#Chetney and Fearne would be the hardes for me i think

[elementalladymallorie]

I've got more flower connections. This time FCG.

I wanted to stick with one, but what found for my first thought was not entirely perfect, but my second thought wasn't either so I'm using both and picking the most matching parts.

So for FCG I think it's Daisy and Begonias.

Daisies represent Innocence and Purity.

FCG is probably the most innocent of the bunch, mostly due to the missing memories and their general demeanor. The purity for daisy's I believe relates more towards love, but I think still works for FCG as well given how much he cares for his friends.

Daisies also mean Cheerfulness and New Beginnings.

FCG's whole personality is cheerful! They keep up a positive outlook and greet people with a 'Smiley day.' FCG got a new beginning after what happened with Dancer and the rest of their crew. And I'm sure they believe that the Bells are new beginning for everyone involved.

Begonias can represent Harmony and Gratitude

FCG wants their friends to be in a state of harmony, and I saw one thing say harmonious communication between friends and family. Fitting for the group therapist. FCG also seems to be the type to be grateful for just about everything.

Begonia's also represent Uniqueness, Caution, and misfortune.

FCG is a very unique automaton as we've learned. There's now a level of caution with them and the whole murderbot side and what could cause it. Poor things been followed by misfortune now, and has recently faced another.

Both plants are also used in medicinal practices!

Daisies are used to make poultice and begonias help with headaches and burns. FCG's the healer. Plus daisies are the sacred flower of the Norse goddess Freya, and FCG is a cleric which normally answer to some higher power.

There's probably something to also be said about the phrases 'pushing up daisies ' and 'fresh as a daisy' in relation to Letters.

(Laudna), (Orym), (Ashton), (Fearne), (Imogen), (Chetney), (Laudna pt.2)

[vethbrenatto]

breaking all That down a little

honestly c3e78 was just a FASCINATING roleplay episode so i'm doing a little train of thought meta on different people's reactions to the events of c3e77:

most of the group is angry at ashton, obviously. but for different reasons. fcg & imogen seem to carry concern largely for ashton themself and fear his self-harming tendencies. both go in on him directly, but also seem to be the ones who are openly the kindest towards them after they reject the second shard.

conversely, laudna and chetney are mad at ashton for hurting fearne (and in laudna's case, feel specifically betrayed). they both feel his crime is the effect his actions have on others.

which is fascinating, when paired with fearne's reaction, because fearne also blames ashton, but just as heavily blames herself. others like chetney and laudna rage in her honor, but she's mad at herself for going along with it. for making the "wrong" choice. for letting her feelings for ashton cloud her judgment.

and circling back around, we get to what ashton is feeling. regret, sorrow, immediate attempts at amends. but there's something in their conversation with chetney that really got me: when they state that when chetney inevitably fucks up at some point in the future, they will stand by chetney and give support. that he will show grace in that situation.

to which chetney says, just words. which maybe. but it's so in line with what ashton wants- family, belonging, unconditional love. going all the way back to the nobodies, this is what ashton is about. i think he would show grace, and i think he has in situations when others in the party haven't. there's something hard to swallow about the reactions to ashton in this episode, not because they're wrong from the other members of the party, but because in ashton's rebuttal to chetney, it feels like what ashton needs is for someone to say, "you fucked up, but we still love you." which they sort of get around to by the end of the episode, but we're not quite there yet.

insane RP episode, 10/10

[its-your-mind]

Tbh I??? Really love these Bell’s Hells Company Retreat Activities???? Bc like. It’s not like any of them have been overly cagey this whole time, or actively hiding big secrets from each other. (someone at some point mentioned how BUCKwild it would have been to watch the M9 try to play What The Fuck Is Up With That within the first ten episodes of c2, with all the shit all of them were hiding and how much their early relationships were based on a mutual understanding that no one would expect each other to bring up the past unless it became a danger - the only one who ever poked that particular bear was Beau with Caleb at the start when she traded access to the Archive for the reason why Caleb gets fucked up by fire, and that private conversation shaped their relationship for the rest of the campaign BUT I digress.)

Nothing anyone confessed during the Honesty exercise was… a surprise. The only one who hadn’t shared the entirety of his past (that he remembered) was Chetney, and his was never the past that felt like a threat - that revelation was more along the lines of FCG’s type of “tell me about your family trauma so I can fix you” line of questioning.

The truths the Hells offered up to each other… they were significant (Fearne, I was disappointed in you for being afraid of your power), and scary (deep down, both Delilah and I kind of want the shard), and hard to say out loud (even on the nights I bunk up with one of you, I feel so lonely), but critically, so little of it was surprising. No one was sharing anything earth-shattering about their pasts or previously unknown plans for future betrayal.

And during the Communication exercise - none of them - Chetney, Imogen, Ashton, or Orym - doubted that their directors were leading them the wrong way. They listened, and paid attention to instructions, and didn’t try their own path because they felt like they knew better.

And then during Trust! The part that should have been the hardest!! All of them were obviously distrustful of each other, shooting around stressed looks, sending familiars to dive-bomb to check for flesh, but like… none of them actually turned on each other. None of them ganged up, or broke off, or stood in opposition - they were wary of each other, and they got the task done.

So… it didn’t really lead to any huge shifts in the dynamic. But that was never really what they needed! The Hells have trusted each other since the beginning, and even when they’re actively having to fight each other, it’s always with a desperation born from a place of concern. They really do care for and love each other. I don’t think any of them, if they sat down to think about it, truly believed that one of them was going to betray the others.

But they haven’t had time to sit and think about it. They have been actively fighting the literal end of the world since like… ep 45 (first irl Ludinus sighting/convo). The apocalypse happened. Has been happening. For thirty episodes now. They spent a good chunk of that time apart from each other, and then the rest of it desperately reaching out to anyone with more power than themselves to beg for their help.

So yeah! It’s not a big surprise that they’re all bottling up a lot of their own shit right now! There aren’t that many personal issues that feel like they deserve more attention than the literal end of the world.

It was inevitable something was going to give. And since Ashton’s shit was up next for dissection because they had a past that brushed up against the Primordials? Of course they were the one whose internal lockdown broke first. And of course when it did, it physically shattered Ashton, too, right along those same fault lines where Milo put them back together the first time. It’s so good that they had friends who were there, past and present, to make sure none of the pieces got lost. To put them back together.

We watched Laudna break down right after, specifically because she was back home, in this place where Delilah had first tortured and killed her, where she had lived as a wraith haunting a castle. Delilah had been slowly picking the lock on the cage the Hells had forced her into, and Ashton’s “betrayal” was the last tumbler Delilah needed to snap into place to break the lock in Laudna’s mind. And her mind shattered, fragmented in the same way it had been after she was first brought back as Delilah’s vessel. How beautiful that it was Laudna’s love of children and her desire to make Ashton a gift (meant to be part insult, “because you’re a child,” and declaration of her care for him, “I like children.”)

And Fearne… Fearne almost broke down after them. Slamming the hammer down next to Ashton’s head over and over and over, screaming at him, wandering away through the city, sleeping alone in the woods… She saw the cliff’s edge coming. That’s why she asked them if they could stop at her Nana’s first.

Because she needed it. And the rest of the Hells say, “Why? Do you think Nana Morri can help us in this?” And Fearne says, “Well, I don’t know, but…” And Imogen says, “Do you need it for you?” And Fearne says, in a small and shattered voice, “…yes.”

And that’s the end of the discussion.

They go home, to a place where they are safe and have time, for the first time since Ruidus was locked in place.

And so they have time to be Honest - and they are. Fearne likes to watch them all and play with their hair while they sleep. Orym has thought through how he would neutralize them if he absolutely had to. Ashton thinks it would be better for him to be dead than for Fearne to be hurt. Imogen is scared to face her mom. Laudna dreams of leaving this behind. FCG is jealous of the people around him with a heart, because they have possibilities he doesn’t. Chetney hasn’t settled down once in 400 years because he’s scared he’s cursed to drive away any family he has.

Behind all of this - I want to know everything about you. I need to make sure you don’t hurt each other. I would sacrifice myself to keep you from pain. I don’t want to choose between my blood and this family we’ve built. I want you all to be safe. I want you to pursue happiness. I don’t want to lose you.

And then, Communication - follow along this path. Listen to my voice. Keep calm, keep quiet. Stay the course. I will keep you safe. Keep walking, keep walking, and… you’re there, honey.

And finally, Trust. Two of them are going to be replaced by fae beings bent on preventing them from completing their mission, and they have to complete this task without letting the infiltrators stop them. Okay. Let’s all stick together. Keep eyes on each other. Wait for the doppelgängers to give themselves away somehow. Do you remember these small, banal details about our mutual history? There’s a possibility that action you took was malicious, but I know you well enough to know that might have been a mistake you made on your own. Here, I’ll walk into traps to show that I’m not going to stop you. I’ll get out of your way and take out the threats. I’ll be eyes in the sky and send my familiar to poke you to test if you feel like you should. But nothing you’re doing makes me see you as a real threat - just the possibility of one. I trust you. I trust in you. I trust myself to know enough about you to identify if you’re doing something differently than normal.

And the result of those exercises? No new information, but maybe some things that we all had lost track of amongst the chaos. I am not shocked by your Honesty. I know deep down that I can rely on your Communication. I do Trust you. I know you. I care for you. I know you care for me, too. Even when I have doubts, even when you fuck up, even when things break bad and you make the wrong call…

We are a team for a reason, and no matter what we said in the beginning, it is not just out of necessity or convenience. Are we a bunch of fucked up, broken people? Absolutely. Are we going to continue to fuck up? Probably. Does that change how we feel about each other? No. Never. As long as you’ll have me, I’ll be here, fighting alongside you. Helping you up when you stumble. Offering a shoulder when you need to cry. Standing over you to protect you if you fall. Laughing with you in good times, kicking ass for you in bad. This is our family, damn it. It is strange, and broken, but it is ours, and it is good.

[12pt-times-new-roman]

c3e91

We open on the two teams booking it back toward the Volition hideout.

As the extraction team enters the industrial and residential circle of the city, the populace of Kreviris is in a rising panic, and soldiers are beginning to flood toward the Prime Pillar. Mystics begin to emerge as well, like bees swarming out of a hive. They form a matrix around it and the pillar lights up as a gossamer wave emanates out from it — a wave of dispelling energy breaks the extraction team's invisibility and the detonation team's illusion. They are all visible in the streets of Kreviris.

Their telepathic bond is gone too — that means that the dispel wave is at least 5th level.

Fearne spots that Zathuda appears to have survived the explosion and is riding Gloamglut in surveying circles around the pillar. As their illusion breaks, the dragon lands on the rooftops above them and looks down.

Ashton build update: While transformed by the shard of earth, Ashton's weapons have siege, which lets them deal double damage to structures (like walls). This lets him break down walls like a Looney Toons character so that they can escape the dragon (with a whole-ass building as a casualty, because siege doubles the already-doubled damage of a crit).

Meanwhile, Imogen recasts invisibility and Everoa starts to guide them out.

They tuck into a passage, but Zathuda calls out: "Fearne! It would be my own who fights against me. You really are your mother's daughter. It's a mix of pride and hate I hold for you, Fearne Zathuda! A true chaos being of cold shadow and fiery flame." Gloamglut can't quite find them.

Fearne polymorphs FCG into a slither then turns into one with wildshape, and with Ashton able to glide through the rock with the shard, they are safely burrowed underground and start heading back to where they came from.

As the extraction team gets closer to the edge of the city, walls of stone rise from the ground and encircle them in a 40-foot cage — the wisdom save that Laudna failed was most likely a scry, and they glance up to see a wind-swept, bloodied Liliana descending. Imogen is the only one visible.

When Liliana speaks, it has multiple tones, like an offset harmony as she speaks. "Did you know?" [Did I know what?] (persuasion: 31) "Then why are you here?" It's almost hard to focus on her from the pressure her presence is exerting.

Imogen takes out the locket that Relvin gave her. [You're so powerful. A better whole, mama.] "I don't want Ludinus to see how powerful you are. He'll make you the vessel instead." [Run away. Run away with me.] "I can't. As long as I'm here, I can control what happens around him. If I'm not here, there are so many others, children—" [You're hurt. Please, come with me. Please.] (persuasion: 31) "The Mind is lookin'. I have to think. I'll find you. I'll find you. Go. Go."

She drops the walls and shoots up through the ceiling of the city like a bullet. They start running. In front of them, five reiloran mystics clad in golds, platinums, gems, intricate robes — their crests with bones, runes, and chains. They are so adorned with jewelry that it's difficult to discern their age through the masks. Their outline is impressive, but their legs dangle down like straggly roots without ground. They speak: "There you are. Who are you?"

They turn to Chetney. "We've connected to your essence before..." There was a moment when the red moon seemed to look in to Chetney's soul, and he began to lose control — and it's happening again now, that same feeling. "Sweet feral child, instrument of our desire... who else joins us?"

To Laudna, or Delilah beneath: "Two spirits reside in one vessel. We can give you all that you desire."

As they look at each of them in turn, the Bells Hells' wills turn to paper. They turn to Orym, but before they can speak, he says under his breath: "Nana Morri, I need you, right now. We need to get out of here. All of us. Now."

They turn from Orym to Imogen: "You... you've come home. We're happy to have you. The rest may stay — no. They resist. They must go. Welcome home." And their illusions disappear. They keep running, and make it into a tunnel that climbs toward the top of the city.

Team detonation can see Liliana's walls going up and race toward it — they reach team extraction in time to see the Weave-Mind leave, and the Bells Hells reunite.

Imogen casts sending on Rashina: "We have Everoa. The city is unsafe. How's the safehouse? If it's not safe, we'll take her with us elsewhere." The safehouse is, unfortunately, abandoned. Too hot for us to regather. Rest. Find the allies you promised. Take her with you. Anything of import, let us know.

The Bells Hells resolve to leave the city and return to the secret passage to Exandria. They approach the top of the tunnel, and as they realize Otohan is following them, they start collapsing the tunnel behind them and preparing for battle. (I think this is the point where Matt regrets, just a little bit, giving Ashton this stone-surfing ability.)

Bormodo update: Their speed is 25.

Otohan goes around the tunnel collapse and gets ahead of them. Orym takes point to listen for her — he doesn't hear anything, but sees an echo — "then, it suddenly has color, has form. Otohan is here."

To break!

Begin combat:

Orym goes first, and opens with a hex and then two critical hits on Otohan's backpack.

Otohan takes Chetney down and kills him in one round, but expends a lot of her juice to do so — action surge is down, and so are three of her psionic dice. Matt is absolutely playing her how he should be — with a lone fighter like her, she needs to get someone down in almost every round because the action economy is so desperately stacked against her.

Chetney's last words are, "for four hundred years, I looked up at the moon. Not a bad place to go."

She looks at Imogen. "We have more than enough Ruidisborn to complete our plan. The loss of one candidate will not be impactful."

Fearne activates the spark of Rau'shan, and becomes a creature made completely of fire. While it's active, difficult terrain does not impede her movement.

God, the fact that Matt allows FCG to trade his 7th-level spell slot for preparing revivify definitely says something about how this fight is going thus far — but FCG attempts a revivify on Chetney: "Chetney, you haven't become a legend yet." Resurrection spells work, or at the very least they work on the moon! Chetney's DC goes up to 11, he's back up with 1 hit point, and FCG has no more diamonds.

Imogen's telekinesis tears the backpack off of Otohan, and she pushes it toward Ashton so he can smash it. "Oh, you bitch!" That's anger there. As it's torn off, the shadows around her vanish — she can't use any of her echo knight abilities anymore, so they were all sourced from the backpack.

Orym update: He did get the fey-touched feat, and took misty step for his 2nd level spell. He teleports, does a bait and switch with Imogen, and starts going off on this bitch — advantage for flanking and two back-to-back crits.

Laudna hits a massive blight roll and burns one of her legendary resistances, on top of three eldritch blast hits.

Fearne update: When she hits with an attack or spell, she can choose to deal additional fire damage.

Orym has rolled so many natural 20s this fight, and I can't help but feel that it's excellent poetic justice.

Otohan uses her second action surge, confirming that she's at least a 17th level fighter, but is most likely 20th.

Chetney, on 1 hit point, uses his healing potion on a downed Imogen instead.

Laudna update: The ability is actually called hunger of the shadow shard, meaning it's actually sourced from the piece of the gnarlrock that Delilah absorbed and not Delilah intrinsically. Also, she can keep using it until it works, but once it works it can't be used again. Also also, the energy that emanates from Laudna's hand as she does that is unfamiliar to Otohan, and she looks afraid.

Ashton update: Ashton's gravity rage build does not require a saving throw — it stands to reason that their other rage builds don't either, only the extra abilities do. That makes a lot of sense, actually. Also, when Ashton has the shard activated, they can choose to deal an additional 1d6 fire damage on a hit; and at some point, their chaos burst damage went up to 1d8.

Otohan update: She actually did go super-Sayan, and has an exalted rage form that has an increased AC and, presumably, an increased damage output, bonus to hit, and saves. She also regains both action surges when it happens.

Ashton rage build update: As a reaction, Ashton can use erratic defense and roll 1d4. On one of the results, Ashton takes half damage from the attack and the attacker is pushed 30 feet away.

Oddly enough, she downs Imogen again and doesn't go for a kill shot — instead, she downs Chetney again and doesn't kill anyone, which is going to allow FCG to heal everyone back up.

Otohan having resistance to all damage in this form on top of 25 AC is....... that feels like a little bit too much to me. just barely. But we'll see. (edit from future Note: this is the point where the party begins to lose hope.)

On one of Otohan's blades, when it hits a creature that's concentrating on a spell, the concentration check DC is doubled, which drops Fearne's aura of life. FCG, on their last leg, triggers their stress response. See above.

Genuinely, this is 100% the kind of situation that I would warn new or even half-seasoned GMs about — the kind of situation that you look at and say, "do not ever do this unless you are 100% certain that your group would be okay with it." And I hope, but I know many won't, that the fandom will respond to this in the way that they should, recognizing that this is a group of players who know each other so intimately that the GM can do this and have the table be not only alright but content with it.

As a hail-mary, Imogen casts sending on Liliana. "Otohan has us in the tunnels. It's about to be over. Help." The response: "I don't — I'll try to find you. I don't know how fast I can get there, I'll try to find you." Imogen takes off the circlet to help her find them.

"We might have misjudged this a tidy-bit—" Travis. Laura. what do you mean. She sought you out. There was no way to avoid this.

Matt rolling behind the screen and not having Otohan attack to kill is hopeful! But still, the sheer hopelessness here among the players is something you really should not do if you don't know your table. (At the same time, there's also a building hopelessness in Matt, which I think is what allows the following events to transpire.)

That there's no music behind this half of the fight, or at least very low-volume music, is also...... not helping, I don't think.

Man, this is a BG3-ass fight. Literally fighting until the last hit point, spending every scroll and potion you can, especially because getting someone up means they get a full round of actions.

End of combat

With 5 hit points left, FCG casts a 4th-level guiding bolt at their core. You know what this means, right? "Yes. The rage that I feel, the stress being so high, the fuel pumping through my core — it has reached a level it's never reached before, and it is so intense, that for the first time I realize that I am made of metal and wires, but I am alive. I am alive not because I was made, I'm alive because they made me alive, and it's the connections that I made with all of them. It's a feeling of joy, and I am happy to do this, because they saved my life. And I'll save theirs."

FCG pushes Otohan back so that only they are in the blast radius. They roll 20d8, for 79 damage. "FCG... how do you want to do this?"

"The last things I see are Bertrand, and Dorian, and Frida. I just feel connected to everybody. Some connections are made with wires, and some are made with blood, some are made with bone, some are made with wood, but they all matter. And they, even in this dark, dark cave, they make every day a smiley day. So I just sign off, and go."

The red in FCG's eyes turns to white, and there is a smile turned toward the rest of the Bells Hells. Otohan goes to awkwardly pull a blade, and before she gets a chance to dart away, a ball of crackling energy fills the space, rocks around her — she is incinerated, utterly. Then it stops, leaving a crater in the ground. "The sound of hundreds of small pieces of metal sprinkle across the room. The charred, lifeless body of Otohan Thull is left there."

"The thing about heroic sacrifice is it doesn't just give meaning to the person in the moment — it's an inspiration that we have to carry with us. As this moment of tragedy washes over you, in ways that maybe some of you already knew, or are realizing right now... the stakes are realer now than ever. And this loss cannot be in vain. As the silence and numbness begins to subside, you start to hear the distant sounds of shouting soldiers. People coming. You know you have to keep going."

Ashton goes to find FCG's coin — it's like a beacon guiding them to the exit. He takes it. There is still part of FCG's head and smile left — lenses cracked, jaw unhinged, but it's something. They also recover the teleportation staff.

Of Otohan, nothing is left but her backpack, which was away from the explosion, and her blades, thrown away in the blast.

"Numb and distracted, pushing ever-onward because that's what this is all about," the remainder of the Bells Hells emerges onto the wind-swept quiet of Ruidus. Liliana descends, and takes Imogen's hand. As the dust rolls by and the clouds clear, with the vision of Exandria above... the stakes are clear. Sam Riegel, you motherfucker.

[utilitycaster]

As a fellow DM, weren't you at least a little irritated of how Matt handled the shard situation? He once was so open and receptive when it came down to a players choice influencing the campaign, but now he let Tal roll and even after he succeeded he was like "nope, not gonna happen".

Nope!

It was, and I cannot stress this enough, really clear this was a terrible fucking idea. I know a lot of people started to nitpick how Matt said this "might" and "may" shatter Ashton instead of "definitely will", but like...as I said before, as someone with a severe allergy, I don't eat foods that say "may contain peanuts"; the idea that it was a massive risk was abundantly clear, and frankly the fact that in-world Ashton went “well, I’m built different” instead of “hmmm maybe I shouldn’t do Thing That ‘Might’ Make Me Explode” is highly relevant to the discussion. It's no different to me from how DMs (myself included) will often say "are you sure?" to mean "hey pal, this is a really bad idea FYI.” The successful saves mean “this did not kill you permanently.”

I also strongly suspect that Matt and Taliesin discussed this because Taliesin seemed pretty unsurprised by the top of the episode when Ashton’s Con score was reduced. I don’t know for sure - I’m hoping either Matt or Taliesin will be on the next 4SD to talk about it - but that’s the impression I got. If I had to guess I would say it was a choice between “the powers are somewhat nerfed because you already have a shard in you,” or “hey do you want the opportunity to do a much needed dramatic breakdown,” and I know which one I’d take. I could be wrong, but if this was the case, it would be a very thoughtful way to DM this.

Setting aside any DM-ing experience: I’m interested intellectually in what might have happened had Ashton successfully absorbed the shard, but also, I have watched that first half conversation literally every day since it aired except today, because I am on a train and my internet is unreliable and it’s not out as a podcast yet. I’m an episode 2x72 and C1 Feywild arc girl. I would like to see my favorite character have a complete breakdown at some point in the campaign. This is probably my favorite episode of C3 so far. I think this makes for a far, far superior story than the alternative and is not only giving a much needed shock to the Bells Hells character dynamics on the whole, but is also opening up some room for another character to take the shard and, now, for cool things to happen during the Feywild retreat. If Delilah eats the shard? If Fearne learns some deep secrets? If Chetney makes a deal with Morri? That is going to be because Ashton was rejected by the shard, and I’m far more fascinated by those possibilities than “Ashton gets super powerful, learns nothing.”

To that point: I know as always that it’s hard to convey tone via the written word on anon, but this feels frustrated toward the campaign in general, and while I do have my thoughts about the railroading earlier on, there’s actually only a few points where I really feel Bells Hells were outright shut down and honestly they were relatively minor (I do not personally mind the solstice episode cut scenes; that feels right for an event of that magnitude). I think it’s valid to feel that way, but I guess the best way to put it is that if you’re frustrated on the whole this feels like an odd place to vent it, and if you’re mad because Ashton is also your favorite character, I am interested in my favorite characters in part because of their development and their dynamics with others in the party. I am not here to watch the Ashton Is Super Cool And Everything Works Out Well For Them show; I’m here to watch the Ashton Goes Through It show.

[danwhobrowses]

Okay so we are doing a very rare third post about the events of Critical Role campaign 3 episode 91 so avoid if you still haven't watched it because there will be spoilers again

Right. So I'm not gonna talk more about the Reincarnate vs Stay Dead debate with FCG, I still prefer Reincarnate for reasons I put in my last post but now I'm gonna talk about the other route, if FCG stays dead, what becomes of his remains?

It is almost ironic that a PC death happened a few episodes after Matt created the Ruidian custom of making weapons from a loved one's remains, something Ashton and Fearne were quite intrigued by, so I wonder if the Hells would do the same - in a way carrying a little bit of FCG with them to continue the fight. Outside of his loot it's hard to tell what the Hells can use, if it were me I'd have each of the Hells have a bracelet from his hair at the least, but the rest would probably need to be left in the hands of tinkerers to create things that may enhance the Hells' combat; maybe a conductive whip for Imogen to use for her more lightning-based magic for instance, I can also see Ashton fixing FCG's head onto their outfit or hammer and Chetney and Laudna maybe making little FCG dolls for each of them too.

Loot-wise I had to look at the wiki to remind myself of all the stuff FCG had on them, as well as see what Otohan had but outside of the backpack and swords it wasn't quite descriptive at this point, and even then there's no guarantee it'll all be undamaged from the blast, but there were some notable things that could end up in the Hells' hands to use. I feel like we're all in agreement that if FCG doesn't come back that Ashton keeps the Coin of the Changebringer, perhaps even have it affixed to their hammer so to feel like FCG is still fighting with them. The full extent of its magical properties were not shown outside of the Yes/No question and 1 bout of Lucky per day, but on Ashton's hammer the daily reroll might end up being helpful, though they are not a fan of the gods a little FCG-aided divine buffing could go a long way. Other than that, Ashton probably should claim the two Potions of Possibility FCG had, my earlier post mentioned my belief that Otohan's backpack should go to them because Dunamancy (I didn't however mention how echoes can work as temporary meat shields for Ashton to better negate enemy attacks that'd otherwise be aimed at the party) and the logic is the same here, Matt would probably have to try and balance Ashton's Dunamancy and Titan buffs so to not take all four potions (or more, think Fearne and Orym have one too right? *checks* oh and Laudna so that's 7 potions!) at once but those seem to be key loot Ashton should keep a hold of.

Outside of combat FCG would be helpful in using Identify when the Hells came across new objects. While Chetney has Grim Psychometry to do something similar, the Goggles of Object Reading that FCG used could be taken by Imogen - which in turn may provide Laura and the fandom a means to canonize glasses on the character - along with the Staff of Dark Odyssey that she has used before.

Fearne is another who could hold the Staff, but I find it unlikely. She would probably take the rod used to plane-shift to the Fey Realm, in a way being a key to home if she needs it. I can see her taking the Ivory Branch as well, albeit temporarily until a new healer presents themselves, due to the +1 Spell attack and +1d4 Healing. She might keep the Ruidian mood ring but I feel like that wouldn't survive the blast, same with the recipes FCG collected, though it'd be nice if someone were able to carry on his memory that way; Fearne, Ashton or Orym would be likely candidates for that.

Laudna would perhaps be able to use most of the scrap remains of FCG for her constructs, perhaps a little buffing for Pate is in order plus she doesn't use Sashimi often. Chetney only really works in wood so he probably won't take the remains, stuff such as his saws and propeller could be used to empower Laudna's own creations, maybe even the fake legs too.

One weapon I think will not end in Laudna's hands however is the Grapple cannon, which could suit either Orym or Chetney. Orym is the better candidate to use it though, given the 20 Dexterity compared to Chetney's 14, additionally there is the +1 Mithril Half-Plate Armor, which could be an improvement for either.

If Orym were to get both I could see it being a trade for Chetney not getting anything, in turn granting Chetney both of Otohan's swords to use - since Orym may want nothing to do with her equipment given her role in killing their family. Otherwise I can see Chetney maybe grabbing the saws ahead of Laudna, maybe the goggles but he does already have the monocle, and any utensils he can repurpose for crafting. There is also the possibility of him getting the Aeoran Scrambling Devices that we know little about, maybe adding a little 'this wouldn't happen if it were wooden' catharsis for Chet if he used them on machines.

The only other thing that is left from FCG are the bolt thrower and the All-Minds-Burn drugs. The latter could go to anyone but Ashton, Fearne and Imogen are more likely (she still needs to plant that seed), the bolt thrower could go to Laudna, she never used Bor'dor's slingshot with the Draconic Rune that Prism added to it, or to Chetney to fire a chisel. His coat he designed like FRIDA's would probably be kept for her to be given too. Outside of that the only other specific loot we currently know from Otohan is the Fake Treshi Ring for Scrying (not its official name), which won't be of use to the Hells since the next time they get close to a major enemy they will be fighting, but perhaps it could be placed in the hands of Liliana Temult, either to keep track of her or to plant on Ludinus so the Hells can track his movements instead.

[iffasart]

So far ep 21 (with a bit of ep 20) of campain 3 is my favourite

Imogen saying that she wants to move with laudna to the town because its nice (these two i swear)

The only thing that would make it better is if ashley was there

Ashton and imogen buying gifts for laudna 🥺

I cast yassify (sam is going to kill me one day with his jokes) and every one having a hard time figuring out who the one with the filter is

Just ashton picking a complicated lock of pure spite is amazing 😭

And how unserious the whole heist was

Laura possesing fearne with imogen spirit and protecting laudna at all costs

Chetney falling into all the traps the rest of bell hells set

"Im on top of a werewolf, on top of a lion"

Imogen pressing the plate 3 times killing the other team and inmediatly going "oh no did i kill them :("

Bells hells stealing everything they come across in the heist and then fleeing the town

EVERYONE (except laudna but just slightly at the end) messing with the horse girl (imogen) saying that either they eat the horse or the horse dies, and letters at the end saying that he doesn't think horses have souls

Ashton giving fearne the glasses that charm people and saying "use them poorly"

The 5 last minutes are WILD and hilarious

There are more things but i forgot :(

[zeephyre]

CR3 EPISODE 64 SPOILERS

(im probably missing a bunch of shit since the episode just ended and im sort of rambling)

i did an oopsie and stayed up till 1 am tonight to watch the bells hells reunion and while i don't regret it, now that the party has been split again, im so sad. i understood they couldn't have stayed but it was still so hard.

deanna and frida especially just... fit too well, and i really really fucking hope nothing bad happens to either of them because mentally i couldn't handle it.

laudna and ashton vying for attention with prism was really funny and accurate because I'd argue that she had more a connection with them both. she still had very good chemistry with orym, so it was funny to see her claim him as a bestie.

i FUCKING LOVE AABRIA SO DAMN MUCH SHE'S PERFECTION. it sucks we don't get to see more of deanna and everybody else bc she has such a good spirit and her chemistry with every single person at that table is unmatched. gonna miss her and chetney as horny but beautifully intimate lovers, and im gonna miss her and fcg bickering, and im gonna miss her and fearne flirting, AND im gonna miss her and imogen's sweet dynamic of faith and understanding and comfort, AND im gonna miss seeing her and frida's unbreakable bond.

christian was a gift like no other, and i almost started bawling when fcg and frida had to actually come to terms with saying goodbye. i hope that frida stays safe, and that nothing happens to fcg, and i want them to be together for a long long long LONG time. it's what they deserve.

fearne and ashton had some...vibes this episode and i dig it because it's more fuel for my poly bells hells harem agenda

IMOGEN AND LAUDNA'S REUNION GOD I WISH THEY'D GOTTEN A MOMENT ALONE BUT THE CHAOS AT THE TABLE WAS TOO GOOD!!!! i am so happy that deanna picked up on the imaudna vibes and did her best to make it known that she SEES their bond. she's just like me fr. i love my witches. (also, i was watching laura the whole time laudna was fawning over prism and it's very funny how jealous imogen gets and poorly hides it behind smiles).

i would have liked to see ashton and Deanna become even closer but sadly we cant always get what we want but what we do have is CRUMBS which i will devour with no second thought.

KEYLETH IS ALIVE ‼️‼️‼️‼️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️ injured but not dead, thank GOD. honestly i don't even wanna think abt vax rn 😭😭 all we need now is confirmation of beau and caleb's whereabouts..

‼️‼️I NEED THE NEXT EPISODE NEOOOOWWWWWWW MATT MERCER ‼️‼️

[unicyclehippo]

ome word prompt: anchor!

‘darling, i’ve been thinking - and this might sound rather mercenary and not at all romantic but do consider that i think it is terribly romantic to keep you safe—‘

imogen listened to laudna ramble with a soft smile. it was hard, here beyond the end of the world, to remember what she was fighting against, to maintain that fragile boundary between herself and itself, predathos, that gargantuan presence that eclipsed the world, the gods, threatening to take everything she was into itself and unmake her in its own image. and then there was laudna, her shadow, her creeping recluse. it had always seemed to imogen that a strong wind—hells, even a gentle wind—would be enough to knock laudna off her feet; that she could withstand the constant barrage of the sandstorm…that she wished to, simply to be by imogen’s side…it was everything. and now she looked expectant, hopeful, even.

‘i’m sorry—what was that?’

laudna’s hopeful expression faltered. ‘are you alright? mind still shielded?’

imogen smiled, rueful. ‘hurts. i’m just glad i have this,’ she touched the silver of her circlet, ‘and you. without the circlet, i think it would’ve taken me the second we stepped onto the moon. without you, though,’ imogen leaned in, pressed a kiss to laudna’s lips, ‘i never would’ve made it to the moon at all.’

‘you would have. you’re very capable.’ laudna cleared her throat, a faint flush tinting her cheeks, as it sometimes did when imogen surprised her with the occasional kiss. ‘on the topic of protection, and what i had been saying…’ laudna gathered up imogen’s hands. ‘i think we should be wed.’

‘w-what?’

‘now. tonight.’

‘you wanna get married? i mean - yes! yes, i want that - are you sure? what do you mean tonight?’

‘it simply must be tonight. if we are to face predathos tomorrow, to challenge it… darling, i don’t want to wait another moment. but more specifically, FCG believes they can perform a ceremony that will empower and protect us, newly wed as we would be. you say i am your tether, anchor, safe harbour—you are that for me as well—we can be that for each other.’

on the one hand, it was a lot to take in; on the other hand, laudna wanted to marry her and there was absolutely no reason not to.

‘orym can handle the flowers.’

laudna smiled a smile that trembled at the corners but imogen didn’t need to be a mindreader to know it was pure joy. ‘ashton has crystal. we could use that for the rings. though you have already given me one.’

‘they’ll have to divide up, bride and bride family. who do you want?’

‘let’s say… ashton and chetney with me, orym and fearne with you?’ laudna startled herself with a laugh. ‘oh - oh! are we really - is this really happening?’

‘you asked me, remember?’

a serious calm came over laudna. she nodded. ‘i remember. and when this business is done, i’ll do it properly, i promise.’

‘i’ll say yes that time too,’ imogen told her, and the press of predathos’s presence didn’t hurt so much when she was so full of joy. there wasn’t any space left over in her for anything else. ‘i’ll marry you as many times as you want.’

[leet911]

Ordinary Lies

Orym is the first to spot the other group, even though he's the shortest. “Over there!” He points and yells, takes off running. Laudna cranes her neck to see, stands on the tips of her toes for the extra height. And the silhouettes are unmistakable, even in the distance. Little metal friend rolling along on a single wheel, scraggly gnome with a cap, tall faun in billowing clothes leaping towards them, and a human woman trailing behind. Imogen is lavender hair and yellow scarf, hardened eyes and lightning scars. Imogen looks thinner than Laudna remembers.

But Fearne is the one bounding towards her. Fearne pats Orym on the head as he powers past her, and Fearne is the one who shouts. "Guys! Guys!" Fearne is positively beaming, and she wraps Laudna in a crushing hug as she approaches. "Laudna! Tell me you're ok. Tell me you guys are all ok."

Mister screeches as if to punctuate the question, and Laudna allows relief to wash over her even as the townsfolk around them start giving them strange looks. "We're ok. We're really ok."

Over Fearne's shoulder, Laudna can see Orym talking with Imogen, druid crafted flowers in her hair, and Orym's face is wet. Chetney claps the warrior on the back, and his face too is smiles and excitement. FCG rolls closer, and Ashton hoists them up into the air. Imogen's eyes flick up then, but look away just as quickly when Laudna catches them. Imogen turns back to Orym, nods at something he says, but her hands are nervous, fidgeting and wringing together.

Laudna hums in acknowledgement of Fearne's continued chatter, but her fingers twirl as she casts Message to Imogen.

"Hi."

"Hi." Imogen still doesn’t look.

"Imogen?" And Laudna's trying to be normal, trying so hard not to sound desperate. Because she misses Imogen. Because she's been compartmentalizing for far too long, and if the slightest crack starts in her walls, everything will come spilling out.

Continued below the cut, or on AO3

"Laudna?" And just the sound of her own name in her head is enough to make Laudna tremble. Because Imogen sounds shy, and scared, and lonely, and Laudna would give anything to make Imogen feel safe.

"Darling?"

"I can’t, I—"

And Laudna feels like she's falling, despite Fearne holding on to her. Because even if Laudna knows this can't possibly be a love story, it still feels like her heart is breaking. Never mind that Laudna told herself not to dream of futures that could never be.

Black tears form around her eyes, drip down in dark streaks. And she tries to hide her face when Imogen does glance up, but it's too late. Imogen sees.

She breaks free from Orym without warning, runs towards Laudna. There's a touch of hands and a flash of magic, then it's just the two of them on a rooftop, away from the bustle of the street below.

"Laudna," Imogen reaches for her, without hesitation now, mind and body. “I thought I lost you again.”

"Imogen. I’m here." And this time, there's no looking away. Their minds link as their hands clasp, fingers sliding over one another slowly. There is something here, in this moment, that feels right. It’s comfortable — familiar. Imogen's palm is just the slightest bit sweaty, and Laudna's is cool as always.

Imogen's finger catches on the ring, brushes over the ridge formed by two snakes, and just briefly, Laudna forgets about their connection. She thinks of the ruby ring, and the circumstances that led to its purchase. She thinks about the gnarlrock, about crying in the night, about flying through the air and clinging to Imogen. But mostly she thinks about Imogen, rubbing her temples, leaning close, pressing their foreheads together in that way she always does. "Does it hurt?" Laudna would ask. "Not with you," Imogen would answer. And Laudna would believe in those moments that there was hope in this world, that somehow she had managed to be deserving of Imogen, after everything that had happened. And she knows she said Imogen was like a sister, but she knows that’s not true. Because Laudna dreams of Imogen squeezing closer still, cupping a porcelain cheek with her hand, and pressing her lips to Laudna's.

There's a sudden exhalation, and a gasp from Imogen. "Do you want me to kiss you?" She asks out loud.

The panic is immediate. “I'm so sorry. I didn’t mean to. I—”

But Imogen is moving, exactly like Laudna imagined. There is a hand on her face, lavender hair tickling her eyes as the distance closes, and then Imogen's mouth over hers. There is a sigh of relief and a pursing of lips. Imogen tilts her head and Laudna sucks in a breath. Imogen kisses her again and Laudna weeps. Gentle hands brush away dark tears, and Imogen shivers as wet eyes blink at her.

“Don’t cry. I’m here”

“I just missed you so much.”

“I missed you too.” Imogen nestles against Laudna’s neck, draws little circles on Laudna’s back, whispers into her ear. “Will you hold me?”

Laudna tightens her grip. “Always.”

[cassafrasscr]

Here's the thing... I don't feel particularly good about Fearne taking the shard.

Like, Ashley seems happy and excited about Fearne's new form and powers, and I am glad about that.

I really just can't shake the feeling that Fearne was ultimately pressured into taking the shard. They should have taken more time to discuss it and actually listened to Fearne's reasons for not wanting it. Chetney was the only one who asked her about it, and he still tried to persuade her to change her mind.

Laudna and Imogen didn't ask at all, only talked about how disappointed they were that she was hesitant to take the shard's power. I know they're leaning into the whole 'embracing their darkness and power' thing, but they of all people should be most sympathetic about Fearne being afraid of how doing that could change her for the worse.

I think at least part of this is the disconnect between IRL time and in-game time. Above-table, it's been over a month since Ashton’s failed attempt to take the shard. In-game, it's been no more than 2 days. It's only been a few hours since Fearne found out the truth about who her real father is. Most of that time has been spent on the team-building scavenger hunt. There hasn't actually been time to properly process all that.

There's also the issue of Fearne's bodily autonomy to consider. For any character, taking the shard would mean accepting permanent changes to both their physical body and their powers. Ashton didn't even get to keep the Shard of Rau'shan, and look what it did to him! He lost an arm; grew a new, completely different one; and very nearly died permanently. Putting that much pressure on Fearne to accept that level of risk and self-alteration when she'd already said no is not good friend behaviour.

I would be fine with Fearne taking the shard if (instead of everyone just continuously insisting she should take it) they had respected her initial decision and let her gain the confidence to change her mind on her own.

I also would also have liked to see Fearne learning to stand up for herself and her decisions as part of her 'embracing your power' character arc. Drawing boundaries with your friends and actually enforcing them is really hard, but it’s also necessary for building healthy relationships.

Trusting Fearne's judgement on what's best for her and respecting her decisions would have been better for rebuilding the broken relationships between Bell's Hells. As it is, I don't know how much is actually going to change between them after this retreat.

Not to mention how some of them - mainly Imogen and Laudna - have kind of been trying to force something to happen between Fearne and Ashton. Like, I make no secret of being an Ashrym shipper, but I wouldn’t be comfortable with it even if I did ship Callowmoore. Like I already said, it's been 2 days max since Ashton exploded. That experience really rattled their relationship and it'll take more time and work to rebuild. If Callowmoore is going to happen, let it happen naturally.

I'm glad Allura took the time to remind them that, while the moon mission is urgent, it is still just a recon mission. Once they gather and hand off the information, they'll have more time again to step back and take a breather, and potentially decide not to involve themselves any further if they don’t want to.

(Obviously they're not gonna ditch and leave the Ruby Vanguard to VM and the M9 to deal with - they're all too invested in the outcome to back out, and it's the central plot of C3. But knowing they have the option, and that they'll have some time to make that final decision is, I think, important for their character arcs going forward.)

I dunno. Maybe it's a hot take, but it just kinda leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth.

[vethbrenatto]

favorite cr c3 character?

For a while it was pretty solidly Ashton, but now I'd say I'm evenly split between Ashton, Chetney, and Fearne.

(Apologies for long ass answer)

Ashton is just such a fascinating character, I've been drawn to them since the beginning. Like many Taliesin characters, they have a superiority complex, or at least a sense that they have a better understanding of the world than others, and yet, they also show true compassion and care for their allies. I think the Laudna/Ashton conversation from last Thursday is a top 5 moment from this campaign so far for me, and that's mostly due to Ashton. The way that Taliesin portrayed it in Ashton being completely real with Laudna but only under the caveat of being drunk and letting their raw emotions shine through. And then to cover it up with "Oh, I don't remember, I was drunk" and have Laudna shut it down. I'm fascinated by some of their statements "I know loneliness you don't, I know the truth of people that none of you do." Not statements that I think are true, but statements I deeply want to understand more from their perspective.

Chetney is very within the mold of characters I tend to like. I'm drawn to comic relief characters that have more depth than they appear to at the surface (Grog & The Gnomes in C1, Veth in C2). Maybe this character wasn't intended to be that deep at its inception but became that way via roleplay and organic growth through the campaign, ala a Scanlan. I think Travis plays Chet in a wonderfully comedic way, while also never letting us doubt that they're not just there to be the haha funny grandpa. I also love someone finally playing something different on the age spectrum. D&D races can literally live hundreds of years- why is every adventurer in their 20s-30s (or at least in the equivalent of that for their race like the gnomes in C1)? Much like Veth, I enjoy the ability to more deeply analyze and look into a character that much of the fandom my pigeonhole into a small box or being "just one thing."

Fearne is a delight for me because truly, it just shows that Ashley Johnson Has The Range. Pike was looks like cinnamon roll, could kill you. Yasha was looks like she could kill you, is a cinnamon roll. Fearne is sort of another looks like a cinnamon roll, could kill you but in a COMPLETELY different way than Pike. I have been ITCHING for someone to play Fey and Ashley is tackling it so beautifully. The sideways morality, the impulsiveness. That is a HARD thing to pull off as a player, it's taking your better instincts of "No, that's not smart, that's a bad idea" and going "My character would do this, regardless of potential consequences." While I'm not that attached to Orym, I think Fearne's relationship with Orym is fascinating. Because of their EXU connection, she so clearly has a fondness and attachment to him that exceeds her connection with anyone else in the group and I think it's with an intensity that most others can't match. If push comes to shove, I feel she would prioritize him not just over everyone, but in spite of everyone- I think in connection to her Fey-ness, there's this sense of "This is my person" that goes above and beyond others who also have a person. It's why in the Laudna/Orym res, regardless of the coin flip (which is not me saying I think Ashley cheated it), I was confident Orym would be res-ed. It's why on Thursday despite her care and hesitancy to go up against Imogen, when Orym asks, "Are you with me?" The no hesitation answer is "Always." It's intense in a way that I don't even think is reciprocated- Orym of course loves and prioritizes her, but I think there's an intensity in the way that Fearne cares about Orym that's unmatched and that to me is fascinating. A very, who and how many would you throw in harm's way to save this one person situation.

[paperglader]

Episode 52 thoughts:

1. I am LOVING this FRIDA & Imogen dynamic. I am loving the FRIDA & FCG dynamic, FRIDA and everyone dynamic. I love FRIDA.

Seriously, they’re AWESOME. I feel like they just arrived and flirted with everyone and was just the sweetest. Them and Deanna, too??? And their first meeting was so imodna coded😩

I’m obsessed. The coolest bb:

Can we keep them?

Anyways,

2. Loooooved Deanna. Love Aabria in general, tbh. She’s coming for me with this divorce backstory, so delicious. First Laerryn and Quay, now her and Chetney. I love her. Love that she’s making Travis play a romance storyline, too😂

Backstory was amazing, when she was talking about passing and the after life. Poetry.

The way she dealt with Imogen when she woke up from her nightmare made me melt as well🥲 my girl needs some soft people around her at all times (mostly now that she and Laudna have been separated) and I love that she’s meeting people that truly see and appreciate the good in her besides the hells.

3. Ashley freaking Johnson screaming for Imogen to come back from the dream ✨an actress✨ No, for real, it shook me to my core. Cause Fearne doesn’t scream like that. She was desperate. Fearne who just lost Orym, who just lost Ashton and Laudna. And it’s not the first time it happens either. Not too long ago, Orym and Laudna were gone and it was so close to being final. And now Imogen, the superhero, about to be consumed by the storm that she has spent a decade being haunted by and terrified over. These people that she’d grown to love in spite of her hesitance to form any sort of meaningful bond with anyone from this mortal realm, disappearing from her side, and she’s holding on tight but it seems to be like grasping on sand as they slip away from her fingers one by one. Trauma is very much present in this Chili’s tonight.

4. “I got lightning titties!” please someone put it on the Imogen temult once said compilation 😂

5. Loving these new characters making FCG question his faith even further. Generally, I love the back and forth about what they should actually do about the gods, talks of faith and fate. I am here for it.

6. “Smirks in monster fucker” another star quote of the episode.

7. Imodna is constantly at the forefront of my mind and Laura Bailey delivered, as expected. Immy was literally crying any time that anyone showed her any form of kindness or affection. The girl was so sensitive🥲

The sendings, the urgency, the stuttering and how she kept trying, the Whitestone is for lovers T, “I hate not knowing”, her reaction to hearing FRIDA and Deanna’s first meeting, when she was like “this is the first time that we haven’t woken up to Orym doing push ups OR…” and she got so freaking sad. How she looked for her in her dreams, how she touched the red tether right before she went to sleep.

In summary: I’m loving this separation arc so far and I cannot wait for Laudna’s side of things.

8. Ship talk: FRIDA and Deanna are SO imodna coded, it’s crazy and I adore them. They love each other so much. But ALSO, imodna is my endgame but I would not be upset if we get to see something develop between FRIDA and Imogen. I just think that it would be interesting to see Imogen explore something with someone that is more emotionally available at the moment.

I’m not saying they could fall in love or like become endgame material or something cause I do believe that Imogen’s in love with Laudna and that it’s highly likely that she’s aware of it. Also, her priorities are very much on finding her and she’s very much heartbroken by the distance between them, so she is not looking for romance with anyone else at the moment.

(And also, the world is ending sort of)

But FRIDA is so freaking sweet and Imogen’s having an honest to god hard time, and Laudna’s so freaking far (they’re soulmates, they’ve professed their love for one another, but they’re not… romantically entangled? Are they? Imogen has not said anything and she doesn’t know if laudna feels that way, if she’s even capable of ever feeling that way…)

I wouldn’t blame FRIDA if they became infatuated with Imogen, and I just think that Imogen deserves to be called beautiful and wonderful and good and some harmless flirting would just be nice to see.

It’d be a little like Yu and Laudna, just sort of a reminder of what some of those aspects of a romantic relationship would look like for them. It’d definitely be a “my heart belongs to another” type of thing but also it could be harmless and sweet.

Anyway, none of this probably will happen because FRIDA has chemistry with literally everyone and I’d like to see any version of that anyway.

[utilitycaster]

What would you say are the CR cast's individual weaknesses? I'm always trying to improve for my own games and also curious to see if I can spot them in the episodes.

Hi anon,

This is super subjective, heavily biased towards my own personal likes and dislikes, etc, so I don't think you should per se use this as your own metric, and also a lot of these are not mechanical but more broadly about structure or acting.

Travis: bias immediately begins here; I think he's one of the strongest actors and one of the strongest people mechanically at the table. He also really knows what he wants and likes to do, which, spoilers, is essentially my biggest criticism of almost anyone else; and I think as part of that he addressed what would have been my biggest criticism in the past (namely, a hesitancy towards emotional roleplay which was present in C1 and was very much part of what he proceeded to push his boundaries on with Fjord and in some ways even more so with Chetney). Anyway I think my current main critique is that I would like to see him play a character who really isn't good with melee/is a full caster and I think he's been more hesitant on that, but also, it's valid to have a strong preference for one type of build so like. he can keep doing what he's doing and I will not be mad.

Marisha: I've talked about this before but I think she really needs to do more involved backstory planning that dives into motivations more, or, failing that, simply have very goal-oriented characters. I think that even when there's been vagueness in the backstories of her other characters (basically everyone but Keyleth) their motivations were enough to carry them through, but this has been a campaign-long struggle for Laudna. I will also admit that I find her acting choices as Laudna specifically to be rather overwrought in a way that doesn't particularly, work for me but I have a really strong personal bias towards naturalistic styles. She's also capable of much subtler work, and both Bee and Patia I think showed that off.

Sam: Kind of a weird in-between situation in comparison to the above. I think Sam knows his sweet spot and capacity for humor and so he rarely goes as dark as say, Oscar Grimm, but he is absolutely killing it already over there. In general I think Sam needs to be more willing to leave his comfort zone and push himself more because he can play it a bit safe. I think he does have a sharp learning curve re: complex mechanics (this is why early FCG was rough) exacerbated by the fact that I think he really tends to assume what he can do is way more limited than it is, and I suspect the much simpler Candela system is working to his favor, but like, he does eventually get there and, should we get a campaign 4, I'm going to tape "BE PATIENT WITH SAM, HE ALWAYS GETS THERE" on my laptop to remind me.

Ashley: Bit like Sam actually! I think she can and should go harder on mechanics (and for the most part has been; I think she underestimates herself a lot), and I also think she needs to make wilder choices. Fearne has been a delight in this regard but I want to echo the cast at one of the recent convention Q&As: please push the red button more, please go absolute as hard as you want. Will say her acting is maybe my favorite in the cast.

Laura: ABSOLUTELY NEEDS TO PUSH MORE BIG RED BUTTONS. Like...man. I feel this mindset; I don't really play video games other than stupid phone games but I'm That Person who's like "I only have 100 erasers in Two Dots, I must ration them". But I think she's doing a fantastic job with Imogen and my one criticism would truly be Go Bigger And Weirder And Harder. This is why I mentioned her; she was willing to take such massive risks as Arlo, and I think part of that was because it was a short campaign and she didn't feel that need to hold back but like, please, press buttons and take more risks. Her RP is always stellar though. Like, truly, I think Laura, Ashley, and Travis often appeal to my personal taste in acting choices and themes the most, and I just want Laura and Ashley to make similarly wild choices to Travis sometimes.

Liam: This is 100% purely a very me thing; I find he acts like a stage actor (which he is!) when there is a camera like 10 feet from his face and it can at times be a bit much for me, a person who is annoying re: subtlety. When he hits, he fucking hits though. Vax sometimes got a little overwrought for me but when he went quieter it was top notch; Caleb was fantastic because I think he counteracted this tendency; and there's been a couple moments with Orym I haven't loved but so many that I have. Mechanically he is great and while I'm a noted Rogue Disliker, Wizard/Fighter/Cleric are all flawless and much as I'd like to see him play other classes he is valid for his core four choice.

Taliesin: Here is the thing. I think whereas Laura takes a somewhat hesitant, afraid to let her character die stance, Taliesin does in fact have sort of a parallel issue of taking huge risks and then being very pikachu face when his character does die. Big swing of the pendulum in the other direction. However, Taliesin tends to hit on themes I find fascinating, consistently, and has a truly impressive breadth of mechanical skill. Even when I don't like his characters (only happened once) I absolutely respect what he's doing, and perhaps most importantly, he truly does not care what I or others in the fandom think, which makes me respect him more. Like, you know what? Molly isn't for me, and that's valid! Anyway. I hesitate to suggest more caution bc episodes 3x77-78 were so good and I loved all the wild shit Percy got up to (I also loved Caduceus but he was a much more laid-back character by design) but I do think that lack of caution is his weakness.

Matt: Judging more on the basis of being a DM than a player here just for sheer quantity but I think that his two greatest weaknesses are first, communicating highly specific risks (the main ones being the Iron Shepherds and the Otohan fight; you can't do that in pitched combat my man); and for lack of a better way to put it, I do still think he needed more firmness in the character creation stage of c3 and then looser reins during the campaign itself. I've been thinking about this a lot because I think that when I have frustrations with Aabria's style it's weirdly sort of...needs slightly looser reins but in a totally different way, and like, when Matt needs to loosen up, RP moments fall by the wayside and plot is fine, whereas when Aabria needs to loosen up, RP is still stellar but plot suffers.

[masterqwertster]

🏴‍☠️ Laudna and Imogen or Ashton, whichever you prefer

Prompt Now that I've released the set-up for a "pirate" AU, let's have some fun with specific characters

Imogen doesn't usually retreat to the Green Cabin when she needs space.

The converted Captain's Quarters belongs mostly to Ashton, the rocks and soil keeping the Titan blooded genasi from going too stir crazy on a ship far from their element, and a little bit to Orym and Fearne, both keeping the plants growing within happy and healthy.

But usually her mother (who left never to return before Imogen could even remember her) isn't on her ship and necessitating a locked door to get the hint that she doesn't want to talk to her.

"Just say the word and this smuggling job never happened," Ashton says from where they lounge against their favorite dirt pile, eyes never leaving the grinding, rasping metal file they're taking to their nails.

"I do not want to murder my mother," Imogen insists, for once not entirely sure who she's trying to convince, and picks up the speed of her pacing.

"Then what do you want? Because right now, it looks like you're searching for floorboards the hard way in here," he says mildly, miss-matched eyes flicking up to track her for a moment.

Imogen groans in frustration flopping down next to the genasi. It's a fucking marvel that it feels like falling against a stack of pillows, and the brief thought of what kind of Titan bullshit they must pull to make it so wanders through her mind.

"I think what I want is for her to respect that I'm the fuckin' captain of this ship and not the toddler she left for whatever the fuck she thinks she's doin' that's gonna fix the whole mind readin' mess better than my circlet does," Imogen finally vents.

"Can't really help with that," Ashton shrugs, putting the file down on a spread cloth and picking up a bottle of rock polish. "Mind shit is yours and Letters's wheelhouse."

"I know. And even then, it's not like we can force people to change their minds. Plus she's probably better at it than me anyways," Imogen complains. "I just– It should not be too much to ask that she look at me and see an adult capable of makin' my own decisions, ya know? 'Cause I am capable. Got a whole ship to call my own to prove that I'm so capable."

"Laudna needs to find more words to describe you than 'capable' if you're going to start in on it too," Ashton muses.

"You take that back," she says in all mock seriousness as she shoves their arm for the slight against her girlfriend, equally gratified and annoyed when they choose to sway with the force that couldn't actually move them.

"I don't think I will," he deadpans, soldiering on before she takes it into a spiraling distraction of faux pettiness. "You want her to see something other than what she thinks she sees, you're going to have to shock her. Hard. Like the mutiny, when the fucker realized I could have sunk this ship the moment I decided I was fine going down with it."

Imogen shudders at the memory. The bloody battle of the mutiny had been scary enough for a back country witch-girl that barely knew what she was doing. But she'll never forget that moment when Ashton stalked across the deck for the then-captain. How the planks groaned as if Ashton's considerable weight was even greater still. How the sea was smooth and the air still under storming skies in that moment, all under the control of the eidolons answering Ashton's call. They hadn't known Ashton was Titan of blood back then, but there was certainly no denying in that moment that the ship's luck, it's fate, was in Ashton's hands. And he wasn't doing anything he hadn't been forced to do before to bring it there.

But...

"I have no clue what would shock her enough to understand that I'm not the helpless little girl she abandoned," Imogen laments.

"You could get hot and heavy with Laudna in the middle of the deck," Ashton blandly suggests.

"...You've been hangin' out with Fearne and Chetney too long," Imogen chokes out after processing that suggestion. "I'm not subjectin' Laudna to- to voyeurism just to get my mom off my ass!"

"I dunno. She might be into it if Pâté's anything to judge by."

"Sh-shut up!" Imogen blushes furiously.

The asshole laughs at her.

"So definitely not Plan A," he continues blithely. "Could always murder the shit out of the next problem we come across. Nothing like being bathed in the blood of your enemies to break a sense of innocence."

Still not great, but definitely better than dragging Laudna into that.

"Maybe. I think it might be best to workshop it around," Imogen hesitantly agrees.

"Sure. Your problem, your choice. We'll be there."

That's what Imogen likes about this crew: everyone handles problems in their own ways, but they also have each other's backs. Always.

[catsandrandomness]

Alright I've had too many thoughts about episode 78 so now they are getting typed out today. Everyone was so fucking hard on Ashton and it felt only like... half deserved.

Laudna was understandable because she was having a bad time in Whitestone to begin with and left because she didn't want to do anything she would regret later.

Chetney told them to leave and never come back because they could've hurt Fearne, and everybody else, with this bad decision. Then he says he would have left if he didn't think he had his own stuff under control. Chetney you DID hurt your teammates. More than once! And I know it was weird circumstances and all that but you BIT someone, the number one rule you were given by every other were-person you interacted with! When FCG tried to kill you your response was "oh cool, can we make that happen on command?" So I don't think Chetney should be the one saying Ashton should leave because he put Fearne in danger.

Fresh Cut Grass was very out of line. Telling Ashton that they don't care about anyone or anything. And I know Letters wasn't always around when Ashton was showing care but all I had in my head was a series of scenes that showed how much he actually does care. Ashton was the one guarding FCG's unconscious body after the little robot went murderous and everyone else resorted to violence and Laudna was ready to KILL. Ashton pulling Orym out of fights and jumping in the river to grab Laudna and trying to keep the attention of danger off the more fragile party members in every battle. Ashton walking Prism away when Laudna killed Bordor because this was her first real adventure and she didn't need to see that. Ashton talking with members of the group that seem to be having a rough time. Ashton going on a rant that Letters makes him happy so please stop treating yourself as expendable because I know you like making me happy. Fresh Cut Grass saying "No, I don't think you do care about me" after asking Ashton to list even one thing they care about. Using Ashton's words against them from back when they wanted to keep a safe distance, despite it being very clear Ashton was over the "I don't make friends" stage.

Ashton made a big mistake, but they were the one who proposed taking a little time to remind each other that despite any stupid decisions in the future, they all "if not like, then love each other."