"You take 5 points of stupid damage" I'm sure every DM has wanted to say this at least once

"Rolls with disadvantage." "Why???" "Because I've never seen you throw a spear before." 🤣🤣🤣

Grog saving trinket was literally Travis just making sure his wife didn’t kill him later lol

Vax: “Where did you get these toys?” Grog: “I stole it from a small child.” This was hilarious.

Vax- Where'd you get these toys? Grog- I stole them from some little kid! Matt- (in the corner crying) My mini's!

When Travis started to DM I got hyped. When Grogg started to DM I lost my mind. When DM Grogg roleplayed Pike my head exploded.

The fact that grog is such a terrible dm is hilarious. He's fudging all his rolls. He clearly has a grudge on vax ridiculing him all the time. If this was real world Dming it would be awful. But the fact that this is travis roleplaying grog dming a game with the other characters roleplaying themselves. This is pure genius.

I wish there was a reaction video of Mercer watching this.

i love that Travis a professional voice actor had to do a voice of someone who cant voice act trying to do a voice.

Um... in hindsight... that couple at the bar at the start... the little blue woman and a half orc??? DID HE JUST META HIMSELF AND LAURA'S NEW CHARACTERS AS A RELATIONSHIP BEFORE THEY EXISTED INTO HIS OWN ONESHOT????!!!!!? Edit; 2021... I made this initial comment a few episodes into campaign 2 and someone just pointed out that it was the most liked on this video. Wild :D

25:10 I know it's been years, but not enough people give love to Vax dreaming he was Liam. I don't know why, but 'I had this cart, there was no horses, it just *went.* ' kills me every time. 😭🤣

And no one ever brought up that Percy said "Did you NOT take theater class?" It is canon, that Percy took theater class, and no one talks about it.

"You take 5 points of stupid damage". Love Grog! Best DM EVER!

The longer I watch this show the more I become convinced that Travis is a damn genius.

The fact the Travis dropped his and Laura’s characters for the 2nd campaign as well as their pregnancy in this one shot is fantastic.

From everyone’s reactions, I have to assume Travis’s Drunk Pike impression is dead on for drunk Ashley Johnson.

I wanna see a one shot run by Jester in this way, where Jester in character is the DM

This episode is so fucking cool. I love how each of the characters have their own ways of playing: Scanlan is a power gamer who’s a little *too* into it, Vax is clueless and doesn’t get it, Vex is a little weirded out, but is kinda into it, and Percy is quiet, but knows the game. And, of course, Grog is an excellent Bunion Master! It’s all anyone could have asked for...

Percy deserved the extra 500XP because the pun "Did you perpetrate this grizzly murder" was absolutely GLOSSED OVER

"I'm not asking you this in character," said Laura, asking Scanlan in character as Vex.

3:27:53 I honestly think this is the only time on the entire history of Critical role where sam breaks, and is genuinely struck speechless at the sheer absurdity of the circumstances he got himself into, trying to kill his friends imaginary, IMAGINARY bear, in a game within a game, two levels deep, because he knows that killing it only one level down would make Laura genuinely upset. WHEELS WITHIN WHEELS

I love how all of Grogs fuckery with the other characters (him succeeding at everything, him finding platinum while Laura finds poop, Vax failing the jump roll even though he had the highest roll) all of this would be absolutely unacceptable and probably irritate players in a normal game but because they know eachother so well and they are in the unique position that its GROG and not travis Game Mastering, its just a heap of fun and laughs

Sam’s bit of doing an outrageously bad character voice that keeps changing is pure genius

"Do you even know what genealogy is??" "Yeh, it's like a blue denim"

Scanlan: "Ask him his name." Percy: "W-Why would I do that?" These Whitestone elitists, man.

I love how protective laura is of her twice imaginary bear. This isnt even the imaginary trinket.

The way everyone devolves into just tears after Scanlan tries to poison Trinket is so fucking funny. I've never seen Liam laugh so hard.

It's hard to be a good DM. But it's nearly impossible to be good at being a bad DM. Travis is just that good.

Let's all give Travis some credit for DM'ing max level characters for his first time DM'ing

the starting npcs in the tavern being a blue skinned lady and a half orc and then jester and ford being in the next campaign is amazing

Something about this bothered me visually every time I watched it until I just now realized that Travis fills up like 32% more space than Matt, even after the DM cam is pulled back to make space for how tall he is.

This is quite possibly my favorite one shot now. A dude playing a dude who thinks hes another dude! The chemistry was just great!

I love how their characters are the total opposite of themselves when it comes to RP: -Sam does his normal voice for Scanlan. Scanlan does an accent for Scanlan bis (Scottish and sometimes australian, for some reason) -Liam is very invested and edging rules-lawyer. Vax doesn't get *anything* that happens. -Laura is the best and heavier RP-er at the table. Vex doesn't even know how to act like herself. -Taliesin tries to advocate decisions, showing the pros and cons and is basically intervening a lot. Percy sits at the back seat and watches the disaster happen...

"The... door just, opens? They dont do that! My own bathroom door at Whitestone hits me for 1 point of bludgeoning damage every time I go through it" "That's how its designed" I love how its now canon that every door is out to get them. Doors should have been Vex's favorite enemy

"And in front of Scanlan materializes, to his horror, a fucking T-Rex." Best Grog line ever! Hands down.

I love how everyone's character accents gets stronger for everyone, Percy gets posher, Vex more British, Vax more pompous. Amazing.

I love that the entire time this game is going Vax is just confused. It's like deep down somewhere Liam can feel this happening and hes just screaming "IM TOO MANY LEVELS DEEP!!"

Everyone laughing at how Grog is a bad GM but nobody talks about Vax being so fricking lost, it's hella funny to watch

The fact that travis made the room that shape, and how hard laura laughed at it is an example of two people who were made for eachother.

After years of Matt trying...it was GROG who finally managed to split the party.

Vax: Can i attack again? Grog: Idk you have more attack stuff right, ive seen you do a lot before Vax: Yeah i have 4 more, 5 more, 7 more attacks! Grog: How about 1 more. Vax: 1 more attack!

Travis bringing a t-rex to fight Scanlan but forgetting to prep a triceratops is the most Grog thing he's done planning this one-shot.

“It’s no mystery that Grog likes you better than he likes me, so--“ “SHUT UP LET GROG TELL A STORY”

"I ate that meatball from Scanlan and I fuckin diiiied.......I dont wanna make any assumptions but...." I am fucking dead XD

Matt has them so spoked they're afraid of doors

'There was a guy with long hair playing at the tavern.' since the animated show has depicted several characters who look like Matt AND showed a group of guards playing the game too, it is very possible Grog actually saw someone playing this game in the tavern lol

51:17 you can see the exact moment where Liam realizes what the room is shaped like

18:00 .... a half orc man and a lady with blueish skin???? TRAVIS YOU WERE HINTING!!!!!

Wow. Totally missed that secret baby announcement. Travis you clever man

Watching Grog become more and more refined with his speech and his vocabulary throughout the game. I have two head canons at this point that I can't choose from. 1. Being he's actually far more intelligent and just act's like he's not because it's funnier that way. 2. Being that he found a potion that enhances his intelligence for a few hours, listened to people at the tavern play this game. Then decided that THIS was what he was going to use it for.

Man I wish there were some more "in character" one shots. This is so freaking funny even 5 years later.

"we heard you liked role playing games, so we put a role playing game in your role playing game, so you can role play while you role play!"

They are playing a one shot of their dnd characters playing a dnd one shot of themselves. Seems legit

I love how Percy just decided to use all the gadgets he had that he never got to use often. Like using Diplomacy, Manners, his Sword. Plus him trying to use a spear.

This popped up in my recommended 3 years later and the first things I've noticed at this point are: - Grog made the couple in the tavern Fjord and Jester and they have a baby - Vax's wild dream is himself as Liam IRL driving his kids around I love this group of misfits

"I don't like steam, it is angry water and it makes my face hurt." "Grog cant read cursive." "Are we gonna fight a baby now?" "Can we do things we cant do in life?" "You can try" "Grog is very dignified." "Im super rich because I never really buy anything." "My name? Is *Bob* ."

3:27:55 Percy's strained "did you perpetrate this grizzly murder?" pun is the cherry on top of this whole sequence

1:37:13 I love the relieve on Percy's face when a door finally behaves like it supposed to and tries to murder everyone.

It wasn't until the first dice roll that it dawned on me... Grog doesn't know numbers. This was a f*cking *incredible* idea.

That moment you realize Travis voices Thor in the Marvel games/shows makes Sam's read even more hilarious.

I love how Grog messes with Vax's roll results, that is one of those little fun details that make it really feel like Grog is indeed the BM.

Sam: "That's a LOT of apple juice!" *immediately afterwards: lifts comedic oversized mug and drinks from it.*

Rewatching this after years gone by. I would love to see Travis DM another one- shot, but THIS time he is Chetney.

When you learn that fjord and Jester make a cameo + THE BABY at 17:57 Now that’s what you call foreshadowing

God this episode is such a meta mindfuck 😂

I love the look of realization hit Travis when he does a character voice doing a character's voice and how long this is going to be

The absolute GENIUS of this idea though, like I'm assuming Travis has never DM'd before seeing as his first DnD game was the infamous birthday one-shot, so he can use Grog's lack of intelligence to cover if he gets smth wrong, but it's also a fucking HILARIOUS idea

I would love to see Grog DM a game where Pike is in it and just see all the favoritism :P

Just imagine if the Mighty Nein found Grog in a tavern who invites them to play Bunions&Flagons with him to pass the time, some time. That'd be amazing.

The moment that Laura saw that Travis had gotten sharpie on their pepper mill and he refused to look in her direction had me in tears🤣🤣🤣

I love how Sam's idea of Scanlan roleplaying is like a sad version of when he was Gavroche in Les Mis. Also his pure delight at diving into the "yes, and" of Travis playing Grog DMing

"Why didn't you let me sleep in?! I spend so much time killing things and I never get to cuddle..." SOMEONE CUDDLE VAX PLZ.

Ah, this “Bunions and Flagons” game must be a rip off of my favourite game, “Cave Systems And Fire Lizards”!

I so want an entire episode of the animated series dedicated to this.

I need a campaign 2 version of this with Jester DMing. It would be glorious

Oh God! I want a similar episode sometime in C2, only with Nott DMing and Caduseus saying "I don't want to play my character as myself, can I role up a lavender Tiefling with a complete lack of inhibitions?"

To quote Liam from a previous session. "I laughed so hard I grew a six pack"

2:43:02 Laura is legit mad at Travis for ruining their peppermill LOLOL

[About a door that simply opened without molesting half of the team...] Vax: My own bathroom's door in Whitestone does me 1 point of bludgeoning damage each time I open it! Percy: Yes, it's designed for that, I mean it's a DOOR! Vax: This door is faulty... I can relate to that x)

Man, Pike's reading and math lessons are really paying off! Proud of you, Grog.

I love how Grog just discriminates against Vax because this is his chance for Revenge since Vax usually evades his pranks.

Lol. I LOVE Liam’s commitment to Vax’s confusion

I love how far Liam goes to be ion character. He is being vax pretending to be little vax, having no idea how to play the game. 10/10

Laura would have been about two months pregnant here, and they definitely would have prepped their characters for C2 by then!

Reposting for my own ease of access. 11:30 Let's play Bunions & Flagons 12:30 Character drawings 15:10 To Keyleth 15:50 The best Pike 30:56 - 32:10 NPCs 40:50 XP 47:40 Map time ! 50:50 Dubious map design #1 55:50 How to treat a dart wound 57:43 What what darts 1:04:20 Poor Trinket 1:19:00 Dubious map design #2 1:22:40 Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal ! 1:24:20 Grog's maths, or Travis' maths ? 1:26:00 BM's ruling 1:27:50 The mansion's decoration 1:35:30 Door utopia (... or is it ?) 1:43:20 The Trinket war continues 1:48:47 Trinket's rolling really well tonight 2:14:52 Break ends 2:18:20 The door puzzle 2:22:40 Keyleth hommage 2:26:45 How did Travis choose the monsters ? 2:28:38 Percy rolls 2:31:10 Vax has been through this before 2:39:20 Stupid damage 2:41:00 Pushing the latch 2:42:35 The dragon almost comes out 2:44:50 Vox Machina, meet your enemies 2:48:13 It's so fluffy ! 2:52:50 The unicorns refuse to cooperate 2:54:40 There can only be one 2:58:20 The return of Scan-ceratops ! 3:05:30 Issues with platforms 3:11:50 Unicorns really are magical 3:14:50 Unicorn taming: not going well 3:19:57 Fried T-rex 3:21:20 A wild Sam appears on the table 3:24:40 Inspiration ... ? 3:27:21 The cast is broken 3:31:29 Grog's story 3:34:30 Achievement: unlocked 3:44:30 Battle ends 3:48:07 Who won the game ?

I love actors having to act like they don't know how to act, one of my favored tropes. Now I love pro DnD players playing a game of DnD in a game of DnD where they don't know how to play DnD

This is so meta. I love it. I've never seen 'Bad DM' done so well.

Grog - ''...Roll an attack at disadvantage.'' Percy - ''Why at disadvantage?'' Grog - ''Because I've never seen you throw a fucking spear before!'' Beautiful. :)

This is the truest experience of a typical home D&D session I have ever seen. Right down to using children's toys and cooking utensils on the maps. I appreciate Critical roles production value but this feels like home.

idky but I missed those "I'm vax/vex → that's vex/vax" t-shirts so much since they wore them for the first time, I love them

"Grog can't read cursive"

"There seems to be some sort of architecture about it" is my favorite description of a building.

OMG Travis pretending to be Grog pretending to be (Ashley pretending to be) Pike is a whole new level of meta, and I am loving it

Travis playing Grog playing Pike.... is something I never knew I needed in my life

58:10 There's a version of Matt that exists in Exandria. It's canon now.

48:34 the moment Sam realizes that if Trinket's in the game, he can kill Trinket

That second 'speak w/ animals' did it for me. We can all stop trying to roleplay now. Travis playing Grog playing BM playing Trinket just did it to perfection

Grog GOAT 😂😂😂❤ “he rolls… a million”

"Are you arguing with the BM?" -Grog

"How do you all know what's going on?" "Just 'yes, and...' Vax." "No, but..."