"Critical Role Campaign 2 Wrap Up" (Sx56) is the fifty-sixth special episode of Critical Role. Now that the Mighty Nein's Campaign 2 adventures have come to an end, the cast sits down for a roundtable discussion about every arc of their journey.
Synopsis[]
Announcements[]
- The final Critical Role sponsor of Campaign Two is NordVPN, providing highest quality encryption for your internet traffic and hiding your IP address and physical location.
- Vox Machina vs. Mighty Nein battle royale one-shot will air on June 18, 2021 at 7:00pm Pacific on Twitch and YouTube. The VOD will be available on YouTube June 20, 2021.
- The premiere of Exandria Unlimited starring Aimee Carrero, Robbie Daymond, Ashley Johnson, Liam O'Brien, Matthew Mercer, and Aabria Iyengar as the GM will air on June 24, 2021 at 7:00pm Pacific on Twitch and YouTube.
Arc 1 - Episodes 1-25: Come Together[]
- Who is on the Tal'Dorei Council? Matt says that the last member just died. No, there are people on the Council. Next question.
- How much did Taliesin know about Lucien? Taliesin wrote nothing that was previous to his waking up in the ground; it was completely blank. Taliesin had started to come up with the idea of Molly when Percy died. Matt and Taliesin had a Starbucks conversation where Taliesin was thinking about mermaids and alignment issues. He wanted a body that the soul had left but the body just kept moving. The backstory was that Molly woke up in the ground with the nine eyes tattoos and that's it -- it was a fucking gift for Matt. His initial plan was that Lucien, after being shattered, would find his way back but in another body and was trying to get Molly's body back and would be like a recurrent antagonist.
- Was Mollymauk undead in any way? Matt says he's not technically undead. A Hollow One was a halfway inspiration for Molly's story, but also a cool way to introduce an undead archetype for races in the game and a pseudo-red herring, which Taliesin suspected during the game. Jamedi Cosko was a Hollow One.
- What was Fjord's whole deal? Travis had an idea of the two races that make up Fjord's half-orc lineage but he's not gonna say it. However, he doesn't know who is who, or how that happened, or under what circumstances. He left that up to Matt. At some point, Fjord is going to go back and right the wrongs of that orphanage and its criminal underbelly. Maybe it's the Myriad and the Clovis Concord. He will go back and purge that. About the name "Stone", Matt says Travis threw that in the backstory and forgot about it for the entire game. For Fjord's pact with Uk'otoa, Vandran cut himself off from Uk'otoa when he drowned. The Sword of Fathoms was lost in the ocean and in a last moment of panic, Fjord agreed to something he couldn't remember. Travis is wondering if Sabian worked with Uk'otoa.
- Who was the skeleton in the basement of the Leaky Tap? Matt says it was the body of the previous owner killed by Claudia Sheed, who was a dark elf from the Dynasty and a refugee from the conflicts of the Dynasty who came underneath the Leaky Tap seeking refuge. The previous owner agreed to take care of her but was a terrible person who kept her in indentured servitude. Claudia became fed up with it and killed him, hid the body, and through The Gentleman, managed to get documents that gave her the ownership of the inn.
- Who did the Sending Stone connect to? This was the stone that Caleb got from the Mighty Nein's heist job on the Sutan residence. The other end of the sending stone connection was to Ionos Jagentoth of Shadycreek Run. Lord Sutan had dealings with the Jagentoths. Basically, it was a thread to a different, more Shadycreek Run-centric story.
- What was Yasha doing when she kept leaving M9? Ashley jokes and says it was something VERY important, for sure. She says Yasha went away because she was uncomfortable getting close to people and trying to deal with all of that. Yasha was probably doing odd jobs here and there, visiting brothels if she got lonely. It was more of a mental health break. Also, every time Yasha would join the group, there would be something trying to kill Beau, and for a long time Yasha was in a shame spiral. Marisha says that, from Yasha's point of view, M9 only brought sadness to her: they got the circus arrested, got her buddy murdered, got her kidnapped by a slave trader. Ashley says yeah, it was a rough go.
- What happened when Liam ordered Sam to be a goblin rogue? Sam started with a "V" name and was thinking of "Vix" as a joke during Campaign One, just to fuck with Liam and Laura. He came up with "Veth Brenatto" first, then retrofitted it to be "Nott the Brave". Sam didn't want to be a badass assassin Rogue because Liam did that with Vax, but wanted to do the opposite of Vax, like a neurotic, jittery Rogue. Sam also used several fake names during his time as Nott. He used "Veth" (M9 didn't know it was her real name), then "Bren", then "Atto" = Veth Brenatto. Liam freaked out when he heard the name "Bren" because Caleb's real name is Bren.
- What would've happened if they hadn't decided to do crimes? Kinda a whole different campaign. Matt says it was a huge diversion. The Mighty Nein developed a relationship a little bit with the Lawmaster, then a lot with the new High-Richter. There was an option to pursue a very Empire-based story and become the classic mercenaries for hire by the better folk of the corrupt Empire. That would have brought M9 deeper into Rexxentrum and have them get involved with the Cerberus Assembly a lot earlier. Matt was also planning for that to intersect with M9 beginning to work with the Augen Trust, the leader of which, Oliver Schreiber, was supposed to be played by Matt Colville. That never happened and instead, M9 went to Xhorhas and explored the Kryn Dynasty.
- What was up with Gustav? Matt says he was the one who made the deal with Kylre, the devil toad. They had a discussion and Kylre said he could make Gustav's carnival something great if he could bring him people to feed on. Gustav was not totally on board and suggested that he would bring Kylre only the infirm or old. Therefore, all the notices said that they were not allowed because he had to make sure that nobody accidentally died during a performance. He would just bring them to him to feed him as part of the deal they made. Then Gustav lost control and Kylre caused all this horror; Gustav felt guilty. When the Mighty Nein killed Kylre and set Gustav free, he wanted to stay in prison to punish himself.
Interview with Khary Payton/Shakäste[]
Khary says the inspiration for the character was Shaka Zulu, a warrior king. Khary wanted him to be blind, seeing though the eyes of a hummingbird and sounding like Bootsy Collins. Khary was excited to be free for the liveshow; the crowd felt like a hurricane. Shakäste will always hold a special place in Khary's heart. And as an older fellow, Khary can see himself as Shakäste down the line.
Arc 2 - Episodes 26-47: The Bad Guys[]
- What did Kiri build in Hupperdook? Matt says it's her own music box. Laura was thinking she was making a giant weapon of destruction.
- Did Travis and Laura becoming parents change Fjord and Jester? Laura says she didn't even register that it changed her relationship after Ronin was born. She knew she was pregnant at the tail end of Campaign One and was thinking about that while creating Jester's backstory. That's probably why she has such a tight relationship with her mother. Travis says, looking back at Fjord's backstory, seeing the idea of parents or somebody that didn't love him enough or maybe they were both killed or whatever the circumstances, just deepened it a little bit. With the Wildmother, it wasn't so much about looking for a parent; he was looking for those father figures in the game. It was interesting moving around to Vandran, then to Caduceus.
- What was up with that mosaic with the nine eyes in the temple? Matt says the nine eyes were intentionally a red herring that early in the story. There was also a possibility that if Uk'otoa had been released, Fjord would have helped him in releasing the other entities, since they're bound together. The creatures on the mosaic were Uk'otoa, The Leviathan Lord; Desirat, The Twilight Phoenix; and Quajath, the Undermaw.
- What is the Plank King's relationship with the Cobalt Soul? Matt says it wasn't planned in the Plank King's backstory. Wyatt Maranoss is a self-professed intellectual. Part of The Revelry tried to break from them robbing too much from the sailors all around the coastal sea and Wyatt thought that the Cobalt Soul would have taken that down since they are doing the good thing and were cool about what they're doing. He built a slow-building respect over time, in his mind anyway. He has a parasocial relationship with the Cobalt Soul.
- How did Nott feel about Nila? Sam says, early on, Nott was very motherly. She viewed Nila like a fellow mom on the right path and wanted to help but felt bad that she didn't make much progress with her own quest.
Interview with Ashly Burch/Keg[]
Ashly says the inspiration behind Keg was: female dwarves can have beard! That was the whole motivation. She has a tough front but is secretly a coward, and it was Ashly's first time playing a character like that. Favorite moment on CR: Keg's favorite moment was getting lucky. Ashly's favorite was reading Keg's apology letter to Nott, with cracked glasses. Keg is trying to do good in the world, righting wrongs. She's... okay at it. Ashly appreciates that Keg fucked up, but after a stumble, she tries not to fuck up again. Hopefully people have forgiven her, and her legacy is that after a fuck up, you can earn forgiveness through actions.
Arc 3 - Episodes 48-69: The Bright Queen's Favor[]
- Did Matt have to rework plans when the Mighty Nein decided to follow the worms? Matt says yes. But that's why he loves the game, his favorite moments are when he's caught off guard. Matt doesn't put barriers to stop the players but tries to logic out the challenges that would be before them to make this a very difficult choice. If the players succeed, Matt is going to reward them. It completely shifted the direction of the campaign.
- What was evil Essek supposed to be like? Matt says he wasn't going to be a major antagonist but to be an antagonistic force in the world. He was shocked when they showed up with the Beacon that he had given to the Empire, and his goal was to learn as much as he could about them by taking care of the M9. His interactions with the Nein showed him he could be better. Essek actually chose not to be consecuted because he didn't believe in it, and lied about it to cover that up.
- Did Caleb ever come close to confessing his love to Jester? Liam says he didn't plan to do romance one-sided or otherwise in this campaign because he explored that heavily in Campaign One. Jester drove Caleb nuts at the beginning of the campaign so he didn't expect that at all. During the dance hall scene in Rexxentrum, Jester asked Caleb to dance and Caleb realized that she was treating him as if he was the person he should have been, like none of it had happened. It got him, but didn't want to saddle her with all his shit.
- What would have happened if they had not given up the Beacon? Matt says it could have led to a lot of research and creation of dunamantic spells and abilities for multiple people outside of the arcane magic of the Nein. But it would have had the challenge of the party constantly looking over their shoulders, in the threat of being hunted down and of NPCs that would come in and discover the Beacon.
- Who did Caleb instinctually kill on sight in the Braan? Matt says it was a goblin that lived with what the giants left behind and an NPC that could have been a source of information about what danger they could face there and present information about Vence Nuthaleus, when the Nein were following the thread that led to Obann.
- What is Essek's brother like? Matt says Verin is like the himbo of the family. He understands why Essek is the way he is but also believes a lot in the Dynasty. He's stationed in Bazzoxan and is well respected.
Interview with Sumalee Montano/Nila[]
Inspiration behind Nila: Sumalee's dad, the person who instilled in her her love of nature, animals and trees. Sumalee says that it felt like a big warm hug playing with people who are so generous and understanding of the game. When Nila gets bored, she gets tempted to nibble on stuff in her smell bag. There's a lots of things in there: placenta, mosses, bones, but it smells good to her. Nila had another baby. After her time in the Blooming Grove, they went back to their home tribe, but before the left, they grafted a cool plant that could protect the temple from corrupted plants. The smell bag confirmed it would hold. Nila's legacy: family. Not just your own, but also your found family, like the Mighty Nein.
Break[]
- Vox Machina vs. Mighty Nein one-shot coming June 18th at 7:00pm Pacific on Critical Role Twitch and YouTube channels.
- Interview with Exandria Unlimited cast members talking about the upcoming show.
- Trailer for Exandria Unlimited coming June 24th 7:00pm Pacific on Critical Role Twitch and YouTube channels. Podcast available on July 1st.
- Merch Alert! Uk'otoa board game at local game shops and all Critical Role shops; Wildemount pre-painted miniatures in the US, Canada, and UK shops; Mighty Nein Chibi Pin Series available in the US, UK and AU; Boulder Parchment Shears and Chaos Crew t-shirts available at all Critical Role shops.
- Dani Carr and Taliesin Jaffe tell us why we should subscribe to the Critical Role Twitch channel to get access to VODs.
- Critters' art montage.
Arc 4 - Episodes 70-91: Swords and Angels[]
- What was Yasha and Obann's history together? Ashley wants to know too, because she left that up to Matt. Matt says after Yasha had left the Dolorav tribe, she went feral in the wastes of Xhorhas: not using language much, living by killing and eating whatever came her way, aimless and wandering. Obann, who had begun plotting with the Angel of Irons, was travelling through Xhorhas and came across her there. Obann left his mark, took her mind and will as his own, and began to train her up. She became his bodyguard and he used her to corrupt fanes of arcane power in the name of the Angel of Irons. She became his right-hand man, much like Purple Man and Jessica Jones. Because of that and the trauma of that experience, her brain protected her by not recording this time period until it went too far. She broke free and Obann lost her in the wastes, and then the Stormlord found Yasha. Matt says that she was mind-controlled for a year or two.
- What did Trent want with Yasha? Trent is a paranoid individual who casts Detect Thoughts a lot when he's next to people. Trent thought Yasha was curious and picked up shreds of her past that even Yasha herself didn't consciously know, plus he sensed her Celestial blood.
- Was there any connections between the Laughing Hand and Aeor? Matt says it was a different entity but there were intentional subtle threads of connection. There was something going on with the Chained Oblivion and Obann but also with the Somnovem and Cognouza.
- Did you ever think that Artagan was evil? Sam thought he was someone nefarious puppetting Jester the whole time, and the Nein were going to fight him and then free her, but no, he's just a doofus. Marisha had an inkling, but nothing serious.
- When did Sprinkle become Artagan? Matt says the introduction of a crimson weasel was intentional from the beginning to be Artagan's anchor to Jester. Matt knew that Laura/Jester would buy the weasel, and even if she didn't, he would have had it running away and an hour later stowed away in Jester's bag.
- Which NPCs were Artagan? Matt says there was a child with green eyes and red hair, then the innkeeper in Shadycreek Run with pale skin and green eyes who was Artagan guiding the Nein towards Caduceus. Matt didn't attempt to do more than that.
- How does Beau move forward with the Cobalt Soul? Marisha envisions Beau in her "Saturn Rising" years now where she realizes that's what she wants to do as a career and going full in on that for a little bit. She's going to be a full career woman. Also, having Yasha being supportive by her side and at home is really the best. Marisha and Ashley had texted each other on "What does Beau want?" and "What does Yasha want?" but we'll see that later maybe.
- What was in Gelidon's Cave? Gelidon had discovered, at some point, some Aeorian weapon that still had some functionality and kept it as a trophy decoration. It was two parts of an arcane cannon, not unlike the one in the Happy Fun Ball, but a larger siege version of that.
- What would have happened if they released Halas? Matt says he would have been thankful for his release and would have just gone to become a Campaign Three problem.
- Could Fjord have intimidated Uk'otoa? Matt says not in a way he would have scared Uk'otoa, but with a high enough Intimidation check, it would have gained his respect for the will Fjord exhibited. And Uk'otoa would have loved to keep Fjord even more.
Interview with Mica Burton/Reani[]
Inspiration for Reani: "I don't want to play something I've played before." Different class, race, personality, everything across the board was brand new. Go outside the box! Reani's favorite moment was the same as Mica's: sleeping with Beau the Disaster Lesbian. Reani is bi, they naturally got along, and her disasterness resulted in that achievement. The Nein changed Reani; she realized that she could make some morally gray decisions and has made some since then. Reani's legacy: a bright spot of sunshine in a harsh campaign. Hope to bring joy. Also, she took on a dragon, no big deal.
Arc 5 - Episodes 92-112: Family Ties[]
- How does the hag feel about Jester? Matt says that hags keep things to their chests but Isharnai is no longer under Jester's spell. There's a level of respect and interest because of being outmaneuvered, but that doesn't absolve her from Isharnai's attention. In Matt's mind, Jester and Isharnai will probably cross paths again. Jester totally has a nemesis now.
- What was up with the Aeorian ruins and the corrupted woods of the Savalirwood? Matt says there's no particular answer to that. But in Matt's head, there was an Aeorian experiment that was trying to grow arcane plant life, to create a bush or algae that could be consumed or processed to enhance someone's magical abilities (like Residuum, in a way) or to replace spells components. But that failed and then Aeor was destroyed.
- When did Beau fall in love with Yasha? Marisha says it's tough to say because Beau was attracted to Yasha out of the gate and was a pig about it in those early games. But Beau was starting to take notice when she saw Yasha collecting flowers for Zuala, learning the sensitive side of Yasha. The moment that locked it in was when Yasha bought the dog statue in Rexxentrum.
- When did Yasha fall in love with Beau? Ashley says that Yasha fell in love with Beau in Kamordah when they spent time with Beau's family. Yasha was so frustrated with how Thoreau was with Beau. She had some feelings but didn't really know what it meant, and this was a lot more than she thought it was.
- How would Veth's relationship with the group have changed if she hadn't broken her curse? Sam says he loved entertaining the idea of leaving the group. But she was hopeful and confident that Caleb would find a way eventually. In the middle of the campaign, Sam thought about being a full goblin and letting it take her over, just giving up or starting to forget who she was in the past, even her family.
- What was planned for Caleb's time travel ambitions? Liam says that a part of him wanted to push that red button because it's so fun. It was a big plan since the beginning of the campaign, and every spell that Caleb picked had a purpose for within this plan. For instance, Widogast's Vault of Amber was designed to be a fridge to carry two bodies back with him to replace his mother and father. Liam thought there was a chance that Caleb would fight Astrid and Eadwulf and they would be the dead bodies that he would bring back with him. Caleb's illusion magic could disguise himself as a student and create a teenaged Bren, talk to his parents, break the news and take them to Tal'Dorei, maybe Emon. Caleb didn't do it because it could've have had bad repercussions in the world.
- Does Beau plan on saving her brother? Marisha says that TJ is loosely named after her younger cousin, Timothy Jr., who died of an overdose several years ago. To answer the question: yeah, kind of. Marisha didn't put that much weight in the backstory writing, but in the moment, it hit her/Beau a little bit harder. At first, Beau was anticipating going in with resentment to see her family again, including the new kid whom she didn't considered has her brother. It really hit her in an, "Uh-oh, I need to protect, I love you" type of thing. When TJ gets older, Beau wants to be the cool older sister, showing him around.
Interview with Chris Perkins/Spurt[]
His favorite moment of the campaign: dying three days from retirement! Chris maintains the Spurt voice for the whole interview, which was about as long as his time in the campaign. Very short.
Arc 6 - Episodes 113-141: Weird Magic[]
- What happened to Henry Crabgrass? Matt says that the lifespan of crabgrass is a few weeks. So you'd find later generations of Henry Juniors and other crabgrass that have spread and continued to speak on the joys of consent.
- What were the mechanics of the eye tattoos? Matt says that they incrementally increased. One eye: Mild Telepathy for 120 feet to somebody else with an eye; Two eyes: Darkvision; Three eyes: see through illusions; Four eyes: can choose to peer into the Ethereal Plane; Five eyes: Scry into the eye of another person; Six eyes: sense all beings with minds within 300 feet of you; Seven eyes: Rend Mind, you can grab something and do 10d10 psychic damage; Eight eyes: can control the minds of other people with eyes; Nine eyes: Cone of Antimagic and you become an NPC under Matt's control. That's what Matt meant when he said there was a timer.
- What happened to Devexian? Matt says that he roused a number of other slumbering or dormant Aeormatons and now, the Mighty Nein have officially re-introduced the Exandrian version of the Warforged into Exandria.
- What were the blue bubbles in Aeor? Matt says they were created to protect the city in its moment of destruction. Magic is strange in Eiselcross and Aeor specifically. There were protective wards that didn't function as planned and when the city crashed, they malfunctioned. They sealed a random assortment of people around the city into stasis indefinitely.
- What was the Luxon? Matt says it's an entity that existed pre-pantheon and pre-founding of Exandria, a being of light that was born at the point of the creation of the universe and couldn't understand itself, but was simply lonely light heading into darkness. It chanced upon a rocky world that felt lonely too, and the Luxon thought to embrace it. But when the Luxon gave it its warmth and light, the elements begin to erupt. Essentially, the Luxon wanted to understand itself, and thought that by creating life, that life could perhaps tell it what it was, but the elemental chaos of the planet had no consciousness. The Luxon broke itself up and scattered itself throughout the world in hopes that one day something would find and reassemble it, and when it did, it could asked it what it truly was. With each beacon that is found, the Luxon gets closer to being reassembled.
- Where will Jester and The Traveler explore next? Laura says that Jester really wants to go to the Feywild, so probably there first. Wherever Artagan wants to go, Jester will come with him.
- What will Jester and Fjord do with their lives? Travis and Laura say that they would be together. Fjord probably want to go back to Darktow at some point and Jester will probably become an artist and open an art gallery in Nicodranas.
- What was at A? Matt says it was another Aeorian ruin. The question mark was because it was a newly discovered one and was probably more dangerous because it was an undiscovered site.
- What would have happened if Essek and Caleb broke time? Matt says if they had failed, it would have sent all of them one day forward instantly. So as opposed to getting a day of rest in a second, they would have had no rest a day later. That meant Lucien and Cree would have already gone to Cognouza, already installed the gems, and the Nein would have gotten to the Astral Sea only to realize that Cognouza was no longer there but had already made its way to Exandria and was beginning the process of converting and consuming.
- What were the barbs in the Barbed Fields? Matt says that they were created during The Calamity in battles between the Betrayer Gods and the Prime Deities. Some forces were unleashed in a way that flash-eroded the landscape. At the beginning they were thick rocks but with time, begun to erode away and leave these weird hook-like spires and points.
- What was up with the ice spider? Matt says she was already dead by the time the Mighty Nein came by.
- Would Trent have helped if they had called him? Matt says he would have. He would have come with probably Astrid and Eadwulf out of genuine interest in being able to directly psychologically profile each of them, to continue to work into Caleb's psyche and reinforce the trauma and convince him to question himself, and to use them as a guide towards some of the secrets of Aeor.
- Who broke Caleb out of the sanatorium? Matt says that Trent wanted Caleb to believe it was Trent in disguise, but Matt believes it was genuinely a boon from the Moonweaver. It was an individual who through her faith, in a lucid moment saw Caleb's sadness and recalled their clerical past and freed Caleb from that mind state before succumbing to it herself.
- Who was Doolan Tversky? Matt says it was a powerful archmage of the Cerberus Assembly but not one that is steeped in evil corruption, not good necessarily, but one of the quirkier members.
- Was that one orc Fjord's dad in episode 19? Matt says no, he wasn't. He was a retired warrior for the Empire who earned his way up and then hated its political structure. He lived a simple live in a cabin. He was a possible mentor for Fjord though.
- Was Vax watching the Mighty Nein's exploits? Matt says probably. Matt imagines that some of the more important villains that befell the Nein, those whose spirits weren't locked in an existing pact like Avantika, were probably ushered across by a masked figure clad in black that walked between where these eyes could see.
- How did Jester's parents end up? Matt thinks that they re-sparked their romance and spent some time together, then began to really realize that their lives have diverged to a point where his lifestyle is dangerous. So they went their separate ways: she went back to Nicodranas and he stayed in Zadash. Then, a few years later, he orchestrated his false demise and left his crew under the care of Ophelia Mardoon.
- Who is on the Tal'Dorei Council? (Part 2) Matt finally gives a few names. There are six people on the main Council and a number of ambassadors. Ambassador Deirdrik Greyspine from Kraghammer; Ambassador Syldor Vessar from Syngorn; Guardian Tofor Brotoras, Master of Defense from Campaign One; Hearthmaker Edelbern Cleareyes, Master of Development; Arcanist Allura Vysoren, Master of Arcana; Replacing Seeker Assum in the role of Master of Information, Seeker Odessa Tal'Dorei; Arbiter Brom Goldhand, Master of Law; and last but not least, the Master of Commerce, the Coinmistress Vex'ahlia de Rolo.
Quotations[]
External Links[]
- Eponymous Rose's summary.
- CritRoleStats livetweets for the campaign two wrap-up.
References[]
Art: