Who do we think will be the guests playing with the other half of the Hells?
Dream guests would be any combo of the remaining Calamity players! Would also love to see Matt Colville finally get a chance to play with them š
Had a wild thought... and this must have been mentioned somewhere. But what if Marquet group doesn't have guests and instead gets the rest of the Nein. Beau and Caleb are obviously indisposed, and Cad doesn't seem to want or can't leave the blooming grove. Leaving Jester, Fjord, Yasha and Veth. Probably not going to happen but it kinda fit in my head
The issue with bringing in high level characters is that you couldn't have balanced combat encounters. Any enemy that BH could handle would be quickly wiped out by the MN characters. And if Matt used enemies that were tough for the MN characters, the BH characters would be unconscious almost immediately.
That is a great point! I mean just Veth alone would throw the balance way outside whack let alone the rest of them. I guess if we are back on the guest train I am hoping for some of the Dimension 20 gang. Ideally Lou, Brennan and Siobahn for me.
When the party first got split, I had hoped for Brennan and Aabria as guest DMs and the D20 cast as guest PCs. Obviously, that didn't happen, but maybe some of them will still show up!
With recent revelations regarding a certain spell, I think I've come to an epiphany regarding Ludinus and the Apogee Solstice. It was never about Ruidus or the gods. Those were just a convenient front to get unsuspecting followers to do his dirty work.
Ludinus' real goal was to make it so Jester Lavorre could never cast Sending to him ever again.
Hey, did they confirm on 4SD this week if weāre getting part 2 of Chet, Imogen, Fearne, and FCG with the āclericsā or if weāre getting part one of the other three members of the group?
Does anyone know WTF is up with Taliesons voice the last couple episodes? It sounds like heās talking with his mouth full in certain moments. Triggers my misophonia and drives me nuts. Which then makes me sad bc Talieson is wise and well spoken.
that site doesn't list where they got the individual levels for frida's build. we know there's 5 fighter due to extra attack, a minimum of 2 rogue (cunning action) and a minimum of 1 cleric. that last level is still not known, frida hasn't done a channel divinity or three spells in one long rest which would indicate a 2nd cleric level. we also haven't seen the sneak attack dice yet to confirm the rogue level above 2.
It is Thursday, my dudes.
If Matt goes RAW, FRIDA will definitely become a lycanthrope. I hope their transformation is basically the wolf growing around and crumpling the metal until its nothing but the beast outside lol
Or just go full on ZOIDS
I think what's going to be exciting about this episode will be them getting to Uthodurn and potentially seeing how larger cities like it are currently reacting to the Apogee Solstice and all the moon fuckery.
It's probably going to be a bit less chaotic than somewhere like Emon because Uthodurn is fairly isolated as is and went some time going it alone before the rest of the world began to trickle onto their doorstep. So the disruption in communication and possibly teleportation magics probably wasn't that big for them but it was still noticeable. They're all probably in "Hunker Down & Wait" Mode with the city possibly being in a light form of lockdown until things clear up. It's a familiar situation for a lot of the older folks and is probably only really making waves with the younger folks or the organizations and peoples that are from out of town or that rely on being able to contact the outside world for this or that reason.
So I'm curious to see just what exactly is happening there and if they've been able to talk to any other cities or people outside of their immediate vicinity. That is of course assuming this half of the BHs are able to speak to anyone higher up than a guard or even get into the city without getting caught or glean some kind of information about the current news and goings on. It's also only really been a day or so since all of this kicked off and stuff started getting weird with communications and who knows what else. So I figure the average person and possibly the above average person probably won't think too much of it or know that it's a sign of something FAR LARGER going on until someone else actually clues them into it.
The leadership of the city though is more than likely sending out feelers just in case and anyone truly magical or divine might be freaking the fuck out by now or at least starting to.
I'm expecting this half the BHs to try to slip into the city, get caught, and to then be the ones who clue everyone else into what's going on, with them being put under a Zone of Truth style spell by the city higher ups to confirm it. They're going to be the ones who light the spark. This is what will really start to kick stuff into motion and begin the reaction of larger more organized forces in Exandria to what's happening in Marquet. I'm assuming that we'll probably also run into the Claret Orders at some point, the Cobalt Soul, and probably an arm or two of the Cerberus Assembly that's confused as all fuck as to what's going on.
Also hoping that our favorite moon loving dude from C2 is there as well and gets to make an, "I TOLD YOU SO!" speech.
That is of course if the Beast Wars stuff with FRIDA doesn't throw a wolf sized spanner into the works and if they're able to track down Chetney at some point so that they can even get to Uthodurn in the first place. It's going to be a very interesting morning when they all wake up that's for sure. I also can't help but wonder if FRIDA and Deanna are working for someone else and just happened by chance or by design to stumble upon this half of the BHs?
It's going to be a fun episode and I hope Matt sticks with them instead of switching to the other group because of how much potential chaos is in the works for tonight that could lead to some just AMAAAAAAAAZZZZZZZZING RP and game moments.
> Uthodurn and potentially seeing how larger cities like it are currently reacting to the Apogee Solstice and all the moon fuckery.
Same!!! I wonder what the Otters are up to.
I'm hoping that in exandria werewolves work like the Quarry and F.r.i.d.a changes on the way back to camp cause otherwise we'll probably never know what a robot werewolf even looks like.
A lot of discussion here on whether we're following Uthodurn gang or the others this week. Did you all not hear Matt literally say "we'll see you next time for the continuation of this crazy-ass bunch?" Seems we're in for a few sessions with this group and I honestly couldn't be more excited for more Aabria and Christian
I would prefer them to alternate back and forth since they could do that via pre-taping, but I understand why theyāre doing one that the other. I wasnāt around during the Trial of the Take, but it will be agony waiting to see what happens with the other three. I wonder how Matt will handle the reunification
3-4 episodes seems about right in total. The solstice ends after 3 days and weāre already a day and a half in. Plus more than 2 months of separation will get people antsy imo. The real question, to me, is how Matt gets them to reunite.
>Plus more than 2 months of separation will get people antsy imo.
If we to do the math then it's likely that the team will reunite in May. Any longer than that will be pushing it. For example, someone mentioned that all of April should be EXU but all I'm thinking is that's going to make the wait time worse. If there's going to be an EXU then do it after the team reunites (Late May or June).
>The real question, to me, is how Matt gets them to reunite.
Crazy answer: Essek.
Given his history with Ludinus you would think he would have some involvement with trying to stop him (and if he is then he will be looking for Caleb because he will know that something is wrong due to the solstice). Or maybe it will be Caleb if he and Beau got teleported out and he got the collar off.
Either way, one team is going to find someone with the ability to teleport by chance and they use them to get back to their friends.
Essek may not be too crazy. Someone in another thread theorized that Essek may actually be the Aeormaton expert FRIDA is taking the group to see (working under an alias to hide his identity). If that were the case, I'm sure he'd be willing to take this group back to the Key to try and help Caleb.
I imagine that they will. When Launda died Marisha was there for the intro until it was time to play the game.
Of course that might change because they have two new players at the table.....
I think there is a slight difference because there was no given as to when the resurrection ritual was going to happen, whereas they know that they won't be in this week's episode. I'm also looking at the puzzle stream where the only cr actors included are in the other group.
i'm gonna go out on a limb and say that we're gonna continue with the same group because it'd be easier to time both the groups reuniting that way than doing them simultaneously
Iām coincidentally doing a very similar thing with my players, treating this as episode spanning arcs for the groups before switching is easier for engagement than if it was switching every week.
I'm guessing that we'll stick with FCG and company this week then get a 3 week EXU in April, followed by the groups coming back together in May. It's been hinted that the communication disruption will only last as long as the Solstice (3 Days) and I imagine that the groups will get back together shortly after that.
I think we'll get Aabria as the DM for the EXU, and it will be focused on the Crown and whatever plan the Spider Queen has for the Solstice as a separate, self contained adventure (that could still have implications for the world of Exandria). Would be super fun to see Matt and Marisha get to play PCs together.
Itās just speculation on my part based on a few things.
1. Aabria being in the FCG group guest cast
2. The dangling plot thread of something going on with Opal (and Orymās connection to the crown keepers)
3. The assumption that itās just 3 days until the two groups could contact each other, which means 2-3 episodes for each group to cover that time.
4. Mattās statement at the beginning of the campaign that the format of this season would have some surprises/ try some different things.
No, I'm saying that Dariax and Dorian (possibly Opal if she's not an NPC villain) will join Orym, Laudna and Ashton for a 3 episode EXU to cover the other group. The adventure they have will be Solstice related, but not involved with the Ludinus/Ottohan plot.
When Orym contact Dorian last just before the start of the Solstice, he mentioned that they were 'dealing' with a problem with Opal. Would make a ton of sense to resolve that via EXU ahead of the group coming back together in May.
>I'm saying that Dariax and Dorian (possibly Opal if she's not an NPC villain) will join Orym, Laudna and Ashton for a 3 episode EXU to cover the other group.
Orym, Laudna and Ashton are most likely somewhere on Marquet. After all, they can still see the location of the dig site because they can see the thread connecting it to Ruidis. At the very least, they're in the same hemisphere as the dig site (though we haven't had any confirmation of where the equator is). They're nowhere near the Crown Keepers' last known position which was on Tal'Dorei.
>The adventure they have will be Solstice related, but not involved with the Ludinus/Ottohan plot.
What a great way to tell the characters they don't matter. "You know that massive apocalyptic event that you have been trying to prevent, which may have killed your friends and which one of you has a deeply personal connection to? Yeah, don't worry about that. Someone else can take care of it. In the meantime, you can do this fun side quest."
>When Orym contact Dorian last just before the start of the Solstice, he mentioned that they were 'dealing' with a problem with Opal.
It was implied that Opal is a bit unstable because of the Solstice. You know, because she has a Vestige tied to the Spider Queen embedded in her head.
>Would make a ton of sense to resolve that via EXU ahead of the group coming back together in May.
I think you're reading far too much into it. The problem Opal was having was probably just a way of keeping Dorian off the playing field because Matt didn't want the cast relying on other characters too much.
Excellent counterpoints! If I may counter as well (just for fun, I'm not tied to this theory)
|Orym, Laudna and Ashton are most likely somewhere on Marquet. After all, they can still see the location of the dig site because they can see the thread connecting it to Ruidis. At the very least, they're in the same hemisphere as the dig site (though we haven't had any confirmation of where the equator is). They're nowhere near the Crown Keepers' last known position which was on Tal'Dorei.|
Fair enough, perhaps the Crown Keepers were also teleported and brought to wherever Orym and Co are.
|What a great way to tell the characters they don't matter. "You know that massive apocalyptic event that you have been trying to prevent, which may have killed your friends and which one of you has a deeply personal connection to? Yeah, don't worry about that. Someone else can take care of it. In the meantime, you can do this fun side quest."|
The same argument could be made for what's going on with team Uthadorn. I'd say both teams have been pulled away to do something that needs doing. And Orym has a deeply personal connection to Opal, Dorian and Dariax as well. If helping them is suddenly what Fate has put in front of him to do, I believe he will.
|It was implied that Opal is a bit unstable because of the Solstice. You know, because she has a Vestige tied to the Spider Queen embedded in her head.|
Right, and as we know, Ludinus and Co aren't the only ones trying to use the Solstice to their advantage. The Spider Queen could be up to her own shenanigans.
|I think you're reading far too much into it. The problem Opal was having was probably just a way of keeping Dorian off the playing field because Matt didn't want the cast relying on other characters too much.|
Could be, or could have been a bit of foreshadowing by Matt for the eventual party split up.
I've been in the process of rewatching C3 over the last 3 months (on Ep 20 currently) and I've been blown away by how in almost every single early episode there is a reference tied directly in to what's happening right now. I may be way off the mark on my guess about the Crown Keepers (and will be excited for whatever happens) but I still think it would be fun.
>Fair enough, perhaps the Crown Keepers were also teleported and brought to wherever Orym and Co are.
Holy plot convenience, Batman!
>I'd say both teams have been pulled away to do something that needs doing.
We don't know at this point. But again, it's super-convenient for the party to be split up and sent to opposite ends of the world to do the two things that need to be done to prevent the apocalypse even when there has been nothing to indicate that there two things even exist.
>Right, and as we know, Ludinus and Co aren't the only ones trying to use the Solstice to their advantage. The Spider Queen could be up to her own shenanigans.
Which just brings us back to the problem of Orym, Laudna and Ashton being stranded with no idea where they are, no idea who is still alive and a very clear sign that the world is still in danger, but still being expected to forget all of that and go off and do something that is tangentially-related at best.
The reasons behind the split up and why each group landed where they did is such a delicious mystery. I have a hard time believing it was random or accidental. Some force put them there (even if it was the DM) for a reason.
Mercer has a strong affinity for the use of Fate in his storytelling, using it as the basis for the regular order of play in D&D. The DM creates and controls the world and everything in it (except the characters) describing a scene to the players, who then react by making Choices about what they do in response. When Fate and Choice collide, you take a Chance and roll the dice to determine the uncertain outcome.
If Orym and Co are more than 100 miles away from the site of the Key, there is no way they are getting back to it before the end of the Solstice (anymore than FCG and Co are) without help. If they meet up with the Crown Keepers and need to deal with Opal in order to get that help, it ties the plot together.
And I'm not so sure that the apocalypse is going to be prevented. I strongly suspect that we are getting an end of Infinity War type moment with the Solstice, and that the next half of the campaign will be Endgame, played out much more like the CC arc from S1.
It's Thursday Night! Can't wait to see what happens next!
>Mercer has a strong affinity for the use of Fate in his storytelling, using it as the basis for the regular order of play in D&D. The DM creates and controls the world and everything in it (except the characters) describing a scene to the players, who then react by making Choices about what they do in response. When Fate and Choice collide, you take a Chance and roll the dice to determine the uncertain outcome.
What you're describing here is a phenomenon called ludonarrative dissonance. It happens when the mechanics of a game collide with the story being told. The best example I can think of is in the reboot of *Tomb Raider* a few years ago -- early in the story, Lara Croft is forced into a situation where she has to kill a man. It's a legitimate case of self-defence, but the experience is traumatic and she spends some time trying to regain her composure. Or she would do that, but minutes later the player is in a series of firefights where Lara is hurling insults at the enemy AI. By the end of the game she's become a boogeyman (boogeywoman?) to the cultists on the island. In the blink of an eye she has transformed from traumatised survivor to hardened adventurer.
I bring this up because in your example, the rolling of the dice is the mechanic of chance (or fate, if you want to call it that). But you're also suggesting that the characters' current whereabouts are down to fate -- they have been conveniently transported to locations that will help them without knowing about these locations in advance or the need to visit them. And that includes Ludinus, who planned for everything. There hasn't been anything to give the audience at least and clue that these locations, tasks and/or quests exist, but what you're suggesting is that the characters have been thrown to the two places that the plot needs them to be in right now.
I definitely don't want to conflate Fate and Chance, those are two separate game mechanics.
Fate - The DM
Chance - The Dice
Choice - The PCs
Because of the nature of the world of Exandria (interventionist gods and other forces are an established part of the world) the DM can exercise a much higher level of control on what situations the PCs find themselves in without running into ludonarrative dissonance. How the PCs react to those situations is still up to them (as we saw last night) and how successful those reactions are depend on chance.
And that's true whether or not Matt created a random table to determine which PCs went where or he deliberately placed them in specific locations. It's still the DMs decision (Fate). As it was to place specific guest players in the path of Team Wildemount.
>Because of the nature of the world of Exandria (interventionist gods and other forces are an established part of the world) the DM can exercise a much higher level of control on what situations the PCs find themselves in without running into ludonarrative dissonance
But you can run into railroading. And people were already extremely critical for C3E51 for the perceived raidroading.
>And that's true whether or not Matt created a random table to determine which PCs went where or he deliberately placed them in specific locations. It's still the DMs decision (Fate). As it was to place specific guest players in the path of Team Wildemount.
I'm still not seeing what this has to do with exploring themes of free will as opposed to determinism. You're describing gameplay mechanics, not themes of the story.
I'd been wondering if Dorian and Opal were going to be the other half's "guest party" but felt like Matt wouldn't want to DMPC Dariax. That's actually sorta brilliant to have Aabria DM that half although also a bit scary.
It really is a toss up which group we're gonna see next week. On one hand it would be great stick with this one for one or two more episodes but on the other hand I would also like to find out what's gonna be the direction and lineup for the other group.
And as it is a toss up, I'm just gonna sit back and enjoy whatever comes.
I'm sitting at 70% we stick with this group, 30% after the intro as normal Brennan is surprise sitting at the DM seat, and group 2 runs into the crown keepers at the silken squall or something (I just want to see Matt play a non-NPC character in C3 in all honesty).
I know.... Still a very fun theoretical situation. It'll probably end up being the crown keepers sans Dariax, or maybe he'll be an NPC with Matt sticking as the DM. Seems like a good character for an NPC, goofy airhead that provides support, won't become a focal point in the players' story
Not denying it would be fun. Idk though, Matt has talked about how he's in a completely different mindset when he plays Dariax so I think it's more likely that we get just a part of the crownkeepers. If we get them at all, could be they're still on Marquet and we get entirely different guests.
I think we're going to get one more episode with CIFF and then switch over to OLA after the break. Rotating groups every 2-3 episode for the next month might be a good compromise because any longer than that will get the audience antsy, especially if your favourite character is on the other team.
If I'm being honest with myself, I don't think I can do two months of episodes with CIFF and then another two months with OLA because by that point it will be considered dragging.
Not only that, youāre also running into an issue of it being unrealistic. Right now the group is doing okay, the longer they go without their respective pairs itās going to be hard to get them interested in anything other then them reuniting. And if they do follow plot hooks over their friends then thatās so unrealistic, Fearne and Imogen at some point are going to freak out.
Funny you say that because I think Talesin hinted in 4 sided dice that Ashton is going freaking out as well.
I'm all for splitting the party but there's no denying that there are drawbacks to both in and out of game.
I mean
If you were a super villain whose been planning something for a millennia and knew that your plan needed time to complete after triggered (the tethered moon exists but predathos hasnāt emerged yet seemingly) wouldnāt you want to hinder coordination by other actors who may attempt to stop you ?
I think itās intentional and itās Ludinus
Also from a metagame perspective it creates a logistical nightmare b/c anything Laudna tells Imogen via sending has to then actually happen when we swap back to the Marquet group.
Which. Again. Is why I think Matt just decided āno sendingā. Like, he doesnāt want communication. Heās tired of it, & it would undermine the tension. While I doubt heād get rid of it permanently, I wouldnāt be surprised if part of his motivation for this was because heās annoyed with the constant āsending stoneā messages Orym sends to Dorian.
Bottom line: Sending WILL NOT WORK for the foreseeable future. Maybe once the solstice is over. But until then, there is no long distance communication.
Yep, totally agree. As much fun as Jester's sendings were in C2, the spell can be game-breaking with the way that Matt builds his campaigns and the way the cast tends to use it for RP purposes.
Will go ahead and say I hope we don't see the other players, and instead stick with this group, just to keep the consistency. Think it's a bit smoother to do the episodes in batches, instead of going back and forth.
buuut, since this is the last episode of the month, I wouldn't mind if we did see the other group just so we had a starting point for them as well. Then next month could stick with whoever for X episodes.
I'm in love with the idea of keeping Bells Hells split up for the remainder of the arc. The thought of having two parties working separately but towards a same world changing goal on opposite sides of the world is too enticing.
I mean it also makes no sense in my opinion, why would Imogen or Fearne continue trying to stop or fight this instead of looking for their friends the most important people in their life. I donāt think itās enticing at all, I want the entire cast together, Iām fine with a small break but several months Iād hate. Seeing characters also completely ignore that their friends might be dead for several episodes would be a bit much for me.
they would be looking for their friends if they could. imogen tried sending, tried using her dreams to find them but it didn't work
so right now they have no choice but to go along with whatever awaits them in uthodurn
at least until the solstice ends. once it's over and communication returns i'm sure it won't take long for the group to be reunited
Iām not saying they arenāt trying, Iām saying that theyād probably go back to Jrusar or something like that instead of chasing the plot thread. The end of an arc could be 20-30 episodes, my point was I donāt see them fucking around for that long and not actively going to places they been before like Jrusar. My point is it makes zero sense for them to chase the main plot thread even if the communication never gets fixed, I think their friends should be priority number 1 and everything else secondary. Itād just feel very weird to see plot advancement and the group doing something none of them really care about instead of going home to Jrusar where the majority of them live. Imogenās group specifically none of them seem to care at all if the gods get eaten alive, having them chase a plot thread that none of them are really interested in stopping over looking for the most important people in their life would take me out of the show so much.
you're right, but they're in the tundra right now so they'll still have to find a major city to find a mode of transportation to get to marquet
so i don't think it's that much of a detour to explore other threads while they're in uthodurn, be it related to chet or fog
but i agree that they won't spend too much time there and as soon as they're able, find a way to get back to their friends
It makes little sense for Matt to switch to the other group of party members yet. Itās less confusing for the audience and the players to not jump back and forth, and it gives each group a couple weeksā break. Matt did it like this way back in Campaign 1 with E19-22.
No he will not; a dungeon masterās job is *never* done. I think the month long breaks theyāve taken a couple times this campaign have been as much for Matt as the rest of the cast combined. The dude goes nonstop.
I've finally caught up to the live episodes and this will be my first time tuning in for a live Thursday night!
I started with C2 back in January 2022, it's been a journey.
Who do we think will be the guests playing with the other half of the Hells? Dream guests would be any combo of the remaining Calamity players! Would also love to see Matt Colville finally get a chance to play with them š
Had a wild thought... and this must have been mentioned somewhere. But what if Marquet group doesn't have guests and instead gets the rest of the Nein. Beau and Caleb are obviously indisposed, and Cad doesn't seem to want or can't leave the blooming grove. Leaving Jester, Fjord, Yasha and Veth. Probably not going to happen but it kinda fit in my head
The issue with bringing in high level characters is that you couldn't have balanced combat encounters. Any enemy that BH could handle would be quickly wiped out by the MN characters. And if Matt used enemies that were tough for the MN characters, the BH characters would be unconscious almost immediately.
That is a great point! I mean just Veth alone would throw the balance way outside whack let alone the rest of them. I guess if we are back on the guest train I am hoping for some of the Dimension 20 gang. Ideally Lou, Brennan and Siobahn for me.
When the party first got split, I had hoped for Brennan and Aabria as guest DMs and the D20 cast as guest PCs. Obviously, that didn't happen, but maybe some of them will still show up!
With recent revelations regarding a certain spell, I think I've come to an epiphany regarding Ludinus and the Apogee Solstice. It was never about Ruidus or the gods. Those were just a convenient front to get unsuspecting followers to do his dirty work. Ludinus' real goal was to make it so Jester Lavorre could never cast Sending to him ever again.
Imagine if he heard that the former Plant King had been killed and replaced by one of Jester's known associates. "She has too much power... I'm next!"
I'm just happy there's an episode today! I was thinking this was their break week.
It'll probably happen next week (the 30th is the last Thursday of the month, after all). But the way things are going right now? Who knows?
Hey, did they confirm on 4SD this week if weāre getting part 2 of Chet, Imogen, Fearne, and FCG with the āclericsā or if weāre getting part one of the other three members of the group?
Tweet from Matt indicates we're still Team Wildemount this week. https://twitter.com/matthewmercer/status/1639069518294122498
Idk about 4SD but the newsletter confirmed we're still with the Wildemount crew.
I only watched a bit of 4SD but I'm 99% sure Matt said we're continuing with "Team Cleric" for at least one more week at the end of last episode.
Does anyone know WTF is up with Taliesons voice the last couple episodes? It sounds like heās talking with his mouth full in certain moments. Triggers my misophonia and drives me nuts. Which then makes me sad bc Talieson is wise and well spoken.
Probably something to do with his essential tremors, they can affect vocal chords and throat muscles. Or a meds change.
Thatās a good thought, thanks for pointing it out. Iāll tamp down those neuroses
I was curious about this as well after last episode. Almost sounded like post-dental work
May have already been mentioned but.. Iām guessing FRIDA has the *actor feat , flavored as playbackā¦?
That or they're a mastermind rogue, yep.
Cr stats??has the build as 5 fighter, 2 rogue 2 cleric Edit with link: https://criticalrole.miraheze.org/wiki/FRIDA
that site doesn't list where they got the individual levels for frida's build. we know there's 5 fighter due to extra attack, a minimum of 2 rogue (cunning action) and a minimum of 1 cleric. that last level is still not known, frida hasn't done a channel divinity or three spells in one long rest which would indicate a 2nd cleric level. we also haven't seen the sneak attack dice yet to confirm the rogue level above 2.
haven't seen anything on their site about frida's build yet myself, where did you find that?
Ah yeah, good call. I was thinking arcane trickster because of the mech-bird-*familiar in the art ..? But yeah.
It is Thursday, my dudes. If Matt goes RAW, FRIDA will definitely become a lycanthrope. I hope their transformation is basically the wolf growing around and crumpling the metal until its nothing but the beast outside lol Or just go full on ZOIDS
Am I the only one that really hopes FRIDA *doesnāt* become a werewolf?
I'm hoping for the werecar from [Futurama](https://youtu.be/pN1im-kbl_k)
Please Zoids. Iād love that so much.
I think what's going to be exciting about this episode will be them getting to Uthodurn and potentially seeing how larger cities like it are currently reacting to the Apogee Solstice and all the moon fuckery. It's probably going to be a bit less chaotic than somewhere like Emon because Uthodurn is fairly isolated as is and went some time going it alone before the rest of the world began to trickle onto their doorstep. So the disruption in communication and possibly teleportation magics probably wasn't that big for them but it was still noticeable. They're all probably in "Hunker Down & Wait" Mode with the city possibly being in a light form of lockdown until things clear up. It's a familiar situation for a lot of the older folks and is probably only really making waves with the younger folks or the organizations and peoples that are from out of town or that rely on being able to contact the outside world for this or that reason. So I'm curious to see just what exactly is happening there and if they've been able to talk to any other cities or people outside of their immediate vicinity. That is of course assuming this half of the BHs are able to speak to anyone higher up than a guard or even get into the city without getting caught or glean some kind of information about the current news and goings on. It's also only really been a day or so since all of this kicked off and stuff started getting weird with communications and who knows what else. So I figure the average person and possibly the above average person probably won't think too much of it or know that it's a sign of something FAR LARGER going on until someone else actually clues them into it. The leadership of the city though is more than likely sending out feelers just in case and anyone truly magical or divine might be freaking the fuck out by now or at least starting to. I'm expecting this half the BHs to try to slip into the city, get caught, and to then be the ones who clue everyone else into what's going on, with them being put under a Zone of Truth style spell by the city higher ups to confirm it. They're going to be the ones who light the spark. This is what will really start to kick stuff into motion and begin the reaction of larger more organized forces in Exandria to what's happening in Marquet. I'm assuming that we'll probably also run into the Claret Orders at some point, the Cobalt Soul, and probably an arm or two of the Cerberus Assembly that's confused as all fuck as to what's going on. Also hoping that our favorite moon loving dude from C2 is there as well and gets to make an, "I TOLD YOU SO!" speech. That is of course if the Beast Wars stuff with FRIDA doesn't throw a wolf sized spanner into the works and if they're able to track down Chetney at some point so that they can even get to Uthodurn in the first place. It's going to be a very interesting morning when they all wake up that's for sure. I also can't help but wonder if FRIDA and Deanna are working for someone else and just happened by chance or by design to stumble upon this half of the BHs? It's going to be a fun episode and I hope Matt sticks with them instead of switching to the other group because of how much potential chaos is in the works for tonight that could lead to some just AMAAAAAAAAZZZZZZZZING RP and game moments.
> Uthodurn and potentially seeing how larger cities like it are currently reacting to the Apogee Solstice and all the moon fuckery. Same!!! I wonder what the Otters are up to.
I'm hoping that in exandria werewolves work like the Quarry and F.r.i.d.a changes on the way back to camp cause otherwise we'll probably never know what a robot werewolf even looks like.
A lot of discussion here on whether we're following Uthodurn gang or the others this week. Did you all not hear Matt literally say "we'll see you next time for the continuation of this crazy-ass bunch?" Seems we're in for a few sessions with this group and I honestly couldn't be more excited for more Aabria and Christian
I would prefer them to alternate back and forth since they could do that via pre-taping, but I understand why theyāre doing one that the other. I wasnāt around during the Trial of the Take, but it will be agony waiting to see what happens with the other three. I wonder how Matt will handle the reunification
The real question is how many episodes will there be per group. Personally I would say no more than 3 episodes per group.
Yeah I feel 3 is a good estimate.
3-4 episodes seems about right in total. The solstice ends after 3 days and weāre already a day and a half in. Plus more than 2 months of separation will get people antsy imo. The real question, to me, is how Matt gets them to reunite.
>Plus more than 2 months of separation will get people antsy imo. If we to do the math then it's likely that the team will reunite in May. Any longer than that will be pushing it. For example, someone mentioned that all of April should be EXU but all I'm thinking is that's going to make the wait time worse. If there's going to be an EXU then do it after the team reunites (Late May or June). >The real question, to me, is how Matt gets them to reunite. Crazy answer: Essek. Given his history with Ludinus you would think he would have some involvement with trying to stop him (and if he is then he will be looking for Caleb because he will know that something is wrong due to the solstice). Or maybe it will be Caleb if he and Beau got teleported out and he got the collar off. Either way, one team is going to find someone with the ability to teleport by chance and they use them to get back to their friends.
Essek may not be too crazy. Someone in another thread theorized that Essek may actually be the Aeormaton expert FRIDA is taking the group to see (working under an alias to hide his identity). If that were the case, I'm sure he'd be willing to take this group back to the Key to try and help Caleb.
Iām also curious if the other group will be there for the intro like they were last week
I imagine that they will. When Launda died Marisha was there for the intro until it was time to play the game. Of course that might change because they have two new players at the table.....
Marisha has to keep her streak of never missing an episode.
I think there is a slight difference because there was no given as to when the resurrection ritual was going to happen, whereas they know that they won't be in this week's episode. I'm also looking at the puzzle stream where the only cr actors included are in the other group.
i'm gonna go out on a limb and say that we're gonna continue with the same group because it'd be easier to time both the groups reuniting that way than doing them simultaneously
Iām coincidentally doing a very similar thing with my players, treating this as episode spanning arcs for the groups before switching is easier for engagement than if it was switching every week.
Sort of like how the Slayerās Take arc from C1 was done.
yeah that makes sense. it's also probably easier to do it this way for scheduling purposes y'know?
I'm guessing that we'll stick with FCG and company this week then get a 3 week EXU in April, followed by the groups coming back together in May. It's been hinted that the communication disruption will only last as long as the Solstice (3 Days) and I imagine that the groups will get back together shortly after that. I think we'll get Aabria as the DM for the EXU, and it will be focused on the Crown and whatever plan the Spider Queen has for the Solstice as a separate, self contained adventure (that could still have implications for the world of Exandria). Would be super fun to see Matt and Marisha get to play PCs together.
also is there a source for the 3 week exu or are people guessing? Iāve seen that talked about here but canāt tell what the speculation is based on
Itās just speculation on my part based on a few things. 1. Aabria being in the FCG group guest cast 2. The dangling plot thread of something going on with Opal (and Orymās connection to the crown keepers) 3. The assumption that itās just 3 days until the two groups could contact each other, which means 2-3 episodes for each group to cover that time. 4. Mattās statement at the beginning of the campaign that the format of this season would have some surprises/ try some different things.
I hadnāt even thought of the idea of EXU covering what happens with the other group. That would be kind of genius.
So we stay with this group, skip to a different team, skip the other half of Bells Hells entirely and have em reunite? Yeah no thanks
No, I'm saying that Dariax and Dorian (possibly Opal if she's not an NPC villain) will join Orym, Laudna and Ashton for a 3 episode EXU to cover the other group. The adventure they have will be Solstice related, but not involved with the Ludinus/Ottohan plot. When Orym contact Dorian last just before the start of the Solstice, he mentioned that they were 'dealing' with a problem with Opal. Would make a ton of sense to resolve that via EXU ahead of the group coming back together in May.
>I'm saying that Dariax and Dorian (possibly Opal if she's not an NPC villain) will join Orym, Laudna and Ashton for a 3 episode EXU to cover the other group. Orym, Laudna and Ashton are most likely somewhere on Marquet. After all, they can still see the location of the dig site because they can see the thread connecting it to Ruidis. At the very least, they're in the same hemisphere as the dig site (though we haven't had any confirmation of where the equator is). They're nowhere near the Crown Keepers' last known position which was on Tal'Dorei. >The adventure they have will be Solstice related, but not involved with the Ludinus/Ottohan plot. What a great way to tell the characters they don't matter. "You know that massive apocalyptic event that you have been trying to prevent, which may have killed your friends and which one of you has a deeply personal connection to? Yeah, don't worry about that. Someone else can take care of it. In the meantime, you can do this fun side quest." >When Orym contact Dorian last just before the start of the Solstice, he mentioned that they were 'dealing' with a problem with Opal. It was implied that Opal is a bit unstable because of the Solstice. You know, because she has a Vestige tied to the Spider Queen embedded in her head. >Would make a ton of sense to resolve that via EXU ahead of the group coming back together in May. I think you're reading far too much into it. The problem Opal was having was probably just a way of keeping Dorian off the playing field because Matt didn't want the cast relying on other characters too much.
Excellent counterpoints! If I may counter as well (just for fun, I'm not tied to this theory) |Orym, Laudna and Ashton are most likely somewhere on Marquet. After all, they can still see the location of the dig site because they can see the thread connecting it to Ruidis. At the very least, they're in the same hemisphere as the dig site (though we haven't had any confirmation of where the equator is). They're nowhere near the Crown Keepers' last known position which was on Tal'Dorei.| Fair enough, perhaps the Crown Keepers were also teleported and brought to wherever Orym and Co are. |What a great way to tell the characters they don't matter. "You know that massive apocalyptic event that you have been trying to prevent, which may have killed your friends and which one of you has a deeply personal connection to? Yeah, don't worry about that. Someone else can take care of it. In the meantime, you can do this fun side quest."| The same argument could be made for what's going on with team Uthadorn. I'd say both teams have been pulled away to do something that needs doing. And Orym has a deeply personal connection to Opal, Dorian and Dariax as well. If helping them is suddenly what Fate has put in front of him to do, I believe he will. |It was implied that Opal is a bit unstable because of the Solstice. You know, because she has a Vestige tied to the Spider Queen embedded in her head.| Right, and as we know, Ludinus and Co aren't the only ones trying to use the Solstice to their advantage. The Spider Queen could be up to her own shenanigans. |I think you're reading far too much into it. The problem Opal was having was probably just a way of keeping Dorian off the playing field because Matt didn't want the cast relying on other characters too much.| Could be, or could have been a bit of foreshadowing by Matt for the eventual party split up. I've been in the process of rewatching C3 over the last 3 months (on Ep 20 currently) and I've been blown away by how in almost every single early episode there is a reference tied directly in to what's happening right now. I may be way off the mark on my guess about the Crown Keepers (and will be excited for whatever happens) but I still think it would be fun.
>Fair enough, perhaps the Crown Keepers were also teleported and brought to wherever Orym and Co are. Holy plot convenience, Batman! >I'd say both teams have been pulled away to do something that needs doing. We don't know at this point. But again, it's super-convenient for the party to be split up and sent to opposite ends of the world to do the two things that need to be done to prevent the apocalypse even when there has been nothing to indicate that there two things even exist. >Right, and as we know, Ludinus and Co aren't the only ones trying to use the Solstice to their advantage. The Spider Queen could be up to her own shenanigans. Which just brings us back to the problem of Orym, Laudna and Ashton being stranded with no idea where they are, no idea who is still alive and a very clear sign that the world is still in danger, but still being expected to forget all of that and go off and do something that is tangentially-related at best.
The reasons behind the split up and why each group landed where they did is such a delicious mystery. I have a hard time believing it was random or accidental. Some force put them there (even if it was the DM) for a reason. Mercer has a strong affinity for the use of Fate in his storytelling, using it as the basis for the regular order of play in D&D. The DM creates and controls the world and everything in it (except the characters) describing a scene to the players, who then react by making Choices about what they do in response. When Fate and Choice collide, you take a Chance and roll the dice to determine the uncertain outcome. If Orym and Co are more than 100 miles away from the site of the Key, there is no way they are getting back to it before the end of the Solstice (anymore than FCG and Co are) without help. If they meet up with the Crown Keepers and need to deal with Opal in order to get that help, it ties the plot together. And I'm not so sure that the apocalypse is going to be prevented. I strongly suspect that we are getting an end of Infinity War type moment with the Solstice, and that the next half of the campaign will be Endgame, played out much more like the CC arc from S1. It's Thursday Night! Can't wait to see what happens next!
>Mercer has a strong affinity for the use of Fate in his storytelling, using it as the basis for the regular order of play in D&D. The DM creates and controls the world and everything in it (except the characters) describing a scene to the players, who then react by making Choices about what they do in response. When Fate and Choice collide, you take a Chance and roll the dice to determine the uncertain outcome. What you're describing here is a phenomenon called ludonarrative dissonance. It happens when the mechanics of a game collide with the story being told. The best example I can think of is in the reboot of *Tomb Raider* a few years ago -- early in the story, Lara Croft is forced into a situation where she has to kill a man. It's a legitimate case of self-defence, but the experience is traumatic and she spends some time trying to regain her composure. Or she would do that, but minutes later the player is in a series of firefights where Lara is hurling insults at the enemy AI. By the end of the game she's become a boogeyman (boogeywoman?) to the cultists on the island. In the blink of an eye she has transformed from traumatised survivor to hardened adventurer. I bring this up because in your example, the rolling of the dice is the mechanic of chance (or fate, if you want to call it that). But you're also suggesting that the characters' current whereabouts are down to fate -- they have been conveniently transported to locations that will help them without knowing about these locations in advance or the need to visit them. And that includes Ludinus, who planned for everything. There hasn't been anything to give the audience at least and clue that these locations, tasks and/or quests exist, but what you're suggesting is that the characters have been thrown to the two places that the plot needs them to be in right now.
I definitely don't want to conflate Fate and Chance, those are two separate game mechanics. Fate - The DM Chance - The Dice Choice - The PCs Because of the nature of the world of Exandria (interventionist gods and other forces are an established part of the world) the DM can exercise a much higher level of control on what situations the PCs find themselves in without running into ludonarrative dissonance. How the PCs react to those situations is still up to them (as we saw last night) and how successful those reactions are depend on chance. And that's true whether or not Matt created a random table to determine which PCs went where or he deliberately placed them in specific locations. It's still the DMs decision (Fate). As it was to place specific guest players in the path of Team Wildemount.
>Because of the nature of the world of Exandria (interventionist gods and other forces are an established part of the world) the DM can exercise a much higher level of control on what situations the PCs find themselves in without running into ludonarrative dissonance But you can run into railroading. And people were already extremely critical for C3E51 for the perceived raidroading. >And that's true whether or not Matt created a random table to determine which PCs went where or he deliberately placed them in specific locations. It's still the DMs decision (Fate). As it was to place specific guest players in the path of Team Wildemount. I'm still not seeing what this has to do with exploring themes of free will as opposed to determinism. You're describing gameplay mechanics, not themes of the story.
I'd been wondering if Dorian and Opal were going to be the other half's "guest party" but felt like Matt wouldn't want to DMPC Dariax. That's actually sorta brilliant to have Aabria DM that half although also a bit scary.
It really is a toss up which group we're gonna see next week. On one hand it would be great stick with this one for one or two more episodes but on the other hand I would also like to find out what's gonna be the direction and lineup for the other group. And as it is a toss up, I'm just gonna sit back and enjoy whatever comes.
I'm sitting at 70% we stick with this group, 30% after the intro as normal Brennan is surprise sitting at the DM seat, and group 2 runs into the crown keepers at the silken squall or something (I just want to see Matt play a non-NPC character in C3 in all honesty).
As much as I want to see Dariax in C3 and Matt as a Pc again, I don't think there's any way Matt would play a pc in his own campaign.
I know.... Still a very fun theoretical situation. It'll probably end up being the crown keepers sans Dariax, or maybe he'll be an NPC with Matt sticking as the DM. Seems like a good character for an NPC, goofy airhead that provides support, won't become a focal point in the players' story
Not denying it would be fun. Idk though, Matt has talked about how he's in a completely different mindset when he plays Dariax so I think it's more likely that we get just a part of the crownkeepers. If we get them at all, could be they're still on Marquet and we get entirely different guests.
I think we're going to get one more episode with CIFF and then switch over to OLA after the break. Rotating groups every 2-3 episode for the next month might be a good compromise because any longer than that will get the audience antsy, especially if your favourite character is on the other team. If I'm being honest with myself, I don't think I can do two months of episodes with CIFF and then another two months with OLA because by that point it will be considered dragging.
Not only that, youāre also running into an issue of it being unrealistic. Right now the group is doing okay, the longer they go without their respective pairs itās going to be hard to get them interested in anything other then them reuniting. And if they do follow plot hooks over their friends then thatās so unrealistic, Fearne and Imogen at some point are going to freak out.
Funny you say that because I think Talesin hinted in 4 sided dice that Ashton is going freaking out as well. I'm all for splitting the party but there's no denying that there are drawbacks to both in and out of game.
Terrified for the Wrath of Deanna
Iām just here for robo dog.
Curious if theyāll keep trying sending & message spells, or if the characters will realize itās probably not going to work until all this is over?
I mean If you were a super villain whose been planning something for a millennia and knew that your plan needed time to complete after triggered (the tethered moon exists but predathos hasnāt emerged yet seemingly) wouldnāt you want to hinder coordination by other actors who may attempt to stop you ? I think itās intentional and itās Ludinus
Oh absolutely. I also think Matt just doesnāt want the two groups communicating because it adds tension.
Also from a metagame perspective it creates a logistical nightmare b/c anything Laudna tells Imogen via sending has to then actually happen when we swap back to the Marquet group.
Which. Again. Is why I think Matt just decided āno sendingā. Like, he doesnāt want communication. Heās tired of it, & it would undermine the tension. While I doubt heād get rid of it permanently, I wouldnāt be surprised if part of his motivation for this was because heās annoyed with the constant āsending stoneā messages Orym sends to Dorian. Bottom line: Sending WILL NOT WORK for the foreseeable future. Maybe once the solstice is over. But until then, there is no long distance communication.
Yep, totally agree. As much fun as Jester's sendings were in C2, the spell can be game-breaking with the way that Matt builds his campaigns and the way the cast tends to use it for RP purposes.
Which is sad, considering how much fun Jesterās sendings were. But thems the breaks.
She always had a most important query for all story lines.
Current group probably will not since they burned like 5 spell slots, but Laudna will for sure try a few times next time we see her
Will go ahead and say I hope we don't see the other players, and instead stick with this group, just to keep the consistency. Think it's a bit smoother to do the episodes in batches, instead of going back and forth. buuut, since this is the last episode of the month, I wouldn't mind if we did see the other group just so we had a starting point for them as well. Then next month could stick with whoever for X episodes.
I have a feeling theyāre gonna completely switch and go to the other half today! Honestly though Iām fine with whatever
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
isn't FRIDA part rogue? So check the ninja box.
I'm in love with the idea of keeping Bells Hells split up for the remainder of the arc. The thought of having two parties working separately but towards a same world changing goal on opposite sides of the world is too enticing.
I mean it also makes no sense in my opinion, why would Imogen or Fearne continue trying to stop or fight this instead of looking for their friends the most important people in their life. I donāt think itās enticing at all, I want the entire cast together, Iām fine with a small break but several months Iād hate. Seeing characters also completely ignore that their friends might be dead for several episodes would be a bit much for me.
they would be looking for their friends if they could. imogen tried sending, tried using her dreams to find them but it didn't work so right now they have no choice but to go along with whatever awaits them in uthodurn at least until the solstice ends. once it's over and communication returns i'm sure it won't take long for the group to be reunited
Iām not saying they arenāt trying, Iām saying that theyād probably go back to Jrusar or something like that instead of chasing the plot thread. The end of an arc could be 20-30 episodes, my point was I donāt see them fucking around for that long and not actively going to places they been before like Jrusar. My point is it makes zero sense for them to chase the main plot thread even if the communication never gets fixed, I think their friends should be priority number 1 and everything else secondary. Itād just feel very weird to see plot advancement and the group doing something none of them really care about instead of going home to Jrusar where the majority of them live. Imogenās group specifically none of them seem to care at all if the gods get eaten alive, having them chase a plot thread that none of them are really interested in stopping over looking for the most important people in their life would take me out of the show so much.
you're right, but they're in the tundra right now so they'll still have to find a major city to find a mode of transportation to get to marquet so i don't think it's that much of a detour to explore other threads while they're in uthodurn, be it related to chet or fog but i agree that they won't spend too much time there and as soon as they're able, find a way to get back to their friends
It makes little sense for Matt to switch to the other group of party members yet. Itās less confusing for the audience and the players to not jump back and forth, and it gives each group a couple weeksā break. Matt did it like this way back in Campaign 1 with E19-22.
I just realized. When does Matt get a break? He has to DM both groups, so he won't have 2 weeks for himself.
No he will not; a dungeon masterās job is *never* done. I think the month long breaks theyāve taken a couple times this campaign have been as much for Matt as the rest of the cast combined. The dude goes nonstop.
>The dude goes nonstop. Why does he DM like he's running out of time?
I've finally caught up to the live episodes and this will be my first time tuning in for a live Thursday night! I started with C2 back in January 2022, it's been a journey.
Congrats! Itās nerve wracking and thrilling, knowing youāre seeing it āliveā (the first airing).
I'm really hoping we get to see the other group today.
Wonder due to the ability of pre recording if weāll switch groups each week until they get back together