The Cathedral

is the eighty-sixth episode of the second campaign of Critical Role.

Announcements

 * Tonight's first sponsor is Disney Villainous, The Worst Takes it All. To thank them, Sam is dressed as the infamous evil villainous Chewbacca, but still does the bit he prepared for the Evil Queen from Snow White. The Magic Mirror Maxwell calls HR.
 * The second sponsor is the still-in-the-face-of-mounting-odds faithful D&D Beyond, a great toolset and source of articles on D&D.
 * During the month of November, Critical Role is partnering with OSD, an organization supporting U.S. veterans. Contribute at critrole.com/OSD. Travis's dear friend Travis Frederick of the Dallas Cowboys is donating $500 for every natural one the Mighty Nein roll, retroactive to November 1.
 * Huge congrats to Laura Bailey for her nomination for Best Performance in the Video Game Awards. Vote for your favorites... but vote for her.
 * The Austin Texas live show, The Adventures of the Darrington Brigade, is this weekend, November 23. So many maps! There's a strict no-spoiler policy in effect for the show, which will be shown on Twitch at 7pm Pacific on Friday, November 29th and on YouTube Sunday, December 1.
 * Due to American Thanksgiving, next week there is no Critical Role episode or Talks Machina on December 3.
 * Merch Alert! Chastity's Nook's Exandrian Calendar and genuine whitestone dice set and case are at the U.S. and U.K. critrole.com stores.
 * Many frantic improvisations, not to delay, oh, no, of course not...

Previously on Critical Role
''Last we left off, the Mighty Nein, for quite some time, have been chasing the tracks of the Angel of Irons, a somewhat new and esoteric cult that only whispers have been discovered about them and what their plot was. You came to uncover that the Angel of Irons was a cover to trick these other people and cultists into helping the Chained Oblivion, Tharizdun, begin to unravel its bindings deep in the Abyss. In chasing Obann, who had gathered three figures to what he referred to as his “family”: your companion Yasha, the Laughing Hand, a terrible undying champion of Torog, and the Inevitable End, the Caedogeist, Jourrael. All three of them bound to his will, he carried them across Exandria, gathering things necessary to see this plot to fruition, your last Scry spell revealing them arriving in the capital city of Rexxentrum in Wildemount. It seemed at this time that Vence, another cultist, had delivered some scrolls and information to a cathedral deep in the city, and whispers of what seemed to be a rather imminent moment. So, rushing your way to Rexxentrum, asking for aid, you come to the rainy city, dark storm clouds overhead. You try to look for any sort of sign of where this cathedral might be, and upon arriving, finding out that the city is seemingly under attack at the same time by Kryn operatives. You hear what sounds like din of battle in the distance, though you’ve seen none directly. Is it just chaos to distract? Who knows? But you’ve gathered yourselves and an ally, Pumat Sol, who has come along with you to deal with this scenario after he was attacked along with you in his house in Zadash, and you’ve stepped out from the Rexxentrum Archive of the Cobalt Soul into the wet, slick cobblestoned streets of the city, heading eastward towards the base of the Shimmer Ward, where it is believed that this cathedral, known as the Chantry of the Dawn, stands.''

''So, Mighty Nein, as you step out into the air above, you can hear the heavy elements of rain coming down from above. Pushing through, you can see the streets are seemingly deserted by most civilians. The few you see run confused, some of them out of curiosity, others out of fear. Crownsguard occasionally attempt to keep the peace among them. You hear quick rumors and demands for information from the crowd to the guard, and none of them responding, continuing to push them into their homes or push them out of the way. You can hear shouts from congested neighborhoods at the peripheral of your watch as you go from intersection to intersection, heading east deeper into the city, the tall roofs and climbing spires of the various buildings that surround and frame your continued travel looming atop, almost cutting out the grayish sky above. You can see ahead of you about 20 or 30 Righteous Brand that just rush past you northwards toward the Platinum Veranda, where you can hear muffled shouts and a chaotic echo of battle. Is there anything you want to do, or continue traveling eastward?''

The Mighty Nein

 * Beauregard Lionett
 * Caduceus Clay
 * Caleb Widogast
 * Fjord
 * Frumpkin (absent)
 * Jester Lavorre
 * Nott
 * Yasha Nydoorin

Returning

 * The Laughing Hand
 * Obann
 * Jourrael
 * Cardinal Respa
 * Pumat Sol

Mentioned

 * Allura Vysoren
 * Leylas Kryn

Quotations

 * Nott: (watching Kryn battle Crownsguard) I don’t even know who I’m rooting for.
 * Beau: (after Obann's Dominate Person) As I look at Obann and he says, “Kill them all,” I start to slip into the Sunken Place, and I feel the darkness come through like tunnel vision, and then I just close my eyes and I resist. And when I open them, I am sitting next to the ocean in Nicodranas, meditating. And I breathe, and I’m going to use Stillness of Mind to end a charm effect.