"The Red End" (3x120) is the one hundred twentieth episode of the third campaign of Critical Role. Bells Hells face Predathos and its terrifying second form as they attempt to bring a god-eater to heel...
Synopsis[]
Announcements[]
- First sponsor is Assassin's Creed Shadows. Sam describes the game's two dual protagonists and has Robbie Daymond try to guess which character matches which personality trait. Robbie, it turns out, is more the stealthy nerd type. Also, don't miss Critical Role's Assassin's Creed Shadows One-Shot.
- Second sponsor is Nord VPN, where you can now get four extra months for free.
- Robbie plugs his new game Date Everything, coming out soon and available for pre-order, where you can date everything in your home. Yes, everything.
- There will be a State of the Role video released sometime next week, with several big announcements.
Previously on Critical Role[]
Fan art of Imogen, Vessel of Predathos, by Sabira Langevin.[art 1]
So last we left off, Bells Hells, after trekking deep into the depths of the Red Moon of Ill Omen, Ruidus, you found yourselves at the very core, and after sending Ludinus' form scattering into some sort of an oily, bubbling substance, you stepped into the central chamber where Imogen, of the two Ruidusborn, accepted it within. As you watched it swell and grow to a monstrous size and began to step towards its exit, you all rallied around this terrifying entity, trying to beseech your friend who seemed beyond your reach, as Imogen, somewhere within the consciousness of Predathos, sought to engage with the shreds that remained of the two gods it once swallowed in forgotten history. As you battled it, trying to peel back its hardened carapace and the blue-green crystals that armor its torso and body, you began to see opportunities to reach for your friend, where you managed to free one of the two lost entities. In a moment of crisis and panic, Laudna placed the bequeathed legendary mask of the Matron upon her face, discovered it was a fake crafted by one of your own companions, Braius, and through some rapid finagling, your terrifying Form of Dread, you placed your face into it and as such, briefly transported the consciousness of you and the rest of your troop into the Matron's realm to have a discussion with her.
There, in that stretched moment of time, you came up with a very curious possibility on how to deal with the current Predathos/god situation on Exandria. After expressing this possibility in a bit of banter, your moment came to a close and you had to choose two of a number of boons that the Matron could provide. As you stepped back out of her realm and into your conscious selves here back on the moon, you chose the recovery of some of the arcane knowledge that your group had expended, as well as a brief swell of lively experience, and temporarily gained two levels. Finishing, destroying this entity, as it crumbled, its form shattering across the room as innumerable shards of broken Ruidian glass. You had a moment to breathe in silence and process what had happened before the room itself began to shake as erupting from across the chamber, a massive Kaiju head of Predathos, currently furious, began to burst through the ground where two of its massive claws reached out to claim vengeance and possibly reclaim its Vessel to ride out and beyond to feast upon the quaking gods beyond the Divine Gate.
Part I[]
Before the battle begins, Dorian gives himself Foresight then casts Mass Cure Wounds on most of the party. Chetney attacks the head and realizes that the crystals surrounding it provide an additional layer of protection and deal psychic damage when attacked. The head moves to a better position before Imogen hits it with her Blade of Disaster and Mind Slivers one of the hands. However, the head emits a Shriek of Oblivion, massively wounding both Ashton and Braius. Ashton hammers the hand, which then does a Meteoric Slam against Ashton and Fearne. Laudna retaliates with Hunger of the Shadow Shard and Shadow Walks into a shadow away from the others. Orym leaps onto Predathos' head and whacks with Seedling, with the aid of Braius' use of his armor Truthbearer to help Orym evade an attack of opportunity. The creature retaliates by biting and swallowing Orym, who immediately uses his bonus action to Misty Step out to near Chetney. Predathos activates two limbs which attack Ashton and Imogen before Fearne hits the head with Scorching Ray for significant damage. Predathos tries and fails to pull Laudna to it, then Braius uses Staggering Strike and crits for impressive damage.
Fan art of Dorian casting Crown of Stars, by Pyromeekorai.[art 2]
Dorian casts Crown of Stars and hits a hand, Chetney attacks the head with Turmoil, and Predathos lets out a Screech of the Ravaged Mind. Imogen then lines up the head and two of the three hands, fires off a Lightning Bolt, and transmutes the damage to thunder, to which Predathos is vulnerable. The creature uses two of its Legendary Resistances to succeed on its saves, but still loses one of its hands, and takes massive damage to another and to the head. She follows up with her Blade of Disaster for even more damage on the head. Ashton attacks an arm doing substantial damage, while Laudna drops a Fireball on a hand and the head, then Chill Touches the head before Orym whacks it. Predathos calls forth another arm and does a Shriek of Oblivion, badly wounding Orym and knocking Fearne unconscious before activating two of it limbs, which claw at Imogen. Fearne rolls a natural one on her first death save, taking two failures. Predathos then attacks Imogen again. By flashing Braius, Imogen manages to persuade him to help Fearne, and he uses a point of Lay on Hands to bring her conscious again before gifting Laudna a portrait of her he painted. Predathos then attacks Imogen, bringing her very close to unconsciousness.
Dorian attacks a hand from the air with a sword and kills it, then moves to the head and heals Ashton. Predathos attacks Fearne, but misses. Chetney uses the Staff of Dark Odyssey to cast Blink on Imogen, who attacks with her Blade of Disaster and with another transmuted-to-thunder Lightning Bolt, killing two hands. Ashton dashes closer to Dorian. Laudna casts Mirror Image on herself, then Eldritch Blasts the head for significant damage. Orym runs to Fearne and feeds her a large healing potion, then uses Bait and Switch to shield her. Predathos summons two additional limbs before using his Screech of the Ravaged Mind to hit most of the party. The hands attack Dorian and Orym. Fearne uses her Flame Blade and sneak attack on the head and crits, doing massive damage. The head is now looking pretty rough and the party focuses on it. Braius whacks it, and Predathos responds by biting Ashton.
Dorian heals Ashton a bit and attacks the head. Chetney gives Ashton a healing potion and slices with Turmoil before Imogen hits with another transmuted Lightning Bolt. Ashton hammers the creature and crits for significant damage before assuming his diamond, almost invulnerable form for one round. An arm attacks Dorian, and Laudna is pulled by the creature into melee and saved from being bitten and swallowed by Chetney's Blood Curse of the Eyeless. She twin spells Eldritch Blast while Orym attacks with Seedling, both doing substantial damage. Predathos gains another arm and uses its Shriek again on half of the party, doing massive damage on Laudna and knocking both Dorian and Braius unconscious. Two hands attack Chetney, injuring him seriously, followed by Fearne using Scorching Ray again. Yet another hand attacks Chetney, breaking his concentration on Blink and bringing Imogen into visibility again. Braius fails his first death save before the head attacks Imogen, knocking her unconscious and swallowing her.
Break[]
- Ads for Assassin's Creed Shadows and Date Everything.
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- Beacon destroys suburbia.
Part II[]
Fan art of Ashton's hammer jammed in Predathos' mouth, by @zhellers.[art 3]
Dorian succeeds on his first death save. Chetney continues using Shatter's thunder damage from Turmoil to attack Predathos' head, which then moves into position for a later attack. Imogen begins taking digestive damage from being swallowed, losing a death save, then rolls a success. Ashton, planning a joint move with Laudna, leaps toward the creature's mouth, jams his hammer in, and clicks the button to make it immovable and hold the mouth open. He reaches into the mouth, grabs Imogen, and hauls her outside to relative safety, leaving the hammer behind. His diamond form drops, leaving him almost totally exhausted. As planned, after summoning a Void Puppet of Otohan Thull, Laudna casts Disintegrate into the gem on the hammer, refracting the spell and barely managing to avoid hitting Ashton. The head uses Predathos' last legendary resistance to succeed, but the spell does massive damage on one arm. Orym uses Seedling's vines to drag the unconscious Dorian to a slightly safer spot and feeds him a healing potion, bringing him to consciousness, but Predathos immediately hits Orym, knocking him out. It tries to swallow Laudna but gets her mirror image instead, then sends an arm to hit both Ashton and Fearne. Ashton uses Relentless Rage to stay up, but it knocks Fearne unconscious. Her death save is a natural one, giving her two failures, and Braius also fails his second death save, ending a round in which comparatively little damage was dealt to Predathos.
Fan art of Orym healing Dorian, by Crystel Astuhuaman.[art 4]
Dorian, flying above the battlefield, casts Mass Cure Wounds to give everyone below 29 points of healing, bringing the three still unconscious awake again. A claw attacks Imogen but she barely stays up, and Chetney rubs slickshimmer oil on her to give her a few temporary hit points before attacking the head. Ashton burns his last Chaos Burst to use Dreadful Misfortune on Predathos, who therefore bites its own tongue. In desperation, Imogen uses the Ring of Remembrance given to her by the Arch Heart, rolling above her remaining hit points to cast a Meteor Swarm on the field, killing all of the limbs of Predathos on the field and getting the How do you want to do this? The creature's arms disappear and its head crumples to the ground. From the fallen head, a light emerges and stumbles out, a childish voice saying, "Can we go now?" Its body splinters into hundreds of small motes of sparkling light that drift into Imogen, a tiny, gentle presence within her, diminished and docile, but growing.
The room is crumbling around them as the Prime Pillar begins to crack and fall. Liliana steps out of the tunnel, weakly calling to her daughter and the party heals themselves with their remaining potions. As shards of rock and glass fall around them, several take minor damage but they all manage to rush back toward the core of the moon through which they came, and regroup to again spend the last of their resources on healing. Realizing they have no way out, Imogen Sends to Caleb Widogast, asking him if he can help, but Caleb's resources are virtually gone after the Mighty Nein's own battle against the Weave Mind. Eventually, Imogen Sends to Planerider Ryn asking for her help. Ryn locates them with a Scry and immediately appears with them, and after being hit with more chunks of falling rock they eventually decide to have Ryn Teleport them to the lost proto-Elven city on Ruidus (using the doll Laudna took from there), with Dorian inside the portable hole. There, they find an army of Vasselheim pouring through the portal from Exandria for an assault on Ruidus.
An elven Dusk General Okirai is called, flanked by two angelic, armed beings, one of which immediately perceives that Imogen carries the God-eater. The army goes on alert and a female goliath (Vusono) bearing the symbol of the Ruiner on her armor approaches, urging they be smited immediately. She calls on her god with Divine Intervention, and the Ruiner answers, peering down on them before silently withdrawing. Vusono is confused, and Okirai explains that to kill Imogen would set Predathos free. Orym shares that Ludinus is dead and that they need to have a discussion in Vasselheim, and the party persuades the army to take them there. They are escorted through the portal to Lake Umamu where they meet the Ashari still camped there, who open a tree tunnel to outside the walls of Vasselheim, where it is only just dawn. From atop the wall, hundreds of crossbows and ballista are pointed directly at them.
Featured characters[]
Bells Hells
Returning
New
- Okirai
- Vusono
- The Ruiner (seen through Divine Intervention)
Mentioned
- Ariks Eshteross
- Asmodeus
- Delilah Briarwood
- Ira Wendagoth
- Ka'Mort
- Otohan Thull (Void Puppet specter)
- The Matron of Ravens
- Teven Klask
- Uther Vendrock
Quotations[]
- Orym: (feeding the unconscious Dorian a healing potion) We need you! I need you! Can you get up? We need you!
- Braius: (after Imogen flashes him) How can I pretend that that didn't happen? I have seen gods appear before me before, and this is a divine sign. I will take it as such. I will kneel down before Fearne and pray to my god and say: My lord, you have shown me much, but you've never shown me that.
- Braius: (after being inspired by Dorian) But I betrayed you. Why are you treating me with kindness?
Dorian: For some reason, I still trust you. - Imogen: (to Predathos) You're mine.
Inventory[]
| Adjustment | Count | Item | Source | Destination | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transferred | 1 | Portrait of Laudna | Braius | Laudna | Braius painted it himself, and gave it to Laudna saying he wasn't all bad. |
| Expended | 1 | Massive healing potion | Orym | Fearne | Did 44 points of healing. |
| Expended | 1 | Potion of healing | Orym | Dorian | |
| Expended | multiple | Potion of healing | the party | the party |
Trivia[]
Fan art of Marisha rolling a d20, by Elaine Tipping.[art 5]
- This is the sixteenth episode in which at least one player plays multiple characters, with Liam playing both Orym and Caleb.[1]
- According to Dani Carr, the party took the following for their gain of two levels from the Boon of the Matron:
- Ashton – Barbarian (Although not mentioned by Dani, it appears Ashton also took the Tough feat based on his HP increase.)
- Braius – Paladin, Tough feat
- Chetney – Blood Hunter, Tough feat
- Dorian – Bard, bumped ability scores to CON (18) & CHA (17)
- Fearne – Rogue
- Imogen – Sorcerer, bumped ability scores to INT (12) & WIS (14) and took metamagic – transmute
- Laudna – Sorcerer
- Orym – Fighter, Fighting Initiate – Duelist feat[2]
- On top of the many natural 20s rolled by the cast during the episode, Predathos got many critical hits due to the nature of some of his attacks, which critted with a 17 or higher.
- Some of the background music played during the episode was a custom piece written for the Predathos encounter by Colm McGuinness.[3]
- Sam's Stanley cup says "Goodbye".[4] His t-shirt was of a very young and professional Robbie Daymond.[5]
References[]
- ↑ Previously, a player played multiple characters in "A Bard's Lament" (1x85), "Masquerade" (1x99), "Unfinished Business" (1x100), "Thar Amphala" (1x101), "Race to the Tower" (1x102), "The Search For Grog" (Sx42), "The Search For Bob" (Sx45), "Dalen's Closet" (Sx47), "Long May He Reign" (2x140), "Fond Farewells" (2x141), "In the Shadow of War" (3x110), "The Nein Hells" (3x111), "The Assembling of Legends" (3x112), "Fight for the Bloody Bridge" (3x114) and "To the Arx Creonum" (3x115).
- ↑
Critical Recap: Critical Role C3E119 "Predathos Awakened" on CritRole.com
- ↑ See "The Red End" (3x120) at 1:17:44.
- ↑ See "The Red End" (3x120) from 1:58:30 through 1:58:40.
- ↑ See "The Red End" (3x120) at 3:21:47.
Art:
- ↑ Fan art of Imogen, Vessel of Predathos, by Sabira Langevin (source). Used with permission.
- ↑ Fan art of Dorian casting Crown of Stars, by Pyromeekorai (source). Used with permission.
- ↑ Fan art of Ashton's hammer jammed in Predathos' mouth, by @zhellers (source). Used with permission.
- ↑ Fan art of Orym healing Dorian, by Crystel Astuhuaman (source). Used with permission.
- ↑ Fan art of Marisha rolling a d20, by Elaine Tipping (source). Used with permission.
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