Talking Crit

It's a small podcast this week.  Ice storms in the city means that we are down one host, but it does mean that we have some podcasting to do.  We get into this week with a Scanlan resurrection, and a new obstacle for VM to face.  Is the box evil, is the box benign, why are doors, regardless of size, so difficult to overcome?  Travis put on a great performance last week, in character and out, he brought something new and special to Grog.  It was a weird cross between a loveable puppy and rabid grizzly bear; we can't wait to see what he's going to do against Earth Breaker Groon. Don't forget our Question of the Week, where we wonder if the box is going to come back and haunt Vox Machina.  Vote in the poll and let us know what you think, also leave a comment down below and tell us what you think the box may do, if anything at all. https://twitter.com/FotoGuy79/status/829551970704904193   Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast for automatic updates and episodes. You can tune in via iTunes or Google P

Where do we go from here?  We started with an Earth Breaker of a fight, and then ended with a heart breaker.  Fans and cast alike were left to pick up the fragile pieces of our emotions after that episode.  It was a lot to take in, and some of us still have to process everything that happened.  Let's just jump into it, what side did you fall on when Scanlan left Vox Machina?  There's no wrong answer, it was jarring for all of us. Vote in the poll for Question of the Week and let us know what your feelings were when the melt down happened.  While there was some bad that came out, there was some good, we got a new PC to adventure along with, and we got some awesome fan creations.  This week was great for art and video.  Check out the tweets below to see awesome work done from the Critterverse. https://twitter.com/FotoGuy79/status/832104680352260096 The animation style that Ellie Vyle uses works perfectly with the moment.  It's tense, it's adorable, and it's funny.  Give her a follow on twitter, if you haven'

Has it finally happened?  Has Taryon Darrington finally been welcomed into Vox Machina?  The answer is, sort of?  We got to see how an artificer got to stretch their legs in combat, well sort of combat, 84 points of bludgeoning damage will take a lot out of anyone; however, take it like a champ he did.  That was a Negan like wallop he took to the noggin, and still walked away, RIP Glenn. Is this the true Taryon or is there something more deceitful laying in wait for VM?  We also get the start of our journey towards the Water Ashari, which has the potential to be full of Water Bender goodness.  We can't wait to see what Matthew Mercer is going to pull out of his brain to amaze us all.  We also have some new NPC's to get to know; let's see where the Critter Fan Art will take us, and what part of the adventure they'll take on. We have our Question of the Week putting its focus on Taryon's stay.  Will he stick around with VM, or will he just be a bump in the road for the bigger adventure?  Let us know by voting

Queue up I'm On a Boat, it's time to get high on the high seas.  Vox Machina is helping Keyleth on the final leg of her Aramente, which has led them to the ocean city of Vesrah.  That's just an awesome combination of words to say, ocean city of Vesrah.  We got some pirate combat, and picked up a new crew member.  It's still unknown what to make of this rescuee, hopefully it's a good deed for the week.  We also got to see how well Taryon held up in a fight.  Combat wise, pretty good, actually holding onto things, not so much. We also have some more clues about what happened to Keyleth's mom.  It's only a leg, but there's a chance that she may be alive, or she may be kraken chow.  I think we're all hoping that she's alive, oh the feels that will come out.  This fight with the kraken is going to be epic in scale, it's a beefy creature to face, with lots of spike damage.  The question is, will there be any epic loot after the battle? Our Question of the Week tackles if Taryon will find a vestige after the Krake

Last week's episode had a little bit of everything.  It had drama, heartbreak, suspense, and a massive amount of comedy.  Vox Machina survived the Kraken, and Keyleth finished her Aramente.  If you think they're winding up some loose story threads, you would be right.  However, we have some new threads being pulled, and Vex pledging to hunt down Orcus if her brother comes back.  That's a mighty quest to take, if it were World of Warcraft, that would be a red quest for sure.  We also saw the first 9th level spell arrive with Shapechange.  The way it was introduced was a cool and interesting way, Matt Mercer came up with something unique to begin introducing epic level spell slots. This episode did a lot. It was another much needed break for the characters, to try and process everything that happened.  Vax died, and the group had to make some tough leadership decisions.  Sometimes a group needs time to unwind and just have fun, and this episode was great for that.  This leads us into our Question of the Week.

It is a solo podcast today, as we learn that Jonny has problems understanding calendars.  This week's episode was a turning point, for plot and for character development.  We got some hilarious adventures with Taryon & Grog, which was much needed, but we also got some ever loving background info.  The research they did into the City of Dis will provide some beautiful framing and colour for us the audience, as well as the players. We also got a final chapter on the Aramente.  What a great conclusion to an epic chapter.  It's a great feeling to see how everyone has grown and changed, and brought about the finale to a story line.  It also means that a new story is just around the corner, or in a city on the third level of hell.  This leads into our Question of the Week: https://twitter.com/FotoGuy79/status/844756367177060352 Give a vote on what you've experienced in your RPG campaigns, or just give us a tweet and let us know. Our Shout Outs this week go to some beautiful pieces of Critter art.  The first

Queue up the AC/DC once more, because we're on a high way to Hell, did anyone else have that strumming through their head while Vox Machina wandered the streets of Dis?  We got to see a lot, and learn a lot in the Second Level of Hell, and everyone had their think hard hats on for the day.  We also got to see Matthew Mercer create a new language on the fly.  Brendan talks about The Art of Language Innovation as a reference, this book looks rad and should find a way onto your reading lists; especially if you are DM'ing a game and are having language troubles.  If you can come up with the Dothraki, you probably have some good insights into language creation. Our Question of the Week looks at the devil in the details.  Percy (aka. Freddy,) and Grog (aka. Greg,) have brokered some kind of arrangement with a devil.  As with all deals in hell, the parameters are a bit shady and vague, but it should all work out in the long run, right?  Right?  Vote in our poll, and let us know what you think is going to happen wit

The Machina has landed, in Hell Jail.  The heroes are mid crawl through a hellish prison, but what a lead up to that moment.  There were some classic VM tropes in this episode, all from a confused and avoided encounter, a tormented vendor, and something new to the group.  On a side note, check out Matthew Mercer's Blood Hunter class.  Brendan is right, it looks like a lot of fun to play. Torva was a fun addition to the group, and a gritty roll your bear sleeves up and get to work type of character.  It's easy to see a lot of Critters are invested in Torva.  She looks like lit fire cracker read to go off.  Next week is going to be exciting to watch.  This leaves us with the fight with the fat pit fiend, and we know what it's like when Vox Machina fights a pit fiend.  In the podcast we aim our Question of the Week towards Pit Fiend mechanics, but Brendan's idea about the Pacts were too good.  SO we're going to go with his idea. Our Question of the Week is: Will Percy use one of the Pacts?  It's a hard choice

It's time for Vox Machina to blow this hellish plane and plow on outta there.  It is mission accomplished across all boards, just ignore the destroyed robot parts inter corner there.  The Werebear will clean that up, no problem.  This was a great conclusion to a classic dungeon crawl.  It also left us all with some major questions.  What will Tary do without Doty?  What does Vox Machina do next?  Is Orcus aware that he has twin assassins after him?  Will Tova save her friends and make it out of Hell alive? Next week may be a tension breaker episode, a come down from the wild adventure into Hell.  Those are always the best, something to cleanse the D&D palette before jumping into more insane and off the chain adventures. Our Question of the Week this time around deals with repeat NPC's.  How do you feel about fighting the same type of NPC twice?  Does it ramp up the encounter, or does it take away from the experience?  Gives us your thoughts and lets us know your answer in the options, we'd love to have

Things come to a conclusion in this week's episode of Critical Role.  The group takes time to decompress and digest everything that has happened.  We get more drinking adventures, as well as delving deep into character back stories.  Tary becomes more and more compelling, as we get journey with him as he discovers himself.  Brendan and I take a good look at gender fluidity, and what the stereotypes in adventuring are, and how they can change. There is no episode next as Liam takes over for another one off, it will still be a great episode.  They go back to their mixed reality/fantasy world where the characters play themselves.  Liam's last one was amazing, this one should be even better. Our Question of the Week this week asks you about the year long break.  Will we see a new PC come to the table or will the current group of Vox Machina stay together? https://twitter.com/FotoGuy79/status/854542329759268864 Shout outs for the week go to more artists who have a crazy amount talent.  The first goes out to Ca

We are back and so is Vox Machina.  It's been a year long break, in game, and a lot has changed.  Critical Role has jumped back into the fray with new developments, and one deck of many things.  The comedy that came off the interaction with Grog and the new Lord of the Crossroads was comedic genius.  You can't write that kind of comedy, it's just chaos running its course.  We also got introduced to Pike's family, the Trickfoots.  There is more going on than they are letting on, and the notion of a Trickfoot curse is floating about.  It seems like a meeting with Wilhelm is in order, that old gnome may be hiding a whole lotta secrets from his granddaughter. What is an episode of Critical Role without an epic comedy adventure.  The vacation was pure improv gold.  One of the best parts about it was the pranks and Vex coming back into form.  You don't realize how much you've missed his pranks until they're gone.  Try also armed Vox with an item of importance.  We don't know what it is, but the reactions of the pl

We have now learned more about the Trickfoots, and what a story.  This was a complete arc from start to finish.  It gave that sense of accomplishment and completion that you get from finishing a video game.  It brought us through the Hero's Journey, and it was an awesome trip to take.  If you're not familiar with the Monmyth, Glove & Boots has you set with their video here.  The thing that is mind blowing is that it was all improvised.  Actors came together to complete the Hero's Journey with little to no prompting.  If Matt Mercer had planned this from the very start, then he's a genius.  He still is for crafting the sandbox in which everyone could tell this story. It was solid from the start to end, and it had a little bit for everyone. Our Question of the Week looks at something that Kat Waterflame suggested.  Was Wilhand forthcoming with the Trickfoot history?  Is there a Hatfield/McCoy situation afoot, or is it something deeper?  Give your vote, and let us know what you think may be up with Wilhand

There are some songs that once they get stuck in your head will just stay there.  Thanks to Critical Role last week, we now have a Kansas Classic stuck in our mental Spotify.  This week we look at the new Bounty Hunter and her absconding with Taryon Darrington, we also get a look through the black orb of death under White Stone Castle.  Apparently it's not a Sphere of Annihilation, but a Sphere of Transportation.   This could be the last arc of Vox Machina as they get closer to level 20.  Epic campaigns tend to get weird and extra planar, so it's no surprise that we're going to see more Vox Machina jumping through the realities.  There are still things to tackle on the material plane, and Taryon is at the center of a big plot point. Our Question of the Week deals with what Taryon will do.  Will he obey his father's wishes and marry himself off to keep the Darrington's afloat?  Or will he stand up to his father, and do what he must to save the family name and fortune?  Put in your vote and let us know what yo

You'll find weird things at the bottom of a platinum mine, rocks, platinum, weird celestial baby guardians -wait, what?  You can't even blame Matthew Mercer for that one, it was all chat brewed.  It's to know whether to be proud or terrified that the Critter Community came up with that one.  Regardless, we have bigger things to tackle, and the Battle Royal is upon us this Thursday.  We will see Vox Machina, minus Liam & Ashley, cross swords one more time.  It's going to be an all out dawny brook, and it is going to be awesome.  In the podcast we talk about Vax or Pike winning, that was before we knew who was going to be away for the PVP.  However, it does lead us into our Question of the Week. It's an obvious one, but who do you think is going to win the Battle Royal.  It's going to depend if there are alliances, or if it's just a free for all.  Give your vote and opinion on twitter and let us know who you think is going to win. https://twitter.com/FotoGuy79/status/867256902224367618 Shout outs this we

It's a Battle Royale recap today.  We take a look at the surprises and the fun of running a D&D PvP event.  It's always fun to throw down a little player versus player action on the table top, but it does give a lot of insight.  It lets players and DM's know what is possible, and how creative players can get with their classes and items.  We also look at the road to episode 100 and Jon Heder joining the cast on Thursday.  This brings us to the question of the week. What arch type do think Jon Heder will play for the session?  Give a vote and let us know what you think. https://twitter.com/FotoGuy79/status/870152576234385409 There will be no shout outs this week, the art was too good.  It needs its own post, there were so many amazing pieces on twitter, it needed its own spotlight.  Keep an eye out for the art we want to celebrate.  Seriously, this was an amazing week for Critter Fan Art. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast for automatic updates and episodes. You can tune in via iTunes or Google P

It's the run to 100, and it's going to be a great celebration.  There is the feeling that the final arc is going to start that night.  We're going to see a return of Lionel, and all his duck based hilarity.  It's awesome to see people trying to hold it together while he is just dropping joke after joke.  That's what D&D is, great times and face hurting smiles. Talks Machina revealed that Scanlan's surprise may have been unveiled a little too early, which means that #100 may need some punch to the start of the arc.  Brendan and I go a little grim dark and think maybe one of Sam's characters meets an untimely end.  It would build motivation to pursue a god, or necromancer.  Cough, Opash, cough, cough. Question of the Week this week looks a little dark as we ask, if one of Sam's characters were to die, whom do you think it would be?  Give a vote and let us know with a tweet. https://twitter.com/FotoGuy79/status/872658290550988800 I haven't been feeling the best this week, so no shout outs this time aroun

Happy centennial to Critical Role, 100 episodes is an amazing achievement.  This is the big episode to celebrate everything Critical Role has done for D&D and the community.  Yes, a game of Dungeons & Dragons happens, but there is something bigger here.  This is a milestone along a road we all share.  It's says, "We were here, and we're going to keep going."  Take a minute in the future to think about why you love D&D, and how Critical Role has helped guide to the type of player/DM/Fan that you are.  It is a once in a life time feat, and we have nothing but love and celebration for the cast and crew at Geek & Sundry.  As for the game, some stuff happens, oh, and Delilah is back.  This leads us right into our Question of the Week. The final story arc is upon us, and we have a new big bad to face.  The question is, who is it?  We've seen Delilah back, and she has cracked the master of the orb.  It appears that she can safely travel through to the other side.  Is this her own doing, or is there

Into the Shadowfell we go, Vox Machina has landed where the sun doesn't shine, and have left our realm of reality.  It was a rushed decision, but it feels like it was the right one.  The chance to strike was there, why give Delilah any time to rally her forces.  It seems to have paid off as well; the city seems to be on low alert and unaware that Vox Machina has infiltrated. It feels like the story arc is getting into the end times, and we are closer to the end than we are to the beginning.  There is a lot to tackle in the Shadowfell, and the creatures there are numerous.  One big question we had was, is Sylas Briarwood back? Our Question of the Week asks the Critters what they think about Sylas.  Is the vampire lord back in action with Delilah or was his husk turned to dust by Kiki?  Vote and let us know what you think. https://twitter.com/FotoGuy79/status/877362234275414016 Shout Outs this week go to some pretty rad artists.  The first is Lina, and this Vax/Raven Queen composition.  This looks beautiful

It's going to be a long day.night/static time period in the Feywild.  Vox Machina had to ditch and run versus their new nemesis, Vecna.  That one eyed, one hand, flying purple people disintegrator has become the new big bad.  There was a lot of emotion, and a lot of surprises in The Race to the Tower.  VM was stuck in a difficult situation, sit and wait, or tackle the terror right now.  It was a no win situation, and they did the best they could.  This is what happens at epic level, you run into the toughest of the tough out there.  The fight was a series of ups and downs, it's hard to say how it could have gone, but the crew made the right choice in booking out after Vax was lost. What to do with Vax?  There are a few ways to bring him back, there's True Resurrection, there's potentially a wish spell.  How is he going to feel about all this?  Does he think it was fate that he was supposed to die?  Is he going to be the Coulson for the group?  Is this going to be the catalyst that sparks Vox Machina to take

To the Celestial Planes we go, we are hitting the best stride for epic level D&D.  Vox Machina is on a recruiting mission for god(s).  There is a lot to take in, the first being: Vax is back.  He's got new tats, he's got new abilities; heck, he's even got a new body.  It's like that friend who goes out one summer to work long distance, and then comes back a different person, and also become a servant of the Raven Queen. There was also the classic Scanlan & Grog mess around.  It's fun to see previous shenanigans come and be shenanigans once more.  It's a tried and true trope of D&D, the natural 20 on a perception check for a guard.  It always comes back to get ya.  There is a lot of ground work being laid down by Vox Machina, but there is a clock running.  Will they be able to rally the forces they need in time to stop Vecna? We are going to find out. Our Question of the Week looks at VM's chances of getting celestial aid.  Can they get a buff, a boon, or direct intervention?  It's hard to say w