#i will be watching search for grog and bob and dalen's closet next

[pocketgalaxies]

i finished the campaign.

[keyleth-clay]

Just for funsies, and because literally nobody asked me to, I present

KC’s Top 5 CR One-Shot Wishlist

(starting with my most wanted)

Number 1. A game using an older edition of DnD – especially if it’s, like, ADnD or 2nd edition. I was honestly hoping we’d get this with Calamity, especially considering that Matt had Halas (an archmage from the Calamity) know spells from 3rd edition that don’t exist in 5th edition. Brennan stating that Vespin was a Malconvoker just added fuel to this particular fire. I’ve never actually played DnD in my life, and everything I know about it comes from watching actual play series & reading up on info in between episodes, but even I know that there’s some crazy stuff in older editions, and since most of the cast have only played 5e, I think it would be super fun to see them see where this game came from. And, because the vast majority of actual play use 5e – which makes sense, as it’s the most recent edition of the game, and the edition that actively has new books coming out for it – it would be cool to see that just because these are older editions doesn’t mean that they can’t still be played and enjoyed.

That being said, this one would probably need to be a miniseries (Exandria Unlimited or otherwise), just to give them enough time and space to be able to experience the ins and outs of said older edition(s).

Number 2. Critical Role: The Next Generation. Okay listen.

Listen.

This is actually my absolute-number-1-most-wanted one-shot, but I knocked it down a spot because I know that it’s super unlikely to ever happen. I want a one-shot of Liam’s and Sam’s kids playing DnD – and I want Liam to DM it. He’s already DM’d for his kids, and I absolutely love his DMing style and I miss seeing him running a game. And between the handful of snippets that he’s given us of his daughter’s game with her friends, and the fact that Sam’s daughter came up with Nomen L. Frenno in The Nautilus Ark, we all know they’d come up with some incredible characters. AND if it’s set in Exandria? The cherry on top.

Also, DnD actual play series tend to be… not family-friendly, what with the swearing, alcohol, sexual references, blood & guts – none of which I have a problem with, btw, but I know that there are people who do, and I know that there are people who would love to introduce Critical Role or DnD to friends or family members, but can't because of said friends/family members' opinions of such things. I think it would be a great way to combat some of the stereotypes that certain folks have about DnD and TTRPGs in general, and also show that anybody can enjoy this game.

But, as I said, I know this is super unlikely. Sam and Liam have made it a point to not post photos or videos of their kids online (Sam has only recently started doing so) – which I completely understand and fully agree with – and they don’t even refer to them by their real names in videos – which, again, is the right decision. THAT BEING SAID, if this one-shot ever happened, I would ascend to a higher plane of existence from sheer joy.

Number 3. Adventures of the Darrington Brigade 2: Electric Boogaloo. Matt ended the one-shot with the blatant implication that these dumbasses would return at some point, and I love them so goddamn much. Where’s the AotDB sequel, Mercer?

Number 4. Literally any horror one-shot run by Taliesin. The Thursday By Night two-shot wasn’t exactly my cup of tea (I’m just not a big fan of VtM), but Shadow of the Crystal Palace was SO FUCKING GOOD. I’d love another CoC one-shot, especially because the cast has previously and would continue to go ham with the cosplay and the set design and the props, but any spooky/creepy/horrifying story with Taliesin in the GM’s seat would be amazing. Bonus point for being around Halloween.

Number 5. Obligatory M9 post-campaign epilogue one-shot. I mean, VM got their 3 epilogue one-shots (Search for Grog, Search for Bob, Dalen’s Closet) to tie up the remaining couple of loose ends from the campaign – we need The Mighty Nein, one year after C2 ended, all level 20, taking to the seas once more and taking down Uk’otoa (Uk’otoa) once and for all.

Honourable mentions go to an Exandria Unlimited series set in either Blightshore or the Shattered Teeth, but since we don’t know yet where Bell’s Hells journeys will take them (bc while M9 didn’t travel far from Wildemount, VM were quite the globe- and planetrotters), I decided to leave those off the wishlist.

[brightandshinynewstories]

Are you gonna liveblog the epilogue one-shots? Search for Grog, Search for Bob, and Dalen's Closet?

That's the plan for the next couple of weeks. I also have some other oneshots to watch as well, so I'm not quite through the backlog yet, but I'll get there.

[fiascodownunder]

Critter Asks: 7, 19, 21, 22, 30, 31, 40, and/or 50

7. Do you have any official CR merch?

YES!!!

- Vox Machina grey-green-blue tee with the logo written in their weapons

- The OG black dice set

- Taldorei and Wildemounte Campaign Guides

- (Also have an Unofficial Vex throwing money in the air tee)

19. Who’s your favorite CR cast member (Matt, Laura, etc.)?

I love them all so fken much for completely different reasons. I can’t pick this. But I can tell you what I love the most about them all.

Matt’s compassion, and bravery, and love and ability of storytellingMarisha’s acting chops, and sheer talent, and force of willLaura’s humour, and her general presence bringing magic into the studio.Travis’ softness, and unabashed love of the things he loves.Sam’s ability to leave you crying from laughter and from tears - you never know which.Liam’s penchant for drama, and his very Shakespearean vibes, his henleys, and his dad-ness.Taliesin’s flair for the drama and the goth, and the ability to make characters that are all just a little bit creepy, but you wouldn’t mind cuddling with either.And Ashley’s radiance - her humour, her heart.And how they are all so loving to each other and the community they’ve all built up.

21. Who’s your favorite CR1 PC?Percival Fredrickstien von Mussel Klowolski De Rolo IIIBut also Kiki

22. Who’s your favorite CR2 PC?Jester? Beau? Cad? Idk man. Different days different ones. Potentially Cad tho. I love his goth teddy vibes.

30. What’s your favorite CR romantic/sexual relationship?Percahlia!!!!!Beau and Jester and Beau and Yasha are almost up there too.

31. What’s your favorite CR platonic/friendly relationship?Pike and Grog 2 deth

40. What’s your favorite CR quote?“I have passed through fire”“And everyday that raven comes to visit.”

50. What CR backstory/arc/moment resonates with you the most?  Whitestone, and Percy’s entire arc, from gunsmith to clockmaker. I adored how it was all about overcoming the trauma and accepting the darkest parts of you, using them all as weapons to make sure the world is better in your wake. That you may not be able to erase your sins but you can atone for them.

Keyleth’s, for her journey of finding a leader within herself.

Vex’s, of overcoming your inner insecurities, and making your brother super uncomfortable.

And all of C1 E115, for being one of the best fucking endings I have ever seen. I haven’t yet watched the search for grog/bob/dalen’s closet, but I’ve heard they make it all even better. I can’t wait. Maybe in quarantine?Can you tell Vox Machina is one of my favourite stories ever? I love M9, but VM is up there next to ATLA, FMAB, and Ocean at the End of the Lane for me.

[watchingcr]

When are you thinking of watching the Vox Machina epilogue oneshots (The search for Grog, the search for Bob, and Dalen’s Closet reunion)?

I’m not sure, I want to watch them a lot but I do want to see other things before jumping to the next one, so probably one day I miss them a lot

[annakie]

I was traveling Thursday night until this afternoon, so I just finally finished the Dalen’s Closet Oneshot.

Want some thoughts?

Unfortunately, I was traveling for not-happy reasons (saying goodbye to a relative who is very ill) so CR wasn’t really in the forefront of my mind, and I also already had the plans to travel for a couple of weeks.  I was in the air when the oneshot started airing.  As soon as I landed I pulled up Twitch for a few minutes while waiting to deplane and walking through the airport.  I basically saw the minute or so before Scanlan sang the Boring Ballad of Derrig (which was kind of nice because I got a crash course in who Liam was playing) and then the entire Sylas reveal until he threw them off the cliff.  Then I walked out of the airport so I turned off Twitch.

I was staying with my parents in their big, nice RV but had bad internet on my phone, so even after they went to bed I didn’t spoil myself.  And then the next morning I was waiting for them to wake up I was scrolling through twitter, saw a bunch of mild spoilers and went “Fuck it” and read the CritRoleStats for the last half hour or so of the show.  And I cried.  At tweets.

Friday and Saturday I managed to watch up to the last hour in bits and pieces, when it was appropriate (before bed, waiting while said relative was sleeping, etc.)  I stopped myself when I could tell the battle was starting to get close to ending.

Got home this afternoon, and after eating and settling in I was ready for the end.  Went to bed and finished it on my laptop in the dark with a big pile of tissues next to me for the ugly sobbing I knew was coming. I was right.

So there were three acts to it, the pre-rehearsal dinner, the dinner and fight, and the wedding. I thought so much about everything was so great and perfect.  I LOVED seeing Tary again, I missed that asshole so much, and Sam did great falling right back into him (I mean we’ll probably get to see him very soon in the Darrington Brigade oneshot which will also be great, can’t wait for that) but I’m so glad he was so included in the wedding.  

My heart was full seeing Kima and Allura and Gilmore again, even though we didn’t get to spend much time with them.  And getting to check in with Kaylee, too!  I’m a little sad that apparently they forgot about her going back to school, but hey, hopefully she does well with Bitcoin. :)  Keyleth as the best-man-zilla was fantastic, and I’m so glad they found “jobs” for all of Vox Machina, so they were all a part of the party.  

Both Keyleth and Tary’s speeches were SO good.  I cheered a little at the Lionette wines namedrop, neat to see a just a teensy little TM9 in our VM oneshot (is Beau alive yet?  She’s older than 19, right?  I’m kind of wondering if that is foreshadowing or just a cute detail?)  

Everyone grilling Derrig about his “intentions” was great, I wish we had a bit more time with him.  Obviously Derrig isn’t an option here, but I do hope that SOMEDAY, maybe not yet, but someday, Keyleth moves on and finds love again.  She deserves love, if she wants it.  I love that he was a VM fanboy and knew about them and was a little dorky about it.

In the battle, once again we just saw the absolute might of Grog.  Staying fine during the wine, barely being bothered by being poisoned, tanking multiple high-level creatures and not dropping under 100hp.  Yeah he doesn’t have the magic others do, but he’s got the staying power and he’s amazing.  

I was 100% not surprised by the Sylas reveal, it felt very obvious to me that he’d be the one to fuck things up, but it was still awesome.  I felt so bad for Percy and Vex, Percy had nothing but bad choices and I think he did the best he could with almost no resources.  It sucks that Vex died *again* and on her wedding day but even he knew that Pike would be there for her and I think he thought she’d last longer than she did.

The rest of the fight was an unfortunate lesson in splitting the party for half of the players, but everything worked out OK, with Grog basically being the shining star.  It was nice of Matt to let Pike’s spiritual weapon bow work for Vex since that is definitely not Rules As Written, but yay for letting Rule of Cool win out, especially for the bride that you just killed after ruining her rehearsal dinner.  At least everyone got to do something cool.

OK and then the wedding.  The vows were beautiful, and I started crying pretty early on.  It’s gotta be a little weird telling your friend you love him and saying wedding vows when your husband is 4 feet from you but wow, both Vex and Percy’s vows were thoughtful and perfect.

Then of course Sam fucking Reigel comes in and just... destroys everyone emotionally.  Because that’s what he does, and it was perfect.  Like I can’t even... what... how... wow.  I would love to know if Sam talked it over with Matt and/or Liam ahead of time.  There was also a moment you can see Liam shift into Vax and it sent chills up my spine.  I loved that he played Vax just... more alien?  Less connected to reality?  It felt so true to the character.  And I felt like this was the closure that both Vex and Keyleth needed.  I love that Vex WANTED Keyleth to have that moment, as well.  It felt like both of them, and really all of them, could finally accept it and be at peace now.  Or hopefully can be, in Keyleth’s case.  (Also, Marisha’s outfit?  Amazing.  They all looked great but wow.)

Anyway, I went through like ten kleenex from ugly crying.  And I don’t know if they’re planning on any more VM oneshots (I know there’s the “VM vs TM9″ thing happening, whatever that is, but this could be the end of the actual story?)  I hope it’s not the end.  If it is, I can accept it (I mean, we do have the animated series coming up but that’s, you know, a prequel).  It feels wrapped up now.  But I do still hope just every once in awhile they get together and we get to see it.

I hope that Scanlan catching the bouquet at the end hints that we can eventually get the Pikelan wedding, though we don’t need two wedding oneshots in a row.  The ONLY thing really missing for me in this oneshot (there are a few smaller quibbles / “I WANT”s) like the one actual hole was... a serious lack of Pikelan, since that’s my main ship in this fandom.  I have some thoughts about their separate bedrooms I think are more deserving of their own post, but there was so little Pikelan in this oneshot that it was like a 9.5 instead of 10 for how much I loved it.  But hey, we know what WILL happen.  And they’re gnomes.  They got time to make it happen. And we did get a lot of Pikelan in the Search for Bob at least. 

Anyway, that’s enough rambling.  I just had to type out a lot of feelings about SOMETHING, and this was the best place for those feelings.  

Can’t WAIT for this week’s episode and seeing Palock!Fjord in action!