Everything you need to know before DOWNFALL | Critical Role | Luboffin

Help me make more videos like this and get behind the scenes content at / luboffin
Today we're looking at the history and lore you need to know before watching the new Downfall mini series from Critical Role DM'd by Brennan Lee Mulligan.
Got a theory? Join my discord / discord to continue the discussion!
0:00 The founding and the schism
1:37 The age of arcanum
3:09 The calamity
4:39 The red moon ruidus
6:22 Theory time
10:21 Bolo
Find me here 👇🏽
Twitch: / luboffin
Patreon: / luboffin
Twitter: ​​​​​​ / luboffin
Discord: ​​​​​ / discord
Tiktok: / luboffin_
Ko-Fi: www.ko-fi.com/luboffin
Instagram: / luboffin_
Facebook: / luboffin
Sources 👇🏽
• Brennan Lee Mulligan T...
Exandria: An Intimate History [video]
Exandria: An Intimate Appendix [video]
Downfall Announcement [video - twitter]
Critical Role quick recap [video - twitter]
Explorer's Guide to Wildemount [book]
Tal'Dorei Reborn [book]
The Nine Eyes of Lucien [book]
Clips of EXU Calamity [video]
Clips of C3E98 [video]
Here is where I write things to appease the algorithm:
I'm Luna and I make videos about Critical Role, Dungeons and Dragons, and other nerdy things that take my fancy! You'll find theories, hidden details, DM tips, campaign stories, and more! I primarily cover D&D but will occasionally dabble into other RPGs as well.
This project is unofficial fan content and is not approved or endorsed in any way by Critical Role.
This project is unofficial fan content as outlined in the Dungeons And Dragons Fan Content Policy.
#criticalrole #critrole #criticalrolehighlights

[@Luboffin]

Haha it's wild watching this after episode 1 is out! No spoilers here but it's fun to see what theories were correct and which weren't. I'll have a full episode 1 breakdown for you on Monday!

[@canbock]

So excited you will be covering these episodes!

[@GreenPixie1013]

I LOVE your theory about Aeor finding a beacon and that's how they put the souls in the Aeormatons. It just makes so much sense. Since we're in Aeor in both the flashback and present, I really hope we get some more breadcrumbs about this!

[@dylanblack3635]

Remember kiddies, Brennan also warned in that interview that there would be some serious horror themes. Just putting this up as an extra advisory for those who may not like scary stuff.

[@kyokonightstorm5844]

That would be me. I'll try and watch, but I may have to wait for the summary videos.

[@patrickmcisaac3142]

if only travis were there for this one!!

[@Melina_Evarblume_Seelie]

He said horror but not in a way you would expect, so it's not going to be explicitly horror, moreso essistental from what we can guess I think the channel was called like the character comicbook or something in that vein.

[@JB-xl2jc]

@@Melina_Evarblume_Seelie Existential horror has been the best horror in CR and associated media in my opinion, I really like when they get out there, Lovecraftian, Bloodbornian, etc

[@Melina_Evarblume_Seelie]

@@JB-xl2jc Yeah, absolutely. Throwing something scary at us is fine, but making us think about things?!

[@fakjbf3129]

I the cat zooming around in the background, so cute!

[@Luboffin]

The evenings are kitty playtime and it's so annoying to film hahah. But they make up for it in cuteness

[@matthijsclaessen8152]

Maybe it’s just a glitch in the matrix?

[@SusanBinks]

@@Luboffin It made me smile every time they popped into frame.

[@djcowell91]

It's a hundred years later, through a divine war, so I don't expect to see Bolo. What I do hope to see is some faction within the city that all have the same accent as Bolo as that will be hilarious. 🙂

[@MedioTaffy]

that's... that's insane... i want that so badly

[@katziyin]

​@@djcowell91 Bolo is from "Aeor", so maybe?

[@WilliamRoop-xt6rp]

Theory: the Luxom is what is left of the original god of death. This the ability for rebirth.

[@Ben-nx6pd]

LOVE this idea, would explain then why the Raven Queen isnt fully the Goddess of death, but the goddess of the transition between life and death

[@awesomealex7958]

Spoilers!!!! I think the Luxon beacon is what is left of the gods birthplace.

[@tonyelliott5045]

I agree with the players being champions. Only Matt and Brennan *should* know what the gods are up to strategically. I also hope that Downfall has a "Calamity" Miniseries feel.

[@66Roses]

Justice for Vespin Chloras. That isn't what he wanted. He wanted to take over for Asmodeus in the same way _REDACTED_ took over as the Raven Queen. He just got more than he bargained for when he failed.

[@_modernmage]

@@66Roses Yeah, Vespin is seriously misunderstood. But point of order: Vespin WOULD have succeeded, at least according to him. The only reason Vespin fell prey to Asmodeus is because Vespin saw his name would be redacted from reality, and above all things pleaded that he wouldn't be forgotten. He didn't see things through

[@astra1627]

That part always pissed me off. You were going to destroy a god and take his divine profile and you gave up because you dont want your name to be forgotten? It is one of those moments where i understood what asmodeus said that when he gets all the mortals and gods into his pit, he only has an eternity to torture them. Eternal damnation for vespin chloras is still too kind.

[@Ziaotic]

​@@astra1627 it is alike to a scientist not wanting their invention stolen. why would he deserve eternal damnation for wanting to be remembered?

[@_modernmage]

@@Ziaotic I don't think he deserved it, though I think that's an unanswerable question. It's just... what happened. And it was sad. But still foolish of him, to begin something so important without being willing to pay the price

[@swiftlymurmurs]

@@_modernmage As Brennan said, his sin was just the sin of the age: Pride above all. He wasn't just one crazy guy, he was a symptom of the time, and the world was doomed because of it

[@jare3959]

2:58 Your cat teleported.

[@LaneyPlatt]

These ‘Calamaty’ arcs are incredible… but incredibly lore heavy as well, my brain just can’t absorb it. I had no clue what was going on half the time in the first one , lol. I know it’s me issue but still …. Point being, these vids really help.

[@emmabeckett6451]

Dani Carr’s written recap (she did Calamity as well) may help with this!

[@jonc9889]

I think Brennan starting with LIGHT was just to poke fun at Matt for starting the Ravening War campaign (on D20) with WATER, because Brennan started the Calamity campaign with FIRE. But, I am crossing my fingers that the Luxon makes an appearance in some way!

[@seangill2522]

@@jonc9889 don't forget Abriya starting with Earth. It became a meme.

[@jonc9889]

@@seangill2522 Ooo, that's right! Thank you

[@brewdaly1873]

Maybe instead of Bolo, we'll see her sister, Dolo.

[@Dndnerd591]

Or.... Hear me out... Yolo

[@cacklebarnacle15]

just in time for my final attempt to finish watching calamity before the downfall

[@AwesomeNuke]

uh? How on earth are you not "able" to finish ExU Calamity.. that's literally the best CritRole / DND content on the whole internet.. I watched it like 6 times..

[@iriandia]

There was an ep of 4 sided dive a while back (Sam was tavern keeper) where Taliesin described a character he would like to play during the Calamity, a champion whose name was wiped from memory. I guess that wiped it from my memory because that’s about all I can remember of it? I remember the ep started with Sam restoring bits, and Taliesin was a doll? Idk

[@ryanatkins5736]

I hope that the daughter or grandchild of Travis calamity character the only character to survive that fall, that was bestowed the sphere of knowledge.

[@zoethornton7665]

I think the players being champions makes sense as it could possibly explain why some people scattered around Aeor were persevered in bubbles; if they've earned their Gods' favour, though think Matt might have said something about those figures in the C2 wrap up but I can't remember. It also seems like, good, bad or lawful, those Gods are probably going to betray those on Aeor, including the players as all the Gods focused their wrath on Aeor, so it could be that some characters might start out as champions and then lose faith? I dunno, I'm just really excited!

[@shifttheshaman]

Love! I admit that I didn't realise Ludinus saw the fall of Aeor himself (perhaps) but saw the consequences of the fall. which could be the next few hundred years. But it is more fun to see a baby Ludinus run across the road at some point, for sure.

[@matthiashavrez]

Ludinus is almost litterally a fallout vault dweller. He witnessed the apocalypse and has been living in a post-apocaliptyc uncultured primitive society for around a thousand years. it seems only logical that it would make him angry towards the people responsible for this, in his eyes, end of days, apocalypse, collapse

[@fakjbf3129]

@@shifttheshaman He said that he saw the final days of the Calamity and that he saw civilizations get crushed by the gods, but did not say that he saw Aeor itself get destroyed. It’s possible he was born after the fall of Aeor to some survivors.

[@lunapaw997]

I thought he was from Molaesmyr, and that’s how/why Chet, Imogen, Fearne and FCG got his harness and the staff. But I could be remembering that wrong

[@fakjbf3129]

@@lunapaw997 Yes, but he had been pretending to be younger than he actually was at the time and people didn’t realize he was a survivor of the Calamity.

[@lunapaw997]

@@fakjbf3129 Haha you’re totally right. My brain is still reeling from all the information of the last few episodes, since I only just caught back up so I’ve watched all the episodes from 90 up in the last two weeks.

[@Ben-nx6pd]

I would LOVE to see Xerxus return as the champion of Asmodeus and see how differently his characterisation is 😍

[@drivingonice]

I think it will follow a group of Aeorans responding to the events of the calamity and trying to figure out how to protect themselves from the gods. Ludinus clearly thinks he can win Bells Hells to his side by showing them this, so I think we will see the gods behaving badly.

[@aclosedmind420]

brand new luboffin lore video? YES PLEASE! I love your lore breakdowns!

[@DaveyGravy523]

Around 2:57 ish it looks like you have a blink cat 😂

[@charlieromeoone5302]

highly distracted by the cat

[@Luboffin]

I’m sorry they were being so cheeky 😫

[@beerbag9353]

Not a consistent CR fan but watching Calamity fundamentally changed my conception of how to run a game where the outcome is known by all the players (but didn’t change how wonderful the stories were along the way) I have insane faith in BLeeM to knock it out of the park with downfall. Thanks for the review of lord, puts the series in a better context in my mind!😊

[@thyariley7259]

Glad to hear your bubbly voice again!! Can’t wait to see what Brennan does with this miniseries.

[@strgz5329]

very informative video! also love that the video begins with basically dinosaurs lol

[@henryohenry1504]

I genuinely appreciate this 😢Thank you so much!!!

[@royamen164]

I'm so excited you're doing this video, and proud to be a patron. :)

[@Luboffin]

Thankyou! 🥰

[@Liv-bf3wk]

Thanks for this! It was super helpful to place everything in the correct order.

[@communismenjoyer1858]

Another great and much needed video, thank you!!!!

[@silentinfinity]

Amazing as always, thanks Luna!

[@demonazgrael]

Thank you for this lore catch-up!

[@geekytenikidndfan]

Solid predictions!!❤❤ I am sooooo excited!!!

[@jakeholmes9296]

Wahoo! A new lore vid!

[@z-beeblebrox]

I'm excited to see if we get a reference to FCG, since he would've been created while the city was still active, and was dismantled at some point.

[@TechtonixZi]

the City of Aeor looks like some of the floating islands depicted in the Magic: the Gathering set Kamigawa Neon Dynasty

[@awesomealv]

Really good synopsis of the relevant lore. I came to dnd through D20 and haven’t seen any exandria content besides a few clips and Calamity. I will definitely watch this new chapter though

[@brendanhart517]

Ooh thanks for this, I’m still behind in campaign 3 but this is all sorts of interesting intriguing

[@meander112]

Engagement for the engagement god!

[@blazers37]

Thank you ❤

[@benjaminZ20]

I hope we see vasselheim at some point, that would be awesome. Seeing a city of holy warriors fighting the betrayers and their armies along side the prime deities.. Team dawn father

[@blushworthyspeaks]

Talesin, Laura, and Ashley were the first three Clerics in CR right?

[@blushworthyspeaks]

TWO OUTTA THREE AINT BAD

[@Miner49er201]

I see the deities of Exandria in the same sort of light I see the Greek pantheon; each deity is their concept distilled to its purest - and most extreme - extent. Athena as goddess of strategy and wisdom is a master tactician, but is cold to the deaths of soldiers as “necessary sacrifices” towards the strategy’s completion. Bane/The Strife Emperor is deity of tyranny and strife, control and domination - usually by force. Strategy is used by mortals in addition to compassion, and the establishment of hierarchies of any sort is a heavily diluted form of abject control. The deities are the purest essences of their domains, and mortals have the benefit of drinking from each domain in varying amounts dependent on the individual. Given that these are rigid and undiluted concepts, with no room for flexibility, I don’t see them as “good” or “evil”. They are what they are, and can be used for either, but to apply a lens of mortal morality to deities almost limits them, when they likely exist beyond those established ideas of morality.

[@HaveaBiscuitt]

Catch me watching this five times before tonight’s episode starts

[@user-jn4sw3iw4h]

Yes 'some could' argue that... "Whom did we betray?"

[@alissapyrich1891]

The Expanse!! Fellow fan having a nerd moment with you.

[@jonny-lancs1944]

If they are playing champions in downfall then some has to play purvan!!!! If not then that is a missed opportunity lol the whole three episodes will have the other champions shitting on his name 😂😂😂

[@violetembers330]

Watching this immediately after watching the downfall short from CR 😂

[@redcomputfox]

This is interesting as a D&D newbie. I defiently have seen some CR clips and Brennan Lee things from D20 and the Calamity episode 4 opening has made me interested in that limited story but haven't found the time to sit down and watch/listen to those 25-30 hrs since I have no background in D&D and long form TTRPG storys.

[@Sightbain.]

@@redcomputfox Calamity is worth watching. It is a stand alone contained series so you don't need background on everything to understand what's happening. It is also super straightforward to just watch as the game is not very mechanics focused and as long as you understand that you roll dice to attack you are basically good to go.

[@daemonious83]

Assassin fcg would be a nice cameo. Bolo being the main most popular newscaster/propagandist could be a nod. Saw a theory that they unlocked divine magic without the gods help and that's why they were able to give automatons souls and why the gods got mad.

[@jordandominy7295]

I wonder if one of the players will be Purvan Sul, champion of the Raven Queen…. That would be sweet!

[@vecnasleg8786]

2:58 Strange creature spotted phasing through realities

[@blotcho84]

Yay! Shout out to The Expanse! Also, very excited for Downfall ~

[@mkohlhorst]

I've wondered, if the divine gate was already in place (limiting the power the gods can send to the material plane) how were they able to trap Predathos on the material plane? Did the open the gate? Destroy it and remake it? Or was it created as a secondary security measure if Predathos got free?

[@Luboffin]

I think Predathos was trapped before the divine gate was created, probably before the schism

[@hadeszero4526]

Idk it feels like the theme is gods are bad. I haven't seen any of the otherside explored in my opinion.

[@ikmart112]

I agree, I'm not really here for Season 3. It feels a bit edgy for my tastes, and a huge departure from what made the first two seasons magical.

[@d-pod_L]

I predict a TPK :D

[@rafaelfreire3490]

Wait where did they announce this? Did I miss a video on the KZbin channel?

[@anjelica948]

I believe the very first time they announced it was at the end of their last live show.

[@rafaelfreire3490]

@@anjelica948 ah ok I must’ve missed it. Thanks

[@johnwiens9964]

My question, will we see Fresh Cut Grads?

[@ikmart112]

I personally dont really like the whole "Good god is actually bad!" storyline. Especially when it comes to gods from elsewhere in dnd canon like Pelor and such.

[@absurdus7945]

The problem I find with the eaten gods is the luxon theory is that the luxon is supposed to PRE-date the gods coming to exandria

[@Luboffin]

Yeah, but I’ve been taking all the Luxon lore with a grain of salt. I think the mythology of the Luxon arose AFTER the god was destroyed. The kryn found these beacons and built up a mythology and religion around them but the god was already gone 🤔

[@absurdus7945]

@@Luboffin but I’m not just talking about the lore everyone who has access to beacons talks about them being ANCIENT not quite arcane or divine if the luxon was just vordo and ethodoka remains wouldn’t someone figured out that the luxon was divine in nature rather than dunamancy

[@absurdus7945]

@@Luboffin also what would the gods fate and darkness have to do with space time and probabilities

[@absurdus7945]

@@Luboffin it just feels like a stretch plus certain lore and mythology isn’t just COMPLETELY made up it’s there for a reason some of it is trye

[@medge734]

Colonizer deities!

[@gilthunder823]

Fantastic video as always! One doubt though: Where did you find that the Matron killed the previous god? I thought (after the Predathos revelation) that the She ascended to divinity due to the absence of the two gods because, if we think about it, she actually took their domains.

[@Luboffin]

Oh I took that as given lore since it’s a fact that has been repeated so many times. But yes, I could see your theory being true!

[@gilthunder823]

@@Luboffin stupid matron, why is she so important?

[@envoy2500]

Bolo should at least get mentioned if she can't be in the series.

[@user-ww4ub9uq2l]

For all the narky criticism of Campaign 3, this is the best yet.

[@bennetluft1281]

CAT

[@HeBravelyFled]

I disagree, seeing some reference to Bolo would be excellent! After all, she may have been an undercover agent for Aeor! And Brennan Lee Mulligan does such an excellent eastern European accent, don't you think? Now that I think of it, is it vaguely xenophobic? Maybe not if we like her so much, right?

[@zTom_]

Good stuff! Although I watched it all at the time, a refresher was welcome. 🫡