[guidingb0lt]

i've watched cr1, cr2 & i'm currently following cr4. (only watched half cr3). i've also watched a bunch of d20 and a scattering of other actual plays.

for critical role posts: i use both the gen tag (#critical role) and campaign specific tags (#cr2 etc.) but i tag spoilers (#cr spoilers) only for recent episodes and only until the following thursday.

other actual plays are tagged more loosely.

[danikatze]

LoVM season 4 today! Made me want to draw Tary :)

(Sorry I made you sad Tary, happy pride nonetheless!)

[utilitycaster]

reading your posts about bolaire recently made me wonder, do you think the hypocrisy about freedom/imprisonment is intentional or not?

Hi anon, as with the bra strap situation, I really don't know what the intention is, if any.

My general thoughts on the character are that there's plenty of setup for many interesting potential hooks - an exploration of bodily autonomy; the hypocrisy mentioned here regarding freedom and imprisonment; House Cormoray and the management of the Archanade; what it means to be a mask and not the real thing; what it means to still exist after fulfilling your purpose - and I feel none are being actively nor meaningfully pursued by the narrative. This was also, ultimately, my judgement on Campaign 3: there are the ingredients for something deeply compelling and thematically resonant present, but they are sitting, unused, on the counter. And some may feel differently but personally I'm not going to shove raw flour and room temperature eggs and a cup of sugar in my mouth and lie to myself and say it's a cake and I'm certainly not going to tell other people it's a cake, or even guarantee it is ever going to be a cake.

Since this is a brief answer I'm leaving a couple notes here in case anyone wants to point out we're only on episode 27:

First, I feel the other 12 PCs are all well-established with clear engagement with their character and arc and frankly have been since, at latest, the middle of their respective table's arc.

Second, it's obnoxious and entitled to demand people hold off criticism of a character until some unspecified point (or, in fact, ever, but I think people are not ready for that conversation). It's an ongoing show; people are going to have concurrent criticism that may change as time goes on but they can in fact post how they are feeling at this point in time and it's worrisome that I have to state this outright. If, next episode, Bolaire actually does something about the person in the mask mind prison and it's a great scene that explores the tension between Bolaire's self-perception of a harbinger of freedom and justice and the fact that he's among the wealthier characters in the campaign and imprisons people in their own bodies and slowly starves and kills them, then that's great! That will have addressed a number of my critiques, and I will start making more positive posts. But it does need to happen in canon, and nothing anyone says to me that isn't Bolaire Doing Things In Canon In Episode 28 Or Beyond will change that because like, all anyone is doing is either saying "give him more time to make the cake" when everyone else has absolutely already made infinitely more progress in cake-baking, or saying "does he even need to make a cake" to which my answer is "well, for me to like him, yes."

[athemoi]

he can't keep them all safe, they will die and be afraid

[guidingb0lt]

SADDLE UP EP.1: Different Town, Same Story. (a queer western TTRPG actual play)

[thecorpsethatwalks]

putting my dead cousins head on the table not to imply anything but just to change the vibe a little

[papanowo]

happy pride to these FREAKS

[emily-axford]

CRITICAL ROLE: CAMPAIGN 4 Episode 27: Complicated Questions

[geezmarty]

nick falcon and doctor finger

[fishmechs]

[kerosene-in-a-blender]

Something fun I noticed this episode is that while Occtis has reached a point where while he openly acknowledges that Primus is dangerous and actively malignant, he's still thinking about this as purely a Primus problem, rather than noting Primus to be a symptom of a broader systemic issue with the Sundered Houses. When the whole table is discussing the possibility of the Sundered Houses colluding to do something during the opening of KoTher'ai, he's the one who offers the theory that it might just be Primus going off book and behind the backs of the other Houses. And he does have reason to think this! His sisters in their letter to his uncle pretty plainly complain that Primus is doing things without consulting other people and neglecting political concerns to focus on working whatever great work of magic he's cooking up this week. But it stands in stark contrast to the perspective that some of the other PCs such as Murray bring to the table which is that the Sundered Houses as a whole are a problem and that even if it's only House Tachonis that's plotting something, the others are still complicit.

Occtis not seeing the Sundered Houses themselves as an issue is something that's been borne out by what we've seen from him in the whole campaign so far. He is, even of the noble PCs, the one who is the most comfortable with throwing his family name around in order to try and get what he wants, as seen during the fight on Hacvallen Brücke. His request that Julien let go of Thimble's wings back when the three met outside Hal's house was framed as an order. When talking to the other PCs he, in spite of his family outcasting and murdering him, still refers to Seremai as one of his vassal houses. There's an assuredness he has about his place in the general social order that makes it clear he's never really thought to question it, this power and station is simply his birthright and he's going to use it. There's also the broader concept of the fact that people are less likely to question the legitimacy of systems they benefit from, and Occtis has benefited a great deal from the social order of the Sundered Houses being what it is, as the power and wealth they hoard is something he as a member of the in-group has access to. And he clearly sees the fact that he does have access to it as simply the natural order of things, it's always been this way and much like the people-cages he's never thought to question it because it's always been that way. Compare that to characters like Murray and Azune who've known poverty and long felt the boot of the Sundered Houses on the collective necks of the common people, and thus are far more aware of where the entire system is unjust.

And the result is Occtis having a much different angle of approach towards the problem of what his family has been up to than a lot of the other characters. Rather than seeing what House Tachonis is up to as the workings of a corrupt and harmful institution trying to uphold and gain more power by any means necessary, he's purely seeing it as an issue of: "My dad sucks." And while that isn't an inaccurate assessment of Primus as a person and a parent, it does lose a lot of the nuance of how he's able to be as much of a problem as he is, which is that he's being enabled by an institution that strengthens itself on exploiting others, and Primus has just taken that to the logical extreme.

[guidingb0lt]

- How do you do it? - There's not really a choice. Sometimes to protect the ones that are left behind, you have to do things that don't feel very good. - Yeah, I want to do that.

CRITICAL ROLE 4X27: Complicated Questions

[pawthorn]

Truly, the level of reclamation and the build-up of Hal’s play is giving me chills.

The Pariah blades are no longer hidden away in a museum. They’ve been soaked in the freed blood and spirit of the people who forged and wielded them.

They are in the hands of Rungjani, clanging in the streets of Dol-Makjar, calling the people to witness a story.

The Hallowed Round is also covered in the liberated blood of Rungjani. Blood held captive for centuries now shapes the forms and faces of Rungjani, captives who strove and died, but did not fail, because their rebellion was a step forward on the path toward freedom.

The play is going forward, with no influence from the Creed. Everyone in the city will see it in its true form— a story of rebellion.

It makes me think of the Falconer’s Rebellion, another failed rebellion. Two rebellions that failed with the fall of a single great man.

But there were nine blades used in the Rebellion that succeeded. Decades later, the Lloy name is held in highest honor as the creators of the Blades, not the wielders.

It makes me think of Uli saying, “I know now that those who sang songs in this place, even if the words were meant to soothe [Azgra’s] wrath and keep our lives in propitiating his fury; the melody, the dance, the fury and the passion, that was always for us.”

It makes me think of Demodus, saying that things have to start as an illusion first.

It makes me think of Thaisha, speaking a Rungjani blessing, blessing the Conqueror, “for in his appetite, he saw Aramán forever changed from what it was to what it might be. A blessing to him, then, that the Rungjani reject peace in favor of a dream.”

Why do we tell stories?

I think I know. And I’m very excited for opening night.

[briarblackwellbooks]

ive seen at least once posts noting that, despite the fact that azune is close in age to demodus, murray calls demodus a kid and treats azune like an adult, and extrapolate that to him being forced to grow up early and mature quickly and how privilege gives others the chance to be young and like. that's not wrong entirely, but i have one little nitpick.

azune nayar, deep down, is still a kid.

the latest ep really solidified that in my mind, but i think you can see it throughout the story. he's split in time between someone much older and someone much younger. he's doing the grown-up stuff: scheming, lying, making lists, fighting; but he's also looking for orders, for something to do. he's terrified of messing up. he has a simplistic view of his value and thjazi's that fits that of a traumatized kid with poor self esteem. he craves the kind of love a parent could provide.

but he's been hiding that, for the most part. functioning as an adult. but now that he's in crisis, he can't hide that anymore. and murray previously saw the adult, the person acting as her equal, her peer. but now she's seen the scared little boy. and she didn't flinch away, didn't look down on him, didn't force him back into the role of adult. she acknowledged both. told him she'd give him all the ice cream in dol-makjar if he did this one really hard, really scary thing. and she told him she loved him. whether we interpret it as platonic or romantic or familial or some combination doesn't matter atm. it's what he needed to hear.

[trailertrashgrog]

here's the order of operations as we know it right now:

primus attacks houses royce and davinos and leaves town. ethrand and trimus are left to mount a cover up. given yanessa's behavior towards aranessa, there is a chance she was aware this was happening.

simultaneous to the attack on house royce in the city, the golden orchard (left vulnerable due to aranessa's absence and callowyn's recent death) is attacked and destroyed. tachonis forces are beaten back but alba davinos is afflicted with wraith's touch and the orchard is lost

filoneus halovar specifically requests azune investigate the palazzo because he believes he's of the creed. azune makes sure einfasen thinks he's doing the double agent thing. the schemers create the scenario where grotto is able to tell harondus it was an attack by the priestly houses.

a couple of days after this, otto einfasen speaks to both julien and aranessa. he asks thaisha if her order has any involvement and she says no. petra and ryah are summoned to klippenblicke shortly after the seekers arrive. it's presumed through hints that greta wrote to them behind otto and ingrid's backs. greta has also apparently worked in the stahlkeep at some point, because romina knows her and keeps in regular contact.

otto calls a meeting of the leaders and primus is MIA, leading to frustration. ingrid asks if she needs to send word to aranessa and otto says no. cordelia einfasen begins hinting to ingrid she ought to marry ethrand. ingrid finds this suspicious.

azune plants occtis's signet ring as evidence in the amariya cormoray investigation. demodus writes down everything he remembers from the palazzo

a few days later, primus sends word directly to otto that he'll be arriving back in dol-makjar the following trader's day, which is the day of the play. the heads of houses will meet that day. there is no indication primus or otto has any idea about the play.

romina tells the schemers that there are murmurings of "betrayal" around the stahlkeep. she interprets this as harondus believing they (house einfasen or the sundered houses broadly) have been betrayed by primus.

yanessa wants to delay opening night and doesn't have a strong preference for when it should be held, she'd rather her propaganda be in place. the players are being told this by the GM as a way to confirm that these two events are not linked. they have no investment in the play happening the night of the meeting.

harondus wants to see azune the night or morning before the meeting to present hard evidence of what happened at the palazzo and says the fate of the world is at stake.

the reality is simple: otto called a meeting to get clarity on what happened at the palazzo davinos. primus was, likely, in the underworld and thus did not respond for several days while ethrand badly lied about where he was. he reappeared and the meeting was scheduled for the day he'd be back in the city, which happened to be the night of the play. the sundered houses are not performing a big ritual of some kind, they are having it out over house tachonis destroying house royce

harondus's behavior (though it hasn't been thoroughly insight checked) indicates that he finds the destruction of house royce to be an existential threat. however, given lady einfasen seems to want to intermarry with house tachonis, it is unclear where house einfasen's priorities will land, as otto himself remains inscrutable

[lesbianpraetor]

Also can I just say how happy I was that Thaisha was in that scene with Yanessa. Because that challenge loud and clear from the Lloy in the campaign about "Redemption from what" was so needed. It's such a corrosive idea coming from the Candescent creed that we have all inherently done something wrong, but it's specially heinous to ask for penitence from a people who have been treated as inferior for so long. You will not take the energy of the rebellion, turn it inward into self-hatred and use it for your own good without pushback in Dol-Makjar while Thaisha Lloy is standing right there.

This is also very interestingly in conversation with Tyranny's scene with Tsul'rekshi where it seems like Tyranny has internalized this belief of the creed, that her inherent nature is sinful and evil. Sure Tsul'rekshi might agree that their nature is inherently one of destruction, and I think the situation with the knife proves that this is something beyond Tyranny's complete control, but this doesn't mean that it should be done in evil. If anything Tsul'rekshi's nature to "in every age tear down the highest tower" is a noble cause. After all, there are many things in this world worth destroying and nobody should apologize for doing just that.

[utilitycaster]

So KoTher'ai, Hal's play about the failed rebellion against Azgra that pre-dated the successful rebellion against not just Azgra, but all the Shapers, is going up the same night as the Sundered Houses meet. The Sundered Houses are meeting after months of actions that mirror their crackdown about 15-20 years ago that ultimately led to the events of the Falconer's Rebellion. The Falconer's Rebellion failed. Murray and Azune just successfully petitioned King Gus for aid in the seeds of its successive rebellion, the one they are gathering forces for now. The walls of the theater in which this play will be performed, which was once a dedicated space to Azgra now transformed into a space that "can be used to tell whatever story mortals deem worth telling," are painted with the derivative of the blood of the River Gavzidra with the explicit intent of liberating the souls of the orcish people. The performance of the play itself will be a revolt against one of the Sundered Houses that has requested an ending that in fact is in line with the purpose of the River Gavzidra at the time of the events of the play. These are statements of fact which can lead you to many conclusions and I'd like to let people draw their own however a relatively minor one is that somehow Yanessa Halovar is both the most and least genre-savvy person who has ever existed.