"4-Sided Dive: Feat Fetishes" (4SDx21) is the twenty-first episode of 4-Sided Dive, discussing episodes of the third campaign up through "Doorways to Darker Depths" (3x86) with guests Taliesin Jaffe, Liam O'Brien, Sam Riegel, and Travis Willingham.
Synopsis[]
This time, Sam Riegel is truly the Tavern Keeper for the night. As a founder of Critical Role and a two times Emmy Award winner, Sam also reintroduces the bits on 4-Sided Dive.
What the Fuck is up with That?[]
- Bells Hells are on the Moon! Liam is excited to be there; Taliesin wants to slow down and have more fun, like a spacesuit, a rocket ship and a jetpack. One of those is available, but you'd need to take it from Otohan Thull. Dani jumps in to clarify that she doesn't have a jetpack but rather it's probably how she made her echoes because there are Potions of Possibility in there. Otohan can do her Psi-Powered Leap because she's an Exaltant. The group discuss about using the Quintessence Array to siphon Otohan's power from the jetpack. Also, Ruidus seems to have the same gravity as Exandria which is strange. Maybe Exandria's hollow so the masses match?
- With all they've seen so far (sights, people, land), it was like going to Hokkaido, Japan for Taliesin. Basically Ruidus is just Japan.
- The group discuss their landing on the moon. They were panicking and made such a big show of where they were going, it was a mess. They were supposed to be the stealthy recon unit. Sam says it would've been different if he'd known there was a gate from the area but Matt said it was just a fence, which was fair. Liam says sometimes you can miss 10 second fragments of Matt's explanation and they can be crucial bits.
- The fight in Razora against the Willmaster where they also met Elder Barthie and Dono. Bells Hells discovered a whole society up there. The group discuss the dreams that the Reilorans can see. Maybe there's a way to corrupt those dreams and put a virus in the Reiloran's hive mind, like in Independence Day.
- Taliesin thinks the All-Minds-Burn seed is going to do just that. Maybe a hive mind fight with the Reilorans can happen or they were separated from each other all this time then suddenly reunited. According to Taliesin, All-Minds-Burn is really weird but chill. Once you join it's hard to leave but they don't need to advertise and they don't do outreach. When you ingest the substance created by the All-Minds-Burn creature, it creates a sense of connection and you feel part of a family, seeing and been seen by everyone.
- Back in Razora, Bells Hells learned from the Willmaster that the Reilorans love The One Who Sleeps and want to go to the Blue Promise, although Liam is suspicious of what they'd do once they got there. The Reilorans don't really have opinions on the gods; they seem to be pretty much myths for them. Also, there are probably remnants of their parent culture somewhere on Exandria, like a bunch of Caduceus's ancestors in the Shattered Teeth.
- Speaking of the Shattered Teeth, Taliesin and Sam were shocked they didn't pop out there instead of Issylra. They found themselves in an unmapped and unexplored part of Issylra, where Dani says there are nomadic peoples, wilderness, and barriers such as the Utesspire Mountains that block the free passage of very many people.
- They found very old Proto-Elven architecture on Ruidus near the portal behind the waterfall that led to Issylra. Liam is wondering if it is connected to Ludinus Da'leth's past because he's so old. There's also old Elven stuff near Caduceus' home in the Blooming Grove. Taliesin has quiet lore about that in case they decide to go explore in-game someday. The source of power from the three families (Dust, Stone, and Clay) is from a Champion of The Calamity, but for some reason his name has been erased, nobody speaks of him, and he could not be buried in any city despite being a great hero and very helpful in his time.
- Travis is disappointed that they didn't have wuukor steak while they were in Razora, but they at least got a stampede. The group doesn't know if the Reilorans eat the wuukor or if they are sacred animals. Are there restaurants on the moon? Taliesin wants to know so bad.
- Off the rails, Liam has a backup character in case Orym dies, although Liam doesn't want that. He's an astronaut for the Grim Verity, a dwarven artificer who has an Iron Man-like suit with a spell of air breathing creating a bubble around his head, and he's already on the moon. Maybe he's undercover. Taliesin of course has a backup character; Travis has an idea of one but it's not ready at all. He says there's no chance that Chetney will die even of old age. Sam agrees because he thinks Matt forgets about Chetney.
- Sam's Deadpool: FCG could die; Laudna could die again; Orym could die. Travis says Orym has gotten pretty close, especially with his uses of Bait and Switch.
- 12th level choices: Liam mapped out all the things he could do at each new level years ago. He liked the Tough feat for 12th level but Orym is so little it didn't make sense. He told Matt he wanted to take the Fey Touched feat so he could cast Misty Step and Hex to up his damage, and Matt explained he'd give him that feat as part of the deal with Nana Morri. So Liam took Tough on top of that. Sam took Fey Touched for FCG so he has Misty Step and also picked Identify. FCG previously had his Goggles of Object Reading to cast Identify but had to un-attune them to use the Staff of Dark Odyssey to teleport. Travis didn't get an ASI or feat this level since he multi-classed, but got a bump up for wolf stuff. Taliesin took Great Weapon Fighting for Ashton.
- Ria'Doin (aka Spooky Town) was not very fruitful except for the portal in the lake that could potentially bring allies on the moon. Other than that, that place sucks. They needed some sleep and it was the worst place to stay overnight. That could've been bad when Orym, Chetney, FCG and Ashton got drawn into the lake, since Imogen had no spells left. Liam was never worried-- those three women are the three greatest women in the world. Taliesin was a little worried because the chances of him rolling his way out were very low because Ashton has a -2 points in Charisma.
- Orym's deal with Morri was made to give him extra juice so he can keep Bells Hells safe while they're on this mission. When it's done, Orym will serve Morri. Sam thinks it's a terrible deal since Orym has responsibilities to the Ashari and he's going to give it all up. Liam says they're not at summer camp, and Orym believes that Predathos could cause untold loss of life. He thinks that Bells Hells' chances are ridiculously low to survive it, so for him the deal is just a win. He's trying to shield the planet and wants to make his father, husband and Keyleth proud. He's just doing his job.
- Imogen and Fearne are connected while on Ruidus. Taliesin loves things like that, you give and take, and he's excited to see how it can backfire horribly, like anything they've done on the moon. Liam loves the network; it's like in The Departed. They all agree that Imogen could be the Chosen One or simply be one of a few super powerful Exaltant, like Otohan or Liliana. Travis has a plan to kill Imogen's mom while telling Imogen to let go so she can go nuclear, they all die, cut to black, Fin. Sam has had thoughts about killing Imogen, because if she's the one they need you could just kill her and then game over. Liam says while Orym has Batman maneuvers planned, Liam doesn't have any maneuvers to neutralize the Hells. He spent too much time doing that with Caleb.
Tower of Inquiry[]
- What moment, in any campaign, has scared you the most? For Taliesin, the angler fish in Aeor during Campaign Two; for Travis, the first jump scare that Matt did where he reached out over the DM screen; for Liam, when the Mighty Nein handed over the Beacon; for Sam, it was Scanlan as a triceratops in Campaign One. Basically all those moments when it's just you and Matt, where the rules don't make sense anymore and no one can help you. They all sympathize with Yasha's dreams with the Stormlord in Campaign 2, where Ashley Johnson was really placed alone in the spotlight.
- What is a characteristic or skill that your character really admires about another member of Bells Hells? Ashton admires how bad of a liar Chetney is; FCG admires Fearne's "Joie de Vivre" and Carpe Diem'esque sort of chutzpah-- she just goes for it, has an idea and does it without thinking and stressing; Chetney admires Fearne's portrayal of blissful naivete, being joyful and optimistic in a busted upbringing, even if it's a defense mechanism; Orym admires how clever Imogen is.
- Has seeing the campaign 1 characters through the lens of your current characters affected how view/feel about them? It's nice to know that some of them still have an effect in the world. They haven't seen Scanlan nor Grog yet. Liam finds it interesting the way Matt used Vax to be in almost the same position as Purvan Suul. What Matt did with Percy made total sense to Taliesin; he also loves Matt's interpretation of both Caleb and Beau, and Keyleth is disturbingly point on.
- Living in a fantasy world, where flying ships and giant monsters are common, what kind or level of magic would be impressive to your character? Is there anything your character thinks is impossible? Time travel for Bells Hells characters at least. Physical distortions like reversing gravity or making the sun disappear. FCG would be impressed by Laudna giving life to objects; Taliesin says technology is interesting, because it's magic that people who don't have magic can do; Liam says if the moon split in half and Captain Lou Albano comes out he'd be pretty impressed, and he was blown away by the portal from a moon to a lake; Taliesin says deep outer space would be crazy.
- How would your character react to being dropped in Newfaire? Ashton and Percy would be right at home; Caduceus would freak out; Chetney would be crushing it with fine wood production; Orym would not care for it; Caleb would fit in; Molly would hate it.
The Deep Dive[]
- Taliesin: What is it like for Ashton to have a form where he doesn't feel his chronic pain? The lack of pain is just a reminder that it will be back in 55 minutes. It's part of their life so when it's gone and then comes back suddenly, it's like day one again, knowing what's going to happen and knowing it's gonna be worse. Ashton doesn't feel pain while raging, either. Taliesin would call it "Passion" rather than "Rage", because Ashton needs that.
- Travis: Chetney made a bargain with Nana Morri. What was that experience like for you as a player and why did Chetney change his mind about regaining his youth? It didn't feel really on-brand for Chetney to be younger and he also didn't know what was going to be on the other side of the deal. But when you're around a hag, you've got to pull the rope and make a deal.
- Liam: Orym secretly made a fey deal with Nana Morri for everyone's safety in exchange for serving her. Why did he make this bargain and why did he word it the way he did? Does he hope to get out of the deal somehow? Why has he not told Fearne? It's going to show itself; Orym doesn't want to hide it. Liam did it because he likes doing things that he's scared of at the table and shaking things up. Also Liam likes Fighters but sometimes misses magic casting and this was an opportunity to gain some spells.
- Sam: FCG had an interaction with a bird that was, while antagonistic, at least productive. How is his bird phobia? Do they feel more comfortable around birds now that Shithead is dead? Sam doesn't think that FCG can sleep peacefully ever. Also birds are creepy to both FCG and Sam.
- Taliesin: How did Ashton feel about being the only Bells hells member to fail one of Nana Morri's therapy challenges? Ashton has been feeling shitty for a while. During the lake encounter when Ashton remained a captive of the kelp creature, he was sick of being the only one because all of the rest of Bells Hells were free. He didn't say anything about it but he's tired of not saying anything about it.
- Travis: Clearly Chetney's fey bargain with Nana influenced his ability to make toys. What can you tell us about his new masterpiece ability? If Chetney spends an hour making a masterpiece, it imbues the toy not only with his essence, but whoever finds the toy or is handed it becomes entranced for 1d6 minutes.
- Liam: Orym has kept up his pressure on the group and especially Imogen in order to see this through. What is like for him to be a soldier facing his family's murderers and also a man trying to protect his new loved ones? He feels like this is a world-ender and he's gonna go to the end on his own if he has to but doesn't want to; he's scared and he's got this group who he thinks is amazing and doesn't want to lose a single one of them. Especially Imogen because she's powerful, intelligent and a leader.
- Sam: Though Turn Undead has been very useful, it also affects Laudna. How does FCG feel about the spell's effect on his undead friend? If it's the will of the Changebringer then maybe Laudna deserves it in a way. She works in mysterious ways but if she's granting power that punishes the evil dead and Laudna suffers that punishment, FCG can't do anything about it.
- Taliesin: How does Ashton feel about their relationship with Bells Hells after the fallout of taking the shard? He's trying to be really patient and really prove they've got what it takes to be helpful and be sensible, which is really hard. And also, it's driving them insane because they shouldn't be the sensible, responsible one, and it's going against everything they hold dear and they're going insane.
- Travis: How does Chetney think he will be able to bring Nana Morri a piece of Predathos in order to uphold his end of their deal? Is he (or you) worried about what may happen if he fails? Travis ain't worried about it. Even if Chetney returns to her empty handed and suffers the consequences, Travis is stoked on that idea either way.
- Liam: Orym attempted to reach out to Dorian Storm but he didn't respond. Orym later asked Imogen if she had a theory about why Dorian didn't respond. How worried is Orym about Dorian's safety? He's afraid he's dead. Imogen was right, he could be asleep but also could be very dead.
- Sam: Throwing it back to "The Mighty Nein Reunion: Echoes of the Solstice" (Sx79) - why did you decide to play Luc Brenatto instead of Veth? What was it like bringing that character in for the game? Sam likes to break the form. Also, the problem with Veth through the second half of Campaign Two was that she had no reason to keep adventuring with the group.
Tower of Inquiry[]
- From your many guests that have been on the show, is there a guest combo that you would like to see that have not roleplayed together at the table? Liam picks Emily Axford and Felicia Day; Taliesin picks Ashly Burch and Utkarsh Ambudkar; Sam picks Lou Wilson and Robbie Daymond.
- How much control do you retain over your characters after a campaign has ended? Do you hand the reins over to Matt completely or do you still like to have some input over your previous PC's stories after their main story ends? Matt is technically in control of all of their characters now. However, they're best friends and he would never do anything major that he wasn't sure they'd be cool with. Matt doesn't check with them but he knows them. Matt asked Taliesin about Whitestone before Bells Hells first got there, like Percy's office or his workshop and the relationships with his kids. Matt said it before, once a campaign is over, they (the characters) are his now. Travis reveals Matt's suggested a few ideas for Grog Strongjaw and he's vetoed all of them.
- As an actor, have there been things you've taken from roleplaying at the table and incorporated into your process in other mediums? For Sam, nothing. It's harder to read lines of script for an audition than spend 4 hours a week playing in front of cameras. For Travis, roleplaying is the fastest way to improv, so these games help a lot.
Caper Cards: Bells Hells[]
- Sam: FCG has a looser connection with the Changebringer on Ruidus, which is seemingly why Scrying failed. How does FCG feel about being gated from their god? FCG always feels the connection with her, even if she's not present and reachable.
- Liam: Orym's efforts paid off when Sending finally worked. What was it like to hear from Caleb and realize that communication was back online? He felt their chances shot up. They were cut off all this time from allies then suddenly everybody was on the phone.
Quotations[]
- Sam: (to Liam, about the Nana Morri deal) You gave up your future for Misty Step.
Trivia[]
- The Caper Cards: Bells Hells was not included in the initial YouTube video of the show, but is in a separate YouTube video called Caper Cards | More-Sided Dive | 4SDE21 or on the Twitch VOD version of this episode.
External Links[]
References[]
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