Tangled Depths | Critical Role: VOX MACHINA | Episode 88

[@LazerBear42]

"Let's go pop by and see my sister tribe. That's an easy way to break in the new guy. In and out. 20 minute adventure."

[@MorinehtarTheBlue]

lol since when is anything they do ever that simple. The PCs never seem to learn.

[@relariis_the_paradox]

At the end of the battle: *Manic screaming in lament*

[@bishop6218]

"Yeah the Nine Hells may be a bit tough for Tary" they said...

[@ethandazelle7041]

“It’ll be just like the Little Mermaid,” they said...

[@juliataylor707]

Lol nothing is ever easy. 😂😂😂

[@dakotakelty-floughton3997]

Matt’s mechanical display of Doty taking notes on the seagulls was really amusing and masterfully acted; props to the camera crew with the angle change to capture Doty’s scroll-writing. Absolutely great

[@doormarci2]

1:21:07 for anyone wondering

[@thenymphomancer5592]

“We’ve had a camera down here for 4 goddaymn years; it’s time to shine!”

[@ExpanSV]

So I saw this comment before the scene actually played out and I've been waiting about an hour thinking doty was going to grab a seagull and write on it 😂😂

[@tflood93]

Vox Machina: Hey Tary, you're not ready for the Nine Hells. We're going to go do Keyleth's thing, that will be easy. Lmao

[@JonathanMandrake]

We are superheroes! Whats the worst that could happen? #2020

[@theorder7346]

@@JonathanMandrake Damn, other people catching up during covid with me :D

[@grahambates7470]

What I came here to say. A Rashaka in Hell sounds dangerous, let's face a Leviathan instead.

[@delmerputnam1679]

@@grahambates7470 to be fair, they didn’t know about the kraken until they got there

[@PiroMunkie]

They forgot the most classic and tried-and-true of gaming tropes: water levels suck.

[@SESauvie]

Part of me wonders if Laura's love for Trinket would be lessened if Matt wasn't such a compelling and oddly spot on Bear.

[@Dragonfire-486]

Tbf, Matt is really good at portraying a lovable and adorable bear

[@SESauvie]

@@Dragonfire-486 A skill many humans would love, Matt perfected.

[@erby3027]

@@SESauvie Almost every, albeit unnecessary - skill many humans would love - Matt has perfected

[@Partor6]

"I wuv you too Vex'halia" :')

[@kaityr9693]

When he talks for Trinket during a speak with animals spell, I melt. It's so precious!!! I would love to be able to talk to my pets and hope they adore me as much as I adore them.

[@TheIrishloon]

Trinket: “It’s very wet” .........{whimpering} “what’s going on??” Vex: “You’re gonna make me cry” These are the amazing small moments I treasure so much in both seasons.

[@codyclosson4475]

I honestly think she's abusive to Trinket.

[@xWinterstarex7]

@@codyclosson4475 Honestly, yes. No one in there right mind would use an animal for combat. But Rangers exist using animals for combat always. Vex loves Trinket though and I mean if Trinket really wanted to I think he could leave..but he loves Vex so much he's willing to die a thousand times over just to see Vex smile.

[@xWinterstarex7]

@@VulgarGnome Yeah he doesn't have the same ability Frumpkin has to come back from the dead a thousand times over XD A bear in battle makes more sense than a cat

[@ParadoxicWasHere]

@@codyclosson4475 I see it more like a Pokemon & Their Trainer dynamic, it's not like normal life where bringing a bear into combat is a outlandish idea

[@michaelkorpi90]

I know no one may read this, but you all forget that it's not abuse as she saved his life and so to trinket defends her life with his own. Not to mention that when he goes down in combat or is attacked she gets very nervous and fearful he might die. So ya he's in battle but it in no way is abusive

[@Simrasil_]

"it's very wet" - Trinket about the water elemental plane

[@dtczyk8976]

its a very wise bear

[@PancakeMix01]

This is five and a half hours of Vox Machina wishing they had their gnomes back

[@BigggusDikkkus]

Idk Taryon was pretty clutch

[@yasminafarih3681]

@@BigggusDikkkus Yeah But they're used to the gnomes

[@morgantaylor84]

No, this is five and a half hours of Vox Machina making the fight way harder by not just killing it. Kraken's are intelligent and never stay and finish a fight, if they brought it's hitpoints low enough it would have retreated.

[@dominiricanish]

Morgan Taylor I don’t think that was the case here. I’m sure it went into kill mode after it dropped below half and that’s why it started talking to Grog. Matt even said it’s no longer in hungry mode now it’s angry.

[@morgantaylor84]

@@dominiricanish Sure, but they weren't actively trying to attack it is my point. A Kraken never finishes a losing battle so they would've had a much higher chance of fending it off if they actively attacked it from the beginning. Because at that point despite being at half health the Kraken was having an easy time of it. But of course that would be metagaming lol

[@darksaber2k]

I like how Sam waited to see if anyone bothered to ask Tary about a compass before revealing he had one

[@chadsmith8315]

especially after he said he had a navigator's kit 🤣

[@theq86]

He was mostly disregarded/forgotten this whole episode.

[@CassBlast5]

Sam: "Door...there's a door?" Taliesin: "Oh no, now we're really in trouble." Taliesin, king of unnoticed one-liners.

[@JennyDolfen]

Also, when Grog punches killer whale!Keyleth: "It's all right; it's an animal that already has a black eye."

[@bajes328]

I wonder if they do notice but they're just so used to Taliesin dropping bombs that it's just normal for them.

[@parker2121]

Even reading this comment, it took me a few seconds to get the joke. Tal is a fucking prodigy at quips like this. I had no idea when I first started watching this series that Sam's more overt comedy, Travis's Grog RP, Tal's powerful sarcasm, and Matt's Trinket RP would be the things that kept me glued to the screen through hundreds of multi-hour videos

[@LastStar007]

"The rusty Doty's another knot that you know"

[@R_Caine]

​@@bajes328We notice it, but it's just another Thursday for them.

[@juliannabelles2915]

Opening the lootcrate Sam: My kid's gonna love this! Taliesin: I GOT THE SPACEMAN!!

[@juliannabelles2915]

They're all children at heart and I love it

[@DevynDaBeast]

Sometimes the kids never get the toy from the happy meal

[@Grovesie35]

The best part is when they start trading them lmao 😂

[@sweetsparrow]

@@Grovesie35 agreed, that was so cute. 🥰

[@bananasbloha]

Sam: ...Voltron? Taliesin: No, it Powerful Rangers 😅😅😅😅😅

[@WriterDreamOfSweden]

Travis pulse went up to the point his watch thought he was working out 😂😂

[@kindle1951]

Oh shit! Internal rage!

[@sierra2bork29]

I was drinking water at the time....not a smart choice

[@jlog3540]

When did this happen

[@jash51772]

The best was when he took it right off and put it on the table like it was a poisonous snake he wanted to go away lmao

[@jash51772]

@@jlog3540 like 2 or 3 minutes into the start of the fight during the daylight on the arrow debate

[@LightSage89]

Matt: Tary, it's your turn. You just saw Keyleth, the pinnacle of leadership get swallowed. What do you do? Tary: Well... this must be part of the plan. You are all seasoned adventurers. Vox Machina: (Screaming)

[@reneehoenicke4765]

In all fairness, they have made plans that involved being inside the enemy 🤷‍♀️😂

[@jimeligino2029]

3:27:19

[@Yasha277]

Thank you for the transcript.

[@jeremytinker2039]

"I'm just gettin' ye to the door!" *whole party looks worried* "Wait, there's a door?" Percy: "Oh god, we're in trouble"

[@JonathanMandrake]

I am wondering: Will they also kill the heart if the sea, because as we all know whereas their hardest enemy is doors, their sworn enemy is elderness

[@venom_colada1512]

@@JonathanMandrake not just elderly, but elderly women.

[@askthepizzaguy]

"Ye can't get ye to the door." Also, ye can't get ye flask.

[@hadeskingoftheunderworld7010]

@@JonathanMandrake they are all at least one level dip into ranger for favorite enemy elderly, however there are alpt of door encounters so ranger proves itself too be pretty shit once again

[@GabrielBishop]

Travis is totally team kraken 😂 Matt: “Smashes you together” Travis: 🎉 Matt: “Inks everywhere” Travis: 🥳 So invested in the story for story sake. To all my GMs out there, may all your players be Travises.

[@sweebos]

✊

[@Tombert]

Laura: How do you escape being restrained? Liam, having Umbrasil flashbacks: Attack at disadvantage...

[@Tekk23]

I freaking love Trinket's "Whaaaaaatttt is a WHAAAAAALE" 2:07:25

[@zachmaw]

Had me Dying. I could not breathe after seeing Matt's face immediately after that line.

[@jenny_of_oldstones3523]

I just posted in my 3rd or 4th watch and and Laura's Oh My God I LOVE HIM IM IM GOING TO CRY!!! Can Still make ME cry.

[@federrpg3778]

2020 Crew bringing it up Top again 0:10:57- Game begins 0:20:37- Vex the mermaid 0:39:55- Vox Machina plans 0:44:28- Grog vs Killer whale 0:51:15- All that planning for nothing 0:56:43- Keyleth inquires about her mother 1:01:08- Vax and Keyleth 1:13:18- Tary knows his knots 1:15:12- Grog speaks Common 1:15:48- Some call her Vax 1:20:44- Dotey keeping watch 1:23:39- The portal 1:34:32- What's a kraken like? 1:36:07- Part 1 ends 1:57:54- Break ends 2:05:32- Trinket emerges 2:15:30- One down 2:21:53- See you motherf**kers 2:23:19- Tary's stealth skills 2:24:28- Release the kraken! 2:25:24- Initiative 2:37:56- Second lodestone 2:40:01- Tentacles of doom 2:57:20- Davy Jones' locker 3:09:59- Ink cloud 3:16:10- Sea Hag! 3:27:05- All part of the plan 3:28:48- Percy gazing 3:34:00- Keyleth's fireball 3:42:17- Last lodestone 3:45:00- O friendly bear 4:00:35- Electric eels 4:03:15- Matt hates eveyone 4:24:04- Percy makes his escape 4:25:20- Oh crap 4:27:55- “Now you've made me angry.” 4:45:40- Kraken speaks again 4:58:17- Escape from the kraken 5:02:23- Tary's shooting skills 5:02:48- … 5:03:34- A narrow escape 5:07:50- Betrayal 5:08:42- Tary's insurance 5:10:41- Percy takes action (Liam GIF at 5:11:01) 5:14:02- The end run

[@oliveri3534]

14:16 Recap ends

[@j_travis3668]

2020/Catchup Gang. Think this is the 2nd/3rd time I've seen you

[@federrpg3778]

@@j_travis3668 had some health issues lately but I am going to go on now from I think ep 91?

[@MrLysymaster]

Is there really no way to have those pinned? A petition perhaps? Its really annoying to search for those

[@lukelavelle5652]

Seranrays blessings upon you dear child

[@squidmaster6752]

Seeing Matt act out Trinket underwater is something i didn't know i needed in my life😂 Edit: TURN ON THE CAPTIONS *confused bear noises*

[@paulmanzolillo9764]

How on earth do you put the captions on? 🤣

[@Hisslizard]

the captions are really something else, big respect to the people putting those hours in to make it happen

[@renegadewildflower]

I’m halfway through the episode… any time stamp for the cute captions? I need them 😭

[@planet403]

2:06:30

[@annaptakova3242]

How is he so good at that is what I can't stop thinking about.

[@agentsampson5623]

I'd like to think that when percy turned into the electric eel he still had his little glasses on lol

[@DrHokeyPokey]

Beautiful

[@PolynomialPandemic]

Someone fanart this

[@davidm1926]

Taliesin agreed.

[@TheOnlyValken]

He took his glasses off so as to not lose them in the endless ocean. He's wearing little eel goggles.

[@equusheart3344]

@@PolynomialPandemic Challenge accepted!

[@SGRosen-vi2ez]

3:24:28 Incredible line from Liam, completely unnoticed by the table. "Hey, don't eat my girlfriend... *sigh* ... I just got her."

[@user-Aaron-]

3:23:43 I really liked Sam's "Cast Hunter Shark on it" comment to Laura.

[@SGRosen-vi2ez]

@@user-Aaron- Also excellent!

[@theconquestking6507]

I like moments like this where one of them says something but nobody else notices. Gold moments that nobody notices

[@agathiandevaraj9757]

@@theconquestking6507 In the first few dozen episodes, most of Percy's comments went unnoticed that way

[@theconquestking6507]

@@agathiandevaraj9757 I didn't notice. When I get the chance to rewatch the campaign I'll keep an eye out for them. Thanks in advance

[@Fairfieldfencer]

While I do agree Vox Machina did rush into this a bit (they just beat four dragons, so I imagine they were feeling pretty invincible), people are overlooking a key fact about this fight; This was their first big fight without Scanlan. He was their de facto healer. They are now made almost entirely out of offensive characters. Cutting Words on those bite attacks, Dimension Door to get out of a grapple, Healing Word would literally have saved Vax and Inspiration on three Investigation checks could have let them bypass this entirely. Taryon is a fine character, but Vox Machina will need to rethink how they fight without Scanlan and they only realised this in a fight with a kraken. This would have been a different fight if they fought someone else first.

[@kcgotfre]

Thank you!! I was thinking this the entire time, surprised more people hadn't mentioned it in the comments. Healing from a distance would have been a HUGE advantage in this fight. They've been going 2 years with that advantage and are used to playing with that level of risk. Scanlan kept them together in a lot of ways - I'm really loving Tary so far, but it makes me sad to see how much they struggle without Scanlan :(

[@TribalKatz]

Part of the reason I miss Pike. :/

[@Evija3000]

Yep. No Scanlan, no Pike, minimal on potions, Keyleth unconscious for like third of the battle, paladin down. They started low on healing options and it got worse as the time went on.

[@CorwinC73]

And lets face it... as anyone can tell you who has played it, underwater battles suck. Like *SUCK*. Way too few advantages, too many disadvantages.

[@rakkatytam]

Not to mention Percy was rendered pretty much useless due to the setting this took place in.

[@Triss_Joy]

Cracks me up when Travis’s Texan practicality leaks out-“Oh yeah, enclosed space and guns, great idea...” 😂😂

[@cpt.awesome7281]

Taliesin for that entire segment of trying to work out firing a musket underwater made me sigh so many times. 😂

[@TraskTrojanek]

@@cpt.awesome7281 yeah.. he often makes me sigh with his "no no come on I can totally do this, it works, trust me"

[@true_plays_games]

@Nylthanyr IV he’s just annoying AF - actually not bad this episode but he was on a test for a long time of being an anyone holier than thou prick that contributes less than anyone to the group

[@kevinfelton689]

@@cpt.awesome7281 Percy's flintlock pepperbox is proof that neither Talesin nor Matt know shit about black powder firearms.

[@cpt.awesome7281]

@@kevinfelton689 There actually were flintlock pepperboxes that were made in the late 18th century, they just weren't the style of it that made them so historically recognizeable. Judging from Matt's ability to just pull random models of 19th century firearms out of his ass when he played a gunslinger (background, not class) in some western TTRPG, I believe he's got a firm grasp on the subject or at least did his homework. Taliesin just seems to be a case of 'did his homework but doesn't understand it from a mechanical perspective as much as he does a narrative perspective.'

[@jolinevdk]

Travis cracks me up every time he pokes Matt. He's the biggest guy in the group but seems to be the most sensitive to authority and Matts glances, instantly casting his eyes down every time as if he's caught with his hand in a cookie jar. Love this dynamic between them. LOL! 21:06

[@taylorpeppers5012]

Great catch! Didn't notice until I read this comment but he totally stopped joking midsentence, signaled Sam to knock it off, and later told everyone 'I donk think she's done talking yet' handing it back to Matt. Honestly, Travis, Sam, and Talesin are such amazing players they make up for the rest of the party's....bs

[@ciarfah]

Taylor Peppers I'm nowhere near as big as Travis but I definitely play similarly

[@Deiwos0]

All of the guys have something they give to the group to make for such a good RPing set, but Travis often takes the policing role, which as a DM is a type that you always want involved because they help keep things moving, and shut down run away giddiness but without stifling the fun or having to constantly be the authority rather than the narrator.

[@django3422]

I am desperately trying to learn that for my own group. =D

[@thewastedwanderer5787]

A big man knows how to respect others, othewise they are just a brutish ass.

[@koacado]

Matt explaining what grasping vine does for 88 episodes ❤😂 if thats not true love idk what is

[@floydwurst9948]

For a party like VM that doesn't really bother with tactics to put a task in front of them were it is forbidden to kill the monster is both evil and genius. I like it.

[@zemorph42]

May be a good way to curb some murder hobo behavior, at least, unintentional bad behavior.

[@piranhaplantX]

@@zemorph42 They're also getting up there in level, so this is a way to up the challenge without pushing the actual CR into the roof for this party size.

[@WigglyBro]

I'd be curious to see how much time they spend devising actual plans and using strategy when they aren't crunched on time because they're live streaming and want to keep it entertaining to the audience, while also having a team around them who apparently can't go home until their session ends. Sometimes, even after midnight. Plus, they kind of have to contend with a player like Travis, who rushes them along because he's impatient and gets bored quickly. He's the biggest "murder hobo" at the table and doesn't want to use tactics. This fight is probably boring mostly to him because he has to play passively. I think the rest of the group was more interested in a stealth mission for once. It's just hard for them to do that with Grog's penchant for action and suspense mirroring the man who is playing him. To that point, I just don't think this was a great idea for a challenge. You could see Travis wanting to go home. The narrative almost has to be tailored to him and his playstyle because you can also witness Laura expressing concern for him in whispered voices and asking him if he's OK as she has had to do numerous times in their previous sessions.

[@gabrielcruz4071]

@@WigglyBro SOMEONE needs to rush them along. If left to their own devices they'd quibble and piss and moan until the crew were unconscious. Couple that with Keyleth/Marisha constantly bellowing "WE DON'T HAVE A PLAN!!!" while they're literally in the process of making one. There's just no order to the group, and it makes a lot of the big fights such slogs.

[@masonlake635]

Travis has ADHD. His brain literally won't allow him to sit there doing nothing for an hour plus sometimes while the rest of the party plans, argues about the plan, goes back to the first plan, and then maybe has 12.5 percent of a plan. Especially as he roleplays a character with 6 intelligence who rarely has a meaningful contribution to anything tactical. Listening to Travis OOC, or when he allows Grog to have an uncharacteristically intelligent stroke of genius, the man is actually tactically brilliant. Laura checks in with him at times because it's really easy for someone like Travis to become disregulated when they aren't actively engaged with something.

[@GiraffesAndMusic]

Because its so far down, time stamps by stevan grubjesic 0:10:57- Game begins 0:20:37- Vex the mermaid 0:39:55- Vox Machina plans 0:44:28- Grog vs Killer whale 0:51:15- All that planning for nothing 0:56:43- Keyleth inquires about her mother 1:01:08- Vax and Keyleth 1:13:18- Tary knows his knots 1:15:12- Grog speaks Common 1:15:48- Some call her Vax 1:20:44- Dotey keeping watch 1:23:39- The portal 1:34:32- What's a kraken like? 1:36:07- Part 1 ends 1:57:54- Break ends 2:05:32- Trinket emerges 2:15:30- One down 2:21:53- See you motherf**kers 2:23:19- Tary's stealth skills 2:24:28- Release the kraken! 2:25:24- Initiative 2:37:56- Second lodestone 2:40:01- Tentacles of doom 2:57:20- Davy Jones' locker 3:09:59- Ink cloud 3:16:10- Sea Hag! 3:27:05- All part of the plan 3:28:48- Percy gazing 3:34:00- Keyleth's fireball 3:42:17- Last lodestone 3:45:00- O friendly bear 4:00:35- Electric eels 4:03:15- Matt hates eveyone 4:24:04- Percy makes his escape 4:25:20- Oh crap 4:27:55- “Now you've made me angry.” 4:45:40- Kraken speaks again 4:58:17- Escape from the kraken 5:02:23- Tary's shooting skills 5:02:48- … 5:03:34- A narrow escape 5:07:50- Betrayal 5:08:42- Tary's insurance 5:10:41- Percy takes action (Liam GIF at 5:11:01) 5:14:02- The end run

[@chrismennega3042]

travis being so into it siri thinks hes working out 2:33:20

[@kafnfriends]

+

[@LifeWulf]

Thank you!

[@gayatrinair1128]

+

[@stepping3stone]

Must boost!

[@Albatross0913]

i love how Matt let them all sit there and plan for like half an hour, and then immediately gave them pretty much everything they were planning to create because nobody thought to ask beforehand

[@auroama]

Matt, the patience you had in this episode was GOD like. All my applause goes to you man.

[@sarahgarrod5311]

Props to these guys for going the extra mile and sticking with the game even while they were absolutely exhausted. Extra props to Matt for being one of the most patient and helpful DM's out there despite his fatigue

[@sheav1628]

Thank you for being the one comment not trying to bash the cast for what was obviously a frustrating episode for everyone

[@davidbergfors6820]

Matt Mercer for Dungeon Grand Master!

[@Take_The_Ride]

Drunk, the word is drunk. Absolutely clueless while talking shit on the rest of us that are paying attention. Talison outright says he's buzzed around the 1 hour mark. "leave VM alone!"

[@belindaluna2067]

@@Take_The_Ride Aw, poor baby.

[@dapprligtnin98]

This was was not fun, FOR ANYBODY.

[@thothrax5621]

When I heard they were going to fight a kraken I though, "that'll be interesting." Then I opened my monster manual and saw that kraken's are a higher challenge rating than any of the dragons they fought, apart from Thordak, at which point I thought, "they're in for a surprise."

[@bartholen]

VM were screwed more by the environmental circumistances than the Kraken itself to be honest. That, and fighting it in its lair. Had they not been at disadvantage all the time and Percy essentially useless, they would have obliterated it. As for comparing it to the dragons, Matt modified the Chroma Conclave pretty extensively: Raishan would be at least CR27 if we're going strictly by the Monster Manual, due to being able to cast Meteor Swarm (lvl 9 spell, and it says the spell levels of dragon spellcasters can be no higher than 1/3 of its challenge rating), Horrid Wilting, Prismatic Spray etc. The standard Ancient Green Dragon statblock also only puts it at 385 hp, whereas Raishan had 520.

[@matthewreed5117]

If Matt had modified the Kraken like he modified the dragons they would have been dead. Krakens are intense

[@caiobmonteiro]

Well, a kraken’s CR is higher than normal dragons’ and lower than ancient dragons', aka the conclave, but i do think that as matt usually scales up the enemy’s CR to give a challenge to the party, the kraken’s CR is probably higher than the conclave’s members, specially in water

[@MmeHyraelle]

@@bartholen Matt scale some more hp to the party size of 6-7 + NPC.

[@HDloly]

The objective was not fight him anyway. They needed to be stealthy, fast and cooperative, at least. It could be faster if they have used Tary's spells only to locate while others dig. Maybe used this conjured animals as bait to take him away as soon as something went wrong while Keyleth could build a cave-cover with wall of stone.

[@perigrin6]

Previously on Critical Role: Alora: "Just don't go to another plane without warning me for a while"

[@TheJumpinJr]

Kima said that, but yes.

[@sammiehopkins9408]

I mean, these guys are like the definition of "oh shit, i forgot about that," so you get what you get

[@KickyFut]

Allura said something along those lines when Keyleth asked her to send them a message, if needed... More/less.

[@alexv3357]

They're the embodiment of not calling people back

[@worldstiniestviking]

To be fair, that happened like a month ago for the players, just a few days for the characters.

[@rodrigoluz2040]

Group: "Scanlan without spells is just a Dude" Scanlan: "Vox Machina without Scanlan is just a Group"

[@kindle1951]

BOOM!

[@Oogasra]

The inception!

[@DariyusKabraji]

He proved them wrong by actually making a guy who's useless without his spells. Scanlan without his spells is still a force to be reckoned with

[@derekthoma9096]

lol. did this actually get said? I hope so

[@christopherbacon1077]

It wasn't said by "the group" (what, are they supposed to be a hive mind?). It was said by Vex.

[@gcdrummer02]

"We can't afford to unleash MORE of these beasts into our realm". Travis's eyes went wide when Matt said that, he caught it.

[@mohammedmiah3942]

Time frame?

[@MmeHyraelle]

@@mohammedmiah3942 Between 20 and 25min, or before, i was so thinking someone gonna ask how many there are in the primordial plane. Edit : it's at 16:20 or so.

[@ScorchHellfire]

He looks the same before and after the line, but okay...

[@HDloly]

​@@ScorchHellfire You lost him looking to the left of the screen to the other players at 16:34. It's only his irises that moves really fast.

[@nathanrichter3317]

That's why I wouldn't give a shit about killing it.. death is natural, a fight for survival is literally nature.. the ecosystem of the Elemental Plane of Water can handle one dead Kraken in a vast ocean of Krakens.

[@Leitoparkouringsk8er]

I love Travis saying "You're drowning him baby" when Trinket is just floating and worried. Trying to get Laura to see she is scaring trinket and also to comfort her since she said Matt being trinket was making her cry.

[@Cultureghost]

I was reading some spell descriptions today and realized something. Freedom of movement would have been absolutely amazing in this situation. It counters the attack disadvantage, the movement penalty, and makes escaping the Kraken's grapple effortless. It also isn't concentration, so they could all have it on them the whole fight. All for a level 4 spell. Note: not meant to be a complaint or criticism

[@MarcusAseth]

Vox Machina is not about good strategies :D

[@rsrocha1984]

Yeah, it would, the party that I DM knew this trick when they went underwater, took a lot of the fun for me. But Vox Machina dont know a lot about rules, and thats not something easy to remember.

[@jeffm9770]

Having a swim speed also counters the disadvantage. At least according to the PHB

[@LazerBear42]

They've never fought underwater, so it makes sense that they wouldn't think to use that. Throwing a kraken at them for their very first underwater battle was meeaan.

[@rachel8453]

I’m part of a firbolg twilight cleric & sea elf swashbuckler rogue duo. I slap my vigilant blessing, eyes of night, freedom of movement, and deathward on that guy constantly. All I could think of during this fight is how much VM needs character dynamics like that!

[@InsertNameHere2001]

When vax said "fade to feathers" I was like "is that a new ability? Oh...no"

[@MrMbrydges94]

Transgressor Gaming best line in the episode

[@isaac8734]

Pan to the fire place

[@lostkriegsguardsman8615]

@@isaac8734 shut up isaac

[@imhulki463]

I had the exact same thought lmao.

[@parkerdalrymple4398]

@@lostkriegsguardsman8615 XD okay *Isaac*

[@toml4643]

0:10:57- Game begins 0:20:37- Vex the mermaid 0:39:55- Vox Machina plans 0:44:28- Grog vs Killer whale 0:51:15- All that planning for nothing 0:56:43- Keyleth inquires about her mother 1:01:08- Vax and Keyleth 1:13:18- Tary knows his knots 1:15:12- Grog speaks Common 1:15:48- Some call her Vax 1:20:44- Dotey keeping watch 1:23:39- The portal 1:34:32- What's a kraken like? 1:36:07- Part 1 ends 1:57:54- Break ends 2:05:32- Trinket emerges 2:15:30- One down 2:21:53- See you motherf**kers 2:23:19- Tary's stealth skills 2:24:28- Release the kraken! 2:25:24- Initiative 2:37:56- Second lodestone 2:40:01- Tentacles of doom 2:57:20- Davy Jones' locker 3:09:59- Ink cloud 3:16:10- Sea Hag! 3:27:05- All part of the plan 3:28:48- Percy gazing 3:34:00- Keyleth's fireball 3:42:17- Last lodestone 3:45:00- O friendly bear 4:00:35- Electric eels 4:03:15- Matt hates eveyone 4:24:04- Percy makes his escape 4:25:20- Oh crap 4:27:55- “Now you've made me angry.” 4:45:40- Kraken speaks again 4:58:17- Escape from the kraken 5:02:23- Tary's shooting skills 5:02:48- … 5:03:34- A narrow escape 5:07:50- Betrayal 5:08:42- Tary's insurance 5:10:41- Percy takes action (Liam GIF at 5:11:01) 5:14:02- The end run

[@mattbetts01]

You do the Lord's work.

[@randyluna8278]

Thank for doing this :D

[@ozzyozzy3592]

2:33:00 proof they get stress playing this

[@cattatra]

Thank you, I wish there was a way to pin these to the top of the comments section

[@alohadoodlez]

2:27:00 dramatic camera angles

[@AleshaM30]

Grog will always be my favorite field medic. Just dumpin potions down gullets.

[@joshhaworth2155]

I now need fan art of Grog dressed as a military nurse holding a Santa-like satchel of potions.

[@elmencos3335]

​@@joshhaworth2155or with one of those caskets that St. Bernards wear around their necks in cold weather. At least that's what I saw in cartoons as a kid.

[@annageorge8406]

I might actually try to make that art after I finish art of my own character​@@joshhaworth2155

[@butternuggets868]

Kraken, manhandling Tary and Percy: NOW KISSS!!

[@bloodydove5718]

like a kid playing with his toys in a bathtub

[@elbruces]

So basically from the Ninja Sex Party song.

[@MinscArendia]

Exactly what I thought

[@bishop6218]

"Aaah ! Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal !"

[@OrphanHart]

"This reminds me of one of my caretakers..." I love the little things Terry mentions about himself to help us slowly build pieces of his past.

[@damian_bubble6287]

I love Liam and Travis just playing some Boulder, Parchment, Sheers in the background at 1:12:51

[@aakash2868]

I fucking love Sam. He's so cheery and cracking jokes regardless of how stressful the situation is. Even when his own character is dying or failing important rolls, he is just very happy about it.

[@NIKSEEN]

Kraken jokes*

[@allieofchaos]

The fake happiness is why they lost Scanlan..

[@Picklescape]

Travis too! He's such a hype man for the whole game 😃

[@uli11]

They really understand that this is a *game*, meant for fun. They do it respectfully (sort of), but they help ground their DnD game into the "game" of it. I like them being a bit of a balance across from those who get *really* into character (which I love, too- I really love the juxtoposition of both).

[@ConnClic52]

I hope there's an animated short of Doti's adventure while waiting on the beach for everyone.

[@OrphanHart]

ten thousand seagulls later...

[@Frankieboy1123]

Connor Click little did they know, in his quest to document everyhing that happens, he stops a legendary seagul-lich that was attacking the veshra.

[@ramiroj.2381]

@Chloe McIntire maybe a lo fi chill animation with Doti sketching

[@vanguardbreaker8826]

@@ramiroj.2381 Next Mighty Vibes?

[@cpt.awesome7281]

Plot twist as a seagull proceeds to steal Tarion's bag and Doty proceeds to go on a Mr. Magoo sort of chase seen all over, up a construction site, through a kitchen, upon the shoulders of multiple people and in and back out of the Nine Hells (where they pass the rakshasa in the background) before he's finally able to catch the gull just before Tarion gets back and proceeds to scold him for not writing enough.

[@Majykman]

Vax: "Fade to Feathers." And Matt, as the DM, visibly works to Calculate the entire thing in his Head. lol

[@shambyk4122]

This moment was so much better than I expected (having seen the comment before it happened). XD

[@MorinehtarTheBlue]

Well the wings are an aspect of his Deathshroud armour not to mention the carry weight of a full grown person while...well you get the idea

[@gavinbock8531]

@@shambyk4122 I saw the comment before hand and thought maybe vax died in the fight, this was such a better use of him saying it!

[@Ailieorz]

@@gavinbock8531 tbf you could make this assumption for any episode that includes a major fight involving Vax even without comments lol

[@kaatbrackeniers3505]

This episode is just that one annoying underwater level that every game has and nobody wants to play

[@noexpert1481]

dude Aquas in starfox 64 was the best you got to be in a submarine

[@KruizCo]

Ooooo I forgot about that level

[@Deiwos0]

Yeah, doesn't help that half of them are using new spells, or a new character they've not had much experience with, and half of them are clearly more than the usual level of drunk.

[@KickyFut]

It's a bad sign that they're suggesting air-breathing animals for an all water dimension...😅

[@w0rmfarts]

like the kingdom hearts little mermaid level you cant even dodge because you use the same button to move up in the water

[@melodybragdon8795]

Travis: I have never been swallowed The Feywild Crocodile thing that definitely swallowed him: Do I mean NOTHING!?

[@tristanwright9752]

If I remember right, Grog and Percy both forgot that trip because. They rolled at the end of that episode and they both failed.

[@scatz4994]

@@tristanwright9752 I was gonna say that Pike casted a spell at the next episode of that and then they remembered their trip in the fey wild. but as i'm writing this comment, i think it was just percy whose memories were restored.

[@strifenineteen]

@@scatz4994 yeah only Percy got his memories back

[@zacksnyder3795]

No Percy got a Scanlan induced set of false memories via modify memory

[@mordredvonumbra154]

@@strifenineteen I am fairly certain that they both regained their memories because i vividly recall Scanlan telling Grog how mny things he killed and everything and then Grog getting healed and Scanlan quickly saying Iamsosorryiliedyoudidntkillsomanythings or something like that.

[@Blazieth]

I just absolutely adore Percy furiously trying to get Grog to grab Taryon and pull him through the portal. "TOSS THE NITWIT THROUGH THE DOOR!"

[@a.v.k.1168]

everything about this scenario and the way matt set it up screams, "find a way to completely avoid combat for once!" i'm excited to see how they mess it up!!

[@seDrakonkill]

a. v. k. Havin a fun time so far?

[@a.v.k.1168]

s e D r a k o n k i l l i changed my mind ... i’m scared

[@sm3xym3xican76]

@@a.v.k.1168 Yeah two natural 1s will do that to you lol. It was going pretty well up until that point and then all hell broke loose

[@davidbergfors6820]

@@sm3xym3xican76 and just a little later: "How do you remember when to youse luck?" this thing could have been avoided!

[@cheeseburgerpaladin]

A DM trying to teach you a lesson will always be the biggest woosh when playing D&D.

[@zsoro9300]

"The Dungeon Master will help you select a fey creature!!" ~ Sam, in a moment of serious triumph

[@definitelynotsnake]

Matt Mercer cast patient defense for 5hrs

[@matthewcoghlan4797]

I like how Matt’s pet peeve isn’t quadruple hasted assassins who can fly or wizards that remember everything that’s ever been said to them but humble summoning spells just send him into the Mercer equivalent of white hot rage lol

[@bgibeast]

@@matthewcoghlan4797 Humble Summoning Spells? There are many DMs who outright ban summoning spells for exactly what you see in this video. 2 different players trying to be cute with what they can summon/polymorph into but did absolutely NO research nor give ANY headsup to the DM that they may be doing so. Grinded the game to a halt and made it basically unwatchable as fun content.

[@Jake007123]

@@matthewcoghlan4797 When I play a summoning spell, if I don't have the monster sheet already prepared I immediately do another thing out of respect. As a DM, I always say to prepare what you are going to summon or not summon at all. The DM has too many things to take care about already, god damn it!

[@guilhudo]

@@bgibeast I honestly can't see why this is a problem, like, couldn't you google the SRD real quick and grab an electric eel? It took me no more than 1 minute to get to the electric eel statblock.

[@bgibeast]

@@guilhudo Remembering this clip back I remember that all the cast members were drunk and behaving like idiots. This was an awesome fight that ground to a halt because they were too drunk to make choices. The M-FING DRUID forgot she could wildshape into something super useful, they kept changing their mind as to what they wanted to be and wanted to summon. Yes the DM can look up monsters on the fly, but the players could also give a headsup to the DM too. Did you watch this episode? Did you see how it ground to a screeching halt while the players diddled around. And that is with a master DM like Mercer running the show. Imagine a less experienced DM trying to deal with this madness. Honestly, I don't even know why you responded to a 10 month old YT comment or why I am replying to you, but your answer lacks empathy for both the DMs workload and the audience who this content was meant for. They are all good friends and this was AGES ago so who really cares, but my opinion is that a druid needs to understand what creatures they are probably going to turn into and use, and considering they all knew what they were fighting and the terrain this was just another example of the druid not being prepared with their complicated kit. Still the best D&D campaign I've ever watched, super fun actors and great people. But this fight was hard to watch.

[@beawolfe]

The entire group calling Laura and Liam “twins” out of character is still one of my favorite things and I miss it

[@NafenX]

I mean, they do have the same birthday 😹

[@jimmygannon75]

When did they say it

[@einwildesrehchen3862]

Right at the beginning at 9:19 At least that's as far as I've come yet, so if I notice it at another point, I will add it to this comment :)

[@SaffyreRaven]

They actually have the same bday to heavily technically they’re twins

[@andreas7250]

I remember realizing after an embarrassingly long time that they are not actual twins lol

[@chaddixon9764]

I love every Speak with Animals with Trinket. It should be a spin off series.

[@AlphaDelilas]

New Critter here, so sorry for responding 5 months later! I love how basically every time Vex and Trinket get to talk Travis just gets this look of "oh god my wife is so in love with this imaginary bear". It's so funny xD

[@MysticRains]

I love Trinket as much as Laura. Matt plays him so cute

[@southernbadgirl92]

Good part of watching this for the first time years late: I am immune to cliffhangers Bad part of watching this years late: I am not immune to spoilers

[@gutsyt123]

Right? I was right before briarwoods arc when they talked about it in campaign 3. Like omg. Lol

[@dancarn9336]

Thanks for the reminder to stop reading the comments before the action occurs. :)

[@southernbadgirl92]

@@dancarn9336 my issue is that I followed someone who was into CR years before I started watching

[@synthellaart1587]

Also not immune to binge watching for hours...

[@nickanderson55]

You know it’s crazy about campaign three spoilers they can’t really affect me because I’m still watching campaign one by the time I watch campaign three I have already forgotten what has been spoiled I’m not saying it’s good, but it is nice if you’re going to spoil something for me do it early enough for me by the time I get to what I’m trying to watch I’ve already forgotten what you said

[@yout7682]

55:54 i just realized how while scanlan tends to always say he doesn't need any help, especially in fights, taryon is the exact opposite, dude's a baby in distress, in need of all the care and attention in the world. It's really interesting to watch the contrast in both interactions, i could bet that sam did it intentionally, legend

[@jilkorath4882]

Dude. Sam Reigel is the personification of the perfect D&D player. Listens to the story, great sense of humor, pays attention to the rules, and doesn't need to roll every time some one else rolls. The cherry on top: He does dramatics unlike others, an inspiration to the fellow players and DM alike. The stuff with Scanlan and his daughter... just amazes me. He and Matt got me to step out of my shell in my D&D games and not only play d&d, but ACT d&d. Matt and Sam... Perfect D&D Combo. **Matt Mercer is in his own category, but idk, Sam's fucking heart wrenching stuff man...but my god, that Rakshasa stuff... talk about edge of your seat mind blowing story telling and acting on Matts part...

[@fhuber7507]

Matt isn't in the same class as Matt. Matt is a storyteller, not a DM.

[@MrBottlecapBill]

Wrong, he constantly needs to check if he can cast a spell, what he has to roll, whether or not something will work in that situation, how much damage his spell does, what the range i etc. You're lying to yourself. The only difference is he's funny so you ignore it because you like him.

[@vololudo4671]

@@MrBottlecapBill no offense intended here, but I see nothing wrong with a DM checking rules. I have been DMing for almost 30 years and I still check.

[@MrBottlecapBill]

@@vololudo4671 Me either, but I was referring to Sam not Matt.

[@vololudo4671]

@@MrBottlecapBill my bad. In that case I agree it is 100% his humor and personality

[@HenriqueErzinger]

4:00:00 fun marine biology fact #2: electric eels actually hurt themselves with their own shock. They are by no means immune or even resistant to electricity.

[@garrettmartin4750]

According to the Monster Manual, Electric Eels have resistance to Lightning. So, they would take dmg, just half. There were MULTIPLE mistakes in this episode. But it's just a game.

[@davidsanzrodriguez9347]

@@garrettmartin4750 Electric Eels are not in the Monster Manual. The only Electric Eel published in 5e is the Giant Lightning Eel (Tales of the Yawning Portal page 236), which are resistant to lightning damage. However, Tales was published April 4th, 2017, some time after this episode was recorded. So in this instance Matt is super good at improvising a rule here to his own disadvantage and the advantage of a resourceful player.

[@garrettmartin4750]

@@davidsanzrodriguez9347 there is a 5e book by Legendary Games, called Sea Monsters. Electric Eel is in that book. However they state that it doesn't have resistance. I believe I looked up a home brew, or a Pathfinder variant of some sort. You are correct about it not being in the Classic MM.

[@piranhaplantX]

@@garrettmartin4750 That is not an official splatbook, and Matt generally only uses official or his own homebrew.

[@ihe1523]

And thus, "LODESTONES" became the inside joke. Also, I had just gotten the kraken mini from a pack so I wanted to have my players face it. *watches episode*.... *slowly packs kraken away*

[@ethanthamouse6695]

i would have had them face it but given my players a advantage like maming my kraken or something just cause there level 5 players dont mean the deserve getting easy prey

[@Dramoklos]

@@ethanthamouse6695 WTF WHY ARE YOU SETTING UP LEVEL 5 PLAYERS AGAINST A KRAKEN, THEY ARE WAY OUTMATCHED

[@ansatheatrocious6083]

@@ethanthamouse6695 Krakens are more meant for level 15 at the very least

[@wolvo5441]

@@ansatheatrocious6083 yeah you tell I’m potato :3!

[@chrisrudolf9839]

I know I'm way to late, but if you want a low level group face a kraken, then don't send them after it as a group but have the kraken attack when they are travelling on a bigger ship that has a crew and cannons/ballista, so they don't have to take it down all by themselves, but just have to help defend the ship against it. During the battle, you can scare the shit out of them by doing "random" roles to determine where the kraken places his attacks and have him swallow some NPCs and do damage to the ship. With a level 5 group, you'd probably want to fudge those roles though to avoid hitting a PC who doesn't have an easy way to escape from a grapple.

[@sonnentausnest]

I felt bad for all of them this episode. Yeah, maybe they (or some of them) were drunk, but to me they just looked exhausted. If this wasn't 6 years later I'd say I hope they got time to relax and recover.

[@rumaysahshafi9949]

Travis: "Fucking hate the ocean." Me knowing Fjord: this comment aged REALLY well

[@maximillionchaoswolf]

ohhh maybe it has tho. this could be one of those moments that helped decide who his next character would be.

[@a.garcha199]

@@maximillionchaoswolf no I'm pretty sure the fact he was a diver irl guided that decision

[@suspence96]

Timestamps, my critters- 13:55 Part 1 Begins 56:42 Questions for Uvenda 1:01:01 Vax speaks with Keyleth 1:04:50 Be my Wing-man? 1:13:15 Do you knot? 1:15:55 Don’t bring up the daddy issues 1:18:22 You look really excited 1:19:45 Doty, the modern Trinket 1:25:08 Childhood dreams coming true 1:58:00 End of Break, maps maps maps 2:05:55 Trinket 2:16:35 Lodestone 1 2:23:15 oh no, a nat 1 2:24:04 OH NO, A NAT 1 2:25:25 swiggity swinsitive roll some initiative 2:33:18 heartrates go up 2:38:10 Lodestone 2 2:27:20 belly of the beast 1 3:13:35 summoning, an age-old war 3:34:00 MVP Keyleth 3:41:30 Keyleth, unconscious 3:42:35 Lodestone 3 3:56:32 Frustration begins 4:01:16 & 4:03:30 Frustration pays off 4:26:00 Unconscious and swallowed 4:59:55 Up and outta’ there 5:02:50 oh that’s…that’s bad. That’s real bad. 5:04:22 Game changer 5:07:55 sudden but inevitable betrayal 5:10:45 the best of ‘friends’ 5:18:40 clutch bruh 5:19:41 End o’ game

[@iamyourdentist]

"An age old war" - love it, these are hilarious

[@iGuttsi]

Sudden but inevitable betrayal, sounds like Taryon...

[@nathanielranney9163]

5:30:29

[@Snoulbora]

I have to say I love Matt's reaction when Liam said "Fade to feathers" it was like he was trying to process in his head how that was going to work out lol

[@annaptakova3242]

Matt misspeaking several times right at the beginning, followed by "it's been a long week" breaks my heart seeing it's about to be five and a half more hours for him.

[@Yoder023]

Especially with Marrisha being "Keylith" Wow this was so bad for her. I mean she's gotten so much better but WOW she was scattered thru this one

[@Noct_Snow]

@@Yoder023her and taliesin had a bit too much to drink I think.

[@frostreaper1607]

​@@Noct_Snow Marrisha and Tal had a very brief convo at thevstart of the encounter about him hating water and 'fish stuff' and this being an unpleasant experience, I suspect Talisien has thalassophobia. He's not rolling panic attacks for Percy so he's not affected.

[@raeloo100]

It is my personal belief that Grog was the MVP this episode. Without him, they most certainly would have perished.

[@RaiofLight]

I agree. High-level barbarians are mean with reckless attacks. To be fair, taking on a Kraken in its natural element is deadly since underwater battles give a lot of disadvantages. Vex also dealt a fair amount of damage, plus without her, Keyleth would probably have died.

[@Hawwwlucha]

@@RaiofLight That shark was rather clutch

[@RonquixoteDIII]

Plus the clutch healing potions

[@aoegamesbrasil]

2020 quarantined critters say hello Because its so far down, time stamps by stevan grubjesic (and reposted by cattypaw) 0:10:57- Game begins 0:20:37- Vex the mermaid 0:39:55- Vox Machina plans 0:44:28- Grog vs Killer whale 0:51:15- All that planning for nothing 0:56:43- Keyleth inquires about her mother 1:01:08- Vax and Keyleth 1:13:18- Tary knows his knots 1:15:12- Grog speaks Common 1:15:48- Some call her Vax 1:20:44- Dotey keeping watch 1:23:39- The portal 1:34:32- What's a kraken like? 1:36:07- Part 1 ends 1:57:54- Break ends 2:05:32- Trinket emerges 2:15:30- One down 2:21:53- See you motherf**kers 2:23:19- Tary's stealth skills 2:24:28- Release the kraken! 2:25:24- Initiative 2:37:56- Second lodestone 2:40:01- Tentacles of doom 2:57:20- Davy Jones' locker 3:09:59- Ink cloud 3:16:10- Sea Hag! 3:27:05- All part of the plan 3:28:48- Percy gazing 3:34:00- Keyleth's fireball 3:42:17- Last lodestone 3:45:00- O friendly bear 4:00:35- Electric eels 4:03:15- Matt hates eveyone 4:24:04- Percy makes his escape 4:25:20- Oh crap 4:27:55- “Now you've made me angry.” 4:45:40- Kraken speaks again 4:58:17- Escape from the kraken 5:02:23- Tary's shooting skills 5:02:48- … 5:03:34- A narrow escape 5:07:50- Betrayal 5:08:42- Tary's insurance 5:10:41- Percy takes action (Liam GIF at 5:11:01) 5:14:02- The end run

[@burnsbabe87]

Yup. I finished the few episodes of Campaign 2 backlog I had and have started back up with where I'd stopped on Campaign 1.

[@Marpaws]

Rewatching campaign 1 since february. Then it's rewatch of campaign 2.

[@yasminafarih3681]

Jog jog jog jog jog-

[@RicAnger]

you da real current mvp

[@pfogg1]

First time through, it does take some time more than your standard Netflix series.

[@curtchoy]

Travis: “Do you sense calamari?” This is the best side comment ever. I love Travis and Grog.

[@planet403]

1:59:48

[@uli11]

He has recently become my favorite character. Grog doesn't have a *ton* of time to really shine... but holy shit every single time he gets to spread his wings beyond "bash em with the beefy end", he steals the show.

[@bbillynotreally]

this fuckin episode is A SLOG god damn, the whole thing can be summed up in "I escape the Kraken" "the kraken attacks and you are grappled" and then repeat

[@lindsaykennedy9594]

It's been painful to watch lol I just had it on in the background while I work

[@SnowDayJ]

4:08:46 Keyleth, "Don't kill it..." Grog's Reaction.

[@thkase]

why did she not want it dead?

[@dirode620]

It would doom Vesrah to sink i believe. They use it's turds to keep the magic alive, or afloat.

[@hollowprince84]

Snow J ii

[@BaldTheAvenger1]

Man, I feel bad for Matt. He looks so tired and he's really trying to keep it together and see this through. All the love you guys.

[@nattychamps9098]

I'm surprised he didn't call it earlier. That's what I would have done as a DM

[@mattsnyder4754]

Jasper McGodpunch I mean. He objectively did it to himself. The party made plenty of good decisions that could have very reasonably resolved the conflict. He just wanted to grind it out.

[@Kiptytude]

Just as players roleplay their characters, the dm has to roleplay the enemies. The kraken wouldn't leav it at that.

[@toastghost9145]

"I wanted to be an eel!" Matt puts up with a lot of silly for this show, this group, and us.

[@abelsampaio389]

I'll point out that, as a DM myself, I feel bad for him too, but that's DM's life. I mean, these guys are high level, and there's a lot of details to thes spells which they can do a shit ton of them. Sometimes you just won't remember, sometimes you prepare a spell you never did before and you won't be used to it. DMing for hi-level PCs is hard in itself.

[@prestonsmith7313]

After countless times forgetting to cast hunter’s mark for her bonus action, vex finally committed and casted hunter’s shark as her action.

[@trentlewis1473]

This episode is special to me, this was the first episode I ever watched. This got me excited to play D&D, my roommate and I got a group of our nerdy ass friends together to play. It has been 5 years this July and we still play try and play every 2 weeks. Lastly in the immortal words of one of my childhood heroes " Remember, I'm pulling for you. We're all in this together."

[@1stcaptainraldoron538]

Why is Matt so damn good at playing a bear?

[@MrRayne911]

"We can take apart..... trinket... " yup it was not scanlan's shtick to hate trinket, sam just doesn't like him.

[@korrasmuscles]

Which makes it all the more hilarious.

[@fhuber7507]

Pets generally end up being liabilities in D&D. Trinket should have been 40 different times by this episode.

[@xhighone]

spoiled girls get what they want. she wanted a pet even though it's completely useless and does nothing for anyone. no thought to how it would affect the party. thank God Matt gave it a way to be carried and get saved when dead or it would be way worse.

[@CaptainSpanky96]

@@xhighone Considering they have been playing this since pathfinder, and animal companions went through a rough patch in the early days of 5e, Trinket used to be useful. And if you think that Vex is the only one that doesn't consider things useful to the party, she isn't. You can't win d&d. It's about them having fun, not you. If you don't like it, stop whining and stop watching.

[@duskanddawn8543]

@@fhuber7507 my rogue's rat isn't :) he finds stuff, and I can look through his eyes

[@mijeebergbauer7504]

Man, I remember stressful dnd sessions that last way too long at the end of a long day. Exhaustion and frustration are very reasonable and goes to show how much they care about this game. Props to all of them for this episode

[@ElliWoelfin]

Wait, you are not REEEEEing? What universe is this where there are nice and understanding comments on Critical Role?

[@sapph0sfriend13]

Oh wow look at that, a comment that isn’t attacking someone in the cast

[@jesselindsey9760]

@@sapph0sfriend13 Tell me about it. "You can tell I'm the biggest fan because I fucking hate everything they do and say!"

[@hisyamhasbi8257]

@@jesselindsey9760Hahahah

[@sarahbyrne4610]

To give everyone credit this was a long difficult fight that none of them were prepared for. I've played 5 hour games and you do hit a point where you do just zone out, also these people have lives and jobs outside of this so I can completely understand the cast getting confused and overwhelmed. But major kudos to Mr. Mercer for pushing through because that looked exhausting.

[@raoulduke8003]

This session is a train wreck and I love it because this is how it actually goes sometimes at our table. Math screw ups, missed cues, misunderstandings, and frustration. Again showing they are just regular people like us.

[@TheMento98]

they're all intoxicated in this session. More so than usual. If that's "regular"for you then I'm sorry and I hope life gets better for you pal.

[@raoulduke8003]

@@TheMento98 "Regular" in the sense that, just like everyone else, they make mistakes. While mistakes aren't the whole of ANY session, there are mistakes in EVERY session. But we certainly like our drinks and some smoke because we are adults and can handle our shit. But thanks for your concern.

[@MercuryManProduction]

@@TheMento98 You're right. Regular people never get intoxicated, or make mistakes, or have misunderstandings, or get frustrated, or do math wrong. Regular people are perfect, and rarely if ever get anything wrong. Like you, obviously. I hope you and everyone around you continue to be perfect, sober individuals, and I thank you for the concern you have for all of us poor intoxicated losers who make mistakes and are bad at math.

[@MOLEMITTS12]

HARHEE I bet you’re fun at parties

[@rsrocha1984]

@@TheMento98 everybody who has DM for a long time knows that sometimes that are those days where nothing works. I think thats what he is talking about. It happens.

[@VOIDWALKER_333]

“Marisha argues with herself... and loses...” I absolutely lost it at that part.

[@DarkMage501]

She was ROUGH this game lmfao must've been tired or something

[@mags0nline]

@@DarkMage501 she was gettin on my damn nerves 😭

[@SquirrelN]

@@DarkMage501 They look kinda hammered, actually. I'm only 2 hours in, but I think they're having slightly harder stuff this episode or something.

[@OrbitalHybridization]

@@SquirrelN yeah I think they actually had kraken (rum) on set and it was getting to Marisha 😂

[@SquirrelN]

@@OrbitalHybridization Yeah that'll do it. Kraken used to be one of my drinks of choice and it is definitely not something to sip with liberty lmao

[@doihavetobeg]

Keyleth... Is a killer whale with 90 HP. Drops that to go to single digits just so she can pull Grog away from a tentacle (NOT destroy it as Grog was very successfully doing while trying to reach Vax). She then proceeds to get surprised and frustrated that she got KOd (AGAIN) by 13 damage that the Kraken periodically dishes out to everyone around it.

[@ethanpeterson5640]

Travis seemed so happy that he got swallowed. This is why I love him.

[@Not_Harvard]

Probably happy to escape the drunk mess that was outside.

[@bmas44]

wow they're stealthing pretty good, it would be so funny if they made it all the way through without waking the kraken haha sam: pulls up a severed head and screams bloody murder ya that was never gonna happen

[@wesleyyoung6471]

You know you are having a bad day when the DM has to remind you of what you should be doing to live lol

[@daisykid3]

Sam: *rolls two natural 1s in a row* Matt: *thinking to himself* "Thank you for this gift"

[@jasonandrews1770]

Its real cute that they think they need to worry about not killing a kraken too quickly

[@johnblack8872]

Well it was really only Marisha. Who was drunk.

[@allowe4186]

Tbf they just killed like 6 ancient dragons and haven’t ever fought a kraken before, so thinking a kraken has as much hp as a dragon would add a bit of fear that they might kill it.

[@Klespyrian]

@@allowe4186 A kraken has less average HP than an Ancient Red Dragon Edit: But Thordak had nearly 1.5k HP so this Kraken could be anything

[@LightH0USE1]

This is the reason they had so many fallen members in the party. Matt would have told them that the Kraken is not "doing well". This would mean the creature has low hit points. Also, the creature is smart so it would know that her life is in danger.

[@user-eq4xt1dc4g]

There's no "they" for this. It Was only marisha

[@mrs.wilbur709]

With all the strange experiences trinket has as a bear, it would be adorable if they made a children's book from his perspective.

[@TimpanistMoth_AyKayEll]

First watchthrough? (In other words: You haven't watched the Honey Heists, yet?) 😂

[@accade_acaso]

Oh that’s a very sweet idea!

[@itisthomascasey]

It would be a straight up horror story of a bear, trapped in a necklace, only allowed out when a witch on a broomstick wants him to kill something for her! 😂

[@sydney3213]

+

[@elmencos3335]

​​@@itisthomascaseyand is instantly unconscious every time he's let out of the necklace

[@The_Cowwwthem]

Matt acting out trinket underwater is so precious 🥺

[@JonathanMandrake]

Well he as well as all of Vox Machina has a huge love for colorful and shiny things and trinkets

[@NaClisSalty]

i just realized keyleth could totally try and scry her mom if she wanted to and has been able to try for a long time now

[@at.myrthe]

That's a really good point, but one thing though is that I think scrying doesn't work across planes right? So if she couldn't scry on her mother, it could either mean that her mom resisted the scry, that she's on another plane, or that she's dead. So if it didn't work it wouldn't really tell her anything

[@slackerhobo]

​@@at.myrthegive it a dozen times or so she could have a pretty good idea. The chance of resisting that frequently is low. You are tight it would not totally eliminate it but it would cost her nothing to at least try.

[@tjet34]

At some point when asked OOC, Marisha says Keyleth wasn't ready to know. I think it was during/after C2.

[@goolgepl2112]

​@@tjet34I get that Keyleth wouldn't want to confirm her mother's death, but man am I curious

[@cjtrules1]

@@slackerhobo Would you do this a "dozen times or so"? Holding onto hope each time only to come up with nothing over and over? You are torturing yourself. At some point, you would have to move on.

[@Cultureghost]

This fight is prime evidence for Percy to carry a crossbow with him as well.

[@garrettmartin4750]

Unfortunately, Tary tried to use the Crossbow. It just didnt work.

[@janessagillenwater3026]

@@garrettmartin4750 That was just his role though. He rolled a 1, there's nothing worse.

[@garrettmartin4750]

@@janessagillenwater3026 I know he rolled a 1. It was absolutely perfect for the narrative. And after looking into the 5e rulings about ranged atks underwater, I do concede. However, Percy would have a range of only 100 ft.

[@brandonclark8458]

Honestly I really think Percy would often be better just wielding his God damned dragonkiller, it'd be a waste of sharpshooter, but the amount of actions he loses every bbeg fight to reloading and especially rolling them 1's would account for a shit ton of added damage. Not to mention if he really wanted efficency his eldritch blast probably does about as much damage as his guns do, he just wants to play his own character his own way, fighters might be able to use crossbows, but maybe Percy the character doesn't have a clue because flavor reasons.

[@SPACEHARICE]

@@brandonclark8458 he plays him more to the science side of percy his head cannon of his spells aren't magic hex is him Focussing on weak points rather then it being cast.

[@bccr13]

omg they did it. they didn't start the stream muted

[@bccr13]

marisha please stop yelling TT

[@Frownigami]

5 and a half hours? See you on the other side, Critters.

[@ttajohnson15]

wow. go pee now i guess

[@antonionunez3759]

Frownigami lol you ain't lying!!

[@bcn1gh7h4wk]

IKR?

[@DamascoGamer]

Frownigami I don't have enough lube for 5 hours,damn it.

[@closedmouth]

i like how matt sent them on break after an hour and a half, probably thinking that would be the halfway point **FOUR HOURS LATER...**

[@LuisArdiendo101]

Sam carefully crafted Tary to annoy every single one of his friends, props to the man

[@EmmaW5]

With the similarities between residuum and lodestones, I wonder if White stone is actually composed of fossils, and the way of making residuum glass and lodestones are both ways of "purifying" or otherwise rendering the original components into a magical essence, whether via magical creature (kraken) or via a process (residuum). Just a thought, but it popped into my head around 1:30:00

[@franciscofernandez8183]

Lodestone comes from water elemental titans pet. Maybe whitestone comes from dead skin of earth elementals or something.

[@xWinterstarex7]

Kraken: *eats Grog* Grog: how many times do I have to teach you this lesson beaked baked octopus *attacks it's inners* Kraken: blargahagarha I kinda expected the kraken to sound more like a screechy bird and less sexy...xd

[@Brickmore847]

Kraken Gargantuan monstrosity (titan),chaotic evil Armor Class 18 Hit Points 472(27d20+ 189) Speed 20 ft., swim 60 ft. ft. STR 30 (+10) DEX 11 (0) CON 25 (+7) INT 22 (+6) WIS 18 (+4) CHA 20 (+5) Proficiency Bonus +7 Saving Throws Int +13, Str +17, Con +14, Dex +7, Wis +11 Damage Immunities: lightning; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks Condition Immunities: frightened, paralyzed Senses: truesight 120 ft., passive Perception 14 Languages: understands Abyssal, Celestial, Infernal, and Primordial but can't speak, telepathy 120 ft. Challenge 23 (50000 XP) Amphibious.The kraken can breathe air and water. Freedom of Movement.The kraken ignores difficult terrain, and magical effects can't reduce its speed or cause it to be restrained. It can spend 5 feet of movement to escape from nonmagical restraints or being grappled. Siege Monster.The kraken deals double damage to objects and structures. Actions Multiattack. The kraken makes three tentacle attacks, each of which it can replace with one use of Fling. Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +17 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 23 (3d8 + 10) piercing damage. If the target is a Large or smaller creature grappled by the kraken, that creature is swallowed, and the grapple ends. While swallowed, the creature is blinded and restrained, it has total cover against attacks and other effects outside the kraken, and it takes 42 (12d6) acid damage at the start of each of the kraken's turns. If the kraken takes 50 damage or more on a single turn from a creature inside it, the kraken must succeed on a DC 25 Constitution saving throw at the end of that turn or regurgitate all swallowed creatures, which fall prone in a space within 10 feet of the kraken. If the kraken dies, a swallowed creature is no longer restrained by it and can escape from the corpse using 15 feet of movement, exiting prone. Tentacle. Melee Weapon Attack: +17 to hit, reach 30 ft., one target. Hit: 20 (3d6 + 10) bludgeoning damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 18). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained. The kraken has ten tentacles, each of which can grapple one target. Fling. One Large or smaller object held or creature grappled by the kraken is thrown up to 60 feet in a random direction and knocked prone. If a thrown target strikes a solid surface, the target takes 3 (1d6) bludgeoning damage for every 10 feet it was thrown. If the target is thrown at another creature, that creature must succeed on a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw or take the same damage and be knocked prone. Lightning Storm. The kraken magically creates three bolts of lightning, each of which can strike a target the kraken can see within 120 feet of it. A target must make a DC 23 Dexterity saving throw, taking 22 (4d10) lightning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Legendary Actions The kraken can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. The kraken regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn. Tentacle Attack or Fling.The kraken makes one tentacle attack or uses its Fling. Lightning Storm .The kraken uses Lightning Storm. Ink Cloud .While underwater, the kraken expels an ink cloud in a 60-foot radius. The cloud spreads around corners, and that area is heavily obscured to creatures other than the kraken. Each creature other than the kraken that ends its turn there must succeed on a DC 23 Constitution saving throw, taking 16 (3d10) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. A strong current disperses the cloud, which otherwise disappears at the end of the kraken's next turn.

[@4D4plus4is4D8]

Great idea, posting this.

[@bcn1gh7h4wk]

27d20 + 189, with a number generator, goes nowhere near 400. I believe the closest thing was 360. 472 is overkill....... or... you know, over-not-kill.

[@Batz1992]

yea i really doubt that matt sets the hit points of some of his main monsters even close to those of the MM (its ususally balanced for a party of 3-4 i believe), grog can easily pull around 120 non-crit damage on EACH of his turns if he uses reaction for retaliation :P and then there is 5 more party members still

[@Brickmore847]

average for 1d20 is 10.5. (27*10.5)+189=472.5

[@bcn1gh7h4wk]

but I didn't average.... I rolled 27 actual random numbers.

[@pyrhaa]

"It's a Hunter shark but it's Fey cause it's dyed its hair with kind of a pastel pattern" Ooh Taliesin I love you soo much LMAO

[@SoloStudiosOfficial]

"Oh good, they got all the lodestones... why is there still 2 hours left in the episode o_0"

[@zacharywestbrook6773]

Laura Bailey is SO engaged. Matt's describing the tower and everyone's just *listening face*, Laura is all *Oh, brave new world!*

[@Ju1ianDavenp0rt]

to matt: i just wanna say, all these years later, i applaud your self control & good-spiritedness. you're always the bigger person & its truly aspirational.

[@Tori-mh7fg]

3:24:32 I'd just like to point out the adorable "Hey don't eat my girlfriend...I just got her."

[@pagenein]

Idk about y’all but Keyleth’s fireball inside the Kraken is one of those moments I love the most about this show - a crazy plan born of desperation that could get them killed + some lucky rolls and Matt’s wonderful way of doing a scenario justice with his storytelling

[@DJ_Kie]

You mean tge metagane firebal because of the oil grog produced she'd know nothing about?

[@tristinanderson6320]

@@DJ_Kie I think you'd know if you were sitting in oil my guy.

[@hadeskingoftheunderworld7010]

@@tristinanderson6320 to be fair to both groups and too marisha, the oil was still in the jug so no Keyleth does not know about it. But in her defense she could have, in charcter, rationalized that setting off a magical fucking bomb in its throat would make it spit them out

[@TedJustTed47]

I find it so hilarious that this entire episode the expression on Travis's face says... "if we TPK because you bitch's got drunk..." lmao

[@brittmariemays]

Is that what is wrong with Marisha? I’m not usually on the Marisha bashing train but she is just not with it this episode AT ALL.

[@TedJustTed47]

@@brittmariemays i know! I love Marisha! But seems like she got nervous for her big moment and probably pre-gamed too much 🤷‍♂️

[@TedJustTed47]

@@PalitaTW i don't know. I have adhd. She has never been like this before or since (I have watched both campaigns TWICE 😬) pretty sure she just got to drunk for this game. No big deal shit happens 🤷‍♂️

[@TraskTrojanek]

@@brittmariemays Yeah you can hear her slurring words a ton, Sam makes fun of her "conshtitushion" and Travis wants to give her smelling salts to sober her up.

[@parkerdalrymple4398]

Would like but you are on 69.

[@GuyBigRed]

3:21:20 I feel that look from Travis. Being one of the few sober people in a group that's drunk is real annoying.

[@aquament]

I could sense that same vibe

[@johnblack8872]

Yeah I don't get the point in drinking during a DnD game....to many numbers and planning. So getting drunk just fucks that all up. Heck pizza and energy drinks is all u need lol

[@huntertuggle2667]

@@johnblack8872 I think you can drink a few beers as long as you nurse them, just stay off the hard liquor.

[@zurgnut]

@@johnblack8872 yeah agreed. I only seem to be able to find DnD groups where the players insist that they get drunk and high before or during the game Then they do stupid af stuff throughout that wastes game time and insist that they are alright. I'm patient and never comment but it is annoying.

[@johnblack8872]

@@huntertuggle2667 that's true too. But I mean they drink usually harder stuff and they sip on it for four hours so I mean it's eventually gonna f u up lol