The Kevdak fight conclusion - From the original campaign to Legend of Vox Machina

[@Merjia]

Travis getting the most thematically appropriate nat20's will always send me.

[@Reblwitoutacause]

Also, the thematic 1's 🤣

[@ricardical]

@@Reblwitoutacause "two shit throws, can't get any worse than thi-"

[@YAH93]

Remembers me when our party of 3 (Ranger, Druid, Paladin) and some friendly NPCs fought a vampire at Level 4. Things were looking extremely bad, and then, when our Paladin rolled a Nat20 on his attack, also throwing in a Divine Smite, dealing a total of 81 damage, the "How you wanna do this?" felt so fucking satisfying.

[@BlackHeartsHope]

The cask of ale still gets me 😂

[@loricho]

I've never heard of someone gettiing more clutch 20's, it's incredible XD

[@nicelizabeth8008]

The excitement they all have is why Campaign 1 will always be my favourite. 😂 also Ashley and Travis being besties and hugging is so adorable, plus Ashley hugging Laura too. 🥹 They’re all just too cute.

[@kirstylister1341]

you can tell travis couldn't wait to say FOR STRONGJAW in the animated series

[@herz5159]

Still a genius Laura move to take out Grog as he's about to fall unconcious then drop him to give him the killing blow

[@Husky92223]

Power couple irl eheh

[@Butterzzzz]

If you watch the video it’s actually Travis who told Laura to drop him off

[@belindaluna2067]

@@Butterzzzz Laura got him out of there when he was about to go unconscious, which would've killed him, as Matt confirmed the herd would have just kept chopping until he was out of death saves. She gets full credit for that. Before the drop you can see the Bailyhams talking about it; probably debating the merits, as Grog could've easily killed himself without taking Kevdak down with him.

[@TheGreener]

@@belindaluna2067 And it had to be Grog to kill Kevdak for the herd to stop fighting.

[@happyninja42]

I love that line from Travis "Any chance I can make this reckless?" .....yes um...I think this action is the TEXTBOOK DEFINITION of reckless! 🤣

[@zippomage]

snrk!

[@FrontwaysLarry]

Lol, tonight our barbarian kept running blindly *into* some dust/sand-based earth elementals to deal extra damage, and when asked if they could reckless attack while *inside* the creatures I said the exact same thing.

[@eliktm4624]

Liam yelling "POETIC JUSTICE!" is amazing! There's also something I love about Laura's character being the one to say "Show him who you are" at one of Grog's biggest moments.

[@nahlannentrela5376]

Videos like this are *very* useful to legit critters that are telling new fans about the Campaign vs the translation to the Show It's a great way to exemplify "No, this is actually what happened beat for beat in the game they played to make this show"

[@SoyDrinker]

It's honestly even more crazy in the game as well lmao. In the game when Vex picks up Grog he's surrounded by like 6 tightly packed enemies and I think at single digit HP.

[@bradleybarnett1469]

@Steven Bonnell this is one scenario where I don't believe Matt didn't fudge the rolls a bit. While Grog was downed, there is a 95% chance he was dropped to 0 as well as when he fell. But Rule of Cool trumps all, and unlike a normal DnD game, they're also trying to entertain

[@SoyDrinker]

@@bradleybarnett1469 What part exactly do you think he fudged? Do you think he fudged attack and damage rolls to not knock Grog unconcious? Grog was at like 4 HP after taking like 7-8 hits, and I don't think many of them missed. Also Grog did get downed when he fell, he just got healed after it. Or do you think he fudged the numbers to give Grog the killing blow? Kevdak was right on the verge of death and got healed for 70 HP, and then the party hit him for 73 damage, and then Grog got a massive Brutal Critical crit on him.

[@High-LordHarza]

@@bradleybarnett1469 He didn't fudge any rolls, IIRC the guys surrounding Grog opportunity attacked Vex or had already used their reactions, and Grog couldn't be hit in that either. There was nothing to fudge.

[@happyninja42]

@@High-LordHarza Even if he did fudge, who cares? I'd probably chalk it up to "yeah they're both barbarians, barbarians frequently have temp hitpoints from rage, and often have that extra perk of "I don't fall down dead until I'm THIS dead" kind of perks to being under the effects of rage.

[@Styder111]

That "Fuck Yeah!" from Travis in the animated rang to the core. You can so tell he had a blast voicing Grog this season!

[@bessieburnet9816]

Always one of my favourite HDYWDTs. I literally yelled "FOR STRONGJAW" alongside Grog, it's so epic!

[@BigKlingy]

Hi, wasn't expecting to see you here.

[@StrawHatBobert]

It was one of those memories that came rushing back when watching legend of vox and i did the same. D&D is the best and im glad they were able to animate this.

[@luisernestochaconguerrero778]

0:28 man I love how happy is Matt when she says this like he was "Wow that so creative!"

[@olavtetteroo4204]

Yeah I think it’s important for a lot of DM’s to realise it’s not necessarily you vs the party. You’re making a story together, so if someone wants to do something creative it’s fine to go along with it.

[@geoshark12]

​@@olavtetteroo4204 though matt also knows when to put his foot down and say no

[@olavtetteroo4204]

@@geoshark12 of course, hardship is a part of a good story

[@michiganrailfan2141]

@@ChrisTay229 Sometimes I wonder how close Kevdak actually was to dying; Matt saw how creative and epic this sequence was and the fact that Travis rolled a nat 20, being a great story teller gave Grog the kill.

[@override367]

@@olavtetteroo4204 last session of my drakkenheim game, we had a true resurrection scroll we found in a holy place hidden within this temple, later we find the villain is raising an ancient gold dragon as undead to serve her, we have to fight a shadow of the dragon while she does her ritual. On my turn I use the scroll, 23 on spellcasting check, on its skeleton. the dm was just like .... ....... okay so this boss fight is over ......okay this fucks my plans fuck my plan this is so cool, the dragon, in a flash of holy light is already in the air screaming for vegeance even before his body is fully restored, he leaps madly onto the dark shadow extracted from his essence and begins ripping and tearing it to pieces Villain is like "Aw...fuck"

[@BenGally00]

I feel like in that moment, kevdak could have had 150 hp left on Matts side of the screen, but there was no way he was letting that not be the killing blow

[@michiganrailfan2141]

I thought the same thing. Matt is one of those DMs who looks at thing from the cinematic lense. Everything that led up to it, Laura's idea to put Grog in the locket then release him above Kevdak. Travis rolling a nat 20. Matt looked at it and had to have been like "This is an epic ending to an epic fight.

[@DRACONAR1US]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure Kevdak "died" the moment that natural 20 was rolled, if Matt's reaction to it was any indication. 😂

[@thundererodinson1668]

As a DM...I've did that once or twice..sometimes , something is just to badass to not give them the full experience.

[@belindaluna2067]

Matt made a point of saying if Grog had fallen in battle the rest of the herd was just going to keep cutting him up into pieces so...safe to say he had an idea of what would happen if Grog didn't kill Kevdak with that move.

[@JESK-rh1tw]

@@thundererodinson1668Agreed. I had a low level fight where one of the players didn’t have a ranged option but was never going to win in a toe to toe contest with the ogre. He climbed up to the second floor of the building they were in, yelled to everyone to get clear, then brought a massive chandelier down on the ogre’s head. This was a new player in only his second session of D&D. As the DM I immediately went (internally) “Damn the HP, you’re getting the killing blow.” Rule of Cool trumps all.

[@dylanharrison9597]

I love how in the animation Vex asks Grog if he wants to do something crazy and his FUCK YEA being the "if they're willing" consent to go in the trinket.

[@TieflingKumasi]

The look on Matt’s face when Laura said he wanted to put Grog in the locket was brilliant.

[@rory8182]

that was the "I had a plan for this villain in the future, guess they die cool instead"

[@CrownofMischief]

I feel like clips like this are a good way to show just how much can be condensed. People wonder how a bunch of 4 hour sessions can be reduced so much, and while there are certainly bits that have been outright cut, there are some that are basically a complete recreation but a 4 min 18 sec clip is reduced to 1 min 7 sec because all the descriptions and scene setting are able to just be shown.

[@gtv4005]

This is especially true for combat. 1 minute of combat can take hours out-of-character to play out.

[@Peter_Cordes]

@@gtv4005 - 10 rounds (60 seconds) of combat would be a marathon, taking *many* hours with this many players.

[@gtv4005]

@@Peter_Cordes Yeah. I've been in a party with this many players before, and we were all new. Marathon is an understatement. Was napping in between turns.

[@carso1500]

@@gtv4005 literaly 1 round of combat is just 6 seconds, a 10 round combat is just like 1 minute of real life action, and those fights can take hours

[@kobold_sushi_executive_chef]

Dealing damage by sacrificing health, the true barbarian class resource

[@garbagefae]

and just after this, matt admits that if anyone else had killed Kevdak the fighting wouldn't have stopped. It HAD to be Grog to make the final blow. I watched this live and I wept when I saw it animated.

[@nateb7804]

Right there with you! There have been many moments where tears of joy have been streaming down my face watching this show, then again watching the cartoon!

[@wafflingmean4477]

And I love how Matt confirmed if Vex didn't medivac Grog the whole herd was gone to keep firing arrows until he was dead. They wouldn't have stopped at death saves. Everything was so clutch.

[@kirstylister1341]

It was a very historical moment in critical role and dnd

[@eJw2742]

It's insane to see how a shared story can make grown-ups enthused by a dice roll.

[@eliasroos7185]

I love the expression Matt makes when he realizes what she's doing. You can see him think "OH HOLY SHIT" when he puts the pieces together

[@TheShiningGuardian]

I will never get over Matt's face in this moment. The absolute joy in his eyes as his friends cheer their victory. This moment is so freaking awesome for the story and the game, but Matt's reaction is a reminder of why I love DMing for my friends.

[@YAH93]

Tell me about it. I had this once too in Dragon of Icespire Peak, when the Paladin smited the Dragon for the killing blow after it gave them a rough fight, almost kiling the druid and the wizard.

[@jonadamson1201]

The only thing more frightening than a Krogan Airdrop is a Grog Airdrop

[@JnEricsonx]

Then you just hear "heh heh heh....." Grunt would approve.

[@dingus4260]

The absolutely explosive cheering 2:44 just makes me think how excellent and powerful a good DM is to DnD

[@IceMetalPunk]

Travis Willing-to-go-HAM everyone. And Laura "Smarter Than the DM" Bailey 😂

[@calebmorrison1538]

Peak power couple.

[@dicksonmeister1992]

Yeah, just like when she outsmarted him using the Dust of Deliciousness as Jester. That was just pure chaotic brilliance

[@RoninXDarknight]

One of, if not, my favorite fight in campaign 1 and they totally did it justice. Only thing I wish they did a bit better in the animated series was to show exactly how messed up everyone else was aside from Vax...and maybe Keyleth, iirc, because this was seriously close to a TPK in the original campaign. Aside from the epic Grog & Vex HDYWDT, the entire fight was pretty spectacular: Grog's 1v1 w/Kevdak before calling on the rest of VM for help; Percy nearly amputating Kevdak's arm from range; Vax weaving around the battlefield like a friggin blur; Scanlan getting a clutch Hold Person off on Greenbeard; Pike tanking multiple enemies at once. And even though Keyleth wasn't particularly effective in this fight due to crappy rolls, she tried some crazy stuff as well. If there was one battle to sum up the pure chaos of VM, this is definitely the one.

[@Reblwitoutacause]

Also should have included Scanlan's mistake in the fight. . .

[@frostreaper1607]

Percy falling of the roof and still doing enough damage nullifying the massive heal Kevdak got from Greenbeard was one hell of a tense moment.

[@michaelgrey1503]

And keeping the title "The Kill Box" when they could have used something more cinematic. I remember seeing the title of the next episode on Prime at the time and getting so giddy because I knew what fight was coming up.

[@bayouboigaming]

I honestly cannot believe how accurately this was translated.

[@speed150mph]

I gotta say, I love this. Before Vox Machina, I heard of DnD but never saw it played before. I’ve only now started watching the campaign and have truly fallen in love with it. It’s like reading a good book, but your on the edge of your seat because you want to see what happens next, but deep down you know it’s not like a book where your can kinda guess the plot. You have no clue what’s going to happen because they have no idea what’s going to happen. The fates of the characters rest with the ingenuity of the players and the luck of the dice.

[@pierluigidipietro8097]

the magic of RpG

[@garethrobertson5502]

I'm so happy how well this played out, Vex's SHOW HIM WHO YOU ARE! Gives me goosebumps. Just over all a perfect scene

[@aboyle524]

I love Liam holding his arms out with the look of glee on his face just before Matt says hdywtdt. He’s like “give it to me”.

[@Vampandamonium]

2:42

[@ghillieassassin8419]

Trinket having someone's arm in his mouth with that person on the ground and they both stop mid maul to witness what happens is hilarious.

[@shannonwatson8023]

The “show him who you are” was the best part tho!!

[@jackdog06]

I will never not love Matt’s realisation moment when Laura clarifies at the start

[@StrawHatBobert]

Ashley standing up and yelling “FUCK YOU!” is so wonderful. I actually yelled with Grog “FOR…STRONGJAW!!!” With the show and it was an amazing experience

[@myriadworlds8434]

The joy and excitement at that nat20 and them Matt saying "how do you want to do this" is always amazing, love these guys.

[@jlensher]

The entire party knew what was up the entire time - it took Matt until 1:39 to realise what they were up too. Peak DnD Group Brain

[@aBrokenShard]

I remember this moment vividly. What a way to conclude your character arc! That whole fight Grog was behind and it did not look like he could win it......until Laura pulled out this absolute crazy stunt and Travis rolled a Nat 20 to boot! Epic. Got to love how faithful they stayed to it the series. I mean why would you change a single thing anyway.

[@davidwilliams4837]

Freaking amazing gameplay. The joy and relief is incredible. Why we tell stories to begin with, and better to SHARE "creating" them with your friends. Definitely why we play. I love that Matt got happy and excited as well. I GM and these are my favorite moments; the unexpected brilliance of the players. Makes it so much more fun.

[@LydiaTereK]

*P O E T I C J U S T I C E!!!!*

[@Keltain]

My mom, who was not a critter, didn’t believe me when I said they didn’t write this for the show. The joy in my critter heart when I got to tell her about watching to happen live all those years ago… The series has really made her understand why my Thursday nights are so special to me

[@YAH93]

Matts delayed reaction on Lauras plan was just too f-ing good.

[@Wavypringles7745]

Anything that Matt doesn’t expect is always funny

[@ZarMationStudios18]

"1's and 20's man, you gotta stop this!"

[@DavidGonzalez-zl3dz]

I did kind of miss Vex being all fucked up on the way there. A few of the herd got swings on her as she went by. Like she fully could've been knocked out on the way down and out

[@youshallnotpass567]

This is one of my favorite C1 moments it’s so fucking good!

[@Sp3llmen]

Its moments like this where a nat 20, regardless of hit points, should be a kill. I will forever allow my players to get kills if the moment is just too badass to say "oh hes still alive tho with 14 hp thats too bad huh"

[@oldfrend]

season 1 was ok but season 2 my mind was blown pretty much the whole time. so good.

[@lazyliam7402]

Watching this happen on the animated show I remembered this day like it was yesterday. So many nostalgic moments. I loved it all so much!

[@kherubim1]

"And I sink the ack right into his nex"😄

[@Reblwitoutacause]

Adrenaline is a helluva drug!

[@MavHunterAA]

Damn, while this is always impressive, I JUST realized that when Travis is describing the HDYWTDT moment, he says, in the most Grog way possible, that "I sink the ACK right into his NEX" and now I can't decide if it was an accident from excitement, or a deliberate in character choice. Well fucking played Mr. Willingham

[@alexandra9825]

I just finished watching C1 and this is still one of the coolest and craziest moments from the whole campaign, just had to watch it again

[@rgractor]

Talisen’s faith in dice gods is solidified in this moment.

[@shadowreaper2011]

Vex: "Grog wanna try something crazy?" Grog: with absolute no hesitation "FUCK YEA"

[@yalemiller8121]

One of the best moments in all of critical role

[@demonchildDLC]

I get chills everytime. I said "get him, Grogy" right as he was dropping on Kevdak.

[@saphari22]

If there's a top ten HDYWTDT moments from campaign one, THIS RIGHT HER IS MY NUMBER 1! Original stream or LoVM, just 😚👌

[@manvites]

This is def in my top 2, but I always go back to the search for grog 2 nat 20's and Travis getting that 130+ dmg to get the killing blow

[@6fiend]

@@manvites so many epic HDYWTDT to choose from, but that one from the search for Grog is definitely right up there!

[@Peter_Cordes]

Part of the reason this one's at the top is that the party gambled everything to go all-in on the fight in general, and then on this specific attack since Grog would be knocked unconscious by the fall damage whether he hit or missed. If anyone other than Grog had gotten the killing blow on Kevdak, the herd wouldn't have stopped fighting, since it was Grog that issued the challenge. Possible TPK except for those who can stealth very well or fly (wildshape with a passenger if kiki had any uses left?), and could very easily have been at least one character death as they tried to escape / retreat. If so, they'd have to sneak back in after a long rest to try to recover the corpse for a Raise Dead, if the corpse was still intact.

[@henryknippling2408]

⁠​⁠@@6fiendwhat does that acronym mean?

[@6fiend]

@@henryknippling2408 How Do You Want To Do This?

[@dariusdurandal7501]

They basically dropped a grogbomb 🤣

[@ajaguar27]

I keep rewatching this scene in TLOVM and I cry every single time. It's so, so, so good. The whole episode is just gorgeously and lovingly done.

[@draith1793]

One of the most bad ass moments from a bad ass character… STRONGJAW!!!

[@mikewilson8145]

I had a situation a little similar to this when I was in a small group. My character was half drow half wood elf, godly dexterity and wielded two katanas. Our party was being surrounded by bad guys but I heard and saw them. I was able to pick out the leader, sprinted toward him and as he brought up his weapon, I preformed a flip-twist draw one of my swords and as I landed, I rested my sword on the leaders shoulder with the cutting edge pinned against the throat of the leader. It was a natural 20 with plus 9 for intimidation. I wish I had the time and the popularity to play with these amazing people. Not to mention it would give headway to the Drizzt tales.

[@Rangerderp22]

One of my favorite things in my campaign is when my players are in a sketchy situation and one of them says, “remember that time on Critical Role?” And the whole table looks up like, “oh lord…we’re about to do something crazy” 😂

[@jgillesen]

Incredible freeze-frame at 2:46

[@mattallen5335]

Watching the campaigns here and then watching the show is like reading the book and watching the movie

[@antonionunez3759]

One of the greatest moments from campaign one and the animated series!!!

[@j-dawg4774]

2:28 Ashley's inner Ellie

[@LameryLame]

this was the best moment in the animated series so far

[@Kalah_]

I remember this fight - still my favourite of Campaign 1. Scanlan MVP and Vex genius at the end. :D

[@brendanjewels4889]

Grog killing Kevdak will always be my favorite Critical Role moment

[@danielstephens1185]

I sometimes wonder what Kevdak thought right before impact as he sees Grog hurtling down at him. "What in...oh...s**t!"

[@Mafke]

Favorite episode so far

[@RenaissanceM]

Never before has a scene been so perfectly realized. 😂👍

[@orangeknight2441]

Absolute chills

[@Rygat]

4:45 TACTICAL NUKE, INCOMING

[@HollowedCero]

such a sick moment i love it.

[@jakisz]

That was a good episode.

[@zacharybigger4144]

This was a glorious fight on critical role, and s glorious fight on LVM

[@0saintclark0]

Probably the best HDYWTDT moment in all of critical role.

[@Henbot]

Voice acting top notch

[@isaacfrentheway4416]

The almighty power that is, a nat 20.

[@Voltie_]

I remember watching this scene in tears, the Kevdak fight is still (up to c2 ep50 so far) the best dnd fight i've ever had the pleasure to witness

[@ApatheticGod0]

4:34 it didn’t make sense to me for a second how grogwas holding the guy 😊back, but he’s pushing against the man’ left forearm, a good way to indicate heks on low health (as it’s not a game and he doesn’t have hip so to speak) as the man could at any moment move his arm and instantly kill grog. Nice detail

[@Run1tBackTV]

I love FOR STRONGJAWWWW!!! that moment chef's kiss

[@davidwilliams4837]

Travis [Grog] should open a "Clutch 20" brand. The end of the Search for Grog he does it twice, if I remember correctly. Moments like these, shared with great friends, last forever.

[@et3inuyasha]

That "oh" from Matt.

[@Leach-ez7dq]

Disappointed they didn't use Matt's description of Kevdak and have his ear cut off and cheekbone/jaw exposed.

[@albertelias4664]

Same but it was still well done

[@craigwilson2212]

I imagine they tried to keep it in, but it may have been a little bit much for the animators. They've talked about trying to keep a much cannon in the show but somethings they just can't keep.

[@frenchtantan]

Looking back, it's probably an animation choice to best transcribe Kevdak's anger from losing. It's more cathartic that way imo, his clenched teeth show perfectly that mix of rage and pain, with a hint of fear. It would be harder to transcribe that with an exposed jaw methinks, at least in animation form.

[@remingtonwright6796]

Just call Vex the Night Witch.

[@chrisgoldston9755]

Still perfection 😎🤘🔥

[@imthepariah160]

Epic!

[@MarioMan2010]

I did this with my barbarian friend except I was a dragon in dive bombing mode with him as my payload With the cleric on my back in case he died.

[@wwpdmedia]

Anyone noticed there Grog does the 'fist reload' from Henry Cavill in Mission Impossible, after raging? Or am I imagining it? If it is real, epic nod to the nerd Cavill is 😉

[@yew2oob954]

Vex be like....Grog....I....choose....YOU!!! PokeGrog

[@krzysztofwrona2426]

I mean - he even said his name "Strongjaw" lika a good pokemon...

[@simonsayz3925]

please continue this as ive watched vox machina but not the critical role ttrp yet. great wor ty!

[@davidebrindisi925]

Absolutely brilliant!! When crazy cool actions are rewarded with good rolls it's the best feeling ever

[@Christian_Luczejko]

At the start of the video, I was trying to figure out why Laura‘s hair was so big. I was looking at all the rest to see if they were in 70s costumes. It was just the background. 🤦‍♂️

[@RickeGnool]

Ashley yelling ''F*ck You!''. Always make me laugh.

[@Hulkindex]

Ashley hugging travis is so cute 😂

[@ndstumme]

FYI, description is incorrect. This is from Episode 52, not 55. The later is the Umbrasyl fight.

[@BlackHeartsHope]

Probably the best kill in DnD history

[@dnf-dead]

Epic move

[@AVJHalonen]

Coming out of a magic necklace, dropping 50 feet into the enemy to do an attack while at death's door isn't reckless... that's 4d20 take the highest reckless.

[@Artahe]

So Vex turned Grog into a pokemon?

[@sarahgilliss3503]

Vex: Grog! I choose you! Grog: (Appears) Vex: Use Breaking Swipe! Grog: (Gets a critical hit for maximum damage.) Kevdak: (Hits 0 HP and faints.)

[@GothicOctopus]

We don’t deserve Travis

[@gerettdiamond]

Even if you watch the shows, give the podcast(?) a listen. It of course gives more details and things are slightly different. Im loving both