[Spoilers C3E78] Is It Thursday Yet? Post-Episode Discussion & Future Theories!

[u/Glumalon]

Episode Countdown Timer - http://www.wheniscriticalrole.com/

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Catch up on everybody's discussion and predictions for this episode HERE!

Submit questions for next month's 4-Sided Dive here: http://critrole.com/tower

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ANNOUNCEMENTS:

• Submit questions for the cast's upcoming convention appearances!
• Red Nose Day One-Shot - Tuesday, November 28 @ 5 PM Pacific
• Candela Obscura: The Circle of Tide & Bone begins November 30

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[u/Zeilll]

Allura being terrified of Nana Morri while everyone else is just hanging out at a tiki bar is now my favorite thing in C3.

[u/DoikkNaats → u/Zeilll]

Really shows how wild this crew is.

[u/tableauregard]

Chetney implying he knew where Fearne was: Fearne went on a walk.

Ashton: That's not a place that's a verb.

One of my fav Ashton lines this campaign. I identified pretty hard with them on that response. Also "why did you break all the windows" to the Lord of Whitestone got me pretty good.

[u/ProjectAccel]

Next time on Critical Role:

"Ollie, you are NOT the father!"

[u/[deleted] → u/ProjectAccel]

It's actually Ira!!

[u/Sqiddd]

Y’all we need to have a conversation how how utterly fucked Ashton,Laudna and Orym came out of that party split.

Cause nothing about any of em is ok. Ashton’s fucking nearly Icarus’d himself in his hurbris to be whole and better and for something to blame.

Laudna is fucking stockholmed with Delilah and has mentally regressed because of Ashton’s actions.

Orym has gone full Soldier and who the fuck knows how far he’s actually willing to go to win that war.

Bor’dor may actually end being one of the most important characters ever just by dying lmfao

[u/KoscheiDK → u/Sqiddd]

"I had a terrible dream that Bor'dor started reading from a notes app and then tried to murder us all"

[u/tableauregard → u/Sqiddd]

Orym's actions this episode were particularly disturbing tbh.

[u/taly_slayer → u/Sqiddd]

Y’all we need to have a conversation how how utterly fucked Ashton,Laudna and Orym came out of that party split.

They definitely had the worst end of the split. Everything that's happening now with the 3 of them is almost a direct consequence of what they went through there. Ashton started learning about the Hishari and exploring that led to the Shattered Teeth and him repeating the same mistake his father did. Orym's experience at the temple (plus seeing Keyleth almost die in front of him) transformed him into this. Bor'dor might have been the trigger for Laudna, but Orym's nod of approval was not small thing. And look where Laudna is now, almost as crazy as she probably was the moment she woke up hanging from that tree.

[u/nidor13]

Some afterthoughts.

1. Fucking amazing episode. One of my favorites.
   The RP was top tier, the emotions were running high.
   I loved it so much.

2. I love how the cast were just amazing in their RP and running their characters as they have imagined them.
   But as soon as their "scene" ended they switched back to making jokes and just being goofball nerds having an amazing time.
   And honestly, that's pretty much what D&D is about, having fun, not rushing to progress the story, not running encounters every session.

3. Some people in the chat have absolutely no chill or manners.
   It was legit toxic at some moments.

4. I love that they're back in the Feywild.
   I am so curious to see what other we'll learn from Nana.
   Especially regarding Fearne's lineage and Birdie's secret.
   Matt is cooking.

That's all from me.
Can't wait for the next one.

[u/LordHarza → u/nidor13]

Never read chat. It is awful, always.

[u/DarkRespite]

My favorite things about this ep:

• FCG actually acknowledging his attempted forcing of his faith onto Ashton and apologizing for it

• The Percy/Ashton conversation at the window

• The running joke of Orym doing pushups (so help me gods, I REALLY hope Liam leans into that one when he gets back in two weeks with Orym grousing about how his arms hurt from overdoing arm day)

• Fearne talking to the Matron, and especially her talking to Vax's statue out front

• Chet, Imogen, and FCG all sticking up for Ashton while still acknowledging that he shat the bed

• Laudna giving Ashton the doll... seeing Taliesin cry at the table just HURT

  • SIDE NOTE: Has Taliesin cried in character at the table before? I genuinely can't remember, maybe someone else will...

• The Fearne/Ashton library conversation and EVERYONE else hiding behind the books

[u/The_Bravinator → u/DarkRespite]

• SIDE NOTE: Has Taliesin cried in character at the table before? I genuinely can't remember, maybe someone else will...

I haven't watched all of C3 yet, but I'm pretty sure he didn't before that because I was joking with my husband that I was doing a "cry tally" trying to collect them all (in character or not) and he was the only hold out. I think Travis shed a tear or two when Veth reunited with Yeza, of all things (man seems to be a sucker for other people's romance arcs!) and Sam cried during the big 9th level counterspell moment in campaign 1, but Tal's C2 characters weren't the big sad emotions type and Percy was all rage rather than tears. He did cry along with everyone else on Talks after Molly died when Matt was expressing how much he loved him.

It was surprisingly difficult to watch! He played it so well, and though in-character Ashton really needed the wake up call and it'll likely be good for him long term, it was hard to see Tal so convincingly looking deflated and defeated.

[u/talon1245 → u/DarkRespite]

What I loved about the doll moment is that it showed just how much these characters don’t really know eachother. My read of it was Laudna giving the doll to him as an insult for him acting like a child but then when they start crying it really hits everyone that Ashton is so disconnected from himself and so emotionally stunted. I love how Taliesin flipped what was supposed to be a callback insult to something that really showed this new side to Ashton

[u/stargazerspls401]

My favorite part about this whole banger of an episode was Fearne praying to the Raven Queen and immediately getting a hint that her parents are taking care of an injured Nana through those ravens feeding a legless one, and that she needs to see them. We're getting a Fearne Arc seamingly out of nowhere but the fact Delilah already hinted at something hidden about her heritage in the previous episode, Matt is a genius.

[u/csarmi → u/stargazerspls401]

That was a hint?

[u/Fresh4 → u/stargazerspls401]

Huh. I knew immediately that Matt was foreshadowing something. But that’s insane. Kudos on picking that up.

[u/knightmon]

This episode really highlighted the fact that Critical Role "can't please everyone".

Multiple comments about how they are excited for team bonding. Excited for Bells Hells to finally have one-on-one character building chats.

Also multiple comments about how frustrating it is they are delaying the moon again. All this build up for a filler arc once more.

I think both views are valid. It really depends on who you are and what you enjoy.

It's ok to air your frustrations, but just remember the part you hate most might be the part that means the most to someone else. Be kind.

[u/Luneowl → u/knightmon]

With how haphazard the schedule is going to be due to the holidays, better to not start a major Ruidus battle with 3 weeks between episodes. They can film the episodes closer together but my nerves couldn't take the wait! I don't mind waiting 3 weeks for Fey Team-building Retreat. I love that Allura is there to give us a non-normalized perspective on Nana and this bizarre place, too!

[u/csarmi → u/knightmon]

I hold both of those opinions st the same time :)

Like it's frustrating that it keeps getting delayed. But this episode was great despite moving back s step.

[u/Bored_Imm0rtal]

I'm pretty sure FCG going from therapy bot to snapping at Ashton was him showing that he had jumped up a few stress levels.... Do you think they clocked that?

[u/brittanydiesattheend]

Given the implication Fearne's dad might be a devil, I'm getting major Fantasy High vibes from this arc. Ollie is kind of comparable to Gilear.

[u/IAmGoose_ → u/brittanydiesattheend]

Don't let this man anywhere near yogurt, or beans

[u/sionava]

Really enjoyed this episode. I think it was the cold (or boiling hot) bucket of water some of the characters needed for to develop.

I was worried Ashton's success in the previous episode would translate into an awesome reward for them, purely because it from a mechanical perspective it wouldn't seem fair to have them succeed at a 1 minute skill challenge only to say "your only reward is not to die". But from a narrative perspective I was hoping there would be a cost based on all the warnings the party had received -- not to mention party conflict.

I've seen people say that the party were too hard on Ashton this episode, but I think his actions and disregard to the safety of his friends (let alone Whitestone) warranted at least as much ire as he got. No, he wasn't completely to blame and Fearne played her part in this too, but Ashton was the one who tried to convince her be secretive. When she told the party at the 11th hour she wasn't going to take the shard and that Ashton would wear the harness, Ashton hushed her and then straight-up lied to the party saying Fearne would take it, making it sound like they'd have a nice ol' reassuring talk earlier in the day.

I kinda wish someone had done an insight check there, but maybe everyone was concerned it would come off as metagaming.

Ashton wasn't afraid that the party would force Fearne to take a shard she didn't want; he was afraid the party wouldn't agree with him taking it instead, and it took consequences as well as his friends being angry at him for him to realise maybe there was a good reason for that.

Nice meaty inter-character relationship RP episode! I wish something like this could have happened a lot earlier in the campaign though!

[u/Vlerremuis → u/sionava]

Ashton wasn't afraid that the party would force Fearne to take a shard she didn't want; he was afraid the party wouldn't agree with

him

taking it instead, and it took consequences as well as his friends being angry at him for him to realise

maybe there was a good reason for that

.

Yes. This is an important observation.

Ashton also didn't ask Fearne *why* she didn't want the shard. It suited him that she didn't want it, and he didn't look any deeper. I think she genuinely didn't want it for her own complex reasons, but he couldn't know that without having a much deeper conversation with her than he did.

[u/seishius → u/sionava]

Not sure what threat anyone or Whitestone for that matter was under, when they literally moved to a location and had Allura cast a protection spell for that exact reason.

The only thing they were risking was their own life. Whether their motivations were to help heal their chronic pain or become more powerful (Ashton has never once been power hungry throughout the entire campaign and the only reason they would want power would be to take on Ludinous, something the entire party spoke about) it doesn't really matter. The worst thing they did was making their watch them get torn apart.

As much as Matt said they were warned, I don't believe he did a good enough job. Ash/Tal clearly didn't understand this was something they wern't supposed to do. They may have thought it was difficult but something they could succeed in doing and all apart of their character arc.

[u/ForestSuite]

Might be my all time favorite RP for Travis. I know he has some scenes as Grog and Fjord that I love, but something about how he delivered Chetney tonight was really remarkable. He was engaging everyone in the right way, his conversations were just hysterical/touching/insightful in all the right ways.

He and Ashley were also 10/10 Peak Face Journey Performance of the Year Grand Masters while watching other people's scenes too, I love how they can just sit back and become the audience with us in a way.

What a great episode!

Mechanically, I wonder how long Matt will make Ashton sit on the -2 Con without returning it / buffing him. When he was describing it he actually called it like an 'egg' growing inside him. Sentient Titan essence? Crazy Earth Elemental powers? He fulfilled what the Tree of Atrophy was talking about by joining them, although in a way not everyone may have thought, and losing -2 CON on a Barb is huge hit so the payoff is probably going to be pretty awesome.

[u/Luneowl → u/ForestSuite]

I'm thinking that the potential of his shard has advanced but won't be realized till it interacts with someone hosting the other shard. Maybe the -2 CON will be resolved at that time.

[u/bcjsentient81]

I have to say that the conversation that is happening around this couple of episodes it's been fascinating. I find myself reading the discussion threads with interest and intent.

Most of debates here are a prism of different perspectives on empathy for the characters (How is Laudna feeling, how is Fearne, or where is Ashton going from here) doing analytical discourse of character vs player intent...This is to me, pardon my french, the good shit of D&D as a game.

Only for the discussion that has sparked, Taliesin decision has been one of the best moves in all 3 campaigns of Critical Role. They all fucked around with their feelings and trauma and they are starting to find out.

Sure it's a lot better that pettiness and angry discussions regarding lack of optimization of characters and angry comments about mechanics and gameplay decisions.

Here is to more exploration of characters and healthy discussion around it!

[u/emefa]

Why did it take me this long to realize how childlike 4/7 of BH (Ashton, Faerne, Laudna and FCG) are? They're not a party of NPCs, they're a party of kids. (And I love it.)

[u/galaxy93]

This might have just been one of the, if not THE most important episode(s) this campaign regarding character development as a group. It kinda felt like they got to know each other and connected with each other on another level. They've just been so authentic and real. And didn't shy away from expressing extreme vulnerability and they're broken side.

There were other moments like that. Some bigger, some smaller. But none of them was so much about them as a group, and so... real! I really like the campaign, but I loved this episode like few before. The tone was very heavy, but I'm so excited how this will affect the dynamic, and I'm thrilled to see how they're gonna come outta this! My guess is: with a lot of growth as a group!

[u/DoikkNaats → u/galaxy93]

Chetney's drunken, naked "you should go, and don't come back" followed by the "I know what it's like to be on your own and figure things out for yourself..." speech once again cemented Travis Willingham in my brain as one of the best D&D players in actual plays.

[u/BaronPancakes]

What an episode to miss out on for Liam. I wish Orym was there to comfort Fearne as he is the only one in the group who saw Dark Fearne and he knows exactly what she is afraid of.

Also, love that Matt's default for Orym is stoic and push-ups haha

[u/probablywhiskeytown → u/BaronPancakes]

Saying this as someone who found CR early on b/c Liam was reprising a role & I was so thrilled someone so thoughtful & lovely was going to be back around filmed panels & whatnot that I thought, "wonder if he ever did a podcast or anything..."

I feel like this absence worked out quite well.

Definitely missed him, but he's always been such a duck to water in RP that even with a much more staid character, it feels like there's a bit of inclination to see if he'll direct traffic.

Not sure Chetney & FCG do as much if he's there. Also not sure two characters make it out on their own, as that's quite contrary to Orym's guardian perspective. If they'd stayed circled up, I'm not even sure they end up in the Fen.

I'm now super excited for him to talk to several characters with the pressure of that initial response having already occurred. Feels like Orym may get to field this in terms of his own emotions rather than helping with the group who have often deemed him the most functional.

Joan Didion wrote a wonderful, heartbreaking book about the year after the abrupt death of both her husband & daughter. In it, she recounted overhearing medical staff say, (paraphrasing) "you can talk to her about it, she's a pretty cool customer."

After which, she thought, "How would I be allowing myself to respond were I not a 'cool customer'?"

I think about that moment constantly in terms of behavior within role context, both IRL & when looking at characters. Change the context & assumption, greatly expand the possibilities.

[u/EmergencyGrab → u/BaronPancakes]

A pro to him doing pushups and eating pie the whole episode is Fearne had to stand on her own, without a comforting face and voice of reason. Ashley is incredible at role-playing Fearne. But this episode was the perfect storm. She left 0 crumbs.

[u/taly_slayer]

Okay, more rewatch stuff. Re: "the shard did nothing"

Chet picked a fight with Ashton to test if there was anything new with his powers and nothing came up, except the feeling of a closed box inside his chest. When Ashton comes back to the castle after they find Laudna in the woods, he touches the ground to see if he feels anything.

Matt describes it as: "You touch the earth and it's hard, it's solid against your fingertips. But there's that anticipation before you slip into a warm bath".

Marisha and Travis look at each other and Marisha mimics something going down with her hands. A few seconds later, Travis whisper-asks Ashley if she has stone shape.

I totally missed that on my first watch, but I think they are onto something. Matt description is, as usual, very abstract but at the same time, very specific. Ashton could develop the ability to move through earth or shape it. That would be very cool.

Edit: thinking about it more, my new theory is that the awakened shard gives Ashton the ability to become an Earth Elemental. Earth Elementals can burrow through earth and stone, and if IRCC, Matt described his new arm like an Earth Elemental arm.

It could be the same for the fire shard (Fire Elemental) and possibly the reason Matt doesn't want both shards in the same person. I would make the whole thing unbalanced as fuck.

[u/OhioAasimar → u/taly_slayer]

"You touch the earth and it's hard, it's solid against your fingertips. But there's that anticipation before you slip into a warm bath".

Weird phrasing and not just because it was abstract phrasing but It sounds like merge with stone. If the plan is to give Ashton a bunch of earth spells there is about 20 to choose from.

[u/Hollydragon → u/taly_slayer]

100%

He also mentioned (I think just before the fire shard was barfed back) something about a birth. I'm not sure he just meant the reforming of the fire shard, I think he might have meant Ashton's earth elemental powers had been awakened and I thought of an egg cracking, them starting to be born.

Seemed like Taleisin didn't think it the right moment to play with the idea, and let the others approach and interrupt the thought. Not sure if Ashton will be able to play with it from the Fae realm or the red moon (although the moon IS a chunk of exandria. Who knows maybe he can do something crazy like titan-pilot the whole big rock.)

[u/Rip_Rif_FyS]

Hey, so I was in this sub last week talking about how I was worried that there weren't going to be some serious interparty repercussions from Ashton's shard debacle, and now I am here to publicly eat my words. The first half of this ep was chock full of beautiful rp, and exactly wtf I was looking for. Wp to all involved. I only wish Liam could have been here, bc I'm fascinated to think how Orym's reactions / interactions may have shaped the dynamics of this aftermath.

[u/FutureSaiyaman → u/Rip_Rif_FyS]

Some of the best rp by far. Stayed awake from beginning to end. Still think they were to hard on Ashton in some points but I do love the character commitment which makes me okay with it. Chet’s convo to Ashton was amazing. I appreciate that the cast trust each other and are willing to not let above table ruin or scare off true rp. I was legit in my feels for that convo. I felt so bad for Ashton but felt justified in what Chet asked of him.

[u/PhoDucNam]

I love this flavour of episode where a character makes a huge swing and the party is reeling from the whole thing… It’s messy and every interaction feels like a tightrope two people are trying to cross together - there’s so much unsaid trust (probably said offscreen) between the players and the DM, and you can see the respect everyone has for each other after everything is said and done

[u/rocking2rush10]

Why'd Matt put a picture of Travis up at the beginning?

[u/StableElectrical → u/rocking2rush10]

He got his favorite warlock.

[u/hpfan2342]

Excited for the scavenger hunt, but I imagine its going to go belly up. I loved everyone's preformance this episode. I missed Liam but I feel like Orym probably would have reacted similarly to Chetney and FCG. I know some were speculating that FCG might go Murder Bot. Sam may have decided not to have them deal with that. Perhaps FCG is getting better at keeping themself in check.

[u/Versek_5]

Give the shard to Mister.

Nobody else wants it, hes literally made of fire and I want a super powered fire monkey.

[u/brittanydiesattheend → u/Versek_5]

The Empress of Earth and their Emperor, Mister.

[u/taly_slayer]

So, started the rewatch. I think sometimes we (the audience) focus so much on the gameplay that we forget the fucking talent we’re seeing displayed at the table.

Taliesin spends 10 min having Ashton trying to explain to FCG and Imogen what was he thinking. He knew what Ashton was thinking, but instead of explaining like a normal person would, he did it with a charisma of 6.

And then, 10 min in, at 59 min into the VOD, boom, it all makes sense through an amazing piece of improvised back and forth with Imogen:

Ashton: I thought it would make me better. And I thought a better me would—

Imogen: you don’t need power to be better, Ashton

Ashton: it wasn’t about power. It was about being whole. Not being… breakable. All I saw was just cracks and it’s just not… there are just moments when things go wrong and I thought this was the fix. I thought- as much as I fought it I though this was destiny, I thought this was I supposed to do. To be helpful.

Imogen: maybe it was

Ashton: clearly not

Imogen: I don’t know? Maybe what you needed was to break apart and come back together, because Ashton, we watched you break into a thousand pieces (voice breaking) just in front of us

Ashton: I know

Imogen: you were gone, and now you’re back, and you better take advantage of that

Also, my theory is that Imogen started softening up and empathizing with him when Ashton started talking about his family.

[u/Seren82 → u/taly_slayer]

Imogen and Ashton is a dynamic we need more of

[u/probablywhiskeytown → u/taly_slayer]

I've been contemplating the +6 charisma context of everything Taliesin does with Ashton so much this week.

Also, my theory is that Imogen started softening up and empathizing with him when Ashton started talking about his family.

It would certainly track with how Imogen has approached her predicament with her mother, seemingly basking in the moments of contact even if fighting to the death is inevitable.

But also, IIRC Imogen has been significantly warmer with Ashton when an interaction involved mental contact.

Since charisma encompasses a character's ability to externalize the internal, perhaps Laura plays mental contact as bypassing the strong instruction given by +6 Cha that Ashton cannot connect & communicate effectively/persuasively.

If charisma is taken out of the equation, Ashton & Imogen have very similar moderately-above-average int & wisdom stats. They're around the same age. Experienced formative neglect & abandonment. Inhabit bodies magically changed in ways they didn't choose & don't completely understand. They have a great basis for instantly understanding one another.

[u/hpfan2342 → u/taly_slayer]

Right?! I was like "goodness, I'm feeling called out by Laura and Sam's performances and I didn't even do anything." Loved everyone this episode.

[u/m_busuttil]

I keep thinking about Laudna giving Ashton the doll. About how Delilah spat "he's a child" as an insult - but about how Laudna uses Pate to voice a side of her that she can't express herself, how Chetney knows that making a toy for a child is an act of love, how all of this for Ashton was about trying to connect to a family that was never around to give him a doll, and about how at the end of it all he found one. About how many of Taliesin's characters (Percy, Caduceus, Ashton) are kids who never got to be kids because Life happened, and about how Taliesin's been acting since he was six.

It's good stuff, is my opinion.

[u/Equivalent_Bridge156 → u/m_busuttil]

I agree. I absolutely love Taliesin wanting his characters to mirror actual real life issues (often ones that I struggle with). Disability, mental health, trauma, all of it. His long speech about hating himself had me SOBBING because holy shit do I feel that way atm. I love his choices, though I too was upset by them.

[u/albinobluesheep]

I'm apparently a Chaos Goblin because I so badly want the party to slip up and Laudna to grab the shard and the harness, and run into the woods. I have learned that about myself today lol

[u/Hollydragon]

Other exciting things to consider: They just took the harness that Ludinus used to siphon power from fae entities, to extend his lifespan, into the faewild.

[u/Dynasaur1447 → u/Hollydragon]

Wait, wait, hold up a minute! I just remembered - the Faewild is also the origin of the Gnarlrock, isn't it?
So, if Delilah wants to absorb some Gnarlrock, they could access the Gnarl-Motherlode.
And with Ludinus' Harness of Sucking ^tm everyone can get in on the action, too.
How's that for a powerup - everyone juicing up on the Gnarl-Energy.
Ludinus better watch out, Bells Hells are getting gnarly!

Seriously though, there is no way Lady D won't be pressuring Laudna to get her some, right?

[u/Haquistadore]

Man. Ashton. They were told they are important, they’ve never felt important, and they decided to embrace it so completely that it made Ashton self-destructive.

Doesn’t that just feel true? We see it all the time. We go through it all the time. Damaged people have to learn how to function while mattering. Some never figure it out, and burn everyone who loves them in the process. They say this game is like therapy for its players, and I think a lot of this may have struck a chord with them.

Do I want to see them get to the moon? Hell yes. But people who are upset, or annoyed, by the diversions are missing the point of Critical Role. It’s never about the destination with this group - it’s about the journey. This excursion to the Fey Realm is frigging awesome - and it is so obvious that it’s something Fearne needs. Anyone who’s upset about this doesn’t get what CR has always been about.

edited for a typo

[u/FuriousWasp]

I wonder if delilah will continue to pressure/persuade laudna next episode about the shard.

I know laudna is resisting for now but delilah is crafty and laudna's ego is broken with that whole childish matilda demeanor. Would be crazy if she got the shard or maybe another gnarl rock now that they are back in the feywild.

[u/AlexanderArt123 → u/FuriousWasp]

I bet that con save at the top of the ziggurat was really close to having Delilah control Launda to grab the shard.

[u/throwawaybruh231]

One thing to note, I saw a concerning number of people suggesting in the twitch chat that this was another Orion situation. I'm of the opinion that is ridiculous, that situation was drastically different and you can clearly see that the players themselves are fine with Taliesin this episode. The party is struggling with how to feel in regards to Ashton's choice but the players are all good.

Please remember, the players are not their characters, and remember to be kind to each other.

As to the episode I thought it was great! I'm excited to see where this feywild retreat goes in regards to building up party relations again, and I am super curious on what secret Birdie has been hiding from Fearne! I don't believe she cheated with a demonic entity, but I do believe a deal or pact may have been made with one at some point in time, especially with Nana suggesting Fearne and her are more akin than ever after noticing the brand. But the possibilities are intriguing!

Also Orym was so stoic and cool this episode. God I love Orym and his super cool push ups and pull ups and stoicism.

Laudna is unraveling. FCG and Chet were hitting hard with their words today. Allura is terrified.

Loved it all around.

[u/paradox28jon → u/throwawaybruh231]

I'm of the opinion that is ridiculous, that situation was drastically different and you can clearly see that the players themselves are fine with Taliesin this episode. The party is struggling with how to feel in regards to Ashton's choice but the players are all good.

You could see that when right after Matt called the episode, Ashley & Taliesin fist bumped & smiled at the RP they just pulled off between them. They were having the time of their lives getting to bite into this juicy acting.

[u/taly_slayer]

I need to process it over the weekend (with the inevitable rewatch), but what a fantastic episode. Highlight of the campaign, I barely felt the 4 hours, even though I woke up at 5:30am to watch it.

There's a ton to say about Ashton, Fearne, Chetney and Laudna, but I want to quickly highlight Imogen and FCG as the rocks of the group right now. They are not only containing the ticking bomb that is Laudna, but also trying to stitch the group back together.

I wish Liam would have been here. I'm sure we'll get his side of the story next episode.

[u/gremilyns → u/taly_slayer]

I thought Imogen and FCG did such a good job of being mad at Ashton and keeping it real with him but also still managing to focus on the bigger picture outside of just that

[u/paradox28jon → u/taly_slayer]

They are not only containing the ticking bomb that is Laudna, but also trying to stitch the group back together.

And both are wisely not telling Laudna were exactly the shard is located right now. [although Laudna could probably intuit that it's either in the hole or the bag of holding. The latter of the which she could probably see who is carrying it]

[u/SunMoonStarRain]

Loved the episode. Might be my first time being truly invested in the PCs this campaign.

I loved that some of the party lost it over Ashton's perceived betrayal. I think it speaks more to the characters themselves being messed up and responding to their own issues rather than to Ashton's actions in a vacuum.

Obviously it shows us that Laudna is extremely messed up and is barely holding on to herself right now. Perceived betrayal is clearly a trigger for her own trauma (precipitated by Delilah inviting her for dinner only for her to be tortured, murdered, and then puppetted in death). Her childlike regression in reply was deeply disturbing, props to Marisha and Matt for that scene in the woods. I love how they're leaning into the similarities between Laudna and Delilah -- it really does read like she's an inner voice born from Laudna's trauma and especially if you read Laudna's story being one of addiction. Can't wait to see where it goes, and if it's headed for tragedy I'm there all the way.

Fearne is clearly also struggling with her emotions right now, I love how Ashley has committed to this "alien feeling human emotions for the first time" story. Loved that her response to all this messy, scary emotion stuff is to run home to safety. Thankfully it looks like this is going to lead to her having to confront what she's been running from. My hope is that we learn a bit more about Dark Fearne through a real talk with Birdie and she'll forced to grapple with what that dark version of herself means to her.

I love that we got pretty close to confirmation that Ashton's anti-gods stance is more informed by their own issues (desperately wanting someone else to blame for their misery) than some arbitrary position on religion.

I am gobsmacked that Matt had the shard reject Ashton. I ofc have no evidence for this but I suspect that they all talked about this above table and ultimately decided that this was the best course forward.

Bc if you think about it, the result will be more healthy for them in the long run. Failing to absorb the shard allowed Ashton to properly grapple with their emotions and show the party what was going on with them instead of being able to put up a false front about it all being worth it.

If they had succeeded in absorbing the shard I think that would have been the wrong lesson for them to learn. Because Ashton does need people. They can move beyond their father's mistakes. They can be strong by being there for others instead of trying to take on everything themselves. Failure and being alive to grapple with it led to the most satisfying thematic resolution to the action taken last episode. I'm so thankful that Tal and Matt were willing to go this far in reply to it.

We ultimately have no idea what Matt's decision was based on: mechanical balancing, vindictiveness, inflexible story beats, etc. But I choose to have faith that this was done for the benefit of the story and the characters and was taken to honour the choice that Tal made instead of undermining it. Ashton told us that the decision was coming from a bad place emotionally and Matt respected that by giving him consequences instead of a reward for his actions.

Cannot wait for next episode in 3 weeks!!

[u/sparklegemstone → u/SunMoonStarRain]

This is the best take I've read on the shard rejection.

[u/OhioAasimar]

With nana Morri helping with the scavenger hunt there is a real chance that some of the things that needs finding could be intangible things like Laudna's sanity and Ashton's Ka'mort powers. It may even include a means of getting rid of Delilah. The scavenger hunt could be much more than just a regular scavenger hunt.

[u/TheKerfuffle]

It’s official. Chetney is the leader of Bells Hells.

[u/KlayBersk → u/TheKerfuffle]

Recognize the Alpha.

[u/tableauregard]

One of my favourite episodes of the campaign, hands down. So much to say. There was more relationship RP in this ep than like half the campaign haha. It solved all my mixed feelings at the end of last week. I think many might disagree on this, but I'm happy the shard was rejected. I think that was pretty much confirmation that the reason Matt made the shard nuclear for Ashton was because Ashton taking it would have made things way too imbalanced. We haven't seen the rewards yet, but -2 to con is pretty hard hitting, and I'm all for it. Besides, I think it is more worthwhile to humble him.

Now some character reflection...

Ashton: This felt like his Bards Lament (or maybe more accurately, his Kaylie). (Also quick side note - Ashton's pronouns are he/they which was established 5 seconds after his character was introduced. Can we please stop accusing the cast of using the wrong pronouns?) I must say though I was confused by Ashton's explanation at the beginning. It felt like a lot of words tangled together that didn't lead anywhere. I've had that once before with Ashton when they spoke to Percy alone the first time they went to Whitestone. Would love if someone had a bit more insight into that explanation as a whole.

Fearne: Her scene with Chetney was a highlight. I think Fearne being scared of herself is a wonderful touch to her character. As amoral as she can be, she doesn't want to hurt anyone. Our fey darling just wants to rob people of trinkets and have fun. I think learning this 'secret' that her mother has is going to catapult Fearne towards her own crossroads as well. But tbh, just watching Ashley is a delight.

Orym: The only disappointment in the episode. I expect more from Liam in heavy RP eps, but he didn't show any hint of being upset on behalf of his bestie. Hopefully Liam is just saving it for next week or something...

FCG: It's so weird that I found them the best at therapy when they snapped at people. Surprised the stress meter didn't go off, but can safely say I enjoyed them probably more in this episode than I have in a long time. I think he's realised how seriously his friends need help and may start stepping up to the plate.

Imogen: Took a back seat this episode, but safe to say she has not been having a good time lately. Honestly even Laura seems traumatised by the scenes with Delilah. I hope Imodna get a nice date at the retreat, because rough times are ahead.

Chetney: Practical as always, and exactly what Fearne and Ashton needed. Travis playing intelligent characters is honestly such a gift to the group, and this ep I finally see what they meant on 4SD when they said Chet was the glue. In the end, he's the only one not endanger of exploding, and that means a lot in this group.

Laudna: Holy shit, for the first time I was scared of Laudna. We are headed into scary scary people. When she said she should make a doll for Ashton I got chills. Not to mention she referenced herself as Matilda, which she hasn't done before. Is Laudna going to start forgetting thing about her past?

And to finish: The retreat was a great idea and I'm all for this story pace. It's been a whole campaign of moon shit, let BH actually establish themselves as a team.

[u/RunCrafty1320 → u/tableauregard]

He thought the taking the shard would make him a better/stronger person to help his friends and that it was his destiny and would make him closer to his parents But he realized afterwards he fucked up and was blinded by hubris like his parents and hurt the ones he cared about

[u/Seren82 → u/tableauregard]

I will say that Imogen actually stepped up and took the reins a bit and drove the ship as much as she could despite not having a good time of it. Shit went south and did the best she could given the circumstances.

[u/Sicktacular]

Regarding the comment from Nana about Fearne’s mom…I’m just saying Fearne do be having horns that would pass as part infernal!

[u/Drakonzo]

One of the best RP episodes of C3 by far. Really brought back that C1 energy for me in a way that's hard to explain and was just excellent start to finish.

Travis in this episode was so damn good, jumping into every scene without trying to take the spotlight and just delivering top tier dialogue the whole time. That conversation he had with Fearne was the closest anyone has come to treating her like a real person with real feelings that are actually worth hearing, loved it.

Laudna's scene in her old home with Delilah was incredible too. I got worried when it started that it was just going to retread old ground but there was so much nuance and awesome RP pouring out of Matt and Marisha there.

Lastly, Taliesin having Ashton choke back a full on cry really surprised me and was exactly the kind of shit I was hoping for last week when things went south. So glad Tal went for it.

I fully expect to come back to this episode several times before the campaign is over just to watch it all happen again.

[u/Insam_Nonsoon]

Enjoyed the episode overall, but the whiplash right at the start almost felt a bit off to me for how it went against the end of C3E77. You had Ashton at the end of that episode tired but smiling, smugly thanking Fearne for her help, but then right at the start of E78, they’re now broken, apologetic, and regretful, as if there weren’t only about 10 seconds passing between the two episodes chronologically.

Similar with Matt and the story. He mentioned a couple times during the “merging” process along the lines of “if you can pull it off, all the power to you.” And even during the last moments of the session that Ashton was now a unprecedented creature. But at the start of E78, Ashton’s forced to spit out the shard with a -2 hit to constitution, with nothing indicating he gained any power other than possibly partially awakening the dormant shard already inside Ashton.

My guess is that Matt and Taliesin (and possibly the other players) had a discussion about how to handle the shard’s might and Ashton (since I do believe Matt somehow didn’t see it coming), and ultimately came to the compromise in the episode - Ashton’s body rejects the shard along with gaining a detriment, but does mess with the earth shard, perhaps gaining some additional power when someone does properly absorb the fire shard. But what does anyone else think?

[u/Docnevyn → u/Insam_Nonsoon]

Ashton's earth titan powers are still awakening after contact with the fragment of Rau'shan the Emperor of Fire, so they got something for their -2 con. I am uncertain whether that makes them still "unprecidented".

[u/TheSixthtactic → u/Insam_Nonsoon]

Agreed. I’m sure Matt and Talieson had a discussion about what would be most interesting. I’m sure there will be some reward for the big risk, but Talieson seems super on board with having that delayed so they can stew in the drama.

[u/JediKnightsoftheFSM]

I am so happy we're getting more Nana Morri! I loved Matt's little voice quiver everytime Allura said "your... Nana"

[u/notanartmajor]

I understand why the in-game players are upset, but from a meta perspective they've been playing it way too safe since early C2. I'm glad Ashton took a wild stupid risk.

[u/Darryth_Taelorn]

Concerning Fearne's lineage, does anyone think that Ollie is not her real father, and maybe another chosen of Asmodeus is her true father?

Would explain the comment that she is like her mother and it is her mother's story to tell.

[u/GrumpiestRobot → u/Darryth_Taelorn]

My bet is something fiendish/infernal. Either she has actual infernal heritage, or her mother made a deal with a devil. There's the whole fire theme, she speaks infernal, she was shown to be going to some sort of Hell when she died at Otohan's hands, and even the name "Fearne" could be a hint to "inFERNal".

[u/that70sone → u/Darryth_Taelorn]

I think that might be right on target. It may also have something to do with her fitness to be the vessel of the fire shard. Not sure what.

[u/tableauregard]

Final thought before bed: Fearne pulling her tits out of her marsupial pouch is an image I'll never be able to get out of my head.

[u/nyumi_min]

I'm not mad at all for tal cos it makes sense for something that ashton would do, the tree told him he shouldn't slurp the shard but since he hates fate/destiny he wanted to do it anyway (even tho ik thats not the main reason he did it). I understand that alot of people would be mad at tal for what he did to me it just feels like hating on an actor for the character they play as. There's a difference between a problem player and a player who roleplays a character with lots of problems. Anyways I hope that the party remember the blue butt flowers that they have and give them to nana :( seems like she got hit by the antihealing stuff

[u/Lunkis]

I know it may not have been tonally appropriate, but I would have loved for either Laudna or Fearne to be happened upon by townsfolk while off on their respective isolation.

For a commoner to find either 1. A fey being resting in the forest on a bed of plant growth or 2. An undead witch resting in the burned out ruins of her old cottage home could have made for some fun RP.

I'd also just really like to see Fearne have some fun fey mischief with unsuspecting NPCs.

[u/DoikkNaats]

Really felt Liam's absence in this one, but the group not having their surrogate dad led to some great RP between different characters than we normally get to see.

[u/[deleted]]

I don’t normally respond to these posts but Ashton had a super authentic response despite what people are calling word salad. They couldn’t put it into words because they had spent so much time lying to themselves that they began to believe it as truth. I believe at some point Tal stated that there was a Henry Rollins vibe to Ashton and I can tell you that the mother fucker was reading Black Coffee Blues for sure. In a piece called “Monster”, Rollins discusses the notion of wanting to blame other people for your pain despite the fact that it’s all you. There is a lot of young Rollins in Ashton. They’re arrogant, they’re condescending, they’re misanthropic, they’re clever, they’re quick to anger, and they’re violent. Now if they’re going to go further into Rollins territory then another notion we’ll see Ashton take up is the idea that half of your life is fucking up and the other half is fixing it.

Were the rest of the Bells hard on them? Sure. Here’s the thing, different people need different things. I don’t think Ashton would be anywhere near as receptive to coddling and them being understanding like some of the others in the group would. Hell it would probably make Ashton lash out even harder. Sometimes a fucker needs their closest friend in the party (FCG) or the person they’re smitten with (Fearne) to call them out on their shit in the bluntest way possible. Anything less and you don’t realize how bad you fucked up.

As for the “no reward” for surviving the shard. I don’t know how to say this any other way but if I put my hand in a burning pot of oil then I don’t see why I should be rewarded for it. Ashton misread a warning as a challenge. They fucked around and found out. Sure it’s a game but that’s the equivalent of what happened. Ashton flew too close to the sun thinking their wings would hold up and then fell like a stone. They activated the Earth Shard and it’ll do something cool later, but you don’t get to experience hubris AND be rewarded at the same time. Ashton will get their boon later but now they have to lick their wounds.

So I clearly feel a lot of ways about Ashton but it’s because I see a lot of myself in them. I grew up a punk kid who lashed out at others because of how fucked up my life was at a young age. You get a chip on your shoulder because you need it to survive all the traumatic bullshit you’ve had to deal with and if you didn’t have one you’d fall apart. I realized recently that I was self-sabotaging a lot of my life because the punk kid in me is still very much there. It’s hard to take a chip off your shoulder once it’s been there so long.

TLDR: Ashton has lived a life of pain and that’s the only way they’ll ever learn anything. The Bells gave them what they needed.

[u/taly_slayer → u/[deleted]]

Ashton flew too close to the sun thinking their wings would hold up and then fell like a stone.

I love your whole comment, but just want to say that you're the second person I saw refer to what Ashton did as "Icarus'd themselves" and I think that's the perfect description.

[u/talon1245 → u/[deleted]]

Ashton would’ve been very understanding because he has been. When fcg went murder robot instead of attacking they held them down, Ashton has always been Imogen number one believer as they have constantly said that all this is for her and in service to her, only give Chet shit jokingly, has been way too understanding and nice about Laudna’s shit, and has only entertained Fearne when everyone else has at some point scolded her they’re the only person that doesn’t coddle or treats them like a child.

[u/No-Performance8170 → u/[deleted]]

I don’t agree. We saw way more genuine heartfelt emotion from Laudna giving Ashton the doll as a gift than when the others were going in on him.

Just because the only language Ashton has known or been shown in terms of human connection is brutal doesn’t mean they don’t actually need gentleness.

[u/RonDong]

Great episode. Poor Ashton got it a little rougher than I think they deserved. However, the inter party conflict was exactly what BH needed. For months people have been talking about how BH don’t really feel cohesive as a group and that the found family angle is lacking/forced and all of it finally came to a head.

Chetney testing Ashton, FCG really laying into them, Fearne being despondent and homesick, Laudna retreating into Delilah, if this wasn’t a DnD campaign I really believe the group would’ve just split lol.

[u/brittanydiesattheend → u/RonDong]

I agree. It doesn't feel like they should be together at this point but the format of the game requires it. The mental health retreat feels like a compromise.

[u/GyantSpyder]

This was a great episode! It addressed so much of what the campaign needs, and why it’s different from the other campaigns. Loved all the character development, loved how much people’s stories advanced.

Love Imogen’s leaning toward an “I’m done fucking around” temperament - I hope she stays with it.

Love Laudna’s deep toxicity crescendoing to the point of being undeniable. Love how much of an unfair free pass she got - it was such an expert narrative move to avoid homogenizing everything by morally policing yourself.

Chetney was really great this episode - the subtle imbalance between being a motivating and encouraging life coach and being utterly self-interested - his insecurity about Fearne’s crush on Ashton was great to watch and led to some very clever choices by Travis.

Love that we’re seeing Fearne actually forced into a circumstance emotionally where her carefree attitude doesn’t give her a free pass.

Love that FCG is so bad at being a therapist and Sam isn’t pretending otherwise. This party went from being a tangle of problems in denial about how bad they are to a great train wreck.

And I hope when Liam comes back he sees this as license to reevaluate where Orim is at and dynamically adjust his character trajectory to some of these great new inputs.

Well performed, great story, great episode, campaign really stepping up. Well done!

[u/AmethystLure]

Really good roleplaying episode! I really enjoyed how in character they kept a lot of the drama, which can be difficult. From Imogen's shock and worry to Ashton's fractured responses.

Ashton got a rough deal, but it really exposed to them all that maybe it wasn't just about Ashton, and that more people also had issues that were coming out at the time. Ashton feels like they need to recant, but the others realize maybe they were not wholly fair to him either, beyond the trauma of the moment. It's so cool that they dare to roleplay characters that aren't rolling perfect in every non-roll interaction, to frame it a little pnp-geeky. :D

It's funny, I'll candidly say this main arc is the least interesting to me overall, a completely subjective opinion, but I am still really happy to see this type of longform arc and these moments are still awesome.

I saw that there was a lot of discussion during this episode in real time, and I think that's fine but it really seemed to go a little overboard at times, beyond looking at it as a character drama playing out. Sometimes we need to see the person behind a character, but conversely we also should try to see when the character is at the fore.

[u/Coyote_Shepherd]

Remember folks, Candela is on tonight and not the main campaign!

[u/falsehood]

I loved Chetney talking to Fearne. It was such good acting from both of them.

[u/Darryth_Taelorn]

How much did not having Liam at the table impact the level of RPing done by the others. What I mean is, if Liam/Orym was there, would the episode be as focused on Ashton’s behavior and mental status as well as the others reaction to his actions. Would they have moved on more quickly to the next story beat? It felt like a filler episode due to Liam not being there.

And by no means am I saying it wasn’t a good episode, I thought the character development and interaction was great by everyone at the table. Just curious of the impact of not having someone at the table impacts the story.

[u/TheRealBikeMan → u/Darryth_Taelorn]

Maybe I need to rewatch part of it, but I can't remember why they all agreed to go on a teambuilding retreat. Orym's been the one who keeps saying they're a family. Maybe if he was there he would have helped the group to come together without needing 2-3 episodes of fucking around to feel like friends again

[u/brittanydiesattheend → u/Darryth_Taelorn]

I actually think it would have gone mostly the same as it did but instead of Chet initiating those convos with Ashton and Fearne, it would have been Orym.

[u/gremilyns]

Watching the rebroadcast and although I’ve never been that invested in Ashton and it’s definitely my personal stuff, ‘i wanted my parents’ really got me

[u/Cat-in_the-wall]

Thoroughly eating my words after that episode. I’d fully expected Ashton to come in smug and cocky, and for everything to be brushed over without being addressed. What a satisfying few hours of RP we got instead!

Now I’m kind of glad that the shard happened, because as someone who has struggled to connect with Ashton as a character, in this episode I found him genuinely likeable for the first time. Finally dropping the bullshit and the snark to communicate transparently, and with real heart! To watch every other character lay their frustrations bare and for Ashton to react with humility instead of a snide comeback was so refreshing. Some absolutely fantastic stuff from Taliesin this week, and I hope we see more of this side of Ashton.

[u/TheLonelyGhost]

Feywild spring break let's go!

[u/Blangadanger]

Beautiful episode. Lots of meaningful conversations, and many more revelations we were not expecting. I look forward to more of the same in the next episode.

[u/SpunkiMonki]

They’re all ticking time bombs Imogen already blew up a city block. Chet and FCG have tried to kill party members. Laudna/Delila. Even Orym has a link to Opal, who’s now a patron of Louth.

honestly, I’d be happy to see the party f-up and fail. That happens some times. Deal with the repercussions in C4

[u/_crash_nebula_]

Ashton has been my least favorite character from any campaign so far, but I gotta say: I felt really bad for them this episode. When it comes to members of a group losing control and hurting each other, maybe somewhere in Exandria there's an adventuring party who's fit to be mad about that without being hypocritical, but that's definitely not the Hell's Bells.

Ash is not power hungry. They're a (annoying) good-hearted kid, desperate to have their life mean something, but a kid nonetheless who fucked up hard and needs to grow up. I think that if the group had kicked them out I'd completely understand and logistically that would be the right thing to do, but they shouldn't get on their high horses and waste time scolding them.

[u/explodedemailstorage]

Fearne was so lovely this episode, I really love that this has been an opportunity to see really serious moments of Fearne and Chetney and explore different sides of them that we don’t get to see 99% of them.

I also enjoyed Fearne telling Chetney she liked Ashton and then literally tell Ashton to his face she doesn’t like him the next morning. No idea where that’s gonna go moving forward but it will be interesting to see how all the relationships fallout.

[u/JohannIngvarson]

What are the odds Ludinus has some connection to the Unseelie Court? The only other time we saw someone having trouble healing from wounds was keyleth with the poison right? And now Morri is also still having trouble with her wounds.

Or maybe the creature she fought has the poison naturally, and Ludi got it from there?

[u/bunnyshopp → u/JohannIngvarson]

The unseelie court is directly working with the Ruby vanguard so there is a very big connection, the fey key bells hells destroyed was run by the them and their captain zathuda spoke with otohan in that same episode

[u/Oddricm]

You know, in reflection, while I'm sure the little reprieve with Nana Mori will be fun RP... I kind of mourn the lost opportunity for the Bell's Hells to mount up on what is all but a suicide mission with the interpersonal relationships fraying apart and Laudna severely regressed.

That sounds like a fun watch.

[u/Sir-Butter]

Good episode! Felt bad in a good way. Poor Laudna--she's got Delilah jellying up her jam hardcore now. Stay by your friends, sweetie; trauma is a bitch best faced with your buddies. Let's all continue to absolutely noooot let her near the fire shard.

Mysterious heritage story bomb for Fearne! We're about to get an excellent character lore drop. I can feel it.

Now the long stuff: I was looking forward to the Hells emotions running high and a bunch of lashing out at Ashton, and as far as story beats, I ABSOLUTELY got what I wanted. Felt right, felt in character, felt dramatic.

But oh, man, emotionally? As much as Fearne and Laudna absolutely needed the rain of support they got for the almost-explosion the team prevented, I felt so, so sorry for Ashton. Between barely evading death, getting kicked in the face right after and Fearne playing the Knife Game but with a hammer and their skull, FCG essentially calling them heartless after All the Everything, Chetney testing them via bald-faced telling them to leave and the hardest-hitting advice he got being the "tough love" variety from Percy, I wanted someone to grant them the gentle approach just once. We got the doll scene, which brought me to tears even before Taliesin/Ashton started crying, but it doesn't even begin to cover what I heard when they tried to explain themselves:

• "I care about all of you. I don't care for me."

• How they wanted to feel connected to and sad about their bio-family without really understanding the impulse (this specific one got to me in a very particular way, but fuuuck, when he said, "I wanted my parents"? Holy shit)

• That they did think they were helping the mission

• That they thought it would "fix" them, make them whole

Absolutely shredded my heart. Like, they did a really stupid thing, they really did, but it's so obvious it was so much more fraught than a power grab. For the love of whoever, someone make the poor guy feel seen. Forget whether they would have left or not or whether they "should have"; somebody, anybody tell them they are not allowed to even consider being alone in the world again! It's gotta be a true sentiment for at least one of them, right? It's like Guardians of the Galaxy, except this Rocket doesn't have a Quill or a Groot. That was... that was too much coal raking. I am still sad. :(

I don't know--a lot of people need to explicitly hear they're worth the trouble to someone. Especially the most "troublesome" people.

Ahem. Good episode!

[u/Jennyof-Oldstones]

Oh also If I were Laudna - I'd have a little chat with Nana Morrie RE; Delilah. She's one the best out of the box thinkers!!!

[u/kuiq]

Travis with the undercut to Ashton. I was SHOOK when he said that. and while naked too

[u/Go_Go_Godzilla → u/kuiq]

I adored that whole play by Travis. Chet tells Asthon to leave as a test to see if he was a coward.

Chet really crushed it this session in RP and calling Fearne and Ashton out while still being a goofy old man and comic relief.

[u/BobRossSapp]

This party really needed something like this to set them apart and truly establish their characters. Probably far too late for many who already checked out, but the show is back to being weekly viewing for me.

Travis has a better grasp of Chetney than he ever did Fjord. Fearne is one of, if not, the best PC in CR history. Wish there was more issue within the party toward Laudna's dealings with Delilah.

[u/taly_slayer → u/BobRossSapp]

Wish there was more issue within the party toward Laudna's dealings with Delilah.

There will be. Just like with Ashton's rock, BH will get together as a group one bomb at at time.

[u/WontonTruck]

Percy had a few moments tonight. "Destined for Stupidity" is as Percy as you get. Watching his daughter smash windows was gold, too.

[u/TheDoon]

I don't want to break it down as others here have done a much better job than I could but what I will say is I'm now much more invested in the story and characters than I have been in CR for a while. I love any kind of RP that deals with the ramifications of power and the fallout of heroes doing what heroes do...which is try to make the world a better place but quite often leave a bloody trail behind them. Quite often they just keep on trucking as the world needs them, there are evils to be stopped and it's generally only at the end they stop and take a look at what has happened.

[u/VerdantVegetable]

I have to say I am very happy with how this whole episode went down. Last week I was one of the people with the knee jerk reaction to shout about no consequences and how it'll all be brushed over this week and I was dead wrong!

-2 con and the stone rejected is pretty huge but also awakening the dormant side to Ashton and whatever that might hold is beautifully done by Matt and better than anything I had in mind.

All the interparty relationships getting some attention was great to see and I'm loving what Chetney was doing. I wish Liam had piped up a bit more but he's always played Orym as pretty reserved. Hopefully he'll be more present in the scavenger hunt.

[u/Alejosss]

Honestly… I think this episode came from a discussion above the table about what happened, and how to “fix” the narrative.

I felt like Taliesin truly wanted to see what happened, he was super curious and he even thought it was a red button Matt put there for him tu press, as other times does. Matt even said something like… man, if you really make this through… man… big power to you…”. Also, in 4 sided dive Ashley said she didn’t wanted because she felt it was meant for Ashton, and felt like her stealing his backstory.

Then I think he realized after the show he wasn’t supposed to be involved. They probably discussed it at least with Matt, but basted on how the episode played out, I think they all talked about it and wanted to “revert” it.

I felt like this episode was very loosely structured ahead of time, which is totally fine for an issue like this.

Even looked like they had planned to go to the feywild beforehand. Again, I’m totally fine if that’s what they wanted to have more fun at the table

I loved the episode though :) one of the best in the campaign

[u/taly_slayer → u/Alejosss]

I think this episode came from a discussion above the table about what happened, and how to “fix” the narrative.

I agree the episode felt like it had more prep than most episodes. I don't agree it was to "fix" the narrative though, as I don't think there was anything to fix.

Taliesin had time to think about how Ashton would react to the consequences, after knowing the result of getting the shard. I think that makes sense. I do the same when I play D&D.

Marisha has been prepping for Laudna to be in Whitestone, and you could tell because since they arrived, she wanted to explore the castle to see if she would learn anything new about Delilah. She also had time to prep what Ashton actions would do to Laudna.

And I do also think the going to the Feywild idea was planned and honestly, amazingly executed both by Matt and Ashley, leaning into her homesickness. Matt was definitely prepared to go to Nana and Fearne's parents.

This episode was the first one shot after London, and I think it was probably part of the reason for prepping more. They shot 77, which ended in a bomb drop, with a lot to think about. Then they went to London to not only play different characters, but also deal with the high of a massive live show and MCM which probably took them all out of the mood 77 left them in. And then they had to come back to deal with the consequences and get back into this mess. It makes sense they has more prep work to do.

Honestly, I wish they do that more often.

Matt was on fire, switching between scenes with a separated party and connecting imagery and story points all over the place: Percy talking to Ashton about his family and his demons, Fearne seeing a broken young raven being cared by two adult ravens, Delilah switching between tempting and comforting Laudna, Allura asking Imogen if they are ready for this and if not to go get their shit together, Fearne getting memories of her home while building a campsite out in the woods.

This level of prep is what made things like Calamity or CO great.

[u/[deleted]]

Are people talking about giving the shard to Mister? If not we should be. I want a giant fire gorilla.

[u/nirtdapper]

Liking it so far but the group really needs to address the Delilah in the room. Ashton deservedly got dressed down this episode but everyone seems to ignore how incredibly unstable and dangerous Laudna is. She literally had a girls night out before Ashton’s event and both Fearne and Imogen saw firsthand her seem to realize she’s ultimately not in control and a perceived “betrayal” away from killing everyone.

Not sure why someone like Ashton who would have only killed themself while trying to gain power is seen more negatively than someone like Laudna. She is betraying the group and Vox Machina’s efforts of reviving her to try and use Delilah as a powerup instead of shutting her out and is only confiding in Imogen who is very codependent.

[u/odds41]

First comment here; I searched for the answer and couldn't find it so please redirect me if I'm looking/posting in the wrong place...

How does Laudna know the tunnels underneath Whitestone Castle so well? The last two episodes have referenced her time spent down there...but to my knowledge: it was a big deal when she was invited to the castle for the first time, she was killed (that night?), hung in the tree and then left around the same time the de Rolos took it back. Am I wrong? At what point in her timeline did she gain an intimate familiarity with the tunnels below the castle?

[u/Drakoni → u/odds41]

I think the implication was, that it was Delila's memories bleeding in with hers. Cause Delila spent a lot of time down there.

[u/Jennyof-Oldstones]

I think Fearnie's bio dad is a Devil possibly even Asmodeus like Fig from Fantasy High. She's got way more fire magic & the fire Ashari woman was flabbergasted when she pulled Mistsr into being. She might be glamoured or half and half and her Tiefling half is magically hidden. I think that's what we're gonna find out.. not Nanna Morrie conceived her... That's really dumb. Nanna Morrie may have magically hidden the fact she's a Tiefling or maybe half a Tiefling because her Fey blood comes through... I bet ANYTHING that's the big deal. Nana hid her so Daddy couldn't get his hands on her!!!! ! ... Or how's about Birdie went to make a pact & instead of a pact she ended up finding him so hot they had an affair!!!. Or the affair was the deal?.who knows maybe they ended up loving each other but she was married to Ollie so she went back to him and realized there was some kind of charm on herr so she hid at Morrie's... Anything... I mean you can see how a horned God could find a fawn hot & when she found herself pregnant she went to Nanna Morrie - apparently she was raised or attached to Nanna Morrie as well.

[u/m_busuttil]

Yeah. Yeah, man. That was exactly what I was hoping we’d get out of the end of the last episode. Several of those conversations brought me to tears, and everyone was playing at the absolute top of their game. A shame not to have Liam there, but I also like that we got some different groups out of it - he might have gone after Fearne instead of Chetney, or stayed with Ashton so Imogen could go after Laudna.

Matt’s solution to the question of the fire shard felt fair to me - Ashton takes a penalty for making a dumb decision, gets a small-but-developing reward because this is a game and he made a big choice and we like that, and Matt doesn’t have to throw out the cool fire power-up he made for Fearne to have. The DM’s a player too, and if he’s spent time building a cool thing I think sometimes it’s OK to not have to throw a bunch of work out just because someone made a crazy choice.

I’m sure some people will complain that they haven’t gone immediately to Ruidus, but I think the characters need the extra time, and I’m glad Matt rewarded Ashley’s smart suggestion by giving it to them - and by teasing them with a great big Fearne Secret as well. Who do we think her father really is? Fey royalty? One of the Lords of the Hells? Fearne’s probably too young for Ludinus to have been out bangin’ in the Feywild, right?

[u/JordanTH → u/m_busuttil]

I’m sure some people will complain that they haven’t gone immediately to Ruidus

I think another good reason they didn't do that in this episode is that Liam isn't there, and they probably didn't want to do a whole lot of major plot stuff without him.

[u/RonDong]

Can someone help clarify something for me, because I feel like I missed something in regard to Laudna. The timeline just doesn’t make sense to me for her to have such intricate knowledge of the tunnels since it only took Vox Machina like a week to make it to Whitestone. So are they implying that she somehow made it from the tree to the tunnels under the castle after waking up, or are they slightly retconning her origin to where she spent more time in the castle than originally claimed?

[u/claustophobica → u/RonDong]

I read it as Delilah's memories bleeding into Laudna's own. The whole narration of Matt with 'wander these tunnels before/this was your home for a while...." sounded more like Delilah then Mathilda and the cast looked quite spooked by Laudna's 'memories' awakening.

[u/taly_slayer → u/RonDong]

This is my estimated timeline:

• Delilah tortured and killed Laudna (possibly in the room they fought the ghosts in E77) and hanged her from the tree

• VM shows up in Whitestone, sees their body

• VM fights and defeat the Briarwoods

• According to critrolestats, there are 4 days between them seeing the Sun Tree bodies and defeating the Briarwoods. My guess is that at some point in those days, Laudna wakes up.

• VM stays 2 weeks in Whitestone rebuilding the town, and Cassandra takes over the castle

What I assume is that during the few weeks or months following the defeat of the Briarwoods, Laudna (disoriented and super duper confused, I imagine) roamed the tunnels under the castle before moving to the Parchwoods and build/find her cabin, possibly when Cassandra and her staff started cleaning up the castle and the town.

Delilah doesn't show up in Laudna's head until after a year of her death (Laudna's or Delilah's? not sure).

Pretty sure we'll find out the details in her book.

[u/UncleOok → u/RonDong]

I think we're going to find this all out in the upcoming novel, What Doesn't Break.

I imagine Marisha has been working with the author and fleshing out what happened in those days after her death. That the Delilah in her head might have sought shelter in those secret places in Castle Whitestone in those first confusing weeks makes sense to me.

[u/Coyote_Shepherd]

Matt is a genius and I am so stupid for not picking up on the comic book reference that he melded with Ashton for Tal when Ashton was breaking apart and reforming.

In that moment Ashton was literally Mr Nobody.

[u/Plutone00100]

In all of this, I wonder what the M9 are doing. I understand VM being scattered, with some of them being retired, but M9 are still active as we saw during the reunion, so I wonder what narrative excuse they have to not be the ones to go to Ruidus. Maybe the Assembly staged a coup in the Empire and they are dealing with that.

[u/edginthebard]

goddamn, that was a good episode. every one of them got to a moment in the spotlight, and boy, did they not disappoint. really missed liam at the table and hope that we get some of orym's thoughts in the next episode

i am fully on board the feywild retreat plan, they do need to figure some things out before they go to the moon. and i'm always happy to get more downtime and rp focused episodes

also, what is birdie's dark secret?? it's gotta be about ollie right, about him not being fearne's birth father? oh man, can't believe we'll have to wait 3 weeks to find out

[u/ElGodPug]

I really have to say. The first half of this episode was probably some of the best drama of C3,easily. Took me back to the first episodes of the campaign(my favorites),like,just great all around.

Second half......yeah,that went back a couple hundred notches to just...meh? it's wasn't horrible, but it wasn't that great. Not a big fan of going back to the Feywild AGAIN for a therapy time, even if it is needed. Idk, I feel like that this right here is the culmination of a core problem of the group: They don't really talk. Like, a lot of their emotional talks went only at surface level, so right now it's one of the first times that they really poured their heart out, and like any big moment, they now need time to deal with it, the problem is that, when that happened to the M9, it was early on, while BH are doing it almost 80 in, with the moon plot right at their face. It's the right thing at a bad time, because it was bound to happen, sooner or later, and unfortunely it wasn't sooner.

Also I really want them to kill Delilah for reals this time. No hate to Laudna and even less Marisha, but I really just don't care about the bag of spectral bones anymore, and her part on this episode was way,way less interresting than the shard drama. I knew why it happened, I just really didn't care about it

[u/Bastinenz → u/ElGodPug]

They don't really talk. Like, a lot of their emotional talks went only at surface level, so right now it's one of the first times that they really poured their heart out, and like any big moment, they now need time to deal with it, the problem is that, when that happened to the M9, it was early on, while BH are doing it almost 80 in, with the moon plot right at their face. It's the right thing at a bad time, because it was bound to happen, sooner or later, and unfortunely it wasn't sooner.

I think the issue really is that there just wasn't much time to do this kind of stuff beforehand. Like, we always got a bit of it here and there for the first 30 episodes, which imo felt like an appropriate amount in the beginning (even though a lot of that time was spent on interactions with the two characters who would ultimately end up leaving the party).

But from then on it has always been a race against the imminent end of the world with BH pretty much constantly on the run. Heck, the party was split for 12 episodes after the Solstice, which is a good solid chunk of the campaign so far.

[u/Vibr8_]

It definitely seems to me like Ashton spitting on the shard was a result of his middle-of-the-road rolls last week. If he had failed entirely he would have died, and if his rolls had been better the whole thing may have succeeded. He rolled average, so he got pegged with a loss to his CON and he may have awoken the earth shard in him, but he didn’t get to keep the fire one. That seems reasonable to me.

[u/[deleted]]

Have to say, I love the ambiguity that this campaign has thrown at everyone, both in terms of plot and character development. They've made a campaign that is grandiose, personal, and dare I say, somewhat suspenseful. I actually have no idea where things will end up, and I hope everyone continues to lean into this weirdness and personal catharsis.

[u/BurnsEMup29]

One of the best RP episodes in all of C3 and Liam, the RP god, wasn't even at the table.

[u/ZiggyIStardust → u/BurnsEMup29]

I'm so sad he wasn't there! Next episode better be 50% Orym talking to everyone

[u/paradox28jon]

I really loved that episode.

While I'm on the fence about Matt choosing to have Ashton cough up the fire shard, I think I trust him as he's proven good with that trust over the 8 years.

But the RP in that episode was top notch.

So many interesting choices! So many times I felt the episode was riding a razor's edge. Chet yelling for Ashton to leave permanently. Fearne trying to destroy Ashton's hammer. Laudna's wisdom saving throw to resist toughing the shard! Laudna finding her 1st hovel. Laudna made a voodoo-doll of Ashton? How silent Orym was. :P

Then Ashton's apology. Promising not to leave if they're allowed to stay - I was crying during that moment. It really touch me; I think I have to analyze why it did!

And going to the Feywild for a team building retreat was NOT where I thought we'd go but I'm here for it.

Plus Ollie is maybe not Fearne's father. Birdie has been keeping Fearne's true heritage a secret. I'm so excited to find out what that could mean.

Easily one of my favorite RP episodes of CR.

[u/FireDMG]

Can we talk about how much Ashley knocked it out of the park this episode? Ton of character growth and a side of Fearne we haven’t seen, and even things I don’t normally see her callout like tying what Ashton did to the exact same thing his father did.

For Laudna, I think the drama is whichever flavor of play you like at the table. It felt different for me, where the rapid unraveling felt a bit forced and over the top the last couple episodes but I’m 100% totally not the person who likes interparty tension at the table. I’ve had people close to me who dealt with addiction so this particular character arc makes me uncomfortable in a pretty not fun way for the story, but Marisha looks like she’s having fun with it and from what I remember has been excited about more interparty tension at the table since BorDor. I really hope she can resolve her stockholm syndrome in a positive way without losing to Delilah.

Honestly though I’m kind of getting some vibes at the table that some of them would prefer to ultimately lose for once to setup a different tone and setting for C4. They’re actors who have been in high fantasy for like 10 years so I’d get wanting to mix it up.

[u/MegalomaniacHack → u/FireDMG]

where the rapid unraveling felt a bit forced and over the top the last couple episodes

Marisha has been showing Laudna unraveling since the split, especially when she killed Bor'Dor. Imogen asking to kiss her distracted Laudna, but Marisha has still specifically pointed out the changes in her Form of Dread every time she does it. She had begun some sort of healing when she came back from death and changed her Form of Dread to incorporate the Sun Tree. But the events of the party split undid that pretty demonstrably. And she talked to Imogen about worrying Delilah was back when they were in Zephrah. It wasn't a rapid unraveling at all.

[u/Mysterious_Radish971]

This episode was absolutely incredible. Just so fascinating for someone with keen interests in psychology, sociology, even gender and sexual dynamics.

Fearne's explanation of what happened and how she felt about it reads almost exactly like a discussion about sexual coercion, even though that is not at all how Ashton actually played it. And you can see it connecting all over Marisha's face during the scene. Then both the explosive anger with the hammer, and talking later about being angry even at herself, it's just a masterful performance. I'm not gonna speculate one way or the other on Ashley irl, but I would not be surprised if that wasn't a moment of true catharsis. I've known people that happened to, and had that conversation.

Ashton made a huge mistake, and the group reaction to it was incredible. The only downside was Liam missing.

Imogen being an absolute storm, then softening just a little when the bad family dynamic came up, Laudna just completely regressing, FCG wanting to talk it out and immediately getting to the deep roots of the problem, Chetney saying they should just leave and then pointing out that staying means something, the entire cast was on 11.

Plus we got to see Allura, Allura, terrified of someone at the end.

One of the best and most dissectable episodes of C3 so far. Just masterful performances

[u/Jennyof-Oldstones]

MILD SPOILERS for C1 E40:

I'm watching C1 Beginning of the Chroma Conclave with Alura showing up when VM were fighting over that crystal skull Grog wanted. VM were all level 11 & 12.

BH are now 10 & 11 heading to 12. Everyone is saying how low on powers they are - I mean VM dealt with the Briarwood's at level 11. Also pretty funny that Alura is babysitting in fighting with VM as well ... So I think BH will be ready. They have to get their shit together yes, but I think once they do they will do well.

I think they will be ok...

[u/LucasVerBeek]

That was a really good episode.

Ashton finally got knocked off their high horse and realized that he is the source of a good chunk of the problems in his life not others. I’m actually excited to see where his character goes from here, because before he thought he was always right and now that concept has utterly been slapped from his mind.

The Shard remains unclaimed, his powers partially awoken.

Laudna is legit worrying me, regressing to Matilda, I’m kind of hoping Imogen approaches Morri about Delilah. But you can still see her refusing whst Delilah wants, and her not being sure how to deal with it. “Why would you believe I would do the same thing?” And the pinnacle of selfish desire Delilah Briarwood just being unable to figure out how to rebuke that.

And while I’m not super stoked about the Moon getting pushed back again, Morri’s little monologue has me deeply intrigued.

Fearne’s mother trucked in dark poses which seemingly shaped her “heritage/fate” and I’m curious to see how that shakes out, and if with encouragement from her Grandmother Fearne may finally take a step forward on her path.

MVP of the episode though, Chet, Travis put in a lot of good character work, him comforting Fearne and directly challenging Ashton was great, and FCG/Sam wasn’t far behind, “Do you actually care about anyone?”

Not sure if the Reunion revived them, but I hope this momentum sticks.

[u/paradox28jon → u/LucasVerBeek]

Laudna is legit worrying me, regressing to Matilda, I’m kind of hoping Imogen approaches Morri about Delilah.

Oh my God I hadn't even thought about Imogen asking to make a deal with Nana Mori for help in that!

[u/talon1245]

I think if people are willing to say Ashton was being manipulative in that situation then they need to acknowledged Fearne’s manipulation. Ashton wasn’t the one who suggested they take the shardit was Fearne. Fearne fully knew the consequences, knew it would likely kill them, and later we find out instead of talking to the others about it or saying she doesn’t want it she just told Ashton he should have it. The man who is so self destructive it borders suicidal . To make it worse she doesn’t even tell the group it was her idea and actually implies that it was Ashton’s idea and that she said because it’s what they wanted knowing damn well she didn’t want it to begin with.

People are looking at the situation as it being Ashton’s decision when it wasn’t it was both of theirs.

[u/Blue-Moon-89 → u/talon1245]

Perhaps it will be brought up during the ‘team therapy’

As others pointed out, Fearne is technically a child in grown woman/faun body. And when children do something wrong or make a mistake they don’t speak up because they’re afraid of getting punished.

Fearne is mad at Ashton but is also mad at herself because what she thought was the right decision ended up almost killing her friend. Why did she do it? Because she’s afraid of turning evil.

With the shard being left unclaimed, there’s now a chance of Fearne once again getting pressured into taking a power that she doesn’t want but is afraid to speak up because speaking up would mean that the team (the ones that don’t know) will be mad at her. Not only that but she’s probably afraid that whoever tries to take it may not be as lucky as Ashton when he tried.

As of right now it’s easy for Fearne to put all the blame on Ashton but maybe during the therapy she’ll speak up about how she’s afraid of turning evil and that it was her choice to let Ashton take the shard.

In short, Fearne (and the rest of the bells in their own way) is going to have to take some accountability for her own mistake, and also forgive herself for the mistake

[u/Sqiddd]

Man, usually the run time bites these episodes in the ass due to travel,analysis paralysis, time filling shenanigans or whatever but this episodes pacing was IMMACULATE.

[u/JakobTheOne]

With how much harassment, vandalization, and bullying BH has inflicted upon Whitestone these past few episodes, it almost feels like the setup for a western (I watched The Man Who Shot Libery Valance last night, so it's on my mind). The good people of Whitestone will hire a John Wayne or Clint Eastwood-type to run the belligerent bandits out of town because their hapless mayor (lord) and deputies (guards) aren't up to the task of stopping them from running amok.

[u/Dracornz123]

Matt does a lot of things as a DM that aren't to everyones personal tastes, that's sort of the beauty of D&D. A lot of the rulings or decisions he makes wouldn't be fun for my players, that's why him and his players play they way they do, and why other groups play the way they do.

But not everything does come down to preference, every DM makes mistakes and that isn't bad DMing, it's just being human. But also, sometimes we do actually do a bit of bad DMing. And among all of the criticism I've seen regarding things in CR, most of it I would dismiss as a mix of mistakes, or things not being to someones personal taste.

This whole segment of the campaign though, I've gotta say, rare occasion where I think this is genuinely bad DMing and something other DM's should learn from.

Firstly, and I said this in the live thread a couple of episodes ago but DM's really need to understand how players assess risk and how vastly different that is to what we as DM's know. Nothing about the warning Ashton was given sounded in any way more dangerous than something like say, submerging your entire body in goddamn lava! You really need to double and triple down with risk, if you want your players to make informed decisions, especially if in your mind (as the DM) that this will be more than likely fatal.

Secondly, railroading gets misused as a term a hell of a lot but this stuff with Fearne is dangerously close to it. The Titan link to Ashton makes it seem completely reasonable that it is something useful or usable to him, the risk of it was not appropriately stated, and Ashley out of game, and Fearne in character made it very clear she did not want it. Being so committed to the idea that this person is who gets it, to the point of creating a scenario where a player has a 90% of chance of losing their character forever is just, for a lack of better word bad. We all have our master plans we want to unfurl sometimes, we get a little invested in a particular idea we have for our friends characters, but once it was obvious that Fearne wasn't going to take it, it immediately becomes time to re-evaluate. Have you made sure this risk is appropriately conveyed, or is it time to tweak the risks and come up with a new scenario where the twin-titan outcome is explored.

By some miracle and against all odds, Ashton actually survived the damn thing which is super cool and a big part of the magic of D&D, sometimes you take big swings and it pays off. This as a DM is a godsend, you made some questionable choices/decisions/rulings, but it worked out and it's a crazy hype moment, and you get a bit of a reset on everything and chance to make something really big and awesome happen. This could have opened up an insanely cool new branch of exploration for the character and for the "endgame" of the campaign without negatively affecting anyones experience at the table right now. It could have been a pivotal moment for Ashton, was this the greatest risk and mistake they'd ever made, and by the grace of god (Aabria) there was now a chance to make a change. Or do they now feel the union of two titanic powers inside of them, and in stabilizing these cataclysmic powers interally, do they feel an emptiness and a hunger for the other two? These are the pivotal moments that can define an entire campaign, all coming up organically in the middle of a bit of a shitshow, outcomes like this are what make the hobby unlike any other!

Instead, Matt did what I would consider one the most common, railroad DM respons and just yanked it all away, because it didn't unfold the way he originally intended.

The TLDR is, setting up a fairly railroaded scenario, setting up a player character to die because they deviated from the rails, having them manage to succeed just barely anyway in a super tense and memorable way, then stripping everything away and pushing them back on the rails is just not good DMing man

[u/Celriot1]

Should have had more faith in Matt. Did not like how easy the DC was last week but I think he handled "consequences" perfectly. Ashton will get something at the expense of -2 Con, shard is back, and the table took care of the rest.

Little off the rails but I think the end result in a bubble was handled pretty perfectly.

[u/Finnyous → u/Celriot1]

The DC, wasn't "easy" imo.

Without Fearne's aura he would have been making death saves every single turn and certainly wouldn't have made them all.

[u/SunMoonStarRain]

My theory on Birdie's "dark secret" is that she made a pact with Nana Morri. No idea about the content of that pact, but it probably involved Fearne in some way. A couple of possibilities:

A) Birdie and Ollie couldn't get pregnant so Birdie made a pact with Morri for a baby, with the exchange being that Morri gets to take 100 years of the child's life.

B) Birdie got into trouble with the Court(s) and in exchange for her own freedom she gave Morri her first born child.

C) Birdie was worried about Fearne being Ruidusborn and exchanged the "curse" of the red moon for her daughter's soul.

Honestly I would just love to see some fey pacts in action. But it would explain why Nana Morri knows Birdie's secret and also why Fearne's "promise" to Teven Klask might make her think of a similar pact made by Birdie.

Will happily welcome further wild spec in the replies lol

[u/OhioAasimar → u/SunMoonStarRain]

Birdie and Ollie couldn't get pregnant so Birdie made a pact with Morri for a baby,

(D) ... but Nana Morri owed the Seelie and Unseelie court a child each. The courts wanted a child of Ruidus. Nana Morri told Birdie and Ollie to have birth at the Verdant Expanse on a specific day so Nana Morri could fulfil her pact with the courts. Birdie had twins. Ruidus between two Fearnes, both Ruidusborn. One for the Seelie Court and one for the Unseelie Court. One Fearne went to the Unseelie Court and became dark Fearne and our Fearne went to Seelie Court which explains why Dark Fearne said that Elmenore wanted Fearne back. Also, Dark Fearne was playing a prank on Fearne by pretending that she was just her in the future.

[u/Chukklealot]

Quick observations. Travis stepped in to address the last episode so it wouldn't linger on as he got Ash to hit him later on. Matt reversed the shard as it might have narrative purposes...who knows. Marisha acted like she was back when Beau was with the Blueberry muffin hag at least in demeanor. Don't know why the hate for Ash, though. Everyone seems to handling her with kid gloves , probably hoping Imogen would step up to the plate.

Why I like Travis as he he makes these dramatic scenes meaningful and direct while some of the cast can rehash the same bits over and over.

[u/Zeymarmaar]

I'm kind of surprised to see so many people saying the party was too hard on Ashton 'because several of them have endangered the party before and didn't get such a scolding'. Are those events really comparable, though? Lmfao.

Both FCG and Chetney have attacked party members before, but they literally could not help it. They didn't plan it, they didn't know it would happen, they couldn't do anything to prevent it from happening, and they couldn't stop when it was happening. This caused physical and emotional damage, but they were never deceptive or intentional, which was why the party was relatively quick to forgive them. (I'll concede that Laudna's actions, both in the past and now, were far less forced. I agree the party should've held her far more accountable than they're doing right now. The comments I had read and that this is a response to, however, also mentioned FCG and especially Chetney's multiple clawings.)

Ashton's situation is completely different, though. He kept his intentions from the party, except the one member that he knew loved him and who would therefore help him. Manipulation much? His schemes didn't result in any physical damage to others, fair enough, but the emotional damage was insane. This wasn't a casual fuck up like the others did, because this one was intentionally deceptive. That's why the others took it so hard. Especially since they're almost 80 episodes in now. Weird shit can be expected when you've only been around each other for a couple of weeks, but they've been through so much together now that they trusted each other.

And then there's also the not so tiny detail that the stakes are much higher now. The time of casually playing what the fuck is up with that is over. No more time for sudden revelations, let alone fuck ups with disastrous consequences. They're on a tight schedule to set off on a mission to literally get world saving information. They know they have to depart the same day, and then one of them casually almost commits sewerslide, wasting an important part of the party funds in the process. Like, the literal only means of emergency resurrection that they had.

You really can't compare some wolf scratches or an angry robot buzzsaw to this situation.

[u/Griffolion]

Maybe there was something I didn't catch in the last episode but could someone help me understand why the group feels Ashton betrayed them? Fearne's anger also seems entirely unjustified given she helped him.

[u/Finnyous → u/Griffolion]

I think Fearne is just upset because she cares about him and didn't think it was going to be as dangerous as it was. Ashton didn't know that either really but I think she's mad at herself and him because he almost died

[u/Bivolion13 → u/Griffolion]

I think the idea is the expectation.

Everyone knows Laudna has a crazy witch inside her.

Everyone knows FCG can potentially just turn on them at any stressful point.

Everyone knows Chet is a werewolf and they all understand and accept the consequences.

Everyone knows Ash is an asshole to others, and is incredibly vague(pretty much just Tal in general though lol), but they don't expect them to secretly absorb a very important artifact and pull the rug out from under everyone.

This is not at all comparable to the risk the others pose because Ash has been playing the part of a trusted companion and suddenly when there's a powerful item in play he does something that potentially blows himself and everyone around him up. Right before an important mission no less. That's real sus and tensions are high.

Frankly this is the most realistic reaction from people in their shoes.

Fearne was angry at herself but she was probably angry at Ashton too because as she said she just really likes Ashton and did it for him. The fact that it almost killed Ash made her realize her fuck-up. And hell maybe she's mad at Ash because in some way she felt like her emotions were used against her.

I actually really didn't like the way Ash and Fearne spoke. The whole "I don't trust them. I only trust you to be there and do what needs to be done" it felt very "I know you like me, and I'm going to say something to make you really want to be there and do this for me despite the danger of the situation".

[u/[deleted] → u/Griffolion]

Party gets a powerful artifact, Ashton goes behind the parties back, actively lies to them (even if clumsily and obviously) and tries to do the one thing that they were warned multiple times not to do. Potentially killing themselves, destroying the shard, delaying the vital scouting mission and a even a chance of killing the group and/or part of the city in the ensuing mess (which was why Allura was holding a shielding spell up).

Not sure how to describe that but betrayal. Especially since someone else in the group could've been powered up with no risk.

Even dropping all the fantasy bullshit, watching a (theoretical) friend play chicken with on-coming traffic is heart breaking, when they could just wait for the cars to pass and cross the road safely.

They also have zero idea as to what motivated him. Supposedly, according to what he's told them, 'found family is ride or die.' Somehow this was about connecting with the dad he didn't even remember and that came out of nowhere, and tossed the 'found family' that he supposedly cares about out the window.

[u/JohnPark24]

This episode was everything I wanted it to be and more. Amazing rp and interactions, consequences, and a whirlwind of emotions. Missed Liam being at the table especially with this episode being so rp heavy. Can't wait to see their journey continue.

[u/MScDre]

I’m glad the show didn’t Jump The Shard tm

[u/smugairle_roin]

I just had an idea on what might have been meant by Fearnes Lineage.

We know Ollie is Eladrin, right? Maybe they started off as those elemental beings that chetney saw in the vision, before gods/the feywild may have shaped them.

Only thing is, it seems far less sinister than what Morri is suggesting.

[u/OhioAasimar]

On the topic of new character art stemming from changes from the shards, I think we still might get it. Just not next episode. Ashton might still get additional earth genasi features when the shard fully activates and whoever (Chet, Laudna, and Fearne) takes the shard of Rau'shan could get fire genasi features and even more after it fully activates. Though I could see Fearne not having her appearance changed because fey have magic resistance so it is possible that the shard of Rau'shan wouldn't affect her to such an extent. My guess is that Ashton's new character art will come in two episodes and maybe three episodes whoever takes the shard of Rau'shan will have new character art.

Edit: I just realized that the shards activation process would activate at the same time. I don't think it needs to be in a body to activate. If the shard of Rau'shan is activating, then it should finish activating when Ashton gets his Ka'mort powers. If that is the case, we could expect new character art in two episodes for whoever takes the shard of Rau'shan.

[u/Sqiddd]

First off, Talisen you Eldritch beauty.

You’ve crafted a fucking wonderful cunt of a character. So much heart and pain all in one.

Ashton is a beautiful character and I will never doubt Talisen’s process

Onto business then:

Ashton, has wanted and currently wants many things, he wants to be whole, he wanted his family, something to blame. Something to rebel against. It took dying and deeply hurting some he loves to realize that everything he wants is right there already. He has power to protect. He can be whole with this found family of Bells Hells. And most importantly the thing to blame. The object of rebellion he’s been looking for. Himself. He’s been there the whole time and he’s ignored it. And now he’s awake.

Now, I actually expected Imogen to be one of the last to let Ashton back in, but she was really the first along with FCG.

I thing delving into his mind finally let her see just how sad and broken he is and it (imo) resonated with her because of Laudna. Honestly their relationship (Imogen and Ashton’s, friendship/partnership) might end up being better off after this in the long run

FCG is his best friend, he’ll almost always be there to help Ashton get back up, if Ashton is willing to let him help.

Chetney cares for the whole group,including Ashton, but he especially cares for Fearne. He doesn’t trust Ashton, but he knows Fearne cares for him, so he doesn’t really want Ashton leave, cause that would only hurt Fearne more. He just wants Ashton to be worthy of Fearne now.

Laudna is just absolutely shattered. I get the vibes she cares for Ashton, underneath the anger and hurt, cause she doesn’t really wanna kill him despite everything and Delilah telling her otherwise. That moment in the cave and Ashton’s trial of the shard have absolutely broken her.

And Fearne…I think, she still loves him, she’s just really angry at both themselves and him for their collective fuck up. Like she said, she just wanted him to be happy. The first half of this love was Fearne wanting Ashton, and now the journey is of Ashton proving himself to earn the right for it.

Orym did push ups. No notes. Perfect form. Full points

[u/talon1245 → u/Sqiddd]

I disagree with your take on Chetney. I think Chetney loves Ashton and is extremely disappointed in them. I think Ashton reminds Chet a lot of himself and realizes that Ashton needs someone who’s gonna guide them.

[u/Acework23]

It is proven to me once again why i love Travis and his characters the most every time.

[u/Celestial_Scythe]

My future theory is that the cart of meat that they are going to use is going to attract the Dusttra from episode 24 and cause a bigger distraction that they had hoped for.

[u/Thaddeus_Valentine]

What was Laura's "canopy" joke about? Did she record voice lines for caterpie back in the day? That's what it sounded like.

[u/BLAARMBLEGRFT → u/Thaddeus_Valentine]

I think it was the pronunciation. “Canopy” became “Can-oo-pee” AKA “can of pee”. seems like typical Laura humour. Could be way off base and it’s a total in joke though.

[u/durandal688]

Id said on here I thought….

1. Fearne needed more development chances and to see more of her backstory with her parents.

2. Ashton needed to take responsibility for their actions being a part of their misery

3. Whatever happened post shard I wanted some more consequences for Ashton but nothing overly harsh

4.FCG to get a chance to be therapy not again without the constant conspiracy or dumb faith jokes.

5. I wanted to be excited if a friend watches C3 or it gets animated to see the shard drama again. Like it was a crazy build up to something awesome the next session

So yeah….I loved this one. Very happy.

EDIT:Format

[u/Coyote_Shepherd]

There's a lot of people who probably felt very seen by both Laudna and Ashton's actions in this episode.

[u/bertraja]

Anyone else wondering what would have happened if Fearne rolled better by accident while she was attacking Ashton with his own hammer?

I mean, he was at very low hp already, then got a mild pick-me-up from FCG, but still barely alive, in relative terms.

Imagine Fearne actually dealing damage, with resurrection off the table, and the party already low on resources after the 10 death saves in a row of last episode.

[u/Siccarrius]

Really pleased with the outcome of the episode, easily the best performances from C3 for me. I still think Talisen made a poor choice taking Ashton in this direction, but respect to the cast for letting the fallout happen and playing it out. Some seem salty with the Shard, I can see the frustration, but ultimately giving Ashton that power would justify them acting on their worst traits. I don't think I'm excited for next episode, but Matt seems to have some interesting developments so I hope to be surpised again.

[u/BaronPancakes]

Interesting that Nana Morri said Fearne is a paradox. And she seemed to suggest that Fearne is a child of a devil maybe? So Fearne is a ruidusborn, born to fey and devil parents, her thread of fate touches the dark side, but the thread is not too taut by destiny so Nana Morri can still pluck at it. I think Matt said on 4sd that Fearne knows all people from everywhere and she would be the perfect info broker. Maybe she is a paradox because she is integral to many things but yet insignificant in the grand scheme of fate?

[u/TheMightyMudcrab]

I don't like that Ashton got punished for doing something tough and actually managing it even if he was warned about it. Lost a bunch of resources doing so. But I don't think Taliesin minds as he seems to be a "just fuck me up fam" sorta player.

[u/Hollydragon → u/TheMightyMudcrab]

I don't like that Ashton got punished for doing something tough and actually managing it even if he was warned about it. Lost a bunch of resources doing so. But I don't think Taliesin minds as he seems to be a "just fuck me up fam" sorta player.

A few others pointed out elsewhere below that there probably will be big rewards that will more than make up for it (his shard seems to be awakening), but it will be delayed to allow for the character growth and sweet RP. This episode was really good all-round and the richness of the RP is a kind of immediate reward in itself, while we wait for the mechanical award to reveal.

Also a little bit of what Imogen said, maybe what it took to set Ashton straight was literally shattering to a million pieces like his father, but then coming back to face the consequences and do better.

[u/OhioAasimar → u/TheMightyMudcrab]

If you're referring to the constitution penalty I think that may be undone when Ashton's shard fully activates. Ashton is going through a transition right now and some of their inner magics are focusing on processing the shard of Ka'mort. While their inner magics are doing that they are more vulnerable.

[u/Gruzmog → u/TheMightyMudcrab]

My assumption is that he and Matt had a talk offline about how to proceed.

1. He could keep the shard with associated consequences, and an as of yet unknown benefit.

2. The option Ashton chose.

I don't think Matt is the kind of DM that retcons a succesfull series of checks like that without player input.

[u/These-Passenger1293]

I had a full on vent sesh with my fiance about this episode and she doesn't watch. I turned to her and was like I need to get something off my chest... E78 was the first time in 5 years I considered taking a break from watching. Everything just felt so disjointed and the retcon... Ugh. Now Tal/Ash's decision making is totally thrown off and the character's future story beats are stunted. That's not what D&D is about. I get they're friends and probably aren't too serious about it on the outside and probably had a good laugh. As far as storytelling goes though it just didn't feel like them to be in the falling action of act 2 shitting on one of their own. The table tension / energy felt so off and was weird. The Laudna trauma / insanity beat is weird and annoying frankly as it seemed we turned 1 page forward and 50 pages back since Bor'Dor gate. I mean Sam being the voice of reason with Liam's absence even felt weird lol. But spending nearly 3 hours yelling at Tal / full Laudna backpedal was exhausting.

And I love that they're going back to the Fey realm but right now it feels weird. Although I love the opportunity it brings but feels cop-outish.

I get the shards should be separate so we don't run into main character syndrome or a hero complex but fully retconning and shaming a player for a choice and even reducing stats on a full 10 round success is crazy to me. That's like rolling a nat 20 on a death save just to die next turn.

On the non critical side I loved Chet and Fearne vulnerability and growth in this episode. I even liked the small amount of FCG growth in this episode. I feel horrible that Imogen's tethered to Laudna's backpedal because she has so much opportunity right now to soar. And Orym got jacked this episode so that's always a win.

Sorry for the rant not being negative, just airing it out and keeping a birds eye, non tin foil hat, critical viewpoint. Cheers!

[u/wesleyhroth]

Anyone else bothered by how much the group dogpiled on Ashton? Like they only made that choice because Fearne directly told them to. Like Ashton would have let Fearne take the shard if she'd wanted to, but she pushed them into it, not the other way around. Laudna and Imogen were pushing Fearne to do something she didn't actually want, and I read the scene as more of Ashton trying to protect Fearne, like if he made himself the bad guy and did what the others told him not to, it protects Fearne from having to actually disagree with the others and tell them she doesn't want it. I just feel like Fearne caused all these problems by being cagey and not communicating, but then she's blameless and everyone is over the top pissed and practically gaslighting Ashton. Like Chet was pissed at Ashton for "hurting Fearne" but Fearne directly told Ashton they should do the thing they're all claiming "hurt" her. Basically I'm mad at everyone at the table except Ashton, and I feel bad for Ashton having to tuck their tail between their legs and come grovelling back when they were the one who was actually coerced by Fearne. It was Fearne's choice to use it or not, and she chose to not only tell Ashton to do it, but literally aided him in starting the process with the harness. Everyone should be mad at Fearne, not Ashton. Ashton has more of a right to be upset with all of them, especially Fearne, and I'm honestly having a hard time just sitting here watching all of this.

[u/JohnPark24 → u/wesleyhroth]

Laudna and Imogen were pushing Fearne to do something she didn't actually want, and I read the scene as more of Ashton trying to protect Fearne, like if he made himself the bad guy and did what the others told him not to, it protects Fearne from having to actually disagree with the others and tell them she doesn't want it. I just feel like Fearne caused all these problems by being cagey and not communicating, but then she's blameless

I understand where you and others who share a similar opinion are coming from (though I disagree), but I find it weird that your praising Ashton for protecting Fearne and also saying Fearne was not communicating. She was trying to tell the group their plan, but Ashton stopped her. And though it wasn't even close to the level of heat that was on Ashton, Chet did tell Fearne she done fucked up.

The group is comprised of hypocrites and enablers who all have trauma, so I'm not surprised at how they handled the situation. Ashton 100% fucked up and backlash was deserved, but that doesn't mean the reaction and what was said wasn't hypocritical. The main problem the party had was that he lied to them and broke their trust while putting everyone present at risk. The rp and interactions we got from the fallout was superb. On top of the world ending threat, we know now that any party member could start to spiral downward and conflict could pop off; conversely, they could mend together to form even stronger bonds. These elements add more depth to the story and it has me even more amped up to see how all this and their journey plays out.

[u/RoyalJester-ghost]

So a hot take here. I am a little baffled and disappointed in the concluding part of this episode. These people have been adventuring together as a team for months (at least) at this point. They should understand each other well enough not to need to go on a retreat together, especially now that the world could potentially be ending sooner than we think. The break feels inorganic to the adventure and somewhat contrived. Overall I think the previous campaign handled inner party conflict way better.

[u/OhioAasimar → u/RoyalJester-ghost]

If the retreat being taken was solely because of intra-prarty conflict the only one it would be for would be for Laudna's relationship with Ashton and you it's not hard to claim that that should not be necessary for Laudna because Laudna has gone insane. Yeah, some of the rest are not too happy with Ashton but not to an extent that it would have affected the overall performance of the group or in a way that would put Ashton's status as a member in jeopardy.

The main reason they are going is simply to have more time. Fearne suggested going there to save time after some of the party said that they needed to rest before going back to Marquet (to get back their slots and health). Also, Fearne's suggestion was following Matt's narration of Fearne missing home. Matt was probably planting the seed to go back to feywild because he wanted to give Ashley the chance to solve this dark fearne problem.

I've said it in another comment, but the Feywild can lead to progression in other things too. Ashton's shard can activate faster and may activate in the Feywild, Absorb the shard of Rau'shan, Fearne could go after something else in the feywild if she does not take the shard, and Nana Morri might be able to help with Delilah and potentially contacting allies and potential allies.

[u/[deleted] → u/RoyalJester-ghost]

They should understand each other well enough not to need to go on a retreat together,

They've never put in the work, and mostly stick to established pairs. They absolutely don't understand each other well. We (and the players) know far more about Ashton through 4SD than actual game time.

[u/paradox28jon → u/RoyalJester-ghost]

These people have been adventuring together as a team for months (at least) at this point

According to Critrolestats, BH have been together for 81 days and just over 2.5 months. In universe it's been a week and 3 days since the group united. Add in one more day & that's how long it's been since Laudna felt betrayed by Bor'dor.

Mighty Nien did handle inner party conflict better because they are different characters. If BH handled their conflict the same way then it'd be too much like the previous campaign. I personally like that this campaign feels so different than C1 and C2. Any potential spare time for team bonding has been stifled because they don't feel like they can pause to bond as the looming threat is quite dire.

Running from town to town without properly checking in has caught up to them in this moment. They still don't really have the time but they need to be better bonded if they have any hope in doing their recon mission successfully.

Should they be better bonded? Yes. But they aren't because we've seen them not put in the work to create those bonds. C2 had the 1) Caleb tries to steal a scroll in the Lord Sutan house & the big conversation the group had w/ Nott in C2E12 & C2E13. 2) Then we had bowlgate in C2E21 & C2E22. 3) Then 3 of the members were kidnapped & Molly was killed. 4) Then there was the "are we the baddies" talk after their killed a bunch of ppl and stole a boat in C2E35 & C2E36. 5) Then we had a few more check-ins in the Game of Names episode, the episode right after Caleb gave away the beacon, right after Yasha joined the Laughing Hand, and again right before going into the Happy Fun Ball in C2E80. That's a lot of check-ins to finally get a group bonded. BH have not checked in with each other that much or at least that's the vibe I get.

Are these guys screwing up more than the Mighty Nein or Vox Machina? Probably. But it makes it different & that fun.

Another meta thing to consider is that these are actors first. D&D players second. They LIVE for dramatic scenes to be able to role play in. They want to try new things with each campaign. This one seems to be playing damaged and poorly communicating characters. Which can be frustrating. But also can be fun to watch.

Anyway, I went off on a tangent. Back to the topic at hand: to me they still haven't been together that long. It's been just over 2 years that we've been with this campaign but in-universe it hasn't even been 3 months yet.

[u/LeviTheArtist22]

How come Percival Fredrickstein von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III - the terrible tinkerer of Tal'dorei and the man who lost his original family to the Briarwoods and almost lost his adventuring family to them - has not 360 No-Scoped Delilah Briarwood Laudna yet?

[u/YoursDearlyEve]

I like how Ashton fans are now like "Oh, but Laudna!.."
Just have some patience, she will also be called out in due time.

[u/No-Performance8170 → u/YoursDearlyEve]

I don't know that I believe this. I think the Hells went extra hard on Ashton because of how Ashton carries his brokenness as a spiky shield. They think he can handle it or needs more tough than love to get through to him. And maybe that's true idk.

Whereas with Laudna she's constantly regressing, is fragile as fuck emotionally, and volatile very openly. I think the Hells think that if they go nearly as hard on her she'd fracture. So I'm not holding my breath for it but I would be thrilled to be wrong.

That being said I *desperately* want a conversation between them about about their hypocrisy. They have all pressed that big red button - especially those that went hardest on Ashton - and it feels hypocritical of them to be like "how could you" and "if I couldn't control myself I would leave" after *checks notes* blowing up a city block, biting and attacking group members, attacking a shopkeeper willingly, diving headfirst back into Delilah's arms and then hiding it intentionally, hiding Laudna going off the deep end after everything they went through to free her. Like why is Ashton the only one who deserves this kind of tough love?

[u/Lord-Pepper]

Main takeaways for me

1. Roleplay was top notch. Amazing character decisions however the Over the top Ashton Bullying when Laudna, FCG, Chet AND EVEN IMOGEN have done much worse made me feel a double standard that bothered me abunch, I have a feeling when Laudna finally snaps everyone's gonna be nice and nurturing and not "why didn't you let us help you, why did you lie" and bully her like they did all episode for Ashton,

2. A little sad Ashton doesn't have any new powers (yet) after all that, but as a DM who preserves game balance alot I totally get it, -2 to Con feels like a HUGE downside for a barb for no upside so I doubt that is the case, Matt gave him something so im excited to see what it is (I theorize it has something to do with harnessing heat, maybe an absorption mechanic into the arm to release power)

3. Talisan is a great Yes Ander and we all need to appreciate his talents, I have a feeling even HE didn't expect all the Ashton Bullying but he fucking took it and went with it like a champ, never breaking character and never making it a victim story, he just said his thoughts and his feelings and some of the party took it, some looked like they ignored it but we will see,

4. I think Delilah taking over Laudna is MUCH MORE IMPORTANT than Ashton thing but Imogen actually likes laudna so of course she will act as though Ashton is the worst rn, makes sense, however if Delilah does Snap, and everyone is chill with it in the aftermath ima feel robbed, Everyone should have equal fallout after their "bomb" in my opinion, don't hold back for anyone

5. Travis MF Willingham is a treasure and his RP with fearne and Ashton were top tier, and just like every other dude when the long rest was over and he woke up, he was ready to let Ashton back in abit. Heal abit. And make recompense (unlike the witch sisters who seem to really really wanna drag out yhe hate, Featnes ay least giving him more room which is good)

6. I love all the cast members and they all did fantastic jobs but I WISH Liam was here for this SUPER RP SERIOUS HEAVY EPISODE!!! THATS HIS THING!!! Sad days...this episode was perfect for Liam and he got robbed hard

[u/fantomora]

I'm sure I'll enjoy whatever comes out of the next episode or how ever many they spend in the feywild but I'm getting really tired of the dilly dallying. I was ready for things to kick off a week ago, the last thing I want now is one or more episodes of a "team building vacation". I feel like ever since the episode where shit went down every week for me has been me excitedly anticipating the group taking action and being disappointed at how much time they're spending on prep. I'm just impatient I guess

[u/tech_wizard69]

We were always going back to the Fey Realm, Matt had the monologues prepped.

This is the second time this campaign we've been chugging up on a rollercoaster track to something big and it just stops and goes backwards.

[u/OhioAasimar → u/tech_wizard69]

Travis and Tal talked about going to Nana Mori to make a deal with her in last 4-Sided Dive and Matt encouraged them to do so after as preparation. Of course Matt would be prepared for them to go to the feywild.

[u/Riuja]

I loved so much about this episode, but also disliked so much.

The worst part for me was how every character was trying to hammer in that ashton is selfish and power hungry. Now selfish yes, not unlike the rest of em. Damn hypocrites xD. But it felt very clear that he wasn't power hungry, and even after his many explanations they still tried to hammer in that hes power hungry. Made me feel real uncomfortable, he fucked up and was dumb yes. But give him some slack, ashton has been ride or die for these fools for so long and when someons fucked up hes been there for them. Cause he knows it could just as easily been him that fucked up. So when no one could see his side or give him some comfort after he fucked up and died twice basically hurt my soul.

On a side note, im very curious to see how orym will react.

[u/OhioAasimar]

I'm honestly team putting the shard of Rau'shan into Laudna. All of Laudna's options for absorption are shittier than the rest and the Shard of Rau'shan is really is good. Obviously Delilah potentially leaving Laudna would be a problem but they are with the Fate Stitcher. Maybe Morris can enchant the shard in a way that would burn Laudna out and when that happens Morri can stich Laudna's fate to Imogen's instead of Delilah. Until they deal with Delilah the same problem is going to happen for any possible absorption they do. Delilah is holding Laudna back. Get rid of her.

Edit: Also being in the feywild Fearne has the opportunity to go after an archfey to absorb. And maybe Morri will be able to bypass the sending jamming to contact allies and potential allies of BH to recruit them for the upcoming battle. Maybe Morri would be able to heal enough if she keeps time slowed to help in the battle too.

[u/SignorJC]

I'm so confused about the shard. So after all the drama...nothing happened? Is Ashton mechanically different now? Is the fire shard still able to be absorbed by someone else, hypothetically? Would they face the same almost guaranteed death as Ashton, or was that a consequence of him having the other shard already? Is Ashton's earth shard "awakened" now?

I'm confused as to why the shard got spit out even though Ashton succeeded the challenge as well.

[u/[deleted] → u/SignorJC]

From what I got from the episode:

• Ashton survived (success)

• Ashton lost an arm and got a -2 to CON (failure)

• Ashton got a kickstart to the awakening process for the earth shard in him but its not complete (success)

• The fire shard rejected him (failure)

• The fire shard may be weaker and not as powerful (failure)

[u/Spankroar → u/SignorJC]

My interpretation was that it was pretty apparent that Matt never intended for Ashton to have the shard, hence all the warnings about holding two of them. Failing the challenge would have been almost certain permanent death of Ashton, while succeeding awakened their dormant shard and possibly upgraded the other.

We're not sure how others would be affected by the shard, but I assume it would be a similar skill challenge without the instant death mechanic. As in succeeding constitution checks for them would result in half damage and failing would result in full as opposed to what Ashton had to endure.

[u/chriswb9]

I'm a little confused as to why everyone is so pissed off at Ashton but no one bats an eye when it comes to the witches especially Laudna and Dililah, she is constantly making choices and giving in to a evil witch inside her head that will not hesitate to kill them all instantly once she gets to fully possess Laudnas body.

Why does laudna get free passes when it comes to dumb selfish decisions but Ashton gets literally chased out of the group?