#call of the netherdeep game

[sessenaa]

My friend's warlock Idrya for our Exandria campaign! Plus @trucbiduleschouettes' Rangy.

Love running these sessions!

[luckthebard]

Would have posted more about running Call of the Netherdeep for D&D today but I was too distracted because….

they are still making their way through the Betrayer’s Rise section and my girlfriend is out of town so they were jagering her character and I almost killed her character outright with a chasme. While she wasn’t there! I was a little stressed. 😭😭

Luckily Tyler the frat boy Chronurgy wizard used Chronal Shift after my player remembered at the last minute she could do it and we undid the attack when my reroll missed.

For real though, this was not supposed to be that deadly an encounter but they were rolling shit and I had like 10 natural 20s. Dr. Gordo, our elderly former dentist, ended the encounter with a max HP of 2.

I guess DMing is like that sometimes but players know that’s STRESSFUL from the DM side.

[glossolali]

i made the @souperdeep gang gang some moodboards because i love them dearly and everyone's vibes are on point

twiggy (yours truly)

wren (@fjorests-of-wildemount)

juice (@flashhwing)

amora (@hotboiessek)

keeps (@esseekthelyss)

ritty (@marymauk)

keelan (@watcherswill)

[lithepanda]

Memorial to the Blades of Dynamis

Three years ago, I started my first paid game on StartPlaying - a custom 5e Call of the Netherdeep expansion I had hoped would run for many years, all the way to level 20 and possibly beyond. When it started, it was like magic - the group had some problems to work through but everyone was passionate and ready to fully devote themselves to the fiction and their characters. The talent they displayed was beautiful, their ingenuity was marvelous, and I found myself falling in love with the story we were creating together more and more with each session. The first few months saw me devoting somewhere over a thousand hours fleshing out the game world, different quests they could take on, and, what I saw as most importantly, deeply and intrinsically incorporating each character into the story and truly helping them be the Heroes of the Story. I studied the Exandria setting so much it feels like I have Betrayer Gods and CritRoleStats ready to come tumbling out of my ears at any given moment to this day. I bemoaned how overpowered the characters were becoming while fully acknowledging that it was in large part due to the lavish gifts I showered upon them every few sessions, whether it be a dark lance that augmented their class abilities and occasionally ate their horses (harmlessly shunting them to the Shadowfell, of course), a feat that imbued a paladin's smites in dragonflame and allowed them to revive the dead once a day, or a motherly, shapeshifting weapon that could morph into plate armor with wings. And my beloved players responded with more enthusiasm and creativity than I possibly have ever imagined. I often refer to my games as "my babies", but it was never more true than in regards to the party that would come to be known far and wide as the Blades of Dynamis - to the point where, out of affection, and to great personal loss, I eventually made the campaign free about a year and a half in. No regrets. Fast forward three years, and I've finally told my players it's time to say goodbye. One final encounter to depose a tyrant, and then we leave Exandria forever. I just thought I'd share our story here.

[thrythlind]

Art by AbrahamDHR (blue/white) and Shanice TJN (green/brown)

This is Proper Ruin, my yuan-ti Battle Smith along with her steel defender, Mittens, and her familiar Luce.

I've been playing her in a Call of the Netherdeep campaign where we've recently arrived at Bazzoxan with the Rivals in possession of the Jewel of Three Prayers, something our group is generally fine with as we're following our own stories and helping the rivals out as we can.

But I'm more going to talk more about how I play her than the campaign right now.

My idea of Proper Ruin is that she is would present quite a bit like I think I might if I had never had a need to learn to mask my neurodivergence.

And this is harder than it sounds and it's making me aware of just how deeply ingrained that practice is into me. My mask mostly slips when I'm either too tired to keep it up, or else I've been so surprised or presented with something unexpected that I default to blank non-reaction.

I've also recently realized that my tendency to practice expressions, in the mirror, or as I'm watching a video, is probably also connected to me masking. At this point, I mostly do it without thinking about it.

Proper probably would still occasionally practice things like smiling and the like. My thought is that her mothers would've been unlikely to force her to be "normal" for their sake, but she'd still have to deal with the other academics at the Alabaster Lyceum. And before she was adopted she did have a good six years of pretty traumatic early childhood at the hands of the cult that created her and were disappointed with the results.

So, there's no habit of unconscious expression mimicry for Proper. When she did do it, it would be deliberate. When she does try to add expression, it does tend to be stilted.

On my part, playing Proper does present some anxiety as it does poke that constant fear of being misunderstood. This tends to lead to me to add some third-person description to add clarity on top of what is a deliberately bland and monotone presentation.

[ihaveseentruebravery]

It's infuriating to have GMed Netherdeep for a year and a half and be in the middle of the final Netherdeep combat and WANT TO KEEP GOING FOR HOURS UPON HOURS 😔😔😔 But you can't. Bc real life.

Ugggggh. People from critrole land ask my questions about Netherdeep pls. I don't get to finish the combat for another week and a half.

[raymurata]

oak - 1, 2, 13 and tarlyn 46

1. What drives them? what’s their ultimate goal?

They don’t know. As far as they understand it, they want to do good for their country, and they want to understand the world better, and they want to make lasting friendships.

Deep down, I think what drives them is wanting to be whole; they just haven’t realized that yet (and the one way through which that could have been achieved became a scary burnt bridge a month and a half ago, so they’re literally lost and just going with the flow right now).

2. What was your original concept for this character? how did playing them change that concept?

I think I talked a bit about the original concept and some changes I’ve experienced in rey's ask. I didn’t ever consider integration when I created them. I didn’t know we’d be around Oak’s former family or friend either, and those have certainly affected them a lot and allowed me to explore their reactions to the echoes of the past. I thought they would be way more mistrustful of all Drow, too, but Espen made sure that wasn't the case XD.

But I think Tarlyn is the one who, while still keeping the themes I’d planned, ended up surprising me the most when I was actually text-roleplaying him. Probably because I didn't originally plan how Tarlyn spoke or acted or thought, for instance. Just his circumstances. And now that I've actually made his character sheet and written him in a couple of scenarios, Oak and I have both discovered a lot about him as a result. T_T And it hurts.

13. Rey beat you to it.

46. Have they taught themselves any skills just for fun?

I think Tarlyn taught himself several things, but not one just for fun.

[crouteann]

im in 3 dnd campaigns rn and having a great time :3333

[chaoticcomposition]

our next game is gunna be call of the netherdeep and I've decided to play ves! I settled on ascendant dragon as her subclass which means at level 3 she gets a breath weapon 😎

[utilitycaster]

this may seem needlessly finicky but I do actually believe it's important: calling Verin a himbo is just one of many examples where like, one of the cast says something off the cuff and it's not exactly the right word or it is highly contextual, and that is fine because no one is perfect especially in improv, but then it gets repeated ad infinitum within the fandom when it never really fit in the first place. We have Verin's stats and he's decently more intelligent than average with a 13 (smarter than most of Bells Hells for one; as smart as Pike); it's just he's the guy with a bachelor's degree with good grades followed by military service in a family where everyone has two PhDs - Matt said "himbo of the family" the way in a family where most people are exceptionally tall you'd call the 5'11" child the short one. In Call of the Netherdeep he appears as thoughtful and competent and promoted to a difficult position at a very young age, and in the campaign his appearance is simultaneously as a leader of troops in a dangerous mission, and someone who cares enough about poetry from a completely foreign and distant culture to have tried to learn more about it. I'm sorry, but if you're using the word "himbo" I don't think you're processing a thing about the character yourself; you're just the latest repetition in a game of telephone that's been going on since mid-2021.

And that's not deeply bad on the surface, and I'm using Verin not because he is the character most wronged by this sort of thing but because he's recent and it's really clear where the word came from and that it's not a good assessment, but something I happen to have a decent knack for is pattern recognition in language. I usually find it really easy to pick up on when someone's plagiarized because of the language and pattern shifts. I tend to remember urls and out of place words well. So I do tend to notice when everyone suddenly starts using a single turn of phrase and I tend to flag it. Sometimes that's not bad; sometimes it means everyone came to a similar conclusion and that's the best way to express that conclusion. But like, when Taliesin called the Yios episode a gas-leak episode and the entire fandom started parroting it? The line "bone-dry takes"? The fact that a lot of ship defenses I see were phrased precisely as "I have eyes"? without actually talking about the ship itself? the fact that I've seen a spike in the use of the term "ontologically evil" including in myself and not all uses are actually correct? And extending this beyond strictly language but consider any headcanon with minimal textual support that catches like wildfire (sidebar: remember how we make, or made fun of the SPREAD THIS LIKE WILDFIRE tendency on Tumblr a decade ago? same concept of repetition of a specific turn of phrase without internalizing) all sort of ping this.

And it's fine, truly, to come to fandom and turn off your brain. I know this will sound sarcastic from me, and that's because I don't personally agree, but I do strongly agree that you can do what you want in fandom and you don't have to listen to my opinions so in the end, yeah, it's fine because I am not the arbiter of "fine". But I think critical thought is a vital exercise and I think precision with language is part of it and so if you find yourself using the same exact words and thoughts as everyone else, that should, ideally, trigger a process of "but are these the right words? what do I see when I see this character and how would I describe them? do I agree with this assessment?" Fandom is an interesting and easier microcosm than reality in which to start doing that.

[cloaksandcapes]

We are so excited to finally unveil our new card designs! Our artist Eotia has spent so much time and effort looking over what we love and what makes other creators work stand out and came up with something we think is just as sharp!

This magic item was actually created for one of the players in my Call of the Netherdeep game. A former noble with amnesia, this fishing pole was a gift from his father that he now uses as a Monk to fight off his Vampire Godmother.

Oleandre’s Legacy

Weapon (quarterstaff), rare

“This carefully handcrafted fishing rod is adorned with designs and decorations befitting a family heirloom. Despite its antique appearance, it is quite sturdy and holds up exceptionally well even when used as a weapon. Due to its magical nature it can be completely collapsed down into the palm of your hand.”

You have a +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon.

You can use a bonus action to transform this magic item into a fishing pole or back into a quarterstaff. The quarter staff and fishing pole are collapsable and can be easily concealed when not in use.

Catch of the Day. When you take the attack action you can substitute one of your attacks to instead summon a magical tether. Target one creature within 30 feet that you can see. That creature must make an opposed Strength (Athletics) check against you or be pulled up to 20 feet toward you in a straight line. If any object or creature would impede their path, the movement stops. A creature can choose to fail this check. Once you have used this property you cannot use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Join us on Twitch every Mon\Wed\Fri to create new Homebrews and check out our Patreon for 524+ magic items, tokens, maps, and more.

[triaelf9]

Air genasi barbarian self-proclaimed archivist (of dangerous items) with looooow CHA can have a little accidental ruidium corruption on a failed save, as a treat XD. Whoopsies! 😘

Ahhh, Call of the Netherdeep is a blast, love me some Critical Role campaign settings XD

(Quick post-game doodle because how could I not draw my disaster child taking on yet another curse in stride XD)

[luckthebard]

My Call of the Netherdeep group is supposed to play Sunday, but this is also the group who named their adventuring party “The Birds” so they could yell “Go Birds!!🦅” to hype themselves up and the Eagles are playing in the conference championship game at 3pm.

So we may have to have a short session or just play other board games lol.

[oddthesungod]

the full party 4 the call of the netherdeep game i'll be playing! <3 conandir (half-elf/wizard - school of necromancy) - huffleswag98 @ Twitter praxis (changeling/cleric - knowledge domain) - @faerieprincen cerise (halfling/druid - circle of the shepherd) - @czpeterp virion (aasimar/paladin - oath of vengeance) - mine! tadashi (fire genasi/monk - way of mercy) - @ravenqueensspecialboi and gm'd by @candelasobscura ! ✨💖

[penandswordprod]

What is Pen & Sword? Pen & Sword is an Extremely Professional D&D Actual Play Show using 5th Edition D&D. Campaign 0 is set in the world of Exandria in 837PD. Why "Campaign 0"? The recorded episodes of our campaign began with the PCs at level 11. This campaign could include large, world-changing events, so we decided to film the late game of our campaign to document these events. As it is not a full campaign and it may alter the world we plan on continuing with, "zero" felt apt! How do I watch Pen & Sword? We have a handy recap video that goes over the events of our Campaign 0 party pre-recording! It can be watched here if you are interested, though it is not entirely necessary. (Please note that the recap includes spoilers for Critical Role's "Call of the Netherdeep" adventure module.) Episode 1 can be found here, and all subsequent episodes can be found on Pen & Sword's YouTube channel. Episodes premiere live on Twitch (most) Mondays at 6:30pm ET and are uploaded to YouTube 24 hours later.

[lonewildling]

🔥 FIRE - do they have any self destructive tendencies? what habits do they have that hinder them from becoming their best self?

🌌 MILKY WAY - what was the inspiration behind your oc? what was the first thing you decided about them?

🔥 FIRE - do they have any self destructive tendencies? what habits do they have that hinder them from becoming their best self?

(: Ya.

Ok, so -- Viatrix carries her grief and guilt and shame like heavy stones around her neck. She drowns under their weight and, to her, This Is How It Should Be. Her actions angered the greenwrath, trapping not only herself but also loved ones for many, many years. And even the greenwrath didn’t want her! Spat her back out. Unwanted and useless, she should carry these burdens forever and also alone.

Her hermit nature is a byproduct of this. She tells herself it is for safety - and frankly, it is both her own and for others - but mostly it is because she thinks she deserves to be alone. To eek out a small life under difficult circumstances without aid.

🌌 MILKY WAY - what was the inspiration behind your oc? what was the first thing you decided about them?

Oh boy. Viatrix started out as a D&D character. A friend was DMing a game of Call of the Netherdeep, a Critical Role module. Since it was taking place in Exandria I was excited to play one of CRs classes: blood cleric. Because of where the story started this also worked out beautifully and in digging into where blood magic came from and its ties to Lycanthropy Viatrix began to take form.

I also just like werewolves a lot and have never made my own. So I knew pretty early on she was going to be one. And the idea of just the saddest, wettest, most pitiful werewolf was soooooo funny to me.

To answer the questions directly: I knew she'd be a sad wet weirdo immediately and the inspiration behind her was Matt Mercer's blood magic lore!

Unfortunately, that game bit the dust but I was so obsessed with the most pathetic werewolf God ever saw. For a while I made do by just rotating her and reblogging shit posts. I decided to just make her to gpose with sometimes and it sort of spiraled heavily from there! And here we are.

She's certainly different from her D&D counterpart. No faith, for starters, and her werewolf nature is heavily flavored and inspired by mushrooms and other fungi! The blood magic has fallen a bit to the side but I'm rotating ways to weave it back in.

Thank you for the ask!

[OC Emoji Asks]