#and of course vengeance

[bespectacledpaladin]

Lightwarden | Vindicta, Forgiven Vengeance

A warped manifestation of the staunch, unwavering sense of justice for which the Warrior of Light Lila Dawnefyre is known, Vindicta enacts vicious, heavenly vengeance upon those stained with sin and wrongdoing. - Soooo obligatory 'what if the light corruption took over and turned the WoL into a lightwarden' gpose thing with Lila ;)

[messymoonmad]

IM BITING YOUR POSEIDON

This was an invitation for him

Now get in the water

[blorbologist]

Y'know, I think I figured out why the Hells still feel like a new low-level party to me, even though they're level 13 and almost 100 episodes in.

I don't quite think it's the lack of conversations, or the fact half the party's plot hooks are big ties to past campaigns - though that definitely plays a part.

... Bell's Hells still primarily rely on quest givers.

Most of their goals are given to them and do not feel organic to the party, and constantly remind us that the Hells are pretty much never the most powerful people in the room. Which is usually something you see with a low-level party.

NPCs offering jobs is not a bad thing; it's a very common plot hook. Matt has been extremely skilled with using NPC quest givers in those two campaigns. Not only do they provide an obvious plot thread, but they can put the party in the path of others (say, the Nein running into the Iron Shepherds while doing a job for the Gentleman and everything that came of that). And the Hells had a solid start with it too - Eshteross was an excellent quest giver!

The problem is that Bell's Hells have never really not had a quest giver.

Maybe it's a byproduct of the more plot-heavy structure of this campaign? But while prior parties have felt like they decided on their course of action and what they prioritized, Bell's Hells feels less like level 13 (13! Level 13!) experienced adventurers and more like an MMO group clicking on the exclamation point over an NPC's head. Where does the plot demand we go next? Who do we report back to?

They're level 13.

At level 13, Vox Machina had just defeated a necromantic city-state to clear their name and Percy's conscience. And, you know, the Conclave just destroyed Emon. No one was explicitly telling the group to gather Vestiges and save the world (though Matt guided them there), and they were usually among the most powerful people in the room. They chose which Vestiges to prioritize, which dragons to tackle when, even if the over-all plot was pretty clear.

At level 13, the Mighty Nein were celebrating Traveler Con (another PC goal, I'll note) after brokering peace between two nations, accidentally becoming pirates and heroes of the Dynasty. The Nein regularly chose what to do based on personal goals, not grand ones. Though definitely smaller fish than Vox Machina at this level, they were very independent and gaining solid political clout.

While we're at it: level 13 is one level lower than the Ring of Brass, who had a huge amount of sway over Avalir. They ended the world, and also saved it, while in the grand scheme of things being only a smidge more powerful than Bell's Hells are now.

Can you really see the Hells wielding that amount of influence, when they're constantly being told what to do next?

The god-eater might be unleashed, so Bell's Hells have no time to do anything but what is asked of them. No time for therapy unless stolen from Feywild time, no travel on foot and late-night watches. They haven't even had time to grieve FCG. Percy was grieved in the middle of the Conclave arc. Molly was grieved when half the party was still in irons.

Matt is in the very unfortunate spot of not being able to give the Hells the same agency as the other two parties. Not only because of the world-ending plot introduced so early on; they are surrounded by characters they know (and the cast knows) are stronger and wiser than them - the familiarity of the past PCs and NPCs is to their disadvantage.

Why would the party reasonably ignore Keyleth's task that will help save the world and go off on a romp? Why would the cast when they know well Keyleth has to be sensible and with the best intentions in mind? The stakes are just too high.

It means that the Hells still feel like they're running errands instead of pursuing their own destiny. Their accomplishments are diminished as just being parts of a to-do list, and any stakes feel padded by several level 20 PCs/NPCs standing 5 steps away ready to catch them.

This isn't Bell's Hell's fault, nor is it Matt's. It could be amended, I think, if the Hells are really left to their own devices for a long period of time without support and shortcuts (like during the party split)... which would be really tricky to pull off at this point in the campaign.

They're level 13. They're big fish, but they're stuck in a pond full of friendly sharks, so they don't feel big at all.

[flowersforthemachines]

Replaying the Ossuary knowing that Rook can't swim is hilarious because they are already having the worst day of their life for too many consecutive days, and now they are surrounded by all that water they are probably terrified of (honestly knowing how to swim wouldn't save them if the wards failed, but it's the mental factor you know), looking for that guy who is only MAYBE alive. MAYBE still the skilled assassin other people think he is bc gods know what the Venatori even did to him in that entire year.

And then, against all odds, Rook finds Lucanis alive and (visibly) well and is like "WHEW we can leave now" only for him to say "no we are NOT leaving the underwater torture facility actually". And the blood thing is reasonable at least, but a *contract*?? He's been in that prison for a year, that prison (that is UNDERWATER) is coming apart at the seams (they are all going to DROWN!!), and he cares about some fucking contract???

That was not love at first sight I'm afraid. Idk about other people's Rooks but Lucanis is lucky mine didn't just knock him out and drag him back to the boat

[a-man-in-the-crowd]

i've got a pile now!

[selunesfavouriteprincess]

you could probably argue it’s just for gameplay purposes but the fact that Clea can understand very clearly what Alicia trying to say even when she can’t physically speak does rotate in my mind permanently

[cowboys-tshot]

Y'know the part of The Vengeance Saga that really got me emotional?

Like obviously several parts made me feel things, but only one part in particular made my heart truly ache.

In the beginning of Dangerous, Odysseus sings "'Cause I had one goal in mind" in the same way he once sang "With only one goal in mind" back in the beginning of "Full Speed Ahead." In "Full Speed Ahead", this line is immediately followed by the crew singing "Make it back alive to our homeland."

But when he says it in "Dangerous", there is no response. It is just silence. For five seconds, there is nothing.

Odysseus isn't like the gods, able to summon a chorus of voices at will. He is only supported by real, living—or once living—people. When there are none left, it is quiet.

He is truly, utterly, completely alone.

[post-it-notes7]

Leave? Through what exit??

y'know Mir Falspar's starting to wonder the same thing

[touchofhemlocktea]

John really hates Gotham

John Constantine is in Gotham, specifically in the cemetery where one Jason Todd is buried, to deal with a cult, hopefully without batman ever finding out so he can avoid the lecture about Gotham being his city.

He's finishing up and heading out when he feels the surge of something in the cemetery. He, against his better judgment, follows the feeling before an unassuming grave.

Listen closely. What was that....?

*thump*

*muffled crying*

.....

A blast of magic breaks the ground before he can even consciously register what he was feeling. Magic and hands frantically pull at the Cursed city's soil.

Finally, he's able to crack the lid of the coffin.

*in the back of his mind he's going through curse purging rituals. Desecration of a grave is bad.*

A bleeding desperate hand clings to his.

*young hands. A child filled with the echoes of lost potential and unfulfilled bright future.*

When the kid's free, the hellblazer can finally sort through what his power is screaming in the back of his mind...

*REVENANT*

[death-of-cats]

it wasn’t until this reread of Arya’s chapters that i realized just how much her time in Harrenhall parallels Theon’s time in Winterfell in ADWD, from conceiving of themselves as ghosts to being hated for their association with the castles’ new masters

[vinnigami]

Can there ever be too much nahobino?

[britneyshakespeare]

I love that part in 2.6 of 3H6 where the Yorkists win the battle and are planning the coronation for Edward and Edward is like "ok George, you can be Duke of Clarence and Richard, you'll be Duke of Gloucester" and Richard is like "uhhhh Duke of Gloucester is kinda cursed, can George and I switch dukedoms?" And Warwick is like "oh that's silly, just be Duke of Gloucester" thus creating Richard, Duke of Gloucester who is most definitely the most accurst Duke of Gloucester of them all

[ellie-shy]

EMMRICHMANCERS WE ARE EATING GOOD Y'ALL

I'M SO HAPPY FOR US

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[vaguely-concerned]

I don't care what anyone says I love nadia and her brash unhinged ass with my whole heart. she really said 'I will annoy you like you would not believe every single step on the way to weisshaupt fucking try me see if I won't' and even after only like five minutes' acquaintance they believed her. queen

[slayerdurge]

the brainrot is telling me to do an evil karlach origin play through

[backpackingspace]

I mm. I don't really like the last song of the vengeance saga. I know it makes sense narritive wise that odysseus would 1. Beat posiden and 2. Torture him into giving in. But like the way that yanked me out of the story? Because a mortal? Beat? Posiden? I just. Not a fan.

That being said there ARE some absolutely banger lines. 'How do you sleep at night?' 'Next to my wife' I DIED. That's such a good line. And the way posiden slowly goes from the ruthlessness is mercy to mercy ??? I'm going insane!