Taliesin now: Speak with plants? Lame Taliesin in campaign 2: Ya but can I flirt with seaweed?

"Tiberius has a Glaive?" "It's the Granny Grinder!" I died laughing at that one.

If you've watched the first 27 episodes, congratulations, you've made it.

Grog's natural 20 on his intelligence roll brought me so much joy

Sam to Taliesin's character: We're not gonna live in a cemetery that's super creepy Taliesen's character, 2 years later: I used to live in a cemetery

I like how sam sees Travis happy and just says it out loud not a care in the world "no more shopping today" as Travis goes warhammer happy

Shout-out to Marisha for stopping the group's squabbling to give Taliesin a chance to speak when only she could hear him. He doesn't talk up much, even when it's his own storyline, so I'm glad he was given room to make the plan for infiltrating Whitestone. Also super happy to see the whole group unquestionably go along with it like yep, alright, Percy has a plan and we might not know everything yet but that's okay and we'll follow his lead. Taliesin professing how much he loves these guys after felt really genuine, bless them all.

Sam: is the body that is supposed to be mine… attractive? Matt: it’s a nine year old boy- Sam: Oh God.

i always get whiplash at the beginning because i expect travis to come in after matt does the intro with “W E P L A Y D U N G E O N S A N D D R A G O O O N S”

1:50:17 "If she was a little older, Tiberius would kill her." Ah, Scanlan, you know how to make the unacceptable hilarious!

Tiberius: -Buys 35 small mirrors -Ask his father to start a war -refuses to elaborate -leaves

Holy shit, the group without Orion is SO much more relaxed, they're having so much fun. I've only seen less than 30 mins of this episode and I can already feel a massive change. Damn. I knew he made a big difference but I didn't realise how huge it actually was. So relieved to know he's not coming back after this.

Never quite noticed how often Matt gets interrupted until it wasn't happening anymore.

I was wondering what Liam was talking about in the beginning of the episode - the difficult, personal problems he was experiencing in his life and how the fans helped him through that. I finally found a thread about it on Twitter; he'd just lost his mother to cancer. I feel terribly for him in this episode. He's such a sweet man, and you can tell it's had its affect. I'm so happy the community was there for him. Here's his thread, for those who are interested (posted in 2018): "My mother battled with cancer on and off throughout her life. In the lead up to her passing two years ago, it robbed her of her personality, and finally, stole her from our lives. It was the hardest, darkest moment of my life. It was exactly at that moment a snap decision in this little game of ours lead the story into a direction heavily layered with death & dying. One that lasted to the end of the campaign. The intersection of life & the game was uncanny to me, & the two bled into each other. In the weeks following her passing, I felt pretty swallowed up by loss, but spending time with my trusted friends every week, exploring the very thing that I was haunted by…. taught me volumes. Sometimes art is just entertainment. But it’s often much more."

It's FASCINATING the sheer shift in dynamic from the last episode to this one. It was so gradual it was hard to see how much he affected the mood in the room until he was suddenly gone

“Don’t throw around the ‘D-word’ unless it’s the ‘D-word’ time” is maybe my favorite thing Travis has ever uttered

*D&D Players:* We scoff at death *Matt Mercer:* Let me describe these eight bodies... *D&D Players:* *brains explode*

Grog "I have an intelligence of 6, I know what I'm doing" Strongjaw: *looks over at an odd fort* *rolls a 20 and says* oh, that's a stone giant fortress" *like it was the most obvious thing ever*

When Laura said "I'm so angry right now", and Travis said "And not at me for once", I about lost it! I feel you big guy

Wow. Tiberius style of play has gotten a lot better in this episode. Quick, concise, and efficient. Great job Tibs..... its like hes a different person here

Grog gets grappled "I'm not stuck here with you, YOU'RE stuck here with ME."

At 58:18 when vex calms grog out of a rage, all I could think was her saying “Hey big fella, the sun’s getting real low”

I love seeing who figured out the bodies of the tree when. Taliesin's face and the "I'm walking away" followed by Marisha's "no no no no no no no" and Matt just Keeps Going. I love how he made this more fucked up than even Taliesin expected.

Matt still asking everyone to wish Orion a happy birthday is honestly very sweet of him.

Rewatching Campaign 1 makes me miss the god of timestamps, Flando

22:29 "Which one? Dead or unconscious?" "Unconscious" "Don't throw around the D word unless is the D word time!"

It honestly kinda surprised me when Travis started speaking in his posh voice at 24:42 , since he’s pretty heavily built and plays a Goliath barbarian I sometimes forget that he’s a professional voice actor with range

Tiberius: I have an idea. Back in a few days. Scanlan: Stop. Don't. Come back.

I know everyone says Orion leaving makes a difference... I just want to add that Sam is sooo much happier. He did not hide his disdain for Orion whenever he did something shitty, he was so done with him since the beholder fight.

Taliesin going "bats actually have very reasonable eyesight" is incredibly blessed energy. Of course he would know, he can talk to them

Welcome to the “I Survived to Episode 28” club, now you may unclench your jaw and go forth from here in peace.

Travis getting so excited that his Nat 20 intelligence check for Grog worked out is the cutest, purest thing even so many years later.

"I have fire resistance; it's okay." Matt Mercer is a Tiefling. Confirmed.

Legend: says one vague thing about a tree The party: immediately makes an entire plan based on the tree

Best part in this episode was Taliesin casting telekinesis at the beginning to get the camera adjusted.

You can see the horror in Marisha’s face after he finished describing the body for Vex as she stops taking notes for a second and then her look towards Travis when he described Grog’s and the full blown panic at Trinket 😱 Matt’s setup was so good

Marisha "HELL YEAH! I look like an Ed Hardy Tattoo!" Matt "I regret everything."

Did you know that if a crow is found dead, the rest of the flock will search the body and surrounding area looking for threats. In other words they hold an autopsy and investigation. I guess you could call it a MURDER investigation.

A moment of appreciation for how smoothly Tiberius' exit was handled. Given how erratically he acted and how obsessed he was with coming up with his own solutions to things, it was completely in character to leave the group to try and plead with his father in person. So Orion's behavior becomes his own and his character's downfall in a way that makes sense. He set both for a fall and the DM / rest of the group handled it accordingly. It's kind of poetic to watch the story come to an end like that on two levels at once.

Shout out to Matt's creepy af description of the Sun Tree bodies.

I like to imagine that Grog alone has the power to break the fourth wall and talk as Travis, but is too dumb to realize it.

I love how Liam basically pulled a Willy Wonka "Wait, stop, come back" when Tiberius left

Me: I'll just stay a bit before going to bed, maybe something will make me feel good Travis: "I bite the bird's head off" Laura: "Grog, no!" Matthew: "It is done, she goes "Grog!" and you go *nom* "

My farvourite thing about the Briarwood arc is, that Percy went from a character I barely noticed, to probably my favourite character from S1.

What demon did Matt sign a contract with that he can do such perfect impersonations of the party members!? I swear, if this was a podcast, Matt could do the whole thing solo and nobody would even notice.

Tourist: Man Whitestone suc-(undead giant walks around corner) cessfully has married gothic decor with an agricultural cityscape.

Matt breaking the 4th wall to Vax about Tiberius leaving was gold. That exit strategy was brilliant and, as Sam points out, very in character for him.

Lol Laura going "that's a lot of episodes" in response to a donation where someone said they just caught up, meanwhile I'm starting out seven years late

It's funny to come from campaign 2 and see how well Laura takes care of trinket, as compared to the probably dead weasel wrapped around her neck as jester.

As a DM, I love Talesin's play style. He's super amiable with Matt and he knows his character and his abilities incredibly well, and he knows when and when not to challenge the DM's rulings. The other players here are pretty good about it as well because they know Matt knows best, but I find Talesin is sort of the non-problem child over all. Not to mention his great character that doesn't Mary Sue the shit out of his sad backstory.

My favorite moment: The twins both roll 20 on their perception and makes a "team Discovery" pose together. Went by too fast.

"You want to build a militia?" "I want to build a REBELLION." Percy has some RAW ASS LINES

Whitestone kinda feels like that level 30 area you accidentally stumble into at level 6 in a video game. And then you're just like nope! I'm out!

Grog: I see birds Party: the might be spies Grog: Yeah I spy birds

Matt winking at Travis was what allowed Grog to roll a Nat 20. Also the 4th wall was shattered in this episode

So I don't have to scroll way down 13:12 - Game begins 15:16 - Mercer's Beard Check 24:36 - English Grog 28:05 - Scanlan Casts Guilt 35:20 - Scanlan Inspiration Song 48:26 - Bigsby's Stooge Hand 49:33 - Scanlan "Inspires" Percy 56:27 - Grog vs Behir 1:07:12 - MatTiberius 1:08:08 - lol, love Matt as the DM. 1:14:05 - Grog Intelligence Check 1:16:10 - Mercer is Magic 1:22:37 - Scanlan sings that there are giants in the sky 1:24:25 - Brain Fart 1:24:43 - Sigil/Taunting the DM 1:34:22 - CSI: Scanlan 1:36:12 - Ozzy Grogsbourne 1:37:55 - Break starts and ends [they did a jump cut] 1:39:00 - Whitestone Map 1:50:58 - Scanlan "Holds On" 2:09:28 - Grog vs Lemon Trees? 2:21:50 - SCATlan 2:39:13 - The Sun Tree 2:40:56 - My mind is blown. 2:58:35 - Game ends

Travis is such in a better mood than last episode... Two words appart

Scanlan: "Like a mark?" Percy: "Like a mark." Scanlan "Like a mark. Like our mark?" Percy: "Not our mark." Scanlan: "The Resistance?" Percy: 'The Resistance." Scanlan: "I need a beret!"

it's been weird watching Travis, Tal, and Liam swap facial hair every few episodes

I am a few years late to the party but after watching the first 27 the energy of this episode is immediately off the charts. Orion was an energy leach and him being gone is easily noticed.

44:03 "You grabbed me- You ASK first." Henry Crabgrass has entered the chat-

*Sam shaming Marisha for only using first-level Cure Wounds* Taliesin: "You guiltied her up to another level." Travis, bursting out more laughter: "That was the best."

Keyleth's animal impressions make me just genuinely happy. It's adorable.

This Sun Tree moment is the thing I'm most excited to see adapted in the animated show. It's such an iconic and legendary villain moment, and it needs to get an equally horrifying adaptation

Jesus Christ. I was listening to this while working on a presentation, and when Matt started imitating Tiberius, I *genuinely* thought Orion was back. Matt is a wonderful voice actor.

Taliesin pretending to use the force on the camera while it's being adjusted makes me smile. 13:36

Travis' love for Grog is palpable in this campaign and the next but watching him double back whenever saying something too smart and/or clever for Grog makes you appreciate how much of a breath of fresh air Fjords high charisma and tactical intelligence must have been

31:10 the quickest Tiberius turn in the entire series

having watched C2 first, every time Matt says 'making your way' and the cast don't sing I cry inside

2:40:20 and there she is. the worst thing that could happen to her has already happened. we love her so. :')

I'm so proud of myself for getting through 27 episodes... feel like I can relax and enjoy now!

I knew Orion left, but I am noticing the difference of the general mood and chemistry immediately.

I loved watching the realisation of what was hanging from the tree slowly dawn on the cast. 2:39:12 Taliesin gets it very quickly, then it hits Marisha as she's writing the descriptions down. Laura starts to get it and tells Travis not long after. When Marisha dramatically stops Matt it clicks with Sam. Meanwhile Liam just looks constipated, either he has a great poker face or he was wrapped up in Matt's delivery.

I would like to draw attention to how worried travis was for trinket when laura said dead rather unconcious. SO ADORABLE

2:21:30 Can I just say how adorable Taliesin is in that scene, with his hand up and jumping in the chair, anxious do talk, as Matt and Sam finish the conversation. It's just incredibly cute. This man is a treasure

Matt's face when they are contemplating reviving the Sun Tree... You could see him going "oooh that's cool"

Trinket's armour gives resistance to bludgeoning! And his AC is 20. Damnit Vex, you gave him the Bullet armour.

I love how Matt is giving off disappointed dad energy when they're discussing the Scanlan scat-grenade, but it was him who came up with the mechanics of the scrying potion.

I finally did it, I did all 27 Orion episodes. I feel bad for the guy in many ways, but OMG ep 27 was sooooooooo bad. It was like every one of his bad habits that are normally more spread out all coming out constantly throughout the entire episode. The chub joke was so cringe I think I felt physical pain. But I'm here and wow is the energy in the room good. They finally seem relaxed.

Percy's projectile dysfuction.

Geek and... Sun Tree aaaayyyyy

Keyleth: You want to build a militia? Percy: I want to build a rebellion. I got chills! 2:16:24

Hello to everyone rewatching after The Legend of Vox Machina

If Wil Wheaton were a gunslinger, he would misfire every other shot lol

"Oh, that's a stone giant fortress"

Rest here weary travellers. You've earned it

2:43:48 Sam attempts to lighten the mood, then reminded that it’s even worse than he thought

I love travis being matt's biggest fangirl in the episode, urgh him freaking out that matt winked to him is just perfection 1:12:50

We made it everyone. It was a long hard road, but we're finally here. Enjoy the rest of the campaign!

Regardless of how one may feel about Orion, this is the episode where critical role clicked.

Not to pile on but can you imagine what the Sun Tree scene would have been like if Tiberius had been there? 😒 Matt did a great job setting the stage and and the players' reactions was *chef's kiss* (with no interruptions from a certain someone)

"I didn't ask for science!" - Travis. Priceless!

Scanlan- "I don't hurt things very well" Percy- "You hurt feelings" Taliesin's muttered quips throughout every session are pure gold and don't get enough appreciation.

BTW I watched most of Campaign 3 before coming here and seeing Marisha's reaction to the Sun Tree, knowing she's Laudna, is amazing.

"its like 12% of a plan" - nice subtle nod by Travis to Guardians of the Galaxy

13:12 - Game begins 15:16 - Mercer's Beard Check 24:36 - English Grog 28:05 - Scanlan Casts Guilt 35:20 - Scanlan Inspiration Song 48:26 - Bigsby's Stooge Hand 49:33 - Scanlan "Inspires" Percy 56:27 - Grog vs Behir 1:07:12 - MatTiberius 1:08:08 - lol, love Matt as the DM. 1:14:05 - Grog Intelligence Check 1:16:10 - Mercer is Magic 1:22:37 - Scanlan sings that there are giants in the sky 1:24:25 - Brain Fart 1:24:43 - Sigil/Taunting the DM 1:34:22 - CSI: Scanlan 1:36:12 - Ozzy Grogsbourne 1:37:55 - Break starts and ends [they did a jump cut] 1:39:00 - Whitestone Map 1:50:58 - Scanlan "Holds On" 2:09:28 - Grog vs Lemon Trees? 2:21:50 - SCATlan 2:39:13 - The Sun Tree 2:40:56 - My mind is blown. 2:58:35 - Game ends

I was thinking they're are so fast and energetic this episode but then I realised I had my speed set to x1.25.

"Don't throw around the 'D' word unless it's the 'D' word time" - Travis had me dying

Im new, watching their first campaign and Im just glad that theres a majority of the fanbase that felt what I've been feeling since episode one... I survived to Episode 28 lol!

I just love at 13:45 when they readjust the camera and Taliesin's going like "I'm magneto i'm moving the camera".