#because Laudna was already undead

[shorthaltsjester]

nothing more morally reprehensible than a cleric (checks notes) using the key features of their class…? surely that can’t be where we are regarding analysis of character actions in cr at this point.

[pyrotechnicdarts]

i have yet to watch a single full episode of c3 but “the worst thing to ever happen to me has already happened” has a vice grip on my brain

[nellasbookplanet]

I'm still thinking about Laudna and how, as she starts breaking down and the jagged pieces show more and more, earlier aspects of her characterization take a new, kind of horrifying shape.

Laudna was never upset - in fact, the idea seemingly never occurred to her - about Imogen voicing the opinion that maybe the Vanguard was right, even after they murdered Laudna right in front of her. She has never, as far as we have seen, actively sought a way to be rid of Delilah, or to grow her magic in ways that don’t involve Delilah. She talks about a fear of holding Imogen back, encourages Imogen to move on once Laudna is gone. She represses negative emotions but at the same time her joy in life is genuine and overflowing, not a mask.

It all builds a picture of someone who isn't only undead in terms of game mechanics, but who genuinely doesn’t really see herself as alive. Laudna sees herself as living on borrowed time. Marisha has spoken of her as someone who has lived through trauma and moved past it; I believe she means that not in the sense that she's unbothered by her trauma - we have seen she’s not - but that it in a sense doesn’t matter to her. She’s already dead. There’s no point in healing, or seeking a solution or cure, only in finding as much joy as she can in every little thing until the darkness catches up with her. When she regressed in Whitestone post shard incident, there were mentions of her not fully remembering her early days as an undead. She was unstable, not fully sure of what was real and what wasn’t, maintaining her sliver of sanity by talking to the evil necromancer in her mind and an anthropomorphized dead rat. She was likely treated by locals like some scary monster because she largely acted like one. She was a hollow one in every sense of the word. Then she met Imogen, someone who not only wasn’t scared of her and saw her as human, but who understood her struggle; I suspect this genuine human connection was what brought her out of nearly three decades of hollowness.

And in that, she has made Imogen her purpose where before she had none. If the Vanguard is Imogen's destiny, then it doesn’t matter that they killed Laudna because Laudna was a lost cause even before Otohan killed her. Exandria and Laudna both were hollow before Imogen, because she had no real connections, and so now Imogen is all that matters. If Imogen wants to fight Predathos, Laudna will fight. If Imogen wants to leave the struggle and go live in a cottage, Laudna would go with her. If she wants to join Predathos, Laudna would help her. If Imogen died, Laudna would sacrifice Exandria and the gods and the remains of her own soul to get her back.

[24-jay-42]

Since the Bells Hells Are most likely going to be spending some time in Vasselheim talking to some gods, Here’s who I think It would be cool if each member of the bells hells talked too. I’ll only be listing gods that would be easily accessible in Vasselheim, so no Betrayers or lesser idols:

Orym:

The Wildmother - We’ve already seen them interact and Her even bestowing him the first known Relic of the red solstice. But i wouldn’t exactly say no to more

Imogen:

Stormlord - Obviously the red storm, and that she’s already interested in talking to him. But I also think “Where does your strength Come from?” is very interesting and compelling for her. We’ve heard a few times how she feels tempted by the power Predathos offers. And she has already displayed her strength and force of will in resisting it. I’m hoping she comes up with an answer for herself that strengthens that resolve even further

Laudna:

Dawnfather - While I still the matron would be cool and make a lot of sense, I also wanted to propose the Dawnfather. The matron is very anti-undead and doesn’t like those who defy fate and death, Which Laudna is actively doing. The Dawnfather Has some interesting Things in his tenets about not forgetting the lessons of the past, and Laudna (and Chetney) Has always been the one to point such things out. The Dawnfather Represents the sun, renewal and rebirth. Laudna’s Connection to the suntree. Also, Vex was a champion of the Dawnfather, could make for some interesting story telling.

Chetney:

The All Hammer - Yes, The craft god for the craftsman. But when it fits it fits. And it goes beyond just their shard love of craft. The All Hammer’s tenants promote Leaving a Legacy. “To create something that lasts is to change the world for the better”. As as we know from Nanna Mori, That’s something Chetney wants and values. Moradin is also god of clan, Family and the home. He promotes Loyalty. Chetney is nothing If not loyal. Even if he sometimes speaks and acts in a way that seems a bit sketchy, (eg. just recently with the bright queen and not telling ashton) But in the end he is always loyal, such as when he choose to administer a potion in the otohan fight instead of drinking it himself. Moradin also tells his followers to remain Stoic and tenacious in the face of Catastrophe, And he proved that by asking about Molaesmyr straight to Ludinus’ Face and many many more times

Dorian:

This one’s a bit difficult. Because of recent experiences and his current mindset (which i don’t blame him for), i think he will find it difficult to approach a god. The arch Heart is a good pick, art god for the bard. Anti-lolth. But I can also easily see the Law-bearer. He is now the eldest Prince and heir of the Silken-squall. Some guidance might help him. But i’m not sure.

Braius:

The Platinum Dragon - Sam and Braius have both said that since receiving truthbearer, this might be a sign. A chance for redemption. And honestly i don’t see the platinum dragon, The pillar of justice, protection, nobility, and honour discarding and condemning Braius for something that was barely his fault: Failing to stop an ultimately harmless Prank. One of Bahmut’s tenets is “Smite evil wherever it is found, yet show compassion to those who have strayed from the path of righteousness”. There is something so Raw and compelling about him keeping his Broken Holy Symbol. No matter what happens, his relationship isn't over yet. Braius is currently the Character with the largest connection to the gods so whatever he chooses will be interesting.

Fearne:

The Moonweaver - Not only do they match each other's energy perfectly: Fey trickery. Seizing your own destiny through your passions. “Walk unbridled and untethered, forging new memories and experiences” is just what fearne does on the daily. But also, Stealing Catha from the moonweaver is Literally Zathuda’s whole prerogative. It would be so Ironic if they instead worked together to steal Gloamglut away from him. absolute icon behaviour.

Ashton:

Ashton’s interesting. I obviously want him to talk to the Luxon and the Titan. But if i where to pick a deity.

The Changebringer - For F.C.G obviously. Ashton still has his change bringer coin that he took from the stone. But it goes beyond that. In my opinion The changebringer kinda suits Ashton better then FCG. Rising against Tyranny, change for the better. In terms of Luck Favouring the bold he can literally manipulate luck. Not to mention how tremendously lucky surviving that shard was. I in no way think he would ever become a follower, but I could see this as a sort of alliance. However reluctant.

[cringefaecompilation]

since everyone in the fandom has already said their pieces about fcg allow me to remind you that he was the one to try and bring laudna back by compelling her. he was the one to keep using turn undead and not care if she was in the radius. he kept being loyal 100% to the gods while laudna has trauma and compunctions about them.

and he saved her without a second thought because he loved her.

meanwhile delilah told laudna to shut up and trust her and said it was the only way they could win. that she could win. everyone was telling her to embrace it and to use it as a cudgel against their enemies and when laudna tried to use hunger of the shadows on otahan, delilah didn't do shit. it failed.

i hope laudna fucking screams at delilah the next time she tries to talk to her. i hope laudna makes her cry.

[hello-eeveev]

Okay okay I’ve seen some takes regarding Orym on twitter (specifically about his relationship to Laudna) that I feel the need to refute but I have a lot of thoughts and also I don’t want to get into fights so hi tumblr! rant below the cut 😊

(tl;dr I think the bell’s hells are doing the best they can in a series of complicated situations, but people are expecting a kind of inter-party conflict to come from it that doesn’t line up with the text and I don’t get it, so I guess I must become Orym’s #1 defender, feat. a defense of the c3e63 decision, Ludinus Da’leth hate, and big big feelings about Keyleth and Vax)

Take: Orym is uncomfortable with Laudna’s weirdness/creepiness, as evidenced by him always bringing it up and trying to hide and obscure her undead presence.

My opinion: Laudna loves the fact that she’s creepy. She revels in it. Orym/Liam pointing it out in narration is part flavor text, part acknowledging an important aspect of Laudna. It’s like how he always makes sure everyone knows that Orym is Small. Not to mention, Marisha brings it up in her narration as much as Liam does.

During Laudna’s resurrection ritual, Orym says, “I don’t know what Bell’s Hells will be without your darkness, Laudna. Or your light.” He values both sides of her!

Regarding Orym’s disguises for Laudna (i.e. dressing her in white in bassuras, adding flowers to her hair to give her more color in hearthdell), again I don’t think this is a sign of Orym’s discomfort with her. Remember, Orym is a bodyguard. His job is to protect others, protect the group. Yes, several members of Bell’s Hells will draw eyes, but notably, Laudna—being undead-ish, with the Unsettling Presence feature and a canonically scary physical appearance—might strike fear into others. And fear makes people more willing to resort to violence than, say, being surprised by the presence of a robot or a faun. It’s not about making her palatable, it’s about keeping all of them safe. It’s bodyguard behavior.

Also, Orym only does this when they are actively avoiding drawing attention to themselves, and as far as I know, Laudna has only had a problem with it once.

Take: Laudna looked to Ashton and Orym for what to do during the scuffle with Bor’Dor, and Orym encouraged her to let Delilah back in, all because he’s hell-bent on revenge and thinks he can use Delilah’s power to get it. He actively disregarded Laudna’s well-being to further his own goals.

My opinion: No, she wasn’t looking to them for what to do. Marisha said it herself: Laudna was barely present. She couldn’t even hear Deni$e suggest keeping Bor’Dor alive; what makes you think she’s going to see a singular nod from Orym 15 feet away? She had already done Hunger of the Shadow, was already cloaked in the “purple-ish glowing hue that hasn’t been seen in a while,” and Matt had mentioned the heartbeat long before Liam ever said anything. Laudna had already let Delilah back in before Orym nodded and before she killed Bor’Dor. It was a horrible situation all around, but Orym did not convince Laudna to let Delilah back in for his own purposes. It is not his fault that Laudna embraced Delilah’s power or that Bor’Dor died. Laudna made her choice, as heartbreaking and conflicting as it may be, so let her live with it.

And for the record, I think they were justified in killing Bor’Dor. He attacked them with a pretty powerful spell (he did Vitriolic Sphere at its baseline 4th level, which is the second highest level spell he had) and nearly killed Prism in the process. Yes, Bor’Dor did a bit of waffling back and forth between “I’m gonna kill you!” and “just let me die,” but him being a pathetic mess is nothing new. He still tried to kill them all. If they let him live, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t try it again.

I don’t know how to impress this upon people who haven’t already gotten it from just watching the show, but the Ruby Vanguard is a bad group. Ludinus Da’leth is a bad person. He may have convinced some members that his goals are noble, but they aren’t. He is misleading people for his own gain, because guess what? The concept of free will exists even with the existence of the gods! People are allowed to worship them or not, and the gods aren’t smiting people down for refusing to worship them (otherwise Keyleth would be long dead, y’all. she said out loud to the champion of the raven queen that they should use her power while it benefitted them and then find a loophole to get Vax out of her service. and she is so valid for that. 15/10 would do the same).

We had a PC, a dozen or so NPCs, and an entire arc last campaign—and then a whole 4-part series!—that dealt with wizard hubris and its unfortunate consequences. Ludinus was one of those NPCs! What makes you think that Mr. “let’s steal a holy artifact and instigate a war” “should try friends sometime” “Essek looks forward to never seeing his face again” “Trent Ikithon can keep abusing children it’s not my problem” Da’leth suddenly has people’s best interests in mind?

He and the Ruby Vanguard need to be stopped, and Orym, being a person whose driving motivation is “to protect,” is willing to do what needs to be done, even when it sucks.

Take: ooohoohoo Orym’s alignment might be shifting! We need Dorian to get him back on track!

My opinion: No? To both these statements? Firstly, Orym’s alignment isn’t shifting, at least I don’t think so. I’m not an expert on D&D alignments (I think they should be more descriptive than prescriptive/ultimately they matter less than character choices, arcs, and narratives), but I would guess that fighting to maintain the balance of nature and to stop those that would harm others for their own gain is still pretty in line with neutral good? I could maybe see an argument for that being more lawful good, but it didn’t seem like those people were talking about a shift along the horizontal axis.

Secondly, I think Dorian would do the exact same thing Orym is doing. Was that not the whole draw of the Spider Queen’s crown during ExU Prime? Power to protect and save his friends? So I don’t think Dorian would see anything wrong with how Orym is acting, much less take him to task over it.

Take: Look! Orym told Keyleth about Imogen’s mom and said “I don’t care” when Imogen complained! Bad! Mean! Selfish!

My opinion: idk that felt more like Liam being a brat to Laura than anything else.

Like, yes Liam/Orym had his own goals in that convo which were unexpected and uncomfortable, but I don’t think he was wrong to point that out. The moment Keyleth swore to take down Liliana, you could feel everyone in Bell’s Hells get really tense, and I am certain that Keyleth, who has 20 wisdom and ~30 years of experience leading her people and politicking, clocked that instantly. And Orym would have clocked that immediately, and in an effort to make sure that their group had the confidence of a very powerful druid and world leader, decided that full transparency was the way to go.

And I don’t know, this is largely speculation, but Keyleth having that information might mean that she will make sure Imogen doesn’t have to be the one to take down Liliana? Or it might make her more sympathetic and willing to show some mercy to her?

Leaning more fully into speculation bc this relies mostly on inference and assumption: while I do think that Keyleth deserves to know what’s going on with Vax, withholding that information at this juncture might have been another tactical decision from Orym. We don’t know how Keyleth has mourned over the last 30 years, but we know that she’s been angry and we know that losing Vax was and is devastating. I feel like finding out that the love of your life (“forever and ever and ever and always” “I’ll never get over you”) is suffering extreme torment such that the followers of his god are in a period of mourning, basically implying that you’ve lost him all over again, that potentially the one reassurance that you would see him again has been ripped from you, etc., etc. would cause anyone to break down on a good day. Add on the fact that Keyleth is gravely, gravely injured, and you’re basically asking for her to be completely out of commission, because 1) holy moly talk about new trauma, old trauma, grief, longing, guilt, etc. bro I’m an emotional wreck just thinking about Vax and I’m not the one living through it, and 2) that would be a lot of stress on her already extremely stressed body, the consequences of which could be very bad.

It’s a tough decision to make, and while I’m not sure I 100% agree with Orym’s, I think it’s a defensible position.

Anyway thanks for reading this far, I hope you enjoyed my analysis. Again, I don’t want to fight or get into arguments, but I’m down for some brief discussions! Emphasis on brief because I can fall into a rabbit hole very easily, which means this will be the only thing I can think of and I have other things I want to do, shadowgast to write, fearnechetney to draw, and this post already took several hours over two days to write after weeks of mental build up.

[12pt-times-new-roman]

c3e74

The Bells Hells begin their journey to the three mountains in the distance.

They leveled up to 11! Laudna switched out her warlock invocations, and she has eyes of the runekeeper again! She uses it on the amulet they found, and identify the language as Eyuan (?), the native language of the Ostended Host. It reads, "my promise to Shotas," "my love in my children, Roe and Sakagi," "my faith in the cycle of destruction and creation, endless," "my guilt over my father, Gyodoba." Along the cage that protects the stone, there's a name: "Iffodola."

Based on the names, it sounds like the Shattered Teeth (or maybe just the Ostended Host) is inspired by Japanese culture!

Chetney identifies that the amulet was likely in the dirt for a decade or two; the Ostended Host as a culture has existed for a few centuries, but it's not pre-Calamity by any means. As far as he knows, the Host is still an active and thriving culture, but they are, like the rest of the Shattered Teeth, very much isolated from the rest of Exandria.

Most of this landscape is covering volcanic rock, resulting in highly arable land that allows the vegetation to grow prolifically.

As they descend into a valley, they notice that the treetops don't descend with them -- the trees just get taller, wider, the trunks get thicker, the sheer amount of foliage becomes like a jungle.

Ashton putting the immovable rod in their hammer is still one of the coolest things--

Having been running my own campaign recently.... the fact that these fuckers have gotten over 30 minutes of gameplay and banter out of trying to cross a goddamned river is one of the most solid examples of their storytelling skill I've seen this campaign.

A monstrous hippo-like creature emerges behind them with three little ones behind it. FCG casts speak with animals. "We mean you no harm! Can we go?" "Fuck off!" "We will -- can we pass?" "Don't come any closer! Fuck off!"

Fearne makes them a little camp for the night.

FCG cooks the fish that Chetney caught earlier. "....My hot hole smells like fish?" Meteors fall, Exandria dies

Chetney and Ashton take first watch.

Laudna takes nine points and Orym takes 6 points of necrotic damage in their sleep for...... some reason. As Chetney climbs down, the shadows pull back -- producing a light, he sees a dozen or so of these small, thin, elongated humanoid shadows that have encircled Laudna and Orym, pulling at them. They're these tiny, waffish wraiths -- their heads are misshapen and elongated. Reaching out, Imogen feels this hunger, a need to be warm -- the light deterred them for a moment, but they are driven to consume heat, and that drive is stronger than their fear of the light.

Laudna speaks in Shadowcant, and they don't speak, but they seem to understand -- and they're definitely undead.

FCG casts turn undead, and Laudna curls into Ashton so they can hold her steady. They were low enough CR that the turn undead destroyed them all.

The shadows dissipate in the morning.

They continue on their travel.

Throughout the next part of the rainforest floor, they notice a series of traps -- nets hanging from trees, pit traps, snares, many clearly designed to catch very large creatures.

They try to use find the path, but it's a stupid spell that assumes you've already been to the place you're trying to get to (seriously, this spell is sixth level, it should at the very least use a familiarity system like scry and teleport), so they contemplate using Ashton as a focus. It doesn't work, and FCG wastes their newly-acquired sixth level spell slot, because find the path is dumb.

Orym hears footsteps -- five humanoid figures, making almost no sound, slowly circling them. Their cloaks seem to blend in to the forest floor, but the armor beneath is colorful, intertwined with pieces of wood -- an armor that they recognized from the cave.

FCG casts tongues. "Put down your weapons. Who are you, and how did you get here?"

Orym produces the pendant and the name Iffodola. Fearne puts him down like one puts down a poorly-picked up cat, and he hands it over. "We found this in a cave, closer to the coast." "This belonged to Temil's father. He will be grateful to have it returned, and his memory preserved in strength." "We are visitors here. We're really sorry to be -- I don't know if this is your land, but we're here looking for Evantravir." "For what purpose?" Ashton speaks up -- "For me. Blood of titans, I am looking to know myself -- Ashton Greymoore, of the Hishari. If that means anything." "It does not mean anything to me, but... you're looking for answers?" "There's a lot going on in the outside world right now, and I don't know how it's affecting you here, but things are changing, and we're looking to some... older answers." "Do you know what lies before you?" "Never." "You just came on a whim, and got this far? Either you're extremely lucky, extremely foolish, or both." "Both. But this isn't whim -- this is necessity, sorrow, friendship. People are going to die, and we need to know things."

The leader of the group doesn't know Keyleth, but she does know of Jirana. Still, though the group does not offer guidance -- the Bells Hells' offering, however, gains them sanctuary. As long as they don't interfere, as long as they go to and from their destination without interference, they won't be disturbed by the Ostended Host.

They also reveal that the spirits are caused by Evontravir itself -- because it is rooted between life and death, it forces open a rift between those two realms, which allows the wraiths to seep through.

The group disappears into the brush with only the advice, "keep your convictions close." Their promises, convictions, prayers, and memories seem to protect them from the spirits, somehow.

"Should I fly up to see if I can find the tree?" "You could -- I could also ask for divine help. But seeing for yourself might be better." Guys, FCG is growing--

Imogen doesn't see the tree, but does see an irregularity: it looks like there's a chasm, an area where there is no jungle, no trees, in a ring around the mountains. They fly closer, and in the middle of the three mountains, it is just darkness. The mountains are the perimeter to a massive sinkhole. (Almost like something absolutely massive fell from the sky and punched a hole in the ground. Like, I dunno, a fucking city--)

They approach, and it just looks like a throat that vanishes into shadow, hundreds upon hundreds of feet across. Waterfalls cascade into it from the edges. Columnar basalt pillars jut from the side like arms reaching out toward the darkness.

With a 27, Orym can't see too far down -- the light doesn't reach that far -- but he does notice a pattern: it seems to gradually taper, so there should be a bottom to it.

Imogen sends dancing lights down 240 feet, and finds no bottom. Sort of like Laudna.

Laudna throws a ball bearing with light on it into the hole. There's a cold aura to this place, and a stream of negative, necrotic energy that comes with it. After 400 feet, it's just gone -- there's no impact, so this thing could be a portal.

They contemplate just..... jumping into the fucking thing with feather fall. I mean, in theory that would work?

Fearne finally figures out that a connection to their worldly dedications, convictions, faiths, etc. could ward away the more negative effects of Evontravir, like the wraiths from before.

FCG asks the Changebringer, and confirms that they won't die outright if they jump into this thing.

And..... they jump.

The walls get closer, and the lights reveal texture, a floor -- Laudna casts featherfall, Imogen casts fly, and Fearne turns into a shoebill. They see leaves -- endless, jet black leaves, and they start impacting the top of a massive tree, eventually catching themselves in the boughs. The branches have a strangely striated bark with a deep maroon coloration to it, and the leaves look more like leaf-shaped needles than actual leaves. The entire thing is dry and the branches are flimsy, like this isn't a healthy tree at all -- atrophied.

Imogen and Fearne begin to ferry them to the base, and they see that this isn't a normal tree -- it grows like a capillary system, like coral, branching out toward the edges of this cavern. The boughs end five feet off the ground -- but "ground" is an interesting description. It's a blanket of seemingly endless roots that spiral outward, entwining, knotting, continuing to stretch, and there's wet vegetation and moss here with thousands upon thousands of small objects embedded. Gemstones, carvings, sculptures, instruments, ceremonial attire -- and many, many skulls. It's also very cold.

Some of the trinkets here, including the skulls, have been purposefully tied up in the branches, like there have been people down here who put them there. There are many things here from the Ostended Host, but there also some from many different places -- and it's nearly impossible to date them because there is no dust here.

Chetney uses grim psychometry on one particular object -- a simple egg-shaped bear. He senses that it once belonged to an old soldier who had "accepted the demise of their innocence, and this was left as their final sacrifice." (I'm stealing that line, holy shit--)

Imogen and FCG reach out to the tree with detect thoughts. They sense consciousness, but it is immense, ancient, and it resists their attempts to peer further.

Ashton reaches out to it, too, loudly -- "Are you there? This is Ashton, Blood of Titans. Do I need to show you?" They draw their own blood in their palm, plant it on the tree -- and they all hear the rustling of millions of leaves, branches begin to shift and bend, this still entity begins to, all at once, move and shift like something rousing from a deep slumber. The branches curl in odd places, they make out shapes -- it's almost like elongated fingers. Where Ashton's hand is, the bark splits, and a massive milky-white eye opens. Another eye opens a little ways off, and they see, now, a heavily stretched faced, burned and carved into the bark -- the nose is four feet long, a frown extends a story long, like someone smeared a face across a hot coal. Its branches encompass them, forcing them to address it.

"What is it you seek?" "I am the abandoned child of the Hishari. I am the blood of titans. I seek what is owed to me. I seek my past, I seek power, I seek to know what I am." Everyone hears its voice, not in their mind, but vibrating through the air, like they're standing next to a warhorn. The words are not formed, they're just... present. And they are curious. "As it was fated... You are the son of Efterin, a broken man of burning purpose. He endured an oddesy to walk under my boughs, and asked for the golden purpose. They felt they were owed by the world. He claimed visions throughout his life that promised greatness, a fated path that would leave his mark on history. He was not wrong. I let him gaze into his future, and showed him the relic he was fated to own, that he would use to usher in a renewed, ancient power. I showed him the way to the necropolis of Toramunda, where this relic lay uncovered and waiting. His ambition met his destiny, and he recovered his artifact, this remaining shard of Ka'mort, the primordial Empress of Earth, a lingering remnant of her power. He thought his destiny was his to embrace -- he was wrong. I granted him this knowledge because he was meant to take it, meant to create and destroy the Hishari, meant to destroy himself -- meant to create you. You were his destiny, But in his arrogance, he could not see beyond his own aspirations -- as it was fated. And now, you return as I have foreseen, to find another piece of history's sorrow, the unity that twice bought judgement to Exandria's children."

They hear this sound, a horrid sucking sound, as the tree enhances sometihng -- it's awakening, still. There's an odd vibrance, a subtle excitement that comes to this ancient creature. Its eyes move from Ashton, and take in the rest. "You know who I am. Evontravir is the name I was given, and the name that endures. I was of those who stewarded the protection of Toramunda, who helped mediate the division of Mount Y'gora, who trusted empty promises and watched out legacy become ash. I saved the few that I could, and still carry with me those I could not... [who were you before Evontravir?] It is hard to remember... I was a guardian."

Ashton pulls out the pipe of remembrance and offers it to Evontravir. "I haven't been stupid enough to smoke it myself, yet... but do you want to see your at your best? Just this once?"

"My roots reach into the skein of fate, and the golden threads that guide us all." Ashton keeps trying to deny that fate exists, insisting that they would crush destiny beneath their boot wherever they met it, that they have been nobody their whole life and that there is great power in that. "Now, just be a small man for a moment, you big fuck." Ashton attempts to shotgun kiss the tree, and it fucking works--

Every leaf breathes in at once. On the exhale, smoke pours out of dozens of holes in the trunk and branches -- as it does, each little cloud is a person, running, caught. Running, then caught. Until they're all brought to a tree, and vanish through it. More, and more -- hundreds, until the smoke drifts away.

Ashton wishes to be great like that, in their own way. "You must soon wrestle with the changes you cannot avoid. The threads show me: you have no choice but to be somebody, soon... There are no nobodies who come this far to see me. A spark of Rau'shan burns in the heart of the Chanis Maw, a volcanic mass on the island of Icthonus, within the side of Athos Peak. It is my destiny to show you the way. But be warned: holding the strength of the two in one vessel might sunder it. You bear the dormant strtength of [Ka'mort]. Find and bestow the might of the Emperor." [To the rest] "You. Why have you come?"

Evontravir has seen Ruidus. "The threads come together, the tangle that you have been racing toward your entire life. You are that tangle; [Ashton] sought these answers, but you are all bound to this journey. I am the gate and the boundary; I am one of numerous passageways to the realms of death and renewal. My roots reach into the skein of destiny, and I see what paths can be taken. Some harder to deviate from than others. I am balance to the enemies of the natural cycle of life, and one of the many caretakers of the fate of Exandria itself. Some come to seek a meeting with ones they've lost; some come to see their own death; some come to seek direction, a glimpse at their fate; not all find what they want. Many find what they are meant to. What do you seek?" [Imogen: How do we stop Predathos? How do we keep him from devouring everything?] "Not all answers are clear. But you all walk a path together -- your tangle is the chaos that can undo that which has been carefully planned for so very long. Should that be what you wish, your journey puts you on a particular path -- to make the choice, to guide the future of the gods. What do you believe in? What is right for this world?" [FCG: We want what's right for this world, and it seems we've been put on a path that will help us shape it.. but as you said, the fate of the gods is also at stake. Can you see what might happen if the gods die?] They see a shared visions. They see the thin line of the Bloody Bridge widen, the skies crack, beings of impossible fathomability of light and shadow alike stepping from he heavens -- a lattice of infinite gold apparate and shatter, and the lights and shadows leave, chased by a glow of endless red. As those lights fade, left below, the blue waters and green of the world lay bare, and the vision fades.

In the face of the literal voice of fate, Laudna fucking questions its voice.

"I cannot say whether the gods are a blessing or bane upon the world. Some seek to harmonize, others seek to subjugate or destroy. With each epoch, the pendulum swings. The titans are gone; all that remains is what was before, and what was after. The divine are pilgrims made idols, refugees become conquerors; they are not makers but crafters, shapers, and their devotees follow int heir image. They take what is found, and remake it into new -- sometimes beautiful, sometimes terrible. Is that their nature? Or are they a reflection of us?"

Orym asks how they stop another Calamity from happening. "I cannot tell you what is right. Your convictions guide your path, your choices can change where the threads pull you. What I offer is the knowledge of what can end that path, but not all take to that knowledge well."

Imogen asks about Ludinus, and what it will take to defeat him. "You already walk that path." Evontravir enhales, and as it does, they see flashes -- the Earthen spark that beats in the chest of Ashton, the flickering flame of Rau'shan in some distant cavern, the endless dusty expanse of Ruidus filled with cries of anguish and war. "This is the path you've chosen. Follow your convictions, or change them. I cannot tell you what is right."

FCG speaks up. "If we continue down this path and intersect with those who would seek to destroy the gods, can you tell us how we'll know when it's time? An ally, a weapon, something that will tell us when we're ready?" "The spark of life, no matter where it's sourced, instinctually wishes to be free. Wherever the hand of tyranny resides, there are those that will rise up to tear down the cage -- familiar or not. To do what you need, look for conviction. Look for strength. And above all else, look for trust, for allies, and to each other. Ludinus... Ludinus should be stopped. Not all would disagree with his reasoning; it very well be that there will be harder choices for you to make, as you draw close to your destiny."

Chetney's turn, and he asks for passage to their destination, the isle of Icthonus. But instead -- "you... you are being watched." The boughs glow, and in the empty space behind you, there is a scrying censor that appears and then shatters. "You must hurry." The branches split, pull open like flesh into a doorway --

They rush through into cold wind and snow, on the cusp of a mountain range -- surrounded by mist, very high up. They get the sense they're still in the Shattered Teeth, and nearby, a mountaintop where the snow does not touch.

[mintywolf]

A Long Road Home - Page 56 Author Notes

Page 56

Cling to Life lets Laudna regain 1 hp on a 16 or higher death save, as opposed to Strength of the Grave which allows her to remain at 1 hp instead of 0 after a successful CON save. Since the former is a Hollow One ability and therefore a "gift" from Delilah whose intervention we are witnessing, mechanically, that's what just happened.

So okay in my original draft (right up until the time I was working on the first page in fact since that’s when the Gelvaan episode aired, by coincidence) Imogen unambiguously killed the ex-sheriff. Then in that episode (48) Imogen asks about the aftermath of the fight and Relvin confirms that everyone survived:

MATT: "You and your friends probably shouldn't stay too long. Some folks around here that don't have the fondest memories of your exit." LAURA: Are they okay? MATT: "They got better, but--" LAURA: Good. MATT: "The tales have certainly grown with time. At a certain point, they just stopped listening to me."

And let me tell you I was vibrating with anxiety that entire episode because I was FOUR DAYS from launching the comic after months of work and preparation when they just happened to decide to go to the precise setting of it in that week’s episode. I’m still kind of amazed at how lucky I was that there were only a few small discrepancies to reconcile. (One being the physical description of Relvin, which was easy to fix, two being that Flora doesn’t actually live with the Temults and might not actually belong to them, which I just let slide, and three being that everyone survived the incident that caused them to leave town.)

But I think it works better this way because Imogen already has a LOT to process right now. She has to leave her home and go on the run, someone tried to kill her pets, she saw Laudna apparently die, then un-die and turn into a spooky monster, previously unknown lightning powers just erupted out of her hands and carved themselves into her skin, and the barn is on fire. (And she just got over a bad case of scarlet fever like three days ago.) There isn’t really space in the story right now for her to stop and come to terms with having taken a life, even of someone who deserved it.

(Also it makes something that happens near the end of chapter 3 much more impactful if she’s never killed anyone before.)

So by now Imogen has been presented with pretty solid evidence that there is something Not Quite Right with Laudna. She has definitely heard the accusations (spoken and unspoken) by the people in town but she hasn’t been able to bring herself to believe that the most loving and vivacious person she’s ever met could be undead. She’s also been kind of digging in her heels about it because acknowledging that she’s really dead would mean accepting that the people of Gelvaan are right about her (and then maybe also about herself). Allowing her deadness to be true also means knowing that something awful must have happened in the past to make her that way, and she’s not ready to confront that just yet. She will have to soon, though.

Right now though her foremost concern isn’t that she might be a monster but that she’s had a hole punched in her.

[eyeshadowandcaffeine]

Hello, I woke up with an absurd idea about how an attempt to resurrect Laudna could lead to another VM member’s appearance in C3. Idk if anyone has already posted this theory, in which case, sorry, this is just my take on it.

So, if Laudna is resurrected with the help of VM, they may also attempt to separate her from Delilah, because they cannot just have another Briarwood running around out there. So for Laudna to be resurrected and continue as a Warlock and/or a Hollow One, she may need a new patron, preferably someone who could protect her from Delilah, which could be the Raven Queen, given her interest in the Briarwoods and/or Laudna being undead.

And while it is possible for Laudna to have her own encounter with some divinity in the afterlife or during the ritual, what if Vox Machina’s presence and Delilah’s involvement gets the attention of someone else. Not the Matron of Ravens… but her champion, who may have sympathy for Laudna’s situation and feels partially responsible for first death at the Sun Tree, and so he vouches for her, offering her this second chance at life.

So, imagine it, the ritual appears to have failed, then those in attendance see some ghostly visage of a feather and leather-clad figure standing over Laudna, and then Laudna wakes up. And after a moment, she looks around the room, recognizes Vex, before saying “I believe I just met your brother, he offered to help me.” Good god can you imagine the fucking angst that would ensue if this happened.

[elliesgaymachete]

Maybe I’m just slow on the uptake here but I was thinking like how Imogen is clearly down BAD for Laudna but it makes total sense that after 2+ years she has never said anything about. It struck me as odd initially that Imogen would be so nervous to tell Laudna how she feels despite how close they are. She can read minds even if she’s not trying to she still catches glimpses of thoughts she didn’t mean to and after 2 years it seems like she hasn’t gotten any hint from Laudna that the feelings mutual and so Imogen keeps her feelings to herself… Except we hear Laudna say she just hasn’t accessed that part of her brain in 50 odd years followed by her saying she deeply loves Imogen. So it’s not that the feeling isn’t mutual and that’s why Imogen never picked up on it. It’s just I don’t think what she’s feeling even registers for Laudna as romantic love. Rather it’s just something natural. The sky is blue, the grass is green, and I love Imogen kinda thing it’s so natural she doesn’t even give it a second thought and so it escapes Imogen’s notice

No you’re absolutely right!

I’m not sure when Imogen realized her feelings for Laudna—it may have been when they first met and she had that respite from the tumultuous thoughts of everyone else when she heard music instead. It could have been anytime in the two years they were traveling together.

But as much as Imogen tries she can’t keep the voices out of her head, probably not even Laudna’s. She might even let Laudna in more than others so she can hear the music instead of the cacophony. But if Laudna hasn’t thought about that in 30 years, obviously Imogen wouldn’t overhear anything.

I think it’s entirely possible Laudna is in love with Imogen, but also doesn’t realize it because it’s been so long since she’s thought about that. especially because it seems she was always a bit of an outcast, even before the whole undead thing, so she doesn’t have any sort of romantic relationship or experience to compare it to. When BH were talking about it before, her only point of comparison was Whitestone Andy, and she was like 12 and he threw dirt at her.

I think Laudna knows how she feels about Imogen but doesn’t realize that it’s romantic in nature, and because of that, Imogen can’t sense any sort of romantic feelings in her head and just assumes they’re not there

Anyway it’s a vicious cycle and I think they’re both a bit too self deprecating to actively realize and confess to each other at the moment.

I hope the rest of BH maybe help play a part in them realizing their feelings for each other and confessing, because they’re already certainly aware of it, it’s just Imogen and Laudna that are in the dark. FCG therapized after their fight, Imogen went to Orym and Laudna went to Ashton for advice, Fearne is so perceptive and even asked Imogen if she was jealous of Dusk/Yu (honestly it would be hilarious if Chetney was the only one who didn’t realize something was going on)

Anyway i think I lost the thread here and now I’m just rambling, I just can’t wait to see how their relationship develops from here and how things change, and I love the potential they have for a beautiful friends to lovers slow burn🥺

[shorthaltsjester]

fcg using turn undead is not the problem in and of itself but that he didn’t even apologize for how it harmed laudna after the fact and then told her to “respect the gods” which is a pretty messed up thing to say to someone after you just did something to hurt them and who is clearly struggling with where she stands because of how the gods seem to view her. and if you still can’t understand why laudna has a problem with the gods you’re just dumbass and there’s no helping you at this point.

i’m very cognizant that for some people the issue is fcg’s “respect the gods”, however that explicitly wasn’t what i was addressing in my post. i was very specifically expressing frustration about people who have seemed to forgotten the aspect of cr where it is storytelling through the medium of a game. also, i’m not sure that it is super obvious that laudna is struggling with where she stands because of how the gods seem to view her. struggling with where she stands? yes absolutely, and she certainly brings up uncertainty wrt the morality of the gods, but i don’t know that fcg has any reason at all to believe that laudna is struggling right now because of the gods and not other concerns like her recent death, the impending apocalypse, and the emotional turmoil of the separation - something that fcg more than most has actually addressed. they did it in their clumsy, self-deprecating way, but fcg is one of the few who explicitly engaged with the unfairness between the experiences of team issylra and team wildemount during the split.

it is messed up that fcg tells her to respect the gods, but he didn’t harm laudna, they made her go running…. in the same direction she was already going. fcg also already had reason to believe it wouldn’t hurt laudna due to the last time they used turn undead. further, the episode was one that had very little downtime, it’s possible laudna (or, yknow, fearne, who in the text seemed to have more of a problem with it than laudna did) might bring it up. if she doesn’t, i won’t be shocked, but i’m sure i’ll see a bunch of posts demanding an apology from fcg. laudna is a very physical character based on how marisha plays her, when there are large issues in laudna’s psyche, she explains them while narrating battle actions or she moves a lot less such that we get moments like travis asking what laudna’s hands are doing. this was absent, and again, that might change next week and in that case i’ll continue to base my opinions on my viewing experience, not on the (badly formed) ad hominem arguments in my ask box from people who don’t even have the confidence to do so off anonymous.

in general, i’m really not sure where the argument that the gods seem to hold less favour for laudna than anyone else in bells hells came from, both in the show itself and in the fandom. she was given a resurrection using divine magic, she often echoes the gift pelor bestowed to whitestone with her form of dread. honestly, beyond fcg and orym, laudna probably makes the most reference/appeal to divinity that seems to be in good favour. i can see that laudna has critiques of the gods, and some of them seem to be fair ones if not typically irrelevant to the discussions at hand.

but, kind stranger, thank you so much. because now i can happily claim this crown you have bestowed upon me that i have wandered aimlessly looking for… for now months i’ve wondered how to categorize myself since i’ve questioned what exactly the specific issues that laudna has with the gods and now i know, i am a dumbass. i’m unsure what help i am beyond, as “having the wrong opinion” about the moral analysis a fictional character does of fictional gods doesn’t rank high on my concerns that i might ask for help about, but i appreciate the implied offer even though you ultimately rescinded it.

i really appreciate your charitableness and good faith here, it really orients me towards wanting to hear you out and persuades me to consider things I hadn’t previously (tonetag: sarcastic, if that hasn’t yet become apparent)

in general, anon, i find the choice you made here hilarious and i do have to thank you for making me laugh on a day that has been less than stellar. the absurdity of sending an ask with this tone to… change my opinion? scold me with all the bravery of your anonymous badge into agreeing with you over something as low stakes as… what i find annoying about fandom habits?

[i-think-therefore-i-fan]

If this doesn't sum up Laudna...

You have Orym saying she is the happiest of the bunch and the whole the worst thing has already happened to me.

Then you have the conversation with Ashton.

The conversation where she has completely resigned herself to her situation, not through any lack of trying. Imogen keeps telling her that they'll get Delilah out, but while she thinks it's a pretty wish, Laudna doesn't believe it. And worse, she is seeing Delilah and her influence over her getting stronger.

Marsha said that Laudna believes she's on borrowed time. An undead person who is so aware of their own mortality. Of course, between her falling unconscious almost every battle and Delilah... She's not wrong. Which of course happens an episode later. She believes she will eventually lose herself and has resigned herself to that eventuality.

With her acceptance of it, she also chooses not to despair. To enjoy whatever she has left... Just like she chooses to not be a burden and keeps her lack of hope to herself as ultimately, what good would that do?

So she's kooky and weird, and it's also a defence mechanism. Admittedly my favourite Laudna is the Laudna without that layer of armour on, which is when we get to know her more. However I think she does it with intent.

In a terrible situation or when describing a terrible situation, she chooses to add levity to it, because she has such a close appreciation of how life works. Life can already be miserable enough so why not?

I don't think Laudna cares too much for dichotomoties.

Which for me shows how Laudna can be both a character that freely expresses joy and wonder, and in equal measures, is the most hopeless character. A character who has given up on herself but has not given up on others or on joy.

[utilitycaster]

Maybe this is too spicy a question, but what is the petty reason for why someone would want Laudna's potential new patron to be The Raven Queen/Vax? I personally don't want to see it because I'm tired of all the C1 connections, but the people who I've seen want it *seem* well intentioned. Why do you think it's so bad?

We'll start with the petty reason, and to be clear, I do not think this is anyone's motivation; I think people want it for reasons that I do not agree with, but are not ill-intentioned. Anyway: for some reason that I truly do not know, a small but loud group of people who are specifically huge fans of Marisha detest Liam. I don't know why, because first, like it or not, no one on Earth or in/en route to the International Space Station is a bigger fan of Keyleth than Liam; and second, I actually find Marisha and Liam to be some of the most similar in the cast in terms of acting/RP style and thematic preferences. So, were Marisha to choose to have Vax as a patron, it would make those people lose their damn minds and this would be funny for a day or so. However, there is nothing else to recommend it and "it would be mean to people I find annoying" isn't a good reason.

As for why I actually think it's bad: I do legitimately think the depth of C1 connections we have already is a problem for "overshadowing Marquet and cutting off more interesting avenues of the story that are in Marquet" reasons (and "many people who did not watch C1 do not have any reason to give a fuck about Vox Machina" reasons). So retreading the same territory, whether it is Vax or the Raven Queen - who was pretty extensively explored as a deity, and the interesting things about her are more in the Calamity-era realm of research rather than as a source of power - is in and of itself very uninteresting. Add that to the fact that I personally find Vax to be like, middle of the pack of Vox Machina as a character and the subsequent idealization of him post-mortem to be generally nauseating (and to be clear: I think he's a good character, I just am more interested by many other members of Vox Machina), and the fact that we've really only explored strong connections to a handful of Prime Deities, and I find myself asking "what if we like, chose to look into every part of the massive world that has been created instead of walking in increasingly tight little circles over ground we've already tread?"

But, more seriously, it belies a complete misunderstanding of The Raven Queen, who hates the undead and sees them as a perversion of life. She's not going to, you know, personally kill Laudna, since Delilah's the problem here; but I highly recommend looking up the Raven Queen's commandments, which boil down to "Death is natural and normal; Undeath is an atrocity to be punished; and those who defy fate must also be punished". Let's be real, Bells Hells are probably already on her watchlist for embarking on this specific resurrection. The Raven Queen is sitting in her domain eating goth popcorn with Vax and saying "you know, I knew I always liked your brother-in-law! He made some salient points back there!"

It is also a complete misunderstanding of Laudna, who is somewhat adrift and has no particular regard for fate nor issues with death. Basically: so long as Laudna is still a Hollow One, it's not happening. If she's returned to life in full it would objectively require a complete warlock subclass change (The Raven Queen is NOT granting powers to an undead, folks, and paladin is actually laughable as a suggestion - setting aside the 5 strength score, Laudna lacks the temperament, at least at this juncture) and significant penance. Honestly shadow sorcerer alone likely already pushes Laudna into "still probably not on the Raven Queen's Nice list", and Otohan Thull is, lest we forget, a Raven Queen worshiper which makes this suggestion even fucking weirder like, Laudna finally gets free of her first murderer to cozy up to the god of her second?

In general: there are quite literally dozens (well. like 2 dozen) more interesting potential warlock patron sources whom we've barely seen, should Laudna wish to make a new pact. Why choose someone we've seen so extensively and who fundamentally conflicts with the core premise of the character?

[blorbologist]

Listening to episodes 113 and 114 of Campaign 1 while coding data. 

I knew the end was coming, had already spoiled myself for most of this, but still... damn, not even two hours into 114 and already stupidly emotional.

Vex and Keyleth not wanting to see Vax get strangled to death, him trusting Grog and Scanlan to watch over him.

“Goodnight, brother.“ “Goodnight brother.“ FUCK! ME! FUCK FUCK FUCK-

“I certainly remember you” “missed you too darling” !!!! Percy having grown so much as to banter back at Delilah, she doesn’t scare him nearly as much as she once did.

Vex getting the kill on the bitch while she’s reaching for Sylas!!! PEAK romance!! AND SEGGSY

Sylas’ single-minded focus on the dead Delilah, ignoring so much harm, then focusing on Vex and how quickly Percy cues in on that and unleashes on him!! THE DE ROLOS AND THE BRIARWOODS LADIES N GENTS

More relevant to C3, but! Delilah, used as a shambling corpse, with a TREE growing out of her from Fenthras. A tree, like the one she had Laudna hung from, like the Form of Dread Laudna now embodies. Poetic cinema! 

The fucking reveal. The three figures. Matt’s face when Vex rolls insanely good damage. Travis figuring it out first, then Laura’s shock.

Tal’s WINCE when Matt mentions the shock of white hair (TMW your wife kills your little sister, who ALSO got feathered with arrows once before, and you saw That, but this time she’s really dead and it’s Your Wife That Did It)

 Sam’s voice going up WHOLE OCTAVES, immediately telling pike firmly to revive his daughter.

@ Arkhan I am So Fucking Glad Cass is too dead to see you send *an undead version of the woman who murdered her parents, tormented her for years and now kidnapped her* to remove the helmet. jesus fuck. imagine if she’d been awake for that.

'IT WAS AN HONOR KNOWING YOU' 'IT WILL BE AN HONOR KNOWING YOU ALL STILL' GILMORE! NOT! KNOWING! WHAT VAX MEANT!!1 HE DOESNT GET IT! FUCK

AND, of course, heading into the final fight.

forever and ever and always, and i steal what i assume is my last kiss

I CANT FUCKING CODE DATA IF I CANT SEE BECAUSE OF THE TEARS IN MY EYES. I NEED TO SEE FOR THIS. I NEED TO BREATHE. CRYING IS NOT HELPFUL. FUCK! GOD! DAMN! IT

AND THEN VELORA IN VECNA’S CHEST, AND WHEN SHE FALLS VEX GOING TO HER. VEX HOLDING HER BABY SISTER. HER DEAD BABY SISTER. HER WHOLE MOVEMENT AND ACTION FOR HER SISTER. THE END OF THE WORLD, NOTHING COMPARED TO FAMILY, SHES LOSING HER BROTHER SHE CANT LOSE VELORA TOO.

IM NOT READY FOR THE CONTERSPELL, THE WISH THAT COULDN’T BE, EVERYTHING, FUCK! ME! FUCK

I!!! dont know if I want to use this terrible feeling to write angst for Two for joy, or just write some fluffy shit to heal myself of this. both would be good. both need to wait til I’ve coded more data.

fucking

christ.

D&D? more like PTSD ;;;;;;;

[grigori77]

Critical Role, Campaign 3 Episode 46

The episode is entitled "Night At the Ligament Manor." I haven't even pressed play yet and it's already deeply creepy ...

Sam doesn't play video games apparently. This should be interesting ... okay, what the hell is going on ... oh dear gods ... what the fu ... oh boy atrocious 8-bit graphics ... help ... dear gods ... that was awful and so funny I such a sad way ...

Matt's getting his teeth into this plug, clearly ... and he can't say "merchandise", apparently ... in fact he's forgotten how to talk entirely. XD

"We got STOOOOOFFF!"

TRINKET SLIPPERS!!! RIGHTEOUS!!!

Taliesin, no! Dear gods man ... such awful dad humour, you're better than this!

Oh yeah. The tiki bar ...

The place is infested with ... something. Oh boy ... bat things ... yeesh ... hope that doesn't become A THING ... oh, and snakes too. Lovely.

Cocktails? Ye gods ...

FCG fascinates Morri ... of course he does. AND she causes a sussurus in Imogen's head ...

Ashton's skull dome ... oh boy ... here we go. Oh ... so that might actually be a GOOD THING? How is that actually WORSE?!!!

Oh ... oh, that can't be at all sanitary. Are you seriously gonna drink that shit? Whoa, they actually are ...

Fuck ... is this shit like ABSINTHE?!!!

Holy fuck, they have NIGHTVISION NOW?!!!

Fearne is living her best life being reunited with Nana Morri is so disturbing already ...

Drinks on the veranda ... oh boy ...

Taliesin: "Oh THAT beginning ..." FCG: "And we mostly skip the last Thursday of every month ..."

Creep fucked up weird ass rabbit creature ... oh, Peepers? Aha, I see ... OF COURSE Laudna loves this thing.

Morri meets Mister ...

Marisha (to Ashley and Matt BOTH): "Did this shit come out of YOUR brain?"

Watching what? Really, watching WHAT?!!! O.O

I'm just watching Travis and our boy is REALLY creeped out by this whole situation and I love it ...

A sleepover ... oh, lovely ...

Morri: "Did he say anything about ME?" Oh boy ...

Fearne: "Okay, I'm gonna be real honest with Nana right now." Uh-oh, here we go ...

The machine has an actual PULL on Ruidus? That can't be good ... The Shiver Keep? Sounds perfectly fitting ...

Time ... Morri: "It is quite stretchy around here, isn't it?"

The Sun's Shadow Realm ... hmmm ... oh, THAT'S where The Shiver Keep is.

A flirtation? Morri: "I'm too much of a woman for a spindly thing like him." :3

The lens got broken, yes ... best not tell Morri WHO broke it, hmmmm?

The City on Ruidus ... the Mesh ... Predathos ... okay ... and she smells the wolf on Chetney ... "little wolf boy"? XD

Laudna's geeking out BIG TIME over all if Morri's craftsmanship ... I love it. Oh here we go, Morri meets Pate ... here we go ...

Pate: "That's a big lady!"

Pate's both endeared and thoroughly freaked out ... wow, even the undead flying rat finds Morri unsettling.

She says that Chetney has "the Trees' Gift". Hmmm ... interesting, he's actually FLATTERED by all this praise ... yup, she's totally won him over and it's WEIRD ...

Oh boy, the OTHER face ... fuuuuuuuuuck ... they have an "ARRANGEMENT" ... dear fuck ...

Oh, so Fearne is getting to the root of it now ...

Travis is totally freaking out over this new version of her ...

Fearne's bedroom? Really? Oh yes, we'd love to see that! Finally something a little LESS terrifying for a change maybe?

Crow's cages? Oh shit ...

Ashley taking over to describe the room herself ... chef's kiss! Oh wow ... lovely but in a really disturbing way ... she was in a cage when she was in here? Hmmm ...

What's the view? Ooooh ... that sounds LOVELY actually ... aaaaaaaah! Ruidus? Wait .. HOW close?

Super icky arts and crafts ...

Chetney jhmps into Fearne's bed ... Fearne: "It's super soft, it's like a cloud." Imogen: "The cloud of dust that came up when you jumped in ..."

Fearne would not steal from Morri because she "respects her elders" ... hmmm ...

"Tummy Nana's a little more strict." Dear gods ...

The Collection ... this sounds potentially HORRIFYING ...

Group Persuasion Check ... hmmmm ... FUCK!!! How the hell did EVERYBODY roll so good? O.O

Yes. This Collection is EVERY BIT the nightmare fuel I was expecting it to be ...

Imogen: "MAYBE someday Fearne your collection could be as vast as this." Fearne: "Boy, I hope so!"

A gift? What? What fresh hell is this?

The statue ... oh, here we go ... what is THIS gonna become? Oh of course ... yeah, that's just horrible ... and even the statue can't quite manage this nightmare ... oh, and the second face starts to BREAK IT ...

The Heart of the Lion Guard? Taliesin: "Oh please let this be a real heart." Aaaaaaand it really is, too ... fuck ...

And she pokes it. Of course she does ...

Ashton ASKS HER to poke his head again ... whoa ... IT HURTS HER? WORRIES HER? WHAT THE FUCK?!!!

Ashton rages to get a timeshift surge ... HYPER RAGE?!!! 160 feet in one round? FUUUUUUCK ...

Taliesin's flattered by Sam's flask snd I don't blame him in the slightest.

The Bloody Apron ... yeah, figured she'd appreciate THAT twisted shit ...

The Undermuck ... yeah ... really NOOOOOO ...

Above the canopy ... oh, now THIS sounds BEAUTIFUL. How the hell is THIS here in this horrorshow?

The flowers ooh and aah ... and so do the group. XD OF course ...

They're definitely plants ... Laura: "They're definitely people who were turned into plants." Yes. Yes they are ... oh, so FEARNE made these? Oh thank the gods ... they're NOT actually murder topiary?

Ashley rolls 29 for persuasion and so we are TOTALLY CONVINCED that she's telling the truth ...

Sweet Pea? A massive rotund SUNBEAR?!!! Oh my gods ... and he's adorable ... yeah, I know sunbears and they are the cutest things ever ... :3

What IS the thumping noise?

Orym tries to hear if it's a heartbeat from the bushes ... yeah ... Imogen is right, BEST NOT to know ...

It's the Feywild, animals TALK here, guys ...

"Oh, my oats!"

Feycation ... they really went there ...

Ashley's face the whole time whenever Matt's describing what Fearne grew up with is just SO PRECIOUS, I love it so much ... :3

BIG ROOM!!! Oh, these beds sound SO NICE ... and the paint ... yeah. If that ISN'T dried blood I'll be very surprised ...

Imogen (internally screaming): "Such a tranquil environment for sleeping." FCG: "I'm sensing a theme here."

Oh yeah ... the Reilora ... yeah ...

Orym (to Ashton): "You're ALWAYS a little stoned." Oh, the death stares ... XD

Chetney volunteers to massage Imogen to soothe her before sleep ... yeah, no, Laudna would DEFINITELY be more soothing for her than anything else, surely.

ORYM CONJURES A FUCKING FLOWER IN HIS HAND!!! When the fuck did he learn to do that?

Orym: "Okay, before we go full Flatliners ..." XD Cue geeky chuckling from the group as a whole.

Yeah, clearly Laudna is still DEEPLY relieved that Imogen came through the whole Da'leth encounter safely.

"I mean, they make some good points, right?" Oh fuck, Imogen, no, DO NOT go there ...

Ashton: "If somebody's a piece of shit then they're a bad person whether they have a good point of view or not." AMEN, bud.

Now Chetney's FOUR hundred years old ... XD

Imogen: "Ludinus talked sbout the Calamity like he saw it first hand." Chetney: "Yeah, he likes to SAY that."

Yes, good point, makes more sense that Ludinus actually wants to EXPLOIT Predathos rather than just unleash it ...

80 to 100 flowers now ... awwwwwww ...:3

FCG casts Shared Dream ... okay ... here we go ... and they're bringing Lsufna into Imogen's dream too ...

The spell takes effect and in we go to the dream ... oooooooh ... and it's starting to get red ... Matt: "And that's where we're gonna take a break!" GAH!!!!!

Nott the Brave: "He's MY boy. I protect HIM." Oh boy ... I'm SO PUMPED for the Mighty Nein animated series ...

And we're back ...

FCG and Laudna are ORBS. They're funky floating orbs. That's disturbingly cute ... and they can TALK. Kind of ...

Laura just got a red circle on her Smart watch. Travis: "Fuck off, Predathos!"

The lighting in the studio's gone all red! Yeah, here we go!

Marisha and Sam both doing wibbly-wobbly hand motions as they pretend to be wafty orbs is so cute ... XD

Perception checks at DISADVANTAGE ... ah ...

Ruidus looks like it's ACTUALLY an opening? That's not like ... foreboding at all ... oh shit, it IS ... yeah, that's about right ...

Imogen tries to communicate with her mother and Matt just makes her roll a D20 ... yeah, that can't be a good sign ...

Into the dust storm ... structures being built around a deep pit ... hmmm ... Imogen descends into it and it DRAWS HER IN ... another deeply worrying sign ...

This used to be a city but it's a ruinous mess ... and there's a massive tower ... with a BIG TELESCOPE device! Aaaaaaah!

IMOGEN'S MUM!!! She's there! She goes to her ...

"You shouldn't be here." Matt: "Make a Wisdom saving throw." SHIT!!!

Boom, Imogen and FCG are gone ... but Laudna's still there! So she's going to try to communicate with Imogen? Whoa ... how's this gonna work?

It's not, clearly ... and now she's stuck. Hmmm ...

Phew! She's back ... oof ... THAT could have been really bad ... and now Laudna's got a point of exhaustion despite the fact she slept? SERIOUSLY?!!!

Oh, but it's still the evening. That's not so bad, then ...

Oh, good point ... COULD Imogen hurt Ludinus or Otohan like this?

FCG: "I don't think you would ever want Chetney in your dreams."

GO TO SLEEP!!! Good ...

Morning comes ... and FCG us going to bake something in himself. Here we go ... biscuits! For breakfast! Lovely! :3

FCG gives everyone who eats them THREE TEMPORARY HIT POINTS?!!! That is AWESOME!!!

Chetney is NAKED. "This is the Fey Realm. I don't wanna offend the trees." Imogen: "With your wood?" Fearne: "Your MORNING wood?"

Laudna is IMPRESSED with Imogen's mum and her "big boss energy". XD

Yes. Hug the sunbear. You may never get to see him again.

Travis' painfully dated Internet yoof slang ... XD

Morri's morning greeting is as horrifying as I expected it to be ...

Wait ... is Morri giving them LOTHLORIEN STYLE STEALTH CLOAKS?!!!

So this is goodbye to Morri then ...

Left of the moon in the sky ... a gateway home ... hmmm ...

THE IRON TIDE?!!! Yeah, that's totally blood. I mean c'mon ...

So they ARE Fearne's parents. At least she has that.

Oh, here we go ... THE TRUTH. Is this gonna hurt as much as I think it will?

Oh shit ... so the Unseelie who tried to come for Fearne aren't the topiary people ... yeah ... so that's not QUITE so bad, I suppose.

It's interesting ... there's a kind of gentle sweetness to Morri sometimes, especially with Fearne. Even monsters can love, after all ...

Ah, the guidance for the return journey. Oh ... well that's just CHARMING ...

Sam: "Jizz?" Oh for the love of ...

Oh yes, one should ALWAYS be polite to creepy arse Fey things ...

So if things go horribly wrong they can ALL stay here with Fearne. And Chetney is once again DEEPLY creeped out again. As is Travis ...

And they're off, out into the wild once more.

Whoa ... two INSANELY great rolls ...

The boon biscuits are ... nice ... Imogen tastes too much ginger. There IS no ginger in the recipe. Okay ...

Creepy noises ... TINY VOICES?!!!

Oh shit WHAT THE FUCK?!!!

Oh, it's Doctor Nesbitt. Okay then ... freaky weird thing, totally ... but also kinda sweet, they seem like ... ah, so they're gonna help out. This should be interesting.

Mister's got a gun! Eek! Oh yeah, these two DO NOT like each other, clearly.

A doctor of conversation and companionship. Hmm ...

Oh yeah, Shithead.

Oh my gods I love Doctor Nesbitt so much. Matt is clearly having SO MUCH FUN with this character. XD

Fearne is clearly worried about Doctor Nesbitt's safety and so sends him away ... okay ... but at least he takes it in good spirits. It's for the best ...

The ground is HUNGRY. Ewwww ...

Aha ... Ruidus is on the rise ... and it's SMALLER? For real? Hmmmm ...

Pass Without A Trace? Or maybe not ... yeah, maybe save that.

Sam: "I know, it said 'come on the base'." Oh for the gods' sake, Sam!

Massive horses? What is this?

Time to hide! And FCG tanks his stealth ... fungus puffball pops on him and HE'S BURNED?!!! And now whatever's coming knows they're there?

HOLY SHIT!!! Matt Mercer are you KIDDING ME?!!! Are these seriously giant fucking centaurs?

Sam: "I'll Tongue myself." And now he can speak and understand Elven. In a really dirty way ...

AND now everybody's been rumbled. Hands up!

"Tie them all up." Uh-oh ...

Fuck ... yeah, they're totally soldiers of the Unseelie Court. This is NOT GOOD.

Laura, roll a D20 ... 14? Hmm ... oh shit, it just got do much worse.

FCG: "They're HORSES!!!" Everybody LOSES IT. XD

Oh, here we go ... time to rumble, then ...

Imogen: "Don't! Just ... DON'T!!!" Matt: "So for the next round, you want them to DON'T." XD

Well they are frozen now ... RUN!!! Yes, run. Good idea ...

Oh okay, so they're gonna fight. Well they do have a round to hit first, so ...

NICE MAP!!! With the big "poof plant" ... XD

And they're still debating if these guys are ACTUALLY Unseelie or not ...

Surrender or fight? C'mon guys, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

Travis: "Analysis Paralysis! Somebody do something!"

Okay, so we're rumbling! ROLL FOR INITIATIVE!!!

And Fearne has entangled two of them. So only one can actually MOVE on their next turn. NICE.

Bane!

FCG's Spiritual Weapon is ... a giant STIRRUP?!!! Sam Riegel, learn your horse livery! A giant SPUR!!! Better ...

Turmoil! Sweet! Chetney casts SHATTER?!!! Oooooh ... 21 point of Thunder damage! Nice!

Ashton fires up a Rage ... "Oh yeah, I'm a big ol' rainbow of Possibility!" Natural 20! Ouch ... oh yeah, Taliesin is gonna FUCK THIS POOR BASTARD UP!!! 24 bludgeoning damage, 12 Psychic damage and they're thrown FAR into thd undergrowth ... and that guy is UNCONSCIOUS!!! Beautiful ...

Dissonant Whispers ... and they BOTH roll Nat 1s! Holy fuck! The one that can move immediately BOOKS IT as far away as possible!

NOW it's time to roll initiative! Okay, NOW here we go!

Fire of Crimson Rite! Ouch! Chetney you EVIL MAN!!! I love it. 20 points of damage on the Psycho Tree!

Centaurs' turn! Eep! So one just runs away while the other, still restrained ... BREAKS FREE!!! HD books it too ... but both fire while they run!

Dreadful Misfortune? Ooooooh ... and OUCH!!!

Imogen is now SHOT with a massive longbow arrow in the hip! Fuck ...

Orym's Goading attack! And an Action Surge! Hooo ...

FCG spurs the shit outta the tree. "With the stirrup?" XD And Sacred Flame! This tree is getting FUCKED UP!!!

"That's a very CALM Reckless." Ashton gets the HDYWTDT on the tree. AND he smashes one of the remaining centaurs in the face, smashes his nose and KNOCKS HIM THE FUCK OUT!!!

Three way attack ... "Cross the streams!"

Oh boy, this is gonna HURT. And Ashley doesn't wanna kill this one anymore than Laura does ... oh boy ...

65 points of damage ... yeah, HOW DO YOU WANT TO DO THIS. Yeah, this poor bastard is a CORPSE.

Pee Wee's Big Adventure ... yeah, this last poor centaur just disintegrates in the distance from the waist up ...

Taliesin: "Wait, I've always wanted to know if centaurs have pockets." Oooh, loot!

Yup, these guys aren't Unseelie but they ARE bounty hunters. So not so bad.

Imogen is now PUKING UP WEIRD FOG for the next hour. Random magic side effects are so funny ... XD

Okay, out of the swamp, then ...

Matt: "And that's where we're gonna call it a night."

SIGN OFF THE NIGHT, Ashley! Okay, what ...

HOLY FUCK ... Ashley's mum made this FYCKING AWESOME model of Morri's house! Sweet!

[bloodyshadow1]

I think Laudna is going to keep her warlock levels, I think The Undead patron works best for her, thematically, how Marisha plays her, but she’s breaking with Delilah or trying to, so who knows what’s going to happen.  So for fun, purely hypothetically, I’m just going through some of the potential warlock patrons she could possibly trade Delilah for.

*Note I’m going in assuming that she’s not going to assume she’s not going to get to level 10 in Warlock because I doubt that she’s going to get to level 20 and she seems to be favoring sorcerer for now.

* also not talking about the spell lists because they can jumble things up, you can take certain spells in different ways. It makes a quick like lookyloo that I’m doing to complicated and long

The Fiend- Dark One’s blessing at level one to replace form of dread, harder to achieve, for less hitpoints and lacking all the useful abilities and rp rewards. Dark one’s own luck is good, but she could take the lucky feat and have a better version she could use more times or use silvery barbs.  Thematically, I can’t see Laudna engaging a deal with a devil/demon after just getting released from Delilah.

The Archfey- I think this one can fit with Laudna, being a bit off, being whimsical. for combat, both the level 1 and 6 abilities would work for her, making people frightened and teleporting away when taking damage is good for her and her style. The uses are limited though to once per short rest so there’s that. With Fearne being a creature of the feywild and Yu out there somewhere with an interest in Laudna it could be possible for her to get an archfey as her patron

The Celestial- The celestial is helpful as a subclass because it could turn Laudna into a backup healer, but she already can do something like that with Wither and Bloom.  It would be sweet rp, but I dont’ think she’ll ever be able to keep up with the damage needed to heal if she took this subclass because she’s multiclassing.  Radiant soul at level 6 would be good because any damage resistance is helpful, but most enemies in campaigns don’t use radient damage unless you’re running an evil campaign or fighting a lot of evil clerics and paladins.  Which might be a way the bells hells could go, but it’s situational compared to other types and if Laudna isn’t going to keep her pact with Delilah, I see less of that happening.

The Hexblade- The hexblade is overall just a good subclass in any situation, it lets you wear armor, hexblade’s curse buffs your eldritch blasts by a lot, lets you use your charisma modifier as your attack, if Laudna wanted to be a warrior it would be perfect.  I don’t think that’s what Laudna wants though, sure being able to wear armor is good regardless, but I don’t think she’s ever going to wade into battle with her sorcerer level hit dice.  Acursed specter is weird because it honestly doesn’t fit with the hexblade in my opinion, like it’s an odd ability out.  It would definetly fit Laudna as an undying warlock so I can’t say it wouldn’t fit her pre-resurrection, but depending on how she changes I’m not sure if taking another creature’s will and puppeting them around would appeal to her, though it could, she is still laudna and scary scary.

The Genie- Honestly one of my favorite warlock subclasses, the Genie’s bottle ability can be useful in picking up your allies who’ve fallen or need a lift for some reason they can’t move, it will protect them.(didn’t realize this the level 10 ability)  also for rp reasons, I would like Laudna to have a home that no one could ever take away from her. Also extra damage when she’s touch her bottle is always helpful, not a huge amount, but still once per turn any extra damage for mostly free is good. Elemental Gift is great, a damage resistance is great, and a spell caster who is a blaster, especially one with spell sniper like Laudna being able to fly is amazing in combat, especially since it isnt’ a concentration spell.  Plus with Laudna always wanting spiderclimb, it would be even better to always have the ability to fly for 10 minutes. Like with the archfey I think thematically it could suit her, with more modern depictions of genies and Djinn I think Laudna could have a good relationship with an imprisoned creature.  Personally I would like more djinn and genie type creatures, and if there’s a place to find them I think it would be in a Marquet campaign.  personally if Laudna were to change subclasses I hope it would be this one. 

The Undying- if delilah lingers and becomes the Bells hells big bad or an opponent they have to fight later on in an arc, Among the Dead would be very helpful.  It’s situational, they fought undead for the first time in the most recent episode (37) so if things tip that way they could fight more but who knows, it’s not great to make your character good at fighting one particular creature type.  Even if you do, Among the Dead only helps Laudna in basically a worse version of turn undead so it’s situational and would simply turn whatever was targeting her on her friends.  Defy death would be great for Laudna right now... because she’d still be alive, but once a battle reprieve is good for squishy character’s like Laudna, but she shouldn’t need it every battle so it’s an ace in the hole that hopefully she never uses which complicates things.  Thematically I could see it working, but it depends on how benevolent seeming the patron is.  Obviously it would be metagaming to say no to vecna, but Orym would know about Vox Machina’s adventures to tell her and Laudna had a creepy voice for 30 or so years, I think she would pass on the prospect. 

The Fathomless- 4 abilities by level 6 is great. I’m not sure on the tentacle summoning, it’s a decent attack that slows your opponent down, low damage but the crowd control and multiple uses, and maybe could be used as a wall to block someone from getting to her.  swim speed is situational along with breathing underwather.  Any damage resistence is good, cold is great to have because it’s a con save which most characters don’t have as their good save, including Laudna.  Guardian coil helps boost her tentacles and protect her friends which is helpful.  Thematically, I’m not sure how much it fits Laudna, and I’m not sure how much they’ll be dealing with the ocean in a Marquet campaign

The Great Old One- with the awakened mind ability, Laudna already has the message cantrip which does pretty much the same thing with longer range. The amount of creatures you can talk too/communicate with increases, but I don’t think it will be helpful in the long run except maybe to intimidate creatures. Entropic ward is useful, but Laudna’s squishy as hell, I don’t think disadvantage once a fight will be that useful when she already has silvery barbs, which does the same thing.  Thematically however, I think the great old one could be a great way for Laudna to progress.  She’s already kind of kooky in the Adam’s family sort of way, I could see her befriending an eldritch abominiation, or potentially ruidis.  I will say that while it would be cute for her to relate to imogen, I think taking this subclass would kind of make Laudna redundant and not as useful as what she already has so it wouldn’t be worth the trade

What do you think.  I know there are other patrons in unearthed arcana and cr specific patrons, but I dont’ have those available to me right now.  So what do you think, if Laudna had to change her subclass what do you think would fit her the best.