The Search For Grog

is the forty-second special episode of Critical Role. After pulling a card from the Deck of Many Things, Grog's soul was stolen and trapped in the Plane of Pandemonium. This is the story of Vox Machina attempting to find and rescue their big buddy, Grog...

Pre-Show

 * When picking his outfit for tonight, Brian asked himself: "What do the drug dealers in Beverly Hills dress like?" Tonight will be a MasterClass in "Remember how to play a character after more than a year".  There is a strict NO SPOILERS policy tonight: tonight's show is going to be recorded and released next month.  It will be released at a much higher quality than your phone, and the Critical Role team is watching each house of the theater to immediately eject anyone caught photographing or filming the show.  According to Brian, they will also shave and poison your cats to make an example.  As a general rule, don't be a dick...that's Brian's job.  Tonight, you can cry, laugh, cheer, scream, gasp, and more.  The only thing the cast asks is that you don't shout any rules, suggestions, or comments.  It's really shitty, and neither the cast nor the viewers at home will be able to hear you anyways.
 * Without further ado, Brian brings out the cast of Critical Role (all dressed in outfits inspired by their Vox Machina characters).
 * The crowd starts to sing "Happy Birthday" to Taliesin (it's a little out-of-sync...the balcony seats couldn't hear what part of the song the orchestra seats were at).
 * Oh, if you only knew the adrenaline pumping through Matt's veins. Matt welcomes everyone to the Ace Hotel Theatre and apologizes to anyone who has never watched Critical Role before.  Matt appreciates everyone who traveled to LA from entire states or even entire countries away to be here tonight.

Previously on Critical Role
"So...the band of adventurers known as Vox Machina...had come together as friends, family, compatriots, and (eventually) as some of the greatest heroes known to the current age of Exandria. In standing up to the force of the ascending god Vecna, managed to through guile, skill, and THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP...seal his essence away on the other side of the Divine Gate, where he could not trounce and destroy and mold the Prime Material Plane to his will.  In the process, fulfilling a deal made by their compatriot, Vax...saw him step into the grasp of the Raven Queen and vanish for good...

"In that sorrowful combination of loss and victory, seeing the relatively robust remains of Vasselheim that you saved from the...massive incursion of the risen Primordial Titan that was serving as the delivery method for Vecna's city of Thar Amphala, you gathered your things and returned to Whitestone to just ruminate on the events that had just transpired...

"...That brings us...only a couple of days later from this climactic battle...still fresh in the throes of the immensity of what has happened and what you've achieved, we come to Whitestone. As the rest of you kind of scatter off for a moment to deal with your own processing and digestion of this mixture of emotions, Pike...after taking some time in the Parchwood [Timberlands] (the [forest] that surrounds Whitestone), you begin to ascend the stairs to the base of Whitestone Castle.

"Out of the corner of your eye, in the center of the courtyard...you see your best buddy, Grog - the massive goliath Barbarian...Berserker...from the Plains...of Tal'Dorei...champion of the causes you've fought together since your childhood - pluck a card from the Deck of Many Things...and in a brief, euphoric moment of surprise and excitement on his face...his eyes go dead and he falls forward face-first onto the ground..."

Part I
Pike tries to shake Grog awake, even backhanding him a few times. Pike checks his breathing and heartbeat and confirms he's definitely alive but unconscious. Pike sits him up, but there's still no response, so she tells him she's going to go get help and to stay there and not move. Pike runs into Castle Whitestone, shouting for help! Percy, Keyleth, and Scanlan hear her and come to investigate, and Keyleth then goes to fetch Vex from the woods just outside the city. The party determines that Grog still had the Deck of Many Things, and Percy inspects the card Grog had pulled, which is now blank.

At this point Sam Riegel requests the entire party be present; Maxwell James wheels out a skeleton in a black cloak meant to be representative of Vax.

After some discussion among the group, as they do not know what had occurred with the card, Percy remarks that Vasselheim owes Vox Machina a favor and that they should go there to get answers and assistance. Pike attempts to pick up Grog but is unable to; Vex puts Grog in the Raven's Slumber instead and Keyleth uses Transport via Plants to teleport everyone to the Abundant Terrace in Vasselheim. They quickly decide to try to find Allura or Gilmore for advice, and begin making their way towards the Platinum Sanctuary. As they travel through Vasselheim, Vox Machina notices small celebrations and many residents and volunteers cleaning up from the battle, though there is still smoke and destruction in the city.

Upon reaching the Platinum Sanctuary where the leaders of Vasselheim are gathered, Vox Machina are greeted by High Bearer Vord. Percy asks for help, as the party has already experienced significant loss. Vex expels Grog from the necklace onto the floor of the sanctuary, and Percy hands over the deck of many things to the High Bearer. An arcane practitioner identifies the deck for what it is, and after Vord admonishes Vox Machina for permitting Grog to have it, he summons Allura to the chamber. Allura is able to determine that Grog's soul is missing and must be reunited with his body for him to return to consciousness, but she is unable to locate it. Scanlan attempts to wake Grog up again by whipping him, but then tells Allura, to her surprise, that he has the Wish spell and can possibly find where Grog's soul has gone.

Scanlan casts Wish and is granted a vision of a landscape with ceaseless wind and no light, and a tower with a small plateau on which sits a red gem in which Grog's soul is trapped. A voice tells him this is the plane of Pandemonium, and Grog's soul is on the Howler's Crag, in Cocytus. Allura provides more information to them of the dangers of Pandemonium, and Vord calls for members of the city to aid Vox Machina.

The first person to volunteer is Bertrand Bell, a man in his late 50s to early 60s who is standing next to a curator of the Erathis portion of Vasselheim. Sir Bell says he is an expert on Pandemonium, and tells Vox Machina of his own achievements and skill as a fighter. While Bertrand states that he had envisioned his role more as an advisor, Vord sends him along with Vox Machina to be their guide. The second volunteer is Lieve'tel Toluse, a priestess from the Raven's Crest. While Keyleth is somewhat displeased given Lieve'tel's association with the Raven Queen, and Scanlan and Keyleth realize that Bertrand is likely lying about his experience in Pandemonium, no other volunteers are to be had.

The party decides to rest for several days so Scanlan can recover and the rest can prepare for the trip, and Allura offers to send the party to Pandemonium when they are ready. Lieve'tel in turn offers to return them to Exandria when they have completed their mission.

During their downtime Vox Machina seeks out Gilmore. They find him in the Quadroads section of Vasselheim, entertaining some young children with simple magic. He is glad to see them, and when they ask offers a little advice about the dangers of Pandemonium. Gilmore realizes the implications of Vax's absence as he speaks to the party. Keyleth, Vex, and Scanlan comfort him, and he embraces them and tells them that once they've retrieved Grog, they should get together and reminisce, but for now he is going to help the residents of Vasselheim displaced by the Titan.

They reconvene, after this time, in a hallway at the Platinum sanctuary to go to Pandemonium. After realizing that with Grog in the necklace, it may become dangerous for Trinket, Vex casts Speak with Animals to see what Trinket wants, and he offers to carry Grog on the journey. After one final check with Vox Machina and their two new companions, Allura transports them to Pandemonium. They find themselves in the dark, with the heaviest wind any had ever experienced battering them with small bits of sand and dust, and around them they can hear a cacophony of screams.

Part II
After being transported to Pandemonium by Allura's spell, the party touches down on the rocky expanse of Cocytus. The heavy winds smash into them: not damaging, but a painful sting. What affects them more is the noise: the LOUD din of the winds around them. Even those with Darkvision are struggling to see more than a few feet past the swirling dust and sand. Bertrand shouts that he'd recognize the sound of the "winter winds" of Pandemonium anywhere!

Vox Machina

 * Taryon Darrington (absent)
 * Doty 2.0 (absent)
 * Keyleth
 * Percival de Rolo
 * Scanlan Shorthalt
 * Grog Strongjaw
 * Pike Trickfoot
 * Trinket
 * Vex'ahlia

New

 * Bertrand Bell
 * Bob
 * Unnamed Corrupted Empyrean
 * Lieve'tel Toluse

Returning

 * Shaun Gilmore
 * The Sun Tree
 * Highbearer Vord
 * Allura Vysoren

Mentioned

 * Kima
 * Vax'ildan

Quotations
Keyleth: You've got a gun! Isn't that like...like fine?! Percy: For four times and then I have to reload it with something! AND THAT CAN GET COMPLICATED... Taliesin: ...WHICH IS WHY THE JOKE ISN'T FUNNY!! I've explained this!! Sam: Wait, wait, I immediately pictured you reloading it with your feet but I think the audience pictured you reloading it with your dick! Vex: OH MY GOD! Scanlan: CAST THE SPELL!! KEYLETH, DO SOMETHING Keyleth: (Angrily) OKAY!! (The audience and cast roar with laughter) Liam: Grief takes many forms! Marisha: It does. Keyleth: I'll Regenerate your arm! I'll bring that back, I guess!
 * Grog: I don't really know what's been going on, but this amazing movie has been playing and it's about time you all got here. Vox Machina... FUCK! SHIT! UUUUUP! And I would like to RAGE!
 * Percy: (sarcastically) No, it'll be fine. I'll sit here and do 1d8 damage for the rest of the bloody game. That'll be fine.
 * Matt: I'm just letting you know that you've taken 23 points of damage and are continuing to bleed out because you're missing an arm.

Trivia

 * This episode was originally filmed live in Los Angeles on January 19, 2019. The VOD was later made available on Twitch and YouTube on February 22, 2019.
 * During this episode, Percival set a record for highest damage in a single turn targeting only one creature at a time by dealing 197 points of damage against the Corrupted Empyrean, before Hemorrhaging Critical. Unlike as stated during this episode, Arkhan did not hold the previous record: Percy did, with 172 points in . With this turn, Percy also set the then-second highest damage in a single attack with 104 points before Hemorrhaging Critical, which was later knocked to third by Jester Lavorre in ; with Hemorrhaging Critical, the 156 total points would be the greatest amount of damage dealt in a single attack.
 * Unlike most one-shots, this one is considered canon as the events that took place were mentioned during the finale of Campaign 1.
 * The final roll in was a natural 20 by Travis as Grog. The final roll in this one-shot, and thus the final Vox Machina roll, was also a natural 20 by Travis as Grog. He began Campaign 2, which started before this one-shot, with a natural 20 as well.
 * This is the sixth episode in which one player plays multiple characters, following, , , and  (Scanlan/Taryon) in the first campaign, with Travis playing both Grog and Bertrand Bell.