That's Just Right

is the ninth episode of 4-Sided Dive, discussing up to with guests Laura Bailey, Taliesin Jaffe, Matthew Mercer, and Liam O'Brien. Liam was the host, and after the break, they played a gift exchange game.

What the fuck is up with that?
Let's talk about Otohan.
 * Otohan killed Eshteross, and the cast is sad because a lot of them liked him, though Laura had been dreading it as a possibility. Liam notes that this is the first time this sort of thing has happened; other significant NPCs have not met this fate.
 * Matt points out that this is also the only time they had this direct a patron, and so it made particular narrative sense, though other NPCs have certainly met with serious danger.
 * Taliesin suspect it was likely once the party went to Whitestone.
 * Liam mentions that Bells Hells has had a lot of losses in a short period of time; three party members died, though all were ultimately revived, and Bertrand Bell died quite early in the campaign. It gives things a very serious and overwhelming tone.
 * Liam and Laura discuss how they felt Otohan was toying with the party. Matt says the encounter was meant to be difficult, and there were a number of factors that made it more deadly, but now Bells Hells knows what they will need to face. And it's all uphill from here! Maybe.

I want to talk about Liliana Temult.
 * Is she on the moon? Is the city on the moon like Syngorn and capable of teleportation?
 * The party is headed to Yios, and might get some answers there.

On the Gorgynei
 * They're all really attractive, and somewhat like the Animorphs.
 * Laura and Liam agree that if they were to derail the campaign, this would be the time and place: hanging out among the attractive lycanthropes. Taliesin and Matt also agree; Matt mentions that they could just spend a few years there and maybe Vox Machina will fix it. Speaking of...

We got to meet Vox Machina.
 * Matt was very stressed about having to play so many members of Vox Machina, but Taliesin and Laura both love how he played Percy and Vex.
 * While Bells Hells was in "Darkstone", Matt imagined that Percy, Vex, and Pike were having something of a war council on how they would handle it if Delilah Briarwood were to return, which is what led to their behavior.
 * Matt did not check in extensively with the actors of the Vox Machina PCs who showed up before the episode, but he has talked a lot with them for Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, which informed Whitestone.
 * The conclusion is that Percy is Lex Luthor with better friends and much better hair.

About the Ruidus flares
 * Ruidus flares have always occurred throughout history, giving rise to the mythos of the Ruidusborn (like Imogen and Fearne, but the frequency during this campaign is exceptionally high.
 * Liam asks Taliesin and Laura what they think causes flares: the deities in the moon trying to escape? Otohan trying to break them free? The gods in the moon fucking?
 * Matt jokes that if it's the gods fucking, it would explain Chetney.
 * Laura and Taliesin think Otohan is communicating with whatever is on the moon but is not there herself. Taliesin wonders if technology or something else on the moon is trying to break free of the bonds and the flares are it leaking out, causing the effects on lycanthropes.
 * Laura wonders if the city on the moon is comprised of the believers of the lost gods, and if, by trying to learn more about Ruidus, Bells Hells and other researchers like the Lumas twins are inadvertently weakening the prison.
 * Liam agrees, and wonders if this makes Otohan the hero for protecting the secrets of the moon.

Let's talk about the Mighty Nein.
 * Taliesin was glad to get to play Kingsley! Kingsley's different, and is both very good in combat and also loves undermining Fjord. (Laura briefly defends Fjord, as Jester).
 * Laura regrets she didn't have Jester contact Caduceus, because she knew that Taliesin was playing Kingsley. Matt and Taliesin share that Taliesin specifically chose to play Kingsley.
 * Caduceus is casting Temple of the Gods every day for a year to make the effects permanent, so he is unavailable to travel for the year after the Mighty Nein part ways, but Taliesin would like to play him again in a future one-shot set later in the timeline.
 * Kingsley, like Molly and Lucien before him, imprints on "romance and fun", and for Kingsley, it was piracy.

Should we talk about the Uk'otoa fight?
 * Liam loved the fight! The mini (designed by Tyler Walpole and painted by Iron Tusk Painting) was incredible!
 * Matt was excited to run Uk'otoa: Campaign 2 ended because a lot of the threads didn't make sense to play out in D&D (such as Beau and Caleb's work on dismantling the Cerberus Assembly), and the Mighty Nein would have parted ways at that point, but Uk'otoa was an interesting hanging plot point.
 * Laura wonders what would have happened if they failed. Matt says that Uk'otoa was never interested in world domination, only controlling the Lucidian Ocean. It would have had far-reaching effects, notably for the Menagerie Coast, but Exandria would still exist; the area around the coast would just be far more dangerous.
 * Liam hopes to revisit the Mighty Nein more in the future.

The Tower of Inquiry: Round 2
Liam left the set to go to the bathroom, leaving instructions that Laura was to pull another block after everyone finished answering the previous question. She was reluctant, and Dani overruled Liam and allowed everyone to say that Laura pulled a block when she did not.

Before Liam returns, Wolfie the Winter's Crest Wolf puppet (voiced by Liam) gives the cast a wildly inaccurate lesson on the history of Winter's Crest in Exandria and relays a story about a hot rod race between Errevon (whom he describes as a mage, rather than an elemental) and Santa. Laura and Taliesin are delighted to "learn" this history. Matt is distraught.

The Tower of Inquiry: Round 3
Because Laura did not actually pull a block while Liam was off-camera, he has her pull another block. He admits it's not just vindictiveness but also because he is skeptical that the tower will survive to the next shoot.

Trivia

 * The drink special on the chalkboard during the Twitch countdown was "Magic Mistletoe", a pun on the spell Magic Missile.
 * This episode was Christmas-themed. The set was decorated appropriately, the overlay and logo were re-colored to green and red, and the countdown music was changed. Dani and the guests also wore pajamas.