- This page is about the episode. For the race, see Deathwish Run.
"The Deathwish Run" (3x28) is the twenty-eighth episode of the third campaign of Critical Role. Bells Hells enter the deadly crawler race known as Deathwish, where survival is the only rule and winning is the only option...
Synopsis[]
Announcements[]
- The return of The Nordverse! CryptonicOverride is ready to defrag Setty, but Setty severs her first, which has absolutely nothing to do with non-sponsor Apple TV's hit series Severance. Questioned by Number Two, Commodore69 and FreezerBurn, Setty severs the part of their brains that remembers Nord VPN or any of these stupid skits. Matt, Erika, and Technospice69 immediately volunteer to be severed as well.
- Second sponsor is Cash App, the finance app that makes it easy to invest, send, or spend money. Use code "CRITROLE" for $15 on account completion.
- The cast (except Sam) will appear for a panel at San Diego Comic Con on 23 July 2022 at 5:00 Pacific, which will be uploaded to YouTube Thursday, 28 July at 10:00am Pacific.
- The fifth episode of 4-Sided Dive will air August 9th. From now on, the show will air Tuesdays but not always the first Tuesday of the month.
- The next episode of Critical Role will be Thursday, August 4th.
Previously on Critical Role[]
So, last we left off: our troop of heroes had made their way to the city of Bassuras in the middle of the Hellcatch Valley, in search of Armand Treshi, who has been on the run. You managed to discover and confirm that he has been hiding out in the Seat of Disdain, the center of the Paragon's Call Crawler gang that sits within the city. As part of your intent to find a way to gather more influence or to safely get into this fortress called the Seat of Disdain, you met with a contact, General Ratanish, and spoke on your interest in joining this Crawler gang, upon which some of you met the leader of Paragon's Call, Otohan Cruel-- or Thull, who has a unique history.
As part of the process of being initiated, or proving your worth to join the Paragon's Call, you agreed to take place in the Deathwish Run, which is a dangerous, deadly race that takes place through and around the city of Bassuras. This more recent race that's being designed as part of your request to join was set for that dusk. And so, you've all begun to prepare yourselves for this race in the short time that you have.
In the meantime, you've also had some unique character revelations, some interesting bits of information come your way about some of you, and in the morrow, the following day, supposedly, Birdie Calloway is to be arriving within the city and there is a coming meeting.
Part I[]
The party arrives at the starting/ending point of the Deathwish Run, the Bone Tree in The Skids, where a large crowd has gathered around the four other racers already there. Of the party's two crawler skirmishers, Ashton will drive the one they name the "Red Moon", with Imogen riding shotgun, marked with a little red moon. Chetney will drive the other, named "Buck Fucket", with Laudna in the rear seat. They also want Fresh Cut Grass to ride on this crawler and eventually decide to use a tanglefoot bag to glue them to its front in place of the front wheel. Orym paints two angry eyebrows and jaws on FCG, then he and Dusk head to the hairpin turns into the Ravine.
Fearne tries to sneak in squirrel form onto Paragon's Call's racer, named "Jamil Toetaker", but is caught and shot, forcing her back into her true form. Imogen notices General Ratanish and Otohan Thull observing from a distance, and realizes Otohan is the woman from her dreams. Just as night falls, the race begins and Laudna casts Bane on two of their competition's crews.
Amid gun and crossbow fire, the crawlers charge off. Laudna uses her Form of Dread to frighten one of the other drivers so that he has to try to move away from her, while Imogen Commands another to brake but is gashed by a greataxe attack. Laudna is hit with rifle fire. Ashton's Rage for this section of the race takes the "Gravity" form, and FCG's Spirit Guardians take the form of turtle shells.
Fan art of Imogen's Lightning Bolt, by Lap Pun Cheung.[art 1]
With spells, weapon attacks, and explosives, the race continues through the Skids of Bassuras and into the hairpin turns leading into the ravine, with a little old lady crossing the road being the only collateral damage. Imogen and Laudna both are taking significant damage, and FCG attempts to help with healing but is limited by what he can see from his position as the front wheel. Chetney and FCG's crawler has a metallic net thrown over it, slowing them and causing damage until Chetney tears it free by assuming his wolf form. Imogen casts Lightning Bolt on the driver who threw the net, causing him and his crawler to explode, out of the race.
Orym leaps into one of the competitors' vehicles and succeeds in booting the driver out of it. He's quickly joined by Dusk who manages to throw the passenger out as well. Imogen casts Blindness on another of the drivers, who eventually drives off the side of the cliff and explodes.
With only the Paragon's Call crawler remaining as a rival, they reach the pitch black caverns at the bottom of the ravine and plunge into darkness.
Break[]
- Merch Alert! Fresh Cut Grass and Uk'otoa water bottles in all shops except Canada; Critical Role Gradient Logo t-shirt and reversible bucket hat in all shops; Beaurebar coaster set everywhere except the EU.
- Q&A with the cast at San Diego Comic Con on 23 July 2022 at 5:00 Pacific in Ballroom 20.
- Uk'otoa the Game now available in the Critical Role shop and select local game stores.
- Welcome to Tal'DoreiCritical Role soundtrack album available now on all digital music platforms.
- Critical Recap every Wednesday on CritRole.com.
- Submit fan art and cosplay for possible inclusion in the weekly online gallery at https://www.critrole.com/submit.
- Marisha unboxes the benefits of a subscription to Critical Role on Twitch.
Part II[]
Inside the cavern, they are immediately attacked by flocks of bats. Orym expends the blue rose he found while traveling to the museum heist to cast a cone of lightning on the Paragon's Call crawler, their sole remaining rival in the race, sending the driver flying to impale himself on the back of Chetney and Laudna's crawler. Ashton then uses Density Well to brake in front of the crawler, causing it to slam into the back of Ashton's crawler and destroy itself.
With none of their rivals still in the competition, the racers briefly think they can relax... until a growl comes out of the darkness. They see green glows emanating from a massive beast, a kagaronk that looks like a multi-legged scaled leopard. It runs alongside them as they continue racing forward. Preparing to be attacked, Chetney and Laudna trade places so she is now driving. Although the creature takes significant damage, it is powerful as well and uses its legendary actions for a 20-foot Tail Whirlwind Strike against most of the party, in addition to claw and bite attacks. Orym knocks the creature prone, Ashton steers around it, and they manage to outrace it out of the cavern.
Fan art of FCG and Laudna in the Run, by BlackSalander.[art 3]
The three crawlers are now racing up the switchbacks of the ravine back toward The Skids and the finish line. Two figures on a platform above the route push a heavy boulder onto the path, which Orym and Ashton are able to evade, and Ashton uses a chaos burst to pull Laudna closer to him and escape most of the damage. Suddenly, they see the bloodied and growling kagaronk drag itself straight up the ravine side and onto the path before them. It attacks Laudna, knocking her unconscious. Since she was driving, FCG feels himself being steered into the cliffside but by using his grappling cannon, avoids hitting it. Orym is able to seriously wound the creature and keep it from attacking Laudna or Chetney any further, and Ashton finishes it off.
Fan art of Fearne and Little Mister at the finish line, by Elaine Tipping.[art 4]
Dusk leaps from her position on Orym's crawler onto Laudna's, and uses Lay on Hands to bring her back to consciousness (which is an ability that as Warlock she should not have had) with one hit point. Dusk goes back to Orym's crawler and they head toward the finish line through the dust storm that has blown up. At that moment, several spectators pull on chains, releasing spears on springs flipping out from boxes in the road, creating a bladed barricade. Stationed near the finish line, Fearne sees this and manages to widen the safe gap to 15 feet instead of 10, but in her efforts manages to fall into the portable hole. Although none of the drivers spot the barrier ahead of time, Laudna and Orym are able to get through the gap, but Ashton doesn't. Their crawler wipes out, mangling both the crawler and its passengers as the other two crawlers cross the finish line.
Barely alive, Laudna stumbles toward Imogen, and Ashton stumbles into the hole while looking for Fearne. While helping her out, he tries to pickpocket her, but she notices the attempt. The owners of Orym's purloined vehicle approach and ask for (and receive) its return. General Ratanish and Otohan Thull approach with a small group of soldiers from Paragon's Call and Imogen ducks behind Fearne. The party has been accepted into the Call and will be given quarters in the barracks.
Imogen takes Laudna to FCG for a little healing. FCG is badly damaged from the stresses of the race, and his speech is glitching again. They slowly walk him, still attached to the crawler, to Imahara Joe who releases him and and offers to repair and polish him overnight. Ashton stays there with him. The rest of the party head back to their inn, and on the way, Imogen telepathically tells Laudna that Otohan is the woman in her dreams. Laudna also takes Dusk aside, thanks her for saving her life, but nervously and apologetically tells her she's not ready for an emotional relationship. Dusk accepts this and as they walk off arm in arm, Imogen casts Detect Thoughts on Dusk, but there is nothing there to grasp onto; Dusk's mind is thoroughly blocked off.
At the inn, Chetney approaches Dusk and congratulates her on her performance in the race. He then offers to help her capture the Calloways if she'll share the bounty with him. She denies knowing what he's talking about; she's not trying to kill Fearne's parents. He succeeds on an insight check and gets a whisper from Erika as to whether Dusk is lying. Fearne comes over and admits she is nervous about meeting her parents in the morning, but when Chetney leaves, Dusk tells her about Chetney's accusation. Dusk seems horrified and very upset, but Fearne thinks Chetney is just kidding. She is thinking positive thoughts about having a good day tomorrow, and they bond over that. Meanwhile, Orym has read the lips of every one of the conversations, including Chetney's. That evening, Imogen attempts once more to push into Dusk's thoughts while Dusk sleeps, but it's like a wall preventing her from peeking.
In the morning, they head to Imahara Joe's to rejoin FCG and Ashton. As they near it, a skirmish crawler parks in front and a female faun gets off, dust-covered from travel, and goes in. Only Ashton and FCG are there and she asks them to tell Joe that Birdie's here. Ashton shouts this to Joe. Outside, the rest of the party hears Ashton's shout, sending Fearne into a panic.
Fan art of Birdie meeting Fearne, by Kiera James.[art 5]
Joe greets Birdie, asking how many she's looking for this time, and Birdie responds that they're "getting real close," so she'll take whatever they can spare. Fearne nervously enters, and they see each other. Nervously tidying herself, Birdie runs up, grabs Fearne, and lifts her into a hug. They lovingly and haltingly greet each other, but when Fearne says it's been 90 years, Birdie responds it's been close to six years. Fearne points out Dusk, saying Birdie knows her, but Birdie doesn't think they've met.
Suddenly, the tattoo on Dusk's arm springs to life, "a roiling, crashing ocean. As the waves break, they splinter off into geometric patterns that multiply and divide." They crawl up Dusk's arm to their face, where they drain of color into an opalescent rainbow hue. Dusk's form has changed, becoming tall and wiry. Their face has sharper features, and their clothes turn inside out to reveal black robes. Their true form is a changeling.
Birdie, holding Fearne's hand, steps back, but Dusk grabs both of them. Birdie gasps out to Fearne, "You led them right to us."
Featured characters[]
Bells Hells[]
Returning[]
New[]
- Birdie Calloway
- Jamil Toetaker
Quotations[]
- Fearne: (in reaction to the bladed barrier appearing) That doesn't look very safe at all. Hopefully they make it! Wow, I'm so glad I wasn't on one of those.
- Fearne: (after Ashton's failed pickpocket) You can always just ask me.
Ashton: No, no, it's all right, it's all right.
Fearne: No, take something.
Ashton Now I don't want to! God fucking-- don't take the fun out of it. - Chetney: (to Fearne) I just wanted to let you know, because I'm savvy. I've been around for a couple hundred years. If you need any help with the Calloways, just cut me in on a little bit of the coin and we'll take care of it.
Dusk: Hm?
Chetney: You know. Your target. - Birdie Calloway: (to Fearne) You led them right to us!
Inventory[]
| Adjustment | Count | Item | Source | Destination | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Expended | 1 | Tanglefoot bag | Orym | FCG | To glue FCG to the front of their crawler as the front wheel. |
| Transferred | 1 | Bomb |
FCG Laudna Imogen |
Laudna Imogen Ashton |
Time-able bomb bought at Esmer's. |
| Expended | 1 | Stick of dynamite | Laudna | Rival crawler | |
| Expended | 1 | Chromatic Rose | Orym | Paragon's Call crawler | This was the blue rose Orym found in the lightning-stuck tree in the Oderan Wilds.[1] |
| Stolen | 1 | Long blond braid | Unknown | Fearne | Cut from the head of a woman in the crowd. |
| Acquired | several | Candy apples | Unknown | Fearne | |
| Stolen | A full bowl | Coins | Unknown | Fearne | Fearne noted she had gotten them for FCG, and fed them to him. |
| Acquired | 1 | Scrap metal with the red moon logo | The wrecked crawler | Orym | After the race, Orym took just the small piece of metal containing the picture of Ruidus. |
Trivia[]
- At Dusk's revelation of her true nature, her stat card changed to show her new art and statistics, as well as the fact that her true name is as yet unknown.[2]
- Sam later revealed that when Fresh Cut Grass began glitching at the end of the race, he was one stress point away from tipping over.[3]
- Sam's jerrycan says "MEAN MAX: FRESHY ROAD" showing FCG as a War Boy saying "WHAT A SMILEY DAY!"[4]
References[]
- ↑ See "Heart-to-Heartmoor" (3x17) at 3:22:06.
- ↑ See "The Deathwish Run" (3x28) at 4:24:41.
- ↑ See "4-Sided Dive: Liam Laudna-Hands" (4SDx06) at 0:23:36.
- ↑ See "The Deathwish Run" (3x28) from 1:00:55 through 1:01:15.
Art:
- ↑ Fan art of Imogen's Lightning Bolt, by Lap Pun Cheung (source). Used with permission.
- ↑ Screenshot of the Kagaronk from 2:43:56. This file is a copyrighted work. Its use in this article is asserted to qualify as fair use of the material under United States copyright law.
- ↑ Fan art of FCG and Laudna in the Run, by BlackSalander (source). Used with permission.
- ↑ Fan art of Fearne and Little Mister at the finish line, by Elaine Tipping (source). Used with permission.
- ↑ Fan art of Birdie meeting Fearne, by Kiera James (source). Used with permission.
- ↑ Fan art of Dusk transforming, by ElesirArt (source). Used with permission.
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