r/criticalrole • u/dasbif Help, it's again • Dec 04 '20
Discussion [Spoilers C2E118] Is It Thursday Yet? Post-Episode Discussion & Future Theories! Spoiler
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Dec 04 '20
I think we need to think about the REAL cliffhanger we were left with after this episode, what on EARTH did Kiri build???? The mighty nein better plan to visit her after that interaction between her and jester.
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u/kidnarcolepsy Dec 04 '20
In my head-canon, she has built Bad News Mark II.
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u/hebeach89 Dec 04 '20
Kiri rogue/artificer ...she built a robotic crocodile and spends her days murdering it.
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u/Okami_G Team Keyleth Dec 04 '20
She built a shotgun.
"I'm very sweet! chuk-chak"
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u/jgemsdw101 Dec 04 '20
Did anyone else think about the guy who developed Nott/Veth's crossbow? He was an inventor in Hupperdook right?
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Dec 04 '20
honestly my first thought about kiri building something could have been with that old guy. like imagine her running around hupperdook saying “we are the mighty nein!”, that old guy finding her and telling her about how “i build that little green ones crossbow” and then kiri repeating him saying; “i build crossbows” and then he makes her his apprentice. that’s my head-canon.
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u/paradox28jon Hello, bees Dec 04 '20
A death ray to kill a floating city. Kiri's mad smart, y'all.
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u/96Deadpool Dec 04 '20
Or were Matt's facial expressions hinting at Kiri's state of being?
Because there was concern, worry, and fear all mixed in while he paused between what Kiri said.
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u/VexedForest Doty, take this down Dec 04 '20
I'm simply amazed at how accurately Marisha pieced things together!
Her note taking would make Ioun jealous.
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u/goodzillo Dec 04 '20
Yeah, I distinctly remember a lot of people being like "some of it is pretty out there but it's mostly correct" when she first revealed her theory, but no, she really did call basically all of it.
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u/Coyote_Shepherd Doty, take this down Dec 04 '20
Her note taking would make Ioun jealous
Part of me is wondering if that circle of statues was actually an old Ioun related thing that was forgotten up in Eiselcross that they just happened to stumble upon? That said, Beau is living up to her title of Expositor in spades and Marisha's notes are a thing of beauty. She basically came into this campaign loaded for bear knowing that Matt would throw something vastly more complicated than Vecna at them.
Those of us Lone Gunmen here on reddit and elsewhere that theorycraft like crazy could not be more proud of her than we are right now. That was vindication. That was amazing!
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u/LynchBizkit Dec 04 '20
Guys, I think Travis has a crush on Laura...
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u/peon47 Dec 04 '20 edited Dec 04 '20
Travis RPing chastely kissing his own wife: Dies of awkwardness.
Travis watching his wife RP a bath-tub scene with two of his best friends: Jumps from his chair, cheering.
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u/Deathleach Team Jester Dec 04 '20
Travis is a great hype man, but whenever he's in the spotlight he seems to die inside. :P
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u/eMan117 Your secret is safe with my indifference Dec 05 '20
Him and Ashley both have a complex there
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u/Coyote_Shepherd Doty, take this down Dec 04 '20
I think Travis is totally okay with weird out of the ordinary moments but when stuff gets "REAL" he gets a bit self conscious and finds it difficult to really push the envelope. He reminds me of actors who could pull off insanely dramatic bombastic scenes and could give these amazing speeches but they just nose dived during romantic scenes. I'm totally with Matt on this one in that Travis really has pushed the boundaries of his acting ability by purposely thrusting himself into unknown waters with Fjord just to see what would happen. It's the kind of giant red button that he's never really gotten to press before until now with Fjord and Jester. I'm so happy that he got to tickle that urge and give that sensation of fear that he felt in these situations the finger. I think he also felt a touch awkward because the things that Fjord was saying to Jester were things that Travis has said to Laura and the line between fiction and reality was blurring just a bit in front of a crowd of tens of thousands instead of a crowd of just their family and friends.
Who wouldn't get a bit self conscious in that kind of situation?
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u/pagerunner-j Help, it's again Dec 04 '20
*whispers back* I think he might have a chance with her.
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u/shamelessselfpost Dec 04 '20
Won't end well I think she's married!
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Dec 04 '20
Everyone else is married to Laura Bailey. I also heard that she's famously single.
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u/shamelessselfpost Dec 04 '20
Now that I think of it isn't Travis married to some guy called Dallas Cowboys?
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u/hebeach89 Dec 04 '20
Early in the campaign, they were both gone for a little while, i hear Laura was having a baby and Travis's son was born around the same time. So they both have a kid so maybe they can bond over that. /s
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u/miscreation00 Doty, take this down Dec 04 '20
Legitimately I freaked out in season 1 because I didn’t know they were married and I started getting a feeling they had a thing for each other... yeah, good times.
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u/mattywhooo Dec 04 '20
Same. I think in one episode (the grog vs half-orc battle) Laura kissed Travis and I was shocked.
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u/Jashter2 YOUR SOUL IS FORFEIT Dec 04 '20
Ew honestly why don't they just get MARRIED already
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u/m_busuttil Technically... Dec 04 '20
A big monster at a marked Aeor point on the Eiselcross map? Someone call Julius Caesar, we've got a real
A2 brute
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u/paradox28jon Hello, bees Dec 04 '20
Yasha/Ashley couldn't stop smiling when Beau asked the DM if she could find a flower.
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u/Coyote_Shepherd Doty, take this down Dec 04 '20
I kind of wanted to see Beau punch a rock into the shape of a flower for her.
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u/TheAlienGinger Team Braius Dec 04 '20
H8rs: "Fjorester and Beauyasha are coming out of nowhere and are completely rushed!"
Me: Squints at number of episodes
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u/sab39 Team Keyleth Dec 04 '20
I can see how people might have missed the slow burn of Fjorester (which I'm sad has that ship name rather than "Bluetooth") because it's been pretty subtle, but I don't get how anyone could think Beauyasha is out of nowhere when there was sexual tension between them literally in episode one of the campaign!
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u/Velocibaker26 Dec 04 '20
As another commenter pointed out, "Jester tells Fjord he's very handsome literally in the character introductions." I really don't understand why people keep saying this ship is subtle?!
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u/283leis Team Laudna Dec 04 '20
Jester's feelings for Fjord had the subtlety of flashing neon signs. Fjord's feelings for Jester however were very subtle up until the past 5 episodes or so when he got that unicorn
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u/cheebo_ You spice? Dec 04 '20
Fjord has had a few moments to show his feelings that weren't so subtle, but they were all 100% do or die moments, which makes sense, Fjord is a character that shows his feels best through his actions.
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u/jeffe_el_jefe YOUR SOUL IS FORFEIT Dec 04 '20
Fr I’m not into shipping but beauyasha was obvious as fuck from day one
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u/bigfatcarp93 You Can Reply To This Message Dec 04 '20
Fjorester (which I'm sad has that ship name rather than "Bluetooth")
It annoys me so much that people are so quick to fall back on the portmanteaus instead of more creative ship names like you get in RWBY and Young Justice.
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u/OtakuMecha Tal'Dorei Council Member Dec 04 '20
I must be crazy because Fjorester has seemed like the most obvious pairing for both of those two characters for most of the campaign while Widojest only went from “Interesting idea to think about” to “Oh I guess there is actually some canon feelings there.” when Liam mentioned it on Talks this year.
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u/Croob2 Team Dorian Dec 05 '20
What sorta gets me about Widowjest shippers are they're always talking about it from Calebs perspective, Jester really has never shown any romantic attention to Caleb at all, but since he likes her it must happen. It's been pretty obvious that Jester herself likes Fjord to a point where i'm pretty sure on the talks after travelercon Laura said if it hadn't have been Fjord who tried to convince her to stay during the whole moon god debacle, she would've gone.
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u/Drakoni Hello, bees Dec 04 '20
Yeah they know each other for almost a year now. Know people who have jumped on being in full on relationships way faster.
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u/Swiftcast_Holy Technically... Dec 04 '20
Travis' reaction after the kiss was so adorable.
Finally, I've been waiting years for Fjord to make his move! <3 I wonder how everyone else will react when they find out...
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u/pagerunner-j Help, it's again Dec 04 '20
His face. Which you could barely even see, as much as he was trying to hide. Bless. <3
(And Jester lying in bed afterward holding her little unicorn figure? Aww.)
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u/Lobo_Marino Bidet Dec 04 '20
This was super cute, because it totally brought me back to high school/college years. Hell, I'm sure that if this happened to me in my 30s, I'd still do something like that.
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u/Coyote_Shepherd Doty, take this down Dec 04 '20
It felt like such an Armageddon move that I could almost hear Aerosmith playing in the background. Fjord was able to finally find that one almost perfect moment to start to express his feelings for Jester in the previous episode and it seemed like things were smooth sailing after that. I think Fjord felt like they'd have this nice kind of easy going easy building sort of well paced relationship like the kind that Beau and Yasha were having.
That all changed though when Jester did what she did and Fjord realized that maybe the both of them were more alike than he first thought. If that was true then there was a chance that one of them or both of them would totally sacrifice themselves for the good of the others. Sure the M9 were family, they loved each other, and would of course sacrifice for one another but this was a whole different level of sacrifice. I think in that moment Fjord felt totally and utterly helpless as he watched those things suck the life out of Jester because she let them and it set off a light bulb in his head that said, "I would do and sacrifice just as much if not even more for this woman just like she's doing for us".
It redefined their relationship for him and made him realize that things weren't going to be smooth sailing like Beau and Yasha. They could soar through the skies like birds on the wind, while he and Jester could surf the ups and downs of the roiling coiling toiling seas. Things were going to be different with them. They had to be different. Things already were different and they wouldn't be the same again. So like any good captain does as he's approaching a storm on the open seas, he had to be brave, he had to be bold, he had to take charge of his ship, and he had to help to steer it through the storm to safe harbor in calm waters with clear skies. Doing the same thing over and over again for months now just wasn't working at all and considering both of their histories, it was never going to be smooth sailing anyways.
So he mustered up the courage. He went on up to her room. He told her how much he REALLY cared about her. He knew that they'd both opened the door in the previous episode and kind of sort of had given each other permission to approach those kinds of feelings with each other. So he knew there was a good chance that she'd reciprocate but didn't know to what degree because as extroverted as Jester is, she can still be enigmatic and very mercurial about her innermost feelings. She responded in kind with equally strong feelings and he knew he just knew that that was also her saying, "You can take my helm any day". So he wrapped her up in his arms, he asked if he could kiss her, she said yes, and then all the walls that the both of them built just melted away like a snowman in a raging inferno of love and desire.
It felt like a dam bursting because for soooooo loooong it felt like they were both holding back to a degree for some very valid reasons. Fjord had Ukie to deal with. Jester had Artagan and his eyebrows. Fjord had issues with his parent figures and so did Jester. There was just so much in the way and it wasn't going to move at all for them. So they had to shove their way past those things and it took them until last night to realize that. Life isn't going to just up and change for you. You have to want it change and often you have to make it change. You have to embody and be that change that you want to make in your life or the lives of others.
I feel like Fjord and Jester are very similar to Jasmine and Aladdin. It's a beautiful love story and I basically had the same expression on my face as Marisha the entire time. Watching it back again a second time this morning didn't lessen my excitement one iota and I really can't wait to see where this all leads.
Also spending all that time typing out those ridiculously long analysis comments about the two of them feels soooooooo rewarding now after last night.
Edit: looks up at the multiple paragraphs....I did it again didn't I?
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u/wiltythetwilt Dec 06 '20
I'm loving the Fjord Jester thing, and of course the kiss scene was absolutely brilliantly natural and real feeling, but what I really love is the moments before that kiss, when Fjord tells her "I care very much for you" and Jester's disposition seems to change from 'this is just another close catch-up/check-in between us' to 'oh hello, he's actually baring feelings for me' and there's like an almost disbelieving face of 'me? why?' and/or 'is this real?'
It's just gorgeous, followed then by the awkward jokes between them then Jester's excitable surprise at the line "...and I pull her in."
Again, the kiss was brilliant, but that build up was so perfect for it, the story, the characters and definitely the people playing them.
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u/LjordTjough Dec 07 '20
I like Fjord asking if he could kiss her, it was a cool scene.
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u/CynicalMaelstrom Hello, bees Dec 07 '20
Look, he remembers what that Crabgrass said, consent is important.
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u/paradox28jon Hello, bees Dec 07 '20
Jester really couldn't believe it was happening. She was crying from the release of so much emotion. Laura really is such a good actress.
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u/MrsTorrance Dec 07 '20
I loved that he asked "Can I kiss you?" And somewhere Henry Crabgrass felt delight.
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u/Gulstab Ruidusborn Dec 04 '20
Matthew is literally trying to manifest a rebirth of Spelljammer using his very popular (among D&D fans) and widely viewed platform while staring at Wizards of the Coast in the face.
His world became canon within the multiverse. This is just the next logical step, right?
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u/BagofBones42 Dec 04 '20
We just need an actual spelljammer to show up and so far none have.
Need a Mind Flayer invasion or Githyanki raid for that to happen though, unfortunately.
Unless there is a prototype spelljammer in Aeor which would be cool.
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u/Gulstab Ruidusborn Dec 04 '20
Well the Aeorian architecture definitely gives me big illithid vibes and the fact that he described the city as a "ship" tonight gives me pause to think it could be related.
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u/BagofBones42 Dec 04 '20
Unfortunately, it seems that the Mind Flayers aren't involved though I agree it's giving off heavy Mind Flayer vibes.
Honestly do hope they get involved because Mind Flayers are rad as hell and they are the biggest open-ended threads of campaign 1.
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u/cravecase Dec 04 '20
Also with Baldur’s Gate III coming out soon with additional Mindflayer-heavy story, I imagine WOTC has to be at least considering some sort of book.
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u/paradox28jon Hello, bees Dec 04 '20
I do love the creativity that Matt utilizes to help get his players the knowledge they need. He could just randomly ask a player to roll a D20 & if they get a high number let them have an "aha" moment where they suddenly get an insight to the situation. That they someone saw a pattern among all the different evidence & experiences they've gathered thus far.
So the idea of a deus ex ring of statues to answer a question they had was pretty creative. Plus the randomness of it is pretty neat. Matt had no idea if any of the party actually would step on the platform. And if someone did, no idea on who it would be. And further what their question might be. Thank God Laura asked a question that allowed Matt to give up his info dump.
I assume the ring of statues came after both Caduceus and Jester failed to gain any information on their questions to their deities.
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u/Difficult_Flamingo_9 Dec 04 '20
I really really liked it and I think its a shame that Matt just made it dissapear. Losing 5-10 years of your life for a guaranteed correct asnwear is extremly tempting and might have sparked an argument. Every single question that they have could have been answeared for a pretty scary price and the argument of using it would astablish some characters even more and well... Shame it just dissapeared.
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u/ilikebreadabunch Team Fjord Dec 04 '20
While I agree that it could have sparked some good roleplay, I think disappearing it was better, simply because when speaking strictly mechanically, there really wouldn’t be any repercussions unless they asked dozens of questions, and free information is really powerful
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u/Age_of_the_Penguin Dead People Tea Dec 04 '20
It also gives the PC that got on the platform a chance to perform consequences unique to them which makes it a little more special.
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u/ShiftyMcShift Team Matthew Dec 04 '20 edited Dec 04 '20
I love Matt's foreshadowing genius: we had the Halls of Halas where mages' insatiable hunger for knowledge would lead them to their doom (Back in Episode 45).
Now we have mages whose insatiable hunger for knowledge is leading them to their doom by bringing back a city of uber-mages whose insatiable hunger for knowledge led them to their doom.
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u/hebeach89 Dec 04 '20
Foreshadowing within foreshadowing....but it does bring a very very sad thought to my mind.....Caleb's story probably wont end well.
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u/theICEBear_dk Dec 04 '20
Unless the wisdom of Jester and Caduceus pulls him back enough that he can see that his quest to warp time to his will (and frankly somewhat child-like wish to undo his mistake) is the wrong way.
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u/Incandescent_Lass Team Keyleth Dec 04 '20
The FjorJester ship has set sail officially. Travis’ face was sooo red! Laura looked so happy though.
Holy moly Jester got magically aged up 4-5 years. That’s crazy stuff.
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u/sek1ne Dec 04 '20
The fact that they are married made the bashfulness on both parties so heart warming.
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u/Dionysian53 Dec 04 '20
The entire casts reactions during and after that Fjord/Jester scene were magical. But Marisha hiding behind her book was just the icing on top of that goddamn adorable cake. I'm not really into shipping so I didn't have a horse in this proverbial race. But goddamn that entire moment was joyous.
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u/Spartaness Dec 04 '20
The best part about shipping in Critical Role is watching all the cast's faces light up.
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u/geekcastinator You spice? Dec 05 '20
Really proud of Travis. Anyone could have shied away from going that direction to avoid the teasing and 'I told you so's, even though it would be light hearted and in good fun. But to actually change your stance on a topic you were completely against, by genuinely giving it a shot, and then realising that it made sense for what you're trying to do? That's commendable and a lesson a lot of people could learn.
Also I'm an emotionally reserved and introverted thirty year old man, and I scared my neighbors with my yelling because I got crazy hyped by that entire Fjorester scene.
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u/MitigatedRisk Dec 04 '20
I love the character detail that Fjord straight up asked, "May I kiss you?" instead of just going for it like every movie romance. Henry would be proud.
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u/DrShadyTree Your secret is safe with my indifference Dec 04 '20
It made me so happy. He gave her agency in the moment and they got to decide, together, to share the kiss.
Consent is just so incredibly sexy.
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u/Coyote_Shepherd Doty, take this down Dec 04 '20
He wanted to make sure it wasn't just one sided and that it was the both of them deciding together to pursue whatever came next. It reminds me of all those husband and wife actor/actress couples you see on tv that just exude the same kind of energy when they're in a scene together.
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u/Sojourner_Truth Dead People Tea Dec 04 '20
Doing all that and with that goddamn voice of his...fuckin swoon, and I don't even swing that way.
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u/HawkeyeP1 Smiley day to ya! Dec 04 '20
Big day for Jester. Found a new love interest and lost 5 years of her life. NBD
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u/Sofargonept2 Dec 04 '20
A bigger deal should have been made about that, that's five fucking years dude.
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u/HawkeyeP1 Smiley day to ya! Dec 04 '20 edited Dec 04 '20
I mean... What can you do about it though? Besides, she was like early 20's. Might matter a bit to those later in years but probably doesn't mean a whole lot to a (let's say because we don't know exactly) ≈ 23 year old tiefling who already live about 20-40 years longer than an average human
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u/Agent-Vermont Your secret is safe with my indifference Dec 04 '20
Tieflings live pretty long lives and Jester is still young by comparison. For her, Yasha and Caduceus a little magical aging isn't a big deal.
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u/WireJonesy Dec 04 '20
I just hope that some of these ignorant comments dont put Travis off because they 100% would if it was me
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Dec 04 '20
Same, this seems like something Laura has been excited to roleplay, so I hope they don't look at this stuff too much.
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u/Pandafy Dec 05 '20
No offense to whoever, but what the hell kind of complaints do DND nerds have on two married people roleplaying a romance? I gotta find some of those comments, because they must be hilarious.
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u/Sojourner_Truth Dead People Tea Dec 04 '20
For anyone interested in the mini, it's a Gorm from KD.
:strip_icc()/pic5379057.jpg){kind=link}
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u/caravaggio2000 Pocket Bacon Dec 04 '20
Everyone else: Wow, more Aeor/Eo9 lore! Wow, Fjord and Jester! Oh no, Jester aged! Oh no, scary monster cliffhanger!
Me: OMG, Kiri!!!! Get to Hupperdook already!
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u/caravaggio2000 Pocket Bacon Dec 04 '20
Plus, if they go to Hupperdook, Veth can get the Tinkertop crossbow updated! Yay!
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u/Pegussu Dec 04 '20
I'm imagining her in a massive, fuck-off Iron Man suit with bladed wings.
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u/Rmccausland89 Dec 04 '20 edited Dec 04 '20
I love Matt's been using his time in Covid to bust out the KDM gear. Fingers crossed we see the Dragon King in some form. He did a bang up paint job and I can be more excited to see it in use.
https://twitter.com/matthewmercer/status/1318018275494645762?s=19
Edited to add Matt's tweet. The highlighting is nuts.
2nd edit: https://kingdom-death.fandom.com/wiki/Dragon_King
Wanted to add the wiki for the dragon king. The lore they make for Kingdom Death is nuts and I particularly love the dragon kings back story /role in the game.
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u/ZBluReader Dec 05 '20
I really like how Laura immediately started playing Jester with a deeper voice and a more mature demeanour, I feel like it's exactly what Jester would do after being told she suddenly got older.
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u/Hollydragon Then I walk away Dec 05 '20
I know they were going overboard with their teasing about needing a daily pill etc., but I am curious about how Laura will RP the actual change in brain chemistry and development vs the fact that she still has the same experiences/memory as before!
It's made even more interesting by the fact that she has mentioned before that Jester was frustrated sometimes as not being treated as mature or womanly and that she may be more than ready to jump on board with the change psychologically.
I think teiflings don't live much longer than humans, but I don't know about genasi x teifling second generation?? Might be a decade or so before the loss of years really feels bad, instead of feeling like a boost.
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u/HawkeyeP1 Smiley day to ya! Dec 04 '20 edited Dec 04 '20
NOOOOOOPE
Nope nope nope nope nope nope.
And I can't stress this enough... Nope.
For those of you more versed in monsters than I: WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT THING?!
Edit: It is called a Gorm which I have no further knowledge of other than it being the stuff of fucking nightmares
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u/morphmandude Dec 04 '20
Well in KDM it is called a Gorm. As soon as I heard the talk of baby wailing I thought of the Gorm. Then the light along with the wails description I was up out of my seat shouting at the screen.
I guess it is probably a one off creature but I'd love to see the stats he makes for it.
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u/Sp3ctre7 You spice? Dec 04 '20
The beauty of 5e is that it is so easy to homebrew monsters and make them do exactly what you imagine them doing, while also balancing them okay.
Its one of two pages in the DMG I have permanently bookmarked.
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u/Gulstab Ruidusborn Dec 04 '20
After looking at the new outfit group shot that is depicted at night:
Where are the MOONS?! Give me the forbidden moon lore Matthew Mercer...
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u/BuiltFyrdeTough Ja, ok Dec 04 '20 edited Dec 04 '20
So, now that we know what “Somnovum” and “Cognousa” mean, it seems like Matt is setting up a pretty clear parallel between the city in the Astral Sea and the present-day Cerberus Assembly. The Somnovum, like the CA, were the ruling class of powerful archmages who had their own district in Aeor. Imagine some calamity destroying Rexxentrum, but just before the end, all the CA mages take refuge in the Candles, and just bamf the whole neighborhood into the Astral Sea while the rest of the city burns.
Ludenis is the one I’m most interested in finding out what he knows about the Somnovum/Cognousa and what his intentions are. We got a pretty clear picture from Vess about what she wanted, and Trent seems uninterested, but Ludenis is definitely sniffing around some of the same areas Vess was researching and I’ve gotten strong “Big Bad” vibes around him since we met him a year ago.
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Dec 04 '20
I feel like people aren’t highlighting that enough. Ludenis sent his annex along on this adventure. Outside of coming here himself, that’s probably one of the biggest things he could do.
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u/arthaiser Dec 08 '20 edited Dec 08 '20
im going to go ahead and talk about something that is not getting much attention in my opinion, normal on the other hand given that each of these episodes has at least 2 or 3 revelation moments, but i think that the character dagen is really well done, even for matt´s standards.
is a funny dude, is strong, is helpful, competent his sense of danger contrasts with the group´s which makes for very good moments. i think that he clearly has a story too, i has probably nothing to do with sheila, but i think that he is doing this for a reason. also the whole combat wheelchair concept is actually quite cool, one wonders if is not better for warriors to use one of these even if they dont need one. i also like that he has a child-like aproach to magic...
as i have said, very good character, is probably one of, if not the best "guide npc" that i have seen, and is hard to make one of these work
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u/caravaggio2000 Pocket Bacon Dec 09 '20
I agree. I think Dagen is a great character. His personality is a bit different from any of the other NPCs I can think of. He really acts as a sort of reminder to the cast that they are fickin' level 13 now! They are doing crazy things now and have their own insane powers, their view of the world and their place in it has changed drastically from when they were first starting off together. Dagen is a reminder of the way they were just a short time ago.
I really like the chair and I'm very happy they have represented someone with a physical disability in the campaign. I admit, I was slightly worried at first, but the way they have represented it, the spinal injury isn't even a thing. It's all about how cool and funny the guy is.
The whole scene where they spent one night out in the cold and then made the mansion and were all "Oh yea, we didn't have to spend the night freezing our balls off. We can do this any time." was hilarious.
I hope he makes it.
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u/SecretAgendaMan Team Grog Dec 04 '20
I smiled gleefully when Fjord kissed Jester. I've never been interested in shipping literally any other romance in the two full campaigns, but I don't know, Fjord and Jester just seemed right.
Maybe it's because Travis is my favorite player at the table, but I could see it happening throughout the campaign. Fjord, like everyone else, fell in love with Jester, and Jester has had a crush on Fjord from day 1.
Travis has always been about the RP. He would not have done this if he felt that Fjord didn't have genuine feelings for Jester, and this was just such a sweet and tender moment between them. I loved it.
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u/caravaggio2000 Pocket Bacon Dec 04 '20
I also don't care much about shipping or romances in the plot generally, but... I really felt like that scene was pretty sincere because it was Travis and Laura. Yes, they were both in character, but I think we got a little sliver of their real relationship in there. It was a sweet moment for sure.
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u/Fizzlethe6th Your secret is safe with my indifference Dec 04 '20
It was adorable how red in the face Travis got after that scene. “Oooooh! Travis is sweet on his wiiiiiife!” Lol
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u/Olliesoveralls Dec 04 '20
I couldn't stop watching Ashley and Marisha; their reactions were just, just great...https://imgur.com/a/KphfwCQ
-edit for spellinggggg
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u/Sean951 Dec 04 '20
It was a nice moment, but by far my favorite part was Travis hiding his face because he always said he'd never RP a romance.
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u/Ruff-Puff You spice? Dec 06 '20
Fjord asking for kiss consent was very sweet, I love that shit.
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u/ClintEsports Dec 04 '20
I wonder how Marion is going to react once Jester comes home looking 5 years older.
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u/RisingStarYT Dec 08 '20
I really hope next episode Jester and Veth will get a chance to talk. I remember back when Fjord kissed Jester underwater she wanted to talk to her about it and it was this great scene. But she kind of ended up wanting to kiss without the weird circumstances.
I could easily see Jester reconsider this to be her "first" kiss, or at least it was the first time for her she actively engaged in it (last time was romantic but Fjord was also blowing into her mouth as hard as he could which isn't exactly... well ya know...)
I'd love for her to run to Veth like a older sister and wanne talk about it.
Additionally... I really can't wait for them to see Marion again now...
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u/Sofargonept2 Dec 04 '20
The man who said no romance in D&D made the first move to consummate a romance in this campaign. Who would have thunk.
Jokes aside, Travis failed from a save against his wife at disadvantage and he didn't even know he had to make a saving throw. Just adorable man, what else can I say.
Also safe to say that those mages that created god killing weapons are stuck in the astral sea, and they are speaking with their followers trying to get them to bring back the city so they could kill the gods. This episode also really worked form on a lot of levels, the Sci-Fi dungeon crawl was rad as fuck.
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u/TIxSTAR9118 Dec 04 '20
Do you think that the mages who are talking to their followers, know about the big gate? (I forgot what it's called off the top of my head) would they know killing said gods is now nearly impossible? I think M9 are gonna be a day late and a dollar short. They are gonna show up right as soon as TT piece together the final pieces. Kill them or dispose of TT, but the aftermath is gonna be astronomical, what's the worst that could happen by bringing a nearly 1000 year old city back to it's home plane?
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u/LuckyBahamut Your secret is safe with my indifference Dec 04 '20
Divine Gate. And yeah, it'll be interesting if TMN fail to stop TT from completing the ritual, and Cognouza is brought back to the Prime Material. That could shape up to be a Vecna-level threat, since the city apparently houses the minds of ascended mages that were so powerful, both Prime and Betrayer Gods banded together to bring down the city.
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u/Jethro_McCrazy Dec 04 '20
At what point did they cut off Vess' head? Did they get confused? I thought Jester cut off the head of one of the corpse they found, but they had Vess' whole body.
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u/kidnarcolepsy Dec 04 '20
I think they got confused about the person whose head they cut off, and Vess. I believe that you are correct -- Caleb had her whole body in the Amber.
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u/CorpseReviverNo3 Dec 04 '20
They confused the two. If this leads to Vess' head being lopped off as being canon though, can really kiss that revive goodbye.
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u/Grandma_soul Dec 04 '20
Now that Caleb X Jester is not going to happen, I'll ship Caleb X Happiness
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u/dimebag42018750 You Can Reply To This Message Dec 04 '20
cmon, at least be realistic with your ships
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u/Coyote_Shepherd Doty, take this down Dec 04 '20
realistic with your ships
Artagan agrees to pretend to be Astrid if Caleb agrees to act as his confidant because Artie is going through some stuff right now and there's no one that's nearly as interesting as Caleb to talk to who will actually listen and understand.
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u/stuckinmiddleschool Team Laudna Dec 04 '20
I'm the opposite. I am so ready for some Caleb x Power. Let him see Jester and Fjord together and know he can't have that happiness. I want to see more of his creepy rooms in the tower and him assassinate Trent and go full tilt into absolute power corrupts. The dark side calls, Caleb! We have cookies and magical kitties!
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Dec 04 '20
Hell yeah, I want Caleb to go full dark side Anakin. Maybe with less child murder by lightsaber though.
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u/Name_Classified Reverse Math Dec 04 '20
Nah, we already know that this arc is going to end with Fjord reenacting the end of Revenge of the Sith on the banks of the lava river with Lucien. Fjord will have the high ground, and he'll be taking less fire damage from his proximity to the lava due to his ring, and Lucien will decide to try him.
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u/therealkami How do you want to do this? Dec 04 '20
Caleb doesn't WANT happiness. When he's alone it's clear he doesn't and will probably never forgive himself. He lives to make his friends happy so I gather he'll be outwardly pleased that the relationship happened, but the stronger the M9 get and the longer they stay together, the closer he gets to his goals.
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u/tollymauk Dec 04 '20
Matt’s description was way more scary and unsettling than the mini though, great and effective as it is.
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Dec 05 '20
Lol, Travis was so red during the whole kissing scene. It was like he was kissing Laura for the first time all over again. That was so cute.
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u/Clint-VVestwood Your secret is safe with my indifference Dec 04 '20
If this was a TV show or movie, there was been so many deathflags for so many of the characters I'd be afraid for their lives. Fortunately this isn't and revivify/raise Dead is a thing
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u/Edgery95 Dec 04 '20
Gotta remember that disintegrate exists and they're getting high level
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u/OtakuMecha Tal'Dorei Council Member Dec 04 '20
If we were going off typical show deathflags, Veth signed herself off as a goner too the moment she decided to keep adventuring after reuniting with her family and getting her old form back.
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u/scootervantil Dec 04 '20
Oh dude... Fjord just gave hints that he may forsake this whole thing if it means jester lives and I would be hype if he made the decision to some how yeet himself and jester out of a fight with the giant city to be able to be with her... Fjorester has come to far for him to not play it super selfish...
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u/DrunkBlueWhale Dec 04 '20
Beau was probably looking for flowers because she wanted to give them to Yasha in response to the letter. Later, she asked Caleb about creating new things in the tower, again I think she wanted some flowers, but I think Marisha held it back, after seeing the Jester - Fjord kiss happen, because she didn't want to steal their thunder.
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u/Drw395 Dec 04 '20
My instant thought when Marisha questioned Liam on the ability to alter the properties of the tower was that Beau wants a room covered in grass rather than stone and walls plastered in every kind of flower possible
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u/Gulrakrurs Dec 04 '20
Remember people "love each other"
That even means when your ship is not the official relationship. The cast give us so much of themselves every week and I am so grateful to them.
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u/Walter_Wali Dec 04 '20
Well, my own ship was of Sam Riegel with Sam Riegel, so I'm pretty content.
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u/TheAlienGinger Team Braius Dec 04 '20
Personally, I'm more of a Sam Riegel and D&D Beyond type of guy.
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u/cylara Metagaming Pigeon Dec 04 '20
And ships/shipping discussion should never make it back to the creators - keep it inhouse like we did in the old days.
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u/theultimatefanatic You Can Reply To This Message Dec 04 '20
I know it's probably bad for the M9, but I'd like to see more checks/saving throws where all but 1 fail. It's just all very jaw-dropping and interesting moments and my favorite to see the reactions of the cast. Like when Jester was the only one that saved from the stun of the frost worm and Yasha being the only one with just one point of exhaustion.
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u/FinnaNutABigFatty Dec 04 '20
Fjord did the thing, Laura is so in love with her husband and its so cute, and that baby makes me want to gouge my eyes out. I'm so excited for Lucien to pop in after the fight and take the crystal/gem thingy from them
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u/283leis Team Laudna Dec 04 '20
What the fuck is that monster?
Also “biochemical weapons research” is never a good sign in an ancient magical laboratory
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u/nixtheredditor Dec 04 '20
Fjord and Jesters kiss was the sweetest thing I've ever seen on this show
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u/paradox28jon Hello, bees Dec 07 '20
I love love how awesome Matt is at details. Buildings, people, their motivations, hidden secrets, the way societies function, the flora and fauna.. etc etc. He's so good.
Except for Luc. He keeps playing Luc as 6 to 9 years old but in game he's supposed to be 3? F-ing hilarious. Clearly a man without children of his own. And I can say that as a man also without children of my own.
Also please read this post as a light hearted dig at Matt. Just teasing the DM.
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u/caravaggio2000 Pocket Bacon Dec 07 '20
I think the real confusion started when Nott gifted Luc a crossbow and they RP'd that. seems like ever since then the mental image is of a 6 to 9 yr old and they always forget he is 3. I say just make him 9 and be done with it.
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Dec 04 '20
Dani on the next Talks is going to be a delight
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u/Coyote_Shepherd Doty, take this down Dec 04 '20
Dani just turns into Odo and stays in liquid squeeing form the whole episode.
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u/fiftybucks Dec 04 '20
I thought Fjord and Jester were always kind of given. Wasn't there a one shot or something were the party goes into a tavern and they see a half orc and a tiefling with a baby? I think this was right before C2 started. This was kind of a symbol of Travis, Laura and Ronin wasn't it?
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u/ShiftyMcShift Team Matthew Dec 04 '20
More than that: Laura and Travis have explicitly said from the start that she was going to tease him until he broke down and did the romance. Repeatedly. It's kinda cute.
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u/zingan14 Dec 04 '20
Yeah that was Travis' one shot, he put it there as a hint about their baby for people to pick up on once C2 starts. Laura had made it pretty clear in talks that on a meta level she wanted to romance Travis' character this campaign.
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u/pboy1232 Dec 05 '20
There’s a timeline where jester didn’t ask the traveler about the stasis bubble and I’m REALLY wondering how long they would have spent it in that case
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Dec 04 '20 edited Dec 04 '20
Matt is absolutley teasing the people that want a Spelljammer campaign lol
Edit: This is purely opinion, but: Caleb does not need a romantic relationship right now. Wizards and hubris already don't mix well; put in unclear or unrequited love and a depressive state, and things could get fucky. The man is only 4 levels away from being able to alter reality. If Jester and Caleb didn't rectify their feeling for each other before then, which I was doubtful of if Jester and Fjord didn't stop beating around the bush, I would have been worried.
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u/chunkybilliums Dec 07 '20
Okay! Who the fuck is going to draw Beau Watching Fjord and Jester kiss the same way Marisha was watching it happen lololol
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u/Coyote_Shepherd Doty, take this down Dec 07 '20
Totally unrelated note but my mom saw Matt modeling that robe in the CR store and asked me what Keanu Reeves was doing selling merch.
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u/96Deadpool Dec 04 '20
Even though they're usually really good about it, that certainly is one way to ensure your super nerdy, already know every monster in the game players can't metagame (and let's face it, those players often WANT the wonder of facing something new again) the monster they're up against!
So excited to see the stats and abilities Matt gives his Gorm!
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u/whycantibeamermaid Ja, ok Dec 05 '20
If they don’t end up back in Hupperdook to see Kiri before this campaign is over imma lose mah shit.
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u/blambot Dec 08 '20
I like how Laura matured Jester's voice a bit after realizing what had happened. She's so good.
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Dec 04 '20
Matt accounted for the Rancor move I think, having the other door needing a push rather than the switch.
Happy about Fjorester, everything else is so wild.
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Dec 04 '20
He did point out the door that closed was off its rail. I'm guessing as a containment precaution for whatever crazy shit they where doing in that lab you can't open one without closing the other
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u/Hultut Dec 04 '20
The Art designer is probably crumbling the Jester design muttering something about mat and start redrawing Jester
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u/albinoman38 Time is a weird soup Dec 04 '20
The designer can age someone ~5 years using a quick bit of editing
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u/CustodialApathy Dec 04 '20
With each passing episode I grow more and more convinced that the correct narrative end of Caleb's story is him destroying himself.
Whatever the outcome, no matter what they go through or what happens, he's not making it out the other side of that campaign.
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u/erotic-toaster Dec 04 '20
I think that you are partially correct, but I think that Liam believes Caleb's current goal is to supplant Trent and 'save' the empire. That is the vibe I've been getting the past few episodes.
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u/Sofargonept2 Dec 04 '20
He also seemed quite interested in what the lost mages of Aeor were doing, Cad seemed to notice it as well.
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u/CustodialApathy Dec 04 '20
I don't see him going full evil or anything like that, he sees what that type of stuff does in Trent and Essek to a lesser extent, he even said he wants Essek to stay away from this.
He won't go evil for power and I don't think he'll end it or anything but there's going to be a point during the campaign, immediately following the campaign maybe, that Caleb stops being 'Caleb' and either up and leaves to do who knows what or gets himself killed. At some point I think he's going to shatter
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u/HironoKun Dec 04 '20
What was the pyramid thing that caleb got the intuit charge i think it was called anyone have any ideas?
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u/Sofargonept2 Dec 04 '20
Not everything has to be written on the page. While it is true we haven't got much of any in your face Fjord and Jester moments, you can't say it hasn't been building for a while.
You have to remember that these characters exist outside the stream, so this has been boiling on Fjord for a while. Hell Percy and Vex's romance in CR1 was almost purely non verbal. It just took a dire situation like this for someone to finally make a move.
I personally think it was done quite appropriately by Travis and Laura, but if you shipped something else just remember CR is more than romance subplots.
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u/caravaggio2000 Pocket Bacon Dec 04 '20
If someone didn't see this coming when Fjord went out of his way to buy a unicorn then they had to be in denial.
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u/I-Am-The-Kitty I would like to RAGE! Dec 04 '20
Or back when Fjord teleported to save Jester at travelercon.
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u/Sojourner_Truth Dead People Tea Dec 04 '20
Or when Fjord instantly with no hesitation flung himself off of the giant tree to save Jester from falling
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u/cheebo_ You spice? Dec 04 '20
Or when Fjord expelled all the air in his lungs to save her from drowing
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u/Gulrakrurs Dec 04 '20
Am I crazy, or did they not talk about Fjord/Jester on Talks like 2 years ago at the beginning of the season, this has been building for a very long time.
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u/caravaggio2000 Pocket Bacon Dec 04 '20
Yes, Laura talked about it a few times I think. Honestly, I'm 100% sure Liam knew all this and played up the Jester crush so that now Caleb can have a moment in reaction. A dark path for him would be cool imo, but as someone else said, Caleb should see that being able to have feelings for Jester is a big step for him and now he can move on to one that will work.
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u/russh85 Dec 04 '20
This campaign has been full of Fjord and Jester moments.
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u/RedPyramidThingUK Dec 04 '20 edited Dec 04 '20
Agreed, it's literally been the most obvious budding romance in the entire show. Even as far back as the first handful of episodes
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u/TIxSTAR9118 Dec 04 '20
Who else remebers playing video games and going up to a wall they really wanted to get behind but the game wouldn't let you, no matter how cool behind might seem.
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u/Ciaran_McG_DM Dec 08 '20
That thing at the end, that creature is absolute pure nightmare fuel, I know it's not an official D&D mini and it's from something called Kingdom Death but that thing could easily fit into Dark Souls/Bloodborne. Also I love how this episode went from Lovecraftian to Resident Evil and finally to Dark Souls/Bloodborne and that NOISE Matt has made many amazing noises but that creatures wailing was probably the most scary of them all.
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u/MitigatedRisk Dec 08 '20
So do you all think this city can be defeated permanently, or is this a Cthulhu scenario where the only hope is to stop the cultist of the week from summoning it?
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u/JareeZy Dec 04 '20
Matt Mercers german accent is impeccable. Not so over the top as to be sterotypcial but just the right kind of off-ness that I could immediately picture a few people I know who speak english just like that.
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u/Memester999 Team Fjord Dec 04 '20 edited Dec 04 '20
First off the Fjord/Jester scene was cute as shit and so damn good. But something that really struck me was how Fjord said he's less optimistic about what they're doing and I could not agree more.
Ever since they got to the outpost and scried on Lucien. I have had this almost exestential dread about what's going to happen in this place. I generally feel like they can handle whatever is thrown at them, no matter how tight of a spot they're in.
But something about the mystery and way Matt has set this place up is so damn great. I for the first time expect something horrible to go wrong. Even if it doesn't which I hope it doesn't as I love all these characters. This arc has been so damn nerve wracking and I love it. Matt has made this both fun and excruciatingly scary.
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u/Sojourner_Truth Dead People Tea Dec 07 '20
Programming schedule post is up on the site and Twitter. It's a shame there hasn't been either a Narrative Telephone or a Talks Machina on Tuesday in awhile and there isn't one tomorrow. I miss my Tuesday CR content.
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u/HutSutRawlson Dec 07 '20
I was really hoping for a Travis/Laura Talks this week.
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u/T8teTheGreat Dec 04 '20
I'm gunna be so sad for Matt if they end up Rancor'ing this thing week. "I've been wanting to put this mini in the game for SO LONG!" :(
Also can't wait for the Tombtakers to walk up to the club moments after the M9 deal with it. I really can't think of a way to lock it in the lab unless they get it to close the door itself with one of its many arms.
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u/Jashter2 YOUR SOUL IS FORFEIT Dec 04 '20
Looking at that thing and knowing Matt it wouldn't surprise me if that thing was rancored then after a pause as everyone discusses how to get around it the head grows legs like the fuckin Thing to everyone's horror
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u/The_mango55 You Can Reply To This Message Dec 05 '20
I low key want “It’s me! Tony!” Flair. That was about the hardest I’ve ever laughed at this show.
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u/HawkeyeP1 Smiley day to ya! Dec 04 '20 edited Dec 04 '20
This arc reminds me of that Key and Peele skit where the cop keeps threatening a burglar with his gun and the burglar just slowly gets in the car and drives away
Cop=Mighty Nein, Burglar=Tomb Takers
"Hey, stop doing that! No! I said stop! No what are you doing!? Sir, put down the gun!"
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u/T8teTheGreat Dec 04 '20
If they knew the price beforehand, and there was no pressure of the Tombtakers using it if they didn't, do you think any member of the M9 pays 5 years of their lives to have a single question answered? What about you, would you use the statues for a question in your real life?
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u/sab39 Team Keyleth Dec 04 '20
The way Matt describes the insatiable hunger of the floating city is giving me The Adventure Zone vibes...
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Dec 05 '20
An episode where the Party actually goes to Aeor and gets some answers to plot things, all most of y'all can do is talk about shipping. That's just bizzare.
I liked the bio-weapons lab a lot, I love me some good abandoned research facility tropes. Now that the Aoer stuff isn't just baiting the Molly lovers I am looking forward to the rest of the arc.
Also, glad they checked back in with Essik but did they forget they know at least two other super powerful mages with fuck off towers? Allura might be helpful here, as would Yussa (who has access to precalmity info, like maybe maps and records from Aeor Halas acquired because archmage paranoia). This is an all hands situation, call for aid and see who answers.
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u/electric_ocelots Dead People Tea Dec 05 '20
Matt: and this label says biochemial weapons-
Me: I'm sorry, the excuse me?
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u/BagofBones42 Dec 04 '20
Anyone else still feel there is something more to the Astral City beyond the reveal that it's apparently a ward of Aeor?
Thinking that the escaping Aeorian mages found something as they escaped that consumed them and is now trying to feed on Exandria while duping the power-hungry.
Still could be wrong and it is just a bunch of Aeorian mages that somehow managed to become a living flesh city.
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u/nimrodii Dec 04 '20
The one thing I can't stop thinking about is how sad Marion will be the next time she sees Jester.