The Legend of Vox Machina 3x5 BLIND Reaction | The Frigid Wastes

[@patrickwaldeck6681]

One of my favorite moments during the campaign was when Vorugal and Yenk (the demon) were facing each other on the map and Matt Mercer was rolling the dice for them to attack each other while everyone watched, Laura remarked that it felt like they were watching him do playtime. To which Matt responded by picking up both the minis and bonked them against each other saying "Watch me play with my toys, guys!"

[@SCUBAguypnw]

Yeah, it happened differently at the table but their creativity to bring in the major elements in a whole new way is so entertaining.

[@chipsalom]

Loved the "straight up steve" we got to see in a dnD cartoon of a dragon and a demon! Lok

[@Just_a-guy]

I was a bit sad that we didnt saw Grog finishing this demon

[@GodComplex401]

The fact that Scanlan got the Yenk to fight Vorugal by succeeding a "Friends" cast was amazing.

[@Vaillle]

@@GodComplex401 it was dominate monster but yes, so epic!

[@madeking4]

Matt when he was doing the Demon vs Vorugal fight and controlling both of them: "Watch me play with my toys guys!" The dream of every big kid to see his action figure fight come to life 🤣

[@pwalmsley9]

Lady Kima of Vord. Certified badass. And the fact that it's Stephanie Beatriz voicing her just adds to the badassery.

[@yew2oob954]

If I knew that...I wouldn't have been so worried...what Dragon wants to take on Rosa Diaz!!

[@procrastinator99]

@@yew2oob954 No dragon who wants to stay alive.

[@sammiebray1661]

To quote her “Being a badass is a state of mind”

[@SCUBAguypnw]

Percy is very inventive. Remember the key Scanlan grabbed in the last episode of S2? He also mentioned his nightclub after talking with Pike last episode.

[@bludfyre]

Two episodes ago... Episode 3.

[@Lngbrdninjamasta]

" I'm gonna head to My nightclub and punch myself in the face"

[@SCUBAguypnw]

@@bludfyre Oh, thanks, been watching so many reactions I got them mixed up.

[@alexkramerblogs]

I think you would really, really like the Actual Play version of Zerxus. The eXu: Calamity was a short series Critical Role ran (4 episodes) to tell that story 1000 years ago, and you get to spend 20 hours with Zerx and the rest of the Ring of Brass. Its wonderful and heart breaking and you don't need any additional Vox Machina/Exandrian knowledge to jump in. Highly recommend!

[@Dinomanhrm]

I hope people keep pestering her to watch the EXU: Calamity campaign - even if it isn't a channel thing. It is simply an incredibly beautiful story that is so well told it is hard to put into words. It is though a very dangerous rabbit hole - Calamity is how I got my introduction into watching D&D stuff, and once you repair yourself emotionally from Calamity you'll be craving more. Before you know it you've binged 100+ hours of D20 and Critical Role.

[@Quotenwagnerianer]

I would also say that it's really worth to watch it. Not for the channel, just in her own time. And then make a 15 Minute review video about it at the end.

[@DrLipkin]

@@Dinomanhrm She's already mentioned that she watches some Dropout and Dimension 20.

[@arq6384]

I would absolutely love a reaction to EXU calamity, it would be amazing. Probably would never happen cuz it’s a 4 hour an episode journey, but would absolutely be amazing.

[@queenannsrevenge100]

@@arq6384in fact, might be a good thing for her Patreon?

[@brilobox2]

This episode came outta nowhere. A real stunner. Stone cold action. Thats enough.

[@Caiothewwe4]

If you wanna see a demon fight an ancient dragon, give me a hell yeah!

[@Lngbrdninjamasta]

Hell yeah 🎉

[@SageNemesis]

And that's the bottom line, cause Vorgul said so!

[@chipsalom]

Remember the key Scanlan found in the end of the season 2'finale at umbrasyla hoard pile? That Vex and he argued over? That's the key. He figured out what it did 😃

[@bludfyre]

Scanlan's nightclub is a spell called "Modenkainen's Magical Mansion." It is amazing.

[@WillfulVisions]

@bludfyre "Mordenkainen's *Magnificent* Mansion", not magical

[@chrisd7047]

@@WillfulVisions "Technically correct: the best kind of correct."

[@mythmakroxymore1670]

i myself much prefer the 6th level spell Druid Grove, for flavor mostly. it's a bit more specific with the spellcasting requirements but if you have a golden sickle and several mistletoe-infested trees, you can create a grove to call your own by carefully harvesting the mistletoe under a full moon, enabling you to have your own natural base complete with wind walls and bodyguards, preferably at the entrance of a small cave, that way you can create a sheltered base for your allies... but you'd probably want to make it a backup character for later levels. seems like a dm's druid npc spell more than one intended for players, but it has its flavor, so it's my favorite option. additionally you get it as a 6th level spell not 7th. but you're opting for this spell over several juicy options like Conjure Fey, Sunbeam, Transport via plants, and Heroe's feast, all of which are excellent spells for players.

[@jasonmarbach]

One of the best fight scenes I’ve ever seen. And we got sooo much more Kima and Allura backstory, made me so happy 😍

[@fayepolson5906]

An answer to how they "wrote" this. As a group they went through the campaign (300 some hours) and picked out the important beats that they wanted in the show. They all participated in moving the campaign into the storyboard, and chose in some cases to mix things up or shuffle the order around. For example in the first season (first season spoilers!), Delilah shoots a finger of death at Vex and Keyleth jumps in the way, taking the shot. In the actual campaign it hit Vex (there are very few mechanics to take damage on behalf of another player). But having Keyleth sacrifice herself furthered the story between her, Vex, and Vax, whereas another Vex near death experience would have done very little. It was a good change!

[@aaronbourque5494]

Besides, Keyleth did get injured a bit later in the same location...

[@xenosaga8436]

I don't mind changes if they make sense. It's a shame it took so long to get Scanlan's mansion. Most of my favorite moments from campaign 1 happened in the mansion. It's a shame the Vex learning to shoot from her broom didn't make it. Laura getting a nat 1 and impaling a chicken into Scanlan's neck was really funny. I really hope the Scanlan prank makes it. It's the reason I started watching critical role in the first place.

[@JDub-TV]

One of the amazing things about this series is that they can cover side characters like Allie and Kima, who were NPCs at the table, where the story is about the players not them. But here, they get to be every bit the heroes they deserve to be.

[@erikmadgunner3492]

Never knew how much I needed watching a balgura demon stone cold stunner a dragon in my life.

[@theanyktos]

Wasn't it a gorristro?

[@Mordring]

@@theanyktos in campaign it's a goristro, in the show as per usual it's been slightly altered (actually looks as something a barlgura-goristro tryst would produce) and remains unspecified so they won't have to pay royalties to Wizards till the end of time (similar to the "bulette" from s01 and "beholder" from s02).

[@cloudstone123]

'Do these things have a name?' Yes. Technically Yenk was a Goristro demon in D&D terms but he was changed for the show. In the livestream he would have been his own subquest for a specific reason but the players did something clever that shortcut all that.

[@JasminiaMirran]

This may have already been mentioned, so apologies if I’m repeating any comments: Matt has always said that, out of all the NPCs in the first campaign, Allura is his self-insert character. He relates to her the most and wrote her to be a reflection of himself. Taking that a step further, he wrote Allura and Kima as analogs for himself and Marisha. What we see from the characters reflects the way Matt has described their relationship dynamic. He’s the diplomat. Marisha is the fighter. They balance and support each other much the way Kima and Allie do, each stepping up where the other might falter. There’s a reason these two are among the most beloved characters in CR canon. They’re already an amazing pair of characters, but I think knowing what inspired their relationship makes them even better.

[@Mordring]

The kind of relationships the two couples of CR have (Marisha & Matt, Laura and Travis) is something I wish I had. The perfect mixture of genuine love and passion, but also gentle affection, similar humour, common interests and shared time with mutual friends? Yes, that's everything I could ask for. Alas, I still have to find a Laura or Marisha of my own, not that many nerdy girls in my circles. The only one I know is my best buddy's wife (I've actually been DMing for the two of them) so she's off limits.

[@charlie53echo]

The bad news? _How the hell do you top that?_ Great work, as always, Nathaniel. *MORE KAIJU FIGHTS!!!*

[@queenannsrevenge100]

Having seen the live play, I know how they top that, and HOLY HECK do I hope we get all seasons of the campaign - even if we have to have several more 10-million-dollar Kickstarters to get it. 😂

[@DudemitnemHut]

Kima is if "let her cook" was a person.

[@thebxtcher8378]

"She's incredibly brave," well she is a halfling

[@funnylilgalreacts]

I don’t know what this means…. Help

[@spyling800]

@@funnylilgalreacts In dnd, halflings have an ability just called "brave" that grant them advantage on wisdom saves against fear effects. Basically, they are a bit harder to frighten than most other races.

[@thebxtcher8378]

@@funnylilgalreacts Halflings have an inherent trait of being "Brave " which gives advantage on being frightened

[@EugGenie]

@@funnylilgalreacts it also stems from the bravery of the hobbits in Lord of the Rings that was inspiration for dnd halflings

[@VegetaLF7]

@@funnylilgalreacts She's the species that in Lord of the Rings would be known as a Hobbit. Due to licensing, they couldn't keep the name for D&D so "Halfling" is used instead, a nickname for Hobbits in that series. Unlike Pike and Scanlan who are Gnomes, or some of the other random people we've seen who are dwarves.

[@caaneq1]

Kima was one of my favorite c1 npcs, she and Grog always had great chemistry when interacting and her take no bs attitude was so much fun. Im so happy with how well they've translated her to the show, Stephanie Beatriz is killing it as her VA.

[@Nemmy-sys]

​@@caaneq1 Oh! I had no idea Kima was the same voice as Vaggie from Hazbin Hotel

[@DrLipkin]

@@Nemmy-sys And mindblowingly, Mirabel from Encanto.

[@yew2oob954]

At 15:16 "It's always a damn door" yes she's becoming a real Critter!!

[@piperbird7193]

In the campaign, they always grabbed everything they could off dragons and other kills - scales, teeth, blood - anything they thought they could sell for a buck. Of course, most of the time they completely forgot about it all, leaving it to rot in the back of holding......

[@nicodemussmith8958]

I had to fight myself to stay quiet during the fight to not wake my kids up on accident. Between the “Let them Fight!” bit when they both squared up, to the Stone Cold Stunner close to the end. Effing brilliant. 🤩

[@Joseph-ky3os]

The demon is how they made a variation on something from D&D called a Goristro and bringing it in to face Vorugal was absolutely something that happened in the campaign although under different circumstances. The adaptation of it was absolutely one of the hypest things I have ever seen. I loved the Keyleth and Vex combo which was also a change. Vex got the last hit on Vorugal in the campaign and the tree growing from slain foes was just a part of Fenthras. But an absolutely gnarly combo here. I love this series so much.

[@purplelikefire]

its so incredible seeing how much you have learned about this entire world! So glad to have you reacting to these because you bring such care and insight to it. Plus all the cute couple shipping :D

[@seeflatbesharp]

Kima descending like a falling star before that attack/smite combo was just brilliant. The animators are amazing too!

[@JirkaKunst]

I am sad we never got to see Larkin.

[@AFMountaineer2000]

I was freaking amazed when that demon gave the dragon a Stunner

[@Liesmith424]

I love how they adapted this for the show. In the tabletop game, the party use a spell scroll of Gate (a top-level spell that lets you, among other things, summon a named creature to your location) to summon the goristro Yenk (the demon) as bait for Vorugal. Then, they used the spell "Dominate Monster" to temporarily control Yenk to make him fight the dragon. But the way they did it in the animated series was a really elegant way to avoid having to spend time explaining how the party gets access to such powerful spells, what the spells do, etc.

[@BothanJedi]

The dragon vs demon fight was in the campaign, although it was the players idea. Matt loved the idea and rolled with it, excited for a Godzilla-style Kaiju fight. I think one of the players even quotes the "Let them fight" line from Godzilla. And yes, Scan-man has a Magnificent Mansion.

[@elykphant1910]

In the campaign, they actually used a scroll to purposely summon the devil from the Hells to the Material Plane to fight Voragul. I love this change, for the TV show, that it kind of happened on accident.

[@spencerd6126]

Pike doesn’t know what runs through her veins. Neither do I

[@nosliwec]

In the last episode, you had wondered how the animation and the campaign match up. In the campaign, Vox Machina summoned the demon specifically to fight Vorugal rather than being chased by it in Hell and crashing into the dragon. They were hoping that the demon and dragon would kill each other and they tried to stay out of the way. It wasn't until Scanlan lost control of the demon that it turned on Vox Machina and forced them into battle. Grog also split the demon in half buy spreading its legs like a wishbone. I can't wait for the reaction of next episode.

[@SilverAlce]

This was very different from the campaign, but I love Allura and Kima getting more screen time.

[@jordanwright1061]

"Yenk, you will be our friend, travel through the portal and back again. Your heart is true, you're a fiend and a confidant."

[@pabloc8808]

"Maybe he's too tired to fight?" well, that's the thing, he was. White dragons are notoriously rash and reckless; they are the least intelligent kind of dragon, to the point where even their memory is bad. There is one exception, however: they are able to recall having been offended down to every last detail. That's why Vorugal, despite being injured and weakened, still tried to take on Vox Machina + Kima and Allura. He was insulted by them daring to attack him, and would rather die than let them get away with it. So, he got his wish.

[@wcookiv]

Good comment. White dragons are the most animalistic in their intelligence, among dragons. If you give them a challenge they will charge it, regardless. Bugs Bunny could wreck one. Green dragons are the total opposite, to the point where it's hard for a human to realistically run one, since they're like Machiavellian super computers. They have plans within plans within plans for every contingency.

[@darkguardian50]

yep, Raishan refers to him as a bulldog which is a good analogy, he is very much in the vein of white dragons canonically. They are pure hunters, full of aggression, animal instinct and fury. They typically are lower on the intelligence scale, and are born to hunt. They did a great job of highlighting all of that with Vorugal. I have a soft spot for white dragons, as I just wrapped a 6 year campaign and though it wasn't the final fight the climactic battle was against several high level human enemies, a white dracolich (undead skeletal dragon) and a huge ancient white dragon. They are fun!

[@badwolfat]

The comment about the dragon scales was probably meant as a joke. In the campaign they had a huge amount of dragon scales in their bag of holding until the end of the campaign. They always collected them but nobody wanted to buy them xD

[@seeflatbesharp]

If this were Skyrim, dragon scales are prime crafting materials!

[@Prowl76]

Stone Cold Stunner! Stone Cold Stunner!

[@darkguardian50]

I caught that too, apparently Yenk was a fan of the Attitude Era..

[@Logan_Baron]

Kima is the baddest of badasses. She was incredible from her first introduction in the campaign, which was very different. I am so happy to see her brought to animation life here. You have to be careful and use such a NPC sparingly so they don't become a DMPC and overshadow the players. It can be showcased better in a show. I would love to see a spinoff of Kima and Allura and their own party.

[@Heyjay1977]

As much as I loved to see it animated, the actual session of taking down varagul has a place in my heart.

[@TheJerbol]

The fact that the gore settles _into_ Allura's eye during the kiss is what ruins it XD

[@wilgarcia1]

I may have to start watching this show now =D

[@Lngbrdninjamasta]

Yes please do. The more who watch and live this series the more likely we will get the last two seasons of this campaign 🤞🔥❤🤞🔥❤🎉🎉🎉

[@pardox28]

21:26 Yenk & Vorugal did fight each other in the campaign but it was a pre-planned thing. The one thing lost in the adaptation from the campaign to the animated series is that they (wisely) cut out all the planning discussion they have but it does make VM seem dumber than they were in the actual play. Many, many sessions before the fight, the party got a Gate scroll & one of the things you can do with it is pull a creature through the gate to you. Basically an instant kidnapping. And you have to know the TRUE name of the creature. I have to be vague on WHY they asked for Yenk specifically - just know in the campaign he/they were a different type of creature - because it might give a clue about a vestige you haven't even heard mention in the animated series. Scanlan read the scroll, named Yenk, and close the Gate once Yenk was in the valley that Draconia was in. Then VM watched the two creatures battle it out/weaken each other, before VM joined the fight. Vex did get the final kill & Fentras in the campaign has a feature that if you get the final blow, a tree grows where the creature was felled. Draconia in the campaign was also in a different condition than it is in the animated series, but I can't really talk about that in case it's a thing that happens later in this season of the animated series. And in the Vorugal fight, Kima was there, Allura was not. VM did have another NPC ally but I cannot speak to that because I'm not sure if any part of it will be adapted in a later episode in the TLOVM series. Just know that it's one of my favorite things in the Chroma Conclave arc. We'll be able to talk about it more freely once the CC arc is concluded in the animated series.

[@Balkoth07]

also they summoned Yenk because he actually had a Vestige. Basically he ate someone that had a Vestige and it was still inside of him. So it was a "2 birds with 1 stone" situation. Don't know if we will actually get that Vestige someway different or not at all. My money is on Raishan having it, maybe it is the source of her sickness. Would make more sense for the story I think.

[@theanyktos]

​@@Balkoth07... op literally specifically did not mention the vestige as a reason for summoning Yenk, because they didn't want to spoil anything about that vestige.

[@reverseprime141]

9:35-9:43 My exact same reaction happens when I open my jaw as I saw The Demon pulling a thing from Vorugal mouth is a craziest thing, ever. Vorugal vs The Demon is my favorite fight scene in this Episode.

[@ShyyGaladriel]

I love how they fleshed out Kima and Allura. I adore them.

[@Trichromanic]

Unlike Zerxus, who was played by another player, Kima and Allura are characters included in the story by Matt during the campaign. (Matt has referred to Allura as the closest thing to a self-insert in the story). While we knew they had a history and had fought Thordak in the past, we didn't get too many details, so these flashbacks for them are new to the story for everyone.

[@testfire3000]

So much fun to watch this game live, then see it re-imagined into the animation!

[@vizh]

So would a tail be a deal-breaker or a bonus? Crazy great fight scene in this episode. This season is really firing on all cylinders.

[@BrandonMetcalf]

They talked about it in Season 1/2 BTS and essentially if they did the bigger monsters in traditional animation it would take twice the time and twice the money or something. I was a bit disappointed initially with that choice because I love "traditional" animation, but they've done such a good job with the CGI dragons and using them in such good ways, and making them really epic.

[@wcookiv]

Very, very few shows can successfully blend CGI and full 2D, and the anime genre is particularly full of really bad examples, but I think LoVM might be the best example out there. Not counting styles which use the same blend of 3D/2D throughout, like Arcane.

[@jxcefxce]

This episode was too much fun! Let them fight!!! ❤

[@Lngbrdninjamasta]

15:31 "How...yeah!.......NOOOOOOOO!!!" Perfection

[@DrLipkin]

Lady Kima is named after Detective Kima Greggs from The Wire. Both Kimas are badass lesbians who like to be in the thick of things, but have a soft center.

[@leonielson7138]

The "Godzilla v Kong" references in this episode ... I was expecting someone to say, "Let them fight."

[@commander515]

I'm glad that they included Allura and Kima in this arc and devoted some time to revealing more of their backstory. Development of NPCs is always interesting in D&D campaigns, but especially so in live-play situations. More often than not, non-player characters are whipped up by the game master to meet a narrative requirement on the fly, and it's a toss of the dice as to whether or not they are seen again - it depends on how well they connect with the player characters and complement their energy, at least in a home-game situation. With actual plays, you also have the added dimension of who the audience connects with, and who the fans pick out as their favorite NPCs as well. Gilmore, Allura and Kima eventually became the most favorite NPCs amongst both the cast AND the Critters, but that was dependent on people other than Matt, and happened independently of whatever goals or plans he might have had for them at the time of their creation. Matt has stated before that the popularity of those characters and their evolution throughout the campaign was because of the love they engendered amongst both the players and the fans; without that level of engagement and interest, many NPCs are only used once and then fall by the wayside. Of course some NPCs have an advantage in that they are directly tied to a player character's backstory - Cassandra and Keeper Yennen in the case of Percy and Whitestone - but even then Matt only spends time and effort to develop them based on their necessity to the story. In the case of Gilmore, Allura and Kima, it was because of the PCs actually treating these imaginary people as their close friends and constantly going to them for help and support.

[@thetankgarage]

Pike managed to pull something very rare off in the fight with Vorugal and they left that out, hopefully it'll be something she gets to show off in a future fight. Also, no Larkin, how they managed to keep him out of the story must have taken so much self-control, let the Larkin watch begin.

[@robhax]

I just love hearing Mirabel from Encanto cussing up a storm!

[@DocEonChannel]

The dragon/demon fight happened in the campaign because the players had the ability to summon a demon (I forget why, might have been a scroll or something) and thought it might help. In practice, it only distracted Vorugal for a few rounds. This version was way more epic. The fight against Vorugal did happen near Draconia in the campaign as well, but for different reasons. Allura and Kima were recurring NPCs in the campaign, but they mostly did background stuff. In an actual game, you don't want too many NPCs helping the party fight, the players should hold their own.

[@davizloco]

9:24 insert DOOM theme song

[@wadervader1001]

I love your videos! Keep up the good work!

[@bandi138138]

Toothy maw!!!!!

[@TheDreadedScotsman]

Can I request that we get a quick emotional recap of every character and show like we got with Zerxus? Just imagine the range of emotions we'd get with just a single episode of BSG? 😂

[@chrisd7047]

Kima is a paladin that worships Bahamut, the god of the good (metallic) dragons. A paladin, especially one as high level as Kima, is a distinct problem in combat. They are typically heavily armored and hearty, and can turn their ability to cast spells into whacking bad guys with smites. And you can't frighten them. That fight was a nice example of Kima's badassery.

[@timidwolf]

What about Larkin?

[@Lngbrdninjamasta]

#Larkinwatch

[@tlaragihai5953]

5:25 "I don`t think YOU do patience" - well, Allura usually does, but you *don`t* want to push her too far. 18:28 hehe, Pike as a flamethrower! :DD "Scanman has a magical palace?!" - Fun fact! In the campaign, when Pike`s granddad heard that Scanlan has it (there, he already had it when they were in Westruun), he was all like "Oh, oh, Pike, my dear, maybe consider marrying him? Maybe? Oh my gods, _a magical palace..._ " It was very funny.

[@BlunderMunchkin]

Magnificent Mansion is the best D&D spell for living well. Along with Prestidigitation, Endure Elements, and Light, there's not much else you need.

[@Lngbrdninjamasta]

10:18 "This show is amazing"" 🎉😂❤

[@Dunybrook]

The animation of the Kaiju fight between the Goristro and Vorugal was amazing but not sure I like that they took one of Vox Machina's most cunning plans and made it look like it happned by accident or even as part of Zerxus' scheme. Did love that they finally got to show how badass Lady Kima could be.

[@mkang8782]

RE: Thordak and Ripley: as a red dragon, he thinks every creature (including other dragons) are lesser than him. That being said, having useful underlings that are competent can make things easier. Ripley showed up and revealed herself at the right time, keeping in line with her being an opportunist.

[@TheJerbol]

3:00 that's when a geyser erupted

[@BaronVonDex]

Still hard to believe the actor behind Vax's voice is also doing Vorugal. Liam isn't human.

[@Maybonics]

I get that this is an adaptation of the campaign, so they have to make changes for a TV show. Some of the things they've charged work incredibly well, some seem redundant. But what I really cannot fathom is in what right mind did they decide to have the Vorugal/Yenk/VM three-way fight and just completely removed Larkin?

[@Lngbrdninjamasta]

#Larkinwatch

[@Blazingstoke]

The big fight in episode makes me think of _Dragon Age: Inquisition_ when you discover a giant fighting a high dragon on the beach. *The Iron Bull:* Okay, that's BADASS!! *Sera:* Wow! We can watch, yeah?

[@EForrest88]

0:50 - 1:05 is quite the journey XD

[@pallenda]

Ohhh another episode today! ❤

[@Julini89]

Kima and Allura are certified badasses especially Kima i love that character so much I named a badd ass character in my own campaign Kima after her.

[@cloudstone123]

In D&D lore, dragonscales are often forged into armor and convey certain benefits. With a white dragon they could offer resistance against cold effects. What they do with them in the show I have no idea.

[@TojiChiba]

In case you were wondering if shit rocks, it does indeed rock.

[@sammiebray1661]

Fun DnD fact of the day: if your DM is cool enough to let you do it, dragon scales can either be made into armor or can be used to enhance armor. Since Voragul was a white dragon, any armor using his scales would not only be tougher in general, but would also grant resistance to cold damage.

[@LeeCarlson]

Percival DeRollo can always find something to do with dragon scales.

[@briandalke5946]

RKO OUT OF NOWHERE!!! :p

[@toamszkozak8822]

Actually it was a stone cold stunner and not rko

[@VegetaLF7]

Allura and Kima's previous adventuring group is an interesting detail that we don't get a whole lot of info about in the campaign, so it's awesome to see them in action in the show. It's a cool way to show that there are always adventuring parties in this world, we just happen to be following the exploits of one but that they might come across others. "Do those things have a name?" That is the bodyguard from the previous episode, Yenk. He's a Goristro, a powerful type of demon. Armored demonic ape. Welcome to one of the most hype battles in the campaign! Though different from how it unfolded in game, this is still an awesome fight to see. Biggest two differences was that in game the throwing Yenk at Vorugal to let them fight was an intentional plan rather than an accident like it was here, and Pike's goddess lent a literal hand in the actual battle. Throughout the campaign Pike had been attempting the "Divine Intervention" spell. Immensely powerful, difficult to pull off (have to roll a D-100 and get *under* your level, so if you're a level 10 you need a 1-9, etc). If you succeed you can call upon an aspect of your chosen god to step in and offer help in some fashion. It had failed every single time Pike tried using it previously, but this time she succeeded. Vorugal was flying out of reach in the air after killing the demon Yenk and looked like he might escape... right up until the fist of the Everlight came down upon him as he was LITERALLY punched out of the sky by the Goddess of Mercy. Sadly they didn't include that bit here, but what they did give us was incredible. For the actual battle, yeah they went full kaiju here. They realized they had an ace in the hole with an ability to summon Yenk and figured he could do most of the heavy lifting in the battle against Vorugal. The gang watching the battle from off to the side actually happened, with the cast basically watching Matt Mercer "play with his toys" as he was having to roll for both creatures in the battle. They were cheering Yenk on and everything, watching the kaiju battle bellow. Definitely one of the most badass ways to fight a dragon. Vax asking Allura to "bamf" them out is the geekdom of the cast leaking through. These people grew up with the assorted superhero comics and in them the writers use onomatopoeia or written out sound effects to describe what various things sound like on the page. Some famous ones being Wolverine's claws extending to a "snikt!" or Spider-Man shooting out his webs with a "thwip!" In the X-Men comics, Nightcrawler's teleportation is always accompanied by a "bamf!" and it became synonymous with what a character teleporting would sound like to comic readers. So the Critical Role cast, being massive nerds themselves, always refer to teleporting somewhere as "bamfing" there.

[@daniberrieful]

@@VegetaLF7 also Liam saying bamf because he is the voice of nightcrawler

[@darkguardian50]

The demon was actually called by name in the last episode but only once. His name is Yenk. Yenk is a type of demon known as a Goristro in D&D lore. As with many things that are potentially a copyright issue, he is not classified as such in the show. They did change one major element of Yenk's story but it was pretty close over all to the way it was in the Actual Play. Though Zerxus is from Actual Play,. he was not in campaign one, so he was added to tie in. Which gives me hope of a Calamity Mini Series. As for the major difference with Yenk? I have a feeling it may be relocated, so my lips are sealed. I highly recommend watching the Actual Play of EXU: Calamity. Its a short 4 episode mini series and is among the most amazing content that Critical Role has produced. Its pretty tough to catch up the main campaigns cause it is just so much TIME, but Calamity is a pretty reasonable time investment and trust me it is so worth it, not the least of which is because you'll get Zerxus's full origin story. And hey if you end up liking that there is a follow up to that called Downfall (also 4 episodes!) which in many ways, I feel is even better.

[@erikwulfrik1934]

It's a spell called luemolds tiny hut lol

[@LadyNeravin]

I have seen this episode three times, I still don't understand what took Vorugal so long to get out of the lake and back to them.

[@DungeonDragon18]

In the stream, the fight between Yenk and Vorugal was something VM intentionally did. Yenk had a Vestige in his stomach after eating it's previous wielder, so they were supposed to go to Hell to kill him and retrieve it. Instead, they used a spell to summon Yenk into Vorugal's lair, let them fight, finished Vorugal off, and fished the Spire of Conflux out of Yenk's corpse.

[@thedoctor4370]

Doctor Who clue: a choice will be made, a choice made in vain, the end will be a beginning.

[@Lngbrdninjamasta]

So hyped 🎉😂❤

[@PolesitterPictures]

I LOVED this episode! Allura and Kima are special to me, as I started watching Critical Role (Campaign 1) after I came out, and to just have NPCs that were a big part of the story reflecting a bit of me? I'll love them FOREVER. Also, Kima and Allura were actually made ingame by Matt to reflect his marriage to real life badass bitch, Marisha Ray, who plays Keyleth, where Allura was inspired by Matt and Kima, Marisha. So, it's extra cute just to see the relationship get a chance to shine, and just see how in love with his wife Matt is.

[@KaiHouston-m6j]

That is the cool thing about D&D cooperative story telling. Everybody wrote it. The animated series is a distillation though.

[@PsiBella]

#reactorswarchreactors To answer your question about the demon dragon fight. Yes, it happened, but it was completely different. The trip to Draconia was specifically to entrap Vorugal and Vox Machina used a very powerful scroll to summon the demon to fight him. The trip to hell was completely unrelated to this demon/dragon fight and they did not get there through Draconia at all. In fact, Xerxus being the entity they talked to in Hell was completely written into the show as the character Xerxus didn't exist until the EXU: Calamity mini series. Again, I will stress that EXU Calamity is very good, and if you can possibly do it you should watch it. Maybe wait until after season 3 is done, and you don't have to react to it, but you should watch it.

[@lothsper]

This is my favorite episode out of all three seasons the big bad demon chasing them down thinking I'm going to kill these mortals the big bad dragon chasing down these mortals and then bam the portal opens and they're both faced with a very formidable foe they weren't expecting. It's what the Sphinx versus the other dragon should have been.

[@MrPingn]

"Dragon scales." "Can you use that?" You definitely need to play some D&D. Or some table top adventure. You already got the loot goblin aspect down. Also, welcome to Chateau Scanlan. 😁

[@ThatsAnOddName69]

Vorugal really got chlorophylled

[@DrLipkin]

In the original campaign, Vox Machina was told where all the Vestiges were located at the same time, allowing them to decide which they wanted to try for first. The Vestige that would eventually go to Keyleth was said to be located inside the belly of a demon named Yenk, on the demonic plane of the Abyss. Mercer had planned a whole quest around them traveling to the Abyss to fetch the Vestige. But Vox Machina (specifically Vex/Laura) came up with a different plan. In one of their previous adventures, they collected a magical scroll. This scroll would allow someone to cast the spell "Gate" a single time. Gate is a 9th level spell, the most powerful level of spell in the game. It can do one of two things. Either you can open a portal to another plane of existence (like the Feywild or Hell), or you can speak the name of a creature that is located on another plane of existence and pull them into yours. So yes, Yenk the Demon did fight Vorugal the Frigid Doom. Scanlan used the scroll to summon Yenk, and then cast Dominate Monster on him to control his mind. Not only did this severely weaken the dragon, but once Yenk and the dragon were dead, they retrieved Keyleth's Vestige, completely circumventing Mercer's plans. The tree growing out of Vorugal's corpse also happened in the game, but it was originally a property of the bow itself rather than something that Keyleth did.

[@purpletygertube]

Kaiju battle!!!

[@I.Lostalim]

Dont be surprised if you get a little spike this week - Liam O'Brien linked your s3e1 reaction in a thread of favourite reactors that he and Mercer were making. Hard agree on the Yenk and Vorugul fight. It's one thing to see Matt roll dice and narrate it - but Titmouse just outdo themselves everytime. As others have said Matt didn't plan it, the players did what players do, get weird! Loved getting to see more Allura and Kima, Tal'Dorei's favourite wifey's. They were in this campaign, but because we only see the players we didn't get as much of them.

[@chrisd4228]

That whole fight between Yenk and Vorugal was absolutely epic!

[@imthestein]

Matt wrote the campaign and ran it but it’s my understanding that Travis and Sam handle the adaptation of it into a script

[@alacy52]

I'm just sad they left out Pike's divine intervention. It's an ability with a low chance of success, but Ashley succeeded during this fight and got the Everlight to literally punch Vorugal out of the sky.

[@pauljanetzke]

That demon is called a "goristro", they are basically Hulk type demons. By the rules, they do not have a beam attack and are used as living siege engines in the Blood War. But this is Matt's campaign, and he can alter creatures as he sees fit. From what I've read, the fight did happen, via Scanlan using a Gate spell to summon the goristro.

[@zenmastermtl]

Note: A Goristro is technically a demon.

[@DocEonChannel]

It was a goristro in the campaign. They're not using D&D terms here, and this version of Yenk has very different powers to a goristro and doesn't even look much like one.

[@brewdaly1873]

For the sake of the animated series, they have to be legally distinct from the actual D&D monsters, like the "not Beholder" they fought in the tomb last season.

[@VegetaLF7]

@@brewdaly1873 I still love that the "not Beholder" they fought is called an "Onlooker", what a great way to reference the real name without using it.

[@pauljanetzke]

@@zenmastermtl Yeah, I corrected it after I read it a fourth time.

[@actuallyerik1623]

I love most things they translated to the show, but the dragon demon fight and how they staged it is one of the things that was 100% cooler in the campaign. Not that the action in the show was not insane, but in the campaign Vox actually made an elaborate plan that worked and it worked out for them on several more levels than shown in the show

[@zedbee2736]

Yeah, I agree. Also losing out on Pike's Divine Intervention moment, and Raishan actually showing up to assist them in the fight and getting the "killing blow" on Vorugal with a damn fine one-liner while tearing out his throat. Really does suck that Yenk is just a name on a guy who happened to be chasing them, and not an intentional part of the plan that was remarkably clever.

[@actuallyerik1623]

@zedbee2736 I will say I'm in for the changes to support the overall story. Maybe they have a better moment for Pike Divine intervention after her little Everlight disagreement, we will see what they bring. But no matter what the version from the campaign still exist in that format so it's all good for me

[@frenchtantan]

@@actuallyerik1623 Yeah, some people pointed out that it wouldn't make sense to have Pike's divine intervention come right after the seed of doubt was planted regarding her faith. Also, if I recall, that particular divine intervention came after multiple fails, whereas in the show, that concept hasn't even been brought up yet. Casual viewers would then wonder why she doesn't do it all the time. I'm willing to bet we'll see a version of it, but AFTER her "questioning her faith" arc comes to a close.

[@theunfamousone2818]

In the streams the team had found Vorugals hunting grounds where the locals had been bringing him beasts to hunt, they knew of a powerful fiend from the depths of the abyss that had eaten what would become kyleths vestige. So they made the DM fight himself by summoning the creature to fight the dragon. It was proablly one of VMs best plans and the best executed.