THE LEGEND OF VOX MACHINA S2E3 REACTION | 2x3 "The Sunken Tomb" | Critical Role

[@bookwormwithwings]

Welcome to Critical Role, where a bunch of nerdy-ass voice actors rip your heart into little shreds.

[@BaldursPicketFence]

The biggest gut punch of the campaign so far. In actual play Talesin passed his saving throw, Laura rolled a Nat 1, everybody was kinda laughing and joking till they found out how much damage was done, then as Matt described what happens next, everyone realises the gravity of the situation. The panic sets in and it’s perfectly animated in the scene.

[@CrownofMischief]

Meanwhile Travis was sitting there thinking "Oh God, I'm gonna be listening to this all night, aren't I"

[@offcenterideas]

Biggest gut punch *so far*.

[@sarabeth6897]

Necrotic damage = bad news

[@Just_a-guy]

@@sarabeth6897 Not really. Most necrotic dmg works same way as the rest. There are certain spells and traps that kills you if you reach zero but most necrotic dmg would just put you unconscious

[@sarabeth6897]

@@Just_a-guy did I say necrotic damage = Instadeath? Nope. Just that it’s bad news. Partially because as you mentioned a good amount of spells that deal necrotic damage come with other conditions and caveats, partially because story wise with critical role, necrotic damage had played some paramount roles…none of them happy.

[@shamanicmerf]

Also remember that the sphinx called Percy “the cursed child begging to be trusted again” and now here he is egging Vex into opening a sarcophagus and tripping traps.

[@FandomZone]

That's a fantastic point!

[@samcarter565]

For clarification, Grogs beard is a side effect from the belt being a Belt of Dwarvenkind.

[@needoriginalname]

Naa, his increase constitution is a side of effect of the belt. All he cares is that he finally has a beard. (Goliaths normally can't have facial hair)

[@AnxietyRat]

@@needoriginalname the belt has multiple side effects the increase in Constitution is one... he can also understand and speak dwarvish. And would be able to read and write it... if he had a high enough intelligence to be able to read and write. But yes, he only cares about the beard.

[@secondrateseth8360]

@@AnxietyRat they’re joking that the “purpose” of the belt is the beard and the constitution is “just” a side effect.

[@carlotacosta9193]

They adapted that last scene beautifully, I cried even though I knew it was coming

[@LeeCarlson]

Laura rolled a "1" on her Dex Save and took 56 points of Necrotic Damage and the look on Laura's face when she realized just what that meant in the game.

[@IceMetalPunk]

"Be a fishy." Ah, yes, Keyleth, be a fishy... 👀 If you know, you know 😂

[@ShadowyFox_86]

🤣😂 I will never turn my druid into a fish for this very reason.

[@chrisd7047]

I mean, we're basically gods.

[@DietPropharah]

Terminal velocity

[@IceMetalPunk]

@@DietPropharah What is the terminal velocity of an unladen swallow -- I mean, an unladen goldfish?

[@DietPropharah]

@@IceMetalPunk alot 😅

[@phoenixdzk]

The group reaction to Purvan Sul's name was taken verbatim from the stream. Poor Matt says he'll never be able to live it down Since you mentioned the Last of Us, Vex & Vax's dad's played by Joel (Troy Baker) from the games

[@FranciscoOyola94]

And now Mike Hunt is the Matt’s new worst thought out name ever

[@doug3691]

Outstanding "Bidet" at the end -- helps heal the heart.

[@sierramccutchen3531]

I loved how the episode captured the sense of climax or the anticipation up until Laura's Nat 1. There was the possibility of things going wrong but the team was joking around and having fun thinking themselves relatively good. How quickly things can go wrong with one bad dice role really adds the gravity to their choices and the fear of the loss of their teammates. Just perfect!

[@MsMorri]

Even though I saw Vex's death in the campaign, her death still hit me hard, not just for Vax but for Percy as well (not going into why much right now 😉). Watching it in the game though was just... rough. They were all laughing until Laura said she was unconscious and below zero, and Matt's expression changed. Every one fell silent as Matt explained what happened next, and as soon as he said Vex was dead panic set in the room. I'm glad you watched this sooner rather than later. So many of the video's I saw reviewing this episode had spolierly thumbnails or titles & while I had a feeling you'd be careful, I was a bit worried. I loved seeing your guys reaction, though your look of disbelief at the end did make me start tearing up all over again.

[@steventaylor546]

This moment in the campaign was a surprise but this hit so much harder. The flashbacks, the music, Liam O'Brian's incredible voice acting, it all combined to just punch you in the guts.

[@mr.stuffdoer8483]

The upside to adapting something that’s finished is you can make small tweaks to make the story flow better (like Keyleth almost dying to Delilah instead of Vex) and have more setup for the big moments, like this.

[@kriddius]

Season two and three are for the Chroma Conclave primarily. I expect there will be another hint or two for the campaign's final villain arc but they thankfully have the precious time needed to do the dragon story justice. Season two will only include one, maybe two dragons as there is a large plot hook coming for at least one member of Vox Machina, maybe two if they shuffle thigns around a little.

[@CallistoTheWarriorQueen]

This ep was so brutal. Vex is my fave and I knew it was coming but it's such a gut punch. I love that they depicted the fact the Vex was looking for traps at the time Percy touched the vestige by having her look back and say to wait for her brother. Plus those flashbacks really added to the scene and Vax's sobbing was heart breaking. Can't wait for the next 3 eps.

[@LordGrokken]

The slow realization on the faces of the players in the live play was amazing as it dawned on them one by one.

[@thescifidork]

I'm so happy you guys are embracing the Critter greeting :) Bidet from Finland :)

[@BiggySn1p3r]

fun fact: Thordak means Thursday in some Swedish Viking language. Matt be sneaky like that.

[@Ironoclasty]

Is it Thordak?

[@Snoeflekz]

Hm. The day was called "þórsdagr" ("Thor's day") in Old Norse, which evolved into Old Swedish "þōrsdagher". In modern Swedish, Norwegian and Danish, it's "torsdag", and in Icelandic it's "þórsdagur" (days of the week are not considered proper nouns in Scandinavian languages, so no capital letter). Finnish, while not a Scandinavian language, has "torstai" via Old Swedish. So the missing possessive "s" and ending "k" don't match any real Norse/Scandinavian word for Thursday. That said, you're right, Matt was definitely making a sneaky Thursday reference when he named Thordak.

[@L0X4]

avatar is what Marisha based Keyleth's powers on, and the civilitation for the ashari is also based on avatar. Keyleth is air Ashari and she need to visit and win a trial with the water, fire and earth ashari for her aramenthe

[@coralysrosado1889]

Going from hearing this scene on the podcast (only recently got into critical role and listen to the campaign while I work), to seeing the clips of it happening during the game to now scene it animated... it's gotten me everytime

[@purplelikefire]

The Bidet at the end with you all cracking up :D

[@corporealghoul]

Agreed. Thordak has an amazing voice. RIP Lance Reddick. Dude was a king among voice actors.

[@soccertl]

The Vex and Vax story was heartbreaking.

[@AnxietyRat]

To be fair, it STAYS heartbreaking...their story is not a happy one, unfortunately. But yes, I love how they added flashbacks to the show. Made the scene even harder hitting, for sure.

[@tlaragihai5953]

Grog in this episode really showed his intellegence of 6 :DDD (with 10 being the average in dnd) I`m really glad you`ve noticed the picture of ravens carrying souls in the tomb. Really curious what`s going to happen with Kashaw and Zahra in the next episode, it was different in the campain, so I can`t predict it :D

[@Fsudryden]

Even some critters don’t realize that what comes next has ramafications all the way until the end of the campaign.

[@Fairburne69]

I can't remember The name of the spell but it does damage and if it brings you below zero hit points it's an instant death. No Death saving throws. I have a feeling the next episode is going to be emotional. I'd also highly recommend the book Kith and Kin. It's a prequel to Vex & Vax joining Vox Machina. There are no spoilers just a better understanding of their relationship.

[@geak78]

Circle of Death I think

[@DScotsman1]

I think it was Finger of Death, actually. Regardless of the name, Laura's Vex took 56 points of damage, went below 0 HP, and was killed instantly, with no saving throws.

[@AnxietyRat]

@@DScotsman1 It was circle of death. Finger of death would have brought her back as a zombie at 0 hitpoints.

[@geak78]

@@AnxietyRat Circle of Death fits everything except the radius. It was only 10' in the trap. May have just been a homebrew.

[@__abby]

How is it that each time I watch that ending scene I get MORE emotional. Once I saw the title for episode 3 I knew it was going to be amazing. Can't wait until next episode.

[@jonathanblyth1463]

Well done for getting reactions out after that ending.

[@sammiebray1661]

The coolest thing is that Liam and Laura share a birthday and are basically twins from different mothers. It’s amazing to watch the two of them together

[@corybishop3084]

You’re the only ones I’ve seen have a theory as to who the green eyed girl is.

[@z34567890123456]

In the watch party Critical Role just did of these episodes, they mentioned the specific lack of music for the majority of this episode. It really adds a lot to the suspense. Also, Liams sobbing is GUT WRENCHING at the end. Love it so much.

[@allen3925]

This isn't a normal show. There isn't plot armor in dnd. They live and die by the dice.

[@RissaDotExe]

You're both amazing, watching your reactions make me so happy. I also follow along with your emotions and love how you both react to what you see. The green dragon is Raishan! Love your content, keep up the amazing work! ❤️

[@Huskeybear76]

Zara and Cass where guest players who sat in for a few episodes of the live game.

[@teepope3128]

They are doing amazing job translating this to animation. I have watched the ending of this episode 5 times and multiple reactions to it and still cry...AND I ALREADY KNOW WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN, lol.

[@vagabond142]

16:43 as much as the acting in LoVM is top tier, as they are all world class voice actors, you have to give props to Neal Acree for the music. Swelling emotional strings that all cut out in favor of Liam O'Brian's superbly acted grief and four piano chords. Nothing else. Just tears and simple piano chords. Hits you like a fucking freight train and then keeps running you over when you're down.

[@ShaggyRambo]

Bidet from Michigan 🙂 Hope y'all got ya feels ready 🙃😋

[@elinahamalainen5867]

Grog got lucky but Percival should have known better.

[@warrust]

they checked the sarcophagus but not the actual armour itself

[@djcowell91]

Bidet! You were saying about Vex if she's stunned, or hurt, or dead or whatnot. I won't spoil anything after this moment, and it's still not really a spoiler because the show is already slightly different than the live game play, but in the game play she was killed by that blast. Actually dead. It was the first death since they started showing their game. (One before that, but if it didn't happen on camera, did it really happen?) We'll see if the reactions and developments from there are the same, but won't go into those yet.

[@bouboulroz]

It wasn't the first death on camera though. It's the first one shown in the animated show, but not the first in the filmed campaign.

[@TheSniper1623]

The first death was in the underdark, against a certain one eyed boy

[@Huskeybear76]

I don't consider this a spoiler but later on in the game they talk about how Grog was thrown out of his herd of barbarians, beaten and left for dead. Pike and her grandfather/uncle?( can't remember which) found him and nursed him back to health where he became a sort of step brother to Pike. That's why they are so close.

[@AnxietyRat]

Wilhand is Pike's great grandfather, IIRC.

[@undertonetm7692]

In the streamed game, Vex, Trinket, and Percy needed to make Dexterity Saving Throws. Vex rolled a Nat 1, Trinket rolled low as well, and I think Percy rolled a 21 [plus modifiers]. This is the transcription. ========== Matt Mercer [DM]: [To Percy] As you reach out and grab for the armor, as your fingers touch it, there's this vibrations and it seems like the shadows, the nearby shadows in the corners, seem to reach up towards your hands. You pull back in time, [To Vex and Trinket] but you and Trinket notice a little too late as there's a burst of death. A burst of death energy bursts out for a ten-foot radiusaround the entire sarcophagus. [To Percy] You avoid it. [To Vex and Trinket] Both you and Trinket suffer 58 points of Necrotic Damage. Laura Baily [Vex'ahlia]: I'm unconcious. Trinket-- Matt Mercer [DM]: [To Vex] Does that bring you below zero? Laura Baily [Vex'ahlia]: ...Yeah Matt Mercer [DM]:Vex's body falls and hits the stonework, and you look over as you see her eyes stare up, the last bit of air escaping from her lungs as the life drips out of her form. ========== This is what happened at the table during their streams and I just wrote it down and for you people to read and ponder. I'm not much versed with the rules of DnD, but I think, if I remember correctly, Damaging you to zero makes you unconsious and unable to function, a player has then to make 3 Death Saves. 3 success' means your back in the fight, and 3 loss' means that you die permanently. Additional hits while unconsious contribute to a loss of Death Saves. If the damage is a really big damage that would equal your health in the negatives, [ex. 50HP but you recieve 100 pts. of damage, that means there's 50 damage left over to attack your max health] it would effectively result in an instant kill. I think. If I got it correctly I do not have full context, so I do not know if she was low after the fight with the fish people, but the damage was high enough to warrant a 3 consecutive loss on the Death Saving throw. That, or what Matt Mercer just said, Death Magic Energy thingy-mabob.

[@smashbrandiscootch719]

Nah, there were no saving throws for this. It was an effect that dealt necrotic damage and if the attack reduced you to zero HP, it instantly killed you. Trinket took damage too but wasn't reduced to zero HP so he was fine. Vex, unfortunately, was reduced to zero HP so the effect killed her flat out.

[@christiandeepe6414]

There are certain spells and effects that say if they take you to 0 you immediately die. This was one such effect.

[@Becky31389]

@@smashbrandiscootch719 take you *below* 0 hit points was the difference based on Matt's reaction in the campaign.

[@smashbrandiscootch719]

@@Becky31389 No. There is no "below 0 hit points" in dnd 5e. If the attack reduced you to zero hit points, it was instant death with no death saving throws.

[@malcolmrowe9003]

@@smashbrandiscootch719 whatever the standard D&D wording might be about not going below 0 hit points, Matt Mercer was told she was unconscious, so at zero. He then asks if she is below zero, so the specific effect of the trap meant that if it did enough damage that it would mathematically be MORE THAN ENOUGH to take them to zero, then it would kill them. Based on the wording of the conversation, if it had merely been enough to take Vex to zero, it would not have killed her. Assuming that Matt had properly heard and registered what Laura had said.

[@JirkaKunst]

1:39 Thordak is supposed to be a play on words. CR would play D&D on Thursdays.

[@talisredstar1543]

even knowing what is coming.. it still hurts so much.

[@silentinfinity]

I also thought of Hordak from Masters of the Universe! "One battle does not win a war, She-Ra..." echoes in my head often from the movie/miniseries where He-Man found his sister. I'm wondering how many battles will be fought before Vox Machina wins this war and just who might join them along the way. I agree on the little girl and how she's clearly spying on them. Thanks for a perfect lunch break video!!!

[@s.grey.k]

This reaction was so worth the wait - you're both so observant and I love your theories. I have watched this episode 3 times already and it made me sad every time even though I already knew ehat was coming. Can't wait for thursday!

[@kevinworth]

Let's get Pike to heal that hand of yours Trent! 😬

[@FandomZone]

I'll take anything at the moment, my gym got new bars and tore my hand to shreds

[@Fsudryden]

What hit her was a holy magical trap. Percy made his saving throw and she did not. There are some things in D&D that can cause insta death. The spell within the trap was one of them.

[@alexandersteel7272]

Yep that's how Vex died in the campaign just dumb luck and overlooking one step of checking for traps, I know a lot of people love Laura's second character more but Vex was a great character and I was sad when she died to that trap. I did love the effect that it had on everyone else's characters, especially Vax and Percy's stories going forwards though.

[@CoL_Drake]

well she just wanted to check when percy just touched it to be fair to her xD

[@CallistoTheWarriorQueen]

Also given you mentioned The Last of Us you might have noticed that the twins' awful father is Joel (Troy Baker) from The Last of Us (game) 😉

[@laurahart1337]

Good theory, only time will tell if it’s true or not. Also, Bidet!!

[@corporealghoul]

Liam killed that final scene. But liam is a true sad boy. So i have no doubt he was truly crying about something in that recording booth which makes the scene hit even harder. Hes got a lot of gried he lives with. He has opened up about it before.

[@redyns99]

Here is a video of the live show of when Vex dies. kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZnLYeZmOrLmMZ68

[@FandomZone]

The realisation on Laura's face and silence from the group after the laughs at the poor roll. But also, poor Trinket.

[@Becky31389]

@@FandomZone in that same episode just moments before this clip, you'd hear Travis talk about doing something dumb that Grog would do based on what Vax had just asked him. You said in this episode regarding him just wanting to touch everything that it's definitely something Travis would do and you were so accurate because Travis is always trying to do things very much in character because Grog is an adorable idiot 🤣 That moment starts at 4:22.30: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gXnWcmOIlKyirLc

[@needoriginalname]

Just to explain what happened to get. Vex got hit by a trap with a death effect, if she went to 0 hp or below, instant death no saves. Laura actual rolled a nat 1 to attempt to evade that attack, which means the damage was likely doubled. Spoiler below for next episode. According to the RPG webshow, Kashaw will cast a revivify spell to Vex and after a ritual casting Vex was brought back to life. Note: revivify is the lowest resurrection spell and can only work if done within a minute of death.

[@bonkiatsu470]

🔥❤️🔥 Bidet

[@Luzarioth]

hmmm... But if the little girl is the fourth Dragon, then why didn't she just turn into her true form and kill everyone the second they they got to Whitestone ?

[@ShadowyFox_86]

Reasons

[@AnxietyRat]

@@ShadowyFox_86 yup, Raishans motives get explained... eventually. She has her reasons to not just murder everyone immediately.

[@malcolmrowe9003]

Maybe she's larking about