Six people walked into that room willing to fight a god. One walked in willing to fight two.

And thus. Vox Machina achieved their ultimate goal of destroying the most powerful elderly person they could find. Thanks for the journey.

Laura: Was he knocked prone? Matt: No, he's immune to prone. Sam: How does he make love?? 🤣🤣🤣

sam crying when he couldn't use wish to save vax anymore was the final straw for me. almost everyone but sam has cried before, but seeing him finally break down when he can't save his friend just tore my heart open. god bless you sam riegel, and your heart of solid gold.

Matt "You cant sneak attack a book! It doesnt have a discernible anatomy!" Vax "Its got a spine doesnt it?!"

"You were trying to save a wish for me?" *nods* "you broke my heart"

Zahra's Hex kept Vecna's Counterspell from preventing Pike's level 9 Mass Heal. That Mass Heal kept them from dying to the last Meteor Swarm. Zahra, in the single round she was there, saved the whole fight.

Liam quietly looked at Sam at the end and said, "You were trying to save a wish for me? You broke my heart." and they both started tearing up INSTANTLY I love them so much it's insane

I can’t believe that Vecna was really 6 Kobolds wrapped in a big robe.

Sam Riegel, the man with the constant smile and the jokes in every inappropriate situation, breaking down and crying after that 9th level spell. That wrecked me.

Grog in the end is a pale skinned, bald man with a thick beard and a sword attached to a chain, fighting a god. Grog is just Kratos.

_Sam's Mug:_ Anyone who missed it, pre-break it was a "Hey Vecna 🖕🖕" post break it was the "This is Fine" fiery dog meme.

"Why do you think I make stupid, stupid decisions all the time?" Oh my god he's been role playing his low wisdom score this *whole time*.

Joe: It's time to destroy this thing. Also Joe: I'm gonna do what's called a *Pro Gamer Move*

Matt seemed so emotional from the beginning. I can only imagine how he felt: this was the culmination of literally years of storytelling he led.

Liam: "You were trying to save a wish for me?" Sam: *nods* I've never been more broken watching this Campaign. I love them all so much!

"Sam... You were trying to save a Wish for me?" You can catch me in the corner *C R Y I N G*

"That's why I got closer, motherfucker" Epic. Just epic.

What ever plane Vecna ends up on after this, he will have PTSD about a fucking flashy ass Gnome that kept counterspelling him

Oh Sam, those real tears when you realize the spell you've been saving all night, you have to use it just to save the campaign, but the one person you were saving the spell for is now going to die...and then Liam says to him without any audible sound...but I love you. Bloody hell, it hit me right in the feels. It almost felt like Sam and Frodo, after destroying the One Ring, they lay at the foot of the mountain. "I'm glad to be with you, Samwise Gamgee, here at the end of all things."

Oh Sam... the goofball who makes fun of everything and everyone... finally reveals how invested he has become in these characters over the years and cries because his imaginary character can't save his best friend's imaginary character. And half of the table doesn't even notice it. He really is Scanlan in real life...

"at least the baby will be savedddd!" entire table: "wait what?!" Mary knew exactly what she was doing there and its the best haha

Little known fact, the tome Vecna was holding was a rare first edition of Tusk Love.

3:21:00 Travis puts his arm around Ashley's computer, Ashley notices and pretends to put an arm around him too lol they're so cute

"We're playing 3 dimensional chess with the Steve Jobs of D&D" is the most beautifully nerdy sentence I've ever heard

Imagine how tense this must be for Ashley! Everyone is at least together laughing and planning and she's just alone in a quiet bubble trying to keep track of everything.

I'll say it once and I'll say it again, Scanlan Shorthalt was absolutely unequivocally the MVP of this fight.

Travis: Matt. Matt. Let's just call a truce. Matt: ........No.

Vecna used 3 legendary resistances to ensure he kept Grog away. That’s amazing.

Okay but Marisha's comment about the cake stands and Matt's reaction when she asked if they were for their wedding made me laugh

Spoilers for 4:54:40 The thing that struck me on the rewatch of scanlan’s legendary 9th level counterspell: Matt says “you’re going to *try* to counterspell?” Sam: “I’ll counterspell.” Such a small moment, but Matt said “try.” He was probably expecting Sam to have to roll for it. He even laughed a bit in disbelief. Understandable, since teleport is so high level. But Sam knows what a 9th level spell means, and he knew it would succeed. Even the way he said it there was no question. I WILL counterspell, he said. Not “try”, *will* . Even before the big reveal, I feel like this little moment showed what was about to happen. But not even the DM saw it coming. No one did.

After watching (almost) all of Critical Role Campaign 1 I have a confession to make: I apologize to all Bard players for thinking it was a useless class.

The most heartbreaking level 9 counter spell ever in history :(

Sam spending the whole campaign turning Laura into Elphaba has been one of my favorite little jokes.

Cannot appreciate enough how Percy went into support mode taking out the ads instead of going for the big bad. He saved Scanlan from almost certain death more than once so he could do his thang Also not enough people appreciated Sam's fox pun.

I'm a simple necromancer. I see Vex, I cast finger of death.

Marisha: is this for our wedding cake? Matt: >.> .......

Someone else already said it, but DAMN, Percy! Look, he's not dumping shots into Vecna, but he pretty much single-handedly cleared the board of all other minions. Fuckin' clutch. And, in my head, it's just like slash with the sword, dead, shot with the gun, dead, another gunshot, dead; just No-Mercy Percy spinning about, killing 3-4 baddies a turn as his friends/family contend with Vecna the Ascended above.

I'm legit impressed with how Percy stuck to getting rid of everything other than the BBEG. Honestly think if he didn't do this the party would have a much harder time

Scanlan Shorthalt: The man that trolled a God

Fun Fact: Vex has taken 5 Finger of Death's, suffering a total of 264 damage.

sam and liam having a moment while everyone is applauding is seared into my brain forever

This episode fully shows that Scanlan is the epitome of the fool/jester turned master/hero archetype. May sound a bit silly, but I believe Sam as a man is also a great example of this.

"He died as he lived: making the world a little bit wetter" I love him.

All I can say is that Sam Riegel literally made a Gnome Bard, who a few years ago was considered as one of the worst character combinations, into a such a pivotal character in the party and inspired thousands of people to pick up Bard. EDIT: To anybody still replying to this comment, I was referring to the fact that on Liam and Sam's podcast, before they even started critical role, Sam asked Liam for what he thought as the "worst" character to play as. Liam gave him the gnome bard. And the rest is history.

It's March of 2023. Legend of Vox Machina made me come and watch the first campaign. No regrets for all the hours I've spent watching two and half campaigns now.

Mark Hammil would make an amazing Vecna in Legends of Vox Machina

You leave when Burt Reynolds tells you to leave.

Catch up crew here... if you’ve made it this far... we’ll congrats. This mountain we have climbed together makes us champions.

Reposting for convenience 0:15 -- Sponsor 8:45 - Recap Ends 16:15 -- Velora 20:30 -- The Vecna mini 23:15 -- There go the temples! 28:35 -- The Tower breaks 30:50 -- Immune to prone 40:10 -- Grog is alone again 44:55 -- Laura puts on the hat 47:05 -- My despair is growing 56:45 -- Uh-oh (immune to lower level spells) 58:15 -- Song 1 59:15 -- Counterspell 1 (Song 2) 1:02:55 -- Velora's down 1:12:55 -- Song 3 (dimension door) 1:16:45 -- Poor Trinket 1:21:45 -- It's FINE! 1:22:25 -- Feeblemind attempt 1 1:23:15 -- Counterspell 2 1:27:10 -- Burt Reynolds returns! 1:28:30 -- Poor Grog 1:35:55 -- Feeblemind attempt 2 1:37:30 -- Matt is displeased 1:39:45 -- Enter J'Mon 1:50:55 -- Grog's back! 2:04:45 -- Matt sings BREAK 2:26:30 - Break ends 2:31:33 -- No, she's not unconscious 2:35:20 -- Vax vs. the Face 2:39:30 -- Immune to fear 2:41:10 -- There's a plan 2:41:40 -- Vax gets a new nickname 2:44:00 -- Hello, Zahra and Kash! 2:51:50 -- A very specific description 2:55:00 -- Grog and Kas 2:57:20 -- Poor Matt 3:01:20 -- Need more platforms! 3:03:55 -- A Laura joke 3:04:45 -- Vecna fails his counterspell 3:06:25 -- Max. hit points for everyone! 3:09:35 -- Goodbye, Zahra and Kash :( 3:25:40 -- Vax feeds Keyleth a potion 3:29:20 -- Scanlan's in danger 3:30:30 -- Hello, Arkhan! 3:37:45 -- Title name drop 3:38:30 -- Oops 3:52:35 -- I don't know how balls work! 3:54:00 -- You just had to say something... 3:57:25 -- Sam and Liam are cute 3:59:55 -- Pelor's Trammel 4:08:00 -- Vecna's hit points? 4:11:45 -- Disintegrate 4:20:50 -- The Raven Queen's Trammel 4:28:05 -- Song 4 4:30:40 -- Haste fades..uh-oh 4:31:25 -- Counterspell 3 (with sass!) 4:33:55 -- Frustrated and proud 4:36:30 -- Vex'Elphaba 4:37:35 -- For the fan art 4:38:25 -- Scanlan's wisdom (also, Foxlan) 4:40:30 -- Vax goes fox hunting (also, Jenga!) 4:46:20 -- Breaking Vecna's concentration 4:47:25 -- Rubbing the thigh 4:48:30 -- Keyleth and Vax running interference 4:50:30 -- Song 5 4:53:25 -- Crafts with Sam and Joe 4:54:20 -- Midnight 4:54:40 -- Teleport attempt (brace for tears) 4:55:30 -- Just watch Sam (Counterspell 4) 4:58:15 -- Ioun's Trammel 5:02:55 -- Because I wasn't sad enough already, thanks Liam 5:04:20 -- Ashley's having some problems 5:08:55 -- Reading the book: Bard edition 5:11:30 -- Song 6 5:12:40 -- Counterspell 5 (wow, that was lucky) 5:14:50 -- More crazy luck 5:18:15 -- Tense adding up damage 5:19:20 -- Seriously, VM has scary amounts of luck 5:21:55 -- Bonus kiss! 5:22:50 -- Hanging off the arms 5:24:25 -- Reading the book: Druid edition 5:26:15 -- HDYWTDT? 5:31:10 -- If you weren't crying yet... 5:32:15 -- Wait, WHAT?! 5:35:15 -- Vecna's remaining hit points 5:36:15 -- Sam and Liam break our hearts again

“Chapter 1: The rites of banishment are ancient and powerful. They cannot be stopped by anyone, not even a god.” Vecna: *proceeds to use his last legendary resistance*

Keyleth had it right. He would have lied even if he had 1 hit point left. Sams always "fine" when his friends are still in danger.

“Sorry, guys. It’s just business.” Magnificent pure jackassery lol

Sam's emotional journey in the final stages of this fight...good grief. Someone get that man several expensive and well-aerated glasses of wine.

At exactly 4:55:34 after asking if he would have a reaction and being advised he would, you can see the conflict in Sam's mind. He can either counter the spell Vecna is casting, or he can attempt to save his friend but he can't have both. A choice, an ultimate choice had to be made, a sacrifice. In that moment, he was a hero for aiding his allies and saving the world but it came with a great cost. The loss of his very good friend. It was in that moment he knew what had to be done but he knew if he did what the cost would be. When Sam breaks down later and starts crying, your heart breaks for him and for Liam. That moment will stay with me forever.

4:57:00 "Sorry, bud." "I'm not sorry. I love you." My heart is in pieces.

When Sam started crying after using his 9th level spell and it made Liam cry as well MAAAAAHHH HEEAAAARTTTTTT

The "i love you" Liam gives Sam during their Silent exchange still kills me.

“In the future, you play d&d across states.” Joke’s on you, Laura. My group plays d&d across continents.

It needs to be official canon that Vecna absolutely despises gnomes and bards now.

2 hours of Travis just sitting there waiting for 5 Legendary resistances to get wasted.

Such a clutch moment for Keyleth to realise she just needed to be able to read the language in the book. Also such a good character moment for her to try and fail with the tremel and be shrouded in guilt then be willing to try again and end up suceeding in finishing it all.

Sam, stoic in the face of literally everything else, including his character’s daughter being murdered in front of him, breaking down into tears because he couldn’t use wish for what he was planning… damn. Heartbreaking. Legendary gameplay from him.

Me in 5 years: "This is my son, Sam. He's named after the funniest, smartest, kindest, most genius and generous man I know." My parents: "Awe! You named him after your brother?" Me, wearing a Scanlan World Tour shirt:"...yes...my brother..."

Good on Percy for knowing his strengths and taking on “ad duty” during the fight. Nobody else had time to go after the skeletons or gloomstalkers, so he saved everyone the energy and damage.

Coming back to campaign 1 I never noticed how both Sam and Liam cry when Liam found out Sam was saving his 9th lvl spell slot to use wish on Vax. It's such a touching moment that everyone glosses over but it shows how much Vax and Scanlan mean to each other

4:00:20 Everyone: Fighting for their lives Grog and Arkhan: MUSCLE. UP. RISE AND GRIND. DON'T STOP, WON'T STOP, CAN'T STOP. PAIN IS QUIT LEAVING THE BODY.

How Sam weeps after the 9th level spell really is so touching and beautiful. What makes me cry even harder is that Sam usually tells his kids about the their games, about the story, and imagining him telling his kid that "Scanlan really wanted to save his friend Vax, but he could not make the Wish in the end" really just breaks my soul..

Grog always did promise his herd this. "Oh, you mistake me, seer of the herd. I do not mean to lead this herd, but rather to empower you to more powerful game. I'm here to inspire your aspirations. Never would I ask you to bend the knee; only would I ask you to live and fight and perhaps die in the most beautiful death you can possibly attain! Join me and my fellows! Come to our aid when I call! And with that, we will chase down dragons, gods, and more!" -Grog Strongjaw

Zara and Kash showing up and getting thrown out is the most Dragon Ball Z thing

I've only just realized that the Kraken fight was specifically training for this encounter: Fighting a big bad while having to restrict yourself so that you don't kill them. That's some quality DMing by Matt Mercer.

I love how their code for plans going wrong is Jenga... and Matt started this fight by blowing apart the tower.

"I don't wanna get targetted Matt" - "You're fine. The Skeletons all swarm in on Keyleth" xD

"I was saving that wish spell for you." I... Imma go to bed now holy shit. Like 2021 gang here, and I managed to never get spoilers for Scanlan's choice and I'm not okay now.

Matt's face when Scanlan drops the big Counterspell is priceless. Almost feels like he's channeling what Vecna would have felt. These upstarts compared to a god are coming in and messing him up then this lowly gnome blows his strongest spell just to ensure he can not escape. Honestly the audacity and seriousness with using that 9th level just for a perfectly placed counter spell. Awesome moment.

Evasion just makes me laugh so hard. Every time Vax evades something like Meteor Swarm, I just picture him starfishing into the Ethereal Plane for a second.

Vox Machina: *debates for hours how to get Grog to fly* The carpet: “Am I a joke to you?”

I really liked how the skeleton lair action actually helped him because percy had like, a huge grit backup

I see a lot of "this one character is the only reason they survived" comments. They're ALL the only reason they survived. Grog is a bucket of hit points who withstands any assault and always lives to pour healing potions down someone's throat. He can toe-to-toe anything, so others don't have to. Pike is a geyser of healing who has saved everyone's life many times over, not to mention her effect on anything undead. She also has the highest AC, making her durable. Scanlan's inspiration/cutting words has shifted the fulcrum of entire fights, and if you have any doubt about the effectiveness of his magic, look at the difference while he's gone. Percy and Vex's trick shots and ranged output have kept countless enemies from being safe or effective. Vax with his daggers hits like a tornado full of chainsaws. He can also sneak so hard, his own party forgets he exists. Keyleth is more of an all-rounder, but between the big nature spells, shapeshifting, and teleportation, she proves her worth many times over. It's almost like classes are designed to complement each other, so that a balanced party can do everything effectively, and cover each other's weaknesses.

I am just floored by the idea that Sam Riegel went into this episode with the conviction that he was going to save his best friend's character. Everyone else had given up except for him, holding on to that one last bit of hope. And then we watched that conviction get absolutely shattered in real time right in front of us. Matt's reaction in that moment was one of absolute shock and horror as he realized what Sam was planning and had given up. Good fucking god. Sam Riegel is an absolute legend.

Matt - "For the next round, anyone who has resistance to necrotic damage..." Liam - *raises hand* Matt - "..its negated" Liam - *jaw drop* Travis - HA!!!

I always love how Joe calls it "X die this" and "X die that" He's a veteran from the old days. He has more rules in his head than most the "critters" complaining about his nomenclature today You, Joe, are a legend in your own time - and I'm glad to have witnessed the birth of _Arkhan the Cruel_

Actually I dunno why people so surprised by what Joe did. I mean his character is a paladin of Tiamat. And his phrase about his friend when he appeared here was very suspicious. I remember watching this live and I wasn't surprised by his action at the end. Sam's breakdown on the other hand... that what was truly unpredictable for me.

Poor Sam, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him actually cry that much in the entire campaign...

Just going to throw my 2 cents in and say, as absolutely flawless as this session was as a whole, I don't think Arkhan's betrayal gets nearly the amount of attention that it deserves. It took balls as dense as a black hole for Joe to pull the move he pulled, and him dipping as soon as he did it, knowing full well that it would work, is legendary.

And that was the day a poor, gnomish, penny-singer stood before a God. That was the day Scanlan Shorthalt became the Bane of Vecna.

Matt: "if you destroy the body of a lich, it will reform else were, it will ruin every thing" Liam: "(awesome roleplay), I stab"

Mechanically it was neat for Percy to use his turn grit-farming on the skeletons. But in-universe, I like to imagine Percy looking up at Vecna, getting discouraged, then shooting some useless skeletons to feel better about himself

0:15 -- Sponsor 16:15 -- Velora 20:30 -- The Vecna mini 23:15 -- There go the temples! 28:35 -- The Tower breaks 30:50 -- Immune to prone 40:10 -- Grog is alone again 44:55 -- Laura puts on the hat 47:05 -- My despair is growing 56:45 -- Uh-oh (immune to lower level spells) 58:15 -- Song 1 59:15 -- Counterspell 1 (Song 2) 1:02:55 -- Velora's down 1:12:55 -- Song 3 (dimension door) 1:16:45 -- Poor Trinket 1:21:45 -- It's FINE! 1:22:25 -- Feeblemind attempt 1 1:23:15 -- Counterspell 2 1:27:10 -- Burt Reynolds returns! 1:28:30 -- Poor Grog 1:35:55 -- Feeblemind attempt 2 1:37:30 -- Matt is displeased 1:39:45 -- Enter J'Mon 1:50:55 -- Grog's back! 2:04:45 -- Matt sings BREAK 2:31:33 -- No, she's not unconscious 2:35:20 -- Vax vs. the Face 2:39:30 -- Immune to fear 2:41:10 -- There's a plan 2:41:40 -- Vax gets a new nickname 2:44:00 -- Hello, Zahra and Kash! 2:51:50 -- A very specific description 2:55:00 -- Grog and Kas 2:57:20 -- Poor Matt 3:01:20 -- Need more platforms! 3:03:55 -- A Laura joke 3:04:45 -- Vecna fails his counterspell 3:06:25 -- Max. hit points for everyone! 3:09:35 -- Goodbye, Zahra and Kash :( 3:25:40 -- Vax feeds Keyleth a potion 3:29:20 -- Scanlan's in danger 3:30:30 -- Hello, Arkhan! 3:37:45 -- Title name drop 3:38:30 -- Oops 3:52:35 -- I don't know how balls work! 3:54:00 -- You just had to say something... 3:57:25 -- Sam and Liam are cute 3:59:55 -- Pelor's Trammel 4:08:00 -- Vecna's hit points? 4:11:45 -- Disintegrate 4:20:50 -- The Raven Queen's Trammel 4:28:05 -- Song 4 4:30:40 -- Haste fades..uh-oh 4:31:25 -- Counterspell 3 (with sass!) 4:33:55 -- Frustrated and proud 4:36:30 -- Vex'Elphaba 4:37:35 -- For the fan art 4:38:25 -- Scanlan's wisdom (also, Foxlan) 4:40:30 -- Vax goes fox hunting (also, Jenga!) 4:46:20 -- Breaking Vecna's concentration 4:47:25 -- Rubbing the thigh 4:48:30 -- Keyleth and Vax running interference 4:50:30 -- Song 5 4:53:25 -- Crafts with Sam and Joe 4:54:20 -- Midnight 4:54:40 -- Teleport attempt (brace for tears) 4:55:30 -- Just watch Sam (Counterspell 4) 4:58:15 -- Ioun's Trammel 5:02:55 -- Because I wasn't sad enough already, thanks Liam 5:04:20 -- Ashley's having some problems 5:08:55 -- Reading the book: Bard edition 5:11:30 -- Song 6 5:12:40 -- Counterspell 5 (wow, that was lucky) 5:14:50 -- More crazy luck 5:18:15 -- Tense adding up damage 5:19:20 -- Seriously, VM has scary amounts of luck 5:21:55 -- Bonus kiss! 5:22:50 -- Hanging off the arms 5:24:25 -- Reading the book: Druid edition 5:26:15 -- HDYWTDT? 5:31:10 -- If you weren't crying yet... 5:32:15 -- Wait, WHAT?! 5:35:15 -- Vecna's remaining hit points 5:36:15 -- Sam and Liam break our hearts again

At the end, everyone is cheering for Matt and his map and the fight. Everyone except two who are trying desperately to not cry. They protected each other in C1 and they protected each other in C2. God bless this group for making me cry when I should be sleeping.

several years after cunningly using a simple polymorph to disrupt the biggest boss battle of all time, Matthew Mercer discovered the horrors he had wrought on himself by teaching his underlings this power, as time and time again his favourite high level encounters where simply side stepped as horrifying creatures were reduced to turtles and snow bunnies

“i wanna be the worst!” -Sam Riegel … goes on to create the most epic gnome bard ever!

Damn, did Matt really just bring back the two best guest players just for them to leave after 30 minutes? That's brutal.

"Oh but I counterspelled it, at 8th level, ooooooouuh" Sam is too iconic, dude's got me laughing out loud in my living room.

Exactly 5 years later, on October the 5th 2023, the same date it aired, I get to finish this wonderful story. I don't know how the stars aligned for that to add up but I'm glad to be on this journey and hope in another 5 years someone will be doing the same.

Holy aura: “Why don’t we use this all the time!” *immediate near impossible con save* Savage, Matt. Savage.

Fun fact: Joe''s character Arkhan was written into official Forgotten Realms lore after this (technically after Joe expanded on what he was doing at a later event). He is a general of Tiamat in the "The Descent into Avernus" adventure.

I just wanted to add to Scanlan’s song. “She’s a good girl, Loves her Scanlan, Loves chicken, And Sarenrae too”

The hex that saved everybody. My girl Zahra for the win. Without it the big mass heal would have been counter spelled and this would have gone a whole different way.

Sam's absolute utter heartbreak at having to blow his ninth level spot just breaks my heart.