#critical role theory

[wenamedthedogkylo]

I already said this in my other post but this really deserves to stand on its own and honestly I'm crying over it so it has to get written down somewhere, but when Bor'Dor took a pull from Ashton's pipe, the smoke turned into an image of him shooting a Fire Bolt at the janky, creepy, lovingly set up dummy that the Hells had made for him. The target that his own targets made out of admiration for him, out of affection, out of genuinely wanting to see him grow his potential.

Ashton's pipe showed that the greatest, most heroic moment of Bor'Dor's life was casting Fire Bolt at that target, and getting to celebrate it with the rest of the Hells. It was feeling accepted for the first time in his life. Feeling respected. Feeling like he belonged, like he and his magic belonged and weren't some horrible, dangerous thing that they would fear him for or would have a temple come and cart him away for.

These people—who he somehow either followed across an ocean or luckily ran into—who he specifically stayed with because he intended to kill them for sabotaging the Ruby Vanguard's plans. For killing "his friends" in Marquet.

These people were the ones he finally felt accepted by. Not the Ruby Vanguard.

He gave Ashton the first piece of mental relief and relaxation they'd felt in years, maybe ever. He gave them jerky, and made them fruit leather, and caught a little fish and had Prism Enlarge it to make sure they could eat. Was he telling himself it was just to ingratiate himself to them, to get closer so the knife would be easier to twist? When did ingratiating himself become "I wanted you to like me"? Did he have to keep convincing himself it was all part of the plan, that he didn't really like them, that he didn't want to keep them alive but he had to to get his revenge, that he could let them die at any moment and this wasn't just him getting attached because how could he get attached to people he meant to kill?

Did Bor'Dor realize, in the moment that he decided to try killing them in that cave, that the Vanguard had only ever seen him as a weapon? That his "friends" who'd died in Marquet (he'd watched Ashton throw some of their bodies out of the Hole just days ago) wouldn't have sought revenge for his death the same way, because he was nothing more than a tool for one man's schemes? Did he realize he had more in common with Orym who'd lost all his loved ones to Ludinus and Otohan and the Vanguard—with Laudna and her myriad of terrifying, beautiful magical gifts and her desire to do good with them—than he'd ever had in common with anyone in the Vanguard?

Is that part of why he just tried to run?

It didn't have to be this way!

Bor'Dor healed most of the group right after fighting the Taker. He knew that his Vitriolic Sphere probably wouldn't kill all of them, that they had health potions and could recover. He just needed to get away. Get away so that they couldn't come after him, and he didn't have to see how he'd hurt the only people who'd welcomed him into their hearts in years, and he could tell himself that maybe they did die and he'd fulfilled his mission, and could tell himself too that maybe they didn't die and he hadn't actually killed his only real friends in the world.

I saw you! In Marquet! You murdered my friends!

Was he really still angry at the Hells for killing Ruby Vanguard members? Or was he trying desperately to fight back against how much they cared about him? How much they had genuinely reached out and taken him in? How much it was going to hurt him to hurt them? Was he trying to cling to his original purpose, so that he could ignore how much it hurt to kill the first people who'd seen his magic and said "you're amazing" and meant it? Who'd said "can I try something", "what else can you do", "it's nice to know I'm not alone, because you're in the same boat as me"?

And when he gave up... when he didn't try to fight back... when he begged for the end because there was no point anymore...

The Vanguard wasn't enough to stay alive for. And he'd just betrayed the only people who'd ever completely accepted him. There was no point anymore. No point in fighting. No point in living. He was done. He'd had enough.

Bor'Dor Dog'Son deserves his peace. I'm glad he got it.

[willowbirds]

Thinking about how Ruidusborns need an anchor to keep the dreams at bay, something that calms them.

Thinking about Imogen, who wants to stop her dreams, needing to find an anchor.

Thinking about when Imogen told Laudna that if she held her hand she would enter the dream with her.

Thinking about Laudna wrapping herself around Imogen the night they found the city on the moon.

Thinking about how losing Laudna was what let out the storm.

Thinking about how Laudna can be that anchor for Imogen, the anchor that calms her and keeps the dreams at bay.

[somewhatsentientspellbook]

Loquatius Seelie, despite his tendency to milk attention from the citizens of Avalir by parading around in public, often spends time hiding from the masses, pretending to be someone else. There are afternoons when he clears his schedule and just walks around the city admiring his home, free from the hassle of pretending to be grand. He'll pass by the places his ex-wife frequents to see if she's doing well, though always in secret.

Laerryn Coramar-Seelie, who is always on the move? Who needs to get ahead of the schedule she's already ahead of? Every so often she'll spot him enjoying the peace and quiet. She was the only person who ever knew it was him - even in the middle of a crowded street. Just by the way that young girl held herself, or that elderly man stared at the spell kites. She was always keenly aware of when the stranger secretly admiring her handiwork was her ex-husband.

And there's a little bit of guilt from both of them. Because when they were together, they always felt too busy to take those strolls through the city. But now? All they could do was steal glances at each other from afar and find peace in that solitude.

[gorgynei]

The Somnovem and Predathos Theory

Can we talk about Predathos and the Somnovem? I've been dying to talk about Predathos and the Somnovem. There's something here, I smell it.

Theory under the cut, its a doozy.

First of all, "Factorum Malleus" (translates to Creator Hammer) and "Malleus Keys" (translates to Hammer Keys). Aeor and Predathos have a concrete, canonical connection. Ludinus went deep into the Genesis Ward, found the Factorum Malleus project, and developed it further into the Keys to release Predathos. It's unclear whether Aeor also wanted to release Predathos, or if they were just trying to use part of its power to create god-killing weapons, but regardless, Aeor knew about Predathos. Thats a big deal and it explains why the entire pantheon held a ceasefire during the Calamity to completely wipe them out.

Knowing that Aeor has a connection to Predathos makes their fanatical Cognouza ward more suspicious. It's possible that the Somnovem were actually worshiping/serving Predathos but all record of it's existence was wiped with Aeor's falling, so we never knew.

When the Nein first learned about Cognouza, it was due to a psychic wave put out by Vokodo in his final moments, flashing them all into Vokodo's memories. This is similar to the flash that Imogen put out when she gave into Ruidus's power in e33-e34, even down to Bell's Hells being forced into their own memories. While not concrete, the shared usage of emotion-driven psychic waves and memories is notable.

The Somnovem believed in the power of the mortal mind and imagination. In other words, they believed that a brain could manifest psychic power, and they were right: Imogen Temult is living proof of that. They share in the ideas of the power of the mind, even down to the Somnovem communicating telepathically and in dreams.

The Somnovem, or at least members of it, also share many sentiments with the Ruby Vanguard. The Ruby Vanguard wants to release Predathos in order to destroy the pantheon, release mortals from fate, and embrace freedom in that. Ira, upon meeting the Nein, says "Creation is born from destruction, and if all that is worthy of us is destroyed, then so much more can be created or forgotten. All the Gods and the fates that threw us to torment and death, they all will pay" (c2e137) which mirrors that idea extremely closely. Timorei says "You know the terror of the end, mortal ones. The nothing, the acceptance of fate or even oblivion. We-- we cannot end. No, at all costs, oblivion must be destroyed" (c2e137), once again bringing up the idea of disrupting fate and the natural order of things. It's possible that what was originally interpreted as the Somnovem being split on whether to bring Cognouza into the world could have actually been a much larger debate on whether to bring Predathos into the world and destroy pantheon, at least in part.

When Cognouza was transported into the astral sea, it was harassed by a "terrible psychic storm" that drove them mad. Psychic storms haunt all of campaign 3. There's the red storms on the surface of Ruidus and Imogen's dreams, both intimately connected to Predathos and to the power of the mind. Cognouza could have targeted by a powerful psychic wave directly from Predathos, which would explain the strange mind-melded state they end up in and the madness that permeates the entire city and anyone who gets too close.

Additionally, Ruidus flared in 836 PD. Cognouza was also destroyed in 836 PD. It's impossible to know if these are completely connected or pure coincidence, but if Cognouza was a long-running Predathos plot, it's destruction would likely warrant an outburst from the moon.

While delving in Aeor, Lucien discovers a mural depicting "a ring of nine red ovals, with a dazzling starburst in the middle, and that decorated with a single open eye. Enlightenment" (from the Nine eyes of Lucien). Every other symbol of the Somnovem has been just nine red eyes. This "starburst" in the middle could be a subtle nod to Predathos, especially with the way it seems the nine ovals are inferior to this one, greater eye. Lucien seems to believe this represents enlightenment, and he's probably correct. The Aeorians are famously non-religious, so fanatical devotion to a god-killer and it's ideals may have still only looked like extreme belief in a particular school of thought, rather than worship to a particular entity.

There's the obvious too: the nine eyes being red. Red can mean a lot of things. There are plenty of red things in Critical Role that are totally unrelated to Predathos and Ruidus. But when red is the primary colour and representation of unchecked alien energy, and a strange fanatical city with possible connection to that energy is also red? It stops being so chance. Not a big thing on its own, but worth mentioning.

When Cognouza was destroyed, Kingsley felt the "strange black chains that invisibly wove through that city" break and heard an "angry, unknowable, primal, ancient cry". It's widely assumed that this is Tharizdun due to the chain-imagery and general madness that the city is connected to, and I do think that's likely, but if Tharizdun is actually somehow connected to Predathos (both of them are alien beings that got locked away, after all), it could be both of them.

*gestures wildly at all of this* do you see?? do you SEE???? There's something. There's something here.

[mindovermuses]

Something has been tickling the back of my brain ever since we were given a glimpse of the gods in Downfall that I think is starting to come together into some sort of coherent thought process. But I'll we'll see how coherent it is once I've brain dumped it here onto the page I guess...

Most of the gods we've met are children.

Barely filtered ramblings ahead. You've been warned.

Go back and re-watch the opening of Downfall with them on Tengar. See how they run around and play like young children, naive to the world around them. How an elder of their race thought it such a fun thing to take Aru and any of their friends out to the orchard to witness a new tree coming into being. Is that an activity one would do with an adult or a curious child?

How, when Edun disappeared and the world started to disappear as well, other NPCs appeared at their sides, taking charge and telling them not to worry, they'll bring Edun back... before vanishing themselves. The gods/children had no understanding of anything that was happening but other, more mature-sounding characters seemed less lost in the moment.

The former god of death, Nahal, had probably just reached adulthood and that's why they could feel the dread the other adults seemed to sense and why they weren't running and playing. It's probably also part of why the Matron of Ravens was able to ascend to their godly position. Reaching full adulthood and understanding, maybe he chose to seek out oblivion and leave her as his chosen heir.

Given their timeless natures and how they were made into real, immortal beings... who knows how long it would take for them to emotionally mature, especially with no healthy adults of their kind there to guide them.

Can't you just look at some of their decisions and actions in the past and see the subtle nods to a toddler or young child playing make believe or not getting what they want and throwing a tantrum? It wouldn't be a one-for-one match to a child as we know them, but similar none-the-less.

Forsaking their godly abilities and living as humans for a while probably helped them to "grow up" more than anything else as well as finally accepting the Matron of Ravens as more of an equal. They learned first-hand how their actions and in-actions have consequences and that they had been speaking for and making decisions for life on Exandria without considering that they should have a say in things as well. Their puppet playthings are just as real as they are and are driven by the same emotions that they, as the gods, are.

I don't think the gods have fully reached adulthood for their kind just yet- some may be closer than others though. They're still, for the most part, those same scared little children in the orchard of possibilities watching everything they've ever known and loved be taken from them. Watching the only place they've ever known as home be swallowed up by something they didn't understand.

What happened may have been a completely normal thing for Tengar but not something they would have told young children about because they didn't believe they would understand yet. In a panic, the oldest of the children did their best to collect their siblings and escape what they saw as certain doom... but what if it wasn't? What if it was? No one can know for certain (except Matthew Mercer, that is...).

Maybe Predathos was the result of the adults of their world's hubris coming back to destroy them and THEY were the airship of children from Avalir or young Hallis from Aeor who were able to escape and survive the calamity their peoples brought down upon themselves. (Wonder if young Hallis grew up and studied necromancy while building himself a happy little spherical domain? Nah...)

Then again, maybe Predathos doesn't kill the gods it absorbs. Maybe it was a security system to protect Tengar and it sends them to be with the rest of their people and their lost home. Of course, if this is the case, there's always the possibility that perhaps, by choosing to become real to escape along with other later actions, they can no longer travel in those dimensions.

I mean... it's kind of like if fifth dimensional beings took form and became fourth dimensional beings. Gods amongst the peoples they presided over. For a short time, they constrained their potential further and became three-dimensional mortals, but their mortal forms couldn't hold their greater power indefinitely and they re-emerged as their fourth-dimensional selves. But, once you've shaved off enough of yourself to become mortal... how can you possibly ascend back to your former fifth dimensional forms to go home again?

TL;DR: The gods are literally children and potentially unreliable narrators of their own histories because of it.

[petrenocka]

The prologue of Critical Role: Downfall sparks (heh) a lot of ideas and theories, but one is actually keeping me awake at night: The possible place of Shar which Exandria lore.

Idk if I'm just projecting my own campaign lore here, but think about it. In Forgotten Realms, Shar is a goddess of Darkness and Loss, and together with Selune a primordial being older then existence itself.

It fits just so perfectly! If the darkness that consumed the palace of light is still out there she would be the perfect incarnation for it! "and loss", it just slots so neatly, like a puzzle

And, to top it off with a wild speculation, Shar is known to take the depressed and aimless as her servants. After all, forgetting is her greatest blessing.

In a story about a family and immense hurt that tore it apart, an antagonistic force all about forgetting, about giving up the difficult and painful feelings and memories along with the good ones because it's just not worth it.

In a story of Gods confronting their children, and the weight of their mistakes. What better ""villain"" then the Darkness of Oblivion teaching mortals the ways of extinguishing Light of Creation. Then a Duplicitous Anti-Goddess of Real Illusions and Shadows, seducing the forces of Good, Evil, Chaos and Order alike, with a promise of a perfect innert Peace.

The Shadow that Reality itself casts on the other side from the radiant Ligh. This is my prediction of where the story is going.

I just know Brennan is into thematic storytelling like that. Although having a divine being be behind it all might diminish the agency of mortals which is also important to this story. Hmmm, maybe Shar's not directly in control, but Factorum Malleus is channeling an aspect of Her. After all, darkness is what's left when you extinguishing Light. When you remove a God, an essential part in the code of reality and don't immediately replace it, Nothing is left.

Also I want to see some full power God on God violence.

[redjustine]

Fearne having full look for the hell paladin to consider her worthy. She has horns, she has hooves, her element is fire, she is fey, and and pesky humanoid, she has tiny fire spirit, she's also hot and charismatic. Full set xD. I wonder if Ashley will multiclass info cleric if she chooses this Path.

[a-forest-in-her-bones]

Ok, I’ve sat on this for too long…

We’ve got Team Wildemount who we’ve been following for the last few weeks, and I know everyone (including myself) is anxious to know what’s become of Ashton, Laudna, and Orym. First thing, I think the extended stay with Team Wildemount is partly due to Christian and Aabriya’s schedules, but also because of Creator Clash. We may be hopping over to (what people have been calling) Team Marquet soon, now that the pre-recorded episodes have caught up post-Creator Clash, but we’ll see. And that brings me to my second and main point:

I don’t think they’re in Marquet.

I think they’re in Tal’Dorei, specifically at the Pools of Wittebak. Check out Matt’s description of where Team No Healers ended up at the end of episode 51:

“you see yourself kind of sitting on the edge of a rocky cliff almost. The smell that hits your nostrils is kind of sulfurous and acrid, acidic almost... and you look around you and there are these pools of strange colored liquid… you both see this almost chasm like space below you. You can see these little bits of natural geysers kind of *poof poof poof poof* poofing steamy water… as you scan the horizon, in some distance you see, just above the cloud line, the red moon Ruidus standing, and a singular red beam that just vanishes below some far off mountain line… you are in some sort of odd valley-like chasm.”

Now check out the Pools of Wittebak page in the Critical Role Wiki:

“The Pools of Wittebak are located in the Cliffkeep Mountains, between 100 and 120 miles east of Terrah… The pools are a series of large, mineral-rich geothermic puddles across the mountainside…”

So I’m not saying… I’m just saying…Geothermic puddles… near (ish) Terrah, where spooky Earth Elemental Plane portal stuff is apparently happening. And may perhaps be related to a certain Punk Rock’s backstory…

[omens-daughter]

When the malleus keys were first introduced, I noted that "malleus" means hammer, such as in the word mallet and also the bone in your inner ear that helps with hearing. I know this because of a witch hunting book from a long time ago called the Malleus Malefacarum (or the Hammer of Witches)

I make note of this.

They are called "hammer keys"

So, I'm sitting there. Episodes pass. I'm thinking about the Aeor arc in campaign 2 for some reason, can't recall why. But I'm thinking about it, and suddenly, I recall something

The Mighty Nein uncover notes about something called the Factorum Malleus project, AKA the God Hammer. We know this to actually be, canonically, what Ludinus has been trying to replicate with his keys courtesy of FRIDA and their memory of protecting one

In those notes the M9 recovered, the project head is noted as a mage named Athodan. It is stated that this mage uncovered a relic, which turned out to be a Luxon beacon, and used necromantic glyphwork to unlock some property from it that pleased the overseers of this mage's work. What this mage was working on prior to (or in conjunction with) the Malleus Factorum project was rejuvenation

I believe that Ludinus Da'leth is an ancient Aeorian mage named Athodan who worked on the original project to free Predathos and kill the gods

When the gods (collectively, Betrayer and Prime) struck Aeor out of the sky, I believe Athodan somehow survived, but lost all of his work

Maybe he wasn't in the city at the time. Maybe he had some sort of contingency. Regardless, he survived. And, in order to survive the Calamity, he made his way to Issylra and hid out in Vasselheim, the Dawn City, the last bastion of civilization left after the Calamity ravaged Exandria

Once people began migrating out from Vasselheim again, he settled in a town called Ivaadel. Maybe this is where he developed his harness thing that allowed him to rejuvenate again, since he'd be approaching pretty old age (depending on what was done with the Luxon beacon and how old he was when he did it)

He rejuvenates and relocates. Can't have anyone back home notice that Old Ass Ludinus is a 150 year old elf again, right?

He settles in Molaesmyr, because in this post-Calamity world, he is working with figurative rocks and sticks when it comes to magic and technology. So, he needs somewhere that will

a) have a natural wellspring of powerful magic, and

b) have access to relics from Aeor. Molaesmyr has both

And we know Ludinus began hoarding Aeorian artifacts as per Team Wildemount's investigationHe attempted something. Either a shoddy replication of what was built in Aeor, or just an attempt at communion with Predathos and that wiped out the city and corrupted the surrounding woodlands

Ludinus then runs off to Bysaes Tyl for a brief time before showing up on the Eve of Crimson Midnight (interesting name, that) and is credited with stopping the violence between powerful Dwendalian and Julous Dominion aristocratic mages. This accord he is able to reach with them is the basis on which he founds the Cerberus Assembly

The Cerberus Assembly is named after a conglomerate of mages from the Age of Arcanum and predates with Calamity

Knowing that Ludinus founded the modern Cerberus Assembly is kinda suspicious considering how little information of the Age of Arcanum survived the Calamity

He also mentions Laeryn in his notes (Abriya's character from ExU Calamity) and literally no one remembers who she is. Him being aware of her is nuts in the first place, even crazier if you think he is just a modern-day elf mage

In summary:

Ludinus Da'leth is a pre-Calamity, semi-immortal mage from Aeor named Athodan who has been using his knowledge of rejuvenation to keep himself alive for, at the very least, 1000 years

Too many boxes of this theory have been ticked, and I wholeheartedly believe it

[greenleafconfetti]

i can't wait for episode 79

especially if Liam will be back on the table. I wanna see how Orym truly would react to the aftermath of episode 78. He loves his best friend deeply and I think it would be right to be on protective bro mode over Fearne.

Watch out, Rocky!

[wenamedthedogkylo]

So much of Bor'Dor's waffling back and forth about how far to go with the Hells, where to go with them, what their goals were... so much of it makes sense now.

Two eps ago, he'd gone and talked to Orym in the tree and said he was set on sticking with them and helping them out. Last ep, he said he wasn't sure he wanted to stay with them because he didn't want to die for them.

He had to try and stay close, even if that meant saying he'd help them with whatever their goal was. Even if that goal was killing Ludinus.

But he didn't want to die for these people who killed "his friends" in the Ruby Vanguard. Of course he didn't. He didn't want to die for people he was there to get revenge on.

He wanted to try and talk the guards of the temple away from the fight before it started, because maybe they didn't know (according to Bor'Dor's world view) just how much the gods weren't watching and didn't care. Because maybe they were smart enough not to try dying for a god that didn't care to try and protect them.

But he had absolutely no problem shooting a paladin/cleric of the Dawnfather in the back and then bleeding her out to summon a demon. Because she was devoted to one of the very gods that he felt had abandoned him and his mother. And he felt no remorse for ending someone who clearly had no compunctions about oppressing others in her god's name.

And... and Ashton's pipe couldn't lie. Even being a clearly very powerful mage, Bor'Dor didn't know what Ashton's pipe would do because Ashton hadn't told anyone what it did up to that point.

Bor'Dor's greatest, most heroic achievement in life was shooting that Fire Bolt at the practice dummy, and celebrating with everyone, and finally, finally, feeling a sense of belonging for the first time in his life. With the people who killed his friends and fellow Vanguard members. That must have fucking hurt.

I'm not going anywhere with this really, except that Utkarsh really played a character that, for me at least, has to be the single most tragic character on this show. And now that the adrenaline has worn off, my heart just hurts for him. It hurts that in the end, he didn't even try to fight back. He was done. He wanted peace. He wanted to see his family again. He was tired of fighting and watching people die and he was still just a scared young man who had watched people around him die in the name of the gods or in the name of killing the gods for his entire life, and he just... wanted to be done.

Enough.

[viirati]

here is my best guess for the names and which gods they correspond to

extra theory :

what if the ship they came down on is what the luxon beacons are pieces of

[willowbirds]

Started thinking about Nana Morri telling Fearne that her mother holds a dark secret that Fearne deserves to know and I can’t stop thinking about those Fey stories.

You know, the ones where a women asks the Fey for a child and even though she gets one there is something wrong or Fey about them?

From what I remember (and please correct me if I’m wrong) Fearne doesn’t necessarily look like her Father. She bares a resemblance but looks more like her mother. I’m not sure on Oleander’s part in Birdie’s secret but what if they weren’t able to have a child until they had someone else intervene. Some sort of being with enough power to grant them that wish. Someone powerful who they trusted.

Someone like Nana Morri.

What if Nana used some form of Hag magic to allow Birdie and Ollie have a child? But in classic Fey fashion, something was wrong or different?

A big thing about Fearne that struck me as odd was her age in relation to her appearance when compared to her parents. Fearne is 112 and looks around the same age as Imogen (who is 28), while her parents are both in their 50s and look like they are 50.

If Nana Morri actually did intervene and something is abnormal about Fearne’s conception, what if it’s implied that Fearne is actually a Hag?

Obviously it’s been a theory for a while, but with Bell’s Hells now in the Fey Wild again and with Nana revealing that Birdie has a secret, I wouldn’t be surprised if those theories are true.

Heck! Maybe Morri had no involvement whatsoever, but she knew about this secret and knew that something was different about Fearne.

Either way, there is something big going on with Fearne and my Fey brain is turning to folk tales to try and figure it out!

[somewhatsentientspellbook]

How Ludinus used Delilah Briarwood to further his agenda

Do you know what would be interesting to me? If it was revealed that Ludinus “Incapable Of Minding His Own Damn Business” Da’leth was also connected to the Briarwoods, and by extension, Vecna.

Delilah was a member of the Cerberus Assembly, and during her time she had been dabbling in necromancy; something considered VERY illegal in the Empire. She worked alongside some of the most ruthless and cunning individuals on the face of Exandria, and yet she somehow managed to get away with her necromantic experimentation? I don’t buy it. Even if she had the rest of the Assembly fooled, someone like Ludinus would have noticed what was going on. Here’s the thing, he had nothing to gain from exploiting that knowledge, so he wouldn’t have been interested in revealing it. But you know when he did decide to use that information?

After she had lost her husband and fallen into debt with The Whispered One.

The thing is, it’s not like Vecna whispered “find my lab 50km east of fuckaround and 20km south of findout.” Vecna is vague and secretive, and Delilah would have needed to earn his information. Matt confirmed that she had gone searching for a while (in other words, Delilah would have needed help). So, where did she find the information? The people with the knowledge, who would have had any idea of the location of the Whispered One’s ancient sanctum?

Perhaps an elf older, and more powerful than all the rest, with an interest in secrets and a deep understanding of Exandrian history?

So, let’s run with the idea that Ludinus told Delilah where the mysterious laboratory was. What happens after she resurrects Sylas?

The Cerberus Assembly and Cobalt Soul discover she was a necromancer, brand her a traitor, expel her from the assembly, and begin a manhunt for her and her husband. This forces the Briarwoods to retreat to Port Damali, and then to Tal’Dorei in hopes of releasing Vecna. The events of the narrative then happen as they would normally (with the fall of the de Rolo’s and VM liberating Whitestone years later).

But the question remains – why would Ludinus do that? If he is as knowledgeable about Exandrian history, he would have surely known that the Whispered One planned to become a god. Why would he forgo his hatred of the pantheon to plant the seeds of another ascension?

Let’s think about the implications of this. Ludinus wants to show the world that his way is the best (and only) way. He wants to create loyal followers who hate the gods, and what would make you hate divinity more than a mortal ascending and using their newfound power to take over the world? To target Vasselheim of all places? To repeat (beat by beat) the events that led to the Calamity?

And perhaps it was a test. Ludinus knows that the gods sealed themselves behind the divine gate, but how do you get something that large on our side to the other? Vox Machina managed to seal Vecna away, but what if doing so weakened the gate, or revealed its potential weaknesses for Ludinus to exploit?

Come to think of it, this may explain why Ludinus’ own damn annex got away with being involved in the Angel of Irons cult until the M9 went straight to the king with that information. Because by destroying the shackles, the Chained Oblivion would be powerful enough to start exploiting weaknesses in the divine gate.

Anyway, I think it’d be cool if Ludinus had somehow manipulated a necromancer, vampire, and lich-turned-god into playing a part in his long-con. It wouldn’t be totally out of the realm of possibility after all.

[jestandvex]

Ludinus theory -> a big question

I've seen a lot of re-iterations of a Ludinus theory that I personally think makes a lot of sense, but then raises huge questions.

Theory: Ludinus was a consecuted mage of some sort in the age of arcanum, who died and was sucked into a beacon during the calamity. He was reborn years later, and started to research his past as he remembered it, investigating the Aeorian ruins, recovering a beacon, and trying to recreate the factorum malleus. He was pissed bc everyone and everything he loved was destroyed by the gods; he wants revenge.

Why this makes sense: Ludinus knows too much, but also is probably not 800 years old since elves don't usually live that long. He talks about the Calamity like he was there. However, if he was alive the whole time, it's strange that he would start researching Aeor at some random point around 580 PD. He could've done research any ol time; makes me feel like he started regaining his pre-Calamity memories in Molaesmyr or right before he got there.

Subsequent question: If that's true, then the Aeorians understood consecution. So how come there aren't a bunch of ancient Aeorian mages remembering who they are and re-starting the god hammer agenda in their new bodies just like Ludinus? Surely they could all work together or find each other. Something isn't adding up.

Tinfoil hat theory 1: The gods (perhaps miss Raven Queen) have some say in which souls actually get to come back into bodies, and the Aeorians were not deemed acceptable. That would explain why Ludinus is so conerned with her ascension.

Tinfoil hat theory 2: Ludinus died next to a different beacon than the one that was on Aeor (he was elsewhere for some reason) and the Aeor one was destroyed, which is why he's so angry about everything being destroyed.

I really feel like Ludinus being a consecuted Aeorian makes sense because of his general timeline, obsession with being close to beacons, etc. But I also feel like that leaves a HUGE plot-hole: where tf are the rest of the Aeorians, if they figured out consecution???

plz drop your theories below.

[mindovermuses]

New day, new Critical Role brain dump in that hopes that I can try and free up even a minuscule portion of my brain's CPU power.

But this one is different. Far less controversial, I think. And, dare I say it... could possibly hold the power to briefly unite the warring factions of the shipping wars, bring a moment of silent peace to the United Nations of CR Discourse, and maybe... just maybe, offer a healing word to those damaged by witnessing the effects of Downfall.

In this theory, I hope to share my vision to the Council of the Critters of Tumblr and Beacon Bits alike.

Bolo lives.

Approach the sacred door. Speak friend and enter.

If there is one thing about dragons that I think we can all agree on, it is their insatiable need to accumulate their hoard of wealth. In this matter, I see Bolo (of the many syllables) as no different, except perhaps in what I believe she chose to hoard.

A silver dragon with the heart of a reporter, ever mindful of the true goings on in the world, seems exactly the type to recognize the cultural shift at the onset of the Age of Arcanum. No longer were platinum, gold, and jewels the most valuable currency to those with true power. For how could any compare the value of metal and stone dug from the ground to that of unfathomable magics?

So it stands to reason that she might invest her time and energies building a new horde. Guarding and protecting it while sharing knowledge only an ancient silver dragon might know. Creating a city and giving it wings, drawing in the greatest magical minds Exandria has ever known- each a prized and closely guarded part of her collection.

Given this mutually beneficial arrangement during the height of magical possibility, how difficult is it to believe that Bolo might learn a simple seventh level wizard spell? Such a simple illusion for such a powerful, magical being, Simulacrum. Such a spell would allow her to send a construct representative of herself to other cities to seek out potential mages to lure to her horde- even to a grand gala on the arm of a reporter… all without ever leaving her precious city unguarded.

And who better to leave guarding such an important weapon meant for the survival of her city and people but a copy of herself? But, in the end she's greedy, not stupid. If the gods themselves have come to strike down her horde, best to let them believe she went down with them, right?

Besides, it appears as though the value of powerful groups of mages was about to crash. Luckily for her, she still had her former hoard of currencies to fall back upon.

After all, Bolo's final words weren't screaming and wailing about how they couldn't do this to her, they were…

"No, not my city! My city!…"

#BoloLives