#exu calamity part 1

[sparring-spirals]

brennan, bringing an absolutely masterful, tense, cinematic, beginning rp-sequence to an end: -and you wake up.

travis, speaking for all of us, voice quivering: i think i'm in the wrong class-

#akshfjshdushs #'i thought this was freshman biology-' #critical role #cr spoilers #exandria unlimited #exu cast #exu calamity #exu calamity part 1 #travis willingham #brennan lee mulligan #i cant capture travis comedic delivery properly but it was GOOD #shitpost #cr liveblogging #WAIT I ACTUALLY DONT KNOW IF IT WAS LOU OR TRAVIS #I checked. its travis! #both very funny people though

[secretsalute]

Me watch Zerxus' dream and then flicking back to Imogen and going oh damn girl, you gotta move faster

#critical role #exu calamity part 1 #exu calamity #bells Hells #Imogen Temult

[what-about-2nd-breakfast]

A round eye with a slotted pupil? Could it possibly be…

Uko’toa

Uko’toa…

#I’m literally just spitballing here #but I haven’t forgotten that Sam said during the IG takeover #that his PC and Fjord have something in common #critical role #cr spoilers #exandria unlimited #exu spoilers #critical role spoilers #exu calamity part 1 #exu calamity

[nerdnonymous-plus-ttrpgs]

to everyone watching critical role rn:

im SO JEALOUS OF ALL OF YOU 😭😭😭

#gotta finish this fcking paper #AND THE FCKING APP #i hopped in for a lil bit tho and caught sam's intro #I HONESTLY DONT KNOW WHEN I'LL BE ABLE TO WATCH IT BUT WHATEVER #PLS SEND PRAYERS #critical role #exu calamity #exu calamity part 1

[imma-dragon53]

Someone want to catch me up on the episode so far? I was eating dinner

#critical role #exu #exu: calamity #exu calamity part 1 #cr exu calamity #exu calamity

[neosatsuma]

MAN that scene between Zerxus and Asmodeus. He sees a man vulnerable and dying and he has the power to help and so he will, unlike the city of Avalir when it came to his husband. The rage in his voice when he says he knows they could have done something -- while here he is, Doing Something, everything he can, for a betrayer god. He's the antithesis of the city's (perceived) inaction, and if that unyielding compassion is his undoing it'll be so good but it'll hurt so bad.

#i say 'perceived' bc I don't think it's clear currently if the city could have saved Evandrin #I had more thoughts but it's 1 AM but hhhh something something he doesn't 'believe' in gods so what's the alternative? #people and their power to do good #and like he KNOWS who this is. despite the sob story and the fact I personally think he's being played to some degree he doesn't like #leave his wits at the door #he reminds Asmodeus FIRMLY that the god USED mortals and honestly has like. a pretty stern speech there. #so it's not like he's fully suckered into amnesia by this poor little meow meow like he KNOWS #but he STILL chooses kindness and that implies to me that he's the sort of person who can't NOT #...oh I'm realizing part of why I like this character lmao blorbos is the SAME but anyway #idk where I'm going anymore . onward to Calamity #critical role #cr spoilers #exu calamity #exu spoilers #sats speaks #zerxus

[warlordfelwinter]

there's something about brennan's way with words and I think the energy of calamity that I am so often just staring at the screen like. completely rapt

#theres so much happening always #also when he jumpscared travis at the end of ep 1 i also got jumpscared #i cant start episode 2 tonight i got stuff to do and don't want to have to leave off at an exciting part #but very excited to pick it back up tomorrow #crit role #exu calamity #personal

[utilitycaster]

I've been seeing complaints that Spenser was 'trying too hard to kill the cast' this episode, which I have to say I wildly disagree with, but I will admit to be a little confused why the players sometimes took one or even two marks after rolling a six. Or I guess I'm not confused so much as I wonder if the mechanics for injury, success, failure, etc could be too vague atm? Candela doesn't really have anything like CR rating or DC which it doesn't NEED, but I guess could create some grey area?

Good question! Here's the secret: all TTRPGs I'd consider worth my time have a huge swathe of gray area, D&D very much included (indeed, I find a lot of the more baseless criticisms of D&D, especially from Game Based Heavily On D&D But Different fans (derogatory) to come from people mad at that gray area) and as long as the players and GM have agreed on it, it's fine. With that said I admit that paying attention to individual rolls is not what I am inclined, personally, to do, but if this is about Sean rolling a six and taking two body...that is because he was going to take four body off the bat and reduced it with a good roll that the GM permitted him. (It also might be about Marion taking in the rift, which was similarly stated beforehand to cost him a Bleed scar no matter what he rolled, the roll reflecting how successful he was.) Now, we can talk about the implications of taking four body seemingly out of nowhere, but do recall that is coming off an earlier 1 roll in his interaction with Duncan.

CR ratings generally are a poor understanding of difficulty, and the thing about DCs is you can set them arbitrarily high (or for that matter, secretly low). Like...to use D&D, you cannot make a persuasion check for someone who dislikes you to give you all their belongings and run away forever. The DM is going to set the persuasion check at 50 and it is going to be unreachable by any means. Even a nat 20 will give you a result of "they think you're joking and laugh it off instead of run after you with a sword." If you jump off a sufficiently high cliff in D&D and roll a nat 20 to land, you still might take enough damage to die during your three-point landing. And so on.

So: while we don't have all the rules of Candela Obscura, it is valid from my knowledge of the Forged in the Dark engine, which Illuminated Worlds was heavily influenced by, for Spenser to say "this action is unbelievably dangerous and there is no possible way you are escaping unscathed, and a full success means that you live to tell the tale with only a gunshot wound or bleed damage rather than outright death." That's the other thing: completely valid for the GM to come in planning to kill the players. That's the premise of EXU Calamity. I would assume the table discussed that this was going to be a much darker and more dangerous game than Chapter 1 and everyone shares those expectations, and is prepared to possibly lose these characters. Which is, frankly, another thing that comes up specifically in actual play: what the table knows and expects and is prepared to accept is often something much harsher than the audience is prepared to accept. I mentioned being irritated at the presumptive nature of a lot of safety tool discussion (and am feeling very validated by Spenser's tweet about how he handled the letters to Sean) but like...when the CR or D20 or Candela tables prepare for their games, they have talked about expectations of tone and whether the GM will be trying to gently usher new players to victory, flat out gunning for a potential TPK, or somewhere in between.

This was a long, pre-full dose of caffeine way to say that one of the biggest rules of GM-ing is that the GM sets the tone of which the danger and difficulty of the world is part, and also that, based on everything about how this chapter has been presented, if someone accuses Spenser of being very hard on the party my answer is "...yeah, no shit, did you fail to realize that from the tone and text of literally every trailer and interview?"

#answered #Anonymous #candela obscura #i don't necessarily think the people making this complaint are No Combat D&D People. but also. they give off that air. #that But TTRPGs Are Supposed To Be About How Cool My PC Is and it's like. you can do that at your table #some of us want to experience catharsis through fiction though hope this helps

[marcussour]

Me the other day: I probably won't be able to keep watching CR live, gonna switch to the VOD's from now on

Me last night: Well, we had an hour change and the episodes are starting an hour earlier, let's try and see if I can still do it...

AND BOY OH BOY AM I GRATEFUL I DID WATCH IT LIVE LAST NIGHT

It's been like 6-7 hours since it ended, and all I could think about was the episode, and that ending.

I've been watching CR since campaign 1, and I'm not exaggerating when I say that was one of the most stressful and brutal episodes of any campaign I've seen, I think I can only compare it to the most stressful parts of EXU: Calamity, and we even went there knowing it was gonna have a "bad" ending. I know we've been close enough to a TPK before, but I never felt that risk so tangible and real as in last night episode. I was legitimately angry at Matt some times, like, nah, he overdid it, he went to far, Otohan's far too OP. And, besides the luck of the rolls, both for and against, I kept thinking like, Otohan's not even using the backpack, imagine what could've happened and how much worse it might've been if Imogen hadn't remove that from the equation. Of course everyone there has their full support and confidence in Matt, and he has the years of experience of being an incredible DM, but that was so stressful.

And of course, there's the ending. SAM MOTHERFUCKIN' RIEGEL. I can't stress enough how many flashbacks I had of Vox Machina and Scanlan's most iconic decisions (both the one in A Bard's Lament and, of course, the clutch one in the final fight). He's just that good, as a player and a performer. Just, coming out of the left field with that choice, understanding perfectly the consequences of what he was doing, and like, the slow realization in everyone else faces as they came to their senses regarding what Sam was doing, the disbelief, the sadness, the anger. It was all too real and powerful. I was watching, 02:24 am here, just, sobbing in my couch watching everything unfold as FCG final sacrifice ended up saving the party and taking out one of their biggest threats. It was just, so poweful.

It was a moment and an episode we'll be talking about for years to come. And it's amazing to think that we'll be so focused on the fight and it's finale, that you might overlook what happened in the first half, especially the fact that Imogen, against all odds, apparently managed to turn Liliana away from Ludinus and the Ruby Vanguard, which is gonna be huge, because I, for one, was fully convinced that they weren't gonna be able to do that (thank the gods for that 31 that Laura rolled).

This episode was an all timer, can't wait to see how things are gonna unravel next week. If there's a way to bring back FCG without his core (and if they replace it or rebuild it, is it the same FCG?), how is everyone's reactions going to be when they have more time to process, what's gonna happen now with Liliana, how and when will they return to Exandria, and of course, in what way Sam's gonna surprise us with a new character (already having flashbacks from Taryon Darrington introduction)

#critical role #critical role spoilers

[rosemarydisaster]

That joke Brennan made about how "we all take turns causing the calamity" got me thinking how all of the characters make for a perfectly balanced view of the Age of Arcana Society. It makes perfect sense that Zerxus hatred of the Gods and the wizard bunch's hubris are causing doomsday. Because sure, they make extremely personal decisions, but those decisions only make sense in the Age of Arcanum.

Meta incoming, spoilers for episodes 1 and 2 of EXU: Calamity, the entirety of Campaign 2 And very minor spoilers of Campaign 1

Keyleth always doubted the Gods intentions in campaign one, but she was massively outnumbered by holy champions, paladins and clerics. Some characters debated her, but most thought that it was really dumb to question the Gods. Besides, her distrust extended to the betrayers and she would have most definitely doubted anything from Asmodeus mouth. She has knowledge of the betrayers that the people in Avalir has forgotten.

Essek is good example of a person in current time with Age of Arcanum mentality. He stole a part of God to do his funky little experiments with...and his hubris caused a huge fucking war. The fact that him and the Cerberus assembly were just a handful of wizards and not an entire civilization of them explains why it was only a normal war between to countries and not the apocalypse. But also, he sees redemption through a group that has two clerics and a paladin, helping them put to end a civilization of the Age of Arcanum. The fact that Essek completely redeems himself fighting the hive mind of a civilization that though itself above Gods it's quite poetic.

Even the fact that Fjord knew better than to try to pursue more power through Ukotoa indicates how everyone in modern day is pretty fucking aware of the "Stranger Betrayer danger". They know, even without being super educated in history, that there's stuff you shouldn't fuck with. You know who tried to ascend to Godhood (using a fucking city from the Age of Arcanum)? Fucking Lucien, and he dies! Why? Because our good guys and every ally they can call upon know that that is very bad.

This is the reason why the Calamity group works so well, because they truly represent the Age of Arcanum attitude. That is why they are causing the End of The World As They Know It. Not because they are Zerxus, Patia or Nydas specifically; but because they are Zerxus, Patia and Nydas from the Age of Arcanum.

They hate the Gods, they genuinely think they can be better, they are incapable of seeing their own faults and they are completely sure that they are the ones in control in every conversation.

Why does Zerxus trust the motherfucking Lord Of The Hells? Because he has a confirmation bias. He hates the Gods and Asmodeus pretty much tells him that he is right. Hell, Zerxus even prompts him! He is the one saying "the others mistreated you" (the others are bad, he meant). And Asmodeus is over there like "...yeah, sure, that works for me". It's not so much that he needs to lie, but that Zerxus wants to believe his own version so much that he ends up trusting the Master of Lies without even a fucking insight check. And he probably doesn't even worry about his friends because they've been trash talking the Gods the whole time. He also doesn't seem to need approval. He thinks he has the right to decide in the name of all Exandria because He Is Right. He may hate Avalir, but he is just as self important as the rest os them.

That's also very present in Laerryn's investigation. She just assumed it was the best thing ever, and when Loquacious asked why, she was shocked. She surrounded herself with people that saw things exactly as she did, creating an echo chamber. And when someone from outside that chamber disagreed, they all shut down the criticism. They think freedom and knowledge justify anything, and they immediately started working on how to shut down the Arboreal Cortex the second it interfered. They did not think for one second "oh, this must be important!", No. Laerryn went "I hate this thing I did not built and that I don't understand so I'm going to try to bypass it because it must not be that important". Once again, if it doesn't revolve around them, it must not be that critical.

Patia (I love her) is Mrs Nepotism I-am-better-than-all-of-you. She works hard, I'm sure, but she also expect things to be handed to her. She is owed greatness, so if she works hard she deserves to best the Gods themselves, don't you think? She is the most Cutthroat when it comes to Hubris while Nydas may disguise his under a childlike wonder for the unknown. But let's remember how he did not care at all about how dehumanizing it was for the Sphinx to be in the parade. He simply put on a charming face and convinced them of going on with the show. In fact, his first scene was a masterclass on how not to care about reality, only about maintaining an image. Selling The Dream.

Loquacious is just (from what we know) a shady vacuous man that enjoys being the center of attention. He reminds me of Effie Trinket and Caesar Flickerman, but with a hint of duplicity and hidden intentions. One can only guess what his secrets are, but I doubt that he is as innocent as he sells himself to be. But even so, he represents the vast majority of people. The one's that don't care enough about the Gods to truly hate them. The ones that give for granted the wealth and commodities this Age gives them

Cerrit is also there, congratulating his friend on her "we are basically Gods" machine, not seeing a problem with it (mind you, Loquacious saw no problem either. He just not that interested). He disdains the people that try to copy the Matron of Ravens, and he is an extremely capable detective machine at the service of Avalir. He's a cop, never trust a cop. They work for the system and (as I've been saying this whole post) the entire system, not only of Avalir but of the Age if Arcanum, is corrupt.

They will all take turns causing the Calamity because the Calamity is not just doomsday, it's the colapse of a civilization all by itself. Asmodeus and interplanar travel are just nukes, it's the people that push the button.

#critical role #spoilers critical role #spoilers exu calamity episode 2 #spoilers exu calamity #exu calamity #spoilers exandria unlimited #zerxus ilerez #laerryn coramar seelie #loquacious seelie #nydas okiro #patia por'co #cerrit agrupnin #brennan lee mulligan #Asmodeus exu #critcal role meta #cr #spoilers cr

[sparring-spirals]

the world is ending. your son is fine. your son is also not your son. hes not gonna be like that when you get back. your son is gone. something is wrong. you see your husband. your husband is dying. your husband has already been dead, for quite some time. you know what happens. you dont know whats happening. something is wrong. something is wrong.

#critical role #cr spoilers #exandria unlimited #exu spoilers #exu calamity #zerxus is really goin thru it huh #zerxus exu #exu calamity part 1 #brennan sir. this is terrifying. and incredible. the vibes are indescribable. #cr liveblogging

[ihaveatypeanditstrickstergods]

The Ravening War -> EXU Calamity Cast Parallels

Anjali -> Luis

New to most of the audience

Slams down into character big style

Character is on a tragic trajectory from minute 1

Aabria -> Aabria

Has guested on the show in the past as both player and DM

Same person

Playing a character with a lot of knowledge about a specific part of the world

Brennan -> Marisha

Close to the world's creator

Knows the most about the world

Playing a shifty-ass motherfucker who's clearly got some plans going on behind the scenes

Lou -> Sam (but also himself)

Regular cast member, has played in this world before (Sam parallel)

Big table presence, often one of the funniest people there

Gregarious character who's deceptively straightforward

Zac -> Travis

Regular cast member, has played in this world before

Generally plays very specific character types, delivers top-tier one-liners completely in character

Playing a character who is outside the rest of the party's intrigues

#dimension 20 ravening war #the ravening war #exu calamity #exandria unlimited calamity #critical role #dimension 20 #brennan lee mulligan #zac oyama #lou wilson #aabria iyengar #marisha ray #sam riegel #anjali bhimani #luis carazo

[what-about-2nd-breakfast]

Aww, all of these sweet relationships that all of the PCs and NPCs have…so excited to see one another after seven years…

It’s a shame they’ll all be dead soon 😈

#exandria unlimited #critical role #cr spoilers #exu spoilers #critical role spoilers #exu calamity part 1 #exu calamity

[captainofthetidesbreath]

New part of Exandria—for us, at least! We finally arrive in the Shattered Teeth, the remnants of Domunas. Very exciting stuff. It is, however, a bit of an unexciting and simple call list this week on account of I'm not sure what to expect (new areas are hard!) and my brain has been taken over by Candela Obscura: Chapter 2 (watch it, join me, you don't need to watch Chapter 1 first): 30 items this week, grab your own card here at BingoBaker.

"historical lore drop" is generally new lore relating to historical events or events that happened in the past.

"animal interaction", think like Orym chasing the almiraj or the Nein trying to shoo that monkey. It does not need to be a fantasy animal.

"strange plant" is similar to the animal point, but it does need to be a weird plant.

There is a chance I'll add a couple more items between when this is posted and the end of the ads. Please keep an eye on my blog and on the “#CritRole bingo” tag for any updates on that, if any. And, as always, if you have any other questions about what a square means or if a square happened, or if you get a bingo, feel free to send me an ask or to tag me in a post.

Chet d100 roll

d20 travel roll

historical lore drop

animal interaction

strange plant

FCG treats

Pate scouting

initiative

no initiative

dream or vision

long rest

ExU: Calamity reference

converse with Graz'tchar

confiscate Graz'tchar

Delilah appearance or mention

Jirana appearance

new named NPC

Commune

Detect Thoughts

Pass Without Trace

Scrying

Wild Shape

Charisma skill check

History check

Insight check (NPC)

Insight check (PC)

Investigation check

Nature check

Perception check

Survival check

#Critical Role #CritRole bingo

[sbrn10]

Weekend Thoughts

- SNSD is still the actual Love of My Life, a fact that I am reminded of every time I go see any of them. In other words, Sooyoung's fan meeting absolutely slapped, she is literally the funniest person in existence, and I love her, your honor🥰

- I remain angry that human bodies are poorly engineered and actually require, you know, exercise to function past your 30s. It's just so inconvenient :| However, I am about halfway through a 24 session "run for 30 minutes" program and the rpg gamer part of my lizard brain DOES enjoy numbers going up. I have worked my way up to being able to run four whole minutes at a time, which is wild since I started out struggling with 1:30. (yes yes I started out basically falling apart)

- Spending the rest of my Sunday lying in bed watching EXU: Calamity, which I had been avoiding because I am basically never in the mood for doomed narratives, but unfortunately I am fully caught up with CR3 now so ... bracing myself for irreparable damage to my psyche, check.

#musings

[squealing-santa]

Examples of Loose Prompts

One of the sweetest parts of Squealing Santa is curating your list of prompts for others to pick from in order to craft a gift for you! That being said, we ask that you keep your list loose and limited in order to not overwhelm your magic maker. Below is an example of loose prompts that cater to this year’s host: @hypahticklish!

If you would like to specify who the ‘lee is when completing your own, add an asterisk to that character’s name in the pairing.

Please list between 1-5 pairings for 1-5 fandoms that you would like to receive:

Supernatural - 

Meanstiel (Cas/Dean/Meg)

Charlie & Dean

Gabriel & basically anyone*

Our Flag Means Death - 

Blackbonnet (Ed*/Stede)

Leztealoranges (Archie/Jim/Olu)

Fang/Lucius/Pete

Steddiehands (Stede/Ed/Izzy)

Good Omens -

Ineffable Husbands (Aziraphale/Crowley)

SoHo Sweeties (Maggie/Nina)

Muriel* & Crowley

Baldur's Gate III

Karlac/Tav (Fem or NB)

Astarion/Tav* (Fem or NB)

Karlac/Tav*/Astarion (Fem or NB)

Karlac*/Wyll

Astarion*/Halsin

TTRPG Podcasts -

The Fix/Pasha (D20: Mentopolis)

Laerryn/Loquacious (EXU: Calamity)

Ame & Suvi & Eursalon (WBN: TWTWTWO)

Andhera/Binx (D20: ACoFaF)

Blupjeans (TAZ: Balance)

Have a scenario or two in mind? Please list no more than five:

Playful chasing/hunting leading to capture, manhandle, pinning, and tickled to absolute pieces

Sweet soft intimacy stumbles into blissful tickly worship 

Magic! Tickles! Do I mean to do the tickles, or enhance the tickles, or manipulate reality to allow for tickles? All fair game!

Ooohhh nnnoooo~ I’m alllllll tied up~ I hope no one takes advantage of that~

This or That Game - going between two spots and asking the lee which one tickles more/better until they’re a silly giddy mess

Note from Hypah: Please do not feel pressured to max out your fandoms/pairings/scenarios! I only did so out of tradition and to provide plenty examples. You are more than welcome to have a single fandom/pairing/scenario, though it may be a challenge to pair depending on how niche it is

#squealing santa #squealing santa 2k23 #ss2k23 #2k23 example prompts #2k23 bulletin board #Hypah: feels so weird posting a prompt list for myself publically but tradition ya know?? #Hypah: so what if I cheated by listing several fandoms under TTRPG you're not my dad