Talks Machina Special 3: Critical Role Campaign 1 Wrap-up

is the third special Talks Machina episode of Critical Role.

Arc I: Kraghammer and Vasselheim
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{{Talks Machina question
 * askee = Travis
 * question = We never heard about Grog's mother. Did he know her at all? Is she alive?
 * asker = Myrnorunshot
 * ep = TMSx03
 * timecode = 23:38
 * answer =
 * Grog has no idea who his mother is, and growing up it was just his father, Stonejaw Strongjaw, and the Herd of Storms. In Travis's mind, the herd was "just kinda like, free love, man," where people hooked up with whoever, had kids, and then taught them how to survive in the wilderness. Only when Grog met Pike did he come to understand what a loving, caring family was like that wasn't so casually brutal, and then wondered, "Hey, who gave birth to me, and why did I never have a nurturer?"
 * When Ashley comments on the silliness of the name "Stonejaw Strongjaw," Travis at first tries to deflect blame to Matt, but both Matt and Sam affirm that indeed, Travis had come up with the name. Though in Travis's defense, when he made up dad's first name, they weren't using last names very often in-game, so when they first connected the two it was "marvelous."
 * Liam remembers the party had to deal with Stonejaw when Travis was absent.{{ep ref|ep=Mx04|1:20|more=Pre-stream the party encounters a jaegered and mind-controlled Grog and his father's reanimated corpse.}}

{{Talks Machina question }}
 * askee = Matt
 * question = Who was the anonymous person who took out the contract on the rakshasa?
 * asker = Shandraa
 * ep = TMSx03
 * timecode = 25:37
 * answer =
 * Matt thinks it was one of the members of the Arcana Pansophical. Travis and Marisha are confused about what that is. Matt reminds them that Allura's a member (this jogs everyone else's memory) as well as Drake Thunderbrand. They were developing a portal that connected to the Hells and they needed demon parts. Since they'd found there was a rakshasa in that area, it was a "twofer" deal. They didn't really understand or care that whoever killed it would be locked into a cycle of revenge. But that's why they paid people to do it for them.

{{Talks Machina question }}
 * askee = Matt
 * question = When Kima was introduced, was the relationship with Allura already planned out or did that evolve in response to the party and community?
 * asker = MishapMaster13
 * ep = TMSx03
 * timecode = 27:20
 * answer =
 * Matt had developed them to have a past connection with each other. He didn't know if they were going to reconcile, or once had a fling. The first time the party heard of Kima was the early session when they were looking for Grog in Westruun. Matt thought she would have had this past history with the mage character (Allura) he was going introduce later in the campaign. In developing the Underdark arc, he thought they were still good friends who cared about each other even though they were leading separate lives, and then their reunion and the fear of losing each other rekindled their connection.
 * Matt had no idea that Allura and Kima would become so beloved by the fan base. It's hard to expect what will resonate with other people. Matt didn't expect them to impact him so much, either. Allura acted as Matt's self-insertion into the story at times.

{{Talks Machina question }}
 * askee = Marisha
 * question = Keyleth has had the antlers since day one and never took them off, sometimes even getting defensive about them. Is there a story behind the antlers?
 * asker = @Smokeontheraze
 * ep = TMSx03
 * timecode = 29:15
 * answer =
 * In their home game, Keyleth wore a circlet. Marisha combined that with the concept of an unspecified last relic from her mom and her Ashari tribe. Kit Buss, the unofficial and then official artist of the campaign, drew the relic as antlers in Keyleth's portrait. Marisha loved it. She didn't expect it would become so iconic.
 * Laura says much of their original characterizations came from Kit's designs. Vex's feathers were her idea.
 * Liam agrees that when little things came up by chance or in the art, they would retcon them into the story. "So much happens by accident. And that's the magic of the game."
 * Brian wants to know if Kit also came up with Percy's glasses. Taliesin says while he already had the idea Percy wore glasses, Kit came up with the four-lens design. He loved how "wonderfully complicated and impractical" they were.

{{Talks Machina question }}
 * askee = Matt
 * question = I believe you once mentioned that the Thunderbrands were supposed to end up as allies or a bigger part of the story if the initial encounter had gone differently. What did we end up missing there?
 * asker = Ickulus
 * ep = TMSx03
 * timecode = 30:39
 * answer =
 * Matt designed the Thunderbrands to be allies for the journey into the Underdark. They had a story about a family member who was lost there, and if the party had brought it up and discussed with them, they would have offered aid in the form of equipment or sending one of their mages along as an Underdark guide.
 * Liam jokes the lost relative went on to be the nothic that Vax shanked underground.
 * Matt says they eventually found the relevant necklace that was returned to House Thunderbrand. Instead of this helping scenario, in the game, Vox Machina (including Tiberius) antagonized them in their home by attacking their wards with spells, confronting them at the door, and then Scanlan turned invisible and snuck inside "for no reason."

{{Talks Machina question }}
 * askee = Matt
 * question = How did a Sphinx come to be hidden beneath Vasselheim?
 * asker = Payattention007
 * ep = TMSx03
 * timecode = 32:35
 * answer =
 * Ioun the Knowing Mistress and her followers believe it is important to disseminate knowledge and teach people about history, lore, and truth. Ioun was wounded and her following was largely culled during the Calamity and after the Divergence. The Cobalt Reserve were her most prominent followers that were well-protected by governments, while most others, including Osysa, had to go into hiding. Matt imagines them like whistleblowers and others that share secret information with the press. If they were to reveal themselves, there are those who would hunt them down and destroy them, such as followers of Tharizdun, as they seek to take down Ioun herself. Osysa has long been an agent of Ioun's will, and they created the Slayer's Take as a cover to ingratiate themselves within Vasselheim society. Osysa must stay hidden as the heart of the information network for the followers of Ioun in Issylra.
 * Brian and Travis share their amazement that Matt was holding all this in his head.

{{Talks Machina question }}
 * askee = Matt
 * question = Where was the other horn of Orcus? Could the players have found it?
 * asker = Telepickups
 * ep = TMSx03
 * timecode = 34:20
 * answer =
 * Matt cannot divulge its location, because it's still in Exandria for the players to discover, much like other Vestiges of Divergence.
 * Laura, Matt, and Marisha joke that it's underneath Dalen's Closet, buried in the sand, where some kid will find it on vacation. All they need is a metal detector.

Campaign-level statistics
From CritRoleStats
 * 10,819 rolls during the campaign
 * 548 natural 20s
 * 497 natural 1s
 * Most nat20s: Vax (107) and Percy (104)
 * Most nat1s: Vex (76) and Vax (61)

Arc II: The Briarwoods
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Statistics

 * Vox Machina dealt 50,074 damage.
 * Grog took the most damage (5,646) and also dealt the most (10,038).

Arc III: The Chroma Conclave
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Campaign-level statistics

 * 86 rages for Grog
 * 3,658 hp healed for Pike
 * Vex used 474 arrows
 * Percy Misfired 36 times
 * DM facepalmed 264 times
 * Keyleth beastshapes 110 times; most used is 15 earth elementals
 * Scanlan gave 136 inspirations
 * Vax had 21 one-shot kills

Guest stars
Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Will Friedle, Darin De Paul, Jason Charles Miller, and ND Stevenson take over to answer some questions.
 * Darin De Paul plugs a few episodes of his and Amy's early morning show on Alpha.
 * Will Friedle plugs Painter's Guild
 * Jason Charles Miller plugs Starter Kit


 * What is the biggest difference between playing here vs playing at home?
 * Mary: It was my first show, trial by fire.
 * Will: Same
 * Would you prefer to be thrown in the deep end?
 * Will: Yes
 * Darin: It's improv and yes and, creating an adventure is good.
 * ND: People care, unlike a home game!

Arc IV: The Adventures of Taryon Darrington
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Statistics

 * Most cast spell per character.

Arc V: Vecna
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