I have a question for you (unfortunately not related to fat characters): what would you say is the biggest strengths and flaws of the big 3 exandria campaigns?
hmm. thats a good question. please no one get mad at me if i say something you disagree with
campaign 1 weakness: ive written about it before, id say it's trying to be something new and beginning to strain fantasy conventions, but is also deeply mired in those conventions. it actively drags its more enlightened messages down/make aspects of the story boring.
campaign 1 strength: i think it has the most natural story flow of all the campaigns for the vast majority of its runtime and is probably the easiest to vibe with without feeling rushed or slowed. i also consider the fall of emon one of matts best dm'ed scenes ever to the point i had to include it.
campaign 2 weakness: the cast said it themselves in interviews about adapting it - it is so character centered that it really forgets the larger story that was intended a lot of the time. i honestly still think it manages to work, mostly, but it becomes very obvious in the grander multi campaign story how much fucking around was done rather than engaging with the more intense themes beyond just self discovery/found family.
campaign 2 strength: despite the above, it absolutely excels the most in character work and how the world entwines with the characters. id say it at times feels the most alive of all the campaigns because of how vast it feels, like you can walk in it.this campaign also really set into motion the deconstructing of a lot of story conventions in ways that i am still floored by - artagan risking everything for jester i will always love you so, so much.
campaign 3 weakness: i honestly dont think it has as many deadly flaws as some people act like it does, but id say it struggles most with organization. theres so much going on that has so many interesting implications, but they are often given uneven emphasis which leads to the campaign feeling crazy and at times patchwork.
campaign 3 strength: i really think c3 is the best deconstructing of dnd as a concept you could ask for from one of the bigger liveplay shows, and its ability to manage its sheer scale/cast size with its message makes me so happy. i also think it has, honestly, one of the most interesting endings of any story ive engaged with because it truly pushed forward to new questions in an entirely new age, a chapter closing but not dying, instead reviving incredibly miraculously & compellingly. might be my favorite ending, ever, actually.
titsay
snowghoul
germansingergirl
theartofmadeline
romaincrisis
