Raishan (episode)

is the eightieth episode of the first campaign of Critical Role. Vox Machina battles Raishan within Thordak's lair.

Announcements

 * No sponsor tonight
 * Matt and Marisha are leaving for MAGFest early tomorrow
 * Travis shouted out critter "Kathy Creshe, Creshaw, I don't know how to say it."
 * Sam plugged the Critical Role web store with an ad in Spanish (although he doesn't speak Spanish)
 * Matt and Marisha and maybe other cast members will be opening late Critmas gifts on Periscope.

Gameplay
Percy makes his way down the tunnel to the chamber as lava erupts and sprays on Keyleth, Vex, and Vax. Even after Thordak's death, his lair is still laden with dangerous traps. Raishan casts Greater Invisibility on herself from the top of the chamber. Keyleth casts Call Lightning and takes the form of a fire elemental. Vex can see that one of the five dragon eggs was destroyed by Raishan's Meteor Swarm spell. She heals herself and feels a separate warm tingling pass through her body. Vax attacks one of the intact eggs and it begins to crack. Above, Jarett has decided that this is not his fight, but the rest of the party and their allies rush down toward the chamber.

Vax and Percy also feel the same warmth run through them. Keyleth strikes the damaged egg and shatters it, revealing a dead dragon embryo. It resembles a tiny Thordak, but appears to be made entirely of red crystalline rock. Most of the rest of the party arrive, with only Lady Kima lagging behind. Grog feels an energy around him, but is able to resist it. Pike tries to cast Beacon of Hope but Raishan Counterspells it.

Percy fires at another egg with Animus, damaging it. Raishan casts the powerful Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting, knocking Vex and Pike unconscious, but Pike is revived by her Plate of the Dawnmartyr. Gilmore uses Dispel Magic on Raishan's Greater Invisibility as Grog administers a healing potion to Vex and the rest of the party take shots at Raishan. Scanlan takes out the flute given to him by J'mon Sa Ord to summon them for help. Vax is knocked unconscious by Raishan and nearly falls into the lava flow below, but Keyleth is able to gentle nudge him away from the edge without burning him in her fire elemental form.

Raishan attempts to cast the devastating Prismatic Spray but it is Counterspelled by Scanlan. As Grog lands a hit with his axe and the Chain of Returning, a swirl of energy surrounds Raishan and she appears to speed up, her previously cast Contingency spell having been activated and casting Haste on herself. Scanlan feels the same warm energy surge through him. Vex heals Vax, bringing him back to consciousness. There is a flash of orange-white light in the tunnel behind them and from it crawls J'Mon Sa Ord in their true form of Devo'ssa, the brass dragon. Devo'ssa breathes fire at Raishan.

Pike and Scanlan heal the party as poison gas erupts from the lair. The party realizes that the warm energy they felt was Raishan using Dispel Magic on them to remove the poison immunity effect of Heroes' Feast. Raishan takes the two undamaged dragon eggs in her claws and breathes poison on most of the party. Grog and Pike still have their immunity, but Vex and Vax are knocked unconscious again and Scanlan and Gilmore are severely injured.

Keyleth drops her fire elemental form and uses the Spire of Conflux to cast Chain Lightning at Raishan and the two eggs she carries. Then she uses Healing Word on Vax to get him up again, but Raishan counters with Cone of Cold and knocks him out again, as well as Scanlan and Pike. Vex succumbs to her wounds and dies. Grog uses a Potion of Greater Healing on Pike, who in turn successfully brings Vex back to life by casting Revivify. Devo'ssa unleashes several attacks on Raishan, but almost all miss her. Magma bursts from the floor of the lair, knocking Vex out yet again as well as Gilmore. Raishan follows this with another Cone of Cold that knocks Pike out and kills Scanlan where he lies. Raishan appears to be wounded as blood visibly drips from where Vax stabbed her in the mouth. Having what she came for and facing a nearly unscathed brass dragon, Raishan makes her escape back up the tunnel, her Haste allowing her to break away easily.

Keyleth rushes toward Vax, leaping over the lava flow in the middle of the room, but her foot gets caught and she stumbles into it, nearly killing her. She manages a Healing Word for Vax, getting him up again. Gilmore tries to chase Raishan up the tunnel but there is some sort of invisible barrier trapping them all in the lair. Pike casts Revivify on Scanlan successfully.

The party's attacks don't seem to harm the barrier at all, and they see a purple flash of light from the tunnel. After Grog destroys the last remaining egg, he throws a piece of the shell at the barrier and it passes right through. Everyone runs up the tunnel after Raishan, but there is no sign of her and Thordak's body is also missing. Vex uses her Primeval Awareness to sense the presence of dragons, but other than Devo'ssa there are none within a mile of here. Gilmore realizes that the flash of light from earlier was Raishan using Teleport to escape.

Vox Machina

 * Keyleth
 * Percival de Rolo
 * Scanlan Shorthalt
 * Grog Strongjaw
 * Pike Trickfoot (controlled by Laura and Liam)
 * Trinket (unconscious within Raven's Slumber; not mentioned)
 * Vax'ildan
 * Vex'ahlia

Returning

 * Shaun Gilmore
 * Jarett Howarth
 * J'mon Sa Ord / Devo'ssa
 * Lady Kima of Vord
 * Raishan
 * Thordak (corpse)

Mentioned

 * Kaylie

Quotations

 * Matt: Scanlan is frozen, covered in ice, locked in place. A solid gnome, bereft of life. Sam: I died as I lived: hard.
 * Taliesin: Oh look, someone left a metaphor on the ground! Don't step in it.

Trivia

 * There was no break in this episode.
 * This episode marks the second time that Vex'ahlia has died and the first time that Scanlan has died.
 * These are the fifth and sixth on-stream deaths of player characters, and the seventh and eighth overall.
 * This is the first episode where more than one player character has died.
 * This is the only episode named after a member of the Chroma Conclave where that member is not killed.