High Rollers: Aerois #50 | A Desperate Escape

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One minute until all power in the astral citadel goes out and the team are trapped in space forever...will they make it home?
Costumes!
Tom: A Happy Few from We Happy Few
Rhi: Rogue from X-Men
Mark: Rinoa from Final Fantasy 8
Katie: Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter
Kim: Billy from Stranger Things
Trott: Thor from Avengers: Endgame
Browse Aerois chapters here: tinyurl.com/Ae...
Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound
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High Rollers is a 5e DnD campaign that streams every Sunday at 5pm UK on / highrollersdnd
DM: Mark "Sherlock" Hulmes - / sherlock_hulmes
Aila: Katie Morrison - / littlenommer
Lucius: Chris Trott - / trottimus
Nova: Kim Richards - / nanosounds
Sentry: Rhiannon Gower - / rhiannonjgower
Quill: Tom Hazell - / amadeusfink
Twitch: / highrollersdnd
Twitter: / highrollersdnd
Podcast: tinyurl.com/hi...
Patreon: / highrollers
Merch Store: freshmerch.fm/...
Use the code HIGHROLLERS for 10% off all merch!

[@imadethiscomment5663]

"Who is that beautif--OH GOD IT'S MARK!!!"

[@zoro115-s6b]

I think it's interesting that, with how emotively Rhiannon plays Sentry, it's easy to forget that the character doesn't actually have facial expressions. It most be odd, in universe, to be interacting with this very emotional character who's face is completely motionless. It's literally just a metal mask affixed to her head.

[@christianmoss6464]

Sayer Glasgow I know canonically she doesn’t have expressions, but I always imagine the metal like magically moves when she speaks

[@Addy0302]

Luna Lovegood swearing in a full-on Scottish accent is just a MOOD

[@Deelusi]

First, Rhiannon's costume is cute. Suits her. Next, WHAT IN THE SEVEN WORLD IS THAT MARK??? I SPIT MY COFFEE CAUSE THAT IS GORGEOUSLY BEAUTIFUL WHAMEN!

[@cerberv5040]

What are you saying?! That’s not Michael Jackson?!

[@Deelusi]

@@cerberv5040 Huh... now I can't unsee that :v

[@Kicksticks]

But late but if you stil, dont know he's dress up as Rinoa from FFVIII

[@Trigun99]

Rhi is contagiously optimistic, and I love how she complements all the cool stuff that Mark does.

[@weaponizedcynicism8021]

If you've seen crit role she reminds me of Travis (Grog/Fjord).

[@seraphlord]

so happy to see chris cosplaying as cam

[@samavatar7208]

You have no idea how hard I lost it when I read this

[@seraphlord]

@@samavatar7208 happy to help XD

[@matthewjeremy6887]

And that intro is why we all love rhiannon

[@freakyskull516]

ah, mark~ hints at being a furry all year then dresses in drag for halloween never change.

[@Mrbeardable]

Wow, Rhiannons panicked RP following sentries shutdown actually spooked me momentarily. Great stuff!

[@TheGuzdar]

kim looks like one of the professional poker players tring to hide all her tells

[@DemTacs]

Smoly hoaks. I forgot how femine Mark looks without beard. Good Job, Nina. 😂

[@IconicDudee]

thats not a nice thing to say lol

[@theveryaveragegamer9865]

I was thinking the reverse for kim, that gotye was very realistic.

[@caityreads8070]

@@IconicDudee what's not nice about it?

[@ticozayas6430]

Everyone looks great but i have to call out 2 of you, Rhiannon as 90's Rogue makes my heart so happy and it suits her so well, and Mark this may not top the shock of bowsette but well done you make a very pretty lady

[@greymadness1419]

This was probably the best episode in this campaign ever.

[@lazypaladin]

I know I'm very late: But seeing the comments *Not have a go at Mark for allowing the Lightning Lure* warms my heart. This is what I love to see with DMs! Story and Characters over Game Mechanics within specific circumstances!

[@abigailfoust1079]

18:30 I've never seen anyone use a legendary action to use visious mockery, and I still want to know what she said!

[@hannahbobanana]

Also crying at how much aila has helped lucius with the rope

[@arcticbanana66]

From Mark's description of how Nova's arm feels, I'm imagining that numb useless feeling you get in your arm or leg after it falls asleep but before it starts tingling. Something I thought of (possible spoiler if you haven't watched the episode (and if you haven't, why are you reading the comments? Scroll back up there and get on that!)), but after they defeated all the threats, could Nova have gone back downstairs, put Tiangong in the thing to power up the station, then taken him out again, resetting their time limit to escape? I suppose that might only have worked _before_ making the deal with ILS though.

[@spaceslime21]

That was my thought process

[@yoshimario40]

Oh my god. I feel like my heart was about to explode the entire 3 hours of this session. For a great number of reasons.

[@keeperscripts]

I'm liking for the pure fact of the gang all being in costume. It's great!

[@elldarr_9135]

Spoilers! I might sound like a bad person, but honestly I am incredibly excited to see permanent and unique damage/change being dealt to the characters. It helps them grow as people and forces them to learn new things to overcome their disabilities! The fact that quill learned fly and can now fly like the other aracocras us wonderful, could he perhaps use this to get through the valley of storms, reconnect with the messenger guild, and complete hus quest for Hesper?! Nova might either learn some cool new dark powers by using her arm, or perhaps will have to chop it off and make a fully mechanical arm which imo would be so cool and useful for her, being the resourceful girl she is. Sentry getting old is really cool as an element of stress, it might take them to the prime where who knows what powers she could unlock! Lucious has grown the most mentally out of all of them imo, the fact that he was ready to give it all up to save his friends was so touching, and then afterwards contemplating it like a grown up, concluding he wants to keep going!! And Aila discovering more about her past and the mystery of her connection to Aegis 5 is so cool! Could this explain her powers, her origin, and could it be a way to break the ever so stable and stubborn Aila? Could it open up a new more emotionally connected side?? Aaah thinking about all of this makes me all giddy!! This is probably my most loved series of all time, and that's in comparison to giants like doctor who and attack on titan. I've never felt so invested! Thank you all for everything so far, and I look forward to everything Aerois in the future! Take care, love from a random fangirl in Sweden.

[@thefracturedbutwhole5475]

Fly lasts 10 minutes, Aarokokra can fly all day (if they have both wings) . . . . . Quil needs to regenerate (which is a spell) his wing. also quip didn't learn fly the bandore/ring has spells in it, fly is one of them.

[@elldarr_9135]

The Fractured But Whole oh really? I thought fly lasted for hours! Ah well there goes my dream of birb Boi flying freely again :(

[@robertchamp2268]

@@elldarr_9135 He still can, just needs to get his wing regenerated and if they went back to Vokskar(?) it probably can be considering theres a druid there called the Shepherd and maybe has the spell.

[@IcepersonYT]

ElldarR_ in fact not only can he fly again, he can actually fly faster than Aarokocra naturally can. Albeit now consuming resources and being limited duration.

[@RisaxTheImp]

End of break 1:26:11

[@steampunkdemons]

🎼 A little bit o' starbane in my life 🎼

[@keit99]

Man what an amazing episode. Here are some timestamps for people who are late like me and want to catch up quickly 7:27 Dun Dun 8:26 Episode start and recap 9:53 recap ends 1:20:10 break starts 1:26:08 break ends 2:35:30 episode end and donos

[@katcyer26]

Thank you :D

[@arkmediaproductions419]

from a man in the far flung future of 2024 thank you for your service O7

[@alib.6972]

When Tom cast another spell when concentrating, I felt that within my bones man. My BG3 experience in a nutshell LOL.

[@ericaheathrow7085]

Costumes look awesome ^.^ A particularly convincing Rinoa, hehe. I showed some of the earlier pictures to one of my partners and she had no idea who it was underneath, and was shocked when I told her. Great work, Mark, and great work everyone ^.^ Very exciting session, and I do hope all the players are having fun with this - they certainly seem to be, which is great. I'm excited to see more of the story unfold and reveal itself as we go! Got to say, though, as a viewer... I dunno... to me it felt like an uncomfortable number of strongly DM-vs-Players moments - the fly issue was very suddenly taken-and-run-with, with no hint of a chance for the player to think about it, in what was really a 'you know your own spells' moment. The players are used to "Just remember, you can't..." type reminders, and responding with "oh, right, well I certainly don't do that.. let's see, I...." whereas for all the multitude of things going on and other stuff that was being managed (With numerous dm-ignores-player's-efforts, and not rectifying them, being chalked up to having too much to manage), it really felt like the DM was just waiting, *gleefully*, to pounce on this, and punish the player... It didn't feel good, *at all*... There's actually been rather a lot of things, in the recent series of episodes, that have come across that way - very DM-vs-Players, and the continuous scatterings of things that have just been abjectly unfair towards the players have really impacted my enjoyment of watching.

[@peng_ting1331]

Erica Heathrow I get how you feel. But I think with the gravitas of the situation that it was almost poetic what happened there.

[@danceswithdirt7197]

Mark is so much about character-building that he likes to inspire his players to keep building new characters. ;)

[@Jopsyduck]

I'm loving Aila in this episode.

[@arcticwiz2249]

Tom just freaking out in the background during the break. Lezz go

[@daveawesomesauce772]

Hulmes, you're a great looking gal, man.

[@SherlockHulmes]

Dave Awesomesauce This is nice comment :) thanks!

[@nathangoodson7390]

I'm loving the costumes tonight. I can't stop sending screenshots of "Billy" to my friends. That being said, due to my own identity, I'm oddly appreciating Mark's costume. Everyone worked hard and I appreciate that.

[@WhiteTigerfly]

Love the costume Mark, Captain Marvel costume is excellent Trott. Always keep up the nail biting content

[@mr-boo]

Mark, holy crap man! I'm loving the drama you are putting your friends and us through. Please be gentle next episode, I don't think our hearts can take another one :D. Looking forward to Kim and you working out the after-effects to Nova. I love the creativity both of you invest into the world and storyline. It really helps me to connect with all the characters. That including Tom despite managing not once, but twice to cast a spell while he's concentrating on staying in the air and the first time nearly killing him... :P

[@MorinehtarTheBlue]

On one hand I like that Mark takes the hardline and makes them play out their mistakes. On the other hand though I can't credit that kind of interpretation of the Concentration mechanic. If you are supposed to concentrating on the spell to keep it intact it just doesn't make sense that the character can forget even the player does. So there is a break in the immersion because the simulation of what should actually happen isn't proper.

[@WHITEKNIGHT95]

I was really sad after binge watching 49 episodes is 2 weeks and I had thought it had ended until this one came out so I know content is still coming which is great. Thanks guys and gals for the great content. Keep it up looking forward to the gust cave haha

[@mr-boo]

I did the same for the Lightfall campaign, no regrets on how I spent those two weeks holidays :D Have been following ever since, so I'm sure you'll enjoy your stay!

[@thefracturedbutwhole5475]

One of them needs to learn dimension door, spider climb, fly (as a known spell, not a once a day use magic item), something to help them move, thunder-step is okay but it can harm your allies in situation like these.

[@witchcess]

honestly i almsot cried here, chris/lucuius part where he spoke to sentry really got me i loved that so muhc

[@froghat17]

I swear quill had a slow falling token from the sky city or am I miss remembering

[@matan8074]

Yes he does

[@LukeLosiPfleger]

The God King not the first time they’ve forgotten items in key moments...

[@gregorflett6642]

It just slows your fall he would have still died

[@RonquixoteDIII]

They were still falling at 100 ft per round since to lowered gravity so they’d be the same either way

[@joshleape6338]

Mark looks like one of my mum’s friend’s 😂 I love all of these costumes!

[@ErikBPG]

I love how Mark can be so evil, yet so creative and rewarding, MAN that was tough but soo good.

[@hellotobi2245]

I know im so late but I just wanted to say I admired how heroic Nova was even at the cost of her own arm. Good job 👏

[@cam-the-bassist]

Love how you used 40k Tau miniatures for the drones!

[@hannahbobanana]

When is lucius going to remember his dichromancy happens when he casts an acid or cold spell

[@MrKenpachi28]

TFW You've only just discovered the world of Aerois (only on ep 8!) but HAD to click on the thumbnail...will re-watch this in the future (echo) future, fu...ture, fu...ture.

[@levicooper4529]

Mark Bedford ah yes, another on the journey

[@arcticwiz2249]

Damn, Mark Sherlock Hulmes. You better make a review of this episode, like in ep 25.

[@RobAllenB]

Ah, the incredible tension and drama contrasting with the silly costumes, pure gold.

[@sebastiangibbs1829]

I love these guys and it's great to see a british DnD stream coming along so well but guys...... its "MATHS"

[@themothman4935]

I just woke up and this is the first thing I see I literally Wheezing lmao

[@GwydionAE]

Rhiannon as Rogue is amazing and adorable, and love Katie as Luna and Chris as Thor - I mean, "Scarlet Witch" as well, lol. Admittedly don't know who Kim or Tom are, but nice being able to see all the costumes at the front of this (even if I am jealous of how smooth Mark's legs look XD). How fun!

[@oscarvissers2563]

Am I the only one who thought from the thumbnail that Mark was dressed up as Nina? XD

[@xininjaaix7873]

I do have to admit, Mr Hulmes looks attractive as hell, Good job Nina

[@blackh9604]

"I will be tired, and therefore, angry."

[@Human_Angel_Dust]

Hey High Rollers! Happy Halloween from USA! I've been a fan of yours since the first campaign LightFall. Keep up the good work and never stop being the funny, wacky and awesome DnD players that everyone loves!

[@lincolnsummers1235]

I am just returning to what I think is the best episode of Aerois so far :)

[@naraferalina2308]

Kim is always amazing. Bless her.

[@valasafantastic1055]

Run! The answer is obviously run! Just run! Also pay attention to concentration! Mark you look great, beautiful costume! Also all the costumes are good.

[@ThomasGiles]

I know it's a common way of handling Concentration, and this is how the table rules, and so on. For me though, it is absolutely absurd to imagine a person could be concentrating on anything and somehow forget they are concentrating on it. Like... imagine you're Ethan Hunt defusing a bomb. You're concentrating on tracing a wire to figure out if cutting it will blow you up or not. Then you forget you're looking at a wire. WHAT??! Now imagine you're flying over a drop into infinite space, and you're concentrating on a fly spell to make sure you don't drop into oblivion. Concentrating. As in, exerting constant mental energy into making sure you don't die. Similar to saying over and over "think happy thoughts, think happy thoughts, think happy thoughts," terrified that if you stop, your life will be over. How are you possibly forgetting that? That's the ONLY THING IN YOUR HEAD! Maybe that's not really what is going on, and somehow the idea of forgetting that you're constantly casting this spell makes sense. But then why is it called "Concentration"?? Call it something else!

[@archonmegas3718]

That was some great story telling mark! The tension was delightfully palpable. The team worked hard, they earned every bit of that bonus xp.

[@Incredibleluffy2]

This episode: A Desperate Escape Next Episode: Part of the Team Me: 54:57, way to emotionally invested, D:, Can you see my terror???

[@rozu7772]

Mark, there are no words. Not in a bad way though.

[@rozu7772]

Take your Joy! Take your Joy! Take your Joy! Take your Joy!

[@ericplascencia1225]

Rhiannon is incredibly adorable. Every week I my crush on her grows. Thank you high rollers for getting me back into dnd, haven’t played in 15 years and now playing twice a week! Thanks for doing what you do and making the best dnd campaign to watch. I truly look forward to you guys every week :)

[@sagas3216]

"you've cast this spell before, you know it's not this long" I guess lucius is just more well-endowed 🤭

[@skeletalarkeus5728]

Mark is so evil and I love it lmao. Such a good episode been on the edge of my seat the entire time.

[@grothus00]

Nova is giving me serious Gon Freecs vibes. She did a thing that sacrificed her life force shriveled up, and then when Aila looked at her arm it was like the scene where Killua sees his unwrapped arm and gets the big sad.

[@Lockz1111]

I know this is super late but a did notice a pretty harmful mistake in the escape which is on Trott, lightning lure only does damage if the pull lands the creature within 5 feet of you. Quill should not have lost concentration on expeditious retreat Also when he had expeditious retreat he should have been going 60 feet. I believe Mark said 45

[@quinnsinclair7028]

"...the ILS mobile emitter." Please state the nature of the medical emergency.

[@HighRollersDnD]

THANK YOU! ONE YEAR AND NO ONE ELSE PICKED UP ON IT - yours truly, Star Trek fan, Kim

[@TheObscureRambler]

Oh my lawdy lawd. :o Mark Hulmes should do drag. Semi-professionally? Professionally? What a phenomenal sight!

[@cald1421]

That clown face on old bird boy is fitting today. Silly bird caused that whole disaster

[@shikotanplays]

God damn it, Kim. You've got me in tears right now! I was so terrified Nova was going to die. Dont you ever scare me like that again! ;w;

[@davehenryjones9969]

Mark looks so much like Eddie izzard and it pleases me

[@zappypiglet6542]

I love all the outfits but kim looks so good!,im also really happy cause Luna!

[@pinkpixels8806]

So ironic that Tom, who constantly hinders his own team by reminding them of game rules, is the one asking the DM for a retcon when he makes a mistake 😂

[@TheKarateKid11838]

Wow hands together for this fucking episode that portal scene had me stressing what a fantastic episode rollers

[@SylviaDragon]

thumbs up for shaved legs! Spoilers: jesus *christ* its been a long time since something fictional has left me actually stressed with my heart pumping. I'm usually so far removed from these kinds of things, even when i try not to be. that was SUCH a stressful escape. they....they were not going to make it. that could have been a very easy tpk with the "good" outcome being minimal permanent deaths. it both broke my heart but drove home some great character development when Lucius told them to leave without him and then had to wrap his head around what almost happened afterwards. he has really grown up and become my favorite character. He can still be funny and goofy but when it comes down to it he has really matured and grown cunning. and Nova siphoning her life to give them the last six seconds they needed to escape? that was so! good! i was on the edge of the seat as the portal started flickering and am interested to see how her...injury? effects her now. and now Sentry is blacking out too? aahhhhh! so much at once i love it but im s t r e s s e d.

[@bill-1835]

Spoiler-free possibly useful timestamps: Intro video - 7:26 Recap - 8:27 Gameplay starts - 10:45 Break starts - 1:20:00 Break ends - 1:26:07 Gameplay Ends - 2:35:01 Fanart video - 2:39:52 (it is the same as the previous episode's)

[@DefZombie]

Holy Moly this episode was very high with intensity! Very awesome!

[@violetopal6264]

The ILS can teleport. Nova could have stayed behind, powered portal with taingong, and then used ILS to leave with tiangong. Could have wound up anywhere but still spicific to go to Aerios?

[@davidbusch383]

I had Red Dwarf vibes with "everybody's safe, Nova"

[@greetings1823]

Back on this episode of Nova grabs random Starbane tech that will inevitably screw the entire party.

[@jamesweaveriv524]

That was one of the most intense and exciting episodes since the beginning! Great teamwork guys! And awesome compassion from the DM! Definitely need more DM’s like you #Highrollers #MarkHulmes 👍 And the costumes were perfect!

[@Toxicoverlord17]

Me throughout this whole episode so far: AHHHHH

[@carlosgutierrez3918]

If Mark was not such a nice DM Lucious and Quill would have been jetisoned in space

[@Emmett--Draws]

1:03:27 ah, the joys of fighting undead with radiant damage.... but as soon as you are undead character, it's not so fun lol

[@alex16cole]

Holy mackerel. Unbelievably tense. Evil DM... but thats cool. Great great stuff guys.

[@tannebraevitus1222]

WHY IS MARK A SEXY WOMAN, BOWSETTE AND NOW THIS IS TOO MUCH

[@micahwilliams5854]

THE TEAM CLOSED THEIR FIRST DAEDRIC PORTAL!!! Lol

[@droogbear649]

So DM can forget things but PCs cant. The player might forget the spell would cause them to lose concentration but surely the character knows he would plummet to his death if he didnt hold concentration on flying

[@yennefer440]

Yeah that was mean

[@ronsherr1]

That's just Mark. 😶

[@krazykoala7329]

i am under a lot of stress watching this.

[@grothus00]

Eventually couldn't one of them learn regenerate to give Quill his wing back or did Mark say that wouldn't work? And yes I know it would take ages for them to get to 7th level spells, but maybe someone else in the world could cast it for them.

[@IcepersonYT]

Gavin Faciane Marks only change to healing spells is increasing their cost and also adding in his own special spells to deal with his specific injuries. So in theory as far as we know Regenerate would work. In fact it is entirely possible that Mark has made a different and new spell for healing limbs that they just have not encountered yet.

[@demilts]

Oof there were some harsh calls from the DM but still this was such a gripping episode. Had my heart racing and palms sweating.

[@robmb1ind]

Lucius - "Fly you fools!"

[@kyleweir689]

"I need a concentration post it" If only there was a sophisticated program running right in front of you that has all the information you need...

[@PaulStarhaven]

SPOILERS Cool costumes, sad about Nova ,worried about Sentry, props to Aila, Lucius and Sentry for doing amazingly in this fight, and Qillek, please remember concentration spells next time. The escape was honestly the most tense part about this episode and I was really worried for Lucius' and Qillek's safety, but he rope toss was an certainly interesting move. I wonder how the ILS crystal will be handled by the rest of the team and good luck on your journey. I have one question, what did Sansara (the Eladrin) insult Lucius with when she used Vicious Mockery?

[@alexanderhanke3169]

Ask the bloody ILS to shunt all power systems in the levels you are passed so that more of the remaining power is in the upper levels. It would buy you some extra time!

[@VIPGamer47]

8:26 for recap

[@shanemccausland958]

LMark doesnt allow retcons for forgetting something is concentration (your character wouldnt forget that but you might) but just completely makes something up to give lucius the range needed.

[@Kylesico912x]

Mark as Rinoa. I will never look at FFVIII the same ever again.

[@sussologist]

lol Aila probably is regretting selling that lighting cable launcher

[@HighWolnir]

Mark this is making me confused

[@ltmorningwood2146]

Ahhh... the return of the why boner.... with a VENGEANCE

[@grothus00]

@@ltmorningwood2146 hush alucard

[@cloudmaker7455]

Mark you were just looking for a reason to cross dress again weren't you 😂

[@thefracturedbutwhole5475]

My thoughts exactly

[@ShadowAtronach666]

Who cares if he does

[@analyticalhealth]

Yeah gross

[@AGrumpyPanda]

Imagine if this was Pathfinder, where one round's uncontrolled fall distance is approximately 500ft.

[@4shtia]

Actually it's also 500ft in D&D, but the reduced gravity slowed the fall by 5x

[@TheMartianSwinger]

yeah, it is 500 feet, but lowered gravity works out

[@AGrumpyPanda]

I see Mark maintains the strong British tradition of rocking out in drag.