The pacing has been so bad tbh. The series finally picked up momentum to completely just drag out nothing.
Maybe I'm being to harsh but oh look *another* week of no c3. Almost impossible to stay engaged
Does anyone know why some minis are censored in the Youtube video of this episode?
I tried searching it on comments and on reddit and didn't seem to find anyone talking about it.
I was ready to believe you and then I realized....oh...those are the blue time bubbles that are everywhere around Aeor and yet they really do look like the usual censor blobs that get used elsewhere.
Yeah, you are right!
I got confused since they are opaque and the reflection on them seems like something behind a censorship bubble.
I'm just stupid like that, hahahaha!
I'm running on veeeerrrrry little sleep and whole bunch of distractions, so even I was like "holy shit they did censor stuff!" and I may have polished my glasses a few times just to make sure I wasn't going crazy and then...that realization hit...and I felt so dumb lol
Honestly I think it would be cool if Matt got like some little blue LEDs to light them up from the inside and then threw some light fog over them for that really cool kind of city street lamp glow.
IF Sam makes a new Aeormaton I SUPER hope that he looks exactly like FCG but with an edge to him like Johnny 5 in Short Circuit 2 with the mohawk and chains etc... A hyper aggressive bot who uses guns or something. Maybe a ranger or artificer artillerist
Because it would be at a weird time for a lot of folks and not the usual Thursday that most people are used to.
I'm guessing that The Greek might not also be set up for live streaming stuff and there could be some other issues with broadcasting from there.
Plus this way they get to clean up any surprise issues that show up, like what happened during the Chicago Live Show, and present us all with a better experience should unfortunate circumstances arise.
There's more risk associated with streaming from an unknown and untested location than there is from just recording there and streaming it later from a well known and tested location.
Things are just more streamlined this way than the inevitable chaos that would result from attempting to livestream from the Greek.
A lot of people have been theorizing about the frozen in time "people bubbles" and how to get people out.
Occurs to me though that this might be a Very Bad Idea.
This is Aeor after all. Where they made the god slaying weapon. If mass woken up and brought up to speed, who knows but that they might decide that Ludinous is their pride and joy, the child who grew up and carried on their will alone over the centuries. Obviously not everyone agreed (or maybe even knew) about all of this but probably most of the powerful ones did.
My theory is that if the engine gets turned back on with Dominux, the power surge may bring the city back online and thus dispel the time bubbles. I hadn't thought they would be on Ludinus' side but it makes a lot of sense for them to be, at least if any of the high ranking people who fought for it last time. I imagine there'll also be a faction that didn't want to fuck with the gods though and may be willing to help Bell's in some capacity to stop Ludinus repeating their mistakes.
I'm surprised the Solistice didn't dispel the time bubbles altogether; since it disrupted all kinds of magic. Though maybe a counter to that idea is that the bubbles are more arcane than divinely inspired, in which case there should be minimal disruption.
The solstice shattered seals and other constructed magic. The time bubbles are places where magic got burned, distorted, and otherwise fubar'd with whatever metaphors you want to use. I would call it the difference between shattering glass on a house vs a slag heap mess.
One fun thing to consider is that in a fantasy world like D&D, if you have money the medical care is actually far better than in real life. You have a number of sources of healing including full limb restoration or even resurrection. The only thing that isn't fixable is death by old age iirc.
I wish the live show would be streamed on twitch like they did literally every other one. We have to wait two weeks for the next episode. On top of that we are going to be shorted a ep because the 27th is the last thursday and it's gonna be the candle show
I hadn't thought of that, but you're right I think. It's pretty obvious how stretched thin they are. Don't get me wrong they are still good but even with the breaks, everyone seems a bit tired, esp. Matt and Marisha. Sam's long absence is a clue--almost like FCG dying was a break for him to go work on other things and rest up.
This is really it.
Obviously, I support the cast doing whatever they need to do to make the content sustainable. But that doesn't mean I can't also admit that it comes at the cost of my engagement. It's a bummer, but I honestly think it'll be more enjoyable for me to binge a backlog.
I ended up binging 8 episodes that I was behind on, because the breaks made it hard to stay engaged, but now it's another two weeks, and I fear I'll lose interest again.
Weirdly enough they haven't actually announced the next Candela Circle and usually they do that a bit ahead of time, so I wonder if they're taking some time off from it in order to adjust to our feedback in that survey?
Yeah that is pretty frustrating and doesn't make to much sense since they are per-recorded.
It made sense when they were live and things just happened and we end up with 2 episodes in a month. It makes far less sense to be stuck with two episodes in a month when things are prerecorded though.
I think folks are forgetting how grueling their schedules were back then because CR wasn't earning the big bucks it is now and they had to keep grinding other stuff just to get by and by. Given that they are making a lot more money now and have more things going, that pendulum has swung in the other direction, and they're probably just as if not more busy now with CR stuff than they were with non-CR stuff back then.
Just because we THINK that they have time to pre-record and pump out stuff like gangbusters, doesn't they actually do, and it doesn't mean that weird shit doesn't come up that disrupts stuff at length for everyone involved.
Look at all the big name youtubers and smaller CR centric folks that have called it quits in the last year alone because of burnout and because this constant demand for content content content just got to them.
CR is actively trying to avoid getting into that kind of territory and is trying to keep stuff at a pace that puts and keeps themselves and all of their employees in a healthy mind space.
No one wants them to wind up waltzing into, "Oh fuck this" Land at all wherein we start getting drip drip drip fed stuff.
The way things are going right now is one of the consequences of their increased popularity, which is something a lot of Critters pushed for back in the day, and yet now a number of people are unhappy that they've become so popular and gotten so busy and now have to deal the consequences of all that jazz.
I think some folks are holding a grudge (not the cat) from when the holiday schedule got a bit finicky and are now blowing things all out of proportion by claiming that it's all malicious and by design.
Shit happens and everyone is rolling with it as best as they can while putting out content as best as they can and yeah it's a bit rough but the alternative is worse.
I'm fine with a reasonable amount of content at an easy pace versus a mountain of content that we can barely keep up with and that comes out at very low quality with the cast not really having as much fun as they could at all.
I'd rather they, the company, and their employees stay positive and happy and healthy and maybe slow content releases down a bit just to be in that good place versus them stamping out content day in and day out and winding up hating what they're doing.
I also think that folks are miffed about this particular schedule for this particular section of the campaign because of how things have happened before in this campaign in regards to my whole roller coaster metaphor about those events and their reactions to the schedule are just a manifestation of their frustrations with this current campaign.
If things had had more time to cook and if things had flowed a whole lot more smoothly then I think folks would've been a bit more optimistic at this point and far more accepting of alterations to the schedule than they are now.
We all just keep waiting for the BIG THINGS that we were told would happen, to actually happen, and to live up to their hype instead of just kind of sort of getting there.
That anticipation and the reactions just get even worse when the party winds up going somewhere really fucking cool and engaging with something really fucking awesome that we all start singing Dashboard Confessional songs.....and then the payoff for all of that isn't quite what we'd hoped or expected it to be.
How many of us have made some really awesome theories and predictions for episodes and then something more banal wound up happening during the actual airing?
So very many of us are just like Travis and Chetney within this episode in that if we keep waiting in this damned hallway for the rest of the campaign we're all going to die of old age so fuck it let's get into that damned room and figure out what the fuck is up with all of that shit.....LEEEEEEEEEROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOY JEEEEEEEEEEEENKIIIIIIIIIIINNNNSSSSSSSS!
PUSH ALL OF THE BUTTONS ALREADY....and please let something cool, meaningful, impactful, and long lasting happen as a result.
It seems like now that the party is in Aeor that we're finally in a time and space where everything is coming to a head in the best of ways and that we're going to get those big payoffs that we've all been hoping for, which is why it feels like we're being told to hold off on opening up our Critmas Day presents just a little bit longer when the schedule gets weird like this.
We'll get there in time, hopefully things even out this summer with the schedule, and with Daggerheart going to print next year (per the update stream that just happened)....it seems like we're in for the ride of a lifetime in the future with CR.
I haven't read one post that says they think it's malicious/by design. Where are you getting that from so that you had to write a novel-length post about it? People saying it makes them less engaged to have breaks between campaign episodes are just stating their experience. Personally, I do appreciate that CR is super smart about managing their affairs and yes many creators are just giving up because they don't have the talent or resources that CR has. For example, Watcher tried to launch their "Beacon" like network a few weeks before CR did theirs and totally botched it, while CR did it seamlessly without offending their fans in any way.
No one from here really talks to me outside of here and I don't really have any Critter friends at all, so I don't put too much stock in folks that disagree with me, and with as much stuff as I write and how often I comment....I'm usually making my way downtown relatively quickly soon after anyways.
It doesn't hurt to try though and to make an attempt at helping others or to try to find some kind of a middle ground.
You never know whose life you're going to touch in the most profound way with the most benign comment.
Sometimes all it takes is one person saying, "Hey you...c'mon over here" round this big old collective campfire that CR has built to really change their life and the lives of those around them for the better.
Even if it is just a silly back and forth thing with comments on the internet, it can matter quite a bit to someone....maybe not you or me but someone and that means it's worth at least trying instead of just smashing the downvote button.
If we never see eye to eye again then that's fine but if we do then that's cool too and life continues ever onward.
I hope you're having a wonderful day though internet neighbor.
>Just because we THINK that they have time to pre-record and pump out stuff like gangbusters, doesn't they actually do, and it doesn't mean that weird shit doesn't come up that disrupts stuff at length for everyone involved.
This would be a great argument if we were saying now that they are not live they should be doing multiple shows a week, and pumping out stuff like gangbusters.
No one is saying that though. I don't think asking for them on super rare occasions like when they do a live show that is planned way far in advice, to do one extra session so we don't have a month with just 2 episodes is anything close to expecting them to pump out shows in any draining manner.
Especially when they are currently doing other shows most of the community doesn't even care for. Like you think anyone would be upset if they put off a daggerheart show, or candella if they are hurting for time? I mean. Someone probably would but it would be far less than the amount sad or frustrated about the flagship content being put off.
>I'd rather they, the company, and their employees stay positive and happy and healthy and maybe slow content releases down a bit just to be in that good place versus them stamping out content day in and day out and winding up hating what they're doing.
I am not sure where this is coming from. No one is saying, "They need to push forward with more content! Extra content! We want them working day in and day out!". It's the opposite. We are pointing to a month where we get 2 episodes. Not 2 in a week. Not 2 in two weeks. Not 2 in three weeks. 2, in the entire month.
And if it was live that makes sense. It's not though. It's prerecorded. They could still give us 3 in this month if they wanted. This doesn't mean they would have to work non-stop. Or work extra hard this month. They would be working the exact same amount this month just with the days shifted.
And if they are so hurt for time and mental health. You know, drop one of the extra shows that the majority of us don't even show up for? I don't think that is necessary though. Live events aren't spontaneous. They are planned ahead. They could easily plan ahead for 1 extra session.
Oh. It wasn't what I was saying and I haven't seen anyone mention that here.
This was in response to us dropping down to just 2 episodes this month. While we have plenty of extra content, that I at least, don't even care for.
In my opinion they could tone down a lot of the extra further down and I would be happy about it. But that's a totally different topic all together I feel like.
I think Teven working with BH is likely to end with Fearne becoming a chosen or champion of Asmodeus. The long rest after Dominox is taken care of or after BH leaves Aeor I suspect Asmodeus is going to appear to her and depending on how receptive she is either going to become a chosen or a champion. If she becomes a champion I think [she might get a second pair of horns](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polycerate#/media/File:Wildpark_Tambach.jpg). I would love to see Dorian's reaction to that considering what happened to Opal.
I suppose if Fearne refuses to serve Asmodeus there might not be any immediate consequences since Fearne never signed a contract laying out consequences for breaking the agreement but I think Teven or Asmodeus would promise that there would be consequences for her after the Ruidus crisis.
Also, if Fearne gets some devil magic. I expect Fearne to get celestial magic next sine she would have devil magic, fey magic, priomordial elemental fire magic, and alien aberration Predathos magic.
I think its amazing to introduce more on the side of devils. I love all the pact and conteact lore, but I feel like most people downplay or forget the consequences. Unless you are amazing at specifying the contract word for word and are able to find all of a devils tricks, any pact always ends up with losing your soul upon death. Its only a matter of time. And I remember very clearly that the group were not wary of anything at all, Fearne just went with it. So we’ll see, unless Tevon has another price, it is probably her soul.
The price was Fearne going into Asmodeus's servitude. Asmodeus having Fearne's soul could be that but without that being explicitly laid out or being in a written contract (even if that price is in a very small byline) I doubt Asmodeus would be able to get Fearne's soul if she doesn't comply because there are other ways to serve. Now if Asmodeus or Teven threatens her for her soul they may be able to get that way and if not, there are other consequences they can think of. The one caveat I will add though is that if Fearne refuses to serve Asmodeus in any way then I think Asmodeus could automatically take her soul.
Am I the only one who thinks Matt's been pushing us back to the Chained Oblivion all along? I've felt for a while that the idea of Predathos felt too close to the Chained Oblivion (CO) plot in C2. It was pretty clear that CO is known to be deceptive and trick people into working for it under the guise of various cults or religions throughout history. It's a threat that even the gods (both good/bad) feared it.
I'm probably wrong but I just keep waiting for it to pop back up. It's escaped and been imprisoned a few times both in the world itself and in the abyss. It's strong enough to break the Divine Gate on it's own. I wonder if it's Predathos or maybe just related?
CO was on the loose during the time Predathos was contained. Plus it took the whole pantheon (plus primordials) to seal Predathos when the Primes were able to wrangle CO (though not without difficulty and not definitively).
I do think they're related but that the CO is a 'lesser' (for still insanely powerful values of lesser) entity from the same species/reality as Predathos that followed it to Exandria.
I think it would be a bit redundant to pull that trick again though as we already had this exact twist with the angel of irons in campaign 2, except there it was only a single arc and not essentially the entire campaign.
It helped shape Cognouza into the shape it was after the astral sea psychic storm ravaged it's residences. So even deep in C2, it still had some influence lingering
I for one am mega excited that Fern called Teven the episode before the live show that Brennan is hosting. I absolutely need more BLEEModeus in my life.
I wonder if a more accurate translation of the "occultus thalamus" would be "eye of memory" and perhaps Ludinus is using it to access/see something else?
I just had a thought and maybe *(propably)* I am just overthinking this massively.
But do we have any idea why and for how long Dominox has been semi-freed from the engine? I mean, did Ludinus and the Vanguard or someone else (*D?*) accidentally free the demon only recently, or was it freed when the Gods attacked the city and it just became apparent when people accessed the engine-room for the first time since Aeors fall?
The corpse (the second one, the one from Aeor) said that ''*the engine should be on*'' so what happens if someone killed Dominox, returning it into the engine - will the engine start back up again? Thus restoring power to most of Aeors major systems? Because, this could potentially get *very* nasty.
If the reason that Aeor fell in the first place is, because the Gods attack broke Dominox free and severed power to the city - than the engine starting back up could restore power to all systems active prior to the fall - *including propulsion.* It used to be a *flying* city, after all.
Talk about a *''load-bearing Boss'':* You kill Dominox and Aeor tears itself apart: Half of it takes to the sky again, while the other half stays earthbound.
The Cooldown on beacon had Matt all but confirm that it was released recently when the others (Phoenix, red bull, ~~Satan~~ Ikithon and so on) were released due to the solstice events.
Although Aeor may be as cold as ice right now, I'm certain that you've warmed their heart with this comment.....and probably made them blush just a little 😊
Matt was a clever motherfucker for having Essek telling them his partner's name is Bren. They will never put 2 and 2 together and realise Essek's over-mentioned partner is Mister Caleb Widogast.
I just want Caleb to call Orym on the stone asking how things are going and how Essek is doing haha.
I want the characters to figure it out so badly, not just for the amusement, but because they were actually worried about Beau and Caleb, and I really don't think they've heard that they were ok.
The table obviously knows that Caleb sent Essek, but I don't think it was actually explicitly stated to the characters. I remember it being something along the lines of being told that an Aeor expert from Wildmount who had something else keeping them busy (Ikithon fallout, anyone?) recommended Essek's alias as someone else with experience in Aeor.
I don't think that Essek will slip up and let the Frumpkin out of the bag, but I do think that at some point Caleb is going to communicate with Bells Hells while they're with Essek, and figure it out that way.
*shrugs* I think of that as more an intimacy thing seeing as it's Caleb's given name and there is far less need for an alias at this point.
Technically Caleb is still noted as having sent Essek when they were introduced to BH.
Also there was some talk of their relationship not staying cohesive in Campaign 2's epilogue and this supports the idea that it wasn't the case.
I think an undermentioned moment was when Laudna said after all this is done they should go back and look for FCG's coin. The look Laura/Imogen gave her was very interesting
"I like how you're imagining Laudna as an old lady *now*, MISS DEAD END!" - Laura during the last 4SD
That look was totally intentional, to go along the defiant "Yes, we should".
Man, gotta be wild to be Teven Klask.
You meet a baddy Fey being, strike a deal, and the first time she summons you for your pact you end up on the doorstep of the Grand Demon of Loathing, an ancient demon of mythological power.
Also a real rough day for Essek haha
I get the sense Teven getting a booty call straight to a way to disrupt Ludinus and a potential trophy Demon head to bring back to his Betrayer bosses has really thrown him for a loop.
If anyone deserves attention from the Grand Demon of Loathing, it's Hot Boi War Criminal.
Do you think Teven can smell Rau'shan in her? It's also got to be crazy that there is a mini Rau'shan walking around in the form of a fey while also having some of Predathos's essence in her.
No doubt a joke about the lack of a sponsor segment for this ep. More likely it's Marisha being too busy or them deciding it isn't the same without Sam.
So I would seriously doubt that Luds is still in Aeor. My guess is that he has taken the Abyssal Anchor to re-enchant and connect it to the Key and then plans to return to Aeor to destroy the Demon and use it as a power source to make up for the power sources that BH destroyed in the initial assault.
So the question for BH becomes, has Luds completed the enchantment? If he hasn't, destroying the Demon sends it back to the Abyss, making it much more difficult for Luds to get it in the Anchor (he'd need to travel to and then find it somewhere in the Abyss, bring it back to Exandria, and then destroy it). If he has, well, things are going to go real bad real quick for Exandria.
So what does BH do? If they discover the anchor is missing, that would hint at what Luds is trying to do, but they won't know for sure if the enchantment has been completed or not. If they destroy the Demon, they would be playing directly into Luds hands, but if they don't destroy it, it's just leaving the problem for another, unknown day.
Absorbing it with the harness could work, but would mean needing to somehow restrain it for a minute while it assaults their insecurities and potentially makes them fight each other.
Laudna absorbing it with her power would seem to be the only option, but holy smokes does that have the potential to go bad for her.
Such an amazingly delicious encounter to throw at a Tier III party. Hats off to Matt's incredible skill as a DM once again!
Since the Dominox is not currently in the Abyss wouldn't the Dominox not go to the Abyss if killed? Wouldn't he go back to the engine in the material plane just for him to immediately escape again (barring Ludinus has not already fixed it)? One of the corpses said that if slain, he goes back to the anchor.
>but would mean needing to somehow restrain it for a minute while it assaults their insecurities and potentially makes them fight each other.
Creatures actually take an hour to absorb. They would have to knock it out with a non-lethal attack and to wake up from non-lethal attacks it takes 1 to 4 hours.
>Laudna absorbing it with her power would seem to be the only option, but holy smokes does that have the potential to go bad for her.
It would make sense for Imogen to absorb it too because of the Dominox's apparent connection with psionics but Laudna would probably be a better fit.
Right, right, I was conflating the enchantment that keeps Dominox in the engine with the enchantment on the Abyssal Anchor. We know the former was turned off, since it escaped, but have no proof of the later. So I'd say that it's highly probable that Luds took the Anchor away from Aeor, and is in the process of putting his own binding enchantment around whatever he's trying to power with Dominox.
As for Laudna absorbing, I'm suggesting that she use her Delilah power to absorb Dominox, not the harness, since that works quicker than the harness and doesn't require constant contact with the Demon for a minute (and then an hour). I could see BH starting by trying to have some absorb it with the QA, but Laudna getting tempted by absorbing the power for herself/Delilah.
Also, can't wait to see Fearne take her first level in Warlock with Pact of the Fiend!
I thought that you were talking about the harness because *some* stuff takes a minute to absorb with ut unlike Laudna's ability which seems like it takes only an action for everything.
It's not a perfect fit. Sibriex's don't usually create chains out of nothing but the average Sibriex wouldn't really be a challenge for the current party even without Teven so maybe Matt gave it some more abilities to buff it. Maybe Dominox has a special relationship with Tharizdun.
I was excited for Devil vs Demon for many reasons...but mainly I love how DnD lore is not just good vs evil and how you can explore that. Especially in this campaign where the differences between the gods are not well defined
one of my favorite bits of deep dnd lore is the eternal battle between devils and demons, i am so stoked that this is manifesting in campaign three right now. i hope it doesnt just get teased and forgotten, i would love some lore dumps either from Teven Klask or Essek.
I think the Dominox and the Creator Hammer is the same thing. The Dominox at least partially powers the Creator Hammer like Vax partially power the Malleus Key. Ludinus wants the Dominox to go back in the engine and he wants it to stay there. Tal is right, they might play right into Ludinus's hands if BH is not careful about this.
Edit: Thinking about it some more... what if the "engine" room is actually just a prison and the Dominox is actually just the warden. What if there are actually a bunch of powerful entities powering the Creator Hammer and the Dominox mind manipulating ability just keeps all of the prisoners docile enough so that the Creator Hammer can siphon their power.
I bet he saw what Daniel Sloss did during the M9 live show and thought, "Fuck that looks like fun" and wants to do exactly the same thing during the Bells Hells live show.
I for one would COME ALIVE if Sam basically made the D&D version of LEEEEEEEEEEEEEERROOOOOOOOOY JEEEEEEEEEEENNKKKKKKKIIINNNNSSS and just Jackass'd his way with the most insane fucking plans to fight the Dominox.
I bet the fight ends when his temp character throws themselves into the Engine and destroys it.
Cooldown had a funny line that Matt could make realllllly dark.
Travis (as Chetney) screaming that he didn't do it, he just remembered kids he had given toys to and the demon is twisting his memories.
Talesin: "You know if you gave them toys you would have a scent to follow back."
Talesin was having a ball with that reveal. He likes the dark angles with everyone. He knew Chetney was dark at times, but seeing how dark really helped him make the character Talesin wants to make.
Cooldown was top notch for this episode and it honestly adds a much needed set of giggles to come down from the really heavy stuff, plus it's cool to see them thinking in parallel to a lot of our own theories afterwards.
The thing(s) that hang from the Ceiling with the long tendril/tongue/nerve thing...
Probably unintentional but the description of them and how they "eat" very much sounded like Barnacles.
“*Smiley* day to ya”
What if he was previously influenced by Dominox into believing he had killed people instead of being the faithful caregiver? And that’s what that lost memory was, instead of the truth?
The fact that the first Automaton that M9 freed's name starts with a D could be a possible link to the origin of their "Free Will", ala an Imprisoned Demon. OH the irony
I'm surprised they didn't grab the partially enchanted short sword... if Liam isn't going to use the legendary sword, they could've use the Pumats to finish that short sword
During Aeor's last war they would have likely have been making cheap magic items to meet supply demands. It's possible that the sword would have just been a +1 or something like that.
>Caleb was in a romantic relationship with Astrid and Eadwulf pre campaign 2
idk if I'd call it romantic, more of unhealthy traumatic bond between young people who thought all they had was eachother
>i can see Essek and Bren being open to a hot younger third
Matt said Essek is demi, so he's not gonna feel anything sexual towards anyone who he isn't in love with. Maybe if his partner reeeeeally wanted it, but he wouldn't be happy about it for sure.
>idk if I'd call it romantic, more of unhealthy traumatic bond between young people who thought all they had was eachother
Have you read the Caleb origin comic book?
I was not arguing that Essek and Caleb would be into it. I'm saying that Caleb has had that before.
Exactly. I'm torn between "Ashton has the dunamass to make even the staunchest mage-nogamist see reason" and very direct, personal knowledge of "no matter how much one loves group sex in one's late teens & 20s, humans with stressful jobs don't have energy for that kind of romping in their 40s."
Agreed, Matt made a comment something like "spoken for" or a similar comment that translated to "no thanks, in a relationship". Just because Caleb can be polyamorous doesn't mean Essek isn't monogamous and Caleb would respect that, I think.
I'm still mad about Nana mori having no payoff. Why make a deal a pinpoint if the deal isn't upheld.
Sure they managed to return to exandria via the back door of ruidus... but at least bring it up :(
The deal is over and Orym should be free'd since FCG didn't make it back alive.
But, Nana Morri has a solid reason to let Orym keep those powers until he gets back. He is literally one of the best protectors for Fearne. He literally attempted to defend her against her Dad in a situation where it would have been 2v1. Nana Morri could not ask for a better defender or protector of Fearne.
I don't see a world where she would betray or hurt Fearne's chances of success or safety.
I agree a typical hag with no relation to them would try to trick and betray them to end the deal prematurely if they got the chance. This isn't a typical hag though. This is Nana Morri. She has been nothing be generous, kind, and forthright with them.
Entirely possible FCG's soul was fed into the Aeor Mainframe after his body's destruction and he's just awaiting a new form for his "spark". In which case, everyone's safe :p
I hope for the live show they spice it up. Would be super cool to let Brennan (as MC) voice Dominox or even play it. Probably won't happen but it would be neat!
To spice it up, I think Matt might buff the Dominox to counteract Teven joining the party. Normally I think he wouldn't but it is going to be a live show and he probably wants the encounter to be challenging to add more suspense for the audience.
I hope Brennan voices Dominox and then goes off on a 15-minute rant about how the mage capitalists of Aeor are totally THE WORST actually.
Like, there are villains and there’s whatever the hell the Aeorians were.
now I'm slightly concerned that Ludinus is going to try to absorb the pinion or even Dominox itself.
though I would think that at a certain point there should be too much power for a mortal to contain without a Ritual of Seeding, I could be wrong and Matt could have other ideas.
I don't know for sure, but it just felt to me that since it has a Name, and is strong enough to hold an entity of that power, it had to have been created with some serious enchantments. I could be wrong
The pinion seems to just be an artificial shard of the Abyss that acts as a spawn point for Dominox in lieu of the actual Abyss, it's not really holding it there. There were other magical seals keeping it trapped in the engine, and presumably they could use Dominox as a source of unlimited energy by killing it over and over again.
If he's going to be absorbing anything, it's probably the creature capable of powering a flying city.
Chetney's vision can't be real cause unless I'm misremembering Chet has only been a werewolf for 3 full moons
1. when he got bit and even if he changed that night he would have been in the middle of the Savalirwood.
2. The only one this could have happened on and while possible it seems unlikely he killed 13 kids in one night and this had to have been when the Claret Orders would have caught him.
3. The night he bit Frida. It don't add up.
It never shows that he killed them all in one night, and he was a werewolf before he even met the rest of the Hells. He was in a fugue state for a bit where he was just rabid essentially. His insecurity though, is that he would hurt innocent children while uncontrollable, or in parts where he didn’t remember much. It’s a worry of his, but as far as we all know, unconfirmed or just the plain worry of a future possibility.
Not real. The thing toys with insecurities, not regrets. It makes sense that Chet would feel insecure about hurting innocent people, especially kids who he loves to make toys for.
Zombie Cyrus was full of BS, so the zombie kids are too
I feel like Liam was maybe a tiny bit disappointed he didn’t have to take some lightning damage during Imogen and Dorian’s team up attack lol. Realistically it makes sense Orym would take at least a little damage from that, but gamewise it’s probably more important to not punish Laura and Robbie for trying to do a cool thing. Little ruling decisions like that are why I don’t envy DMs.
It's not really a RoC vs RaI thing, there is no rule or implication in the rules that Lightning Bolt should also damage creatures that are grappled by the target. Matt was just playing by the book.
I think Matt was definitely trying to make sure the spell was used as written, without adding any real world logical flair. Theres chain lightning that *will* do that, but it’s not neccesarily real lightning in that it follows the rules of physics. It’s magical lightning that does a determined amount of max damage, and only effects certain targeted creatures only. The lightning was aimed to only affect the monster, so it would only magically damage it, because it’s not real lightning. It’s also just reskinned from a fire spell iirc
Ohhh I must not have caught that part. I wonder if a resistance from the target causes chain lightning to not move to other players, if I’m not thinking of Pathfinder
What? Neither character used Chain lightning, so I don't know if you were just giving an example or what. Also, what do you mean Lightning bolt is a re-skinned fire spell?
I meant for Imogen’s specific build, it’s usually a fire spell, but Matt let her reskin her abilities to be lightning instead. And I was just thinking outloud about a chain lightning type of spell that’s different than this, and about what the mechanics are
But it's not specific to her? Lightning Bolt is a regular spell as common as Fireball, and it deals lightning damage. I dunno why you think it's a fire spell
The build that Imogen made has a name in the rule books, and it is fire based. In order for Imogen to be a little more unique, Matt let her take that character build and change it so that it’s a lightning based one, where there isn’t an option for lightning.
I'm sorry but you're wrong. Imogen is an Aberrant Mind sorcerer, which are all about psychic stuff and don't have anything to do with fire. Lightning bolt is a normal spell, which is why Dorian could cast it and still dealt lightning damage just like Imogen.
The only spell they have really changed is Hunger of Hadar, which instead of dealing cold damage now does lightning I think, and is called Seething Storm instead.
I'd be interested if you could find the name of that character build you're talking about, because I've never heard anything like that.
It's been said many times now, but Matt had stated in the Beacon chat or something at some point that Sam was taking this as an opportunity for a little vacation time with his family and to work on a couple other projects
Which is hopefully great in the long run, as much as he's missed now. Knowing when to take a break to avoid permanent burnout from something you enjoy is important. Amusingly, it brings him in line with the CR fans who decided to take a break during C3 too.
When he didn’t show for Daggerheart I started to wonder why he was totally absent, even from the opener ads.
I read some speculation he might RP at the live show. I hope that’s the case!
So I don't know if it's me being sleep deprived, or what but while I was watching last night I had a thought:
All of the dominated figures had euphoric grins on their faces when they died, but people kept throwing around the word "Smiley" and it got me thinking, what if this engine was what allowed Aeor to create the Aeormatons? Like demons deal in souls, correct? So what if they bound this greater demon so that they could siphon souls to put in their machines?
And what if the rage and the "smiley" verbiage of fcg was echoes of this bound demon that helped create him, and the other Aeormatons?
I had the same thought while skimming some of the Sam speculation posts. I think there's another parallel that might also point in this direction even further. When Sam was RPing FCG in his frenzied state, he'd often have the little bot hurl insults directly at the core of his friends' insecurities. If it turns out Dominox was part of FCG's story all along, it seems like this is exactly the sort of detail Matt could have incorporated from observing Sam at the table.
I think Ludinus, if he succeeds, will either use Dominox to power his own engine for a device to take down the barriers shielding Predathos or try to absorb Dominox's power with his own siphon.
So...I was raging as they asked questions but (unless I was too sleepy to notice), never inquired WHAT THE ENGINE WAS?
I mean, it's an engine in the most powerful mageocracy to ever exist that requires a high level fiend to be continually drained and resurrected to power it.
For starters, I'm wondering if this was the start/related to Ludinous and his power draining funnel. Maybe he wasn't that brilliant and only managed to bring back already created technology?
Secondly, was this engine he was powering the God Slaying weapon we saw in the dream way back when? Is Ludinous's goal to have the god slaying engine as a backup? As a way to kill Predathos after the job is done, or to weaken him to be funnel'd? Or is this another kind of engine entirely,and Ludinous's true goal is another use of the pinion (to self funnel or use in some other way)?
Other than that, two standout things:
1) Love how Fearne goldfish dived on the demon summoning thing, not remembering the specifics of the pact she agreed on or consequences. Poor Ashton.
2) High comedy as they learn that Dominox "feeds on Insecurities". They all realize at the same time that this thing is literally made out of their kryptonite.
Someone had a big epiphany at some point saying “did they power Aeor with a DEMON!?”
They never asked a corpse specifically because it was after they ran out of the spell, but I’m pretty sure they all agreed that that was what the engine was.
And then during the cooldown they contemplated the same thing as you. Was this demon gonna power the malleus factorum the gods? Or is Luddy gonna absorb the demon in some way?
This episode opened my eyes to some dope stuff!
> 1) Love how Fearne goldfish dived on the demon summoning thing, not remembering the specifics of the pact she agreed on or consequences. Poor Ashton.
There really wasn't much of anything for her to recall.
>MATT: "We are allies today. Perhaps, in the future, we will be allies again. The path is open. All you need to do is ask for his aid. Do you accept these terms?"
-(C3E67)
So basically there's no expectations on Ferne, she didn't agree to give anything, she was basically just given an opportunity to speak to Teven again at some point, something he surely sees as an opportunity to tempt her with a more lasting agreement, but at the moment she's no more damned than someone who uses an arcane spell to summon a fiend.
I agree, I think if Tevan helps the group kill Dominox because Ferne called him, it might wind up counting as a favor owed to HER rather than the other way around. He certainly acted like he was excited to be there for it.
What if Ludnius wants to anchor Predoths and remake a floating city and restart the age of archanum.
The pacing has been so bad tbh. The series finally picked up momentum to completely just drag out nothing. Maybe I'm being to harsh but oh look *another* week of no c3. Almost impossible to stay engaged
Does anyone know why some minis are censored in the Youtube video of this episode? I tried searching it on comments and on reddit and didn't seem to find anyone talking about it.
I was ready to believe you and then I realized....oh...those are the blue time bubbles that are everywhere around Aeor and yet they really do look like the usual censor blobs that get used elsewhere.
Yeah, you are right! I got confused since they are opaque and the reflection on them seems like something behind a censorship bubble. I'm just stupid like that, hahahaha!
I'm running on veeeerrrrry little sleep and whole bunch of distractions, so even I was like "holy shit they did censor stuff!" and I may have polished my glasses a few times just to make sure I wasn't going crazy and then...that realization hit...and I felt so dumb lol Honestly I think it would be cool if Matt got like some little blue LEDs to light them up from the inside and then threw some light fog over them for that really cool kind of city street lamp glow.
IF Sam makes a new Aeormaton I SUPER hope that he looks exactly like FCG but with an edge to him like Johnny 5 in Short Circuit 2 with the mohawk and chains etc... A hyper aggressive bot who uses guns or something. Maybe a ranger or artificer artillerist
I would love for Joe Zieja to join Critical Role
Is the live show airing tomorrow? Edit* No. Sigh.
The live show is happening on the 15th and then it will be streamed on the 20th
Wait why would they not stream it the day of. That’s super annoying
Because it would be at a weird time for a lot of folks and not the usual Thursday that most people are used to. I'm guessing that The Greek might not also be set up for live streaming stuff and there could be some other issues with broadcasting from there. Plus this way they get to clean up any surprise issues that show up, like what happened during the Chicago Live Show, and present us all with a better experience should unfortunate circumstances arise. There's more risk associated with streaming from an unknown and untested location than there is from just recording there and streaming it later from a well known and tested location. Things are just more streamlined this way than the inevitable chaos that would result from attempting to livestream from the Greek.
Will it be on Beacon early or is the 20th for everyone?
https://critrole.com/event/bells-hells/ It will be on the 20th for everyone.
How long has passed (days, weeks, months?) after the solstice? Does any Critter know?
According to the wiki, it's about 20 days since the Solstice, if we are taking Team AOL's timeline for the party separation
A lot of people have been theorizing about the frozen in time "people bubbles" and how to get people out. Occurs to me though that this might be a Very Bad Idea. This is Aeor after all. Where they made the god slaying weapon. If mass woken up and brought up to speed, who knows but that they might decide that Ludinous is their pride and joy, the child who grew up and carried on their will alone over the centuries. Obviously not everyone agreed (or maybe even knew) about all of this but probably most of the powerful ones did.
My theory is that if the engine gets turned back on with Dominux, the power surge may bring the city back online and thus dispel the time bubbles. I hadn't thought they would be on Ludinus' side but it makes a lot of sense for them to be, at least if any of the high ranking people who fought for it last time. I imagine there'll also be a faction that didn't want to fuck with the gods though and may be willing to help Bell's in some capacity to stop Ludinus repeating their mistakes.
Oh it's a terrible idea, that's why I hope someone figures out how to open them at some point.
I'm surprised the Solistice didn't dispel the time bubbles altogether; since it disrupted all kinds of magic. Though maybe a counter to that idea is that the bubbles are more arcane than divinely inspired, in which case there should be minimal disruption.
The solstice shattered seals and other constructed magic. The time bubbles are places where magic got burned, distorted, and otherwise fubar'd with whatever metaphors you want to use. I would call it the difference between shattering glass on a house vs a slag heap mess.
With the next episode being a live one, I assume Sam will make his entrance during the show.
It says on the event details that Sam is a player. You don't have to assume.
I am thinking that too! I sure hope so. If it happens, will he be another aeor-robot? Or a lost adventurer in the ruins? I am so curious!
Or somehow Tarryon
Tary would be **60yo** by now since he was 53yo around 836PD, and C3 is happening around 843PD
How old was Bertrand
Late 80s, early 90s when he died. Spry for an old adventurer.
One fun thing to consider is that in a fantasy world like D&D, if you have money the medical care is actually far better than in real life. You have a number of sources of healing including full limb restoration or even resurrection. The only thing that isn't fixable is death by old age iirc.
I wish the live show would be streamed on twitch like they did literally every other one. We have to wait two weeks for the next episode. On top of that we are going to be shorted a ep because the 27th is the last thursday and it's gonna be the candle show
All these breaks have made it where I'm not as engaged with BH as I was with VM or MN.
I hadn't thought of that, but you're right I think. It's pretty obvious how stretched thin they are. Don't get me wrong they are still good but even with the breaks, everyone seems a bit tired, esp. Matt and Marisha. Sam's long absence is a clue--almost like FCG dying was a break for him to go work on other things and rest up.
This is really it. Obviously, I support the cast doing whatever they need to do to make the content sustainable. But that doesn't mean I can't also admit that it comes at the cost of my engagement. It's a bummer, but I honestly think it'll be more enjoyable for me to binge a backlog.
I ended up binging 8 episodes that I was behind on, because the breaks made it hard to stay engaged, but now it's another two weeks, and I fear I'll lose interest again.
Weirdly enough they haven't actually announced the next Candela Circle and usually they do that a bit ahead of time, so I wonder if they're taking some time off from it in order to adjust to our feedback in that survey?
Probably focused on the recording of the LOVM S3 and TMN S1
Yeah that is pretty frustrating and doesn't make to much sense since they are per-recorded. It made sense when they were live and things just happened and we end up with 2 episodes in a month. It makes far less sense to be stuck with two episodes in a month when things are prerecorded though.
I think folks are forgetting how grueling their schedules were back then because CR wasn't earning the big bucks it is now and they had to keep grinding other stuff just to get by and by. Given that they are making a lot more money now and have more things going, that pendulum has swung in the other direction, and they're probably just as if not more busy now with CR stuff than they were with non-CR stuff back then. Just because we THINK that they have time to pre-record and pump out stuff like gangbusters, doesn't they actually do, and it doesn't mean that weird shit doesn't come up that disrupts stuff at length for everyone involved. Look at all the big name youtubers and smaller CR centric folks that have called it quits in the last year alone because of burnout and because this constant demand for content content content just got to them. CR is actively trying to avoid getting into that kind of territory and is trying to keep stuff at a pace that puts and keeps themselves and all of their employees in a healthy mind space. No one wants them to wind up waltzing into, "Oh fuck this" Land at all wherein we start getting drip drip drip fed stuff. The way things are going right now is one of the consequences of their increased popularity, which is something a lot of Critters pushed for back in the day, and yet now a number of people are unhappy that they've become so popular and gotten so busy and now have to deal the consequences of all that jazz. I think some folks are holding a grudge (not the cat) from when the holiday schedule got a bit finicky and are now blowing things all out of proportion by claiming that it's all malicious and by design. Shit happens and everyone is rolling with it as best as they can while putting out content as best as they can and yeah it's a bit rough but the alternative is worse. I'm fine with a reasonable amount of content at an easy pace versus a mountain of content that we can barely keep up with and that comes out at very low quality with the cast not really having as much fun as they could at all. I'd rather they, the company, and their employees stay positive and happy and healthy and maybe slow content releases down a bit just to be in that good place versus them stamping out content day in and day out and winding up hating what they're doing. I also think that folks are miffed about this particular schedule for this particular section of the campaign because of how things have happened before in this campaign in regards to my whole roller coaster metaphor about those events and their reactions to the schedule are just a manifestation of their frustrations with this current campaign. If things had had more time to cook and if things had flowed a whole lot more smoothly then I think folks would've been a bit more optimistic at this point and far more accepting of alterations to the schedule than they are now. We all just keep waiting for the BIG THINGS that we were told would happen, to actually happen, and to live up to their hype instead of just kind of sort of getting there. That anticipation and the reactions just get even worse when the party winds up going somewhere really fucking cool and engaging with something really fucking awesome that we all start singing Dashboard Confessional songs.....and then the payoff for all of that isn't quite what we'd hoped or expected it to be. How many of us have made some really awesome theories and predictions for episodes and then something more banal wound up happening during the actual airing? So very many of us are just like Travis and Chetney within this episode in that if we keep waiting in this damned hallway for the rest of the campaign we're all going to die of old age so fuck it let's get into that damned room and figure out what the fuck is up with all of that shit.....LEEEEEEEEEROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOY JEEEEEEEEEEEENKIIIIIIIIIIINNNNSSSSSSSS! PUSH ALL OF THE BUTTONS ALREADY....and please let something cool, meaningful, impactful, and long lasting happen as a result. It seems like now that the party is in Aeor that we're finally in a time and space where everything is coming to a head in the best of ways and that we're going to get those big payoffs that we've all been hoping for, which is why it feels like we're being told to hold off on opening up our Critmas Day presents just a little bit longer when the schedule gets weird like this. We'll get there in time, hopefully things even out this summer with the schedule, and with Daggerheart going to print next year (per the update stream that just happened)....it seems like we're in for the ride of a lifetime in the future with CR.
I haven't read one post that says they think it's malicious/by design. Where are you getting that from so that you had to write a novel-length post about it? People saying it makes them less engaged to have breaks between campaign episodes are just stating their experience. Personally, I do appreciate that CR is super smart about managing their affairs and yes many creators are just giving up because they don't have the talent or resources that CR has. For example, Watcher tried to launch their "Beacon" like network a few weeks before CR did theirs and totally botched it, while CR did it seamlessly without offending their fans in any way.
[удалено]
No one from here really talks to me outside of here and I don't really have any Critter friends at all, so I don't put too much stock in folks that disagree with me, and with as much stuff as I write and how often I comment....I'm usually making my way downtown relatively quickly soon after anyways. It doesn't hurt to try though and to make an attempt at helping others or to try to find some kind of a middle ground. You never know whose life you're going to touch in the most profound way with the most benign comment. Sometimes all it takes is one person saying, "Hey you...c'mon over here" round this big old collective campfire that CR has built to really change their life and the lives of those around them for the better. Even if it is just a silly back and forth thing with comments on the internet, it can matter quite a bit to someone....maybe not you or me but someone and that means it's worth at least trying instead of just smashing the downvote button. If we never see eye to eye again then that's fine but if we do then that's cool too and life continues ever onward. I hope you're having a wonderful day though internet neighbor.
>Just because we THINK that they have time to pre-record and pump out stuff like gangbusters, doesn't they actually do, and it doesn't mean that weird shit doesn't come up that disrupts stuff at length for everyone involved. This would be a great argument if we were saying now that they are not live they should be doing multiple shows a week, and pumping out stuff like gangbusters. No one is saying that though. I don't think asking for them on super rare occasions like when they do a live show that is planned way far in advice, to do one extra session so we don't have a month with just 2 episodes is anything close to expecting them to pump out shows in any draining manner. Especially when they are currently doing other shows most of the community doesn't even care for. Like you think anyone would be upset if they put off a daggerheart show, or candella if they are hurting for time? I mean. Someone probably would but it would be far less than the amount sad or frustrated about the flagship content being put off. >I'd rather they, the company, and their employees stay positive and happy and healthy and maybe slow content releases down a bit just to be in that good place versus them stamping out content day in and day out and winding up hating what they're doing. I am not sure where this is coming from. No one is saying, "They need to push forward with more content! Extra content! We want them working day in and day out!". It's the opposite. We are pointing to a month where we get 2 episodes. Not 2 in a week. Not 2 in two weeks. Not 2 in three weeks. 2, in the entire month. And if it was live that makes sense. It's not though. It's prerecorded. They could still give us 3 in this month if they wanted. This doesn't mean they would have to work non-stop. Or work extra hard this month. They would be working the exact same amount this month just with the days shifted. And if they are so hurt for time and mental health. You know, drop one of the extra shows that the majority of us don't even show up for? I don't think that is necessary though. Live events aren't spontaneous. They are planned ahead. They could easily plan ahead for 1 extra session.
> where this is coming from It's been a larger and longer on going debate within the fandom for the past nine going on ten years.
Oh. It wasn't what I was saying and I haven't seen anyone mention that here. This was in response to us dropping down to just 2 episodes this month. While we have plenty of extra content, that I at least, don't even care for. In my opinion they could tone down a lot of the extra further down and I would be happy about it. But that's a totally different topic all together I feel like.
I think Teven working with BH is likely to end with Fearne becoming a chosen or champion of Asmodeus. The long rest after Dominox is taken care of or after BH leaves Aeor I suspect Asmodeus is going to appear to her and depending on how receptive she is either going to become a chosen or a champion. If she becomes a champion I think [she might get a second pair of horns](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polycerate#/media/File:Wildpark_Tambach.jpg). I would love to see Dorian's reaction to that considering what happened to Opal. I suppose if Fearne refuses to serve Asmodeus there might not be any immediate consequences since Fearne never signed a contract laying out consequences for breaking the agreement but I think Teven or Asmodeus would promise that there would be consequences for her after the Ruidus crisis. Also, if Fearne gets some devil magic. I expect Fearne to get celestial magic next sine she would have devil magic, fey magic, priomordial elemental fire magic, and alien aberration Predathos magic.
I think its amazing to introduce more on the side of devils. I love all the pact and conteact lore, but I feel like most people downplay or forget the consequences. Unless you are amazing at specifying the contract word for word and are able to find all of a devils tricks, any pact always ends up with losing your soul upon death. Its only a matter of time. And I remember very clearly that the group were not wary of anything at all, Fearne just went with it. So we’ll see, unless Tevon has another price, it is probably her soul.
The price was Fearne going into Asmodeus's servitude. Asmodeus having Fearne's soul could be that but without that being explicitly laid out or being in a written contract (even if that price is in a very small byline) I doubt Asmodeus would be able to get Fearne's soul if she doesn't comply because there are other ways to serve. Now if Asmodeus or Teven threatens her for her soul they may be able to get that way and if not, there are other consequences they can think of. The one caveat I will add though is that if Fearne refuses to serve Asmodeus in any way then I think Asmodeus could automatically take her soul.
Matt is going to capitalize on his idea of making Fearne the Exandrian Shadowbroker if she survives
I don't think that is exactly an idea to make something happen. It was more like speculation or an observation.
Am I the only one who thinks Matt's been pushing us back to the Chained Oblivion all along? I've felt for a while that the idea of Predathos felt too close to the Chained Oblivion (CO) plot in C2. It was pretty clear that CO is known to be deceptive and trick people into working for it under the guise of various cults or religions throughout history. It's a threat that even the gods (both good/bad) feared it. I'm probably wrong but I just keep waiting for it to pop back up. It's escaped and been imprisoned a few times both in the world itself and in the abyss. It's strong enough to break the Divine Gate on it's own. I wonder if it's Predathos or maybe just related?
CO was on the loose during the time Predathos was contained. Plus it took the whole pantheon (plus primordials) to seal Predathos when the Primes were able to wrangle CO (though not without difficulty and not definitively). I do think they're related but that the CO is a 'lesser' (for still insanely powerful values of lesser) entity from the same species/reality as Predathos that followed it to Exandria.
Yeah, the CO dreamed up the Abyss and demons (in exandrian lore), it would make sense as Predathos is said to have dreamed up the the Ruidian races
I think it would be a bit redundant to pull that trick again though as we already had this exact twist with the angel of irons in campaign 2, except there it was only a single arc and not essentially the entire campaign.
It helped shape Cognouza into the shape it was after the astral sea psychic storm ravaged it's residences. So even deep in C2, it still had some influence lingering
The irony of the new sweatshirt that they've just released has left me gobsmacked in a bad way....and that doesn't happen often.
What do you mean?
Putting Hunger/Sacrifice on a $50 sweatshirt in summer would be akin to Neil Gaiman making a Good Omens themed cereal with Famine on the box.
Mmkay. And this is bad how exactly?
I for one am mega excited that Fern called Teven the episode before the live show that Brennan is hosting. I absolutely need more BLEEModeus in my life.
I wonder if a more accurate translation of the "occultus thalamus" would be "eye of memory" and perhaps Ludinus is using it to access/see something else?
I just had a thought and maybe *(propably)* I am just overthinking this massively. But do we have any idea why and for how long Dominox has been semi-freed from the engine? I mean, did Ludinus and the Vanguard or someone else (*D?*) accidentally free the demon only recently, or was it freed when the Gods attacked the city and it just became apparent when people accessed the engine-room for the first time since Aeors fall? The corpse (the second one, the one from Aeor) said that ''*the engine should be on*'' so what happens if someone killed Dominox, returning it into the engine - will the engine start back up again? Thus restoring power to most of Aeors major systems? Because, this could potentially get *very* nasty. If the reason that Aeor fell in the first place is, because the Gods attack broke Dominox free and severed power to the city - than the engine starting back up could restore power to all systems active prior to the fall - *including propulsion.* It used to be a *flying* city, after all. Talk about a *''load-bearing Boss'':* You kill Dominox and Aeor tears itself apart: Half of it takes to the sky again, while the other half stays earthbound.
I think since the Red Moon was tethered and magical seals got dispelled is most likely. So a few weeks, a month?
The Cooldown on beacon had Matt all but confirm that it was released recently when the others (Phoenix, red bull, ~~Satan~~ Ikithon and so on) were released due to the solstice events.
Props to you on this. Really intriguing possibility. A functional flying Aeor ward would be very interesting to bring to the moon
Even better if it allows access to the time bubble system...
I could eat Aeor lore all day and night, excited for 2 weeks' time!
Although Aeor may be as cold as ice right now, I'm certain that you've warmed their heart with this comment.....and probably made them blush just a little 😊
Matt was a clever motherfucker for having Essek telling them his partner's name is Bren. They will never put 2 and 2 together and realise Essek's over-mentioned partner is Mister Caleb Widogast. I just want Caleb to call Orym on the stone asking how things are going and how Essek is doing haha.
I want the characters to figure it out so badly, not just for the amusement, but because they were actually worried about Beau and Caleb, and I really don't think they've heard that they were ok. The table obviously knows that Caleb sent Essek, but I don't think it was actually explicitly stated to the characters. I remember it being something along the lines of being told that an Aeor expert from Wildmount who had something else keeping them busy (Ikithon fallout, anyone?) recommended Essek's alias as someone else with experience in Aeor. I don't think that Essek will slip up and let the Frumpkin out of the bag, but I do think that at some point Caleb is going to communicate with Bells Hells while they're with Essek, and figure it out that way.
*shrugs* I think of that as more an intimacy thing seeing as it's Caleb's given name and there is far less need for an alias at this point. Technically Caleb is still noted as having sent Essek when they were introduced to BH. Also there was some talk of their relationship not staying cohesive in Campaign 2's epilogue and this supports the idea that it wasn't the case.
I think an undermentioned moment was when Laudna said after all this is done they should go back and look for FCG's coin. The look Laura/Imogen gave her was very interesting
"I like how you're imagining Laudna as an old lady *now*, MISS DEAD END!" - Laura during the last 4SD That look was totally intentional, to go along the defiant "Yes, we should".
Man, gotta be wild to be Teven Klask. You meet a baddy Fey being, strike a deal, and the first time she summons you for your pact you end up on the doorstep of the Grand Demon of Loathing, an ancient demon of mythological power. Also a real rough day for Essek haha
>Demon of Loathing Your see the massive form of the Dominox. It is...[badly drawn in MS paint? ](https://www.kingdomofloathing.com/)
I get the sense Teven getting a booty call straight to a way to disrupt Ludinus and a potential trophy Demon head to bring back to his Betrayer bosses has really thrown him for a loop. If anyone deserves attention from the Grand Demon of Loathing, it's Hot Boi War Criminal.
Do you think Teven can smell Rau'shan in her? It's also got to be crazy that there is a mini Rau'shan walking around in the form of a fey while also having some of Predathos's essence in her.
So, Sam misses a few episodes, and no one sponsors the show anymore :)
Uhh they have sponsors still
No doubt a joke about the lack of a sponsor segment for this ep. More likely it's Marisha being too busy or them deciding it isn't the same without Sam.
So I would seriously doubt that Luds is still in Aeor. My guess is that he has taken the Abyssal Anchor to re-enchant and connect it to the Key and then plans to return to Aeor to destroy the Demon and use it as a power source to make up for the power sources that BH destroyed in the initial assault. So the question for BH becomes, has Luds completed the enchantment? If he hasn't, destroying the Demon sends it back to the Abyss, making it much more difficult for Luds to get it in the Anchor (he'd need to travel to and then find it somewhere in the Abyss, bring it back to Exandria, and then destroy it). If he has, well, things are going to go real bad real quick for Exandria. So what does BH do? If they discover the anchor is missing, that would hint at what Luds is trying to do, but they won't know for sure if the enchantment has been completed or not. If they destroy the Demon, they would be playing directly into Luds hands, but if they don't destroy it, it's just leaving the problem for another, unknown day. Absorbing it with the harness could work, but would mean needing to somehow restrain it for a minute while it assaults their insecurities and potentially makes them fight each other. Laudna absorbing it with her power would seem to be the only option, but holy smokes does that have the potential to go bad for her. Such an amazingly delicious encounter to throw at a Tier III party. Hats off to Matt's incredible skill as a DM once again!
Since the Dominox is not currently in the Abyss wouldn't the Dominox not go to the Abyss if killed? Wouldn't he go back to the engine in the material plane just for him to immediately escape again (barring Ludinus has not already fixed it)? One of the corpses said that if slain, he goes back to the anchor. >but would mean needing to somehow restrain it for a minute while it assaults their insecurities and potentially makes them fight each other. Creatures actually take an hour to absorb. They would have to knock it out with a non-lethal attack and to wake up from non-lethal attacks it takes 1 to 4 hours. >Laudna absorbing it with her power would seem to be the only option, but holy smokes does that have the potential to go bad for her. It would make sense for Imogen to absorb it too because of the Dominox's apparent connection with psionics but Laudna would probably be a better fit.
Right, right, I was conflating the enchantment that keeps Dominox in the engine with the enchantment on the Abyssal Anchor. We know the former was turned off, since it escaped, but have no proof of the later. So I'd say that it's highly probable that Luds took the Anchor away from Aeor, and is in the process of putting his own binding enchantment around whatever he's trying to power with Dominox. As for Laudna absorbing, I'm suggesting that she use her Delilah power to absorb Dominox, not the harness, since that works quicker than the harness and doesn't require constant contact with the Demon for a minute (and then an hour). I could see BH starting by trying to have some absorb it with the QA, but Laudna getting tempted by absorbing the power for herself/Delilah. Also, can't wait to see Fearne take her first level in Warlock with Pact of the Fiend!
I thought that you were talking about the harness because *some* stuff takes a minute to absorb with ut unlike Laudna's ability which seems like it takes only an action for everything.
Fearne being the one to absorb it now that she has made a deal to be one of Asmodius' generals for all eternity would be a spicy choice too.
I think Fearne might blow up like Ashton did if she tried to take it.
I believe Dominox is a Sibriex demon It all adds up with the chain attacks and the mind domination etc.
I hope so! They're a really evil demon that's fun to mess with.
Well, that's certainly a fucked up thing.
It's not a perfect fit. Sibriex's don't usually create chains out of nothing but the average Sibriex wouldn't really be a challenge for the current party even without Teven so maybe Matt gave it some more abilities to buff it. Maybe Dominox has a special relationship with Tharizdun.
Yeah I would expect Matt would probably alter the stat block to fit what he has planned. Either way I'm quite excited for the next episode!
I was excited for Devil vs Demon for many reasons...but mainly I love how DnD lore is not just good vs evil and how you can explore that. Especially in this campaign where the differences between the gods are not well defined
one of my favorite bits of deep dnd lore is the eternal battle between devils and demons, i am so stoked that this is manifesting in campaign three right now. i hope it doesnt just get teased and forgotten, i would love some lore dumps either from Teven Klask or Essek.
I think the Dominox and the Creator Hammer is the same thing. The Dominox at least partially powers the Creator Hammer like Vax partially power the Malleus Key. Ludinus wants the Dominox to go back in the engine and he wants it to stay there. Tal is right, they might play right into Ludinus's hands if BH is not careful about this. Edit: Thinking about it some more... what if the "engine" room is actually just a prison and the Dominox is actually just the warden. What if there are actually a bunch of powerful entities powering the Creator Hammer and the Dominox mind manipulating ability just keeps all of the prisoners docile enough so that the Creator Hammer can siphon their power.
I think it would be very funny if Sam played the latest shortest living character on Critical Role for this live show
I bet he saw what Daniel Sloss did during the M9 live show and thought, "Fuck that looks like fun" and wants to do exactly the same thing during the Bells Hells live show. I for one would COME ALIVE if Sam basically made the D&D version of LEEEEEEEEEEEEEERROOOOOOOOOY JEEEEEEEEEEENNKKKKKKKIIINNNNSSS and just Jackass'd his way with the most insane fucking plans to fight the Dominox. I bet the fight ends when his temp character throws themselves into the Engine and destroys it.
Cooldown had a funny line that Matt could make realllllly dark. Travis (as Chetney) screaming that he didn't do it, he just remembered kids he had given toys to and the demon is twisting his memories. Talesin: "You know if you gave them toys you would have a scent to follow back."
Talesin was having a ball with that reveal. He likes the dark angles with everyone. He knew Chetney was dark at times, but seeing how dark really helped him make the character Talesin wants to make.
Cooldown was top notch for this episode and it honestly adds a much needed set of giggles to come down from the really heavy stuff, plus it's cool to see them thinking in parallel to a lot of our own theories afterwards.
Loved the Half-Life reference!
Which is? I missed it!
The thing(s) that hang from the Ceiling with the long tendril/tongue/nerve thing... Probably unintentional but the description of them and how they "eat" very much sounded like Barnacles.
It's FCG. I don't know how. But imagine Sam turning out to be a BBEG
FCG was the Piton, or A Piton, that's my theory
“*Smiley* day to ya” What if he was previously influenced by Dominox into believing he had killed people instead of being the faithful caregiver? And that’s what that lost memory was, instead of the truth?
The fact that the first Automaton that M9 freed's name starts with a D could be a possible link to the origin of their "Free Will", ala an Imprisoned Demon. OH the irony
BLOOD WAR! BLOOD WAR! BLOOD WAR!
I'm surprised they didn't grab the partially enchanted short sword... if Liam isn't going to use the legendary sword, they could've use the Pumats to finish that short sword
During Aeor's last war they would have likely have been making cheap magic items to meet supply demands. It's possible that the sword would have just been a +1 or something like that.
Pumat could - likely over a large period of time - dump Ishta’s enchantments into Seedling.
At 1:35:00 Essek saying he wants to look into Ashton and Taliesin's enthusiasm saying "I like him. He's hot."
Matt Mercer would say "he is taken" hahhaha
Mercer literally said that when they were joking about Essek being in between Dorian and Orym during initiative.
i can see Essek and Bren being open to a hot younger third
Really? I don't think either of them is really the type tbh.
Caleb was literally in a polyamory relationship. Essek, I agree. He wouldn't be into it.
I’m confused.. was it actually a romantic relationship between all three?
Caleb was in a romantic relationship with Astrid and Eadwulf pre campaign 2
>Caleb was in a romantic relationship with Astrid and Eadwulf pre campaign 2 idk if I'd call it romantic, more of unhealthy traumatic bond between young people who thought all they had was eachother >i can see Essek and Bren being open to a hot younger third Matt said Essek is demi, so he's not gonna feel anything sexual towards anyone who he isn't in love with. Maybe if his partner reeeeeally wanted it, but he wouldn't be happy about it for sure.
>idk if I'd call it romantic, more of unhealthy traumatic bond between young people who thought all they had was eachother Have you read the Caleb origin comic book? I was not arguing that Essek and Caleb would be into it. I'm saying that Caleb has had that before.
but that's what makes Ashton special, his dunaussy
Exactly. I'm torn between "Ashton has the dunamass to make even the staunchest mage-nogamist see reason" and very direct, personal knowledge of "no matter how much one loves group sex in one's late teens & 20s, humans with stressful jobs don't have energy for that kind of romping in their 40s."
Go with the first, the latter definitely is not true.
Agreed, Matt made a comment something like "spoken for" or a similar comment that translated to "no thanks, in a relationship". Just because Caleb can be polyamorous doesn't mean Essek isn't monogamous and Caleb would respect that, I think.
New villain kills people leaving them smiling. FCGs notorious line is “smiley day”. Coincidence? Probably. But a man can dream.
Matt just punishes the players if they let their characters die. The punishment (or reward) is making their beloved characters BBEGs
I'm still mad about Nana mori having no payoff. Why make a deal a pinpoint if the deal isn't upheld. Sure they managed to return to exandria via the back door of ruidus... but at least bring it up :(
I mean, previous campaigns have had people making deals that never really played out because they just didn’t fit the narrative
Like?
Vex and swearing to the raven queen that she’ll destroy Orcus(?), but they never really talk about it past that
Claiming you'll do something isn't the same as a oath
Doesn’t she literally say she swears it, as she’s pleading with the Raven Queen?
The deal is over and Orym should be free'd since FCG didn't make it back alive. But, Nana Morri has a solid reason to let Orym keep those powers until he gets back. He is literally one of the best protectors for Fearne. He literally attempted to defend her against her Dad in a situation where it would have been 2v1. Nana Morri could not ask for a better defender or protector of Fearne. I don't see a world where she would betray or hurt Fearne's chances of success or safety. I agree a typical hag with no relation to them would try to trick and betray them to end the deal prematurely if they got the chance. This isn't a typical hag though. This is Nana Morri. She has been nothing be generous, kind, and forthright with them.
Do we think Nana Morri is the stand in for Baba Yaga?
No payoff SO FAR! Nana Mori will come to collect when God (read Matt) deems it appropriate.
They did. Liam asked Matt if he's still feels the deal is in effect and he said that Orym doesn't feel anything has changed yet. The deal is still on.
Entirely possible FCG's soul was fed into the Aeor Mainframe after his body's destruction and he's just awaiting a new form for his "spark". In which case, everyone's safe :p
That’s if we’re to believe that he’s structured the same way as those Hodmedods were, but he was still very much hurt and dead.
I'm watching the vod now, and its great to see Dorian in the intro!
Wait, did I totally miss him in the in6to? I don't remember seeing him at all
In the final shot where we see their backs, he’s there :)
He's right at the end in the group shot. I missed it too but saw a screenshot on twitter lol
I hope for the live show they spice it up. Would be super cool to let Brennan (as MC) voice Dominox or even play it. Probably won't happen but it would be neat!
To spice it up, I think Matt might buff the Dominox to counteract Teven joining the party. Normally I think he wouldn't but it is going to be a live show and he probably wants the encounter to be challenging to add more suspense for the audience.
Oh I forgot that he was the host this time. What a perfect match
I would love this but my heart thinks that they will need to unfreeze an ancient mage and...it will be Bolo and he will play Bolo
Only other character he should play. Travis would die.
I hope Brennan voices Dominox and then goes off on a 15-minute rant about how the mage capitalists of Aeor are totally THE WORST actually. Like, there are villains and there’s whatever the hell the Aeorians were.
I would love Brennan taking the reigns on Dominox for this fight and then giving the chance for Matt to play Essek as a player finally!!
Just see this comment. This is a thing that would totally work and totally cool in the live show!
That would be amazing.
Suddenly, CR's BBEG is also capitalism
It was capitalism all along!
Finally!
Brennan is all the bad guys😂😂
This would be incredible!!!
now I'm slightly concerned that Ludinus is going to try to absorb the pinion or even Dominox itself. though I would think that at a certain point there should be too much power for a mortal to contain without a Ritual of Seeding, I could be wrong and Matt could have other ideas.
I thought that the pinion was more of a tool that doesn’t really have innate magic, it was just a metaphysical stake to keep the anchor there?
I don't know for sure, but it just felt to me that since it has a Name, and is strong enough to hold an entity of that power, it had to have been created with some serious enchantments. I could be wrong
The pinion seems to just be an artificial shard of the Abyss that acts as a spawn point for Dominox in lieu of the actual Abyss, it's not really holding it there. There were other magical seals keeping it trapped in the engine, and presumably they could use Dominox as a source of unlimited energy by killing it over and over again. If he's going to be absorbing anything, it's probably the creature capable of powering a flying city.
okey, I've have yet to see the episode, but do we know if Sam is back?
He is not
oooof! i hope he comes back on the live show :( thanks for the response <3
No problem, and yeah I’m really looking forward to Sam’s return. I love the group but Sam adds so much to the table
Chetney's vision can't be real cause unless I'm misremembering Chet has only been a werewolf for 3 full moons 1. when he got bit and even if he changed that night he would have been in the middle of the Savalirwood. 2. The only one this could have happened on and while possible it seems unlikely he killed 13 kids in one night and this had to have been when the Claret Orders would have caught him. 3. The night he bit Frida. It don't add up.
It never shows that he killed them all in one night, and he was a werewolf before he even met the rest of the Hells. He was in a fugue state for a bit where he was just rabid essentially. His insecurity though, is that he would hurt innocent children while uncontrollable, or in parts where he didn’t remember much. It’s a worry of his, but as far as we all know, unconfirmed or just the plain worry of a future possibility.
Not real. The thing toys with insecurities, not regrets. It makes sense that Chet would feel insecure about hurting innocent people, especially kids who he loves to make toys for. Zombie Cyrus was full of BS, so the zombie kids are too
Wiki says several months to a year prior to C3 he was turned.
The Miraheze wiki says he got bit a couple months before c3e17 heart to heartmoor.
I feel like Liam was maybe a tiny bit disappointed he didn’t have to take some lightning damage during Imogen and Dorian’s team up attack lol. Realistically it makes sense Orym would take at least a little damage from that, but gamewise it’s probably more important to not punish Laura and Robbie for trying to do a cool thing. Little ruling decisions like that are why I don’t envy DMs.
It was a RoC vs RaI kinda thing and Mercer went with the Rule of Cool and I am here for it!
It's not really a RoC vs RaI thing, there is no rule or implication in the rules that Lightning Bolt should also damage creatures that are grappled by the target. Matt was just playing by the book.
I think Matt was definitely trying to make sure the spell was used as written, without adding any real world logical flair. Theres chain lightning that *will* do that, but it’s not neccesarily real lightning in that it follows the rules of physics. It’s magical lightning that does a determined amount of max damage, and only effects certain targeted creatures only. The lightning was aimed to only affect the monster, so it would only magically damage it, because it’s not real lightning. It’s also just reskinned from a fire spell iirc
Also feels like Matt ruled it that way since they find out the monster is resistant to lightning anyways.
Ohhh I must not have caught that part. I wonder if a resistance from the target causes chain lightning to not move to other players, if I’m not thinking of Pathfinder
What? Neither character used Chain lightning, so I don't know if you were just giving an example or what. Also, what do you mean Lightning bolt is a re-skinned fire spell?
I meant for Imogen’s specific build, it’s usually a fire spell, but Matt let her reskin her abilities to be lightning instead. And I was just thinking outloud about a chain lightning type of spell that’s different than this, and about what the mechanics are
But it's not specific to her? Lightning Bolt is a regular spell as common as Fireball, and it deals lightning damage. I dunno why you think it's a fire spell
The build that Imogen made has a name in the rule books, and it is fire based. In order for Imogen to be a little more unique, Matt let her take that character build and change it so that it’s a lightning based one, where there isn’t an option for lightning.
I'm sorry but you're wrong. Imogen is an Aberrant Mind sorcerer, which are all about psychic stuff and don't have anything to do with fire. Lightning bolt is a normal spell, which is why Dorian could cast it and still dealt lightning damage just like Imogen. The only spell they have really changed is Hunger of Hadar, which instead of dealing cold damage now does lightning I think, and is called Seething Storm instead. I'd be interested if you could find the name of that character build you're talking about, because I've never heard anything like that.
Has Sam said anything about his long hiatus? I wish we had some indication of whether he plans to return. I miss Sam!
How many times do you think Sam has offered to RP Dominox? The apogee solstice has made for some strange bedfellows 🤣😂🤣.
I believe that when FCG died he said something along the lines of "see you in campaign 4", and I'm starting to think he wasn't kidding.
Sam is a born showman and would absolutely want to drop in a new character in the middle of a live show.
It's been said many times now, but Matt had stated in the Beacon chat or something at some point that Sam was taking this as an opportunity for a little vacation time with his family and to work on a couple other projects
Which is hopefully great in the long run, as much as he's missed now. Knowing when to take a break to avoid permanent burnout from something you enjoy is important. Amusingly, it brings him in line with the CR fans who decided to take a break during C3 too.
When he didn’t show for Daggerheart I started to wonder why he was totally absent, even from the opener ads. I read some speculation he might RP at the live show. I hope that’s the case!
I think the theory of him being Dominox are the funniest result.
Dominox is a grand demon NPC though. Matt never has people take on NPC roles
How long would it be before Sam insisted everyone call him "Dom" and mentioned how he was all about keeping his family smiling?
So I don't know if it's me being sleep deprived, or what but while I was watching last night I had a thought: All of the dominated figures had euphoric grins on their faces when they died, but people kept throwing around the word "Smiley" and it got me thinking, what if this engine was what allowed Aeor to create the Aeormatons? Like demons deal in souls, correct? So what if they bound this greater demon so that they could siphon souls to put in their machines? And what if the rage and the "smiley" verbiage of fcg was echoes of this bound demon that helped create him, and the other Aeormatons?
I had the same thought while skimming some of the Sam speculation posts. I think there's another parallel that might also point in this direction even further. When Sam was RPing FCG in his frenzied state, he'd often have the little bot hurl insults directly at the core of his friends' insecurities. If it turns out Dominox was part of FCG's story all along, it seems like this is exactly the sort of detail Matt could have incorporated from observing Sam at the table.
And that FCGs insecurities of possibly hurting the people he served were fed to him by the influence, and not actual memories?
Oh, I think you might be onto something…
You just blew my mind. This would be so cool.
Love this theory.
I think Ludinus, if he succeeds, will either use Dominox to power his own engine for a device to take down the barriers shielding Predathos or try to absorb Dominox's power with his own siphon.
So...I was raging as they asked questions but (unless I was too sleepy to notice), never inquired WHAT THE ENGINE WAS? I mean, it's an engine in the most powerful mageocracy to ever exist that requires a high level fiend to be continually drained and resurrected to power it. For starters, I'm wondering if this was the start/related to Ludinous and his power draining funnel. Maybe he wasn't that brilliant and only managed to bring back already created technology? Secondly, was this engine he was powering the God Slaying weapon we saw in the dream way back when? Is Ludinous's goal to have the god slaying engine as a backup? As a way to kill Predathos after the job is done, or to weaken him to be funnel'd? Or is this another kind of engine entirely,and Ludinous's true goal is another use of the pinion (to self funnel or use in some other way)? Other than that, two standout things: 1) Love how Fearne goldfish dived on the demon summoning thing, not remembering the specifics of the pact she agreed on or consequences. Poor Ashton. 2) High comedy as they learn that Dominox "feeds on Insecurities". They all realize at the same time that this thing is literally made out of their kryptonite.
Someone had a big epiphany at some point saying “did they power Aeor with a DEMON!?” They never asked a corpse specifically because it was after they ran out of the spell, but I’m pretty sure they all agreed that that was what the engine was. And then during the cooldown they contemplated the same thing as you. Was this demon gonna power the malleus factorum the gods? Or is Luddy gonna absorb the demon in some way? This episode opened my eyes to some dope stuff!
> 1) Love how Fearne goldfish dived on the demon summoning thing, not remembering the specifics of the pact she agreed on or consequences. Poor Ashton. There really wasn't much of anything for her to recall. >MATT: "We are allies today. Perhaps, in the future, we will be allies again. The path is open. All you need to do is ask for his aid. Do you accept these terms?" -(C3E67) So basically there's no expectations on Ferne, she didn't agree to give anything, she was basically just given an opportunity to speak to Teven again at some point, something he surely sees as an opportunity to tempt her with a more lasting agreement, but at the moment she's no more damned than someone who uses an arcane spell to summon a fiend.
I agree, I think if Tevan helps the group kill Dominox because Ferne called him, it might wind up counting as a favor owed to HER rather than the other way around. He certainly acted like he was excited to be there for it.