FEEL GROG'S RAGE | The Legend Of Vox Machina Ep 2x10 Reaction & Review | Critical Role

[@bitteroldjoe]

The natural 20 Travis rolled on the Kevdak fight is just a moment of exceptional catharsis.

[@Jackie-McCann]

Liam put it best: “POETIC JUSTICE!!!”

[@damianpryde2777]

Gotta love it when the dice support the narrative.

[@Bloodyshadow1]

and dropped a 1

[@cryhwks]

Personally, my favorite moment in Campaign 1.

[@TheJerbol]

SPOILERS ONE SHOTS only equaled by Travis' natural 20 to wake up at the end of Search for Grog

[@stingerjohnny9951]

“I don’t know how he healed himself.” Barbarians don’t heal themselves, they just ignore the damage.

[@zippomage]

the John McClanes of DnD

[@FulcanMal]

Maturity is the key to accomplishing a lot in D&D, including romance. Maturity is required for: •Open communication about what everyone wants from the game •Knowing when to step back and give another PC the spotlight •Knowing when to stop telling jokes to engage with the drama of a scene •Accepting the consequences of in game decisions •Recognize that failure is often more interesting than success, so you can embrace the bad things that happen to your character, such as death •Flirting and romance between characters without real life discomfort or awkwardness. •Respecting the other people at the table by not constantly canceling or showing up late. •And so much more

[@AdamEspersona]

Ironically, romance had never been considered at the CR table before UNTIL Liam and Marisha became trailblazers. The others realized that it can be a thing. And they do trust each other.

[@MrKrory]

Just took Travis an extra few years to get on board. 🤣

[@t3hsilarn]

Travis has always been the least comfortable RPing romances at the table, which is a lot of why Grog doesn't have a relationship. He did have him joining Scanlan at the brothels at times, particularly in the earlier campaign, but even that was toned down as the series gained popularity.

[@mattglover8362]

Plus of course Grog and Craven Edge "The Odd Couple".

[@danzansandeev6033]

@@MrKroryto be fair if not for Laura and jester even that wouldn’t happen. He was besieged by her for so long XD

[@CacaPooPooos]

Despite Travis not being okay with RPing romance for a while, he was surprisingly one of the biggest fans of everyone else's romances. You can always see him in the back cheering.

[@jetvulcan2020]

travis said during the first campaign romances was not something he want to do with his character but you can watch him absolutely adore the Percy and vex relationship

[@oldladywinchester]

Travis says he cant get his voice very high, but that shriek into the pop can when Percy finally kissed Vax was glass shattering

[@ChevaliersEmeraude]

@@oldladywinchester Wait, Percy and Vax killed? I don't remember that! On a side note: I do wonder if they will give Grog a romance subplot for the sake of the show, even if he didn't get one in the game? That'd be cool! :)

[@cobaltsable1800]

Spoilers Technically yes, Vax kissed Percy in the underdark...though I'm sure the original poster meant Vex

[@KB42moomoo]

travis was the captain of the good ship perc'ahlia!!!

[@mr.stuffdoer8483]

Which is even more funny since Laura’s his wife. The fact that there’s been multiple romances where the player’s IRL partner is at the damn table shows how damn close and trusting that group is. Everyone deserves a group like that in life

[@VilanusWolf]

The Sword Vestige, Mythcarver, is Scanlan's, it belonged to a famous bard and responds to singing.

[@ShadowyFox_86]

Wasn't the last wielder the White Duke?

[@vberkeb]

@@ShadowyFox_86 Yeah, basically David Bowie

[@ChillySummerMist]

Scanlan was the primary reason they won the original campaign. He paralyzed kevdack for like 3 rounds i think. Which allowed grog to deal massive damage.

[@Strife159Highloch]

Yeah, instead of the vine arrow he had Hold Person going for a huge chunk of the fight.

[@DungeonDragon18]

It wasn’t Kevdak, it was Greenbeard the druid (who didn’t make it into the TV show). That fight would have been a lot harder if he’d been able to participate

[@Cloudy_SkieZ1]

⁠@@DungeonDragon18you win my friend. Holy shit I completely forgot about that fight w Greenbeard. Wow.

[@balkhazzargaming5373]

Scanlan was the MVP in almost every bigger fight going forward after Sam understood how powerful his character actually is. Keyleth was the strongest member of Vox Machina. Scanlan was the MVP without him ever realizing, culminating beautifully in him taking on a God on a whole other level than anyone else with one hand tied behind his back, succeeding and still feeling like he failed. Vox Machina was desperately fighting a God. Scanlan was locked and loaded to take on another afterwards. I really hope they do that entire thing justice in season 4.

[@brandontaylor3252]

When Kevdak pulled his own arm off I'm like, "Yeah, that dude should probably be in charge of the herd." 😄

[@Wryyyyyyyyyyyyu]

Kevdak might have talked a lot of shit and was a dirty fighter, but man when pushed come to shove he could walk to walk

[@elbruces]

The fight scene really shows how bardic inspiration should work. You give the fight a badass soundtrack that makes your side seem totally awesome and so they kick ass. The Bard basically invokes "rule of cool" for the whole party. I don't think Ashley is married (yet), but her boyfriend (Brian Foster) is well known to critters, as he used to host their after-show talk show, an interview show, did the introduction at live events, etcetera. He stepped back from working with the group apparently because he was uncomfortable with the contractual requirements surrounding NDA's and the like, that they were getting into as they grew. He didn't want to not be able to talk about things. Officially, Grog is in a romantic relationship with ale.

[@Wrzlprnft]

Officially, Grog is in..... thahahahahahahahaa hadn't heard that one before 😆

[@High-LordHarza]

Brian and Ashley got engaged in 2018, but no idea

[@elbruces]

@@Wrzlprnft They produced a t-shirt that shows the three couples, and Grog kissing a mug.

[@Wrzlprnft]

@@elbruces neat! I am a end-of-campaign-2 recent-ish critter, so i missed some of the peripheral content and community stuff around VM

[@davidbergfors6820]

Seems that Brian had some other issues too...

[@darrenl3289]

Loved the attention to detail. Travis did use "VM, fuck shit up!" as the signal to attack. Vex did come up with the idea of poke balling Grog and dropping him on kevdak. Travis did roll a nat 20 on that last desperate attack, and they even animated the exact way he described finishing off Kevdak. Just brilliant. and now starts the more obvious Scanlan story that has been playing all along, quietly behind the scenes. oh, in the original game, there was no real romance between Scanlan and Pike. Some light flirtation, but just the same amount to the other players. Scanlan was pretty much the only unconnected character. Grog and Scanlan used to pal around and visit brothels with the ladies of negotiable affection lol.

[@InkyPetrel]

Love the details, you know that it's Gilmore and Allura shielding Whitestone before they tell you, the shield is magenta with wisps of pale blue, Gilmore and Allura's magic colours. The tiny spark of lightning when Grog crushes the wooden spike, because he doesn't need gauntlets to be a thunderlord. *Chef's kiss * And then the first thing he uses the gauntlets for isn't violence, but breaking Zanror's chains. It's all the tiny little touches. I 100% agree about action sequences! They can be such a nightmare to follow! Often in animation (and live action tv/film tbh) it feels like the everything STOPS for some flashy, impossible to follow action scene that doesn't add anything to the story. But every fight in this series is crucial, and even at the peak of the action you're never left feeling like you don't know what's going on. This fight in particular was one I was looking forward to seeing, and holy shit they delivered. Titmouse animation consistently has brilliant and easy to follow fight sequences. I've admired their work for a long while, as soon as CR announced that was who they were partnering with for this show, a big concern I'd had was lifted. "Character bleed" is definitely a thing playing DnD that you have to be careful of. They all walk that "romance" line so well I think, because they all care for and trust eachother to push those boundaries without stepping over lines (...after episode 28. Lol, you're right.) It helps that they all seem to be just generally open and affectionate with eachother anyway. If you've seen them interacting on Talks Machina or in interviews, they're just cuddly affectionate nerds with their friends, it's so wholesome. The men at that table are all like, whatever the polar opposite of toxic-masculinity is. Listening is a great way to get caught up, but if you get a chance to watch some of he streams as well as listening sometimes, it's worth it. There are constant, non-verbal, in-character exchanges that just add a lot of fun and depth to the background character development. Plus they all have great reactions to stuff. ...this got way too wordy. LOOK I HAVE A LOT OF FEELS ABOUT THIS SHOW.

[@eloisepasteur]

I think they really caught lightning in a bottle with this group. Yes, they all have that acting training, the skills to portray romance on screen or stage, and I’m sure that helps. But we’ve all seen shows and films where the chemistry is wrong and none of the romances in CR so far hit like that. Likewise, we’re all aware of films and shows where the on-screen romance has led to the breakup of marriages and new marriages or similar and we’ve had none of that, despite much longer romances. Given the range of romances we’ve had, it’s a masterclass of how to make the relationships at the table feel real and important, romantic or not, but maintain their relationships away from the table too - especially while undergoing changes in their personal and professional lives, like marriages, children, setting up a company and all the rest of it.

[@curtisd5864]

Fwiw, I literally wrote my MA dissertation about how the CR folks are the opposite of toxic masculinity so you’re not the only one who feels strongly/uses a lot of words to explain it lol

[@CandleLight129]

18:58 I think Grog is unintentionally aromantic. He is perfectly happy with his friends, his fights, and sleeping around when he feels the need. I've never gotten the impression that he feels the need for romantic companionship.

[@yiklongtay6029]

He had a thing for a couple of NPCs but nothing serious. He was attracted to Trish for her attitude and personality so not just the physical

[@MhailAzure1]

"At dawn, WE PLAN!!!" I love Travis

[@d.k.t.3380]

2:00 Percy was Talesin's 2nd character (but that was from before they started streaming), so no: Matt does not play with plot armor ;)

[@billberndtson]

This is the only show that has ever brought me to tears with a fight scene. ❤🧡💛💙💚💜

[@ShadowyFox_86]

It very much did the same to me.

[@morgan_kr]

1000000%

[@JnEricsonx]

Oh, I profusely gushed when I met Travis. I literally started off with "I would like...to squee!" And he started laughing.

[@billberndtson]

@@JnEricsonx When I spoke to him and Laura at their Sacanime panel I called them "Lustang" referring to their FMA characters. It went over less well than your squee lol. I don;t open with jokes anymore.

[@mayaenglish5424]

4:29 Which is very Campaign accurate lol (not for this scene in particular but in general) Pike's low stealth is legendary! Clang Clang Clang!

[@adamushu]

Grog getting stabbed through by the stick actually happened exactly like that in the game

[@arandomnamegoeshere]

I was glad to see Matt's nifty little picket terrains make it in to the show. ;)

[@andrewrawlings5220]

Pike wore plate-mail. She ALWAYS rolled low on stealth.

[@ShadowyFox_86]

That disadvantage on stealth is nasty.

[@vixevinweria8400]

-Circle of the moon druids, like Keyleth, can cast spells while wild shaped. But yeah those vines were from Vex's arrow.- EDIT nope just double checked it's any druid but only at LV 18 and up.

[@MehrGills]

There is actually a non-spoiler answer to whether they have backup characters. Percy is a backup character (Talisan originally had a Dragonborn Palladin I think, but this was well before the stream)

[@DungeonDragon18]

It’s also not a spoiler to say that some characters in campaigns 2 and 3 were based on unused backup characters for Vox Machina

[@AnxietyRat]

​@@DungeonDragon18 this! Liam has openly stated that Orym was a backup character for campaign 1! That he then got to use in campaign 3. So yeah, it's definitely a known thing. And not spoilery.

[@Heavensrun]

Mythcarver is a bardic weapon. The sword sings and responds to the user's voice.

[@cryofpaine]

What makes the romance more interesting in this group is that half the table are married to each other. Laura (Vex) and Travis (Grog) are married. Matt (GM) and Marisha (Keyleth) are married. Sam and Liam are both married. Ashley is engaged(?) to the guy that hosted their old after-show talk show. But they are all so close and trusting of each other that not only does it work well, but their spouses are actively shipping their characters with other people's characters. One of the best things about watching the campaign is watching their reactions to everything. Travis is one of the biggest Critters there is. NO SPOILERS - I will say that death is always a possibility. Matt has special rules that make death more likely. Normally to resurrect someone, you just need either Revivify (if it's within 1 minute of death), or Resurrection. In either case, you just need the spell components, which is diamonds worth a certain amount. In CR, you have to roll. The difficulty is normally 10. Less than 10, the spell fails and you die. Other characters can assist - up to 3. So for example, Vax helped in the campaign to bring Vex back by persuading the Raven queen to take him instead. He rolled a persuasion (successfully I think), and that lowers the difficulty by 3. If you fail your assistance, it raises the difficulty by 1. That's one problem this show has. In the campaign, you can have a character die every episode, and it will always be tense because you see that whether or not they come back is up to the roll of the dice. But if they did that here, it would get old. Very much the problem comics have, where a character dying just means they're taking a break for a few months until they can get resurrected. So they have to be much more judicious with how they treat death. We've already seen one that was changed, and I expect they will have more that will change from an actual death to a near-death, or something else, in order to keep the tension. But getting back to the original question, yes, there can be permanent deaths, in which case, that player would roll up a new character and keep playing.

[@ShadowyFox_86]

It's funny to think that we only had one backup character ready for Campaign 1.

[@pierluigidipietro8097]

See campaign two and the incredibly marvellous plot twist that came from something like that.

[@t3hsilarn]

Matt and Marisha got married toward the end of campaign 1 if I remember right, but they were a couple since the show started.

[@cryofpaine]

@@t3hsilarn yeah, they'd been dating for a while. They got married during the break between campaign 1 & 2. They ran a bunch of one-shots during that time, and they had to leave Taliesin's early to go on their honeymoon.

[@marcuslee1953]

I MISREAD 'SAM AND LIAM ARE BOTH MARRIED' AS TO EACH OTHER

[@MrThierryFournier]

Matt and Marisha, Laura and Travis are married to each other. Sam and Liam are married and Ashley is single (we don't talk about it). Talisen's was able to keep his personnal life to himself. **Edited**

[@jackakimbo5718]

Taliesin is an eldritch being beyond such mortal concerns

[@TenebrousFilms]

The single combat challenge, the call to Vox Machina, the medallion trick and the final blow... "At dawn we plan," "We're all cows..." all straight from the stream. (Kiki's cat form isn't so useful at this level, but the show doesn't have to care!) In its exalted form, a hit from Fenthras can be a bramble shot that potentially restrains the target; but even it's dormant state, it can... well, I guess they're skipping the whole 'kill shot causes a tree to rapidly grow from the corpse' bit. The Kaylie thing... their duet was more of a duel, Scanlan let her win at the last second. And after... without the nudity or bondage, but otherwise... yeeaah.

[@OptionZero]

Good bye, Scanlan; welcome, Dadlan. Absurdly awesome backstory: at the table, before joining Vox Machina, Scanlan was part of a musical troupe led by Dr. Dranzel, who we met last episode and saw here. Sam Riegel made Scanlan to be a terrible character, never thinking it would be a long term thing, so he literally just made Scanlan Shorthalt a ripoff of Marshall Mathers, who was discovered by Dr. Dreams became…Eminem. On a similar line, Travis , scrambling to find a name for Grog’s dad, came up with….Stonejaw. Grog’s dad is canonically Stonejaw Strongjaw. Grog does not have a lover, merely hookups. Travis Willingham was ADAMANT, he would NEVER, EVER roleplay romance at the table. He said it on CAMERA. He’s in D&D for melee combat, and that’s it! Laura Bailey also plays D&D.

[@ShadowyFox_86]

Travis was super adamant, and Laura Bailey said "wanna bet?"

[@eloisepasteur]

And we all know who won that bet… except Nerdy

[@SupremeDouchebaggery]

Travis folded hard in c2 lmao, laura dismantled this man's resolve

[@erikrungemadsen2081]

Grogs dad is named like the viking chieftain in Asterix Helgrim Halgrimson (All ugly son of Half Ugly )

[@clownzzz4837]

I watched the episode of Grog's fight from the campaign again Wednesday night. The actual fight took 3+ hours in the campaign. They did a great job bringing it to all life, capturing all the great moments.

[@Strife159Highloch]

They've been changing the effects of the Vestiges, so, I honestly don't even know if you need to worry about spoiling what they are for yourself. Like, the Deathwalker's Ward was mostly passive effects like bonus AC and the speed effect was from a pair of boots, but they folded that into the armor. Mythcarver didn't have the scrying effect it does in the show, at all. The Titanstone Knuckles didn't have the lightning effect they seem to have in the show either. So, yeah, they're different enough that I think you could Google their abilities and still be surprised when they make it into the show.

[@billberndtson]

10:48 In the campaign he broke his legs with that fall and went to 0 hp. They did this So well!

[@ShadowyFox_86]

That was such a brutal illustration of why fall damage is so dangerous. One of the two most brutal

[@billberndtson]

@@ShadowyFox_86 Do you think they'll include CR's most famous fall damage incident in a future season?

[@AnxietyRat]

​@@billberndtson They have to. It's an iconic scene. I'll be VERY surprised if they don't adapt it.

[@billberndtson]

@@AnxietyRat I agree. It's like Viktor. 🙂 Sam and Travis know we'd riot. Rather, since there're only around 2 million of us worldwide, we'd cause a surprising number of small disturbances.

[@JohnYoo39]

Not a spoiler - Critical Role has throughout its run has demonstrated that the cast does have backup characters. I will not say if we get to meet them in this campaign or not.

[@cobaltsable1800]

Every player worth their salt has a back up player on the side, just in case.

[@ShadowyFox_86]

Funny enough, Travis admitted during panels he had no backup character when he played Grog.

[@AnxietyRat]

​@@cobaltsable1800 I mean taliesin didn't have a backup character in campaign two. He's said that he made Cad in three days, essentially...and I'd say he's a player worth his salt. But yeah, most have a backup character. For sure. Lol

[@JnEricsonx]

@@AnxietyRat Cad is awesome. And...he's like a capybara I swear to god.

[@iceman10129]

The Grog Pokeball, maybe the episode as a whole, is one of the greatest Crit Role moments of all time!

[@jonathanschaefer9848]

The animation of grog’s heavy breathing/pump up right between raging and attacking is one of my favorite little moments of the show

[@Lamaart_]

honestly. i love your theories on the vestiges. i wont spoil anything but i will remind you that Mythcarver is a bard specific vestige and not a "holy" sword per say. it was given to Scanlan specifically before Umbracyl stole it. you will have to wait till next season (or till when you catch up on them in the original campaign) to find out what the other vestiges are. (they are dope. that's all i'll say)

[@mndrew1]

If I were dolling out vestiges I'd have given Percy the armor, Vax a dagger, Pike a shield, and Kyleth hmmm, that's a toughie...can't wear a helm with her headpiece....boots maybe?

[@Lamaart_]

@@mndrew1 Matt made some of the vestiges with specific players in mind and some were open for whomever grabbed them. the armour was one of those nonspecific vestiges. so could have very well have gone to Percy in a very similar manner. (also the armour of the matron of ravens had some different effects in the game then in the show)

[@ShadowyFox_86]

@@Lamaart_ It's interesting because, while Matt has said during the campaign wrap-up that the Deathwalkers Ward was for quite a few possibilities, he has also said in panels that he originally created it after being inspired by Percy's mask (and also implied that was who he originally thought would get it).

[@Lamaart_]

@@ShadowyFox_86 that is what i love about this game. the DM can have all the intentions that they want. but still the players and the dice will make their own choices XD

[@AnxietyRat]

​@@ShadowyFox_86 yeah, Matt has definitely implied that he made the death walkers ward with Percy in mind but also a lot of the vestiges are kind of multi-use so any of the characters could have picked it up... And unfortunately the dice made it so that Vax got the death-walkers ward and therefore Vax had two vestiges by the end of the campaign. But yeah it's super interesting how much the dice really can change things significantly.

[@estoy1001]

This show reflects the clarity with which Matt Mercer narrates combat in-game.

[@hawkthorn33]

IF you are going to learn all the songs, you may want to listen the song during credits on this one. Love you guys, keep it up!

[@offcenterideas]

The lyrics are, well, peak Scanlan.

[@ShadowyFox_86]

@@offcenterideas 🤣 This song is seriously a perfect example of the bard tropes.

[@seandeviller1464]

Lmao yea that was a great song

[@LeeCarlson]

The entangling arrow Vex nailed Kevdak with is one of the manifestations of her Vestige.

[@doncolone4944]

Grog getting strong again woth the heavy rock music. Chefs kiss.

[@Knucklebone.of.Fickle.Fortune]

I am a Critter who has seen every single episode of CR. My new obsession is watching all the “reactors” I can find on KZbin reacting to TLVM. I have to say, respectfully, you guys are the most attractive. Thank you 😊

[@alvarosierralta5569]

Grog was at 1 hp secods before Vex put him inside the pokeball, he rolled a nat 20 to kill Kevdak, he dropped to 0 because of falling dmg

[@senorelroboto2]

The moment in the campaign where Scanlan finds out Kaylie is his daughter is possibly the best dramatic moment of the whole campaign and is very emotional.

[@Animalfriend777]

Also i just found out the voice of Kaylie is Aisling Franciosi, Lyanna Stark in GoT

[@fluffy_walrus]

Also was incredible in The Nightingale

[@Animalfriend777]

@@fluffy_walrus one of my favorite movies of the year

[@JnEricsonx]

So thats 2 GOT people on the show who've appeared?

[@Ozgarthefighter]

​@JnEricsonx Four. Allura, Vedmire, Kaylee, and Kevdak were all voiced by GoT actors

[@seansilence2697]

So about the romance thing...Travis (Grog) and Laura (Vex) are married. Travis was the biggest shipper of Percy and Vex lol

[@AAAndrew]

As I'm sure others have mentioned, but the algorithm gods demand something, Sam had not mentioned that he had a daughter in his backstory. This was one of Matt's mad genius moments surprising his players and enriching their game play. It's inspired me to be a better DM and truly serve my players, which, in turn, gets them more invested in the story, which makes for a better story and a more fun game. A virtuous cycle. And, I'm enjoying y'all very much. Thanks.

[@AnxietyRat]

But it's also important to remember that Matt talked with Sam prior to introducing Kaylee into the story and asked Sam if he thought that Scanlan potentially had any children out in the world and Sam said "yeah, probably"... A Surprise child isn't a thing to spring on a player unless you know that they are comfortable and willing to explore that potentially happening to them within the story!

[@kaniamia]

No spoilers about whether or not any characters have permanently died on Critical Role, but [mild, vague spoilers]… … … Yes, there have been multiple backup characters over the span of all the campaigns, for varying reasons.

[@sirfishalot6782]

as promised, a pure treat. I CRIED/LAUGHED FOR THE WHOLE DAMN EPISODE MAN! this episode takes my personal for favourite, mostly because 2 of my favourite moments are in it (grogs kill on kevdak and the scanlan is a dad reveal).

[@ShadowyFox_86]

The Scanlan is a dad moment definitely lived up to the campaign. I still remember the looks on the rest of the table's faces.

[@emberise6613]

Excellent episode. Although knowing what was coming I had to skip over a little bit of the Kaylie & Scanlan interaction at the end because it turns out when you already know, the uncomfy is dialled up to 111. I love the line 'Vox Machina, fuck shit up!' but honestly the line I was waiting for all episode was 'At dawn, we plan!'

[@purplelikefire]

Ii like your optimism that Critical role live streams are only three hours. I think the longest is 7 hours. Good luck catching up! I can't imagine trying to start now after all these years. But its totally worth it

[@t3hsilarn]

They're typically between 3.5-4 hours, the 7 hour marathons are few and far between. (Usually big epic BBEG-type fights.)

[@Animalfriend777]

Scanlan and Kaylie's song is stuck in my head all day.

[@Ozgarthefighter]

No spoilers, but yes the cast usually has 1 or 2 back-up character ideas to pull from if needed. So, theoretically, if any character were to die and fail to be ressurected the player would show up again at some point with their new character. Has it happened? I guess you'll just have to see for yourselves.

[@ShadowyFox_86]

I love this, especially because some of the players had no backup character for awhile. I don't think Travis developed one the entirety of Campaign 1 or 2.

[@ShadowyFox_86]

This isn't a spoiler, but don't watch Episode 27 of the stream if you are having a bad day. You will be having a worse day.

[@JnEricsonx]

I basically started on ep 28.

[@radicaladz]

Like Rhodey said to Tony Stark, the killbox is where you go to die. "FOR... STRONGJAAAAAAW!!!"

[@TroubleSturm]

**edit for potential spoiler warning, but I'm not revealing very much** There are more than 7 vestiges, and not all of them are claimed by Vox Machina. But they might find more than one for each of them. I think some of the Vestiges hinted at in the sphinx episodes are Easter eggs for vestiges found in other campaigns by other parties.

[@jakewilliams2497]

Amazing reaction, and I don't know whether you've already done it, but Invincible on Amazon Prime would be quite a good show to watch and react to

[@ch33les99]

Seconded

[@NerdyNightly]

We watched season 1 before we were doing Reactions, but we're gonna react to season 2!

[@jakewilliams2497]

@@NerdyNightly That sounds great, looking forward to seeing it!

[@Xhalph]

Such an amazing fight scene. Next to skinny Grog, Kevdak is like a Dark Souls boss.

[@chrism7395]

The animation in this episode was superb and the lyrics of the song (the full version is in the end credits) felt spot on for a bawdy tavern song worthy of Terry Pratchett's Nanny Ogg.

[@btgardener39]

Re: romance in D&D campaigns. Muahahaha, I can't wait until y'all have a chance to experience Campaign 2. **wicked grin**

[@NewInkFoHalo]

19:36 Scanlan: “Am I a joke to you?” 😂

[@louisemckn]

No spoilers but yes Matt likes them to have backup characters now they’re on stream especially mostly as a time saver but personally I think it’s also so he can create natural openings to introduce the new character like how it wouldn’t make sense to meet a druid in a tinkering academy but just outside it is a farming community that uses the machines the tinkerers make so it makes more sense for a druid to be there.

[@schwarzertee7586]

well.... I think it is not that hard to do. as long as you respect each other and realise this is a game. we had a romance (one I was actually in) at our group and there was absolutely no issue what so ever. it just made sense for the characters. it was a perfect storm of chance and opportunity. the characters got retired married and expecting. nothing I, or the other player, ever set our goals out to do. not the end we envisioned they'd have but well.. it just happened. it made it seem so easy

[@TheJerbol]

This episode goes so hard, one of my favourite of the whole show. The metal song slaps

[@JnEricsonx]

When you realize its SAM singing it too.

[@kenle2]

At least in third edition D&D there was a druid feat called "Natural Spell"' that allowed you to cast while you were Wildshaped.

[@starplatinumzawardo714]

10:40 No . That was natural 20

[@MrGorn25]

At Higher Levels Barbarians can not give into death, each time they go down below 1hp they have to make a con Save with higher difficulty each time to stay up and fight.

[@yiklongtay6029]

I think only when they are raging

[@ShadowyFox_86]

@@yiklongtay6029 Correct.

[@OhyeahMrKrabz]

Scanlen really went to have some Sweet Home Alabama at the end LOL

[@ObliqueReference]

New rare Clarus just dropped. Goth!Clarus.

[@LandonTheDM]

Maybe the person who gets the sword is the one who it was given to in episode 6. Since the sword is called Mythcarver, connected to all myths and Scanlan is a Bard.

[@quarksbar3265]

This episode is a clear example of why titmouse is one of the best animation studios on the planet. No one does brutal better.

[@sparkybaker]

Vex's entangling arrow I'm pretty sure is called Bramble Shot, it's an ability of the Fenthras bow.

[@bulletsandbracelets4140]

Pro tip for catching up on crit role - I listen on 1.25 mostly (and 1.5 on fights/when I'm feeling it) and its still nice!!! C1 might have more crosstalk, I can't remember, but it helps me somewhat keep up. I think for romance, it helps more that they know each other and have been friends so long. Even actors get those lines twisted pretty frequently XD

[@blackheartthedarklord6428]

10:12 POETIC JUSTICE!!!

[@johnbowen2496]

In the actual game Travis had multiclassed into monk. That's why his change in fighting style. Also everyone died when Travis actually said at dawn we plan everyone lost it.

[@m0rph1ing]

Romance was also very awkward on stream the first time it came up. Hilarious moment when you get there.

[@ShadowyFox_86]

🤣😂 The whole cast just hiding behind their rulebooks.

[@RDehuvyne]

Death is always a possibility in these games. I believe most of the cast have several backup characters atleast partly thought out as a concept just in case and I think sometimes they end up using them in a future campaign as their character.

[@SCUBAguypnw]

Love watching the two of you react to this show. Feels like watching my favorite show with a couple of best friends.

[@RagnarokCX]

iirc once a Druid hits either level 14 or 18 they can cast spells during wildshape as long as there is no cost component.

[@Cauin450]

VOX MACHINA: FUCK SHIT UP! Best Battlecry EVER!

[@stevencavanagh7990]

No spoilers, but Percys Vestage is so bad ass, when he gets it and well earned.

[@Phi1618033]

Kevdak would've stuck around...but he had to split.

[@sandpiperr]

LMAO! That comment about DnD being a way for bisexuals to flirt with their friends...man, you have no idea! Watch some of the Sam and Liam compilations. Critical Role newbies often assume they're in a relationship like Matt and Marisha and Laura and Travis because they're so physically affectionate with one another, and are total trolls who lean into the raised eyebrows by joking about being husbands (in real life they both have wives).

[@SpyderFilmDayv]

He was about 50 feet up when. He "fell" so 5d6 bludgeoning which is max damage of 50 he was however in a Rage which half Bludgeoning damage...he was fine

[@WexMajor82]

Gnomes live 350 years on average... Scanlan does look young, right..?

[@davidbergfors6820]

14:54 even more impressive since it pretty much followed the DnD gameplay to a T! 20:28 It took me 6 months, granted, I did nothing but and it was 3 years ago. I do highly recommend the journey though, CR is great.

[@smiddlehurst1]

I’m genuinely disappointed we didn’t get a magical anime girl transformation sequence when Grog got his muscles back…. Missed opportunity! Also I could happily watch an entire show of Grog and Pike’s adventures. Kinda goes without saying the voice acting is phenomenal but the sight of a three foot gnome cleric just going ham on everything will never, ever get old.

[@ShadowyFox_86]

As cool and funny as that would've been, it would've undercut what is really a dramatic moment for Grog. They've mentioned that part of adapting it is deciding the story beats and how best to support those moments in the show.

[@VGE1]

16:42 Liam O'Brien, we're looking at you 👀😂

[@alaskawinter923]

Hands down, one of the best moments in season 1, in game and animated

[@dalehenrickson6243]

Grog wants to learn

[@BeAuTyLoVe17]

Lol I believe in you with catching up! I think I managed to get through Mighty Nein in like half a year - now I just gotta work my way through everything else. It's so much content. Great reaction, glad I'm not the only one who got uncomfortable at the last scene, I was cringing so bad because I already knew who Keiley was from the campaign xD Also it can be a lot of fun to have romantic relationships in DnD, but for sure gotta be between close friends who you trust and communicate well with. I think Travis for a long time didn't really care for romancing in it, just not his main focus when playing

[@WallOfScience]

At dawn we plan!

[@InimitableAde]

At 2:02, yes, and I wouldn't dream of spoiling that for you.

[@mikeym9146]

Grog has a long standing relationship with his cask of ale. Travis doesn't like romance RP and his wife Laura made it her mission in the next campaign to romance him.

[@dehro]

Ashley ALWAYS rolled low on her stealth.. the full plate armour also didn't help of course... Also, could you give any more "not a joke" vibes here? 16:48 I don't think so, lol

[@jiyoungi90]

Cant wait till you get to the kevdak fight in the stream!! it was bloody intense!

[@5hugoshin]

They’ve made changes (a few up to this point) cuz they had to but they’ve absolutely knocked the adaptation part out of the park. I’m really scared they won’t find it as easy for the transition from table to screen for the Mighty Nein.

[@lucasxfiuza]

Interesting, why do you think so?

[@5hugoshin]

@@lucasxfiuza M9 was much more erratic (or perhaps nonstandard) and really most of the party gave no hints to their backstories for nearly 50ish episodes. That’s troublesome story telling and not viable for 20 minute Tv episodes. They had to cut so much in s1 of vox machina in order to introduce the party and that campaign is a very streamlined story in comparison with the M9. they would most likely have to completely rewrite how they introduce the characters.

[@ch33les99]

Honestly I’d recommend getting into campaign 2: the Mighty Nein. It’s relatively spoiler free due to it having a different setting. The only downside being that Amazon is also adapting it

[@timothyjuvet4073]

Mighty Nein is my favourite campaign. Love it!

[@MrThierryFournier]

For all 3 campaign and the one shots, it's only 1400+ hrs of content to watch.

[@billberndtson]

08:54 Amen, sister!

[@mathsalot8099]

Love this episode. Probably my favorite of the season... maybe even favorite of the series so far.

[@brianspeaksnerd]

I think this episode is my favorite of the series so far. truly incredible.

[@johnbowen2496]

In the game Grog was at 8 points when he did the drop. Also they had some great rolls till the tide turned.

[@johnwiese3926]

Healing CAN'T reattach lost "limbs", they do have other spell to regrow a lost limb, but a standard healing spell won't work.

[@andrewwebb3248]

Oh the backup characters comment is gonna hurt later, so much hurt. Death is a real thing at the Mercer table and he has no issues with it happening. Regarding the romance at the table it was Vax & Keyleth starting it and everything else followed. There are no two married couples at the table with Matt & Marisha who got engaged and married while the game was going on, Travis and Laura are married as well. Sam and Liam are married with kids, almost every kid in the series has been voiced by one of their own kids.