Damn, when this show gets Brutal it gets BRUTAL! Hit up Patreon.com/SeanTanktop for EARLY & UNCUT reaction to Episode 5 RIGHT NOW for only $5l!!

Episode three introduces us to: NO MERCY PERCY

The white hair is from Marie Antoinette syndrome, the stress from his briarwood torture and from watching his family die.

“It isn’t zombie rules, you need to drink a vampire’s blood.” THANK YOU!!!

The Briarwood arc gets real dark real fast. Can't wait to see you all get to Season 2

I’m sure someone’s already said this, but in the D&D live play this is around the time when Pike’s player, Ashley Johnson, got a role as a series regular on NBC’s Blindspot. This meant she had to leave for extended periods of time to film each season of that in New York, so having Pike leave here was a way to deal with that absence. While in NY, she did join in and played over Skype for the odd ep or two whenever her schedule allowed, but this also lead to some pretty funny moments related to the tech issues of having 6 player characters actually in the room and one using a janky online connection that would occasionally cut out/had AV issues etc.

3:31 Vex’s cleavage works hard, but Percy’s angst works harder.

Fun Fact; The voice of Grog is also the voice of Roy Mustang of FMAB. The voice of Vexahlia is the voice of Lust in FMAB. They are married.

you've met Simon, the one-eyed trouser snake (on account of being a belt)... also, if you double check the scene where Percy lets go of his sister, you can see both have red fingertips.. because their nails have been pulled off

when they first started streaming this, at the start of the broadcast they would play each character's biography narrated by their voice actor. I got that committed to memory almost down to every inflection, of all the times I sat through it, so I knew pretty much every name and description stated there, by memory. when Matt casually dropped the name "Lord and Lady Briarwood" during the game, nobody noticed.... except Taliesin Jaffe, Percy's actor. I was like "did he just say...? like... THOSE Briarwood?". for Taliesin's reaction, well,... look it up. You'll see him starting to see red right there.

I love how complicated of a character Percy is. I believe Taliesin Jaffe(voice and creator of Percy) described him as a deeply fucked up version of Reed Richards. Incredibly smart but too short-sighted to see what is going on around him. Especially when it comes to the creation of his gun. He knew full well that if he made this, it would change the course of history and warfare forever but didn't care because all he wanted was revenge. So good!

One of the few reaction crews that caught on to Simon the one-eyed trouser snake. But I'm not surprised by this.

In the campaign, Liam (Vax) made his saving roll against the vampire shit Silas pulled on him in the bedroom. He's not immune or anything, he just got lucky with the dice.

By the way, I don't know if you've noticed, but Delilah Briarwood's VA also voice Azula in ATLA.

Grey DeLisle, voice of Azula and Delilah Briarwood. She said she grew up in a household that spoke tongues so she had free reign on the necro incantations (based on her appearance in the reaction show that followed when these episodes aired).

A double! Nice! Glad to see you guys are enjoying the show.

A couple of little fun details that I'm not sure you caught (pointing them out because I think they're neat, hope it's okay) Keyleth's sunlight made the wraiths tangible, so they couldn't pass through walls any more and could be physically attacked (as well as the light damaging them) :) That's why the wraith was thumping against the door like a trapped fly. Wasn't sure if that was clear, since you were talking about giving the spell time to work. Also, during the feast episode we see Delilah and Silas walk past a mirror, only one of them has a reflection. If you enjoy the horror elements then you're going to love the next episode :D (I know you already watched it, but I'm looking forward to seeing your reaction to it.)

Surprisingly, this show ISN'T animated by the folks who made Invincible. I originally thought it was too but this is by Titmouse Inc and Invincible is by Skybound

27:18 "more compelling every time". I know it sounds hyperbolic, but this show actually does keep doing this to you for twenty four episodes straight (so far). Or, more precisely, in each block of three. It had a planned three-per-week drop, so if you watch straight through you can really feel the four act serial structure, complete with minor and major cliffhangers. The fact that they could take hundreds of hours of guided improv, and condense it into these half-hour gems, packed full of all the emotions, and stuffed with visual exposition, deep character study, detail after detail in the gorgeous backgrounds... I'm gushing again, sorry. Don't get me started on the voice acting and direction.

3:22 Yep, Percival canonically suffered Marie Antoinette Syndrome after witnessing the murder of his whole family and subsequent torture at the hands of the Briarwoods and their henchmen.

Don't forget when watching this that it's based off a D&D campaign which means there is no plot armor. Anyone can die in any episode.... I'm not saying they will.. but they can ;) Mercer is Merciless. He'll let the dice fall where they may. He believed a tragedy is just as interesting of a story to tell as when the heroes win. Keep that in mind when watching this show.

If they manage to take the series to the climax of Critical Role campaign one, Keyleth will become seriously OP. With the exception of a certain goldfish incident, she basically becomes indestructible.

I was intrigued by goth power couple at first and whole Plague doctor premise at episode 3, but the 4th one really set it up for me. The way how Pike just spit it in this wraith's face I was like HELL YEAH HEALERS FTW

One point I want to make. When Vax falls unconscious during the Briarwood fight, Vex reacts. As twins, they are connected. This was in the campaign as well, with Matt (while jumping back and forth between Vax's fight and the others trying to get to him) telling Vex "You feel a crushing sense of dread in your chest." (I don't recall the exact words, but that's the vibe.)

Ugh I love this show so much and seeing so many of my favorite reactors reacting to it just warms my heart!!

Every time I see the one-eyed trouser snake I laugh. Whoever tossed that eyepatch on the snake got their mileage worth.

Surprised they didn't hear Azula's voice in the vampire lady, Delilah Briarwood. Grey Delisle voices them both.

Invincible was animated by Wind Sun Sky Entertainment. Vox Machina is animated by Titmouse.

Pike had to leave because the player Ashley Johnson was shooting or doing other work, so there were times she wasn't available. Happened in Campaign 2 a bit when she layed in the show "Blindspot"

Two in One?!? You are blessing us peasants with this video 🥹

The one eye snake was also homage to solid snake from metal gear

This show is really good at making its monsters scary.

I think there's a bit of an inside joke involving the bear, Trinket. Namely that it gets screen time, but rarely does anything. That's because in the D&D sessions this is based on, the players often forget that the bear is an option, so it rarely gets used lol.

This is one of the best series in Streaming history, both seasons are epic and both have incredible stories. It gets more insane in later episodes and even season 2.

Lil fun detail often Ashley Johnson the voice actor for Pike had shows she couldn't make it for the session even on skype her character would be on these solo like alone quests

I love how a snake with an eye patch can be a reference to Metal Gear Solid, a dick joke, or both lmao

Two episodes! You spoil us!

4:50 *EPIC* reference, my friends. It's about time we pay honor to the *_Toughest In Town._* ™️

My favorite part about this episode is how much they play Percy as being some social snob in the beginning, worried about his hick friends ruining the party. Then Percy is the one to completely go off during the party when he meets the Briarwoods, ha ha.

OoOoH double... nice! This show works great 3 episodes at a time... thats the way it releases each week during the season. Love that yall are getting into the meat of the story now. Turn UP!

Good recovery from the phone call. 😂 I'm Team Editor, for sure.

I can give a little vampire info that doesn't spoil anything, really. In DnD, you have to die by vampire bite to be turned into one. Being injured by the bite doesn't. As far as what damages them, magic weapons and holy damage. Silver doesn't do anything special. They are resistant to a few types of damage, which is why Grog's ball tag didn't do anything. The people who created the show joke that Silas is definitely still fully functional below the belt. You'll be able to see confirmation in Episode 3 that Silas is the only vampire because he doesn't cast a reflection when they walk past a mirror on the way to their room; Delilah does. Percy's hair changing color is due to something colloquially referred to as Marie Antoinette Syndrome; severe stress/trauma can cause the pigment in the hair follicles to die, so any new hair that grows will be white. Youve now met No Mercy Percy. 😁 As far as arresting Scanlan? He absolutely should be arrested. He's part of Vox Machina. He has the opposite of an alibi. 😂 Even if Uriel wasn't under control, he would have reasonable cause to have them under house arrest, which is the norm for the rich and nobility. There's a base expectation of behavior at a royal dinner; VM didn't follow the rules. As far as why the Briarwoods tortured? Generally, you torture for information. The torture wouldn't cause the smoke. You'll just have to wait and see why. Pike is a cleric. It's not a realigning chakras thing. They get their power from gods. The Everlight is a goddess, specifically of light and fire. If a cleric loses their ability to cast magic or heal, something bad has happened. It's not a simple fix.

Great reaction. Can’t wait to see more. I’m curious, how far ahead are you at this point? Have you seen all off season 1? Got into 2? You referenced October so wasn’t sure if you watched these the end of last year and just publishing now or if I misunderstood the reference. 27:33

I lost it at Kegan Thompson yelling “YES!! That’s IT!!” 😂😂 Havent laughed that hard in a dogs age.

The fact this is a d&d game means they are not pigeon holed by usual storytelling ,within reason anything can happen , not a story where no one dies so this way u actually care when they are in danger

“Not quite as badly as Invincible”… wait till they animate Calamity 😅 ooo boy

18:17 “well they got guns and shit.” Actually they don’t. They don’t really say it outright in the show, but Percy’s gun is the only one around. For some reason…

It's a one eyed trouser snake at that.

7:26 quite literally a one eyed trouser snake lol. His name is Simon Edit: double checked name of snake

Wherewolves can be killed by silver, silver HURTS vampires but doesn't kill as far as i know, its like an extreme allergic reaction,

This is not the same company that animated Invincible

Silver works against vampires depending on the story , its usually a purity thing or cause of judas with the silver coins thats why vampires dont show up in mirrors cause they used to have silver bsck mirrors

Vampire rules are different depending on the vampire.

19:54 Nope. Different company. This company did The Venture Brothers and Metalocalypse, among other things.

might be as brutal as Invincible but not the same studio. one of the studios (Production Reve) that actually made Vox also helped out with Legend of Korra.

The serpent belt's name is Simon, and it's not intended for combat. You skipped the mirror, did no one notice that Delilah had a reflection? The whole metal thing varies according to local vampire lore, for some its silver (probably because they were associated with werewolves) for others its iron. The important point is that the metal has been forged. The creepy-lookng freljik is a dark dwarf, a duergar. They *don't* have guns and shazbat, Percy's is the first firearm in all of Exandria. The guard is *half* orc, possibly the consequence of an orc warband pillaging and that-other-thing. Originally, the bear did go with them, but the animators were not enthusiastic about it; he does stick around in season 2. Ashley/Pike had to bounce in and out of the game, she was playing a doctor in some show set in New York at the time; but she'd skype in for emergencies.

'i didnt think they were gonna die' why? NEVER think that, this isnt a normal show, its based on a campaign and Matt is NOT a merciful DM if the rolls say they die they die :o its always on the table there is no plot armor :D

Vox machina is Latin for sound machine

Why, in the name of all that is holy, have you people not Done Demon Slayer yet??!! :|

At least in the show he blew off the guys fingers all at once, in the stream he did it one at a time.

I mean he did bite him buuuut. 😏 still kinda hot

Do with this feedback what you will. I stopped watching the reaction because you were constantly talking over the show. It made me feel that making your own jokes was more important than watching the episode. I am sure you are nice people and are very funny, but I noticed your channe because of the show you were reacting to. End of the day, this is just one person’s opinion. Your audience might enjoy the way you react. It just isn’t for me. Sorry.