Talking Crit

It's time to join the Planes Walkers Club, Vox Machina has gone full celestial.  It is a time of urgency for VM, as they try to gather the support of the gods.  We asked the question last week if the gods would help VM, and we got a partial answer.  So far, Sarenrae & Pelor have leant their powers to the group, with a few more gods to go, we may see more boons come across our Tal'Dorei travellers.  We know at least two more gods are on the list, Ioun and Kord.  Will Vex's ascension as an avatar be enough, will Pike bring enough punch to the final battle?  Is it enough to debate Vecna? The final battle with Vecna is where we find our Question of the Week.  Will Vox Machina defeat Vecna?  The first fight didn't fair so well, and is getting the assistance from the gods only giving time for Vecna to finish the ritual?  Give your vote and let us know what you think. https://twitter.com/FotoGuy79/status/884945865529581570 Shout outs this week look to the gods, and god almighty are there some great ones.  The

What a treat last Thursday was.  Darin De Paul came in and just knocked us all on our butts.  There was so much woven into each interaction, you would need to go back and watch the episode again just to soak in everything.  This was a treat to watch, it was like watching a master painter fill a canvas. It was just Darin De Paul that had some heart breaking and heart warming moments.  Marisha Ray's slow burn of anger was an awesome sight.  It worked subtly across the entire episode, with the big moment coming in the fight where she unleashes her full fury.  She may have set the house and tree on fire, but she was trying to burn down the world.  Her fiery rage leads us into our Question of the Week. This week showed us all how Keyleth is dealing with the upcoming loss of Vax.  She set the world around her on fire, and that was only venting some emotion.  How is Kiki going to deal with the world after Vax has passed?  Give a vote and let us know what you think is going to happen. https://twitter.com/FotoGuy79

What a run it was for Sprigg, and what a finale to a character.  It was a wonder to see, and it was an luxury to watch.  However, adventures carry forward, and Vox Machina has to get moving.  The ritual to godhood has been completed, Vecna is starting to learn the full potential of his powers.  The hour glass is starting to look thin on top. The end is getting closer, and a fight worthy of pay-per-view is on the horizon.  It feels like there's a collective anxiety as this fight approaches.  We just want to get it done, so we can stop worrying ourselves about the build up.  The big question is: Are they ready?  That leads us into our Question of the Week. It's simple to ask, but complicated to answer, Is Vox Machina ready for Vecna?  Please give us your opinion and vote in the poll.  Do you think Vox Machina is ready for the fight with Vecna? https://twitter.com/FotoGuy79/status/892595189818302466 While we didn't do a shout out in the podcast, we're going to do one for the post.  There was an amazing pictu

It's a double episode this week as Vox Machina get into forging the tremels.  The Forge Guardian was a mighty solo npc to face, with some interesting fight mechanics, but this all seems to be the undercard for the main event.  While the forging of the tremels was difficult, it's one more step towards the final battle.  It makes the encounter more real, because it brings Vecna closer to the last battle.  Let's all remember, he's aware of what Vox Machina are doing.  He's been scrying on them every chance he gets.  It could be he has extra power behind it with his new godhood upon him. The worst part about a fight is waiting for it to happen.  It seems that time is getting shorter for the group.  Are they ready?  Most of the Critters in our Question of the Week think they are.  True Polymorph has been unleashed a few times, a double Planetar could be a powerful combination during the Vecna fight, but is there something stronger out there?  Could Scanlan turn into Vecna himself?  This leads us into our Question

Tragedy is something terrible happening to you, comedy is something terrible happening to someone else.  The first 40 minutes of Episode 109 was everything that quote was meant to represent.  Yes, there was a cubic dong to be awe struck by, but the love potion number nine fiasco was everything that a D&D game should be.  It was made better by having a live audience to play off that energy.  It was one of the best episodes Critical Role has made, and the audience is a big part of that.  As we move forward, we get closer to the finale.  It is just on the horizon, and we are getting closer.  This leads us into our Question of the Week, how much time do we have left? The Question of the Week this week looks at the sand dial for Vox Machina?  How much time do we have left before the story arc finished for good?  There are a few factors that can change the answer, does Ashley Johnson come back for the episode?  Will trekking through the Titan Corpse take too long?  Or are we looking at a run to the finish line

The march up the undead titan continues, and it means Vox Machina is getting closer to the end.  There is some epic level dungeon crawling afoot.  It's nice to see the party wading into danger, traps, and adventure again.  It feels like a great appetizer before the main course.  Is it a course anyone wants to eat?  Probably not, but Vecna calls, and VM must do something to save the world, again. This is a great look at how a group tackles an epic level dungeon.  Everyone should be taking notes on resource management, and how to deal with traps & puzzles.  It'd be interesting to see if this is the same across all epic level groups.  Regardless, it seems that Vox Machina has indulged all the distractions they can; every step they take is one step closer to the top.  Vecna awaits, and they are making their way to him. Question of the Week look at the epic level trap Vox Machina faced and asks whether all epic level traps should be deadly?  Give us your vote and opinion, and let us know what you think of th

"And the man in the back said everyone attack And it turned into a ballroom blitz" Sam Riegel is a beautiful man, with a beautiful mind, and he had a beautiful idea to run a one shot.  There was something so good, and so pure about the experience, it was like someone learning to paint.  They made some mistakes, they had a lot of fun, and they made something beautiful.  It was great to see someone try for the first time, and then be great at it.  It wouldn't be hard to guess that Sam Riegel may have caught the DM'ing bug.  That can only mean good things for D&D. It was also great to see everyone lean hard into their characters, regardless of playing experience.  I think Jayne and Clothesline became fan favourites right off the start.  We would love to see more one shots at the Ass Sailor, or more adventures with Jayne & Clothesline. Next week could prove to be the last one of the arc. No Question of the Week this go around, we will have plenty of questions to ask after this episode on Thursday. Sh

The march through the titan continues, and more traps and combat lay in wait for Vox Machina.  There is that feeling of conclusion looming over head for the group.  Not all ends are good; not all ends are bad, but there must always be a finish to our adventure.   Big shout out to David Rodrigues as his Vex'alia mash up.  This hits all the right spots for me, because I love Cyber Punk.  It takes me back to the Shadow Run days in Seattle, and trying to evade a mage while getting paid.  This could be found in Bladerunner, Akira, or Seattle in 2076. The bike fills in nicely for the broom, and the colours are a great combination of grim dark, and that city light glow.  She's somewhere central, but the seedy part of the city, which is typical Vex.  If you haven't given David a follow by now, go get familiar with his work.  The work he put into this shows, it is fantastic. https://twitter.com/3rdclover/status/910302265268895744   Our family lost someone important today.  Our dog Rusty passed away du

What a trip it has been, 50 episodes of Talking Crit.  My apologies in advance, I won't have a lot to say, this head cold is kicking my butt.  Regardless, Vox Machina is getting closer to Vecna, and they are proving that epic D&D gets weird.  No doubt about it, once you go above level 15, things take a ride on the weird side. Thank you so much for 50 episodes, thank you for listening.  We hope to see you all in 50 more episodes. Question of the week looks at Artagan and his deal with Vox Machina in the Feywild.  Will he honour it? https://twitter.com/FotoGuy79/status/902743247470157825 Shout out this week goes to Sean O'Daniels and his awesome animated gif.  I could watch this thing non stop, it's funny.  He captures the perfect Liam face to skulk across the stage at the Acquisitions Incorporated game.  Great job, the laughs will not stop coming with this gif. https://twitter.com/seanodaniels/status/912667467171995654 Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast for automatic updates and episodes. You c

This is it, the calm before the storm.  The lead up fight to the main event, and the contenders are getting ready in the wings.  You can feel it in the air, the finale is coming.  A lot of us are still trying to get ourselves ready for what's coming.  A lot of us are still fearful of what that final fight will bring.  However, we are going to be there together, we're going to gather around as fans, as critters, and witness everything that Vox Machina has to offer. We hope the good team wins. Question of the Week looks at the mechanics of the upcoming fight.  How many trammels will Vox Machina land on Vecna?  Every trammel will help, any that are missed will hinder.  Give a vote and let us know what you think is going to happen. https://twitter.com/FotoGuy79/status/915445709477961728 The first shout out this week for Alex Marx.  It's been a bit dark and dreary for Vox Machina, so some colour is needed in our art.  Alex does a fantastic job bring out colour and composition.  It is bright and hopeful, but th

We have reached the conclusion, and we have laughed, smiled, cried, and wept at the whole campaign.  It is shared story telling at its best.  It was an epic fight with literal ground breaking mechanics.  We got to see guest stars, we got to see betrayal, we got to see heart break, and we got to see heroes overcome evil.  All it was missing was a dog doing tricks.  Special guest Joe Manganiello pulled a fast one on Vox Machina, that left a lot of questions unanswered.  Fortunately, it leaves us with the Question of the Week. Question of the Week this go around looks at Arkhan the Cruel and whether he will show up in the next campaign.  Time will pass, but will old words heal?  Will the new characters have to go after the Hand of Vecna?  Give a vote and let us know what you think. https://twitter.com/FotoGuy79/status/917986688932171778 No artistic shout outs this week, because we wanted to focus on Sam Riegel.  His counter spell was one of the most heartbreaking things we've ever seen.  It was Sam, it was Sc

The adventures of Vox Machina have concluded, and we have a nice episode to tie everything up together.  What a long and strange journey it has been.  Brendan and I talk about the final conclusion; remember when we thought this was going to be done back in July and August? It's amazing to see what Critical Role has done to this community.  The change it has on media is a big moment for broadcasting.  It's existence has changed the environment that we live in.  If you're Canadian, you've probably seen the Part of Our Heritage moments.  Marshal McLuhan's idea of The Medium is the Message is on clear display with Critical Role. https://youtu.be/QNKpK_InQHQ   That is it for this year.  We will see you in 2018 when Critical Role comes back with the main story arc.  They are still doing shows with one offs, they are amazing to watch.  The Honey Heist and Grog's One Shot were comedy gold.  Please keep watching, please have an awesome and safe holidays this year.  Thank you for listening, thank you for being

We are back everyone, and there is a new campaign for us to roll up and keep us safe, relatively safe; okay, maybe not safe at all, but it feels good to being a new campaign.  We got a new location, a new cast of characters, and a new villain to watch out for.  It was great to see everyone back together.  That new table was amazing, is it possible to declare your passionate love for an inanimate object?  I think I'm right on the edge of proposing to that table.  Wyrmwood did some fine work.  However, back to Critical Role. Still eyes the table. We start to see the foundation of the group come together.  There's a lot of questions, and a shared first day of school like experience.  There is a long road ahead of us all, so let's bundle up, make sure we have our rope, and go on an adventure together. Let's find out what caused those zombies. This is where we find our Question of the Week, what was the cause of the zombies?  Let us know with your vote, and give a response on twitter with any ideas or theories

This is just a quick blast of a post today, we are trying to get ready for Saturday and the Season 4 launch for Tomb of Annihilation.  The group is having a great adventure so far, and doing some nice detective work.  Marisha I think has the best lead; I think he guards are not what they seem to be.  The Devil Toad is on the loose, but I think this will come back to the guards somehow.  Just one of those Spidey-Sense tingles that I was getting, or I was hungry. I may have been hungry. Our Question of the Week asks you, what do you think of the Crowns Guard?  Are they hiding something, or are they just being regular guards? Make your vote and let us know. https://twitter.com/FotoGuy79/status/956605911413399553 Shout outs this week go to some awesome Jester art.  The first is to @TurtleAmyJess and her amazing Jester Animated Gif.  I love the black lines, she also captures the mood and personality of Jester.  She could be a Tiefling in any time, any setting, and you get who this character is.  It's wonderful

It's the first boss fight of the campaign.  It was a mini boss fight, but a boss fight none the less.  Like all good boss encounters, it left more questions than it did answers.  We had some classic low level experiences with tracking and finding the devil toad, and we had some amazing RP'ing by Travis to dupe the guards as the group made their escape.  The Circus still has a lot to clear up. First and foremost, what was the deal with that devil toad?  Why was Toya so cool with being with it?  Was it slowly draining everyone in the circus without their knowledge?  Those questions lead us into our Question of the Week. Did the Circus know about the devil toad or were they caught off guard like everyone else?  It's hard to say, and there may be a 50/50 answer in there somewhere.  Place your vote and let us know what you think of the Circus? https://twitter.com/FotoGuy79/status/958621018393739264 Shout outs this week go to two amazing people and their creations.  The first one goes out to Risa Hulett, who had

Ding dong, the toad is dead, the toad is dead.  Dungeons & Dragons gets to be a weird place sometimes.  Another episode is in the bag for Critical Role, and this one was the start of something awesome.  You could see the foundation being laid, you could feel the glue begin to strengthen, we have a full on D&D group getting to know each other.  They got their first day of school jitters under control, and they are now beginning to function as a team.  There was a lot of shenanigans in the episode, but that's low level game play.  They're trying to figure each other, and themselves, out.  The travel of to The Dash sounds like it's going to be an epic journey.  It also sounds like Matthew Mercer is going to borrow a lot from The Tomb of Annihilation rules for the travel.  Why not?  They are pretty darn good rules. We also got a look at Beauregarde's background, as members from the Cobalt Soul came to have a conversation.  Beau seems to have picked a path, and it looks like it's going to be a doozy.  How

It's going to be a quick one this week, due to head colds and sore throats.  Let's jump right into the question as we can get ready for Thursday.   https://twitter.com/FotoGuy79/status/964034893209464832 We hope you all have a safe and happy week.  We'll be live tweeting on Thursday to see what happens with the new group.  We hope to see you there. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast for automatic updates and episodes. You can tune in via iTunes or Google Play. If you want to leave a review and a rating, that would help us out a lot; or join along in the fun, and leave a comment or question for us, you can always use our twitter handle @TalkingCrit or the hashtag: #TalkingCrit and we'll read your questions and comments on the show.

We are well into a dungeon crawl, and the new group is getting their feet wet, burnt, crushed, they have some foot stuff happening, and not all of it's great.  We discuss where we think the group is headed, and what is brewing as an antagonist for the party.  We also discuss Toll the Dead and just how strong that cantrip is.  Yikes, do you think it needs to be nerfed?  Let us know. Question of the Week looks at the Gnolls in the Howling Caves.  Will we see the end of them, or will we see them continue to be antagonists throughout the campaign?  Leave us your vote and let us know what you think is going to happen to the followers of Yeenoghu. https://twitter.com/FotoGuy79/status/966531067577491457 The first shout out goes to Doonami and his amazing splash image of all the D&D Streams and podcast characters hanging out.  This is akin to those special posters you line up at cons to get the exclusive prints.  It's a find your favourite PC's, and then find the rest.  The colours, the poses, and the interact

It's two episodes for the price of one.  We go over Hush and The Gates of Zadash. we also theorize that Zadash is going to go a Les Miserables theme.  The elements of revolution are there, and we can see some NPC's tell the story in the background.  Ulysses gives off a real Master of the House vibe for sure.  We still have a lot of Zadash to explore, and potentially have another NPC to meet.  Will The Ruby of the Sea make an appearance when she comes to drop off Jester's cash? Question of the Week is asking about Jester's mom.  Will she make a cameo in Zadash, or will she appear later on?  Give your vote and let us know what you think. https://twitter.com/FotoGuy79/status/971288827615698949 There are a ton of shout outs this week, the first goes to @Auila009 for having the foresight to clip this video waaaaay back in Grog's One shot.  It was later confirmed by Travis and Laura that he hid the obvious in plain sight.  This is one of those serendipitous moments that makes you smile.  Great job on recording t

Do you hear the people sing? Singing the songs of angry men? Zadash seems to be a place of haves and have nots.  It also seems to be a source of beating drums that sound like they're going to revolt.  The Mighty Nein have landed and settled, and in some instances, a little too well.  We see some classic tropes low level PC's trying to scam or pull one over NPC's.  We also see some great group bonding via the steam bash, and an interesting look at the upper class.  A big anti-magic dome you say?  Well, I have some interesting questions about that.  There's also the dangling rumour that The Traveller is Artagan.  There's a lot going on, and we'll have to wait for Thursday to see what gets dropped on us. Question of the Week looks at Nott the Brave this time around.  There's a lot of questions about alignment and age that come with our Goblin Arcane Trickster.  How old is she?  Are old goblins more dangerous because of all that they have survived. or are all Goblins young, because they never make it past a cer