Loved that moment, could see it in my mind, the greens of the trees, a soft smile on his lips. 'left' she whispers and in a flash of movement he grabs hold and his trajectory changes.
That look of horror on Matt's face during this and the previous episodes never seemed completely gone. It's almost like he's always expecting something awful from Sam but is never quite prepared fully for the depths of depravity in that man's mind.
“I would like to fist the wound” had me cackling, although in hindsight, I am slightly disappointed Sam didn’t opt to call it a gash..,. It would have been the perfect double entendre, although maybe a little too vulgar lol
Something I really respect about this session is that Chris P is sitting there quietly while they discuss rules. One of the architects of 5e, and he isn't answering rule questions or questioning if Matt got it right or doing the player classic "well actually, rules as written..." stuff. He's doing what a good player does, deferring to the DMs rulings and understanding that the fun and adventure matter more than any particular rules.
@@zacharygadzinski3147 dmpcs are a challenge to do right. It's one thing to be a sub for a PC out like matt does, or play a Npc who is tagging along, but actually making a full party member is a different animal. It's hard to ignore meta knowledge when you have all the meta knowledge. But if your character knows too much or is built knowing what's coming, you can become a Mary sue, and/or otherwise the main character in your own novel with some side characters that are your table. On the other end, you can be passive, but then you are just a long term NPC. Which is fine, but again, being a full PC and Dm is a tough thing to pull off.
Sam Riegel is a DM's dream of a player. He brings levity to the game during the moments of heavy drama, and always at the perfect moment when progression has stagnated . He knows the rules, and he is HONEST. Dispelled Stinking Cloud as a Concentration effect when he cast Bigby's and it would have been very easy for him to let Matt forget in the chaos of the moment.
@@Nebafyer_DandD na, he's a very honest player from the start of the series and on; this isnt at all the first time he's checked the rules and took a less favorable outcome, because the rules align in a particular way
Not to mention: he calls for ‘shhh’ to quiet when everyone is talking over something key, he hardly ever does any meta, if ever, all while bringing the levity and comedic timing ( not to mention excellent improv talents ) but never at inappropriate times. He knows when to ham it up, but also when to lean back and let others have their moment. Watch him when he’s not interacting, and notice he’s always checking the book, the rules, his character abilities, or engaged in some RP by taking part OR, adeptly biting his tongue to let his cast / party mates shine. Sam is truly a performer.
Yeah, I would love to have him at my table. I would love any of the VM team or people who act like them as players (well except the one who shall not be named and is no longer a member).
Early Mercer: I'm not here to kill your characters, I'm here to help you tell a story. Umbrassyl Mercer: I'm annoyed at you for trapping my dragon and I'm going to show you exactly *how* annoyed.
Matt: The eagles dissolve instantly. Laura: Maaaaatt! They didn’t even get to go! Matt: Let me remind you that you TIED DOWN MH DRAGON FOR TWO ROUNDS AND BEAT HIM LIKE A PIN CUSHION. Marisha: Yeah. That was awesome.
So annoyed he blatantly cheats because otherwise Umbrasyl would have died last episode lol... It should have died in fact, but hey gotta spin it out because its a big bad that was poorly utilised.
I love how charitable Chris was with his character creation. He didn't want to steal any of the regular players' glory. He set them up to feel perfectly fine if his character died. He left them with some awesome loot. Good guy Chris Perkins.
True, seemed to me the only reason he went there was to give them some awesome loot to help with the other dragons through the death of his character but since he didn't die he just gave some of it it to them xD
Is he really missing an arm? I doubt it. I did a quick Google search and at most he had an accident recently and his arm was in a sling under his t-shirt. Chris has dressed up for live games before though so it's possible he was just playing when he decided to hide his arm.
I didn't even notice his arm was not in his sleeve while watching the episode, but I went back and watched him walk in and you can see his arm tucked behind his back underneath his shirt. Very strange. o_o
Laura freaking out over her dice in the beginning would have been the PERFECT opportunity for Liam to chime in and go "You know, THAT doesn't happen with a nice dice box from Wyrm Wood Gaming!"
Vox Machina: All right, we've got Chris Perkins as a ringer to help us in our climactic battle with a black dragon! He's a D&D master, he knows all the ins and outs of the game and probably has some awesome super-powerful multiclass with minmaxed stats and strategically-chosen feats and spells to give him godlike powers. So Chris, what character did you make? Chris Perkins: I'm an old lady with a stick. VM: PERRRRKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNS!
What I find hilarious. Chris Perkins is right there. On Barbarian Crits you roll extra DICE. Which means on crit you DOUBLE ALL ATTACK DICE. Yet he says not a word.
Chris did a good job not backseat DMing, there were loads of messed up errors (Pike casting a 10 minute Prayer of Healing mid fight) that he just sat through.
You don't double brutal critical die for barbarian. When you crit with a barb, you just 'roll one of the weapon's damage dice one additional time'. Matt's doing it right!
Pike didn't *actually* end up casting it; she couldn't get enough people in range so she aborted that plan and cast Guiding Bolt. I was facepalming and waiting for Matt to notice the casting time, though. Ashley rarely seems to look at casting times to check for out-of-combat spells. I wondered if Chris was going to help the group keep track of advantage vs. disadvantage on things (like Grog's ability checks with 1 level of exhaustion after frenzied rage faded) or remembering to make concentration checks on spells, but yeah it's probably better to just let mistakes happen to avoid slowing down the game. It would probably help the players to have a physical spell-card stand where the put a card for the spell they're currently concentrating on. So Matt could see if they had a concentration spell up, and they'd have a visual reminder of their concentration slot.
Vax: “What’s up with the rocks?” Shale: “It’s old magic.” Vax: “... ok. Hey dirty bard, could you come up here please.” *Scanlan inspects the rocks* Vax: “What do you think is up with the rocks?” Scanlan: “Old magic.”
In that moment he realised every insult, every joke, every metaphor that was used to make fun of him *later Vax was found dead with a dead snake next to him some believe grog killed Vax with Simon but no one knows for sure*
@@alexv3357 well... because dimession door specifically says that if they try to land in a space occupied by another creature it fails and they take damage... never should have happened
@@benjaminsimoneau5648 It fails if the space is already occupied by an object or creature, meaning if something physical is already there to block the door's exit. They were small enough to fit into the unoccupied spaces inside the beast so it worked.
I get it, now- Shale wasn’t _ready_ to die, she was just _expecting_ to- as she had heard the tales of Vox Machina & how they like to treat old ladies!
A meteor crashing into the ground and a woman climbing out of the crater is some Stardust shit right there :D I loved Keyleth going "If I'm a plummeting Earth Elemental I might as well have fun doing it."
Sam: "I would like to...fist...the wound." Mercer looks on in horror and disgust, shaking his head as the rest of the group dissolves in laughter. Sam: "Just jam it and...find a finger...and kinda like uuuuuungh!" (Makes obscene finger movements, which are presumably mimicked by his Bigby's Fisting Hand) "How ya like that!" Matt: "Alright...OK...So..." Sam "This wound will never heal." Travis: "Nope." Matt (sounding a bit sick): "Wow... That's...I...I uh...Yeah..." Only 39 minutes into the episode and Sam has once again taken the MVP slot. Fucking Gnomish *ROCKSTAR.*
Well, that's how she got the one arm or the one eye, or at least, reduced to that level. Perhaps in her day, she was a more fierce and effective fighter. But now, old and reduced in limb and sight and mobility, all she has to brag about is helping to beat down a dragon and chasing it across a cave with her limp and trying to beat it to death with a stick, and still not dying in the process, and putting the darn thing reduced enough in HP for Grog to finish it with the necrotic damage. With her WALKING STICK. Her walking stick that she beat a dragon with and lived. It was glorious.
@@Marpaws No, 1/2 of his FULL HP was taken down (edit: assuming it wasn't homebrewed). Ancient Black Dragons have about 370 HP (Assuming Mat didn't homebrew anything), so 367 (max HP) minus 172 is 195, 195/367 is 53.13%. So he did 46.87% damage in a single round. And that was AFTER Grog did at least 70 points in a single round, AND Pike's 50 damage Guiding Bolt. They shredded this thing in 1-2 initiative lines. Of course, this is assuming he was at full hit points at the start of the battle, which no one can really know, no one but Mat of course.
It took me over 3 hours before I realized the base of Sam’s tankard had gone from a clusterfuck of stickers to a blank piece of paper with “Your Ad Here” 😂😂😂
My favorite thing was seeing Chris Perkins on the other side of the table as a player for once. Seeing him silently nod approval at Matt's decisions in combat every so often, sometimes visibly/silently weighing in on questions from other party members in his head, but never interrupting anything with his knowledge and ultimately respecting Matt's authority as a DM. Its a definite sign that he's not just one of the game designers but definitely a natural DM at heart no matter where you put him. Even still he really seemed to have fun at the player's table.
And it certainly says quite a lot how he didn't seem to rulemonger....or bring up rules at all. Really shows that the handbook and DM books are there as guiderails rather than solid rules for those who don't know how to balance and homebrew.
@@clayxros576 exactly. Thats why rulmongers in the comment sections of these videos annoy the ever living hell outta me. You can tell these people whining about the rules so damn hard are probably watching instead of playing cause they are so insufferable nobody wants to play with them.
Percy got sick and fucking tired of his guns breaking, so he decided to let off a little steam. It’s tough being a genius all the time, sometimes you just need to GO INTO A RAGE!
All these years later & I still loved that Chris Perkins, said it 1/2 in-character & 1/2 in jest, that it was Grog's destiny to slay the dragon. Turns out, it *was* Grog's destiny that he would be the one that slays the dragon.
Keyleth - (deadpan) "I heard lots of heavy breathing" Sam and Taliesin thinking what we're all thinking. Keyleth - Not impassioned breathing, Scanlan. Sam (as Scanlan) - Okay, so we goin' in the big hole or the small hole? Travis - {turning red, struggling to breathe] Tiny Vax: I'm gonna check out that hole. Me: It's comforting to know some things don't change.
Five years after the fact. Watching it on a tiny arse phone. Half a world way. But I couldn't help but shout in glee when Mercer said those magical words, "How do you want to do this?"
Super late but a 17-3 rogue assassin paladin with suprise attack has the highest single attack that I can personally think of in the whole game, with 13 d6, 2d8, insta crit double, not including any element, weapon damage or finesse modifier because those are variables that we wouldn't know for sure in any situation. It's super interesting
@@bignjolly9542 I never considered this option before. I have a rogue who is a worshiper/acolyte of Shar, and I was planning to multi-class with fighter, but a rogue-paladin would be very fitting Is there a specific oath they would take?
Umbrasyl was the dragon that we know the least about. It's such a shame because he must have done something incredible to gain the title of The Hope Devourer.
Its been said that he is the cruelest of the lot and loved to torture and kill slowly. So maybe its just because he tortures someone, then leaves them believing they can escape. Show them a shred of hope just to end it right there, just to see their hope turn into despair
Liam: "is the Dragon sword plus anything...?" Me: Liam we just went over this an hour ago Taliesin: "yeah its, uh, +1?" Me: ah yeah this was 2 weeks later for them...
I now have this mental image of Grog dragging Pike around like an excited little kid at an amusement park with their big sister. “OOO LOOKIT DA SIZE UV THAT ONE, PIKE! CAN WE RIDE IT? CAN WE? PLLLLEEEEEAAAAAASSSSSEEEE???” “Welllllllll...okay, alright.” “YEEEEAAAAHHH!!!”
To add to the Chris Perkins complements: he never overshadowed the team. He played a very simplistic character and did not take away from the main group's victory. Great humility.
By the way, I love how Taliesin still calls his individual attacks "shots" even when doing melee strikes. He does the same thing in Campaign 2 for a little while as well despite being an only melee character then. xD
Part of me felt like the moment Shale said "They are truly great." about Vox Machina, it was something of a blessing from Chris himself to VM and Matt. Hope to see more of him in more RP centered episodes.
that moment when your group realizes that as a fighter, when you action surge you dont just get one extra attack, you get a whole extra action which means you get double the attacks. that plus when all your attacks are at advantage, the chances of criting at least once go WAY up, and when you crit, you crit HARD
@@vegaspony you know Snitch dice has been used by Matt and Marisha and they did not have the same good rolls, right? Pretty weird assumption you got there
@@Smilehp7 i really meant it more jokingly than it probably comes across. That said, he does account for about 20% of the nat 20s rolled by the group. Liam accounts for about another 20% but that, at least in part, can be attributed to a higher volume of rolls than Taliesin due to all the stealth and perception checks etc.. I can't be bothered to sort the spreadsheet to figure out exactly how far above the expected Taliesin rolls nat 20s but he's a statistical anomaly for sure.
@@vegaspony There are a lot of things happening with Percy. First, he's a ranged fighter, so he gets to roll dice a LOT. Second, he gets so excited about his nat 20s compared to how disappointed he is about nat 1s that I think there's a bit of confirmation bias happening, since they tend to stick in the audiences mind a bit more. It's the opposite with Vex. She makes such a stink about nat 1s that it seems like they happen to her more often. If you want to get a proper scientific idea of actual probabilities and be able to determine if there is actually some super natural thing or just a weighted dice going on, go to crit role stats, compile all of their rolls, do some math.
@@josephdouglas5242 I already admitted I'm too lazy to sort the spreadsheet. By the by, vex has the most Nat 1s of the group and Percy has more than twice as many Nat 20s as Nat 1s.
Man, it is amazing how good Matt is at taking a player's desired killing blow and instantly turns it into a much more vivid and epic description of the enemy's death. xD
Percy: "What? What do you mean he's trying to cut through it from the inside? The hide is the same thickness from the outside as the inside?!" Vex: "I REALISE THAT!" Come on, you can't tell me you don't see the parallels. Even if Rocket would fit better.
For reference, it takes a spot check of 40 to see an invisible creature. Vax got 45 on his stealth roll, so he's functionally more difficult to find than an invisible creature. :)
I love how at 2:22:50 little Vax runs back to Vex, tugs at her sleeve, and whispers "Jenga" before heading into the cave for the dragon. Such a bittersweet callback.
Everything that happens in the beginning with Vax, Scanlan, and Grog trying to fight the dragon while in or on it is perfect evidence for why this NEEDS to be an animated series
@@webhead4414 she probably coulda defied gravity that time but rather than turn into a flying creature or a tank creature she panic took a low hp creature so to much bleed over. Really unfortunate really but i think it was better that way
God, with all the times they've fallen off an eagle/dragon/flying carpet and gone plunging to their imminent deaths, how have they not invested in Feather Fall magic yet?
Unknown Unaware They did it for a good reason. Orion was on the verge of ruining the entire series near the end, on top of his behavior towards the table. I would hardly call that a good investment even if Tiberius was dedicated to flight.
@@ThisIsntARUclipsr yup.. if only u had ever seen the 1 man 1 hour shopping episode.. no shit that was the last straw that broke the camel's back. travis never looked as frustrated, i think it was 24 or 25, after which they parted ways. In all honesty, I think marisha occassionally plays like that.. orion is probably marisha's indecisiveness + liam's "always clarifying rules/ unsure of rules due to change from PF to 5e" rolled in 1. the biggest thing was he always blew all his spells in the 1st encounter of the day, then kinda afk or kept trying to ask for a long rest.
I'm thinking back and you would be hard pressed to say that about any guest character I've seen on CR. Most of the time they're a little extra fire power and a help to VMs goals at the time. Garthok was a contact that could've brought them allies in a more political and economic vein but they turned the Clasp down. Zahra brought them extra loot on her second interaction but there was no quest needed. I'm not even sure whether she was a convenient vehicle for Matt to slip them some magical items or Mary Elizabeth McGlynn was just using her characters abilities to render more aid. As for Gern well Vex'Ahlia stole his broom so I don't think Matt even expected that to come in to their hands.
@@sergiu-adrianmarginean7985 By back I do mean back as I have seen nothing from the 2nd Campaign. I know many other late joiners have seen Campaign 2 first but discussion here of those things are nearly as bad as rewatchers who aren't mindful of where the campaign is under it's own timeline. I'm already aware of Twiggy but those items are certainly spoilers. As for the carpet well that is hardly relevant since they "borrowed" that from Allura and she is most certainly not a guest character.
@@MorinehtarTheBlue Sorry for the spoilers. I deleted my comment to not spoil it for others. For some reason I thought you referred to the second campaign. Hopefully you will forget about it until you reach that moment in the 2nd campaign.
@@MorinehtarTheBlue for the Gern broom thing, Matt mentions in the previous QnA (the before this episode, battle Royale take 2) that he gave the guests staring gp and allowed them to pick a selection of weapons. He selected the broom of flying and matt is quoted as his instant reaction being "i know exactly who will want that and it is only a matter of time"
I love Matt’s smugness this episode, it’s the perfect GM attitude. He’s not smug because he’s thwarting the heroes’ every move but because he knows how close they are to winning, so when they fail on a turn or Umbrasyl succeeds he knows it’ll be all the more gratifying and earned when they do win.
I love Laura and how she's so compassionate about the NPC animals (including the giant eagles), but that locket is the only thing that's made Trinket BEARable. lol That and Matt's Trinket acting. ;)
@@grondhero so glad he gave them that crystal even if that's not what he initially meant it to do. Didn't ever really dislike Laura but i like vex even more now that she's self sufficient with her bear.
I'm sad that animals suck so much compared to PCs, I want to see them more. Trinket almost always stay out of the combat, sneaky times, and conversations.
- As a 14th level berserker, I think you know what that means... - I don't know what that means - You'll have to find out! *Fetches players handbook... OHH that's nice!
@@DredgenStorm Even funnier thinking back because you know matt knows chris is in the back watching as he says to himself "This is why we can't have company over" like a parent with unruly kids LOL
Sam is such a great player. He is always making sure to play straight, even when the DM doesn't catch something, and he is constantly supporting his other teammates.
Vax tells Shale “Stick close to Grog “ Everyone laughs Vax finish his sentence “ Grandma “ Chris Perkins aka Shale looks up and tells Matt “ I whack him” Oh so funny
I know we all watched this but allow me to explain Vox Machina's fight against Umbrasyl: They have a very elaborate and actually plausible tactic for engaging him. They spring the trap and effectively start pummeling the shit out of him. Scanlan takes Vax and teleports inside his stomache while the dragon is still grounded.... The dragon takes off with two members inside him... Scanlan activates an immovable rod inside the belly of the ancient dragon... Grog attaches himself in an enlarged state to the dragon via wrist-wrapped chain... The dragon runs off with three members attached to it.. Vax reverse c-sections himself out... Scanlan fingers himself out of the stomache of the dragon... Grog gets flung off.. Scanlan actually catches Grog with Bigby.. He drops Bigby and turns Grog into a fucking eagle, gaining intelligence somehow in the process... They snag Vax out of the air in the most disorganized dive and catch ever! I love this fucking show and I love these guys.
@@johnblack7294 In the last episode towards the end, Umbrasyl purposely dove from his hovering height where they had activated it, and let the rod rip its way out of him, for 30-something piercing damage. That was when Grog threw the chained bloodaxe into him and got hoisted.
@- Ghost - Is what it is According to the spell.... "If you would arrive in a place already occupied by an object or a creature, you and any creature traveling with you each take 4d6 force damage, and the spell fails to teleport you."
@@MrGreensweightHist The spell also states, "It can be a place you can see, one you can visualize, or one you can describe by stating distance and direction." Both Scanlan and mini-Vax were small enough to appear in an unoccupied space within the creature. Prior to the encounter, Vex had provided enough information on dragon anatomy for Scanlan to visualize the location. Matt requested an Intelligence check from Sam, which Sam (mostly) succeeded with. This comes down to a matter of ruleset interpretation, and I believe Matt's ruling holds up to the rules stated in the book.
Shale hitting Umbrasyl with her stick reminds me of Yoda hitting R2-D2 with his walking stick in Empire Strikes Back. It is like this comical swinging motion that really does not do anything.
Then you realize the person playing is the Creative Director of 5e at Wizards of the Coast, and he was going for a character that was based on a very similar idea. He could have built a war machine, but opted for a ridiculous side character with a flair that drew from a couple Jim Henson characters like Aughra and Yoda.
Chris Perkins as Shale was an amazing addition to the cast for this episode. I'm going to be completely hones that I never heard of him before but his role playing from beginning to end was fantastic, especially the ending.
When I finished watching this and went to campaign 2, I was really sad watching the first episode and didn’t know why. Then I realised it was because we weren’t going to get the reactions from them sitting together
i love how mercer is firm with his players when necessary but allows some freedoms & will openly admit if he has made a mistake with seemingly no insecurity. he seems to balance it well.
I know I'm late, but also with her obsession with being able to fly, my new headcanon is that she is actually a dragon cursed to be a humanoid and she's secretly trying to return to her former scaly glory.
Percy "I have 13 hp..." Scanlan "oh I thought that said 93..." Percy "yeah I count up" Scanlan "you count up? what kind of idiot counts up?!?!?!?!" had me dying
I loved the moment when Matt looks to Chris when trying to remember if they’re stalactites or mites, because he knew Chris would know. Bit of a “meeting of the minds” between DMs haha.
its become a running joke that they roll so low when they can't just pick the lock of a door. namely, the first instance of notoriety took them 3 spells, and scanlan took damage... from an inanimate object.
The logic I assume Mr. Robbins is following is that due to the fact that Grog just barely managed to kill it, all previous damage done was important in his victory. This includes the four damage done via snakebite.
Also that Grog barely killed Umbrasyl. It took the extra four necrotic damage to bring it to a kill. So it might not be guaranteed that the snakebite was necessary for the kill (if it had 1 or two hitpoints left the snakebite wouldn't matter). So scanlan's damage might have matter. His stinking cloud, Immovable Rod, and fist damage were much bigger contributors.
Everyone shot down keyleths idea of using wind walk, but it was the fastest option. 1 minute casting time, 600 ft flying per 6 seconds (dashing) going ~1 mile = ~53 seconds, 1 minute to revert. That's 3 minutes rounding up to the nearest minute. Even if it was two miles, it's still under 4 minutes.
I know I'm really really late, but according to Matt, in those 2 hours of rest and travel, Umbrasyl healed 574 hp and he took 759 damage so he didn't have much to go on. He also set the old magic trap while healing. Vox Machina could have taken him.
“Cursed Lizard! We’re going to give all your gold to the poor!” Is probably the best threat I’ve ever heard told to a dragon.
"Oh shut it you flying suitcase!"
at that exact moment, vex's face !! such a mood
@@pickledcass she's thinking am I going to have to kill shale?
I noticed Laura cringe at the gold part.
@@andersasblom6452 shes a dragon too
"Intestines are my favorite terrain" is a hardcore underrated comment that still makes me giggle every time.
He likes getting up in them guts
He is known for rearranging insides. (Probly not for the best tho. I can't imagine a cube would feel that good)
Scanlan saying this killed me 😂😂😂💀
Scanlan is the king of comedic timing
several years late on this, but can I just say that Vax asking the Raven Queen for wings and then Grog the Eagle saving him was just **chef's kiss**
God, for REAL xD
Loved that moment, could see it in my mind, the greens of the trees, a soft smile on his lips. 'left' she whispers and in a flash of movement he grabs hold and his trajectory changes.
I’m a year later than you, but it was BEAUTIFUL.
I'm on my rewatch... Can't wait to see it again.
I'm after you and guess what. It's still a chef's kiss moment to this very day.
That look of horror on Matt's face during this and the previous episodes never seemed completely gone. It's almost like he's always expecting something awful from Sam but is never quite prepared fully for the depths of depravity in that man's mind.
“I would like to fist the wound” had me cackling, although in hindsight, I am slightly disappointed Sam didn’t opt to call it a gash..,. It would have been the perfect double entendre, although maybe a little too vulgar lol
I was walking in a store and laughed (cackled) out loud..got some odd looks 😂@@kage013
This is perhaps the first encounter Vox Machina has had with old ladies that ended well.
Nice
or bad. this old lady actually wanted to die to the dragon
Not exactly a good idea to kill the old lady played by one of Wizards of the Coast's game designers LOL.. even Grog isn't that dumb!
Just cuz there was the dragon to fight. They sure were implying killing Shale to loot her.
Well, this one was ready to die, so they had to ruin that for her.
Something I really respect about this session is that Chris P is sitting there quietly while they discuss rules. One of the architects of 5e, and he isn't answering rule questions or questioning if Matt got it right or doing the player classic "well actually, rules as written..." stuff. He's doing what a good player does, deferring to the DMs rulings and understanding that the fun and adventure matter more than any particular rules.
Well if you watched DCA you would have seen he is way more of a story teller than a rules lawyer :D
Why would he do that, when he can just sit back and enjoy the chaos. DMs usually don’t get to play as pc as much as they’d like.
@@Thankfuldead Unless they're a DMPC. Yet DMs can also play if another person DMs.
Zachary Gadzinski I mean, yeah obviously...
@@zacharygadzinski3147 dmpcs are a challenge to do right. It's one thing to be a sub for a PC out like matt does, or play a Npc who is tagging along, but actually making a full party member is a different animal. It's hard to ignore meta knowledge when you have all the meta knowledge. But if your character knows too much or is built knowing what's coming, you can become a Mary sue, and/or otherwise the main character in your own novel with some side characters that are your table. On the other end, you can be passive, but then you are just a long term NPC. Which is fine, but again, being a full PC and Dm is a tough thing to pull off.
Sam Riegel is a DM's dream of a player. He brings levity to the game during the moments of heavy drama, and always at the perfect moment when progression has stagnated . He knows the rules, and he is HONEST. Dispelled Stinking Cloud as a Concentration effect when he cast Bigby's and it would have been very easy for him to let Matt forget in the chaos of the moment.
To be honest, he was probably hoping to lose stinking cloud, as it would have been a henderence to the party.
@@Nebafyer_DandD na, he's a very honest player from the start of the series and on; this isnt at all the first time he's checked the rules and took a less favorable outcome, because the rules align in a particular way
Not to mention: he calls for ‘shhh’ to quiet when everyone is talking over something key, he hardly ever does any meta, if ever, all while bringing the levity and comedic timing ( not to mention excellent improv talents ) but never at inappropriate times. He knows when to ham it up, but also when to lean back and let others have their moment.
Watch him when he’s not interacting, and notice he’s always checking the book, the rules, his character abilities, or engaged in some RP by taking part OR, adeptly biting his tongue to let his cast / party mates shine. Sam is truly a performer.
Yeah, I would love to have him at my table. I would love any of the VM team or people who act like them as players (well except the one who shall not be named and is no longer a member).
I love the entire cast. It’s very difficult to chose a favorite
Early Mercer: I'm not here to kill your characters, I'm here to help you tell a story.
Umbrassyl Mercer: I'm annoyed at you for trapping my dragon and I'm going to show you exactly *how* annoyed.
Matt: The eagles dissolve instantly.
Laura: Maaaaatt! They didn’t even get to go!
Matt: Let me remind you that you TIED DOWN MH DRAGON FOR TWO ROUNDS AND BEAT HIM LIKE A PIN CUSHION.
Marisha: Yeah. That was awesome.
To be fair....he did just get a bunch of dragons for critmas and was excited to use em
Makes me think of Vecna Mercer… “AT LEAST LET ME GET THAT FUCKING GNOOOOOME”
So annoyed he blatantly cheats because otherwise Umbrasyl would have died last episode lol... It should have died in fact, but hey gotta spin it out because its a big bad that was poorly utilised.
@@JohnSmith-rr3jt:|
I love how charitable Chris was with his character creation.
He didn't want to steal any of the regular players' glory.
He set them up to feel perfectly fine if his character died.
He left them with some awesome loot.
Good guy Chris Perkins.
True, seemed to me the only reason he went there was to give them some awesome loot to help with the other dragons through the death of his character but since he didn't die he just gave some of it it to them xD
Stupid question, but does he realy missing one arm?
Is he really missing an arm? I doubt it. I did a quick Google search and at most he had an accident recently and his arm was in a sling under his t-shirt.
Chris has dressed up for live games before though so it's possible he was just playing when he decided to hide his arm.
I didn't even notice his arm was not in his sleeve while watching the episode, but I went back and watched him walk in and you can see his arm tucked behind his back underneath his shirt. Very strange. o_o
***** ....He makes his intro with his arm tucked away. You can see him use both of those arms later on anyway.
Laura freaking out over her dice in the beginning would have been the PERFECT opportunity for Liam to chime in and go "You know, THAT doesn't happen with a nice dice box from Wyrm Wood Gaming!"
+Synth Ovine Liam does it as a running joke though...
+Daniel when done right its funny and they haven't annoyed me at least. YET
wyrm *
lol I was convinced it WAS a plug XD
Synth Ovine I see you a lot and you always seem to be complaining
Vox Machina: All right, we've got Chris Perkins as a ringer to help us in our climactic battle with a black dragon! He's a D&D master, he knows all the ins and outs of the game and probably has some awesome super-powerful multiclass with minmaxed stats and strategically-chosen feats and spells to give him godlike powers. So Chris, what character did you make?
Chris Perkins: I'm an old lady with a stick.
VM: PERRRRKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNS!
What I find hilarious. Chris Perkins is right there. On Barbarian Crits you roll extra DICE. Which means on crit you DOUBLE ALL ATTACK DICE. Yet he says not a word.
Read that as mr turner shouting DINKLEBERG!!!!!
Chris did a good job not backseat DMing, there were loads of messed up errors (Pike casting a 10 minute Prayer of Healing mid fight) that he just sat through.
You don't double brutal critical die for barbarian. When you crit with a barb, you just 'roll one of the weapon's damage dice one additional time'. Matt's doing it right!
Pike didn't *actually* end up casting it; she couldn't get enough people in range so she aborted that plan and cast Guiding Bolt. I was facepalming and waiting for Matt to notice the casting time, though.
Ashley rarely seems to look at casting times to check for out-of-combat spells.
I wondered if Chris was going to help the group keep track of advantage vs. disadvantage on things (like Grog's ability checks with 1 level of exhaustion after frenzied rage faded) or remembering to make concentration checks on spells, but yeah it's probably better to just let mistakes happen to avoid slowing down the game.
It would probably help the players to have a physical spell-card stand where the put a card for the spell they're currently concentrating on. So Matt could see if they had a concentration spell up, and they'd have a visual reminder of their concentration slot.
Vax: “What’s up with the rocks?”
Shale: “It’s old magic.”
Vax: “... ok. Hey dirty bard, could you come up here please.”
*Scanlan inspects the rocks*
Vax: “What do you think is up with the rocks?”
Scanlan: “Old magic.”
Pike: “Is it magic?”
Scanlan and Shale: “Old magic”
These comments really underplay the interactions and leave out some of the best bits
2:09:48 - 2:13:44
The moment Grog becomes smarter by polymorphing into an eagle...
Banzai Bot I died laughing
In that moment he realised every insult, every joke, every metaphor that was used to make fun of him
*later Vax was found dead with a dead snake next to him some believe grog killed Vax with Simon but no one knows for sure*
It was really cool. If only Matt understood that flying animals were a lot faster and had much better sense than he thinks.
When they animate this scene they should make grogs point of view of saving vax just be geometry and math and calculations
fkin spoilers are really annoying
Things Matt never thought he'd have to deal with: Deciding AC for a Dragon's various internal organs
Things anyone who's ever dealt with a bard with Dimension Door _should_ expect but never do:
Dimension door doesn’t work like that. But dm has final say on everything rules related. I guess dm’s that let people do it should expect it!
@@dtczyk8976 rule of cool.
@@alexv3357 well... because dimession door specifically says that if they try to land in a space occupied by another creature it fails and they take damage... never should have happened
@@benjaminsimoneau5648 It fails if the space is already occupied by an object or creature, meaning if something physical is already there to block the door's exit. They were small enough to fit into the unoccupied spaces inside the beast so it worked.
"He is a liar and a bringer of death and he is smiling at you as he talks"
You know you got a good DM when you can describe him the same way you could describe an Ancient Dragon.
I get it, now- Shale wasn’t _ready_ to die, she was just _expecting_ to- as she had heard the tales of Vox Machina & how they like to treat old ladies!
I cackled a little too hard at this post 😂😅
A meteor crashing into the ground and a woman climbing out of the crater is some Stardust shit right there :D I loved Keyleth going "If I'm a plummeting Earth Elemental I might as well have fun doing it."
+
This, this is what led to "We're gods!"
The first instance of keyteor :)
@@kahelem6077
Excuse me, *FIRST?!*
Thus began keyleths relationship with heights. It did not end well.
Sam: "I would like to...fist...the wound."
Mercer looks on in horror and disgust, shaking his head as the rest of the group dissolves in laughter.
Sam: "Just jam it and...find a finger...and kinda like uuuuuungh!" (Makes obscene finger movements, which are presumably mimicked by his Bigby's Fisting Hand) "How ya like that!"
Matt: "Alright...OK...So..."
Sam "This wound will never heal."
Travis: "Nope."
Matt (sounding a bit sick): "Wow... That's...I...I uh...Yeah..."
Only 39 minutes into the episode and Sam has once again taken the MVP slot. Fucking Gnomish *ROCKSTAR.*
38:39 is the timestamp for those who want to know.
3:26:44 Finger the wound part deux!
"This wound will never heal"
I would like to point out Scanlon is, in fact, "crawling in the dragon's skin."
Love how Ashley just goes: 👊👊👊. No shock at all, just like, yeah of course!
@@mirrorXshard That would be Vax but yes.
And Tal's response of "Yeah, you're fingering the wound, okay," was just beautiful
Grog is finally correct: there are now six goliaths in the herd.
Too soon 😂😂
@@DMG551 wayyyyy too soon 😂
To fucking soon bro🤣🤣
oh nooo
... that is harsh ... so harsh ...
Everyone’s talking about Chris Perkins, but no ones talking about how he made an old woman with one arm and one eye a level 13 fighter
Well, that's how she got the one arm or the one eye, or at least, reduced to that level.
Perhaps in her day, she was a more fierce and effective fighter. But now, old and reduced in limb and sight and mobility, all she has to brag about is helping to beat down a dragon and chasing it across a cave with her limp and trying to beat it to death with a stick, and still not dying in the process, and putting the darn thing reduced enough in HP for Grog to finish it with the necrotic damage.
With her WALKING STICK. Her walking stick that she beat a dragon with and lived. It was glorious.
"Your ad here" killed me. I love the Scanlan tankard gags.
Thank you! My eyesight sucks and I couldn't read it.
Just a friendly reminder that one of the few more terrifying titles than “dragonslayer” is “dragonfister”
Bards Man!
😂
That is Scanlans new title
@@jessevancooney6963 Scanlan Dragonfister!
Has a nice ring to it, actually.
Like a true Bard man
Just for those curious. When Percy went full No Mercy Percy at 3:29:39 he dealt a total of 172 points of damage to Umbrasyl.
Yea, that fairy fire was a killer towards Umbrasyl.
John Wu movie !!!
Yep, I just checked, 172, he did effectively half of its health in one round edit: assuming it wasn't homebrewed
@@Dragonspirit223 half of what was... Left ?
@@Marpaws No, 1/2 of his FULL HP was taken down (edit: assuming it wasn't homebrewed). Ancient Black Dragons have about 370 HP (Assuming Mat didn't homebrew anything), so 367 (max HP) minus 172 is 195, 195/367 is 53.13%. So he did 46.87% damage in a single round. And that was AFTER Grog did at least 70 points in a single round, AND Pike's 50 damage Guiding Bolt. They shredded this thing in 1-2 initiative lines.
Of course, this is assuming he was at full hit points at the start of the battle, which no one can really know, no one but Mat of course.
Gotta love the audio issues at random points.
"The dragon can fly 80 feet a round..."
*MUSIC INTENSIFIES FOR 2 SECOUNDS*
It took me over 3 hours before I realized the base of Sam’s tankard had gone from a clusterfuck of stickers to a blank piece of paper with “Your Ad Here” 😂😂😂
I also love how it went from cluttered, to "Your Ad Here" in the break, then he adds a BackBlaze logo at 3:39:19 :3
"As you know, intestines are my favored domain" - Scanlan Shorthalt.
He pretty much lives to get up in those guts so yeah lmao
One of my favorite Sam Riegel lines Lmfao
Or "I could make Grog deaf so he can't hear us die" Scanlan was genius this episode.
wasn't it favored terrain like the ranger ability
@@quietlodestar he said favourite terrain, but was obviously making the ranger joke about favoured terrain.
My favorite thing was seeing Chris Perkins on the other side of the table as a player for once. Seeing him silently nod approval at Matt's decisions in combat every so often, sometimes visibly/silently weighing in on questions from other party members in his head, but never interrupting anything with his knowledge and ultimately respecting Matt's authority as a DM.
Its a definite sign that he's not just one of the game designers but definitely a natural DM at heart no matter where you put him. Even still he really seemed to have fun at the player's table.
And it certainly says quite a lot how he didn't seem to rulemonger....or bring up rules at all. Really shows that the handbook and DM books are there as guiderails rather than solid rules for those who don't know how to balance and homebrew.
Just you wait till campaign 2...
Yah but rules are pretty important
even if the admiral is visiting, the captain of the ship knows the ship best
@@clayxros576 exactly. Thats why rulmongers in the comment sections of these videos annoy the ever living hell outta me. You can tell these people whining about the rules so damn hard are probably watching instead of playing cause they are so insufferable nobody wants to play with them.
1:53:38 made me giggle
Grog: How could you have a staff and not give it a name?
Shale: Only men name their things.
Old magic...not the kind you'd learn in those hoity toity towers.
Yep, definitely looks like old magic.
Get this, I’m not sure, but I think it’s old magic. You know, the kind you don’t learn in hoity toity wizard’s towers.
Ricky Walker old magic? Like the kind you wouldn’t learn in those hoity toity towers?
Sounds like a line of an NPC as you walk by something in a game
You can learn magic from a hoity toity tower!? Where does one find these hoity toity towers?
I'm waiting for the Thordack fight when everyone else is dead and Thordack is at 2 Hp and all that stands between doom and salvation is trinket.
Tharppedo Oh yes,
I'm pretty sure even if Trinket was the last living member of the team Vex would still not use him in combat :)
MrCompassionate01 well I'm watching today's episode now, he lasted less than one round.
I hope you don't mean died because literally I'm only up to this episode so no spoilers please :)
MrCompassionate01 nah just knocked out
(I love that Vax was a tiny pint-sized guy for the entire dragon encounter.)
(Why is this in parentheses?)
@@NonRegnumDei1934 (best not to ask questions)
The real question is, is there fan art ?
He was the size of a hobbit and sneaking into a dragon lair.
@@darkvizardking69 Are you saying he was a burahobbit?
Percy's like a anime protagonist, always bring out their optimal power when it counts the most.
Percy, in all his might, dealt 172 damage in 6 seconds. That sword may not have many times to shine, but GODDAMN does it shine when it does.
Percy got sick and fucking tired of his guns breaking, so he decided to let off a little steam. It’s tough being a genius all the time, sometimes you just need to GO INTO A RAGE!
Sam with the "Your ad here" on the bottom of his oversized mug.
This, ladies and gents is a win.
Had to scroll through the comments to see what it said lol
I lost my shit when I finally gotta a clear view of it
All these years later & I still loved that Chris Perkins, said it 1/2 in-character & 1/2 in jest, that it was Grog's destiny to slay the dragon. Turns out, it *was* Grog's destiny that he would be the one that slays the dragon.
Keyleth - (deadpan) "I heard lots of heavy breathing"
Sam and Taliesin thinking what we're all thinking.
Keyleth - Not impassioned breathing, Scanlan.
Sam (as Scanlan) - Okay, so we goin' in the big hole or the small hole?
Travis - {turning red, struggling to breathe]
Tiny Vax: I'm gonna check out that hole.
Me: It's comforting to know some things don't change.
"Oh shut up you flying suitcase"
We need Chris back for the next campaign
We did, for... what was it... 2 minutes?
@@grass-ifrass 11 minutes.... spurt
@@artygunnar *11 days!*
This has aged *very* well
*Looks at fire giant. Looks at hornet nest*
"NYEH!!"
Alternate episode title: Vox Machina cruelly violates a dragon's holes for four hours while you watch.
ShadowMuppet that’s the porn title.
A better name: Big Black Dragon Lair Action
Well someones got to fist that dragon's virgin hole.
Well NOW I have to stay awake and watch the whole thing.
@@jesselindsey9760 see I can only watch things like this in ten and twenty minute sections.
Chris Perkins enters just like "all hail your God and creator, but also your very good friend"
He is no god, more of an angel working in the absence of God. Praise be to Gygax, he who shall return to take the worthy at the beginning of the end.
@@Renegadebane Praise be to Gygax and his ascendant acolytes the Greenwood and Ladies Hickman.. hallowed be their words
Five years after the fact. Watching it on a tiny arse phone. Half a world way.
But I couldn't help but shout in glee when Mercer said those magical words, "How do you want to do this?"
Right there with you on the tiny phone screen 😂
Tiny phone screen gang, rise up!
Tiny phone screen gang ❤
Words that transcend time and space
Guess how I’m watching this now 😂
Rogue-Paladin... Y'know, that's not a multiclass I expected to make any kind of sense. But given the circumstances, it totally does.
Also, sneak attack smites can be nuts.
Super late but a 17-3 rogue assassin paladin with suprise attack has the highest single attack that I can personally think of in the whole game, with 13 d6, 2d8, insta crit double, not including any element, weapon damage or finesse modifier because those are variables that we wouldn't know for sure in any situation. It's super interesting
@@bignjolly9542 just to give you a little bit of math that's an average of 124 damage not including the base weapon damage or the modifiers :)
Love this Idea, played a few paladins(good, evil, and neutral) now and must say it is fantastic to see this outlook on it
@@bignjolly9542 I never considered this option before. I have a rogue who is a worshiper/acolyte of Shar, and I was planning to multi-class with fighter, but a rogue-paladin would be very fitting Is there a specific oath they would take?
"This will never heal."
I still don't know if he's talking about Umbrasyl's wound or the mental scars of everyone else.
I think he meant the mental wounds not healing, driving Umbrasyl insane.
I will ... FIST THE DRAGON!!
The answer is yes
Timestamp?
@@Law-of-EnTropy 38:40 got it from peyton beelie
Percy did 175 damage when he action surged.
I got 172.
But still.
Fuckin fighters.
+HelljumperFM Fuckin Firearms.
He used a sword
Fighters Ladies and gentlemen, aka certified BADASSMOTHERFUCKERS
Marisha did 175 damage to my ears.
"That's because he's a liar and a bringer of death, and he's smiling at you while he does it." Best line from the episode.
I love how Vax often says "my family" instead of "everyone else" or something simular.
Umbrasyl was the dragon that we know the least about. It's such a shame because he must have done something incredible to gain the title of The Hope Devourer.
Well Thordak is the "self proclaimed" Cinder King. So I am kinda guessing Umbrasyl did the same hahaha.
Umbrasyl used to be The Hope, before he married into Devourer, so we can only speculate.
Geldai013 so much yes
Nikhil Poudel maybe he became infamous for devouring the heroes that would attempt to slay him...?
Its been said that he is the cruelest of the lot and loved to torture and kill slowly. So maybe its just because he tortures someone, then leaves them believing they can escape. Show them a shred of hope just to end it right there, just to see their hope turn into despair
I think best line of this whole episode is "Oh Shut up you flying suitcase"
Where is that? Timestamp?
Megan Brooks 2:46:52
You hissed at Mercer! -Ashley
Liam: "is the Dragon sword plus anything...?"
Me: Liam we just went over this an hour ago
Taliesin: "yeah its, uh, +1?"
Me: ah yeah this was 2 weeks later for them...
It is easy to forget sometimes when you are bingeing
1:06:00 The way Matt spun the events around Vax’s leap of faith and connected it to how he grabs onto eagle-Grog was so well done, god damn.
"On your left" ;)
If they didn't intervene this was definitely his intended moment to introduce the concept of exalted vestiges
@@yiklongtay6029nailed it on the head because that's exactly how it goes down in the animated series!
'Have you ever had sex?'
'Yes, I have a daughter'
Considering what happened when he first said that... poor choice of words me thinks!
Everyone in Vox Machina: *Giggles* gross
Grog seems determined to ride all the main bosses like Macy's day parade balloons
I now have this mental image of Grog dragging Pike around like an excited little kid at an amusement park with their big sister. “OOO LOOKIT DA SIZE UV THAT ONE, PIKE! CAN WE RIDE IT? CAN WE? PLLLLEEEEEAAAAAASSSSSEEEE???” “Welllllllll...okay, alright.” “YEEEEAAAAHHH!!!”
It's a big, bald muscley guy with tattoos dangling from a chain off of giant enemies.
It's Grog of War.
@@neerGdyahS well played
To add to the Chris Perkins complements: he never overshadowed the team. He played a very simplistic character and did not take away from the main group's victory. Great humility.
By the way, I love how Taliesin still calls his individual attacks "shots" even when doing melee strikes. He does the same thing in Campaign 2 for a little while as well despite being an only melee character then. xD
Old habits.
I'm not throwing away my - *shot!*
Part of me felt like the moment Shale said "They are truly great." about Vox Machina, it was something of a blessing from Chris himself to VM and Matt. Hope to see more of him in more RP centered episodes.
We had a quick spurt pretty recently
@@maximumdm9612 Only lasted about 11 days
that moment when your group realizes that as a fighter, when you action surge you dont just get one extra attack, you get a whole extra action which means you get double the attacks. that plus when all your attacks are at advantage, the chances of criting at least once go WAY up, and when you crit, you crit HARD
when you roll a weighted die your chances to crit go even higher
@@vegaspony you know Snitch dice has been used by Matt and Marisha and they did not have the same good rolls, right? Pretty weird assumption you got there
@@Smilehp7 i really meant it more jokingly than it probably comes across.
That said, he does account for about 20% of the nat 20s rolled by the group. Liam accounts for about another 20% but that, at least in part, can be attributed to a higher volume of rolls than Taliesin due to all the stealth and perception checks etc..
I can't be bothered to sort the spreadsheet to figure out exactly how far above the expected Taliesin rolls nat 20s but he's a statistical anomaly for sure.
@@vegaspony There are a lot of things happening with Percy. First, he's a ranged fighter, so he gets to roll dice a LOT. Second, he gets so excited about his nat 20s compared to how disappointed he is about nat 1s that I think there's a bit of confirmation bias happening, since they tend to stick in the audiences mind a bit more. It's the opposite with Vex. She makes such a stink about nat 1s that it seems like they happen to her more often.
If you want to get a proper scientific idea of actual probabilities and be able to determine if there is actually some super natural thing or just a weighted dice going on, go to crit role stats, compile all of their rolls, do some math.
@@josephdouglas5242 I already admitted I'm too lazy to sort the spreadsheet. By the by, vex has the most Nat 1s of the group and Percy has more than twice as many Nat 20s as Nat 1s.
I love how Shale is officially wielding a quarterstaff and "her wits"
How you know Laura and Travis are married -- her continued, gentle reminder of "Plus necrotic"
Yeah. I was thinking the same thing. They should make an arrangement. He reminds her about Hunters Mark and she reminds him about necrotic damage
@@cartagia6441 Relationship goals, was all I could think watching that.
Also Travis lowly saying "Night saved" when Trinket didnt die outright. He knew he was in for a whirlwind if that Bear didnt make it
@@tkthetank apparently at one point they put Trinket out as bait and Trinket almost died, and Travis had to sleep on the couch
@@theoutspokentheorist9578 that seems on brand 😂😂😂
Man, it is amazing how good Matt is at taking a player's desired killing blow and instantly turns it into a much more vivid and epic description of the enemy's death. xD
"How do you wanna do this?" "Yes, and..."
“It’s hide is too thick to be pierced from the outside! I must cut through it from the inside.”
❤️ me some Drax!
Percy: "What? What do you mean he's trying to cut through it from the inside? The hide is the same thickness from the outside as the inside?!"
Vex: "I REALISE THAT!"
Come on, you can't tell me you don't see the parallels. Even if Rocket would fit better.
For reference, it takes a spot check of 40 to see an invisible creature. Vax got 45 on his stealth roll, so he's functionally more difficult to find than an invisible creature. :)
Aren't invisible creatures just advantage on stealth checks?
@@oninoni Given the reference to spot checks, I assume this person is familiar with 3e/3.5e
@@Caprizant I could swear invisibility was a +20 to stealth in 3rd Ed, not a flat 40DC
even sight couldnt see him, Hell Vax couldnt know where Vax was!
5:00 - Travis vs Sam: Plug Off
10:54 - Recap Begins
13:29 - Game Begins
24:12 - Scanlan's Snake
33:00 - Grog, Mother of Dragons
35:50 - Liam's Choice of Words
36:45 - Vax's Awkward Birth
38:20 - Bigby's FORCEFUL Hand (38:40 - Fisting The Wound)
43:45 - Annoyed Percy
48:40 - Continued Fisting
55:35 - Vax, Paladin Of The Raven Queen
1:01:00 - Scanlan Saves Grog
1:02:00 - Sam's Plan
1:05:10 - Leap of Faith
1:07:30 - Not As Intended
1:11:15 - The Stranger
1:28:30 - Travis's Real Opinion of Matt
1:44:48 - Break Ends
1:51:30 - No Clanging Today
1:52:50 - Druid Battle Makeup
2:02:44 - Shale Lead?
2:11:50 - Old Magic
2:25:20 - Umbrasyl, Hope Devourer
2:41:35 - Scanlan's Cutting Words
2:45:00 - Shale Strides Forth
2:45:50 - Matt should know better by now! ;)
2:46:15 - Shale Taunts The Dragon
2:53:30 - Vax, Vex, Vix
2:55:22 - Scanlan Inspires Shale
2:57:17 - Percy's Bald Spot
2:57:40 - DM Grudge
3:05:48 - Monstah!
3:09:50 - The Old Lady Attacks!
3:11:30 - The Dice Gods Say NOPE
3:12:23 - Pike's Guiding Bolt (3:13:45 - Matt Describes It)
3:20:00 - The Dice Gods Say YES
3:25:40 - Bigby's Return
3:26:40 - Bigby's Rage Fingering
3:28:15 - Scanlan Inspires Shale?
3:29:40 - NO MERCY PERCY
3:53:00 - Scanlan Inspires Grog
4:05:40 - Thank God For Level 14
4:06:40 - How Do You Want To Do This?
4:06:55 - Vox Machina Reacts
4:07:25 - How he wants to do this
4:09:09 - Trinket?
4:10:30 - Shale's Thoughts
4:11:00 - Sam's Suggested Method Of Coping
4:13:34 - Awkward
4:23:10 - Shale's Fate
Chewyyyyyyyyyyyyness ty
Chewyyyyyyyyyyyyness why don't more people re post these
Chewyyyyyyyyyyyyness sigh
thank you
At 5:32 Sam walks by in his underwear; just putting that out there.
I love how at 2:22:50 little Vax runs back to Vex, tugs at her sleeve, and whispers "Jenga" before heading into the cave for the dragon. Such a bittersweet callback.
Everything that happens in the beginning with Vax, Scanlan, and Grog trying to fight the dragon while in or on it is perfect evidence for why this NEEDS to be an animated series
Hey guess what... ;)
Wish granted!
@@blitzer9981 Thank you, Raven Queen!
Yesterday your wish came true!
I'm just hoping Grog gets the flapping dog jowls look when hanging on for dear life.
Marisha just plummeting to the earth as an elemental saying it’s fine, that she can take 20 d6 damage is some really good unknown foreshadowing...
"We're basically gods guys. "
Gotta admit though, Key'teor is pretty fuckin awesome.
I think it was probably this very moment that gave Keyleth her false sense of confidence in defying gravity based physics
@@webhead4414 yup for sure
@@webhead4414 she probably coulda defied gravity that time but rather than turn into a flying creature or a tank creature she panic took a low hp creature so to much bleed over. Really unfortunate really but i think it was better that way
God, with all the times they've fallen off an eagle/dragon/flying carpet and gone plunging to their imminent deaths, how have they not invested in Feather Fall magic yet?
Cause they killed their only dedicated magic user offscreen. Have you met Tiberious Stormwind... from what used to be Draconia?
Unknown Unaware because Orion was insufferable...
Pike's shield can do Feather Fall, she used it when Grog and Keyleth fell off of Umbrasyl in the last episode
Unknown Unaware They did it for a good reason. Orion was on the verge of ruining the entire series near the end, on top of his behavior towards the table. I would hardly call that a good investment even if Tiberius was dedicated to flight.
@@ThisIsntARUclipsr yup.. if only u had ever seen the 1 man 1 hour shopping episode.. no shit that was the last straw that broke the camel's back.
travis never looked as frustrated, i think it was 24 or 25, after which they parted ways.
In all honesty, I think marisha occassionally plays like that.. orion is probably marisha's indecisiveness + liam's "always clarifying rules/ unsure of rules due to change from PF to 5e" rolled in 1.
the biggest thing was he always blew all his spells in the 1st encounter of the day, then kinda afk or kept trying to ask for a long rest.
I love Chris Perkins subtly calling out the fact that guest characters are basically side quests for extra loot for VM.
I'm thinking back and you would be hard pressed to say that about any guest character I've seen on CR. Most of the time they're a little extra fire power and a help to VMs goals at the time.
Garthok was a contact that could've brought them allies in a more political and economic vein but they turned the Clasp down. Zahra brought them extra loot on her second interaction but there was no quest needed. I'm not even sure whether she was a convenient vehicle for Matt to slip them some magical items or Mary Elizabeth McGlynn was just using her characters abilities to render more aid.
As for Gern well Vex'Ahlia stole his broom so I don't think Matt even expected that to come in to their hands.
@@sergiu-adrianmarginean7985 By back I do mean back as I have seen nothing from the 2nd Campaign.
I know many other late joiners have seen Campaign 2 first but discussion here of those things are nearly as bad as rewatchers who aren't mindful of where the campaign is under it's own timeline.
I'm already aware of Twiggy but those items are certainly spoilers. As for the carpet well that is hardly relevant since they "borrowed" that from Allura and she is most certainly not a guest character.
@@MorinehtarTheBlue Sorry for the spoilers. I deleted my comment to not spoil it for others.
For some reason I thought you referred to the second campaign.
Hopefully you will forget about it until you reach that moment in the 2nd campaign.
@@ksdajkfahgdkhsdag Since Sergiu deleted his spoiler comment yours is the only spoiler here, so really you are just being an asshole right now.
@@MorinehtarTheBlue for the Gern broom thing, Matt mentions in the previous QnA (the before this episode, battle Royale take 2) that he gave the guests staring gp and allowed them to pick a selection of weapons. He selected the broom of flying and matt is quoted as his instant reaction being "i know exactly who will want that and it is only a matter of time"
I love Matt’s smugness this episode, it’s the perfect GM attitude. He’s not smug because he’s thwarting the heroes’ every move but because he knows how close they are to winning, so when they fail on a turn or Umbrasyl succeeds he knows it’ll be all the more gratifying and earned when they do win.
I dont know if its necessarily smugness, its more along the lines of a proud dad
@@G32hero yeah smugness isnt the right word but the way he explained it I think we all understood his meaning 😇
Matt is nothing if not supportive of his rag tag group of adventurers figuring ways to do the impossible in wild ways
I know people get irritated with Trinket.... but Matt's Trinket acting is one of my favorite things lol.
And Laura is so cute about him, I can't stay irritated. Especially now, with the locket
I love Laura and how she's so compassionate about the NPC animals (including the giant eagles), but that locket is the only thing that's made Trinket BEARable. lol That and Matt's Trinket acting. ;)
@@grondhero so glad he gave them that crystal even if that's not what he initially meant it to do. Didn't ever really dislike Laura but i like vex even more now that she's self sufficient with her bear.
I'm sad that animals suck so much compared to PCs, I want to see them more. Trinket almost always stay out of the combat, sneaky times, and conversations.
Only thing for me is that Trink doesn't get in on much fighting
- As a 14th level berserker, I think you know what that means...
- I don't know what that means
- You'll have to find out!
*Fetches players handbook... OHH that's nice!
Matt’s look of horror when Sam said he was going to fist the wound was amazing XD
Scanlan Shorthalt: the only character who can regularly break Matt Mercer's composure
@@DredgenStorm Even funnier thinking back because you know matt knows chris is in the back watching as he says to himself "This is why we can't have company over" like a parent with unruly kids LOL
@@hazymunkey I think at this point the unruly kids are part of the reason people want to be guests.
Sam is such a great player. He is always making sure to play straight, even when the DM doesn't catch something, and he is constantly supporting his other teammates.
Vax tells Shale “Stick close to Grog “
Everyone laughs
Vax finish his sentence “ Grandma “
Chris Perkins aka Shale looks up and tells Matt “ I whack him”
Oh so funny
Having watched C2 first, my first impulse seeing Chris Perkins was to yell: "ELEVEN DAYS!"
I know, right?! XD
"I'M SPURT!!!!"
RIP Spurt, gone but never forgotten. The first ever video I ever saw of CR was an animatic about Spurt
I thought Shale was going to be like Spurt. Coming in and getting squished after one good hit
ME TOO
I know we all watched this but allow me to explain Vox Machina's fight against Umbrasyl:
They have a very elaborate and actually plausible tactic for engaging him.
They spring the trap and effectively start pummeling the shit out of him.
Scanlan takes Vax and teleports inside his stomache while the dragon is still grounded....
The dragon takes off with two members inside him...
Scanlan activates an immovable rod inside the belly of the ancient dragon...
Grog attaches himself in an enlarged state to the dragon via wrist-wrapped chain...
The dragon runs off with three members attached to it..
Vax reverse c-sections himself out...
Scanlan fingers himself out of the stomache of the dragon...
Grog gets flung off..
Scanlan actually catches Grog with Bigby..
He drops Bigby and turns Grog into a fucking eagle, gaining intelligence somehow in the process...
They snag Vax out of the air in the most disorganized dive and catch ever!
I love this fucking show and I love these guys.
Scanlan never deactivated the rod, how does he fly away?
@@johnblack7294 In the last episode towards the end, Umbrasyl purposely dove from his hovering height where they had activated it, and let the rod rip its way out of him, for 30-something piercing damage. That was when Grog threw the chained bloodaxe into him and got hoisted.
"Scanlan takes Vax and teleports inside his stomache "
Which that spell can't actually do
@- Ghost - Is what it is
According to the spell....
"If you would arrive in a place already occupied by an object or a creature, you and any creature traveling with you each take 4d6 force damage, and the spell fails to teleport you."
@@MrGreensweightHist The spell also states, "It can be a place you can see, one you can visualize, or one you can describe by stating distance and direction."
Both Scanlan and mini-Vax were small enough to appear in an unoccupied space within the creature. Prior to the encounter, Vex had provided enough information on dragon anatomy for Scanlan to visualize the location. Matt requested an Intelligence check from Sam, which Sam (mostly) succeeded with.
This comes down to a matter of ruleset interpretation, and I believe Matt's ruling holds up to the rules stated in the book.
The look of horror on Matt's face when Sam says he wants to fist the wound gets me everytime
Shale hitting Umbrasyl with her stick reminds me of Yoda hitting R2-D2 with his walking stick in Empire Strikes Back. It is like this comical swinging motion that really does not do anything.
Then you realize the person playing is the Creative Director of 5e at Wizards of the Coast, and he was going for a character that was based on a very similar idea. He could have built a war machine, but opted for a ridiculous side character with a flair that drew from a couple Jim Henson characters like Aughra and Yoda.
Or Chris playing Spurt in C2.
Intestines: Scanlan's Favoured Terrain :D
and Sam's new mug bottom covering :D
I kept waiting for Sam to shit in the dragon
the SILENCE after Scanlan points out Percy's 'bald spot' was amazing. no one even breathed 2:57:23
Even the music stopped.
I literally had to watch it multiple times on repeat to see all of their reactions 😂 That was so strange
A group of men in their late thirties/early forties. Bald spot and/or hairline is going to be a sore spot
Chris Perkins as Shale was an amazing addition to the cast for this episode. I'm going to be completely hones that I never heard of him before but his role playing from beginning to end was fantastic, especially the ending.
Now that you know who Chris Perkins is- go watch all the Acquisition Incorporated videos.
Will do!
Green flame
GREEN FLAME! Lolol
GREEN FLAME
3:57:13
Missed a song opportunity;
"Shot through the heart
with lightning bolt,
You pissed off
a Shorthalt"
Cheonging101 how about “you pissed off a bad gnome”?
Shot through the heart and I'm to blame! You give low a bad name!
You know it's a good show when you get the Executive creator of D&D on it.
Now I would love a cameo encounter with Acquisitions Incorporated later down the track.
Would instantly be the funniest episode.
Not the creator of d and d. That was Gary Gygax in the 70s. The creative director of d and d. Chris perkins is cool as hell though.
"Executive"
+jmbeatty393939 executive creator of 5e
Sam asking Chris Perkins if he knows how to play the game when he first arrived was such an unappreciated and hilarious thing to say
2019 watcher - I love the way Marisha and Taleisin cling to each other during combat.
When I finished watching this and went to campaign 2, I was really sad watching the first episode and didn’t know why. Then I realised it was because we weren’t going to get the reactions from them sitting together
Pike picking up Percy at the end was straight out of the intro scene ;)
Is this Sam's first opening sketch? I can't believe I stumbled into history being made.
No, Travis just started the promo because Sam was running late.
Can't believe Matt managed to describe two identical rocks without laughing.
😏👉
Look at this guy
i love how mercer is firm with his players when necessary but allows some freedoms & will openly admit if he has made a mistake with seemingly no insecurity. he seems to balance it well.
That was hilarious at the end
Marisha just wanted Keyleth to have a moment and then everybody reminded her Vax was child-sized lol
I think it's called "Fun Sized"
i cringed to the end of the earth watching that unfold
@@ryansutherland194 yes officer this comment right here
@@pickledcass i cringe almost every time she takes a turn
@@true_plays_games then probably u should stop watching the show, sheesh
All I could think was "Percy with advantage... this is gonna hurt"
2:18:00. I just realized that Vex has dragons as her favourite enemy and she is the most greedy membre of a team
Dragons don't like other dragons. Coincidence?
She might as well be a dragon 😭
I know I'm late, but also with her obsession with being able to fly, my new headcanon is that she is actually a dragon cursed to be a humanoid and she's secretly trying to return to her former scaly glory.
Percy "I have 13 hp..."
Scanlan "oh I thought that said 93..."
Percy "yeah I count up"
Scanlan "you count up? what kind of idiot counts up?!?!?!?!"
had me dying
I count up
This inspired me to start counting up. Maybe counting up = more nat 20's?
It's so much simpler to count up. That way, you can directly compare damage taken to your maximum Hit Points. Simpler, faster, more intuitive.
I use inverted and southpaw in Halo. So I feel this. Noone can use my controller. >:)
@@Harrowed2TheMind at first i was like "wtf" then i was like "oooooh!" counting up from now on =D
It would've been amazing if Scanlan's 1 damage snake bite was the HDYWTDT.
😂😂😂 tbh
Imagine them falling hundreds of feet inside the dragon
@@mattrobinson5479 Worth it!
"HDYWTDT?" 'Yaaaaay!!'
"...and as you do (this awesome killmove), you begin plummeting 700 feet. Role up new characters!,
"I mean... I can make Grog deaf so he doesn't hear us die..." 🤦♂️
That's actually more frightening
@@yasminafarih3681 can confirm, im deaf and i fucking died
"Which episode are you on?"
"The one where Sam Riegel was late"
"Not helpful"
I loved the moment when Matt looks to Chris when trying to remember if they’re stalactites or mites, because he knew Chris would know. Bit of a “meeting of the minds” between DMs haha.
Wish I could give this piece of wisdom to Matt "You MIGHT trip over the stalag*m*ite! You'd have to be TALL to hit your head on a stalac*t*ite"
Stalactite: C for ceiling
Stalagmite: G for ground
@@suzannepottsshorts Nice one
We had a slightly dodgier way of remembering the difference.
"Tites" go down
Mites go/grow up, but tbh the tites bit tends to be memorable enough :D
@@RuailleBuaille Hahaha that's awesome
If they'll stumble upon a locked door enchanted with "Old magic", it will be the end of Vox Machina :)
why?
vox machina has had a problem defeating doors
its become a running joke that they roll so low when they can't just pick the lock of a door. namely, the first instance of notoriety took them 3 spells, and scanlan took damage... from an inanimate object.
No, because then they can put a mask on it to make it look like an Old Person, then they'll fell it with extreme prejudice. ;P
They don't have their dragon born any more. :P
3:31:37. Matt's face "Stop wrecking my awesome creature Precy!"
Precy XD
Precy
"When I die, I'm coming back as a character named Vix."
"And you can find another dungeon master."
2:53:40
Pinpointed the moment Sam started making Veth :)
He did say he wanted Veth's name to fall in to the Vax/Vex/Vox structure
Then they'll just need to add a "Vux" and they'll have one for each vowel
@@davidm9612 Y is sometimes a vowel so they would need a "Vyx" too
I just realized something. If Scanlan did not bite it as the snake, Grog would not have killed it.
How so? I watched this over 3 sittings, I don't follow
The logic I assume Mr. Robbins is following is that due to the fact that Grog just barely managed to kill it, all previous damage done was important in his victory. This includes the four damage done via snakebite.
Yep. Reminds me on some old Chinese saying at the end about how "a snake CAN kill a Dragon...""
Also that Grog barely killed Umbrasyl. It took the extra four necrotic damage to bring it to a kill. So it might not be guaranteed that the snakebite was necessary for the kill (if it had 1 or two hitpoints left the snakebite wouldn't matter). So scanlan's damage might have matter. His stinking cloud, Immovable Rod, and fist damage were much bigger contributors.
snake dealt 3 damage.
Everyone shot down keyleths idea of using wind walk, but it was the fastest option.
1 minute casting time, 600 ft flying per 6 seconds (dashing) going ~1 mile = ~53 seconds, 1 minute to revert.
That's 3 minutes rounding up to the nearest minute. Even if it was two miles, it's still under 4 minutes.
I know I'm really really late, but according to Matt, in those 2 hours of rest and travel, Umbrasyl healed 574 hp and he took 759 damage so he didn't have much to go on. He also set the old magic trap while healing. Vox Machina could have taken him.
Yeah it was definitely the fastest, but Keyleth's reaction to the suggestion makes me suspect she didn't have it prepared
The ONE time it had precise application.
@@christopherarmstrong8255 vex shot it down with her bitching that Itd take too much time to turn back.
Not that they have to do it next to the dragon
I feel like it was more that she didn’t want to burn her 6th level spell when they were already so tapped