My favorite part is the lighting on Nate to make him look more cold & unsettling as the Ring of Winter changes him. I've been thinking about drawing a pic of Paultin looking how Chris describes him under the Ring of Winter spell but it's complicated since I can't draw very well and there's not a real good reference photo to base the change on. But I just might try and see how it goes! Never hurts to practice right?
The subtle parts of Diath X Strix are so adorable. When Strix takes his hand to calm him and he's like "ok this definitely isn't real" I died inside of cuteness
Do you like to build ice paultins? We can cover them in snow. They can be a distraction when,.. They see all your friends,.. Making their way here, don't you know? They. Won't. Be. That strong, but what they'll have, is the numbers and the SURPRISE. Do you wanna build ice paultins.. I really wanna build ice paultins. XD lol.
"I'm going to distract the crew from solving the problem of the curse that's going to kill them. Soon, Diath will die every single time his geas acts up."
I was so nervous throughout this episode that I felt physically sick. Still do... I don't think I'll have the guts or the mental health to watch next week's episode, let alone wait until Tuesday!!
Chris "The word is Spigoti, meaning to hurry up and get on with it." Nate's Mind "I want to say spaghetti but that might sound racist." Me at the beginning of the episode "Bippidi Boppobii!"
I know this won’t be a popular comment, but I applauded when Paultin did what he did at the end. “Guests” sometimes overstay their visit without realizing it.
Chris is a good DM and writer. A good DM and writer doesn't introduce and remove characters for arbitrary reasons, i.e. This is a "guest" character, therefore they can't stay very long. That's not how a story properly flows, and the flow of this story has created no reason for Miranda not to continue on with the party. Also, while she is the longest running guest thus far, other guest character have lasted multiple episodes as well (Bag of Nails, for instance). In short, you don't remove a character just because. If it happens, it'll be natural to what's happening in the story. Chris is great at that, though he has thrown some rough things at her to overcome and she's earned her extended stay.
Im glad the show finally turned properly into an evil campaign. It always teetered around it but Paultin finally letting his garbage personality be consumed by the ring pushed it just enough in that direction. Pending Strix's return from the C team, this might be a very close TPK.
And now she shows up with the C-Team. Awesome. I watched that one a long time ago and now I know what situation she came from. Crazy! Those are some good episodes BTW.
Am I the only one that loves Darth Paultin. He is just so cartoon villainy. Where he needs everything to be perfect and he has this big extravagant plan for how he becomes the best villain and everything needs to work in his favor.
I loved when Strix put a blindfold on Waffles, they put a black bar over the Owlbears eyes under the characters lol ALSO DID STRIX JUST GET TAKEN BY ACQ INC AGAIN GOD DAMMIT
I'm about maybe 10 episodes behind at this point and I just put this on to get a little sneak peak. *opening starts* Me (aloud): "WHY ARE WE BACK IN BAROVIA? D: "
Welcome to the waffle crew where we can't go 5 episodes without near death experiences and or bard has an evil overlord complex and tries to kill us twice per season
Much love to Chris Perkins and The Waffle Crew! My personal D&D dream would be to play an adventure with you guys. Thanks for the amazing stories and always excited for what happens next!
a year later, but italian "uccidili" - kill them (you couldn't find it because you didn't know how to spell it) the beggars can be choosers bit it's a saying that means the same, "chi ha bisogno si arrenda" and it literally means "who is in needs, yields" regina dei corvi* , raven queen (we use the same word for crows and ravens, btw) You got the rest and did a good job ;) i also appreciate chris for trying, i heard so many far worse attempts. i mean he managed to stress the wrong syllable in more than half the words, but he tried and had fun with it!
I watched the first 10 minutes of the first episode of dice, camera, action then i skipped straight to the most recent episode. I laughed out loud when i found out they actually became the 'Waffle crew' after that one stupid discussion two years ago.
It's weird to think miranda/rachel has been in almost a tenth of the episodes overall. At this point I think Chris has given up on killing her and I kind of hope she becomes permanent.
Now I have caught back up to this episode, I feel that Nate did the banishment maybe so that another guest character didn't die, and I was so hoping for that out. But then she withstood it. So i'm feeling that Miranda might die next ep. Then I might be actually up to date.
I wonder if WOTC will use anything that happens in this campaign for future lore books or adventures because there is a lot of great material in this campaign.
Adam Hobbs I was thinking something more along the lines of Paultin being the inspiration for a villain in one of the premade adventure books somewhere down the line.
The whole Dimension Door "willing creature" thing brings me to a detail I'm curious about. The way I rationalize it personally is that the Dimension Door is a portal that opens for a very brief period of time, let's say two or three seconds. If a creature is unwilling, they will struggle and in the time it takes you to deal with that, the portal closes. That said, if the creature is unconscious they could in theory be treated as an object. Then it would be a matter of overcoming whatever challenges that action would create, perhaps with a skill challenge involved depending on how the PC is attempting to do it. Of course, the whole "willing" requirement could in fact be some nebulous quality of the spell where unwilling creatures simply can't pass through because magic.
The description of the spell doesn't state an actual portal opens up, which is strange since the spell's title would make you think there was. It only states you teleport. If it is an actual portal though, couldn't you just have it open up on the floor beneath you so you fall into it? That would make it easier to bring an unconscious person through. Of course all this means nothing since they are still an unwilling creature.
Doesn't help either that the picture on the adjoining page shows a magic user opening an actual magic portal. I think it's reasonable to say that the portal can only be oriented in a particular way-hence you can't open one beneath you and let gravity take over. I prefer a practical explanation for why an unwilling creature can't be taken along as opposed to the idea that the magic somehow "knows" a creature is unwilling and prevents them from passing through.
If anyone wants to see Strix appear in the other game dying the video is called " Plans Within Plans, Part 6 - S2 E07 - Acquisitions Inc: The "C" Team" and she appears at like 13 mins
That was always going to happen; it justifies her suddenly being on Acq Inc. The fact that it came right as she was about to die just meant she teleported out of the episode a bit early.
i was just thinking while listening to this... they technically ended up 60 years before the start of the campaign... because time travel... also the multiverse has a strahd again because time travel... and they now have a strahd doll from the first timeline which means if they release him the multiverse will have 2 strahds and will be forced to correct for the error or time travel will ensue again and we will end up with 0 strahds and my brain hurts now... first how did future strahd end up in the past? unless your explanation is the multiverse outside of strahds universe never went back in time... in THAT case when they release strahd, inevitably, by accident will future strahd go back to barovia? if he does will he try to kill new strahd? chris! i need answers!
Jared doing cosplay as Diath should have a piece of cloth wrapped around his neck, like Gertruda, but just to cover the real-or-imagined scars from his real-or-imagined hangings. ;)
Ehhhh, it's nice to see Izek again, but I'm not quite sure I'm totally down with the Strahd puppet coming back. Depending on how this'll play out, that can actually be quite a legit dick move to pull. If Strahd just get's released again, that really cheapens the accomplishments of the Waffle Crew. It's like, we spent something like over a couple dozen episodes in Barovia trying to stop Strahd and to have the dude just escape after all that in a flash can work to undermine the entire point of doing Curse of Strahd in the first place. It's a personal pet peeve I have with narrative. I don't like harsh situation-resets, stories progressing backwards or stories, where what one arc had accomplished either get's swept under the rug or just made moot from the word go. It just feels too late to open up again after Drizzt came and took the doll away. It only really feels right for that to have been the end of it. If the doll had been around all this time, a sort of consistent risk that existed throughout the whole campaign, with maybe Strahd torturing and trying to manipulate the party as they've gone along, there'd be more grounds to have him come back, because he'd have established himself as a definitive part of the adventure. Or if anything, let the idea of someone wanting to free Strahd be an adventure all it's own. The fact that this issue exists now for reasons completely out of the party's control feels wrong in some way. Strahd's a bit too big to just let happen out of nowhere.
I can appreciate where you're coming from, but I always saw the Strahd puppet as a loose end. I think this is harsh in an interesting and earned way. Certainly, Chris is wickedly insidious, but the Waffle Crew has a remarkable lack of planning and follow-through. The Crew gave Mr. Shambleface to Drizz't, decided it wan't their problem anymore, and elected to forget about it. They literally brought a terror from another dimension trapped in a fragile doll into Faerun, and DECIDED to stop worrying about it. They decided to ignore what seemed like fate. Fate took them into Barovia, fate brought them BACK to Barovia, and a mix of fate with decisions (plus bad saving throws) has them in this predicament. Not trying to convince you to change your mind; just sharing my experience. My only real complaint is that we've basically had two sessions of exposition about the Shadowfell, the Raven Queen, and the new-new dusk elves. I expect a tie-in to new & upcoming WotC releases on DCA, but I'd kinda like more interaction with the world, and fewer recited lessons in history and lore.
You do make a fair point and granted, I jump onto this without even knowing the full picture that Chris has in store. I do have a tendency to jump to conclusions on plot-threads and be very skeptical of story-progression for no actual reason. Who knows? This could spiral into anything and it is a convenient get-out clause out of having a TPK or Paultin murdered, as I'm sure Strahd, a vampire king, has what it takes to overpower the Ring of Winter. It's a case of needing to be reminded that, as much as the Waffle Crew are a proper roleplay table through and through, this is still a show and the DM is going to be more lenient for the sake of not just ending a story on such a nothing note. On the subject of the Waffle Crew's "Drop it and forget it" approach, I actually advocate the decision. I took the Waffle Crew's decision to leave the Strahd doll in such a manner as a case of facing facts. As you said, the Waffle Crew have poor planning and lack in the follow-through. Which is exactly why they absolutely should not be carrying that thing themselves. At the time, they were like level 6 little shits with a world record for ending up in horrific situations. That said, they must have realized that they are woefully, wholly unprepared for the responsibility of carrying the soul of a powerful and malicious vampire-lord on their persons. Drizzt, on the other hand, edge-tendencies aside, is a remarkable adventurer with dozens of powerful contacts and the know-how around such dangerous missions. By all logic, it was better in his hands over the Waffle Crew. There is an admitted sense of heroism in taking the burden and sacrifice that comes with responsibility, but when faced with reason, the Waffle Crew made, what I believe, to be the smart choice. It's the decision I'd have made as well, if I were the secret 5th Waffle crewman. Although I'd have requested to escort Drizzt to see the doll carried through and maybe even volunteered to guard it when it reached it's destination, but at that stage, we bump into the dilemma of "We are playing Storm King's Thunder, not Strahd-doll tower-defence" and have to make a few compromises, because the DM just spent money on the module and an investment of time studying it, while all my fellow players are all eager to play the designated module. The kind of moment, where I'd probably give my farewells to the character and make a new one for Storm King, because as much as I grow attached to my characters, I'm also attached to sticking by what they believe in. I guess I really didn't realize the exposition dump myself as much, because this is all new stuff to me. I've only been into D&D for about 2 years now. Jared sorta got me on the track to finding a group to play with. As such, I'm finding alot of this more fascinating, because I'm actually being educated on stuff about the Forgotten Realms I don't know yet about, although at this stage, with all the characters and deities and locations and shit, I kinda wish WotC would just knuckle down and publish a series of almanacs or a compendium just to keep track of it all. I'd find integrating the Forgotten Realms into my character creation whenever I play with the setting much more enjoyable if there was a way to be on-track with what the setting actually even is at this point.
"Strahd-doll tower defence" indeed! :-) There are a TON of resources for the world of Forgotten Realms--some of them are "complete guides" of lore, some hone-in on some portion of Faerun (a location, or race, for instance). 3rd edition/3.5 especially. Each edition of the game updates, retcons, and/or invalidates some prior history, so I think that's the real barrier. The Forgotten Realms wiki is pretty solid, though. Just look for a character, race, deity, or place, and let the wiki take you away! The wiki richly fanned my fondness for Eilistraee, goddess of good drow (and it's a good article, to boot!). Not that it's the most up-to-date source, mind you. Hope that helps... or that it only confuses in a way that leads to deeper interest.
Just a note, the DM in question more or less WROTE these modules. First off, the Waffle Crew "defeating" Strahd was very much an easy card that Chris gave them the ability of finding and utilizing. In doing so, they even had to make major decisions such as murdering a child to fuel the magic of the doll. Trapping Strahd was a risk, because they did NOT actually defeat him. They used an easy route that created a loose end, so it's completely fair that it may come back to bite them later on from a narrative perspective. That said, Chris isn't a bad DM in the sense that he undoes what they've accomplished, or backtracks on the same old narrative. Even if Strahd was released now, he wouldn't set them on another slogging route to deal with him over again. If you've been around to watch DCA from the start, you know that his campaigns are very engaging, free flowing, and even when old friends and enemies arise, it's always fresh and new and interesting. He has a plan for everything that happens, and when he doesn't, he's a master of improv in making it work. I guarantee you that if he brought the Strahd puppet into play here, he has a very well thought out plan for what will happen if he is released. And again, it's still up to the party. It would be a VERY costly decision to release Strahd, and that's a monumental choice that he's put in their hands. That alone is a great tactic as a DM, putting your players in a situation where they may feel like they need to do something so dire. There's so many different angles to this, I can assure you it isn't just undoing past achievements and creating a tired narrative, that isn't Chris's style at all.
I got around it by manually making my own playlist and then deleting the episodes as I watched them. I know it's annoying, but that's the best I have. :(
Wait I see plot holes here. Maybe I'm missing something? Didn't they go back in time never have that encounter with Izek (being dead) or have to trap Strahd or do any of that Barovian stuff?
in a tree i think Strix said in the time travel episode that Barovia is like in a time bubble or something? So, changing the past in Barovia didn't affect the future outside of there, and since the puppet was outside of Barovia....
Barovia is a part of the plane of The Shadowfell. Barovia got cut off from the rest of the plane through powerful magical B.S. from [insert story reason & spoiler].
Why oh why wouldn't Paultin try 20 charges to create a ice dragon???? Who cares if you didn't have any left....you'd have an ice dragon!!! Oh how Paultin/Nate drives me nuts.
Remember folks, crying is a free action
i cri evrytiem
1 liek = 1 praer
With Paultin saying "The cold never bothered me anyway..." I am surprised the Ring hasn't said..."Do you want to be a snow bird?"
Paultin: You can't tempt me!
Ring of Winter: Not even with something you want?
Paultin: Hmm... I forgot you could tempt me with things I want.
My favorite part is the lighting on Nate to make him look more cold & unsettling as the Ring of Winter changes him. I've been thinking about drawing a pic of Paultin looking how Chris describes him under the Ring of Winter spell but it's complicated since I can't draw very well and there's not a real good reference photo to base the change on. But I just might try and see how it goes! Never hurts to practice right?
The subtle parts of Diath X Strix are so adorable. When Strix takes his hand to calm him and he's like "ok this definitely isn't real" I died inside of cuteness
Happy birthdayz Chris & Nate
that whole paultin and "the driver " exchange was hilarious hahaha
I always prefer when evil magic items are personable
Would you like to build a dragon?
Or a field of 100 snowman
Okay bye
Do you like to build ice paultins?
We can cover them in snow.
They can be a distraction when,..
They see all your friends,..
Making their way here, don't you know?
They.
Won't.
Be.
That strong, but what they'll have, is the numbers and the SURPRISE.
Do you wanna build ice paultins..
I really wanna build ice paultins.
XD lol.
How to build Your Dragon
"I'm going to distract the crew from solving the problem of the curse that's going to kill them. Soon, Diath will die every single time his geas acts up."
1:05:16 Holy shit, that was BADASS
Izek: Look, mechanical lady. I'll be honest, I don't care about you or the bean pole.
I was so nervous throughout this episode that I felt physically sick. Still do... I don't think I'll have the guts or the mental health to watch next week's episode, let alone wait until Tuesday!!
The last ten or so episodes have made me feel that way!
Chris "The word is Spigoti, meaning to hurry up and get on with it." Nate's Mind "I want to say spaghetti but that might sound racist." Me at the beginning of the episode "Bippidi Boppobii!"
Jared at 31:16 is gold
48:38 Didn't Izek still have his arm at the "Wedding?"
They should have given the strad puppet to the raven.
don't. split. the. party.
So wait is Strahd trapped in a puppet or somewhere in Barovia with his family? Or is it both cause of the wierd timelines? I'm confused.
Zac Bohannon Probably both?
Ferdie Humphreys Oh O.O well that's not comforting. XD
By travelling back in time and changing things, the Waffle crew kinda created a second timeline
I know this won’t be a popular comment, but I applauded when Paultin did what he did at the end. “Guests” sometimes overstay their visit without realizing it.
Guests barely last 2 episodes. Dont know where the "over stay their visit" comes from.
Chris is a good DM and writer. A good DM and writer doesn't introduce and remove characters for arbitrary reasons, i.e. This is a "guest" character, therefore they can't stay very long. That's not how a story properly flows, and the flow of this story has created no reason for Miranda not to continue on with the party. Also, while she is the longest running guest thus far, other guest character have lasted multiple episodes as well (Bag of Nails, for instance).
In short, you don't remove a character just because. If it happens, it'll be natural to what's happening in the story. Chris is great at that, though he has thrown some rough things at her to overcome and she's earned her extended stay.
So are all the time altering events they caused in Barovia no longer canon?
tad irritated when there is no links for me to find the place for Anna, Holly to watch their stuff.
Scarloss It's on this channel dude lol
Holy crow this is amazing. Fantastic story telling! Love for all the Waffle Crew.
Im glad the show finally turned properly into an evil campaign. It always teetered around it but Paultin finally letting his garbage personality be consumed by the ring pushed it just enough in that direction. Pending Strix's return from the C team, this might be a very close TPK.
13:27 Waffle Crew goes Bird Box
I hate Murderbot.
I love Strix, but . . . why does she have to do the stupidest reactionary thing every time? Between her and Evelyn . . . sigh.
And now she shows up with the C-Team. Awesome. I watched that one a long time ago and now I know what situation she came from. Crazy! Those are some good episodes BTW.
16
I'm baaaaaaaaaack!!!!
52:52
The return of Mr.Shambleface
I'm so hoping for a Straude vs Paultin showdown.. Third times a charm. XD
Am I the only one that loves Darth Paultin. He is just so cartoon villainy. Where he needs everything to be perfect and he has this big extravagant plan for how he becomes the best villain and everything needs to work in his favor.
"This is my first attempt at cliché villainy. How am I doing?"
Everyone's reactions to the Strahd puppet:
Holly: AHHHHHHHGGGHGHGHGH
Jared: oHNOOOOOOO
Anna: *INTENSE GASP*
Nate (who isn't even there): ohhh shiiit
Rachel (who has no idea): *shrugs*
Everyone's reaction to "big everywhere else" XD
52:58 PBSD: Post-Barovia Stress Disorder
BroadHorizon21 P🅱️SD
".. and I'm less evil now..." xDD lolll chris is having way too much fun
He will destroy us all :)
If I could ask Chris one question, it would be "Who hurt you?"
"It's the Strad puppet..."
WHY DO YOU HATE THEM, PERKINS?!
Litteraly the one problem they DIDN'T have and now it's back to bite them in the ass?!?
To be fair even if you beat Strahd and leave Barovia he always returns.
I like how it looks like they tried to protect Waffles' identity... 19:30
They did it to Diath aswell.
I loved when Strix put a blindfold on Waffles, they put a black bar over the Owlbears eyes under the characters lol ALSO DID STRIX JUST GET TAKEN BY ACQ INC AGAIN GOD DAMMIT
Also Diath's thumbnail also has a black bar over it's eyes.
Paultons solo bits feel like video game cutscenes where the player has wondered off to do something else.
I'm about maybe 10 episodes behind at this point and I just put this on to get a little sneak peak.
*opening starts*
Me (aloud): "WHY ARE WE BACK IN BAROVIA? D: "
Oh buckle up my friend.
but its basically barovia
"Your maximum hit points drop by 16"
Fuuuuuuucking Christ, Chris Perkins!
Welcome to the waffle crew where we can't go 5 episodes without near death experiences and or bard has an evil overlord complex and tries to kill us twice per season
Unconscious and bleeding out is not consent, Paultin!
Much love to Chris Perkins and The Waffle Crew! My personal D&D dream would be to play an adventure with you guys. Thanks for the amazing stories and always excited for what happens next!
Drizzt, you had ONE JOB!
He said he'd take it there... That's where it was. Don't blame him for the dwarves incompetence XD lol
Not to mention that Drizzt is a pretty important guy with a plate full of other things to focus on than just babysit a vampire puppet.
Delta 48 yup..... I’m giving him 2 stars on yelp
That frozen reference was long overdue
Paultin: a worse evil little magnet than Percival De Rollo.
Attempt at Italian translations by non-italian speaker - I make no promises as to accuracy
a year later, but italian
"uccidili" - kill them (you couldn't find it because you didn't know how to spell it)
the beggars can be choosers bit it's a saying that means the same, "chi ha bisogno si arrenda" and it literally means "who is in needs, yields"
regina dei corvi* , raven queen (we use the same word for crows and ravens, btw)
You got the rest and did a good job ;)
i also appreciate chris for trying, i heard so many far worse attempts. i mean he managed to stress the wrong syllable in more than half the words, but he tried and had fun with it!
I'm about to tak an exam Chris Perkins, I am not emotional ready to watch this.
I watched the first 10 minutes of the first episode of dice, camera, action then i skipped straight to the most recent episode. I laughed out loud when i found out they actually became the 'Waffle crew' after that one stupid discussion two years ago.
Strix has the strongest plot-armour I've seen in a long time
Evelyn has no blood
It's weird to think miranda/rachel has been in almost a tenth of the episodes overall. At this point I think Chris has given up on killing her and I kind of hope she becomes permanent.
Even Paultin's trying to help Chris get rid of Miranda now! And Rachel is trying with all her might to become permanent.
Caer Ibormeith If she survives then she more than earn the right to be permanent imo.
Uh well bag of nails lived he just rode off into the sunset trying to kill the dragon
Sam's Drow character and the werewolf dude survived as well.
But they had reasons to leave.
@@nicholasepsilon3534 But if she became permanent she would no longer be subject to the curse. Instead she would become part of the curse.
"*cough* hold person *cough*" :) White letter comment for the win!
I have decided that all DM's are evil.
Hey... Chaotic evil, thank you.
No, we are not. We simply must roleplay all the horrible shit in the world. Totally not fun, I swear
The casual drop of child murder at about 1:03:00 ish
Lol, the thumbnail shows 3 out of 5 players scowling at a smiling Chris Perkins...
1:05:29 Evelyn sounded like she was being possessed by Danny Sexbang for a moment there.
Now I have caught back up to this episode, I feel that Nate did the banishment maybe so that another guest character didn't die, and I was so hoping for that out. But then she withstood it.
So i'm feeling that Miranda might die next ep. Then I might be actually up to date.
Why didnt they give the Finesse SUN SWORD to the ROGUE
1:17:00 Watch closely at the women and their reactions
I thought the same thing!
I wonder if WOTC will use anything that happens in this campaign for future lore books or adventures because there is a lot of great material in this campaign.
The Shader-kai and the Raven Queen are getting featured in Mordenkainens Tome of Foes. Coincidentally right as this campaign is going on
Adam Hobbs I was thinking something more along the lines of Paultin being the inspiration for a villain in one of the premade adventure books somewhere down the line.
The whole Dimension Door "willing creature" thing brings me to a detail I'm curious about. The way I rationalize it personally is that the Dimension Door is a portal that opens for a very brief period of time, let's say two or three seconds. If a creature is unwilling, they will struggle and in the time it takes you to deal with that, the portal closes. That said, if the creature is unconscious they could in theory be treated as an object. Then it would be a matter of overcoming whatever challenges that action would create, perhaps with a skill challenge involved depending on how the PC is attempting to do it. Of course, the whole "willing" requirement could in fact be some nebulous quality of the spell where unwilling creatures simply can't pass through because magic.
The description of the spell doesn't state an actual portal opens up, which is strange since the spell's title would make you think there was. It only states you teleport. If it is an actual portal though, couldn't you just have it open up on the floor beneath you so you fall into it? That would make it easier to bring an unconscious person through. Of course all this means nothing since they are still an unwilling creature.
Doesn't help either that the picture on the adjoining page shows a magic user opening an actual magic portal. I think it's reasonable to say that the portal can only be oriented in a particular way-hence you can't open one beneath you and let gravity take over. I prefer a practical explanation for why an unwilling creature can't be taken along as opposed to the idea that the magic somehow "knows" a creature is unwilling and prevents them from passing through.
omg I love Rachael's face when Izek is being reintroduced
Heh.. when did the quotations start happening for Evelyn 'human' paladin. I just notice. Lol.
Chris has a hit on Miranda for real lol. She's pulling through hard and I'm rooting for her now lol.
And I thought it couldn't get any grosser than the snake down the throat...
If anyone wants to see Strix appear in the other game dying the video is called "
Plans Within Plans, Part 6 - S2 E07 - Acquisitions Inc: The "C" Team" and she appears at like 13 mins
I love Perkins but that DM ex Machina with Strix left a bad taste in my mouth.
That was always going to happen; it justifies her suddenly being on Acq Inc. The fact that it came right as she was about to die just meant she teleported out of the episode a bit early.
I just really wish Holly would turn down her mic or not scream so much. I get that Strix is a.scared character. This is truly a matter of ear pain.
Yeah, it really grates on my nerves too.
Little black bar over Waffles graphic is PRICELESS
He hung me!
Yeah, like 50 years ago
Having Strix teleport to join the C Team is actually a reward, there it's all fun and jokes when this is just death around the corner
Chris Perkins... was that a reference to the skeletor “I am not nice” thing???
diath was tied to waffles so he should have been pulled behind her!!!!
i was just thinking while listening to this... they technically ended up 60 years before the start of the campaign... because time travel... also the multiverse has a strahd again because time travel... and they now have a strahd doll from the first timeline which means if they release him the multiverse will have 2 strahds and will be forced to correct for the error or time travel will ensue again and we will end up with 0 strahds and my brain hurts now... first how did future strahd end up in the past? unless your explanation is the multiverse outside of strahds universe never went back in time... in THAT case when they release strahd, inevitably, by accident will future strahd go back to barovia? if he does will he try to kill new strahd? chris! i need answers!
I love how Diath has Uncanny Dodge and Strix has started trying to imitate that with Hellish Rebuke but it never works
11:15
ICEBIRD!! Of Death. Lol.
Jared doing cosplay as Diath should have a piece of cloth wrapped around his neck, like Gertruda, but just to cover the real-or-imagined scars from his real-or-imagined hangings. ;)
If only mordenkainens tome was out then lord niall could of become an angry
Ehhhh, it's nice to see Izek again, but I'm not quite sure I'm totally down with the Strahd puppet coming back. Depending on how this'll play out, that can actually be quite a legit dick move to pull. If Strahd just get's released again, that really cheapens the accomplishments of the Waffle Crew. It's like, we spent something like over a couple dozen episodes in Barovia trying to stop Strahd and to have the dude just escape after all that in a flash can work to undermine the entire point of doing Curse of Strahd in the first place. It's a personal pet peeve I have with narrative. I don't like harsh situation-resets, stories progressing backwards or stories, where what one arc had accomplished either get's swept under the rug or just made moot from the word go.
It just feels too late to open up again after Drizzt came and took the doll away. It only really feels right for that to have been the end of it. If the doll had been around all this time, a sort of consistent risk that existed throughout the whole campaign, with maybe Strahd torturing and trying to manipulate the party as they've gone along, there'd be more grounds to have him come back, because he'd have established himself as a definitive part of the adventure. Or if anything, let the idea of someone wanting to free Strahd be an adventure all it's own. The fact that this issue exists now for reasons completely out of the party's control feels wrong in some way. Strahd's a bit too big to just let happen out of nowhere.
I can appreciate where you're coming from, but I always saw the Strahd puppet as a loose end. I think this is harsh in an interesting and earned way. Certainly, Chris is wickedly insidious, but the Waffle Crew has a remarkable lack of planning and follow-through.
The Crew gave Mr. Shambleface to Drizz't, decided it wan't their problem anymore, and elected to forget about it. They literally brought a terror from another dimension trapped in a fragile doll into Faerun, and DECIDED to stop worrying about it. They decided to ignore what seemed like fate.
Fate took them into Barovia, fate brought them BACK to Barovia, and a mix of fate with decisions (plus bad saving throws) has them in this predicament.
Not trying to convince you to change your mind; just sharing my experience.
My only real complaint is that we've basically had two sessions of exposition about the Shadowfell, the Raven Queen, and the new-new dusk elves. I expect a tie-in to new & upcoming WotC releases on DCA, but I'd kinda like more interaction with the world, and fewer recited lessons in history and lore.
You do make a fair point and granted, I jump onto this without even knowing the full picture that Chris has in store. I do have a tendency to jump to conclusions on plot-threads and be very skeptical of story-progression for no actual reason. Who knows? This could spiral into anything and it is a convenient get-out clause out of having a TPK or Paultin murdered, as I'm sure Strahd, a vampire king, has what it takes to overpower the Ring of Winter. It's a case of needing to be reminded that, as much as the Waffle Crew are a proper roleplay table through and through, this is still a show and the DM is going to be more lenient for the sake of not just ending a story on such a nothing note.
On the subject of the Waffle Crew's "Drop it and forget it" approach, I actually advocate the decision. I took the Waffle Crew's decision to leave the Strahd doll in such a manner as a case of facing facts. As you said, the Waffle Crew have poor planning and lack in the follow-through. Which is exactly why they absolutely should not be carrying that thing themselves. At the time, they were like level 6 little shits with a world record for ending up in horrific situations. That said, they must have realized that they are woefully, wholly unprepared for the responsibility of carrying the soul of a powerful and malicious vampire-lord on their persons. Drizzt, on the other hand, edge-tendencies aside, is a remarkable adventurer with dozens of powerful contacts and the know-how around such dangerous missions. By all logic, it was better in his hands over the Waffle Crew. There is an admitted sense of heroism in taking the burden and sacrifice that comes with responsibility, but when faced with reason, the Waffle Crew made, what I believe, to be the smart choice.
It's the decision I'd have made as well, if I were the secret 5th Waffle crewman. Although I'd have requested to escort Drizzt to see the doll carried through and maybe even volunteered to guard it when it reached it's destination, but at that stage, we bump into the dilemma of "We are playing Storm King's Thunder, not Strahd-doll tower-defence" and have to make a few compromises, because the DM just spent money on the module and an investment of time studying it, while all my fellow players are all eager to play the designated module. The kind of moment, where I'd probably give my farewells to the character and make a new one for Storm King, because as much as I grow attached to my characters, I'm also attached to sticking by what they believe in.
I guess I really didn't realize the exposition dump myself as much, because this is all new stuff to me. I've only been into D&D for about 2 years now. Jared sorta got me on the track to finding a group to play with. As such, I'm finding alot of this more fascinating, because I'm actually being educated on stuff about the Forgotten Realms I don't know yet about, although at this stage, with all the characters and deities and locations and shit, I kinda wish WotC would just knuckle down and publish a series of almanacs or a compendium just to keep track of it all. I'd find integrating the Forgotten Realms into my character creation whenever I play with the setting much more enjoyable if there was a way to be on-track with what the setting actually even is at this point.
I always thought the way they trapped him in there was kind of cheap to begin with. Him getting out wouldn't bother me at all.
"Strahd-doll tower defence" indeed! :-)
There are a TON of resources for the world of Forgotten Realms--some of them are "complete guides" of lore, some hone-in on some portion of Faerun (a location, or race, for instance). 3rd edition/3.5 especially. Each edition of the game updates, retcons, and/or invalidates some prior history, so I think that's the real barrier.
The Forgotten Realms wiki is pretty solid, though. Just look for a character, race, deity, or place, and let the wiki take you away! The wiki richly fanned my fondness for Eilistraee, goddess of good drow (and it's a good article, to boot!). Not that it's the most up-to-date source, mind you.
Hope that helps... or that it only confuses in a way that leads to deeper interest.
Just a note, the DM in question more or less WROTE these modules.
First off, the Waffle Crew "defeating" Strahd was very much an easy card that Chris gave them the ability of finding and utilizing. In doing so, they even had to make major decisions such as murdering a child to fuel the magic of the doll. Trapping Strahd was a risk, because they did NOT actually defeat him. They used an easy route that created a loose end, so it's completely fair that it may come back to bite them later on from a narrative perspective.
That said, Chris isn't a bad DM in the sense that he undoes what they've accomplished, or backtracks on the same old narrative. Even if Strahd was released now, he wouldn't set them on another slogging route to deal with him over again. If you've been around to watch DCA from the start, you know that his campaigns are very engaging, free flowing, and even when old friends and enemies arise, it's always fresh and new and interesting. He has a plan for everything that happens, and when he doesn't, he's a master of improv in making it work. I guarantee you that if he brought the Strahd puppet into play here, he has a very well thought out plan for what will happen if he is released. And again, it's still up to the party. It would be a VERY costly decision to release Strahd, and that's a monumental choice that he's put in their hands. That alone is a great tactic as a DM, putting your players in a situation where they may feel like they need to do something so dire. There's so many different angles to this, I can assure you it isn't just undoing past achievements and creating a tired narrative, that isn't Chris's style at all.
Is there a way to invert the playlist? It starts with the lates episode and ends with the first, but I need it the other way around D:
I got around it by manually making my own playlist and then deleting the episodes as I watched them. I know it's annoying, but that's the best I have. :(
Banishment spell would save Miranda lol
What does it take to become part of the waffle crew? You all have a ton of fun. Would love to join the team.
Wait I see plot holes here. Maybe I'm missing something? Didn't they go back in time never have that encounter with Izek (being dead) or have to trap Strahd or do any of that Barovian stuff?
in a tree i think Strix said in the time travel episode that Barovia is like in a time bubble or something? So, changing the past in Barovia didn't affect the future outside of there, and since the puppet was outside of Barovia....
Chris is the reason i started DMing, and its has to be one of the most revolutionary parts of my gaming life,.
I literally didn't notice the dude was speaking in spanish until he said "finalmente". I have failed my Spanish teacher.
Ravioli ravioli Dont lewd the dragon loli Its italien. Not spanish. Similar, but different!
even more of a reason as to why i've failed my spanish teacher.
I smell a vampire fight incoming.
I volunteer to be a NPC!
how about we yoink that ring from paultin pls
Chris's is a genius.
i almost spit up when strix said they are very capable people, they are legit the worst adventuring team, making the poorest choices every time lmao
They're back in Barovia?! Dafuq?
Just a psychotic bard and his evil artifact ring, an army of snowmen and two deranged shadarkai assassins. It's fine.
Barovia is a part of the plane of The Shadowfell. Barovia got cut off from the rest of the plane through powerful magical B.S. from [insert story reason & spoiler].
When Strix is the sane one you know the party is in trouble.
Snow clones? He got his wish! He’s the snowkage!
Why oh why wouldn't Paultin try 20 charges to create a ice dragon???? Who cares if you didn't have any left....you'd have an ice dragon!!! Oh how Paultin/Nate drives me nuts.
I suppose he doesn't know how long the dragon would last. If it only lasts a day, using all charges for the day would be a waste.
Because he has to roll to create it. So if he rolls low, all the charges would be used up completely
I love this show. Runs with some One the best. I'll never forget the ones with will Wheaton.
john k which ones with Wheaton?
Wait who has the thing they used catch the djinn? Could they use that??
umburon the iron flask was lost sometime during Strix’s 50 years in Barovia
Yay I'm finally caught up
bird box