"4-Sided Dive: Witch Sesh" (4SDx22) is the twenty-second episode of 4-Sided Dive, discussing episodes of the third campaign up through "Mission Improbable" (3x90) with guests Ashley Johnson, Liam O'Brien, Laura Bailey, and Marisha Ray. Beginning with this episode, the gaming portion of the show was contained in a separate video called "More-Sided Dive".
Synopsis[]
Laura Bailey is the 22nd Tavern Keeper. She wants to clarify things about the continuity error in "4-Sided Dive: Feat Fetishes" (4SDx21) during the beginning bits.
What the Fuck is up with That?[]
- Moon city, Kreviris. It's a cool place, especially Vaterra Kreviris. Before they got there, Marisha really liked the elven city they found underground. They have an approximation of these different cultures they see in their dreams, it's a cool concept. The Prime Pillar with multiple spikes on it is also awesome. Dani Carr says the spikes are maybe Predathos trying to get out. Laura thought the spikes were Predathos' brain growing out.
- Ashley doesn't think Predathos is a person. It might be something else but doesn't really know what it is yet. It's just a feeling for now.
- All the knowledge gained in the Moon City! Laura and Marisha have more questions than anything else. Marisha says it was risky to split the party but so glad they did because they got so much more info. They don't know if Fearne's father, Athion Zathuda is alive with Gloamglut.
- During the meeting with the resistance, Rashinna said Ruidians had forgotten where they came from. Laudna proposed to give her that information, but Rashinna didn't want to hear it yet. Laura says it would be really hard to find out everything you've known since birth is not the truth. The Ruidians want to go to Exandria, but theoretically, they were from Exandria, and ripped away.
- Dani jumps in to remind everyone where in time Ruidus was shot into the sky: at the end of The Founding, before the Schism. Ruidus is a man-made moon. Elves are the oldest race, then dwarves, then humans, and everybody else came after that. But, like Matt Mercer likes to remind them, this is the founding myth; this is what they're told. Marisha says if the elves came first, that seems very superiority-driven. Dani says the theme of this campaign is what do you do when faced with the fact that everything you know could be wrong?
- The Volition. They're cool. Everyone liked Gaz Tomo but he might be dead now, potentially killed by Liliana Temult. Bells Hells tried to warn them. Ashley says they had such a short time with them, they already had big plans, and Bells Hells came in last minute, it's a big mess. The Volition seem so narrow-focused on their cause that it's hard to know if they're thinking outside of it.
- Liam thinks a lot about who knows the most between the Volition, the Weave Mind, Ludinus Da'leth, and all the recruits they've gotten. Does Ludinus have the whole thing figured out? More than the Reilorans?
- Marisha says the Volition is very focused on fighting the Weave and doesn't care about Predathos.
- Also, Ira Wendagoth is on chaos revenge mode with the explosives, and doesn't really care what happens. He's clearly having fun. Maybe he's back in the Feywild waiting to see what happens.
- The two mission teams. They thought FCG and Ashton were going to die from the explosion. Matt was kind to let them use the portable hole, but he likes creative ideas. This is a game that they're all trying to have fun playing. FCG could've even died permanently if he had taken full damage. Splitting the party was dangerous, but the danger is the fun, they might do it again. If all Bells Hells were in the same tunnel during the explosion, they would probably all just die.
- How are Bells Hells going to escape the moon? Liam says space shuttle. They will probably be in trouble with the Volition. Liam thinks the "Did she know?" is a problem. They could know if Imogen reached out to [[Liliana Temult]|Liliana].
- They discovered that the Reilorans are really deep into bioengineering, and it seems they have a eugenics situation going on. Marisha says they're probably a little racist, like the Reiloran thought eaters and mystics are above. The party also found Aeor tech on Ruidus, Dani says they were explicitly told that they have seen Ludinus bringing strange devices across the Bloody Bridge, so Ludinus has potentially been to Aeor. That tracks because the Cerberus Assembly back in Campaign Two were super-obsessed with Aeor.
- Ashley wondered if there was a connection with the portal into the Astral Sea they found with the Mighty Nein in Aeor, but probably not.
- Bells Hells feels new, despite going for three years now. It's weird.
- Who was calling Imogen in the last episode? Laura says that's her mom. Dani is not sure, that could also be Rashinna. Laura didn't even think about that; she had a revelation. But it's unclear, you can interpret it in a lot of ways. Bells Hells could play the card of trying to warn the Volition about Liliana being too powerful so they can't be in trouble with the resistance.
- "Critical Role plays Daggerheart" (Sx83). The cast had so much fun with The Menagerie. They had originally a longer name for them before they played: "The Menagerie of the Grymm Wardens of Lochspire". Laura would die for Oppy; Ashley named him after the "Open Beta" of the Daggerheart game system. Marisha had so much stuff already prepared during the session zero, but Laura had nothing and was playing "rollies" with Ashley. Laura thought that Sweetpea should have been a ribbet too, so they could be regular siblings with Oppy.
- Reception of the game was really good, relieving a lot of pressure on Marisha. It's scary to put something like that into the world. Liam is proud of every person who worked on that project. Ashley and Laura want to make a lot of characters. Liam just makes Irish monkeys.
- They did session zeros with Bells Hells and the Mighty Nein, so they also wanted something like that in Daggerheart, because they're already doing that.
Tower of Inquiry[]
- If Bells Hells met The Menagerie, which members would they get along with the most? Fearne would fall in love with Bunnie and she would love Sweetpea too; Liam can see endless fencing between Orym and Danté Terrapin; Laudna would be obsessed with Oppy and showing him to Pâté.
- Matt has alluded to an underwater society on Exandria before, with possibly more hidden. What would be your dream hidden society to visit in a campaign? Laura and Ashley want to go to the underwater mermaid world; Liam wants to see where the Chained Oblivion lives and all the scary dimensions, and also to return to the Folding Halls of Halas and the Shattered Teeth.
The Deep Dive[]
- Ashley: "Please give us an interesting and unknown fact about Oppy of The Menagerie!" Still in the working process. Ashley wants to eventually find who Oppy's cigarillo belonged to because it's magical. It's really a work in progress; they've played these characters once.
- Liam: "Please give us an interesting and unknown fact about Xarlo of The Menagerie!" He likes to place dogs with new owners. He's a foster dad.
- Marisha: "Why did Laudna choose to sacrifice the Willmaster to Delilah Briarwood and why is she keeping this from Bells Hells?" Because Laudna thinks she's not lying, she doesn't really know what's going on. She doesn't try to hide it, and maybe she's a little in denial. BUT she knows that Delilah is an opportunity to make herself more powerful for the fight ahead, so why not? Matt said to Marisha that Laudna is close to the "edge".
- Laura & Ashley: "What has it been like for Fearne and Imogen to experience being Ruidusborn on Ruidus itself?" The flares have been pretty cool. The ability they have where they can share spells is so cool, but it's only on the moon and they both keep forgetting to use it. Also Laura wants to do it on another person. Ashley still has so many questions about it. Laura thinks sharing spells is not for the Reilorans because they don't connect with them, only the people from Exandria.
- Ashley: "Fearne saw Sorrowlord Zathuda but didn't get a chance to talk to him. Does she wish she had? How does she feel about Ira saying that Zathuda was disappointed with her?" As Ashley, she wishes she had a chance to talk to him, because she wants to know more. As Fearne, and also being disguised, she understood what kind of situation it was and she needed to shut up or she would fuck everything up. Ashley thought it was funny when Ira said he was disappointed with her, but Fearne understands that type of behavior because they're both Fey and like jabbing.
- Marisha: "How does Laudna feel about Liliana? Does she see any hope for her or does she want Imogen to let her go?" Laudna doesn't really want Imogen to let her go, but she's aware that Liliana didn't give any clear answers to her daughter and she abandoned her. It's a complicated relationship.
- Laura: What does Imogen think of the Volition and their desire to assassinate Liliana? Does she regret not going with them or is she glad she stayed away?" Still struggling. Laura struggled to send a message to Liliana while they were going after Evoroa. They need the Volition, so Imogen couldn't risk compromising the mission by going with them to do that. If Imogen had seen the music hall when they heard the scream, she might've split.
- Liam: "Orym apologized to Imogen after she spoke to her mother. Where is Orym's head regarding the assassination attempt and Imogen's effort to reach out to Liliana?" He thinks there's a 1 in 20 chance that Imogen could get through to her mom, but knows how important it would be for her. It's such a personal choice. Orym would back that decision because he wants that for her.
- Ashley: "What was it like for Fearne to work with Ira? How does she feel about him and why does she think he saved her with the Wall of Force?" Part of Ashley thinks he saved her, and the other thinks he served her on a platter. It was questionable. Maybe he doesn't want Nana Morri on his bad side. Ashley takes the little talk with him like a "I like you" thing; in a weird way, he was negging Fearne.
- Liam: "Orym pushed Imogen forward as the leader of Bells Hells. Why did Orym choose Imogen and how did Imogen feel about it?" Orym does look at Imogen as a leader because she is intelligent and reads people very well. So why not?
- Marisha & Laura: "How are Imogen & Laudna feeling after their discussion about their relationship?" It's complicated and tenuous. Imogen really doesn't see Laudna as a burden, like Laudna keeps saying, but Laudna is still not too sure, even though Laudna thinks Imogen really loves her.
- Laura: "Please give us an interesting and unknown fact about Sweetpea of The Menagerie!" It's still pretty new, so it's hard to give anything away yet. Sweetpea's design was inspired by the traditional clothing in Japan that was also an original inspiration for Jester Lavorre; it just didn't end up there. Laura wishes she had added Sweetpea glasses.
Tower of Inquiry[]
- Is there anyone - NPC or creature - that you encountered during the game that you wish you'd had a chance to talk to instead of fight? Spending more time with Ropey for Ashley. Athion Zathuda is hard to top for now.
- What cantrip would you most like to have IRL? Mending is tough to beat. Mage Hand is very useful and Prestidigitation is nice to clean things. Create Water can be handy like Druidcraft for food.
- Do you feel the characters you personally have played would make it out of an escape room together? I.e. for Ashley, it would be Fearne, Yasha Nydoorin, and Pike Trickfoot -- would they work as a team? For Laura yes, if it was just Imogen and Vex'ahlia, but Jester would fuck everything up; Liam has the best trio, Caleb Widogast's keen mind, Orym's perception, and Vax'ildan's ability to manipulate things; for Marisha yes, but Beauregard Lionett would be the one you hate going to escape rooms with because she wants to figure it all out by herself, and Keyleth and Laudna don't have the gumption to fight it; for Ashley no, they wouldn't pass the first room because Yasha wouldn't understand the idea of the game, Pike would be irritated with the two of them, and Fearne would not pay attention.
Ravensburger's Party Game Gauntlet[]
- No more leftover questions were asked during the games.
- At the end of the three games, Ashley won and Dani pinned a Ravensburger medal on her.
Quotations[]
Trivia[]
External Links[]
- The gaming portion of this episode is in a separate video "Ravensburger's Party Game Gauntlet | More-Sided Dive".
References[]
Art: