Awesome / Critical Role The Final Arc

As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.

Episode 125: The Neverending Day

• Caleb makes a Persuasion roll to make a deal with Halas. He has advantage, thanks to a clutch Enhance Ability from Jester. Liam rolls two Natural 20s.
  • As he ends the conversation, he has to make a Wisdom saving throw. Between his own will and a Bless from Caduceus, he gets a 26.
• Matt has Caleb and Beau roll a History check to uncover connections between the Dynasty and Aeor. Liam and Marisha each roll an 18, for a result of 28 and 32 respectively.
• Fjord tries to get Allura and Kima to help them. Travis rolls a Natural 20. This results in Kima loaning Yasha the goddamn Holy Avenger.
  Matt: Your rolls are ridiculous tonight!
  Liam: Where were (these rolls) when we fought the Nonagon?!?

Episode 126: Worth Fighting For

• Fjord asks Caleb about Blood Hunters, leading to an Arcana check for Caleb and a History check for Caleb and Beau. Caleb gets a 27 for both, and Beau gets a 30 for hers.
• Veth and Beau need to make Stealth checks to remain unnoticed as they are invisible. Veth gets a 29, and Beau a 23. They both succeed easily.
• Beau briefly follows Astrid after she leaves the dance hall. A Natural 20 Stealth roll allows her to follow effortlessly. She finds Astrid in an alley, seated on the ground, hugging her knees to her chest.
• The ninja fight wasn't that difficult, because of the nature of the attackers, but Marisha and Ashley threw themselves into their descriptions of their moves. They are victorious.

Episode 127: Sarsaparilla, Licorice, and Red Hot

• Jester has to use her magic paints as part of the heist. The Dexterity check is 21, which Matt says is excellent.
• Caleb has to make a Perception check to see what's inside the tower after he enters. Liam rolls a Natural 20.
• Matt sets up one final obstacle before their goal: a Wall of Force. A WoF cannot be dispelled, but a Disintegrate spell immediately destroys it. However, before the cast identified it, Liam burned his 6th level spell slot trying to dispel it. That was a brilliant move on Matt's part: he gave them a way through, but didn't make it easy, and the players made the choices on their own.

Episode 128: Cat and Mouse

• Sam's ads are often... unique... but sometimes they are also good. This week's ad is one of those, admittedly because of Ashley's performance as Gail.
• Trent completely handled every spell sent against him as he entered the room. However, when Jester tried Word of Recall again, Caleb Counterspelled Trent's Counterspell, allowing them to get away.
  Trent: Good luck.
  Caleb: You taught me well. He, Jester, and Veth teleport to Nicodranas.
  • Worth noting is that Matt rolled two consecutive Natural 20s for Trent's actions, and then Liam rolled a Natural 20 of his own to Counterspell the Counterspell. The odds of three consecutive Natural 20s is 1 in 8000.
• Fjord summons the sword so he can use it to cast See Invisibility. Jester guides him, but she didn't have to bother. Travis rolled another Natural 20. 1 in 160,000.
• Jester breaks the news to Marion. Laura and Matt roleplay it spectacularly well.
• Veth tries to apologize to her family for bringing danger into their lives, but Yeza is having none of it.
  Yeza: There's nothing to forgive. Danger came into our lives long before any of this.
• The Nein get to Yussa's tower, but Yussa is Astral Projecting and cannot help them. They are able to find a scroll of Plane Shift given to Yussa for emergencies. However, the spell only allows for so many people to travel. They would have to leave at least one person behind. They hit upon an ingenious solution: they can stick some people in the Happy Fun Ball and take it with them. Matt did not see that coming.

Episode 129: Between a Ball and a Hot Place

• This episode basically marks the 6th anniversary of Critical Role. Not the biggest anniversary, but it bears remarking that NONE of them thought they'd make it close to a 1st anniversary.
• Yasha investigates a door in the Happy Fun Ball, checking it for traps. Ashley rolls Investigation. A natural 19 results in a 25. Doubles as Funny.
  Ashley: I've been sleepin' on my snoopin'!
• Beau, Yasha, and Fjord cannot pick the lock. Frustrated, Yasha flies into a rage and bashes the door down.
  • This causes the hallway to break off. Yasha may have broken an entire pocket dimension.
• Travis and Matt get into a debate over how Fjord can cast his spells. Travis is ultimately correct, because he's a multiclass Warlock/Paladin. Matt had forgotten what that meant for his spellcasting.
  Matt: That's on me. Travis got one over me.
• While scouting, Veth and Jester come across some footprints. Matt has Sam make an Investigation check. A Natural 20 and a spell from Caduceus result in a 35. Matt tells them everything about them.
• Matt brings out a map for Team Plane Shift. Matt always makes good maps, but this is one of the best he's made in a while.
• Marion, Luc, and Yeza are caught in the guardians inferno attack. Veth immediately attacks the fire elementals that are produced by the inferno. She drops one of them, and wounds a second thanks to a clutch Natural 20 on the attack roll.
• Caduceus finishes off the last elemental with his Spirit Guardians spell. The beetles consume the elemental, burning up as they do.
• Caduceus casts Revivify on Luc, bringing him back. Taliesin acts the hell out of it.
  Caduceus: Wildmother, it is not yet time for this one. His destiny has not been fulfilled. His time here is not over. I beg you, let him have another breath.
• Yeza realizes that they have gone through all of this because of the Cerberus Assembly. Again.
  Yeza: You make them pay.
• Caleb asks Jester to help him finish repairing the anti-magic collar he got from the Folding Halls. With a self-Guidance and a Fortune's Favour from Caleb, she succeeds. The collar works again, and Caleb knows exactly what he wants to do with it.
  Caleb: It's for... my old teacher.
  Jester: I don't think it's his style.
  Caleb: It will be soon.

Episode 130: The Calm Before The Storm

• At long last, BlackWillow69 - with the entire cast reprising their prior NordVPN skit roles - finally defeats the Ultra Kodex!
• When Beau accidentally communes with Lucien, he tries to force her into getting a third eye. Marisha rolls for a Wisdom saving throw and gets an 11. This would make for a fail... but she then realizes that as a Monk, she can spend a ki point to reroll saving throws. She does so and gets a much better 25 out of it, meaning Beau is able to fight back and keep herself from getting another eye!

Episode 131: Into the Eye

• For this ad spot, Sam shaves the sides of his head. He does a very good job of it, too. One of the producers revealed that he had a mirror underneath the table, but it's still awesome because he obviously had no practice.
• Picking up where last episode left off, Yasha faces off with a group of Lightning and Storm Elementals... played by the cast, as Matt hid a character sheet under each of their dice trays prior to the episode.
  Matt: Your job is to fight the fuck out of Yasha!
  • Liam immediately rolls a Natural 20 and declares his dice the Snitch reborn.
• Travis knocks Yasha out. Fight over, right? Not for a 14+ Zealot Barbarian, who can Rage Beyond Death.
• Yasha defeats the elementals, and flies up to meet the Stormlord. She is dying, but is able to rage long enough to meet him.
  Stormlord: Where do you find your strength?
  Yasha: In my friends. In my family. I protect them.
  Stormlord: Then protect them.
  • How does Yasha sustain her rage while flying to the Stormlord? She uses the Holy Avenger as a lightning rod to ensure she gets struck.
• It's subtle, but the contact with Astrid is very revealing. No Volstrucker has ever broken away from Trent like Caleb has done. Nobody in the world is as dangerous to Trent as Caleb.

Episode 132: Aeor

• Essek and the Nein try to dispel the mark Lucien placed on Fjord. Jester finally succeeds, thanks to a clutch Guidance.
• Yasha gets grappled by a frost giant zombie, which sets off combat. Yasha immediately flies into a rage and frees herself, and the strength of her rage prevents its cold aura from hurting her (because of a Constitution saving roll).
  • Veth is up next, and reenacts the ogre-killing move from the animated opening. She deals 28 damage, knocking out one of its eyes and making it look even rougher. Her next roll is a Natural 20, doing 7 damage, and the Nat 20 means the crossbow fires again, dealing 11 points of damage.
    Matt: Good round!
• Yasha is Hasted by Essek, and uses the Holy Avenger for the first time. Her first strike does a total 45 damage. Her second is a Natural 20, for a total of 58, getting the HDYWTDT. She cleaves his knee, bringing the zombie down to her level, and she beheads it. Her third strike misses, so she uses Zealous Presence (granting everyone advantage on attacks and saves until the beginning of the next round).
  Liam: Everyone just watched her go ham and went whoa.
  • Marisha rolls a Natural 20 on her very next strike, thanks to the advantage! But, she rolls a 1 on the damage roll.
    Laura: Can't you roll a ki point to reroll damage?
    Marisha: No! It's the one thing I can't do!
  • However, she counterattacks the zombie when it attacks her, and she deals enough damage to get the HDYWTDT.

Episode 133: Hunter and the Hunted

• The Mighty Nein plan throughout the episode on the best way to ambush the Tomb Takers. Their planning pays off better than expected, but less well than was hoped - Tyffial, Otis and Zoran appear to be dead, whilst Cree is visibly damaged. Lucien appears unscathed.
  • Cree and Lucien escape, but the Nein finish off the rest (Fjord kills Zoran, Beau kills Tyffial, and Veth kills Otis).
• Fjord's willingness to make the choice to sacrifice the rangers to buy time for the other members of the Nein to rest is without a doubt a very climactic moment. Travis acts the hell out of the moment, being absolutely stone cold.

Episode 134: The Streets of the Forgotten

• We have another slight, but awesome, change to the opening credits. The last splash before the Critical Role title now features the horrific living city of Cognouza, over which nine red, glowing eyes appear.
  • Another small change to the intro: the last shot of the Nein facing their enemies and the City has been edited to replace Nott with Veth.
• Caduceus uses Speak With Dead on Tyffial's head. Taliesin has to roll Deception in order to for her to honestly answer the questions. He has advantage because he made himself look like Cree. His first roll is a modified 20, his second result is a 23, and the third is a Natural 20. His fourth result was a 15, but it was still impressive.
• Crosses a bit with Tearjerker; When Lucien gets in touch with Beau and Caleb in their dreams, he commends the Nein on being a particularly annoying thorn in his side and seriously derailing his plans in the moment, and despite everything they've done to hamper him (including killing three of the other Tomb Takers), he doesn't want the Nein dead just yet, as he wants them to see him ascend the throne of the Somnovem, which he describes with an incredibly chilling callback to one of Mollymauk's most famous phrases; "Long may I reign." While it may just be terrible coincidence, it could also speak to some part of Mollymauk trying to exert some control over his former self, sparking a glimmer of hope that the Nein can wrest Mollymauk out from under Lucien and give the Nein back their friend.

Episode 135: The Genesis Ward

• Once again we have to praise Matt Mercer's voice work for the monsters, the laughter he does for the aeorian creatures is breathtaking.
  • On a related note, the change in voice he performs when Charlie turns into Devexian is stunning, to the point where even the cast is struck
• On a clutch moment in the confrontation in the final portion of the episode, the Nein are engaged with an aeorian nullifier when a canoloth approaches them in order to ambush them. Thanks to some quick thinking, Caduceus manages to banish the canoloth and Fjord teleports and gets the HDYWTDT against the nullifier! The clutch part? The canoloth prevented teleportation within sixty feet of it, by banishing it, Caduceus created an awesome team work moment even though he did not know it!

Episode 136: Hell or High Water

• Thanks to the eyes giving Caleb and Beau True Sight, we learn the secret behind Sprinkle's seeming invulnerability: he was Artagan the whole time.
• The eyes give Caleb and Beau the ability to transmit their thoughts telepathically. They can't yet receive thoughts, though.
• A high roll (Arcana result of 31) finds yet more evidence that Aeor had discovered Dunamancy. They alert Essek, who is both stunned and pleased.
  • They then discover that the Aeorians found a beacon, and had used it to discover the possibility of backward time travel. It greatly strained its users and they could only manage a few seconds at a time, but this is still a monumental arcane discovery, and knowledge Caleb has been seeking since day 1. And he's memorized the runes.
• When something about their conversation causes Lucien to start noticeably twitching, an insight check of 30 from Caduceus confirms it was what Caleb and Beau were saying to him (specifically, calling him "circus man" and talking about leaving places better than they found them) that caused it, not the fact Beau was speaking to him telepathically.
• As Lucien and Cree use a portal to go to the Astral Sea, they leave behind a massive water elemental creature to keep the Nein busy. The Mighty Nein quickly opt to use every trick they've got to get around the monster and through the portal, with Jester being the last one to go through. The elemental uses its reaction to reach a tendril through the portal and easily grapples her, but Veth uses her Mage Hand to manipulate the controls on the other side, closing the gate and severing the monster's tendril with a Portal Cut, freeing Jester.
• The Nein reach level 15! 8th level spells for the casters!
  • Fjord takes the Tough feat and surges to 183 HP; higher than Yasha.

Episode 137: Welcome to Cognouza

• Matt gives a fantastically creepy description of the city, relating how the architecture combines stone and flesh. Travis is creeped out, as might be expected, and the others aren't much less so.
  Laura: No, no, no.
  • While roleplaying as two of the Somnovem, Matt once again shows off his fantastic voice acting skills. The rest of the cast, all professional voice actors themselves, are very (justifiably!) free with their praise.

Episode 138: Where There is a Will...

• The episode starts off straight with combat, and the Nein (weakened though they are) absolutely demolish Cree, killing her in a round and a half without her successfully getting off an action.
• A clutch move from Caduceus (using a reaction to cast Path to The Grave on Cree, which doubles the damage of the next attack) and a timely Counterspell from Fjord allows Yasha to get the HDYWTDT on Cree.
  • However, thanks to Lucien and the Somnovem, Cree's corpse pulls an Obann and becomes something far more monstrous.
  • Another Path to The Grave grants Veth the second and final HDYWTDT on the monster Cree becomes after just over a round of combat!
• Caleb manages to loosen Cognouza's hold on the Threshold Crest with a Disintegrate spell, but it's not enough to completely break it. He then, in order to buy them time and keep the city from reclaiming the Crest, casts Immovable Object on it, preventing it from being retracted into the ceiling!
• The Nein try to figure out their next move. The idea they reach is dangerous. What does Caduceus have to say about it?
  Caduceus: I don't know how to put this, but we are currently on what is possibly the universe's biggest cadaver. This is what I was born to do: put this thing fucking down. Let's end this shit. (Beat) Wow, that was a lot of words.
  • They go for it: Essek and Caleb use one of the crystals they took from the rejuvenation chamber in Aeor to try and grant them all the benefits of a long rest in a matter of seconds. They have to roll a d20 and burn a spell slot, adding that slot's level to their rolls. They are each Guided beforehand. Matt rolls a Natural 20, plus 2 from Guidance, plus 8 for the spell slot used for a net result of 30. Liam rolls a 15 plus 4 from Guidance, plus 5 for the spell slot used for a net result of 24. They get a combined result of 54, which is a success, as Matt reveals that they would've needed a combined 40 total to pull it off.
    • The campaign wrapup reveals just how big of a risk this was: if they hadn't succeeded, the group would have traveled forwards in time about a day. Not only would they not have gotten a long rest, but Lucien would have used that time to fix the Threshold Crest and shunt Cognouza into the Material Plane. Thank god for good dice rolls!
• After the unorthodox long rest, Caleb casts his first 8th level spell: Mind Blank. He is immune to mind control effects for 24 hours.
• In order to find Yussa's astral form, (which is still tethered to the city) Beau decides to meditate and connect with the collective consciousness of Cognouza itself. With a 17 Wisdom check, bolstered by the three eyes on her body, not only does she manage to locate him, but also retain her sense of self and pull away when she is discovered by one of the Somnovem. Matt's description of Beau's personal "Cerebro" moment, where he describes imagery of synchronized breathing and every one of her nerves sparking with pain, only make it even more satisfying when Beau dives into the tides of madness of Cognouza's thousands of conjoined, ancient, broken minds...and still manages to emerge unscathed.
• Thanks to a clutch Calm Emotions from Jester and a total 24 deception role from Fjord, the Nein are able to fool the Somnovem Gaudius and travel onward uninterrupted towards first Yussa and then to the Aether Crux.
• The group is able to locate Yussa. While he is unresponsive, Caleb finds a way to free him by casting Banish on his soul and sending his conciousness back to the Material Plane.
  Yussa:...Thank you.
• The Nein make their way to the very heart of Cognouza, where they encounter not the fragmented Somnovem, but their unified self, Somnovem Omega. The Omega takes an interest in the group, eventually revealing that there is one person they can't see. Enter Lucien and his sack filled with intuit charges. His plan? Remove the Somnovem from power and seize the city for himself.
  • And he pulls it off effortlessly! Even Jester casting Earthquake doesn't slow him down. It only makes him Laughing Mad.

Episode 139: Rebirth

• Lucien takes the Somnovem into himself. He becomes muscular, glows, and instead of nine eyes he has nine stalks, like a beholder.
  Jester: Did he just make himself a god?
• The Nein start talking to him as if he was Molly, confusing him. Then, he realizes that they removed too many Threshold Crests.
  Lucien: What have you done? Done? Done? Done?
  • Matt brings out a map, showing rooftops over the sky, and brings out a personalized sculpture of Lucien. The cast freaks out over how good it is, and with reason.
• Throughout the fight, the Nein have been calling out to Molly in hopes of reaching their fallen friend. One comment from Jester hits particularly hard.
  Jester: Molly, you gave your life to save us! Fight it, Molly!
  Lucien: He's dead. He never really existed. You're shouting into nothing, my dear. Just like you will be.
  Jester: Then why is this working?
• The Ring of Fire Resistance that Fjord bought back in "Frigid Propositions", which he suffered buyer's remorse over and eventually gifted to Jester, finally comes in handy to protect Jester from Lucien's Fireball after twenty episodes of lampshaded uselessness. Travis' triumphant cheering is entirely earned.
• Beau dealing over 100 points of damage to Lucien in a single round.
• Caduceus uses his Path to the Grave ability to its highest potential, doubling the damage on an already high-damage Voltaic Bolt from Veth, dealing another 100 points of damage to Lucien.
  Caduceus: Normally we don't do this kind of thing, but this is a special occasion.
• After a battle with Lucien, The Neo Somnovem, that spans most of the episode, the end reveals this isn't even his final form. He merges with the city's core, the bottom half of his body becoming a mass of flesh, stone, buildings and sinew, and he grows a pair of massive wings. Matt admitted this boss fight is a "love letter to growing up on Final Fantasy."

Episode 140: Long May He Reign

• We see Lucien's final form when Matt Mercer brings out Lucien's custom mini. It's as amazing as expected, very reminiscent of Safer Sephiroth. The cast is suitably impressed.
  Travis: Zoom in! Zoom the fuck in!
  Laura and Marisha: Enhance!
• Caleb uses his will to create a replica of Lorenzo's glaive that killed Mollymauk from the flesh of Cognouza and impales Lucien in the chest with it for an incredible Call-Back that gives the villain just a second of Oh, Crap!. Caleb actually manages to get through the entire fight without casting a single spell (discounting the pre-battle Mirror Image), focusing instead on his ability to manipulate reality within the astral plane and succeeding every time. A stand out example is when he manages to move Jester's body close to Cad, allowing him to revive her on his next turn easily.
• Lucien uses a lair action to summon a symbol like the one encountered during the second half of the Cree fight. They all have to roll a Wisdom save... and every single one of them makes it handily.
  • They do it again when Lucien uses a different ability on his turn later on!
• Jester uses Banishment on the Eye of Vigilan. The antimagic field is no longer a factor! ... for as long as she can maintain concentration.
• Upon realizing they can target the Eyes of the Somnovem, they make a point of doing so...and realize that it takes an (unknown) amount of health from Lucien in the process. They manage to get 5 of the 9 eyes out before they take out Lucien.
• Despite the dramatic and joking way he revealed his choice to use Marine Layer, Travis's choice possibly saved more than a few lives! With the Marine Layer up, only the explosion-firing Ira could attack anyone within said fog-covered space, since almost all of the rest required line-of-sight. He then choose to have Fjord focus fire on using Eldritch Blasts to snipe quite a few of the Eyes of the Somnovem, which is implied to do the most damage to Lucien out of all their options. The Clerics were able to hide within there, keeping them from being targeted while both only had 1 hit point, and Veth was able to get a few key sneak attacks off since while in the Marine Layer she was hidden.
• Veth gets taken out and brought back with only 9 Hit Points thanks to Cad. She then ends up the target of Ira's fireball...and manages to succeed twice, which means with Evasion she takes no damage!
• Squishy Wizard Essek, despite being slowed for much of the battle, manages to pull Caleb free from having been pinned down by a tower, connects two of the Eyes of Somnovem so that they can be destroyed together and, enraged at Caleb being attacked, pulls off an eighth level Gravity Fissure. Not bad, Hot Boi.
• While Caduceus doesn't have much to go off of for Molly in terms of personal experiences, he still has this to say as he glares down Lucien.
  Caduceus: Going of what the other have told me... I'm very disappointed, Molly.
• Jester, after getting brought back from the dead by Cad, makes a key choice to use Mass Cure Wounds, managing to get a good chunk of the cast, including the recently knocked out Caleb, healed enough to keep going.
• Liam managing to roll high enough (three times in a row) so that Lucien's three successive wing attacks on him hit the illusionary doubles conjured up by Mirror Image instead of Caleb himself.
• Beau wraps her fist in Molly's belt, going for two melee attacks on Lucien. But not before she declares one of the most badass quotes in all of Campaign 2:
  Beau: If I can't beat you out of him, I will beat you with him. (and then, upon using her bonus action for a Flurry of Blows) Long may he reign.
  • The result of her two attacks? A double Nat 20. She immediately screams and stands up in celebration, even snapping a photo of her dice to prove she got it.
    Marisha: (on Twitter) Pop motherfucking pop.
• After a long, grueling battle in which a number of them are dropped, Jester gets the HDYWTDT thanks to a clutch Path to The Grave from Caduceus. With a Guiding Bolt that deals a total 58 points of radiant damage, Jester ends Lucien and the Somnovem, preventing their madness from spreading beyond the Astral Sea. And this causes, at long last, everyone's red eyes vanish. For the first time since they found that empty grave... the Mighty Nein can finally catch their breath.
• The Nein try a resurrection ritual on Molly. Despite some awesome RP, it fails when Matt rolls a Nat 1. The party, Essek, the cast, and the viewers all begin to mourn the loss after everything the Nein had been through to get there, but Taliesin decides to make one last attempt. He uses Divine Intervention, with a simple plea: "Whoever it was, just put it back. I think they've earned it." And then Taliesin rolls 02 on the d100 dice and it WORKS. As many have now pointed out, a 02 reversed is, in fact, a 20, meaning that Taliesin is just naturally drawn to these things.
  • Selling the moment immediately after the fact is the slow build of reactions to Taliesin's roll, as realization sets in over everyone.
    Matt: You rolled a fucking two percent?
    Taliesin: I did.
    Travis: (astonished) You really did?
    Taliesin: I did.
    Liam: HOLY FUCK!
    Laura: (sitting bolt upright) Oh my god, Wildmother please be with us right now!
  • After the game, Matt revealed that before the ritual, his D20 roll needed to be a 10 or better to succeed. After Yasha's, Jester's and Beau's contributions, they needed a 5 or better. Taliesin's 15% chance Divine Intervention roll didn't buy an automatic success, but it did buy a reroll of the original Nat 1. Which resulted in a 12, which succeeded both possible thresholds.
• After the battle, Liam and Taliesin both admit to making sure they had enough in their reserves to get the Mighty Nein back to Exandria.

Episode 141: Fond Farewells

• Veth takes a level in Wizard! Crosses over with Heartwarming.
• The Nein level up after the Lucien fight, and Liam rolls a 6 for his hit points. He's finally over 100 HP! 103, to be exact.
• Matt's description of Molly's resurrection.
  Matt: Though the ritual at first seemed to fail, some among you were determined to spit in the eye of fate.
• As the Nein get ready to bed down, Veth goes to the pond and willingly takes a dip!
• Jester tries casting Greater Restoration on Molly, and it works, allowing him to think clearly again and restoring at least some of his memories! He doesn't remember the Nein (though Yasha looks familiar), but he instinctively knows that they are his friends. Like Molly, he considers himself to be a separate person from the one who came before, and because the last thing he can remember is a kingly, regal feeling, he names himself Kingsley Tealeaf.
• Fjord rushes through an Arcane Gate, into a burning building, to clash swords with Eodwulf, who has just slashed Caleb to the ground. Not only does he take off a big chunk of Eodwulf's HP, he also rebuffs a Worthy Opponent moment:
  Eodwulf: Alright! Well struck!
  Fjord: Oh, are you enjoying this? Hexblade's Curse.
  • Then Yasha swoops into the fray, and does so much damage in two strikes that Eodwulf goes from actively threatening Caleb's life to being forced to yield and ultimately taken down almost accidentally via indirect damage to Trent.
• With a clutch Gust of Wind from Veth, Beau is able to leap into the air and grapple Trent. A contested grapple check allows her to place the Collar of Silence around his neck!
• Trent's literal downfall is one long sequence of awesome moments. One moment, he's floating over everyone, tossing fireball stars and ignoring everything sent his way in favor of his wayward student. The next moment, he has the Collar of Silence glued around his neck, Caleb has neutralized his flying shoes and dropped him 30 feet to the dirt, Beau is sitting on his chest with one fist raised, Essek has him paralyzed with Hold Person, Fjord has his blade to his neck, Veth has her crossbow bolt all charged up, and Yasha has her foot in his groin and her greatsword jabbed into his sternum. Just goes to show, you mess with one, you mess with nine.
  • As the Nein and their allies surround a downed Trent, Veth uses Silent Image and makes images of the silhouettes of what she imagines Caleb's parents looked like. She has them both point an accusing finger at Trent.
  • Yasha lands, puts her foot in his junk, puts the tip of the Holy Avenger into his chest enough that he bleeds a bit, and says very calmly:
    Yasha: (to Caleb) I'm not going to do anything, Caleb. (to Trent) But if you try to do anything, I will kill you.
  • Caleb makes an Arcana check to activate the Collar of Silence, but fails. Astrid steps in, and does it. It works!
    Caleb: You were always better at solving problems than I was.
• For as long as the Mighty Nein have known him, they finally get a taste of what Caduceus is like when he's truly angry. After the battle is over, Eodwulf tries to leave, only for Caduceus to turn around to him with "deep black pit eyes", using Thaumaturgy to make his voice boom, and threatens him so significantly that all Eodwulf can do in return is sheepishly ask for a bucket to help put out the flaming house.
  Caduceus: The Matron has special destinations for people who burn temples. So why don't you put your back into this?
  • Still absolutely livid, Caduceus casts Command on Trent, ordering him to empathize with how Caduceus feels right now. Trent makes his save. This repeats several times, with even Fjord trying to help. Finally, Caleb uses the Manacles of Stasis to knock Trent out for 24 hours. As he passes out, Caduceus calmly tells him that they'll just try again tomorrow.
• Veth gives Kingsley her flask! She tells him he can keep it.
  Kingsley: You know, I understand the concept of booze, but I've never actually had any. You are now the best friend I've ever had.
• The Nein decide how to handle the whole Vess situation. Beau has an idea.
  Beau: As fucked up as it sounds, I think Caduceus has rubbed off on me. I say we tell the truth. We didn't kill her.
• The Nein take Trent before Yudala Fon and tell them everything. They go from surprise, to tension, to intense focus, and eventually cold fury.
  Yudala: (to Trent) You will spend the rest of your days in a hole. I guarantee it.
  • And that's exactly what happens after Trent's tried and sentenced for his crimes- alone in a cell in the deepest, darkest dungeon of Rexxentrum, unable to talk or move his hands due to the Collar of Silence and Veth's Sovereign Glue, suffering the humiliation of being force-fed like a baby.
  Matt: And left to think. And think. And think.
• The Martinet offers Caleb a place in the Assembly. Caleb declines, and makes a thinly veiled threat towards Ludinus, suggesting he may be up next for investigation. Later, we learn that Trent's vacant seat was filled by none other than Astrid.
• As they go to Zeenoth's trial, we learn that the new High Richter of Zadash is Dolan Thrym, from way back in the campaign.
  • As Beau's father is taken off for his brief stint in jail for his actions, Beau removes her expositor's badge and presses it in his hand.
    Beau: Give this to TJ.
    Thoreau: Beauregard, I—
    (Beau turns and walks away)
• Caleb and Essek return to the Stein Gate in the Genesis Ward. Caleb lays out his ideas for how he could save his parents without messing with the timeline. Essek offers to help him do it. Caleb takes a moment, and then disintegrates everything he can, and burns the rest. Essek approves.
• Kingsley takes to the water like a champ, and sails on Fjord's ship for the next few years of his life. He eventually convinces Fjord to give him his own ship, which he christens The Mollymauk... and then a month later he disappears, running off to Darktow to join the Revelry. It's later revealed that Kingsley would make a huge name for himself as a pirate, so much so that he ends up overthrowing the Plank King and becoming the new ruler of Darktow, a king both in name and title.

Campaign 2 Wrap-Up

• Both humorous and a bit terrifying. As Laura wonders if the Hag would still see her as a friend or if the spell has worn off at this point, Matt says that while they may not meet again in good circumstances, she would still applaud Jester for being able to trick her.
• The Gentleman and Marion finally get to be together, after the Gentleman fakes his own death so he can be with her.
• As the final question for the campaign, Matt goes through the names of the people who are on the Tal'Dorei Council. The final person he reveals is the Master of Commerce: Coinmistress Vex'ahlia de Rolo.

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