For those that didn't know Sprigg that Darin De Paul played, was his character that he used to play with Matthew Mercer's mum 37 years ago. His character didn't die in their campaign so he decided he'd just been existing for 30 years... very, VERY cool throw back.

It's so beautiful that Scanlan was the one who turned Vex into a dragon for her trial and now Vex is the one giving him flight for his challange.

I love so much how everyone is dressed like “I’m playing D&D with my friends.” And Darin is dressed like “I’m on Critical Role. *so proud and excited*” ❤️

Sprigg: "Knock knock." Ioun: "...... Who's there?" Sprigg: "You would know!" Sprigg is the best XD

BTW Percy's pencil says "life needs things to live"

"A God called you a madman". "Honestly I'm a little touched". LOL. Wish that joke had picked up more props.

I love how Matt rigged Scanlan's entire trial to just make Sam continuously improv songs. This is the fucking culmination of the entire campaign lol.

I was so happy for Vex when she brought up that Scanlan didn’t like being mandhandled. That was one of the things he mentioned when he left them the first time, and it really shows that she was listening and was trying to do better for her friend.

i love grog saying that an enemy asking for a truce means they are scared of you. he may act like a idiot but that is exactly the type of wisdom a barbarian would have. he is pointing out that asking for a truce is a sign if weakness and he would only do so if he thought they stood a chance of victory. totally the type of view a member of the herd would have learned growing up.

It's so weird, I remember being at episode 50-70 like "Damn, I'll never finish this first campaign" and now here I am at episode 106, basically on the final home stretch. It was such a ride you don't realize how fast you go through this adventure

Was anyone else hoping Ioun would grant Grog the blessing of literacy?

"It was, Larkin, my friend." Welp that is offically my favorite line in all of Critical Role & Ioun is now my favorite diety.

Grog-"That water's not so evil after all, wait a minute!" Percy-"oh dear"

The puppy's full name should be Grog Strongpaw.

Catch-up crew 2019: I think it's SUPER interesting narrative-wise that Scanlan didn't even WANT the Ioun Stone at first - Tiberius had to basically insist (famously so) to get him to trade.

Lady Briarwood: is alive VM: How many times do we have to teach you this lesson, old man?

02:04:00 You're the party's ranger. You're the heart of the forest. You live off the land. You just stepped on a bear trap. You suffer 11 points of piercing damage, and 44 points of dignity damage...

“I asked you for power, but it appears you’ve given me strength.” That’s such a good line to have improvised.

The hilarious thing is that Grog would've originally been pretty well known around Vasselheim for being the long-standing champion of the Crucible, and now he's well known for being a serial assaulter of guards. xD

Sprigg foreshadowing Scanlan receiving the boon is amazing to me. He pointed to them all and mentioned they all represented something. Grog, power. Vex, bravery. Vax, sadness. Keyleth, love. Percy, secrets. Scanlan, intelligence. I thought this was incredible and likely intended. At first, I thought it was ironic that Percy represented secrets as opposed to Scanlan. But with a deeper view and Ioun even elaborating it gives more insight. Excellent story-telling between Matt and Dalin.

"You are a storyteller, and I am the keeper of all stories." This line gives me chills every time I hear it, always knew Scanlan was meant for a greater purpose with perhaps the most important god. He is the ultimate storyteller, gg Scanlan.

Darin de Paul played Sprigg so well that I laughed so hard I cried. He and Matt Mercer made magic when Matt was role playing that imp. When Sprigg was invited to stay with Ioune, I cried some more. Great role playing.

Matt casually forcing Sam to freestyle more in one go than ever before is glorious

“It was Larkin, my friends.” Matt’s ability to create the different GOOD deities is absolutely masterful. They are rich and full characters and undoubtedly good, but without being replicas of each other... Amazing.

Just did a wiki search on Vecna. He penned (when human) a tome titled, "Ordinary Necromancy". He wrote the Necromancy for dummies book of the D&D universe, amazing.

Vax: " just thought I'd be there on your wedding day" Vex: "Awww" Scanlan: "Noted" EDIT: By the Wildmother, thank you for all the likes! Critters are the best!

All these random songs Sam had to bust out to make the spectral librarians pay attention to him is making up for all the songs we didn't have while he was playing Tary. xD

"And then there was one more. The ritual is complete. I can sense his ascension … the cosmos expand to make room." Chills. Holy shit that came out of nowhere. Purest, dawning horror on each player's face as they realize the foe that already bested them with ease has widened the gulf between them from mortal to godhood. This final arc is Matt at his most brilliant. The storytelling of the different god's domains and the deities themselves. Vecna and his villainous moustache twirling genius. The constant state of urgency and panic as Vox Machina scramble to meet the seemingly insurmountable challenge before them. Bloody brilliant!

Did we all forget that Scanlan took a week with no sleep to read a book of charisma??

Sprigg passing on may be my favorite moment of the entire campaign so far. His story, the real life history of the character, the way Darin played him, it’s just so beautiful and it brings a tear to my eye. What a beautiful ending Mercer wrote for this character that has such a neat connection to him.

Travis's mini panic attack when ioun talked about the sword of kaz was priceless

"We're all stories in the end. Just make sure yours is a good one" ~Darin.

1:13:10 -"I know how to forge!" _Percy leans in_ -"Show me."

Ok I’ve decided that the screaming freak out reaction they all had to Vecna showing up is 100% canon, 100% what happened...😂❤️

Grog is turning into a giant dwarf, starting with the belt of dwarvan kind and now he got the knowledge of the dwarves for blacksmithing

The core anvil is where the first dwarves were given form and breath... guys that's the dwarven forge That means these divine tramels were provided by dwarven forge

Because Vax has been dead longer than Vex at this point, isn't it safe to assume that Vex is now older than her brother?

Atleast Laura leaned into Travis and Kord when everyone else blew him off. Like guys he wants to play too

Vex became Pelor's champion with Scanland's help (true polymorph) and Scanland became Ioun's champion with Vex's help (broom and lock picking). It's perfect stroy telling!!

So many take-aways from this episode. -When you run campaigns, never throw away the character sheets when players leave. They cam give you tools and hooks for future campaigns...and you never know when someone may come back one day. -The stark difference between Percy and Scanlan. Percy would have been the obvious choice...but he hates his knowledge. He actively fights against people LEARNING, especially the things he discovers. He may love books, but he is very selfish about it. Scanlan is a liar and a con artist, but he prefers to share knowledge and stories whenever he can. He is currently trying to learn more, about being a better person and a father, and accepting sacrifices to do it. So in the end, Scanlan was the only true choice for a god who is about teaching and discovery.

Delilah Briarwood is on the same level of Vox Machina, just from the amount of times she has died and been resurrected.

Can we all take a moment to appreciate Travis’s arms when he flexed?

2:27:30 “we don’t enjoy associating with new money” is the most badass burn a stuck up noble could give to a god

Past Episode Scanlan: "I became a bit of a crime lord [...] and I'm good at it" This episode, Scanlan disguised as the Meat Man, completely unbidden: "I am a legitimate buisnessman." I have a feeling The Meat Man's success was entirely thanks to Kailee

When the 6 INT barbarian, figures out that you are scared, and are trying to intimidate them, you are being a very puny god.

I gotta remember to check what matt is doing 35 years from now

“Only one of us is underestimating the other.” You know Percy, I feel like those words were said about another powerful creature that nuked you all with meteors when you got cocky last time.

Matt: "There's one that talks about the birth of the Rune Children." Me: "THAT'S GILMORE! THAT'S GILMORE!" Also kind of crazy that it was behind lock and key.

love how Darin is in his suit and tie, looking clean and suave while everyone else is just in T shirts lol

I love how Vecna is straight fucking with them now. VM has to really think outside the box to even stand a chance. At this point, it's safe to assume that Vecna has the GameFAQs on how to beat the entire party.

Tell me why Sprigg leaving had the exact same energy as a Doctor regenerating :’)) I’m not at all ashamed to say that I cried. What a beautiful actor he is and what a beautiful character he made.

Bless Matthew Mercer for reminding the gang that the skull is a dead end. Mercer's hands off approach can lead to good moments, but there's been so many times where I just want him to save 20 minutes of arguing because of someone misremembering something. As a new fan of Critical Role, I really hope Mercer does that more in the future.

Scanlan completes the challenge exactly at the one hour mark of the video!

Moral of this episode: Squeeze Sam Riegel like a squeaky toy, and hilarious rhymes and ditties come out.

Bringing it back up: 11:43 - Recap Starts 14:33 - Game Begins 39:25 - Scanlan inspires himself 41:23 - Scanlan's reading rainbow 42:05 - 43:48 - Singing questions 45:00 - Sprigg advice 47:16 - Little Gnomey poem 49:38 - Vex master locksmith 54:03 - Singing to a book 55:16 - Clutch spell 56:49 - Casting Friends on tome 59:07 - Casting Dominate Monster 1:00:52 - Sprigg's advice dissected 1:02:03 - Wrist Pocket trick 1:04:51 - Ioun's Blessing 1:05:57 - Tome of Isolation 1:10:47 - Ioun's knowledge to Keyleth 1:12:36 - Ioun's knowledge to Grog 1:13:34 - Callback 1:14:00 - Ioun's knowledge to Percy 1:17:40- Vecna origins 1:21:36 - Possibly Craven Edge? 1:23:25 - "And then there was one more" 1:27:12 - Ioun's seed of power 1:27:52 - Sprigg's offer 1:28:50 - Sprigg's farewell 1:30:03 - "Be happy" 1:30:45 - Sprigg's final joke 1:32:27 - Mnemonic device 1:38:13 - Break starts 1:44:35 - Laura's Signal Boost 1:59:50 - Break ends 2:03:19 - No mercy Percy 2:04:12 - Investigation check 2:06:13 - Sam's cup "Ioun is my copilot" 2:13:57 - Strange cheers 2:14:42 - Grog's interest 2:15:35 - Seed of power smell 2:15:50 - Scanlan "swallows" the seed of power 2:16:40 - Mime swallow 2:17:06 - Liam's trick 2:18:38 - Vecna answers 2:20:41 - Who are they? 2:21:24 - Whispers 2:24:05 - Vax's one-liner 2:29:29 - Panic has spread 2:31:00 - Brief recognition 2:35:10 - Vax dives in 2:36:45 - Vax and the Raven Queen 2:41:10 - Raven Queen's paranoia 2:43:35 - Blood breathing 2:44:54 - Raven Queen's seed of power 2:45:36 - Scanlan's craziest 48 hours 2:46:05 - Keyleth's BBQ kiss 2:47:18 - Grog's video store 2:49:30 - Off to Temple of Kord 2:50:19 - Sword discussion 2:54:45 - Grog incognito 2:55:36 - Meat Man introduces himself 3:01:17 - Kord's home (Ysgard) 3:02:40 - Powerful beans 3:04:40 - Earthbreaker's one-liner 3:04:56 - Meat Man deals 3:06:30 - "The Bluejob" 3:07:20 - Airforce 3:08:48 - Grog shows off his beans 3:10:48 - Grog's trick 3:11:48 - Vex's bean 3:14:20 - Cost of Trammels 3:17:40 - Terrible thoughts 3:19:10 - Grog broods 3:22:43 - Scrying on Allura 3:24:10 - Sam and Laura of the same mind 3:31:56 - Speak with dead 3:33:45 - Scrying on Delilah 3:35:22 - Vecna intercepts 3:38:54 - Thumbs 3:39:51 - "At dawn, we bank!" 3:40:14 - Scanlan's True Polymorph 3:41:49 - Hallelujah

Darin de Paul in Legend of Vox Machina: F*** that guy! Ugh! So evil! Darin de Paul in Critical Role: He is a precious angel and must be protected at all costs.

Honestly, Grog had SO much faith that Kord really should have given him something. Gods appreciate that shit.

Laura Bailey "I've always wanted to have blue hair!" Little did we know lol

"Oh man, I want those pencils so bad" she wheeps from Europe 5 years after this episode aired 😭😭

(Reaction thread) So, only fools talk to Sun Trees, but turnips are the ideal conversation partner? I love Sprigg.

I love Darin's face anytime Matt is talking, weaving the narrative around the story as he masterfully explains things and gets everyone where they need to be. He's so into and you can tell he's enjoying watching Matt do his thing and I just think it's adorable.

I'm 30 minutes into the episode and can already hear Percy's internal monologue of "Makes sense. What god would ever want me for a champion?"

Is anyone else reminded of "The Library" from Avatar: The Last Airbender (S02E10)?

I love Vox Machina so much!Vax and Vex: professing their brotherly/sisterly love for one another and discussing the future.Percy and Keyleth: having an existential conversation about how they don't have patron deities and they are ok with that.Grog and Scanlan: "hey Scanlan eat that seed the goddess gave you"... "ok"

39:25 - Scanlan inspires himself 41:23 - Scanlan's reading rainbow 42:05 - 43:48 - Singing questions 45:00 - Sprigg advice 47:16 - Little Gnomey poem 49:38 - Vex master locksmith 54:03 - Singing to a book 55:16 - Clutch spell 56:49 - Casting Friends on tome 59:07 - Casting Dominate Monster 1:00:52 - Sprigg's advice dissected 1:02:03 - Wrist Pocket trick 1:04:51 - Ioun's Blessing 1:05:57 - Tome of Isolation 1:10:47 - Ioun's knowledge to Keyleth 1:12:36 - Ioun's knowledge to Grog 1:13:34 - Callback 1:14:00 - Ioun's knowledge to Percy 1:17:40- Vecna origins 1:21:36 - Possibly Craven Edge? 1:23:25 - "And then there was one more" 1:27:12 - Ioun's seed of power 1:27:52 - Sprigg's offer 1:28:50 - Sprigg's farewell 1:30:03 - "Be happy" 1:30:45 - Sprigg's final joke 1:32:27 - Mnemonic device 1:38:13 - Break starts 1:44:35 - Laura's Signal Boost 1:59:50 - Break ends 2:03:19 - No mercy Percy 2:04:12 - Investigation check 2:06:13 - Sam's cup "Ioun is my copilot" 2:13:57 - Strange cheers 2:14:42 - Grog's interest 2:15:35 - Seed of power smell 2:15:50 - Scanlan "swallows" the seed of power 2:16:40 - Mime swallow 2:17:06 - Liam's trick 2:18:38 - Vecna answers 2:20:41 - Who are they? 2:21:24 - Whispers 2:24:05 - Vax's one liner 2:29:29 - Panic has spread 2:31:00 - Brief recognition 2:35:10 - Vax dives in 2:36:45 - Vax and the Raven Queen 2:41:10 - Raven Queen's paranoia 2:43:35 - Blood breathing 2:44:54 - Raven Queen's seed of power 2:45:36 - Scanlan's craziest 48 hours 2:46:05 - Keyleth's BBQ kiss 2:47:18 - Grog's video store 2:49:30 - Off to Temple of Kord 2:50:19 - Sword discussion 2:54:45 - Grog incognito 2:55:36 - Meat Man introduces himself 3:01:17 - Kord's home (Ysgard) 3:02:40 - Powerful beans 3:04:40 - Earthbreaker's one liner 3:04:56 - Meat Man deals 3:06:30 - "The Bluejob" 3:07:20 - Airforce 3:08:48 - Grog shows off his beans 3:10:48 - Grog's trick 3:11:48 - Vex's bean 3:14:20 - Cost of Trammels 3:17:40 - Terrible thoughts 3:19:10 - Grog broods 3:22:43 - Scrying on Allura 3:24:10 - Sam and Laura of the same mind 3:31:56 - Speak with dead 3:33:45 - Scrying on Delilah 3:35:22 - Vecna intercepts 3:38:54 - Thumbs 3:39:51 - "At dawn, we bank!" 3:40:14 - Scanlan's True Polymorph 3:41:49 - Hallelujah

"hey vecna is spying on us at all time let's openly speak about craven edge location"

Darin De Paul is easily my favorite guest star. That isn't to diminish anyone else, just... wow. He was fantastic.

I'll say it again. Darin is an incredible RPer. He blows me away.

So Happy my favorite character got to be Ioun's champion. Also major props to Sam/Scanlan for that improve of songs and poems, he had to pull out every trick and song he had in the book. Planetar Scanlan HYPE........

I absolutely love that they call these insanely powerful essences of pure divinity “the beans.” The sentence “I love the idea of a Kord bean, but I want sleep” is just so delightful, thank you Vax

I was so sure that Percy would be blessed by Ioun for his knowledge and Scanlan would be blessed by the moonweaver for his ability to deceive. To reveal that Ioun choose Scanlan because what he says has substance and value is really heartwarming and really subverted my expectations. Well done.

After rewatching the episodes where they rebuild whiterun after defeating umbrusyl and thought that Percy as a character fits more as a champion of Arathis, goddess of civilization more than Ioun, he talks with great sincerity how it would be the biggest travesty to let a city, hundreds of years to be abandoned and forgotten, he says the as a man of means his legacy is his city and those within it. At least that isnwhat I thought

”…And there was one more” BRO THE CHILLS AS I REALIZED WITH THE PARTY WHAT IT MEANT

"We don't associate with new money." God I've been binging these and this is definitely up there with my favorite quotes. Percy is always there with the quips

The genuine look of joy on Travis's face when he gets his forging knowledge is too cute.

April 2020... That Book of Isolation suddenly makes perfect sense.

For anyone who (like me) was curious what the character quotes on those pencils were: Percy: Life needs things to live Grog: I would like to rage! Tary: Doty, take this down... Pike: I wanna be a monstah! Matt: How do you want to do this? Scanlan: Spice? Keileth: I bury my shame Trinket: Don't be a sad bear, be a happy bear Vax: I'm killing someone, hold please Vex: We don't do anything with dignity

2:35:48 Sam cracks me up lol G: “Is he a vampire?” P: “He’s not a vampire” S: “I think he’s dead. I think he died in there.” P: “I don’t think that’s how it works.” V: “But I do think he’s dead.” S: “He’s undead isn’t he? He’s a zombie.” P: “He’s not a zombie.” K: “His flesh is cold..” S: “Gross.” K: “..but his heart still beats.” S: “Should we kill him? We should kill him.”

One of my favorite lines in all of Critical Role (either campaign, I've been caught up for a while now) is at about 1:30:00, when Sprigg is saying goodbye to Vox Machina and is (at least it appears to be) addressing Vax directly. "Be happy. Life is loud and noisy. it's a celebration, and I didn't know that. So, once in a while, with what little time we have, be happy."

This is it. This was the episode of the show that I saw on twitch so many moons ago, that led me down a long and winding path of 105 other episodes, hundreds of hours, and 3 scrying poops. Thank you for this ride.

"this is your final decision?" "yes. with conviction." *hands over the tome* *she receives it and looks it over for a long moment before looking back up to Scanlen* "Scanlen these pages are blank." "ha.. ha.. sorry, just a little god humor."

Pandemic Catchup Crew! Last episode: "I asked for power, these just give me strength" This episode: "I asked you for power, but it appears you gave me strength!" Such a great guest.

I'd laugh so hard if Vecna failed the first save at DC 10

If what the cast has been saying is true, this story is shaping up to have an epic conclusion! Vox Machina, the Champions of various Gods/Goddesses, wielders of the Vestiges of Divergence, Slayers of the Chroma Conclave, and Heroes of Tal'Dorei, to go up against the Whispered One [Vecna] for one final showdown. Also, I'm going to miss Sprigg so much, Darin de Paul was such a joy!!

"Ooh fuckstick we are coming..." Vax sometimes shines thgouth as this street wise thug badass that he must have been in his young life.

The "I'm not supposed to know that" from Percival completely hammers home why Scanlan was blessed by Ioun. It's a very genius moment in my opinion.

Darin DePaul spends 2 episodes giving a masterclass in RPing he was so amazing

Sam: I've never watched Harry Potter!" Travis: "We'll talk about that later." I was thinking the same thing!

You know, it occurs to me: if Percy killed Delilah back in episode 35 (as opposed to Cassandra doing it), he would have devoured her soul/fed it to Orthax, and Vecna wouldn't be able to use her for his rituals. We might have skipped this whole storyline.

2:02:49 Laura Bailey "Be careful of traps" Travis: "Squirrel goes running and explodes...hahaha." Laura: "Haha...bear trap..haha." 3...2...1...Bear trap to the leg. Classic!

I find it weird not hearing Travis' "WE PLAY DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS!!!" at the beginning of the episode now.

2:19:07 "Welcome back" is such a short line, but that is absolute perfection in Matt's portrayal of Vecna's voice. Dat growl.

"We're all stories in the end" waitaminute, is that, is that a doctor who reference?

*me in 2023 crawling on my hands and knees* only 9 more episodes

Sam will never cease to impress me with his ability to improvise on the spot even in super stressing situations like this. Well done man👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Given the mythology of the Raven Queen, one should probably assume that the blood in the pool is collected magically from those who are in the process of passing over. It is the spilled blood of the dying.

Time stamps of funny/interesting moments 39:25 - Scanlan inspires himself 41:23 - Scanlan's reading rainbow 42:05 - 43:48 - Singing questions 45:00 - Sprigg advice 47:16 - Little Gnomey poem 49:38 - Vex master locksmith 54:03 - Singing to a book 55:16 - Clutch spell 56:49 - Casting Friends on tome 59:07 - Casting Dominate Monster 1:00:52 - Sprigg's advice dissected 1:02:03 - Wrist Pocket trick 1:04:51 - Ioun's Blessing 1:05:57 - Tome of Isolation 1:10:47 - Ioun's knowledge to Keyleth 1:12:36 - Ioun's knowledge to Grog 1:13:34 - Callback 1:14:00 - Ioun's knowledge to Percy 1:17:40- Vecna origins 1:21:36 - Possibly Craven Edge? 1:23:25 - "And then there was one more" 1:27:12 - Ioun's seed of power 1:27:52 - Sprigg's offer 1:28:50 - Sprigg's farewell 1:30:03 - "Be happy" 1:30:45 - Sprigg's final joke 1:32:27 - Mnemonic device 1:38:13 - Break starts 1:44:35 - Laura's Signal Boost 1:59:50 - Break ends 2:03:19 - No mercy Percy 2:04:12 - Investigation check 2:06:13 - Sam's cup "Ioun is my copilot" 2:13:57 - Strange cheers 2:14:42 - Grog's interest 2:15:35 - Seed of power smell 2:15:50 - Scanlan "swallows" the seed of power 2:16:40 - Mime swallow 2:17:06 - Liam's trick 2:18:38 - Vecna answers 2:20:41 - Who are they? 2:21:24 - Whispers 2:24:05 - Vax's one liner 2:29:29 - Panic has spread 2:31:00 - Brief recognition 2:35:10 - Vax dives in 2:36:45 - Vax and the Raven Queen 2:41:10 - Raven Queen's paranoia 2:43:35 - Blood breathing 2:44:54 - Raven Queen's seed of power 2:45:36 - Scanlan's craziest 48 hours 2:46:05 - Keyleth's BBQ kiss 2:47:18 - Grog's video store 2:49:30 - Off to Temple of Kord 2:50:19 - Sword discussion 2:54:45 - Grog incognito 2:55:36 - Meat Man introduces himself 3:01:17 - Kord's home (Ysgard) 3:02:40 - Powerful beans 3:04:40 - Earthbreaker's one liner 3:04:56 - Meat Man deals 3:06:30 - "The Bluejob" 3:07:20 - Airforce 3:08:48 - Grog shows off his beans 3:10:48 - Grog's trick 3:11:48 - Vex's bean 3:14:20 - Cost of Trammels 3:17:40 - Terrible thoughts 3:19:10 - Grog broods 3:22:43 - Scrying on Allura 3:24:10 - Sam and Laura of the same mind 3:31:56 - Speak with dead 3:33:45 - Scrying on Delilah 3:35:22 - Vecna intercepts 3:38:54 - Thumbs 3:39:51 - "At dawn, we bank!" 3:40:14 - Scanlan's True Polymorph 3:41:49 - Hallelujah

3:20:08 "Ugh, what kind of dumb character keeps a diary" Stay gold, Sam

The entire scene of Sprigg saying goodbye to Vox Machina reminded me so much of Lord of the Rings and the departing at the Grey Havens. Sprigg taking Ioun's hand and her saying "this'll be quite the conversation" mirrored Bilbo's "I think I'm quite ready for another adventure." for me.

They had a book about the Rune Children, which Gilmore is one of them. Maybe if they save the world, they could go back to and give that book a read. :3