#i LOVE this campaign man

[egophiliac]

innocently logging in to look at the Twst schedule for May like

[blorbologist]

Y'know, I think I figured out why the Hells still feel like a new low-level party to me, even though they're level 13 and almost 100 episodes in.

I don't quite think it's the lack of conversations, or the fact half the party's plot hooks are big ties to past campaigns - though that definitely plays a part.

... Bell's Hells still primarily rely on quest givers.

Most of their goals are given to them and do not feel organic to the party, and constantly remind us that the Hells are pretty much never the most powerful people in the room. Which is usually something you see with a low-level party.

NPCs offering jobs is not a bad thing; it's a very common plot hook. Matt has been extremely skilled with using NPC quest givers in those two campaigns. Not only do they provide an obvious plot thread, but they can put the party in the path of others (say, the Nein running into the Iron Shepherds while doing a job for the Gentleman and everything that came of that). And the Hells had a solid start with it too - Eshteross was an excellent quest giver!

The problem is that Bell's Hells have never really not had a quest giver.

Maybe it's a byproduct of the more plot-heavy structure of this campaign? But while prior parties have felt like they decided on their course of action and what they prioritized, Bell's Hells feels less like level 13 (13! Level 13!) experienced adventurers and more like an MMO group clicking on the exclamation point over an NPC's head. Where does the plot demand we go next? Who do we report back to?

They're level 13.

At level 13, Vox Machina had just defeated a necromantic city-state to clear their name and Percy's conscience. And, you know, the Conclave just destroyed Emon. No one was explicitly telling the group to gather Vestiges and save the world (though Matt guided them there), and they were usually among the most powerful people in the room. They chose which Vestiges to prioritize, which dragons to tackle when, even if the over-all plot was pretty clear.

At level 13, the Mighty Nein were celebrating Traveler Con (another PC goal, I'll note) after brokering peace between two nations, accidentally becoming pirates and heroes of the Dynasty. The Nein regularly chose what to do based on personal goals, not grand ones. Though definitely smaller fish than Vox Machina at this level, they were very independent and gaining solid political clout.

While we're at it: level 13 is one level lower than the Ring of Brass, who had a huge amount of sway over Avalir. They ended the world, and also saved it, while in the grand scheme of things being only a smidge more powerful than Bell's Hells are now.

Can you really see the Hells wielding that amount of influence, when they're constantly being told what to do next?

The god-eater might be unleashed, so Bell's Hells have no time to do anything but what is asked of them. No time for therapy unless stolen from Feywild time, no travel on foot and late-night watches. They haven't even had time to grieve FCG. Percy was grieved in the middle of the Conclave arc. Molly was grieved when half the party was still in irons.

Matt is in the very unfortunate spot of not being able to give the Hells the same agency as the other two parties. Not only because of the world-ending plot introduced so early on; they are surrounded by characters they know (and the cast knows) are stronger and wiser than them - the familiarity of the past PCs and NPCs is to their disadvantage.

Why would the party reasonably ignore Keyleth's task that will help save the world and go off on a romp? Why would the cast when they know well Keyleth has to be sensible and with the best intentions in mind? The stakes are just too high.

It means that the Hells still feel like they're running errands instead of pursuing their own destiny. Their accomplishments are diminished as just being parts of a to-do list, and any stakes feel padded by several level 20 PCs/NPCs standing 5 steps away ready to catch them.

This isn't Bell's Hell's fault, nor is it Matt's. It could be amended, I think, if the Hells are really left to their own devices for a long period of time without support and shortcuts (like during the party split)... which would be really tricky to pull off at this point in the campaign.

They're level 13. They're big fish, but they're stuck in a pond full of friendly sharks, so they don't feel big at all.

[liltaireissocute]

his coat

[yrsonpurpose]

alex & henry ± shameless flirting — you know i am incorrigible, so don't "incorrige" me.

[soaring-trash]

Proud son of two moms

[ludinusdaleth]

(un)holy SHIT you guys

J'mon Sa Ord (making me gasp) in The Legend of Vox Machina Season 3, Episode 2, "Prisoners of Ank'Harel"

[residentinsomniacartist]

A Molly drawing, for the soul :DD

[undead-knick-knack]

Orym would be the one member they respect 😂

[codgod]

honestly, i think you are the coolest

and you don't even mind that i'm a broken lost soul

and i don't wanna sound all sweet and sappy

but all i wanna do is make you happy

[zwoftt]

WEEKLY DORYM MOMOS N OTHER STYFF IN NO CERTAIN ORDER!! the glances robbie makes towards liam and then they don't do any morning scene :( robbie looked so excited and ready for one... its crazy the contrast between dorian and orym, and its shown perfectly in the costumes liam and robbie wore dorian's small "i love your analogies" towards orym when he explains their plan better to dorian during breakfast. orym giving himself more dex???? omg????? dorian look out buddy keyleth and vex talking about vaxxxxxx god it hurtttttssss cerkonos is literally so... UGHGHGHGH!!! (literally foetrgort he was a charatcer to begin with LOL

vox machina. thats it. thats the moment. i didn't clock very many dorym moments in this episode(lemme know if you guys caught anything else)) (so sad)!! but im guessing we'll see more romantic stuff later when shit isn't, yknow, multiple character parties.

[shorthaltsjester]

re the first three tlovm s3 episode title teaser fr. vex getting [redacted] while standing in front of percy . i will undoubtedly have Thoughts about plot n adaption once the whole season is out but i will say people acting like vex potentially dying again is a betrayal of the arc is . i say this politely. ridiculous. vex’s most common habit aside from haggling and flirting in campaign 1 was being knocked unconscious. she required full ass resurrection spells on four separate occasions. we currently have no idea what the shape of any arc in season 3 will look like beyond broad strokes and teasing shots. if they end up wanting to incorporate the exandrian magic lore of it’s harder to come back each time you die, vex seems like the obvious opportunity to do so. please at the very least save the panic posting for when you actually have something to panic about .

[bluequillss]

he deserves a bird.

[iceiceicecold]

redrawing my fav hockey memes as my topgun hockey AU part 1/?

[squishiest-wizard]

Me this whole week

[lunalikestowriteanddraw]

Sometimes, Critical Role has these really dark and depressing moments, and makes you consider morality and what it means to be truly alive

And other times, the party tries to convince the enemy that they’re actually in a porno, with varying levels of confusion and embarrassment from the enemy, the DM, and probably the audience as well

[eyeofthebrainstorm]

I used to think "bells hells go so fast, they never talk they never rest or take time ... I guess the group just changed the way they play with experience"

But actually, first thing vox machina did was have heartfelt conversations and go to bed. So I guess it's just Bells hells that are like that.