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I've got other plans at the moment, but I plan to do some research into the Ebony Kingdom at some point, so a video on it shall be done in the future!

The great thing about 20th edition is that it allows you to use rules from previous editions. That's why I recommended 20th edition over the others. So you can use 2e's WtO character sheets within all the rules of 20th's WtO and WoD. 20th also gives you more powers the other editions didn't have.

Thanks! And there is so much content in WoD20 that there have been numerous mistakes grimhat2 pointed out to me in regards to magical items in M20! So I'm not surprised there would be mechanics missing from C20, although perhaps the creators thought to simplify C20 to make it more approachable to a wider audience? Which is bizarre given how C20 is meant to be played after the other playbooks, so you'd think the players and storyteller would be used to jargon by then, wouldn't you?

Well do I have a surprise for you! Well, you'll have to wait for the surprise because I'm not covering the surprise until later, but it will be included in this series! The surprise is that yes, I will be covering the Dark Ages in a video.

The Black Furies' misandry is an intentional flaw. It is meant to act as a weakness that the Wyrm can exploit to counter their strengths. The Black Furies, in old lore at least, are tearing themselves apart due to their bigotry and self-hatred of feminine beauty. The tribe KNOWS it's a problem; the tribe KNOWS not all men are evil, but being an entirely female tribe is a core trait throughout the tribe's history. The tribe is more focused on their personal identity as women than as Garou, because that's the tribe's tradition. To change their ways when even their own Totem spirit is sexist against men is no easy task, but if they don't deal with this issue, it'll lead the whole tribe to fall to the Wyrm. But this grand flaw in the tribe isn't unique to the Black Furies; every tribe has some conflict like this that was meant for players to overcome in their Chronicles.

Really? Who?

@@Growls Dunno, but it wasn't White Wolf who made the decision, that's for sure.

Rudi's army. Possibly the cringiest concept that not even an edgy 12-year-old could come up with. The retconning of major lore, characters, and settings, which negates player agency and becomes utterly ridiculus when you read what was already pre-established. Like the full bodily return of Mithras, despite being diablarised and enjoying unlife as is; the sudden clearing out of vampires in London, the largest stronghold of vampires to ever exist; or the "family reunion," where all the bloodlines of Cappadocius were somehow able to broker peace with the Giovanni despite centuries of war. Oversimplification of rules that make no sense and contradict themselves. Such as the discipline Oblivion now being a combination of the disciplines Obtenebration and Necromancy from previous editions, despite never once being linked and doing neither well. An ocean of controversy involving misconduct of staff and writers. Both with regards to tying IRL tragadies to events in the book and disrespecting fans. The alienation of the original artists for their artwork over royalties. Poor book design and presentation. The Live Plays being cannon despite major lore contradictions and bafflingly bad storytelling. Potraying the Anarchs as simplistic, morally correct communists, despite them originally being a critique of how self-centred they were and how they were not very different from the Camarilla or Sabbat. The nerfing of Sabbat and Camarilla's influence over the world. Blatant misunderstanding of the difference between a clan and a sect; just look at "Clan" Hecata. The whitewashing and removal of the Asian vampires, the Kuei-jin, on the grounds of cultural appropriation. Despite reversing all cultural representation of Eastern ideas and literally bastardising it again with traditional Western vampires.

@@TheAcquisitioner I can dig most of that as valid critisisms, as long as the hatetred isn't just "It's Woke"

@@AliensForPredators The woke could be attributed to being the leading causes of what I listed above, as pretty much everything I've listed are symptoms, not causes.

It's a combination of me being very ill and a bad mic.

@@TheAcquisitioner oh! Sorry man, I hope you feel better soon 🤕

@@jharrington2112 I'm better. Those voice lines were done a while ago.

What was question 8 and how do you know what it was? EDIT nevermind i'm dumb and i don't know how to read

Never have I read a comment so good but never knew how much I needed it before. Thanks for enjoying the video!

I've already given my thoughts to most of your comment in the video itself, and my previous ones, but I do want to ask you one thing: What character tropes are being broken? Because all the characters, at least to me, fit stereotypical DND character tropes to a T. In fact, they may have even helped popularise them. Also, what does "Just do better" mean? That's the same energy as "good job" for a compliment. That's one of the worst feedbacks I've ever got lmao.

Yes. That's why I made these videos. Did you not watch it? I explained why I even made them at the end.

Umm, at the end end you seem to suggest how you could make the show better and some other shows that are more worth watching. You insinuate that they wasted their budget and that there is only occasionally good art in it. You seem to think that fans like you would make a better show with these characters. Yet despite all of this you have spent countless hours on a series of RUclips videos criticizing it and still you’ve gotten less views than a video of a funny goat licking it’s lips would get. If I’m wrong and you do love this show then I apologize but it certainly doesn’t seem that way and I think most people who are commenting would say the same. I was really stoked to see they had made a second season because that isn’t easy to get for this type of show, if you want more seasons then why not spread the positive aspects of it? Either way all good wish you well on your journey

It's not a DND campaign, it's a TV show. It's based off of a DND campaign. Have you not watched the behind the scenes?

Yes I can. History is one of the greatest references to use when writing or world building, especially for fantasy which uses a lot of historical bases, mainly the mediaeval setting, which Vox Machina uses. You very clearly weren't paying attention, because I stated in the video that Scanlan KNOWING what a beret is makes logical sense. That wasn't the problem. The problem was the beret's association with revolution, which considering the time period which the show is meant to based off of, and the social, cultural, and technological limitations that come with that, would mean the beret couldn't be seen as a revolutionary symbol. Yes, technology differs across the real world. But Tal'dorei is based on mediaeval Europe WITH MAGIC, which has a gunpowder equivalent already. Percy's gun is hundreds of years more advanced than the age it could be found in, and the show doesn’t even show that it uses magical gunpowder. The only part that’s magical is the barrel which glows with names but that’s it. Imagine giving a crossbow to a slinger, that's the equivalent. And remember what happened in the realm world when gunpowder started becoming that advanced? Warfare boomed, but also a new age began and guns were everywhere. Knights would literally go on horseback shooting pistols, it was awesome. But Percy seems to be the only person in the world who has a gun somehow, and it's hundreds of years too advanced. It should be a match based gun, not even flintlock yet.

​@@TheAcquisitioner "Yes I can. History is one of the greatest references to use when writing or world building, especially for fantasy which uses a lot of historical bases, mainly the mediaeval setting, which Vox Machina uses." No, you really can’t. Yes, using history as a reference, or guide, while designing your own fantasy world can help you create a world that feels real. However, that doesn’t mean that you have to follow it religiously. You are free to use, change, disregard as much of it as you want. "The problem was the beret's association with revolution, which considering the time period which the show is meant to based off of, and the social, cultural, and technological limitations that come with that, would mean the beret couldn't be seen as a revolutionary symbol." The ONLY thing that matters when it comes to the beret being a revolutionary symbol or not, is if it has ties to revolution in the Exandria setting. That’s it. It doesn’t matter if it was, or if it wasn’t a revolutionary symbol in our own history. "But Tal'dorei is based on mediaeval Europe" Tal’dorei is based on medieval Europe the same way most “based on a true story” movies are based on true stories, which is to say VERY loosely. You shouldn’t be surprised when A LOT of things doesn’t match up with reality, because they are not supposed to! It was never Matt’s intention to create a world which mirrors our own, so stop pretending like it has to. "in the world who has a gun somehow, and it's hundreds of years too advanced" His gun being advanced is true if you compare it to what was available in Europe during the 13th century, however, some of that can be explained by the time difference between the invention of gunpowder and it reaching Europe, which is about 300-400 years. If it had reached Europe earlier, we would have had more advanced firearms earlier. With that said, this whole discussion is irrelevant, since the only opinion that really matters on the subject of what exists in Exandria, and what doesn’t, is Matt Mercer’s, and he says Percy can have a gun.

I shouldn't have to read or consume accessory information to understand the narrative of a show that is meant to stand on its own two feet. I don't care about the history or how magic came to be in Tal'dorei. I want to know how the magic system works, or if there even is a magic system in the show. The show should be able to answer that easily, shows like Avatar: The Last AirBender did it in the first episode's intro. I have watched about 10 episodes of the first campaign, but it didn't really interest me. I didn't hate it, but it wasn't for me. This show is meant to be for people like me who may not have given the podcast it's just deserves. It shouldn't take that long to establish a coherent magic system. Playing the long game is fine too, I love the Wheel of Time series, which is 15 books long, and I've read them all. But even in the first book it explained how the magic works and what the limitations are for the system. As stated in the video, the Dungeons and Dragons magic system isn't that complex. It's wordy and a bit unintuitive at first, but this is a visual medium, showing us how the system works would actually be the easiest way to explain it, because like in the game itself, once you've used the spell slot system in game, it makes a lot of sense.

bro its literally a tv adaptation of a DnD campaign, yk a role-playing fantasy game? the thing where the whole point is that non of it is REAL and that it is kinda more for the fans of critical role and not really a broader audience. just because you don't like it doesn't mean that its a bad show, just means you're kind of an ass for making points when you don't bother to even try to get the context. how about you try compressing a 3-4 hour session of a campaign into >30 minute cartoon@@TheAcquisitioner

@TheAcquisitioner It's a fandom dude. It's based on all that other stuff you claim not having to be apart of. Maybe it's not for you and that's okay. But you just don't know what you are talking about here. It's not a stand alone thing. It's a universe created within the critical role brand. You're watching any marvel movie out of context You're gonna have some fucking questions. You are out of you depth and the video is a load of bullocks.

​@TheAcquisitioner yes you should, the world building is literally influenced by the overarching rules of dnd 5e. Certain liberties were also taken to adapt the campaign plot into a TV series. I feel like you really need to get a pdf of Matt Mercer's settings before coming out with this. The show was made because of Critical Role's huge audience.

If you believe that's true, then I'd welcome well constructed critiques. Just saying it's bad doesn't really help anyone, especially me.

but thats literally what you did for most of the video?? you basically said it was bad because it wasnt historically accurate... a fantasy show based on a fantasy game not being historically accurate isnt a critique its your ignorance/arrogance in video form@@TheAcquisitioner

​@TheAcquisitioner You ascribe too much importance to real world history in your analysis of a fictional setting. While history can be a source for how some things occur in a fictional setting, no fictional world is required to adhere to what you think is appropriate, *especially* in the context of a show that is highly comedic and includes a number of throwaway joke-lines. Also, comments like "why keyleth get drunk on first ale when druids irl used drugs" are pretty easily decontructed when we remember that, in a world that has actual magic in it, you'd not need to get drunk or high to commune with nature. In both D&D in general and in Taldorei as a setting, Druids using intoxication to speak with trees is about as common as Clerics using bread and wine to emulate eating the flesh and blood of their dead demigod (which is to say, less common in the fictional magic world than in our reality.) The main thing i found was that the video feels very... dishonest? Like, it felt like the most surface-level, Cinema Sins style "critique" of a fictional world. The trouble with this video is that it seems less like youre interested in interrogating any quality of this show or its merits, and more like you just wanted to get clicks and comments on a new channel by stating an unpopular opinion about a show with a big fanbase. Im not even really a big fan of the show, I just really dislike how you approached this discussion. Also, strangers on the internet do not owe you an explanation of why they think your take is bad.

Yeah, you're correct that a good number of these are most likely minor faults, however, a lot of minor faults had up, and these are not all nit-picks. These are world building problems that I've noticed, such as the complete lack of understanding of how a government's military or spy network would work (such as in Codex Alera by Jim Butcher). This is also the third video in this series, while the first isn't that good, the second also covers many more points about the characters specifically and their roles in the story. I can give you many examples across all media where the magic system, while magical, has rules and expectations that it keeps to all throughout. I even named some in this video: Dying Earth, Avatar: The Last AirBender, Codex Alera, Dungeons and Dragons. It's not that I want an explanation about all the magic at once, I want SOME explanation. I viewed this show as an outsider who has minimal knowledge of Critical Role, but a decent amount of knowledge of DnD. But imagine if I knew absolutely nothing about the system: I would not be able to understand why they can cast spells, because there is no rhyme or reason. I even state this in the videos, but mostly in the entire segment titled "The Magic" 34:54. To make matters worse, we now live in the age of the internet. RUclips alone has countless tutorials on how to make a magic system, they could have also done what I said in the video: use the DND system, or create their own system. They did neither in the show. I do use the occasional example of how to do what the show did, but better. But if I gave an example for every single problem, it would just become repetitive, and the video would then be bloated to an unreasonable extent. The lore of Tal'dorei isn't that deep. Matt Mercer just looked at Golarion and the Forgotten Realms and swiped everything from them. But even though I don't like the Forgotten Realms, and even Golarion is somewhat dubious, they each have their own merits and sometimes give interesting ideas and explanations as to why things are the way they are. Matt Mercer took out everything he thought was cool, but when adapting it to screen, forgot to give those things meanings and explanations. Remember: there is an airship in episode 1 and it is never seen or used again. Finally, the job of the writers is to deliver dialogue, ideas, and the story in a digestible way. They aren't forced into writing exposition dumps. The only reason they'd do that is if they were lazy. The way the writers wrote for season 1 leads to info dumps, but they never happen. Again, like I said in the video, this show is plagued with show don't tell, and it doesn't tell much. P.S. I was informed by a friend that the show is more like a highlights reel of the podcast, featuring the best moments scene by scene, instead of making a coherent narrative first. But since this isn't a thousand hour podcast, a lot of the meaning and build up is lost. That doesn't really mean much, since Matt Mercer came up with a lot of this on the fly. So this goes back to my problem of who is the target audience? Because the behind the scenes was contradictory. It said that they wanted to make a show that would appeal to people who couldn't watch the podcast, but would also be appealing to fans of the podcast. This is fine, but what they ended up doing was making a highlight reel instead of a show. It's like watching Rick and Morty except fantasy.

Seems like the "Hot thing" to do lately is criticize everything, be it video games, shows, comics, movies, or books. By either calling it racist, misogynistic, inaccurate, sexist, boring, unimaginative, basic, or some kind of phobic. You aren't the epitome of good taste. That's why I hate hipsters all they do is complain.

Never once did I ever call/parrot any talking point that was "this is racist", "this is misogynistic", and so on. The only one that I did was inaccurate. I don't believe I even called the show boring, because that's what I personally felt, but I wanted to keep those personal feelings out of the show. I did get tired of the show tripping over itself, which is why this video was so hard to make. This comment is disingenuous to what criticisms I gave in the video, and shows that you went into the video with a bias you wanted to confirm.

i think u forgot the "@" bud@@TheAcquisitioner

​​@@TheAcquisitionerK1ng never said you were saying the show was phobic or racist or anything, they just listed those as examples of things other people do. Reading comprehension is a needed skill if youre going to interact with RUclips comments.

@@Marcimartian69 So it's completely irrelevant to the video? Alright then.

Care to elaborate?

DnD? I'm not talking about DnD, I'm talking about Vox Machina.

Just because its based off of DnD, that doesn't give it an excuse to fail at basic world building, character development and storytelling.

@@TheAcquisitioner half your points get debunked if you know basic dnd mechanics and lore

@@ianmaluk1 but it's not based or inspired by dnd???? It is a literal retelling of a dnd story within a dnd world and with the use of accurate dnd mechanics

@@ianmaluk1 also about the world building and stuff, the episodes are pretty good at transforming 4 hours of content into 20 minute episodes, if you're still not satisfied then just listen to the podcast

As stated in the video, I've not watched the second season, but if you found it enjoyable then good on you. I probably won't.