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 Houses of Royce and Divines are attacked by the focused might and undead horror of House Tachonis, while the secrets Bolaire has kept for years tumble into the light…”
This week’s post includes spoilers, which is something that I will be including going forward. I don’t imagine anyone will click on these if they are bothered by spoilers or if they haven’t watched the episode themselves yet. So that’s your official warning.
The cold open/ad read
Are you telling me we’ve missed the opportunity to see Travis, Robbie, Sam, Laura and Whitney dressed as goths (AKA Alex Ward)? I am GUTTED.
A Bolaire cold opening has me excited. I’m desperate to know more about them. They’re definitely the character we know the least about so far and they’re probably the one that intrigues me the most.
Can’t believe we got Bolaire face reveal in episode four. What we thinking, another Laudna situation? Is Bolaire undead and the rune in the mask is keeping him alive? Who knows? Not me, I’m nowhere near smart enough to guess correctly. I’m also writing this post as I watch the episode, so if there’s a reveal and I’m wrong (probably am) oops.
Everyone wearing a ridiculous outfit other than Sam is funnier than I want to give him credit for. It’s like I’m watching campaign two with a reversed table. Side note: Ashley looked very cute as a carton of milk.
Marisha’s “I know the heimlich but I don’t want to touch him because he’s always a little sticky” aimed at Sam was hilarious. I know it’s scripted but the fact that Sam wrote that about himself is what makes it so funny.
Combat
Straight into combat, hell yes. I’m so excited to watch Matt fight as a player character for the first time (I haven’t watched EXU yet). We already know he’s great at describing battle mechanics, so I’m looking forward to seeing what he does with his fighter/rogue multi class. I’ve never played either as I don’t find melee classes very interesting. More power to you if you love them though, I’m just a spell caster at heart.
Ok, I instantly take back my excitement for the combat. Ashley and Aabria holding each other as Occtis is attacked is exactly how I feel. I was literally leaning forward, mouth open in shock. It’s episode four Brennan, you can’t be doing this so soon!! Well, I feel like this is a canon event as the Nightsong stone played a part in Occtis’ death, but let’s see what happens. I’m writing this post as I watch the episode so I’m currently watching the aftermath.
The fact that the scene is so tense but the cast are still able to joke around between rounds is actually so lovely to see. I’d never expect them to get angry at Brennan, but I can imagine non televised games would get very heated.
Aabria throwing Brennan’s dice across the room after he rolled another natural 20 is a vibe and also made me actually laugh out loud. She didn’t think twice about doing it. No hesitation, just threw that dice across the room.
This combat has been the best part of the campaign so far. Everyone is so invested. The descriptions of actions have been great and the tension is palpable. This feels like Bells Hells fighting Otohan for the first time all over again. I think I’m still traumatised from that fight.
Just want to make it known that as Brennan is delivering the monologue to bring Occtis back, my dog decided that was the perfect time to start playing with a squeaky toy. Such a tense yet beautiful moment and all I can hear is horrific dog toy squeaks. Thanks Lando.
Characters
Murray/Marisha will be carrying the schemers table for me. As much as I’m interested in Bolaire, I can’t imagine this table being overly entertaining. I will be very happy to be proved wrong though. I really want Liam to be a chaos goblin. You’ve overplayed the broody, misunderstood male type Liam. We all know you’re a great actor, try something different.
People have said many times that Marisha is the weak link at the table roleplay-wise which I couldn’t disagree more. I actually think she’s one of the strongest. Her character for every campaign has been completely different and she’s shown a lot of range. Laudna is still my current favourite.
Bolaire MURDERED A GOD?! That’s seriously cool. I mean I kinda expected at least one of the characters to have involvement in the war so it makes sense it’s Bolaire. This type of background/story is exactly something I’d expect from Taliesin. Who else would think to be a sentient object that was created as a weapon to kill a god?
The Cooldown
I’m glad they addressed Occtis’ “death” in the cooldown. It was fairly obvious from how chill Alex was during his death that this was something that was supposed to happen. What a cool back story though. If you’ve been reading Young Creative Press for a while now, you will know just how much I love all things creepy and spooky, so Occtis’ story is right up my street. I’m loving the show, don’t tell nature of this campaign so far. This group has always been good at subtle hints of backstory from the very beginning. I’ll never be over the Nott/Veth reveal.
I’ve seen quite a few people say they think this campaign is boring so far and they’re really not enjoying it. I can see why they feel this way, but I’m personally enjoying it so far. We’re getting a lot of information thrown at us and it’s not Exandria, which I know is one of the biggest reasons why people are refusing to watch this campaign.
I’m really missing the ‘soldiers’ this episode but I’m excited they’re kicking off the non-overture episodes in a couple of weeks (next week when this is posted). I have a feeling they will be the most chaotic table and I’m so ready for it.
Check out Young Creative Press on all socials
You can also check out my StoryGraph here
Like this post? Why not read this one too: Critical Role Review: Campaign 4 Episode 3