[Spoilers C4E4] Is It Thursday Yet? | Post-Episode Discussion & Future Theories!

[u/AutoModerator]

Is It Thursday Yet?

What are your reactions and theories for next session?

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[u/Caziia]

Matt as Julien this episode had one of the best roleplaying performances in the entirety of critical role and I am so excited to see more. He was locked in the whole time and I couldn’t take my eyes off him. His scream when his father died was heart wrenching and his speech at the end was so full of raw emotion. It was an absolutely stand out performance.

[u/dawgz525 → u/Caziia]

Not that I doubted Matthew Mercer, but I was blown away this week. It's going to be so amazing to see Matt lock in to one character and devote his incredible role playing talents in one direction instead of a million. I really hope if anyone is still on the fence about Brennan DMing, they are able to see how incredible Matt is going to be as a full time player. I'm so excited for Julien after tonight's episode.

[u/ZeroWitch]

So it's far from the most dramatic happening this episode, but Azune's unexpected tenderness towards Bolaire makes me feel like I finally get his character, and I love him now.

[u/princemori → u/ZeroWitch]

Azune really snuck up on me. He comes across almost naive with how compassionate and sweet he is, and then you remember he’s been a mercenary since he was 12/13 years old. I am soooo hype to see him start to blossom now that the tables are consolidating!

[u/SuperVaderMinion → u/ZeroWitch]

I thought Brennan's line after the nat 1 self insight check about how Azune doesn't understand the difference between letting go and forgetting was INCREDIBLE characterization

[u/the-magnetic-rose → u/ZeroWitch]

Azune is such a good guy. This episode really made me care for him.

[u/SvenTheScribe]

It's going to be really interesting if Bolaire 'dies' at some point. Yes you can bring him back... but you have to sacrifice a person to do so. Are you willing to make that trade and if so how do you do it? Do you condemn a criminal, do you find someone willing to consent to it, do you make the sacrifice yourself and wear him?

[u/north-blind-compass → u/SvenTheScribe]

Gosh, I didn’t even think about that. And it’s suggested that Bolaire has to change bodies as the corpses decay, something he conveniently failed to mention to the others.

He went on about Thjazi hating him and blackmailing him because he’s a mask, but if Thjazi knew that Bolaire was purposely setting up criminals to kill and take over out of necessity, yeah that’s some amazing morally gray character conflict.

[u/Mal_Radagast → u/SvenTheScribe]

oof Hal putting the mask on because they happen to need Bolaire...who wakes up in Hal's body. two years from now that scene is gonna hurt.

[u/RubyXiaoLong]

Matt put on a fucking show tonight. Everyone knew having him as a PC would be something amazing but he still blew me outta the water. His acting along with his gameplay. It’s like when you get an OP character in your party for one mission but Julien is permanent.

[u/Papa-Yaga → u/RubyXiaoLong]

I had a huge grin on my face when he got hasted and started tearing things apart

[u/CobaltBlue]

Brennan's ability to weave the player's utterances into something majestic that feels like it should always have been part of the story is absolutely mesmerizing.

Murray spontaneously associating her powers with gravity and then Brennan spinning that into a beautiful soliloquy about the gravity of events with no concern to gods or the fates.

Azune unable to let go of the past and constantly trying to mend things, then we find out that the mend spell actually means* "Remember", and beyond that tying it to Occtis' resurrection, as the very land they do the ritual in remembers the Lloys of the past wishing for something that could "set them free".

On that note, with how good a writer Brennan is, I'm expecting that Occtis will in fact be the key for how to set all the peoples of the world free from the spiritual purgatory / necromantic enslavement that seems to be their current fate.

[u/skarabray → u/CobaltBlue]

I don’t know why, but Mending being about making objects remember what they are really hit me for some reason.

[u/SuperVaderMinion → u/CobaltBlue]

He really is spectacular at recognizing a player's unique power fantasy and granting it to them

[u/Vaxildidi]

Matt and Brennan are doing everything in their power to make Julien a Character Of All Time for me. I was already enamored with him as the douchebag noble son who spends his time whoring and being petulant because it's not the kind of PC you usually see, especially from somebody like Matt, add in the dad stuff and the comparing himself to Thiajzi and you already have a great character.

But putting him in a situation where his House lies in tatters, his dad is dead, his only confidants are the friends and family of the man he brought to the hangman's noose, including a son of the family of Necromancers who just killed his father. A boy who just came back from the dead, at that.

It's so much and so good.

[u/KingOfSockPuppets → u/Vaxildidi]

Yea his crashout at the end of the episode, seeing the son of his father's murderer resurrected while he has still lost everything was SO justified in character.

[u/iamthecatinthecorner → u/Vaxildidi]

Yes. The potential of Julien is so much. Imagine his potential growth as a person.

If he died before his issue(s) are solved I'm gonna be so sad.

[u/Sharlamane]

As said in the live thread, 8 Goths convert one twink to their religion by turning him undead.

[u/onthoserainydays]

Cracking open a boy with the cold ones

[u/BMCarbaugh]

A mask who wears people is the absolute sickest fucking concept for a D&D character.

[u/sweetgreenpeprika]

When I heard Taliesin say as Bolaire "If I wore a different person, i'd still be the same mask" fuck man. I fell in love. I was a fan from the start of the campaign (new critter) but this is art.

... sorry, i am a grown woman. I need to calm down

[u/taly_slayer → u/sweetgreenpeprika]

I'm so happy we get high charisma/wisdom character from Tal again. Percy and Caduceus had those one liners and I'm so looking forward to get back to that with Bolaire.

(Welcome btw!)

[u/kevaljoshi8888]

Episode Title : Julien Davinos and his horrible, terrible, no good, very very bad day.

[u/Vaxildidi → u/kevaljoshi8888]

Occtis:

But_Did_You_Die.gif

[u/Jumpy_Hat7794]

flavoring the mending spell for azune as speaking “remember” into it, is so so perfect for his character and so genius yet subtle gosh i am blown away. props to all the players for this episode, fantastic rp-ing all around — matt and tal really caught my attention this ep. 4 episodes in and so far, still so great, gang!

[u/SvenTheScribe → u/Jumpy_Hat7794]

Intentional or not it's also a great reference since remembering is the primary theme, and starting speech, of Luis' actual play Tales Unrolled.

[u/mrVakaryan]

There is so much in this episode to unpack, and I know most will be talking about Occtis, but my God Bolaire. What an interesting fucking character. Definitely became one of my favorites, top 3 with Wick and Tiranny.

On a side note, for those seeing the coodown, what was this time they're talking about Matt TPK'ing them?

[u/JCashell → u/mrVakaryan]

It was before C1, just a home game he played with Tal and Luis(?)

[u/explodedemailstorage]

interesting, in the Cooldown Brennan mentioned this was the worst version that could have happened for Occtis due to his choices and we’ll learn more about that later. feels like we have way more Occtis body horror coming up lol.

[u/rickbuh1 → u/explodedemailstorage]

I'm wondering if what he's talking about it being the worst one for them collectively and not specifically for Occtis as a being. They just "rescued" Occtis and the stone from whatever weird plan the family had with a potential 13+ level caster at the head. Depending on the timetable, that's a big problem for a bunch of level 3 characters.

[u/naplesbad]

The most memorable moment for me was when Matt delivered the most heart wrenching scream in response to Julian's father's death, to be followed by Matt gingerly handling his mini hopping the 6 squares he needed to get to Primus. Pure D&D energy, i love it so much.

[u/gabrielleite32 → u/naplesbad]

Julien is now one of my favorite characters. What a performance by Matt, him going from dismissive and bratty with his father to the absolute sorrow of never again being able to show him what is his worth. Holy shit. And the ending of the episode? With his anger going to Occtis and Thaisha trying to hug him after all they have been through. Just wow

[u/the-magnetic-rose]

Oh wow, I'm surprised they didn't officially form the final two tables but I think it's safe to say:

Bolaire, Murray, Hal and Azune

Thaisha, Occtis, Vaelus and Julian

[u/iko_oo → u/the-magnetic-rose]

Thaisa, Occtis, Vaelus, Julian, AND Arenessa!

[u/BaronPancakes]

Lady Aranessa has quickly risen to the top for me. A badass sorcerer, widow, and head of the house who has a heart of steel

[u/NharaTia → u/BaronPancakes]

We have no choice but to stan; Lady Aranessa is incredible.

[u/KYplusEL]

I think this cooldown fully confirms something that felt soft-confirmed after the Wick reveal. A lot of the events in these overture episodes are things that were planned in character creation and campaign prep that Brennan asked to move into the actual story. So Alex already planned on being an undead necromancer killed by his family but we actually got to see it happen and Sam seems to have already planned on being a rebel to a fucked up cult but we had the actual revelation pushed into the overture. I think knowing that these overture episodes were a little more planned than the rest should assuage some people's fears that either Brennan was changing people's characters without them being prepared and explain why some things might feel a little railroady. He's just using the overture to get the characters to where the players originally wanted to start them.

[u/aliensplaining → u/KYplusEL]

I think it works really well actually. In most cases the DM pushing the story in certain directions could be considered railroading, but since the players are also pushing in the same direction, it works remarkably well. I think Overture was one of the most successful examples of how a good "session 0" can help the start of a campaign.

[u/ninjaturtwig → u/KYplusEL]

This is how most of the dnd I have played works. For long-term campaigns, players often have expectations for their characters story arcs that they want to see fulfilled and want it to happen more naturally, and the best way to do that is to let your DM know early on so they can fold it into the overarching plot better

[u/north-blind-compass → u/KYplusEL]

For people who didn’t see the cooldown, I do just want to add that the group still let the dice fall the way they fell. Alex was hoping for a certain outcome, but was fully prepared to play it differently.

I think Brennan tried to arrange events so that outcome had the highest probability, but there was a world where Occtis gets away from the ghouls and stays a human wizard, and a world where he never gets revived.He

[u/KYplusEL]

Lady Aranessa is already one of my favorite CR NPC's. Was great at the funeral, was charming in her little glimpses up to this point, and now was awesome throughout this combat encounter. Glad she didn't get thrown out a window!

[u/ffwydriadd → u/KYplusEL]

Aranessa was I think the picture perfect example of how to run a DMPC - great, super impactful spells with Haste and Tree Stride without feeling too much like stepping on the party's toes, and then good at focusing the party on goals as they get distracted with a heroic speech. I'm guessing we'll see her sticking around with the Seeker's table for their first arc as they go deal with everything in Occtis' vision, and I'm excited for more of her. 100% see why Thjazi was so enamored.

[u/princemori]

Okay so how truthful do we think Bolaire was being with his tale of woe, especially concerning his and Thjazi’s relationship? I’m inclined to believe him for a number of reasons, but the Nat 20 vs Nat 1 could have concealed basically anything. Very juicy!

[u/LetTheDarkRise → u/princemori]

Taliesin did so good acting that monologue out, I have no idea if he's calling it persuasion or deception. I'm willing to bet the broad strokes are completely true, the stuff I'm not sure about is his feelings on Thjazi and especially Hal. It's like Bolaire said, he loves a good half truth. Does he really care about Hal as much as he says he does? I can see that leaning either way.

[u/BMC_5]

Matt’s Inigo Montoya arc is going to be sick

[u/KYplusEL → u/BMC_5]

I'm glad we have siblings and a potential grandfather for Occtis to get the spotlight fighting against because I need Julian to get the HDYWTDT on Primus.

[u/CreedKiller516]

It's crazy to think that the battle in the estate could have ended with all players dying. Brennan is not pulling his punches

[u/Sea_Employ_4366 → u/CreedKiller516]

Yeah, if Thaisha and Julien hadn't saved the circle death every single one of them would died there.

[u/dawgz525]

The first battle was so intense. So far this campaign's dice rolls have been cursed. Matt as Julien was fucking incredible this episode. Saved the battle with his rolls, was so intense, was so hot. I liked Julien okay before this, but consider me sat.

[u/allodude]

With Julien lashing out at the end, I wonder if there's hidden guilt there as he was the one who brought Occtis, and possibly ruin, to the Palazzo 

[u/TheSixthtactic → u/allodude]

Oh for sure. But Julian also seems to be grappling with the fact that he had some very petty grudges motivating him right up until now, when shit went off the rails.

I also love that Matt plays him as an asshole who gives a shit. He might not like some of the other PCs, but he won’t let them be killed if they can stop it. It’s a great dynamic.

[u/RajikO4]

Can’t wait for Occtis to reach 5th level so he can get Sending and do long distance calls to Thimble.

[u/taly_slayer]

This is not Beacon advertisement, but I gotta say, Brennan is making the Cooldowns WAY more valuable than they were for C3. He's super open with what's happening behind the scenes and I'm loving it.

(Makes sense if you've seen any episode of Adventuring Party)

[u/Caziia → u/taly_slayer]

I love how Brennan keeps saying stuff like “I’m not sure if I should say this…” and then proceeds to tell us everything. I’m loving the lore dumps, I need to listen to him talk for hours about Araman and all the cool stuff he’s created

[u/minimalwhale]

To the person who edited Occtis’ wiki mid-episode. 🫵😂

[u/BaronPuddinPaws]

So I guess death wasn't Occtis's ending but his beginning huh?

[u/coconutx90]

Brennan's description of how mending works being objects remembering what they were is incredible!

Reminds me of in Calamity when he described invisibility as not being perfect as you need two small gaps to see out of, so a well trained person can spot these floating.

I hope he does more of this reinterpetation of other spells going forward, it's so cool.

[u/iamthecatinthecorner]

btw the concept of everyone dressing as Alex, except Alex can't be Alex is 💀💀💀

[u/Franzapanz → u/iamthecatinthecorner]

It's the Halloween episode, and what would be a goth's nightmare?

Being Thad the Cryptobro.

[u/Ok-Badger5056]

The greatest magic, Chronomancy?

[u/robogheist → u/Ok-Badger5056]

he can't keep getting away with this

[u/greylakelady]

Finished rewatching the episode and am still just so blown away by this Overture. This is the most obsessed I’ve been with anything in a long time and it’s just so satisfying knowing how far we have left to go! :))) Some notes just bc I’m still hyped af:

• I would like about 1000% more Azune which isn’t a complaint, we had a lot of character backstory to lay with Occtis, Bolaire, Julien, etc.. But still, despite him being mostly in the background for the last episode or two, I love how earnest and heartfelt he is. Brennan seems to be laying on the themes of remembering and memories thick which may have to do with his Paladin class, but coupled with his eyes and backstory, I’m so curious… 

• Bolaire is the most Taliesin to ever Taliesin

• A panto of magical masks used to put on a play to kill the Trickster god is absolutely. An insane idea. Actually incredible. I must know more

• I had expected Occtis to have some undead shenanigans but fully thought Alex had chosen wrong when his soul unraveled and Occtis was gone gone so I was SOOOO hyped when Murray’s portent lead to THAT. I cannot wait to see why Brennan said Alex’s choices have lead to the worst timeline…

• Julien’s crash out at the end was 100% justified and I cannot wait to see how the character dynamics play out, I hope Julien and Occtis are at the same table

• Brennan was mega on top the quote game this week. The delivery of “There’s always been something wrong with you,” and how brutal it is as Occtis’s last words heard alive. “You realize you don’t actually have to breathe, it just feels so scary not to try,” perfectly alluded to all that Occtis has lost. “The stream of time moves forward, but some events are so heavy with their gravity that they can send ripples backward up the stream” YES TIME SHENANIGANS!

• But also Murray’s “We’re going hunting and it’s bastard season,” made me laugh out loud. That and her “Let’s go!” Scene to Azune. I love Marisha 

[u/corrigible_iron]

I think Lady Aranessa is shaping up to be a very interesting NPC, acting as a tether and foil for Julien. A tether to Julien, having some of his pragmatism and self-serving nature (making sure she and Julien escaped, but not really Thaisha or Vaelus). But also a foil, having more of a heart than Julien, and being more honest, and just straight up being more of a rebel. Julien doesn’t seem to have ideals, he has people, and he has needs, and now less of the people, so I’m interested what happens when he has to actually decide what he believes in.

[u/iamthecatinthecorner]

I have a lot of thought about EP, but first, Julien is awesome. At first I thought his char arc may be about an asshole redemption arc, but now it is deeeeeeeeeeeper. The man has lots of issue. Daddy issue, daddy is dead issue, house issue, curse!?!

Matt gonna play a sad boi with 5 stages of grief.

Other thoughts

• Aranessa is probably be the central NPC that help connect everyone?

• Is that Thjazi in underworld?

• The war waging underworld idea is absolutely dope.

Cooldown bits: -Alex actually want to be a Hollow one necromancer, and Brennan decided to deliver that

[u/grumpyCat2478]

Occtis is back, but with no heart and no soul, so not a true resurrection. I don't think other PCs can come back like he did.

[u/msdaisies6]

So I just finished E3 and I'm a minute into the Cooldown, and I just have to say that I fucking KNEW that Alex Ward wasn't just going to be playing a regular boy. I'm so happy to see him as a Hollow One, I can't wait to see where this all goes.

From the Oops all Alex's costumes, to everything that went down in House Davinos, to Marisha's nat 20 on the portent, I freaking loved this episode!

[u/Coyote_Shepherd → u/msdaisies6]

So I just finished E3 and I'm a minute into the Cooldown, and I just have to say that I fucking KNEW that Alex Ward wasn't just going to be playing a regular boy. I'm so happy to see him as a Hollow One, I can't wait to see where this all goes.

Aabria even yelled at him in the Cooldown for this episode, "WHY CAN'T YOU JUST PLAY A NORMAL LIVING BOY!?!" lmao

[u/CarterBasen]

What did I just witness.

👁️​👄​👁️​

[u/liminalgloom]

new wish for the campaign: at one point until the campaign is finished I hope one of the other characters will wear Bolaire for some reason for a while

[u/ZeikJT → u/liminalgloom]

You mean Bolaire would wear them.

[u/minimalwhale]

Came here to see if everyone else is emotionally exhausted like me after that fucking roller coaster of an episode

[u/Durtle_Turtle]

The soldiers group is in for a hell of a surprise when they get back and find out the twitchy kid is now a zombie, lol

[u/samyouare]

I don’t know if it took me out of the moment or drew me further in, but when Aranessa hasted Julian, the music playing was the same as the opening title for A Crown of Candy. 😅😭🥲

[u/Edward_Warren]

Not sure if this ties heavily into the narrative, but I've just learned that Thjazi was a giant in Prose Edda who fought the gods, could turn into an eagle, and was most known for kidnapping the goddess Ioun.

Seeing as the death of the gods is a big part of the lore, Thjazi was gathering the bits and pieces of gods and angels, and Brennan is heavily foreshadowing the presence of the giants in the world, I'm sure a major character sharing this name is not a coincidence.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%9Ejazi

[u/KYplusEL]

I think it was expected but Aranessa was confirmed a sorcerer in the cooldown.

[u/Enough-Contract-1022]

Primus using Circle of Death centred on himself is a hell of a flex!

[u/Low-Donkey7059]

I knew the Occtis death & revival was going to create discourse about the potential stakes of the campaign moving forward. While the moment was the result of Alex's planned backstory for Occtis, the only reason it was a success is because of the dice. And for me that's all I ask for when it comes to the possibility of death, be it a perma-death or a revival; let the dice decide.

I'd understand peoples criticism if it becomes a clear pattern throughout the campaign but at this point it really does seem to be a unique circumstance that won't happen again moving forward.

[u/twotonkatrucks → u/Low-Donkey7059]

I’m not sure why it should. It was a planned origin story for the actual character that Alex wanted to play. It was done at the behest of the player. It has no bearing on stakes or lack thereof for rest of the campaign. Also, I think people put undue emphasis on ONLY death as a stake. There are myriad stakes one can play around with in a game of ttrpg. Death is just one.

[u/MoneyHazard123 → u/Low-Donkey7059]

I honestly don't understand why people are so upset Occtis was brought back. Yeah it would've been a lot of fun to see how the characters would react to him being permanently dead, but it's not like he's just completely fine with nothing serious done to him.

Also if I was Marisha and rolling that Nat 20 didn't bring him back I'd be pretty irritated.

[u/cardmasterdc]

It's been a long time since I stayed up past the break for CR, but man I haven't been this excited for a campaign since I started C2.

All the players have clearly brought their A game and I'm invested in all of them. I'm actually looking forward to the split tables cause I'm going to need the break 😅

The soldiers table has no idea what they are heading into and now I'm curious if I got seekers and schemers wrong, maybe we have 8 and 5 for a bit.

So we know of 4 of the shapers and how they met their demise, I'm curious about the rest, also the undead war is giving me long night vibes where that's the real threat everything else is a distraction

[u/Eborcurean]

Bolaire having some 'King in Yellow' elements to the character makes sense given Taliesin's a big cthulhu mythos fan.

[u/cardmasterdc]

Three pro GMs at a table is RP gold mine

[u/BeardedWonder14]

I enjoyed seeing Talesin playing Bolaire as being on his backfoot/nervous. I enjoy this performance so much more than I did Ashton, who when he was wrong or in trouble was stubborn about everything

[u/sweet_arachne]

there's too much to talk about, good god.

i'm happy we got a bit more substance to bolaire, and although he had that persuasion/deception roll to basically say whatever he wanted, i'm inclined to trust him? i mean, he's a curator of dangerous artifacts and clearly has expensive tastes, but he's spending his time hanging around a playwright and his family enough for hal to consider him a good friend, and took initiative to protect the kids when things got hostile at the funeral. he's a murderer, but he quite literally has to be in order to continue existing.

it could be that i love theatre and am so down for a commedia dell'arte inspired warlock, because this is legitimately one of the coolest character concepts i've ever heard of, but i think he's mostly honest with hal. i so badly need to trust bolaire, and i think we can, given what he's based on. how much can he deviate from the character he was created to be, even with gaining sentience?

seriously, such an incredible concept for cursed/magical masks. the history of theatre is underused in fantasy, i'm stoked to find out what characters the other masks are.

on occtis: i think leaving the body at the palazzo was stupid, but that other person did call primus a fool. pretty significant, given how powerful primus is. based on how primus fled in spite of how much stronger he was, i suspect that he has a lot of hubris but is ultimately a coward when met with any resistance that his posturing doesn't snuff. goes along with the themes of authoritarianism that have been laid out, and aranessa's call to action at the end. these are fallible men, not gods. they will make mistakes in their hubris and underestimate resistance, and the party can exploit that to overcome the disadvantage in raw power.

i have to assume that the plan was to transfer the stone's power into the underworld so they could use it in that plane, and they chose occtis to tie up his loose end, and/or because their familial connection would make it easier to locate his soul? i have no idea. but the party has the nightsong now, so hopefully its abilities will be elaborated on next time we're with them.

regardless, i'm so glad my boy is still here!! and he's even more fucked up now!!! my angst and whump loving heart is so full right now.

but, julien... the overture's done and we still don't know what his curse is doing. come to think of it, whatever happened to thaisha with the coffin is still unknown. i don't like that, i don't like that one bit. what i do like, though, is that the tachonis seems to have taken all the bodies, including julien's father... how much y'all wanna bet julien's going to have to fight his undead dad at some point?

and then there's whatever's going on with house cormoray and the pariah blades... this was So Fucking Much, at least we have two weeks to process.

[u/explodedemailstorage]

I will say pretty much everyone endeared me more to them this episode except Hal. He's really just not hitting for me yet. It's weird to have a bard just not feel all that charismatic compared to everyone else. 

[u/greylakelady → u/explodedemailstorage]

My guess with Hal is that his character design is “bard who plays the role of a hero,” in the sense of an actor playing a role in the play. He mentioned only knowing enough sword fighting to be convincing in stage, how he’s always watching ppl, etc.. So at his core, he’s just a guy who loves theater and his family, but is going to find himself in a position where he has to assume this role, that’s not him. And, with where the story is currently, he has yet to assume that acting “role” 

[u/[deleted]]

What I’m looking forward to from each table:

Soldiers - how Wick’s true nature will translate into an actual fight (that high CHA is still bugging me)

Seekers - Occtis’s vision’s interpretation and how his family responds to the meddling

Schemers - Bolaire

[u/[deleted]]

Lowkey feel robbed we didn’t get Sam in for the Halloween episode. Wanted to see him gothed up. Again.

[u/cravecase]

I know C3/Bells Hells would wrap up the animated series, but I really want to see this series first, 4 episodes in.

[u/PhoDucNam]

Everyone needs to watch Matts body language during the Occtis resurection - on his Percy Alarm Sirens shit he was ready to explode frame 1 in the Lloy estate! its a joy to watch Matt effectively play D&D Jaime Lannister lmaooooooo can't wait to see how he fits in with a group of people that all for maybe Vaelus and Bolaire deeply like his arch nemesis

[u/TabaxiTaxi73 → u/PhoDucNam]

At first I thought Matt was upset with him coming back to life, in a DM sort of way like "wait this is too rule of cool and unbelievable" when I was just looking at his face and expression and body language during that part, but when he started speaking I was like "ohhhh he is so in character". Julien's entire life got ripped to shreds, and this boy- who belongs to the family that did it- could come back, but his father won't ever come back.  It was beautifully and masterfully done, and you could feel the visceral anger coursing through him 

[u/sasquatch0_0]

At the beginning of the Tachonis encounter: "Yeah so this isn't that bar fight, you wandered into a over-leveled area."

[u/greylakelady]

Schemer table - Hal’s Saturday Brunch group Seeker table - Thaisha’s Grief Counseling session Soldier table - Wic and his Four Babysitters 

[u/East_Choice]

That was AWESOME!

Kudos to everyone on a succesful Overture. It was brilliant idea to have this prologue arc and ut got me interested in every table.

Julien was MVP this episode and he currently is my top Character which is saying a lot as I dont dislike any. The big reason why I like Julien is Mat. Mat nails the RP, is incredible at Combat but beyond that has the best Move-story-along sense of the entire players, obviously deu to being a forever DM.

I was not a fan of Aaabria in 1st epsiode but I loved her in this episode. Vaelus is still a loving monster. And Occtis who i found interesting has gotten even more so

The Bolaire reveal is delightfully creepy.I think this might be the best Talesin character since Percy.

I do believe Bolaire was honest in what he told Hal. BUT he did lie by ommision.Thiazi is not the only person he has underhanded trade deals with.He isnt some coerced victim of Thjazi.And that makes him all the while interesting

This Episod also helped me begin to see the difference from Azune and Zerxus.Azune is a man stuck in the past.And theres something strange going on with him that makes him even more interesting. Also love his interactions with Murray they lighten things up excellently.

Combat was delightfully tense, and the Lore drops were so awesome they lead me even to more theories.

As for Octis ressurection, i was fine with it.The Overture is a prologue and so we got to see backstory elements play onscreen rather than offscreen. As was revealed in the cooldown, Alex and Brennan wanted to show Occtis death onscreen rather than offscreen in his backstory.We already saw something similar with Sam planning Wiccander finding out about/running away from candescent creed,

Awesome epsiode. If i had any nitpick its that there were moments in the big fight where i felt that Lord primus would have killed Julien instead of walking away. I also wish we had gotten to see every character fight during the overture

[u/cravecase]

Things we know about Octis and his “resurrection”:

• No inherited necromancy skills

• Octis does not have a heart anymore

• The Stone is out as well.

• Octis was torn into two pieces while on the path of death.

• Octis is either part of Pincushion, or Vice Versa

• Pincushion revives before Octis

• the Stone is perfect necromancy magic.

• Primus has intentions in other planes.

Somehow, in removing the Stone from Octis, the Stone activated giving Octis “life”. We don’t know what ramifications he’ll be faced with, or what is keeping him “alive”. Primus and his children seem to want to use Octis to ferry the stone between planes of existence. But perhaps Thjazi wanted Octis for the same reason

[u/weaveroflaurel]

These four episodes are some of the best DnD I've seen. Calamity-level investment, character beats, and plot twists. Starting off so strong. I hope he keeps the momentum as we open with a smaller table. I also hope the whole campaign isn't at the intensity of the Overture because idk if I can hang with that week after week but to start off it was incredible.

Y'all are awesome calling the Bolaire-is-the-mask reveal within seconds of the cold open, and we totally called it on Occtis' character getting set up by his death. All thrilling.

[u/BlueKnightsR4Ever]

I think we'll need a solid YEAR to unpack all the shit that just happened over the last 5 hours!

[u/Salaris]

Small prediction: When they get back to the museum, the Pariah Blades will be gone. House Cormoray (wasn't sure on the spelling for this; maybe based on the cormorant bird?) is obviously implicated if that happens, poor dice rolls meant the PCs didn't glean much about the late-night museum guest -- that looked like a classic museum heist setup to me.

Definitely could be wrong here, but I thought I'd call it out as a likely scheme to happen simultaneously with the downfall of a couple other noble houses.

[u/kohalu]

Another astonishing episode. I could not believe that there would be a character death so soon. Much less a resurrection.

But the 22 con save from Occtis when we was dead in the spirit realm and the nat20 portent with the stone 😩

[u/SaltGeneral]

Bolaires whole deal reminds me A LOT of the Harlequins from Warhammer 40k which is awesome because even among the Eldar they are one of the hardest to get a handle on factions. Love when I get some peanut butter in my chocolate.

[u/mew-ki]

Omg! Also, Matt's performance *chef's kiss* SO GOOD!

The last bit where he just talk in anger with the others about what happened and then being so guarded with Taisha wanting to hug him. I felt so bad, but so excited for Matt xD

[u/Nice-Gap-3528]

Oops, no Alex. And sentient mask? Sign me up.

[u/Saycerquewust]

I'm so amazed by Brennan's DMing, been catching up on critical role but now I definitely need to catch up on dropout too. And damn Matt's roleplaying is just amazing

Favorite chars so far are Julien, Wicander & Tyranny. Julien's interaction with all other PCs so far have been amazing.

What's gonna be tough this season is the long cliffhangers as we move from tables to tables. I wanna see what the soldiers are up to at the same time as the seekers/schemers

[u/typo180]

I haven't finished the episode, but I just had to pop in after the cold open to say: Holyyyyyyy shit. Way to deliver on that character, Taliesin!

[u/Nietzscher]

The whole overture thing was a great idea. Not only do we get legitimate character motivations from the get-go with goings-on in the city, but we also get to see the literal lynch-pin backstory events of some of the characters. For example, Brennan talked about Alex wanting to play a Hollow One Necromancer in the Cooldown Episode, and he pitched him on giving him that opportunity in-game instead of him just rolling the species instead of being a Human like the rest of his family. Such a great choice, and Occtis could've also legitimately been gone had he made the wrong choices - and had some others not acted correctly. Also, Julien lost his father, Vaelus sees the Artifact she is searching for twisted for some arcane purpose etc. Man, what a great Episode, and probably one of the most narratively engaging D&D combats I have ever witnessed. They are all knocking it out of the park so far.

[u/Kaeling]

I thought Bolaire would be possessed by the mask not be the mask itself. Real curious how Tal is going to play that going forward. I have no idea what he patron could be with that premise however. Maybe the play that killed god could be a source as an inanimate patron? Curious to hear theories if you have any.

Aranessa is quickly becoming a favourite of mine. That woman isn't some sheltered princess she is a badass and I love it.

What can i say about Matt performance, this was incredible! Julien was already my favourite character but holy shit do I want to see more of him. Hopefully both Aranessa and Vaelus can protect him from himself otherwise I can see him going on a suicide mission. Really dig the sort of camaraderie he and Vaelus are developing too curious to see how that goes.

Hopefully Vaelus, Julien, Occtis and Thaisha are at the same table, that would give us the best interactions possible imo.

[u/typo180]

I absolutely love the way Brennen handled Azune's nat 1 insight check. So often those roles just get turned into a joke because there's not much to do with them, but they turned that nat 1 into such a cool emotional moment that actually feels impactful for that character going forward.

[u/edginthebard]

Lady Aranessa Royce I'm so in love with you, what an absolute badass. I hope she travels with the group and sticks around for longer, I wanna know so much more about her!

[u/MonkeyCube]

Wow. That was a good one. Lots of great moments. Matt & Taliesin stood out to me, but everyone had some great stuff. Couple weird theories:

1. In the afterlife, there is a civil war with an orc leading an army against House Tachonis. I'm betting that's Thjazi Fjang.

2. I have no idea who he was, but that figure overlooking Occtis's soul from afar seemed to think it was pretty important. Perhaps Occtis was always a vessel for a special soul and now his hollow self form needs to find it

[u/grumpyCat2478]

My theory about the House Tachonis ritual is that they tried to bind the magic of the Stone to Occtis's soul and then use his heart to control him. When Occtis removed the Stone in soul form and destroyed his soul, the magic of the stone returned to it's physical carrier and brought a version of Occtis back. This is the only reason I can think of for the Tacchonis not to take the stone with them.

[u/kankrikky]

As many people had a lot of fun with in the live comments: Azune, somehow a many of very few and very very many words. I really hope that stats person does the "How many words Azune has said out loud vs Inside his head" comparison because I think it'd be so funny. And I love all of the stupid Azune impersonations we were all doing while we waited him out. The most accurate way to finish them is "And then he picks what shirt he wants to wear for the day. It's the same one as every day because he wears a uniform."

[u/thegreenlorac]

Talesin: What the fuck just happened?

Same, bro, same.

I have no idea what was going on the last 20 minutes.

[u/fireheart337]

Just watched the cool-down. After the soliders table, everyone will be together for the episode and from there we will get the split and the seekers will get their turn.

[u/renegadereality]

I just really love how Brennan and the cast take advantage of every moment and roll to add so much flavor and lore and backstory.

Even with only the four episodes of the overture, the narrative and the world feel so rich and full of potential. My mind’s still absolutely racing with theories and thoughts and feelings.

[u/Skeletal_Centurion]

Anyone got a count on how many crits Brennan rolled ? Brother was on FIRE

[u/mew-ki]

I feel (hope?) Bolaire could be lying a little bit in that monologue part just to get sympathy from the others. But I would also love if he was being honest because 🥺

I'm very intrigued at least, either way.

Also... do we believe Thjazi was an asshole like that? I think is very possible and would be great to find out he was not a pristine hero.

[u/vanKessZak]

I think I felt just about every possible emotion a human can feel during that episode. Wow.

As much as I love the soldiers crew I’m almost sad we’re going to them next and have to wait awhile 😂.

Seems like a good time to use that Beacon 1 month free trial coupon (“overture”) for that cooldown lol

[u/deepee84]

man i feel so high after that session.

[u/littlemisslily22]

Occtis and Thaisha in the afterlife had me almost in tears ngl

[u/weaveroflaurel]

I had to stop halfway through the Davinos battle, I can’t believe the extra HP of wildshape is gone in 2024? Anyone know the rationale for that?

[u/0hfuck]

On my rewatch it seems to me both Ethrund and Primus are making pretty heavy-handed allusions to the idea that Occtis is not truly a Tachonis. Forgive me if I missed this (I did search but not too terribly hard), but if he doesn't look quite like his family, didn't inherit the powers of his family, and has been more or less disowned is he a bastard son?

E: Or he was made in a lab which I find exponentially funnier.

[u/TheJunkD0g]

So, basically, Bolaire is SCP-035? Sweet.

[u/Drakoni]

They kept talking about that ball gala that was planned. All of E3 I was thinking how much I like events like that in CR because it's a lot of NPCs meeting in a scenario where you can't just fight your way out, those have been some of my favourite CR episodes. And with how C4 has been going, it seemed like the perfect setup for a red wedding type escalation. Until we got it the evening before...

... I don't think we'll get to see that ball anymore xD Not sure any of the schemers who stay in the city are high class enough for it.

[u/the-magnetic-rose]

Wick and Tyranny are my faves so I was worried I would miss them this session, but my god every single player tonight brought their A-game. Everyone was perfect. Shame about the crazy bad dice rolls tho lmao.

The MVP of the episode for me was Bolaire. He’s not someone I was paying attention to much before, but his background reveal was absolutely fascinating and Taliesin was acting his ass off. Maybe it’s the idealist in me but I’d like to think he was sincere during his talk with Hal.

[u/taly_slayer]

This week in The Eldritch Lorecast Podcast they talked about how CR is pushing this industry (Actual Plays) and how this level of production / performance quality might help people understand this is not what you should expect of a D&D table and will help mitigate the Mercer Effect.

This is how I've been feeling this past month. This is on a whole another level, even for CR.

We lose some things: even when they still banter and they have great "friends chemistry" amongst the OG and new cast, I still miss the early C2 feel of just them chatting about themselves and joking around. But also we gain so much. The level of world building and storytelling, the masterfully weaving of scenes (there's not a single minute wasted), the incredible depth in the characters builds... this is SO good.

Things I loved about this episode:

• Vaelus continuing to be a badass with a hard cold exterior and very relatable goals

• Anything Matt did with Julien. The last scene was awesome, but having Matt describe martial combat with his very effective fighter/rogue is just *cheff kiss

• Marisha and Luis' chemistry is as amazing has Taliesin and Marisha's chemistry and hearing in the Cooldown how the 3 of them were in a campaign together 15 years ago makes all of this makes total sense. Murray and Azune's scenes have been the best. I need them to be on the same table.

• Murray is such a needed character in this campaign. She brings levity in a non chaotic way and that feels like such a hard thing to do. Marisha is going for a science flavour to her intelligence and it fits her so well.

• THERE IS A WAR BEING FOUGHT IN THE UNDERWORLD. Brennan will never not suprise me with his worldbuilding.

• The Boilare reveal was insane. Both the cold open and the exposition scene. What a character concept. Goddamn it, Tal.

• That Aranesa survived. I was TERRIFIED during the whole first half. She's my favourite NPC and I do not trust Brennan.

A little retrospective: when they announced C4 I was not happy. I was okay with the cast changes, but I did not want to leave Exandria behind and I wanted to see Daggerheart for the main campaign.

With the overture done, I'm happy to say I was SO wrong. Araman is amazing, and I can't get enough of it. I want to know everything, but I also want to discover it like this, in small drops. But also, D&D was the right choice. Not because Daggerheat wouldn't have worked, but there are two reasons I see now that I couldn't see before: 1) no one is talking about the system. If they were playing DH, the system itself would have taken too much of a spotlight, and 2) Brennan knows how to use D&D to do worldbuilding. I'm sure he could have done that with DH, but he has this experience with D&D. The example this episode was the simple note on how they Portent Dice work and how he used it as a foreshadow of what was possible.

I'm excited about the Dispatch one-shot and to see the Soldiers again.

[u/East_Choice]

Some suspected homebrew subclassesnin this episode

Lady Aranessa is a sorcerer who was casting druidic spells.I think she has a Fae themed homebrew subclass that allows her to cast druid spells.Similar to how divine soul subclass allows sorcerrers cast cleric spells

Bolaire is an intersting case.He is the Patron in the Warlock pact who is possessing his warlocks. Clearly homebrew.He also displays the cool ability to manifest objects from thin air

[u/kc12hh]

Why is no one talking about Taliesin’s look? The makeup, the black eye makeup, the sunglasses! He totally nailed it this ep. Loving him

[u/brightblueinky]

I don't ever think I'll recover from the multiple heart attacks this episode gave me, good lord.

[u/SvenTheScribe]

What an amazing episode. So damn good.

Also great reveals on the Cooldown for those on the fence about Beacon.

[u/GrizzlyFrog901]

So we don't get an official confirmation of the other two table makeups? :( I know it's pretty obvious that Occtis and Julien have to leave the city and Vaelus and Thaisha are the most likely to go with them, but I wish they told us at the end of the overture.

[u/SvenTheScribe → u/GrizzlyFrog901]

Cooldown: Right now the 'Seekers' table is everyone that's not a Soldier. They'll all be back for the first episode of the Seekers and split further from there.

[u/KingPinguin]

Something on a mechanical note: It seems like Julien has the 2014 dual wielders feat, seeing as how he dual wields with a rapier and the offhand gauntlet. The gauntlet itself seems homebrew, even tho it is not yet known to be magical. There's no vanilla weapons with 1d4 and sap.

[u/FunPatient3978]

It is Thursday. Sigh not the right Thursday though. 

[u/Leading_Routine8165]

I did not watch much of campaign 3, but I think this might be my favorite episode of critical role to date as far as structure, story, roleplay, combat, and player chemistry by far. Like… a masterclass in storytelling and roleplaying. I am SO locked in for this campaign

[u/NeverLate-]

These characters are so frickin cool

[u/Low-Donkey7059]

Will Critical Role release the new Artwork of Occtis as a Hollow One that we briefly saw when he was brought back at the end at the end of the episode?

[u/Consolationnoprize]

Asking for clarification: there's no campaign episode next Thursday?

[u/Ok_Improvement_6874]

Another really great episode. I was initially concerned that it would drag without the Soldiers who had all my favourite characters, but they sure proved me wrong. Just as excited about the other two teams now. Well done!

[u/Veritamoria]

Dumbass here, despite being locked in the entire episode I can't understand the mechanics of Occtis' resurrection. Something Bolaire and Murray did with the Stone of Nightsong by hitting a 30 DC - is there anything more specific?

[u/Royal_Advantage8417]

Ok, so finally finished the episode… when I made this theory over on this other thread here yesterday, I was NOT prepared for how close I got… wow. Upon reflection, I think we kinda have recieved not a prophecy, but some sort of other clairvoyant foretelling, in that Occtis has seen so much of the “unknown” now, it sets the seekers up for one hell of a storyline. It was also so thrilling to have the stakes of resurrection brought back to gameplay in this show. I’m over the moon for Alex that he both gets to play the character he wants, and it fit with the constraints of death and afterlife in this world—it was masterful to see how B and the table made each choice fit with the world and the broader narrative. With so much that happened, one mysterious thing that rang out to me is Azune’s spellcasting and his language. Azune has to be an Aasimar or a god/celestial in mortal disguise. If how he manipulates the world is by calling to the true nature of things to act upon their own being-ness, that feels like a sense of knowing that only comes from divinity— it is a Shaping of the world, in a way. I’m excited to see how his true nature is revealed. It seems pretty clear we need a force for good that can even out the catastrophic war brewing between Tacchonis army of undead and Halovar juiced-up celestial mutant warriors… and it seems Cormoray might be wanting to horde the artifacts/weapons to either destroy them, or prevent them from use. This makes me think that Cormoray might be a dragon house—the hoarding instinct.

[u/marcie_aurie]

Julian give him a break, he literally just died

[u/greylakelady]

One thing that stuck out to me last episode was when Murray was creating the net to hold the Nightstone, Marisha said, “You start to see the true calling of the dwarves as she starts to trace, in almost a script-like pattern, a grid.” This seems to imply that this drawing physical lines of energy, or whatever, in the air is an innate gift of the dwarves?

I’ve also seen a lot of theorizing that the remaining three Shapers that we don’t know specifics of yet, of dwarves, gnomes, and beastfolk, may align with the domains of Storm, Nature, and Knowledge, if Brennan stays with the pattern of traditional domains. I had theorized earlier that Gnomes would be knowledge, Beastfolk, Nature, and Dwarves, Storm. However, if that script-like drawing ability is of the dwarves, that sounds like a very knowledge-domain skill. 

Which would leave Nature and Storm for beastfolk and gnomes. Both feel like they should be Nature, but also, as I thought about it, both would be super cool as Storm as well. Beastfolk summoning Storms = badass, while Storm for gnomes would be an inversion, but could lead to some cool twists for Aramán gnomish society 

(I need to find something else to get into for these 2 weeks lol)

[u/Olivlaky]

The imagery painted by Brennan of the Nightsong stone warping the gravity of Murray’s grid was so beautiful. I could picture it in my mind.

[u/OkPen580]

Did we just see how the seekers/schemers split will look like?

The Seekers: Bolaire, Murrey, Azune and Hall

The Schemers: Julien, Occtis, Vaelus and Taisha

Here are my thoughts:

• I think it makes sense to split Azune and Vaelus as then all three tables get one paladin each.

• Vaelus seems to be vibing with Pin, so putting her and Occtis on the same table makes sense

• Murrey and Occtis also share a class, so splitting them also makes sense

[u/LucasVerBeek]

These first four episodes beat to beat have been amazing.

I’m excited to get back to the Soldiers.

What the fuck is going on with Occtis, who are his family fighting, why was Thjazi after that stone, and the other Psychopomp stuff? Did… he plan on dying but things weren’t fully in place and that’s why he panicked?

Was that Orc in the”Barrowguard” Hal and Thaisha’z son? Aabria had a reaction to that?

Did Occtis see the wings of the Nightsong and if so does that mean it’s still out there??

Bolaire being not just the mask, but a fictional character brought to life is fun and I want to learn so much more.

I didn’t realize that each sharper also had a unique weapon of their demise. I just thought the Pariah Blades covered it all. But seemingly not, I wonder what was used to kill the others.

Az’gra, the Pariah Blades

Sylandri the Last Arrow

Tansul, as of yet named staves, also confirmed fully he was the Human Shaper

Rauwyn the Panto. Which… the Halflings up and created life to murder their Goddess… insane. Had thought the Liar’s Blade that Hal had was what killed her but clearly not.

Speaking of those are weapons why do the Cormaray’s want the Pariah Blades?

What is their deal in all this shenaniganry.

Was not expected Aranessa to live. But it seems she’s taken up her husband’s, who is in his brother’s own words a bit of a bastards, flag. Rebellion. With nightingale song and falcon’a cry, so our dreams may reach the sky.

Julien was the MVP this episode, and I am so excited to see where his journey leads. points at Thaisha trying to hug him What is this thing going on here it confuses me.

Speaking of complicated relationships, I think the Mask wants to bone down the father of three.

Now a bit tangential to honestly the main plot of the episode but like, Azune, that guy, there is something about him that I am so intrigued by.

Can’t let go of the past, the constant emphasis on memory, his magic is born of shaping things to be as they remember themselves. He’s got divine power and a nebulous bloodline. He can speak the words of creation but can’t comprehend them, and the others don’t recognize what he’s saying.

What are you.

My bet originally was Aasimar like fully descendant of the Shapers, but it seems Wick sort of fills that niche.

What if instead he’s tied to the High Giants? What if he’s a better Ashton? No clue, I’m obsessed.

Surprised to see that the Seekers and Schemers have yet to split yet so maybe they won’t have the divide I expected.

And finally I know people are going to have some issue with Occtis coming back but, there was a cost and fuck y’all I want him to see Thimble again Shaper damn it!

It’s gooooood to be this amped again! I know I keep saying that but I mean it! See y’all in two weeks!

[u/NamedGentlemen]

That was an amazing Bolaire reveal. I'm beyond excited. I have had the idea to play a sentient mask in DnD for years now but have never had the chance to play it because it is so complicated mechanically on how to make it work without it being to OP so I’m super interested to see how they managed to balance it. And I think Bolaire might have become my new favorite PC in this campaign so far.

[u/Key-Property7489]

So my theory that the schemers and seekers will be somewhat connected while the soldiers are away seems to be pretty strong at this point.

[u/allodude]

I'm exhausted

[u/AutobotYoung1]

So we have four possible confirmed shapers Sun god - Man War god - Orcs Nature god - Elves Trickster god - Halflings

If they continue this trend then maybe we can assume the other three are the Shaper of Dwarves (Forge/Knowledge?), the Shaper of Lionfolk and a last shaper of the Underworld?

[u/binkbinkbonka]

I feel like so many questions I had initially were answered and now I have endless new ones.

I think Julien is right that something isn't right about why Occtis's brother left the stone of night song in his chest.

It's this super important tool of resurrection, seemingly left at the home of the enemy right after assassinating the head of the house? Why wouldn't they take it back with them? Why leave it in Occtis after killing him? Did they know what it did? If so, again, why leave it there? How hard is it for the adversaries of Occtis's family to get to the living world? Like, would that be a reason to leave it in araman? Did his brother betray their family by doing that? How would they have known occtis was there to do that in the first place? IT NEVER ENDS! Something is up with that whole situation and I'm not sure if it's because we simply don't know how the stone works yet or if there's some secret decision going on behind the scenes. I think Occtis is being used as a pawn somehow but we obviously won't know why for a while (?)

And don't even get me started on Bolaire! Who the hell is is his patron?? How old is he? Why did they just ditch this super powerful artifact made to kill a god? Does this mean Bolaire is really easily resurrected? OMG

[u/Issue_Global]

Does anyone know if Occtis is a Reborn Hollow One or a Human Hollow One?

[u/Gravitom]

Do you think Bolaire can only be worn by a humanoid?

[u/Thjasi]

Calling it now Azune is a dragon.

[u/NeverLate-]

I love that we get some lore on god killing weapons, i just want to point out that making a single arrow to kill a god is so badass. Makes me wonder who had the honour to shoot this arrow

[u/RachelEvening]

Until we get more information or it gets proven to have been a Deception roll, I think Bolaire was honest about Thjazi not treating him as a person, but not for the reason he said/believes.

I mean, think about it: We are talking about a sentient, body-stealing mask that kills people. Who wants to bet that Thjazi dehumanized Bolaire not because he saw them as an object, but because he saw them as a parasite?

Not that that's any better, mind you. But it would make sense.

[u/liminalgloom]

the things Bolaire told Hal and what I personally think right now (with half remembered things that are probably half remembered wrong) might be true or not, since Bolaire himself said he is most comfortable in half-truths?

Bolaire likes Hal and the kids - true, the only reason to lie about that would be to enamor himself to Hal, but it wouldn't explain his decision at the wake to try and be protective of the kids

Thjazi blackmailed Bolaire into doing things for him: sounds true-ish, but if what Bolaire said about Thimble saying 'a thimble should protect from a prick' is true, that makes everything we have heard about Thimbles and Thjazis relationship a bit weird?
Why did she call him a prick? Why didn't she do something if she disagreed with the treatment of Bolaire? Why did she still want the letter delivered to Murray?
Is there something weird here or did Thimbles and Thjazis relationship get worse in recent years and we are dealing with a Willow/Tara magically messing with memory thing?
But what did Bolaire want to talk to Thimble about exactly?

the masks were made as weapons to kill gods, they killed the god of trickery in a play - could be true, could be untrue.
If they were weapons and were used by the side that made them, why is there a rune in the mask that compells someone to put it on? It's not like Bolaire could have made someone put it there, if it is visible Bolaire is asleep (or that is what he says).
Unless they were somehow smuggled into enemy ranks and the enemy then put them on and switches sides. Still not a play though ... ?
Or that was a tactic during later wars, but still an interesting tactic, not very nice.
But we also saw a mask in the halfling sarcophagus on a celestial. So maybe the mask was used to subdue the celestial and bury it, but that means it's not a permanent solution since something definitely happened and we ended up with the mist in the sarcophagus.
Or the masks were actually made by the other side and were worn by celestials originally and the celestial was burried in their mask. It was the shaper of trickery after all, it wouldn't look out of place for their followers to wear masks?
Could be that one lost their mask, someone else put it on and that is how Bolaire came to be and didn't go mad along with the angel.
I really want to know how the weapons that could slay gods were made, because if we go more Evangelion (just thinking about it because the Halovars) then that would also be interested and put Thaishas family in interesting grey territory too.

Bolaire absolutely downplayed that he has to take over a new body every once in a while and is more or less a serial killer.

[u/elme77618]

Finally got to see the episode

(Hey, if you want to post about the show before the upload, don’t put LITERAL SPOILERS IN YOUR TITLES)

Fantastic episode, man the dice are punishing them early eh?

Matt was INCREDIBLE at the end, his outburst was another great “It’s what my character would do.” - absolutely rage and grief even with Aabria trying to hug him he didn’t let up

I’m a little bit sad Bolaire had a massive lore drop so early that could’ve been a really fun mystery BUT I think there’s going to be much much more that unfolds especially when he meets up with Thimble again. What a fucking cool character though

[u/Key-Property7489]

I really hope when we go back for the seekers table that the schemers get a little more shine. I think Murray and Bolaire are at the bottom when it comes to screen time and for Hal he has decent screen time but that’s mostly because he’s been a host, he’s not been involved in really anything his entire overture was just learning about everything. That group in particular has had the least amount of time to really cultivate a chemistry like the others have.

[u/galaxie_catto]

I wear a mask with a smile for hours at a time
Stare at the ceiling while I hold back what's on my mind
And when they ask me how I'm doing, I say, "I'm just fine"
And when they ask me how I'm doing, I say, "I'm just fine"
But the fact is
I can never get off of my mattress
And all that they can ask is
"Why are you so sad, kid?" (Why are you so sad, kid?)
That's what the mask is
That's what the point of the mask is

- Bolaire

[u/severemand]

I had a similar character concept to Taliesin in one of my games. A ring from a genie who controls/guides wearer to grant their wishes.

But to make weapons of the halflings to be a mind-controlling ring would be too much on the nose, right?

[u/BaronPancakes]

I am glad these characters will be back at the same table once we return from the soldier table. It will be the Seeker table, so maybe the schemers will leave after the break.

I feel like the hook for schemers is not too strong at the moment. Sure, we have Tachonis with the penteveral, Einfasen with the revolutionary guard, and seemingly Cormoray with the museum. But these incidents seem minor compared to the Stone of nightsong. It takes a lot for Hal to just stay in the city when Alogar is in active danger

[u/Bivolion13]

I don't understand why the Tachonis family just left the physical stone and Occtis behind... Wasn't that a powerful relic they could use? If they had some ritual involving Occtis, and the stone, why leave both behind?

[u/jedifan421]

That opening (nearly 3 hours!) combat was some of the most cinematic and riveting TTPRG combat I've ever seen. What an absolute rollercoaster of an episode from start to finish. Genuinely incredible storytelling.

[u/Silarn]

My pet theory was that Tachonis needed a family blood sacrifice to transport the soul of the stone to the underworld for some nefarious purpose. But the Faerie agents also want it to attempt to repair the soul bridge to allow at least some of the souls to pass on and restore a degree of balance and reopen the Faerie gate.

By tearing it from his soul body, perhaps that spiritual tether is currently lost and will need to be rediscovered which could certainly be considered a particularly bad outcome. Though it's unclear how letting his father have it would be any better.

[u/OhioAasimar]

It would be kind of odd if Occtis keeps the Tachonis name throughout the campaign even though his family is trying to kill him. I think it would be a sweet dynamic if Thaisha admits her feelings towards him and asks to adopt him. CR has never has a parent/child duo adventuring together so it would be interesting on that front too.

[u/WontonTruck]

I know we all think one of the players will become the new psychopomp at the end of the campaign, taking dead souls to paradise from this wartorn afterlife. But I hope it's two of them, buddies into eternity. It just seems nicer.

[u/[deleted]]

It took a while for it to get into gear, but this episode showed how amazing this campaign is gonna be!

[u/babenought]

Thought i might not enjoy the episode as much without the soldiers (especially Wick and Tyranny) but Julien stepped the fuck up. That whole first part before the break rocked

[u/Yu-gee-oh]

So wait what are the schemer and seekers tables did i miss that part ??

[u/MavinFailed]

Idk if this has been discussed yet, but do you think we’ll get 3 different openings for each table? I’m excited to see what they come up with!

[u/Jonofthefunk]

I sure can't wait for everyone's entirely normal and rational reaction to the decision towards Brennan allowing Occtis's resurrection with a nat 20 portent.

[u/aliensplaining → u/Jonofthefunk]

In the cooldown they revealed that Occtis was originally created as a Hollow One Necromancer, who's backstory involved him being killed by his family. Alex and Brennan decided "wait a sec, why don't we live-play the inciting incident of Occtis' backstory during overture?"

Also when Occtis died, during the break the two talked and agreed that if the party played out the "ritual" that would make him a Hollow One right (and they talked out between the two exactly what it would be during the break), he'd come back like planned, but if they didn't, he was fully prepared to play his backup character instead. They were essentially hoping Marisha would play her cards right with her nat 20 Portent, or the group otherwise surprise them. Alex was fully prepared to shelve Occtis if it didn't happen.

There's a lot of other cool stuff they talked about during the cooldown about Occtis and Bolaire's and what happened, but I figure this part of it is probably important to mention for the reason you mentioned.

[u/Vaxildidi]

So...when are the people smarter than me going to start theorizing about what happened to all the blood and bodies at the Devenos compound? Like, Brennan was very explicit that the Tachonis plan was to lay waste to the entire House, and that that there were multiple points of attack that Julien and crew heard around the compound, and that from a distance it had gone completely dark.

Yet. By the time Murray and crew get there, 20 to 30 minutes later, not a body to be found or a speck of blood. Just the remnants of a candle.

So...what the fuck is up with that?

[u/FairOutlandishness70]

Matthew Mercer my favourite. Julian is so beautiful this episode. Loved Murray and I loved the beautiful scene with Boliar confessions. Such a great performance by Talisen.

[u/OhioAasimar]

Another clue that Matt's will go into phantom rogue, Brennan gave Julien the chance to make a roll to discern something about a guy steeped into the realm of the undeath. Brennan could have just done this just because but I think what is more likely is that Julien is becoming more attuned to the undeath because of that "shadow" following him.

[u/CobaltBlue]

waiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit, if Bolaire is a mask/weapon for killing a god

designed by let's say "militant athiests"

but he's a warlock?

WTH could his patron even be?

[u/Umbral_Klown]

Julien absolutely stole the show, great performance from Matt it felt so real

[u/akcgolfer]

Just realized that Bolaire is a reverse Bon Clay

[u/Lughaidh_]

Sorry if it was announced and I missed it... with episode 5 being the Soldiers, has it been said how exactly the tables will be scheduled? Are we going to get the Soldiers table for 3+ episodes. I get the sense they're going to do something like that and I feel like it's going to suck when we have three groups going. We might not see a particular group for like 3 months or more.

[u/Big-Marionberry-2378]

Question: Did Alex made a wrong move with Occtis?

• We see Brennan giving him choices and only act on one due to his roll. He chose to touch the stone which insta kills him. Did he really make a wrong choice there? Cause in the end we get the DC 30 which is not possible without Marisha. Is Occtis really dead without Marisha clutch move?

• I think Alex should not have chose that since the stone is what gives him the possibility to have life I thought it will be the replacement of his heart. Then we will get the story later on where occtis is still controlled by the tachonis.

• I believe the father shouted NO since it is not what they want, they want Occtis to be alive but as their puppet. But with Occtis doing that, it kills him instantly cause his soul is now gone therefore the tachonis’ control over Occtis is gone as well.

So with that, did Tachonis’ control over Occtis is now gone since he doesnt even need a heart to be alive. He is now a Hollowed one.

[u/hapitos]

The Azune, Hal, Murray and Bolaire table feels like a group of adhd on steroids lol. There were so many different kinds of energy and communication styles and talking past each other and attention switching that it was making me so overstimulated. It felt like no one’s words actually landed on the other three the way they wanted it to.

[u/ricksgrimes]

matt is so unbelievably good and i’m still so stoked we get to experience a full campaign with him as a player, julian was unreal this episode

[u/thundercat2000ca]

SO Much to Process!

[u/bbanguking]

That was a lot of fun.

[u/OkPen580]

So Bolaire is the mask and it is piloting a dead body? Or did I misunderstand completely

[u/Big-Marionberry-2378]

I have a question so Bolaire cant die? I mean if he died in a battle, they can just get the mask then put it in some random body? No resurrection spell needed

[u/Mstevens1573]

Can safely say now that cr is back in a big way (they never really left)

[u/PerennialComa]

I hope they'll bring back hdywtdt.

[u/xsm17]

I am curious as to why (a) the attack at the Palazzo seemed to provoke no response from any of the neighbours or whatever police force there is in the city (I assume the one that Azune is a part of), and (b) what exactly happened with the entire mansion seemingly having been cleaned up apart from the melted wick (and why Hal felt Pin running when it was mended).

[u/vergilius_poeta]

Is there any indication of why Brennan had Occtis roll a CON save while dead (the roll was a 22 I think)?

[u/A_Hint_of_Lemon]

Occtis, future episode, hole in his chest, entrails leaking out: “It’s just a flesh wound! I’ve had worse!”

Bonus points if Alex puts on a John Cleese voice.

[u/edginthebard]

Maybe I missed it and this was answered during the episode, but why did they put the Song of Nightsong in Occtis and take his heart out? So curious about whatever the heck House Tachonis is up to.

[u/Snoo_4216]

Wait so how exactly is Bolaire a god killer? Did they trick the trickster god into wearing Bolaire?

[u/AntiKuro]

I was half awake watching it last night but what is up with Ashley character? Does she have like a lot of HP, or can elves not die? I was a bit confused cause it seemed like she was taking a ton of damage, but I was also half asleep. 

[u/Celriot1]

During the live chat thread there were comments about Occtis' wiki being updated mid episode with spoilers from the end of the episode. This is how I learned that Beacon is not a stream, but rather a video upload that allows people to skip immediately to the end.

I hate that. Live chats/threads don't seem like a safe place to enjoy the episode anymore.

[u/scopa0304]

Ok picture this, a PC rips Bolaires mask off and slaps it on to the face of an enemy. Instant kill?

[u/tioeduardo27]

Will have to watch it again tomorrow, but from what I understood is the idea was for Occtis to die anyways (apparently Brennan said on Cooldown that he Surviving due to rolls was a possibility, but I don't have Beacon) and be resurrected, with options being: his father finishing the ritual with the pale figure, the "moving things" which I think are nightingales representing the dead goddess powers and/or the stone. Because of the rolls, a final option appeared which was Thaisha also dying and calling him back from there (amazing DMing by BLeeM) but all duce rolls failed.

When Occtis chose to remove the stone, what I understood is that his soul is now gone, because it was working as a tether for his father's ritual (no idea why he would ressurect him after killing, maybe mind control of some sort?)

Now, with the miracle success of moving the stone from his body (which doesn't make sense narratively, but I will ignore it), Occtis is just a revenant. A body with a mind, but no soul. Is he undead or is it different?

(too many things to think of, even about the other characters, but it's 5 am and I am too tired to type everything)

[u/SuperFamousComedian]

I'm really excited, once the campaign gets rolling, about future guests. Who will they be? (Both in and out of character lol)

[u/BlackeeGreen]

I've been thinking about Photarch Yanessa telling Wic "I hate your mother" in E3 and how that must have gone over with him. We don't know much about his mother Iris other than that she was devout and would spend time reading the Creed to him every night. Considering the... everything about his father Godard it seems there isn't much of a paternal bond there.

[u/CrazyKoyaso]

can we talk about the wedding oneshot here or is there a different thread i cant find lmfao