Campaign synopsis: “Hero to many. Enemy to some. When Thjazi Fang is marked for execution, various figures from across his remarkable life unite to uncover the truth behind his grim fate. In a land still suffering from the fallout of dead gods and living in the shadow of a tumultuous rebellion, these disparate people will come together across the fractured world of Aramán and connect in ways they never imagined.
As hope and victory fade, a question hangs over Aramán. Without the Gods, what great deeds now fall to us? And who, or what, shall grab their crown from themselves?”
Episode synopsis: The Snipping of Shears – “With the true source of the Candescent Creed’s magic revealed and the search for Occtis pressing in from all sides, lines of trust must quickly be drawn amongst the allies…”
I love that we’ve jumped straight back into Wicander’s story. I was worried Brennan would start with something else and we’d lose the momentum of his big reveal. His character is shaping up to be very interesting.
Tyranny joking about making Wic’s bath so hot he’d cook and then his grandmother laughing saying ‘ah, boiled grandson’ made me laugh more than it should. The image of an old woman joking around with a demon is pretty funny to me.
Combat
We have the first combat of the campaign and it couldn’t have started out any funnier. Thank god Ashley saved the day with a natural 20. Let’s pretend she didn’t roll a two as her first combat roll. The first one’s just for practice, right?
I love how Brennan prompts the players to describe their attacks in detail. This is especially great for magic attacks. I don’t particularly care about melee attacks, unless the player makes it really fun e.g. Thimble going into a guy’s trousers and threatening to cut his balls off. Very funny, I wish it worked.
The pixie dust move from Thimble to cast fairy fire was great, it’s such a wonderful visual. The whole time I’ve been wondering how she would do in combat as she’s so small, but so far, it’s been interesting. Laura can really get creative with the combat for this character.
Characters
Vaelus is so cool. She jumped through a window, instantly killed a guy and then basically cursed another guy. We love a strong woman. Especially an ancient drow elf. I loved the whimsy and chaos of Fearne, but the darker vibes of Vaelus will show us a different side of Ashley’s roleplaying skills. Yasha was pretty broody but not a coldblooded killer like Vaelus. I can’t wait to see what happens with her.
I think Pin has to take the crown as the cutest familiar, sorry Sprinkle. He’s a fox with button eyes, there’s no competing with that. Patè will always be the funniest and honestly, I have no emotional ties to Frumpkin. He’s cute, though.
The duality of Brennan Lee Mulligan as a DM is wild. He will introduce a character with death throws but then when asking for an ability check will say ‘would you be so kind as to give me an insight check’. Polite, but only when he needs to be.
Tyranny and Murray flirting with Kattigan. I mean, who wouldn’t? I’m talking about both Robbie and his character. I have a feeling Marisha might be a bit of a chaos goblin in this campaign and I am here for it. I love that she stays in character the whole time.
Matt dragging Laura in for a hug by her hood after their characters had a negative interaction is the cutest thing.
The cooldown
I watched this episode across around five sittings so I forgot how absolutely crazy the story was until I got to the cooldown. The angel in the basement was the start of this episode?! So much happened in this episode, I’m loving the fast pace but I’m looking forward to it slowing down a little after the overture.
The way Brennan said “You nasty man” to Matt is definitely something I’m going to keep saying over and over again. He’s so good at creating memorable moments. My boyfriend and I quote the ‘Donald Trump in Lord of the Rings’ skit all the time.
Brennan admitting to trying to kill Murray in this episode is actually hilarious. I knew he was savage but I didn’t realise he’d be so forthright with his plans.
Can’t believe my five favourite characters/players won’t be in the next episode. Hopefully it doesn’t feel like that long stretch in campaign two that Laura and Travis weren’t in. Those episodes were kinda a drag. The story stuff was great, but when the players you love are missing it’s really noticeable.
Final thoughts
Overall, this was a really good episode. There were some really big reveals and good character development. I’m excited to see where we go next.
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Like this post? Why not read this one too: Critical Role Review: Campaign 4 Episode 2
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