The Legend of Vox Machina Episode 9 and 10 Reaction

[@thehikingviking2049]

Part of the reason why Pike is so powerful in her astral projected form is exactly because she's not actually there. Her body is still in the temple, which is a far more powerful conduit for divine magic than she would normally be able to wield. The priestess even pointed it out, that the power could drive her to madness if she pushed herself too hard. She's got that top of the line fiber optic cable straight to the divine when before she was leeching her neighbor's spotty wifi.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

Haha, love the comparison to Wi-Fi 😆

[@TriXJester]

Best analogy I've seen for that

[@Knightlight-kw9sh]

Clerics are extremely powerful against the undead in DnD, hence why Pike went all Thor in this episode

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

Love it 😇💪

[@jessdickensvo]

Not only that, but Pike has a huge buff from being in the temple, where there is a ton of errant energy, as mentioned by the other cleric during episode 8.

[@Gallacant]

You mean, like Gandalf, appearing at the time to turn the tide

[@theanyktos]

Some non spoilery fun facts about the campaign: 1) Bards have an ability called 'Viscious Mockery'. Basically that allows you to insult someone so badly they take damage. Scanlan, our resident bard, has on a few seperate occasions used this ability to deal the fatal blow to an enemy. 2) In the original campaign the enemies they fought in the de Rolo crypt weren't just your garden variety Zombies, they were specters of some sort that would possess party members and use them against the others. What do these facts have in common? Well, they lead to this brilliant exchange: Percy: Which one of my ancestors did you just _shame_ to death!? Again!? Scanlan: The one that was just possessing you. Percy: That's fair.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

😂 Scanlan being able to unleash Viscous Mockery makes total sense 😁

[@TheBloodypimp]

@@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2 "vicious mockery"

[@FanEAW]

also fun fact: in the live stream, the acid trap has probably been the closets Critical Role has gotten to a TPK (Total Party Killed), it was actually an insane tension and moment when it was live.

[@brettchristensen6734]

Well, not “total” as Vax pushed the button and vampire charmed out! ;)

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

😯😨😀 These livestreams sound like so much fun

[@FanEAW]

@@brettchristensen6734 yes it would have been a tpk, vax would have been either a sacrifice or lunch for sylas, no? effectively hes been taken out of the "fight"

[@chadthelake8974]

Don't forget [SPOILERS FOR LATE CAMPAIGN 1] When they were in the 9 hells or the abyss or something and Keyleth was making death saves and they realized she's the only one with a plane shift to get them back so she goes down it's campaign over. Literally a dice roll decided whether they lived or died

[@Charlie-tw3lj]

Loved the reaction, im glad you guys are enjoying the show. The next two episodes are awesome. A few things about these episodes: - Percy's big gun is called "Bad News" (because nothing travels faster). He was aiming for the giants head, but the gun isnt 100% accurate. Also the barrel kinda blew up, so he needs to fix it - Cassandra was sort of stockholm syndrome'd with a mix of mind control. They kept her alive and used any existing feelings of abandonment to turn her against her brother, but also used Sylas' mind control to keep her under control. - I wont go too deep into the names on the gun and how they work until you guys watch the final 2 episodes, but there was an implication earlier that the final barrel might be for himself when he finished the list. This ended up not being true, and once Cass betrayed him the gun added her to the revenge list.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

😂 love the name for Percy’s gun 😁 very clever

[@toonman5099]

I imagine it probably would have ORIGINALLY been him, but Orthax shifted the deal slightly the moment Cass betrayed them.

[@FanEAW]

I believe the official explanation to why pike was so powerful was a combination of two reasons: good Clerics absolutely destroy the undead, they are probably the most powerful class agaisnt this type of ennemy. AND remember when the priest at the temple said to Pike the temple is a nexus or focal point of energy, and channeling this energy is almost impossible? well she is doing it now, which is why she was able to astral project and have her superpowered compared to previous episodes.

[@nuru666]

Yea, being where she was was basically a +10 to her level lol

[@thefracturedbutwhole5475]

Also, Ashley Johnson was only in the game every now and then since she was filming a TV show at the time, when she was able to Skype in and play Matt Mercer would really let her shine (pun intended).

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

Thanks for helping provide some extra explanation as to why Pickle is even more of a badass in this scene 😁🤩

[@Jdn33315]

I’m guessing they’re going to use the temple reason for why she’s not as powerful next season. Idk

[@nuru666]

@@Jdn33315 That is it, Josh. The Priestess explains it in an earlier episode; to paraphrase "This temple is a conduit.... no one being is powerful enough to channel it" Pike was super charged by her self-realisation and also being in the centre of that Temple, PERSONALLY communing with Serenrea so she would Astral Projected and be a complete MONSTA!! She won't be this WTF powerful for a long time, but I REALLY hope we see it animated :D

[@Stefan-xt5sk]

As a long term Critical Role fan who has seen many reactions to the series, it's fun to see that the comments never change. Did you know that clerics are awesome against the undead and that Ashley Johnson skyped in while she was filming blindspot? ;) Critters, keep spreading the love!

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

😎🤟🥳

[@merowinger4802]

Since Ashlay Johnson had to work on "Blindspot" she wasn't there as much of the stuff went down. But in cases where she was abel to join she did so via Skype. This astral projection is not a mechanic in it's own right even though it does exist in D&D. It's just a story tool to get a character / player who is droping in and out encased in a logical lore sence.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

A cool and inventive story tool 😊🤩

[@shaskusmas]

At the beginning of episode 3, at the very end of Percy's nightmare, right after Cassandra is downed by arrows and Percy believes he is truly the last de Rolo, we see the demon find Percy. There is so much show but don't tell in this show, I love it.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

😯😀

[@toonman5099]

Was there any reason stated in-game that drew Orthax to Percy at that moment? Like why was he in the area originally? (Slight Vox Machina Season 2 & Meighty Nein/Critical Role Campaign 2 spoilers) Also I figured it would have more mirrored what happened to Fjord, where Percy almost or did technically die by drowning but was brought back by a powerful entity to keep alive and fulfill their desires. I mean we DID see a single slitted eye in the quick frame when Percy killed Anders. Not saying Percy was brought back by Uk'otoa (Uk'otoaaaaaaa), but was meant to draw a parallel, since the whole thing about this series as shown in season 2 (and Critical Role's campaign lore in general) is about fate and how things are connected.

[@shaskusmas]

@@toonman5099 yo, I like it! I'm not convinced, but it tickles my brain. I've

[@shaskusmas]

I've lost like, 85% of my response, lol. Ouch.

[@toonman5099]

@@shaskusmas Aww man. XD But yeah, considering they've talked about how they see this show as an opportunity to clean stuff up and the whole focus on fate and how everything is tied together, especially since they have Caduceus make a cameo in Season 2's 3rd episode along with how things are currently coming to a head in Campaign 3, it wouldn't surprise me if it was a slight intentional parallel to Fjord. But yeah, was it ever explain what drew Orthax to Percy in the actual campaign? I know he was drawn to Percy's want for revenge, but I'm curious as to why he was there in the first place.

[@chipsalom]

"I need this arm for... stuff" Grog, "You want me to 'whack' it off?" Scanlan, "I may need you to" LMAO

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

🤣😂 I think we missed that whack it off part. We’re too busy laughing at the previous joke 🤗

[@chipsalom]

@@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2 I know, seriously! I love the way a single episode can draw you through the entire emotional spectrum. At one moment you're fist pumping something awesome, a split second layer, your jaw drops, then suddenly you're laughing so hard again 😁

[@henriknielsen9092]

The astral projection thing is because in the original game, Ashley Johnson who plays Pike, was acting in a tv show in New York so she would be absent from the table for long stretches of time but every now again she was able to Skype in so the astral projection thing was just an excuse to get her in the game whenever she was able to play. The power level is the same.

[@JirkaKunst]

And I believe the duration of this astral projection spell is "until the wifi connection fails".

[@PurpleCyanideTube]

That may be the reason in the D&D game but the show isn't a D&D game so in the show the reason is as shown and the reason she is as powerful as she is, is because she is channeling the power of the chamber her body is in. Which if you remember was stated to be able to channel more power than any one person could control, except the Everlight themselves is helping her channel it so she in this first moment is unstoppable.

[@henriknielsen9092]

@@PurpleCyanideTube that’s a bit of a logical leap

[@joshuaburnett2634]

@@henriknielsen9092 No, that is literally the reason.

[@henriknielsen9092]

@@joshuaburnett2634 That she's unstoppable?

[@TriXJester]

There's a reason why in the campaign Grog called Pike "Monstah" lol Also the song at the end of 9 is legit Pike's backstory. I loved that they drop it on her return in the form a Scanlan ballad.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

😊 we will have to listen to that song now 😀

[@MsMorri]

You should’ve seen Pike in the original campaign, she WAS a one man army against the undead. As for Cassandra, she has a mix of mind control and Stockholm syndrome. Remember she’s been with the Briarwoods for a long time, and the only people she’s been in contact with. As for the guns, Percy is basically the inventor of guns. Ripley basically stole the idea from Percy, but she doesn’t have the same innovation as Percy. And Possession isn’t a bad guess 😉

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

Percy’s story has been so fascinating to make guesses and theories about what is going on 😀

[@chrisd7047]

Clerics, Pike's class, are designed to specifically destroy undead more than any other class versus any enemy. They have an entire class feature devoted to it. Turn Undead has had a wide variety of mechanics in tabletop DnD over the years, but the net result is always "clerics whomp on undead." They destroy the undead if they're good (and most neutral)-aligned clerics, or control them if they're evil. Paladins can often use the same Turn Undead ability, but historically are not as proficient at it as clerics.

[@grinm1899]

Pyke is the priest who wields the holy power of the Everlight, that's like the greatest warrior you could wish for when fighting undead Excited for the season finale!

[@ticozayas6430]

cleric, and all clerics regardless of deity affiliation are the bane of undead

[@thefracturedbutwhole5475]

@@ticozayas6430 Paladins and Clerics.

[@ticozayas6430]

you are very right although a pally is the bane to pretty much anything

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

😎🤟🥳🤩

[@andyme3541]

@@ticozayas6430 Well unless they worship a Evil Diety then they might be the best mate of undead

[@hhylobates4098]

Percy being tortured was at the same time before they escaped. Ripley actually got her idea of the gun from Percy; Ripley has her own agenda and isn't tied to Whitestone like the Briarwoods. Before the series started, before Percy even joined Vox he managed to hunt her down while she was away from the city, he failed to take her out and he ended up imprisoned by the local authorities, and Ripley was very intrigued by the weapon he'd attacked with.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

😎👍🙂 Thanks for the quick backstory on Ripley 😀

[@toonman5099]

Ahhh, I was curious how exactly she came across the idea considering I heard that Matt mentioned she was doing (failed) experiments with firearms leading to the missing limb. I wasn't aware of the encounter that lead to her arrest though. So does that mean that in episode 11, it's technically the second time Ripley got away and explains why Orthax was so active after they came across her?

[@nuru666]

11:32 I live to see people make expressions like that. The line itself, Tal's delivery, the modulation they tweaked it with... First time I heard him say that I made the exact same face as you two! :D I think you two are going to need to lay down tarps for episode 12, your minds are gonna be boosh all over the walls XD

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

😂 we will head to Hardware store for the tarps 😜

[@suntiger745]

Astral Projection is an actual high level spell in DnD, but the version here is related to Ashley filming Blindspot in New York, as others have said. She also uses some other cleric spell when she makes her grand entrance. The big initial boom is her casting the AoE spell "Turn Undead", which at higher levels become "Destroy Undead" against weaker undead enemies, like skeletons and zombies. And boy howdy did it destroy them. :) When she slams the mace into the ground and fire comes down from the sky, that's "Flamestrike" a pillar of holy fire hitting an area with a 20ft diameter, and her mace flying through several zombies and then taking out one of the giants is a souped up version of "Spiritual Weapon" (normally it can only attack once per round, not like 7 or 8 times, but who cares when it looks so cool :D ). Very neat little way of weaving in actual spells into the animation. I also think it's the right choice not to focus on the mechanics too heavily, like exact size of the area of effect or number of hits, but use the spells as guidelines and fit them into the narrative in a way that feels and looks good. The giants are actually "just" regular zombies, but since they are giants they still retain most of the strength they had in life so they are a big threat. From what I remember of the stream, there was a previous rebellion in Whitestone and Delilah and Sylas found a stone giant village in the mountains around Whitestone, killed them and raised them as zombies, using them to break that rebellion. Percy's rifle 'Bad News' is indeed a powerful weapon, but still a work in progress. Even when he aimed for the head as he did, he hit the shoulder, and the barrel ruptured from the shot (actually visible if you look closely after he shoots it), and needs to be repaired before he can fire it again. Percy did not return to Whitestone before now. The Briarwoods took over Whitestone about 5 years ago, and tortured the de Rolos who survived the initial takeover to find out how to get to the ziggurat (which the de Rolos didn't know was beneath the castle). Percy and Cassandra managed to escape after a few weeks of torture (this is when Percy's hair turn completely white and Cassandra's hair turn partially white). He is 15 and she is 13 at that point. When he returns with Vox Machina, Percy is 20 and Cassandra is 18. It is understandable that a scared 13-year old would feel betrayed that her big brother didn't turn back to check on her after she got shot, even though it isn't a rational thought. Percy thought she was dead, and even if he had turned back, he would just have been captured or killed too. Still, as skilled manipulators as the Broarwoods are they were certainly able to build on that resentment, build it up with a combination of mundane manipulation and Sylas' magical charm abilities, all the while parading Cassandra in front of the townspeople to show them that there is still a de Rolo alive and that she's loyal to them. Does double duty to legitimize their claim to the rulership, and serve as a warning. Also, during the torture, Dr Ripley put the meat hook into the side of Percy's neck, which is painful but not lethal. The artery is more forward, basically on each side of the adam's apple.

[@Barris42]

I think you got the ages wrong. From your comment, Percy ages two years and Cassandra five? :P

[@thefracturedbutwhole5475]

Percy was in his early 20's when he met Vox Machina, Cassandra was 18-19 when VM went to Whitestone.

[@suntiger745]

@@Barris42 Haha, yes. Percy was 15 and Cassandra 13. Thanks for the heads up, I'll edit it. :)

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

Thanks so much for all this info and answering our questions/ clearing up any misconceptions we might have had 😊😀🥳

[@AnxietyRat]

They actually aged Cass up in the show, as well. She was 11 in the campaign when the briarwood attack happened. So it's even MORE understandable, in the campaign, why as a literal child of 11 years...she would feel betrayed as well. But yeah, she was just a kid in both circumstances.

[@ambrosewilliam33]

Keyleth is my absolutely favorite character.

[@clownzzz4837]

Pike is tapped directly into the power of an Everlight temple. Remember what was above her in the temple? I assume that is how she is able to do so much here. Don't forget that these characters and their dialog come from hours of improv. It's authentic because they came to know their characters so well.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

Pike stole our hearts in this one. She was so damn cool 🤩😀😎🤟

[@leonielson7138]

In the campaign, two of The List's barrels had magical properties (an ice shot and a fire shot).

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

That would’ve been a cool element to add 😀

[@theanyktos]

If you remember in a previous episode, when Percy was talking about the creation of his gun, he said that after he fled and was basically at his lowest 'a new vison came. A spawn of science that would bring me the revenge I so _desperately_ sought'. Just food for thought :)

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

🤔😊

[@Fsudryden]

She is a cleric of good in a city full of undead. She is actually made for this. SO she is exactly what the party needed.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

Nice 😁😇💪

[@composerbeef]

Clerics like Pike are incredibly powerful vs undead creatures. Even within the limitations of the mechanics of D&D, Pike was able to take out a massive chuck of the horde on her own.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

😎🤟💪

[@LeeCarlson]

Only Pike Trickfoot could cast "Turn Undead ... to salsa." Her astral projection is being super-charged by her new communion with the Everlight.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

😇💪😎🤟

[@danielhall4951]

The demon attached it’s self to him when he said the idea came to him it helped him build the gun

[@07dki]

Pikes body was in a place of immense power and being directly empowered by her goddess while fighting against things specifically weak to her power

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

😇💪

[@RealNTAF]

Pike is so powerful in Astral projection because she's still in the temple. Remember in an earlier episode, the head priestess mentioned the chamber amplifies power.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

We forgot about that 😇

[@JonathanJE3]

She is acting as an avatar of the ever light when astral projecting. That's why she seems so powerful.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

😎👍😇💪

[@Wraithnine]

Ooh I'm sooo looking forward to your reaction to watch eps 11&12. I watched the entire livestream and it pretty much played out like that, they had some very lucky rolls.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

That must’ve been so stressful to watch live! Cuz just watching the show was stressful 😨😰

[@TenebrousFilms]

Pike's voice was filming a Blindspot show during campaign one (and some of campaign two). Pike's absences were narratively explained - restoring a temple to the Everlight on another continent, for example - but she would skype in for emergencies. This was one of them. Details are tweaked for the animated version, but in this case I think she got a substantial buff from her goddess; I doubt her current abilities will last when she's done ass trail protecting. If there's one joke I mourn getting trimmed, it's Scanlan literally shaming one of Percy's ancestors back to death. Originally, Vax escaped the trap and triggered the acid *before* getting controlled, thinking the switch would release them... wacky D&D fun. As for Cassandra, she aided the first Whitestone rebellion, then betrayed the second. Whatever happened in between broke her, and that doesn't require mind control, just living in constant stress and peril. More on that later...

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

Someone else had mentioned that joke. Would’ve been a nice insider joke for people (because they had to set up the joke for us to fully understand) 😊

[@cobaltsable1800]

Pike's power: 1. Clerics against undead is OP 2. Power amplifier in the temple

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

😎👍💪😇🤩

[@hardsider2403]

Her goddess the everlight is pumping her fullbof power plus killing undead is a cleric's special fun time

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

😎🤟😁

[@IceMetalPunk]

In the original game, Pike's "astral projection" was just an in-game explanation for the fact that Ashley was busy filming Blindspot and had to join over Skype a lot. She wasn't any more powerful than usual during those games, it's just that clerics are usually inherently powerful against the undead. In the show, the explanation is that she's in that temple's main chamber with all the equipment to channel massive divine power (remember episode 8 they said it was enough to kill a person if they didn't have help?). In D&D, there actually *is* a spell for astral projection, even though that's not what she was using in the game. That spell requires a cleric to be level 17 or higher to use, which they were nowhere near at this point; so while it doesn't make you more powerful, you have to be pretty strong to use it in the first place. However, with that spell, if your astral projection re-enters the same plane of existence as your body, you just get teleported to that new location and the spell ends, so it wouldn't actually work for what Pike did here. In fact, I don't think there's anything in D&D that works quite the same way as what Pike did: the closest I've found are Echo Knights (a fighter subclass created by Matt Mercer himself), whose duplicates only have 1HP; the Trickery Domain cleric's "Invoke Duplicity" ability, which creates a duplicate of you but it can't go farther than 120ft away from you; and the Simulacrum spell, which makes clones that only have half your HP and no weapons or armor.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

So how much did they level up from the beginning of this season to the end? 🤔

[@IceMetalPunk]

@@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2 Even if I had watched C1 from start to finish, there's no way my brain would retain that information 😅 "Enough to face the Briarwoods" is all I know for sure 😂

[@LordNomad28592]

@@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2 They started at around level 7 and would have been around level 11 by the end episode 12.

[@StevenS757]

holy clerics absolutely wrecked the undead, but she does have extra power in this scene. In her astral projection form, she's basically acting as an Avatar of the Everlight and has a boost to her abilities. This is just for the show however. In the original livestream campaign, she was just Skyping into play and they used astral projection as a story thing.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

😎👍🙂

[@DarkElfPaladin]

As grog said earlier, pike is the strongest of them. Also clerics have a lot of abilities that make them extra effective against undead. When that part happened in their stream it was the most damage done in a single turn in their entire campaign which lasted another 90ish episodes.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

😎👍😀

[@stevencavanagh7990]

Pike been a Cleric is like setting of a Nuke when fighting the Undead

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

😎🤟😁

[@firecat4529]

12:40 The place Pike is at enhances her power a lot and holy stuff is extremely effective against undead things, for example. Against normal people she wouldn't be as op.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

😎👍😀

[@Aetheria60]

I really like the way they handled the Cassandra reveal. At first I was a bit skeptical about the change with Anders (in the campaign the throat slicing was all an illusion so if you really paid attention you already had a feeling where her loyalties were at that point), but the moment the name appeared on the gun, I got chills despite already knowing of her betrayal. Can’t wait to see your reaction to the next two.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

The gun reveal and Percy’s face were fricking epic 🤩😨😯

[@taserface780]

I can’t wait to see you guys watch the final two episodes I’m so excited

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

🥳🥳😁

[@leonielson7138]

Nothing travels faster than Bad News.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

Such a cool name for that big gun 😀

[@Fsudryden]

The answer to Pikes powers is two parts. One the story needed it but the second D&D explanation is she leveled up and got more powers. Most of what you saw was because clerics have a power called destroy undead.

[@spywi]

You guys are so close to posting the finale reaction! Looking forward to being here when the vid goes up!

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

🥳🥳🤗 Thanks for going on this journey with us 😀

[@gatecruor9292]

The script righters are basically the group that is known as Critical Role and how they chose to have their characters act. All that banter and the balance is literally because of them and how Matt Mercer himself being a fantastic story teller makes for probly imo the best and only way to write a good story for anything esp with how things are done these days.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

😎🤟

[@richardhealy]

If you are fighting undead, having a cleric in your party is a very good idea.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

Noted 😇

[@stephenhumphreys9149]

Probably the priests in the temple are channelling power to help Pike astral project, would help explain why she's still at full power even though she's not there in person.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

Makes sense 😇

[@teradul2480]

As I understand, Pike's Astral Projection is a result of the Temple amplifying her divine powers

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

😎👍😀

[@Hawk_of_Battle]

Fun facts time!; Percy's rifle is called Bad News (because bad news travels fast) and although it's only being introduced now, in the campaign he had it from episode 1 and had used it extensively from the beginning. It has a truly absurd range for a d&d weapon. The giants were natives of the nearby mountains. In the campaign Vox Machina encountered the ruins of their home on their way to Whitestone. The Briarwoods killed and raised them sometime during their reign. We skipped over it here. Pikes return here is played out very much the same as the original campaign, including the hordes of undead she killed. Specifically, after astral projecting in (which was Matts way of explaining how she could be there since Ashley was still in New York filming Blindspot and had to phone in via skype, so Divine Intervention was used, as in literally, the spell) she leapt off a wall, conjuring ethereal glowing wings and then used Turn Undead on 35 skeletons, all of whom had 20 hp. There were no survivors, making it the single largest attack any of the party had ever unleashed. Yeah, this is why you bring the War Domain cleric to the vampire town. Don't fuck with clerics. Vax's love confession to Keyleth originally occurred a little later at the castle, shortly after meeting Ripley and Cassandra's "death", which we saw earlier. It was prompted by him being reckless and almost getting killed. He used the exact same line as he did here, except he also kissed her. It was kind've a major turning point in how the entire cast approached rping their characters going forward, as it was the first instance of real romance in their games, a subject which many were wary to broach, especially since Marisha (Keyleth) was dating Matt (the DM) at the time. They're all close enough friends and professionals that they were cool with it though. Matt and Marisha are married now. It's not really elaborated on in this show, but Percy had encountered Ripley some time ago, in the pre-stream days. That's how she knew about Percys gun design and had set about trying to replicate it. Also she was originally under an illlusion spell when they found her in the cell, but an unexpected check from another character revealed the ploy almost immediately. Oh and don't worry about Grog in the acid. As a Goliath barbarian with extremely high constitution and the ability to rage, he is literally made of hit points. By the end of the campaign Grog had 298 hp, basically twice the next nearest party member. And that's BEFORE he halves most damage types via raging (though acid is not one of those types). Vax's flaming dagger; Vax actually has 3 magic daggers, the keen, the flametongue and a venom dagger. The keen is just a slightly better enchantment, whilst the flametongue actually sets itself ablaze. There's a lot of magic items the party has that either don't get explained or glossed over in the show, as the group were fairly stacked already by this point. The Blinkback Belt is the item that lets them teleport back to him.

[@cobaltsable1800]

I love how in Campaign 1 they were all so hesitant to RP love interests except for Liam. And then it starts and it turns out Travis is the biggest shipper of his wife's character's love interest.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

Thanks for the wealth of knowledge shared 😀 glad Grog wasn’t too hurt by the acid 🙂

[@DaDunge]

12:45 You forget nothing of this is her strength. All the power belongs to the everlight she is merely conduit, but her faith is what makes it possible for the everlight to manifest her power.

[@ericmartin8870]

God I love this show lol. I'm so glad you guys are enjoying it too! :D

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

Tons of fun. Can’t wait for season 2 🥳🥳

[@corybishop3084]

Remember that the priestess told Pike that the temple she was in was a conduit for more energy than 1 person could handle. Pike is strong, but it's the temple that's amplifying what she can do.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

Okay that makes sense why she was supercharged then 😀😇

[@Dotterelly]

Any cleric against undead is super powerful. It's like a rock paper scissors thing - radiant/divine magic is always super effective against evil/undead creatures. Most of the zombies and skeletons present weren't particularly powerful individually, just very numerous. However clerics in DnD get an ability called turn undead, which causes all undead within a certain radius to be forced to run away or if the cleric is sufficiently high level to just disintegrate.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

Always good to have a cleric on your side 😀 seemed like lady briarwood knew that she was going to be trouble right away which is why she went after her in the first encounter

[@darrenrichardson6146]

So Grog diving into the acid.... He's a barbarian, they have an ability that lets them "Rage" which gives them bonuses to hit the enemy, and also halves damage taken, so where anyone else jumping in would have caused them to pass out from the injury the acid was causing before reaching the bottom, for Grog, it lessens the pain so he succeeds in getting their conscious and alive.

[@CandleLight129]

In regards to Pike's power boost, clerics in D&D are very effective against undead in general. Add on top of that what the high priestess of the Everlight said about the chamber Pike was using (this chamber holds more power than any one person can channel safely) and you've got a recipe for a one woman army. I don't think we will continue to see her at this level in future seasons.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

Well it was nice to see her fully unleashed for this one at least 😁🤩

[@carlotaperes1031]

Nice job catching Percy missing the giant's head! Pike is indeed a BAMF, clerics are absolute tanks against undead I do think that they uped the Cassandra suspicion a lot in this episode, which made her betrayal a little predictable, but I still thought that the reveal of her name appearing on Percy's gun was awesome Another great reaction, can't wait to see what you think of the last two episodes!

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

Yeah they hinted at it a little too much. I think the intention was to show that there was a rift there so that when she does betray Percy we don’t completely hate her or think it came out of nowhere, but maybe they overcorrected and went too far the other way. Either way. The Reveal was so damn great seeing her name come across the gun 🤩🤩🤩🤩

[@James-bw4np]

I cannot wait to see y'alls reaction to the season finale!

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

😁🥳

[@ShingenNolaan]

Love this show. Seriously, best animated stuff since 'Shrek'. I cannot wait for the second season.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

Yup. This show is amazing 🤩

[@hulmhochberg8129]

as far as i heard its not really pike doing the astral projection but her goddess the everlight.

[@MrKaelas]

So, they don't ever really cover this at least not yet, but you guys were wondering about the gun and his "deal" with whatever is attached to him. Without revealing too much...well he mentions in passing at one point "Hey you're lucky your not on my List". It sounds just like he means a hit list, but the gun with the names is actually called the List. And I believe his "deal" is that he will kill those that have betrayed him, which is represented by the names that appear on the gun. That's not super important in the overall story because it's rather obvious he's trying to kill the people whose names are on his gun, but it's an interesting bit of lore anyway. :D

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

😎👍😀

[@toonman5099]

I have a feeling the flashback we see at the start is at the point when she was already delving into Necromancy considering Sylus doesn't bat an eye about being brought back to life or the fact that she doesn't react on not seeing his reflection. Granted, I'm not sure how it went down in the Campaign's backstory proper.

[@tasselhoff3888]

Pike is a bit OP in this because She is Astro Projecting from the temple, which we were told is one of the highest areas of power!

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

😇💪😀

[@gamerbear84]

Guess it's been a bit so you forgot that Pike is in the chamber that channels more of Everlight's power than any one person should be able to handle. She's working with way MORE power than she could if she were in Whitestone in person.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

That makes sense. We knew she made her peace with her connection to the Everlight but it makes sense that also being in the Temple would increase her power. Hadn’t thought of that 😅😀

[@gamerbear84]

@@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2 That said, also in fighting undead she is in her element and would've kicked PLENTY of ass even without the boost.

[@HowManyTimes234]

clerics are beasts against the undead regardless and Pike was a monster in the original campaign, but she's super charged by astral projecting directly from the temple she's in back in Emon, so effectively, while she's in that column of sunlight, her power can't really run out because she's basically being constantly bathed in the energy of her deity

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

It was great seeing her finally unleashed in this 😁

[@madhavmandava]

Grog can be so cocky but the way he was taunting our rogue was just funny.....oh I'm sorry did you say something???

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

😛

[@jaysonjolin563]

Pike is drawing power from the temple. Plus clerics are most potent versus undead.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

😎🤟🤩

[@miafiolekova5817]

She is so powerfull vs undead, as a cleric she is most effective vs them. And about Cassandra, when u are held hostage for 5 years, mentaly abused and psycholgicaly worked on, u may develop Stockholm syndrome. Ad to that a bit of charm magic form Sylas and voila.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

We were wondering if it was more the Stockholm Syndrome or more the charm. But I guess a little bit of both works too 😊

[@willcline5918]

Part of Pike being more powerful was the temple she was in was amplifying her power because it channels raw divine power. That why her abilities were dialed to 11

[@ticozayas6430]

this^^^

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

Extra points for the Spinal Tap reference 😎🤟🥳

[@Logan_Baron]

With her talk of when demons would come to someone. And the same, I don't believe in demons, but am interested in the lore in fantasy. It makes sense with the understanding of demons needing to make a deal, that those are the moments when you'd be willing to make a deal.

[@Mordring]

In D&D lore all lower plane denizens (AKA fiends) are very interested in making deals. But what also needs to be considered is that all fiends (as well as good/neutral Outer Plane beings) are bound by their alignment. You can technically make an honest deal with a devil in D&D as they are Lawful Evil. Sure, devils will try to trick you with the wording of the contract but if you manage to spot all the catches, they're fully bound by it and will never break it, they have to deliver their piece of agreement or suffer the consequences from their superiors. Still, it takes A LOT to spot all the catches (AKA high DC rolls) and 99% of the time the devil will end up gaining the upper hand. Demons, however, are Chaotic Evil, which essentially means they're not only not bound by their deals, their very nature DEMANDS them to break those at every opportunity, so a deal with a demon is always a lose-lose thing for the summoner. But since they're also the fastest to answer (and sometimes they even impersonate devils) a lot of people end up screwing themselves in the process. And yes, Percy's smoky "ally" is a demon (a Shadow Demon to be precise) whose chief domain (AKA source of power is vengeance - the more vengeful acts he can make others commit the more powerful he becomes).

[@theanyktos]

Yeah, Clerics are absolute monsters against undead enemies. Never go to fight a horde of zombies without your cleric. Just don't. Also it helps that here (in the animated show) she is channeling all the power of the temple she's at and more than likely getting a onetime boost from the Everlight herself. I think that's how they're explaining why Pike is so strong in this late part of the arc, even though in the campaign, she didn't have any more power than usual, she was just extra badass here because in DnD clerics are just an undead creatures worst nightmare.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

😎👍😀

[@hammeth1727]

This episode was fantastic (winner for best/worst cliffhangers goes to : attack on titan)

[@Dannydarko27]

Pike is a lot of peoples favorite even though she was, more than occasionally, on the opposite side of the country. Just gives credit to Ashley Johnson being such a lovabe person overall

[@georgerobins4110]

Lol remember when you two thought this was a fun fantasy show? 😂 Painnnn

[@Geth-Who]

It's never mentioned in the show because it relates to wider Critical Role lore, so this isn't a spoiler, but Delilah Briarwood was not a good person even before using the Rites of Vampirism on her husband. She was part of a powerful group called the Cerberus Assembly in her homeland, and they are Absolutely Not Nice People. Her ruthlessness and her sadistic personality weren't brought on by the Whispered One, those traits are selected for in the position she held - and none of it counted against her until she got caught using necromancy, which is outlawed there. Basically she's been an entire bitch the whole time, don't feel bad for her. At all.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

Makes us feel better 😁😇

[@ArtistAtPlay]

Pike is so much stronger because: A)She isn’t doubting herself anymore. B)She is a cleric fighting undead. C)She is projecting from that room that channels power.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

😎🤟💪😍

[@ringofbrass]

I'm seeing a lot of comments about the real world reasons for the astral projections, but i wanted to note two things: undead are weak to holy/radiant magic regardless she was going to have an advantage and it seems to be implied because she is at her temple the other followers of The Everlight are basically assisting her. i don't think this was the case in the original livestream game (though they might have helped her with the actual astral projection? i can't remember) but in general in most works of fantasy people who draw their magic from a source are more powerful when in a base, temple, or with other followers/users.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

😎👍🙂

[@Inufan20]

They dont say it in the show, but what happened to Cassandra was a mix of things. Yes she was vampire mind controlled but it was also a bunch of gaslighting and really toxic things.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

😢

[@AnxietyRat]

Yeah, they would also physically punish her. She tells us in a monologue, in the campaign, that she attempted to escape once...but they caught her and beat her pretty severely as punishment for trying to get away. So it was a cycle of them physically hurting her ...and then psychologically torturing her by being nice and comforting afterwards...and that cycle just happened over and over and over...over a 5 year period. Lots of gaslighting and manipulation, for sure. Before Percy FINALLY came back with Vox Machina. But the damage has been done. Funnily enough, both Matt and Taliesin have said Cass deals with her trauma significantly better than Percy does! Percy doesn't deal with it very well...at all. She is the much healthier of the two despite all she had to endure.

[@johnekare8376]

Great reaction!

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

Glad you enjoyed it 🥳🥳

[@viperblitz11]

I'm not gonna lie, Pike is a much better character in the show than she was during the live game. No shade toward Ashley Johnson, but she was still figuring out a distinct personality for Pike at the time. Which was not helped by the fact that she couldn't make it to the table very often because she was busy filming a TV show on the other side of the country.

[@RikThunder33]

I still cant believe you accused Keilith of being evil...

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

She still could be 😜😂 She is just too sweet 😇

[@RikThunder33]

@@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2 *facepalm*

[@jarjaxle]

Sooo....Anyone willing to sell your Soul to save your Loved one? Also like earlier commentor mentioned....there is Reasons why why you DO NOT PISS OFF CLERICS!!! 1) Absolute Destroyers of the Undead.... 2) they are Healers,....You DO NOT PISS OFF YOUR HEALERS!!!

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

I mean, I still probably would do what she did if given the choice. But at the same time, maybe not because have to think if your loved one would want that 🤔

[@jarjaxle]

@@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2 true....tough....love and despair makes people act like fools

[@mjkjelland13]

Clerics vs Undead, Pike rocks

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

Facts 😎🤟💪

[@SylverQrow]

Btw, in Dnd Devils make deals n contracts n what not, Demons it’s survival of the fittest, they don’t care bout plotting n what not lol Blanket term if ya not sure if it is a devil or demon though is Fiend.

[@madhavmandava]

I wonder if tortured life turns young hair white?.....

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

It often is depicted that way in movies and tv but not sure if it actually happens 🤗

[@AnxietyRat]

Yeah, it doesn't happen the way show and media depicts it. Stress CAN cause premature grey/white hair....but it doesn't happen over night. It would take a long time for a full head of hair to turn white due to stress. And Percy was only tortured for a couple weeks before he escaped. That's not a long enough time to make his ENTIRE head white like they show, in the show.

[@CB-eo6xo]

Since you enjoyed Vox Machina, I wonder if you have any interesting trying out Netflix Castlevania (2017) and maybe super hero focused genre Invincible.

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

Have interest in checking out both of those 😊

[@CB-eo6xo]

@@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2 Nice to hear that. Good luck watching them when you get the chance.

[@demonic_myst4503]

Fun fact if you know the new stranger things season is playing vecna as their new villain The whispering one is vox mochinas vecna in the dnd campaign it was vecna she contracted with So its the same evil be8ng thats now 8n stranger things just vix machina ajustes many the dnd conceots fornthe show while stranger things pay wizards of the coast for the rights to use dnd content and names 8n their show

[@AnxietyRat]

Yeah, in the campaign they called him Vecna. But they have to change all the god names(and spell names) in the show bc copyright. So Pelor is The Dawnfather, Sarenrae is The Everlight and Vecna is The Whispered One. And those are just the ones mentioned so far...Matt (with some other people helping him, I believe) renamed ALL the gods in the pantheon of Exandria.

[@madhavmandava]

Why didn't any of u 2 say jinx since you 2 said exactly at the same time???😆

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

😂🤗

[@madhavmandava]

The confession was cute but Kiki was right...worse time...but they didn't know if they would live or die so yeah.....

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

True. Don’t want to die with regrets 🤗

[@rogue7723]

I feel bad for Vax for getting semi-rejected when Keyleth said “Wait, Now?! This is the worst possible time!!” But then again, it’s kinda like she was saying, “Make-out time later, pretty-boy! I’m gonna frickin’ figure out a way to save our asses. We’re gonna make it!!”

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

😂 it was poor timing on Vax’s part though. 🤗

[@AnxietyRat]

To be fair, she rejects him, in the campaign, in that moment as well...though he said that line AFTER a battle finished...and not in the middle of one. Keyleth is on a mission...she just doesn't have time for a relationship she is trying to complete her Aramenté. As she eventually explains in the show as well.

[@madhavmandava]

Pike may have had side story quest...but i think she stole the show nicely

[@Nihil7781]

could you watch castlevaina?netflix series...it s good

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

On our short list of shows to react to 😇

[@Nihil7781]

@@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2 great thx

[@enanenan4516]

you guys should watch the owl house

[@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2]

Hadn’t heard of that one before 😯

[@enanenan4516]

@@DefinitelyNotDefinitive2 its really good

[@dreamivey3405]

You guys really need to learn D&D.

[@jdwatson7588]

Nope they were not good people.