Best Laid Plans...

is the twelfth episode of the fourth chapter of Critical Role. Vox Machina confronts the darkness of Craven Edge and plans to retake Westruun. Scanlan infiltrates the city to set up a distraction and stumbles upon some old friends.

This episode is considered by Geek & Sundry to be the 50th episode, including and excluding. In celebration of the 50th episode landmark, this episode features the premiere of Critical Role&apos;s new opening sequence:  a live-action cosplay by the actors of the main characters in a dramatic combat scene. After gameplay, the cast opens Critmas gifts from fans.

Pre-Show
The following pre-show promotional video was shown on the Twitch stream, but it is not included on the final YouTube VoD:
 * Felicia Day's Paperback Book Tour 2016:  Formatted as a political attack ad against Felicia Day, this video ironically promoted Felicia's upcoming book tour to promote the paperback release of her book, You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost):  [A Memoir], with upcoming stops in:
 * Los Angeles, CA
 * Portland, OR
 * Denver, CO
 * Chicago, IL
 * Milwaukee, WI
 * Cincinnati, OH
 * Carrboro, NC
 * Albuquerque, NM

Announcements

 * To celebrate the 50th episode landmark, new wallpaper for use on home PCs and such is available on the official Critical Role Twitter and Facebook pages.
 * The cast share their thanks to the people responsible for making the new intro a reality:
 * Jan-Michael Losada, Director of Photography
 * Pamela Joy, Lead Photographer
 * Pamela Joy has done photography for Critical Role from the beginning.
 * Loretta Richert, 2nd Photographer
 * Misti Dawn Talor, Makeup
 * Bianca Appice, Grog/SFX Makeup
 * Heather Galipo, 2nd Makeup Artist/SFX
 * Jessica Dru, Epic Costume Lead
 * Vannessa Walton, Additional Costuming
 * Vannessa made Marisha Ray's headpiece for Keyleth.
 * Bryan Forrest, Armorer & Goblin
 * Bryan Forrest played as the goblins that were shot by Vex'ahlia.
 * Jon Enge, VFX Supervisor/Goblin
 * Jon Enge played as the goblin that Vax'ildan stabbed in the back. He also worked with Marisha for a Splinter Cell sketch. He also used to perform at Ren Faire with "Lord" Taliesin Jaffe.
 * Jason Charles Miller, Music
 * Jason Charles Miller also played as Garthok the half-orc rogue in . He did the new theme and the old one.
 * Geoff Bisente, Sound Design
 * Avery Faith, Percy Costuming
 * Specifically, Avery Faith worked on Percy's coat.
 * Kai Norman, Gun/Props
 * Kai Norman appeared in-person on Critical Role during for the giveaways of the Horns of Orcus that he personally sculpted.
 * Anne Valiant, Additional Costuming
 * Labyrinth of Jareth Masquerade Ball, Special Costuming Thanks
 * The Sword and the Stone, Special Prop Thanks
 * Ashley Johnson made it all the way from New York and is staying "for a little while"—pushing for a few months at most—before having to return to film Blindspot, much to the delight of the cast.
 * For the next two weeks, super-duper-super-duper cozy How do you want to do this? hoodies are availble for pre-order on the Geek & Sundry store. You can wear them all over the place, be it on a plane, a train, on a boat, or with a goat—at work or on the go. Sam Riegel reminds the audience that this is the content that they demanded.
 * Critmas is tonight after the show. A large assortment of gifts await Vox Machina. They intend to keep the session as organized and as expedient as possible so they can go to bed at a decent hour, especially for those with 8 AM call times in the morning, like Travis Willingham. Matthew Mercer hopes the audience stick around so they can watch the cast cry forever.
 * Something about posters is mentioned by Matt, but no one was aware of any "posters". Maybe later.
 * Matt announces that he will be in Atlanta as a guest for MomoCon (2016-05-26 to 2016-05-29). He will have talks, panels, autographs to give, cool art, etc.
 * Matt also mentions that he and Marisha are announced to be guests at Haven Expo in Mackay, Australia on 2016-07-02. Australian Critters will have a chance to see them at the convention. Ashley makes bad impressions of a horrible Aussie accent. She notes that she knows many Australians. Matt apologizes.
 * Revealing secret scientology messages sent to Xenu is checked off the list.
 * Rat Queens Volume 16 is coming up with a wonderful cameo from Vox Machina. They have transcended and are now fiction.
 * The Kickstarter for Masquerada: Songs and Shadows, an isometric RPG video game developed by Witching Hour Studios which Matt plays the lead character Cicero Gavar in, was put up today. It includes voice talent from Jennifer Hale and Dave Fennoy. Matt hopes that people chip in to make the game a reality.
 * Liam O'Brien ask for a "critrole" and gives another plug for Wyrmwood Gaming, mentioning the "critrole" code for free shipping and the Kickstarter for this month for their Sentinel Box. He mentions that one can get the Critical Role logo etched onto any box they purchase. He also mentions the snazzy Masterwork Box, which Travis remarks may be one of the Vestiges.
 * Matt asks for anything else the cast want to talk about, and since there isn't, he asks that they play the intro again. After the intro finishes (again), Matt remarks that they thought they'd have to cut stuff out, and they ultimately didn't.

Previously on Critical Role
"Vox Machina, a group of adventurers currently on the path to try and usurp and destroy the Chroma Conclave, a collection of chromatic dragons that have torn through Tal'Dorei and currently reign supreme over the partially ruined cities that dot the landscape. The largest of them, and apparently the leader, Thordak the Cinder King, sitting in the main city of Emon, forcing the party to flee.

"They've currently gone about and discovered these artifacts, these legendary items known as the Vestiges of the Divergence—ancient magical weapons and equipment from the last great war, the Divergence—and these seem to be a key in which they can ascertain a level of power and a means of destroying these creatures. Upon seeking information about these, they traveled south to the Frostweald, where they battled a camp of orcs, freeing survivors from Westruun's attack, and managed to walk their way into the deep den of a forgotten Ioun temple, where Osysa the sphinx's mate resides.

"After traversing past traps and puzzles, they made their way to the main chamber, in which the nameless sphinx demanded they reveal that they had earned its name. During this battle, they traveled through portals to other elemental realms to seek out the information to hopefully devise the title of this sphinx before it was too late. During which, Grog had leapt through one of these portals into the Elemental Plane of Air, set adrift without a means of returning, took his Chain of Returning, attached it to Craven Edge, and threw it through the portal. It found purchase and he pulled himself through...face-to-face with Pike, with the blade embedded in her abdomen. The weapon, which had achieved its maximum strength potential from devouring the essence of others, transformed during this battle and has been in its rather intense and dangerous form since.

"The party managed to discover pieces of the name of this sphinx, at which point the battle ended, and it presented to them the information they required. It gave them the information of the Vestiges that still exist to its knowledge, and they were escorted via immediate sandstorm out of the temple and now stand at the edge of the Stormcrest Mountains in the Frostweald forest itself."

Part I
After Pike severed Craven Edge's connection to Grog with a Greater Restoration, Keyleth banished the evil sword the Dread Emperor's realm using Plane Shift. Due to the conflicting statements about the Dread Emperor's realm, it is unclear if Craven Edge is now in the Astral Plane, in a pocket dimension, or somewhere else altogether.

Quotations
Scanlan:  "I will grant you cock lightning."
 * Grog:  "If I do a pelvic thrust, will you do your...?"

Trivia

 * Counting the Critmas session, this is currently the longest episode of Critical Role.