the Wish spell was genuinely heartbreaking

Campaign 2 is still my fave

[gamergirljournalist]

Review: The Legends of Vox Machina Season 3 (2024) - Relationships intertwine with adventure

RATING: 4/5 Stars Warning: this review contains spoilers for the third season of The Legends of Vox Machina

Season 3 of The Legends of Vox Machina has dropped and thanks to Amazon, I received early access to the show. Ever since the successful Kickstarter campaign, this D&D-themed animated series was able to share the tale of Critical Role's first campaign in an easy-to-digest format, especially for new fans who don't have the time to watch hours of D&D campaigns that span hundreds of episodes.

For those who don't know what this show is about, it stars the original Critical Role cast - Laura Bailey, Taliesin Jaffe, Ashley Johnson, Liam O'Brien, Marisha Ray, Sam Riegel, Travis Willingham, and of course, Matthew Mercer. All of them reprise their roles that form the Vox Machina team, who travel across Tal'dorei to stop various enemies, while also forming some alliances. While many thought that Season 3 would feature a new campaign, it was actually a continuation of the Chroma Conclave - the second arc of the Vox Machina story. So was this latest installment able to tie this story together within the 12 episodes it received?

Warning, I will be spoiling the show, so if you want to watch it blind, steer clear for now. Also, this review is written by someone who hasn't watched the original livestreams.

In Continuation of the Chroma Conclave arc

Season 3 continues where season 2 left off, where the Vox Machina team finally learns about Thordak's plan and somewhat forms an alliance with Raishan. Unlike season 1, where it was able to tell the entire Briarwood arc, the Chroma Conclave story was extended into two parts, with season 3 merging multiple side quests and story arcs into 12 episodes. While it does try to make it work, it seems like some of the stories felt condensed to keep the ball rolling, especially if the show wants to move on to its next story arc in season 4 (more on that later). Not to mention, it's clear that some changes needed to be made, especially if they were to tell this story for a Television/Streaming size format. It's not all bad as it gives greater focus on our characters.

Less action, More Relationship Building

The previous seasons of The Legends of Vox Machina showcased so much action and adventure, something that's reminiscent of many Dungeons and Dragons games. But season 3 flips that format and decides to focus on the relationships our characters have. Whether it's Pike's trust in the Everlight, Vax and Keylith's will-they-won't-they situation, and Percy and Vex's situationship, all of these relationships get a fair amount of time in the spotlight and play a role in how our characters develop, not only as themselves but also as a team. And it's not just the team dynamic, even those outside the party like Scanlan's daughter, Vex and Vax's father and mother, and Allura and Kima, these external characters also play a role in the team's development. It's really great how The Legend of Vox Machina showcases that our source of power is from the people we're close with, not just from physical strength alone. If you're invested in the relationships that have been formed since the show's beginning, it's best to grab some tissues because you're going to need them.

The adventure isn't over yet.

Fans of the original livestream know what happens to Vox Machina at the end of the campaign. So the way that season 3 ends shows that the adventure isn't over. The final episode teases another big bad is on the horizon, while our team splits up for the time being to work on themselves. It's quite a heartfelt ending, while also teasing there is more to come. While a season 4 (or possibly a season 5) has yet to be announced, The Legend of Vox Machina has prepared itself to tell one or two more final story arcs before it moves towards the Mightly Nein campaign.

Overall thoughts

In all honesty, The Legends of Vox Machina Season 3 feels a bit rushed. While it did conclude the Chroma Conclave story in this season, some story beats had little development and you wished the show did more with it. But it also makes sense why it was condensed the way it was due to the amount of time and episodes the show has. Despite some of its flaws, it's also a fun season, with more relationship-building, music from Sam Riegel, LGBT+ themes, and the usual Dungeons and Dragons antics translated into an adult animation show.

Viewers will be on the edge of their seats, and there may be tears, but in the end, it wraps up another story arc that needed two seasons to showcase its conclusion.

The Legends of Vox Machina Season 3 is now available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

[vethbrenatto]

Tiefling, gnome, Goliath? <3

tiefling answered here!

gnome: who is your favorite male player

again, it really shifts around and i love all the cast so I have to go on who plays my favorite characters and has my favorite style of RP. it's really a toss up between sam and travis. i always say ashley, sam, and travis have my preferred RP style of the CR cast. if i have to pick between sam and travis, i think i'd go sam, mostly because Veth.

goliath: who is your favorite campaign 1 character

pike!! underrated icon. i wish she was in the campaign more but even WITH ashley's sporadic absences, i fell in love with her and i think that says a lot about ashley's ability to portray pike.

[pagerunner-j]

Some TLOVM new-episode notes, under a cut 'cause there's some great stuff here and I, uh, went on for a bit:

Not gonna lie, I was halfway expecting the theme to The Neverending Story after that Falcor-looking fucker flew by.

Watching an animated version of something I watched happen in person in a live episode is a damn trip. I feel like I should be sitting in a movie theater on Pico all over again...

Grog all torn up over hurting Pike: *tinysob*

Put...the sword...down....Grog...

Okay, putting it down in a rock will do. More dramatic than a pocket dimension, anyway.

Percy, stop trying to sound like an expert and get on with flirting with grass.

Hey! Laura found her best friend from the next campaign! Convenient!

Honestly, I'm kinda liking how they're shifting things around with Grog. Having this fit in with his whole "where do you get your strength?" theme works.

Hi there, Billy! Nice to hear you here!

Arta -- ahem -- Garmelie drawing dicks? Fancy that.

Vax, you're cruising for a bruising here, and by that I mean my palm across your face. Chill.

Ashley and Sam going full country twang: bwahahaohdearhelpme.

(it works, though)

Pikey made the Scan-man bluuuuuush...

PokéTrinket!

...I think I read this in a fanfic once.

(istg it's fucking pollen they knew what they were doing)

Diplomacy in action! About time.

Well, the boys are talking again. That's good.

"We are all just prisoners of our own anxieties...." Keyleth wasn't wrong about that part, at least, before the rainbow vomiting started.

Sylens, stop being an arrogant jackass and start being useful--oh wait. Wrong narrative.

Ripley consorting with dragons: *chef's kiss*

Twin angst incoming!

--

Syngorn is indeed pretty AF.

You don't want to tango with pixies, indeed. You might, on the other hand, want to steal their furniture for your dollhouse. *side-eyes Percy*

(yes, that was an actual thing that actually canonically happened in the campaign)

(I will love it forever)

Heh, I've heard THOSE lines before. Wink wink nudge nudge. Little sudden in this context, but I certainly can't complain that they're here.

can't complain at all

nope not me

VELORAAAA

Velora's owlbeaaaaar

Velora so cute

Troy sure does do a good job at playing a pretentious ass.

(cough)

Wilhand!!

And there we go with the namedrop. This time it pretty much worked.

stop giving Vex's character moments to Vax challenge 2k23

We're about a handsbreadth here from Miracle Max and honestly I can't really be mad about that part.

"You'll need to amend one name, though."

Watching that happen in person was so fucking satisfying, I'm not going to lie.

All right, I have notes here and there about how they're adapting this, mostly just because it's having to happen too quickly for all of it to land (the eps are short, what are you gonna do), but I love this conversation between Percy and Vex. They finally got to work in Percy making things for her, too!

"I gotta stimulate myself? Okay..." "Back it up." Sporfle.

Nice frog-to-not-quite-a-frog transition there. (Ribbit.)

Saundor, you creepy fuck. HANDS OFF OUR GIRL.

"Sweet, broken Vex'ahlia." I love that line and hate it in equal measure, and I want her to shoot him in the fucking faaaaaaaaace.

Hey, THERE'S that line I wanted her to yell at her father! Slightly different context here, but hey, I'll take it.

"My heart is someone else's." <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

"How do you fight a tree?" With FIRE. Seriously, this was one of Keyleth's coolest moments and best strategic decisions in the campaign, and I love that they're going for it.

"Twig dick." I say again: sporfle.

Okay, they're making this fight look absolutely badass.

SHE'S USING

PERCY'S

ARROWHEAD

see, this is how you do it

Stubby

Garmelie Artie, you little fuck.

(The traveler, hmmmm?)

(And thank god that was Matt. I mean, who ELSE could you cast?)

KILL BOX INCOMING

--

So the herd is fucking terrifying. Appropriately. But dang, this got grim in a HURRY.

Mythcarver has been so much more useful in this show than in the campaign that it's kind of hilarious.

One thing I love about this episode: Grog has, legendarily, an intelligence of six, but it's easy for the animated version of him to slip into all-doofus-all-the-time mode in the way the campaign never did -- in part because Travis is clearly so damn smart and you have him out of character as part of the picture. So it's nice giving Grog more depth here to do its part in balancing things out.

Pikelan cuteness: <3

Grog backstory! Grog and the gnomes! <3

KAYLIE

I wouldn't flirt if I were you, Scanlan

I mean: I really, really wouldn't

for reasons

Grog saving Wilhand is everything I hoped for.

In a word: ouch.

Dark-haired Pike! <3

I want to hug them both, okay? They deserve hugs.

....Scanlan, please, hit the brakes before you hurt yourself.

Good to see some tabaxi out and about in the world! Now please save the wee one.

"I swear, I know that voice!" Iiiiindeed.

Kevdak, you're an asshole, and you'd be nothing without your magic toys, and you know it.

"Your armor's not exactly the quietest." Oh, Pikey. Never the stealthiest, are we.

Scanlan, I'm not gonna say this again. COOL YOUR JETS.

Nice magic tricks, though.

saaaave the kiiiitttyyyyyyy

you're not doing this on your own and we all know it so listen to Pike okay

...all right, save the KILL BOX INCOMING for next week, but we're well on our way!

[corvidsforhire]

Like actually, I loved the changes they made this season and I'm just seeing everyone hating on it. I've just finished episode 9 and maybe a lot of people are holding back from posting their thoughts or even watching it until they've finished the season (understandable) but theres a lot of shit going around already even though we dont have the full answers yet. Like the changes to the deaths make perfect sense. Death is supposed to be a big thing in the narrative otherwise stories loose stakes. Its not as big of a deal in d&d because of how the game works and the randomness of the dice add its own sort of stakes. Even then, Matt changed the resurrection rules in the campaign because of how much he disliked how much it cheapens death. Amping that up even more in the show by making each death have it's own tailored method of getting their soul back, or them not being fully dead in the first place, is a perfect way to make death keep consequences and still have the events for each character's arc.

And guests in the campaign came and went because of the fun of playing a game and it ruined it for the guests if their characters got killed. Thats why none of the guests got killed off on purpose in the campaign. Not because of narrative. Kash's death was a bit cheap, I agree (although I do think it was an excellent scene) but it would have lowered the stakes of the Thordak fight and how dangerous they've been making him out to be if no named character got killed, and I think Kash was a good option (especially if they add some stuff about his death later. I don't think they'll necessarily revive him, but theres all of Kash's God Stuff with his soul and maybe an arc for Zarha since they emphasised their romance beforehand).

The Pike stuff I really don't get the instant hate for... Its a character arc. You make the character do questionable things for the sake of development. Pike hardly got a character arc in the campaign because Ashley was barely there, but they've pretty obviously been setting a lot of stuff up for Pike in the show, about how much she relies on her god and where that goes wrong for her and conflicts with her other aspects. This didn't come out of nowhere this season. That said, the Thordak scene wasn't necessarily supposed to be a good thing. Will the part of it that show Pike beleiving in herself and her own abilities rather than relaying on her god be good? I think so. Will completely abandoning her god because of the words of a bitter devil be good? I think not. They'll probably end up finding a balance as part of her arc, we'll see how that goes.

Fortunately I don't think there'll be enough time for people to completely hate on this before they resolve a lot of it with the finale episodes. Unfortunately, I don't think everything's going to get resolved this season, especially Pike's stuff (I'm personally not even sure if we'll get Percy's revival by the end of the season, there was too much emphasis on the funeral for it to be undone 3-5 episodes later. They might end up doing an arc similar to the Hotis arc where they end up going to the abyss to get his soul back from Orthax). And the stuff that doesn't get resolved straight away is just going to end up with people building up their own hate for it in the year(s) interim between seasons, which means they'll go into season 4 very biased even if the resolutions end up very good.

Of course theres a bunch of the smaller stuff that people are just hating on because they've slightly changed events. Like Vex not destroying Thordak's anchor. The changes there gives Pike her big moment that been building up, and Vex's vengence for her mother was shown pretty well in her choice to fight Thordak in the first place, and in her scene with Vax before he dealt the finishing blow. Plus this now means that all members of Vox Machina have at least done one half of the killing blow against a Conclave memeber (except Percy lmao). Grog v Brimscythe, Scanlan v Umbrasyl, Vex+Keyleth's shot v Vorugal, and now Pike and Vax against Thordak.

If you want something thats exactly the same as the campaign, rewatch the campaign. I personally love the way the changes keep even the most hardcore fans on their toes and some of the big moments in the campaign have been removed to give other characters better arcs. Theres a lot more excitement and tension in not fully knowing whats going to happen next.

nothing is worse than watching something and genuinely enjoying it and how they changed things and then seeing how other people like hate it like okay fuck me i guess i guess i won't be sharing any opinions just cus im gonna get dismembered for it

[redjennies]

thinking about the barbarians of Critical Role, and how Grog's best buddy was Pike who he met before becoming part of Vox Machina and then in campaign 2, Ashley played Yasha whose best friend was Molly who she met before the Mighty Nein and now in campaign 3, Taliesin is playing Ashton and how by this logic if there's a campaign 4, Sam should play a barbarian to continue the pattern.

[glossolali]

TLOVM Ep 7 Twitch Watch Party Summary

- Ashley voiced Mama De Rolo, but it sounded bad so she said "No, we're recasting this immediately"

- They call the sun tree dead people "cosplayers" (LMAO) and they hope real people actually cosplay them

- Part of the Percy making guns montage is an Ironman reference

- They noticed that we noticed Percy's shadow in that one shot where his shadow is pointing the gun at his head!

- Dominic Monaghan voices Archibald Desnay!

- Travis loves the Scanbo 'Musical Heist'

- No Matt NPC for these eps but he's in every episode anyway voicing SOMETHING

- The Scanlan Triceratops also has his sideburns (lol)

- The Hound had to go on a boat to record his voice for Vedmire

- Apparently they've watched reaction videos on Youtube, and they said the Cassandra bit at the end was their fave to watch cause everyone was as shocked as they were in the OG game

Q&A

Q: What was the process of designing Keyleth?

A: She used to be rounder in the face, you know it's her first adventure, she's a young woman- but this kind of design with the doe eyes can skew too young, so we made sure she was age appropriate, especially since she has a romance later on with Vax. She's cute as a button! And those skintight thigh high boots look damn good!

Q: Travis and Sam wrote 'Scanbo' together! What was that like?

A: Wanted to write for myself, we got everything out of our system even with some the musical bits (with Vedmire scatting) and then we went in and chopped it up and made it work.

*We watch the Tiny Scanlan and Vedmire chase draft animatic*

Q: What got cut from 'Scanbo'?

A: There was a glitter bomb, fart cloud expanding to a kitchen, but how the hell were we gonna explain that? Scanlan is a lower level in the show than in the campaign. It seems self indulgent that Scanbo was kept but it had to be kept!

Q: Arthur, you are one of the critter backers! What did you focus on when you came in?

A: Focused on Whitestone, and its design! But Matt said that some things we came up with were world breaking. And the design team had so much fun and we did world building separately and together for each section of Whitestone. (Travis: we struck gold with Arthur!) HOUSE DESIGN STUFF GOES HERE (sorry I missed it~~)

Q: Ashley! Tell us about Pike's design?

A: It was just so good! Everything they showed me I was immediately like, yes, I love it. But then we ended up changing the mace and the cape is gone and the shoulder pauldrons are smaller. And look at that butt! (sorry, missed the butt <3)

Q: What was it like seeing the NPCs backstories like the Briarwoods?

A: That's my favorite part (Sam), you get to see the behind the scenes when it comes to the villains and cronies roles, conversations - in Matt's world everything keeps going even if the PCs have Player Character Syndrome, which is really cool, so we get to see that here.

Aside: Laura plays the sims and kills her sims by drowning them in the pool. Also she has a basement and she wanted to show it to Travis. He was creeped out LMAO

[utilitycaster]

1-player parties: an informal discussion

Now that we're on Campaign 3, everyone has played at least three characters in a main campaign, which is generally considered the minimum possible party size. Let's see who is absolutely screwed, who's doing okay, and who's thriving.

Travis: At low levels, this is going to be rough unless they can get their hands on a bunch of healing potions, but given Grog's general ability to stay up and feed healing potions to people, Fjord's pretty impressive CON score and ability to do damage at range if necessary, and Bertrand's d10 hit die and good AC it's not bad; Fjord would probably need to use the sword less and build his spell list with a little more AOE. At high levels Fjord's paladin multiclass completely resolves the healing issue and the only gap that AOE is still admittedly weak, but also Grog can attack like 6 times which is basically AOE. Also, a generally charismatic party, with Fjord and Bertrand each bringing decent intelligence; wisdom is really more an optional stat anyway.

Marisha: Very good, although as often was the case in Vox Machina Keyleth is called upon to fill two mutually exclusive roles as both healer and tank. Laudna is good on ranged/magical damage though, and Beau can stunning strike and figure out damage types, so while it's rough to tell a Circle of the Moon druid to stay out of wildshape in combat, they're a pretty solid party.

Sam: This is the first party that's absolutely golden on healing, but will likely struggle at lower levels with damage. Everyone but Veth has some healing capabilities, and, to be fair, while low levels require speculation for all of Vox Machina, Tary is particularly complicated and could be rebuilt as a damage-heavy artificer. Scanlan and FCG can focus on AOE, healing, and support; Tary can, if he's willing (he's probably not) send Doty out to stand in melee with the enemy to grant Veth advantage. DPS is a weakness, but otherwise good.

Ashley: Possibly one of the stronger parties, in that Pike can take the healing and hold her own in melee combat, letting Fearne explore the damaging side of druid and Yasha gain flanking advantages and get in there with sentinel. They are going to struggle a bit with the INT score side of things, but Fearne and Pike are at least unlikely to get possessed. Also: this may be the most chaotic party.

Laura: If I had to pick a party to play, it might be this one. Vex can handle ranged damage and tracking, and is a capable healer. Jester is also a capable healer and a decent melee build, given her dexterity, strength, subclass features, and predilection for inflict wounds. Imogen can handle arcane magical damage, and both Jester and Imogen have AOE options and plenty of cantrips. I would assume Trinket is also included and can shoulder the strength and melee burdens.

Liam: Until high levels this group is slightly fucked. Like Travis's group, there's no healing until higher levels; unlike Travis's group, Vax and Caleb are both the glassiest of cannons, even Orym doesn't have Fjord or Grog's sky-high con, and Vax needs to be within 30 feet of his target vs. Fjord or Caleb's 100+. On the plus side, however, they have all the major damage types covered and Orym means Vax gets sneak attack a decent amount of the time, and the mental stats are good, so like, if they somehow survive to level 14 when Vax gets 5 whole points of lay on hands healing and Caleb can use his transmuter's stone, they're golden.

Taliesin: If I don't pick Laura's party I pick Taliesin's. Percy is good at one kind of damage, mostly, but he's very good at that one kind of damage and any ranged fighter build will still tear it up with a finesse melee weapon, plus he's got a decent number of skills and areas of knowledge. Caduceus is obviously built for support and healing but can handle area of effect, and Molly and Ashton serve as a melee tank line, with Molly handling some degree of debuffs as well. This does means Percy is probably handling the bulk of arcana, which is very funny, and personality-wise Percy and Caduceus would probably detest each other, but it's probably the best, mechanically.

[eve-is-obsessed]

everything i know about critical role campaign 1 (i have not watched it)

ok so I am a very new Critter who's only watched EXU and campaign 3, but thanks to The Internet, I've learned some things about campaigns 1 and 2 through osmosis. also I've watched some random clips on YouTube... I do plan to watch the campaigns eventually so if no one else finds this funny, at least Future Eve will enjoy my current levels of stupidity.

possible spoilers for Vox Machina! possible incorrect spoilers! do not trust anything I say! I don't know what I'm talking about!

player characters:

Keyleth is a very cute half elf druid played by Marisha. I've seen a lot of art of her so I know exactly what she looks like. also I'm 72% sure she's trans and sapphic but I highly doubt that's canon. I think she is a dumbass and turns into a goldfish mid-cliff jump at one point?? oh and then she becomes Voice of the Tempest and leads the Air Ashari or something. is she an Ashari? no idea. what even is an Ashari? I think her mom is alive. no idea about her dad. something sad happens with her and some dude I think.

Vex'ahlia is Laura's character and she's a very sexy elf ranger with a bow and arrow who I would marry without question. she probably has a British accent. I think she carries Trinket around in a necklace but I might be totally wrong.

Vax'ildan, played by Liam, is another elf, but less sexy because he's a man. he's Vex's twin brother and APPARENTLY is a rogue but that seems wrong to me. I picture him being very short but I know that's not right. also probably has a British accent. I know nothing about this man. sorry Vax :/

Grog Strongjaw looks like Drax but chubbier, and also like a troll from Harry Potter. I think he's just the dumb barbarian stereotype. he's played by Travis and I know even less about him. for some reason, I think he ends up in a relationship with Scanlan, but that makes no sense to me.

Scanlan Short... something I'm already at a loss tbh. he's Sam's character and a halfling bard I think? probably a manwhore. I think I will hate this man.

Pike Trickfoot (?) is Ashley's character and I'm not at all confident I got the name right. I do not know what race she is, but she's short and blonde and buff. she might be a cleric?? healer of some sort. I think Ashley was gone a lot from the campaign and Matt made up some in game reasons for it.

Percival de Rolo/ Percy is Taliesin's edgy gun dude, and I am ashamed to admit it took me a full minute to remember he existed. tbh I would not have remembered if not for the tumblr sexyman jokes I keep seeing. he's got funky little glasses and a funky vest I think. camp. OH YEAH and he ends up marrying Vex! he better be worthy >:( I have no idea of this man's moral fiber but whatever. is he royalty???

Some Dude that was mean so they kicked him out. I know very little about the character or the actor.

random characters I remember:

Delilah Briarwood - I only remember this bitch bc she's Laudna's patron. I love her immediately I think she is an evil edgy lady w funky magic

Shaun Gilmore is in EXU and he's a fabulous gay man who's just like ridiculously hot and flirty. big fan.

Trinket is a bear. he can talk? pretty sure he's in this campaign.

plot points:

they burn down a city?

uhhhh I literally have no idea what happens in this campaign, cool

I tried

Mighty Nein post coming soon >:)