Critical Role |OT2| Back on the Marquet

[timedesk]

Pretty meh episode, very short and nothing really happened, not a fan of how long that combat was at the start.

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I can see why, if you didn't like the combat this episode woul feel pretty underwhelming. I kind of liked the fight though. It was refreshing to see them fight a new type of creature after so many encounters with shade creepers. There were a few moments that looked pretty dicey for some of the players, and we got some fun lore implications with Laudna's patron. It felt like Matt made some smart choices. The swallow and aoe stun attack helped deal massive damage and worked as a bit of crowd control. His creatures are doing at least some damage that bypass Ashton's rage mitigation, and legendary actions help even out the action economy.

The short second half of the episode did make the episode feel really lopsided though. It had some okay bits though. This possible rival group seems interesting. I am also weirdly invested in Ashton and Fearne's pickpocketing contest, so him buying the bracelet Fearne was looking at seemed kind of cute.

 

[SilentMike03]

Yeah that ending was quite abrupt. I was at least hoping we'd get the convo.

Overall though I enjoyed the episode. Low stakes travel, a new interesting enemy, a new town. 👍

 

[Kard8p3]

Man I've been slacking, due to real world issues I haven't been watching since like episode 2... definitely need to dive in asap.

 

[fallout]

I thought the fight was pretty tense. I don't normally care for a lot of the combat, either.

Yeah that ending was quite abrupt. I was at least hoping we'd get the convo.

Overall though I enjoyed the episode. Low stakes travel, a new interesting enemy, a new town. 👍

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Yeah, feels good to be out of the city. It's different and fresh.

 

[CoolOff]

Man I've been slacking, due to real world issues I haven't been watching since like episode 2... definitely need to dive in asap.

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It's been consistently really really good, so you really should.

 

[Wunder]

Man I've been slacking, due to real world issues I haven't been watching since like episode 2... definitely need to dive in asap.

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do what I do and watch random highlight clips and parts of the latest episode!

 

[IIFloodyII]

Pretty meh episode, very short and nothing really happened, not a fan of how long that combat was at the start.

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Was at least interesting that Matt is using Legendary enemies more, early sign he'll be ramping up the difficulty, so they aren't just completely lopsided action economy wise, so should be more tense fights than what the M9 had. But yeah set up episode really and all the interesting discussions happened the episode before.

 

[Mirado]

Was at least interesting that Matt is using Legendary enemies more, early sign he'll be ramping up the difficulty, so they aren't just completely lopsided action economy wise, so should be more tense fights than what the M9 had. But yeah set up episode really and all the interesting discussions happened the episode before.

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I sincerely hope this is the case, as combat without at least a shadow of a threat of PC danger is a slog to sit through. I'm a combat over RP kind of guy, but the ranking of my interest is absolutely dangerous combat > impactful RP >>> inconsequential RP >>>>> toothless combat and after C2 I have had my fill of toothless combat. To pull some numbers for people who'd like some context (with the caveat that raw numbers never tell the whole story, but I feel it's a good barometer for what I mean): C1 had around 15 non-RP deaths and 83 non-RP KOs, while C2 had just six non-RP deaths (not counting Frumpkin or Spurt) and 70 non-RP or pet KOs, and honestly the dual cleric party composition meant that most of those KOs never really seemed like that big of a deal. Also keep in mind that C2 was 20% longer, so the danger per episode feels even worse. Molly's death is obviously the one major thing C2 has over C1, but it really seems that was the catalyst for most of the gunshy nature of the combat in C2. Hell, from episode 98 to 140, there were only three KOs (one of which was outside of combat) and zero deaths if you don't count Yasha's dream sequence. That's 40 episodes where you basically had zero fights that even had the illusion of threating the party in any meaningful way. Now I know as campaigns go on and PCs get stronger, the lethality usually drops, but a lot of hardest, most nail-biting combat in C1 was towards the end (Vorugal, Raishan, Kraken, Vecna, etc), and that's despite VM being far stronger than the M9 by the end, so it's obviously possible to design encounters that can keep you on the edge of your seat at all phases of a campaign. C2 just didn't bring the heat past the early game until the very last fight.

Now they can run the game however they like, and not all D&D games need to be hell on earth, white knuckle difficulty, but as a viewer I certainly have my preference as to what I want to see if combat is going to be featured. When I gauge that a fight isn't going to be any sort of danger, onto the 2nd monitor it goes, and that's a bit sad given how enraptured I can be by CR. Things already feel a bit sketchier as BH only has a cleric that is both a bit non-standard...and also played by Sam, who is always a wildcard, so that's a plus in the danger department.

I wound up going back and watching some Dimension 20 stuff again after Brennan Lee Mulligan was in the one shot, and god does A Crown of Candy's combat hit the spot. Designing a campaign that was set to be lethal at the outset really just amplifies the drama to absurd levels, and it makes the near misses feel so impactful and earned. I don't think my blood pressure could take that for every fight week in and week out, but sprinkling a little bit of that danger in the heavier fights of C3 can only improve the end product in my opinion.

 

[Senjuro]

This campaign is starting to lose me already and I can't put my finger exactly on why. Maybe low stakes, low level D&D just isn't my thing. C1 skipped this period and C2 was far enough along by the time I caught up that I could rapidly binge through the early parts.
Maybe diminished interest was also inevitable after being so into something for so long. It's all starting to feel a bit too familiar at this point.

 

[Nif]

Was at least interesting that Matt is using Legendary enemies more, early sign he'll be ramping up the difficulty, so they aren't just completely lopsided action economy wise, so should be more tense fights than what the M9 had. But yeah set up episode really and all the interesting discussions happened the episode before.

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Better than them using polymorph and bailing every tough fight for sure.

 

[Rinse Bassfunk]

At the moment I think Matt is presenting singular tough fights with enemies with lots of skills and tricks as they are often just having a single fight in any sitting. With the party on full slots and skills he has to do this for it to be any challenge whatsoever. If they get into a longer chain of encounters we will probably see him throw in more standard encounters. We are also now at the next tier of play so gladly the fights are ramping up well

 

[BrightLightLava]

Mighty Nein dice are starting to happen. Taryon too.

 

[timedesk]

Mighty Nein dice are starting to happen. Taryon too.

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Those dice sets look pretty tempting. I just have to keep reminding myself I play mostly online, so I really don't need physical dice, but that Yasha set is really tempting.

There is a lot of content this week. We've got the Tiny Tina one shot tonight, and then the EXU two shot Thursday and Friday. It seems like the EXU episodes are going to be some kind of casino heist. I'm pretty excited to see how it goes. I also just love the idea of Opal walking around a crowded casino with her evil crown and solid black eyes. At the very least there should be some chaotic shenanigans.

 

[laoni]

Looks like Erica will be playing a Harengon! (Also I love pretty pastel pink Opal with the spiky black crown and the black ichor dripping down her face LOL)

 

[Ashes of Dreams]

My issue with C3 is that it feels like they are trying to hit scripted high notes. I know how that sounds but I think in general D&D and CR especially has always walked a fine line between scripted and non-scripted. Obviously the DM has a plan and a story to present the players and real life impacts game choices and whatnot. But the approach here just doesn't feel right to me. And it comes down to three things:

Bertrand Bell - I legitimately don't understand what they were going for here. Bringing Travis in for a few games as an old man only to have him leave and come back as... a different old man? It was just confusing. But the real problem was them "killing off" Bell. He had only been around for some one-shots and a few C3 episodes and he was entirely a gag character so I don't really care about him and also, like, it was obviously the plan? It wasn't a "real" D&D death, so it completely lacks whatever punch they tried to have. I feel nothing for this. And now they've named the group after it... just kinda screams "let's do the big C2 death we had without actually putting the player through the stress of it" to me and that kinda falls flat.

Dorian Storm - I loved Dorian and I loved Robbie. I think he added a legitimate spice to the table and having an entire campaign long guest would have really been the shakeup C3 needed. That said, this isn't just me complaining that Robbie is gone. It's also fine for him to have just been a guest for a few episodes. It's more the WAY he left that bothered me. Again, it feels very forced. Like they had this player for months and then got him out of there the same way they would a one episode guest. And they try to play up the drama of it. They're acting like this is some real emotional thing that we should have FEELINGS about but it's just too planned out and mechanical for me to feel it. Ending with "Dorian Will Return in Exandria Unlimited Two Episode Special" also left a sour taste for me because I really did not like Exandria Unlimited and don't want to go back to it.

Everything Is Connected - I mentioned this a few pages ago and nobody really agreed with me and that's fine, but to me it feels a little ridiculous how connected everything is so early on. It feels fake. And of course it IS fake and as I said I get that the DM is telling a scripted story in all D&D but this just feels like too much too soon. All the stories pushing everyone in specific directions. I don't really feel like the players have been able to make any real choices.

All that said, I am still enjoying C3, mostly because I really like some of these characters they came up with. I actually loved the previous episode where we finally got some good one on one roleplaying, and I hope that leaving the city can open things up a bit. I appreciate they were trying to do something different but it almost feels like they're trying to find a middle ground between the styles of C1 and C2 but they took the negatives of both styles as a result. Like, C1 was pretty railroad but it didn't feel like this. I don't know, I'm curious to see how things evolve but something just isn't grabbing me like the previous two did.

 

[BrightLightLava]

The one shot yesterday was fun. Ify killed it and Ashly had a particularly memorable misreading of the phrase "beat the pus out of them" that's going to stick with me.

 

[CrichtonKicks]

Up though C1E34 (Race to the Ziggurat). This entire Briarwood arc has been stellar. There have been several moments where I would get frustrated that that the party would seem to turn away from interesting story paths but Matt was always able to steer them back around.

Something did feel really off with the actual fight against the Briarwoods though. It was kind of low energy on Matt's part? Seemed like it might have because Matt was feeling under pressure and stressed to wrap for the night as they entered their fifth hour. He was constantly glancing off to the side- I'm guessing at either a clock or a crew member but total "we just need to get through this ASAP" vibes. I get it- he felt responsible for the crew who had to work so late but the whole affair was strangely subdued. Or it maybe was just the stress of having to DM such a major fight.

However that was more than made up for once they entered the ritual chamber. Everything with Vex, Lady Briarwood on the altar, the anti-magic field, etc was just pure gold.

EDIT- What episode does the TLOVM show cover through? I purposely left off after episode 5 when I decided to watch the actual campaign and I'm curious when I can finish the show off.

 

[ArkkAngel007]

Last night's one shot may have been one of their best, and it has me hoping Ashly will return to guest in more content. Was constantly losing it with Ify's backstory and line drops, on top of Laura's Pumat Sol fembot.

There was some weird energy at the end where everyone's mood deflated due to the constant respawning enemies coupled with Ashley going down, but otherwise it looked like a great time for them.

Edit: The struggle was real with abiding by Gearbox's language censor.

Up though C1E34 (Race to the Ziggurat). This entire Briarwood arc has been stellar. There have been several moments where I would get frustrated that that the party would seem to turn away from interesting story paths but Matt was always able to steer them back around.

Something did feel really off with the actual fight against the Briarwoods though. It was kind of low energy on Matt's part? Seemed like it might have because Matt was feeling under pressure and stressed to wrap for the night as they entered their fifth hour. He was constantly glancing off to the side- I'm guessing at either a clock or a crew member but total "we just need to get through this ASAP" vibes. I get it- he felt responsible for the crew who had to work so late but the whole affair was strangely subdued. Or it maybe was just the stress of having to DM such a major fight.

However that was more than made up for once they entered the ritual chamber. Everything with Vex, Lady Briarwood on the altar, the anti-magic field, etc was just pure gold.

EDIT- What episode does the TLOVM show cover through? I purposely left off after episode 5 when I decided to watch the actual campaign and I'm curious when I can finish the show off.

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TLoVM ends off with a mix of sessions 35, 36, and 39.

From my recollection of that fight, I think you nailed down the reasoning about the consideration for the crew and long night. I think just going into it knowing it's going to be long put a lot of stress on him.

 

[fallout]

We only got about an hour into the one-shot, but yeah, gotta agree that Ashly's amazing. Super engaging, fun, self-ware, good pacing. All the things I love in a DM.

 

[ArkkAngel007]

Robbie put out "The Ballad of Bertrand Bell" today.

"The Ballad of Bertrand Bell" - An Original Song

Somewhere on a skyship over Marquet, bound for the Ozmit Sea, a humble blue bard sings the passengers a lullaby about some old asshole he hung out with for a...

youtu.be

 

[SilentMike03]

Robbie put out "The Ballad of Bertrand Bell" today.

"The Ballad of Bertrand Bell" - An Original Song

Somewhere on a skyship over Marquet, bound for the Ozmit Sea, a humble blue bard sings the passengers a lullaby about some old asshole he hung out with for a...

youtu.be

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Damn Robbie's got a great singing voice. I like the song, it really feels like something Dorian would write for Bell.

 

[timedesk]

The one shot yesterday was fun. Ify killed it and Ashly had a particularly memorable misreading of the phrase "beat the pus out of them" that's going to stick with me.

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Yeah, that one shot was a lot of fun. That whole sequence with them gaslighting a tree had me in stitches. The "beat the pus out of them" moment was defitinely the highlight. The whole table completely failed to keep a PG13 rating, and it was a lot of fun to see them constantly slip up.

Last night's one shot may have been one of their best, and it has me hoping Ashly will return to guest in more content. Was constantly losing it with Ify's backstory and line drops, on top of Laura's Pumat Sol fembot.

There was some weird energy at the end where everyone's mood deflated due to the constant respawning enemies coupled with Ashley going down, but otherwise it looked like a great time for them.

Edit: The struggle was real with abiding by Gearbox's language censor.

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CR has had some good one shots this year. From the Guest Battle Royal where they all turn on the host, the horse stacking in Elden Ring, and all the chaos we got last night, it feels like CR has hit a really good groove for one shot content

Ashly and Ify gel really well with the CR cast. I can't believe it took this long to get Ify back. The running bit of him sprinkling in his backstory was gold. Ashly is always awesome when she visits, and I hope we get her back as a guest for C3 sometime. I was always a little bummed we never got to see Keg again in C2.

 

[Smiley90]

TIL It's Ashly, not Ashley. I was wondering why people kept spelling the name weird...

 

[SilentMike03]

Yeah I wanna see Ify guest on main CR.

 

[Uzzy]

I love this guy's laughter.

 

[BrightLightLava]

If anyone wants more Ify (and you should) he was in Dimension 20's Escape from the Bloodkeep along side Matt. There's a whole bit about a guy and bones that's a top 10 all time Actual Play show moment.

It's all on YouTube now.

 

[Sensei]

Ify in the forbidden Wendys episode was so goddamn funny man

 

[Senjuro]

If anyone wants more Ify (and you should) he was in Dimension 20's Escape from the Bloodkeep along side Matt. There's a whole bit about a guy and bones that's a top 10 all time Actual Play show moment.

It's all on YouTube now.

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Escape from the Bloodkeep was the first Dimension 20 series I've seen but it's all that was needed to convince me that Brennan Lee Mulligan is a god tier DM on par with Matt. The shit he comes up with seemingly on the fly is nuts.

 

[Smiley90]

Ify in the forbidden Wendys episode was so goddamn funny man

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Oh man I nearly forgot about that. Truly a missed gem.

 

[fallout]

Oh man I nearly forgot about that. Truly a missed gem.

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Hah, man what a ridiculous thing that was.

 

[Wunder]

If anyone wants more Ify (and you should) he was in Dimension 20's Escape from the Bloodkeep along side Matt. There's a whole bit about a guy and bones that's a top 10 all time Actual Play show moment.

It's all on YouTube now.

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THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH WANTING TO KEEP YOUR BONES

 

[Maximo]

If anyone wants more Ify (and you should) he was in Dimension 20's Escape from the Bloodkeep along side Matt. There's a whole bit about a guy and bones that's a top 10 all time Actual Play show moment.

It's all on YouTube now.

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Also I 100% would recommend anyone to watch A Crown Of Candy, such a fucking good series from the Demission people.

 

[Mirado]

Did anyone watch the ExU episode? Curious as to your thoughts.

Also I 100% would recommend anyone to watch A Crown Of Candy, such a fucking good series from the Demission people.

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I've sung A Crown of Candy's praises multiple times, it might honestly be my favorite DnD campaign. For anyone that hasn't seen it: take the goofiest fucking premise imaginable, a literal Candyland/food pyramid world set inside a refrigerator, but make it a Game of Thrones parody. Brennan crafts everything from multiple religions, a full historical background complete with the fantasy standard fake calendar, multi-angled political intrigue, double and triple crosses, and ties it up with a bow made from deliberately brutal and deadly combat (so bad that everyone prepped 2nd characters beforehand!) It's funny and heartbreaking, filled with drama, and has amazing(ly silly) miniatures to go with it.

They put the first episode up on youtube:



I am also currently watching their newest series, A Starstruck Odyssey, which is right behind ACoC in terms of enjoyment, only held back by the fact they went digital for the models this time which I don't enjoy as much. The story and characters and world are great though, and it's cute that Brennan is playing around in a world that his mother created (Elaine Lee is his mom and made Starstruck). That isn't up anywhere but their streaming service Dropout, though.

 

[lamaroo]

It's weird but I loved the editing style of Fantasy High much more than the live play of Fantasy High season 2. The effects, music cues, and dramatic closeups of the minis was great. I think I only watched the first episode, maybe 2 of the second one.

Are Crown and Starstruck similar to the first?

 

[Mirado]

It's weird but I loved the editing style of Fantasy High much more than the live play of Fantasy High season 2. The effects, music cues, and dramatic closeups of the minis was great. I think I only watched the first episode, maybe 2 of the second one.

Are Crown and Starstruck similar to the first?

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Crown is, they do some dramatic mini reenactments with the camera angles and sound effects. Starstruck is sadly using something called Talespire which is digital and I honestly think loses a lot of the magic, as things look goofy in a bad way rather than goofy in a handcrafted kind of way. Crown has such creative sets, with some even having different "stages" to them (like a sinking ship that Brennan can remove pieces from as it sinks), and Talespire just feels a bit lifeless by comparison. It's still edited and features the post-production, but just that the actual boards and minis are replaced.

I still love Starstruck though, the characters are a riot and the setting is amazing. It's like this retro-futuristic, 50s pulp sci-fi but in a way that lampoons the standards and conventions of the time (Elaine made it because of how hard it was for women to get roles, so obviously anything with that energy is going to be far more diverse than your standard fare), and the whole cast is on top of their game.

 

[Reinhard]

Crown is, they do some dramatic mini reenactments with the camera angles and sound effects. Starstruck is sadly using something called Talespire which is digital and I honestly think loses a lot of the magic, as things look goofy in a bad way rather than goofy in a handcrafted kind of way. Crown has such creative sets, with some even having different "stages" to them (like a sinking ship that Brennan can remove pieces from as it sinks), and Talespire just feels a bit lifeless by comparison. It's still edited and features the post-production, but just that the actual boards and minis are replaced.

I still love Starstruck though, the characters are a riot and the setting is amazing. It's like this retro-futuristic, 50s pulp sci-fi but in a way that lampoons the standards and conventions of the time (Elaine made it because of how hard it was for women to get roles, so obviously anything with that energy is going to be far more diverse than your standard fare), and the whole cast is on top of their game.

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Talespire sounds horrible, loses all the charm of having minis and built sets. I hope that doesn't become the norm to save money.

 

[Mirado]

Talespire sounds horrible, loses all the charm of having minis and built sets. I hope that doesn't become the norm to save money.

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I think they are sponsored by Talespire so I don't know if/when it will go away, and I think they used it in other seasons as well. I also don't want to disparage the work too much as I'm sure they have to pump a lot of effort into the 3D modeling and level design and all of that, it's just that I intrinsically tie DnD to physical minis and while I'm cool with things like DnD Beyond to help speed up the battle upkeep and bookkeeping, the magic for me resides in having an actual tangible thing to play around with. Dwarven Forge seems like such a great compromise in terms of effort (premade terrain pieces) but it keeps the tactile nature of the game going.

But again, I really don't want to turn people off of A Starstruck Odyssey before they have a chance to experience it, it's still a blast even with that negative.

 

[ArkkAngel007]

Did anyone watch the ExU episode? Curious as to your thoughts.

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Had some of the same issues as the original run, such as letting the chaos get away too many times, DM and players not in synch slowing things down/pushing against each other, and unnecessary rolling.

But those rolls were mostly for inane things rather than story beats (ex. Mixing drinks), Erica Linebeck's Morrighan was fun, and things really came together at the end of the session.

Overall it was a decent session that has me looking forward to the conclusion.

 

[timedesk]

Did anyone watch the ExU episode? Curious as to your thoughts.



I've sung A Crown of Candy's praises multiple times, it might honestly be my favorite DnD campaign. For anyone that hasn't seen it: take the goofiest fucking premise imaginable, a literal Candyland/food pyramid world set inside a refrigerator, but make it a Game of Thrones parody. Brennan crafts everything from multiple religions, a full historical background complete with the fantasy standard fake calendar, multi-angled political intrigue, double and triple crosses, and ties it up with a bow made from deliberately brutal and deadly combat (so bad that everyone prepped 2nd characters beforehand!) It's funny and heartbreaking, filled with drama, and has amazing(ly silly) miniatures to go with it.

They put the first episode up on youtube:



I am also currently watching their newest series, A Starstruck Odyssey, which is right behind ACoC in terms of enjoyment, only held back by the fact they went digital for the models this time which I don't enjoy as much. The story and characters and world are great though, and it's cute that Brennan is playing around in a world that his mother created (Elaine Lee is his mom and made Starstruck). That isn't up anywhere but their streaming service Dropout, though.

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The EXU episode wasn't bad. It felt like it had more focus, probably because it is a planned two-shot, but Aabria gave them plenty of room for shenanigans and RP. Anjali was a lot of fun. I enjoyed her in the previous series, but she didn't get to engage in much of the silliness and chaos of the group last time, she definitely had more to do here.

Erica was great. Her character was fun but also kind of understated. She really brings an interesting energy to the group, being both the beleaguered straight man, while also having some funny moments. She is a fun guest, and I hope we get to see more of her in the future.

All in all it was fun. I don't think it will change the mind of people who really disliked EXU's previous episodes, but if your primary problem with the previous series was the pacing or plotting, this is a lot more direct. I'm looking forward to seeing how things end tonight.

It's weird but I loved the editing style of Fantasy High much more than the live play of Fantasy High season 2. The effects, music cues, and dramatic closeups of the minis was great. I think I only watched the first episode, maybe 2 of the second one.

Are Crown and Starstruck similar to the first?

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That's interesting. I enjoyed the live season much more then most of their edited seasons. I really appreciated that it didn't rely on the RP episode/combat episode structure that D20 so often uses. That rigid structure makes episodes sometimes feel predictable in some ways. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy D20, and the effort they put into their battle maps and encounters are impressive, but the rigid system they usually use makes combat feel less unpredictable or even more scripted at times then I would like. The live season felt a lot more organic, with some fights really feeling like the product of character's choices and not just there to progress the plot.

If you like the effects, battle maps, and just general production value, it is hard to do better then Crown of Candy. Brennan did a great job making the fights into elaborate set pieces. It also has some truly great RP. I love the Fantasy High setting, but Crown of Candy is a really close second.

 

[lamaroo]

The editing made it distinct from Critical Role, I think that's why I enjoyed it so much. Of course Brennan's DMing is incredible regardless, and the cast was great.

I'll probably dive back into Fantasy High at some point, but I'll give Crown a shot.

 

[eyeball_kid]

Did anyone watch the ExU episode? Curious as to your thoughts.

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The narrative so far was much more pedestrian and straightforward than the original EXU run, probably something Aabria did intentionally. The whole focus of the narrative seems to be helping out Dorian and his brother, and since I don't really care for either of those characters I don't feel that invested.

Everyone seems to having a good time though, it had some funny moments. Erica, the guest character, is beguiling and a joy to watch, and I hope she does more things in CR land.

 

[ArkkAngel007]

Going to have to skip part 2 of ExU Kymal tonight, but I'm still struck by the choice in the ExU intro to add Imogen's vision as a pivotal element of Exandria (others are Cobalt Soul, gods granting magic probably, CC attack, titan remnant in Issylra, Trent and Essek, and Ank'harel/Devo'ssa). This replaced Caleb presenting the beacon.

That's a relatively quick turnaround, so I'm really to eager to see the conversation next session play out and what comes out of that red storm business.

Edit: Don't really get the deal of the Nameless Ones. ExU part 1 was all about them being in the shadows, appealing to those being screwed over by the League of Miracles and those that benefited from them. Now after a couple of months they are blockading a major-ish city, wantonly killing and recruiting openly and giving off a whole different vibe.

 

[Deleted member 1190]

Well damn

 

[show me your skeleton]

gosh

 

[Ashes of Dreams]

So from what I gather the general consensus on the new EXU two-parter is that it's length causes it to be a bit more streamlined and focused than the original arc but otherwise it still has all of the same problems? I'll probably just read/watch a recap, then. I'd really like to see Erica Lindbeck play as I'm a big fan of hers but I just don't like Aabria's DMing style. Maybe I'll give it a shot when it's on youtube.

 

[eyeball_kid]

So from what I gather the general consensus on the new EXU two-parter is that it's length causes it to be a bit more streamlined and focused than the original arc but otherwise it still has all of the same problems? I'll probably just read/watch a recap, then. I'd really like to see Erica Lindbeck play as I'm a big fan of hers but I just don't like Aabria's DMing style. Maybe I'll give it a shot when it's on youtube.

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After watching the second part last night I feel like it should have been a three-parter. Without spoiling anything, it ends fairly abruptly, not only with the short-term situation they were in at the time, but lacking in bigger resolutions about where they're going, if they're sticking together, etc etc. I just felt like two parts wasn't long enough to tell that story.

I never disliked Aabria's DMing style to any great degree, other than her taking over narratively instead of letting the dice tell the story, so I don't really know what to say to that or with regards to the "problems" you mention. The main problem I had with the first campaign -- the 1000 narrative threads she set up -- was definitely not the case here as the setup felt more like a tightly-focused one shot than EXU. I'll avoid spoilers, but the way Aabria set up the main gameplay element was really interesting and kept things moving.

I don't know how I feel about EXU as a series at this point, if you can even call it that. To stay invested in these characters I need some sort of regular cadence of episodes. I think it took me half of part one just to get comfortable with them again and remember what went on in the first run.

Erica was amazing though and I hope we see her show up in Campaign 3 at some point.

 

[ArkkAngel007]

Tonight is the debut of 4-Sided Dive. From their programming schedule:

4-Sided Dive premieres with Robbie Daymond, Matthew Mercer, Marisha Ray, and Travis Willingham! Who will win a game of rollies to host? What character secrets will we learn? What curiosities from the Tower of Inquiry will be satisfied? And once all that's done, the crew will enjoy a few overly competitive rounds of Mario Kart!

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I was curious about where the video game stuff was going since the Switch controllers were there on the table in the preview. It's also the bit that feels like too much if they're only doing these once a month and probably spending an hour and a half max.

 

[timedesk]

Tonight is the debut of 4-Sided Dive. From their programming schedule:



I was curious about where the video game stuff was going since the Switch controllers were there on the table in the preview. It's also the bit that feels like too much if they're only doing these once a month and probably spending an hour and a half max.

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Thanks for the reminder. It does sound like they're trying to fit in a lot, and that this going to be more of a hang out show then one that gives a lot of insight into C3 and the characters. That's not necessarily bad, but I hope we get some solid questions and discussion. It is only the first episode, so it is possible they will scale back a bit in future episodes if it winds up feeling too cluttered.

After having a few days to think about the new EXU episodes I think they were a solid improvement over the last series. Erica was great, and found a really nice balance between being semi rational character without feeling flat or fading into the background like Orym often did in EXU. Anjali was great, and it seems like her character is being set up to have more to do.

EXU truly feels like a series about absolute nobodies getting pulled into scenarios way over their head. If it were just slightly more connected to C3 it would almost have a Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead vibe. Aabria left a lot of lingering plot threads at the end of this series, so I'm curious if we'll see more miniseries with this crew, or if those threads will lead to other characters joining up with Belle's Hells as guests in the future.

 

[Wunder]

Tonight is the debut of 4-Sided Dive. From their programming schedule:



I was curious about where the video game stuff was going since the Switch controllers were there on the table in the preview. It's also the bit that feels like too much if they're only doing these once a month and probably spending an hour and a half max.

Click to shrink...

Oof yeah that's a lot of pre-planned segments to get through. It's hard to have that "let's hang out and chat" vibe, especially in a pre-recorded environment but yeah I dunno if having set segments already laid out is a great omen for it. Talkbacks are some of my favorite content especially when they dive into the psyche of the character in a critical moment, so hopefully we still get some of that and it's not just a series of "what's Dorian's favorite food?"

 

[Ashes of Dreams]

I'll give Four Sided Dive a try. It's going to be hard not to miss Foster and Talks but I'll give it a fair chance. Not really sure it sounds like my thing but we'll see how it goes, I guess. Would have honestly just rather Mica host a talk show but hey I'm not in charge of the channel lol

I also did try the new EXU and I think the thing that bothers me the most about her DMing style is that she tells the players how their characters feel. I've had DMs do that to me before and I can't stand it. Like, if you tell me what my character does in a situation it'll annoy me but if it doesn't happen often I can hold my tongue. But telling me how my character feels? I check out immediately.