Pitting the Big Bads Against Each Other! Vox Machina, Ep. 71 | Critical Role Demystified

[@SupergeekMike]

What’s the wildest plan your group has ever pulled off in a D&D game? Thanks so much to Dscryb for sponsoring this video! Visit dscryb.com/supergeek and use the code SUPERGEEK at checkout to get 10% off of your first subscription payment. dscryb.com/supergeek

[@pablosoria4071]

I ran a one shot in which they had to defend a super church from a Lich's army. Before the game, they talked about their strategy. I don't remember the full combo, but basically, between some Glyphs of Warding that the cleric said would have planted beforehand because it was their sanctum, animal shapes and a sheperd druid they summoned 16 awakened white mooses with buffed attack, damage and health to aid them. At that point, the one shot turned from "zombie survival" to Doom with a moose army by their side. That would be the last time I gave them prep time.

[@kylebeardsley6200]

You know, Larkin is able to turn invisible and summon green dragons. It would have been smart for them to hire Larkin again for later boss fights, and it's such a shame that they never looked for him again.

[@themicahnism]

If I had a nickel for every time Ashley Johnson accidentally summoned a white dragon by rolling a one, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t much but it’s weird that it happened twice.

[@MrDanlancelot]

Pretty sure she rolled an 8 to summon the 2nd one. But in either case, absolutely amazing that its her bad rolls that are always involved in such a specific event

[@Boundwithflame23]

Even weirder when you consider the two dragons are mates. Though I think specifically where Matt confirmed that is now lost to the internet ether due to circumstances. I think it’s been added to both wiki pages though.

[@mackdebruin999]

Overused jokes suck.

[@AristophMarloque]

"I ROLLED A DRAGON?!?!?!?" is still one of the greatest lines in all of Critical Role.

[@antimonyparanoia]

@@MrDanlancelot It was an 11, i just went back and checked, there was a subsequent roll of a d8 which was an 8 and caused the dragon.

[@Feeling_Better_Already]

Got me with that "Larkin disappears" bit, nice one

[@Argosentral-88]

What bit? He left the fight cause he knew he can’t handle a second dragon

[@GregMcNeish]

For the record, you undersold the rareness of a double-nat 1. It's actually 1-in-400. (1/20^2)

[@Robbedem]

Ashely rolleld with disadvantage, so it's more than 1/400. The one with disadvantage is 39/400, so the chance of both rolling ones on their stealth check becomes 39/8000. Almost 1/200. So he was pretty much correct.

[@mythtaker]

They see me Larkin, they hatin'

[@bristowski]

This is a good channel. This is a good series. I like Mike.

[@albinocyclopse9952]

This sounds....familiar somehow

[@Kri8aris]

The Master of Engagement has returned

[@stephendragonspawn6944]

I like Mike as well, and he’s cute too. IMO.

[@finlayames6216]

What is with the parties ally choices this fight? They chose to ally with a ancient green dragon who’s title shows how untrustworthy they are, being the “diseased deceiver” who is also clearly working them for her own angle.. and then there’s god damn Larkin who bails early as soon as it starts getting troublesome. Honestly guys.

[@gameraven13]

I loved the adaptation of this in Legend of Vox Machina. The heavy stadium jam soundtrack as soon as we see Yenk and Vorugal staring each other down as the dust settles is just so good.

[@turningintoacrazydolphin1211]

The episode of Matt playing with his dolls

[@JustinWPruett]

Sam, Ashley, and Liam not realizing who Larkin is makes a great case study for if I’m in a pleasant mood or not. If I’m in a bad mood it’s super irritating, like jeez guys are you purposely not paying attention? Should be super obvious. If I’m in a good mood it’s the funniest thing on the planet, these doofs really are oblivious sometimes. No harm, no foul. How you feel can greatly affect how you perceive things.

[@darknightt1248]

I think this is my favourite fight in the whole first season. It’s actually quite reminiscent of the Vecna fight later. The group has another member (who they are in partnership with) against a tough opponent. They only just get out with their lives. Love love love.

[@tonysladky8925]

Okay, but after 9:36 er... 9:50 er... 10:21 or... 10:56, there's no one left who's confused about Larkin is, right? So yesterday, we got a video starring Xenk. Today we get a video about Yenk. Is there a "Zenk" in something D&D-related that can play a major role in tomorrow's video?

[@SupergeekMike]

lol sadly my plan to do more videos this week got dashed by my baby’s teething pains! But I’ve got some very fun videos planned for the next couple of weeks ☺️

[@PlayWatch_616]

this won't even be the last time a roll from Ashley will cause a white dragon to appear

[@featherbaal5791]

Yeah I caught that too. Nice reference Mike!

[@TheLordofMetroids]

Matt needs to find a way for it to happen in C3 just for the hat trick.

[@sarahlanger2605]

Love the Larkin-meta-joke!

[@jesterlavorre6417]

you know, why am i not surprised mike is a theater kid? the venn diagram of stage management and dungeon mastering is nearly a circle

[@birdfurnace]

the quick "thank you 10" sent me flying back to high school theater

[@BlackOpMercyGaming]

"Thank you 10!" oh man, that brings me back... around 10 years ago i worked for a theatre company in Dallas Tx and we did Les Misérables, not to mention my community theatre days at UNT... i love that little wink to the industry you threw in there

[@j.bat.8235]

Oh boy, I was hoping Larkin showed up! They would have been doomed otherwise.

[@wolfox7776]

I do like watching Matt play with himsel-... Yeah I walked right into that one.

[@stephendragonspawn6944]

I like saying to my fellow gamer friends. That and « I like when we play with each other » LoL!

[@Anonymous_Individual]

I wish we could’ve seen Larkin more, he was my favorite side character and they just ditch him. Last I heard he was living in Vorugal’s den with whatever was left in the hoard.

[@theunfamousone2818]

thank you for the larkin bit

[@0Winkleson0]

One of my favorite fights of campaign one. Loved it! Greatwork Mike!

[@JoULove]

Yenk got yoinked

[@themonolougist]

Technically the avalanche was a 1 in a 400 anomaly. Rolling the same number twice on a d20 is pretty rare statistically, but the devil knows it happens way too frequently at my table.

[@Robbedem]

Ashely rolleld with disadvantage, so it's more than 1/400. The one with disadvantage is 39/400, so the chance of both rolling ones on their stealth check becomes 39/8000. Almost 1/200.

[@themonolougist]

@Robbedem That's...not how probability works you might be thinking odds(?) perhaps. A '1 in 400' chance here means that the probability of rolling the same number twice in a row only happens once every four hundred rolls statistically. Any number has the same chance of being rolled, on a d20 that's 1/20 = 0.5 (time a hundred is 5% and this is how you get the 1 in 20). If we roll twice, that's 1/20×1/20 = 0,0025 (times a hundred is 0.25% and 20 times 20 is 400 thus the 1 in 400). In this problem the disadvantage doesn't matter (you take the lower number when rolling disadvantage and Ashley rolled the lowest on the first d20: a 1, and Laura did too. 1/20×1/20

[@Robbedem]

@@themonolougist It seemed to me that the improbable avalanche was linked to both people trying to stealth rolling a one. In that case the disadvantage should be included in the probability calculation. If you want to know the chance for two ones (or any other number) in succession, then yes. It's just 1/400.

[@themonolougist]

@@Robbedem Not the chatgpt answer 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@TheLordofMetroids]

Everyone knows actual probably dies at a D&D table. The most satisfying/ annoying roll will always happen. This is known as the Wheaton -Beardsley curve.

[@TheWoomAndOnly]

Aww, Scanlan’s song to cast the Dominate Monster is one of my favorite Scanlan songs. I was hoping for that to be included, but I get it if copyright would have caused issues.

[@andywoods941]

Awesome to have the series back Mike

[@PyrotechNick77]

2:54 wow what a weird thing to say lmao. Surely this won't repeat again a couple years down the line. What is this foreshadowing you are speaking of /s Honestly though the white dragon fights in critical role have always been my favorite of the combats in the Series.

[@SupergeekMike]

Considering there are 3 white dragons just in Campaign 1 (one of them in a pre-stream game), I kinda think Matt really likes white dragons 😂😂😂

[@dolphin64575]

#LarkinWatch is back BAYBEE! Love your thoughts on ending the session, that's something I struggle with sometimes ❤

[@tomjordan1170]

This is one of my all time favourite CR fights, though I am slightly gutted you didn't include Scanlan's dominate monster song

[@Khailward]

#WhereIsLarkin

[@TheLordofMetroids]

So fun fact. This was the first episode of Critical Role I ever watched fully cought up. Its always held a special place in my heart for that.

[@Stephen-Fox]

I make it a little under half a percent given the disadvatnage, so 1 in 200 seems around right.

[@Robbedem]

The exact number is 39/8000. So yes, very close to 1/200.

[@under20over40]

Glad i rang the bell. Here super early!

[@jacobbrown9894]

Hearing Sarenrae threw me off since that’s literally my Pathfinder cleric’s goddess lol

[@nordicnugz]

Im not sure if I missed the point you're trying to make about how Pike joins the party. But it seems like you were really worked up about how that went down. It's difficult enough to come up with story reasons why (and how) player characters come and go from the party when players can't make sessions. Is it not good enough that Ashley rejoined the party in whatever way so that they can all just get back to playing the game? I feel like that's a totally acceptable thing to kind of hand wave away and not worry about.

[@OccidentalAvian]

The point is that Pike could've just been already privy to their plan (as a handwave) and used the gatestone to get to them, but instead Keyleth used the gatestone to get to her, told her about the plan herself, then transported via plants back with her. It was unnecessarily complicated.

[@nordicnugz]

@OccidentalAvian so the point is that it should have been hand waved more to just get it done with. But, it seems like he kind of makes a bigger deal out of it than it needs to be.

[@AlexDelux2500]

Yenk you will be our friend!

[@Skitarii_Ranger]

I can't believe Matt introduced his OC DMPC into the campaign out of nowhere and then had him disappear. What a terrible DM.

[@42laxer84]

It doesn't matter but just to be the umm actually guy before someone even worse comes along. The way rolling 2d10 for doing 1-100 works is one die you roll for tens place. Gives you 00-90. Next die you roll for the ones place. Gives you 1-10. You get 00 by getting 10 on that d10. So a 100 means you roll a 9 for 90 and then a 10 for 10. It's relatively easy to see how this let's you get every number we want. So Ashley rolling for the tens place and getting a 10, means she got 00, which means the highest she can get is 10 total. The alternative of two 10s equally 100 does not work. Or well, it can work. Strictly you can say rolling double 2s gets you 100 but it's gonna be real fucky to get any other number between 1-100. Case in point, you roll a 10 and then a 10. We'll call that 100. Now change the first 10 to a 9. So that's 9, for 90 and then 10 for... 0? Or 10? Well it can't be 0 because we know 10 and 10 gives us 100. But it can't be 10 because then we'd get get 9 and 10 to give us 100 again. Now, this CAN work. But we'll rapidly stop having numbers mean what they usually mean to us.

[@SupergeekMike]

If that’s what works for your table, that’s cool! As long as you’re all on the same page that’s the important part. Typically, I’ve seen most d10s don’t have a “10,” they have a “0” (and that’s what was on the die they had Ashley roll, she just got a 0). So in the case of dice that don’t say 10 but say 0 instead, getting 0 for the tens place and 0 for the ones place gives you “00,” which represents the tens and ones place for the result of 100. Like I said, if that’s not how you do it, that’s fine too - so long as your group understands what each die result represents and how to read the dice, then that’s all that matters ☺️

[@someone_stole_my_handle]

Since they came back from the feywild every episode has been a banger but I just realized that I can't remember a single thing that happens in the next 8-10 episodes, there are a lot of episodes that I only watched once 4 years ago and remember well but these are a total blank.

[@atreyudaylan]

MIKE!!!

[@TheLordofMetroids]

To this day I don't know if Sam/Scanlan genuinely didn't get it, or if Scanlan/Sam was just joking.

[@MegaBendex]

The plan they hatch to summon one boss and have it fight another was impressive and thoughtful, and that mental image of the towering demonic siege weapon looming over Scanlan, purple glamour in it's eyes as he commands it to fight might be one of the best in the show. But Matt's handling of this fight is an enormous let-down for me. First of all, I would not have rolled initiative for this. Just narrate an epic battle between them in stages, allowing the players to jump in whenever they feel like it then begin initiative if they get involved. I would say decide a winner beforehand as well, but we all know Vorugal will win, it's more about how bad a hurt can Yenk put on this dude. Which is my second problem, Matt kinda meta-games this encounter. Vorugal flies above the melee-only goristro breathing on him and knocking him down, but that always struck me as super lame. Vorugal *doesn't* know this is a set up, and has been described as a consummate hunter who enjoys fighting great beasts, otherwise growing bored. Why not let him thrash around with this epic monster and take some damage as he enjoys himself? The third thing is the sleet storm he describes. Smaller a point, but so annoying in an already chaotic fight to literally only punish Grog for some reason by making everything difficult terrain. I'd just ditch that, or like Mike said, maybe mention that much earlier. Or hell, what a time to limit flyers? Maybe the storm makes flying difficult terrain since the winds are hectic and strong? I felt this way the first time I ever watched it and it hasn't really changed with time. If you're gonna do something similar in your games, just decide beforehand how much damage the loser does to the winner when the heroes jump in. Maybe write some cool moments for the cinematic fight scene if you're bad at improv-ing stuff like that, and you're golden. Oh, and try not to diminish the player's plan by playing the fight as dull and strategically as possible, especially for a boss that is known to relish in fights like this.

[@tomatoisjp]

I was curious, so the odds of at least 2 of 3 dice (since ashley had disadvantage) being 1s is 3/800 or 0.375%, and the odds of just the two 1s in a row is 1/400 or 0.25%. Thats all. No shade or anything, i was just curious and looked it up, and its as good an excuse as any to comment.

[@Robbedem]

The chance of rolling a one with disadvantage is 39/400. (20 options with the first die being a one and 19 options with the second die being a one, since we already had the option with both ones within the first 20) The chance of that happening with another 1 on a different die is 39/8000. Just below 1/200. For context: it's twice less likely to happen than Chetney dying because of old age. ;)

[@AlexDelux2500]

Larkin MVP!

[@PalleRasmussen]

I got to say, I miss the chaos and fooling around. I stopped watching Camp 3 around Episode 40, partly because it has become too sleek, pro, "safe". Other reasons were weightier, but that was one.

[@aaronbourque5494]

00 on the tens die would mean a 0 on the ones die would be 100, not 10 and 0. That's silly. That's ridiculous.

[@themonolougist]

@@aaronbourque5494 don't ask anyone how those d100 d10s work, it's a mystery or a hoax.

[@SupergeekMike]

I’m not sure I follow? Obviously it depends on your table, but it seems like Ashley was rolling a die where the 10 was just a 0. So in that case, the first roll is the tens place and the second is the ones place, so rolling a 0 and a 9 gives you a result of a 9. On the other hand, rolling a 0 and another 0 gives you 00, which represent the tens and ones place for the result 100. Of course, if your group handles it differently, that’s totally fair! But hopefully that clears up any confusion about how I described it; if the players don’t simply roll percentile dice and just roll two typical d10s, then that’s how I’ve usually seen the dice read ☺️

[@TheLordofMetroids]

D 100 is "whatever works for your table if you're playing Call of Cthulhu or another base 100 system, get an actual D100 you nerd."