i was SO impressed with the DM - and the story itself - really hammered-home more than ANYTHING how we've only ever seen Post-Apocalypse Exandria before this. The level of technology/magic is CRAZY during this time period. And every player reacts to it like "yeh thats normal"

Matt as DM: "How to make an awesome and wholesome adventure." Aabria as DM: "How to make a whacky and chaotic romp with chaos monkeys." Brennan as DM: "How to psychologically scar, torment and fuck up my players."

When Brennan asks, “Is it Thursday yet?” It’s a threat.

It only took 5 minutes of Brennan DMing to make me Instantly wish Calamity would be longer than 4 episodes... That opening scene is one of the best Critical Role moments ever...

Being a Dimension 20 viewers as well just makes me goes "OHH THEY'RE NOT READY FOR BRENNAN"

So… how many years has Brennan been waiting for a player to roll high enough to perceive an invisible person, just so he could deliver that monologue he’s clearly been thinking about for a long time?

Normal dm would go "Ghor Dranas means Gathering of Shadows in Draconic" but Brennan on the other hand just goes a full on Historian 😩👌

We need a Bolo mini-serie where we just follow her around being her no chill self with everyone she meets.

I still think it's cheating letting Sam roleplay as himself. ;) And it's strange how most of a week later every time Travis' character talks the world turns sepia and it starts raining. lol

The whole time I was just at a loss for words, the story telling blew me away.

Matt, Aabria, and Brennan is the Trinity of Lawful Good, True Neutral, and Chaotic Evil DM 😂

I knew Brennan would deliver. I knew he'd come in swinging from the beginning. I thought I was ready. I was not. That first 20 minutes or so was the coolest, scariest, most incredible DMing I've ever experienced. AND THIS IS EPISODE ONE!!!!!!

There are really only two D&D play videos/streams I follow, and those are Critical Role and Dimension 20. So this was a perfect storm for me. I would never compare Matt vs. Brennan as "who's the best DM," that's like comparing an A to an A+ in multiple categories between two top-tier students. However, Matt's world building plus Brennan's control of table mood = beyond perfection. Both are A++. Let's just leave it at that. I think Brennan knew how much of a big deal it would be for him to finally run a CR joint, (especially covering this material) and he really brought his A-game. He's normally amazing, but he was simply transcendent here. I've watched a lot of his games, and this performance here is easily the best I've ever seen from him. From anybody. At 40:34, when Lou clapped, pointed at Brennan, and said "that's my best friend," I like to think that was Lou talking about Brennan, not his PC talking about an NPC.

One of my favorite things is that even though there's no sponsorship to announce here, somehow Sam still ends up doing an ad read... I think he has an addiction 😂

I am thoroughly convinced Brennan is going to take the throwaway character of Bolo and absolutely break all of our hearts in a couple episodes.

My expectations were high, and still blown right the fuck out of the water. This is Crown of Candy Brennan, ready to have fun while being utterly ruthless to his players.

Man. It is so amazing that we get to witness a fantasy style Old Testament lesson go down in real time.

Brennan have this charm where when he plays NPC, he can very quickly connect with the player and match with their vibes

Rewatching if right now. The cast is fantastic, Brennan is a gem and the world is mesmerizing. Gosh, I wish there were more than 4 episodes. This is gonna be a _fun_ ride.

Mercer trusted Brennan for a reason, and we all know why.

41:03 the brain on this guy! Describing not only that you find the person, but how you do it! and makes total sense!

I feel like it's worth mentioning that one of my favorite Brennan/D20 moments was in Unsleeping City when he asks for the AC of a PC's dog and then says while laughing "I'm gonna kill that dog." He is RUTHLESS

Cerrit Agrupnin, you don't recognize me? I am your roemaence partnaer, Vespin Chloras. Spoilers for dimension 20 live sophomore year It'll always make me smirk that Brennan has surprised two inquisitive rogue detectives with creepy guys in mirrors while they're alone in a room lol

I was so mesmerized the whole time watching this live! It was incredible, and I love all the new PCs!

Great video - honestly it was amazing, even better than we all hoped! Brennan and the whole cast were on fire. anyone else notice the parallel between Zerxis and Orym having both lost their husbands? and Sam has combined all his previous characters to ascend to his highest final form. and you look really amazing in the green dress sky!

I had literal chills the whole time watching this episode! Specally on the first minutes! The story telling blew me away. Cant wait to see how this story gonna end! Btw, love the reaction as aways!

rewatching Calamity, man it started off so light and fun

God i wish they would put out a sourcebook for this age of Exandria. Something for a really high magic campaign set before the calamity. Bring Brennan in to write it.

I was so worried about anyone other than Matt touching the lore of the Calamity but Brennan clearly crammed for this exam and is passing with flying colors so far. A lot of what's happened in the first 2 episodes lore wise has kind of lined up with some of my suspicions/ theories about the history and how suspiciously simple it's been so far and how Matt is as a writer where things are always much more complicated. I'm very envious of the deep lore conversation Brennan clearly got from Matt before this show started, he's now a keeper of some of the secrets in Matt's brain! If you go watch the History of Exandria Video that has Matt narrating it, there's a bit in there about the Betrayer god's Grief and loss and frustration being the reason why they sided with the Titans around 2 minutes in that just ever so slightly hints that something MORE happened than has been admitted to and I for one am VERY excited for a bunch of conflicting information from various sources about what ACTUALLY happened during the schism and what's about to happen during the Calamity.

Sam's years of doing the sponsor bits has been training for this character :D also Brennan is one of my favourite DMs to watch. just a perfect fit for Calamity. woulda loved to see Matt in there (escape from the bloodkeep was amazing) but still a great watch!

=Neat Timestamps= Spoilers lie below... 2:35 - Cold open 7:54 - I think I caught something. 8:35 - Older than the World 13:14 - If you look down and see the stars... 15:39 - Morning announcements 20:16 - Reunion 21:53 - The Vault of the Golden Scythe 25:41 - The Sphinx 28:54 - Sorcerers 29:35 - Psychometric Chamber 30:08 - A different movie 30:15 - The God of...What? 31:24 - It's so empty 32:53 - Happy Replenishing 33:09 - Eldamir the Wise 35:41 - Thank you, Sam 36:12 - I'll talk to Nydas 36:26 - The signal 36:47 - The moment you've all been waiting for 38:14 - You've asked for something not included in my brain! 39:29 - Ghor Dranas 40:22 - Avaliiiir! 40:51 - Smaller than grains of sand 42:02 - You hear the drop before the spell fades 43:24 - *Swimming in the fog* You're welcome!

This was such an amazing episode and I agree with you. I love different DMs for different reasons. I feel there will come a point when people will ask each other "Hey, who was your first streaming DM?" Kinda like how people ask "Who was your first Doctor from Doctor Who series." Awesome! Love yo face!

This campaign is only 4 episodes long, and yet it's my favorite of them all- Dimension20, Critical Role, all of it. Especially after hearing how much Brennan _and_ Matt worked together on this, along with all the incredible players; it just flows so well.

This is legit some of the best storytelling I have ever experienced in my life!

I've been waiting for your episode of this. So amazing.

I looooooved this first episode

Its Matt. I never really paid attention to the professional DMs because i had no idea it was a thing. The only DM voices i listen to are the ones at my table. We do a round table sort of thing so no one person gets burnt out. Plus, i think it is important for a player to DM so they know what it feels like to be tortured, loved, feared, and hated by your friends and sometimes family. Matt opened my eyes up to a whole new way of doing things that draws the players in more and forces them softly to use their imaginations.

The dynamic is incredible

Lou begging for EXU Party Time because he knows how shit can hit the fan with Brennan at the helm. Just think how many times Lou's characters have achieved terminal velocity

For all the warning and first 20 minutes I spent most of the time laughing my ass off, which of course just means it's going to hit SO MUCH HARDER when everything goes to hell.

I'm just sad Matt didn't play. Watching him react to this shit would be glorious

Okay, so I wasn't going to subscribe except when she said" crying is a free action" that's when I knew I had to join this woman! I love you doll! You keep being you, welcome to the critter verse, unless of course you've been in OG critter like the rest of us this whole time! And which case you go girl!

if Matt ever had to step back from DMing the main campaign, I think we've found our heir apparent.

This campaign is already one of my favourites. We’ll see if it can supplant Starstruck Odyssey, but that’s a tall order! Sooo excited to watch more of this.

"Crying is a free action" I don't know when ai will use this but I will

Post the next one immediately. Loved it. Nice work. edit: nm i just found it. sorry... off to watch the other one now!

When do I get a “Crying is a free action” t-shirt?

He is so awesome!! It was intensely wonderful indeed.

i loved this soooo much it was so good. i wasnt much of a fan of the original exu but this was everything i needed. also love the gorgeous dress.

Exu Calamity was such a treat

You are so pretty

Sky, I am a big fan of your reaction videos. If I need to smile I still go back and watch you react to Gogro and Din Djarin being reunited. That is why I supported you. I want you to make money doing this. And I need more. It is not enough for you to just go “wow,” “yes” or “no” and laugh along with the players. Please put a little more effort into your “reaction.” Maybe stop the video and make a comment or prediction. There have been multiple times that I have watched Critical role and said “I can’t wait to see how Sky reacts to this,” and then I watch your reaction and get nothing. I hate giving this “negative”feedback but it is something I have been feeling for a while. I have total faith that if you put a little more effort in, your reaction videos will greatly improve.